Nearly right after we started RVing, we fell in love with the lifestyle and decided that we would eventually make the switch to full-time RVing.
However, we had some things holding us back, so we decided to wait until 2016 to make full-time RVing a reality. While we only went home for a total of 3 weeks in a 7 month period, we technically weren’t full-time RVers because we still had a house full of stuff.
Well, that’s all changed now! We now live in our RV full-time, and it’s great.
We love the life we’re living, and we can actually picture ourselves doing this for many years.
It’s still weird to think about, and I still wake up every morning and say, “Wes, we LIVE in our RV full-time! Weird, right?” That’s followed by some giggles and a huge smile.
I’m sure he’s tired of me doing that.
Here are some full-time RVing updates and how our life has changed since we started RVing full-time.
We bought a new RV!
Okay, so this will definitely sound crazy, but we bought a new RV. Yep, we traded in our first and got a new one.
Already.
Yes, I know how that sounds.
Now that we are living in our RV full-time, we needed something bigger and one that can tow a car.
Our last RV was great, but a 24 foot RV with two people and two dogs is just a little too small for full-time RVing.
We now have a 2016 Winnebago Brave 31C. It’s just under 33 feet and has a ton of space. Plus, it can tow a car, meaning we don’t have to drive our home around town whenever we need to get something.
We love it, and we are so much happier now that we are in a larger RV. It has a big living area, an oven (YES!), a residential fridge, a separate bedroom area, and a big bathroom.
Moving everything into storage was a fun task – not!
Even though we had spent hardly any time at home since we bought our first RV, it still felt weird to put everything into storage.
And, it was something we were not looking forward to at all. We were dreading it nearly all of January and the beginning of February.
We donated and gave away more than half of our belongings, but we still had quite a few things we wanted to store.
Most of the items we were storing had to be placed in climate control storage, which is expensive, so we promised ourselves that we would fit everything into one storage unit. The problem with that was the biggest climate controlled unit we could find was a 6×15.
That’s quite small!
Plus, it was $185 a month.
Due to the cost, we did not want to get more than one, because that would be a lot of money spent yearly on things we would never touch.
We ended up hiring a moving company so we didn’t have to play Tetris in our storage unit. We came very close to needing two, but they made it work!
I’m so glad we no longer have a house, because we no longer have to worry about those extra bills and all of our stuff.
Explaining to people that we don’t have a house is interesting.
As young RVers, we often get asked questions about our situation. Makes sense, I would want to know too!
Some people look at us like we are insane. If we go to the store and someone asks us where we’re from (for some reason, this comes up a lot) and we tell them we live at an RV park or campground, we get some interesting stares. Some people even feel bad for us.
Ha, if only they knew that we chose this lifestyle, and we are having a blast!
It’s completely different when we’re asked this question at an RV park or campground, though. I have passed out so many business cards, and I already need to order more.
Working on the road is possible, and I wish more people realized this.
This leads to my next update…
Working on the road is still going well.
Being able to travel and work at the same time is a fantastic thing.
I almost feel like I am somewhat retired because of how much I love my business and that we travel full-time. It’s a great feeling!
I am still working on two main things: working ahead and affiliate income. I’ve fallen a tad behind when it comes to working ahead, with me only being around two weeks ahead of my blog posting schedule. Affiliate income, on the other hand, is going very well, and I have no complaints about that.
Overall, I have really enjoyed working on the road, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I am having a great time seeing new things, meeting new people, spending more time with Wes and our dogs, and more.
In case you’re new here, you can read more about how I earn a living on the road.
Do you think we’re crazy for living in an RV? Are you interested in full-time RVing or traveling full-time?
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Here’s another vote for you to keep it up. I’m 65 and preparing to stop working. I don’t want to just sit in a house and wait to die! Looking for a coach and preparing to hit the road. My wife is less than enthusiastic (so far) but I think once we get into it, the light bulb will turn on. We have always enjoyed traveling together, even our camping trips. Thinking about all the changes of scenary makes me all the more enthusiastic. I can cook a meal and clean a floor just like anyone else so that we can both enjoy our time seeing the country.
It took my husband quite some time to convince me to RV, but now I LOVE it. Keep trying 🙂
Glad you love it but how do you keep down odor?
What odor are you talking about? We’ve never had an issue.
Whoa, I don’t think I realized that you had two dogs in the RV as well! 🙂
I’m so curious to know where you’re traveling. Have you considered creating a map here on the blog and dropping pins for places you’ve been? I realize you may not necessarily want to post your whereabouts publicly, but I think it would be really cool for people to see the general areas you’ve been to — maybe you could time-lag it by a few weeks? Just a thought!
Yep! We have two dogs in here with us 🙂
That’s a good idea! I’ll look into doing this.
Once we are full-time RVers I anticipate a lot of questions and strange looks, especially with three young kids. Heck, we’re already getting them! So encouraging to hear that working on the road is going well. Hoping it will be as easy for my husband, except for the distraction of kids 🙂 hope it feels liberating to move all your stuff out of your home. We recently accepted an offer on our house and close in a few weeks. Selling our house is a major step to becoming a Fulltime family. Excited to keep following your adventure!
It felt SO GOOD to move into the RV and get rid of all of our stuff 🙂
That’s so awesome your business has allowed you to RV full time! Most people probably don’t get to travel that much until they’re a lot older. Sounds fun to me! You get to travel with the comforts of your home with you.
Yes!
I am enjoying every time I read about your RVing adventures. Nice upgrade too. The picture of your new RV looks like it has a side extension. It reminds me of my folks RV that increase the walks space inside. Anyway look forward to future adventures!
Yes, we have two slides on our RV. It makes it so much bigger!
Awesome, Michelle! I think this sounds like a lot of fun without kids, but a possible disaster after kids! It would be hard to make it work with a family, but my husband has a secret dream of traveling around the country in an RV. I’ll make sure he doesn’t read this – he’ll be jealous!
Haha, you should try it! There are lots of families who do it 🙂 Maybe I should tell Greg that…
My favorite thing about watching this full-time RVing lifestyle take shape for you is how well and how quickly!) you’ve been able to execute your dreams. And, of course, I love the sneak peeks on Instagram!
Haha thanks!
We love our RV but I don’t think I could ever live in one full time. Good for you, though, glad that you’re making it work!
Thanks! It’s quite easy 🙂
Michelle,
When I was very young, every summer vacation my siblings and my parents went to different areas of the east coast with a pop up trailer. Mostly for historically reasons by visiting well known places, like Lake Champlain for one. I feel that is one reason I like to travel whenever I can. A very close friend of mine travels to Florida in the winter with their RV and I have mentioned to my friend that she should start writing about her adventures. Last fall her and her husband went to Michigan all the way to Upper P.I. in their RV. Before they bought their RV, they would spend the winters on their sailboat sailing to the Caribbean.
I wish I had started writing when I was taking the summer trips with my family, it would make a good story. I would love to travel more and make a living at it with my interest in photography. Just a small RV would suit me fine. Just take off on the spur of the moment and know that there are places interesting to visit and make a living at it.
Small RVs are great because you can squeeze into more places 🙂
That is cool, you should think about where you want to establish your residency for income tax purposes.
Already did that 🙂
Congratulations on your new RV – it’s lovely! I think your lifestyle is very romantic and what better time to live so freely than when you are young and free? : ) Enjoy yourself and thanks for sharing the good times!
Thank you!
Good morning Michelle,
I would love to see you put out a You Tube video with a step by step on affiliate income. I have read about it, but I am one of those men who need to see a demonstration to truly understand what in the heck is going on. To see you click on your screen and explain what each link is and how it can help you.
My partner and I are going to be retiring soon and want to live the life fantastic in our RV, but would like some additional income to boot. You and Heath Padgett are such an inspiration to us!!!!
Just a suggestion… I would even pay for an interactive online class from you.. Just sayin’.
Thanks for the info and for sharing your new and exciting life with all of us envious people.
Much luck to you, your, and the pooches!!!!
Fred & Chuck
Phoenix, AZ
I do have a book on affiliate income that I am working on. I’ll let you know when it is ready 🙂
Awesome! Thanks Fred for the wonderful comment :).
Girl, you are living my dream. I can only hope and pray that I get to do what you are doing one day. You are not crazy, you are crazy lucky! Though luck had nothing to do with it.
Thank you 🙂
I don’t think you’re crazy at all, but that’s probably because we also seriously considered it, too. It was on our “possibilities” list for housing options. Our reasons were different, however. Since we were trying to save up for a house in Los Angeles, we thought living in an RV for a while might save us money in the long run. I also liked the idea of being able to travel in the summer (one great benefit of being a teacher!) However, we’ve opted for something else that others might think is a little strange: a manufactured home. I enjoy reading about your RV adventures!
Awesome!
My husband and I live in an RV too. We bought our house young (at age 22) and lived in it for 4 years. We live close to the beach but found that anytime we had off work, we were cleaning or doing house projects and not really enjoying life. My husband has always wanted to live in an RV but when he first mentioned the idea to me I wasn’t so sure about it. After thinking about how much money we could save and how much easier it would be to maintain, I quickly got on board with the idea. People look at us funny when we tell them too. I’ve finally started replying with “We figured why wait until we retire to travel? We are going to do it now why we are young and able to enjoy it”. That usually shuts them up! It was one of the best decisions we have ever made.
This sounds just like us, minus living near the beach haha!