Hurricane temporary housing
Temporary RV Housing After Hurricane Isaias in Gulf Shores and Pensacola
A furnished travel trailer, rented by the month, can be your home on your own property while the house is repaired. Every local rule we found requires approval before anyone sleeps in it. Baldwin County and Orange Beach also require it to be connected to sewer.
Right now, follow the official sources
For Hurricane Isaias, forecasts change with every advisory, so this page does not repeat them. Follow your county’s evacuation orders. We are a camper rental company, not an emergency agency. These are the sources to use:
- National Hurricane Center: Advisories, track and timing for the storm
- National Weather Service, Mobile and Pensacola: Local warnings for coastal Alabama and northwest Florida
- City of Gulf Shores: City alerts, closures and the hurricane re-entry pass
- Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency: Evacuation orders, shelters and storm updates for Baldwin County
- City of Orange Beach: Orange Beach alerts and closures
- Escambia County Emergency Management (Pensacola): Evacuation zones, shelters and the county storm center
- Alabama Emergency Management Agency: Statewide emergency information
- Florida Division of Emergency Management: Statewide emergency information for Florida
- FEMA: DisasterAssistance.gov: Apply for federal help once your county is declared, or call 1-800-621-3362
- 211 Connects Alabama: Dial 211 for shelter, food and recovery help; in Florida, 211.org finds your local line
Each link was checked on October 8, 2026.
The short version
- What: furnished travel trailers rented by the month to households living away from a storm-damaged home during repairs, delivered and connected to the hookups at your site.
- Where: the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast communities hit by Isaias, including Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Foley and the Pensacola area. Delivery is $250 to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Foley and $350 to Pensacola and Milton, charged once. Outside our table, we quote the fee when you call.
- Cost: $2,648.70 to $4,725 a month across our 17 campers, read from our booking system on September 17, 2026. The live calendar is the price you book at.
- Who pays: you pay up front. Your insurer may reimburse it as additional living expense, and FEMA Rental Assistance may be used to rent an RV. Neither is ours to promise.
- Availability: we have 17 campers and they go fast after a storm. Get on the list or call 1-251-279-0483.
What the camper needs on your lot
Our delivery fee covers connecting water, sewer and power to hookups that already exist at the site, and dumping the tanks when we collect. We do not provide or set up generators. So the lot has to supply what the camper runs on.
- Power. 6 of our 17 campers are listed as needing a 50 amp hookup and 10 a 30 amp hookup; 1 listing does not say. If the house has no working supply of that size, the only other option our delivery page names is a generator you run yourself.
- Water. A hose connection, or the fresh tank, which holds 30 to 85 gallons depending on the camper. Filling the tank before delivery is a $50 request on our delivery page.
- Sewer. The rule that matters most. Baldwin County wants a proper and permitted sewage disposal system and Orange Beach wants the camper connected to sewer. If the house’s sewer line or septic tank was damaged, have it fixed first, because both the permit and the camper depend on it.
- Room. Our campers run 20 to 42 feet. In unincorporated Baldwin County it cannot sit in the front yard, so measure the side or back yard, and the way in, against the length before you pick one.
What your city or county requires
Living in an RV on a residential lot is a local rule, and three local governments here publish one for rebuilding after a disaster. We read each ordinance on October 8, 2026.
Unincorporated Baldwin County
Approval: An approved site plan from the Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Department, before anyone lives in it, applied for within 12 months of the damage.
How long: Up to 18 months, counted from the date the house was damaged.
- Only the owner or occupant of the damaged house may live in it.
- On the same parcel as the house, or an adjacent parcel under the same ownership.
- Connected to a proper and permitted sewage disposal system.
- Not in the front yard. In a side or rear yard it sits perpendicular to the road unless a structure or landscape buffer hides it.
- Kept road-ready with a current tag.
- You confirm your restrictive covenants do not forbid it.
Source: Baldwin County Zoning Ordinance, Section 12.2.2(a), as amended May 20, 2025
City of Gulf Shores
Approval: A temporary permit from the City Council or its designee. Without one, the ordinance allows no recreational vehicle on any parcel outside the places it provides for.
How long: The Council's special temporary permits run up to 6 months, can be renewed, and cannot exceed 18 months in total.
- The ordinance states the purpose as land use in the period immediately after floods, hurricanes, fires and other disasters.
- It publishes no utility conditions for this case. Ask the city what the permit will require.
Source: City of Gulf Shores Zoning Ordinance, Section 6-7.A, as amended February 23, 2026
City of Orange Beach
Approval: Prior approval from the Community Development Department, and a valid building permit kept current for as long as you live in it.
How long: Up to 6 months while you build or rebuild. You may ask in writing for an extension of up to 6 months, granted at the department's discretion.
- Properly connected to water and sewer.
- Registered for garbage service at the address where it sits.
- On the same parcel as the house being rebuilt, or the parcel next to it.
Source: City of Orange Beach Zoning Ordinance, Section 5.1601 (rev. December 5, 2023)
We have not read the rule for Foley, Escambia County, the City of Pensacola or any other city. Ask that planning or zoning office before you book. City and county offices may be closed around the storm, so check their sites above for when they reopen.
The honest limits
- It is a camper, not a shelter. The National Weather Service says mobile and manufactured homes are unsafe in high winds however well they are fastened down. Ours weigh 2,899 to 8,753 pounds dry where the listing states it, and sit on wheels and jacks. Leave it when your county orders an evacuation.
- Space is fixed. Our campers sleep 4 to 10, and 15 of 17 are listed as pet friendly. Our pet policy has the rules.
- A camper cannot be set up until you, and the truck towing it, can reach the lot. The City of Gulf Shores says re-entry after a storm may require a valid re-entry pass.
- Renters must be 25 or older, and the minimum stay is 3 nights.
17 campers, first come, first served
Get on the list. Units go fast.
We have 17 campers, and after a storm they go fast. Put your name down now and we call you back as soon as we see it, in the order the list came in. Rates stay at our normal monthly prices.
Six clocks run at once, and the shortest one decides
A camper used as housing after a storm sits under up to six time limits, set by authorities that never print them together. They start on different days.
| Who sets it | The limit | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Your homeowners policy, if it carries additional living expense | At least 12 months on an Alabama policy, and it may also carry a dollar limit | The covered loss |
| A National Flood Insurance Program policy | None. The NFIP does not cover additional living expenses | Not applicable |
| FEMA Individuals and Households Program | 18 months, which FEMA may extend in extraordinary circumstances | The date of the presidential disaster declaration |
| Unincorporated Baldwin County | 18 months, with the site plan applied for inside the first 12 | The date the house was damaged |
| City of Gulf Shores | Permits of up to 6 months, 18 months in total | The permit |
| City of Orange Beach | 6 months, plus an extension of up to 6 if the department grants it | The department's approval |
Two collisions matter. In Orange Beach, the first approval is 6 months, while an Alabama policy with living-expense cover must offer at least 12, so the city clock can run out while the insurer is still paying. In unincorporated Baldwin County, the 18 months run from the day of the damage, while FEMA’s 18 months run from the day of the declaration.
What to do: write down the earliest end date among the clocks that apply to you, and ask for any extension before it, in writing. A permit that lapses leaves you living in a camper the city no longer allows, however long the policy would have paid.
Paying for it: insurance first, then FEMA
Homeowners insurance: additional living expense
The Alabama Department of Insurance says that if a covered loss forces you out, and your policy provides additional living expense or loss of use, the insurer reimburses your extra living costs, naming a hotel, trailer or apartment. You must keep every receipt. An Alabama homeowners policy that covers living expenses must provide at least 12 months, it may carry a dollar limit, and your claim may not qualify for all 12.
Wind or water decides it. FEMA states that a National Flood Insurance Program policy does not cover additional living expenses at all. If surge or rising water made the house unlivable, the flood policy pays toward the building and contents and nothing toward where you sleep. Ask your adjuster which loss your living costs are being paid under.
The number to put in front of your adjuster
Six thirty-night months on our list prices, plus one delivery to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach or Foley, come to $16,142.20 to $28,600, depending on the camper. That is arithmetic on prices we read on September 17, 2026, before anything set at checkout. Payment is up front, so if your policy’s dollar limit is lower than the camper you pick, you carry the difference. Get the limit in writing first.
What to get from your adjuster in writing
- That a rented travel trailer counts as additional living expense under your policy.
- The dollar limit, and how many months they will pay.
- Whether delivery and setup count as part of the housing cost.
- Whether they reimburse you or pay the rental company, and what receipts they need.
- Which loss, wind or flood, the living costs are paid under.
The Department also says to tell your insurer your temporary address and phone number. Its consumer line is (800) 433-3966.
FEMA
FEMA has two kinds of housing help, and only one involves a camper you choose. Rental Assistance is money to rent somewhere to live while you are displaced from your primary home, and FEMA says it may be used to rent a recreational vehicle. Direct Temporary Housing is FEMA’s own units, including RVs, and it exists only if the state requests it and FEMA approves it for the disaster.
FEMA pays only where insurance and other help cannot meet the need, and only in a declared disaster area. Apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362 once your county is declared, and keep receipts for three years, which is how long FEMA says to hold them for an audit.
What we can do
- We rent by the month to households displaced from a damaged home during repairs, and we rent to households whose insurance is paying for temporary housing.
- We deliver to the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast communities hit by Isaias, including Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Foley and the Pensacola area, at the fees in our delivery table. Outside it, we quote the fee when you call.
- Monthly list prices are $2,648.70 to $4,725, read September 17, 2026. What a month costs sets out every camper.
- Our campers are kept at 20839 Brinks Willis Rd, Foley, AL 36535. Appointments only. The lot is a storage yard, so we are not always on site.
Bring these when you call
- Your claim number, and your adjuster’s name, phone and email.
- Whatever your adjuster has put in writing about temporary housing.
- The address where the camper would go, and a photo of the spot.
- What power the lot has (30 or 50 amp), and whether the sewer or septic works.
- Where your permit stands with the city or county.
- How many people and pets, and the date you need it by.
Ask us when you call
We have not published answers to these yet, so ask: how soon we can deliver after the storm, whether we can deliver into an area still under re-entry control, whether we can invoice your insurer directly, and what paperwork we provide for your claim.
Get on the list if you have not already, or call 1-251-279-0483.
How we know
The local rules were read from each zoning ordinance on October 8, 2026 and are linked above. Insurance guidance is from the Alabama Department of Insurance natural disasters guide. FEMA program terms are from the Individuals and Households Program fact sheet and the NFIP guide to recovering after a flood. Wind safety is from the National Weather Service hurricane safety sheet, and re-entry from the City of Gulf Shores. Camper facts and prices come from our Wheelbase listings, read September 17, 2026. Nothing here is legal or insurance advice, and where a source is silent we say so.
For stays that are not storm related, see long term camper rentals.
Questions people ask after a storm
Will insurance pay for an RV while my house is being repaired?
It can, if your policy carries additional living expense (ALE) and the damage is a covered loss. The Alabama Department of Insurance says ALE reimburses a hotel, trailer or apartment and that you must keep every receipt. An Alabama policy with ALE must provide at least 12 months, and it may also carry a dollar limit. Ask your adjuster in writing before you book, because only your insurer decides.
Does flood insurance pay for temporary housing?
Not a National Flood Insurance Program policy. FEMA states that the NFIP does not cover additional living expenses. If storm surge or rising water did the damage, the living costs fall to your homeowners policy if it covers that loss, to FEMA if your county is declared, or to you.
Can I put a camper in my yard after a hurricane in Baldwin County?
In unincorporated Baldwin County, yes, for up to 18 months from the date of damage, once the Planning and Zoning Department approves a site plan. It must be on sewer and out of the front yard. Gulf Shores requires a temporary permit from the City Council or its designee, and Orange Beach requires Community Development approval plus a building permit. Ask before the camper arrives.
Does FEMA pay for a travel trailer?
FEMA Rental Assistance may be used to rent a recreational vehicle while you are displaced from your primary home, if your county is in a declared disaster area and insurance does not meet the need. FEMA's own trailers come only through Direct Temporary Housing, which the state must request and FEMA must approve. Apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362.
Do you rent campers by the month to families displaced by the storm?
Yes. We rent by the month to households living away from a damaged home during repairs, including households whose insurance is paying. The minimum stay is 3 nights. Our monthly list prices were $2,648.70 to $4,725 when we read them on September 17, 2026, and the live calendar is the figure you book at.
Do you deliver to Pensacola?
Yes. Our published delivery fee to Pensacola and Milton is $350, charged once. For a place outside our fee table we quote the fee when you call. How soon we can deliver after the storm depends on roads and on campers coming free, so join the list or call.
Is it safe to stay in a camper during a hurricane?
No. The National Weather Service says mobile and manufactured homes are unsafe in high winds however well they are fastened down, and a travel trailer sits on its wheels and leveling jacks. Leave it, and follow your county's evacuation orders.
Anything not answered here, call 1-251-279-0483. We would rather answer it before you book than after.