Selling house to live in RV

[Just_incredible42]

So my wife and I have been thinking of selling our house and buying an RV to live in with 3 kids and a small dog. My wife home schools our kids and I am an electrician. We would be starting from scratch. Is this just a crazy idea or do other families live full time in their RVs? 

[sandsys]

My first question is live where? If you don't plan to travel an RV is not a good purchase. If you do plan to travel, will you be able to follow the good weather? If your answer to the second question is, "yes", then this is absolutely a viable option. Lots of families doing it. In fact, the couple that started the Escapees organization worked construction moving from job to job.

Linda Sand

Edited September 5, 2022 by sandsys

[Second Chance]

I would echo what Linda said. Unless you plan to travel with the RV, a much better choice would be a destination trailer. Also consider park availability (can be an issue depending on where you are). Most public parks (National and state parks) have stay limits. Living in an RV is not necessarily cheaper than living in a house once you figure in the fees for RV parks and campgrounds, utilities (electric charged separately in some parks for long-term, propane for the furnace and cooking), vehicle registration, maintenance, etc. If you travel, you also have to take into consideration legal domicile, voting, and that sort of thing. There is a wealth of information on these forums and on the Escapees main web site in the educational section. Do LOTS of homework!

Rob

[Kirk W]

14 hours ago, Just_incredible42 said:

Is this just a crazy idea or do other families live full time in their RVs? 

If you are thinking of traveling from job to job as you work and seeing the country as a family, that is something that has been done in the construction industry since the 1970's and in fact was the begining of the Escapees RV club. While over the years the Escapess RV Club has come to be mostly made up of retired people, but in recent years has been making a major effort to return to their roots and to support the still working RV community and they have a rapidly growing number of families joining. There is a section of the club that is mostly people working fron the road called Xscapers and I suggest that you check that out.  Much more specific to your situation would the a group that is a separate but cooperating group which is loosely affiliated with our group called Fulltime Families. To get some ideas of how others who are doing what you are thinking of, read this article from RV Magazine called 20 RV Families and RV Couples Living and Working From the Road.

The answer is that most likely whatever your idea is has probably already been done by someone and if you study what they did and how they did it you should be able to figure out if your family can do so happily as well. A great deal of the right answer depends upon you, your family, and the reasons that you want to do this. Many of us on these forums have done similar to what you are thinking but most of us were retired from something or nearly so and only work to supplement income. RV living is not inexpensive or cost free but there are ways to lower that cost and these sites should help you to figure out if it will work for you. We on these forums can probably help you in selecting an RV and things of that nature and also in travel related things, but few of us earn our entire income while on the road (there are a few) and even fewer of us did that while raising children.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Kirk W

[RV_]

I agree with Linda and Robb, but would add that you need to do a trial run.

First I would decide if you are going to put it on your property or rent a space in an RV park.

Second I would rent the type of RV. Are you considering a truck and trailer or a Motor home?

If you can buy the RV and land cash with your home equity and be debt free that would be ideal. Many local ordinances do not allow an RV on property as the primary structure but require a regular house then allow the RV.

For the trial run rent an RV similar in size to what you have in mind and then spend a week living in the nearest RV Park or traveling between parks to meet some others who live in their RVs with kids.

At the least if you plan on being in an RV Park visit them without an RV and meet some of the people there. See if they have activities in a club room or some such.

It may suit you to a T! Or may give pause or cause you to re-think the type of RV and/or where you want to park it if not traveling.

Remember an RV is a depreciating asset and will not hold its value.

If you decide 6 months down the road you want out you might want to have an exit plan before you take the plunge.

If traveling this is a most fantastic lifestyle If you can afford the fuel and the parking.

If it suits, you will be glad you did. If not, not. Get out and see first hand how others live in them full time.

Safe Travels!

Edited September 6, 2022 by RV_

[ms60ocb]

On 9/4/2022 at 11:03 PM, Just_incredible42 said:

So my wife and I have been thinking of selling our house and buying an RV to live in with 3 kids and a small dog.

I think as an Electrician and your ability to follow work, you can make it. BUT what your kids. You didn't mention ages. Who will be their friends and what will be there actions when you pull into another job site hundreds of miles from your last job.

Do your have a big job site near-by, are some of the trades traveling & living in RV's, Talk to them and ask the questions about families handling the moves. Don't get me as all negative as I lived in a home and was around of traveling people. The ones that still had family lifes had their families involved in Scouts, Church, occasionally sports, they could blend in. One lady I remember knew where there next site may be and started teaching the history class on that area. Give a trail run.

Think it through, a former boss once told, "Every time you move your children may be finding a different person to marry."

Clay

[TXiceman]

Where do you plan to live while you are working?  Living in an RV while up north in cold and snow is not fun.  Even the best of the all-season and well insulated RVs can be a real chore to live in and keep warm. 

A true all-season RV is heavy and will require a properly equipped 1-ton diesel dually to haul it.  Then you have to deal with water supply and sewer draining in freezing weather.  

You need to check some of the cold weather camping groups to get a true idea of winter camping in an RV.

Ken

[JimK]

There are plenty of people who are full time, many of them work.  Is it a crazy idea?  Depends on what you are looking for and want to achieve.

Are you, your wife and kids content to travel a lot?  Think about the social limitations, inconveniences.

Are you looking to save money?  That may not be the case.  You can spend a lot more or less living in an RV. 

What about your work as an electrician?  Are you working for a company that moves you around frequently?  Are you working for yourself?  If so most tradesmen built their businesses by word of mouth.  That might be difficult if you travel a lot. 

You might also want to consider that many of the best places to visit are not the best places for work.  If you plan on working in cities and suburban areas, you might want to visit a few urban/suburban type campgrounds.  Many of them are not places you would want to live, especially for children.  The better ones can be expensive, even very expensive. 

If you want more information, you probably should join the conversation and provide more ideas about your concerns and goals. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by JimK

[TXiceman]

Additional to the above info, many of the less parks have become trailer parks and not RV parks.  There are many older RVs that are now permanent and have not been moved for years.  With this come added decks, old cars no longer running, refrigerators on the porch, etc.  It seems some are not enforcing the rules equally and letting the long-term renters get away with the trash.

With the kids, you will most likely want to find a place with a playground and possibly a pool.  These places tend to be resorts and are more expensive.

You still have not told us what area you plan to live in.

Ken

[bruce t]

Everyone is different and everyone has different expectations. Only you know what will make you happy.

Listen to everyone but be wary of the big enemy called procrastination. 

[LuvinZA]

Check out the Grateful Glampers blog. They have a Class A with two kids. They’ve been doing full time for several years.

I know a family that had three teenage boys who lived in an “RV” in Africa. It was tiny, for sure. But they emphasized getting outdoors! And they did! I say that because, I suppose, it all depends on the expectations that you are setting with your family. Be realistic.

Keep us updated on your progress!

🙂