Committed or trying it out?

oknownew@gmx.com · Jul 16, 2018

I am curious what the makeup of this board is -- I mean are people who are actually 'RVing', are they the majority or minority? I would guess (this is pure speculation) that if one made three rough divisions it would go something like this...

1. full-time or long-term mobile livers -- 10%

2. part-time or short-term mobile livers -- 70%

3. thinking/planning stage right now - 20%

Not making any judgments here. I am guessing based on my approximations when I operated a niche-market travel newsletter (70+-% wannabees, rather than expats, even I was a seasonal traveller). I haven't done a serious read of posts to guesstimate the percentages here.

I am also curious how many people have 'burned their bridges' as in if they owned a house they sold it or rented it out rather than keeping it as back-up. Another aspect of being sold out to the concept I suppose is not even keeping a storage rental unit. Someone pointed out to me the other day that my idea of renting a unit at $70 per month and keeping all my non-essential belongings in it isn't sensible, as if I keep it for a year, I could replace everything for less than the cost of rental!

BTW, I am in category #3.

ratfink56 · Jul 16, 2018

My van is nearly done and I will leave when the weather cools off. For me it's probably more a means to an end. I would like to move to Mexico and wanted a vehicle to explore with. I can't see myself living full time in this van. I would have to have something I can stand in.

Plus I have a wife and a house. I don't know if I can pry her out of it. We're retired and I want to travel. She might consider an RV but don't know that she'd ever go full time. She has no problem with me roaming around. She is a very understanding wife.

bullfrog · Jul 16, 2018

Sold house, no rented storage, traveled two years, live in stationary motor home 6 - 9 months and travel 6 - 9 months in different camper/home built RVs ocassional house boat trips.

Presteaux! · Jul 16, 2018

I am in negotiations for a trailer right now. I will be selling my house. However, I won't be hitting the road unless I secure a source of income--which is also in the works. If all comes together, I will be hitting the road.

If I don't secure that source of income, I will be looking for some property--I don't know how big--and trying to live "off the grid."

frater secessus · Jul 16, 2018

I have finished the functional parts of my build, and there's a good chance I will be full-time in it by September.

I will need to work for a few more years until then pension kicks in. At that point I will start snowbirding.

DannyB1954 · Jul 16, 2018

You could do this question as a poll to get easy numbers. Not sure how they are done as I have not done one.

I have lived in a 18' box truck but during most of my adult life I was a full time boat dweller. Then a full time RV dweller with weekend trips to a mountain cabin. Then full time house. Now I part time RV but most of the year is in a house. To be honest it is more like I rv during a vacation.
I am retired, so all of my time is really a vacation but a month or so a year is in a van.

Everyone praises the mobile life, but it also has many disadvantages. If one has the financial resources to do both, (Mobile and S&B), then you get the advantages of both. The way I did it was buy a rural house about an hour away from a big city, (Las Vegas in my case), to keep that cost down. My mortgage is less than $400 a month including taxes and insurance. Some people spend more than that on fuel trying to stay one step ahead of getting the boot. If I feel like staying I can, if I feel like going I can.

The last two years I spent my travel time donating my time at van builds. This year It will be spent just on travel and sight seeing. If I get bored sitting in a forest I can come home and work on a project.

perj28 · Jul 16, 2018

We're in the third group, we can't afford to continue renting. I will be able to leave a couple boxes with family, but we're selling all our furniture & appliances. We are currently planning on this being a temporary thing, like 3-10 years. We'd like the kids to go to a school for at least middle school and high school. But we're wanting a tiny house when we've saved enough to buy a little land, so getting rid of the vast majority of our belongings will further that end. If we love it, then we might roam during the summers & then after the kids are grown.

bob91yj · Jul 16, 2018

My wife has been wanting to try the RV lifestyle for a few years. Last July we finally pulled the trigger, we bought a travel trailer and sold our house to our son. Currently we are stationary full timers. We've had a slide in pop up camper in our truck for years, we use it when we get the urge to travel.

We're both in our late 50's, still working. Our ultimate goal is to have a piece of dirt in the San Felipe area of Baja and another piece of dirt somewhere in the US. We'll probably travel for 6 months or so per year once we retire.

We're fortunate enough that we were able to afford a 33' travel trailer with 3 slide's and we found an awesome RV park to live in that has no length of stay restrictions. We've been at it for a year now with no regrets.

lenny flank · Jul 16, 2018

Three years fulltiming for me. Been from coast to coast and border to border.

ganchan · Jul 16, 2018

Stage 2 at the moment. Taking multiple extended road trips per year (heading out for NM tomorrow, in fact) while I iron out all the practical issues that make themselves known along the way. also uncertain as to whether I might want to scale up to a van (for more of a live-in experience) or scale down to a car (for maximum fuel efficiency and greater range).

Might wait a few years until my elderly parents are both gone, just to spare them the freakout and spare me the arguments. (They're obsessed with the "three Ss" -- safety, security, and status quo.)

MrNoodly · Jul 16, 2018

I've been full timing for five years with no sticks-n-bricks base, nothing in storage anywhere, and no desire to live any other way.

frater secessus · Aug 18, 2018

ganchan said:
Taking multiple extended road trips per year (heading out for NM tomorrow, in fact) while I iron out all the practical issues that make themselves known along the way.

Preach, brother! It's a feedback loop: build, test, build, test...

Might wait a few years until my elderly parents are both gone, just to spare them the freakout and spare me the arguments.

Gentle reminder: at that point a few of your own years will be gone, too.

Canine · Aug 18, 2018

Start a poll. If you don't do it in a day or two, I'll put one up. Am curious of the numbers myself.

If I waited to live my life because someone wouldn't approve of it, I would never be here.

capt_caveman · Aug 18, 2018

I was forced in to it the first time
I did a year in my little truck and I loved it.

I had a very old Mexican woman tell me (once I start this il have a hard time going back)
and she was so right .
Im ready to pull out as soon as my funds come in

I went from this

to this

Van der Waals · Aug 18, 2018

#3 over here. Planning to burn bridges. Can't do this stationary repetitive factory life-style anymore. I bought my van, gave a 6 months notice at work and plan to live off my meager savings for as long as it lasts. Getting rid of all my crap, selling my car, etc. while I learn the ways of the vandweller. Then after that...I don't know, find some outdoors work or else live off nuts, berries and roadkill.

The Buddha said, "household life is crowded and dusty; life gone forth is wide open."

jacqueg · Aug 18, 2018

ganchan said:
Might wait a few years until my elderly parents are both gone, just to spare them the freakout and spare me the arguments. (They're obsessed with the "three Ss" -- safety, security, and status quo.)

Don't wait too long. I was 65 when my final parent died.

My poor mother started having to get used to me being weird about the time I turned 12. She never stopped trying to get me to be "normal", and I never stopped following my own drummer. No, it wasn't much fun for either of us, but - it turned out to be a self-limiting problem once I was an adult. If she got too far out of hand, I left.

If your situation really doesn't allow for you to start full-time while they're alive, then why not kind of ease into it? Get yourself a rig and start doing a lot of both short and long trips.

crofter · Aug 18, 2018

I suppose you would call me a part timer, since nothing lasts forever.

I have been a full timer from time to time, but then I get fulltime employment and stay in an area where I am working. I have owned land or places to live in the past, but nothing lasts forever.

Most recently in 2016, I became disabled (again) and then eventually relocated. Then I was full timing while looking for work, and then I found seasonal work and was fulltiming while working the off grid location. Then I was full timing while looking for work. Then I got work (again) and now I am working fulltime (again, but not seasonal this time), and doing a van build since there is very little housing here but lots of places to camp. And the RV parks here do not allow vans, so you have to do off grid or stealth.

Technically though, I'm retired.

During my travels from time to time I rent a room or a storage for convenience. My current storage is a 5X5 in a mountain town nearby off grid work location, and very useful for keeping all your tools out of camp where they will be stolen (in this particular location that is a problem). I am keeping the storage going for my tools and other gear I don't want to carry all the time, although I am not currently up there all the time. It's true I could just buy the tools and gear again, but some of it is hard to find, would need to be assembled, etc. I like being able to go there and just grab what I need without shopping for anything. I also like patronizing the local businesses during my visits to the mountain town so that they are still in business there the next time I go there.

I am curious as to why you are interested in categorizing the forum members?

I am on here to learn minimalist living and vandwelling hacks, and to benefit from the many other things this community teaches me. And also the get togethers are great. ~crofter

C-Cat · Aug 18, 2018

Kind of between 1 and 2... my wife and I are currently living full-time in our Class C (previously 18 month of traveling in a huge Class A diesel pusher) and we're perfectly set up for boondocking with solar and everything. I'm self employed and can do my work anywhere I have internet / cellular connection, but my wife is right now working a location based job, so that put our travels on hold and we're renting an RV space with hookups. Every few weeks we take short trips, but I guess we're not nomadic anymore. We're in Arizona and frequently visit events like Jamie's Van build and the RTR, so we still feel very close to the community...

-Chris

Van-Tramp · Aug 19, 2018

I part timed for almost two years the went full time at the end of 2011. I didnt need to do this (no lost house or anything) just enjoyed it and wanted the go further. Ive run my own online business since 2005 with only a moderate income, but enough to get by. Helps that ive been debt free since 2004.

I have no house, no second car, nothing. What I dont use daily is sold, donated, or trashed. Only a few items (docs, old photos, etc) are in a tiny storage unit I share with my girl.

I move locations weekly or faster and try to go to knew places as often as possible. Ive been all over the lower 48, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, and Baja. I plan to be sailing in a couple years

GypsyJan · Aug 19, 2018

I am at stage 1.5...I convert the RAV4 to cardwell mode for camping and road trips but still have the S&B til spring of 2023 when I will retire and sell and become a full timer.

Committed or trying it out?

Help Support Van Living Forum:

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!