The Definitive Guide to Full-Time RV Living by Escapees RV Club

If you’re considering full-time RV living, you might be feeling overwhelmed by everything there is to know and learn. Making the decision to take your entire life on the road is no small feat!

In this definitive guide to full-time RVing, we’re covering everything you need to know about the lifestyle and we’ve included links to our most helpful resources for full-time RVers throughout this content.

This guide covers:

• How to choose the best type of RV for full-timing
• RV money matters like cost, budget, making money, etc
• Legal matters for full-time RVers like domicile, physical address, etc
• Full-time RVing with kids
• Working from the road and finding remote work
• Getting internet on the road
• Finding your community
• Maintaining your RV
• Healthcare on the road
• And so much more.

The table of contents includes clickable headings so you can jump straight to the sections that interest you most if you’re short on time.

Without further ado, let’s dive in!

What Is Full-Time RVing? 

When people choose to move into their RV to live and travel full-time, that is full-time RV living or full-time RVing. It’s a conscious lifestyle choice to live more simply and to gather experiences instead of things. 

Full-time RV living for beginners can be especially daunting when you first consider it. This is because there is quite a bit of preparation and much to think about beforehand. This guide will help you along this journey as you take steps to realize your dream of the full-time RV life.

What’s the Best Type of RV To Live In Full-Time? 

One of the first steps in becoming a full-time RVer is deciding which RV will be the best type to live in.

Not everyone will have the same requirements, so you’ll need to answer some questions. Think about how you plan to live, where you plan to travel and stay, and what your budget will be. This will now be your new home, so don’t take this decision lightly!

25 Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing an RV for the Full-Time RV Life

Understanding which questions to ask yourself will help you decide which RV will be the best for full-time RV living. These should help you get a good start on making your decision of choosing an RV.

RV Floor Plans

• Which floor plan best suits you and your needs?
• Are you traveling alone or with a family and/or pets?
• Do you need one bedroom or more?
• Do you need one bathroom or more?
• Do you need an office space for work or homeschool?
• Does the kitchen need a lot of counter space?
• Do you want slide-outs?
• Can you access everything you need such as the refrigerator and bathroom when the slide-outs are closed, and you are traveling?

RV Storage Space

• How much storage space will you need?
• Will you travel to places where you’ll need four seasons of clothing?
• Will you bring along a grill?
• How many kitchen appliances, dishes, and other kitchen tools do you really need?
• What about bed linens and towels?
• Will there need to be separate storage space for each family member’s personal items?
• What about storage for bicycles, kayaks, canoes, or other recreational items?
• Will you need storage for any other hobbies?

Types of RVs

• Do you want a towable RV or drivable RV?
• Do you want a fifth wheel, bumper-pull travel trailer, motorhome, truck camper, or van and what size?
• Do you already own a vehicle that has the correct towing capacity for the size and weight of a towable RV?
• Are you confident with driving or towing a large RV? 

Camping Style

• What is your camping style?
• Will you be spending most of your time in RV parks, campgrounds, or RV resorts?
• Will you be doing more boondocking for free on public land?
• Will you be spending the night in rest areas or business parking lots as you travel from one destination to another?
• Will your RV need to be fully self-contained, or will you need to have full hook-ups at every destination?

Once you’ve answered all the questions and narrowed down your search, be sure to spend some time at RV shows where you can see and compare multiple RVs from multiple dealers at one time to find the RV of your dreams.

How Much Does It Cost to Live in an RV Full-Time? 

How much does full-time RV living cost? Well, the answer is, “It depends.” It all boils down to what your set expenses are, how much you plan to travel, where you plan to stay, and what you plan to do once you get to a destination. 

Setting a Budget

Having a set RV life budget each month will help you stay within your limits. But, how do you know what to put in that budget?

RVing full-time is different than living in a sticks-and-bricks home. You’ll have some different expenses while traveling that you may not have in your stationary home, but some will stay the same.

Begin by tracking your income and expenses for a few months before you set out on your full-time journey. You’ll then have an idea of what you need to pay for and what can be negotiable or eliminated altogether. 

Full-time RV Living Expenses

Fixed expenses are items like your monthly RV loan payment, an auto loan, health insurance, auto insurance, full-time RV insurance, internet, RV club memberships, other outstanding loan payments, and cell phone plan payment(s), to name a few.

Items that fluctuate but still need to be accounted for will be fuel costs when traveling and touring new areas, campground fees, grocery costs, propane, RV and auto repairs, and entertainment costs. 

If you plan to stay in RV parks, campgrounds, or resorts, your expenses will be higher. This is like paying rent, only it changes every time you move your RV to the next destination. However, if you choose to boondock on public land you can save a great deal of money because you can stay for free. 

It’s always a good idea to have a fund set aside for RV repairs and/or auto repairs. You don’t want to be blindsided by the cost of an RV repair, but if there is a cushion in your budget to cover these types of surprises, then the repairs won’t break the bank.

Sometimes you’ll look at your budget and decide whether you can go out to eat or will need to stay in, depending on how much you spent in fuel while traveling to your destination. Sometimes you’ll have carry-over funds that will allow you to explore an area more fully. Either way, sticking to a budget will allow you to live a comfortable full-time RV life.

Legal Matters When it Comes to Full-Time RVing

Wondering what to do to legally become a full-time RVer? The first thing to decide is where you’ll legally set up your domicile. Many people think domicile is simply a state of residence, but it’s a bit more than that. Domicile is showing a truthful intent to be physically present in a state and to return to it after you leave.

Popular Domicile Locations for RVers

Texas, Florida, and South Dakota are popular domicile choices for full-time RV living. But, these are obviously not the only states you can choose. Your needs are different and will be determined by many variables only you must consider when choosing a domicile.

Items such as income tax, health insurance, vehicle registrations, and where you wish to vote are just some of the variables that will need to be reviewed and decided upon before changing your domicile. These are the things that will prove you are serious about making the move to your new domicile. Maybe your domicile will end up being the state you had planned to leave, and you won’t have to change your domicile at all.

How to Change Your Domicile

The first step in deciding your domicile will be to take all your state-specific expenses and compare them to the other states you are considering for your domicile. Costs such as health insurance, state income tax, vehicle registrations, sales tax, personal property taxes, and so on should be listed. 

Keep in mind, for example, that even though health insurance premiums may be cheaper in one state, you may not be getting the best health care coverage compared to another state with higher premiums. So, compare all parts of these state-specific expenses. Once you have the comparisons done, you’ll be able to narrow down which state or states will best fit your needs and lifestyle.

Once you choose your state of domicile, you will need to do things to establish yourself in that state so you can prove your intent to domicile there, should the need arise. This means things like making connections with doctors, registering your vehicles in that state, registering to vote, etc.

Learn more in our guide: The Ultimate Guide for Residency and Domicile as a Full-Time RVer.

Proving Your Domicile

Once you’ve chosen the state you will call your domicile, it’s time to set up a mailing address. When you have your new address, you can begin the process of registering your vehicles, getting a new driver’s license, and registering to vote. In addition, you will want to set up a bank account, update any vehicle insurance, get health insurance in that state, find a doctor and dentist, and visit a lawyer to update your Last Will and Testament. 

There is more, but this will depend on what you need to transfer from your former state to your new domicile state. The point is to make a paper trail that will prove to your new state your intention of making it your new home and to your former state of residence that you have abandoned that state.

All you have to do now is plan your travels and include a stop in your new state every year to maintain your intention to call it home.

Full-Time RVing With Kids

If you think you can’t RV full time with kids, then you haven’t met some of the families already out on the road giving their kids unforgettable experiences. From managing everyone’s things to homeschooling and making sure their kids get to meet other kids, these families have figured it out.

How Will My Kids Go To School?

If you have school-aged kids, how your children will go to school while living full-time in your RV is one of the first topics you’ll think about very seriously. From free, online homeschool options to curriculums you can teach to your kids, there are many programs available for you to homeschool your children. 

Keep in mind that your domicile state may have regulations and laws you must follow like reporting to a school district or sending achievement test scores. Make sure to check these laws before you begin so you know what to expect. The best part of full-time RVing with your kids is tying into their homeschool experience information about all the places your family gets to visit. Their learning experiences become richer. 

Making Space for Everyone

How do you handle clothes, homeschool materials, hobbies, toys, and more when you live in your RV full-time with your family? You may want to choose an RV that has space for everyone, for obvious reasons. Think about the questions mentioned above when deciding on the type of RV you feel you will need for your family. Do you need separate sleeping areas and desk space away from your kids?

Do you need storage space that can easily be organized by and for your kids? Asking yourself questions such as these will help you find the RV that will work for you and your family.

Are Routines and Schedules Important?

Just like in a stationary home, if you choose full-time RV living with your kids, you’ll need to set routines and schedules for school, play, and chores. Will the RV feel crowded when many things are not in their given space during these busy times? Yes. But when you create systems with your kids to clean up and organize the RV, everyone can share in making it a livable space so it doesn’t feel overwhelmingly small.

How Do Full-Time RVing Kids Meet Other Kids?

How will your kids meet other kids while RVing? There are quite a few options, you just need to put in a little more work because you’re traveling. It’s normal to worry that they might be lonely on the road, but RV life can be fulfilling for them, too. Social media is one way to connect with many families at once. While not in person, you can get to know other families and then plan to meet up along your travel routes. There are many ways for your kids to make friends on the road.

When you sign up for RV club events geared toward families, or that include families, your kids will get to meet others in person. For the most part, kids are naturals at making friends so you most likely won’t have to force them together during the activities. After these events, it isn’t unusual for families to continue traveling together so create some bonds with the other parents, too!

If your kids feel sad when separating from their newfound friends, help them stay connected through phone calls, social media, video calls, online gaming, and watching movies online together in real-time. There are endless possibilities for you to keep them connected and they’ll likely remain friends for years to come.

How to Get Mail on the Road

We know you have questions about how to get mail while traveling.  Fortunately, you have multiple options for mail forwarding, retailers can send packages to pick-up lockers, and you can find plenty of package delivery companies with brick-and-mortar stores near where you stay to have packages delivered. 

Mail Forwarding Options for RVers

Mail forwarding can be done by

• asking family or friends to hold or forward your mail
• using USPS 
• getting a mailbox at a local UPS store
• using professional RV mail forwarding services, like Escapees RV Club’s Mail Service

Using Family and Friends to Forward Your Mail

Asking family or friends to forward your mail will require that they are responsible, organized, and have the time it takes to handle your mail efficiently. This method is the cheapest so if you’re on a budget this may be the way to go.

Keep in mind, however, that mixing your legal address with a family member’s or friend’s address when you are a full-time RVer can create the presumption that the friend or family member’s address is the address where you plan to permanently return. If you never or rarely plan to return, your domicile could be in jeopardy so this option would not be the best fit.

Mail Forwarding with the United States Postal Service

Using the United States Postal Service for mail forwarding can be done if you plan to stay in one place for a long period of time. But for full-time RV living and traveling, it isn’t the best option. However, you can use General Delivery to have someone else forward your mail to a Post Office near where you are staying. Just be sure to call ahead to see if the Post Offices you plan to use accept items addressed to General Delivery.

The USPS also has its free Informed Delivery program. This can help you narrow down the types of mail you can request to have forwarded by sending you an email digest of photos of the envelopes and packages you will be receiving. No one really wants to have their junk mail forwarded so this works very well to keep forwarding costs down!

Rent a Mailbox

When you need consistent mail forwarding, renting a mailbox at brick-and-mortar stores like The UPS Store is not recommended. First, full-time RVers don’t usually stay in one place long enough for the fees charged to be cost-effective. Secondly, even though they may advertise having a street address with their service, you may have difficulties if you want to use it to establish your domicile.

Pay For a Professional Mail Forwarding Service

One of the best ways to go if you travel full-time is to use a professional mail forwarding service like the one at the Escapees RV Club. The Escapees RV Club mail forwarding service has options for you, the full-time RVer, that include mail scanning, customized forwarding categories, one-time or regularly scheduled mail forwarding, email notification of mail forwarded along with a tracking number, and access to your mail account online or via our mobile app.

The Escapees RV Club mail service is a reliable and affordable option making sure you get your mail and packages on time, when you need them. Take a look inside our mail service at the Escapees headquarters here.

Learn about how the Escapees RV Club Mail Forwarding Service works here.

Package Delivery Options

Sometimes you will need to receive packages in addition to your regular mail. The Escapees RV Club mail forwarding service can accept mail and packages, but those will need to be forwarded to your location.

This isn’t always the best option when you have time-sensitive RV parts or perishable goods coming your way. So, why not just use the delivery options available from online retailers?

Online retailers have many delivery location options in towns and cities where you will travel. In addition to sending packages directly to the RV park where you are staying, online retailers can deliver your packages to brick-and-mortar stores such as the UPS Store and FedEx Office, Print, and Ship Centers, as well as to lockers specifically set up in convenient locations for you to pick up, as is the case with Amazon and Walmart.

Make sure you give very specific delivery instructions if necessary and type the address correctly when ordering, and bring your photo identification when you go to pick up your package. If you use a pick-up locker, you will be given a specific code that will open the locker just for you. 

Getting mail and packages has never been easier for full-time RVers, you just need to plan a little more than you would if you were living long-term in one location.

How to Get Internet as a Full-Time RVer

As you think about diving into full-time RV living, you’ll most likely want to stay connected to friends and family who are still living in one location. You may even plan to work remotely while you travel. For either reason, you’ll need to have access to the internet. 

There are many ways to get internet while you’re traveling. From RV park and campground WiFi, cellular internet, and hotspots, to satellite internet, there is a lot to cover. For this guide, we’ll take you through each one and provide links along the way for more in-depth coverage.

If there’s one thing you should know going into your full-time RVing journey, it’s to not rely solely on RV park WiFi. Sadly, RV park and campground WiFi is notoriously unreliable.

However, if you happen to find the needle in the haystack of reliable campground WiFi, you can connect directly with your device(s) or use a wireless router that supports connecting to an external wireless network, and then share it with your existing network. To boost it even more, go with a router that supports an external antenna or one that is completely outside. 

Cellular Internet Coverage

Cellular phones and hotspots are more reliable and use cellular tower signals to provide you with a connection to the internet. Keep in mind, however, that your signal and speed will vary depending on tower coverage, how many customers are using a tower when you may need it most, and the type of connection the tower has to the outside world. 

Redundancy is key if you plan to rely only on cellular coverage. This means having more than one option in case one doesn’t work in some places. Make sure you subscribe to at least two cellular carriers so that if one does not work in an area you can use the other, especially if you are working remotely or homeschooling your kids. 

Each cellular carrier has a coverage map so you can roughly tell if an area you would like to stay in has adequate coverage for what you need. In addition to cellular coverage maps, there are camping apps available where reviewers report cellular coverage and speed test results. Utilize these and you’re likely to find a spot that will meet your cellular coverage needs.

Satellite Internet

Satellite internet has really become popular with RVers within the last couple of years, especially with the emergence of Space X’s Starlink. Unlike geostationary satellite options like HughesNet, Starlink uses low-earth-orbit satellite technology.

The cost is now more within the reach of many RVers’ budgets than in years past and has higher speeds with lower latency, making it a viable option for you while full-time RV living. Unfortunately, you always need a clear view of the sky for your antenna, so parking under trees is not recommended.

One last reminder: there can be outages with any service you decide upon, not all areas are conducive to accessing the best signal, and some areas are just too crowded for your internet speed to be usable.

So, regardless of the internet option you choose, we cannot stress enough that you should plan to have more than one way to stay connected if you rely heavily on the internet for your job or school.

How to Make Money for the Full-Time RV Lifestyle

Although older generations choose to RV when they stop working, full-time RV living for beginners isn’t reserved only for retirees. As RVing becomes a more cost-effective way to travel for people who are still working-age, there is an increasing need to work while traveling. But how do you make money to fund your full-time RV lifestyle?

There are multiple options that allow you to make money while on the road. Seasonal jobs, or work camping, are those that you may already be familiar with. There are also long-term contracts available for travel nurses and others in the medical field as well as those who choose to work as a gate guard for the oil industry, to name a couple. In addition, maybe you can take your current job on the road as a remote worker. 

Camp hosting, Amazon Workforce, and beet harvests are a few work camping jobs that require you to remain in one spot for a season. You are paid only for that season, but it can allow you to save up so you can travel the rest of the year without having to work. 

Long-term contract positions like travel nurses usually have set dates that a job starts and ends. These workers travel for fun in between contracts or go directly from one contract to another.

Do you plan to start your full-time journey by taking your job or business on the road with you from the beginning? You may be able to transition from a stationary location to working from your RV. While you may have to work hard to convince the company you work for that working remotely would not have any effect on your performance, you may instead work for a company that has no problem with where you choose to work, especially when you’ve been working remotely since the recent pandemic.

You can learn more about how established full-time RVers are earning money from the road in our 2-part series: Advice from Working RVers.

• Full-Time RVers Working From the Road: Advice From Full-Time RVers Part 1
• Working Remotely As a Full-Time RVer: Advice from Full-Time RVers Part 2

How to Find Jobs for RVers: The RVer Job Exchange

If you are wondering where you can find a job that will allow you to work from your RV, try out the RVer Job Exchange.

This service is part of the Escapees RV Club and caters to job seekers who are looking for a remote, virtual, or telecommuting job offer. It’s for anyone who is looking to find full-time, part-time, or temporary job opportunities that fit your travel lifestyle.

Freelancers and project-based professionals looking to list your services are welcome, too! If you’re looking for supplemental income and to remain professionally active and if you’re a nomad of any kind, this job board was made for you.

Create a profile for free, create your resume using the tools available, then browse and apply for jobs you think would be a good fit for you.

What You Should Know About Working From The Road

Full-time RV living for people who also want to work from the road isn’t for the spontaneous traveler.

Working from the road requires forethought and preparation. If you want to make a living while traveling, you should know how work can affect your travel.

You’ll need to maintain reliable internet, to know what your workspace will look like, to know what your tax preparation will look like, and how you’ll combat the loneliness if you were used to having office friends, just to name a few. 

You may enjoy reading this piece on How to Survive the Challenges of Working on the Road.

Remote Work and RV Travel

How does a remote work schedule affect your travel? It really depends on how flexible your job is. If you work a regular Monday through Friday job, then your travel may be limited to the weekends. This may or may not work out for you depending on if you stay in RV parks and campgrounds or if you boondock. 

RV parks are fuller on the weekends, so finding a spot may be troublesome unless you reserve a site weeks in advance.

If you boondock, it’s easier to find spots to camp unless it’s a popular place during the season. With RVing becoming more popular, you may be taking a chance by trying to find your favorite spot during a weekend.

Will You Need Reliable Internet?

Before you move to a new place to camp, it’s best to find out if your new destination will have reliable internet (see the section above about How To Get Internet as a Full-Time RVer). This could also affect your travel plans. 

You may find that you read outdated information about the internet options at that location and it isn’t good enough for you to work, causing you to have to move down the road. You don’t want to do this during a workday so it will have to be on your day off. 

If you waited to travel until the last day of your weekend you may be scrambling to find a new spot where the internet is reliable enough for you to work the rest of the week. Planning ahead is key and having a backup location helps to avoid last-minute moving.

Remote Work From Your RV: More to Think About

What do you need for a comfortable workspace? While some RV manufacturers add desk space, RVs don’t always have designated workspaces. There is usually a dinette or dining table and chairs, which are not known to be ergonomic.

And if you’re wondering what’s the best RV for working remotely, it’s not a one-size-fits-all answer!

While many RV manufacturers are catching onto the remote work trend and adding office space, many older and used RVs don’t have quite the setup. You may have to redesign a space in your RV to include a desk and chair that best meets your needs.

For ideas of how full-time RVers have made their own DIY workspaces, check out our popular Xscapers article, RV Mobile Workspaces: An Office With a View.

You need to know the tax implications, the ins and outs of insurance, and even how your RV warranty can be affected by working from your RV while you stay in different locations if you run your own business or even work for an employer. Be sure to check with a tax specialist, insurance broker, and any other expert designed to help you so you can stay ahead of any legal and/or financial implications.

If remote work or running your own business from your RV doesn’t sound like it would fit your personality because of the potential for loneliness, then you may be better off finding a job as a work camper. Work camping gives you more opportunities to work with others, especially if you are a campground host, work on a farm during harvest, or even if you work on a Christmas tree lot. So, be sure to choose work that best suits your personality.

The bottom line is that working while on the road can give you more opportunities for a life of freedom, but you still need to plan more often than you might think.

RV Memberships and Campground Discounts

RV memberships and campground discounts are a great way to save money while living full-time in your RV. RV memberships typically have multiple benefits and campground discounts can add up if you plan to stay mostly in campgrounds, RV parks, or RV resorts.

RV club memberships like the Escapees RV Club not only offer campground discounts, but include other benefits such as mail forwarding service, roadside assistance coverage, RV education courses, and other discounts on RV products and services. 

Learn more with the Ultimate Guide to Escapees RV Club here.

Campgrounds typically give discounts to RVers who are members of clubs such as Passport America, AAA, and AARP, to name a few. Be sure to use them! Even if they only save you a few dollars a night on your campground fee, it’s worth the effort to dig out that membership card.

In addition to campground discounts, there are other discount RV parking options you can take advantage of.

Boondockers Welcome, Harvest Hosts, Thousand Trails, and other memberships allow you to stay for free (or a very nominal fee) at their locations after you have paid your annual membership fee. Look into these if you feel they would meet your full-time RV living and traveling needs.

Don’t forget about reciprocal discounts and memberships, too! Some clubs offer discounts to other clubs and organizations as part of a mutual agreement.

For example, Escapees RV Club members can save on memberships to camping programs such as Harvest Hosts, Boondockers Welcome, and Passport America. Learn about our member benefits and discounts here.

How to Find Your Community on the Road

Full-time RV living for beginners can be especially hard at first because as new RVers you can’t seem to find your community of like-minded friends. We suggest looking into and joining an RV club that has a social media presence as well as in-person events. 

Through their social media platforms you can meet others who seem to be like you. Then, make plans to meet at an event so you can get to know each other even better. Even if you don’t meet online at first, going to an event in person will let you see first-hand who may have similar values, family situations, personality traits, and more for you to connect through.

Community is at the heart of Escapees RV Club. We provide many services and benefits to help make your life as a full-time RVer easier, but we wouldn’t be anything without our community! Learn more about the benefits of an Escapees membership here.

The Escapees RV Club has quite a few in-person social events for you to choose from.

We have events like Xscapers Convergences that are geared toward working-age RVers (even if you have a family or not), Hangouts if you are an active but retired RVer, and even HOPS (Head-Out Program) for when you want a more “white glove,” all-inclusive trip with or without your RV. Our events are where you will likely find life-long friends to frequently travel and stay in touch with all year-round.

If you would prefer to meet up with just a few other RVers instead of at a larger event, find and talk to other RVers in RVing online groups, chats, and forums. Then, discuss how to (safely) meet up in person. You can find these groups on Facebook, Meetup, RVNetwork.com, and iRV2, just to name a few.

How to Protect & Maintain Your RV While Living on the Road

Full-time RV living isn’t much different than living in a sticks-and-bricks when it comes to protecting and maintaining what you live in. The RV is now your home and it will still have maintenance needs. The difference is that this home is on wheels and there is more wear and tear on certain parts because of traveling, causing them to break.

Fortunately, knowing how to maintain your own RV, along with subscribing to services that help when it breaks, can save you from too much stress and financial burden.

Extended RV Warranties

Extended RV warranties are extra coverage that steps in to pay the repair cost of mechanical and electrical failures in your rig. As RVs become more complex, skilled RV mechanics are in more demand causing the average cost of repair bills to rise dramatically. 

Can your budget handle such a potentially large repair bill? If your answer is no, then you may want to consider an extended RV warranty. Make sure you look deeply into the types of policies available and choose the one that will best suit your needs. Always look carefully at what is NOT covered by each policy so you will not get caught without the coverage you may need.

RV Roadside Assistance Plans

An RV roadside assistance plan like Escapees Roadside Assistance is a must when you become a full-time RVer. You do not want to be stranded along the side of the road without a cost-effective way to get your RV to a repair shop. 

RV roadside assistance plans typically cover towing to an approved repair shop, tire changes, battery charging, fuel delivery, lockout services, trip interruption, and more for a reasonable annual fee. Think about just one of those issues and how much it would cost to solve on your own, and you’ll realize that it could cost more than the annual fee for a roadside assistance plan. The peace of mind you have knowing you’ll be covered in the event of a breakdown then becomes priceless.

DIY RV Preventive Maintenance

An RV is like a house in that there is always maintenance that needs to be done. Learning how to do much of the maintenance yourself will help keep costs down in addition to the time you’ll save trying to get an appointment at a busy RV repair shop. 

There are many resources available from seasoned full-time RVers on many of the common maintenance tasks.

Escapees RV Club has our own educational resource called RVers Online University, with online courses that teach you about various aspects of RVing. Our RV Foundations Course covers the following topics and more!

Maintenance RVers typically do themselves can include but is not limited to:

• inspecting and resealing door, window, and roof seals 
• resealing the roof
• sanitizing the fresh water system
• cleaning the air conditioning unit
• lubricating slide-out seals
• changing the motor oil of your RV and/or generator
• flushing and cleaning the hot water tank 
• changing the anode rod of the hot water heater (if yours has one)
• testing for propane leaks in the regulator, propane lines, and connections
• cleaning the access point, igniter, burner, and fins of the absorption refrigerator
• cleaning the outside vent, access point, blower wheel, and inside of duct work of the forced-air furnace
• checking and adding distilled water to flooded lead-acid batteries
• testing smoke, carbon monoxide, and LP detectors
• checking and replacing brakes on your RV
• checking tire pressure

Keep track of your maintenance tasks with a checklist and write the date when you have completed each one. You’ll get a sense of satisfaction after each completed task and can use the money you saved on even more adventures.

Learn More About Safely Operating and Maintaining Your RV With RV Foundations from RVOU

Staying Healthy and Getting Healthcare on the Road

As we mentioned earlier, getting healthcare while full-time RV living is one of the tasks you need to think of when deciding on your domicile. Think of the variables that would affect your choice. Since healthcare is a very individual decision and health insurance choices are often state-specific, these questions can help you get started.

• Are you over 65? If so, can you rely on Medicare alone?
• Does your employer cover your healthcare? Is it nationwide or regional only? Does it include telehealth?
• Do you have any pre-existing conditions? 
• Do you take medications?
• Do you qualify for Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans? How many are available in your domicile state? Do they cover emergency care outside of your domicile state?
• Can you afford higher health insurance premiums or higher deductibles?
• Is it possible you would need regular, non-emergency care outside your domicile state? What are the options for this?
• Are you comfortable with options outside of traditional health care insurance like health sharing plans, short-term insurance, memberships for concierge medicine, fixed-indemnity plans, etc.?

There are more questions each RVer will need to answer individually to complete a healthcare search. However, once a decision is made and a doctor is chosen, you can start making necessary appointments for maintaining your health while you travel.

Healthy Diets and Exercise

Another way to maintain good health while full-time RV living is to create healthy habits such as eating healthy foods and exercising. 

While you may think it would be hard to maintain a healthy diet when traveling, it can be done. Make it fun! For example, while you explore new areas, visit farmers’ markets and grocery stores to find local produce then make a meal with it in your own RV kitchen. 

Even though as a full-time RVer you’ll travel frequently, you can still find time and activities to get your body moving to get and stay healthy. From strength training using body-weight exercises to hiking, biking, and yoga, there are so many options for you. Pick some based on how much space you have in your RV, set up a consistent schedule, and stick to it.

Whether virtually or in person, make it even more fun by exercising with friends. It’s a great way to get healthy and nurture community at the same time.

How to Plan Your Launch to Full-Time RVing

When first deciding to become a full-time RVer, there are so many things to think about that you may become a bit overwhelmed. Breaking down the process into manageable steps will help decrease any stress you may feel. 

Create a to-do list but separate it into categories to make it feel more manageable. Then start tackling things one at a time while keeping your launch date at the forefront of your mind, even if it is years away. The categories can be exactly what we covered in this guide and what we teach in our RVers Online University course: Roadmap to Full-Time RVing!

One thing we did not discuss, however, is downsizing. You’ll be moving into a much smaller space than you may be used to so add this to your list. Downsizing includes moving out of, selling, or renting your home and what you plan to store, give away, sell, or keep from the household and personal items you have accumulated over the years. 

This can be one of the most challenging tasks to do because of the sentimental attachment you have to the things that surround you every day. Be gentle with yourself and go at your own pace, completing one room or space at a time before moving on to the next. Take breaks for as long as you need. Just keep your launch date in mind and you will stay motivated to get it done.

Learn How to Launch Into Full-Time RV Life with Roadmap to Full-Time RVing by RVers Online University

Wrapping Up

Realizing your dream of full-time RV living is not impossible. Many RVers launch into this lifestyle every year by following in the footsteps of full-time RVers before them. By using this guide, you too can learn how to manage each step along the way as others have successfully done before you. We look forward to seeing you down the road.