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Thread: RV living

  1. #1
    Senior Member flowerseverywhere's Avatar
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    RV living

    We have spent the last few months on the road and have met so many interesting people. I had no idea how many people are full timers for various reasons

    multiple couples, single men and women who are on their own who have different types of rigs and travel to work seasonally. They are campground hosts, waitresses and shop workers in tourist areas, temp workers for major events. Each story is unique. Some have been through financial detestation like a messy divorce, job loss and economic downfall of their community when a big plant closed. Some are just plain free spirits. One couple had kids and they were home schooling as they worked and travelled. We met a young couple who were tenting - she was a scuba instructor who and he was a musician. We have met people who were cycling around the country carrying tents and supplies. One cycler had a little trailer for his supplies. Some were going it alone, some in pairs.
    There are the usual variety of retirees, some young, who live in the north for half the year and the south for the other half. National and state parks have limits on how long people can stay, but many private campgrounds have seasonal spots. Of course if you land a job at the park or a business that has some type of accommodation the problem is easier.

    It it has been fascinating to me (who grew up with the house with the white picket fence, two kids and a dog idea) all the alternative lifestyles. There are mail forwarding services, and some people establish businesses and find a state that is the most tax friendly as their home base.

    Just fascinating.

  2. #2
    Senior Member CathyA's Avatar
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    My brother, after he retired at age 68, sold his house and bought an RV and moved out west. He picked out a place to receive his mail. He spends most of his time hiking and biking. He's met interesting people too. If people are "parked" in the same place for a period of time, they look out for each other and have get-togethers. His RV is very comfortable. One of the down sides is that if it needs repair, you have to stay in a hotel. He has one that is pulled by a truck....which he can use to travel all around the area. He loves it.

  3. #3
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    This sounds so fun and interesting to me, something I would love to do for a while at some point. One of my favorite books is Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon.

    I like the idea of something that is pulled by your car/truck so that you can park it at the campground and drive around without always having to drive a giant RV. One thing I wonder about -- in the past when I have done some short-term car camping (like one or two nights), in some of the places there would be a lot of drinking (maybe drugging too?) at night with people getting really rowdy and out of control, which I did not like. This was mostly at state parks in California. Have you encountered that much?

  4. #4
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    I like watching Bob's videos. He interviews everyone he comes across about full-time RVing. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAj...bkIR54hAn6Zz7A

    We have a lot of workcampers and full-timers pass through here. It's easy to find part-time jobs and lots of camping options.
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

  5. #5
    Senior Member CathyA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mamalatte View Post
    This sounds so fun and interesting to me, something I would love to do for a while at some point. One of my favorite books is Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon.

    I like the idea of something that is pulled by your car/truck so that you can park it at the campground and drive around without always having to drive a giant RV. One thing I wonder about -- in the past when I have done some short-term car camping (like one or two nights), in some of the places there would be a lot of drinking (maybe drugging too?) at night with people getting really rowdy and out of control, which I did not like. This was mostly at state parks in California. Have you encountered that much?
    I don't think my brother has. The places he parks are more long-term and tend to have the older crowds. He posted a picture once of one of the "community meals" put on by the RVers, and it was mostly all older folks.

    I suppose you could drive your RV and pull a car behind, but it makes more sense to do it the other way around. My poor brother.......when he first got his RV (which is a very big one), he drove it out of the big parking lot at the dealers and didn't appreciate that you can't turn as close to things (like cement boulders holding up big lights) and crunched part of his new RV. He immediately got it fixed.......but pretty embarrassing for him. The one he got was like a house........I mean it was beautiful and had just about everything you could want......but no basement. haha I think for more short-term vacationing, I would enjoy a much smaller one. I would like doing that........rather than going from hotel to hotel.......

  6. #6
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
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    We have a 28ft Class 'C' motorhome with 3 slides which we use for travelling about 5 weeks each year. Spent all but the last few days of July running out to the west coast and back. When we first got it, our plan was to spend about half the year running around the country after we retire. After nearly 10 years of practicing, I'm now thinking that's a little too much time on the road, at least in the current motorhome.

    We usually pull our motorcycle on a trailer for transportation once we've settled in somewhere and on those rare occasions the weather doesn't cooperate for a day or two, we rent a car.

    I've come around to the idea of replacing the motorhome with a 5th Wheel Trailer, although that would then require a $50K or so truck on top of the cost of the 5th Wheel. A small travel trailer would make more sense, but that would bring us back to the feeling of being cramped in a small space that bothers me with our current setup.

    I really enjoy and always look forward to our next excursion, but I think having the right equipment is key to long-term happiness. I'm hoping we can settle on that in the next year or so.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  7. #7
    Senior Member flowerseverywhere's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mamalatte View Post
    This sounds so fun and interesting to me, something I would love to do for a while at some point. One of my favorite books is Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon.

    I like the idea of something that is pulled by your car/truck so that you can park it at the campground and drive around without always having to drive a giant RV. One thing I wonder about -- in the past when I have done some short-term car camping (like one or two nights), in some of the places there would be a lot of drinking (maybe drugging too?) at night with people getting really rowdy and out of control, which I did not like. This was mostly at state parks in California. Have you encountered that much?
    the drinking and drugging has not been a problem. You have to research though. Once we were at a state park somewhere down south on Fourth of July weekend, it was pretty wild. The national parks patrol and I have not seen any problems. Some of the private parks we have found are excellent, some not so much. Overall we have had excellent experiences

    We have done this for three years now for three months at a time. And some several week trips in the fall and spring. Our 30' class C is plenty big for us. We tow a small car. We put up a big screen tent to there is always an option to sit outside. You have to be pretty compatible and tolerant though. If you pick on each other or have disagreements it probably is not a good idea to take a long trip in such a small space.

    Also, internet and tv can run from spotty to non existent, especially in state and National parks. I have a small sewing machine so I work on quilt blocks, and we have lots of books and play games, and a radio, like people used to spend their evenings

  8. #8
    Williamsmith
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    I have entertained this idea frequently. However, if I am honest with myself rather than just romanticiing....it doesn't fit me any more than a square peg in a round hole. The positives seem to be oversold. I have a few neighbors with high end rv's and I look on them as more or less status symbols. First off, I'd have to sell my condo to afford one. In poker terms, that is called "all-in." Then the wife is not as much of a free spirit as I am, but ironically enough she travels better than I do. I like the comforts of home. You know....a full sized refrigerator, a tub I can soak in, and consistency in my surroundings meaning peace, quiet and security. I like being in complete control and I am big on preparations.

    There are a lot of uncertainties with full time RV living. Taxes being one. State of residency can be a legal sticky situation. Especially if your state decides to limit your privileges like voting because you can't prove you spend 1/2 your time or have half your assets within said state. Expenses are subject to variability depending on your luck and your tastes. Sure you can do it cheap but you can also do it really expensively. Perhaps the sketchiness of accessing healthcare would be a major concern for some. Have you tried to do anything without a primary physician?

    Last but not least in my book is the actual physical power plant.....the RV. As soon as you buy it it depreciates in value. When it breaks down....it is a major inconvenience. It is a drop everything and get it fixed scenario and that exposes you to higher maintenance fees because you can't take the time to shop around. And finally, there is the movie that Robin Williams starred in....."RV". Every time I explained to somebody that I was living in an RV...they would undoubtedly bring up this movie and laugh. I would be constantly apologizing for for punching people in the mouth.

  9. #9
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Williamsmith View Post
    There are a lot of uncertainties with full time RV living. Taxes being one. State of residency can be a legal sticky situation. Especially if your state decides to limit your privileges like voting because you can't prove you spend 1/2 your time or have half your assets within said state.
    We had a moderator here in the bad old days who maintained a PO box with a mail forwarding service in Texas (a no state income tax state) as her legal residence and spent the year in her RV on a small lot she and hubby owned in a California nudist colony. She used to lecture some of us here for not being willing to pay more taxes. I always found that amusing.

    Last but not least in my book is the actual physical power plant.....the RV. As soon as you buy it it depreciates in value. When it breaks down....it is a major inconvenience. It is a drop everything and get it fixed scenario and that exposes you to higher maintenance fees because you can't take the time to shop around.
    In our travels, we've never run into a major inconvenience, but boy the minor ones are sometime annoying. Passing through Oklahoma a few weeks ago, two of the three vent covers on the roof of our motorhome blew off at just about the time the clouds ahead began to darken. I found myself on the roof in a WalMart parking lot with plastic containers, duct tape and silicone, trying to seal the openings before the rain started. Then while working our way through California I replaced the kitchen faucet in a Home Depot parking lot in Bakersfield. Nothing out of the ordinary in either of those incidents, outside the locations.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  10. #10
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    I have been hankering for a pull behind small camper for about 2 years, mostly because of the stress of finding motels that take dogs, and how easy it would be to park in my kids' and parents' yards for 2 weeks.

    But try as I may to interest my husband in the idea, he is balking. And since he is the one who will have to drive the things, I figure I ought to just give up.

    But we saw a casita the other day and the guy gave us a tour and he was almost sold on the idea.

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