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There are so many things I loved about RV travel in our Roadtrek van (30 mpg based on diesel Sprinter chassis). Our longest trip was 8 weeks out west seeing all the wonderful national parks up close and all day long. When we wanted lunch just pull over, bathroom ditto, nap ditto. We didn't have to waste time looking for a restaurant with questionable food (I have food allergies) or gas stations with dirty bathrooms. We were able to see things and get photographs impossible without the RV van.
It's 10 years old now and only used around town (hauls 8' lumber) cuz hub is "traveled out". Still used for local daytrips.
We'll miss it because when we started staying at hotels again we realized how convenient it is to have everything you need with you. No bedbugs. All food and drinks we like in the RV fridge. Hotels have changed since we last stayed in them, lots more chemical smells in the room. Now we have to spend more time finding restaurants and navigating to them and then back in the dark.
I enjoyed reading about your Roadtrek adventures since I have one as well, a 3 year old SS Agile. We could not have conducted our house search without it. We're not getting much sleep these days, so after we did the walkthrough on our new-to-us home this morning, we made the van sofa into a bed and napped together. So comforting in our little cocoon.
I spent three months in a travel trailer on property where we were going to build a home.
NEVER AGAIN. Cold, rainy, messy, cooking nightmare, water issues, heat issues, electricity issues, hard beds.
Uh, no thanks.
Sounds like you bought a cheap POS RV. Mine is not cold. I have heat, AC, lots of fans and when the outside temps are moderate, I have lots of windows and natural light and ventilation. No water issues. No electricity issues. I have a great mattress. I do have some limitations on cooking. We only have a 3 burner stove, a double sink and modest amount of counter space.
It does not rain in my RV and outside the rain is the same whether living in an RV or a fixed house. Nor is it more "messy". In fact due to the relatively small space I maintain my in near spotless condition. My only issue is the floor. For several years I had linoleum flooring and it needed to be swept. Now I have indoor/outdoor carpeting. It was an experiment since I prefer carpets. I pull the sheet of carpet out every few weeks and give it a beating. When the weather is warm and dry, I wash the carpets.
Everyone seems to assume you that you must always be on the road and on the move if you're RVing. It's quite possible to stay long-term - or even permanently - in one RV park and live in the camper just as if it's a tiny house. Maybe someone's already pointed this out; I haven't read the entire thread.
I have never understood why anyone would want to live in an RV park. Most are noisy and crowded. For me the idea of RV living is being able to travel. I have been in my RV for the past 4 months. After driving from NY, I visited the Badlands NP, then Big Horn Mountains, Yellowstone, Glacier, Olympic NP and the Washington-Oregon-NCal coast, then Great Basin NP, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, and now I am currently in Death Valley NP.
I have yet to stop even a single night in an "RV park".
Last edited by VTsnowbird; 11-16-2018 at 04:21 PM..
Reason: remove questionable language
My BIL purchased a fill sized cargo van last year with the med. high top. He converted this to a small RV for a fraction of the cost of purchasing a small van sized RV. He spends months at a time traveling in that van, parking is never a issue. He has heat/AC, water, stove, toilet, TV, generator and a home mattress. As stated by a previous poster he has no concern of bed bugs or the cost of hotels. Many large truck stops have showers (which are amazingly clean), which they utilize every other day. They have parked for the night in several places that do not charge for overnight parking, and have stayed in campgrounds as they wish. Having their van self-contained, they do not need to pay the high price of full hook ups, and can generally stay in the "tent camping" area for a very minimal price. Even the cost of gas is cheaper in this van than a RV.
Certainly something to consider when the time is right.
As soon as we sold the house, I retired and my wife and I took off for full time living in a truck camper. Aside from doing photography and visiting absolutely beautiful areas, our long term goal was to look for a lower COL area for retirement.
Traveling in an RV saved us a lot of money over trying to maintain a house on Long Island. The lure of the grandkids became too much for my wife and after a couple of years we returned to LI and split a house with our older daughter and her family. Now we just travel a few months a year. I am currently in Death Valley and will soon be returning home after 4 months. The wife had a health issue and missed this trip, but we are likely to spend February in the southern States.
If you are thinking of doing full time RV living, I will warn you the times they are a changing. When we started as full timers 8 years ago, there were an estimated 250,000 Americans living as full timers. The number has grown to over 1 million. I cannot begin to imagine how many millions of part timers have RVs. That means it has become difficult and more and more expensive to find places to stay.
There is another even bigger issue impacting our National Parks. The number of foreign visitors has grown to be immense. Many of them rent RVs. In order to get into the National Parks most of them make reservations as far in advance as allowed. This year I decided to make a reservation for Arches NP. I did so as soon as allowed which was 6 months in advance. I waited a bit to long that first day but I was able to get the last 4 days of the last available campsite and that was for the end of October when the camping season is ending. Forget Zion. The last 2 times I visited late in the Fall, I literally could not find a place to pull off the road to park and see the sights. Yellowstone is no better. Within a few years you will need a reservation to even enter the major parks.
If you ever RV to Florida try the state parks. They are very nice. They do limit you to the time you can spend (I think it is either 2 weeks or 10 days not sure exactly). Not every state has great state parks but Florida does.
My BIL purchased a fill sized cargo van last year with the med. high top. He converted this to a small RV for a fraction of the cost of purchasing a small van sized RV. He spends months at a time traveling in that van, parking is never a issue. He has heat/AC, water, stove, toilet, TV, generator and a home mattress. As stated by a previous poster he has no concern of bed bugs or the cost of hotels. Many large truck stops have showers (which are amazingly clean), which they utilize every other day. They have parked for the night in several places that do not charge for overnight parking, and have stayed in campgrounds as they wish. Having their van self-contained, they do not need to pay the high price of full hook ups, and can generally stay in the "tent camping" area for a very minimal price. Even the cost of gas is cheaper in this van than a RV.
Certainly something to consider when the time is right.
Temperature control is the main concern in the scenario you describe. Insulating the van (otherwise it's a hot or cold -- depending on the season -- tin can, like any vehicle), ensuring a means of heating and cooling it (propane or electricity), ventilation, etc. Especially if you're traveling with pets. Good for him, though!
I'm one of those people who would never want to RV. I hate driving places that I'm not familiar with. I panic at the thought of being out somewhere I'm not familiar with and breaking down on the road. I also love a house with space and a permanent yard where I can cook regular meals all the time and not feel cramped or confined. I like stability and familiarity and feeling like I belong in a community.
I certainly don't begrudge anyone who likes to take off for months or years at a time after retiring with an RV. I just couldn't do it and ever feel relaxed or happy. We are of course all different.
I'm one of those people who would never want to RV. I hate driving places that I'm not familiar with. I panic at the thought of being out somewhere I'm not familiar with and breaking down on the road. I also love a house with space and a permanent yard where I can cook regular meals all the time and not feel cramped or confined. I like stability and familiarity and feeling like I belong in a community.
I certainly don't begrudge anyone who likes to take off for months or years at a time after retiring with an RV. I just couldn't do it and ever feel relaxed or happy. We are of course all different.
I would definitely not want to be constantly on the move for all the reasons you mention, yet I know I would be blissfully happy living in 200 sf on wheels so that I could change the location if I wanted. I might even move it twice a year or so. Again, staying in a location full-time or at least for long-term stays is an option.
I'm one of those people who would never want to RV. I hate driving places that I'm not familiar with. I panic at the thought of being out somewhere I'm not familiar with and breaking down on the road.
I'm like that, too. Plus, I don't feel comfortable driving really large vehicles. So while I like the abstract idea of traveling around in an RV, I'm never going to actually do it.
I had to make a decision about my future when my marriage broke up and I was on my own for the first time in my life. I weighed options in my mind, such as buying an RV and moving around, becoming a person who volunteers where ever needed at the time, IOW a nomad, becoming a snowbird, ie renting in a warm state in winter, going "home" in summer, I had to reach deep inside myself and "feel" how each of these scenarios would play out.
In the end, I am a person who, although I am now able to travel at the drop of a hat, NEEDS a home base, so I bought a house in the perfect place for me and I am thankful every day of my life.
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