Full time RV Living for a newbie

[Trusty_Tres]

Im planning on selling my house, car, and everything else, buying some sort of RV or travel trailer and spending the next foreseeable future on the road. only problem is I have no experience in this area. Im a single guy with a dog and have a job I can work remotely. My plan is to hit all lower 48 states and all National parks. I might make a trip up to Alaska and hit those parks as well. I'm not planning to speed run this trip so I will probably be in it for awhile. I don't need much space, but would like to have a bed I dont have to stow, a small cooking area, bathroom, and a space i can set up a laptop to work from. Im planning to leave out of here in about april of next year, so about 7 months. I've been looking at a Casita and a Tacoma to pull it, hoping to save some on gas by getting a smaller truck. What kind of RV or TT and truck combo would you recommend?

Thanks in advance for any advice you have for a newbie!

[Bill_Satellite]

Yes, short drive. That's why I like to keep moving!

[TechWriter]

Bill.Satellite wrote:

2oldman wrote:
Are you having financial problems? I never understand people doing this while still having to work.

I have been working and traveling full time for 18 years. What part of that don't you understand? You want me to stop traveling, buy a house so I can work from only one location and let neighbors like you drive me nuts?

Good one, Bill, but that is a short drive. 😉

[Bill_Satellite]

2oldman wrote:
Are you having financial problems? I never understand people doing this while still having to work.

I have been working and traveling full time for 18 years. What part of that don't you understand? You want me to stop traveling, buy a house so I can work from only one location and let neighbors like you drive me nuts?

[TechWriter]

ksg5000 wrote:
Your house appreciates in value - your RV depreciates in value. A typical new RV depreciates about 50 percent in less than 10 years. My house appreciates most years.

RV's are nice ..... selling your house to buy an RV is a crappy idea!!!

You can do both. I think most full timers have an "exit plan" in which they buy a house again after they're done full timing.

However, unless you're cash flush, I'd recommend saving the money from your house sale instead of using all or most of it to buy an RV.

In our case, we bought our "full time RV" several years before we started full timing.

Yes, "RV's are nice" but full timing is much much more than just the RV you're riding around in.

[2gypsies1]

2oldman wrote:
Are you having financial problems? I never understand people doing this while still having to work.

Many jobs nowadays don't require you to sit in an office. What better way to work than from a RV? There are many young full-timers out there now. The below group is full of them.

http://www.xscapers.com/

[joelc]

BAD IDEA! One should never jump into Full Timing if they have no camping and/or RV experience. Educate yourself first, take some OJT then if you like it....Go for it. A full time RVer for 5 years and camper for over 30.

[camperdave]

I see no problem with your plan. I've contemplated selling the house now too, then re buying after the next crash. It seems extremely over valued at the moment.

If it were me, I would want a small motorhome (around 20 feet) so I could go between the living and driving space without going outside. And I'd focus on having as large a grey tank as I could get.

[2oldman]

Are you having financial problems? I never understand people doing this while still having to work.

[ncrowley]

If you are living in the trailer full time, be sure and get:
A bed you can walk around
A dedicated shower
A bathroom - a friend just purchased a Casita without a black tank or shower - ouch.
Big enough water, black and grey tanks so you have more time between dumps.
A big enough refrigerator so you are not constantly eating out or going to the store.
Well insulated with double paned windows
Enclosed and heated underbelly - depends on how flexible you want to be on where you park.

[Optimistic_Para]

If you're considering a Casita, there's a forum devoted to them and their competitors: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/

[Captain_Happy]

If your a single person I can see no problem with your plan to Getting a Tacoma and a Casita Trailer to live and travel in, a lot of people are doing the same thing. And don't let anyone tell you it can't done. As far as a Tacoma, get the 3.5L V-6 with the tow package (6,000) rating. As far a Casita Trailer, get the 17 footer, new or used, they haven't changed that much in years. And unlike other trailers, they hold they value.

I myself have the same setup, I spent most of this summer traveling around out here in the western states. When I went full-time 4 year ago, I starter out in a 30 foot Motor Home. I bought the Casita 3 years ago to travel around in while the Motor Home was used as my home base while I'm in my Escapee Co-Op Park Here in Nevada. Sold the Motor Home last fall and bought a used 5th wheel and had it put on my lot. And another great idea is to join the Escapees RV Club.

[Optimistic_Para]

If you need Internet access to work, you will want to begin exploring the world of external antennas and signal boosters. The best source for such info is The Mobile Internet Resource Center. The people who run it LITERALLY wrote the book on the subject: The Mobile Internet Handbook

I think you're going to find that most of these RV forums are full of retired folks who full-time, with some younger folks who part-time while still owning a traditional home and work at a traditional job.

There is one group, though, made up of people like yourself, younger, still working, but wandering around the country with no fixed address. The group is called Xscapers (They're affiliated with the more traditional Escapees group.) and you can find more info on them here:
https://www.xscapers.com/

[chast]

HI—26 years as a full-timer. Suggest you read George Lehrer’s blog “Tioga and George. He is an 80 year old man who has been full-time for quite a while and is currently in a Scamp pulled by a Ford Transit van. The blog is very informative as well as entertaining. If you read the blog from most current backwards, you can learn a lot.
Don’t listen to the naysayers—do it your own way!

[Ralph_Cramden]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Have you thought about what you are going to do to be able to work remotely? Will this require an internet connection, a VPN, large amounts of data? Have you budgeted in the cellular internet connection that will be mandatory?

Good point. I could list a hundred parks/campgrounds here in the highly populated NE/Mid Atlantic where you wont get a lick of cell service let alone data, I actually go out of my way to search them out.
Central / Northern PA, a lot of WV, large areas in NY / VT, etc. Those maps the carriers put out are slightly inaccurate.

Sounds like the OP would need to search the opposite from what I do to work remotely unless doing it via snail mail.