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Has anyone on this board gone across the country in an RV and lived in the RV? I had a Dr. friend who did abortions who hid out from right-to-lifers for 6 years this way, and he seemed to not mind it.
I got to wondering if anyone on here has done that, and how hard was it on you?
Guessing people shower at campsites (eeewwwww icky?) and cook in the RV, but I was curious as to how living like that is? Supposedly there are people who do this in Florida all the time, moving around to another site when necessary.
Opinions?
I wonder what this would cost you yearly to do? And how many repairs there would be to the RV? Surely the costs to fix an RV would be higher than a car but I have no real idea.
Well, we've gone cross country in our RV, but not full time. The longest we've been gone from home is 3 months...and that's plenty for me. We have a motorhome, but I don't know what type RV you had in mind.
*Showering at campsites: Most of the campgrounds where we've stayed have had decent restrooms/showers. (We prefer State Parks or private parks that are Good Sam approved.) But since we have a shower in our motorhome, I use that if I'm not comfortable using the campground's - or if I'm just lazy and want to stay in!
*Yes, we cook in the RV (have a gas stove and microwave) or we do something on the grill outside.
*Repairs to an RV are expensive. Fortunately my husband does a lot of regular preventive maintenance - but most people have to hire someone to do even oil changes, etc. Two years ago we had transmission problems in Colorado and had to go to a trucking co. repair. Thankfully we didn't have to have another transmission (as 2 other campers did who were also there!). They let us hook up in the parking lot and we just went out doing daily things while they worked on the motorhome. STill cost us around $600 but that's a whole bunch better than a new transmission! (I think a rebuilt one for ours would have been around $3000.)
*Other repairs can vary -- preventive maintenance is essential. We still get water leaks occasionally; had a couple of blowouts; had a generator problem in South Dakota. (In July!)
*Having an emergency road insurance is a good thing.
*It isn't cheap to go cross country (or on any long trip) in an RV. Campsites can cost from about $12 - $60/nite. (I think the most we've ever paid was around $40 - 45 and that was at a resort, which we rarely do. You buy & prepare your own food so it's no more than if you were home. Gas/diesel is more expensive in most of the western states than in the south, so that's probaby our largest expenditure.
*We tow a smaller vehicle so we don't have to drive the motorhome around to all the sites -- and we go into places we could never take an RV. Love the backroads!
Thank for the interesting info. I got on a few RV websites, and was just surprised at the cost of repairs and all the problems with driving big rigs across country. And the cost of a good, new rv is the cost of a condo most places! I had no idea it was so expensive. This is not a cheap lifestyle, that is for sure.
My girlfriend from college and her husband rv around the country in a Silverstream. Now that I have found out how expensive this hobby is, I promise to quit making fun of them.
The best thing you can do is to go rent a motor home for a week. It's not that expensive. Just drive it up to the local lake and stay for a week. It's no longer camping out. It's just moving for the week. haha
I lived in a 5th wheel for 6 years. My company sent me to Portland, San Diego, Charleston, Pensacola, Texas, Norfolk, back to Portland, Charleston again, etc. 38 places in 6 years. Not practicle to find apartments, houses, extended stay hotels. Plus, with my own 5th wheel, I had my hobbies with me.
Expenses? Well, I spent no more then $400-$500 maintaining my 5th wheel.
I had two TV's, one big one in the living room, a smaller one in the bedroom. A garden tub, a nice shower, a kitchen that had a 4 burner stove, a double sink, side by side refridgerator, a microwave/convection oven. Plenty of cupboard space.
Decide to head down the road? Take about an hour and your moving out of the park. When you get to where you are going, about an hour and your drinking a toddy in the shade of your awning.
The one thing is cabin fever when your in something like that for long periods of time. Easily fixed. I had a big awning that I folded out. I bought a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet the same size and put it under the awning. Put out a couple of lawn chairs and a small table. Within minutes, you'll have neighbors over saying howdy. It's like that every day. Even if it's raining, your under the awning enjoying the rain. With that added space, there's no cabin fever.
Cost of RV lots? As mentioned above, but I'd say on the average, $25-$35 per night. Unless you stay for the month. Monthly rent averages $250-$350 per month. Most parks have a nice little store with essentials. They have propane available on site. A swimming pool. Playground for kids. Some have ponds and boat rentals. A lot of them have ponds and fishing and because it's on private land, no license is required.
But again. Check into renting one for a week. Get it early and spend a day or so loading dishes, clothes and food. Then head up to the local sites and enjoy yourself. It's nothing more then a small apartment but oh so much better because of the openess and the friendly people you'll meet.
jgussler, out of all those places you lived which one did you like the best and why? Just curious.
My worry about the RV thing is inconsiderate 'neighbors'. By that I mean noise, bonfires, music, etc. People can be incredibly obtuse about those things when they're on vacation. It's the main reason why I'd never go on an RV trip.
jgussler, out of all those places you lived which one did you like the best and why? Just curious.
My worry about the RV thing is inconsiderate 'neighbors'. By that I mean noise, bonfires, music, etc. People can be incredibly obtuse about those things when they're on vacation. It's the main reason why I'd never go on an RV trip.
I'd have to say, the Portland project. On the way into Portland, my son and I were kind of looking at RV parks. I finally told my son, let's go into Portland, find the shipyard so I know where it's at and then hunt a space. So we did. Once we found the shipyard, we crossed the Columbia river into Washington (only about 3 miles) and heading East on 14 looking for an RV Park. First one we found was 47 miles out of town. But we figured we'd park there for a week. That would give us time to find something closer.
It was so beautiful in the gorge and such a beautiful traffice free drive. I spent 13 months parked about 300 yards fromthe Columbia River and about 300 yards from Beacon Rock. We had elk walk through the park, a bear, cougars. Fishing was excellent. The view took your breath away every day. Was great.
Granted, the cost of rving isn' prohibitive...just more than I thought it was.
Sounds like those who are into rv's love the lifestyle, tho.
Well, one good thing is that you really DO get to sleep in your own bed every night! I prefer it over a motel...guess I've seen too many 60 Minutes on all the yuk in hotel rooms! I don't think I'd ever want to do it full time though -- I really like having a permanent address and "home" to come home to.
"Kathleen: My worry about the RV thing is inconsiderate 'neighbors'. By that I mean noise, bonfires, music, etc. People can be incredibly obtuse about those things when they're on vacation. It's the main reason why I'd never go on an RV trip."
We have camped hundreds of times and campers are the most respectful people I've ever been around. Just get an idea of the type campground it is -- that's one reason I like State/National Parks or Good Sam approved parks. But all parks have rules and regs and quiet hours.
My husband and I did a "Summer of Love 2000" trip. Got married in 1999, decided in February of 2000 to quit our jobs and go traveling.
We were gone from July-May 2001. We did live with relatives for a few months.
The experience was great!!!!! Here are some observations:
get a good motorhome. ours broke down soooooo many times. it seems like we spent so much time getting it fixed and not really traveling. and yes, it is expensive to fix. make sure you get good insurance-with towing. we had to get towed several times and we never even saw the bill for it. one time it was 200 miles that we got towed. (we were on the alaskan highway)
make it an adventure! even though we were broken down many times, we had a great time. was just another day to enjoy-one more day we were not working.
take time to do things you never do. i read a lot of books, we played a lot of games and just had nice quality time with each other.
we spent a lot of nights at walmart parking lots or other parking lots that we were allowed to stay in for free. that enabled us to stay traveling longer. ate a lot of hamburger helper! good inexpensive meal.
i would do it all again in a heartbeat! it could still be done now but a lot more impractical. we have 3 small children now. we we went it was just us and the dog. we have so many great memories!!!! just the other day i made another collage from that trip.
I am 63 and will retire at 66 am currently completing my BSN and will complete my Masters before I retire so I can teach online nursing students I am an RN of 27 years. I am doing this as it will allow me to supplement my social security well and hopefully allow me the freedom and financial means to by a class C motorhome and hit the road. I have wanted to travel all of my life and there are many places I want to see before I die and I feel this is the best way to do it. Can anyone out there who has done this give me some pointers and best places to see and how is living in a RV and in campgrounds. I have lived in an RV for 2 years but it was a park model and I didn't travel in it, but as a single person I think I would love it. But I also want to be safe and comfortable.
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(In July!) 
anyone have thoughts
