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Is Full Time RVing Right For You?
Episode 2614th November 2023 • RV Dreaming • RVDreaming.tv
00:00:00 00:33:26

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About the Host:

Stuart has been a nomad since 2020, traveling in his 40-foot Super C and 24-foot Sprinter van. He is accompanied by his two cats, Camden and Izzy. You can follow his adventures on Instagram at Stuart Doing Stuff.

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Transcripts

Speaker:

And welcome to RV Dreaming.

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In this podcast, we help you

prepare for life on the road.

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Whether you're in an RV or van or in

the back of your car, we teach you how

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to get on the road and how to survive

your first year as a full time nomad.

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RV Dreaming, start here.

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Go anywhere.

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How you doing?

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My name is Stuart from Stuart doing stuff

on Instagram I've been a no man since

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2020 and I split my time between my 40

foot super C RV and my 24 foot Sprinter

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van and I travel with my two cats Camden

and Izzy follow me on Instagram at

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Stuart doing stuff That's S-T-U-A-R-T-

doing stuff for more stories and videos

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and today We're gonna talk about full

time RVing and not about my travels Per

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se, we're gonna talk about whether it's

gonna be great for you because everybody

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asks, is full-time RVing like worth it?

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Is it, is it good?

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And, and should I do it?

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And, and I think that question

has so many complicated answers.

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So today we're gonna take a step,

a six step assessment on whether or

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not full-time RVing is right for you.

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First, we're going to understand what

full-time RVing is all about, and then.

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We're going to talk about the pros

and the cons of full time RVing.

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We all see the pros on Instagram

and on YouTube and all the pretty

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stuff, but there are a lot of cons.

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I think sometimes there's just as

many, if not more cons as pros when

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it comes to living full time in an RV.

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We're also going to talk about financial

considerations, whether or not you can

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really save money by living on the road.

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We're going to talk about lifestyle

adjustments, about how your lifestyle

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is going to completely change from what

it is now to being on the road mobily.

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And then finally, we're going

to talk about, is RVing, full

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time RVing, right for you?

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With a little self assessment, and

taking into account everything that

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we've talked about up until this point.

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Okay, are you ready?

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Alright, let's do this.

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So number one, understanding

full time RVing.

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Now there's a couple ways

that people look at this.

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I'm a what, I'm a full time RVer.

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But there are other RVers that are

also full time that do it differently.

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And what does that mean?

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So, I do not have a home base.

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Some people have a home base.

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Maybe they live in their vans but they

keep a storage shed or they keep a land

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or a house that they rent and they go back

to it to maybe take a break from the road.

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Maybe, you know, whatever.

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I don't have any of that.

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I am.

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I live full time on the road.

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I don't have a place where I go back

to, to unwind or to reset or regroup or

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any of that, what my home is, my van.

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And so wherever I go, I, I,

I have all my stuff with me.

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I don't have a reset position.

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I don't have a place where I

can go and just take a time out.

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So I'm a full, full time RVer.

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And sometimes that doesn't always work

for people because when you're out.

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On the road, you're always having to

say where am I going to sleep tonight?

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Where am I going to go?

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What direction am I going to go?

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And for some people, like

myself, that's exciting.

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That's entertaining.

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That's that great, um,

adventurous, spontaneous spirit.

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Where you don't know where you're

going to wake up in the morning and

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you don't know where you're going

to see or who you're going to meet.

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That, you have to have.

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Some people just don't

have that, and that's fine.

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Does that mean that if you don't

have that spontaneous spirit,

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you can't be a full time RVer?

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Absolutely not.

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You absolutely could.

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When I first started RVing in

my Super C, I had reservations

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planned out for six months.

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I knew where I was going, I knew

how long I was going to be there, I

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knew what I wanted to do when I was

there, and I knew when I was leaving.

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So there's a whole bunch of different,

um, ways that you can full time.

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But I think one of the biggest

characteristics of full time RVers...

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Is you're looking for something new,

you're looking for an adventure, you're

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looking to try and do something or see

something that you've been wanting to

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or you never thought you would have

an opportunity or a chance to do,

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you know, full time RVing is amazing.

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I'm out here in Palm Springs right now.

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And because I'm in my van,

I have, I'm at a campsite.

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I'm at a Thousand Trails

campsite, and I was able to get

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a reservation here for two weeks.

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My, my plan allows me to get

three weeks of reservation.

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I'm only at two.

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But, I will take the van, and I'll,

I'll go out and explore Palm Springs.

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There's some great hiking, there's

some great sightseeing, there's

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some great stuff out here to do.

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And then, sometimes, I'll stay out there.

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I'll just stay, you know, maybe if

I'm gonna go do a Joshua Tree tour.

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I'll go out and do a night in

Joshua Tree, and then I'll come

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back to the Thousand Trails.

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You know, to my campsite that's here

and regroup and shower and do all

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those other, other kinds of things.

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Um, there's other times where I'm

just trying to beeline it from one

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place to the other and I'm going

to go six, eight hours a day.

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Other times I just don't

know where I'm going.

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So I'm just looking for an adventure.

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You know, I've, I've found

that small towns are amazing.

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I found that, um, I actually.

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I kind of enjoy going to smaller towns and

smaller areas like that than I do going to

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bigger ones just because there's, there's

so much more to see and so much more

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to do there and so much more character.

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That's exciting.

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You know, so I think all of

us who are full time RVers, we

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have that sense of adventure.

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We have that sense of excitement

of what's behind door number two.

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You know, somebody came up to

you and said, Hey, I'm going to

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give you 100 cash or you can have

whatever is in this mystery box.

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I think we're going to take the

mystery box, or at least I would.

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You know, win or lose, you never know.

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There's times where I've had

destinations where I'm just so looking

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forward to going and then when I get

there, it's such a disappointment.

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And then there's other times where I go,

well, I don't want to drive anymore, I

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think I'll just stop here, and it turns

out to be some of the best places and

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some of the most fun that I've ever had.

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So, you just never know.

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So, understanding full time RVing

There is no wrong way to RV.

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I think that's the best way to say it.

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Whether you want to be highly spontaneous

like myself, like I just described, or if

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you want to be a planner and know where

you're going, why you're going, like I did

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when I first started, you can do that too.

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Is one way wrong, or better, or worse?

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Absolutely not!

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It just all depends on what

you want out of your RV travel.

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So don't let anyone tell

you you're doing it wrong.

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Because there's no such thing.

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Okay, so now let's talk about some

of the pros of full time RVing.

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Here's step number two, freedom

and flexibility to travel.

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I remember when I was working,

I would love to travel.

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I wanted to go see things and I

wanted to go do things, but the

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cost of travel between airplane

tickets, hotel rooms, meals eating

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out, all that stuff really adds up.

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In an RV, you have none of that.

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You don't need to worry

about hotel room bills.

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You don't need to worry about eating out.

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You don't need to worry about

the, the, all these other expenses

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because you have your stuff with you.

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So if you want to splurge and you want

to go out to dinner, you can do that.

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But if you wanted to stay home and cook...

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You can do that too.

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That's the greatest part about

full time RVing is you have

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everything you need with you.

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It really significantly cuts down

the cost of travel, the cost of

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exploring, and there's the cost

of vacationing to an extent.

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So that has got to be the biggest thing.

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If you ever said, I want to go here but

I can't afford it, you probably could

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afford it if you are a full time RVer.

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It really does strike the cost.

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We're going to talk about financial

considerations coming up in step four.

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Um, More about pros.

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And I'm going to say this

because to me this is a pro.

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To some people it might not be.

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But I'm going to go with, uh, simplified

living and downsizing possessions.

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There is a time in everyone's life, I

think, that you kind of realize that,

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um, You measure your worth, your life,

yourself, your accomplishments, not by the

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car you drive or the house that you have,

but by some of the other intangibles,

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like your relationships, your family,

your children, your friends, you know.

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And, and now, as long as you have

that, you don't need these things.

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So, downsizing and simplifying your life,

um, and it allows you to really focus on

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relationships and focus on bigger things

as opposed to focusing on, oh, look at

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that new model car that just came out.

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I need to go get that.

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Or, oh, check out this

TV, I need to go get that.

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Simplified living takes a lot of

stress off your plate that you

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can use to focus on other things.

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So that is a, a big pro in my book.

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Uh, potential cost savings

compared to traditional living.

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You know, when you look at the

cost of rent nowadays, when

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you're looking like in California.

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A one bedroom apartment can be going

for anywhere between 2, 500 and 4, 000

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a month for a one bedroom apartment.

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You know, and, and that's

just, to me, mind boggling.

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That, um, you can do that.

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We talk, we, we hear stories all

the time about how the real estate

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market is Is it's just dead right now.

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Interest rates are high, nobody's

selling, you know, it's just, it's

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really hard to get into, uh, into a home.

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And so because of that, everybody's

renting and it's driving up rent prices.

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So we hear about all that kinds of stuff.

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And I just say, you know, an RV may

be a depreciating asset, but at least

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it's still an asset when you're renting

from somebody, an apartment or a house.

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It's an asset, but it's not yours.

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It's not going towards anything.

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When you leave that lease,

you can't get anything back.

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As opposed to an RV, you go out and

spend 50, 000 on an RV, you live in

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it for X number of years, and when

you go and sell it, and you sell

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it for 30, 000, at least now you're

getting 30, 000 of your 50 back.

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It only cost you 20.

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You know, so, there's, there's...

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Benefit of even though it is a

depreciating asset and at least it's

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your asset At least when it comes time

to get rid of it and sell it and move

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on and change your life or whatever you

want To do at least you have now still

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something to show for it So that's to me

is is another pro is it gets you out of

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that Sticks and bricks it gets you out

of that rental place at the high rent

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where you can still Save quite a bit of

money doing this Another pro and this is

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one that I did not anticipate, but it's

the community on the road There are some

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amazing people traveling full time in

their RVs And I'm not talking about, like,

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if you see movies and you see, you know,

people who talk about, oh, you're living

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in your car because you're homeless, you

have no other options, you got bad credit,

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you can't get a job, you can't do it.

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We're not talking about that.

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I know people that I've met on the

road that are computer programmers,

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that are data scientists, that are

all working remotely, that are all

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exploring, that are all traveling,

that are all living their best life.

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Right now.

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And, and I think that's one of those

things where you kind of get this, this

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perception that, Oh, if I'm, if I'm

going to get on the road, you know,

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the only community that's out there

is, you know, these dirty old people

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that can't, you know, hold down a job.

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They're all druggies or all this.

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That's not true.

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I mean, there are.

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That, them that are out there,

but the great thing about being

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on the road is you can pack up and

you can go and find your tribe.

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You can find people that relate

to you, and you relate to them.

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There are people that are out there, it

doesn't matter who you are, or what walks

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of life you're coming from, you will

find that group of people on the roads.

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I'm talking about solo travelers,

solo female travelers, families.

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Seniors, retired, working age, everything

in the middle, you can find on the road.

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And it's not that hard to do either.

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All right, tip number three, let's

go over the cons of full time RVing

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because we can make it, you know,

look all pretty and, and sunshine

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and rainbows and stuff like that, but

there are some cons to full time RVing.

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And I think the first one is going

to be the one that resonates with

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people the most, and it's the lack

of stability, you know, people.

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inherently like routines.

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They like to go to home, or get home,

wake up, go to work, go to their

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thing, and then come home and be done.

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They like that, people like

that sense of stability.

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Um, in an RV, you do have that,

but you gotta add a couple

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other items into the mix.

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So, there is no, uh, you don't have

a permanent address, you don't have

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a permanent place to live, you don't

have a permanent place to sleep.

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Well, you have your van, or your

RV, you sleep in your RV, but

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where are you going to park the RV?

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You know, you're always thinking

what's next, what's next, what's next.

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And for some people, they can

see it as just, that's just one

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more thing I have to worry about.

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You know, and, and, That can also

be a pro though, because if you

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like that spontaneity, if you like

that creativity, if you like getting

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out there, that could be there.

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Space limitations and privacy concerns.

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So space limitations, absolutely.

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We talked about this in the prose.

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You're downsizing your life.

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You're downsizing your possessions.

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You're living a more simplistic life,

which means you only need the essentials.

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You're only going to get the essentials.

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You're only going to have room

for the essentials that you need.

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As far as tangible items in your life.

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So, when we talk about space

limitations, I never thought

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I could live in a 24 foot van.

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I went from a 3, 000 square foot condo,

to a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 3, 000 square

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foot condo, to a, um, 40 foot RV, to a 24

foot van in a matter of a couple years.

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I never thought I could do it.

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But I love it.

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It's, it is the greatest,

greatest thing ever.

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So, there you go.

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Privacy concerns, um, I'm a solo traveler,

so I only have to worry about privacy with

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my two cats and they don't care, they just

kinda do their thing and I do my thing.

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I think if you're traveling with

your partner, a wife, spouse,

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boyfriend, girlfriend, um, if you

were living together anyways, you're

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just gonna get a little closer.

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If you're talking about private

time with, uh, kids and families and

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all that, well, I'm not the right

person to ask on that, I just...

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Straight out, I'm not

the right person to ask.

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I have no experience with all that.

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I can tell you, though, that if you're

a family traveling, or a large group

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that's traveling, these RVs that are

out there, especially when you get into

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these fifth wheel sizes, they've got

private bedrooms, they've got outdoor

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spaces, they've got indoor spaces.

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Some of these things can rival an

apartment that you would get in

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like a Chicago or a New York or

anything along those lines, you know.

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Some of these places

are built for privacy.

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Some of these new RVs, these fifth

wheels, have bunkhouses and attics and

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things like that that you can get up to

and throw the kids up there and stuff.

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So let them have their space

so you can have your space.

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There are ways of getting around

any sort of privacy concerns that

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you may have, um, as an RVer.

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I think the one that bugs me the most

on the cons list is this maintenance

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and the unexpected repairs part.

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You could be driving down the

road and anything could happen.

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You know, you might say, hey, we're

leaving point, place A today and

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then we're going to be there in place

B and you could be down the road

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and any number of things happen.

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You can get flat tires, it could be

traffic, it could be freeway shutdowns.

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You know, but I think that's one of

those things that We as RVers, we just

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kind of go with the flow on, you know,

there's nothing you can do to change it.

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So you just, you just shrug

it off and you, and you deal

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with the problem at hand.

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Now, do you like it?

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No, absolutely.

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Isn't it inconvenience?

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Absolutely.

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But it's no different than if you're

planning Thanksgiving dinner at

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your house and your sewer drop, you

know, backs up or toilet clogs, or

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you have a roof that's leaking, you

know, any of these kinds of things.

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You, you have to do the same thing.

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You just kind of roll with it.

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So whether you're in an RV.

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Or you're in a Sticks and Bricks

home, you're gonna have these

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kind of emergencies and these

unexpected repairs that pop up.

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Is it happen more often in an RV?

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Maybe.

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I don't know.

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Um.

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Depends on your RV.

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Depends on the house

that you're living in.

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Depends on the, on your landlord.

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Depends on a lot of things.

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So, that's kind of a, uh, a

very different kind of thing.

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Another con, and this is the last

one on this section, then we'll

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move on to financial considerations.

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Uh, the last con I have is, um,

weather dependency and safety.

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Excuse me.

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Weather dependency.

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Um, you don't want to

be out in a hailstorm.

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You don't want to be out

in a lightning storm.

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Even heavy rain.

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You don't want to be

out in excessive heat.

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The good thing about it is, we can

get away from all those if we need to.

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So...

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Just always being alert and always

being aware and you're ready to go.

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Not a big deal safety concerns That's a

that can run from a wide gamut of things

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We do full podcasts on RV safety and you

should go look those up if you haven't

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seen it But those are those big two big

cons though that will wrap up this list

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as far as full time RVing All right.

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So what about money?

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What kind of financial considerations?

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Are there in RVs?

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Well, like I mentioned

before, you gotta have an RV.

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You gotta buy one, you gotta rent one, you

gotta lease one, get a loan, do whatever.

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Um, how much?

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RVs run anywhere between brand new, maybe

25, 000 if you want to get a little travel

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trailer fifth wheel or travel trailer kind

of thing, all the way up to millions and

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millions and millions of dollars for these

big fancy Class As and stuff like that.

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I noticed that most people...

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Most RVs, you can find, depending on

what you're looking for, somewhere, you

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can find a quality one, especially used,

starting as low as 50, 000 and as high

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as, you know, six or even seven figures.

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So, it's hard to say how

much money Do I need?

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Because it just all

depends on what you wanted.

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You can go find an RV with really

great bones that's been mechanically

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maintained that looks great and you

can gut it just like a house and you

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can upgrade it with your own sofas,

your own furniture, your own things.

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You know, you can make it yours.

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Uh, for very, very little money.

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So, as far as the cost of an RV, that's

really kind of up to you, but if you set

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your budget, you can go out and you can

find the best darn rig that you can find

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that money will buy, that your money

will buy, and that you can make it work.

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That's not a, uh, That is not a drawback.

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You can find whatever you need

to be able to hit the road.

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Even if you have an SUV

right now that can tow.

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:

You say your tow capacity is 7, 000

pounds like a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

356

:

I think their tow 500 pounds.

357

:

You can go out and find RVs

that weigh less than that.

358

:

And then you're in the, and then

that's 20 something thousand dollars.

359

:

You're good to go.

360

:

Right?

361

:

You're all set.

362

:

Now let's look at some other stuff.

363

:

Fuel, insurance,

maintenance, campsite fees.

364

:

Oh gosh, you know, fuel.

365

:

I always say fuel is my biggest

expense, but I travel a lot.

366

:

If I traveled less, I wouldn't

spend as much money on fuel.

367

:

I mean, it's a basic thing.

368

:

If I stuck around an area, like,

again, I'm in Palm Springs.

369

:

There's a lot of BLM land out here.

370

:

There's a lot of stealth

camping spots out here.

371

:

Uh, it's a very friendly, RV friendly,

stealth camping area to be at.

372

:

If I just made a circle and I never

slept in one spot more than two days,

373

:

like if I'm here one night and I moved

a mile down the road and slept somewhere

374

:

else for another night and I moved to

Joshua Tree and I was there for a week.

375

:

You know, your fuel cost

is going to be nominal.

376

:

Your campsite fees are going to be zero.

377

:

You know, you can really add

all that kind of stuff up.

378

:

Your insurance is going to be the

same whether you drive 1, 000 miles

379

:

or you drive 10, 000 miles a year.

380

:

You know, that's not the issue.

381

:

Maintenance, kind of the same thing.

382

:

It's going to fluctuate depending

upon the number of miles that you pay.

383

:

Put onto your rig.

384

:

So that's kind of a hard kind of scenario

to be able to look at But what I would

385

:

say is when you're budgeting you should

always budget for emergencies because

386

:

you just never know what's gonna happen

and emergencies Are different than

387

:

your normal repairs and maintenance.

388

:

You should be budgeting for your

normal repairs and maintenance for

389

:

Your tires, your oil changes, and,

and all that other kinds of stuff.

390

:

You know that's going to come, so

start putting money away for that now.

391

:

Emergency budgeting, I'm talking

about is if your air condition

392

:

dies, your refrigerator dies, and

you need to go and buy a new one.

393

:

Those are the emergency kind of costs that

I'm looking at um, when I say emergencies.

394

:

So, you have your repairs and

maintenance budget, you also

395

:

have your emergency budget.

396

:

Let's talk about Income on the road,

remote work, seasonal jobs, you know,

397

:

you can get jobs at campgrounds.

398

:

You can get seasonal jobs as a camp host,

running a campground, in maintenance,

399

:

in repairs, in customer service.

400

:

You know, if you stay, I know a

lot of people that will stay put

401

:

for one campground season, make

a bunch of money, And then travel

402

:

the rest of the eight months, you

know, that's, that's an option.

403

:

There's a, someone that I know that

just got a amazing, uh, camp work job

404

:

in Yosemite, stayed up in Yosemite the

entire season, met a ton of different

405

:

people and was out exploring the entire

park, lived on site, um, for free.

406

:

In the van just cost no money had an

amazing summer made a ton of money and

407

:

then just hit the road again So there

are a lot of things that you can do

408

:

That are out there as far as seasonal

work as far as remote work remote

409

:

jobs kovid really element, uh elevated

remote work and when it comes to um

410

:

The acceptance and the availability of

nomadic jobs, so that's a huge thing

411

:

when we look at financial consideration.

412

:

So, can you save money living on

the road or in an RV as opposed

413

:

to your current situation?

414

:

Well, that's a hard question to answer.

415

:

If you're asking that question and

you're in a high rent, high cost of

416

:

living area like California, New York,

Miami, something along those lines or

417

:

Chicago, the answer is probably yes.

418

:

But if you're listening and you are in,

uh, uh, Iowa or Kansas or some other

419

:

lower cost, uh, place, uh, lower cost

of living, um, the answer could still

420

:

be yes, but it's also gonna depend.

421

:

So, every situation,

every area is different.

422

:

So, can you really save

money by living on the road?

423

:

I am.

424

:

I'm saving a lot of money

by living on the road.

425

:

Uh, but I also was paying high

rent and I was in a high cost

426

:

area in Los Angeles, California.

427

:

So, that's an individual answer that

you're going to have to talk about.

428

:

And decide for yourself.

429

:

Alright, so number five.

430

:

Lifestyle adjustments.

431

:

Well, we talked about a lot of

different lifestyle adjustments

432

:

from moving into a home into an RV.

433

:

We talked about the elements of stability.

434

:

We talked about downsizing.

435

:

We talked about a lot of

these other kinds of things.

436

:

But I think that When you're looking at

these adjustments, you have to go in with

437

:

the basic concept that you are moving from

what you were doing before, maybe it was

438

:

a more materialistic lifestyle, and you're

moving now into more of a minimalist.

439

:

Lifestyle.

440

:

So you only carry what you need.

441

:

And for me, I only carry something

as long as it can do multiple things,

442

:

you know, and you just kind of have

to change your way of thinking and

443

:

change your, your perception and change

your outlook on, on certain stuff.

444

:

And it is hard.

445

:

It can be hard at first.

446

:

Um, but I think that it is, um, once

you kind of get into that, you're

447

:

gonna go, Why did I need that 5, 000

statue and an interview hall table

448

:

and a chandelier and the thing?

449

:

You know, because those are just

things that you think you need.

450

:

I mean, how many times have we bought

something, where it's like, oh, this is

451

:

going to make my life so much easier,

and then you use it for a little bit,

452

:

and then you put it into a kitchen

drawer, never to be heard from again.

453

:

I mean, those are the things

that, that you kind of look at.

454

:

It's like, why do I need to

be in that I'm on Ti you know,

455

:

like, so you're on TikTok, right?

456

:

And you know those things, those

Amazon products you must have, or

457

:

new kitchen gadgets, or whatever.

458

:

And it's like, All these things that

you can go and buy that cost 30,

459

:

however much they cost, but it's

like a knife will do the same thing.

460

:

Or this whole thing that I already

used for one thing can do, so you don't

461

:

all of a sudden need those anymore.

462

:

So you're not spending money

on those things anymore.

463

:

You know, you're living this down, this

minimalistic, simplistic lifestyle because

464

:

you're filling your time, you're filling

your bucket with experiences and exploring

465

:

and taking on A different level of

satisfaction that you get from, from life.

466

:

Not a materialistic ones anymore.

467

:

You know, we're going to talk

about living in close quarters

468

:

with family or your partners.

469

:

Uh, that definitely is going

to be a lifestyle adjustment.

470

:

Uh, but again, going into full time RVing

with the right rig, knowing what your...

471

:

Must haves and like to haves.

472

:

It's like buying a house

or looking for this.

473

:

You're going to have your must have list.

474

:

You're going to have

your nice to have list.

475

:

Use that list when you go shopping for

a rig, and you're going to be okay.

476

:

You know, just know that it's

going to be a lot closer.

477

:

But, here's the great thing about the RV

life, is There's, you know, you have your,

478

:

if you're in an apartment, you have your

little patio that's just sitting outside.

479

:

Right?

480

:

Maybe it has a little view of the street

or the park or courtyard or whatever.

481

:

But when you're RVing,

you don't have a patio.

482

:

You have a whole nature preserve.

483

:

You have everything.

484

:

When you're in an RV park, there's

swimming pools and hot tubs and

485

:

rec rooms and pool halls and...

486

:

All these different pickleball, I'm

looking at a pickleball court right here

487

:

and horseshoes and barbecue pits, you

know, you don't need to stay inside.

488

:

If you're an RV or you can get out and

you can go and explore and you can go

489

:

hike, you can have your alone time.

490

:

You can go out there and that's what.

491

:

You know, RVing is all about.

492

:

It's to get out there.

493

:

You don't have to spend

all your time in the RV.

494

:

And let me tell you about

rain days in my van.

495

:

They suck.

496

:

Because I do feel like I'm trapped.

497

:

Because I don't normally

spend all day in the van.

498

:

I like to be out and whatever.

499

:

So, I found like, rain

days, I go to movies.

500

:

You know, I'll go to a mall.

501

:

And just go walk around and, and,

and things along those lines.

502

:

You know, I'll find something to

do just to be able to get outside.

503

:

Because that's so important.

504

:

Just being able to get outside.

505

:

And, um, And, and just explore.

506

:

So, don't worry about being close.

507

:

You can be as close to or as far

away from somebody as you want

508

:

when you're doing, uh, this.

509

:

And then your daily routines, you

know, as a full time RVer, they're

510

:

gonna, they're gonna differ,

but they're gonna be the same.

511

:

You're still gonna wake up, you're still

gonna work, you're still gonna think about

512

:

what you're gonna do today, you know,

but instead of saying, Oh, I'm gonna...

513

:

Vacuum, I'm going to mow the lawn.

514

:

I'm going to, you know,

go and clean the gutters.

515

:

You're saying, well, we're going

to check out this campsite.

516

:

We're going to go do, you

know, go explore this town.

517

:

We're going to sleep here tonight,

or we're going to go back to the

518

:

campground or we're going to leave

a day early or stay two days later.

519

:

You know, so you're still

trying to make the adjustments.

520

:

You're still making those decisions.

521

:

They're just different decisions about

how you choose to live your life.

522

:

So it is an adjustment.

523

:

But when it's all said and

done, it's not much different

524

:

than what you're already doing.

525

:

Finally, is full time RVing right for you?

526

:

Well, if you've gone through this

list and you've been nodding your

527

:

head up and down going, yeah, I get

it, I can do that, then it might be.

528

:

But if you're like, oh...

529

:

I can't do that.

530

:

No, there's just, that's a hard no.

531

:

RV full timing might still be for you.

532

:

Because one of the things that I hear the

most is, Oh, I need a shower every day.

533

:

So take a shower every day.

534

:

You know, in my tiny van,

I've got a full shower.

535

:

You know, in my big RV,

there's a full shower.

536

:

I'm at a campground, there's

a bunch of full showers here.

537

:

You know, So, maybe you're not going to be

an RVer that goes boondocking out in the

538

:

middle of nowhere for weeks and months on

end if you need this hot, unlimited water.

539

:

Maybe you're going to be more of

an RV campground kind of RVer.

540

:

And again, there's

nothing wrong with that.

541

:

You know, so, don't let that kind

of thing say, Oh, no, I'm not

542

:

ever going to be able to do that.

543

:

Um, you know, another thing to consider

when you're looking at full time RVing is

544

:

your relationships with the people going.

545

:

Are they all excited as you are?

546

:

Are they all ready to go?

547

:

Now, I've done a lot of interviews

on the RV Dreaming podcast and

548

:

for the full time freedom week.

549

:

I've talked to a lot of people And there's

a lot of times where one person is more

550

:

excited than the other But the person

who's not excited agrees to try it, you

551

:

know, quote air quotes try it for one

year Or some specific length of time.

552

:

And they're the ones that end

up falling in love with that

553

:

lifestyle more than anyone else.

554

:

Like, I was just talking to somebody,

they've been on the road for like three

555

:

or four years now, but it was a one year

trial, and now they're all in, and they're

556

:

raising their children that way, and

it's the one thing that she goes, I never

557

:

thought I would have ever have done this.

558

:

Like, it, it blows me away.

559

:

It is not anything like I thought about.

560

:

I thought I was going to have to suffer,

I was doing as a favor to my new husband.

561

:

No.

562

:

They're all in.

563

:

She loves it.

564

:

You just never know.

565

:

So, but, relationship considerations,

if everybody's on board, then

566

:

everybody needs to be on board.

567

:

You have to be able to cope with,

uh, changes in uncertainty as well.

568

:

You know, things change really quickly

around here, and being able to, you

569

:

know, just kind of go with the flow and

think things through with a level head.

570

:

Very, very important.

571

:

Um, finally, And this is, and

this is, I started without this.

572

:

And to be honest, right now, I still

don't have an answer to this last point.

573

:

Long term goals and how full

time RVing fits into them.

574

:

I don't know.

575

:

People ask me how long

I'm going to do this.

576

:

I don't know.

577

:

People ask me if I would ever

consider settling down again.

578

:

I don't know.

579

:

I don't want to say yes.

580

:

I don't want to say no.

581

:

I, I just know that, You know, going back

to the lifestyle elements of a full time

582

:

RVer, you just kind of go with the flow.

583

:

If somebody called me up today

and said, Hey, I got this great

584

:

job you would be interested in.

585

:

It would require you to get

off the road and be in person.

586

:

But hey, here's the job.

587

:

And it was something that

I've always wanted to do.

588

:

Yeah, done.

589

:

I'm in.

590

:

I've turned down jobs because

the opportunity doesn't sound as

591

:

exciting as getting off the road.

592

:

You know, so there's that, that balance

there, and to get me off the road would

593

:

have to be something pretty spectacular.

594

:

, but nothing's come up like that.

595

:

Now, also, I am getting tired.

596

:

I'm in my third year of full time RVing,

you know, without a domicile, without

597

:

a home base, without any of this.

598

:

So, I am getting tired.

599

:

It is a lot of work.

600

:

I'm planning, thinking

about where we're going.

601

:

The driving, all the kind of variables.

602

:

So this winter I am planning on

slowing down my travels a little bit

603

:

and not being so go, go, go, go, go.

604

:

Just to kind of give me a little reset.

605

:

And I think for me, that's going

to give me the rest that I need

606

:

to be able to move forward.

607

:

And wintertime really allows you to

do that because as the winter moves

608

:

in from the north and it gets colder,

everyone fought south to Arizona,

609

:

Florida, Texas, You know, for, for

their full time wintering, uh, needs.

610

:

And I think that's what I'm

going to be doing as well.

611

:

I think I'm going to be camping out in

southern Arizona for the, for the winter,

612

:

and not moving as much, or at all.

613

:

So that's going to be enough for me

to kind of recharge my batteries, to

614

:

stop and focus on some other things,

like growing this podcast and working

615

:

on RB Dreaming and stuff like that,

to allow for me to be ready to go.

616

:

Come April and May, where I want to

head back up to Canada again, where I

617

:

want to go hit the Pacific Northwest,

I'm sorry, the Pacific Northwest, oh,

618

:

and the Northeast, you know, so...

619

:

I don't know.

620

:

And it's okay.

621

:

You don't have to have that in mind.

622

:

You don't have to have an answer.

623

:

I don't.

624

:

Does that mean that

you can't full time RV?

625

:

Absolutely not.

626

:

Do it.

627

:

Just start going.

628

:

Alright?

629

:

So these are the main points

that we looked at today.

630

:

Is full time RVing right for you?

631

:

Understanding the full

time RVing lifestyle.

632

:

The pros and the cons.

633

:

Financial consideration.

634

:

Lifestyle adjustments.

635

:

And finally, you know, some other

things about is full time RVing.

636

:

Right for you and I'd

love to hear from you.

637

:

What are your pros and cons?

638

:

What are your drawbacks?

639

:

What are your fears about hitting the

road and now that you've been on the road

640

:

if you've been on the road Tell me what

you thought Your fears were how you dealt

641

:

with them and how you're getting through

your next cycle your next phase of your

642

:

nomadic lifestyle I'd love to know more

about all that drop your comments below.

643

:

I really appreciate you tuning in Thank

you for listening to the RV dreaming

644

:

podcast If you like what you heard or

you got something out of this please

645

:

take a moment and leave us a review

on Apple podcast or Spotify and helps

646

:

us get more exposure and helps us just

More people like you thrive on the road.

647

:

Alright, so enjoy your travels,

make them safe, make them

648

:

fun, and make them memorable.

649

:

RV Dreaming.

650

:

Start here, go anywhere.

651

:

We'll see you in the next episode.

652

:

Thanks for listening to

the RV Dreaming podcast.

653

:

See the action on Instagram.

654

:

Steward doing stuff.

655

:

Hear about it on the podcast.

656

:

Be sure to subscribe.

657

:

We'll see you in the next episode.

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