7 Things We Wish We Knew BEFORE Starting RV Life FULL-TIME (1 month on the road)

Comments · 787

• LL

  @LloydandMandy · 3 years ago (edited) · pinned

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• CH

  @CharlesCornettFL · 3 years ago

  I think you are missing the real anti-rain solution. We <b>live</b> outside our camper under an awning and screen room. Inside is for sleeping, shower, and restroom. You need a great awning (not necessarily a traditional roll up awning), two nice chairs, and the ability to cook outdoors. You&apos;ll thank me.

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• MI

  @michaelwalters7110 · 3 years ago (edited)

  Welcome to the nomad life newbies. Hope all works out well for you on your journey. As a 17 year full time veteran nomad myself I would like to point out &nbsp;something many never consider. Milage and terrain. Why do I mention these items you may be asking. Well simply put RV&apos;s are typically &nbsp;constructed to travel from a &nbsp;flat, level storage area to a flat level RV pad at a park. The materials used to construct the cabinets and walls are not as rugged as you may believe. Running the roads and taking rough dirt or gravel roads can do significant structural damage in areas you cannot see because it is behind a wall or appliance. Think of each travel day as subjecting your house to a magnitude 8.5 earthquake. Everything within your RV shakes and bounces at that level for the entire duration of the journey. &nbsp;Upper storage compartments are particularly susceptible to this type of damage. Put only light objects in overhead bins. To prolong the lifespan of your RV travel on good roads when possible and take rough roads slow and careful. Also drive less, camp more. Sometimes sitting in one place for a couple weeks can help if you find cost of fuel to be an issue. Plan your moves so you can find an area that allows you to stay longer periods then just a few days. &nbsp;Freecampites.net is a good resource. Find it online or in the app store. Go forth and make memories. Be safe, have fun and be good to one another. God Bless. (Edited for spelling)

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• AV

  @AVFTeam1 · 3 years ago

  Full timed it with my ex for 3 years, and have continued for another 2. Biggest item I can&apos;t stress enough is get a cheap Chinese diesel heater for your primary heat source, and FORGET the propane one! diesel heat is cheap, and DRY~ it will dry out the RV no matter how much moisture you introduce with cooking or showering~ It&apos;s the best tip I can offer! Strap a 5 gallon to the bumper or something for your fuel source, but otherwise diesel heater is the only way to go!

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• 95

  @951WoodworkDesigns-bx4kn · 3 years ago

  I used to live full-time in an RV and loved every minute of it. I especially liked the rain as I lived the noise of the rain pounding on the RV roof. Yes, if you wanted to go out and explore it’s a bummer, but it didn’t really bother me. I had a 34’ Class A and lived alone, so had plenty of space and enjoy doing nothing but reading, writing, watching movies, learning to play the guitar and just enjoyed sitting and looking outside. I also enjoyed taking naps, but also worked full-time. <br><br>I understand the RV Life app is a great resource for finding water, dump areas and places to stay. Having a dehumidifier like you have is necessary to avoid the damp and wet interior. It’s amazing how much water can be drawn from the air in a short period of time. Installing water filters and even a UV light filter is a must. It allows you to drink water from almost anywhere. The only thing I didn’t like about full-time living in an RV was when I was parked somewhere for a length if time and had to load up everything to get water, propane and empty my tanks. Doing these things are very easy, it’s just having to leave a campsite to do them sucked, along with going to a laundromat, which I typically only did while driving somewhere, which is when I’d also go grocery shopping. <br><br>I wish I had solar panels, but they weren’t a thing back when I was living in my RV, so I had a generator. There’s nothing like trying to stealth camp and running a generator! I made it work though. Now generators are pretty quite, not enough to stealth camp, but for all other areas. <br><br>Well I wish you guys the best. It can be a wonderful life traveling and living full-time in an RV. It’s just far different and you face different problems than you do living in a home. A lot of people adjust to it and love it, but many simply can’t do it and go back to a traditional home. I only gave it up because I loved a gal who didn’t want to live in an RV at all. We enjoyed going out on vacation in it, but she wouldn’t live in it. Now, we are approaching retirement and she’s interested in buying an RV and traveling the US where we live as there is so much to see and do. She still won’t full-time, but she’s willing to go out for one to three months at a time. So our adventure awaits us!

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• MI

  @Miz-Newsy · 2 years ago

  We relied heavily on Facebook RV groups, especially for the type of RV we have. Very welcoming community.

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• WA

  @walterjohnson9766 · 1 year ago

  Guys 40 yrs ago I took my uncles Toyota camper n a girl camping. Drank that rv water. We were never so sick thank God we didn&apos;t die. Good lesson

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• MA

  @maketaco6683 · 2 years ago

  (1) RV water unusable, use bottled water only &nbsp;(2) moisture (3) rain makes RV feel small, feel trapped (4) difficult to find parking space overnight (5) difficult to find water for RV water tanks (6) emptying gray/black tanks &nbsp;, use TST Max to clean water (7) learn RV stuff , find experienced RV people.

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• TI

  @timgillman · 3 years ago

  You can add bleach to your 2/3 tank of water before driving for a few hours. Then run it out of all the faucets and shower line for a while. Then open the tank valve on the bottom and empty it completely. You might want to fill and flush the water system again without th bleach. That will kill the things that grow in the water system. I still would buy drinking water. Emptying the black and gray tanks isn&apos;t too bad, but sometimes its hard to find a place to dump unless you are paying for a campground or pay a dump fee.

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• TH

  @TheJibemeister · 3 years ago

  Don&apos;t skimp on preventative maintenance. Major repairs are VERY expensive, worse if it is out of the blue. Not many places even want to work on RV&apos;s and many are so busy you might be lucky to even get an appointment for a month or more. <br>Towing is usually very expensive. Plus, if RV is immobile, how do you live with that? Have back up plans.

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• SC

  @scottr4869 · 2 years ago

  Parking.... learn to love it, make it the challenge of the day. I It&apos;s all new and exciting &nbsp;at 1st, but there&apos;s Alot of down time. Little things become Big things. The Journey &nbsp;I tell Ya, The Journey is usually the best part. Take those back roads, lose Your watch and calander, get lost in the Adveture. &nbsp;I missed so much the first 2 years, by racing to get somewhere and missing all the in- betweens. Ater 7 yrs of Vanlife it was nice to hear complaints about the things I have forgotten about.😂<br>Best Advice....<br>Slow Your Roll!!!<br>And Enjoy the Ride.<br><br>Happy Travels

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• AD

  @adriannurse1502 · 3 years ago

  A couple of good ideas. 1. Hire and RV inspector to look over your RV before you buy it. 2. Make a checklist of stuff to do when getting set to travel/drive. If you want water just remember you can always head south to warmer climate where everything is on and available during the winter. It is 86 degrees and bright sunshine here in Florida today.

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