
Thousands of people in Los Angeles, California, are living in battered Winnebagos and motor homes as residences to avoid living on the street.

These recreational vehicles serve as a cheaper options for those with lower incomes as the housing market continues to skyrocket year after year.

The 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count recorded 4,545 campers and RVs in L.A. that could serve as makeshift homes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The newspaper investigated these areas to discover the hidden homeless that are living inside these impoverished communities.

Thousands of Los Angeles, California, residents are living in battered Winnebagos and motor homes as the rent continues to rise across the city

The 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count recorded 4,545 campers and RVs in L.A. that could serve as makeshift homes

In certain areas across the city, a line of motor homes will park along the road. These unconventional housing communities are cheaper options for people who are unable to afford rent

Luis Sinco, a Los Angeles Times reporter, visited several motor home encampments to better understand the people who live inside these unconventional homes.

The first couple he met was Sharon Manley and Kraig Goins who call each other the 'odd pair'.

While Manley is 77 years old and looks like a friendly grandmother, Goins is 58 years old and could've stepped straight out of a rock concert.

They live together in a camper parked outside a chocolate factor in Gradena, the south region of Los Angeles.

Manley told Sinco she came to L.A. in the late 1970s from Iowa with her two teenage sons after she got divorced from her then-husband.

Sharon Manley, 77, moved to Los Angeles from Iowa in the late 1970s with her two teenage sons. She has no source of income after working as a sales clerk and a maid

Kraig Goins, 58, lived in Torrance, California, before he moved to Los Angeles after he graduated from high school inn 1978. He has been romantically involved with Manley and living with her in different motor homes for the last 15 years

Her two sons have since died - one from a fatal confrontation with the police and the other fighting a covert war in Central America.

She worked as a sales clerk and maid while Goins was a skateboarder who graduated from high school in Torrance, California, in 1978.

Manley and Goins met and became involved romantically in the late 1990s. Since, they have lived in multiple motor homes over the last 15 years but have never been married.

Sinco reported that Manley has no income, health insurance, or money coming from Social Security. She said police have barred her from retrieving her driver's license and other identification.

Manley lights up a cigarette inside her recreational vehicle. Her last motor home with Goins was impounded because it had expired tags. She said the police are unsympathetic to the issues they face

The odd pair's last motor home was impounded because of expired tags.

Goins receives general relief assistance, which includes $200 in food stamps and $200 in cash per month. He used to work as a mechanic and uses those skills to repair and sell bikes from others living on the street.

'Sometimes I feel like we're worse than the homeless,' Goins said to the Los Angeles Times.

'This is not a recreational vehicle,' he said. 'This is our home. For this, we're not accepted by society. We are castaways.'

He explained that these days there are too many people living in these type of communities, which causes them to be typecast by society and the police.

Manley said she would like to have an apartment or a small home, but she is unable to achieve this with how fast rent prices continue to go up.

Cliff Allen, 67, from Nashville, Tennessee, moved to Los Angeles in 1985. He worked with a real estate agent to help fix up apartments and houses before that person died eight years ago

Allen lost his source of income once the agent died. But since, he was able to apply for Social Security benefit and receive an apartment with Section 8 housing

Another person living in these communities is Cliff Allen, 67, from Nashville, Tennessee.

He is blind in one eye from a childhood accident and moved to L.A. in 1985. Allen met a real estate agent in the 1990s who gave him a job fixing up housing units before they were sold.

Allen was then allowed to stay in vacant homes and apartments until they were sold. Or he would park his white camper on construction sites.

That was until the real estate agent died and Allen's ability to make money slowly disappeared.

Allen began parking his camper in Manchester Square where other homeless people were moving in.

The 67-year-old was able to sell his white camper for $1,000 after he moved into his one-bedroom apartment. His camper used to be parked in Manchester Square near the Los Angeles International Airport

He now collects $1,000 from Social Security benefits and was able to move into an apartment after securing Section 8 housing.

Allen sold his 22-foot camper to a friend after he was able to secure his one-bed room apartment that has a public park across the street.

'Jesus is always looking out for old Cliff,' he said.

Diamond Haynes, who is in her late 30s, moved from Inland Empire to South L.A.

She admitted to Sinco that she was faced with hardship after she became addicted to crystal meth, her apartment burned down, and she lost her seven children to the foster care system.

Diamond Haynes, who is in her 30s, lived in a shabby trailer before it was impounded and was forced to leave. She shared with a Los Angeles Times reporter that she lost all seven of her children to the foster care system

Haynes became addicted to crystal meth. Her whereabouts are currently unknown but some say she checked into drug rehab after her camper was impounded.

Haynes' trailer was impounded shortly after she talked with Sinco. She has since disappeared onto the streets of L.A., but some say she might be in drug rehab.

David Sweeny, 51, lives under the underpass on the way to Los Angeles International Airport.

He is a Marine Corps veteran who served during the Gulf War. The 51-year-old arrived in L.A. 17 years ago and found random jobs such as working as an electrician.

David Sweeny, 51, lives in a trailer underneath the underpass near Los Angeles International Airport. He served in the Marine Corps during the Gulf War

Sweeny had a home with his former girlfriend and another couple, but he was left to pay the rent on his own. He moved into a 28-foot motor home in 2015

Sweeny once lived in a home with his girlfriend and another couple. But he was eventually left on his own with the house and it became too expensive to pay the rent.

'The rent was outrageous,' he said. 'I became a slave to paying it.'

He bought a 28-foot motor home in 2015 and has been living in it since, moving to different locations before settling in Manchester Square.

Dee Timmons, 37, grew up in a relatively middle class family. That was until her divorced parents both lost their homes during the 2008 recession. She was left to survive on her own

Timmons lives in a camper with her two Pitt Bull puppies. She refuses to accept government assistance but will occassionally accept money from family members

The final person Sinco spoke with was Dee Timmons, 37, who was raised relatively middle class before her life was changed.

Both of her divorced parents lost their homes during the recession of 2008. She was left to fend for herself.

Timmons bought a 36-foot motor home two years ago and has been living in it since in areas of south L.A. She has three children, all of which live with different family members.

The 37-year-old currently does not have a job after working as a sales clerk, security guard and maid.

But she refuses to apply for government assistance and relies occasionally on relatives sending her money.

'Why do you think people who live like this are sad? This ain't sad. I do all right. I ain't hungry and I got a place to stay,' she said.