What Full-time RVing is Really Like

Should you live in an RV full time?

During our 3 years of full-time RVing, we have talked to lots of folks who are interested in our lifestyle and say that they would really love to RV full-time. We have also met lots of couples and families who have been RVing full time for many years and just love it and wouldn’t ever own a home again. However, this lifestyle is not for everyone. There are many differences between owning a home and living in one place versus traveling full-time and living full-time in a camper/ RV. Even though we owned a camper before going full time and gave ourselves sufficient time to try RV life before deciding to do it full time, there are some things that we did not consider and that took us by surprise. When people tell me that full time RV life would be their dream, I do let them know that even though it has been wonderful for us, I would not describe it as a dream life, especially not for everyone. Some things to consider are listed here, a sort of “pros and cons” list.

Pros of Full-Time RV Life

Seeing all the things!
The obvious advantage of full-time RV living is being able to travel the country and see things and try things that you wouldn’t normally have time to do. Let’s face it, a few weeks of vacation during your work year don’t really allow enough time to go all of the places you would like to. Having to jam everything into a one or two week vacation means that you have to hurry to try to see everything you would like to. When you RV full-time, you can go where you want for as long as you want, enabling you to check off some of those bucket list items. You will also find places on your way to destinations that you didn’t know about and may be some of your new favorites.

Nice weather
You really can follow nicer weather and avoid the cold and snow. It doesn’t mean you’ll be in all sunshine and warmth every day, of course. However, we no longer have to wait throughout the long Wisconsin winters to get out and enjoy some of the things we like to do.

No lawn care (or snow removal)
This is a big deal for me. When I owned a house and had to mow grass after work and before making dinner, I just dreaded this. I found it difficult and stressful to try and schedule getting this done before a big rain, also. Then there’s the trimming and weeding. Being from Wisconsin also means clearing snow from the driveway and sidewalks all winter. If you’re from one of the snowy states or Canada, you also know that as soon as you finish clearing snow from your driveway the snow plow comes by and pushes the snow back into your driveway! No lawn care or snow removal necessary when you RV full time!

Lower costs
Full-time RV living can be cheaper than home ownership. For one thing, see above – you won’t need that lawn care or snow removal equipment! Your expensive home repairs will be eliminated, though you will need to budget for RV and tow vehicle (if applicable) repairs. We budget for tires and general maintenance on our RV and truck so that these don’t take us by surprise. You can find cheap or even free places to camp – see more about free and cheap camping here.

If paying for a full hookup campsite usually electric, water and sewer are included so the campsite fee is your only expense. No property taxes to be paid either! Some good budgeting tools and advice are here on our site.

Following good weather means lower heating costs. We rarely need to fill our propane tanks. Last year we spent some time in cooler weather and we had to fill the propane more often, about once a month. This is still so much cheaper than heating a large house.

Find budgeting tools here.

Traveling with pets
We have 2 dogs and most of the people we meet at campgrounds also have dogs. Could you imagine trying to travel the country and having to either board your dogs or find pet-friendly hotels and then pay extra for your dogs to stay there? We always have our dogs with us and they are well behaved in the camper. They are able to hike with us most places so they are enjoying themselves, too, rather than being at a kennel. We recently had to stay at a hotel for a weekend in order to attend a wedding and they charged an extra $20 per dog PER NIGHT.

Minimalist lifestyle
This is something that you may not have considered. Having to really simplify and get rid of lots of stuff in order to live in a small space is really freeing. When you think about it, how much “stuff” do you really need? Cutting back to just the basics really feels great. Less stuff means less to worry about. Also, after selling furniture and tools and other large items, we used the money as a “fun” account for doing some of the things on our bucket list.

Campfires and campfire food
I think campfires are magical. This is one of my favorite things about camping full time. Making pudgie pies or grilling shrimp over the campfire is something you can do on a regular basis! Morning coffee next to the fire is an option, too! Chilly mornings by the fire are so special. Some of our favorite recipes can be found on our site here.

Food tasting country-wide
I’m very food motivated so being able to try local foods everywhere we go has been one of our favorite things about traveling full time. BBQ in the south, gumbo in New Orleans, seafood on the east coast…. cheese curds and fish fries when we’re back in Wisconsin in the summer. Make sure you try the small independent restaurants instead of the large chains. There are so many amazing little diners along Route 66 also.

Healthier lifestyle
You will be more active and spend more time outdoors. By visiting more parks, beaches and other beautiful places, you will be outdoors more often. We have been hiking at most of our destinations and also swimming, kayaking, zip lining, etc. Along with our morning run and other exercise, this helps keep us fit and healthy. Vitamin D from all of the sunshine helps too!

Other people
We’ve met so many interesting people who also full-time RV. There is a community of folks who travel full time and they are like your friends/family while you travel. We have found that RVers stick together and help each other out. We’ve been stranded on the side of the road with issues a couple of times, and fellow RVers have been more than happy to stop and help.

When you arrive at a campground, check with other RVers to find the best local attractions. There may also be some planned activities at the campground.

Cons of Full-Time RV Life

Laundromats
If your campground doesn’t have laundry facilities then you have to go to a local laundromat. You can also buy an RV that has washer and dryer hookups. We do have hookups for a washer and dryer but chose not to use them because of the space they take up in the closet. So we have to use laundromats sometimes. We try to make it more fun by pairing the trip with stopping at a nearby restaurant or ice cream place while the clothes are spinning.

Holding tanks
There is no way to make this a fun activity. It’s not too time consuming and really isn’t that bad, but it’s something you don’t have to do when you have a house and should be considered in your overall decision to full-time RV. Just how often you need to empty the tanks depends on the size of the tanks, how many people live in the RV and of course how much you are using the water. We try to use the campground bathrooms and showers as much as possible if they are nice facilities. When using our shower we use the shut-off valve to keep water usage to a minimum. We use this shower head in the RV. We have to empty holding tanks about once a week. Greg wrote a nice article about holding tanks – access it here.

Unexpected expenses and breakdowns
I always tell potential full-time rvers that your RV WILL break down sometime – or you will get stuck in the mud, or…

We have had a couple of mechanical failures and also had a stuck-in-the-mud situation. Even though you budget for these extra emergencies, it’s never fun to be stuck on the side of the road. Have your roadside assistance plan (we use Good Sam) and expect that it may happen on occasion.

Mail
Although we use a mail service (Anytime Mailbox), we still can experience some inconvenience with getting mail and packages. Most private campgrounds will accept mail and packages for you, so if you stay in one place for a long time then this isn’t a real problem. Most of the time our mail service works fine, scanning our mail and sending electronic copies. If we do need to have something forwarded, however, it can be a problem. We move around quite a bit and also stay at county or state parks when possible so it can be difficult to get something shipped or forwarded to us. At times we’ve had to have things sent to a family member and then pick it up or have them send it when we’re able to receive mail.

Storage
After getting rid of most of our worldly possessions, we found that there were some things we just couldn’t part with. Since there isn’t enough room for those things in the RV, we did need to rent a 10 x 15 storage unit. Things in our storage include memorabilia, photo albums (we did scan most of our photos and get rid of the hard copies, but we still have some albums), favorite kitchen items and breakable dishes, etc. If you just can’t part with everything or need some extra time to sell / give away everything, then you may need to rent a storage unit.

Small space
There is definitely an adjustment period for living in a small space, especially when you have two medium-sized dogs! We’ve adjusted after some time. Keeping your RV organized is a must – there just isn’t room for clutter. Some of the organizational tools we use in our RV are listed here.

Missing friends and family
As a full-time RVer you have the flexibility to go where you want for as long as you want; however, being from Wisconsin means that it gets too cold by the end of October and we really must hit the road. This is when we say goodbye to family until our return in late spring. Consider this before making the decision to RV full time. We do have family in other states, so we use the late fall and winter months to visit them. Earlier this year we visited kids in California and later this year we’ll visit a daughter and also some friends in Florida. Along the way we’ll go see things on our “must see” list.

Other people
This is on both the pros and cons list. Because there are people that you want to visit with at campgrounds and then there are…. Other people. Fortunately, most folks are courteous and obey campground rules like quiet hours. Sometimes, however, people are coming in for a weekend of partying and don’t really care if they stay up late making noise and keeping you awake; nor do they care about rules regarding pets, and may let them roam off-leash and not clean up after them. When you live in an RV full time, you have a different mindset about camping and don’t really want to party every weekend. Luckily this doesn’t happen too often but be aware that it most likely will happen sometimes.

The Bottom Line – Should you Full-time RV ?

We absolutely think it is worth it so that we can have the time to see the country. Considering all of the national parks, state parks, oceans, rivers, lakes, beaches and mountains that we have seen and all of the experiences we have had we don’t have any regrets having chosen this lifestyle. You can always rent an RV and try it out yourself – or buy a small RV and try some long weekends out before making the plunge into RVing full time.