Full-time Rv Living?

[Cadillac]

Has anyone else considered this as a fair alternative of 'breaking out' of the living paycheck to paycheck system? The prices of fuel, from propane to gas, are really starting to go down and warm climates could really give a huge break on heating costs.

A lot of the rigs from the 1980s are still often in very good condition and can be customized easily enough with even a low income. Right now I struggle to make 900 dollars a month, my living expenses and my bills that I currently pay give me very little leeway and I have to rent rooms due to my low income.

I'm really tired of trying to fit into living with other people. For now I have a job that can support me with the very low costs, the RV I'm looking at is essentially six months of rent if you put it together. Which is around 6,000 usd, divide that to twelve months.. that's 250 usd. Insurance, high quality too, is around 1,000 usd a year at max. And then propane for heating is honestly not all that much.

Free parking at multiple places. Not dealing with people too much. Getting into more sustainable living practices. And maybe future traveling as I save up funds and get rid of my debt, which is around 10,000 usd due to school.

 

[Lucycat]

Has anyone else considered this

considered what? What is RV living?

 

[Cadillac]

considered what? What is RV living?

Mobile home living. Like a RV trailer or a Motor Home.

 

[intothelight]

@Cadillac Go for it! A great alternative to renting rooms and gives you your own place that is affordable.

 

[KwanYingirl]

@Cadillac i live in a very small space 400 sq ft. I love it. My best friend bought an Aurstream trailer in an Airstream
Park in Florida. Previously she was always moving around Portland Maine trying to make ends meet. She is a furniture builder and carpenter and you would not believe how beautiful and functional her space is. She has a nice outdoor area too and she's right near the beach. Her heat costs little but AC in the summer adds a bit to her electric bill. I think her hot water is propane as is her stove.
She lived with her brother to save money so all she pays is the park fee and minimal utilities. She can store her tools under her trailer.
The only caveat for her is flood insurance and hurricane insurance but even with that her it's are about $499 a month.
Tiny living has loads of benefits. I am next to the beach too and my flood insurance is $330/year. You just have to get rid of all the crap we collect over the years. And storage is always an issue. Go for it!

 

[Rumors]

I have never heard of free parking anywhere, however I can tell you my experience with RV's because we have had a few. When they break, they are expensive to fix. For you, as well, you would have no place to live. They require expensive maintenance and usually things like the inverter box go out and those are fairly expensive but without it nothing powers up in your RV. We used ours for fun but I certainly wouldn't live in one as they are not dependable enough for me. Then, not to mention the insurance that goes along with an RV. It really isn't a "less" expensive way to live in my opinion. I would opt for a tiny house before I did an RV.... Just my opinion. Good luck! Once again, the RV's we had were for recreational use only and I did regular maintenance on them to make sure they functioned properly but we still had issues that came up.

 

[Cadillac]

@Cadillac i live in a very small space 400 sq ft. I love it. My best friend bough...

I currently reside in the Portland, Maine area actually... its a death trap. It's so expensive to live here.. no jobs pay well and education is hard to get because if you can't pay 900 dollars for a studio apartment then you're out of luck.. Renting rooms at best (600 for a room), homeless at worst.

I practically live in a bedroom right now, probably the size of an RV's rear/queen bedroom. And I've had to downsize so much, I don't have much stuff to keep around. It'd be nice to have a living space that I could cook food in and stuff without feeling guilty about using appliances and stuff..

I have a general idea of moving down south, maybe just sort of traveling around and camping some places/public land for free. Living in a few places for a bit, and then moving around more.. do photography, art, focus on my abilities and the world around me, etc. But I want to do it all with no debt. So I have a little while to go but likely not very long.

I'll likely be looking at around $350/month, given I use 100 dollars of propane a month (very unlikely). Otherwise, it hovers around $250/month with insurance included. I am buying my motor home outright (simply because its so old they don't offer financing, bummer), and I do have relatives/my father that have the ability to work on these monster mobile homes and are familiar with their engines.

A lot of people I know are telling me 'you know its harder than you think' and I don't know.. I don't think they actually know themselves. It's been a long time coming idea of mine to do something like this, because I can't afford to buy a house and I can't just go out and get a better job.. I'm not stable enough for that. But I'm stable enough to own more vehicles, and maybe a vehicle that I can live in comfortably isn't a bad deal.

 

[Cadillac]

I have never heard of free parking anywhere, however I can tell you my experience with RV's because we ha...

Walmart, cabelas, public land in the southwest. A lot of other places if you can stealth it, but a huge motor home likely will not be stealth camping.

The less you run a vehicle consistently, the more likely it is going to break down due to various things.
I'm not really worried about electricity, I'll be living off grid and if I need it.. I have a generator. The propane heater I will be using have their own battery powered start, if I need to use a standalone one at all.

If I could afford a tiny house, I'd buy one. But I have a budget and no one sells a tiny house with a kitchen, bed, waste tanks, water tanks, toilet shower, etc that can be driven for around 4,000 dollars. It doesn't happen.

I have no problems taking care of vehicles, I can redo roofs no problem. The costs of a motor home are significantly less, especially if you're living in Maine :c

 

[Rumors]

Generators require maintenance every 100 hours. They routinely break down... Just speaking from experience here but it may not be what you want to hear. They also require fuel and just because it seems cheap right now it certainly won't stay that way. Diesel is more expensive...

 

[Cadillac]

Generators require maintenance every 100 hours. They routinely break down... Just speaking from experienc...

Which honestly doesn't bother me, of course things have a life expectancy? I come from a family that we fix it if it "breaks", we're all mechanically inclined and I'm certainly no exception (but I am exceptional at smaller vehicles). "Breaking" for me is when something isn't running as expected. I wouldn't run anything unless I feel it's running smoothly, that's the guaranteed way to make sure it doesn't actually break down. I have a lot of success in working with large photo printers because I can identify what's going on with them before the computer program even knows.

I won't be using a generator full time, probably not more than a few hours every couple days if that.. I have other places my electronics can recharge at. I'll likely not have an onboard generator, but I do have an older small "one gallon" gas powered generator that has been in my family since the early 90s. Still reliable, easy to fix (it is small) and my father knows the ins and outs of it more than enough to show me how to repair it (he just bought a larger one for power outages).

But that's fine, fuel costs will be fuel costs. Honestly I'll be looking at a solar array as soon as possible, no way am I dealing with the sound of a generator for the rest of my time that I exist in RVs.

 

[Crow]

There's a great book on how to make a good living in an RV. I'm hoping to downsize in about eight years. I've already gone from 3,000sqft to 900sqft condo. This place is paid for so it can be my home base I guess.

 

[Lucycat]

So - RV is Road Vehicle? Residential Vehicle?
Here a mobile home needs transporting on the back of a lorry, that does not sound like what you are referring to. A motor home is a all-in-one. A van and a home combined. I think that is what you mean. Although I thought they were designed for holidays rather than living.

So every day when you go to work or school you will take your home with you. As a large vehicle they will be very expensive in fuel although I understand it is far cheaper in America. I also believe almost all your vehicles are automatic rather than manual gears. That also cranks up fuel consumption.

Here sites for motor homes are holiday spaces and are at least £10 per night. Free off road parking is frowned upon. If you stay in the vehicle on one (free) site for prolonged periods you will be moved on by the local authority.

What about bathroom facilities? Does your new purchase have all that is required and if so where will you empty the sewage tank?

It sounds like you have already made your decision.