How Much Each Type Clothing When Full Time RVing

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

With mind working overtime right now, I got to thinking (dangerous past time for me LOL), a little ahead but was curious how much of each type of clothing you carried with you when Full Time RVing with the RV being your only home.

I understand that it's all dependant on various aspects such as weight/space capacity, and whether you were dedicated boondockers or spent most of your time on FHU's, had onboard washer or visited laundromats etc.

So out of curiosity maybe you can cut and paste this below and kindly share the way you rolled and with what personal items:

Onboard washer/FHU most of the time or went to laundromat and if so how often?

Male Versus Female (both sexes sharing appreciated)

Hiking Shoes/Trainers?  Soft Casual Shoes?   Formal Shoes?   Flip Flops/Sandals?  Mud Boots?   Regular Boots?   Others?

Socks?    Underwear?   Bras?    Vests/wife beaters/Tank Tops?

Tee-Shirts?  Casual Shirts/Blouses?  Other hotter weather type tops?

Cardigans, Sweaters?  Sweatshirts?  Other Type of outer tops for cooler temps?

Casual Jackets?   Formal Jackets?   Winter Warm Coats?   Spring/Fall Lighter Jackets?

Pants:   Leggings?   Tracksuit Bottoms?   Formal Dress Pants?   Capris?    Shorts?    Skorts?   Other?

Night Clothes:     Night Dresses?    PJ's?    Summer sets versus winter sets?

Housecoats?   Hats?   Gloves?

Anything else you can share that I might have missed?

Hoping this might be a valuable topic for many considering the FT lifestyle also ☺️

FTW. 

 

[Kirk W]

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Onboard washer/FHU most of the time or went to laundromat and if so how often?

We didn't have a washer/dryer and went to a laundromat about once a week. There were 2 of us, husband & wife. The required clothing is helped by our going south in winters.

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Hiking Shoes/Trainers?  Soft Casual Shoes?   Formal Shoes?   Flip Flops/Sandals?  Mud Boots?   Regular Boots?   Others?

Pam made custom shoe bags for each side of our bed to keep shoes. We each had hiking boots, tennis shoes, and a pair of dress shoes. I had flip-flops and she had slippers, we had tall rubber boots, kept in basement storage. I had 1 pair of cowboy boots & Pam a pair for dancing shes.(we were square dancers) I think that she had at least 1 other pair of shoes.

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Socks?    Underwear?   Bras?

We each had about 10 days of undergarments. 

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Tee-Shirts?  Casual Shirts/Blouses?  Other hotter weather type tops?

Tee Shirts about 10 each, shirts & blouses about 4 each, others 1 or 2 at most.

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Cardigans, Sweaters?  Sweatshirts?  Other Type of outer tops for cooler temps?

For cool or cold weather we worked in layers. We each had a hip length, hooded GoreTex coat that shed rain and stopped wind. We each had 2 or 3 long sleeve shirts, a sweat shirt, I had a down vest and she had a wool sweater. We each had windbreakers.

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Formal Jackets?   Winter Warm Coats?

I kept 1 sport coat and she had one dress jacket. We had no winter coats but used multiple layers from the above list. Out GoreTex jackets were sized larger to allow for extra layers.

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Pants:   Leggings?   Tracksuit Bottoms?   Formal Dress Pants?   Capris?    Shorts?    Skorts?

I had 1 pair of dress pants and Pam 1 slacks. Pam 1 wind suit and 1 nice dress, 2 capris. We each had 5 or 6 shorts. Pam had 2 square dance dresses and I had 3 shirts.She had 2 pettycoats that were kept in a vaccum bag with air sucked out to save space. I had 1 necktie and several bolo ties. She had 1 pair of jeans and I had 2 pairs.

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Night Clothes:  

I had one PJ and she 2 nightgowns.

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Housecoats?   Hats?   Gloves?

She had a house coat, I had a pair of sweat pants. We each had 2 stocking caps. I had 1 brimmed hat for sun. She rarely wears any hat. We each had a pair of warm gloves and I had 1 pair of mechanic's gloves and 1 pair of leather gloves. Pam had 1 pair of cloth work gloves. 

6 hours ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Anything else you can share that I might have missed?

We had a rule that if you bought something new it had to push something old out. We found that we wore shorts & teeshirts most of the time. After the first 5 years we got rid of my sports coat and her formal dress as well as my necktie as they had never been worn. I attended my mother's funeral in square dance wear as she always liked my look in it. Pam was in her nice slacks and blouse. The wedding we rented formal wear. 

I think that is pretty accurate as Pam helped to recall but there my be a few discrepancies.

[LiveWorkDream]

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Onboard washer/FHU most of the time or went to laundromat and if so how often?

No washer/dryer Laundromat once a week at most. 3 loads = $8 - $11 

Quote

Hiking Shoes/Trainers?  Soft Casual Shoes?   Formal Shoes?   Flip Flops/Sandals?  Mud Boots?   Regular Boots?   Others?

3 pairs running shoes, 1 casual summer, 1 casual winter boot, 1 flip flops, 1 hiking shoes. No formal shoes. I buy them at thrift stores then get rid of them after the formal event.

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Socks?    Underwear?   Bras?    Vests/wife beaters/Tank Tops?

I take enough for at least 14 days worth. That's the longest we go between laundromat visits.

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Tee-Shirts?  Casual Shirts/Blouses?  Other hotter weather type tops?

Cardigans, Sweaters?  Sweatshirts?  Other Type of outer tops for cooler temps?

Pants:   Leggings?   Tracksuit Bottoms?   Formal Dress Pants?   Capris?    Shorts?    Skorts?   Other?

Night Clothes:     Night Dresses?    PJ's?    Summer sets versus winter sets?

Basically about 3 sets of each, for each season. PJs, 1 set for winter, 1 set for summer.

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Casual Jackets?   Formal Jackets?   Winter Warm Coats?   Spring/Fall Lighter Jackets?

1 of each except I carry about 3 hoodies which is too much but I'm a hoarder

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Housecoats?   Hats?   Gloves?

What's a housecoat? ;) I have 2 hats, 2 gloves.

This is what my own clothing looks like right now in our 27' fifth wheel. For my husband, he's got about 1/3 what I have. We don't have tons of storage, and we travel pretty light. What I've found is that if I need clothing for an event or something, I hit a thrift store and shop. Then I donate whatever I got if I know I won't be wearing it again for at least a year. 

 

[2gypsies]

We were full-timers, mostly boondockers/or dry campgrounds.

Went to laundramat every 10-14 days.

Therefore we had lots of underwear and socks.... changed daily.

Pants/shorts/shirts were worn more than a day.... until they were noticeably dirty.  We weren't in humid areas so no sweaty issues.... just dirt. 😉

We layered which eliminates having many heavy shirts/sweaters.

Shoes:  hiking, tennis, sandals

We never had occasion to wear a suit or dress or dress shoes.

Nylon rain parka.  We did carry a heavier jacket for bitter days since we were in the mountains a lot.

Gloves and hats.

[sandsys]

Female spending winter months in Texas and Arizona so mostly warm dry weather except cold evenings by a group campfire. I don't hike so didn't need footwear for that.

Laundromat once every week or two.

4 pairs jeans/slacks

8 long sleeve v-neck t-shirts (I burn easily so no short sleeves)

4 hoodies

enough sets underwear/wool socks/hankies to last two weeks (I have chronic runny nose so hankies are a necessity)

1 pair pajamas

I pair silk long underwear that could be worn as pajamas if needed

1 windbreaker

1 polar fleece jacket--worn alone or under windbreaker when colder

1 full length rain coat I think I wore once although it would have helped keep my legs warmer when sitting by a fire if I had thought to do so.

2 hats--one winter and one summer

1 pair of gloves

1 fluffy infinity scarf for when needed to keep my neck warm--could be pulled up to act as a hood

1 pair Crocs--worn with wool socks when cold/wet

2 pair sandals

1 pair slippers

1 pair water shoes to wear in pool

1 swim suit

I lacy crocheted poncho

I had a dressier outfit for awhile but only wore it once to a funeral. I figured if I had to go to another one I could wear black slacks/black shirt/black crocheted poncho and black sandals.

My closet was only 2-feet wide which helped keep numbers down. I hung the shirts, pants, and coats. Everything else went into packing cubes on the shelf of the closet except shoes on the floor.

Shirts and hoodies were mix and match so I could quickly grab anything to wear and feel comfortable doing so. In fact, I still do now I am off the road.

Linda

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Awesome, that's along the lines we are thinking.   Two weeks undergarments as change daily and sometimes twice daily if extreme temps.   No formal but slacks, top and cardigan/jacket that can be made to look semi formal in a squeeze.   I'm not really into dresses/skirts so maybe one or two but can see them being donated within a short time through non wearing.    Think it'll be a case of taking much more than we thought we'd need and eliminating over due course as even at home, we tend to have our favourites we wear time after time and other stuff hanging in the closet and drawers that doesn't see the light of day from one year to the next or worse.

This is thoughtful for many newbies to be.  Thanks as always for sharing.

FTW.

[Kirk W]

5 minutes ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Think it'll be a case of taking much more than we thought we'd need and eliminating over due course

That is, I think, the typical experience of most fulltimers. For us it was not only clothing but many household items as well. I weighed our motorhome as we were starting out and we had less than 400 pounds of capacity left with our waste tanks empty and the water tank half full. A year later I weighed again and we were up to 525 pounds of available capacity and at year 5 it weighed in with 675 pounds of capacity and the water was half full as we normally traveled and I had not emptied the waste tanks for a couple of days. We kept a pretty constant weight for the remainder of our 12 years on the road. 

[bobsallyh]

My rule is as a fulltimer, if I can't go in a tee shirt, shorts, or long jeans, I ain't going!

[Vladimir]

I spent lots of time thinking about this issue.  Basically, lots of outdoor activities, hiking, hunting, fishing in all sorts of temperatures and conditions.

Basic unit is 10.  I can go 7 days before I need to dump my black water tank.  So looking for a bit of wiggle room, in case bad weather, means I end up wearing two sets of clothes in one days.

Socks.......ten sets of Costco wool socks.  That's it for both summer and winter.  I sort so I have ten sets of ONE color.  No more sorting after doing laundry.

Underware bottoms...ten sets.  Usually five of jockey shorts, and five of boxers for colder weather.  No t-shirts see below.

Underware tops.........ten sets of either Merino wool or artificial substitute in long sleeve in black.

Outerware tops.............ten sets of short sleeve, Carhart T-shirts with pocket in the same color.  In warm weather I wear the Carhart T-shirt by itself, in cold weather I wear one of the short sleeve shirts with a Merino wood long sleeve underneath.  I tend to wear this combination for more than half the year.

Pants......five sets or more of Wrangler Hiker shorts.  What is the point of being retired if you have to wear long pants??  But long pants are necessary for hunting and cold weather.  So one set of jeans, one set of water resistent hunting bibs, one set of fleece lined jeans, two sets of fleece bottoms, and one set of lightweight wool pants for hiking and hunting.  You can buy the lightweight wool pants at Goodwill and wear them for "formal" dress as well.  Fleece lined jeans used mostly for astronomy, but they come in real handy in cold weather.  The fleece pants are for lounging around, though sometimes used in cold weather for astronomy.

Jackets....One lightweight rain jacket, one heavier duck hunting rain jacket, that a fleece top zips in for really cold, nasty weather.  One fleece top, long sleeves (see previous sentence).  One  fleece vest.  One down vest.

Bedtime....nothing, until it gets really cold.  Then I use one of the Merino wool tops and a Merino wool bottom.  The wool bottom get little use, but does come in handy sometimes under other pants.

Hats...lots.  Some hunter orange, some with the Forest Service shield on them,  one mad bomber hat, and a couple of wool things for rainy weather or snow.

Two sets of gloves.  One set of Michael Jackson gloves, and one set of fleece gloves.  Not as clothes, but work gloves in the RV gear stuff.

Shoes....Pickle ball shoes, tennis shoes, Uggs, very good hiking boots, slip on slippers for quick trips in the middle of the night.

That's it.  I usually stash a set of three someplace hard to access and then keep seven days clothes on hand that are easily accessible.  After five days I am usually looking for a place for laundry, but that is based on my black tank capacity.

Your needs may vary.  But for me, I need clothes that work in the outdoors.  It does make it easier now that outdoor clothes are a fashion statement.

Here were my thoughts in my younger days.....

https://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2010/08/under-garments-for-backroads.html

https://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2010/08/over-garments.html

https://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2011/04/omni-heat-jackets-columbia-sportsware.html

https://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2012/11/usbackroads-destination-woodburn-oregon.html

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by Vladimir

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Awesome detail Vladimir appreciate your sharing.  

Based on what most have written, I'm thinking along the lines of 14 close skin 5 second layer items, 5 types outer of most items for upper torso wear, 5+5 two season bottom wear, 2 thin and 2 thick lounge/PJ type wear and max 5 x footwear each, as we tend to boondock almost extensively.  Maximum of 3 hats, set of warm gloves each.  I'm not adverse to hand washing an odd T-shirt/underwear etc if necessary.

I'm sure things will get eliminated as time proceeds on the road but for starting off we are finding everyone's sharing a great guide.   For everything else the RV's been well equipped for years to enable us to cook/serve everything from a slice of toast to a full but smaller roast dinner.  👍

Next research replacing the old mattress and topper we've tolerated for too many years but now due for a little more comfort

Edited August 24, 2022 by FULLTIMEWANABE

[sandsys]

6 minutes ago, FULLTIMEWANABE said:

Next research replacing the old mattress and topper we've tolerated for too many years but now due for a little more comfort

My favorite: thin layer of memory foam, thick layer of dense foam, thin layer of memory foam, tightly fitting breathable cover wrapped over it all. You can spin in the spring and flip in the fall and be comfortable for years to come.

Linda

[RV_]

We did just one dress casual for any funerals or weddings and then pretty much just jeans and tops and one dress shoes each, undies/socks the same and one winter coat that was three in one Columbia light jacket without the liners and one pair of gloves.

But the best thing we did was ordering a gelfoam mattress with a gel top layer in an RV queen size to go on top of our plywood topped bed with storage under it. Fulltiming we had regular coil 97-2003 in our HitchHiker and Challenger 36 foot fivers. Then on our part time Sunnybrook we bought to live in on our property while our new house was being built, we bought an 8" layered Gel top mattress and it was heavenly. In our house we already had 10" Gel foam mattresses and all from Amazon for under $300. The RV short mattress was $199.99 in 2013. More today.

Our last rig was a surprise as it was a 19' Scamp fifth wheel that used the hinged rear sofa seat cushions to make up the bed which turned out to be King size when set up. So since it already had the foam cushions we bought a King size 4" gel foam cooling topper and left the bed set up. It was a full size king not an RV short. It slept heavenly. Bear in mind that you need to really pay attention to the reviews as once they inflate there is no returning them. Our current bed is a king Foam 12" mattress but we now know we don't need that much.

I agree the mattress is necessary not a luxury item and the thousands some companies charge does not necessarily get a better mattress. They sleep warmer so you can use lighter quilts/blankets/comforter than with a normal mattress.  We use a summer down comforter in a summer Duvet.

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by RV_

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Thank you Linda and Derek for sharing your experiences on the mattress front as well as clothing.

Always appreciated and soaking and researching like a sponge 👍

[Kirk W]

One item that may be helpful to you is some discussion of how these items are stored. Our fulltime RV had storage & water tank under the bed so my wife made custom shoe bags that fastened over the edges of the storage with the bed raised. By doing that we each had our shoes on our side of the bed. Only the boots had to be stored in a closet. Our rubber boots were stored in an outside bay that was next to the entry door. 

Underwear, socks, tee-shirts and such take much less room if rolled, rather than folded. Slacks and jeans were on the multilevel hangars to save closet space. If that sort of information is helful, you may want to either address it here, or possibly start a new thread on storage. 

[2gypsies]

For Storage - this is how we did it. 

Hall closet where it was plumbed for washer/dryer but we never wanted one installed:  From WalMart - a plastic 2-shelf set on floor for our shoes.  Above were coats.  Still room for misc. non-clothing items on top of the 2 shelves & a full tall space on the side of the 2-shelves for vacuum, broom.

Rear closet - his & hers side for shirts & long pants over a hanger. 

Bedroom has 6 drawers for underwear, socks, shorts, extra set of sheets, towels

Under the bed was my hoard of travel information! 😉  I had large manilla envelopes for each state and also a collection of Benchmark atlases for the western states.  I'm a big travel planner and like 'paper' more than the internet.  (We didn't have to worry about the extra weight for our motorhome.)  Also stored were a couple extra blankets & bedding for the 'guest' sofa.

[2gypsies]

I know you asked about clothes but there are other lists you need to make.  Lots of suggestion 'lists' on the internet and here is one to begin.  Add/delete to fit your circumstances.

https://www.campanda.com/magazine/rv-checklists-printable/

[TXiceman]

We carry 6 or 7 days on underwear, about 5 days of summer casual and the same for winter.  We each carry a cold weather waterproof coat with a zip out lining, a wind breaker/light jacket, heavy gloves, work gloves, a couple of hats, 2 sun block fishing shirts, 2 pair of hiking shoes (boots) and some more formal things.

For the dress up days, I have 2 pairs of slacks, a sports coat, 2 dress shirts, a couple of neckties, one funeral suit and a pair of black dress shoes.

If we need beyond that, I guess we'll just stay home.

Ken

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Thank you to everyone that so kindly shared.   We are good on the storage ideas - I've always been put it back where it lives in SnB living and compact with storing everything so I've no concerns there.

Thanks for the checklists link TwoGypsies, but we are all good in that regards.   It purely was my mind thinking well how much of each type of clothing do Full Timers versus us as entended timers thus far have in their arsenal.    All's good.

I'll be posting other topics soon looking for all you guys sharing sage advice and personal experience of what has and hasn't worked as always.

Have awesome weekend everyone.   We are getting organised right now to head to Little Bow Provincial Park AB Sunday (stopping O/N tomorrow Sat in Vulcan which is within half hour of it) for a spot of family gathering (3 rigs), kayaking, fishing and just general awesome walking area around Lake McGregor until next Wednesday.   

[JimK]

We fulltimed for 2 years in a truck camper, obviously no washer/dryer and relatively little space.  I could not begin to describe our complete wardrobes, but I can offer some suggestions.

First do no skimp on foul weather gear.  Get a really good rain parka large enough to wear over a heavy sweatshirt or jacket.  We rarely needed the rain pants so got by with cheap ones.  

We spent a lot of time in the desert Southwest, not in the dead of Summer but often pretty hot where we needed clean shirts, underwear and socks daily.  We often boondocked in remote areas with no laundromats nearby or convenient.  I went to Costco and bought 32 pairs of white cotton socks.  I also have 30+ underwear and even more knit T or polo shirts, all with pockets for sunglasses.  That sounds like a lot but stacked and folded it takes up a lot less space than you might think.  Of course, I also need a few shorts and long Khaki pants, some long sleeved shirts and warmer clothing such as flannel shirts, hoodies, and jackets which I can wear in layers as needed for weather down to the 20-30 degree range.  With extra sheets, Laundromat visits can be stretched well beyond a month. 

When we started out, I got rid of all the old clothing.  All the Ts and polos were new and decent looking.  All the old jeans went into the trash and 15 years later I still do not wear jeans.  Khakis look better, last longer and are actually less expensive.  I can go to a restaurant and not look like I dragged in from the boonies.  Also even if you expect to spend all  your time in the boonies be sure to bring at least some dressly clothing.  For me that was a new pair of khakis I kept separate, dress shoes and socks, button down long sleeved dress shirts, a blue blazer with one red tie and one black tie.

Finally I highly recommend buying roughly 50:50 blends.  Blends last longer, pill less, stain less and they are much better in hot or cold weather. 

I cannot speak much about my wife's clothing.  She actually seemed to get by with less than I had but she did occasionally have to rinse out bras and her favorite shirts to extend trips between laundromat visits.   

My few years of full timing seem to have permanently changed my wardrobe.  I continue to wear mostly new looking solid color pocket Ts or polos.  I still have 30+ sets of underwear and socks.  No more matching socks for me.  I buy several dozen at once.  When they start to wear out, I replace all of them at once.