RV Archives - Page 7 of 7 - Making Sense Of Cents

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

Last Updated: March 18, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 89 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.

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. [Read more…]

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

Last Updated: March 18, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 64 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.

We’ve been in our RV almost full-time since we bought it a little over one month ago (we went home for 3 days to get more things). I’m definitely no expert at RV living but I have learned many RV tips and tricks since we started traveling in it.

We do still have many other things to learn. However, I wanted to create this post because I know many of you are interested in possibly getting an RV as well.

Just as a refresher, we bought a Class C RV, the Winnebago Itasca Viva, back in July. We bought an RV because:

We have spent almost the entire year in our car on road trips
We were spending a lot of money on dingy hotels
We want to travel more comfortably
We want to travel at a more leisurely pace
We want to spend more time with friends and family now that we live far away
We enjoy traveling
We are location independent.

Here are my tips for beginner RVers. With the below RV tips and tricks in mind, you will hopefully start your RV trip the right way – having fun and enjoying your new lifestyle! [Read more…]

We Bought An RV!

Last Updated: June 20, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 122 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.

Well, we weren’t a one vehicle family for very long. We bought a Class C RV, the Winnebago Itasca Viva, the other day.

You read that correctly.

WE BOUGHT AN RV!

Now, this wasn’t just a random, spur of the moment decision. We have been thinking about buying an RV for over a year now.

We have done an insane amount of research, we have watched and read countless RV videos and websites, and more. We’ve thought about maintenance expenses, fuel costs, emergency repairs, RV parking, RV campgrounds, laundry, wifi, and so on.

We ended up buying a Winnebago Itasca Viva, which is a Class C RV. We thought about getting a Class B RV but decided on a Class C RV so that we could have a little more space.

Some of the reasons for why we decided on the Winnebago Itasca Viva include:

It’s not a huge motorhome, but it’s enough space for us at 24 feet long. We will be traveling with our dogs and there is plenty of space for the four of us.
It’s not hard to drive and it doesn’t get absolutely horrible gas mileage (it’s very similar to the Wrangler we used to own).
There’s a full bathroom with an actual shower, toilet, and sink.
There’s a bed. There’s actually enough room to sleep 6 in our RV. Who wants to join us?
There’s a kitchen with a big fridge, freezer, sink, stove, and microwave.
It has a dining table with plenty of space for me to work.

As you can see, the RV we chose is pretty amazing! We really love it and have already taken some day trips to test everything out.

Now, some of you may be wondering why we bought an RV in the first place. Below are some of the reasons we decided to buy an RV.