Living In An RV Full-Time – Should We Do It?

A few months ago, we bought an RV. We’ve been living in an RV full-time, except for around five days total when we’ve gone home to restock or to get warranty work done. Other than those days, we have been full-time RV living, traveling, and having a great time. We’ve gone to many national parks,…

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

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Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Last Updated: December 28, 2023

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Full-Time RV Living - Is Living In An RV Full-Time For Us?A few months ago, we bought an RV. We’ve been living in an RV full-time, except for around five days total when we’ve gone home to restock or to get warranty work done.

Other than those days, we have been full-time RV living, traveling, and having a great time. We’ve gone to many national parks, visited friends and family, and have had a great time being location independent.

We really love RV life, which has led us to wonder whether or not we should just take the leap and do this full-time for real.

We are leaning more towards doing this full-time than not. As you will read below, the reasons we have for not doing it are insignificant – they are mainly just things we can easily find solutions for. Nothing is a big deal at all!

I guess the main thing holding us back is that we’ve never done anything like this before and it seems like such a scary thing to get rid of a “normal” home and live on the road.

Below are some of the various things we have been thinking about when it comes to whether or not we should try living in an RV full-time.

 

Our RV isn’t that big for full-time RV living.

We had no idea in July (when we bought our RV) that we would be thinking about living in an RV full-time. However, we are so in love with it that full-time RV living sounds like a reasonable next step for us.

Our RV is only 24 feet long, though. We have had no problem with the small amount of space yet, but I’m not sure how a whole year or longer would be in it, especially since we have two dogs.

Something we could do when we are feeling a little cramped is to get Airbnbs, which I think could really help. So, that’s one easy solution!

 

We would save money by living in an RV full-time.

Overall, full-time RV living would save us money because right now we are paying for our house in Colorado yet we are hardly ever there. We could save money by not having to pay our monthly rent, utility bills, and so on.

We expect that we will spend most of 2016 in our RV as well, so it would most likely be a huge waste of money if we had a house on the side.

If we decide not to have a house, we will have to look into what to do about not having an actual address and also choosing what state we will be “located in” for tax purposes.

Related article: How To Live On One Income

 

BUT we have a lot of stuff.

While I am all about downsizing and having a minimalist life, we do still have a lot of stuff.

My stuff won’t prevent me from living in an RV full-time, but I do need to think about where we are going to store everything.

I have over 100 large photo albums that my dad left me after he passed away (I’ll never get rid of those), furniture, and more. These are all things I don’t want to get rid of especially due to the fact that we will most likely buy another house in 2017.

We also have a car. Our RV can’t tow our car, so we would most likely need to do something with it. If we decide to be in the RV full-time then we may just decide to sell it.

 

Full-time RV living will be a memorable experience.

Living in an RV full-time will be the experience of a lifetime. We will be able to travel all across North America in our RV and that is something we are very excited to do.

We both love traveling and seeing new things. Being in an RV and doing that will be a crazy experience and one that we will never forget.

Related article: Beginner RV Tips – Dreaming Of A Life On The Road?

 

Mail will be tough when living in an RV full-time.

I run my business from our RV and that means I occasionally get checks and other important documents in the mail.

I know there are RV mail services where everything can be scanned and emailed to me, however, I will have to do something so that I can cash the checks I occasionally receive. Some companies only pay by check, so cashing them is something we will have to think about.

 

I can still keep up with my business while living in an RV full-time.

One thing I have learned ever since being on the road in the RV is that my income and business have not been negatively impacted by it. In the beginning, I was a little nervous about what would happen. However, I now know that everything is going to be just fine.

I actually believe that full-time RVing (well almost full-time!) has helped me. Being able to work on the road and travel at the same time is really amazing.

Also, I’ve had a lot of you ask what I’m using for internet. I am using a Verizon MiFi Jetpack.

Related page: My Latest Online Income Reports

Should we try full-time RV living? Would you try living in an RV full-time?

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Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Author: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Hey! I’m Michelle Schroeder-Gardner and I am the founder of Making Sense of Cents. I’m passionate about all things personal finance, side hustles, making extra money, and online businesses. I have been featured in major publications such as Forbes, CNBC, Time, and Business Insider. Learn more here.

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  1. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

    Thanks Carey!

    Reply
  2. Michelle

    I think that you two should give it a try and have Fruita be your “home base.” Just get a P.O. Box and then work on getting stuff switched to automated payments.

    Reply
    1. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

      There’s actually awesome RV mail services where you can check your mail online. We plan on doing that. A PO Box would be too much work since we would have to go home.

      Reply
  3. Jaymee

    Hey Michelle, you should drive that up to Canada in the summer months ;D the mountains here in Alberta are beautiful! You’ll love it!

    Reply
    1. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

      We definitely want to go up there!

      Reply
  4. Tiffany

    I think you should go full time for sure because you love to travel and you have the ability to work from anywhere. I think each point you made is valid but as you said can definitely be managed. We live in an RV right now but we are stationary and are not traveling right now so we use a p.o. box but I imagine you could get your mail sent to a family member, maybe your mother, who could deposit checks for you. Also since you both spend so much time outdoors I think your dogs would be fine living in an RV. Best of wishes! And here is to many more adventures!
    Tiffany

    Reply
    1. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

      Thanks Tiffany!

      Reply
  5. Aileen Barker

    Do it!! I’ve mentioned before in the comments that this is a dream of ours and I would drop everything and do it in a second if we had enough income that didn’t depend on my husbands job.

    Reply
    1. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

      Thanks Aileen!

      Reply
  6. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

    Thanks Steve!

    Reply
  7. Jen

    We have a “virtual” office where all our mail is sent. Periodically we have them send a batch of mail (like when there are a few checks.) That might fix your mail issue. Ours in MN is $55 per month plus postage.

    Reply
    1. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

      Yes, we were thinking of doing something like this. Thanks!

      Reply
  8. Chris Peach

    Heck yes you should do it! I love my life now but I regret not “living on the edge”. Plus, it sounds like there isn’t much of a financial risk b/c your job can go on from the RV. You’ve earned the opportunity to do something people put on their bucket list and one day “hope” to get to do. Take this idea and run with it. It’s the ultimate FREEDOM. Some day you’ll have kids and while you’ll have more love than you thought you could ever give another human being – your freedom is going to turn into hiding from the kids in the closet for 10 mins each day to maintain sanity (don’t judge, it think it’s pretty common). Please do this and share your stories. Also, when you stop in Phoenix, let me know!

    Reply
  9. Michelle Currie

    I say do it! My husband and I are going to be selling our house and acreage in Spring 2017, storing some stuff and moving into our 5th wheel. We live in Alberta right now and plan to stay here in a RV site for 6 months and go to the States for 6 months. For the mail we will get it forwarded one of our kids houses. Taxes shouldn’t be a problem as we will be coming back after 6 months. We plan on renting a storage facility for the things we don’t want to get rid of right away. When we’re too old or are done living in our RV we will buy a condo close to family. Very excited! Visit my blog. Its not finished yet but working on it 😊 Lifestylepriorities.com

    Reply
    1. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

      We already did it! This post is a little old, haha 🙂 We love RVing!

      Reply
  10. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

    We use MyDakotaAddress for our mail and license purposes. We got a storage unit because we have heirlooms that we can’t get rid of. Yes, we are from the states. We stayed here because we have dogs.

    Reply
  11. Lynn

    I lived in my RV down in the most southern part of the Rocky Mountains in Texas. We were in it for almost 3 years. It does get a bit cramped after awhile if you don’t remember that you have no storage like a regular house. Our rule was bring one thing in, take two things out. It worked for awhile. It was cramped but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Texas has no state taxes.

    Reply
  12. Mark Rasmussen

    We’re in the process of selling our two homes and buying a 5th wheel toy hauler, so I can take my motorcycle. Also more storage. Our plan is to have an auction, sell off my excess tools and “stuff”,. probably putting some of our stuff in storage for a while until we decide what to do with it. What doesn’t sell on the auction, and we don’t want, will get thrown or donated. We really like the idea of staying in the Midwest during the summer, finding a seasonal job, and then packing up and rolling sometime after Labor Day, or as late as Thanksgiving, and rolling southwest towards Arizona. Maybe when we come back, we might roll north out of AZ, and head up to Montana, and come across the top of the country to MN or WI. I would like to start a part time business of some kind while I’m full time RVing. Thinking along the lines of an online business or working a circuit of sorts with flea marketing. Not sure yet. Maybe we’ll see you out there. Joining your group.

    Reply
  13. Claire

    I would totally live in a RV if I had one it looks like a fun. Plus you can so some workamping. I have been looking into doing it myself and if I had a work at home job I would do it.

    Reply
  14. Gary

    Because of belongings you aren’t willing to part with, a homestead sounds like a requirement.
    But if you could pass them on to relatives, it no longer would be an issue. Mail and banking as well.
    Then full time rving wouldn’t be a second thought.

    Reply
    1. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

      Those three things you mentioned are all easily solvable 🙂

      Reply
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