How does a homeless person enter the world of Motorhomes? (Los Angeles: sex offender, mortgage)

[smarino]

Boy, the opinions here are from outer space. You need money to buy one of those things, so anyone who can do that is hardly "homeless". Homeless is living in a shelter, or sleeping in the woods or on the streets.

In addition to the initial purchase price, it has to be insured or you can't get it registered (not cheap), and if you incur tickets for parking in the wrong places, you'll have to pay them or the police will impound the thing. Then there's the usual maintenance costs, costs of replacement things like tires, tune ups, wiper blades, oil changes, miscellaneous things that need replacing, and on and on. There's also scant security, as a friend of mine discovered when he was attempting to live in his motor home in S.F. They popped open the door w/ a screw driver and stole all of his camera gear and other stuff. He wasn't homeless, he was just trying to live cheaply. It didn't work.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Interesting question
I'm thinking most of them owned the rv before becoming " homeless "

it might be an idea to allow these people to park their vehicles in a certain location , but parking them on public streets and dumping stuff in streets is not a good idea .

Maybe if there were some city owned lots and these people paid rent ?
I had an rv parked in front of my house for several days and it was weird not knowing if someone was in it, who the person was etc .

I'm guessing it costs about the same to live in an RV in LA versus elsewhere in the country so it makes sense why they want to be here , but on the other hand I don't think we whole tolerate it to the degree we do .
If you go to certain parks there are many people living in their vehicles .

It won't fly in Beverly Hills or Brentwood , so they go to other areas .
North Hollywood has a ton of these vehicles . There are a lot of shops that have been closed for years near the Macy's on Laurel canyon where it's become a magnet for these rvs

That's another bad thing about vacant property . It's not creating jobs or bringing in tax revenue and also a magnet for stuff like this .

Brentwood has them. You forget Brentwood is not a separate city, and its under LAPD jurisdiction. The LAPD treats the homeless as a protected class, and tolerates RVs on the street and the parks. Even in Brentwood.

[mr bolo]

I noticed many of them also drive old cars that they probably inherited from grandpa & grandma before going to the old folks home or passing away.

why would a young guy be driving a 1980's car unless he got it from his grandma or something?

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by majoun

Brentwood has them. You forget Brentwood is not a separate city, and its under LAPD jurisdiction. The LAPD treats the homeless as a protected class, and tolerates RVs on the street and the parks. Even in Brentwood.

I haven't noticed them there , but I wouldn't doubt it too. I do know it's not a separate city. But nonetheless, there is a huge difference between Brentwood and some other parts of L.A

It's hard not to feel like it's a separate city from L.A sometimes.

I think the root of the problem isn't the LAPD, LAPD doesn't really decide what they do it's the politicians that decide what LAPD can do.
Garcetti , the city council and others have a soft on crime agenda.
We are seeing this at the national level too, with some saying we have too many people in jail.
It's pretty easy if you don't want to go in jail, don't commit crimes.

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[adr3naline]

Originally Posted by Mr_Geek

I agree. I could actually afford to own something. But if I did end up getting one I'd just be white trash driving around trying to find the next Wal-Mart to park at.

That's the problem I'm talking about - the stigma.

Imagine if there were an abundance of RV-only parking structures in LA that boasted conveniences such as waste disposal, power, and running water. You pay by the day, maybe $30/night, to stay in a nice clean venue. The venue can increase their appeal and revenue through an on-site convenience store. Although you're paying $900/mo in parking fees you're free to roam the country, say goodbye to big-city rent, own your little "home" outright, switch parking spots if you don't like your neighbors, follow the weather as you please, and invest what you've saved as you see fit. Maybe you invest it to grow, maybe you invest it in adventure...either way, funds you would not have had otherwise.

I'm probably just losing my mind, with skyrocketing LA rent and all, but humor me...

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

That's the problem I'm talking about - the stigma.

Imagine if there were an abundance of RV-only parking structures in LA that boasted conveniences such as waste disposal, power, and running water. You pay by the day, maybe $30/night, to stay in a nice clean venue. The venue can increase their appeal and revenue through an on-site convenience store. Although you're paying $900/mo in parking fees you're free to roam the country, say goodbye to big-city rent, own your little "home" outright, switch parking spots if you don't like your neighbors, follow the weather as you please, and invest what you've saved as you see fit. Maybe you invest it to grow, maybe you invest it in adventure...either way, funds you would not have had otherwise.

I'm probably just losing my mind, with skyrocketing LA rent and all, but humor me...

Couldn't someone build such a place on private land? $900 a month would add up since you could put a lot of RVs on a lot.
Not sure what the law would be technically though. I'm sure neighborhoods groups would fight it.

[adr3naline]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Couldn't someone build such a place on private land? $900 a month would add up since you could put a lot of RVs on a lot.
Not sure what the law would be technically though. I'm sure neighborhoods groups would fight it.

I presume anyone with land zoned for commercial use could build such a place as it would be a similar principal to a hotel. Certainly not an option for land zoned Residential. I picture a 4 story parking-structure-esk building designed to disperse natural light throughout flat floors, with faux grass walkways.

Maybe I am losing my mind today.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by New Horizons

They're going to ruin a good thing behaving like that. And to empty your blackwater tank on a street is totally unacceptable.

Now, while we're on the subject maybe you can help me with a decision. I would love to buy a tiny Class C like this:

At 19' it's barely longer than a full size sedan. But it is 10' tall, which in most CA cities puts it in the "oversized vehicle" category.

Another option is to get an old cargo van and set it up as a "stealth camper". But that's a lot of comfort to sacrifice. I have this hippy fantasty of waking up in Venice, having my coffee then going surfing. But how much time am I really going to be spending in V.B.? What about the other 90% of the time when a small motorhome would be ideal; Flagstaff, Lake Pleasant, Vegas etc? Having the room to stand/stretch, toilet, shower, 2 beds (bring my brother), it's like a small apartment!

A small M.H. such as above can fit in a parking spot. So I could do a paid$ lot in Venice for the day, and have a nice place to hang out. Come nighttime, I'd head inland to find a place to sleep. Heck when I drove trucks I used to park in downtown LA, an 80' tractor-trailer combo. One time I even left my truck to take the subway to Hollywood.

Yeah man, a tiny little motorhome will be perfect for my western adventures.

How bout one of these?

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

I presume anyone with land zoned for commercial use could build such a place as it would be a similar principal to a hotel. Certainly not an option for land zoned Residential. I picture a 4 story parking-structure-esk building designed to disperse natural light throughout flat floors, with faux grass walkways.

Maybe I am losing my mind today.

Maybe like a hipster trailer park.
Think movie nights with food trucks
Maybe if we offered free yoga classes we could even the Mayor on board.

I don't think this is too crazy an idea..there should be another option besides either sleeping in your car or on the streets or living in a $2000 apartment or whatever the going rate is now.
Businesses could build these and have it an an incentive or bonus for people to live there.

This could also help people that want to own a home or condo,etc , by living there for a while and saving money for a down payment. Right now people are just kind of stuck in the cycle of renting and renting because so much of their money goes to rent.

[jm1982]

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