Photograph by Don Shall
Editor's Note
While patiently awaiting the birth of our latest son (exactly a month from today if all goes according to schedule…) we’ve been renting a house in Black Mountain, North Carolina, a small town 17 miles east of Asheville, NC. This has given me a little insight into the cost of fixed-location living vs. full-time travel expenses, and I thought I’d share a little of that with you as for many folks looking to hit the road, the question of “how do I make a living?” is usually followed by something like “well how much does it cost?”
Living on the road can easily be quite a bit cheaper than living in a fixed location.
Firstly, let me say that traveling can obviously be very expensive. But there’s a huge difference between renting a $1500 (or easily much, much more) house for a week on your yearly vacation vs. making a life for yourself on the open road. Let’s look at some of the most common expenses in life and how they compare one way or the other. For the purposes of this post, we’re talking about full-time living on the road as it pertains to owning an RV or campervan vs. those folks who tend to rent other types of accommodations (like couchsurfers, hostelers or those who rent short-term housing while traveling).
Rent
Obviously the cost of a home, whether you’re renting or you own, can vary widely. I’ll use the average of real world examples from the past six houses I’ve owned or rented (between the years 2004 – 2007 and a couple of shorter stints since then) so that we’re looking at real numbers. Obviously your costs will vary, but this can give you a great idea of how to take your own expenses and compare them then to various average costs for campgrounds on the road.
- $680
- 3BR, 1.5BA Home (owned) in Pittsburgh, PA, 2004
- $625
- 2BR, 1BA Apartment (rented) in Pittsburgh, PA, 2005
- $850
- 2BR, 1BA Townhouse (rented) in Pittsburgh, PA, 2006
- $650
- 2BR, 1BA Apartment (rented) in Manzanita, OR, 2010
- $950
- 3BR, 2BA House (rented) in Nehalem, OR, 2011
- $1200
- 3BR, 2.5BA House (rented) in Black Mountain, NC, 2012
Average Cost of Living in a Stick House: $825 / month
Now let’s look at some real world examples of campground costs. There are multiple scenarios for campgrounds (mostly pertaining to RV Parks vs. state parks), and we’ll look at as many as possible to give us some variety and see how flexible location independence can be.
Monthly RV Park Costs
This is by far the cheapest way to live that doesn’t involve being out in the middle of the desert and relying on a generator and the size of your various water tanks (though we’ll cover that in a moment). These are just various examples of actual places and their costs, as well as generally what comes with each one.
- $300
- One month’s rent for an RV park in Marathon, Texas. Includes full hookups (water, electric, sewage and even TV and Internet in this case) in a small town in the middle of a beautiful nowhere. Basically you’re living in the Old West.
- $320
- One month’s rent in Pecan Grove RV Park, Austin, Texas. You’re in the heart of one of the greatest cities in America, full hookups included but no free Internet. Big city living at 1/10th of the cost of renting an apartment in Austin.
- $800
- One month at the Queen Mine RV Park in Bisbee, Arizona. A short walk from a gorgeous, vibrant small tourist town that’s truly an experience, includes Internet, television and full hookups. People pay big bucks to visit this little tourist town and stay in the hotels, it’s kind of like a scene out of Tombstone (which is about an hour north).
- $627
- A month just outside of Loveland, Colorado, minutes from a cute small city and half an hour from Rocky Mountain National Park. Includes full hookups and Internet. You live at the foot of the Colorado Rockies, among elk and some of the best fishing you could ask for.
- $930
- A month on the shores of Lake Champlain, fifteen minutes north of the beautiful, green city of Burlington, Vermont. Includes water and electricity plus Internet. Hippy living on a gorgeous lake and minutes from downtown.
Average Cost of Living in an RV Park: $595 / month
Exceptions: Weekly, Nightly & Boondocking
Of course, not everyone who’s traveling, particularly in the beginning when you’re first exploring this new lifestyle, wants to spend a month in one place.
Weekly rates for RV parks are typically closer to $200 / week. This is the general average I’ve found across the country, and of course rates vary as much for weekly spots as they do for the above monthly options. So for weekly movers and shakers, rent is closer to $800 / month.
As for nightly stays, such as doing a weekend here or an overnight there on your way to somewhere else, you can expect to pay $30 average. There are $5 / night spots in the middle of New Mexico and there are $65 / night resort parks, but in general most places run around $30 / night. Discount clubs like Passport America and Good Sam can get you a few bucks off of some of these, but in general if you stay in a different park every night or two, you’d be looking at $900 / month.
Boondocking is when you don’t pay a dime to stay anywhere, because you find a spot where you can (often legally) stay for free. This could be anywhere from a county park in Texas to a Wal-Mart parking lot to a national forest. Of course, for the price you get absolutely nothing but a spot to call home. No electrical hookups (well, almost never anyway), no water or sewage hookups, usually no Internet (unless you can find an open signal nearby). Your particular rig must be able to accommodate any needs you might have (ie, backup batteries powered by solar panels, big ol’ water tanks for drinking, dishes, etc. or a generator to provide power, where acceptable). Boondocking isn’t all that possible on a monthly basis, unless you’re really rugged or very ingenuitive, but if you could, your rent becomes practically $0. More likely though, boondocking is a way to supplement more expensive means of overnighting (such as occasional expensive parks near tourist destinations) with free living to help balance your budget.
Using our own particular traveling style as an example, then, what is the final comparison of rent vs. campground fees:
- Monthly Stays:
- 50% @ $595/mo
- Weekly Stays:
- 35% @ $800/mo
- Nightly Stays:
- 10% @ $900/mo
- Boondocking:
- 5% @ $0/mo
- Average Monthly Campground Fees:
- $667/mo
Average Monthly Rent/Mortgage: $825/mo
On rent alone, it’s over $150 / month cheaper to live in an RV, plus you get to see the world.
Car and RV/Home Owner’s Insurance Comparison
This is another area where it can be massively cheaper to travel than to live in one place, though again there are a variety of situations:
RV + Toad
A toad is a car you pull behind your RV (where an RV is a Class A or Class C, meaning it’s both the living space and the vehicle all in one). In this case you have two insurance payments: one for the RV (which is typically incredibly cheap) and one for the car you’re towing (ie, the toad). In this situation:
- You pay almost nothing for RV insurance because insurance companies assume it will be driven infrequently. I’ve paid as little as $400 / year for excellent coverage through Geico which also included $1500 of additional insurance to over hotel stays and damage to personal belongings in the event of an accident where we couldn’t live in the vehicle for some amount of time.
- Car insurance on the toad will be close to whatever it would have been if you lived in a stick house, though since you can choose which state is your permanent residence, you can take advantage of cheaper rates in certain states. For example, Vermont has an average car insurance rate that’s about 1/2 of what the rest of America pays.
- Though you’ll now be paying for both car & RV insurance, in all fairness you have to consider the cost of home owner’s insurance, which is currently on average around $850 / year (not to mention taxes, which I don’t discuss in this post at all, and various other expenses as listed below). Renter’s insurance might be a factor for you, though we’ve never purchased it in the houses we’ve rented.
In this scenario you pay $450 / year less when you consider your car insurance (stays the same) and the cost of RV insurance ($400 / year) vs. home owner’s insurance ($850 / year).
Towing Vehicle + trailer
Most of the above stipulations for RV + Toad apply to a towing vehicle and a trailer (ie, you’ve got a big truck or van that carries a fifth wheel or Airstream or something similar behind it). What you’ll pay more for insurance on a big ol’ truck like the one you’ll need to tow your trailer, you’ll hopefully be able to make up for in the lower cost of a trailer that doesn’t have an engine, though typically this cost won’t be enough to balance out the higher insurance for a truck that’s being driven more, so this route will be a bit more expensive.
In my experience, and this isn’t my own personal experience but rather that of what I’ve seen on the road, people are usually in this setup. They’ve got their big Ford F350 and a trailer.
Just an RV
This is your best scenario cost-wise, since you could get your insurance down to a few hundred dollars per year. The reality of this is a bit more harsh though, as you’ll be limited to where you can go and how you can get there. For example, most cities don’t have RV parks right in the middle or public transportation that can get you from an RV park to town, so you’ll need to learn to love a bicycle or just not visit certain places that would involve miles and miles of walking to get into town. Or, you pick up the RV and drive it to the grocery store every few days…
In this scenario you pay significantly less. I’ve had car insurance which ranged from over $200 / month on a newer sedan to around $150 / month on a decade old truck, both scenarios included full coverage. So even if you figure your costs would be at the lower end, $150 / month, all in all you save $2250 / year going this route. In my experience though, most people don’t travel this way, and it’s harder to do this full-time than any of the other methods mentioned above. So in all fairness, we’ll just use the RV + Toad scenario above. Of course, if you think you’ve got what it takes to ride bicycles, stock up on food, and live without a car, you could save thousands / year this way.
On insurance, you could expect to save $450 / year, or $38 / month.
That puts our total on-the-road-savings at $188 / month thus far.
Utilities
As stated above, most RV parks include all of the utilities you need—water, sewage and electric—plus plenty of your wants, such as television and cable. Looking at some averages for these utilities while living in rental houses or owning a home:
- Water & Sewer
- We’ve paid around $80 / month for this in a stick house.
- Electric
- When also used for heat and AC, this averages out to about $115 / month.
- Television
- For the basic cable you could get in your house that’s comparable to what’s available in most RV parks, you’re looking at $30 / month.
- Internet
- To be fair, RV Park connectivity is not the quality of what you would expect from your own line via Comcast or a similar cable company’s home service, so we’ll compare it to cheaper DSL, which is around $20 / month
Average Cost of Utilities in a House: $245 / month
In theory, that’s all straight profit as you rarely have to pay any utlities at RV parks. In all reality, though, you’re probably going to need some type of AirCard or tethering plan with your cell phone so that you can get online even when RV Parks (or when you’re boondocking, etc.) don’t offer WiFi (which is rarer these days). So let’s be fair and factor in the $60 / month for one of these plans that you’ll need if you work online.
On utilities, you could expect to save $185 / year, or $38 / month.
That puts our total on-the-road-savings at $373 / month thus far.
Groceries
I’m not going to specifically quantify groceries, because this is largely a personal issue. If you’re the type of person who purchases in bulk from Costco or Sam’s Club, that’s a lot harder to do with an RV. I suppose you could have a giant plastic bin or two and keep dry goods in it, but for anything that needs frozen or refrigerated, you simply don’t have that kind of space, unless you’re in a rock star Class A tour bus, in which case you might. Personally, we shop once a day or every two or three days, just getting what we need for those meals. This means we have more fresh produce and less preservative laden stuff, but that’s our preference. It doesn’t cost us any more to do our grocery shopping on the road, in fact it probably costs us less, but that’s because when we live in a certain location for a period of time, we find the local/organic type stores and when we’re on the road we tend to eat out more as we want to experience the places we visit.
Seeing the World
This is where things can get more expensive…it’s hard not to visit museums, amusem*nt parks, eat out at as many restaurants as possible and go on kayaking or zip lining or hiking into national parks type things when you’re on the road. So yes, this aspect of travel, the part where you are experiencing the world and having a damn good time doing it, can be much more expensive. On the other hand, you’ve now got $373 / month extra to do that kind of stuff. Oh, and don’t forget to factor in the savings that come naturally with living in a confined space: when you don’t have a garage to fill with every power tool imaginable or a walk in closet to house your weekly shopping sprees, you save tons of cash there as well.
Personally, I’d rather have the extra $4,476 a year to blow on enjoying time with my family and seeing the world than my old tool collection or another night spent with Jay Leno and the folks from Jersey Shore.
Nice article our family is in the process of selling our house and have already bought the rv but was wondering the cost difference the was very helpful thank you ,Jason
Jason WoodingI am considering full time 5th wheel living. Are there very many single women who do this? If so, I would love to converse with a few.
DeepThinkerOne in particular I know of is Kerri Overacker McHale, DeepThinker. No others come to mind from people we personally know (or at least interact with online), but there are definitely lots more out there. Just do a Google search for solo women travelers and you’ll stumble across a bunch!
Oh yeah, there are solos out there! I am one of them. It is a bit tougher in the beginning. As soon as you start meeting people and make friends on the road, it gets better. I belong to some groups now and met a few awesome solo RVers and now sometimes we do travel together.
Was looking for something like this. The biggest issue I see is you aren’t factoring in an RV payment, or something comparable. When you rent a house you get the lot and utilities PLUS the roof over your head. In your comparison you are only including the rent of the RV “lot”, not the roof over your head portion. I think that would even things out, but still so tempting due to your last statement about freetime and how it’s spent. Maybe one day…
shawnTrue Shawn. I have always saved up my money beforehand and purchased my RVs outright. The pricing for those is $12,000 for a 10 year old Class C, $4000 for a 1978 VW Bus, and $7000 for a vintage Airstream. While you could easily add that price to the $4,476 and you’d immediately go negative, you don’t have that cost every year.
I also overpaid for the Class C, as a rookie at the time, but that would have been <3 years to break even. Or still saving $476 in the case of the VW Bus. Or <2 years for the Airstream (though granted there is another vehicle cost associated with that not factored in, but that's a "my situation" type deal). Also, most people don't keep switching up their RVs like I do, but as my desires have shrunk the need for space and then my family grew requiring more space, it was “necessary” in my mind.
Also, if you went out and bought a $20-50k RV then yes, the numbers change quite a bit.
Or if you boondock like lots of our peers do, then you can eliminate almost all of your monthly camping fees, which changes things considerably as well.
This was just one case study. :)
My husband and I have been considering this option as his job may require him to relocate for up to a year then who knows where. Your article really enabled me to wrap my mind around the concept and prompting me to check out a few parks in the AO and rental deals here and there. Thanks a bunch.
jacquelineI would be one of those
‘solos
‘ – very informative article – helped me a lot thanks Mary StumanThanks for this blog! We started living in a 5th wheel about 1.5 yrs ago. It’s been an adjustment but so far we love the freedom of being able to move our entire home. Without the cost of our 5th wheel & solar energy package, the monthly costs are about half what they were for us in a structured home.
We love the freedom it gives us to explore new places we might want to live.
If anyone can point us in the right direction, we are now looking for practical, cost-efficient ways to protect our water lines from freezing during the winter, we’d very much appreciate it! (We are aware of the hay bale technique and the heated wraps for the hose, but we’d like something tested & tried in cold weather, down to 10 F. Also, we have an all-weather 5th wheel so it has thicker insulation.)
Thanks!
CHII really liked the article since I’ve been trying to compare the costs myself. However, I was wondering how the cost of gasoline would fit in?
Jack
JackIt really all depends on how much you actually drive, Jack. When I lived in a house in the city, I rode my bike exclusively. Therefore, when I moved into my first RV, which was a Class C (and therefore once it was setup, it was a pain to unhook and drive around) I continued riding around on my bike for local transportation.
While many full-timers hit the road and never stop, most of us who do this for a longer period than just a year end up taking our time in the places we enjoy. At the same time, no daily commute to work factors in.
I believe 12,000 miles is the average an American puts on their cars every year. That’s per person, so a typical family of 2 would put 24,000 miles on their vehicles. There are 3 adults in our family, and we logged 24,000 miles total in the past 12 months.
Of course, we traveled from Pennsylvania to Vancouver to the Sierras and back to PA again, with lots of squiggly lines on the map in between, so if we were living in one place we’d probably use less gas…but again, then one or more of us may have jobs that require a commute…
Always wondered where the term “boon docking” came from…really useful article, thanks. I’m considering making the switch to try out for a year, but it’s a long winter up here in Idaho, and I’m worried with heating it just wouldn’t be worth it. Any tips?
RyanRyan,
If your heater is run by electric, and you intend to stay at RV parks, you don’t typically have to pay for your own electric unless you rent by the month.
If you’re going to heat with propane, I couldn’t tell you 100%, but would think it’d be cheaper than heating an entire house (200 square feet vs. 1350 or whatever your typical house is.)
That said, I have spent winters in various travel trailers and campervans for reasons of love and insanity, and would recommend just heading south to warmer climes. The beauty of such a life, you know?
Where are the maintenance costs? Living in a RV full-time drives up those costs considerably.
BenAs I mentioned to Mark here, maintenance costs are a part of any life, though with renting these are often taken care of for you. If you own a house or RV, you’re buying something more permanent. RVs can be as cheap as $10k or as expensive as $300k or more, just like a house can cost $80k or $1million. That said, the cheaper your RV–as with a house–the more you’ll likely need to put into it. Learning to do this stuff for yourself a) make you a manly man and b) saves you a ton of cash over paying someone else.
Fun Article… However, as I am sure many readers had imagined… There is so much more to the cost structures and price points… Particularly “fuel, maintenance and the fact that most RV’s are expensive to buy and are kind of cramped…” :-)
Mark MannActually, Mark, I spend less on fuel traveling than most people do living in one place, considering their need to commute to a job every day which logs the average American something like 12,000 miles / year going nowhere.
Maintenance is a requirement whether you live in a house or an RV, though of course with renters that is often part of the rent, however you still have vehicle maintenance in all three scenarios.
RVs do not have to be expensive to buy, and rent is the most expensive thing ever as you don’t get anything permanent out of it. As far as being cramped, we do find that having an entire country as our backyard beats any yard we’ve ever had as renters, which is typically no yard at all, but even when one does exist, it can never match the size of an RV park, national park or campground.
Of course, if a person doesn’t like being outdoors and prefers to stay inside, that scenario changes for them. But I’ve been doing this for over 6 years now and can assure you it is cheaper than living in one place, and I should update this post because once you get good at this lifestyle, it can be three or four times cheaper than what I have listed here. :)
Hi Nathan,
So glad your blog here has recent comments. You appear to be living the life – well done!
We are in our early 50’s and thinking about buying an RV but want to keep our budget around 12,000 or less. Looking online I’m a little disheartened to see used RV’s going for much much more. I don’t want anything beat up and am not sure which class A, B, C,…leaning toward a travel trailer with a hitch (not a 5th wheeler)because we want to have our car with us. Am I right in assuming we’d have to get a little bit bigger truck or SUV if we don’t keep things on the small side? Would you recommend an A, B, or C class?The idea is NOT to have car payments which we don’t have as of now and don’t want another!. We have an Acura MDX which will pull something small about 3000 pounds, I think. If we do have to get a larger truck, again, we don’t want to spend an arm and a leg.
Since there are 2 of us and our Lab, I would think something a little larger would be best, but not too big. I’m guessing around 18 – 20 feet ?range for starters would be fine.
We plan on renting out our home (and staying ‘in state’ for now) because my husband still works and we are not ready to give up that income, however, he has a lot of flex time and at least 1 – 2 weeks a month we will be RVing locally and once in awhile, between here and Calif. In time, I hope we can do it fulltime because one of our main objectives is to make up for not saving enough $$$ in our 20’s and 30’s. Being debt free is very appealing to us. Except for our house and general living expenses, we are nearly there.See AlsoHow to Pay for and Maintain a Life on the Road Living in a VanSpiritual Meanings Of Finding Money On Your Path: 7 Divine MessagesOffroad Outlaws Free Gold and Money TipsHow Much Traffic Does a Website Need to Make Money? | BrandBuilders.ioGetting to my questions… we live in WA state and there are many “dealerships” here but I’ve come away with a “slimy” feeling each time we take a look and so far we can’t seem to find a decent trailer within our budget. Do you have ideas on how and what’s the best way to find persons or dealerships that are honest AND with affordable inventory?
Also, are you aware of parks and campgrounds between here and Calif that won’t break the bank? At some point we’d like to explore more of Canada and then eventually make our way out toward the East coast too. We’ve actually traveled quite a bit – took a 3 month coast to coast vacation in 2006 just renting a van and staying at in expensive hotels with splurging for a nicer place every now and then.
We always knew we wanted to find a way to get back on the road; save money, de-stress and when and where we can, work along the way or from our PC’s. Thanks for your feedback :-) FluffyFluffy,
We pull our 31′ Airstream which weighs about 7,000lbs loaded with a 2006 Ford E-350. That is probably overkill, but our previous vehicle–a 1997 Chevy G20–was unable to get the job done over the Appalachian Mountains without overheating. Honestly, it was likely the specific van, not the size of the engine, that was the problem. G20 = Chevy’s 2500 series these days, as an FYI, which is equivalent more or less to Ford’s “250” line, whether it’s their F-250 trucks or E-250 vans.
That said, I’ve seen plenty of much larger, much heavier fifth wheels being pulled by newer F-150s.
Kyle Bolstad tows an Airstream with a VW Touareg, I believe a V10 diesel. That’s probably the best fuel economy you’d find from anything tough enough to tow a trailer. Airstreams also tend to be lighter (and our smaller all around) than other trailers, but are also more expensive.
At $12,000 I would think you could find a pretty decent used “white box” trailer, assuming that budget is 100% for the trailer and doesn’t include a new tow vehicle. I purchased our used 1976 Airstream for $7,000 and have definitely put several thousand more into it. In hindsight, I would have paid more for a trailer in better shape rather than needing to spend so much time working on it. Even though technically I have maybe $24,000 into it, I wouldn’t be able to sell it for that much I don’t think. And certainly not if it were any other brand of white box, as Airstreams just go for more / keep their value longer as they kind of become collector pieces.
As for A, B or C class, we’ll be doing an article on that shortly and if you sign up for our newsletter, you’ll get an email when it goes out. Probably end of this month.
But the short is, I prefer a B class / campervan anyday, but they’re small. I always like smaller vs. larger, and have found many people on the road agree or wish they’d gone smaller initially, but everyone’s preferences vary.
As far as an 18-20 foot trailer, I would say yes, that’s a great size, but I don’t know how much “lab” room you need.
I prefer purchasing from individuals over dealerships, as I also get that “slimy” feeling when someone is trying to sell me something outright. But you should get a good knowledge on how all things in an RV work, namely the sewer / water hookups, how 3-way refrigerators work, propane stoves, and basic electrical systems. Just so you can go in and test everything out. Starting with a dealership is a great way to turn the tables, have them show you how everything works on a model you’re interested in, take notes, and then maybe do it again and another dealership or two. Once you feel comfortable knowing how all of this should work, you can go and look at private sellers. Make sure to ask them if they’ll be able to hook everything up while you’re there, and don’t trust anyone who says “everything works” because that is very rare on a used RV.
You can also browse dealership websites across the country to get an idea on pricing. Washington may not be the best state to purchase an RV, or it may.
As for campgrounds on the West Coast, yes, there are tons of affordable RV parks out there! You can also set yourself up for more success if you get a generator and/or solar panels setup. It’s not as hard as you might think, and Mali Mish Airstream has a great guide to boondocking, as it’s called when you camp without hookups and rely on your own systems. You can often get spots for free or under $20 doing this. Spots are in national forests and Bureau of Land Management areas.
As for real campgrounds, I think Oregon’s state parks run around $25 / night and that rarely includes hookups. I recall California’s state parks being a bit pricey as well but I have only stayed in “tent” sites with our little VW Bus so don’t know the price of RV sites. Private campgrounds vary widely, but you can on average expect $35 / night for full hookups from a private RV park. More on the coast, less for more packed in “RV parking lots”.
Hope that information helps!
I need a small motorhome I wanted to buy a trailer but my base is in NYC it is difficult to ark a car with trailer behind it and trailer must be attached to car all time. I don’t want to store it too expensive. While I look to buy an affordable motorhome, I wanted to put a pop up on my honda odyssey 6 cylinders. My honda odyssey is a little wide. I take out all the back seats, I put a small twin size bed I have a cargo carrier with a hitch in the outside I want to put my honda generator in. Inside the Honda I want a shower a heater a fridge a microwave & ,a hot plate. Now or I can leave the car the way it is and look for a trailer or motorhome. I usually travel on the i95 and go to FL for it is warm, I don’t like cold I want to visit California CA but do u know WHere in CA the weather is hot. I need warm climate cities and inexpensive. I don’t have much money. When I am on the road I stay in Wal-Mart and truck stop for showers and a hot meal, I also sleep at rest areas but my favorite place to sleep is Wal-Mart. Iwalmart is my safety net zone to take a break however finding showers is hard. When I am on the road I need cheap showers they use to be $5 now is bet $9-$13 . I am learning to make it a habit by asking truck drivers to spare a shower they usually do because truck drivers get free showers when they fill up their tank. I need a nice efficient motorhome that would fill up my both world nyc so I can park and to live in it when I go away.
valenciaAny type of trailering sounds like a nightmare in NYC to me, Valencia.
By “pop up” I assume you mean a pop top roof on your mini-van, right? Not sure what the cost would be to have that done to an Odyssey, but I’ve seen it run $7000 for a cargo van like a Ford E150, etc. So…it is a bit pricey for sure.
Creativity could prove me wrong, but I think you’d have a hard time getting a shower in a mini-van. A 1.5 – 2 cubic foot fridge, a little Coleman propane burning stove, those could certainly work. Microwaves are easy, too, though they use a lot of power.
By the time you buy everything that all would entail, a battery system, a way to charge it all (either solar, the generator, or a battery that you could charge via RV park hookups), and a pop top roof, you’re probably looking at enough money to buy a nice tiny teardrop trailer. Google “T@DA trailers for sale”, “Casita trailers” or “Scamp trailers” to get an idea of what I’m referring to.
As for where it’s hot in California, anything around Los Angeles and south stays warm year round. Northern California (ie, around San Francisco) has seasons but nothing compared to the cold of the Northeast. It rains a ton in the “far north”, ie, the Redwoods, but it doesn’t get cold enough to snow very often. The Sierras have all four seasons, for sure.
Southern Arizona and New Mexico, as well as all of Texas, are nice and warm all winter long, and downright hot the rest of the year.
Buying showers from RV parks is still $5 in my experience. Flying J travel centers (ie, gas stations) do allow RVers to take showers, I believe, and sometimes have hookups for overnighters.
Hope that info helps!
Also, I wanted to say when reading the comparison costs of rent on homes/apts you’ve posted, I was struck by how much MORE money I might save due to the fact that my rents as well as cost of ownership (Calif, WA state) has always been in the range of 950.00 – 1600.00 for 1 – 3 bed apt or house over the last 10 years. Obviously, there are areas where one can pay less, but we’ve always lived where we worked and in these areas, monthly costs are much higher than in some others, so I think it’s easy to see how much more one could save, simplifying their life and embracing ‘tiny living’….
FluffyThank you Nathan for replying…you’ve provided me with good recommendations and encouragement here. Yes, I do love the Airstreams for their vintage feel, plus as you said, they are lighter. I’ve only recently been talking this over with my husband and he’s not 100 percent sold….as he enjoys coming home to his house and looking at the water and other scenery we live by. But I am trying to show him that at our age – we will be in a heap of hurt if we don’t simplify now. We are making up for lost time and cutting costs in my estimation is truly the only way to do it. Plus, we do both enjoy traveling. BTW, My Yellow Lab is a husky 85 pounds but is so happy to lay anywhere and we are so happy to have him though don’t know how much longer….he’s almost 15.
Thanks for inviting me to your newsletter, I’ll be taking a look at that. FluffyYou are a Godsend… Haven’t started yet because of all these types questions… Glad I’ve found you.
eric collinsHi Nathan,
Enjoyed reading this and actually getting the back up support for my decision to at least become a winter bird but potentially a life style change. My wife and I are preparing for the selection of an RV. I am pretty focused on about 30 ft “A” style. We have two animals that do not always get along. We also are accustomed to living space. I really like the idea of slides to create more interior space in width. We will be pulling a toad so I am concerned that models that are in my price range 30K or less may have issues. Do you have any information on what to look for regarding the engine and transmission. Is there a source like “Car & Driver” that has evaluated RV’s like they do cars? Repairs on major items can break the bank while I am not as concerned about smaller items which I would enjoy doing myself. Another serious question is regarding the roof and leaks any input on that as well? Thanks for your blog I look forward to continuing to read up on your comments. Dave Crossley30K for a Class A…hmm. To be honest, I’ve never really looked all that much into Class A’s and their cost, so I’m not sure what $30,000 would buy you. They are the most expensive type of RV for sure. I also don’t know of any “Car & Driver” type manual or evaluation site.
That said, hiring a mechanic you think you can trust to look over the transmission and engine, as well as the rest of the vehicle, even something like a Camping World or local equivalent, would be 100% in your best interest. If you’re dropping that kind of cash on an RV, used or otherwise, there’s not excuse for the seller not to allow you to take it to an independent, third-party shop to have it looked over.
As for leaky roofs, yeah, they can suck. Avoid them. :)
With RVs, you can get up on top of them. If the seller tells you not to, or if it’s all squishy up there, you’ve probably got an issue.
There are also mobile RV repair shops, basically guys who are willing to come to your RV to repair it, who if you can find one in your area would be a great way to pay someone to look things over for you.
The first RV I ever bought…had a leaky roof and a bad transmission, which actually caught on fire the day I left to start full-timing. So I know all about regretting thinking I knew what I was doing all on my own.
I’m ready………waiting for the big layoff and boom. Thanks for this. You are awesomely sweet. Corp America has sucked me dry at 45. Ready to see the west. ( cajun city girl)
Ashley Robertswant info to think about it. Saw a 1992 dutchman w 52000miles for $7000at a local auto dealer. Made me start to think….will enjoy reading your site.
DebraHi Nathan,
My wife and I are planning to do something similar in the next 3-4 years when the youngest graduates high school. We are thinking that a lightweight motorcycle on a receiver-hitch-platform-with-ramp would be the best of both worlds as far as toad vs. no toad. Since we refuse to go anywhere cold, this might be a good option. (I’ve been riding for 25+ years, so this is an added bonus for me – good reason to buy a bike!). Any thoughts or experience on this. Appreciate any feedback. Thanks. JoeJoe JoeJoeMy only experience with motorcycles, JoeJoe, if you could call it that, was an 1100 trip on a Stella scooter from Nederland, CO to Marathon, TX. Here’s a very shaky, old, only somewhat embarrassing video of that trip, were you interested. Definitely towing around a bike vs. a car would result in maximizing your fuel efficiency and awesome factor, though!
I’m a single 65 year old retired female who owns a home in Arizona. I want to fill my bucket list soon. Thought about selling my house and moving to four seasons area. But also thought to keep my home and travel just my dog and I around the country. Wanted tips on what simple camper for dog and I that I can pull with my Rav 4….buy new or used….I know I need to research more and as you said visit dealerships to get a feel for what I need want and price wise. Any tips help would be greatly appreciated…..
Hattie FerrieIt is so refreshing to see many liked minded individuals in this type of forum. You have been proven very thoughtful and informed. My reason to go off grid is for reasons of these strange diseases popping up all over the place. Having an RV can save you from a danger zone and keep your family safe. Also, I did run across a wood burning, thermo electric stove called the kimberly that can trickle charge your battery at night when solar panels are useless. they sell them at unforgettable fire llc. i am not getting paid to say that, i honestly want one when i do go off grid…
EliloveThanks for the great blog! I currently own an Aliner hard-sided folding camper. I pulled it for over 40,000 miles behind a little 4 cylinder Chevy Cobalt SS, up and down the steepest grades. Since I now have almost 300,000 miles on this little economy car I have retired it from towing. I purchased a good used 6.4l Ford F-250 with 100k miles for $11,000 (not much for a good reliable diesel) to pull it for the next few years. Afterward, I will use this truck to tow the travel trailer I am planning to purchase for a full-time mobile (snow bird) retirement – moving monthly “where the weather suits my clothes.” I’ve camped all across the lower half of the USA and yes, the Big Bend area of west TX, is one of my favorites. I’ve been camping there since the early 70’s.
Unlike your old G20, a modern 3/4 ton diesel (mine has 350 HP and 650 lb/ft torque without tuning – many are even more powerful) will pull (but maybe not stop or safely handle) just about anything. This same engine is used in their much more capable 350, 450 and 550 models. It is overkill to tow a little Aliner like mine, returning 17-18 mpg towing at the speed limit and around 20 mpg hwy when not towing. My little 4 cyl car got 22-25 mpg when towing my Aliner and 32-34 mpg unfettered – a small, but insignificant difference towing but a much bigger one when not. If on a tight budget, a single person or even an intimate couple could live full-time in an Aliner (as mine has all the amenities of a bigger camper (king bed, stove/microwave, wet bath, 3-way fridge/freezer, AC, etc., but very little space inside. Carrying capacity is also a problem full-timing in a smaller camper. Most full-timers recommend 1,500lbs carrying capacity per person, as you will be carrying everything you own. For comparison, my Aliner only weighs in at 1,700lbs fully loaded! I have a couple small (100mpg/60mph) motorbikes I carry in the truck bed that we’ll also be using around town when we go full-time. This, combined with my reasonably fuel efficient tow vehicle (compared to a 6-8 mpg class A) will eliminate the need for a toad (separate towed economy vehicle) saving additional insurance, maintenance and registration costs on a toad too. With an aerodynamic camper top adding storage space to my long-bed F-250 and helping my future 10,000lb (loaded) travel trailer slip through the air, I plan on getting around 12 mpg towing (I’m now getting around 17.5 mpg towing my Aliner at 65-70 mph) at safe and sane slower towing speeds, of course. Why not take your time once retired, with no clock to punch and the world your oyster?
Chip
SushidogThanks for all of the detailed info Chip! You’re correct, even an older G20, F-250 or 2500 (Dodge’s labeling, also Chevy’s new labeling) would easily pull even large 5th wheels and trailers. Ours had serious issues, I think someone used some of that magic head gasket seal which got into the coolant and she never recovered.
My husband and I are selling everything we own and buying a motorhome, We have had it with renting and landlords who don’t fix the problems and just plain paying rent to someone else! This web site has been very helpful since I have been trying to figure out our finances, He has disability so there is an income but instead of paying over 3000 dollars a month in wa. state to live in our rented house we will be living on 1500. a month, what a difference I look forward to following your blog. thanks
karen wHi Nathan.
It’s been a while since I commented, but I wanted to compliment you on your cost break down. We too are living full time in our 28 foot Aljo; a small family of three and one little dog.
Looks like your family has certainly grown since I last exchanged comments with you. We have traveled very little since we bought our caravan, which I’ve named Mermaid Mansion. We live on a Gulf Coastal Island now, and are fixing up our old girl, still traveling in our VW Campervan ‘Peniki’. : )
We’ll soon be selling our sailboat to lighten our load, and give us some extra cash to get our caravan-home ready to haul to where ever the wind takes us.
When you consider we only paid $600 bucks for our trailer (which was quite a shambles when we found her), and we’ve done the work ourselves, I think that cost comparison favors quite well over sticks and bricks. : )
Many might think we’re crazy for what we took on, when it comes to how bad our trailer looked when we bought her, but it was all we had to work with at the time…and a real Blessing to us.
For now, besides working to get our caravan road ready, we’re working on new music to generate residual income by selling our songs by the download. And even though I also keep a blog, it doesn’t generate any income for us. Besides the VERY meager royalties from the sales of my book, and selling things we find, we’re hoping to do the camphost thing in the future. Already, we have a few prospective campgrounds in mind for 2015.
I commend you on your E-magazine. I know it takes a lot of time and dedication to do what you do. I can barely keep up with my blog, and homeschooling our 5 year-old…and writing/recording/promoting new music.
With such a big family, I’m sure you all have such fun being full time traveling nomads. : ) I know…it is where our hearts lead us.
Many Blessings and Safe Travels to you and your lovely family. Perhaps we’ll see you out there on the road…someday soon.
.V..
Penny (Gypsy Vin Rose)I’ve been living in a 31ft travel trailer for the past 18 months and love every single second of it. The loan on my 2013 travel trailer (purchased new) is slightly over $100 per month and my current space is $500 per month. Mind you, I am living 30 miles east of San Diego, one of the most expensive and awesome areas of the country, for $600 per month. I will be living here all winter long under the sun.
Over the summer, I was living up in the Colorado Rockies for $350 per month.
The baby boomers are starting to retire and discover this amazing lifestyle of freedom (both from location and material things). And that’s why I am considering developing my own small-scale RV park built just for full-timers. I think it’s a real estate niche that is exploding and yet, nobody knows about it.
Awesome info. Looking forward to following along and learning even more from your page. 453 days till retirement… shopping for RV and / or tow rig now.
Thanks Nathan. Michael NyikesCongratulations, Michael. We just published an article on choosing the right RV for full-timing, too.
You also might want to think about towing or carrying a motorcycle, also casinos sometimes are available for parking…
BobkatI am an 18 year old single mother and happened to stumble upon this article. I have never been so convinced into anything this fast, but I am now re-thinking all of my plans for my future. Homeschooling my son, seeing the world, saving up money while I am in college and eventually buying an RV and Vehicle. Thank you for the detailed explanations and insight into this lifestyle. I have never been a fan of nature and travelling but for some reason, the thought of a lifestyle with less stress and cost efficiency is really making me rethink everything.
alma mendozaThanks for the info – really helps me put the numbers together. Our family of 4 + dog are hoping to make the transition soon from urban renters to full time travelers. We would much rather pay a loan on a trailer than on a mortgage… so much to see out there! I love hearing how resourceful people can be and how they bring their monthly costs down. Our family goal is to live simpler on less while building the online income & to have time freedom. Great to find you here – looking forward to reading more!
LoriWe are looking at moving from a brick and mortar school to teaching the kids on the road. I can see the money we will not be spending on the stick house but how do your numbers fit in the cost of the RV and fuel expenses?
Sydney RenoIt’s true that my numbers are based on my own experience: I’ve always bought used RVs outright, no payment. I plan to update this / write a more thorough article on it in January.
As for fuel, there’s no reason you would need to spend significantly more on gas…unless you travel practically non-stop. We don’t put that many more miles on our van than we would at a home. Consider that you will no longer need to be commuting every day to and from work, you’ll be living at the places you want to visit, etc. If you stay in one RV park for a month each time you go to a new place, your gas will probably be less than what it is in a house. If you travel somewhere new about every week or two, you can expect it to stay the same.
Hi Nathan,
I’m looking to live in a travel trailer full time a guy alone with his dog, after a lot of research the America-lite travel trailer at 21ft looks perfect and light enough to tow with my dodge magnum I was wondering if you know this brand ameri-lite and what you think of it found a 2009 for $9000.
Regards,
David
David O'SullivanI am a traveling nurse and we are thinking of going out on the road full time. It would be myself, my husband or 17 y.o. son and our german shephard maxx . . . . any advice for a Class A Diesel pusher??? I think we would need the room this would offer and the flexibility to be in multiple climate situations. Look forward to hearing from you . . . . Merry Christmas!!!
KimI’ve been planning to buy an RV when I can sort out the partiiculars, but now I have a situation that has me considering an interim plan. There has been a death in my family and I need to go from Brooklyn to Arizona. I am thinking of renting an RV for a month to make a round trip and paying someone to drive. Do you have any ideas about where I could locate a driver. I don’t want to jump into driving an RV cold.
Also, do you have any familiarity with traveling with pets. I have a small dog I’m planning to bring with me and I’m wondering how that will complicate things.
s2sThe only thing I can think of for getting a driver would be either looking into a trucker-type service, or posting an ad on Craigslist looking for someone who’s up for the adventure. That would probably result in you paying nothing, but due diligence would obviously be required.
To be honest though, driving an RV is not as tough as you might think, and with the right insurance even if you do get into an accident, you should be covered.
As for dogs, most RV parks and state parks are cool with dogs. Depending on how hot the RV got when it was turned off, you may have considerations about leaving the dog in the rig while going out to eat, hiking, etc. Ours stays pretty cool, especially with the windows open, even when we leave for hours (we have no AC and even unplugged, with no fans running, it doesn’t get unbearably hot, or “kill a dog” hot anyway). Note that most National Parks do not allow dogs on trails, and leashes are required everywhere.
Best of luck on your trial run!
Nathan,
I stumbled on to this site and wanted to get your perspective on purchasing a class C RV. The fact that I stand at 6’8″ has always been an issue, so I am not really worried as everything I have seen so far has a height issue, so I am not completely concerned, as I my one big issue is finding abed and have seen some Class C’s with Queen Beds. Unless you can point me at something that may have a little more height, even if it’s a little older or newer? But, since it will be my first purchase and something I would like to do to open up my freedom with regards of rents and travel. I feel that this would work for me. I also plan on looking to tow my 2400 lb car behind. I also read that you recommend purchasing from owners and out right! Which is one of my options and will be visiting some RV Sales places to get more familiar with learning about RV’s; as you recommended in a previous post!!
My question is I would like to purchase a Class C RV. with Towing Capabilities. Is there something that you could recommend, with the information I typed above?
Also, if I went with a Dealer to purchase something a little newer but stay under the 20k. I want to look at starting this life sometime in the summer. Any thoughts, as I know that when you buy something from an Owner you may inherit problems that are unseen or untold as you explained when your transmission went and caught on fire!! Although I would prefer to buy something outright around 12k, older or newer but something that you may know to be reliable. I am aware that you will always look at putting money into it. But, my main concern is finding something that is mechanically sound. Also, when looking for mechanics, is there somewhere one could find mechanics that work on RV’s?
One more thing, is it true that some of the older RV’s were built stronger. I am not looking for luxury, just something strong that will last!!
You have a great thing going on here!! It has opened up my eyes to many more ideas and I thank you for that!!
ALHey AL!
I don’t have a ton of info to provide you regarding Class Cs. When I began traveling in 2008, I had a 1997 Class C Dutchman. It got the job done (but is also the vehicle I spoke about regarding the transmission issue).
What I can tell you is yes, you could get a very reliable Class C, used, for under $20,000. If it will be just you, a Class C, even a smaller one, should be more than enough room. After the Class C, I “upgraded” to a Volkswagen Bus, it a campervan, not really even a Class B, because I found it preferable to have something very small, easier to drive anywhere (cities or backcountry), and though it was myself, my 8 year old son at the time, and my girlfriend, I preferred the increased mobility to the roominess a larger vehicle provides. I don’t say all of this to convince you to hop into a campervan, though, but rather to tell you what many of my fellow travelers agree on–smaller is better.
There are very short Class Cs and also larger Class Bs you may want to look into.
As for mechanics, yes, there are mechanics who specialize in RVs, or rather repairmen. Class B & C RVs are built using typical truck / van motors and chassis, such as Chevy 3500s or Ford E-350s, and so most of the time any mechanic can work on the engine, transmission, etc. (as long as they have a large enough garage to handle the additional space of an RV). There are also places like Camping World and independent mechanics who specialize in RVs, and they’re pretty abundant throughout the country (not so much as normal mechanics, but not completely hard to find either).
Finally, you’ll find that a lot of the issues you have are more with things like plumbing, electrical stuff…and there are guys dedicated to that too, but I recommend learning as much of it as you can yourself to save your wallet and prevent you from needing to give up your house while your vehicle is in some shop. Many of these guys are mobile, too, ie. they’ll come to you.
Let me know if you have any other questions and when you hit the road!
Hi! I stumbled across this article while researching RV rentals and found it very informative! This may be the most unintelligent question ever, but I am serious and want to know. So here it goes-Other than retired people, how does anyone afford to do this full time?!?I know there are stay at home jobs and jobs that are entirely computer related but what are people doing to enjoy this lifestyle? Are they just independently wealthy? Thanks for any information!
KellyNot an unintelligent question at all, Kelly!
We have an article all about people making a living on the road, including lots of ideas and numbers as to how folks can do this. Personally, I’m a web designer, but I also know of people who do everything from being lawyers to running mobile flea markets.
While I do also know of folks who are just plain old rich who do this, they’re by far the minority.
Happy to help in any other way that I can!
I am 78, soon to be 79. My interest is to travel for a few years. Are there many RVers in my age group?
Joseph LangloisWhat are the maintenance expenses for the rv alone like? (ie: oil change, tire change, etc.) assuming the rv is driven every other month.
VivianWell it all depends on what type of RV / setup you have. In our VW Bus, it was exactly the same as it would be with a normal car: change the oil every 5000 miles or so, change the tires when they get old. I never had to fully go and change all four tires on the Bus, but only ever needed to change them when they blew a flat now and then.
With a motorhome, like a Class C or Class A, you’d be looking at a larger expense, especially if you used the rig for your daily driver, too. The additional expense would simply come from needing more oil in a larger engine, but then again, if you don’t drive your RV like a car, then you need to change the oil less often, tires too.
New site for me. Looking to fully retire and see all the places that I’ve not been able to stop at over my years of truck driving.
Barbara EmblerI was pumped to do the RV life for a few years and sock away some money, but then I got to how ridiculously priced many of the RV sites are. There was a time in America where you could just go anywhere you want with no limits. Granted, we are no longer in those times, but when you look at the cost per month to park your RV, I think it’s a bit pricey particularly when you are making payments on your RV.
For me, I would have had to buy the new Truck to pull it which most people would have to do. These begin at 40K. If you get a 32-36 foot 5 wheeler as you should if you want to live comfortably, and even that is so-so being that we are accustomed to bigger spaces, etc., but taking into consideration the monthly payment of an RV, the spot, and the truck, you are looking at on the very low end 300 for the spot, 600 for the truck, and 450 for the RV. That is 1350 a month. I think realistically, 1600 is figure that most people would be spending. If you are going to be traveling a bit and not just in one locale, you can add much more gas than you normally spend.
If you have some extra cheddar to spend and are near retirement or something, it’s a good thing. But if you think you are going to live cheap and save money doing this, then you better do your homework before jumping in and buying something. I’d research all the ins and outs. Also, I was naive to think that I’d be chilling in a cool campground with lots of trees and stuff. Well, if you want to work and make money, you’ll be in an RV in and near the city. Check out the pics of many of these places. And then think, this is what you will be coming home to each and every night. And do you think you will want to be inside an RV all night every night? That will get old, too. If you have pets, you better be prepared to clean their feet every time they come in and out unless you want to dirty your RV and depreciate the value due to soiled carpets, etc.
I think is a great thing though for the right person. But are you the right person? Only you will know.
ChrisHey Chris, you make some valid points…but…
“There was a time in America where you could just go anywhere you want with no limits.” Look into BLM land, national forests and state parks. They’re not the nightmare that you’re seeing in the private RV park world, and in fact with BLM land, it is a free for all more or less on wide open spaces, many of which have cell service (for those of us who work online or just want to watch movies, etc. at night).
“For me, I would have had to buy the new Truck to pull it which most people would have to do. These begin at 40K.” We have had all types of setups, Class C, a van + Airstream travel trailer, and a campervan. We have never paid anything even close to $40k for any of them. You don’t need to buy new. Reliable used vehicles can be had for a fraction of that price. It sounds like you’re pricing out an incredibly expensive RV / trailer, too.
This type of life is not for everyone. If you aren’t already financial set or have a huge income that you can take with you on the road, you will need to realize that the trade off here is freedom vs. “things”. Fancy trucks and 30 feet of living space, for many of those of us who make this work, are just less important than what we do get.
“And then think, this is what you will be coming home to each and every night. And do you think you will want to be inside an RV all night every night?”
Most nights, I come home to a beautiful forest, a campfire, a wide open sky. Your proximity to the city and the type of RV park you stay in are all relevant to what you’re willing or able to do for work, whether you can live off of solar and your own water, or if you want to have all of the hookups and amenities of private parks.
You’re right though, it’s not for everyone, just trying to share what you can save (and this article is drastically out of date, we spend significantly less than the numbers here, all these years later) if you want to make it happen.
Good Advice. Now at age 82 I wouldn’t live any other way if I had a choice. I think RVing is the real discription of FREEDOM. Do it before you are old because when you start getting sick it is hard to get away.
MitchSo, we are planning a long distance move to Seattle area and I am considering buying a small used one, living in it initially until I find a job and then back into a regular place, if it was just me that will be no problem but with the wife I need to think this through, we are going to take a look at a few tomorrow, I hope she agrees…I want a small one so I can keep it somewhere locally and use it later for travels
frankwe are Seniors on a total of $2400 a month.
Is is fesable to full time on this income?
Robert E GardnerHi Robert. I can’t say exactly if you can or can’t live on that amount. It would largely depend on what your RV payment is. Next big factor would be how “easy” you want it. RV parks cost on average $38.50 per night. That’s paying full price for a private RV park. If you go monthly or even weekly, you save big time, plus there are discount programs for RVers that can lower your prices, too. If you don’t need full-hookups all the time (sewer, city water, an electrical connection), then you can live on $200 or month a less in rent…but it’s more work. You have to go and fill up your tanks, dump your sewage, etc. We prefer it, but every one has different tastes.
The more you stay put, the more affordable it is. So, visit one location for a month instead of driving every day. Less gas, cheaper rent, etc.
Happy to answer any other questions but quite a bit more info in the comment here!
Since I have been thinking long and hard about hitting the road this information has been great.
We have thought of selling our house and stuff and using the money to buy maybe a class C and tow our Honda Fit while traveling.
One thought that comes to mind that I have not seen mentioned is it seems like a decision to do this might be a one way street.
Once you sell all your stuff and house you really have nothing to come back to if you later decide its not the life for you or you have seen all you want to see on the road. By then your 20K purchase of a RV had depreciated down to 2 K and going back to fixed living might be hard financially.
I wonder how many people face this fact when they decide RV life might have gotten old and want to return to the old life.
GaryDefinitely happens, Gary, at least the part about wanting to go back to sticks n’ bricks living. We’ve “slowed down” a couple of times when babies showed up, for about 9 months each time. Integrating back into reality was remarkably easy, but we didn’t go and buy a house or anything. We just rented, had no problem there after explaining why we don’t have renter’s history for the past x years. Our oldest was able to go to public school, again no questions asked, for a few months.
It’s a big step, for sure, especially when you sell a house, etc. I think a depreciation of 20k to 2k would mean you were on the road for a really, really long time, though. :)
Certain types of RVs will hold their value better, though when it comes to Class Cs I’m not sure what to recommend that will hold value the best. You could also consider renting your house out, AirBNB style, and funding the purchase of the RV and some portion of your travels that way. It all depends on if you want it to be a longterm lifestyle or a shorter sabbatical from your current reality as to how you’ll be able to transition out of the lifestyle should that day come.
I was single when I lived in my snowbird. I loved it so much. I lived in a trailer park for a year. I had to sell it and have married a few years ago. We are now living in another 5th wheel full time and looking for a park that’s full timers. I am an older woman and in good health, enjoying life.
Hi Nathan. Im robert and I think to buy one rv class c around 15.000.00 used one but my question : is easy to find park a month paymment full time in san diego,ca ? because i want to save money. thanks
robert gantoisI am not entirely certain on RV parks near San Diego, or their pricing. You could check Campendium.com or just do a Google search in that area to see what’s available.
Hello Nathan, Thanks for the information. I am going to retire in a few months so I want to sell my house and purchase a truck and trailer or maybe a class C rv and travel with my 3 dogs. I want to visit family and friends and see the country. In your opinion what are the pros and cons of truck and trailer versus class c rv.
CarlHi Carl, we go into great length on the various types of rigs and their pros and cons here in How to Choose the Right RV for Full-time Travel. Let me know if you have any other questions!
You definitely can save a lot of money living in an RV – and you can spend much more. If someone wants to live very cheaply they can buy a used travel trailer, don’t buy a tow vehicle, and park it in an RV park on a long term lease in an area with moderate winters. When they need to relocate they can hire someone with a truck to move it. It gets much more expensive if someone wants to roam the country in their RV.
SteveSure Steve, but this isn’t about just living in a trailer park or trying to suck every penny out of life’s joy. Living on the road has proven, after ten years and all different types of styles for us personally, to be much more affordable – and more importantly, flexible – as we can adjust our budget as needed, whenever we’d like.
I think it takes some learning and getting use to. At first it cost a lot to live and work on the road. Leanring cost me a lot anyways. I had to learn about towing and the difference between docking and hooking up. I remember this being a foreign subject. And who knew you had to empty your own waste water. I had to humble myself and adjust to RV life mentally, emotionally, finally etc.. and am still always adjusting I feel like :)
I always fantasized about living full time in a camper, but I am unable to do so because of my job. I want to know if it is easy if someone wants to join you like family night outs or friends gathering. How do you cope with all of this while living full time in the camper?
We have met many great new friends from RVing, some doing it themselves, some just good people who live in one place. We can also visit all of our friends and family whenever we’d like thanks to the flexibility. Otherwise, hanging out is just like you might do at home, but typically around a campfire. If you enjoy the lifestyle, then there isn’t a ton to “cope” with that wouldn’t apply to normal life.
