Should I or Shouldn’t I?

Making the decision can be the hardest part

Making the Decision (Quicklinks)

• Do We Really Want to Do This?

• Could We Really Do This?

• Can We Afford This?

• Can We Give Up Our House?

• Can I Give Up My Garage?

• Do We Need to Full-Time?

• Do We Sell or Store?

• What About the Kids?

• What About Health Insurance?

• Can We Work on the Road?

• What About Summers and Winters?

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In our experience living on the road, we have met thousands of people along the way. Frequently the conversation opens up to our full-time RV lifestyle, and the reaction of most is, “Wow, you’re living my dream!” For most people all it will ever be is a dream, because most will never take the risk.

Making the decision was the most difficult part. It was scary and there were a lot of unknowns. The decision to take a leap of faith in an entirely new direction required a lot of thought and processing, but once the decision was made, everything that followed seemed much easier.

If you are considering the full-time lifestyle possibility, here are some of the questions you will have to answer:

Downsizing and minimalizing can seem very attractive. It is rewarding, liberating and fullfilling, but it also carries a lot of risk.

The decision to leave the comfort and security of your home and become a traveling nomad is a huge change that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It probably ranks as one of the major stress points in life, like marriage, divorce, retirement, and job change.

While most people love to travel, do you really want to do it all the time? And while most people love their partner, do you really want to be around them all the time? And if you’re used to living in a 3,000 sq. ft. house, do you really want to downsize to living in a 400 sq. ft. box on wheels?

Spend some time visualizing what life would look like if you made the decision to live on the road. Exciting? Yes! Full of unknowns? Yes! Make sure you really want this kind of lifestyle before you do something really stupid.

If you’ve never camped with an RV before, you’ll have a big learning curve and you probably need to try it before buying a rig.

A great way to test the water is to rent a motorhome through a place like CruiseAmerica and plan an extended vacation. It’s expensive, but not even close to the cost of buying an RV, and will give you a chance to see how you like it. They will teach you the set-up and take-down procedures, and it gives you the experience of driving a larger vehicle. A word of caution: motorhomes used in the rental business are usually built for utility and not luxury. They won’t be equipped with a lot of frills, but it’s a good way to give you a feeling for the experience.

Make a visit to a local RV dealer or go to an RV show. Don’t buy - just look. There are a lot of options, floor plans and sizes that can help you visualize what your new life might look like. You’ll also get a chance to experience the culture and talk to people who might be your new neighbors.

Are you flexible? On occasion your schedule will be interrupted and your plans won’t go as expected. Travel arrangements change because of accidents, breakdowns, traffic, road construction and weather.

The basic hookups for electricity, sewer and water in a campground require at least a minimal understanding of how things work and sometimes they don’t work. You don’t have to be an expert, but you have to be able to learn, be open to change and be flexible when required.

RVs will have problems and will need to be fixed. You either need to have some mechanical ability or have deep financial reserves to pay others to do the job. And be prepared for the frustration of delays if you have work that needs to be done at a dealer.

Do you like to drive? No matter what type of rig you end up with, someone will have to do the driving, and if that is not enjoyable then a good portion of many of your days will be less than pleasurable.

Do you have physical limitations or medical requirements that would interfere with your ability to enjoy a full-time lifestyle? Some of these limitations can be creatively accommodated but others might be prohibitive.

If you wait until you think you can afford it, you’ll probably never do it.

If this is an area of concern, here are some practical questions to ask yourself:

Do you have significant debt? If so, this can be prohibitive for a lifestyle change unless you have a reliable, sustainable income. Minimal debt equals maximum freedom.

Are you financially prepared for the unexpected? You have to have some amount of accessible savings that are not used for daily expenses.

What will be your monthly source of income?

Do you plan on working while living on the road?

Here are some valuable tools that can help with the planning process:

Budget: Food For Thought

Budget: Sample Budget

Budget: Sample Worksheet

The short answer is yes. You’ll have to decide if you want to - this is one of the most significant issues that has to be resolved before making a change to full-time living.

All of the rooms in your new home will be smaller than your current home. You may be transitioning from multiple bathrooms to a single bathroom, and very few RV’s have a bathtub. Your kitchen will be smaller, your appliances may be a different technology and you probably won’t have a dishwasher. You won’t have space for major appliances, fine china, artwork, your various collections and tchotchkes. Your storage areas will be limited by space and weight capacity.

Living on the road will require you to reduce your affinity for collecting and keeping “stuff”. You’ll have to make hard decisions about what goes and what stays, always being mindful of the weight you are adding to your RV.

Many full-timers carry plants so they can continue to tend to their “garden.” Yard decorations are very common around campsites for personalization.

All of those things seems like negatives, but it’s a matter of perspective. In exchange for the things you might be giving up, you are gaining the world as your backyard - without all the required maintenance. Your trinkets and tchotchkes are replaced with pictures, memories, experiences and adventure. Only you can decide if it is worth it.

You might consider loading your RV for travel and committing to one year storage for your possessions. Use the first year to find out if you need anything in storage, and if you are really using what you have on board. If you haven’t used it in a year, you probably don’t need it.

If home is a sticking point in your decision, and you can afford it, consider keeping your home and explore other creative options such as renting it through AirBnB or a property management company.

The short answer is also yes. It will require you to downsize and reduce all the things you’ve collected over the years, your holiday and seasonal decorations, and your collection of tools and equipment.

You’ll need some tools for the road, but very few full-timers need a drill press or table saw, for example. I was unwilling to sell my tools in a garage sale for pennies on the dollar, so I put most in storage. A few have come in handy for remodel projects on the kid’s house, but most have not been used since we started living on the road. I haven’t found a good balance yet. I have too many tools, most in storage, and that is a project that still remains. I miss my garage - but not enough to change our new lifestyle.

We have made many friends along the way who still have their home and use their RV as a long-timer. They may spend the winters at a resort in Arizona, California or Florida and return to their home for the summer. This can also be an ideal arrangement for those who want the adventure but still want the security of a home, and can be a great transition if you’re thinking about the full-time lifestyle but want an easy out if it isn’t what you expected.

Almost everyone we’ve encountered began with some or all of their household goods in storage, and we did too. It’s a decision you will have to make, but keep in mind that your tastes in furniture and clothing will likely be different when you come off the road than when you start full-timing. Storage ended up being a burden for us, and we eliminated it after the second year on the road.

If you decide to downsize, consider using this as a guide:

1. Get everything out of your attic and basement so you can see what you really have.

2. Open your home to your kids, and let them have anything they want. They’ll be doing this anyway at some point in time - let them do it now.

3. Give away special things to special people.

4. Advertise your more valuable items on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or Ebay.

5. Have several garage sales, with the intention of reducing your stuff instead of getting the best price.

6. Donate your remaining items to local charities or thrift stores.

7. Delegate a family member as keeper of the family heirlooms.

Technology and social media have almost eliminated the distance between families. Facetime or Skype give us the ability to interact with loved ones in a way never before possible when separated by distance.

Your new home is mobile. Plan your travel to make stops where they live, and we’ve found it makes the visits more special. Plan segments to bring your grandchildren with you and create awesome memories. And if the family needs a gathering place for holidays, pick someone else’s house. Yours won’t be big enough!

You have the opportunity, though, to create some fabulous experiences with your family. What about a reunion at Disney World or the Grand Canyon, or Christmas at the beach?

Health insurance options will require significant investigation and evaluation, unless you already have made provisions. Your situation may be simple or may be so complex that it prevents you from being able to live on the road full-time.

You shouldn’t have any issues if you’re covered by Medicare or already have private health insurance. But if not, I highly recommend that you thoroughly research this and make sure you are comfortable with your health care decisions.

More in-depth discussion is found under Health Insurance.

If you want to keep working, work is available.

Working at a campground will generally provide you with a free or lower cost spot, and your responsibilities can range from camp host to janitorial or maintenance.

Many full-timers will find a seasonal volunteer position at a campground in exchange for a site.

Some full-timers find seasonal work at Amazon distribution centers or major theme parks for supplemental income, but these places usually don’t provide an RV site.

I discuss this in more detail under Living on the Road.

Recreational vehicles are generally not built to withstand heavy snow and extreme cold in the winter or scorching heat in the summer. We’ve been in 4 degrees F at West Yellowstone, Montana and 126 degrees F in Bullhead City, Arizona - but not for long periods of time.

When you full-time, think about where you want to spend your winters and summers. Your rig will last longer and you will be more comfortable if you head south in the winter and north in the summer. If you plan on spending your winters in Alaska or Minnesota and summers in Nevada, for example, you’ll need better heat, air and insulation than an RV can provide.

Many full-timers do their traveling in the spring, summer and fall and then head south. Popular winter destinations are Florida, South Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California.

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