What Questions Do We Need to Answer if We Want to Full Time Rv
As the full-time RV lifestyle becomes more and more than popular and attainable, we get more and more questions. Nosotros beloved helping other's plan and prepare for RV life. So, we decided to compile and answer all our about commonly asked questions in ane post!
The Most Unremarkably Asked Questions We Get Asked (click the question to be taken direct to the reply):
Why did you cull to live in an RV?
What practice y'all do for work?
Where practice y'all work in the RV?
How do you cull the right RV?
What practice you lot exercise for wellness insurance?
How do you get mail on the road?
What state do you utilise for your residency?
How exercise you become cyberspace on the road?
How do you determine where to get?
How often do y'all travel?
How do you relieve coin on the road?
How much does it cost a calendar month to total-time RV?
Do you get sick of each other?
How do you find spots to park the RV?
What are your favorite destinations?
Exercise you have a washer and dryer?
Don't y'all go solitary on the road?
What's it like RVing with dogs?
How did you get all your clothes/stuff in the RV?
Exercise you cook in the RV?
What is the best matter about living in an RV?
What is the worst matter about living in an RV?
Why did you lot choose a Class C motorhome?
What are a few of your must take RV accessories? What is i thing that y'all couldn't alive without?
What is something that you lot thought you'd apply all of the time and never do?
What is the thing that yous miss the most from your former life?
How often do you boondock (dry out camp)? Is it difficult? How do you find complimentary spots?
Practise you ever feel unsafe?
Why did you choose to live in an RV?
Determining your "why" is and then important – it will keep you going when times become tough. At that place will exist lots of sacrifices with RV life, only knowing and staying truthful to your "why" will make information technology worth it. The condensed version of our "why" is that we were living in the suburbs, in debt, living for the weekends, accumulating stuff that didn't brand united states of america happy, not able to afford to travel as much every bit we wanted…etc., etc., etc. But truthfully, it wasn't until we got the medical news that nosotros are unable to take children together that we started reevaluating how we were living.
Our get-go leap was to move to a new urban center and have a fresh kickoff. That took us to Raleigh, NC where nosotros yet just felt similar something was "missing". During one of our many road trips from Raleigh, we realized the pure joy we had while traveling. Since Dan already had his remote task at that point, we recognized that information technology could actually exist a possibility to travel full-time and an RV would allow us to bring our dogs, take our home, and make it more affordable.
So we fabricated up our mind, took the necessary steps (which involved Lindsay quitting educational activity, moving our holding back to Colorado, selling nearly everything, buying an RV and learning how to even utilise it…the list goes on) and four months later we were on the road! If you want to hear more about the determination and transition for us, you lot can read the following posts:
The Moment We Decided to Become Total-Fourth dimension RVers
Why Quitting My Dream Job Was a Part of Post-obit My Detour
How RVing is Helping the states Reach a Greater Goal of Location Independence and Why Information technology'due south then Important
What practise y'all do for work?
We were actually fortunate because Dan had a remote chore earlier we jumped into full-fourth dimension RVing. It'due south worth mentioning that Dan got his remote job every bit a software consultant by simplyasking for the opportunity to work from habitation during his interview. The chore wasn't posted every bit a remote position, but he asked anyhow, and they agreed! They are likewise very supportive of our lifestyle since it has no negative touch on on his piece of work, availability, or productivity.
Lindsay's story is a bit different. She had to quit her chore as a Kindergarten instructor and has sought out freelance work in club to supercede her income. It's been a dull process and has required her toinvest in learning new skills, networking, and marketing herself, but piffling by picayune she'southward built upward a steady income.After but a year, she was making most as much as she was equally a teacher with a Principal's degree!
If you desire to hear more specifics on how she earns money and get her tips, you can read this post: How I'm Earning an Income While Traveling Full-Time (+ Tips for YOU!) If your task is closer to Lindsay's than Dan's, yous may need to learn some new skills and push your boundaries, simply you CAN find ways to make money on the road.
We continually see people on the road who have found remote work in a variety of industries or have even started their own online concern. If you're looking for resources and tips for finding remote piece of work, nosotros'd highly suggest our fellow RV friend Camille'south Remote Piece of work 101 Course.
Where do you work in the RV?
While nosotros would have loved to do a renovation of some sort and build an actual desk in our RV, we weren't that brave. However, we've made exercise by setting up our little role everyday at the dinette booth. Our Winnebago Navion actually offers 3 different comfy work areas.
The front driver and rider seats hinge around and have a detachable table that can fit between them, which is Lindsay'southward favorite identify to work. The detachable table likewise fits in front of the couch, which is another work space option. On Mon mornings, we've also been known to work from bed and sometimes when the weather conditions are only correct, we can sit outside and enjoy fresh air and views! We truly tin't complain about work anymore!
How do you cull the right RV?
Start of all, in that location is NO perfect RV and you lot'll have to brand some sacrifices. And, you may not know exactly what you want/need in an RV until you lot've experienced life on the road. Our first RV was not a great fit for us, but we didn't discover that until subsequently several months of living and traveling in it.
We propose making a list of your must-haves and besides really considering how yous programme to use the RV. If yous want to stay parked for several months at a time, you may choose an RV that has more than space. If you're like united states of america and desire to travel often and explore places that are a little more "off the filigree", you'll probably want something smaller and easier to maneuver. Nosotros give all our tips and things to consider before you purchase an RV in this post.
What exercise you do for wellness insurance?
Fortunately for u.s.a., we receive health insurance through Dan's visitor, since he is a full-fourth dimension remote employee for a Denver-based software company. This is a wonderful benefit for united states, but we know this is an area of business concern for many people when hitting the road.
A mutual thing we have heard is that Florida offers really skillful insurance plans if yous are a FL resident. This is a major reason that many people choose FL for their dwelling. Freedom Health Share and Medishare are good options, if you're in relatively good wellness with no major preexisting conditions.
A fellow RV friend of ours has a company chosen RV Health. It's non a replacement for wellness insurance just can be a supplement to it. It'south only $25/month and you get 24-hr access to video chats with a doctor of your option (within their network). They can write prescriptions likewise. The membership besides helps give dental and vision discounts.
How practice you go postal service on the road?
We started out by having our mail forwarded to our parents house. All the same, this wasn't a great solution and information technology's non really fun asking family to sort through your junk mail. We were much happier when we decided to sign upward for Escapees RV Club's mail service forwarding services. They give you an address, collect your mail, and will forrard information technology to you upon your request. They accept dissimilar levels of service, too, and will even sort and scan your post if y'all prefer. It'southward really the perfect solution and has been extremely helpful for us.
Equally for other packages, like receiving Amazon purchases, or important/timely pieces of mail, many RV parks and campgrounds allow you to receive mail. Merely call and bank check with them ahead of time. You can too ask Fed Ex or UPS to hold packages for you or utilize Amazon lockers. Overall, it hasn't been too big of an issue for us.
What land do you use for your residency?
Choosing to change your residency, or "abode" to another country is very common amid full-time RVers, for various reasons. Nosotros decided to establish our dwelling in Texas. Southward Dakota and Florida are likewise pop options because these three states take no income taxes.
Escapee's RV Club can help you alter your residency by giving you an address and all the data and resources you demand to obtain a driver'southward license and register your vehicles. Nosotros shared our experience with irresolute our residency, including a video with stride by step instructions on how nosotros did it, in this mail service.
How do you become internet on the route?
We have a dedicated hotspot with unlimited information from AT&T, and utilise our cell phones from Verizon as a support. This works great for us because we find that between these ii carriers, we can normally get a decent betoken. Nosotros typically don't have problems staying connecting, but there have definitely been times where nosotros were unable to stay at a sure spot because of the lack of point – we find this to be common in National Parks.
Many RV parks and campgrounds offer free WiFi when yous stay with them. However, the WiFi tin can be pretty spotty at most parks, especially when the park is full. If worse comes to worse, you can always find java shops, libraries, and other businesses who offer WiFi.
We recently got a WeBoost to meliorate the forcefulness and speed of our cellular information and we couldn't be more happy with it. At one item campground, we had zero service and couldn't even cheque our email from our phones, but after connecting the WeBoost, nosotros were able to stream a movie!! The bones idea with the WeBoost is that y'all install a special, high power antenna which allows your devices to connect to a stronger, more reliable signal.
Another bang-up resource for mobile internet data comes from our friends at Technomadia. They provide lots of gratuitous content, but you can also subscribe to their premium membership which offers even more than information, including in-depth mobile internet guides, product reviews, insider tips, videos and field testing information. Definitely check out their RV Internet Resources page.
How practise you decide where to get?
Similar everyone, we take a general "bucket list" of spots in America we've always wanted to come across and experience. We also want to hunt warmer weather (considering winter RVing tin be quite challenging!) and sure areas are better and less crowded during specific months and seasons.
We love exploring the national parks and destinations where we tin can do the activities we beloved – angling, hiking, and craft beer! Information technology's nice to have a general "route" in listen when you set out, merely likewise let yourself the flexibility to modify plans. There's been many times where locals will suggest "must-run into" places that we had never heard of before. These tend to exist our favorite spots, so nosotros allow some wiggle room in our travel plans.
We love to share our routes and favorite destinations with our readers to inspire them to visit the places we have fallen in love with. And then, if you ever need any ideas for where to go, what to practise, and where to park your RV…bank check out our routes page (we're continually updating it every bit nosotros travel to new locations) and our feature travel destinations.
How often do you travel?
We travel to a new location every week to ii weeks. This is considered pretty fast, merely we dear getting to see every bit many places equally possible. Information technology tin wear you downwards and the pressure to run across a destination in i week tin can definitely be a challenge, only ultimately you lot have to find the pace that works best for you.
How ofttimes we travel often depends on our upkeep that calendar month, too. If we need to salve money, we will stay longer to save on gas and go discounted nightly rates. Information technology also depends on the location – some spots you tin see in merely a few days, whereas other's require weeks or even months to really experience. Only how fast, far, and often yous travel is fully up to you. There's no rules!
How do you lot save money on the road?
We love this question because we consider ourselves budgeting nerds and have pride in how hard we endeavor to limit our monthly costs. We wrote an entire blog post on tips for saving money while total-fourth dimension RVing that y'all tin can read by clicking here. The key is finding costless and cheap places to park (boondocking and utilizing memberships that offer discounts on RV parks and campgrounds), enjoying gratis activities, and cooking in your RV rather than eating out.
How much does it cost a month to full-time RV?
Each month can vary depending on how frequently and far nosotros are traveling and how much we spend on activities in the areas we visit. On average, it's currently around $3,000 per calendar month for the states for EVERYTHING (wellness/machine insurance, RV loan payment, gas, nutrient, entertainment and all other personal bills and expenses).
RV life is a considerably lower cost of living for us. It was fifty-fifty less when we had our older 5th wheel that we paid greenbacks for. That being said, the monthly toll of RVing full-time can actually be as expensive or inexpensive as you brand information technology.
Nosotros wrote the post-obit posts on the fiscal side of full-time RVing, if you are interested in a more in depth look:
How Much Does it Price To Full-Time RV (+ a FREE Download): In this post, nosotros breakdown exactly how much RV life costs u.s. each month. We also surveyed 7 other RVers and had them share their monthly costs. These RVers are different from us – we surveyed a retired couple, an empty nester couple, a couple with a baby, a family of vi, and fifty-fifty a solo traveler. This volition hopefully requite you the all-time idea of what full-fourth dimension RVing volition price YOU.
The Price of Total-Time RVing: Affording a Life on the Route: In this post, we share common costs you'll need to consider before hitting the road. We besides requite a basic breakdown of the monthly expenses you can expect with RV life. This should give y'all a greater thought of whether you can beget to take your life on the road.
Do you get sick of each other?
Truthfully, no. But, nosotros may be unique in that the more time we spend together, the better our relationship is. We know this isn't necessarily the case for every couple, though. Existence in a small-scale space, nosotros feel, forces you lot to bargain with any issues immediately…there's no "homo cave" or "she shed" to escape to in order to avert confrontation. Y'all tin always stride outside and get for a walk and be in nature when you need some time to yourself, nevertheless.
Merely, nosotros've establish that RVing has strengthened our marriage considering we are continually working towards a shared goal and purpose. We've established roles, work together equally a team, and also spend more than quality time together than we did when living in a house. Long drives on travel days permit for long talks and being overall happy in life means we're happy with each other as well. To read more near how RVing has impacted our wedlock and get tips for taking your marriage on the route, you can click here.
How practise you notice spots to park the RV?
We employ a combination of resources and tools to choose where we park our home on wheels. Nosotros typically expect on Google to find the parks and campgrounds (or free state) that are nearest to the activities and sights we want to enjoy in a sure area. Then, using the Campendium, Allstays, and Ultimate Campgrounds apps, we can check the reviews and run across photos from other RVers to determine which spot is best.
We go into greater detail virtually how to find the best spots to park and offer helpful tips and resources, in this post. We also share more details nigh finding Gratis spots to park in this post. Hope they help!
What are your favorite destinations?
That'southward our least favorite question considering, honestly, there'south something to love about everywhere you get. But, some of the most memorable spots for the states have been traveling up the Pacific Coast Highway and stopping along all the California beach towns (particularly Malibu – beautiful ocean view RV park and lots of FREE things to do!), Glacier National Park, Bar Harbor Maine + Acadia National Park, Big Bend National Park, and there's definitely something magical near the Pacific Northwest. Hood River, Oregon and Bend, Oregon are definitely 2 of our favorite U.Due south. cities that nosotros've visited then far.
Do you have a washer and dryer?
Nope! And nosotros don't miss having them all that much. Many RV parks and campgrounds have laundry facilities and to be honest, we've come to really love laundromats. They're cheaper and quicker, and sometimes we tin just drive our RV right to the laundromat so we don't have to load up our laundry numberless and booty them effectually. Plus, we can sit in the RV and work while our wearing apparel are washing! Pro tip: always keep LOTS of quarters on hand!!
Don't you get lonely on the road?
We miss our families and friends back in Colorado constantly, simply nosotros don't really get lonely on the road. In fact, we feel like RVing has offered us more of a community than we ever had in our suburban neighborhood. RVers and campers in full general are super friendly. Simply in that location's a whole community of full-timers that are extremely welcoming, helpful, and accept go like family unit to us.
We've connected with other full-timers in a variety of ways but mostly through social media. Lindsay wrote a whole mail on finding customs while traveling in an RV for Camping World's weblog that you can cheque out here. We have met so many friends on the route that we truly believe will be a part of our lives forever.
What's it like RVing with dogs?
We love it and so practice our dogs! They don't seem to miss their infinite all that much. In fact, in our old house, they would typically be correct at our feet anyway! We make sure they accept comfy spots in the RV with their beds and take them out on lots of walks. They are more agile with RV life so they ever were living in a house. They go on hikes with the states almost daily and they beloved adventuring and exploring new places just as much every bit we do.
Our dogs love RVing so much, they wrote their own weblog postal service about information technology, chosen "A Dog'due south View of Full-Time RVing". In the post, they share tips for keeping your canis familiaris happy and safe on the road. They also share their favorite must-have products to ensure they are happy campers (and therefore, then are you…happy tails, happy trails, right?!). So, if you are planning to RV with your dogs, be sure to read their helpful communication!
How did you go all of your apparel/stuff in the RV?
You quickly realize yous just don't demand as much as y'all think yous do. Y'all wash dishes immediately since the sink is so modest and you don't accept space for laundry to build up. So having 1 towel, plate, bowl, cup, etc. per person is just enough! The biggest claiming is making the all-time utilize of the lilliputian storage you have and ensuring that no space is wasted. Tubs, baskets, and various organizational products are your best friends!
We find ourselves wearing the same affair over and once again considering we mostly wearable things that are comfy or our outdoor active clothing. Yous really only need one-2 of the essential clothing items (heavy coat, light jacket, swimsuit, jeans, etc.). But you definitely need to prepare for all conditions types – we've found that the weather is never what nosotros look information technology to be.
You can get pretty artistic with storage in an RV, too. We decided to take out the bunk that sat above our cab and utilise that area for storage instead. Nosotros each have a large tub where we go along clothes. We wrote helpful tips for packing an RV for full-time living in this post here.
Do you melt in the RV?
We melt nigh of our meals in the RV and rarely swallow out – except on travel days for convenience or if there's a great restaurant we have to try! We don't consider ourselves "foodies", so we prefer to take homemade meals anyway and information technology saves a lot of money. We cook the same meals nosotros used to cook in our house. Information technology's a bit more challenging with less infinite and simply having a convection oven and 2 stove burners, only you learn to conform.
We do love our Instant Pot, considering it eliminates the need for lots of dishes and is the quickest way to whip upwardly dinner when we've been out exploring all evening after work. Y'all can besides find a lot of "one pot" recipes on Pinterest and Google that are perfect for RV cooking.
What is the all-time thing virtually living in an RV?
The travel, the simple mode of life, and the freedom and flexibility. Traveling is our greatest pleasure so doing it full-time is a dream come up true. Having the freedom to go wherever yous want and stay nonetheless long you want is incredible. That too ways we tin can come domicile at whatsoever time we want or need, which keeps the states from getting home ill or missing important family events.
Working remotely means nosotros accept a much more flexible schedule. And all those household chores nosotros use to have – yard piece of work, upkeep, etc., no longer have upwards our free time. Overall, we accept much more fourth dimension to enjoy life and exercise more of what makes u.s. happy.
Another do good, is that it's a more than affordable lifestyle. Most people, when they hear "full-fourth dimension travel" they automatically assume its expensive and you accept to be rich to beget it. But that's non the case with RVing and there are lots of ways to lower costs. We share more about this in the answers to the questions, "How much does information technology cost a month to full-fourth dimension RV?" and "How practise y'all salve money on the road?".
What is the worst thing almost living in an RV?
Coincidentally, the worst things about living in an RV are the same as the best things. While nosotros love the travel, it can become exhausting, particularly if you travel ofttimes. Sometimes you miss a routine or the comforts of habitation that an RV tin can't offer – like infinite or a bathtub!
You lot accept to be actually flexible, besides. Things break often and travel plans can go amiss and you have to larn to go with the flow. Lastly, in order for the lifestyle to be affordable, you lot have to take a strict budget and stick to information technology. Yous can't alive like you are on holiday all the time – even though you lot kind of are!
Why did y'all choose a Grade C motorhome?
We started RV life in a fifth-wheel and while nosotros loved it and information technology had many benefits, nosotros decided we didn't like towing and we wanting something shorter and more maneuverable. We didn't need as much space as we had originally thought and because we travel every 1-ii weeks, nosotros wanted an RV that allowed for easier travel days.
We dear our Grade C because we can just hop in and go – no furniture to strap down, no hitching up, nosotros have access to all our belongings (and the bathroom) while on the route, and information technology'southward much less stressful to bulldoze. You can read more in depth most our decision to switch RV's in this postal service.
What are a few of your must-take RV accessories? What is 1 thing that you couldn't live without?
We share all our must-have items on our resources folio, here. That list includes the basic items needed to operate the RV, such as wheel chocks, leveling blocks, and sewer and h2o hoses. But it likewise has some of our favorite additional accessories, like a generator, solar panels, etc.
Some of our absolute favorite items (we couldn't pick simply i!) are:
- Berkey Water Filter (h2o from the faucet, even with the filter that came with our RV simply doesn't taste skillful! We've never had ameliorate water than what nosotros get from our Berkey and it'south nice not having to buy plastic bottled h2o and feeling wasteful!)
- Amazon Burn Stick (we rarely have or watch cable just couldn't live without streaming HBO and Netflix!)
- WeBoost Cell Booster (our jobs rely on adept internet signal and WeBoost ensures that we'll have WiFi nearly everywhere we go!)
- Shark Vacuum (it's small and fits under our couch and is a necessity considering betwixt our two dogs and Lindsay…there'due south a lot of pilus floating around our RV!)
- Our coffee grinder and maker (we're picky virtually our coffee so it's worth the extra space that they take up!)
Nosotros wrote about the 5 items that improved RV life for us in this post. We didn't purchase these items until about a year after existence on the route and we wished we would have gotten them MUCH sooner!
What is something that you thought you'd apply all of the time and never do?
Our practice equipment, unfortunately! But nature is our gym these days.
What is the matter that you miss the most from your sometime life?
Lindsay: a bath tub and our king size bed!
Dan: my jujitsu gym and community, a garage, and a big comfy burrow/recliner.
How often exercise you boondock (dry camp)? Is it hard? How practise you observe free spots?
We effort to boondock every bit often every bit we can, nonetheless information technology'south much easier on the west coast and some states just accept little to no free camping ground spots. But, nosotros have found that there are a lot of benefits to boondocking.
You lot obviously can save A LOT of money since the average price for an RV spot or campground is around $20 – $30 per night. You also can discover much more peace and quiet and have a lot of space to yourself. Some of the most scenic and serene spots we've stayed were on public land. It's besides squeamish considering our dogs can run effectually without a leash.
Boondocking isn't all that challenging if you have the right equipment and you feel comfortable driving your RV on unpaved and narrow roads. We added solar panels, got an boosted water jug and generator, and may even somewhen upgrade our batteries in order to make our RV more "boondock friendly". This has helped us tremendously. Nosotros wrote a Boondocking for Beginner's Guide with all our tips for camping off the filigree and finding awesome free spots! You can read the guide here.
Exercise you lot always feel unsafe?
We've truthfully never felt dangerous. It tin can be a lilliputian intimidating when boondocking somewhere that feels like you're out in the centre of nowhere, but equally long every bit you are prepared and cautious, you'll typically be simply fine. Nigh RV parks and campgrounds feel extremely condom too and many will have gates that require a lawmaking to enter and go out for actress security.
Proceed your doors locked, be enlightened of your surround, comport a gun if that makes you feel more secure (but exist sure to know the laws from land to state), and just avert areas that y'all don't experience comfortable in. We oasis't had anything stolen from us, any issues with suspicious people, or even any animal encounters and haven't even heard of our RV friends having whatsoever either.
Is there a question you have that we didn't answer?
Leave it in the comments below and we'll get it answered as soon as possible!
If you'd like to receive this information, forth with TONS of other helpful tips for transitioning your life to the road full-fourth dimension…
…be sure to check out our FREE seven Twenty-four hour period E-mail Class "How To Become Started Full-Time RVing".
Source: https://www.followyourdetour.com/most-commonly-asked-questions-about-full-time-rving/
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