First off, let me just say it “Full-time RV life is NOT, I repeat NOT for everyone”. Much of what you see on the Gram is glorified. The #VanLife pics of people sipping coffee while camped on a road in Glacier National Park, sure – these moments happen and are totally doable, but what you don’t see is that vanner parking on the side of a road, sleeping while 18 wheelers buzz buy, or peeing in a bucket at 2 am. Now Dave and I are not in a van – we are in a 25 ft Class C (bunk over the cab) RV with a full working bathroom and an endless hot water system, we have solar, AGM batteries, convection oven, and all sitting on a Mercedes sprinter van. We are styling – and that came with a hefty price tag for a 25 footer.
The reason I’m sharing this is because before you head out to your nearest RV dealer (usually a mistake right there unless you are near a big one in TX, AZ, or FL) and then start selling everything on Facebook Marketplace you need to calm down and do a bunch of homework. Most of that homework is with yourself and your partner if he/she will be part of the adventure.
Tiny House Living
If you are new to the RV world – I strongly suggest you rent a few RV’s of different types and sizes via a service such as Outdoorsy. You can try them out for size – literally and keep a journal. What did you like, what didn’t you?
Here are the different types
Class A – this is your bus. They come in both gas and diesel. Diesel will be more expensive but the engine will last longer and it will have far more power up the hills. Popular with many full-timers as they afford the most room and can go up to 45 ft long. Not as hard to drive as you think, but not as easy as our current Class C.
Class B – these are the vans. Some have slide outs, most do not. You can surely live full time in them but they are small. Great if you want to take road trips!
Class C – often on a Ford Chasis or a Mercedes Sprinter Van (like our Tillie!) – these are super easy to drive, like a car, and have a bunk over the driver’s section. They come in a variety of sizes.
Super C – these are Class C’s but with bigger Truck engines – often a Cummins or Freightliner Diesel. More power than the regular Class C and often the coach is bigger – up to 40 ft. I’m seeing more and more of these as we travel.
Travel Trailer – these can be tiny tear drop trailers up to larger 30 footers! The tiny ones you can tow with a car, the larger ones you’ll want a bigger diesel truck to haul them.
5th Wheels – these are like travel trailers but have a “goose neck” at the front and require a special hitch for the back of the truck to tow them. These are super popular because there is so much room in them!
Pop ups, tents – Not ideal for full-time living – but you surely could!
Your TOAD – or tow behind vehicle. If you have a Class A or C – you will probably want a car to drive around. Our Toad is a 2 door Jeep Wrangler 6 speed manual soft top. Jeeps are probably the most popular Toad because of their durability and flexibility. You’ll want to FLAT tow versus using a dolly to tow – and not all cars CAN be flat towed – do your homework and don’t rely on a salesperson at a dealership to tell you yea or nay.
Brands – not all are created equal!
You 100% get what you pay for. We chose Tiffin because the quality of their coaches is far better than most but more importantly we chose them based on their reputation for above and beyond customer service. They did not disappoint.
Do your homework. Brands Dave and I don’t like: Thor, Forest River, Jayco – all are plagued with low-quality workmanship and have a lot of issues. **Thor Industries a holding company – who also owns AirStream bought Tiffin Motorhomes this past year. It was quite the shakeup in the RV world, but so far we have not seen any changes in the quality.
Brands that have a good to great reputation: Tiffin, Newmar, Airstream, Winnebago
New versus used
For your first RV or Trailer, I would 100% buy used. The depreciation on these is HUGE – up to 35% when you drive it off the lot. When it comes to RV’s you want to shop where there is huge inventory and places where “snowbirds” live – these are people who split their time between the north and the south depending on the season. Hot spots are Florida, Texas, and Arizona. We bought both of our RVs at LazyDays outside of Tampa Florida. They are great for sales – shitty for service. I’ll get into that over the next few weeks – maintenance and repairs!
Right now inventory is super low as everyone and their mother wanted an RV during Covid – so the pickings are slim forcing many to order new. Remember an RV is not like a house – the prices rarely appreciate – as in never. So just understand that if you buy new, you can’t turn around and sell it in a year and make money, unless you are in a rare market like this where the demand is super high. Note new production wait times are upwards of 12-18 months!
It takes time….and money
Dave and I spent several years researching and talking to current owners, we joined Facebook groups, visited dealerships, test drove, and more. We did our homework and that homework takes time. This is not a shiny object purchase you want to jump into.
While you are soul searching to find the perfect RV or Trailer – you need to be realistic about money. RV life isn’t cheaper than brick and mortar life – and the more you travel the more expensive it gets. Daily stays at campgrounds are far more expensive than monthly – I’ll go into that more over the following weeks.
Dave and I like to average no more than $40 per day for camping. If we stay for a month – we often can get sites for 300-600 a month depending on where we are. The northeast is far more expensive than the south – so there is a huge variance.
The Budget
- Will you sell or rent your home out? Pros and cons to both. We sold because we didn’t want the hassle of renting – I still waffle if that was a good choice, especially since the housing market exploded!
- What existing expenses do you have? Car, phone, credit card debt etc?
- What are you using for health care – will everything be out of network if you travel? We use Liberty Health Share – a Christian ministry service. $400 a month with $1000 deductible but it has some serious drawbacks and you have to manage a lot yourself.
- Will you have a fixed income or will you continue to work on the road?
- Will you want to travel a lot or stay put more often?
- This is NOT a constant vacation – but it should be fun! Things like going out to eat, touristy spots, etc. get very expensive very quickly.
- Maintenance and repairs on your vehicle(s)
Your first week’s homework is a lot and you will NOT get it all done this week – make a plan, and start investigating – try things out, ask questions and keep lots and lots of notes!
I’m here if you want to chat!