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We’re Going To Live In Our RV Full-Time!

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 97 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

RV Living - Travel and Work On The RoadCan you believe that it’s been almost five months since we bought our RV?

Since that time, we haven’t regretted our purchase one bit. Being able to travel and work at the same time is a wonderful thing.

We have taken part in RV living almost full-time, except for around 6 or 7 days when we’ve gone home to entertain visitors from out of town.

We’ve decided that we will travel and work in the RV full-time starting in February of 2016. Yes, we are going to get rid of our house in Colorado and store all of our belongings!

I am extremely excited about the decision we made and I know that the next year or however long we decide to do this for will be a great time.

One thing that many of you have had questions about is how life has been like now that I am working full-time in the RV and traveling at the same time.

Well, it’s been a lot of fun.

We have traveled to many different places in the United States in the last several months and we have made some exciting plans for 2016 as well. There have been some difficulties when it comes to being able to travel and work on the road, but nothing that would make me want to stop RVing.

 

Wi-fi and cell service aren’t always the greatest.

The only thing that stinks about RVing is that you never really know if you will have service. This is the only real thing that makes being able to travel and work on the road difficult.

There have been several times when I’ve wanted to fling my laptop and phone out the RV window due to not having wi-fi or cell service for days.

Haha, I wish I was joking, but it’s the truth. Sometimes the signal is amazing and other times I feel like I am on Mars and trying to find a signal.

In fact, while writing this blog post it took me a few days to upload it. I only had a few hours of service in a FOUR day period. AH!

It’s not always bad, though. Right now we are coming across a lot of bad wi-fi mainly because we are moving fast and we’re stopping at a lot of campgrounds in the middle of nowhere. I know that once we are traveling a little more slowly that wi-fi won’t be as hard to come across.

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

Related: Are You Interested In Traveling The World And Working At The Same Time?

 

Affiliate income has made RV living easier.

Above is why I’m happy that I’ve decided to focus more of my time on somewhat passive income streams such as affiliate income.

Due to the fact that I can’t always work due to unreliable wi-fi, it’s nice to not have as many deadlines to meet.

I’m on track to earn around $30,000 a month from affiliate programs for the foreseeable future, which is a great thing to think about!

 

Working ahead has been a lifesaver.

For the most part, I have the majority of my posts for the next few months already written. Of course, there are some posts (like this one), where I try to write them as late as I can due to the fact that they are life updates.

Working ahead is what has really helped me. Whenever I don’t have a signal, I am less likely to panic due to the fact that I don’t have many things that need to be worked on ASAP anymore.

Another thing that has also helped significantly is that I am also scheduling my pins on Pinterest through Tailwind. This is something I highly recommend if you are trying to increase your Pinterest traffic.

 

I love being able to travel and work on the road.

Overall, I have really enjoyed working on the road. I don’t see that changing anytime soon either. I am having a great time seeing new things, meeting new people, spending more time with Wes and our dogs, and more.

I know it’s not a full-time vacation, but sometimes it definitely feels that way!

Are you interested in being able to travel and work on the road at the same time? Why or why not? Also, enjoy my recent RV living pictures below.

 

RV Living - Travel and Work On The Road 3

RV Living - Travel and Work On The Road 2

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RV Living - Travel and Work On The Road

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  1. giulia says

    I’d love working and travaeling at the same time, is true sometimes wifi aren’t great but work ahead could be a lifesaver, however Rv life could be great to visit new places and find inspirations!!!

    Reply

  3. Hannah says

    I’m hoping to convince my husband of the merits of slow travel for a few months after he graduates (maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t).

    It seems like your internet situation is pretty great all things considered. I had a friend who decided to do their SEO consulting business while on the road, and she said she ended up spending too much time at Starbucks because they were the only location that reliably had Wi-Fi (this was maybe 7 years ago). I’m guessing that internet technology has actually come a long way since then.

    Reply

  4. Sarah Noelle @ The Yachtless says

    Hahaha, love the photo of the MacBook in the great outdoors! Not a combo we see too often. 🙂
    Wow, I had no idea that you were having so much trouble getting on the internet, but it totally makes sense, especially if you’re out in the woods or at the beach a lot. At least you can draft blog posts while offline and post them later when you have a window of service. Happy travels, wherever you are this week! 🙂

    Reply

  5. Tara says

    I’m surpised even with Verizon you get such bad service out west. I always though Verizon was king since they bought AllTell over a decade ago. When I worked in Yellowstone (server at Canyon Lodge), Verizon/AllTell was the only carrier that worked at the time in our entire Canyon Village. That was over 10 years ago, though so I think at least AT&t has caught up.

    I would enjoy traveling across the country like you two lucky ducks. Do you know how much you spend on average in fuel per month vs how far you drive? I think I might prefer a small 4×4 car and a pop-up, for better gas mileage, but then you lose the great space of the RV so it’s a trade-off. I’d enjoy an expense update on your travels if you ever feel like posting!

    Reply

  6. Rae says

    Love reading the updates on the RV life… we are facing a new direction in our life and selling it all and buying an RV was #1 on my list…. only thing is that it didn’t even make hubby’s list. He lives the life of zero vision… lol

    Reply

  7. Penny @ She Picks Up Pennies says

    Hooray for your Instagram photos. I can’t wait to hear about the day you turn photography into another side hustle. You’re crazy talented. Kudos to you on all of your travels AND all of your successes. Thanks for being a great reminder to us all that it’s never too early or too late to pursue your passions and goals. Happy Friday!

    Reply

  9. Brittany says

    This looks and sounds so wonderful!! I’m so glad that all the time you spent working on building your passive affiliate income has paid off!

    Reply

  11. Andy H says

    Jeez Michelle, you’re really making me want to get out of my apartment and get an RV, VW bus or small house on wheels and live on the road. Great updates on this though, interesting to read about.

    Reply

  13. Dominic @ Gen Y Finance Guy says

    I need to figure out how to get my affiliate income near $30K/month. Over the last year I have built it into a $300/month stream…so, just need to 100X it and then life will be bliss 🙂

    Glad you guys are enjoying the RV life. Not sure I would do well on the go…our goal is to do more of a 3/6/3 schedule. Where we spend 3 months abroad at one location, 6 months at home, and then 3 months by the beach (not to far from home in SoCal).

    Cheers,

    Dom

    Reply

  14. Tawcan says

    You have some of the most amazing “work” views, that’s for sure. The cellular hot spot is great, if you’re looking for a new laptop in the future you might want to consider looking into one with WWAN card embedded. This way you don’t have to carry around the hot spot.

    Reply

  15. Financial Samurai says

    That sounds like a lot of fun! I checked out this MB Sprinter Airstream at the auto show and it was awesome!

    Affiliate income is definitely the way to go. So much more passive. Once you hit $30,000, getting to $50,000+ a month should be no problem. The key is to build REAL ASSETS with that income just in case things unwind.

    Sam

    Reply

  16. Elizabeth says

    yes! i am very interested to learn how to work from the road and rv full time. we have a 3 yr old and 1 year old. my husband and i are both do support for software and database. our 5 year plan is to be able to live off one salary while the other blogs and home(rv)schools the kids. sometimes this dream seems so unreachable so i try to stay positive and move towards it one decision at a time.

    Reply

  17. Steve Miller says

    Congrats on that decision. You can should talk with Bob and Robin Charleton (www.WhereWeBe.com), they did the same thing for about a year. They ended up purchasing a condo afterwards but it may be good for you to see how their experience went.

    All the best.

    Reply

  18. Jen says

    Being able to work remotely and at a beach or deep in the forest is a goal for sure! I don’t know about not having internet connection for an unforseeable amount of time though. It’s so hard to detach. What do you do when you’re frustrated you can’t find a signal??

    Reply

  20. Emily @ evolvingPF says

    Wow! What an exciting update! I definitely want to hear more about the logistics of this decision. If I were mobile full-time I would definitely be chasing nice weather. How are you deciding where you travel, especially over the winter?

    I certainly hope the US will get its wifi coverage up to snuff quickly to make your life easier!

    Reply

  21. Jason B says

    Living in the RV should be fun. I can’t wait to read your updates. $30,000 in affiliate income per month is awesome. I have to put in more work with mine.

    Reply

  22. Taylor says

    Congratulations on the exciting change, Michelle! It looks like you are living the good life 🙂 Does your husband work from the road as well? I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures on the road in 2016!

    Reply

  23. Michelle says

    Michelle, is that a freaking Redwood in one of your photos?? Gorgeous and HUGE. I am not surprised by this at all. You two have been on the road constantly, what’s the point to having an empty house? Have fun, be safe, and enjoy 🙂

    Reply

  24. Ali Raza says

    Working and Travelling together, seems lot’s of fun, however like you said, it has it’s con too, where you have seen WIFI as a trouble, but leaving a house for an RV still sounds scary to me, anyway good luck! 🙂

    Reply

  27. Catherine says

    I’ve always thought about living the RV life, I can’t wait to hear more about it. I skydive every weekend, and my dream is to travel to different dropzones year round and an RV would definitely help with that!

    Reply

  28. Jess says

    Wow, congratulations. This is incredible. Living full time in an RV while you travel is also going to be fantastic to write about on your blog. I can’t wait to read of the details of how things are going and how you adjust things to make it work. Very exciting!

    Reply

  30. Meagan @ Okay Now Breathe says

    What an exciting update! I would love to work and travel the world at the same time, and it’s on my bucket list to travel across the U.S. in an RV. But I don’t think I would be able to live in a RV full-time, because I’m such a homebody that I think I would get too homesick. Do you ever get homesick, or do you feel like your RV is your new home now? Have fun and continue to enjoy this experience!

    Reply

  31. Bryan says

    Yes! My life goal is to be location independent just like you are now. I love to travel and get out and about. It’s so great to follow your updates. You keep mine, and Im sure many others, energy alive to make it happen. Being in an RV full time sounds awesome.

    Great pics too!

    Reply

  33. DC @ Young Adult Money says

    Very cool, Michelle! I enjoy all your Instagram posts. I really don’t follow many people on Instagram, but I like seeing what you and Wes are up to. I actually thought you already lived and worked from the RV full-time : 0 I think the transition will be easy for you and great to hear about your affiliate income. I’d love to have a “second” full-time income from affiliate $ alone and it will definitely be a focus of mine next year.

    Reply

  37. diane @smartmoneysimplelife says

    What an awesome adventure!!! Do you have a path in mind or just a general direction?

    Can I make a suggestion? Document each day, a bit like Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” and then publish it (eBook or traditional).

    Enjoy!

    Reply

  38. Steve @ Think Save Retire says

    Very cool! My wife and I will be doing the same thing at the end of next year as we roll into this whole “early retirement” thing. You’re right, the mobile Internet issue is still very much the most important element of this lifestyle change that I probably won’t dig too much. Campground wi-fi is never any good. I’ll be using a Verizon Mifi once we eventually make the move.

    First thing is first, though…gotta decide on what Airstream we wanna buy. That’s the fun part. 🙂

    Reply

  40. Lindsay VanSomeren says

    If you can make it to Alaska sometime during the summer, I highly recommend it (not during the winter – that road is crazy)!

    I just moved away from there a year ago to Colorado after living in Fairbanks for 10 years. It is AMAZING in ways that words can’t even describe. And there is a thriving RV culture along the roads, of which there are few but well worth every mile.

    If you ever need any info about where to go and what to do, feel free to write me! I love talking about Alaska! 🙂

    Reply

  42. Sky says

    This is so exciting! I never really considered RV travel as another option for being a digital nomad, I automatically think overseas travel, but I think it’s awesome. I’m so excited to read more about your adventures!

    Reply

  43. Christine says

    I think it will be an awesome adventure. So much to see in the states. It would be fun to travel to all the national parks. My niece traveled the US in an RV and mapped their trip according to the weather. I think Wyoming and Portland were my favorite shares from her.

    Looking forward to your updates! It can’t be easy giving up a house despite the need for adventure.

    Reply

  44. Fabgrandma says

    My husband and I lived fulltime in a RV for 13 years. We worked at campgrounds and resorts to earn a living for the first 7 years. We were hired by the National Park Service at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where I worked as a park ranger for 5 seasons. I was 60 when we retired from the road and bought a little house on 5 acres in Georgia. I loved every minute of my live living in the RV. It was fun, we saw a lot of places, and we made a lot of friends who keep in touch, all over the United States. I would recomment this life to anyone!

    Reply

  45. Millennial Boss says

    #LifeGoals
    We are contemplating leaving Colorado for a job opportunity right now and wondering whether to sell our house. If only I was ready to transition to self-employment. My blog is just a baby though and I’m not considering it a business yet. Maybe if I start thinking about it that way I will figure out how to monetize it.

    Reply

  47. The Van Cave Project says

    Great article. As programmers we make money by taking on small projects when we need to but this is considerably harder whilst living in a vehicle as opposed to hotel rooms. Affiliate income sounds like a great option if you know you won’t always be connected. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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