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You sold the old house, the new one is still a slab, and the closing date keeps moving. Plenty of families bridge that gap in a travel trailer or fifth wheel. We rent monthly RV sites in Eastland month to month, and this guide covers how long the wait usually lasts, what it costs, and where you can park while the builder works.
Quick answer: Living in a camper while building a house usually means most of a year. Homes took 8.8 months on average from permit to completion in 2025, and owner-built homes took about 14.3 months. At Inez Spring a monthly site is $500 back-in or $650 pull-through, plus electric metered at 17 cents per kWh, month to month, so you are not locked in if the build runs late.
Living in a camper while building a house means using an RV as your full time home between selling or leaving one house and moving into the new one, either on the building lot or at an RV park. It turns rent for a temporary apartment into a smaller monthly bill and keeps your family together under one roof.
About 9 months on average, and longer for custom homes. The National Association of Home Builders analyzed Census Survey of Construction data for 2025. Here are its figures, with the site rent each wait would cost at our rates.
| Type of build (2025) | Average time | Site rent for that wait, back-in at $500 | Site rent for that wait, pull-through at $650 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built for sale (spec home) | 7.4 months, permit to completion | 8 months: $4,000 | 8 months: $5,200 |
| All single-family homes | 8.8 months, permit to completion | 9 months: $4,500 | 9 months: $5,850 |
| Custom, built by a hired contractor | 11.7 months | 12 months: $6,000 | 12 months: $7,800 |
| Custom, built by the owner | 14.3 months | 15 months: $7,500 | 15 months: $9,750 |
The rent columns round the wait up to whole months and show site rent only. Your own electric is metered at 17 cents per kWh on top, and the $200 deposit is refundable. We do not estimate electric bills because your rig and the season decide them.
Sometimes. It depends on four things: the city, the county, any deed restrictions or HOA, and utilities. Some subdivisions restrict RVs on a lot. Rural land may allow it, but you still need water, a sewer or septic hookup and power, and the builder may not want a household living in the middle of the job.
Before you move the rig, call the city or county, read your deed restrictions, and ask your builder. This is general information, not legal advice. Our post is it legal to live in an RV in Texas covers the general rules in more detail.
Because the hookups are ready on day one. At a park you get water, sewer and a 30 or 50 amp pedestal without trenching a line. You also get a shower house and laundry, so the rig does not have to carry the whole load for months. At Inez Spring the laundry and shower house were rebuilt for long-stay guests.
Month to month terms matter most. Builds slip. Inspections wait. Lenders push closings. With no fixed term, a late build only means another month of site rent, not a broken lease.
Families building in Eastland County or within easy reach of I-20. From Exit 343, Abilene is about 50 minutes and Fort Worth about 1 hour 35 minutes. If your new house is in Eastland, Cisco or Ranger, you can check on the build after work. If it is near Dallas, about 2 hours away, a park closer to the lot will serve you better.
It also suits people moving to the area for a new job who want to learn the towns before they choose a lot.
Keep what you need for a season in the rig, and store the rest. Most families rent a storage unit for furniture and boxes. At Inez Spring there is RV and trailer storage on the back of the property for a second trailer, by arrangement when you book, which helps if you packed a cargo trailer.
Keep a short list of what lives in the rig: one season of clothes, school and work papers, kitchen basics, tools for the hookups. Our monthly RV site move-in checklist lists the gear.
Set up mail first. Lenders, title companies and builders send paper. Ask the park how monthly guests receive mail, or use a post office box. Read how to get mail at an RV park in Texas for the options.
If you have kids, your current address decides the school district while you wait, so call the district before you move. And keep one folder in the rig for the closing: ID, insurance binder, builder contract and every change order.
Simple. When you get a firm move-in date for the new house, tell the office and leave at the end of a paid month. The last electric invoice goes out by email on the first, and the $200 deposit comes back once it is paid and the site is as you found it. You may want to keep the camper for trips once you are settled. Other life-move stories, like travel nurse housing near Abilene, follow the same month to month pattern.
Plan for most of a year. NAHB's analysis of Census data shows single-family homes took 8.8 months on average from permit to completion in 2025. Contractor-built custom homes took about 11.7 months and owner-built homes about 14.3 months.
Sometimes. It depends on city rules, county rules, deed restrictions or an HOA, and whether you have water, sewer and power on the lot. Ask the city or county and read your deed restrictions before you move the rig. This is general information, not legal advice.
At Inez Spring a site is $500 a month for a back-in or $650 for a pull-through, plus electric metered at 17 cents per kWh. Nine months of site rent is $4,500 or $5,850 before electric. The deposit is $200 and refundable.
Not at Inez Spring. Terms are month to month, so if the build runs long you stay, and when you get the keys you give notice and leave at the end of a paid month.
Options include a post office box, a mail forwarding service or the park's address, depending on the park. Ask the office how monthly guests receive mail and packages before you move.
Ask when you book. Inez Spring has RV and trailer storage on the back of the property for a second trailer, by arrangement. Most people put the rest of a household in a storage unit nearby.
A build is stressful enough. A month to month site with full hookups, a river out back and Lake Leon about 10 minutes away keeps the waiting months simple, and you only pay for the months you need.
More than 70 full-hookup sites one minute off I-20 in Eastland. $500 back-in or $650 pull-through a month plus metered electric, $200 refundable deposit, month to month. Pets welcome, up to two, leashed. Call (254) 629-1197 or see our monthly RV sites.
