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A few years ago my wife and I decided that we were going to travel to America in semi-retirement. We moved out the kids (over 21), sold our house and bought an RV. Live conditions change and we haven’t hit the road, at least not yet. We ended up living in the area and taking full time jobs. But we decided to live in the RV as full time at that point.
The purpose of the article is to provide some insight into the possibilities and advantages of RVing for using an RV instead of an apartment. First a little background for those of you who aren’t familiar with recreational vehicle (RV) terms. RVs are classified into several different categories.
Class A vehicles are the bus-like vehicles that you see traveling on the road. These are also called motorhomes and for good reason. Class A is, so to speak, the cream of the crop. They are the most expensive in terms of cost but have the most storage and features. I have seen some very nice Class A’s and will be revisiting Class A’s when it comes time for us to upgrade or trade in our current RV’s. However, my tastes start in the $250,000 range, which is a little hard for me to justify.
Next up is Class B, these are mini motorhomes. They are built on a light to medium truck chassis and can be identified by the vehicle’s truck cab appearance. In my opinion, these would not be suitable for full time use unless you really like small spaces. Some of the newer Class B’s include what are called slides which are sections of the RV that ‘slide out’ from the body giving you more living space inside. Living Space is what you would have been looking for in a long time.
Fifth Wheels come after Class B. Fifth wheels are trailers that are pulled by pickup trucks. So you’ll also need an appropriately sized pickup truck to get a fifth wheel. I would guess at least a ¾ ton pickup. Fifth wheels offer an advantage over Class A and Class B in that once you have the fifth wheel installed at the campsite, the truck is disassembled and can be used as a means of transportation. With Class A and B RVs you will either have to tow or bring another vehicle with you to get around. Fifth wheels approach a Class A RV in features and in some cases more space. Dollar for dollar you will get more living space in the fifth wheel than in the Class A.
However, you need an expensive tow vehicle (truck) which should be considered as part of the purchase. The fifth wheel is also part of a class known as ‘towels’. Next is the ‘towable’ travel trailer (TT). These are similar to fifth wheels except for the connection to a tow vehicle. With the TT you attach to a hitch that sits near the bumper of the vehicle. Therefore, almost any vehicle certainly has the ability to pull a TT, depending on size and weight. Class A, Fifth Wheels and Travel Trailers are the 3 main RVs that you will find people living in on a full time basis. After TT comes the Camper class. These lightweight RVs aren’t really suitable for full time, however, I have met people who live full time in pop-ups, truck campers, and even tents. Top of the line for the camper class are probably the truck campers.
These are units that snap into the bed of a pickup truck. In general, the maximum length is 12 feet from front to back and probably no more than 10 feet. They are very compact. These offer ultimate freedom in that they are quick to set up and take down so you can move quickly from place to place. However, like Class A and B, your home is your transportation, unless you bring another vehicle with you. The last group of towables is the popup or tent trailer. These consist of a study box frame and as the name suggests pop up or lift up to raise the roof over the frame. This class of campers usually have soft sides made of fabric. I’ve used Popup for years as an alternative to hotels while on assignment around the country. Some people have even gone camping in a popup in the middle of winter with snow on the ground. Needless to say, a heater was required and it ran all day and all night. It couldn’t stand the cold at night so getting out of bed in the morning was a bit of fun. It was 20 degrees outside and about 50 inside.
This is a basic overview of the types of RVs available. As previously mentioned, Class A, Fifth Wheels and Travel Trailers are units that most people will find suitable for full time living.
Our experiences living full time in an RV.
We currently have a fifth wheel. Ours is from Jayco and is 38 feet tall with 3 slides. One slide is in the bedroom, the other two slides are in a living room on each side of the trailer. After almost 3 years in RV as full time, we both love it. My wife likes to say that it takes less than an hour to clean front to back, floor to ceiling.
Let’s start with the financial side of living in an RV. You have RV costs. They are to be treated just like cars. If you buy new, you’ll take a hit on depreciation. However, like a house, the interest is tax deductible. So the best deal is a unit that is a year or two old and is financed. If you want to buy new, get about 25-30% off the list price. Our unit count in 2005 was still very high over 2003, with 2006 units being delivered. The sticker price was over $65,000. We paid $40,000 and saved about 38 percent. Now we didn’t have a tow vehicle at the time so the dealer drove the fifth wheel to a nearby campground.
Oak Grove is a year-round campground in Hatfield, PA. It is important. You want to find a campground that offers year-round operations. You don’t want to go outside in the winter time. Many campgrounds close from November through March or early April. When we started there, our rent was $375 a month and that included water and electricity. Our only other expense was propane for heating and hot water. Oak Grove supplied 2-100lb propane tanks and they automatically changed the tanks for us. It’s really cool, it’s like automatic oil delivery when you have a house. We hardly use any propane during the warmer months, maybe a bottle every other month. However, in winters we would use 3-4 bottles in a month because of the heater. Propane currently runs about $50 per bottle. So living in an RV is generally cheaper than renting an apartment in terms of expenses. My daughter pays $750 a month for an apartment near us and we pay an average of $425-450.
Other Benefits of Living in an RV – People! The people you meet camping are some of the most wonderful people you will ever meet. They are friendly, helpful, young at heart and very nice to be around. We’ve been campers since before we were married. I used to sneak into the DE where my wife (girlfriend at the time) and her family were camping and set up a tent, then make myself part of the family. In the nearly 40 years we’ve lived and camped together, we’ve never met anyone who was rude, a thief, or unwilling to lend a hand when asked. In fact we’ve received more offers to help without asking than we have for living in a house or apartment.
It’s funny, but when I used to travel and stay in hotels, you almost felt like a ghost or a panther or something. God forbid if you say ‘hi’ to someone in the elevator or hallway. But when camping, everyone will shake hands when you walk by, offer some drinks or you’ll sit by the fire and talk for hours. It is like we are all family.
Speaking of fire, what about a campfire? It’s so relaxing to sit around a nice campfire at night. No need to say anything, just look at the flames and feel like all the stress melts away. But the bonfire has another advantage, the food. Nothing tastes better than food cooked over an open fire. Try doing this in an apartment.
Another advantage of RVing is vacation. If you live in an apartment, your vacation involves planning a destination, finding a hotel/motel, eating out for every meal, and taking enough clothes with you for the duration of the vacation. When you live in an RV, your home moves with you. 30-40 minutes to pack up the RV, disconnect the utilities and hook up the truck and you’re on the road. When you reach your holiday destination, another 30-40 minutes and you are ready to enjoy the sites. Food is not a problem, you already have a full kitchen just like in the house, because it is home. On a special diet? No problem, your normal routine goes on without any interruption. When clothes get dirty, many RVs come with washers and dryers, so you can do your laundry while you relax in the evening or before the start of the day. Rving is usually cheaper too. When you compare the expenses, you will find that RV trips are much cheaper than hotel/restaurant trips.
These are some of the things to consider when you consider living in an apartment verse living in an RV. I hope you find the information useful.
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