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Changesinladdit's avatar
Changesinladdit
Explorer
Jun 20, 2020

Deciding to full-time RV with family

Hi, my husband and I are seriously considering selling our home and becoming full-time RVers with our 2 children (1&3). We obviously can come up with all the wonderful pros but really would love to hear from people who have real experience with it and the possible cons and what it is truly like.

We are already pretty low maintenance people who aren’t really worried about the downsizing and change of pace but what we would love to hear about are the financial realities. We aren’t rich but we would have the means for what we would estimate a years living with a comfortable savings. Currently, we don’t have positions that’s would allow us to work remote but we would like to have some income coming in, with the possibility for it to grow to something comparable to what we make now. Is that something that is realistic? How hard is it to make money while being on the road? If any of y’all traveled full time and then after a year or longer decided to go back to living somewhere full time, did you find it difficult to find jobs with what some would consider a “gap” in your resume?

Would love to hear any other possible realities that my wander lust mind may be overlooking.



Thanks!
  • JimK-NY's avatar
    JimK-NY
    Explorer II
    Jun 20, 2020
    I think your first step is to find jobs or money making opportunities that will work when you travel. If so you also need to decide what facilities you will need. For example will you need high speed internet constantly or can you get by with using a cellphone hotspot and sometimes not having any coverage? Going on the road and then looking for job opportunities is not a good idea.

    You might also want to consider socialization opportunities for your kids. Even at 1-3 kids need to be around other kids at least with some frequency. Also consider how you can work from the RV while tending to a couple of toddlers.

    Next consider what you mean by full time. For me RV travel of a few months is an extended vacation and full time means years of RV living. If you are going to travel for years are you going to stay in expensive RV parks? Are you going to stay in one location for extended periods or travel constantly?
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Jun 20, 2020
    Your first consideration should be your children. A lack of stability and in a couple years their education will likely put them behind others. Save your wanderlust until the youngest is 18.
  • jdc1's avatar
    jdc1
    Explorer II
    Jun 20, 2020
    You think you have the means for full-time RVing? Health insurance is going to cost you over $1500 a month alone.
  • valhalla360's avatar
    valhalla360
    Navigator
    Jun 20, 2020
    If you have the money, it's very much doable and really not that expensive if you are smart about it and moderately handy.

    How do you propose to fund the expedition? If you don't currently have jobs that work remotely, you need to figure that out first. Without knowing what your skill set is, it's hard to make suggestions. Also, with a 1 & 3yr old, it's going to be hard for both of you to be working.
  • cptqueeg's avatar
    cptqueeg
    Explorer II
    Jun 20, 2020
    jdc1 wrote:
    You think you have the means for full-time RVing? Health insurance is going to cost you over $1500 a month alone.


    To me leaving 2 jobs in the face of covid would not be a sensible thing to do. Other flaws in the idea are:

    - paying for healthcare (already mentioned)

    - no possibility of gain in equity from homeownership

    - no way to save for educations (compounding can help since you have 15 and 17 years to get ready)

    - no way to save for retirement (compounding again can help)

    - kids like stability although ymmw
  • agesilaus's avatar
    agesilaus
    Explorer III
    Jun 20, 2020
    I suggest you go to this YouTube page: family fulltiming

    And look at some of those VBlogs which will give you a feel for what you are getting into. At least you won't have to worry about school for several years and how to homeschool.
  • Dick_B's avatar
    Dick_B
    Explorer
    Jun 20, 2020
    I can think of two reasons for not full timing at this point and their ages are 1 and 3. That age is enough trouble at a sticks and bricks...
  • agesilaus's avatar
    agesilaus
    Explorer III
    Jun 20, 2020
    Dick_B wrote:
    I can think of two reasons for not full timing at this point and their ages are 1 and 3. That age is enough trouble at a sticks and bricks...


    I was thinking the same, at the minimum it will limit the trails and such you can take. I found that 4 or 5 was the minimum age that the our kids could do light hiking. And if you carry those younger kids you will find that they get as heavy as lead bricks going up grades in hot temperatures.

    But people do it so you can that's why I suggested connecting with people doing it. Escapees has a subgroup of folks traveling with families. But Escapees is $39/yr to join before you can use their sites and groups.

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