I have had a home in Maine (4 months) and a home in Florida (8 months) for the past 25 years. I have all my mail sent to FL and USPS temporary mail forwarding from my FL address to the Maine address. In 25 years it has worked fine, no problems, and at zero cost to me. Either I was very lucky for 25 years, or the OP was unlucky (once?). I suggest that he try it again based on how well it has worked for me. For more certainty, go in person to your post office and speak to the Postmaster in advance to be sure it gets done right. (Although I have not had to do that in 25 years).
This works only for first class mail, not magazines and such, which are only forwarded for the first 30 or 60 days. I change my subscription mailing address on magazines twice each year. You can usually do this online.
If you are traveling by RV and changing address frequently, then the above solution will not work, in which case private mail forwarding is probably your best bet.