Welcome to a lovely guest post on the topic of living in an RV (recreational vehicle). This topic was of great interest for us and we think you might be interested to know more about what it means to live in an RV – from first-hand! That’s why we asked Kayla and Bill Widmer, experienced in RV lifestyle, to share with us the magic of RVing.
For some, RVing is more than a hobby…
…it’s a lifestyle.
Bill and I lived out of an RV for a good chunk of our twenties and we learned so much while we were on (and off) the road.
Today, I’d like to share my story about what it’s like to live in an RV.
Buckle your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
Why we decided to live in an RV
Bill and I met through mutual friends and, before we physically met in person, we texted nearly every day. I remember one text above all others:
“If you’re going to be with me, you’re going to have to keep up with me.”
That text shocked me when I first read it. Keep up with him? More like he should keep up with me! It was only after hanging out with him for a few times that I understood what he meant.
Bill’s a very spontaneous person. One day, he would want to be in a hammock in between two palm trees and the next, he’ll want total solitude while in a cabin in the woods. I knew that the small city we lived in (Scranton, PA) would never satisfy him and, if I’m being honest, it would never satisfy me either.
The only problem? We had no clue where we wanted to live!
We grew up in Pennsylvania, our roots are there, and it’s scary to branch off. But I’m so freaking glad we did.
We bought an RV when Bill graduated college, sold all of our belongings, said goodbye to our friends and family, and set off in a giant rig to Maine (my all time favorite state). It was thrilling. It was terrifying. It was unlike anything we’d ever done before.
But we wanted to find “home”. You know how some people talk about their hometown and gush about how great it is?
We wanted that, too! The only way we could think of to find that special place was to RV (though you can find your special place without RVing – we also wanted to travel).
To sum it up, Bill and I decided to travel for the following reasons:
- We were broke and thought that RVing would save us money
- We wanted to find our true “home”
- We craved more adventures
- We wanted more for ourselves
Living in an RV full-time was a one-of-a-kind experience for us. That said, I’m not sure we’d ever do it again. We’d certainly travel in an RV for extended vacations but we would never live in one again. You’ll find out why we would never live in an RV full-time again soon, but first, let’s take a look at the pros of living in an RV!
What we loved about living in an RV
Before we dive into this section, I want to point out that our RVing experience may differ from yours. My opinions are purely that – my opinions! With that out of the way, here are a few things I absolutely loved about living in an RV:
- Freedom. Have you ever woke up one morning and thought “I wish I could relocate my house. I want to live by the mountains, ocean, etc.”? With an RV, you can do just that – relocate your rig whenever the heck you want.
- Cleaning is so much easier in an RV. Because RVs are small, you’ll be able to tidy up messes in less than an hour. This includes vacuuming, sweeping/mopping, dishes… okay, maybe you’ll need two hours. But that’s better than a whole day, right?
- You meet so many awesome people. Bill and I met people that lived on a sailboat for 10 years – they traveled around the world on it! We met people who had been RVing their whole lives. We met people who RVed in other countries. We met people who had no interest in RVing, but were still super cool. We’ll never forget any of them (or their insanely amazing stories).
- You’ll get more in touch with yourself (and nature). Want to find out who you really are? Go RVing. Spend time in nature. Relocate your RV until you find a place that makes you feel immensely grateful then find out why you feel grateful. I truly believe you learn more about yourself when you’re out exploring than anywhere else.
- The experience is unreal. Imagine being able to visit your hometown and telling your family & friends all about your journey. Imagine sharing pictures with them and watching their mouths drop to the floor and their eyes tear up from how beautiful certain destinations are. It’s one thing to travel for yourself, but being able to share your journey with those closest to you? Priceless.
The challenges of RV living
Again, my opinions are purely my own; you may have fewer challenges when it comes to RVing, or you may have more. I’m being 100% authentic with you here, though. The following reasons are the reasons Bill and I would never want to live in an RV full-time again.
- Unless you have a giant rig (such as a fifth wheel), you’ll feel cramped after a while. We sold nearly all of our belongings before RVing and we still felt cramped. Our rig was 32”, too – not exactly small. The lack of space caused more arguments than anything else.
- The internet is usually really crappy. Even if the campground has WiFi. Even if you have a WiFi booster. The internet is crappy. Bill and I work from home (on our laptops) and waiting two minutes for an email to load is the absolute worst. We’re also huge gamers – which we’re not able to do much of when in an RV.
- Campground fees and gas prices add up quickly. I’m almost positive it was over $250 to fill the gas tank the one time Bill and I were traveling. Next time you complain about spending $40-$60 to fill your tank, be grateful. Campground fees add up, too. Some campgrounds charge over $1,000 to stay there per month. Is your rent cheaper than that? Another reason to be grateful.
- We missed our family. Phone and Skype calls are great and all, but nothing comes close to seeing your family in person. When you’re traveling, you’ll miss out on random things that you wouldn’t normally be bothered by. Hearing that your family went to dinner and then bowling will stab you in the heart and make your eyes well up (at least, that’s what happened to me).
- Pets in an RV can be a huge hassle. Luckily, we only had our cat Luna when we lived in an RV full-time. However, we really wanted to get a dog. I can only imagine what it would have been like with both a dog and a cat in an RV. (Though some people have that many pets and kids living full-time in an RV!)
As I said, my reasons may differ from yours. These are my personal cons to living in an RV – if they don’t bother you much, you might be fit for the RV lifestyle!
It honestly comes down to your personal wants/needs.
For example, Bill and I really want to build our first home and eventually start a family. Even if we didn’t want to do those two things though, we wouldn’t want to live in an RV full-time. Thanks to RVing, we were able to find our perfect “home”. We know what we want (as well as what we don’t want) now. I’m not sure we would have ever found that out if it wasn’t for RVing.
How to find out if the RV lifestyle is for you
Honestly, you’re not going to know if the RV lifestyle is for you unless you give it a try yourself! The good news is you don’t have to go out and buy an RV in order to figure this out. Instead, you can rent an RV to try the lifestyle out for yourself. You can even get a long-term rental for several months, and renting can help you decide which type of RV and which floorplans are right for you.
The best advice I could give you is this: RVing isn’t something you should do just for the heck of it. It’s a huge lifestyle change and, without proper planning, can be the most expensive mistake of your life (if you buy one before you know whether or not you even like RVing). Here’s an interesting read about the current state of the RV industry.
Think of it like this – do you just want to see more of your country (e.g. road trip the West Coast), or do you want to travel the world? You certainly can’t bring your rig across the ocean (okay, you can but it’ll be so freaking expensive to transport on a carrier ship and you can rent from the country you want to visit so it’s pointless to do that).
Regardless of what you choose to do, I hope this article helped shine a new light on RVing for you. Feel free to leave any questions you may have in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!
Kayla Widmer and her husband Bill love RVing. They write about the RV lifestyle at The Wandering RV. Follow their adventures on Pinterest!
