-can you wash it 1-4 times a week in winter to keep it from rusting?

AZ,NC,SC,TN etc. are also experiencing good growth.In the cold rust belt states you have to be very careful with investing.

Thomas depends on what area of the country you are but in areas like the west coast were the median price for an existing home is close to 400k.. there is defiantly a market for tiny homes that can be sold in the 100 to 200k range just like there is for condos that are one bedroom.. but whats happened with building cost is vertical construction is now at 400 to 500 a foot.. in our area.. so tiny condos are costing half a million to just build.. in an area like the mid west or rust belt were you can still buy homes for FAR less than replacement cost I agree with your thought process.its why Europe with high priced housing has led the way with these container homes. this is my partner in my airplanes container home company they have launched in Portland market he is building an 8 plex as his first multi but he is going after the rural camper market. first off he also owns a nice 15 acre site in the PDX metro area and plans to put a few hundred on it and run it on leased land.. but he is quite wealthy and is quite charitable and looks for social issue to help with most would not do what he is doing as you state not exactly dollars and sense wise.. but he can afford to be a philanthropist.

Bryan Tasumi No.

Bryan,Replacement cost is often a different number with different companies. 

@Bryan Devitt, thanks.

Do a search on "Decline of the Rust Belt" to get an idea of how things change over time.

The RAV4 cannot be permanently filled with tools all the time, as was my beloved rust-and-white Honda Odyssey when I first got into this.

Honestly, the majority of the rust belt is similar as far as cash flow goes.

@Bryan Williamson I've heard about the peel-what-you-can-skim-coat-the-rest strategy too.