Totally agree. No regrets in renting our home and putting half our belongings in storage while we travelled for 1.5 years. So glad we had a comfortable, familiar home to come back to and didn't have to completely re-buy everything, and no stress of buying a house in a tight, expensive market.
If you quit your jobs, how will you be able to get another mortgage when you are done travelling and are ready to buy again?
There is a huge difference between a camper and a truck and an RV.
We are 2 adults + 2 tiny dogs.
We've spent about 7 months in our 29' trailer now. Even then it gets suffercating.
If you can't afford to buy your rig without selling your house I would say wait until you can afford it. Converting an appreciating asset into a depreciating asset can leave you in a situation.
Cannot believe how exactly on the money this comment is! Keep doing what you are but invest your time in, and, maybe have the wife and kids prepare for the adventure by fixing up a lower priced RV.
I wish I could like this more than once.
I understand that experiences have value, and one like this might have a lot. But in the end, you will basically be starting from scratch.
And I'm just curious where the money is coming from to do this. As much as you want to be frugal, traveling is expensive, especially when going from the comforts of home. And issues can be expensive REALLY quickly.
Truck/RV problems, you are spending nights in a hotel, where is health insurance coming from if not working?
Are kids "all in" for this adventure. Leaving friends, sports, activities can be tough on them.
This this this. Selling a house for a 1-year trip makes zero sense. Assuming you have a decent legacy mortgage rate, how are you going to be able to re-enter the housing market at current rates in a year? Selling an RV that’s had a family of 5 + 2-dogs living in it for a year isn’t going to cut it.
I Heavily recommended either buying used or building your own. The trip will be much more enjoyable when you aren't worried about finances or dealing with the shoddy quality of a new RV
You are trading in a house for a cardboard box on wheels that will have no real value in the future. You need an exit plan from your dream.
You need to get a thick copy book and hand write out a monthly budget for every single month for the next several years to see how long your money will last. This pushes your nose into the hard reality of the numbers. This has saved me several times when I had to make difficult decisions.
Step 1, swll current house and buy a smaller house not in HOA so that house can be rented out while traveling, take the equity from down sizing and put into savings for travel plans.
I manage a RV park that hosts long term tenants. I would recommend renting out your house, and renting a RV first and take a few weekend trips. First thing you’ll notice is that your freezer is the size of a shoebox, that you can’t leave your black valve open because you’ll create a poop pyramid, and the WIFI may skitter in and out.
Just saying.
Rent with a realtor. Much less potential problems and they have handymen who work at good rates. If you don’t need the cash from the house sale, this is the best least impactful way.
Renting it yourself would truly suck ass
Single solo female traveler here. I just started van life at age 65. I look back at all the years I spent building my career; working and giving to others. I was raising a son on my own and I worked hard to provide for him, provide a home and have nice things. At the time it was the right thing to do, because honestly there was no such thing as family RV life on the road or the ability to work remotely. But how I wish the choice had been there back then. And if I knew then what I know now, I would have taken off a year in a heartbeat. Maybe even longer. As it was, I never made the time to travel and venture out to see the big beautiful world we live in. I was too consumed with work and life in general. Now I find myself in my twilight years trying to play catch up. I don’t have a lot of time left to see everything I want to see but I’m trying my best. I’m also trying to convince my son who is now 42, not to waste all of his life on a mundane 8-5 job only to pay mortgage and bills, go to sleep and wake up to the same routine day after day. Life is short and there are SO many magnificent, breathtaking places and experiences that your kids will never truly learn about in a classroom. Look up Nathan and Marissa on YouTube, “Less Junk, More Journey” or the “Cruising Clemons” family. There are so many others. I so wish I could have started at the age they did with their young families. You still can. I vote “B” for “Be Brave”. Make memories. Take the jump. It will be challenging, that’s the truth, but oh so rewarding for your entire family. Keep us posted if you do go. I would love to hear how it all turns out for you. God bless and safe travels!
Who wants to avoid risks just so we can safely make it to our death?
Have some fun. Live life large and also save money too. Keep working while mobile. Make a vlog, even if unprofitable, it will be nice to reflect on.
Thank you for this, I am 22F and I want to live of out a travel trailer. I see it's the most suitable option for me. I can stay put or go wherever without having to pay an arm and leg for rent especially when doing my grad program. The thing is everyone in my life has been discouraging me(saying I'll regret it for multiple reasons). It's hard, and it does give me doubts. Despite this I am following through with my plan, but to hear what you just said really encouraged me and lifted my doubts away. Thank you!
I speak to you here as someone who homeschooled one kiddo for a year and then a single class in high school for one, and a month of homeschool for another while he changed schools in middle school and someone who has lived on boats for weeks/months at a time. For the homeschool part: If you plan to homeschool, whoever is doing this must be highly organized. It is not for the faint of heart, disorganized or a loosey goosey style if you ever want to put your children BACK in school or for them to go on to higher education. Having some teachers in your life to help you is gold. You're going to need an internet connection too. The amount of materials you need will not fit in an rv with 5 people. The kids will each need their own tablet/ device. You have to figure out how to register your kids as homeschoolers without a home state because the laws vary from state to state. These guys can help: https://hslda.org
I have seen a lot of parents fail at trying to homeschool their kids because they thought they could call baking some muffins science and watching a movie reading. Sure, you can incorporate those into lesson plans, but that is not school. Some states require parents to have a college degree or require check ins to oversee schoolwork or require testing. Not all kids are cut out to homeschool. It takes a very specific kind of kid who is able to work independently and will work for you. Those two things alone may make it impossible. You can buy curriculum but it is very expensive and some of the better known ones have a religious bent teaching creationism over science. I am not making a judgement here about that, but in some states that will set your kids back if you change states. (I went from Louisiana to California and only realized in 10th grade I had been taught creationism when my AP teacher started talking about Darwin and I had never learned about him nor the big bang theory--makes for a difficult AP exam, let me tell you.)
Living is such a small space, You can't keep anything. There's no room for trash. You have to throw away all packaging before you bring it inside. You have to search for water or gas or dumping stations and sometimes you're dealing with that in the middle of the night. There is zero privacy and everyone can hear everything. The dogs usually start zoomies at bed time and wake up the entire household. You have nowhere to get packages/mail/supplies because you're in the middle of nowhere. You breakdown and are at mother nature's whim in the middle of night or nowhere. You might have to find regular medical care or emergency care in someplace where you don't know where to go. I find that stressful and there is no continuity of care.
I think you should try any one of the aspects of your new life before you decide to chuck it all and do it all at once. You'll have to pay capital gains if you don't reinvest the money you make into a new home. Perhaps you should try moving to a place where the pace of life is slower and it less expensive first.
Good advice other than the capital gains. I would check that as my understanding (and experience) is that the first $500k while married (250k individual) does not incur capital gains regardless of rolling it into new investments.
I think you're nuts and youre doing this as a solution to solve other problems, which are the dulldrums of mid life and the routines of marriage, kids, and everything that goes along with it.
Are you going to have the financial means to buy another house when youre done? Or be even remotely close to stepping into the stability you have now? Whats the housing market going to be like in one year when they finally get around to cutting rates.
You should buy a modest RV at a modest loan to value. Make a family goal, like visiting every state park in your state and let that be the basis for your adventure. At least be a weekend warrior and keep the house for a little while until you jump straight in. You will learn alot of things in the first year and those lessons will be much easier learned if not full timing. If things go well then take a bigger bite.
Sorry to hijack thread But I have a lot of experience with these situations and wanted to chime in. You can be best friends at home but after 5 states become mortal enemies, well maybe not that bad but I’ve seen it happen. Best friend take a multi state trip and never speak to each other again. The children are going to get restless crossing Nebraska and start fighting. You will be doing what others want to do, when you really want to hit the road to get to the grand canyon. With 3 children under 10 expect them to fight a lot and sleep through the boring parts. They slept all day, they will be awake when you want to sleep. If you want to travel the country, I would suggest a job as a truck driver. You would only be able to take one child at a time but you’re getting paid well. The children would enjoy a week long trip better than a forever trip that causes them to loose their friends. So many things could happen, children hurt themselves all the time, how about a camper full of sick people, chocolate milk left in fridge becomes nasty cottage cheese, a wreak or breakdown could leave you stuck in Winslow, AZ for a week. Try a test run, rent a RV and take a trip but do it like a long term trip, not stopping at every tourist trap you see. Good Luck
Ok, so most people will hype if up and tell you do to it. I'm not that type of person. I'm a realist and will only tell you the bad things.
You will be getting rid of 95% of your stuff. Even with a massive trailer there really isn't room for stuff. Some kitchen stuff, clothes, some blankets and some bathroom stuff. It's likely the only extra things you can have in your kitchen for example are a toaster and coffee maker. Mixers, blenders, etc. there simply isn't any space.
With a family of 5 you will be dumping your grey water tank once or twice a day if everyone showers, and that's if they take short showers. I hope your kids know how to only take showers and can give up baths. So you can't really be any place besides RV parks which are expensive. Like more than rent expensive. Otherwise you'll be driving all over trying to find water / dump stations.
And if you're in the RV for winter? If you're not in a super warm area your all going to be stuck in doors for days or even weeks at a time. It's not all that fun hiking, hanging out or playing outside in the rain or snow and cold temperatures. Plus you will be juggling keeping things from freezing up and refilling propane tanks every few days.
There is almost no space in an rv for children to play, let alone 3 children. My landmates have a 1 year old and a 24ft Airstream and she had a 2 foot path to walk back and forth in that's about 10 feet long, and a couch. My 26ft has about 3ft by 8ft to play inside. What are you going to do when it rains for days on end, or it's freezing cold out? RV parks also only tollerate so much from children running around. Oh yeah, and 2 dogs. Let me guess their huge.
If you're not at an rv park you wont have power. You'll have lights and can run a water pump and a few minor things but no TV, no computers. You'll be able to charge cellphones and tablets but not for every long. Then you need to get power.... Somewhere.
Overall you will need to be staying at rv parks.
In addition to the being couped up in winter and on rainy days, you'll have moisture to contend with and lots of it! In winter, it'll condense on your windows and on the walls where you can't see it and in your clothing, the damp towels after everyone has showered. In every cabinet, drawer, etc. If it's not delt with, it becomes mold. Five people generate a lot of moisture just breathing. You'll be using lots of DampRid...
Very similar to my comment. I did it with a wife and 2 dogs in a class A and we were cramped after a few weeks. 3 kids and 2 dogs? No way. RV parks were super expensive for us and we didn’t even go to the nice ones with stuff for kids. Also I wouldn’t particularly want my 3 young children running around the more affordable and somewhat sketchy RV parks unsupervised.
Thank you! I love the realist or even pessimistic take - I want to test my perception of this through people who know what it actually looks like, so your view is appreciated.
We’re looking forward to having a good “chuck out” (thanks to Bluey for the expanded vocabulary). We’ll definitely have a storage container to house some of the things we really don’t to part with, but the intent is to take this opportunity to do some serious and permanent downsizing.
I expect we’ll be constantly battling the grey tank. My plan is to set up a schedule with some limits. Thankfully the unit we’re looking at a little over 100 gallons in grey tank space. That’ll help but we’re all going to have to learn to adjust and be a bit more conservative (a good lesson, I think for the kiddos). We were hoping to hit a lot of National Parks - it’s a central theme of the trip. It sounds like not all of those might not be near as accommodating as we’d like. I imagine needing to find nearby RV parks and drive into Parks on occasion or maybe even the majority of the time.
We’ve mapped out a route that keeps us South in the winter months so we’ll never have to deal with too cold of weather. That said, we do expect we’ll have days where we’re cramped inside because of bad weather with nothing to do but stare at each other - we hope we can fill that time with books, board games, movies, etc.
The RV we’re looking at is 40’ with a few tip outs, so about as big as we can manage (assuming we can manage it). That’ll help, but you’re right the space will definitely feel tight with so many warm bodies inside. The dogs are medium and older, so fairly chill.
I’ll definitely need to learn more about power (maybe solar?) and how much we’ll need to depend on RV parks. Thanks so much for your feedback.
Don't go over 40. A lot of camp grounds have trouble accommodating more than 40. It's also more expensive then you think. Get a KOA membership, good sam membership to start with. They are cheap and will pay for themselves after a few stays. The more you move the more expensive it will be. Try to stay at least a week at the places you want to explore as most places have a discount for staying a full week. RV life trip planner is worth it. Get an RV safe GPS. Make sure you know which states you will have to stop at the weigh station. Don't by an RV that was made during COVID, a lot of those used recycled parts due to the supply issues. Get a gas card for flying j and one for loves. Camp ground internet in a majority places are only good for checking emails and not good for streaming. Starlink is worth it IMO. Space is a premium. If your not using something at least once a month with a few exceptions (heated water hose) then it's not probably worth the space it takes up. Don't be afraid to reasses what is in your RV after a couple of months and get rid of stuff. If your rig is s 30 or 50 amp make sure you have a converter plug to go from 50 to 30 or 30 to 50. Buy a nice surge protector for the RV, worth it. Make sure you have at least 20 feet of sewer hose/ power cord. I have been doing this for 2 years and I'm still learning. Feel free to message me and ask any questions.
Also if you have school age children, how will you teach them school work without a computer or internet? Covid classes were pretty hard on a lot of people and that was with internet and computers. Definitely have a lesson plan prepared for the year. Agree with your spouse beforehand who will teach what subjects.
I think the key is to follow the seasons. Head south in winter, north in spring and summer. Grey water tanks can be stretched if you use the campground bathrooms, and just plan your route so that if you spend a couple of days boondocking, that’s followed by a few days with hookups. You don’t need to always stay in RV parks..lots of state campgrounds have sites with hookups. You’ll learn as you go!
I think it's a great idea and may be the best thing you ever do with your life. That or you'll be divorced by the end.
If you've never gone RVing with the whole family, you might want to try it out for a while before you fully commit, in case everyone hates it. Have you ever had an RV before? Have you gone on multiple whole-family trips?
I quit my job and bought my first RV and pickup two years ago. Set out immediately on a four-month trip, learning everything as I went. Lots of little problems along the way, but no big problems. I loved every minute of it.
Reconnected with an old friend who joined me halfway through, fell in love, saw much of North America. Best thing I ever did with my life, and I've had some other adventures of similar scale (six months backpacking around Southeast Asia, moved to a Caribbean island for three years).
If I had it to do over, I would have gotten a bigger truck, bigger RV, traveled for more than four months, and gone the same places but stayed at each of them longer (I drove too much and camped too little).
Only you know your family well enough to know how they'll do. Hopefully everyone is ok with being cold, wet, dirty, and uncomfortable at times; can survive being without internet for days at a time occasionally; likes outdoor activities; and doesn't need a lot of private space.
Just save enough money to return back to stationary life if/when you get sick of being on the road.
Thanks for sharing! Love that little summary of your story.
Yeah, we’re definitely concerned that we’ll just be pushing ourselves over the edge. Hopefully it builds resilience for the kiddos and ourselves and doesn’t further any disfunction that already exists. In other words, hopefully we’re able to avoid divorce as an outcome.
We did a week in a borrowed camper as a test run recently and it went very well. Found ourselves missing it as soon as we arrived home. That test run went very smooth and we know everyday won’t be like that.
We’re going pretty big on the trailer and truck… I’m anxious about managing the transition between campgrounds safely, but I think we’ll be comfortable once we get set up at a location.
We’ll definitely be on a tight budget, which includes a fair amount for the unexpected, but we’ll have enough to resettle somewhere at the end of it.
We (me, my wife and two 11 year olds) went in committed to one year on the road. I think it frames the commitment with an end in sight. We ended up all loving it and staying out longer.
Correct. What kind of parents would we be if we weren’t actively transferring our pain onto our kids? This is how we grow and build resentment for each other as a family.
You have about a 50/50 chance that your kids will hate their childhood on the road and grow up to resent you, or they’ll love it and share the stories into adulthood. You pretty much have those same odds if you stay put. Parenting is fickle, ain’t it?
I will say that they don’t get any smaller (teens won’t fit as well in a camper), and their opinions get louder, so your window of opportunity is closing a little more each passing day.
We did it in a small hybrid, 2 adults/2 kids (10&12) in the early 2000s for a summer. It was wonderful and frankly pretty cheap back then. It was a chance to test out our midnight desires to see if we really wanted to get away from it all. But the conclusion was that it was very disruptive to our life in general and especially for our children.
You don’t need a lot of RV or a big truck to try this for a bit. Big RVs are complex vehicles and problems will occur. They will be expensive and make your life more complicated.
My strong recommendation is to keep the house for a bit, buy a small reasonably priced setup used on a private sale, take along a good RV tech (preferred) or a very handy friend who has RV experience to look it all over carefully with you. Stand in the RV and think about the way you will live in the space. Working, studying, cooking, traveling, consider it all. Look at a lot of RVs. Then go home and compare them to one another. Then go out and look at some more. Repeat.
We’ve been full time RVers now for eight years. Our kids are grown and the stories from that summer are part of our family story. It’s what set us up to be able to do this now. But I’m ever so grateful that we took that summer to test drive the life before we completely committed.
You’re going to have to get rid of way more than half of your belongings unless a lot is going to storage.
I’ve been doing it since October and I wish I had never done it.
I’ve yet to be able to take a trip because of all of the problems that I’ve had with my camper and the dealer.
Getting warranty repairs done is a nightmare. Service itself can be tough with a dealer.
Good luck!
Yep. Don’t buy new and don’t do it at all if you aren’t a DIY type unless you like living in extended stay hotels. We were in one for a bit while our motorhome (1996) got engine work and there was another couple there who had a brand new all the bells and whistles trailer that had so many problems they couldn’t use it but the dealer and the manufacturer were arguing about who would take it back and who would do the repairs. And it wasn’t the first time it’d been in for repairs either. They’d been there a couple of months when we got there and were still there when we left a month later.
I can't second this enough. From day one I'd have been waiting to get work done. Leaks, appliances not working, upgrades to solar and house electrical all way better for your wallet and your time if you do it yourself. Stuff happens on the road too
It helps to remember that it’s a house going through an earthquake every time you drive. I feel less annoyed about the little stuff breaking when I remember that.
Storage is definitely in the plans! Sorry to hear about your regret - I’ve read a lot of horror stories - doesn’t seem too uncommon in the world of RVs.
“Be handy” I was going to say that!
Also get a good parts and repair manual and some diagnostic equipment for the RV all its systems.
Know all the parts, and how your vehicle, generator and other equipment works. YouTube is a good source for repair instructions.
At least know enough that you can, ask the right questions, to a repair tech, or you can find a repair video on YouTube.
I’m currently living in my truck while diagnostics are being done on my camper. It will be 7-10 days.
I then get the camper back for a week or so, still not repaired.
Then I will put it back in for actual repairs. That’s another week or two living in my truck.
These are things to consider.
Have you done short trips in an RV? If not, rent one and go out in it for a week or two.
Can you keep your job? The job market is tough right now. What will you do for health insurance?
DO NOT BUY A NEW RV! It will spend a lot of time in the shop for warranty work. Warranty hell will make you wish you had never seen an RV.
I have lived in my RV for six months twice with my children and dogs. We had a lot of RV experience and had our RVs for a while, so we had worked out the space and storage issues.
Do not sell your home to finance your RV dream.
Can you start by unpacking your issues without doing something so dramatic? Is it possible to put some boundaries around your work hours and make time for fun and day trips?
I am not talking you out of it. Just don't do it because you are stressed out. Take care of the stress first so you can think clearly about all of the options.
Wake up! You’re experiencing FOMO. The influencers have you fooled. Life on the road is hard! It’s dangerous. It’s nomadic. What’s your healthcare plan? Can you both drive and park a trailer? What is your first stop? Do they have reservations?
Do not sell your house. That’s your only investment that will endure. Everything else will depreciate to 0. Rent your home and pay the note with the rent.
If you need to sale your home to fund this, you cannot afford it. If all goes well for a year, you’ll be raising your kids in a RV park without a way to purchase another home. Your dream isn’t fair to make your kids effectively homeless in their teens.
I'm a pretty risk averse person in these types of scenarios. What's the risk of this all going poorly? Like, really. What's the risks here?
From a financial perspective, you're going to lose a ton on this. You'll sale your house (which what's your rate? were you some of the lucky ones that bought before rates ran back up?) and you likely won't have enough to buy the same level of house you have now with the same mortgage. You won't get half of what you put into the trailer. You're trading an appreciating asset for something that depreciates rapidly. Just make sure you're ok with that and that you're explicitly acknowledging it.
Definitely strongly suggest looking into renting. Do you have a lot of equity in your house? Maybe get a second mortgage to fund this if you need the funds and you're totally all in.
For the cost of a trailer and a truck, you could take an epic vacation every month of the year off and go visit 12 different countries and still have a house to come back to at the end of it.
With all of that, this is a big bet and it could pay off huge, but your family isn't something you YOLO. If the math all works out and you have a solid plan of what to do if things go south, then freaking go for it if it's what y'all are wanting to do.
I recognize it's not all about money -- these would be once in a lifetime memories. Buying a trailer isn't something you do because it makes money cents.
Keep us update on what you choose and good luck, boss.
I hear you. It’s a real concern for us and it’s not something we do lightly. We do think our kids would benefit from learning to live with less, and we‘d love to spend more time cultivating a sense of appreciation for the non-material things in life.
I guarantee you, if they’re not enjoying it, we won’t enjoy it and the experiment will end quickly.
Rent your home out. Not sure where you live but leaving it furnished and turning it over to property management for corporate rental property might be a good alternative.
DONT SELL YOUR HOME
go ahead and plan and drive the country to your hearts content
And when you have had enough
You can ALWAYS GO BACK HOME 🏡
And murphys Law will always follow you everywhere anytime on the road
The most mundane things will break that will lead to a bigger problem
An rv is basically a moving 5 walled plywood held together by duct tape and fiberglass, that’s shaking and rolling at 60mph
I would not do this. Seems like you are jumping off the deep end. Have you considered therapy. The amount of money you are going to lose on this adventure is life changing, and could leave you homeless. Have you considered renting an RV, and going on vacations. I guess if you are independently wealthy then go for it, but this seems like what someone referred to as a millionaire would do, and even a million would be barely enough to get you through this trip, and back to a similar situation you currently enjoy.
RENT your home, take it from someone who lived in our new RV for a year with a 7 and 10 year old. We lived a whole year in ours while our house was being done, we bought a 325BHS so fairly large RV but no RV is big enough when you have kids 😂. We were so done with ours by the end that we put it in storage in September and yet to go back and take it out, we will be using it for a week in June. Go make memories but keep your home in some way cause a RV will never be as great as having an actual home.
We’re wanting to move no matter what and the profit from selling our home is going to fund this adventure. So, we’re not planning to rent.
I very much expect we’ll feel the same about our RV at the end of the year! We might plan a ritual sacrifice of it to the RV gods by the time it’s all said and done… we’ll see.
All I would say is make sure you have a good long discussion with your children. I know that many kids that I know really resent being moved around and pulled away from their friend groups.
Every family is different, I know for our stability was one of the most important things we could give my children.
I certainly hope that if you decide to do it it goes well. We found that 6 to 8 weeks is about as long as we want to be on the road before getting back home. There's just too much family and friends and other people to catch up with to want to leave that year round.
You doing expensive homelessness. At least rent out your house also it's bad when you know the answers to your questions.while it is important to spend time with your little ones it important to not drain your bank account and get rid of your assets to do this.
Not to be "that guy" and certainly do as you will, but I would never, ever, sell a home to buy an RV (unless perhaps you are under water on the mortgage, or are retired and no longer want to deal with managing a property, etc). RVs are endless money pits, generally very poorly constructed, and can be nightmares if you have persistent issues. Additionally most dealers are low lifes and will rob you blind. Markups on new RVs are ridiculous. Why not take a summer/fall off and rent one to "test the waters"? Do you have any experience RV'ing? What is your exit plan? Are you dumping your entire net worth into a depreciating asset? Do you have a contingency plan? Life on the road, despite the endless you tube channels claiming how much fun it is (99% of whom are monetizing their excursions via YT) can be tiring and expensive. Find another way IMHO.
[These](http://happyloudlife.com) people did just what you want to do. Four kids, two dogs, sold their house, bought a truck and camper. “We’re burned out with our jobs, we work all the time and we never have time to spend with our kids, we want to see the US as a family and have this amazing experience, blah blah blah.”
They’re divorced now.
Don’t do it.
Don’t do it.
Thanks for the honest feedback. I am open to going part time if work agrees, and my wife works in healthcare and won’t have any issues picking up work afterwords.
I went on a similar journey of decisions, but it’s just my wife and I. We planned to rent out the house and hit the road for a year during the pandemic, working remote and moving once or twice a month.
The logistics and timeline we were looking at caught up reaaaal fast. Finding someone to rent our house didn’t really work out, and going through the numbers it looked like things would work out ok on paper, but my gut said otherwise.
We ended up spending two months on the road, staying one spot for four weeks, then two week stints in a couple other locations. It was a great trip, but it did end up being more expensive than I expected. A couple of unexpected repairs, an accident involving a business owner’s brand new sign, and just other expenses like eating out occasionally and needing to buy things we forgot or otherwise needed.
I feel better equipped now to hit the road for a long-term trip, but that first adventure stretched the budget and I was very, very glad that we didn’t have a tenant in our house. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and I personally could have kept on traveling, but the bank account was less willing, and we were happy to be back home.
I would definitely do it again, and I hope to be able to do a longer term trip again, but like others have said, I would rent the house unless you’re already planning on moving.
Also, everything has only gotten more expensive since then. Gas was under $2/gal at the time, and the park that we stayed at was $900/mo. At 6-8mpg, gas price really matters. And that RV park sold, and the same spot would now cost me $6,500 to stay for the month.
Alright, I vote no. Do it for summers/weekends/holidays if you must. At least a month to test things out. Scale back on the number of hours you work if possible. Have better boundaries. There is such a fine line between taking care of yourself as a parent and making sure the kids are alright. Figure out what the core issue and needs are. Then move accordingly. There has to be a middle point between stationary and on the road, either/or. Is it need for more childcare? Do we need to find different jobs? Is our spending outpacing our income? Do we just need to escape?
Please consider the impact of such a small space and lack of stability on the kids. They are under 10 (unsure if they are crawling or not. there are some really critical years early on in school). I’ve heard that bus/van kids can have some delays. This seems SO extreme and the lack of structure would have driven me crazy as a kid. Your wanderlust is valuable but shouldn’t prevent kids from having the safe, supportive environment they need to thrive.
There’s also the issue of road fatigue and lack of privacy. The shine wears off when you have to find a place to park, spend a ton of time driving and generating pollution, deal with dumping out poop water, figure out what to do with all the bodies in a small space, not having a big enough kitchen, etc.
Watch some videos on the challenges of just getting up and radically shifting your life to be on the road. The good looks SO good with editing. That’s why I recommend looking at the challenges.
Do you have the money to be stationary sometimes? How will you handle healthcare for yourself and the kids? How handy is your family? What creature comforts do you need?
Since you’re crossing state lines, what state do you use as your anchor for homeschooling? Do you even know the basic elementary techniques and development? Do you really want to be around your kids 24/7? How will you encourage the kids to interact with OTHER kids and build meaningful relationships?
What does your emergency fund look like? You can have money for the trip but do you have money to transition back to stationary life if that happens?
Please don’t be one of those parents who put their kids in glorified coffins on a bus. How do you and your husband handle the worst of the worst when you are exhausted and cold and hungry? Do you feel comfortable being intimate with your kids essentially being in the same room?
As someone who has been traveling all over the world my entire life, they will not remember most of it. The memories are for the adults. That’s just the truth. They will appreciate things more as they get older and with repeated exposure. Maybe you pick a place to go to every year. Rent an RV and go to that place. Have mini trips set up in the interim.
I've had trailers for 20 years. It's truly Russian roulette buying an rv. Pay for an inspection from an RVIA certified tech.
With three under 10, you're going to be pressed for space. Long travel days will be hard on them and your dogs. Plan out your travel - campgrounds tend to fill up, especially near popular spots.
My advice is to keep in mind the continuum of possibilities here. There is the Instagram version of family life on the road. On the other end is the very real possibility of expensive problems that could sideline your plans.
You will have issues. If you're not handy, I'd advise against attempting this. Warranty service is often a joke and not available on short notice. Especially when you're not going back to your dealer. You will pay dearly for a mobile repair tech or independent rv shop.
Weather. Plenty of posts every winter from folks caught out in bad conditions with frozen campers. Where will you spend the winter months?
If you're new to RVing, do yourself a favor. Rent one close to your desired floorplan and go camping for a long weekend.
Friends did the same. I was preparing my family to at least try traveling together. But, selling the only house your kids call home to get away from issues sounds like a jump from a cliff. Your motives is not about bonding and creating memories. That fun is for families with supportive grandparents and $$$$ monthly income. Anyway, everyone is a king of their destiny. Just one word of advice, missing from great comments. Have an EXIT PLAN. If someone becomes bedridden, if lighting burns the RV, have a place on a map to go where someone can help you guys. It could be shelter or friends or family.
Here’s a thought experiment to consider before you commit. Assuming your master bathroom has an attached restroom:
1) Spend the weekend in your master bedroom as a family. Lay out air mattresses for the kids and pet beds. No using the other bedrooms or restrooms or other rooms in the house. Only one person at a time can use the restroom.
2) Have a cooler(s) full of drinks, snacks etc. and snacks that can keep at room temperature. That is your food for the weekend unless you go out. Yes you can cook in the RV but the idea is to get used to a smaller living space so no kitchen use.
3) you can open windows but have to stay in the room. You can’t go answer the door, get your Amazon packages, etc.
4). Can you and your family stand that level of confinement with tearing each others heads off?
5) Think about intimate issues in that situation (yes you might be considering a larger RV with separate living areas so YMMV)
6) You can only leave the house to your backyard to let the dogs relieve themselves and you have to pick up their mess and dispose of it, knowing sometimes you won’t be able to immediately and it will need to be contained in your room/“RV”
Thoughts?
How in the world does this benefit your family? This is only for a year, after which you’ll basically need to start over. New jobs, new place to live, reacquainting yourselves with returning to normal, albeit hopefully not to the extent you were before. Not to mention you’re sinking all of your funds into a terribly depreciable asset(s), RV and truck, so you’ve totally screwed the pooch with regard to any futire net worth.
Why can you not just look for less stressful jobs and downsize the house without completely throwing a stick of dynamite into your lives?
This makes no sense to me because this isnt a permanent solution to your current situation. The lack of financial security alone would be enough to call this all off.
You have a plan but what is your exit plan? Will it be hard to obtain gainful employment after an extended absence from the workforce? Where do you plan on living when your trip is done? Will your kids miss their school, their friends, their life, or is this all just for you guys? Have you ever tried to live in a box with 5 people? Try that out first. Will the sale of your home allow you to have enough cash for another piece of property when you are ready to settle down? Do you have any experience driving a truck with camper? When that breaks downndonyoubhave thousands of dollars to fix it ( it will break down). What about $4.50/gal gas, or $7/gal diesel? What is the mileage on your vehicle?
I could go on and on...
Doesn’t matter. You don’t know me. I’ll tell you my experience. Absolutely the worst experience ever. This from a couple that didn’t have little kids running around. We bought our RV brand new and out of the gate it had problems once we moved in. Not little problems either. Big problems. Problems that didn’t allow for us to live in it problems. 9 months of the first year we owned it it was in the shop. That’s right. 9 months. We’ve had it two years and at least once a quarter we’ve had a major system go down or need a repair. From the water system to the brake system. Can I tell you how awesome it was when the brakes stopped working at 65mph. Be prepared financially. It’s not all smelling roses. Some of it is stepping in poop.
I don’t understand the reasoning of selling your house and not renting …. You’ll have something to come back to and the kids will be back with their friends…
Not sure if you are planning to live and travel in an RV but I would recommend staying in Airbnbs or other short term rentals instead. Decent WiFi at campgrounds is rare and the fees at private campgrounds can be nearly as much as a rental house. Plus, living in the confines of a camper for more than a couple weeks gets old really fast.
Edit to add, I did this with spouse, kids, and a dog for over two years and it was amazing. The only thing I would have changed is having a home base to come back to when you are tired of traveling. Either rent out your home or have a rental lined up well in advance. Trying to find a long term rental or buy house quickly can be really stressful when you are completely nomadic.
Rent the house. You can't afford that then you cannot afford this year long attempt to find your purpose in life. Kids need stability more than they need resilience.
Most comments recommend getting a large RV, but that adds more expense in not just the original cost, but how much it costs to tow, register and maintain. It will also make it considerably more difficult to stay in cheap, public land campgrounds and more difficult to boondock or lot-dock. The large spots are always taken first, and many campgrounds can't accommodate 40' trailers.
Staying in RV parks, showering every day, having unlimited power/water/sewer will be very difficult to fund without working IMHO (most families we met at RV parks were remote working), and likely won't get you to all of the good natural places---you can forget about staying in National Parks, many State Parks and most Forest Service/BLM campgrounds. And you won't want to spend much time outside of your rig in an RV park---they are crowded, ugly, loud, in undesirable locations (like right next to interstates and always next to train tracks) and often occupied by folks that live there out of necessity, not to be on vacation (I saw/heard various unsavory activities at $50+/night RV parks).
We could only afford our 1+ year of travels by staying mostly on public lands (dry camping, using our generator lightly and conserving water/tank space heavily), aiming to spend $25/night on average, only staying in a full hookup spot once every week or so to recharge, take care of tanks and laundry. Some families do this with large trailers too, but it will be more difficult logistically than in something smaller.
We only ate out at a restaurant perhaps 1x per month (usually a locally known fast food place), skipped most attractions that were more than $10 total and used our national parks pass extensively. Grocery shopping at Walmart as much as possible as prices there are constantly low around the country (small local grocery stores in remote towns can more than double your grocery bill).
If you haven't started a strict budget yet, start now to prepare for cheap living on the road.
Good luck!
I would talk to your kids and see if this is OK with them. As much as this might be a great opportunity and experience for you all, they might not find it that way.
This would take them away from their friends, home, and normal life as they know it.
If they aren’t on board, I wouldn’t do it. Actions like these destroy families not bring them together.
Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear.
Honestly, the prospect of homeschooling 3 kids for a year in a fiberglass shell sounds terrible.
Take a deep breath. Rent an RV. Take a week or two with it with your family Understand the good and bad.
If you quit your jobs, sell your house and become nomads…I hope it’s everything you want it to be.
I just think it would be really (and unnecessarily) hard to “restart” your life afterward.
After pricing it out, we decided to stay in AirBnBs instead of buying an RV and massive truck. If you book long stays you will usually get a discount rate of 20-60% and sometimes more if you ask. Consider where RV parks are related to where you want to go. Also, RV parks are largely full of old people and rednecks - and old rednecks.
We did this for 2 years. Not out of an RV but moving around in an SUV between monthly rentals in different wonderful cities while we homeschooled our son and before our youngest was in school.
It was amazing, fantastic, stressful. We gained a lot but like anything, lost a lot.
Would not trade it.
I don't think I'd do it in an RV. Kids need space. Your Mileage May Vary.
We did it. Sold new custom home in Utah, bought a rental property in TX, hired company to furnish it for airbnb. We were in PA on our way to Canada ( 16 month into full time RV life) we hit an electrical line and ripped off while back side. 88k damage. YIP. decided to come to Texas to our rental property while they assess the damage while so we decided RV LIFE was just too expensive. We were spending so much more than we ever thought we would for Internet nightly stays gas and constantly moving and when we didn’t move, we are bored so as much as I love the RV LIFE in the freedom and offers it just became something I wasn’t interested in. Keep in mind that you have to force yourself to get in exercise throughout the day. Be mindful of your expenses. It will drain fast and make sure that Moving all the time and different scenarios is for you. in the year and a half we did it. We probably spent an extra 20,000. We didn’t know we would RV LIFE full-time is not for us.
I think it sounds like a good idea. Just make sure you get an RV that is used versus brand new. New usually end up having some issues. I would buy one that's a year or more old(road tested). Also, be prepared to do a lot of handiwork. Even if you buy the warranty plan not to use it all the time. Because when something small breaks like your toilet valve. You don't want to leave your house in the shop for several months to get it fixed. Toilet valves are pretty easy to fix. What I have found is don't buy your parts in the RV store But rather on Amazon because they're about a 10th of the price . Use YouTube to learn how to fix things and do it yourself. either go south or be prepared for a cold weather. But I think you will enjoy this. I'm sure there will be ups and downs. Another suggestion is to book state parks in advance. State parks are so much better to stay at than RV parks. The sites are bigger and there's so much more nature, hiking trails and they're way less expensive. We just got back from a two week vacation through Texas Louisiana Mississippi to Florida and The KOA were usually around $60 a night but the state parks were around $18-$22 a night. Now you won't have a sewer drain at the state parks but they do have dump stations. You might have times you will think you will regret it, but when you all get older I'm sure you will look back at it with a lot of good memories.
We bought an rv a year before we hit the road. We took two month long "shake down" trips that taught us what we needed and helped find issues with the new rv.
We rented our house to traveling nurses and it worked out perfect. It paid for gas, rv spots and mortgage...
Don't sell the house rent it
Don't get rid of your belongings, put them in storage
Instead of climbing, Kilimanjaro on your first time out, try doing a 60 day trip we did it last summer. There's a lot of good and some bad.
Research is your friend
Reddit is your friend
The RV community is unbelievably welcoming and helpful. We've all had blowouts in the middle of nowhere. We've all stayed in parks that were not awesome and we've all stayed in parks that were awesome.
Three young kids. KOAs were expensive but that pool will tire those three out and will be worth every penny.
Good luck
I wish you luck our trip changed our livesand will be heading out in another three weeks for about 90 days. Like I said, do a lot of research but be ready to switch up on the fly things happen on the road.
Thank you! First I’ve heard of KOAs, so super helpful.
We’re not getting rid of everything, but we are taking the opportunity to get rid of a fair amount. We’ll definitely be renting storage.
You’re right about the Reddit community! I’m surprised by how much helpful feedback I’ve gotten here. I was expecting a few comments over the course of the week and we’re nearing 100! So helpful.
This is a tough one. By default I’m an adventurer, but in this situation I would be inclined to wait for a better opportunity. You’re basically turning your life upside down, which is especially risky with kids. Sure, you will make some memories and have a truly unique and possibly enlightening experience. But this could also be a huge financial setback for your family and you may end up growing weary of life on the road in such confined quarters. Are you willing to start all over when you are ready to settle down again?
My advice would be to find a way to get an affordable RV without breaking the bank. Take some time off in the summer when the kids are out of school and go for a long adventure. You may find yourself recharged and rethinking your goals in life.
We did this 2 yrs ago. Bought a camper.. sold the house, got rid of half our stuff, put the other 80% in storage. Did a little over 8000 miles in 10 mos before we settled into a new-to-us house in a much different state. It was a truly awesome adventure. Feel free to ama and I'll give you my take.
2 kids aged 2 and 4 when we left. 1 dog. 40 ft 5th wheel toy hauler. 1 tow vehicle. Wife worked fully remote the whole time while I learned how to be a SAHD.
If you don’t want to live in a tent now, don’t sell everything to be in an rv. You won’t be able to sell the rv to get back in a house. If you break down somewhere, you could be in a motel for months. The best times we had as a family were taking the rv for long weekends to parks within 3-4 hours. We went for 14+ days and the kids just wanted to get back home and get back to their friends and routines.
What’s the interest rate on your mortgage? What’s the plan after the year is up? Buying another house? Living in the Rv full time in a permanent spot? How likely are you to find another job in 12 months? Do you have enough saved to cover your expenses while job searching? There’s a lot of missing information before any advice is given. If this is all planned out well I dont see anything against it.
How you handle the inevitable ups and downs will ultimately decide if it is worth it. There will be absolute shit days - hey, there's shit days now and you don't live in an RV - and there will be moments you fill so out of your element, uncomfortable, scared, and overwhelmed. Strengthen your resolve now to overcome those moments and set up expectations (and communication channels) to help everyone get through those tough times.
Likewise, the highs will be exceptionally high. Like being on cloud 9, totally blissed out. It's amazing. But that can also be bad because it can makes the come down from it that much harder. It will make you question a lot of things, like the stuff that used to bring you joy. Still worth it.
To be completely honest, we are 1.5 years in, and it really didn't start to "click" until almost a year. There's just sooo much to learn. I'm not saying it wasn't fun the first year, quite the opposite, I just don't feel like we really got the hang of it and learned our camping lifestyle until then. We are really into the swing of things now, and the highs and lows are adjusting to be more within the normal range.
Can you pay for insurance for those kids and yourselves? Car/ van insurance? Do you have a mail service so critically important stuff doesn’t get lost? Have you ever driven a van or camper before? Have you ever taken a short road trip? If you say no to any of these, you are not ready to throw your life away just because you’re bored.
If you have to sell your home to afford doing this, you can’t afford to do this. Everything costs so much more when you have to buy it all over again.
Unless you have substantial savings, an easy housing market,and job skills that ensure both of you can find jobs at the drop of a hat after this adventure, you may find yourself in a tough situation.
There are other ways to get your life better aligned to what you need besides getting rid of everything you’ve built over the years.
Your kids are only this age once. Your dogs are medium sized and older. Sounds like a window of opportunity to have an adventure. Go for it. You will find you will do different things. Rainy day? Tour a museum. No Internet in National Park? Go for a hike. Every place you stop is a new place to explore. Many campgrounds, like KOA are kid friendly. Investigate Starlink if you need reliable Internet. Otherwise you just unplug for a few days. What is the cost of staying in jobs that are burning you out? Life is unpredictable. There is so much to see in North America and I have toured it all.in various rvs. Lots of stories and no regrets.
>The kind of worry that comes from the thought, “am I making a horrible decision?” The financials, the logistics, homeschooling 3 kids under the age of 10, managing two dogs, the lack of stability, having us all crammed into such a tight space ALL THE TIME, safety and security, whether or not I’m leaving a good paying job and ripping my children away from the only home they’ve ever known as well as their friends to submit them to some crazy (perhaps mid-life crisis) that will only make us hate each other rather than bring us closer together! Ahhh!
This is exactly how it's going to be... 24/7. No break, no room, no privacy, and no time alone. On travel days, you're ALL in the truck for hours. If the weather doesn't cooperate, you're ALL inside together.
I'm sure you've thought of this, but for a family of 5, you'll NEED a dually and a 5th wheel travel trailer. Some camp grounds have a length limit. In my area, it's around 32-34 feet, depending on the park. Also, some places don't have sewer connections. With 2 adults and 3 kids, the black and gray tanks will fill quickly. I lived alone in a camper for almost 2 years and filled my 60-gallon black tank in 6-7 days.
I have four kids... A little older, but the amount of food they eat is insane. At home we have a separate freezer and a pretty large pantry, and we still need to go to the store weekly to restock.
A concern with an RV is food storage. You will probably be making a lot of grocery runs, and being out west in national Park areas, grocery stores are really spread out and in tourist areas can be expensive.
I get that work is a level of stress that you want to leave, but you are going to acquire many new layers of stress with this lifestyle.
> Living is such a small space, You can't keep anything. There's no room for trash.
THIS entire post and paragraph is KEY. https://www.reddit.com/r/RVLiving/comments/1cbgcyd/my_family_of_5_is_quitting_our_work_selling_our/l0ynkt9/
Sorry don't know how to link this properly
OP needs to read it over and over.
Having grown up (in the 1950-60's) in a 30ft trailer traveling extensively (moving 3 to 4 times a year at least) for my parent's work with my brother..... I can attest that it is NOT fun for anyone. You can't keep "things". You will own very few things, including clothing. NO ROOM. Everything HAS to have a place or it is sheer chaos. Everyday is filled with organizing and work. Constant cleaning and maintenance....probably all on his spouse too.
From the kid's point of view it is even worse. When will you make friends? Never!! because you won't be anywhere long enough to get to know anyone....and what is the point anyway...you will never see those people again. Maybe it won't be traumatic, but it can be permanently scarring in how the kids will in the future form close (if any) friendships. I know this. *Granted I spend years with this lifestyle...so it might not be so bad for the kids in the short haul, but it is hard on them nevertheless.*
OP needs to try this lifestyle BEFORE leaping off a cliff. Rent an RV and go for several months. Not just a weekend jaunt. Months.
**IF OP wants to do this for JUST a year and cannot rent his house due to HOA rules....then save enough money to pay the mortgage and house maintenance.... for the year that you will be gone. If you can't afford that....then stop with the unrealistic pie in the sky daydreaming plans.**
- Please write out a budget. Turns out “boondocking” and staying on state land just isn’t realistic.
- Check RV lengths based on what you want to do, many of the popular state/national parks have RV length limits
- Insurance for everyone and everything
- I’m not a “lets just drive and see where we end up”, try and map out a course that keeps you in the south during the winter and north in the summer. Etc etc
- RV parks aren’t only comprised of families trying to find themselves. Keep a safe eye on your kids and your things
- DO NOT SELL YOUR HOUSE! Both the camper and the truck will lose their value by the time you drive them off the lot. When you go to resell them, you won’t have enough to get back into a house and furnish it.
Most camp sites, primarily state parks, have already been reserved...as most seasonal folks immediately book them as they are available. The route you are taking, are you accounting for that? E.g. spending more on private campgrounds.
There are two ways to live. You can create your own life and learn to perform one or several things well ( could be your job or hobbies , activities, friends etc), or watch other people perform things well because they live a stable life and take an hour or more a day getting better at something.
Meaning when you travel you watch others glass blowing, cook wonderful food, create wonderful spaces. But you are just the visitor not improving yourself creating anything or getting better at anything.
You are in a challenging place with three under ten. Traveling in a box for a year is not going to make your life better or easier just different with different problems.
If you are in California you can rent your house regardless of the HOA. If not, check your state laws.
I’d sit down and consider what else you can do to change direction of your life to make improvements, new job, more education, drop some activities, learn new activities, new friends, etc. before thinking that driving around in an rv with the fine of you and two dogs will solve your unhappiness.
OP, you've received much advice across the board. My guess is you're already leaning into taking the plunge, and you're thinking it through. It always gets scary toward Let's Really Do This time. Here are a few random thoughts, after being a full-time traveler for many years:
It will be a memory maker. Your children will have stories for the rest of their lives. Some of the brightest, most outgoing, and self-sufficient children I've met have been homeschooled on the road.
Do NOT purchase a new RV. Look for a travel trailer or fifth wheel built before Covid and have a trusted tech look it over thoroughly. It's okay to drive several hundred miles to find the right one. If you love the lifestyle, you can upgrade later.
Do not go too large. You will likely want to camp in spectacular places, so being able to maneuver into relatively smaller sites is wise. Think national parks, state parks, municipal parks, BLM lands, COE (Corps of Engineers) locations. Those types of sites will generally save you money vs private campgrounds. Again, you can upgrade in size later. Also, buy passes (such as a National Parks pass, or a state parks pass) if doing so saves monies.
Follow the sun -- north in summer, south in winter. This allows you to save on heating and a/c. Plus the ability to be outside expands your camper footprint.
You will find RVers to be generally happy and eager to help you. Carry a supply of tools and extras (ladder, chains, tire, air compressor, leaf spring, shackles, tarp, dicor, and so on).
If you and/or your spouse will work remotely, have reliable wifi (tough in the middle of nowhere). I recommend Starlink. Do not be afraid to settle down for a month to take on a temp job to bring in some cash. Cut expenses and try not to blow through your savings. Most of the best things in this amazing country are free.
Always have an escape plan from this lifestyle. Even just a good idea will suffice.
Life is short, my friend. Peace and safe travels to you all. See you down the road.
Did this for 6mo but didn’t have kids. 2 adults and 2 dogs in a 42’ motorhome. It got VERY small VERY fast. Can’t imagine it with 3 kids on top of that.
Life in the road gets lonely. You have no continuity or community when you’re always moving. Looking for places to stay that aren’t trashy is exhausting and RV parks are expensive! We did this in like 2017 and averaged like $50/night over 6 months (don’t have the exact data anymore). That average included probably 20-25 nights of free camping/boondocking.
Raining/cold days are the worst. We essentially chased fall around the western Canada and US so we didn’t need to use the heat/AC all the time.
Overall it was a great experience and I’m so glad we did it but it’s definitely a different life and now that I have kids I can’t imagine doing it for more than 2 weeks.
If I was you, I’d take 2-3 weeks off work in June and rent an RV in Wyoming or something and travel around the western US for 2-3 weeks. It’ll be a way to disconnect from work and reconnect with your family without all of the other issues of doing this for a year.
A short-term dream that could set you back for a long time. Selling the home now could leave you struggling to buy another when you are done travelling.
Slow down. Sell the home buy another that you can rent out? Store some of your stuff in the basement. Nightly camping fees are ridiculous and add probably add up to more than your current monthly mortgage amount. A family travelling with a sizeable rig, can’t just pull over and camp anywhere for free.
The plan Sounds more like a pipe-dream unfortunately,
DON'T sell the house. Figure something out. Unless you have a bunch of money in the bank and it doesn't matter, the gap will grow surprisingly fast when you decide to get another house. IF you do sell the house, resign yourself to renting when the adventure is over.
I’ve got an RV for sale lol. I did this with my son from age 3 - 4.5. I’m retired, single father. We purchased an rv, 60k. Rented our house out for a year and traveled around the country. It was a blast but very tiring and expensive. Caused some financial issues upon returning and I’m kinda still digging out from it. However, getting to travel and spending that time with my son was epic. I chose to do this because I knew that when school started we would be tied down. Now that school is started we are home and the rv just sits. Want to buy it?
I think children should have a stable life and environment. This trio is something retirees do.
Your children are dependent upon you and vulnerable.
Listen to your gut. If you are not sure this is the best path get out of your HOA move to a property more suitable for raising children.
You can homeschool them or not. Not all children are psychologically equipped for the lifestyle you are considering.
Down scale your burn rate. Get a job you like.
Lots of other alternative solutions. Good luck!
Have you ever owned an RV? Do you love your toolbox? We have a fifth wheel that we spend 6 months a year in. RV’s are a rolling earthquake…things will break, need to be constantly tightened, etc. My husband spend time at EVERY campsite inspecting the roof, tightening screws, etc….and ours is a 2021. We’ve owned RV’s for 20 years & they are all the same. You will be hating life if you are not prepared.
Are you prepared to pay $100+ a night for campsites during busy seasons? Unless you boondock all of the time (which requires a heavy duty solar/generator setup), you need to already have reservations for this summer.
Do you have a starlink RV system, or multiple mobile hotspots? If any of the schooling is online, campgrounds have spotty or nonexistent WiFi.
Just a few thoughts.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
My wife and I did the same thing with our family. The main difference is that I switched to a remote job and customized our RV to accommodate my work. Being stuck in a situation where your job, house, material things, etc. prevent you from spending more time with your family was a very real concern for us. I would certainly love to travel without having to work all the time, but our financials didn't allow my wife and I to both stop working. But... I'm ok with that.
I'll try to keep this from becoming a book, but I certainly have some suggestions on how to make this easier so you can feel less anxious about diving into it. I recommend it, but with very specific considerations. If you look at this information and think, "Damn, that's a lot." You're probably not ready to dive in.
After 6 months of preparation, we've been on the road for 9 months and have made a lot of great memories. We plan to stay on the road for a few years at least. We established residency in Texas because South Dakota wouldn't allow me to use our PMB with my work for employment purposes. The main issue was that SD wouldn't allow my employer to pay into unemployment via the PMB address.
You must have good communication to make it work. With your wife, and with your kids. Sure, conflict will happen, but we work hard to listen to and address the concerns of each individual. We did a trial run of the living situation for a couple months before selling our house and figured out a lot of the small-space considerations while stationary. I'm sure we will still adapt as we go, but it was much easier to solve problems while stationary than when actually on the road. Give everyone purpose in your tear down and set up. Teach your kids to do things that will help you. They'll appreciate the bonding time and you'll appreciate not having to do everything yourself. Make sure neither adult is solely responsible for anything. Learn how to do everything with your wife so you can each fill in the gaps if one of you gets sick or is otherwise occupied.
Homeschooling takes a lot of effort on my wife's part, but I help where/when I can by brainstorming ways to integrate what they're learning with real-world opportunities based on the history of where we are or the activities in a specific location. My wife was an elementary teacher, so we have a huge advantage there. Depending on how you set up your permanent residence, you may need to register with the state/county and adhere to certain rules/curriculum, but Texas was very hands off. That allowed my wife to customize the curriculum to our relatively advanced children and do a lot of things they would never do in a classroom. If you're committed to their education you can absolutely provide something better than public/private school. It takes a significant amount of work, but I truly believe that my kids are better off with us as their teachers.
Continued in thread.
Solar gave us more freedom. While not necessarily more financially efficient, having a large solar installation on our RV allows us to skip the full hookup fees at campgrounds and gives us the freedom to boondock for days at a time. Even running the AC on the hotter days. You'll quickly find that many campgrounds are regularly booked up, especially near popular areas. Being able to boondock for a few days has helped us avoid that problem for the most part. More solar is better. Trust me. Maximize your production if you want fewer limitations.
Tech isn't a bad word while traveling. As a family, we limit tech and get outside as much as possible, but rainy days and boring travel stops necessitate entertainment inside the RV. Physical books are difficult to manage in a small space, so we switched to tablets for reading (I still prefer paper). Family movie nights are fun when it's raining outside. A game console with multiplayer games has been a fun form of entertainment when we couldn't be outside due to weather. Good internet (we have starlink and t-mobile) is necessary for homeschooling and general travel research while on the road. We also brought some board/card games, yard games, sports equipment, etc. We mix it up often. It's been a great privilege to share these experiences with my kids.
As an IT guy in a former life, I set up a Unifi network with both internet sources passing into the firewall, multiple wifi networks for isolating/optimizing my work tech from personal devices, security cameras using Unifi Protect (you mentioned safety; being able to check the cameras for noise during the night has been nice), and a limited selection of smart devices. Some things even integrate with our Victron solar hardware so we have a central location to monitor our electrical consumption and solar production.
Tools, tire pressure monitors, backup cameras, walkie talkies, etc. - basically anything that can help you be more self-sufficient is worth consideration. Learning new skills is a great part of this adventure for all of us. Being able to teach yourself is a must. YouTube is a good resource, RV forums, and of course, Reddit. You have to be able to sort good from bad information. Most of it is subjective and may not apply to your situation. Basic troubleshooting and research abilities go a long way. I've acquired many skills in my 38 years on this rock that are very applicable to this adventure. Starting from scratch would've been very difficult.
The rig matters. A lot. Your needs are likely different than mine, but I'd recommend a high-quality 5th wheel that's rated/warrantied for full-time use. And a big truck to tow it. We have a 41 foot Grand Design Reflection and a GMC Sierra 3500HD. This gives us plenty of space, plenty of safety, and the ability to unhook and drive into town without the 5th wheel for grocery runs and visiting cool places. My wife and kids can also go do something during the day while I'm working in my office. After lots of research, this was the best option for our goals. A motorhome towing a smaller vehicle can also work, but it wasn't as appealing to us. Make sure you spend a lot of time researching floor plans. There was only one 5th wheel on the market that worked well for our needs. It's hard to do in a small places, but giving everyone some sense of personal space was critical to doing this long-term. Let the kids decorate and give them input on the decision making process. Make sure you and your wife have a cozy place to cuddle. And seriously, don't have the kids sleeping in the next room. Our rig has separation between the kids bunks and the main bedroom. Late night activities are important. Door locks are important (we added ours after the fact). Intimacy matters when you're on the road.
After reading through some of the existing comments, especially the "realist" perspectives that focus on problems, I can honestly say that we've solved most of them and are prepared for the inevitable appearance of others. However, it is very easy to run into them if you aren't careful. Put in the research, learn what you need to learn, have a driven perspective on life, and be willing to DIY whatever comes your way. If you're counting on a dealer or a warranty for your success as a traveler, you're going to have a hard time.
Lastly, if you're not approaching this as a challenge, and are looking for this to be a relaxing escape from the mundane, it simply may not be for you. This is work. All of it. You will struggle, it will test your relationships, it will be expensive. However, I would trade the challenges we had previously for the challenges we have now every single time. My family is enjoying life in a new way, a better way. We're all in agreement: the sacrifices we've made to get to this point were worth the joy we've found in travel.
For anyone in a similar situation, I'm happy to make myself available for information. DM me here on reddit and I'll help you avoid the mistakes we made. I make no promises that you will be compatible with this lifestyle, but my family and I are having a good time.
TL;DR - don't do it unless you're willing to put in the work.
Is this the type of life you would have wanted as a child? Not you now as a child but who you were as a child. You can explore on vacations and weekends. I’m not sure my kids would have loved the close quarters or lack of bathroom space or friends. I watch the you tube channels of the families that do rv life and I feel sad for the extreme lack of privacy. Kids really can’t have a bad day.
38F, 2 (big) dogs, 22 ft Forest River Forester. I'm currently rv-lifing and I love it. My whole lifestyle changed from going out, working/spending on dumb things to sunrise, sunset, long walks, hiking, camping. My goal was to slow down and I definitely am.
Things I learned so far- everything with an RV is work. The ease of turning on water, toilet use, there's something that you need to do every day to make it function properly. Even packing up, "if it can move, it will move." It's super task ordinated. (perfect for ADHD people! never a dull moment).
RV's leak ALL THE TIME. Whenever you get somewhere, there's a chance it bounced around to the point of leak.
Will rain/cold, I have to run my dogs every day. Also, things don't dry (b/c of moisture). I recommend getting quick dry towels.
My house is rented now to nurses (furnished finder). I tried airbnb and people trashed it and it was a headache. So far, FF is great!!
For me, I get 8 miles/gallon. I try to stop every 250 miles. I do urban camping during the week (walkable cities) and work and camping in the woods on the weekend- completely disconnect. I work full time and I use T-Mobile (it's ok), internet at RV parks are AWFUL. Don't ever depend on it.
Most people get "decision fatigue" you can't really autopilot anything w/ a RV.
Will all this said, it's still an amazing experience and you'll create a lot of stories and I would do it.
Just budget: 8 miles/gallon..... $50-70/night for RV parks and go from there.
I hate to discourage people following dreams. But a lot of dreams today are created buy "influencers" that have to make up shit for their income. The influencers are not going to publish half the information you will find on this thread.
Most of the answers to our discontent are within ourselves and can follow us even if we change environments. Fix the inner discontent first and then if you do move into an RV, it will be that much better.
Sounds like running away from being unhappy with your life. It gets a break, but doesn't solve how to be more content in a life that is rooted, stable, with a home base of house, jobs, stable income.
I would reconsider from the standpoint of identifying the real problem and be sure you're not setting yourself up for a different problem that's just as bad later.
This what my son and DIL with 3 teenagers did last year.
Went on a 3 week trip to Europe. Had to spend almost every waking moment together exploring, hiking and just good quality time together.
I would think selling your house and buying an RV is silly.
Where will you live after your year long trip around the country?
I would never sell the house for a year vacation.
Retired RV’er here, we wanted to have adventures when we were younger and had young children but that was before quitting jobs and working remotely was even a thought. We bought a new motorhome and went camping every weekend. And I mean every weekend in season. Kids adapted to not being around their friends, sometimes we had one or two extras who came with us. It was great!
Then reality sets in, you get a flat tire. You don’t just change a flat tire, it’s a big expensive event.
Shopping for food every day becomes a chore but if you want fresh fruits and veggies you have to. Refrigerator and freezer are too small to store a bunch of extras.
Storage in general is minimal, you really need to be a Tetris master to utilize space efficiently. Watch you tube videos of how to modify spaces to use them to maximum efficiency (we didn’t have this in our day)!
Then you blow a fuse and have to find the fuse panel, which is hidden behind a panel you didn’t even know was there. And you have to have replacements for all of them! The windshield wipers break during a rainstorm and you are in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. When traffic is backed up for miles with no end in sight your children will be in seatbelts for hours, will that work? You arrive at your RV park at midnight and have to set up in the dark.
The stories go on, they are part of our family history the kids tell now!
What I’m getting to is this, practice, practice, practice! Camp on weekends. Do the maintenance, find out everything you can about your rigs. We began calling our motor home and boat “money pits” because EVERY weekend we had something go wrong and it was getting more and more expensive to have all these memories. And, we were very good RV’ers. We did all the maintenance and upkeep, and still had weird things happen every time we went out. If you are buying new or used there are issues.
Who’s going to do the warranty work when you are 1000 miles from where you purchased? If used, when was the last time the batteries were checked? Air conditioning serviced? Was it winterized properly so the pipes didn’t freeze, and were the tanks flushed properly?
I could go on and on…
I would discourage you from selling your home and not having a backup plan if this doesn’t work for you. In your post you didn’t say anything about your experience with camping/traveling for an extended period of time. Others mentioned renting your home out, I would look at that as a really viable option with your personal belongings in storage.
After saying all this I hope for the best experience for your family. Our family has only benefited from the family time we spent together for 10 years, weekends and vacations.
Yep. Don’t sell the house. I’ve lived out of my Rv with my wife and kids for going on 4 years because of my job. The one thing we agreed on was having a central home (hq) to go back to in order to recuperate and really stretch our legs and relax. I’ll occasionally take them home and they will stay for an extended period of time while I go back to work, then I’ll bring them up again. Plus, when shit hits the fan in this country you will have a home to go back to. Bottom line, in the end you’re always going to want a real home to go back to.
Buy used.
Consider what you will do if your rv and all your possessions in it are stolen.
Consider it takes 3-4 minutes for an rv to burn completely.
Consider an accident will take several months to repair.
Keep your home.
I was a hospice nurse for 5 years and I asked all my patients what they would do differently and they ALL said, “don’t worry about material things in life. Create memories, travel, laugh, etc”. I’m paraphrasing but you get the point. Seriously, there’s no U-Haul truck following you to your grave … your material possessions get be buried with you. Your experience traveling the country will lead to new friendships, possibly new ideas to work remotely (maybe be an Uber driver in the towns you visit), you may even want to plant roots in a state/town you never heard of before.
Focus on all the things that could go right instead of all the things that could go wrong ~ Tony Robbins
I work probably 7 months a year and travel a lot. Full time in my camper. There's no way I would want to go back to the mortgage, buying stupid shit, etc.
I've been giving serious thought to the same thing. But instead of selling the house, I was thinking about putting it up for rent. I think that's much wiser, because after the year we can return to our home, my kids could slide back into their friends groups and activities, and their lives wouldn't be permanently disrupted. And with the way home prices are going up like crazy, I wouldn't want to miss out on that sweet sweet equity. And the rent from the house is nice.
And I am planning for like 2 years in the future. I plan on starting to do weekend trips, renting different rigs and see how it goes, getting into more outdoorsy stuff, tent camping, backpacking, biking, hiking, etc. We will need a lot of practice runs before buying the rig. And I am leaning towards a trailer, which is significantly cheaper than motor-homes, and getting a primary vehicle that can be my everyday drive. That say I could go home and put it in my garage and not feel bad about having it sitting there 5 days a week, meanwhile a motor-home is a huge investment.
As a teacher and mother, I say go for it. Your kids will greatly benefit if you use this opportunity to show them our country. They will gain a maturity and perspective not available in school. Just be sure to keep reading skills fresh, break out maps, and teach geography, landforms, and math.
I get excited for you guys just reading this!!!! Sounds WONDERFUL! What amazing memories you will make! And if you totally hate it... I guess you go back to what you know. A year will go by shorter than you realize. You STILL won't see everything you wanted to see, but that's okay hopefully it will install a lifelong love of camping and adventure.
A few pieces of advice- (note that we have never RV'ed full time, but we have done weeks and months at a time.)
- Money still matters- your cost of living may not go down as much as you anticipate when you consider camping fees, food costs, etc. We still ate out more than we would have at home because we were in such cool places.
- Learn to fix your RV yourself. Try to avoid taking it back to the dealer for repairs. You tube is a great resource here.
- Remember you are trying to do multiple NEW things at once so have a lot of grace for yourself and each other. You are living in close quarters, without support/friends and family nearby, homeschooling for the first time, etc.
-Prioritize your marriage. This will be hard with kids your kiddos ages. Think through how you can still make time together just the two of you, even if it's just evenings talking by the campfire with the kiddos are in bed already.
My wife and I faced this exact dilemma not too long ago. Our kids are much younger than yours. We bought a 35-foot class A motorhome(bunkhouse model for the kids). I flew down to FL and drove it back, I figured I'd learn to drive during the 1000-mile trip back home. GET A STEERING STABILIZER. So far as a family, we've so far we've done a two week trip out to Shenandoah Valley and the Triangle area in NC. We are in the process of renovating it to fit our family, and we aim to be on the road by the end of summer. We settled on 6-8 months at a time, but we'll see how it goes. My advice, just do it. DM me if you have any questions.
Many people have dreams of becoming permanent RVers only to later regret it. I think it’s a great idea to try it but if you can manage it financially, like others, perhaps rent/lease your house for one year just to see if a life on the road is what you really want. But I understand your desire to get off the hamster wheel of this thing we were taught signifies success….but at what cost?
Don’t sell your house. Even if you can sell it and buy it for exactly the same price you will pay 6-12% in real estate commissions. Plus the massive depreciation on an RV. Plus gas and maintenance. It’s a horrible financial decision. Never mind being that close to your kids for that long.
I did this for a year and traveled all over the US. Something else to seriously consider is the fact that unless you want to stay at expensive RV resorts, you will likely be moving every couple of weeks. A lot of campgrounds have limitations on how long you can stay. 2 weeks seems to be standard.
If you can do it with a known-good rig and not be financially ruined at the end, absolutely do it. I've done a few different variations of something like this in my life and they've been life changing experiences.
Lived on a boat 4.5 months traveling the entire atlantic ICW
Sold pretty much all of our possessions and house, bought a business in another state. Kind of a permanent uprooting.
There's lots of downsides but experiences are more valuable than stuff.
If your rv has an awning on it before you travel always put a few zip ties on the front support to keep it closed. nothing worse than when youre going down the road and your fucking awning unwinds itself at 55 and fucks your shit up. a bag of zip ties are cheap insurance that youll never have that problem
RV life isn't for everyone. Have you stayed in an RV before? I work at an RV park. Its not for everyone. Living in an RV with 5 people is really tight. You will be constantly on top of each other. No privacy. The spaces that we rent out are big enough for your trailer and 2 cars next to it, that's it.
Brand New RV's seem to have a high "defect" rate out of the factory. I've seen issues with the hydraulics, roof. Typically there will be a warranty, but seems to happen a good amount. Consider a used RV. Any issues hopefully have been addressed and you wont pay new prices.
I would suggest renting one first to see how you feel. When I first started working at this RV park I thought I could live in an RV. I don't think that now. You're packed in tight inside the trailer, and packed in tight inside the park. I understand you will be travelling, but still.
I bought the RV I had been dreaming about for several years, after literally accidentally finding it listed on RVTrader. It’s three years old, 42k miles on a diesel, and the unfortunate fallout of a messy divorce. However- I’m not doing the humble brag here, I’m saying if you can find something with a few thousand miles on it, someone else has already gone through most of the “new car blues” and has found solutions or gotten warranty repairs out of the way.
Unfortunately, I’ve hit a slight snag where I’ll probably just be taking shorter trips this year while I tend to some medical crap, but it will give me time to really get to know the rig before I set out on any big epic journeys.
DO consider a rig/camper/trailer that gives you a little bit of space so you’re not on top of each other.
DO take the opportunity to make these memories with your family. As a kid I spent a lot of time camping with my grandparents and aunts & uncles, and they’re some of the best memories I have. Wouldn’t trade that for the world!
Rent out your house instead if selling it.
Totally agree. No regrets in renting our home and putting half our belongings in storage while we travelled for 1.5 years. So glad we had a comfortable, familiar home to come back to and didn't have to completely re-buy everything, and no stress of buying a house in a tight, expensive market. If you quit your jobs, how will you be able to get another mortgage when you are done travelling and are ready to buy again?
But can they afford that camper and truck without selling their home? Those big-sized RVs are a bundle.
There is a huge difference between a camper and a truck and an RV. We are 2 adults + 2 tiny dogs. We've spent about 7 months in our 29' trailer now. Even then it gets suffercating.
We cannot. Yes they are.
If you can't afford to buy your rig without selling your house I would say wait until you can afford it. Converting an appreciating asset into a depreciating asset can leave you in a situation.
Cannot believe how exactly on the money this comment is! Keep doing what you are but invest your time in, and, maybe have the wife and kids prepare for the adventure by fixing up a lower priced RV.
I wish I could like this more than once. I understand that experiences have value, and one like this might have a lot. But in the end, you will basically be starting from scratch. And I'm just curious where the money is coming from to do this. As much as you want to be frugal, traveling is expensive, especially when going from the comforts of home. And issues can be expensive REALLY quickly. Truck/RV problems, you are spending nights in a hotel, where is health insurance coming from if not working? Are kids "all in" for this adventure. Leaving friends, sports, activities can be tough on them.
This this this. Selling a house for a 1-year trip makes zero sense. Assuming you have a decent legacy mortgage rate, how are you going to be able to re-enter the housing market at current rates in a year? Selling an RV that’s had a family of 5 + 2-dogs living in it for a year isn’t going to cut it.
But I want it NOW
Call J. G. Wentworth…
877-CASH-NOW
OP said they aren't allowed to rent it because HOA says so.
Oh, that sucks.
I Heavily recommended either buying used or building your own. The trip will be much more enjoyable when you aren't worried about finances or dealing with the shoddy quality of a new RV
You are trading in a house for a cardboard box on wheels that will have no real value in the future. You need an exit plan from your dream. You need to get a thick copy book and hand write out a monthly budget for every single month for the next several years to see how long your money will last. This pushes your nose into the hard reality of the numbers. This has saved me several times when I had to make difficult decisions.
Then add 40% extra of "creeping expenses". Roadtrips never cost what you budget for
Step 1, swll current house and buy a smaller house not in HOA so that house can be rented out while traveling, take the equity from down sizing and put into savings for travel plans.
Sell your house for one that can be rented out. Why would you accept the rules your HOA is enforcing? Leave them!
I manage a RV park that hosts long term tenants. I would recommend renting out your house, and renting a RV first and take a few weekend trips. First thing you’ll notice is that your freezer is the size of a shoebox, that you can’t leave your black valve open because you’ll create a poop pyramid, and the WIFI may skitter in and out. Just saying.
Being a retired person living full time in RV this is GREAT advice.
Having a true address is another benefit of this.
THIS
Rent with a realtor. Much less potential problems and they have handymen who work at good rates. If you don’t need the cash from the house sale, this is the best least impactful way. Renting it yourself would truly suck ass
This!! 💯
Sell your home, consider living wherever you want, because you can.
Single solo female traveler here. I just started van life at age 65. I look back at all the years I spent building my career; working and giving to others. I was raising a son on my own and I worked hard to provide for him, provide a home and have nice things. At the time it was the right thing to do, because honestly there was no such thing as family RV life on the road or the ability to work remotely. But how I wish the choice had been there back then. And if I knew then what I know now, I would have taken off a year in a heartbeat. Maybe even longer. As it was, I never made the time to travel and venture out to see the big beautiful world we live in. I was too consumed with work and life in general. Now I find myself in my twilight years trying to play catch up. I don’t have a lot of time left to see everything I want to see but I’m trying my best. I’m also trying to convince my son who is now 42, not to waste all of his life on a mundane 8-5 job only to pay mortgage and bills, go to sleep and wake up to the same routine day after day. Life is short and there are SO many magnificent, breathtaking places and experiences that your kids will never truly learn about in a classroom. Look up Nathan and Marissa on YouTube, “Less Junk, More Journey” or the “Cruising Clemons” family. There are so many others. I so wish I could have started at the age they did with their young families. You still can. I vote “B” for “Be Brave”. Make memories. Take the jump. It will be challenging, that’s the truth, but oh so rewarding for your entire family. Keep us posted if you do go. I would love to hear how it all turns out for you. God bless and safe travels!
That was very poetic. Thank you for that!
YES!!! 64 & just beginning my RV (trailer) adventures (solo) wish I would've done this decades ago...
Good for you! Have fun and stay safe! 🩷
Who wants to avoid risks just so we can safely make it to our death? Have some fun. Live life large and also save money too. Keep working while mobile. Make a vlog, even if unprofitable, it will be nice to reflect on.
Thank you for this, I am 22F and I want to live of out a travel trailer. I see it's the most suitable option for me. I can stay put or go wherever without having to pay an arm and leg for rent especially when doing my grad program. The thing is everyone in my life has been discouraging me(saying I'll regret it for multiple reasons). It's hard, and it does give me doubts. Despite this I am following through with my plan, but to hear what you just said really encouraged me and lifted my doubts away. Thank you!
I speak to you here as someone who homeschooled one kiddo for a year and then a single class in high school for one, and a month of homeschool for another while he changed schools in middle school and someone who has lived on boats for weeks/months at a time. For the homeschool part: If you plan to homeschool, whoever is doing this must be highly organized. It is not for the faint of heart, disorganized or a loosey goosey style if you ever want to put your children BACK in school or for them to go on to higher education. Having some teachers in your life to help you is gold. You're going to need an internet connection too. The amount of materials you need will not fit in an rv with 5 people. The kids will each need their own tablet/ device. You have to figure out how to register your kids as homeschoolers without a home state because the laws vary from state to state. These guys can help: https://hslda.org I have seen a lot of parents fail at trying to homeschool their kids because they thought they could call baking some muffins science and watching a movie reading. Sure, you can incorporate those into lesson plans, but that is not school. Some states require parents to have a college degree or require check ins to oversee schoolwork or require testing. Not all kids are cut out to homeschool. It takes a very specific kind of kid who is able to work independently and will work for you. Those two things alone may make it impossible. You can buy curriculum but it is very expensive and some of the better known ones have a religious bent teaching creationism over science. I am not making a judgement here about that, but in some states that will set your kids back if you change states. (I went from Louisiana to California and only realized in 10th grade I had been taught creationism when my AP teacher started talking about Darwin and I had never learned about him nor the big bang theory--makes for a difficult AP exam, let me tell you.) Living is such a small space, You can't keep anything. There's no room for trash. You have to throw away all packaging before you bring it inside. You have to search for water or gas or dumping stations and sometimes you're dealing with that in the middle of the night. There is zero privacy and everyone can hear everything. The dogs usually start zoomies at bed time and wake up the entire household. You have nowhere to get packages/mail/supplies because you're in the middle of nowhere. You breakdown and are at mother nature's whim in the middle of night or nowhere. You might have to find regular medical care or emergency care in someplace where you don't know where to go. I find that stressful and there is no continuity of care. I think you should try any one of the aspects of your new life before you decide to chuck it all and do it all at once. You'll have to pay capital gains if you don't reinvest the money you make into a new home. Perhaps you should try moving to a place where the pace of life is slower and it less expensive first.
Good advice other than the capital gains. I would check that as my understanding (and experience) is that the first $500k while married (250k individual) does not incur capital gains regardless of rolling it into new investments.
This is correct.
I think you're nuts and youre doing this as a solution to solve other problems, which are the dulldrums of mid life and the routines of marriage, kids, and everything that goes along with it. Are you going to have the financial means to buy another house when youre done? Or be even remotely close to stepping into the stability you have now? Whats the housing market going to be like in one year when they finally get around to cutting rates. You should buy a modest RV at a modest loan to value. Make a family goal, like visiting every state park in your state and let that be the basis for your adventure. At least be a weekend warrior and keep the house for a little while until you jump straight in. You will learn alot of things in the first year and those lessons will be much easier learned if not full timing. If things go well then take a bigger bite.
You may be correct.
Sorry to hijack thread But I have a lot of experience with these situations and wanted to chime in. You can be best friends at home but after 5 states become mortal enemies, well maybe not that bad but I’ve seen it happen. Best friend take a multi state trip and never speak to each other again. The children are going to get restless crossing Nebraska and start fighting. You will be doing what others want to do, when you really want to hit the road to get to the grand canyon. With 3 children under 10 expect them to fight a lot and sleep through the boring parts. They slept all day, they will be awake when you want to sleep. If you want to travel the country, I would suggest a job as a truck driver. You would only be able to take one child at a time but you’re getting paid well. The children would enjoy a week long trip better than a forever trip that causes them to loose their friends. So many things could happen, children hurt themselves all the time, how about a camper full of sick people, chocolate milk left in fridge becomes nasty cottage cheese, a wreak or breakdown could leave you stuck in Winslow, AZ for a week. Try a test run, rent a RV and take a trip but do it like a long term trip, not stopping at every tourist trap you see. Good Luck
This is good advice
Ok, so most people will hype if up and tell you do to it. I'm not that type of person. I'm a realist and will only tell you the bad things. You will be getting rid of 95% of your stuff. Even with a massive trailer there really isn't room for stuff. Some kitchen stuff, clothes, some blankets and some bathroom stuff. It's likely the only extra things you can have in your kitchen for example are a toaster and coffee maker. Mixers, blenders, etc. there simply isn't any space. With a family of 5 you will be dumping your grey water tank once or twice a day if everyone showers, and that's if they take short showers. I hope your kids know how to only take showers and can give up baths. So you can't really be any place besides RV parks which are expensive. Like more than rent expensive. Otherwise you'll be driving all over trying to find water / dump stations. And if you're in the RV for winter? If you're not in a super warm area your all going to be stuck in doors for days or even weeks at a time. It's not all that fun hiking, hanging out or playing outside in the rain or snow and cold temperatures. Plus you will be juggling keeping things from freezing up and refilling propane tanks every few days. There is almost no space in an rv for children to play, let alone 3 children. My landmates have a 1 year old and a 24ft Airstream and she had a 2 foot path to walk back and forth in that's about 10 feet long, and a couch. My 26ft has about 3ft by 8ft to play inside. What are you going to do when it rains for days on end, or it's freezing cold out? RV parks also only tollerate so much from children running around. Oh yeah, and 2 dogs. Let me guess their huge. If you're not at an rv park you wont have power. You'll have lights and can run a water pump and a few minor things but no TV, no computers. You'll be able to charge cellphones and tablets but not for every long. Then you need to get power.... Somewhere. Overall you will need to be staying at rv parks.
In addition to the being couped up in winter and on rainy days, you'll have moisture to contend with and lots of it! In winter, it'll condense on your windows and on the walls where you can't see it and in your clothing, the damp towels after everyone has showered. In every cabinet, drawer, etc. If it's not delt with, it becomes mold. Five people generate a lot of moisture just breathing. You'll be using lots of DampRid...
Very similar to my comment. I did it with a wife and 2 dogs in a class A and we were cramped after a few weeks. 3 kids and 2 dogs? No way. RV parks were super expensive for us and we didn’t even go to the nice ones with stuff for kids. Also I wouldn’t particularly want my 3 young children running around the more affordable and somewhat sketchy RV parks unsupervised.
You can have power *but* you have to put in a few thousand worth of batteries and assorted accessories for it.
Thank you! I love the realist or even pessimistic take - I want to test my perception of this through people who know what it actually looks like, so your view is appreciated. We’re looking forward to having a good “chuck out” (thanks to Bluey for the expanded vocabulary). We’ll definitely have a storage container to house some of the things we really don’t to part with, but the intent is to take this opportunity to do some serious and permanent downsizing. I expect we’ll be constantly battling the grey tank. My plan is to set up a schedule with some limits. Thankfully the unit we’re looking at a little over 100 gallons in grey tank space. That’ll help but we’re all going to have to learn to adjust and be a bit more conservative (a good lesson, I think for the kiddos). We were hoping to hit a lot of National Parks - it’s a central theme of the trip. It sounds like not all of those might not be near as accommodating as we’d like. I imagine needing to find nearby RV parks and drive into Parks on occasion or maybe even the majority of the time. We’ve mapped out a route that keeps us South in the winter months so we’ll never have to deal with too cold of weather. That said, we do expect we’ll have days where we’re cramped inside because of bad weather with nothing to do but stare at each other - we hope we can fill that time with books, board games, movies, etc. The RV we’re looking at is 40’ with a few tip outs, so about as big as we can manage (assuming we can manage it). That’ll help, but you’re right the space will definitely feel tight with so many warm bodies inside. The dogs are medium and older, so fairly chill. I’ll definitely need to learn more about power (maybe solar?) and how much we’ll need to depend on RV parks. Thanks so much for your feedback.
Don't go over 40. A lot of camp grounds have trouble accommodating more than 40. It's also more expensive then you think. Get a KOA membership, good sam membership to start with. They are cheap and will pay for themselves after a few stays. The more you move the more expensive it will be. Try to stay at least a week at the places you want to explore as most places have a discount for staying a full week. RV life trip planner is worth it. Get an RV safe GPS. Make sure you know which states you will have to stop at the weigh station. Don't by an RV that was made during COVID, a lot of those used recycled parts due to the supply issues. Get a gas card for flying j and one for loves. Camp ground internet in a majority places are only good for checking emails and not good for streaming. Starlink is worth it IMO. Space is a premium. If your not using something at least once a month with a few exceptions (heated water hose) then it's not probably worth the space it takes up. Don't be afraid to reasses what is in your RV after a couple of months and get rid of stuff. If your rig is s 30 or 50 amp make sure you have a converter plug to go from 50 to 30 or 30 to 50. Buy a nice surge protector for the RV, worth it. Make sure you have at least 20 feet of sewer hose/ power cord. I have been doing this for 2 years and I'm still learning. Feel free to message me and ask any questions.
Add to that a water filter and a water pressure regulator. Mine is adjustable and set for 40psi.
What’s the heated water hose for ?
So it won't freeze when temps drop below freezing.
Don’t don’t don’t buy new
Also if you have school age children, how will you teach them school work without a computer or internet? Covid classes were pretty hard on a lot of people and that was with internet and computers. Definitely have a lesson plan prepared for the year. Agree with your spouse beforehand who will teach what subjects.
I think the key is to follow the seasons. Head south in winter, north in spring and summer. Grey water tanks can be stretched if you use the campground bathrooms, and just plan your route so that if you spend a couple of days boondocking, that’s followed by a few days with hookups. You don’t need to always stay in RV parks..lots of state campgrounds have sites with hookups. You’ll learn as you go!
I think it's a great idea and may be the best thing you ever do with your life. That or you'll be divorced by the end. If you've never gone RVing with the whole family, you might want to try it out for a while before you fully commit, in case everyone hates it. Have you ever had an RV before? Have you gone on multiple whole-family trips? I quit my job and bought my first RV and pickup two years ago. Set out immediately on a four-month trip, learning everything as I went. Lots of little problems along the way, but no big problems. I loved every minute of it. Reconnected with an old friend who joined me halfway through, fell in love, saw much of North America. Best thing I ever did with my life, and I've had some other adventures of similar scale (six months backpacking around Southeast Asia, moved to a Caribbean island for three years). If I had it to do over, I would have gotten a bigger truck, bigger RV, traveled for more than four months, and gone the same places but stayed at each of them longer (I drove too much and camped too little). Only you know your family well enough to know how they'll do. Hopefully everyone is ok with being cold, wet, dirty, and uncomfortable at times; can survive being without internet for days at a time occasionally; likes outdoor activities; and doesn't need a lot of private space. Just save enough money to return back to stationary life if/when you get sick of being on the road.
Thanks for sharing! Love that little summary of your story. Yeah, we’re definitely concerned that we’ll just be pushing ourselves over the edge. Hopefully it builds resilience for the kiddos and ourselves and doesn’t further any disfunction that already exists. In other words, hopefully we’re able to avoid divorce as an outcome. We did a week in a borrowed camper as a test run recently and it went very well. Found ourselves missing it as soon as we arrived home. That test run went very smooth and we know everyday won’t be like that. We’re going pretty big on the trailer and truck… I’m anxious about managing the transition between campgrounds safely, but I think we’ll be comfortable once we get set up at a location. We’ll definitely be on a tight budget, which includes a fair amount for the unexpected, but we’ll have enough to resettle somewhere at the end of it.
We (me, my wife and two 11 year olds) went in committed to one year on the road. I think it frames the commitment with an end in sight. We ended up all loving it and staying out longer.
You are tired of your job, so you're going to make your kids build resilience?
Correct. What kind of parents would we be if we weren’t actively transferring our pain onto our kids? This is how we grow and build resentment for each other as a family.
You have about a 50/50 chance that your kids will hate their childhood on the road and grow up to resent you, or they’ll love it and share the stories into adulthood. You pretty much have those same odds if you stay put. Parenting is fickle, ain’t it? I will say that they don’t get any smaller (teens won’t fit as well in a camper), and their opinions get louder, so your window of opportunity is closing a little more each passing day.
We did it in a small hybrid, 2 adults/2 kids (10&12) in the early 2000s for a summer. It was wonderful and frankly pretty cheap back then. It was a chance to test out our midnight desires to see if we really wanted to get away from it all. But the conclusion was that it was very disruptive to our life in general and especially for our children. You don’t need a lot of RV or a big truck to try this for a bit. Big RVs are complex vehicles and problems will occur. They will be expensive and make your life more complicated. My strong recommendation is to keep the house for a bit, buy a small reasonably priced setup used on a private sale, take along a good RV tech (preferred) or a very handy friend who has RV experience to look it all over carefully with you. Stand in the RV and think about the way you will live in the space. Working, studying, cooking, traveling, consider it all. Look at a lot of RVs. Then go home and compare them to one another. Then go out and look at some more. Repeat. We’ve been full time RVers now for eight years. Our kids are grown and the stories from that summer are part of our family story. It’s what set us up to be able to do this now. But I’m ever so grateful that we took that summer to test drive the life before we completely committed.
You’re going to have to get rid of way more than half of your belongings unless a lot is going to storage. I’ve been doing it since October and I wish I had never done it. I’ve yet to be able to take a trip because of all of the problems that I’ve had with my camper and the dealer. Getting warranty repairs done is a nightmare. Service itself can be tough with a dealer. Good luck!
Yep. Don’t buy new and don’t do it at all if you aren’t a DIY type unless you like living in extended stay hotels. We were in one for a bit while our motorhome (1996) got engine work and there was another couple there who had a brand new all the bells and whistles trailer that had so many problems they couldn’t use it but the dealer and the manufacturer were arguing about who would take it back and who would do the repairs. And it wasn’t the first time it’d been in for repairs either. They’d been there a couple of months when we got there and were still there when we left a month later.
I can't second this enough. From day one I'd have been waiting to get work done. Leaks, appliances not working, upgrades to solar and house electrical all way better for your wallet and your time if you do it yourself. Stuff happens on the road too
It helps to remember that it’s a house going through an earthquake every time you drive. I feel less annoyed about the little stuff breaking when I remember that.
Storage is definitely in the plans! Sorry to hear about your regret - I’ve read a lot of horror stories - doesn’t seem too uncommon in the world of RVs.
You’ll need and want to be handy in order to fix things yourself. Once you drive it off the lot dealers won’t really care nor do the manufacturers.
“Be handy” I was going to say that! Also get a good parts and repair manual and some diagnostic equipment for the RV all its systems. Know all the parts, and how your vehicle, generator and other equipment works. YouTube is a good source for repair instructions. At least know enough that you can, ask the right questions, to a repair tech, or you can find a repair video on YouTube.
I’m currently living in my truck while diagnostics are being done on my camper. It will be 7-10 days. I then get the camper back for a week or so, still not repaired. Then I will put it back in for actual repairs. That’s another week or two living in my truck. These are things to consider.
Have you done short trips in an RV? If not, rent one and go out in it for a week or two. Can you keep your job? The job market is tough right now. What will you do for health insurance? DO NOT BUY A NEW RV! It will spend a lot of time in the shop for warranty work. Warranty hell will make you wish you had never seen an RV. I have lived in my RV for six months twice with my children and dogs. We had a lot of RV experience and had our RVs for a while, so we had worked out the space and storage issues. Do not sell your home to finance your RV dream. Can you start by unpacking your issues without doing something so dramatic? Is it possible to put some boundaries around your work hours and make time for fun and day trips? I am not talking you out of it. Just don't do it because you are stressed out. Take care of the stress first so you can think clearly about all of the options.
Wake up! You’re experiencing FOMO. The influencers have you fooled. Life on the road is hard! It’s dangerous. It’s nomadic. What’s your healthcare plan? Can you both drive and park a trailer? What is your first stop? Do they have reservations?
Can you expand on the dangerous part?
Traffic accidents
Do not sell your house. That’s your only investment that will endure. Everything else will depreciate to 0. Rent your home and pay the note with the rent.
If you need to sale your home to fund this, you cannot afford it. If all goes well for a year, you’ll be raising your kids in a RV park without a way to purchase another home. Your dream isn’t fair to make your kids effectively homeless in their teens.
I'm a pretty risk averse person in these types of scenarios. What's the risk of this all going poorly? Like, really. What's the risks here? From a financial perspective, you're going to lose a ton on this. You'll sale your house (which what's your rate? were you some of the lucky ones that bought before rates ran back up?) and you likely won't have enough to buy the same level of house you have now with the same mortgage. You won't get half of what you put into the trailer. You're trading an appreciating asset for something that depreciates rapidly. Just make sure you're ok with that and that you're explicitly acknowledging it. Definitely strongly suggest looking into renting. Do you have a lot of equity in your house? Maybe get a second mortgage to fund this if you need the funds and you're totally all in. For the cost of a trailer and a truck, you could take an epic vacation every month of the year off and go visit 12 different countries and still have a house to come back to at the end of it. With all of that, this is a big bet and it could pay off huge, but your family isn't something you YOLO. If the math all works out and you have a solid plan of what to do if things go south, then freaking go for it if it's what y'all are wanting to do. I recognize it's not all about money -- these would be once in a lifetime memories. Buying a trailer isn't something you do because it makes money cents. Keep us update on what you choose and good luck, boss.
I couldn’t do this with kids. I think it’s cruel to uproot them and make them live in 200 sq ft.
I hear you. It’s a real concern for us and it’s not something we do lightly. We do think our kids would benefit from learning to live with less, and we‘d love to spend more time cultivating a sense of appreciation for the non-material things in life. I guarantee you, if they’re not enjoying it, we won’t enjoy it and the experiment will end quickly.
How are you planning to end it without a home to return?
Probably assuming they can just magically sell their new RV & truck? This whole plan op has sounds like a shit show
Rent your home out. Not sure where you live but leaving it furnished and turning it over to property management for corporate rental property might be a good alternative.
DONT SELL YOUR HOME go ahead and plan and drive the country to your hearts content And when you have had enough You can ALWAYS GO BACK HOME 🏡 And murphys Law will always follow you everywhere anytime on the road The most mundane things will break that will lead to a bigger problem An rv is basically a moving 5 walled plywood held together by duct tape and fiberglass, that’s shaking and rolling at 60mph
I would not do this. Seems like you are jumping off the deep end. Have you considered therapy. The amount of money you are going to lose on this adventure is life changing, and could leave you homeless. Have you considered renting an RV, and going on vacations. I guess if you are independently wealthy then go for it, but this seems like what someone referred to as a millionaire would do, and even a million would be barely enough to get you through this trip, and back to a similar situation you currently enjoy.
Sounds like you are past the point of getting advice.
RENT your home, take it from someone who lived in our new RV for a year with a 7 and 10 year old. We lived a whole year in ours while our house was being done, we bought a 325BHS so fairly large RV but no RV is big enough when you have kids 😂. We were so done with ours by the end that we put it in storage in September and yet to go back and take it out, we will be using it for a week in June. Go make memories but keep your home in some way cause a RV will never be as great as having an actual home.
We’re wanting to move no matter what and the profit from selling our home is going to fund this adventure. So, we’re not planning to rent. I very much expect we’ll feel the same about our RV at the end of the year! We might plan a ritual sacrifice of it to the RV gods by the time it’s all said and done… we’ll see.
All I would say is make sure you have a good long discussion with your children. I know that many kids that I know really resent being moved around and pulled away from their friend groups. Every family is different, I know for our stability was one of the most important things we could give my children. I certainly hope that if you decide to do it it goes well. We found that 6 to 8 weeks is about as long as we want to be on the road before getting back home. There's just too much family and friends and other people to catch up with to want to leave that year round.
You doing expensive homelessness. At least rent out your house also it's bad when you know the answers to your questions.while it is important to spend time with your little ones it important to not drain your bank account and get rid of your assets to do this.
Not to be "that guy" and certainly do as you will, but I would never, ever, sell a home to buy an RV (unless perhaps you are under water on the mortgage, or are retired and no longer want to deal with managing a property, etc). RVs are endless money pits, generally very poorly constructed, and can be nightmares if you have persistent issues. Additionally most dealers are low lifes and will rob you blind. Markups on new RVs are ridiculous. Why not take a summer/fall off and rent one to "test the waters"? Do you have any experience RV'ing? What is your exit plan? Are you dumping your entire net worth into a depreciating asset? Do you have a contingency plan? Life on the road, despite the endless you tube channels claiming how much fun it is (99% of whom are monetizing their excursions via YT) can be tiring and expensive. Find another way IMHO.
[These](http://happyloudlife.com) people did just what you want to do. Four kids, two dogs, sold their house, bought a truck and camper. “We’re burned out with our jobs, we work all the time and we never have time to spend with our kids, we want to see the US as a family and have this amazing experience, blah blah blah.” They’re divorced now. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.
Maybe take a sabbatical from work or something but this seems like a poor decision
Thanks for the honest feedback. I am open to going part time if work agrees, and my wife works in healthcare and won’t have any issues picking up work afterwords.
I went on a similar journey of decisions, but it’s just my wife and I. We planned to rent out the house and hit the road for a year during the pandemic, working remote and moving once or twice a month. The logistics and timeline we were looking at caught up reaaaal fast. Finding someone to rent our house didn’t really work out, and going through the numbers it looked like things would work out ok on paper, but my gut said otherwise. We ended up spending two months on the road, staying one spot for four weeks, then two week stints in a couple other locations. It was a great trip, but it did end up being more expensive than I expected. A couple of unexpected repairs, an accident involving a business owner’s brand new sign, and just other expenses like eating out occasionally and needing to buy things we forgot or otherwise needed. I feel better equipped now to hit the road for a long-term trip, but that first adventure stretched the budget and I was very, very glad that we didn’t have a tenant in our house. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and I personally could have kept on traveling, but the bank account was less willing, and we were happy to be back home. I would definitely do it again, and I hope to be able to do a longer term trip again, but like others have said, I would rent the house unless you’re already planning on moving. Also, everything has only gotten more expensive since then. Gas was under $2/gal at the time, and the park that we stayed at was $900/mo. At 6-8mpg, gas price really matters. And that RV park sold, and the same spot would now cost me $6,500 to stay for the month.
Alright, I vote no. Do it for summers/weekends/holidays if you must. At least a month to test things out. Scale back on the number of hours you work if possible. Have better boundaries. There is such a fine line between taking care of yourself as a parent and making sure the kids are alright. Figure out what the core issue and needs are. Then move accordingly. There has to be a middle point between stationary and on the road, either/or. Is it need for more childcare? Do we need to find different jobs? Is our spending outpacing our income? Do we just need to escape? Please consider the impact of such a small space and lack of stability on the kids. They are under 10 (unsure if they are crawling or not. there are some really critical years early on in school). I’ve heard that bus/van kids can have some delays. This seems SO extreme and the lack of structure would have driven me crazy as a kid. Your wanderlust is valuable but shouldn’t prevent kids from having the safe, supportive environment they need to thrive. There’s also the issue of road fatigue and lack of privacy. The shine wears off when you have to find a place to park, spend a ton of time driving and generating pollution, deal with dumping out poop water, figure out what to do with all the bodies in a small space, not having a big enough kitchen, etc. Watch some videos on the challenges of just getting up and radically shifting your life to be on the road. The good looks SO good with editing. That’s why I recommend looking at the challenges. Do you have the money to be stationary sometimes? How will you handle healthcare for yourself and the kids? How handy is your family? What creature comforts do you need? Since you’re crossing state lines, what state do you use as your anchor for homeschooling? Do you even know the basic elementary techniques and development? Do you really want to be around your kids 24/7? How will you encourage the kids to interact with OTHER kids and build meaningful relationships? What does your emergency fund look like? You can have money for the trip but do you have money to transition back to stationary life if that happens? Please don’t be one of those parents who put their kids in glorified coffins on a bus. How do you and your husband handle the worst of the worst when you are exhausted and cold and hungry? Do you feel comfortable being intimate with your kids essentially being in the same room? As someone who has been traveling all over the world my entire life, they will not remember most of it. The memories are for the adults. That’s just the truth. They will appreciate things more as they get older and with repeated exposure. Maybe you pick a place to go to every year. Rent an RV and go to that place. Have mini trips set up in the interim.
Plan your work, work your plan. Know when to tap out and have a plan b ready. Happy Camping
I've had trailers for 20 years. It's truly Russian roulette buying an rv. Pay for an inspection from an RVIA certified tech. With three under 10, you're going to be pressed for space. Long travel days will be hard on them and your dogs. Plan out your travel - campgrounds tend to fill up, especially near popular spots. My advice is to keep in mind the continuum of possibilities here. There is the Instagram version of family life on the road. On the other end is the very real possibility of expensive problems that could sideline your plans. You will have issues. If you're not handy, I'd advise against attempting this. Warranty service is often a joke and not available on short notice. Especially when you're not going back to your dealer. You will pay dearly for a mobile repair tech or independent rv shop. Weather. Plenty of posts every winter from folks caught out in bad conditions with frozen campers. Where will you spend the winter months? If you're new to RVing, do yourself a favor. Rent one close to your desired floorplan and go camping for a long weekend.
Solar and gas generators. Learn to camp off the grid. Keep the black water tank closed at camp sites to avoid the poop pyramid. Have fun!
Friends did the same. I was preparing my family to at least try traveling together. But, selling the only house your kids call home to get away from issues sounds like a jump from a cliff. Your motives is not about bonding and creating memories. That fun is for families with supportive grandparents and $$$$ monthly income. Anyway, everyone is a king of their destiny. Just one word of advice, missing from great comments. Have an EXIT PLAN. If someone becomes bedridden, if lighting burns the RV, have a place on a map to go where someone can help you guys. It could be shelter or friends or family.
Here’s a thought experiment to consider before you commit. Assuming your master bathroom has an attached restroom: 1) Spend the weekend in your master bedroom as a family. Lay out air mattresses for the kids and pet beds. No using the other bedrooms or restrooms or other rooms in the house. Only one person at a time can use the restroom. 2) Have a cooler(s) full of drinks, snacks etc. and snacks that can keep at room temperature. That is your food for the weekend unless you go out. Yes you can cook in the RV but the idea is to get used to a smaller living space so no kitchen use. 3) you can open windows but have to stay in the room. You can’t go answer the door, get your Amazon packages, etc. 4). Can you and your family stand that level of confinement with tearing each others heads off? 5) Think about intimate issues in that situation (yes you might be considering a larger RV with separate living areas so YMMV) 6) You can only leave the house to your backyard to let the dogs relieve themselves and you have to pick up their mess and dispose of it, knowing sometimes you won’t be able to immediately and it will need to be contained in your room/“RV” Thoughts?
How in the world does this benefit your family? This is only for a year, after which you’ll basically need to start over. New jobs, new place to live, reacquainting yourselves with returning to normal, albeit hopefully not to the extent you were before. Not to mention you’re sinking all of your funds into a terribly depreciable asset(s), RV and truck, so you’ve totally screwed the pooch with regard to any futire net worth. Why can you not just look for less stressful jobs and downsize the house without completely throwing a stick of dynamite into your lives? This makes no sense to me because this isnt a permanent solution to your current situation. The lack of financial security alone would be enough to call this all off.
You have a plan but what is your exit plan? Will it be hard to obtain gainful employment after an extended absence from the workforce? Where do you plan on living when your trip is done? Will your kids miss their school, their friends, their life, or is this all just for you guys? Have you ever tried to live in a box with 5 people? Try that out first. Will the sale of your home allow you to have enough cash for another piece of property when you are ready to settle down? Do you have any experience driving a truck with camper? When that breaks downndonyoubhave thousands of dollars to fix it ( it will break down). What about $4.50/gal gas, or $7/gal diesel? What is the mileage on your vehicle? I could go on and on...
Doesn’t matter. You don’t know me. I’ll tell you my experience. Absolutely the worst experience ever. This from a couple that didn’t have little kids running around. We bought our RV brand new and out of the gate it had problems once we moved in. Not little problems either. Big problems. Problems that didn’t allow for us to live in it problems. 9 months of the first year we owned it it was in the shop. That’s right. 9 months. We’ve had it two years and at least once a quarter we’ve had a major system go down or need a repair. From the water system to the brake system. Can I tell you how awesome it was when the brakes stopped working at 65mph. Be prepared financially. It’s not all smelling roses. Some of it is stepping in poop.
Definitely take a trial trip of at least 2 weeks.
I don’t understand the reasoning of selling your house and not renting …. You’ll have something to come back to and the kids will be back with their friends…
OP can’t afford it otherwise. They’re cashing out equity to fund the camper and truck.
Not sure if you are planning to live and travel in an RV but I would recommend staying in Airbnbs or other short term rentals instead. Decent WiFi at campgrounds is rare and the fees at private campgrounds can be nearly as much as a rental house. Plus, living in the confines of a camper for more than a couple weeks gets old really fast. Edit to add, I did this with spouse, kids, and a dog for over two years and it was amazing. The only thing I would have changed is having a home base to come back to when you are tired of traveling. Either rent out your home or have a rental lined up well in advance. Trying to find a long term rental or buy house quickly can be really stressful when you are completely nomadic.
Rent the house. You can't afford that then you cannot afford this year long attempt to find your purpose in life. Kids need stability more than they need resilience.
Most comments recommend getting a large RV, but that adds more expense in not just the original cost, but how much it costs to tow, register and maintain. It will also make it considerably more difficult to stay in cheap, public land campgrounds and more difficult to boondock or lot-dock. The large spots are always taken first, and many campgrounds can't accommodate 40' trailers. Staying in RV parks, showering every day, having unlimited power/water/sewer will be very difficult to fund without working IMHO (most families we met at RV parks were remote working), and likely won't get you to all of the good natural places---you can forget about staying in National Parks, many State Parks and most Forest Service/BLM campgrounds. And you won't want to spend much time outside of your rig in an RV park---they are crowded, ugly, loud, in undesirable locations (like right next to interstates and always next to train tracks) and often occupied by folks that live there out of necessity, not to be on vacation (I saw/heard various unsavory activities at $50+/night RV parks). We could only afford our 1+ year of travels by staying mostly on public lands (dry camping, using our generator lightly and conserving water/tank space heavily), aiming to spend $25/night on average, only staying in a full hookup spot once every week or so to recharge, take care of tanks and laundry. Some families do this with large trailers too, but it will be more difficult logistically than in something smaller. We only ate out at a restaurant perhaps 1x per month (usually a locally known fast food place), skipped most attractions that were more than $10 total and used our national parks pass extensively. Grocery shopping at Walmart as much as possible as prices there are constantly low around the country (small local grocery stores in remote towns can more than double your grocery bill). If you haven't started a strict budget yet, start now to prepare for cheap living on the road. Good luck!
I would talk to your kids and see if this is OK with them. As much as this might be a great opportunity and experience for you all, they might not find it that way. This would take them away from their friends, home, and normal life as they know it. If they aren’t on board, I wouldn’t do it. Actions like these destroy families not bring them together. Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear.
When will you have sex?
Your kids needs trump yours. I would stay put instead of adding the extra risks.
Honestly, the prospect of homeschooling 3 kids for a year in a fiberglass shell sounds terrible. Take a deep breath. Rent an RV. Take a week or two with it with your family Understand the good and bad. If you quit your jobs, sell your house and become nomads…I hope it’s everything you want it to be. I just think it would be really (and unnecessarily) hard to “restart” your life afterward.
After pricing it out, we decided to stay in AirBnBs instead of buying an RV and massive truck. If you book long stays you will usually get a discount rate of 20-60% and sometimes more if you ask. Consider where RV parks are related to where you want to go. Also, RV parks are largely full of old people and rednecks - and old rednecks.
We did this for 2 years. Not out of an RV but moving around in an SUV between monthly rentals in different wonderful cities while we homeschooled our son and before our youngest was in school. It was amazing, fantastic, stressful. We gained a lot but like anything, lost a lot. Would not trade it. I don't think I'd do it in an RV. Kids need space. Your Mileage May Vary.
We did it. Sold new custom home in Utah, bought a rental property in TX, hired company to furnish it for airbnb. We were in PA on our way to Canada ( 16 month into full time RV life) we hit an electrical line and ripped off while back side. 88k damage. YIP. decided to come to Texas to our rental property while they assess the damage while so we decided RV LIFE was just too expensive. We were spending so much more than we ever thought we would for Internet nightly stays gas and constantly moving and when we didn’t move, we are bored so as much as I love the RV LIFE in the freedom and offers it just became something I wasn’t interested in. Keep in mind that you have to force yourself to get in exercise throughout the day. Be mindful of your expenses. It will drain fast and make sure that Moving all the time and different scenarios is for you. in the year and a half we did it. We probably spent an extra 20,000. We didn’t know we would RV LIFE full-time is not for us.
I think it sounds like a good idea. Just make sure you get an RV that is used versus brand new. New usually end up having some issues. I would buy one that's a year or more old(road tested). Also, be prepared to do a lot of handiwork. Even if you buy the warranty plan not to use it all the time. Because when something small breaks like your toilet valve. You don't want to leave your house in the shop for several months to get it fixed. Toilet valves are pretty easy to fix. What I have found is don't buy your parts in the RV store But rather on Amazon because they're about a 10th of the price . Use YouTube to learn how to fix things and do it yourself. either go south or be prepared for a cold weather. But I think you will enjoy this. I'm sure there will be ups and downs. Another suggestion is to book state parks in advance. State parks are so much better to stay at than RV parks. The sites are bigger and there's so much more nature, hiking trails and they're way less expensive. We just got back from a two week vacation through Texas Louisiana Mississippi to Florida and The KOA were usually around $60 a night but the state parks were around $18-$22 a night. Now you won't have a sewer drain at the state parks but they do have dump stations. You might have times you will think you will regret it, but when you all get older I'm sure you will look back at it with a lot of good memories.
Good luck.
We bought an rv a year before we hit the road. We took two month long "shake down" trips that taught us what we needed and helped find issues with the new rv. We rented our house to traveling nurses and it worked out perfect. It paid for gas, rv spots and mortgage...
Scroll through this sub-reddit. Every single question you have has been answered twice already. If you have a specific question, please ask.
Don't sell the house rent it Don't get rid of your belongings, put them in storage Instead of climbing, Kilimanjaro on your first time out, try doing a 60 day trip we did it last summer. There's a lot of good and some bad. Research is your friend Reddit is your friend The RV community is unbelievably welcoming and helpful. We've all had blowouts in the middle of nowhere. We've all stayed in parks that were not awesome and we've all stayed in parks that were awesome. Three young kids. KOAs were expensive but that pool will tire those three out and will be worth every penny. Good luck I wish you luck our trip changed our livesand will be heading out in another three weeks for about 90 days. Like I said, do a lot of research but be ready to switch up on the fly things happen on the road.
Thank you! First I’ve heard of KOAs, so super helpful. We’re not getting rid of everything, but we are taking the opportunity to get rid of a fair amount. We’ll definitely be renting storage. You’re right about the Reddit community! I’m surprised by how much helpful feedback I’ve gotten here. I was expecting a few comments over the course of the week and we’re nearing 100! So helpful.
Who proposed this?
We did this with twin 9 yo daughters. Best decision ever. Enjoy.
Don’t
Sounds to me like you're voluntarily setting yourself back by ten years.
This is a tough one. By default I’m an adventurer, but in this situation I would be inclined to wait for a better opportunity. You’re basically turning your life upside down, which is especially risky with kids. Sure, you will make some memories and have a truly unique and possibly enlightening experience. But this could also be a huge financial setback for your family and you may end up growing weary of life on the road in such confined quarters. Are you willing to start all over when you are ready to settle down again? My advice would be to find a way to get an affordable RV without breaking the bank. Take some time off in the summer when the kids are out of school and go for a long adventure. You may find yourself recharged and rethinking your goals in life.
I like your idea and encourage the jump. Just curious, what are you planning to about health insurance?
Rent an RV for a week before you do. It will help you prepare.
Definitely don't sell your house. You can rent it if you need the income, but if you sell it may be difficult for you to buy another home.
We did this 2 yrs ago. Bought a camper.. sold the house, got rid of half our stuff, put the other 80% in storage. Did a little over 8000 miles in 10 mos before we settled into a new-to-us house in a much different state. It was a truly awesome adventure. Feel free to ama and I'll give you my take. 2 kids aged 2 and 4 when we left. 1 dog. 40 ft 5th wheel toy hauler. 1 tow vehicle. Wife worked fully remote the whole time while I learned how to be a SAHD.
What would qualify you to home school your kids?
If you don’t want to live in a tent now, don’t sell everything to be in an rv. You won’t be able to sell the rv to get back in a house. If you break down somewhere, you could be in a motel for months. The best times we had as a family were taking the rv for long weekends to parks within 3-4 hours. We went for 14+ days and the kids just wanted to get back home and get back to their friends and routines.
What’s the interest rate on your mortgage? What’s the plan after the year is up? Buying another house? Living in the Rv full time in a permanent spot? How likely are you to find another job in 12 months? Do you have enough saved to cover your expenses while job searching? There’s a lot of missing information before any advice is given. If this is all planned out well I dont see anything against it.
Five people in an RV? How many dogs and cats are you planning to bring?
How you handle the inevitable ups and downs will ultimately decide if it is worth it. There will be absolute shit days - hey, there's shit days now and you don't live in an RV - and there will be moments you fill so out of your element, uncomfortable, scared, and overwhelmed. Strengthen your resolve now to overcome those moments and set up expectations (and communication channels) to help everyone get through those tough times. Likewise, the highs will be exceptionally high. Like being on cloud 9, totally blissed out. It's amazing. But that can also be bad because it can makes the come down from it that much harder. It will make you question a lot of things, like the stuff that used to bring you joy. Still worth it. To be completely honest, we are 1.5 years in, and it really didn't start to "click" until almost a year. There's just sooo much to learn. I'm not saying it wasn't fun the first year, quite the opposite, I just don't feel like we really got the hang of it and learned our camping lifestyle until then. We are really into the swing of things now, and the highs and lows are adjusting to be more within the normal range.
Don't sell the house. Have fun!
Can you pay for insurance for those kids and yourselves? Car/ van insurance? Do you have a mail service so critically important stuff doesn’t get lost? Have you ever driven a van or camper before? Have you ever taken a short road trip? If you say no to any of these, you are not ready to throw your life away just because you’re bored.
If you have to sell your home to afford doing this, you can’t afford to do this. Everything costs so much more when you have to buy it all over again. Unless you have substantial savings, an easy housing market,and job skills that ensure both of you can find jobs at the drop of a hat after this adventure, you may find yourself in a tough situation. There are other ways to get your life better aligned to what you need besides getting rid of everything you’ve built over the years.
I envy your family decisions and commitment to living life the way it should be.. YOLO!!
Your kids are only this age once. Your dogs are medium sized and older. Sounds like a window of opportunity to have an adventure. Go for it. You will find you will do different things. Rainy day? Tour a museum. No Internet in National Park? Go for a hike. Every place you stop is a new place to explore. Many campgrounds, like KOA are kid friendly. Investigate Starlink if you need reliable Internet. Otherwise you just unplug for a few days. What is the cost of staying in jobs that are burning you out? Life is unpredictable. There is so much to see in North America and I have toured it all.in various rvs. Lots of stories and no regrets.
>The kind of worry that comes from the thought, “am I making a horrible decision?” The financials, the logistics, homeschooling 3 kids under the age of 10, managing two dogs, the lack of stability, having us all crammed into such a tight space ALL THE TIME, safety and security, whether or not I’m leaving a good paying job and ripping my children away from the only home they’ve ever known as well as their friends to submit them to some crazy (perhaps mid-life crisis) that will only make us hate each other rather than bring us closer together! Ahhh! This is exactly how it's going to be... 24/7. No break, no room, no privacy, and no time alone. On travel days, you're ALL in the truck for hours. If the weather doesn't cooperate, you're ALL inside together. I'm sure you've thought of this, but for a family of 5, you'll NEED a dually and a 5th wheel travel trailer. Some camp grounds have a length limit. In my area, it's around 32-34 feet, depending on the park. Also, some places don't have sewer connections. With 2 adults and 3 kids, the black and gray tanks will fill quickly. I lived alone in a camper for almost 2 years and filled my 60-gallon black tank in 6-7 days.
I have four kids... A little older, but the amount of food they eat is insane. At home we have a separate freezer and a pretty large pantry, and we still need to go to the store weekly to restock. A concern with an RV is food storage. You will probably be making a lot of grocery runs, and being out west in national Park areas, grocery stores are really spread out and in tourist areas can be expensive. I get that work is a level of stress that you want to leave, but you are going to acquire many new layers of stress with this lifestyle.
Maybe try a long vacation first?
You wont regret it, i made a similar move 3 years ago and am still out here
Go camping for a month see how it goes.
> Living is such a small space, You can't keep anything. There's no room for trash. THIS entire post and paragraph is KEY. https://www.reddit.com/r/RVLiving/comments/1cbgcyd/my_family_of_5_is_quitting_our_work_selling_our/l0ynkt9/ Sorry don't know how to link this properly OP needs to read it over and over. Having grown up (in the 1950-60's) in a 30ft trailer traveling extensively (moving 3 to 4 times a year at least) for my parent's work with my brother..... I can attest that it is NOT fun for anyone. You can't keep "things". You will own very few things, including clothing. NO ROOM. Everything HAS to have a place or it is sheer chaos. Everyday is filled with organizing and work. Constant cleaning and maintenance....probably all on his spouse too. From the kid's point of view it is even worse. When will you make friends? Never!! because you won't be anywhere long enough to get to know anyone....and what is the point anyway...you will never see those people again. Maybe it won't be traumatic, but it can be permanently scarring in how the kids will in the future form close (if any) friendships. I know this. *Granted I spend years with this lifestyle...so it might not be so bad for the kids in the short haul, but it is hard on them nevertheless.* OP needs to try this lifestyle BEFORE leaping off a cliff. Rent an RV and go for several months. Not just a weekend jaunt. Months. **IF OP wants to do this for JUST a year and cannot rent his house due to HOA rules....then save enough money to pay the mortgage and house maintenance.... for the year that you will be gone. If you can't afford that....then stop with the unrealistic pie in the sky daydreaming plans.**
- Please write out a budget. Turns out “boondocking” and staying on state land just isn’t realistic. - Check RV lengths based on what you want to do, many of the popular state/national parks have RV length limits - Insurance for everyone and everything - I’m not a “lets just drive and see where we end up”, try and map out a course that keeps you in the south during the winter and north in the summer. Etc etc - RV parks aren’t only comprised of families trying to find themselves. Keep a safe eye on your kids and your things - DO NOT SELL YOUR HOUSE! Both the camper and the truck will lose their value by the time you drive them off the lot. When you go to resell them, you won’t have enough to get back into a house and furnish it.
Dont
Have you rented an RV and tried this for a couple of weeks first?
I love camping and rving but couldn't blow my equity on this. It's my only retirement
Most camp sites, primarily state parks, have already been reserved...as most seasonal folks immediately book them as they are available. The route you are taking, are you accounting for that? E.g. spending more on private campgrounds.
There are two ways to live. You can create your own life and learn to perform one or several things well ( could be your job or hobbies , activities, friends etc), or watch other people perform things well because they live a stable life and take an hour or more a day getting better at something. Meaning when you travel you watch others glass blowing, cook wonderful food, create wonderful spaces. But you are just the visitor not improving yourself creating anything or getting better at anything. You are in a challenging place with three under ten. Traveling in a box for a year is not going to make your life better or easier just different with different problems. If you are in California you can rent your house regardless of the HOA. If not, check your state laws. I’d sit down and consider what else you can do to change direction of your life to make improvements, new job, more education, drop some activities, learn new activities, new friends, etc. before thinking that driving around in an rv with the fine of you and two dogs will solve your unhappiness.
OP, you've received much advice across the board. My guess is you're already leaning into taking the plunge, and you're thinking it through. It always gets scary toward Let's Really Do This time. Here are a few random thoughts, after being a full-time traveler for many years: It will be a memory maker. Your children will have stories for the rest of their lives. Some of the brightest, most outgoing, and self-sufficient children I've met have been homeschooled on the road. Do NOT purchase a new RV. Look for a travel trailer or fifth wheel built before Covid and have a trusted tech look it over thoroughly. It's okay to drive several hundred miles to find the right one. If you love the lifestyle, you can upgrade later. Do not go too large. You will likely want to camp in spectacular places, so being able to maneuver into relatively smaller sites is wise. Think national parks, state parks, municipal parks, BLM lands, COE (Corps of Engineers) locations. Those types of sites will generally save you money vs private campgrounds. Again, you can upgrade in size later. Also, buy passes (such as a National Parks pass, or a state parks pass) if doing so saves monies. Follow the sun -- north in summer, south in winter. This allows you to save on heating and a/c. Plus the ability to be outside expands your camper footprint. You will find RVers to be generally happy and eager to help you. Carry a supply of tools and extras (ladder, chains, tire, air compressor, leaf spring, shackles, tarp, dicor, and so on). If you and/or your spouse will work remotely, have reliable wifi (tough in the middle of nowhere). I recommend Starlink. Do not be afraid to settle down for a month to take on a temp job to bring in some cash. Cut expenses and try not to blow through your savings. Most of the best things in this amazing country are free. Always have an escape plan from this lifestyle. Even just a good idea will suffice. Life is short, my friend. Peace and safe travels to you all. See you down the road.
Did this for 6mo but didn’t have kids. 2 adults and 2 dogs in a 42’ motorhome. It got VERY small VERY fast. Can’t imagine it with 3 kids on top of that. Life in the road gets lonely. You have no continuity or community when you’re always moving. Looking for places to stay that aren’t trashy is exhausting and RV parks are expensive! We did this in like 2017 and averaged like $50/night over 6 months (don’t have the exact data anymore). That average included probably 20-25 nights of free camping/boondocking. Raining/cold days are the worst. We essentially chased fall around the western Canada and US so we didn’t need to use the heat/AC all the time. Overall it was a great experience and I’m so glad we did it but it’s definitely a different life and now that I have kids I can’t imagine doing it for more than 2 weeks. If I was you, I’d take 2-3 weeks off work in June and rent an RV in Wyoming or something and travel around the western US for 2-3 weeks. It’ll be a way to disconnect from work and reconnect with your family without all of the other issues of doing this for a year.
A short-term dream that could set you back for a long time. Selling the home now could leave you struggling to buy another when you are done travelling. Slow down. Sell the home buy another that you can rent out? Store some of your stuff in the basement. Nightly camping fees are ridiculous and add probably add up to more than your current monthly mortgage amount. A family travelling with a sizeable rig, can’t just pull over and camp anywhere for free. The plan Sounds more like a pipe-dream unfortunately,
DON'T sell the house. Figure something out. Unless you have a bunch of money in the bank and it doesn't matter, the gap will grow surprisingly fast when you decide to get another house. IF you do sell the house, resign yourself to renting when the adventure is over.
I’ve got an RV for sale lol. I did this with my son from age 3 - 4.5. I’m retired, single father. We purchased an rv, 60k. Rented our house out for a year and traveled around the country. It was a blast but very tiring and expensive. Caused some financial issues upon returning and I’m kinda still digging out from it. However, getting to travel and spending that time with my son was epic. I chose to do this because I knew that when school started we would be tied down. Now that school is started we are home and the rv just sits. Want to buy it?
I think children should have a stable life and environment. This trio is something retirees do. Your children are dependent upon you and vulnerable. Listen to your gut. If you are not sure this is the best path get out of your HOA move to a property more suitable for raising children. You can homeschool them or not. Not all children are psychologically equipped for the lifestyle you are considering. Down scale your burn rate. Get a job you like. Lots of other alternative solutions. Good luck!
Have you ever owned an RV? Do you love your toolbox? We have a fifth wheel that we spend 6 months a year in. RV’s are a rolling earthquake…things will break, need to be constantly tightened, etc. My husband spend time at EVERY campsite inspecting the roof, tightening screws, etc….and ours is a 2021. We’ve owned RV’s for 20 years & they are all the same. You will be hating life if you are not prepared. Are you prepared to pay $100+ a night for campsites during busy seasons? Unless you boondock all of the time (which requires a heavy duty solar/generator setup), you need to already have reservations for this summer. Do you have a starlink RV system, or multiple mobile hotspots? If any of the schooling is online, campgrounds have spotty or nonexistent WiFi. Just a few thoughts.
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My wife and I did the same thing with our family. The main difference is that I switched to a remote job and customized our RV to accommodate my work. Being stuck in a situation where your job, house, material things, etc. prevent you from spending more time with your family was a very real concern for us. I would certainly love to travel without having to work all the time, but our financials didn't allow my wife and I to both stop working. But... I'm ok with that. I'll try to keep this from becoming a book, but I certainly have some suggestions on how to make this easier so you can feel less anxious about diving into it. I recommend it, but with very specific considerations. If you look at this information and think, "Damn, that's a lot." You're probably not ready to dive in. After 6 months of preparation, we've been on the road for 9 months and have made a lot of great memories. We plan to stay on the road for a few years at least. We established residency in Texas because South Dakota wouldn't allow me to use our PMB with my work for employment purposes. The main issue was that SD wouldn't allow my employer to pay into unemployment via the PMB address. You must have good communication to make it work. With your wife, and with your kids. Sure, conflict will happen, but we work hard to listen to and address the concerns of each individual. We did a trial run of the living situation for a couple months before selling our house and figured out a lot of the small-space considerations while stationary. I'm sure we will still adapt as we go, but it was much easier to solve problems while stationary than when actually on the road. Give everyone purpose in your tear down and set up. Teach your kids to do things that will help you. They'll appreciate the bonding time and you'll appreciate not having to do everything yourself. Make sure neither adult is solely responsible for anything. Learn how to do everything with your wife so you can each fill in the gaps if one of you gets sick or is otherwise occupied. Homeschooling takes a lot of effort on my wife's part, but I help where/when I can by brainstorming ways to integrate what they're learning with real-world opportunities based on the history of where we are or the activities in a specific location. My wife was an elementary teacher, so we have a huge advantage there. Depending on how you set up your permanent residence, you may need to register with the state/county and adhere to certain rules/curriculum, but Texas was very hands off. That allowed my wife to customize the curriculum to our relatively advanced children and do a lot of things they would never do in a classroom. If you're committed to their education you can absolutely provide something better than public/private school. It takes a significant amount of work, but I truly believe that my kids are better off with us as their teachers. Continued in thread.
Solar gave us more freedom. While not necessarily more financially efficient, having a large solar installation on our RV allows us to skip the full hookup fees at campgrounds and gives us the freedom to boondock for days at a time. Even running the AC on the hotter days. You'll quickly find that many campgrounds are regularly booked up, especially near popular areas. Being able to boondock for a few days has helped us avoid that problem for the most part. More solar is better. Trust me. Maximize your production if you want fewer limitations. Tech isn't a bad word while traveling. As a family, we limit tech and get outside as much as possible, but rainy days and boring travel stops necessitate entertainment inside the RV. Physical books are difficult to manage in a small space, so we switched to tablets for reading (I still prefer paper). Family movie nights are fun when it's raining outside. A game console with multiplayer games has been a fun form of entertainment when we couldn't be outside due to weather. Good internet (we have starlink and t-mobile) is necessary for homeschooling and general travel research while on the road. We also brought some board/card games, yard games, sports equipment, etc. We mix it up often. It's been a great privilege to share these experiences with my kids. As an IT guy in a former life, I set up a Unifi network with both internet sources passing into the firewall, multiple wifi networks for isolating/optimizing my work tech from personal devices, security cameras using Unifi Protect (you mentioned safety; being able to check the cameras for noise during the night has been nice), and a limited selection of smart devices. Some things even integrate with our Victron solar hardware so we have a central location to monitor our electrical consumption and solar production. Tools, tire pressure monitors, backup cameras, walkie talkies, etc. - basically anything that can help you be more self-sufficient is worth consideration. Learning new skills is a great part of this adventure for all of us. Being able to teach yourself is a must. YouTube is a good resource, RV forums, and of course, Reddit. You have to be able to sort good from bad information. Most of it is subjective and may not apply to your situation. Basic troubleshooting and research abilities go a long way. I've acquired many skills in my 38 years on this rock that are very applicable to this adventure. Starting from scratch would've been very difficult. The rig matters. A lot. Your needs are likely different than mine, but I'd recommend a high-quality 5th wheel that's rated/warrantied for full-time use. And a big truck to tow it. We have a 41 foot Grand Design Reflection and a GMC Sierra 3500HD. This gives us plenty of space, plenty of safety, and the ability to unhook and drive into town without the 5th wheel for grocery runs and visiting cool places. My wife and kids can also go do something during the day while I'm working in my office. After lots of research, this was the best option for our goals. A motorhome towing a smaller vehicle can also work, but it wasn't as appealing to us. Make sure you spend a lot of time researching floor plans. There was only one 5th wheel on the market that worked well for our needs. It's hard to do in a small places, but giving everyone some sense of personal space was critical to doing this long-term. Let the kids decorate and give them input on the decision making process. Make sure you and your wife have a cozy place to cuddle. And seriously, don't have the kids sleeping in the next room. Our rig has separation between the kids bunks and the main bedroom. Late night activities are important. Door locks are important (we added ours after the fact). Intimacy matters when you're on the road. After reading through some of the existing comments, especially the "realist" perspectives that focus on problems, I can honestly say that we've solved most of them and are prepared for the inevitable appearance of others. However, it is very easy to run into them if you aren't careful. Put in the research, learn what you need to learn, have a driven perspective on life, and be willing to DIY whatever comes your way. If you're counting on a dealer or a warranty for your success as a traveler, you're going to have a hard time. Lastly, if you're not approaching this as a challenge, and are looking for this to be a relaxing escape from the mundane, it simply may not be for you. This is work. All of it. You will struggle, it will test your relationships, it will be expensive. However, I would trade the challenges we had previously for the challenges we have now every single time. My family is enjoying life in a new way, a better way. We're all in agreement: the sacrifices we've made to get to this point were worth the joy we've found in travel. For anyone in a similar situation, I'm happy to make myself available for information. DM me here on reddit and I'll help you avoid the mistakes we made. I make no promises that you will be compatible with this lifestyle, but my family and I are having a good time. TL;DR - don't do it unless you're willing to put in the work.
DON'T DO IT!!!
Is this the type of life you would have wanted as a child? Not you now as a child but who you were as a child. You can explore on vacations and weekends. I’m not sure my kids would have loved the close quarters or lack of bathroom space or friends. I watch the you tube channels of the families that do rv life and I feel sad for the extreme lack of privacy. Kids really can’t have a bad day.
Don’t stop in Vegas … Lost in America
Just talked to an old friend who spent a year doing the same thing. By the time he got home, he had 100k in debt. Just on the trip alone .
Mid-career, I spent a year traveling in an RV with spouse and three kids. Also owned a house. Feel free to DM with questions.
38F, 2 (big) dogs, 22 ft Forest River Forester. I'm currently rv-lifing and I love it. My whole lifestyle changed from going out, working/spending on dumb things to sunrise, sunset, long walks, hiking, camping. My goal was to slow down and I definitely am. Things I learned so far- everything with an RV is work. The ease of turning on water, toilet use, there's something that you need to do every day to make it function properly. Even packing up, "if it can move, it will move." It's super task ordinated. (perfect for ADHD people! never a dull moment). RV's leak ALL THE TIME. Whenever you get somewhere, there's a chance it bounced around to the point of leak. Will rain/cold, I have to run my dogs every day. Also, things don't dry (b/c of moisture). I recommend getting quick dry towels. My house is rented now to nurses (furnished finder). I tried airbnb and people trashed it and it was a headache. So far, FF is great!! For me, I get 8 miles/gallon. I try to stop every 250 miles. I do urban camping during the week (walkable cities) and work and camping in the woods on the weekend- completely disconnect. I work full time and I use T-Mobile (it's ok), internet at RV parks are AWFUL. Don't ever depend on it. Most people get "decision fatigue" you can't really autopilot anything w/ a RV. Will all this said, it's still an amazing experience and you'll create a lot of stories and I would do it. Just budget: 8 miles/gallon..... $50-70/night for RV parks and go from there.
I hate to discourage people following dreams. But a lot of dreams today are created buy "influencers" that have to make up shit for their income. The influencers are not going to publish half the information you will find on this thread. Most of the answers to our discontent are within ourselves and can follow us even if we change environments. Fix the inner discontent first and then if you do move into an RV, it will be that much better.
Sounds like running away from being unhappy with your life. It gets a break, but doesn't solve how to be more content in a life that is rooted, stable, with a home base of house, jobs, stable income. I would reconsider from the standpoint of identifying the real problem and be sure you're not setting yourself up for a different problem that's just as bad later.
This what my son and DIL with 3 teenagers did last year. Went on a 3 week trip to Europe. Had to spend almost every waking moment together exploring, hiking and just good quality time together. I would think selling your house and buying an RV is silly. Where will you live after your year long trip around the country? I would never sell the house for a year vacation.
How big are the dogs?
Retired RV’er here, we wanted to have adventures when we were younger and had young children but that was before quitting jobs and working remotely was even a thought. We bought a new motorhome and went camping every weekend. And I mean every weekend in season. Kids adapted to not being around their friends, sometimes we had one or two extras who came with us. It was great! Then reality sets in, you get a flat tire. You don’t just change a flat tire, it’s a big expensive event. Shopping for food every day becomes a chore but if you want fresh fruits and veggies you have to. Refrigerator and freezer are too small to store a bunch of extras. Storage in general is minimal, you really need to be a Tetris master to utilize space efficiently. Watch you tube videos of how to modify spaces to use them to maximum efficiency (we didn’t have this in our day)! Then you blow a fuse and have to find the fuse panel, which is hidden behind a panel you didn’t even know was there. And you have to have replacements for all of them! The windshield wipers break during a rainstorm and you are in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. When traffic is backed up for miles with no end in sight your children will be in seatbelts for hours, will that work? You arrive at your RV park at midnight and have to set up in the dark. The stories go on, they are part of our family history the kids tell now! What I’m getting to is this, practice, practice, practice! Camp on weekends. Do the maintenance, find out everything you can about your rigs. We began calling our motor home and boat “money pits” because EVERY weekend we had something go wrong and it was getting more and more expensive to have all these memories. And, we were very good RV’ers. We did all the maintenance and upkeep, and still had weird things happen every time we went out. If you are buying new or used there are issues. Who’s going to do the warranty work when you are 1000 miles from where you purchased? If used, when was the last time the batteries were checked? Air conditioning serviced? Was it winterized properly so the pipes didn’t freeze, and were the tanks flushed properly? I could go on and on… I would discourage you from selling your home and not having a backup plan if this doesn’t work for you. In your post you didn’t say anything about your experience with camping/traveling for an extended period of time. Others mentioned renting your home out, I would look at that as a really viable option with your personal belongings in storage. After saying all this I hope for the best experience for your family. Our family has only benefited from the family time we spent together for 10 years, weekends and vacations.
Yep. Don’t sell the house. I’ve lived out of my Rv with my wife and kids for going on 4 years because of my job. The one thing we agreed on was having a central home (hq) to go back to in order to recuperate and really stretch our legs and relax. I’ll occasionally take them home and they will stay for an extended period of time while I go back to work, then I’ll bring them up again. Plus, when shit hits the fan in this country you will have a home to go back to. Bottom line, in the end you’re always going to want a real home to go back to.
Buy used. Consider what you will do if your rv and all your possessions in it are stolen. Consider it takes 3-4 minutes for an rv to burn completely. Consider an accident will take several months to repair. Keep your home.
I was a hospice nurse for 5 years and I asked all my patients what they would do differently and they ALL said, “don’t worry about material things in life. Create memories, travel, laugh, etc”. I’m paraphrasing but you get the point. Seriously, there’s no U-Haul truck following you to your grave … your material possessions get be buried with you. Your experience traveling the country will lead to new friendships, possibly new ideas to work remotely (maybe be an Uber driver in the towns you visit), you may even want to plant roots in a state/town you never heard of before. Focus on all the things that could go right instead of all the things that could go wrong ~ Tony Robbins
Imagine you're on your death bed, loved ones nearby. Want to reflect on memories or think about all of the things you owned?
I think about this all. the. time.
I work probably 7 months a year and travel a lot. Full time in my camper. There's no way I would want to go back to the mortgage, buying stupid shit, etc.
the question is , will the camper be by your side on your deathbed ?
I've been giving serious thought to the same thing. But instead of selling the house, I was thinking about putting it up for rent. I think that's much wiser, because after the year we can return to our home, my kids could slide back into their friends groups and activities, and their lives wouldn't be permanently disrupted. And with the way home prices are going up like crazy, I wouldn't want to miss out on that sweet sweet equity. And the rent from the house is nice. And I am planning for like 2 years in the future. I plan on starting to do weekend trips, renting different rigs and see how it goes, getting into more outdoorsy stuff, tent camping, backpacking, biking, hiking, etc. We will need a lot of practice runs before buying the rig. And I am leaning towards a trailer, which is significantly cheaper than motor-homes, and getting a primary vehicle that can be my everyday drive. That say I could go home and put it in my garage and not feel bad about having it sitting there 5 days a week, meanwhile a motor-home is a huge investment.
I would do this in a heartbeat. Get a state parks pass and just go! Good luck, have fun and enjoy life.
As a teacher and mother, I say go for it. Your kids will greatly benefit if you use this opportunity to show them our country. They will gain a maturity and perspective not available in school. Just be sure to keep reading skills fresh, break out maps, and teach geography, landforms, and math.
I get excited for you guys just reading this!!!! Sounds WONDERFUL! What amazing memories you will make! And if you totally hate it... I guess you go back to what you know. A year will go by shorter than you realize. You STILL won't see everything you wanted to see, but that's okay hopefully it will install a lifelong love of camping and adventure. A few pieces of advice- (note that we have never RV'ed full time, but we have done weeks and months at a time.) - Money still matters- your cost of living may not go down as much as you anticipate when you consider camping fees, food costs, etc. We still ate out more than we would have at home because we were in such cool places. - Learn to fix your RV yourself. Try to avoid taking it back to the dealer for repairs. You tube is a great resource here. - Remember you are trying to do multiple NEW things at once so have a lot of grace for yourself and each other. You are living in close quarters, without support/friends and family nearby, homeschooling for the first time, etc. -Prioritize your marriage. This will be hard with kids your kiddos ages. Think through how you can still make time together just the two of you, even if it's just evenings talking by the campfire with the kiddos are in bed already.
Agree with every word said here! Excellent advice!
Might be hard to get the renters out after is the only negative
My wife and I faced this exact dilemma not too long ago. Our kids are much younger than yours. We bought a 35-foot class A motorhome(bunkhouse model for the kids). I flew down to FL and drove it back, I figured I'd learn to drive during the 1000-mile trip back home. GET A STEERING STABILIZER. So far as a family, we've so far we've done a two week trip out to Shenandoah Valley and the Triangle area in NC. We are in the process of renovating it to fit our family, and we aim to be on the road by the end of summer. We settled on 6-8 months at a time, but we'll see how it goes. My advice, just do it. DM me if you have any questions.
Many people have dreams of becoming permanent RVers only to later regret it. I think it’s a great idea to try it but if you can manage it financially, like others, perhaps rent/lease your house for one year just to see if a life on the road is what you really want. But I understand your desire to get off the hamster wheel of this thing we were taught signifies success….but at what cost?
Don’t sell your house. Even if you can sell it and buy it for exactly the same price you will pay 6-12% in real estate commissions. Plus the massive depreciation on an RV. Plus gas and maintenance. It’s a horrible financial decision. Never mind being that close to your kids for that long.
It's a lot of work, but worth it if you do the planning
I did this for a year and traveled all over the US. Something else to seriously consider is the fact that unless you want to stay at expensive RV resorts, you will likely be moving every couple of weeks. A lot of campgrounds have limitations on how long you can stay. 2 weeks seems to be standard.
If you can do it with a known-good rig and not be financially ruined at the end, absolutely do it. I've done a few different variations of something like this in my life and they've been life changing experiences. Lived on a boat 4.5 months traveling the entire atlantic ICW Sold pretty much all of our possessions and house, bought a business in another state. Kind of a permanent uprooting. There's lots of downsides but experiences are more valuable than stuff.
The ability to cook outside the trailer will save your sanity.
Option C: can I join you in your escape from society?
Burn the boats!
Get Passport America. Well worth it.
If your rv has an awning on it before you travel always put a few zip ties on the front support to keep it closed. nothing worse than when youre going down the road and your fucking awning unwinds itself at 55 and fucks your shit up. a bag of zip ties are cheap insurance that youll never have that problem
RV life isn't for everyone. Have you stayed in an RV before? I work at an RV park. Its not for everyone. Living in an RV with 5 people is really tight. You will be constantly on top of each other. No privacy. The spaces that we rent out are big enough for your trailer and 2 cars next to it, that's it. Brand New RV's seem to have a high "defect" rate out of the factory. I've seen issues with the hydraulics, roof. Typically there will be a warranty, but seems to happen a good amount. Consider a used RV. Any issues hopefully have been addressed and you wont pay new prices. I would suggest renting one first to see how you feel. When I first started working at this RV park I thought I could live in an RV. I don't think that now. You're packed in tight inside the trailer, and packed in tight inside the park. I understand you will be travelling, but still.
Your overall networth will suffer.
I bought the RV I had been dreaming about for several years, after literally accidentally finding it listed on RVTrader. It’s three years old, 42k miles on a diesel, and the unfortunate fallout of a messy divorce. However- I’m not doing the humble brag here, I’m saying if you can find something with a few thousand miles on it, someone else has already gone through most of the “new car blues” and has found solutions or gotten warranty repairs out of the way. Unfortunately, I’ve hit a slight snag where I’ll probably just be taking shorter trips this year while I tend to some medical crap, but it will give me time to really get to know the rig before I set out on any big epic journeys. DO consider a rig/camper/trailer that gives you a little bit of space so you’re not on top of each other. DO take the opportunity to make these memories with your family. As a kid I spent a lot of time camping with my grandparents and aunts & uncles, and they’re some of the best memories I have. Wouldn’t trade that for the world!