10 Best Things About Full-time RV Life

We realize it’s only been one week since we rented out our 2000 square foot house and moved into a 200 square foot travel trailer. But we feel like we are already reaping the benefits from the full-time RV lifestyle that so many seek in their later years.

Of course, we aren’t in our later years. We jumped into this RV lifestyle early. We’ve also jumped into other adventures earlier than most of our peers. For example, we skipped the infant and toddler stages of raising kids. We jumped straight into elementary school age children, and not just one child, three at once. You can learn more about our adoption journey here.

Parenting stretched our way of life in many ways. We had to give up all that was comfortable to us and allow social workers to poke and prod into our lives. Then when the kids finally did arrive, we had to let go of wanting nice stuff or quiet time to ourselves. Our schedules changed dramatically as we had to attend multiple doctor’s appointments and therapy sessions.

Compared to bringing three children from foster care into our home, transitioning to RV life has been a breeze. So far, the hardest part has been letting go all of our stuff, but once we put it in the proper place in our mind, we were able to let things go a little easier.

Today, we thought we would share the ten best things about full-time RV life for us. It will be interesting to see if these things remain true six months from now. We understand how honeymoons work. Once everybody settles in the little nuances start to rise. But for now, we will enjoy this special season of new beginnings.

1. Flexible Schedule

We’ve each followed a rigid schedule for most of our adult lives. It has included work, chores, appointments, and a limited amount of entertainment. Now that we have no one to report to, other than our Maker, we are letting our guard down a bit. If we want to stop at a park we can. If we want to see a friend when they are available, we can. If we want to stop driving and take a nap, we can.

It is important for us to keep a daily routine. This includes meals, cleaning, and making sure we are still on track to hit our next service project on time. However, what we do in between those things is completely up in the air each day. We can take a moment to walk along a creek or sit and have froyo with friends. Our goal is to stay present in the moment wherever we are.

2. Less Stuff to Manage

We no longer have three bathrooms to clean or tons of carpet to vacuum or hundreds of dishes to load and unload. We have one pantry instead of two. We have one pot that must cook a variety of meals, along with two frying pans. I love my frying pans!

Our fridge is half the size, but for two people it’s plenty. It’s more energy efficient because the space is filled well. We still get luxuries like chocolate and ice cream almost daily.

We reduced our wardrobe a couple months ago in preparation for our trip. I am ready to cut mine in half again. I simply don’t need as much as I think I do. Laundry piles up quick so it’s easier just to wear everything two or three times if it’s not dirty or smelly. I feel like I could reduce the number of dishes we have too. When I make a meal, my goal is to use as few items as possible as to reduce wash time.

3. No Yard Work

At this point our favorite feature of our RV and full time living in it is the fact that we get to enjoy beautiful settings without the upkeep. We simply park and let down our RV deck and enjoy the mountains, lake, or shrubs. It really doesn’t matter. The world is at our fingertips. Check out the photos on Instagram.

4. Quality Time with More People

We’ve been blessed by multiple friends and family who have allowed us to park on their property for a night or two. This allows us to enter their lives in a unique way. We’re like neighbors for a day. We share meals and activities and life together. It’s amazing!

5. Smaller Footprint

While reducing our global footprint has not been our focus, it is definitely a positive result of living simply. I feel less wasteful and more conscious about my purchases and consumption. We use about two gallons of water a day when we don’t shower. That includes drinking about a gallon a day. Showering may double that number, but that is about every three days.

6. More Variety in Our Lives

If you’ve ever read Dr. Caroline Leaf’s books, you know that new experiences stimulate the brain and fight things like depression and boredom. Right now, everything about RVing is pretty new to us, but by its very nature, the RV lifestyle is unique each day. We never know what challenge we will face next – a full black tank, a new place to park, low water, a scared cat. We are constantly problem-solving and this stimulates our brains in a positive way.

7. Less Expenses

Since we’ve been blessed by friends and family, we’ve had water and electricity provided daily at no cost to us. We also haven’t had to pay for parking. We use the FreeRoam app to help identify safe spots to park while we make our way towards our next SOWER project. Then once we arrive at the project site, we hook up for free in exchange for volunteering some of our time to the ministry or organization.

Food and fuel are really our biggest expenses, plus our cellphone bill and insurance. We are frugal people though, and choose to make almost all our meals from scratch. The biggest challenge is finding the special items we use on the Keto Diet while we are in different cities.

Fuel really doesn’t cost too much when we park for a month on a project site. We have the motorcycle to get around town easy. Once in a while we must refill our propane tanks for cooking, but they are both still full after one week.

8. Simpler Life

No TV and little internet service make life a lot quieter. Old hobbies like reading and journaling have resurfaced. We don’t feel so busy for no reason. That’s what I feel sometimes when I go through my Facebook newsfeed – exhausted – even though I didn’t do anything. Somehow, I let other people’s experiences sap my energy. Obviously, the Lord knew how to reduce this influence for me.

9. Beautiful Settings

Whether driving or parking, we are in awe of the beauty before us. We were recently parked at Lake DeWeese in Westcliffe, CO. The night skies are indescribable. They took our breath away. At the same site we got to wake up to cattle roaming around our RV. One fellow had an itch on his nose and used our trailer’s tongue jack to scratch himself at 7 am. It was an interesting wake up call.

10. Free to Serve Others

Since we chose to join the SOWERS, we get to travel with a purpose. We enjoy the RV lifestyle while helping ministries and organizations maintain their facilities and provide programming to youth and families. We will soon get to meet a large group of folks that live this way in their retirement. We are excited to hear their life stories.

So Many More…

We know this is only the beginning of our best times living in our RV full-time. My husband pointed out that the small space feels quite cozy and it encourages us to get along. If we don’t, we will be miserable.

Please reach out to us on Facebook and ask us any questions about RV life. We would love to share tips and tricks with you. We would also love to hear your tips and tricks!