Need pro

Edd505 wrote:
Everything you wanted to know:
https://rv-dreams.activeboard.com/

Even the RV Dreams folks are getting off the road! It's certainly not for everyone. We have been full time since 1997 and don't see an end to that journey in our near future.

Just keep reading this site every day is best thing you can do. Like everything else full timing is a choice. Some do it with almost no money and some want the best of everything. Where do you fit in?

Everything you wanted to know:
https://rv-dreams.activeboard.com/

Joined yesterday. Likely never to be heard from again.

I have a couple of links that might help:

Camping is fun, why not go fulltime?

What does it cost to fulltime?

Please respond.

Are you living comfortably right now or pay check to pay check?

Living FT in an RV is not much different

Do you have income that will continue or do you have to supplement income with something else ?

Debt?

Do you have an RV to FT in or will this need to be purchased?
Purchased......cash or financed?


previous RV exerience?
Besides Campground Site fees, Fuel you will have all of the same kind of expenses------Med Ins, Vehicle Ins, Registrations, Maintenance/Upkeep, Food, Entertainment.
Takes sustained income or ability to generate income.

That's a really broad question. I would just say that it may not be low cost. A house appreciates in value while any RV drops like a rock and eventually needs replaced. Fuel cost depends on how much you park in 1 spot. Campsite fees can equal a nice apartment even lower cost campgrounds. Look at it long term not just a week or month cost.

The thing to consider is your previous "experience" with any RV or camping background. If you have absolutely none, then the RV, vagabond, nomadic lifestyle can be quite a shock. There is a learning curve for any new endeavor before anyone feels comfortable with any kind of change. Even something as simple as getting a new television set takes a little learning until it becomes familiar enough you can use the remote in the dark.

Even if one has previous experience with RV's of any type, when getting a new RV (of any type), it takes a year to really get to know the camper. Going through all 4 seasons of the year requires different camping styles, requires different approaches to keeping warm or cool, not to mention driving skills in different environments and conditions. All of this takes time.

If you are considering the full time RV lifestyle, then the best advise I can provide is to purchase your RV (whatever that is) at least a year before hitting the road permanently and then spend as much time as you can in it, and take as many short trips (State parks, private campgrounds, KOA's, National forests) all types of camping experiences so you have the short term experience, can return to a home base, reevaluate what went well and what did not, make adjustments and prepare for the next outing.

While doing this, you will find the strength and weakness of your RV. You'll be making modifications, adjustments, and changes. You'll be changing from paper plates, to plastic plates, to china plates, and maybe back to paper over the course of the year. Why? Well, you'll be disappointed with paper because it's too flimsy, and then you have to deal with trash. You found out your plastic plate melted when it got too close to the fire pit. The china one broke in the cabinet while traveling, so you decided to go back to paper plates, now you have trash again.

That's only one (very small) example of the issues you'll need to work through. Not to mention, how to deal with maintenance on the RV. It's best to learn these things in the comfort of your own driveway than on the road side with idiots and morons zooming around you at 85 mph and you can't even open the door of your vehicle to get out for fear of getting run over.

Over the course of the year, you will also learn how to deal with campground reservation planning, boomdocking (if that's your choice), and what kind of camping style best fits you and your unique lifestyle.

Meanwhile, you are keeping track of how much all of this actually costs, the time invested, and along the way, how solvent are those "relationships" you develop with other travelers, campers, and people you meet along the way.

It's a year of learning, learning, learning. But by spending the year, when you do finally hit the road full time, you won't have unexpected disappointments. You'll have the experience to deal with unwanted issues (and yes, there will be many)... everything from absolute unbelievable rude and obnoxious campers beside you, to threatening weather like tornadoes, to roadside hazards like flat tires or vehicle engine failures.

The first thing you need to do is identify what type of camping lifestyle will work for you. You may not even know this yourself. (full hook-ups, boondocking, State Parks, Forest services, Corp of Engineer campgrounds, private?)

Then you need to identify what type of RV will work for you. Motor home, CLASS A, B, C, travel trailer (conventional, toy hauler, or hybrid), Fifth Wheel (conventional, toy hauler, or even an Ice House or a horse trailer with living quarters, slides or no slides, age of the RV, and cost) Then you have to decide on the floor plan that works for you. The only way to figure that out is to visit RV dealerships and set foot inside a variety of campers and experience them. A bad floor plan will make your RVing experience miserable. AND, the floor plan you finally decide on may not work for you a year from now. Just like in your home, there is a natural "flow" inside any RV. If you are left-handed, some flows are just absolutely backwards. If you are tall, a short ceiling can be a real pain-in-the-neck (literally). Does the toilet have enough leg room for us guys to "spread" the knees (if you know what I mean).

All of these things take some time to figure out, to adjust to, and grow into. There is a lot more to "it" than just jumping in a motor home and hitting the road.

Look at the menus on the left of this site.

Check out the "Education" sub-menus on this site.

Too much has been written on the topic to ask folks to recreate it. Research and read.

Rob