Anyone here ever full time in an RV?

Hey guys, I've been busy with life. Sorry I missed you all at the challenge last year, but I'm back now.

My new wife and I are looking to downsize. One of my dad's lawn customers has a 99 Winnebago Adventurer for sale. It's a dual slide class a, and everything in it works. Miles are low for the age at 41k miles.

A leak has been repaired, both structurally and cosmetically. The slides run in and out smooth. I can't really think of anything else to look at on it, I've checked it all.

Anyway, have any of you used one full time? That's our plan. We want to remodel the already nice interior and move in.

For the first couple of years, we will remain local, until we can transition into remote jobs. I can stay in the same field doing now remote work, but my wife will have to figure something out.

In reply to Derick Freese :

I lived in a 16 ft travel trailer for a few years while I was in the Navy. I was surrounded by bigger ones both trailer and Motorhome.  
  Sooner or later you'll need to rent space in a RV park and that's where problems start.  Certain RV parks get people with issues. Drinking, drugs,  party's, hostile, busybody, perverts. Etc etc. etc. 

If you're lucky none of that happens and management does a good job of keeping the place clean, straight, and problem free.   Before committing check all your options out. 
Long term you will need something other than the RV  to go shopping, go to a job, etc etc etc. 

Me and my family decided to go full time RVing next year, still planning on which RV to buy. Aside from that we are also currently planning to buy a round toilet https://bestflushingtoilet.org/best-round-toilet/, we think of changing our toilets at home now.

I could maybe do it if I was single.

Maybe.

DD#2's best friend's parents are in the process of making that transition.  If I can learn anything, I'll pass it on.

From what I've learned listening to tiny house lifers, don't do it unless you both know for a fact you can spend large amounts of time together and already live a "small" life.

Do you already have access to land where living in an RV is permitted?  Like Frenchy noted, living full time in a park can be bad news.

frenchyd said:

In reply to Derick Freese :
  Sooner or later you'll need to rent space in a RV park and that's where problems start.  

From my brief research, the cost of a slip at an RV park is equivalent to rent/mortgage many places.

ProDarwin said:

frenchyd said:

In reply to Derick Freese :
  Sooner or later you'll need to rent space in a RV park and that's where problems start.  

From my brief research, the cost of a slip at an RV park is equivalent to rent/mortgage many places.

Get used to the view from the bottom of the Wal*Mart parking lot.

State parks are the best place to camp.

We've found plenty of opportunity to boondock at little or no cost per night. For now, we have a place we can park it and hook up until we can build a safety net for travelling.

We are already living in one bedroom of the house we are in, with my brother and his family taking up the rest. An RV is actually more space than we are working with now.

We have a perfect car to tow behind, a 2010 Yaris. It can't be flat towed, but dolly towing is totally an option.

Speaking of sketch RV parks, I've had the displeasure of building out the wifi for one in which the owner was all over the place. Really soured the way I look at the places now. That experience is what got us looking into boondocking and other low cost camping opportunities.

My parents and my in-laws both full-time RV'd for a bunch of years

First and foremost, buy a powered dehumidifier. People put out a lot of moisture and you need to capture it before it condenses against the inner skin of the RV. There can be huge mold and damage issues if the insulation and other materials in the walls stay moist. And they will unless you remove the moisture.

Secondly, RVs typically aren't made with the durability of actually living in them full time. Everything from the building materials (carpet, vinyl flooring, countertops, cabinets, sinks, shower, toilets, etc) to the furniture (foam padding, fabrics, etc) to the systems (water, sewer, elec, ventilation) aren't up to the durability of "normal" household items. The couch cushions will break down and become worn sooner, trim will get damaged, etc. I'm not knocking RVs, they need to be less substantial than a house. Just be aware that you are living in a space not really designed for full time living.

When I was younger we did 6 months in an RV with a family of 5, while finishing out the school year and waiting for the new house three states away became available. I was 14 and we were parked next to a family friends house with a pool. I didn't mind, and could possibly do it again if we didn't have two toddlers in the mix.  I honestly have no memory of the bathroom situation, I spent my days playing guitar on my bed and swimming. 

Interesting thread as we have talked about in our household. Following for the great information. 
 

we don't own a rv. Looking to rent one in July. $279-$339 a night local rate for one that sleeps 4 with a bathroom. El Monte Rv. 
 

cruise America is $135 a night, but 0.50 cent a mile. 
 

i am  sure like many Americans rv traveling will be more than popular in the summer - as many of us who go to far flung trans continental destinations will not be flying. 
 

demand seems to be very high now.  So if you have a rv - maybe renting it out could make some good $ now 

Funny, but inasmuch as cruising on a sailboat of equivalent space appeals to me, this does not. Maybe its the not being able to poop out the window part. I dunno.

But it could be an adventure and it will certainly be a story for later in life, so go for it.

Derick Freese said:

We've found plenty of opportunity to boondock at little or no cost per night. For now, we have a place we can park it and hook up until we can build a safety net for travelling.

We are already living in one bedroom of the house we are in, with my brother and his family taking up the rest. An RV is actually more space than we are working with now.

We have a perfect car to tow behind, a 2010 Yaris. It can't be flat towed, but dolly towing is totally an option.

Speaking of sketch RV parks, I've had the displeasure of building out the wifi for one in which the owner was all over the place. Really soured the way I look at the places now. That experience is what got us looking into boondocking and other low cost camping opportunities.

A Fellow Navy pilot has lived in a pickup camper since returning from Vietnam in 1970. He lives in the boondocks and moves as soon as someone asks him to.  Sometimes it's in a few months occasionally it'll be decades.  
Twice a year he sells his "driftwood" art to stores along  the coast.  He wanders the desert picking up sun bleached wood and paints shoreline or coastal scenery.     He keeps a very low profile and just wants to be left alone

It will depend some on where you want to go.  In the mid-Atlantic to New England, boondocking areas are difficult and the larger and more conspicuous the RV the harder it will be.  Few Walmarts allow it (either by management or local law).  In the South and out westwards, there is a lot more open land.

I've looked into an RV for when I work in NH.  The cheapest park I found near Portsmouth was $900/mo including 30A power and water/sewer hookups.  Which is only a few hundred less than the apartment I had up there a few years ago.

Many RVs are not rated for fulltime living, but if you are buying used voiding a warranty isn't a concern. 

I follow a number of fulltime nomads and the current situation threw many of them for a loop. The ones with home bases to run back to are ok. Many others are scrambling to find places where they can hunker down for months on end.  One living in Wilmington NC is parked illegally since she can't afford to stay in a RV park and she is pretty miserable right now trying to figure out what to do.  The others who planned better have been able to ride this out with less stress. 

If you don't have to sell your house, don't. 

We are planning on starting here in Florida, eventually making it out west. Traveling long distances will be several years off, so fuel costs should be super low right now. We don't own the house we are in now, it's my mom's.

One thing we plan to add before much boondocking is a good solar setup with plenty of lithium batteries. Probably going to DIY both. There are some books I've ordered that will help with those projects.

The only thing I'm going to miss is having a fun car for a while. I'm going to part out my daily and save the good parts for another, cleaner chassis, when we eventually do get settled somewhere and buy a house.