Full-Time RV Life: 7 Things to Consider Before Taking the Plunge
Careful planning and preparation to make your dreams a reality
Do you ever dream of pulling up stakes and hitting the road in an RV? Do you envision seeing the country, visiting national parks and natural wonders on a regular basis? Maybe you’re just tired of the maintenance of a house, yard, and all the things required to live the American dream.
We’ve been living full-time on the road in our RV for three months now and I finally feel like I’m getting into a groove with this lifestyle. Turns out there’s a whole culture of full (and part) time RVers and you can be part of the less home/more life movement too.
While full-time RV living does have its trials — nothing is as glamorous as we think it will be — it is turning out to be just as I dreamed it would.
We’ve already traveled through five states, two that I had never stepped foot into before, and I’m finally living my lifelong dream of wintering in Phoenix, Arizona, far from the ice, snow, and gloomy skies of winter in the north.
With no lawns to mow, driveways to shovel, or significant home projects to tackle, the weekends are ours to travel, explore, and investigate.
Cleaning the house is about as minimalistic as you can get. I vacuum every morning because in a small space dog hair piles up quickly and dirt tracked in accumulates in places you don’t want it to. That only takes me about five minutes but keeps everything tidy.
On the weekend I do a deeper clean of bathrooms, sheet changing, and dusting but it’s a fraction of the time I used to spend when we lived in a home. There’s just less surface area to cover and very few tchotchkes to dust around.
There’s more to life than increasing its speed. — Ghandi
The great escape
With less to maintain we have time to plan and prepare healthier meals, take leisurely walks and bike rides, or hang out at the pool and hot tub (when available). Other campers use their leisure time to golf, fish, or socialize around the campfire.
As one Facebook group member stated, “It feels like we’re playing hookey or have escaped from the world.” YES! That’s exactly the vibe I was going for!
While the world spins in ever-increasing busyness, RVers have found the secret to a life well-lived.
Whether full-time, part-time, or weekend warrior, life seems to slow down when it’s simplified. There’s little competition at the campground — well some do like to compare camper size — but that’s often just for fun.
Outdoor activities replace anxiety-inducing television and life is pared down to only what’s essential. It’s amazing what you can live without. I have to try hard to visualize what’s in our storage unit and justify why we need it. Out of sight, out of mind, and no worse for missing it.
Of course, RV life isn’t for everyone, but if you’ve been thinking about trying the lifestyle here are some tips to help you decide if it’s an adventure you’re ready to take.
- Rent an RV if you don’t already have one. It goes without saying that you won’t really know if you will like hanging out in small spaces until you try it for a while.
- Make a list of all the concerns you’d have living the RV lifestyle and then see if you can address them. Where will you get your mail, prescriptions, and regular medical and dental checkups? Do you like planning ahead or being able to adjust when plans go awry (which they will!)? Are you comfortable being away from family and friends?
- Downsize first. We downsized from a 4200 sq ft home with a 3 car garage to a 2200 sq ft home, then to a 1,100 sq ft apartment long before we tried cramming all our belongings into a camper. Some people quickly make the turnaround and sell everything with the house and jump right in, but after many iterations of decluttering and downsizing, I can tell you that’s awfully stressful. Better to make the adjustment slowly than regret in haste.
- Do a lot of research. I really can’t emphasize this enough if you are new to RV life in general. Attend RV shows, look at different models and floor plans, read reviews, join Facebook groups and dig around to see what advice people have for getting started.
- Make lots of lists and keep a notebook for all your ideas, questions, websites, etc. We still keep our notebook so everything is in one place: campsites, dates, warranty info, insurance numbers. When life is a moving target it’s good to have one place to corral everything you need.
- Know your why. This is probably the most important thing to consider. Change is hard on most of us, and any change comes with its challenges. Knowing why you want to be a full-time RVer will keep you focused when challenges arise. Our first month on the road was tough and I wondered if we had made a big, foolish mistake. But remembering how long I had dreamed and planned for this lifestyle kept me grounded and got me through the doubts.
- And finally, remember that nothing is final unless you want it to be. If you find that life on the road isn’t for you, you can always find a permanent spot for your RV, buy a small park model or tiny home as a home base and travel part-time, or sell the RV and go back to traditional home options.
They say most people regret the things they didn’t do and the risks they didn’t take rather than the other way around. So, if you’ve been dreaming about life on the road, why not take another step closer to that lifestyle and give it a try? If you’re ready to make some plans, here are some costly mistakes we made and how to avoid them.
Happy trails. Keep life simple and you can’t go wrong.
If you enjoy articles like this, you can use this link to join Medium for unlimited access. A small portion of your membership supports me and many other great writers too.