Full Time RV'ing. Where to start

[themechanicguy]

Hi, I would like to know if anyone here is living the rv lifestyle full time and what it's like and how to start. We would like to eventually settle in and find a small homestead but since we have no idea where we should be looking, rving might be a good way to go out and see the country and maybe find a place. I have posted a thread over in real estate as I was looking for info on how to find a small homestead and get started and someone mentioned rving. I keep coming back to the idea but it scares me since I don't know a whole lot about it. I will try to post a link here to my other thread if I can.
Thank you.

[modineg44]

I googled full-time RV living:
https://www.google.com/#q=full+time+RV+living

I'm sure there are Yahoo groups on this topic.

Nancy

[Wolf mom]

Glad to read that someone has enough money for gas to go RVing.. I heard oil went up $4.00 a barrel last week & suppose to keep rising over the summer.

I'm a person who usually jumps in with both feet, but I'd take it slow with becoming a full time RV'er. It's a very different lifestyle.
Along with what Modine said, there's also a RV magazine.

There's lots of threads here on starting a homestead and what to look/not look for in finding one. House? No house? How much land? What kind of animals? How long will the growing season be? Do you like snow/heat? How much money do I have? A lot of these questions can be answered before you take to the road and will narrow your search.

Just remember - above all, have fun!

[LisaInN.Idaho]

My husband and I fulltimed when we were first married and we had a blast. It definitely helped us decide to settle in the west eventually. We do have an RV now but don't fulltime. Though we plan extended trips in winter to warmer climates.
Try the Family Motor Coach Association. They have a forum. There are many groups online.

[topofmountain]

My wife & I have lived full-time for 15 years in an RV. We have two one where my wife works & the other on our homestead. We are building a house & we keep it there in the summer. Then bring it back to the park we live full time in & put it into storage. The park we are in is mostly permanent trailers, park models, & RVs.
We choice to live where we are because of the warm winters & my wife has a job she just loves & has 8 years before she can retire & wants to stay where she is. So we have the best of both worlds. Our homestead is 150 miles from our full time living place.

This is how we decided where we wanted to be long term. We traveled for years kind of like the TV Show Promised Land. My wife subed as she was going to college to get her teaching degree & both her master degrees.
It is a fun cheap way to live. The expense is the RV. If you choose a trailer vs motorhome then you need at least a 3/4 ton truck in my opinion that way you have enough truck to pull a reasonable size trailer. If you want a 35+' 5ther then a 1 ton.
I'll be glad to answer any questions you have. I think I have a pretty good knowledge in the life style.
Gas prices are always going up & down. When up you sit when they drop you travel. Don't let that be an issue.

[Michael W. Smith]

It could be cheap - but you have to figure in the gas. Plus, it isn't like it used to be where you could park the RV in the Walmart parking lot to stay overnight. The last I heard, Walmart doesn't allow RV's to park in their parking lot anymore and will actually fine you.

So, you'll be shelling out cash to stay in an RV park overnight as you travel.

[LisaInN.Idaho]

Originally Posted by Michael W. Smith

It could be cheap - but you have to figure in the gas. Plus, it isn't like it used to be where you could park the RV in the Walmart parking lot to stay overnight. The last I heard, Walmart doesn't allow RV's to park in their parking lot anymore and will actually fine you.

So, you'll be shelling out cash to stay in an RV park overnight as you travel.

It depends on the Walmart. Lots of them still do.
http://www.walmartatlas.com/rv-parking-at-walmart/

[Cyngbaeld]

I would assume you'd want to stay in one spot a few months to see if you like the area. Lots of RV parks around to choose from.

[fordy]

...............Before you purchase an RV that you can live in or "Full time" as they say , you need to acquire the knowledge that allows you to choose the highest quality trailer that your budget will allow ! There are specific Brand name manufactuers(sp) that built units just for full time living . For instance , off the top of my Head..........Teton , Travel Supreme , Hitchhiker , Mobile Suites , Excell , Newmar , Carriage Royals , Alpenlite . All those I listed are heavy , well made units with all the belly completely covered and insulated . They all come with 50 amp electricial service and large tanks for fresh water and sewer service .
................You will need a one Ton , diesel truck to safely pull(and stop) any of the above mentioned units . You should be willing to drive to purchase a trailer that suits your needs . , fordy

http://www.rvonline.com/
..............Here is a good place to start looking !

[themechanicguy]

Thanks for the responses. As for money to spend on gas, I realize that it will be a challenge. But it seems that finding a small homestead to rent that is affordable is also a big challenge. There are many parts of the country that we haven't seen and have no idea of the culture, or feel and would hate to move somewhere and not like it. I realize that there are lots of sites, blogs, threads etc on all of these issues. The problem is that like many topics, these topics have mixed opinions on almost every aspect. There seems to be information supporting completely opposite sides of a lot of issues, so I'm not sure what to think in some areas. It is different when you can ask someone questions about why they don't recommend doing things a certain way or they might have tips about an issue that they haven't blogged about or posted on. Please don't think that I am not researching other sources. I just happen to like this site and like to be able to ask questions of people that are all in one place and actually living the homesteading or rving life.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. I will copy and paste from my other post so you know more about my situation and see if anyone has any thoughts.

[themechanicguy]

This is what I posted in real estate.

"I'm new to posting on the site and am hoping to gather some information. I have been reading a lot of posts over the past year and have learned quite a bit from what many of you have shared in regards to homesteading. We currently live in the Mid-Atlantic region and due to several reasons are considering moving. I struggle with some health issues and my doctor has suggested trying a dryer climate. It gets quite humid here. Although we live in a sub-division, we have already been trying to get started with being more self sufficient. I installed a wood stove, a solar powered rainwater system, many raised bed vegetable gardens which are watered by rainwater through a system that I kind of custom made, etc..

One main problem is, we live in one of the most expensive states in the country N.J. and to own more than the 1/4 acre we have in this state is WAY out of our budget. We are longing to be in a more rural setting where we can have more privacy and less regulations. You aren't allowed to do anything here. We can't even have chickens! This area used to be much more rural and we had chickens when I was a kid. It has changed drastically over the years. I know this happens but I need serenity.

We would love to start out renting a small homestead in the beginning and maybe move on to buy once we get a real feel for the area.

The problem is that even after months and months of research we cannot narrow down an area. We are open to many parts of the country but at this point I just don't know where to go from here. I can't seem to find very many options that are even close to being affordable. How do we get started? Is it even worth keeping the dream going or is it just too difficult to do unless you have a decent amount of money?

Any info or opinions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks"

[fordy]

Originally Posted by themechanicguy

This is what I posted in real estate.

"I'm new to posting on the site and am hoping to gather some information. I have been reading a lot of posts over the past year and have learned quite a bit from what many of you have shared in regards to homesteading. We currently live in the Mid-Atlantic region and due to several reasons are considering moving. I struggle with some health issues and my doctor has suggested trying a dryer climate. It gets quite humid here. Although we live in a sub-division, we have already been trying to get started with being more self sufficient. I installed a wood stove, a solar powered rainwater system, many raised bed vegetable gardens which are watered by rainwater through a system that I kind of custom made, etc..

One main problem is, we live in one of the most expensive states in the country N.J. and to own more than the 1/4 acre we have in this state is WAY out of our budget. We are longing to be in a more rural setting where we can have more privacy and less regulations. You aren't allowed to do anything here. We can't even have chickens! This area used to be much more rural and we had chickens when I was a kid. It has changed drastically over the years. I know this happens but I need serenity.

We would love to start out renting a small homestead in the beginning and maybe move on to buy once we get a real feel for the area.

The problem is that even after months and months of research we cannot narrow down an area. We are open to many parts of the country but at this point I just don't know where to go from here. I can't seem to find very many options that are even close to being affordable. How do we get started? Is it even worth keeping the dream going or is it just too difficult to do unless you have a decent amount of money?

Any info or opinions will be greatly appreciated.



Thanks"

..............Land is very cheap in Nevada , and I would consider Arizona , Colorado is absolutely beautiful but Very expensive and water rights are hard to come by . , fordy

[themechanicguy]

Thanks. I have thought about those places also. And I have friends in Colorado and Southern Wyoming. Very nice areas.

[Grandmotherbear]

My suggestion is www.rvtravel.com and sign up for the free newsletter. He has hundreds of links to various sites and blogs.I have been following for over 7 years now. I have a camping van but it leaks badly and haven't been able to find anyone to work on it.

[cricket49]

Just a suggestion... if you find a few places you like, make sure you research property taxes, income tax and sales tax in the area. It could make a huge difference in how much money you have to pay out living in the area.

[Wayne02]

Unless you are wealthy, operational costs of traveling full-time in an RV need to be considered carefully. As an example we were going to take a few days off next week to go to the beach and camp in our trailer, but after checking fuel prices along our journey ($4.00+ per gallon) it would be a $450 fuel bill. And this of course doesn't include wear and tear, and maintenance on the tow vehicle and trailer.

I would recommend you have a plan before embarking on this journey. Use the power of the internet to narrow down your search based on the attributes that are important to you and your wife in a homestead location. No sense in traveling across four states only to find out that the area you are in has property taxes that are too high, regulations that are too strict, climate that you don't like, too far from family, poor schools, etc.

Get out a map of the good ol' USA and make a matrix of all the attributes and their level of importance to you and your wife, then prioritize the areas based on your research and from that you can set a travel plan. Just having a semi-formal sit-down discussion with your wife regarding those things are are important to each of you can be a value-added exercise.

As much as the concept of wandering around appeals, unless you have a really stout budget it can be costly. I've known at least one couple who took the wandering around approach in search of a new homestead. They eventually ran low on money and were pretty much stuck in the area they were in at the time. They not only spent the money they had budgeted for the traveling but also much of the money they were 'saving' buy not owning a home.

I would also suggest you purchase a roadside emergency plan from Good Sam, AAA, coachnet or one of the other providers. For the few dollars it costs each year it can be worth its weight in gold when you breakdown on the road.

If you haven't already I'd suggest joining http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm as it's a tremendous resource for travel info and technical information on your RV. There is a section for full-timing that covers many of the issues associated with that lifestyle from complex things like choosing the right full-timing rig to seemingly simple things like how to get your mail while you are on the road.

[themechanicguy]

Thank you. You have all made some good points. I think maybe I should keep looking for an inexpensive camper that I can tow with my current tow vehicle and just visit places that we are interested in within a reasonable driving distance from where we live now. I am hoping to find a smaller fairly light unit that I can equip with a small basic solar setup and a few other mods to help with not needing to be hooked up constantly at a campground. Having been an auto technician for most of my adult life and also having construction experience, I can save money by having those skills.

I've gone to look at many cheaper campers lately but even though I ask about water leaks ahead of time and they say there aren't any, all of them but one have had water damage. It would have to be wOrth it for me to take on that kind of project.

Originally I was hoping that if we got a camper and eventually found a property maybe we could take the camper there and kind of go back and forth while getting set up. Who knows. I guess I'm doing too much dreaming and not enough doing.

[ChristieAcres]

We found a motorhome that only cost us $4,250, runs very well, doesn't go through the oil, and transmission in excellent shape. The reason we bought it, was to live in while we are building our log home. We can take off and go for a vacation in comfort and are ready to leave anytime, which is cool. DH is an Industrial Mechanic/Machinist/Welder and is still fixing little stuff that is left and can fix anything else that goes wrong. His parents live in a motorhome 6-8 months per year, as they like to travel during the late Fall/Winter months. They lived in a motorhome for a year, while their home was built. We have camped in a travel trailer, camper, and a motorhome. The latter was the most comfortable by far. As for areas to live in, everyone has their own set of criteria. We could have lived anywhere in the Country, but we opted for an area in the foothills of the Olympics here in WA (fit all of our criteria and was priced within our budget). Our property is 5.1 acres, which was our minimum. In time, we are going to make an offer on the adjoining 5 acres.

If you can rule out areas that don't fit your criteria, soon it narrows down your search...

[beaglebiz]

I belong to www.rv.net ...there are forums and boards for any type or recreational vehicle (we have a travel trailer)..and a board for folks who live in them FT...they share all kinds of info, including recipes!

[themechanicguy]

Thanks again to everyone for the replies.