Full timing... with kids... Do I dare?
I have never wrote a blog, forum or posted something online before. So please bare with me. I'll try not to make this a "life story" here we go... I am a 31 year old disabled veteran, with out goi...
Forum Discussion
Go ahead and sell your house, since that's what you are thinking about doing anyway.
But DO NOT put your equity into a depreciating asset like any kind of RV. At some point you will need a place to live and if your funds are depreciated out, you will just be out of luck.
Take a small amount of your equity and get your truck and current trailer in tip-top shape. Add some solar if you want to be able to camp for extended periods without electrical hookups. Then use that setup for a trial run at full-timing.
Make a plan and a budget. You will need to be able to travel a snowbird route---to avoid extremely cold weather, which your RV is not set up to handle. (It can be done, but is not cheap or fun.) Look for some work-camping jobs in areas you are interested in visiting. That will get you free sites in all kinds of good locations.
Right now your children are too young for home-schooling to be a concern. The downside of this is that they are also too young to get much educational benefit from a full-time RV lifestyle
You will at some point have a state of residence and you will need to meet the legal requirements for homeschooling in that state. Some states are more homeschool-friendly than others, but in general it's not too difficult. If you are living somewhere with children obviously not in school, you are likely to be visited by a state social service agency. But if you are doing it right, you won't have any legal problems.
One issue with a mobile/homeschool lifestyle is a lack of social activities for your children, and a lack of social contacts for you and your wife as well. Those things are important. Most home-school families are involved in some sort of co-op, especially as the children get older and need instruction in advanced areas that parents may not be able to provide. That requires a fixed location, and you will need to be in a climate amenable to living in a RV for most of the year.
I think you are in a great situation to give this a trial run, especially since you are wanting to sell your house anyway. Just don't put yourself in a tough financial spot by doing it.
But DO NOT put your equity into a depreciating asset like any kind of RV. At some point you will need a place to live and if your funds are depreciated out, you will just be out of luck.
Take a small amount of your equity and get your truck and current trailer in tip-top shape. Add some solar if you want to be able to camp for extended periods without electrical hookups. Then use that setup for a trial run at full-timing.
Make a plan and a budget. You will need to be able to travel a snowbird route---to avoid extremely cold weather, which your RV is not set up to handle. (It can be done, but is not cheap or fun.) Look for some work-camping jobs in areas you are interested in visiting. That will get you free sites in all kinds of good locations.
Right now your children are too young for home-schooling to be a concern. The downside of this is that they are also too young to get much educational benefit from a full-time RV lifestyle
You will at some point have a state of residence and you will need to meet the legal requirements for homeschooling in that state. Some states are more homeschool-friendly than others, but in general it's not too difficult. If you are living somewhere with children obviously not in school, you are likely to be visited by a state social service agency. But if you are doing it right, you won't have any legal problems.
One issue with a mobile/homeschool lifestyle is a lack of social activities for your children, and a lack of social contacts for you and your wife as well. Those things are important. Most home-school families are involved in some sort of co-op, especially as the children get older and need instruction in advanced areas that parents may not be able to provide. That requires a fixed location, and you will need to be in a climate amenable to living in a RV for most of the year.
I think you are in a great situation to give this a trial run, especially since you are wanting to sell your house anyway. Just don't put yourself in a tough financial spot by doing it.
