Tips and Tricks for Full Time RVing

Tips and Tricks for Full Time RVing will help you imagine the freedom that comes with an endless open road. New adventures around every bend keeping excitement in full view. Roaming wherever desired with no worries about when to arrive or how long to stay. Bouncing and blowing across the vast expanse of open country like a tumble weed on the horizon. Following every twist and turn of scenic routes as they turn to treasure maps.

Sound romantic? It is. Whether on your first big trip or after years of life behind the wheel, the allure of the rambling road is strong in anyone who has gotten a glimpse of it firsthand. It can be a taste of time forgotten, a look into the era of exploration often lost in our modern, constantly connected world.

If you’ve ever considered packing it all up and pursuing the RV life fulltime, congratulations, you have an itch that can only by scratched by one thing; the road. This is a worthy pursuit, genuinely recommended by all who have tried it and a lifestyle well worth leaving behind a few creature comforts of a less nomadic life. The choice to pack your life onto a 33-foot-long adventure-mobile is ripe with rewards but also comes with a few sacrifices to pull it off. If it’s on your mind at all or you are close to diving into the driving deep-end here are a few tips and tricks to tackle the new lifestyle.

Get Your Ducks in a Row

Before committing to full time RVing you should look at your current lifestyle and address several aspects in depth. The main issue to look at is probably financial situation. While RVing can be more affordable than a standard, stay-at-home life, you are going to need some cash in the bank to pull it off. The expense of an RV can be fairly hefty, easily into six-figures (sometimes more!), depending on the type of rig you desire. If you are not financially stable or are in considerable debt, you may want to take a few years to remedy that before embarking on the RV. A large mortgage combined with a large loan payment for a motor home can pull at the pockets of anyone who is not well off.

Related Read: Budgeting Expenses as a Fulltime RVer

Consider selling your house or renting it while you are on the road to offset some of these costs. You will also want to have money set aside specifically for breakdowns, repairs and standard maintenance. While average RV upkeep costs less than a residential home, you still need to be prepared for things to go wrong or costly repairs. If you are on the road full time, it is sure to happen.

Any bills that need to be paid monthly (insurance, phone, etc) try to set up for online or automatic payments. This will allow you to stay on top of those consistent obligations without having to worry if the next campsite will have internet or cellphone reception.

Make sure to let friends and family know a general idea of when and where you are heading when and where. Often times plans will change, if not on a strict itinerary, but having a few people know of your whereabouts in case of emergency is important.

Consider Remote Work Opportunities

If you can take to the highway with little financial obligation or you’ve saved enough to go through with the dream of full time RV life, see you down the road! For the rest of us, generating some sort of income is still necessary even if done from campgrounds across the nation. Luckily, we live in an age where remote work opportunities are abundant. These opportunities can include: taking surveys, email marketing, graphic design, tech, writing and many others. More and more employers are allowing employees to work from home and if your home happens to be an RV then that counts. If you have an existing relationship with a previous employer, talk to them about your plans, maybe there is a consulting or customer service opportunity that could work out to your benefit. Start a blog or YouTube channel to document your journey and you could get lucky and become an internet sensation.

Related Read: 6 Hot Work Camping Jobs

Some good places to look for remote work opportunities:

FlexJobs

We Work Remotely

Working Nomads

Open an Atlas, X Marks the Spot

One of my favorite methods to plan a grand RV adventure is to open up an atlas, stare at the thing in depth and then pick a new destination I have yet to visit. This could be a map of the entire country, continent or simply your state. Fuel that sense of wonder by challenging yourself to visit a location that requires some effort to get there or is off the beaten path. If you always stay on major interstates and visit major attractions, you risk settling into those rhythms of monotony that plague the ‘real world.’ The road life is all about new experiences in new places. Challenge yourself to break outside of your comfort zone, at least a little. If you’re making the leap into life on the road, you are free to go wherever you please. Make the most of this situation, it’s a true treasure and incredibly liberating.

Get Involved with the RV Community

Fulltime RVing is an amazing lifestyle choice full of boundless rewards and endless excitement, but it can be lonesome. Checking out of a standard living situation means leaving your town or city and many friends and family members behind. While the loner life is appealing to some, making an effort to develop a community on the road is well worth it. Talk to other RVers and campers while out exploring. You might make a new friend or caravan with a group to the next destination. Many online RV focused forums and discussion groups exist and are a perfect way to stay in touch with others on the road or thinking about the lifestyle.

RV community links:


The RV Bunch

iRV2

RV.net

RVnetwork

RV Talk Forum