Living the full-time RV lifestyle sounds so wonderful... kinda like a beautiful dream... travel, adventure, freedom.... etc......
BUT... it comes with a price .... and I'm not talking about money....
I am talking about the price of .... "IN-CONVENIENCE" .... or maybe the correct word is "Conveniences" ......
No matter how much you travel, no matter where you go or what you do.... you are still tied to the conveniences of everyday life that everyone must have....
no matter if you live in a house, a truck camper, a motorhome, travel trailer.... etc.... you will have need of basic living essentials...
You must have a way of getting water for everyday use... drinking, cooking, showers, toilet... etc...
Water does not just magically appear in your RV... you must make a conscious decision to seek and find a source of clean water and remember to do it before your water tank runs dry...
You must have a way of getting rid of waste water and sewage....
it does not just go down a drain like it does in a house or apartment.. You must plan ahead and seek out a place to get rid of it...
And getting rid of it is much more involved than simply pushing the handle on the toilet or pulling the stopper out of the sink..
Propane fuel for keeping warm, cooking, heating water, etc... in an RV is not like having an un-ending supply of gas like you have in a house or apartment...
You will have to monitor the RV's propane tank and make sure to seek out and find a source to refill the propane tanks before it runs dry and leaves you cold and hungry, standing in a shower thats putting out cold water ....
The cost of vehicle fuel and generator fuel, flat tires, oil changes, camping/parking permits, etc.. is offset with the rent or house payments you no longer have to pay... so that's a moot point in the scope of things..
Things like insurance, food, etc ... will remain about the same in the equation... so they are also a moot point.
But then there is the medical needs....
Living in a "Fixed" location like a house.. the chances are you have a "Family Doctor" and a "Family Dentist" .. and you know exactly where the hospital is located.
Living in a fixed location like a house or apartment, if you need to see your doctor, you pick up the phone and call for an appointment....
But if you are three thousand miles away and need to see a doctor.... it's not that easy... most likely you will have to go to an emergency room or find a doctor in the yellow pages that will take a "First Time/One Time only" new patient on short notice... and we all know the odds of that happening..
You likely have a favorite drugstore or pharmacy where you get your prescriptions filled by simply "Calling in" the prescriptions..
Getting a refill mailed to you is a hassle, but can be done......
However.... getting a new prescription is almost impossible without seeing a local doctor where you happen to be at the time....
Where is your favorite grocery store ? Do you like your local newspaper and the Wednesday ads ?
What about your favorite Television station with the "Local News" about things, people and places you are familiar with ?
HAD ENOUGH ??? There is lots more of these "Inconveniences" that the "Full Time RVer" must face, accept and adjust too...
Please ... WAIT... before some of you jump on me about being "Negative" on the RV life... I love the full time RV life...I have been living it for most of my life and I'm 65 years old...
BUT... at the beginning of our adventure, each of us had to face and accept these hard cold facts of the full time RVing life style...
I just read a report that said there are about 300,000 full time RVers roaming around America.. add to that another 300,000 part-timer RVers.... and you have a small percent of America's total population of about 300,000,000 people living full time in an RV of some type.
I am posting this because I think it is the honest and proper thing for us "old Timers" to make sure that the new kids understand exactly what they are getting into before selling their home, pulling long established roots and jumping into the deep end of the pool, not knowing if they can swim or really want to swim everyday for the rest of their lives.
I know that a few of you are going to flame me for having the audacity to post such irreverent and blasphemy remarks about our RV life style...
But thats OK... go ahead.... because if this post makes even one person think twice about giving up everything they have known to jump into a situation they have only read or heard about... it's worth it..
God Bless,
John
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John Harrelson
Carson City, Nevada
fulltime since 1977
93 Ford 350 4wd Diesel
95 Prowler 30.5 ft 5th wheel w/slide
TWO CENTS WORTH
The story goes that a man died and was approached by the Devil who told him that he could buy his soul back for a dollar. The man searched his pockets and could only come up with 98 cent. While begging the Devil to forget the two cent he was short, an Angel happened by and hearing the Devil laughing, asked the man, "Would you mind if I put in my two cents ?" The Devil got so mad that he exploded in a puff of smoke and the man's soul was saved. The moral: Sometimes putting in your two cents worth makes a difference.
JOHN "the cook" 1997
I think you are right on a number of points. This is Not for everyone. I think you really need a "less is more" mentality along with an ability to adapt to your environment. Truth is, a lot of people like to think they are like that,,, but truly are not.
I would recommend that anyone that thinks they would enjoy this, buy an older rig and try it before selling off their worldly goods etc. I liken it to a sandwich. A chicken/swiss cheese/horseradish mayo on rye sandwich might Sound good but you just don't know if it will agree with your palate until you take a bite.
On a working vacation.
Husband is working.
I'm on vacation.
We planned on fulltime Rv'ing when retired but now job is taking us all over the country.
GMC Diesel
Bighorn 3670RL
John,
I too wish to warn all new-comers. The greener grass on the other side sometimes is astro turf. Obviously, I agree with you on all counts. Yet, I can see that many retirees, who have adequate pensions and sufficient exit-strategy money, just might be living in a house that no longer makes sense to them. And, there can be many reasons for a particular house not making sense. It might be a bad design, bad location, too big, too old, a maintenance hog, taxes too high, bad neighbors, on a farm, etc/etc. And, if these people want to travel, what better way than to sell the house and try fulltiming?
Willie & Betty Sue
Miko & Sparky
2003 41 ft Dutch Star Diesel Pusher/Spartan
Floorplan 4010
Blazer toad & Ranger bassboat
Thanks for posting a clear picture of the full-time life. My wife & I are considering this when we retire & you really gave us good food for thought. Big Thank You!
Steve n' Lisa, Nathan & Hannah
2005 Jayco 29BHS & lots of other junk
1999 F-150 Lariat Extended cab 5.4 V8
Reese HP/DC WDH, Prodigy Controller
Trying to learn all Mom & Dad forgot about raising Kids
John forgot another factor to consider: Storage. Many of us approaching or achieving retirement age have accumulated many important momentos and other 'tresures' during our lives. Living in an RV requires that most, if not all of those be 'retired' - there's just not enough room in any RV for all those memories.
My DH and I are certainly not pack rats and do have our important papers, photos, etc with us, but much must be left behind when RVing, even if it is part time.
Two young retirees restless to GO!
Life is too short to wait too long to do all we want to do!!
Go and enjoy!!
Excellent points John. My DH and I are considering going on the road once our kids are gone. We know there will be expenses and issues with doctors but your insights aren't usually considered by most. I would much rather have honest opinions than anything.
We want to full time but we also want to know what we'll have to sacrifice(space, regular doctor visits), and what we'll have to come up with in order to afford the lifestyle. This is not a decision that anyone should make on the fly, every angle, good and bad, should be examined before doing anything. This is not a choice you can just jump into.
Thanks for the reality check!!
2003 GMC Yukon
2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS
Dad, Mom,2 Teenagers, Tucker and Hannah, the mutts 2009 Nights Camping - 3 so far!
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