RV living can save you hundreds of dollars per month to accelerate your debt repayment and cut years off of your loans, or sock away some serious money. It’s a more complicated and difficult life than living in a house, but if you’re motivated, it can be just the right thing to get your finances under control.
My wife and I lived in a fifth wheel trailer for four years shortly after we were married. I don’t know exactly how we arrived at that solution, I think that we were just young and adventurous and didn’t have kids yet so we thought “what the heck!”
Honestly, I was a little reluctant at first. The thought of moving all of our stuff into less than 400 square feet was overwhelming. After a few months however, I really started to enjoy it. We spent more time together and got to know each other really well early on in our marriage. We learned how to live with less and of course, saved a ton of money.
After years of living in our RV and and making payments, we were able to accumulate about $16,000 in equity. It was more money than either of us had ever handled before and we used it to cover some of the expenses associated with buying our home… something which we likely couldn’t have done otherwise.
Living in a camper or RV is cheap. Even if you finance your rig and pay to rent space to park it, it’s still possible to have your housing expenses ring in at under $1000/mo. That’s a bargain in our area these days.
Cheap living translates to more money in your pocket. Money that you can use to pay off debt and get your finances on track. If you want to get out of debt, living in a trailer can be a great part of your repayment strategy.
If you live in an expensive city like we do, home ownership can definitely feel like it’s out of reach. The great thing about living in a camper is that it’s like a forced savings plan. If you do your due diligence and buy a good unit at a good price, you will retain some of the value when it’s time to sell. On top of any money you’re able to save, you will have some capital when you sell your trailer (provided you stay in it for long enough).
Being in a tiny space forces you to keep life simple. You can’t accumulate a ton of crap because you won’t have space for it. We learned early on to make tough decisions about what we really needed and wanted in our lives, and didn’t get into the habit of accumulating lots of stuff because it wasn’t an option.
When you live in an RV, you have the option to travel and take your home with you. Not only that, but you can settle in different places. If you’re parked somewhere and it’s just not a good fit, you can go somewhere else and take your home with you.
Fifth wheels are the best type of trailer for full time living. They have a higher ceiling than most travel trailers and come in many different configurations. These units tend to have more useful interior space than other types of campers. Living in a 5th wheel trailer is generally more comfortable and home-like than other types of RVs.
The downside to a fifth wheel trailer is the same as the upside, they’re really big. This makes them more difficult to move around. If you want to be able to move around a lot a fifth wheel might not be the best choice. You will also need a 1-ton truck to tow most large fifth wheels.
Travel trailers tend to be less expensive than fifth wheels and since they tow from the bumper rather than a fifth wheel hitch, you have more towing options than you do with a fifth wheel.
A word of warning, living in a travel trailer isn’t for tall people. Many of them have lower roofs than fifth wheels and can be uncomfortable for tall people. Most of the ones that we’ve looked at have a ceiling height of less than 7 feet which makes a 6’1” guy like me feel pretty cramped. If you’re not very tall it could be a good choice.
Motorhomes are a good choice for full time living if you want to be able to move around a lot or travel long distances. Like travel trailers, they tend to have a lower ceiling height. They can range well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars new but you can find a good 15-year-old class C for much less.
Living in a camper is really only suited to a single person, or a very adventurous couple. Campers are quite small inside and can easily feel cramped. The plus side is they’re usually much more affordable than a trailer or motorhome and you don’t have to fuss around with parking and disconnecting a trailer.
Living in a camper van is a challenge suited to a single person. Two people in a van gets really tight, really fast. They’re small and lack the bathroom and kitchen that you will find in larger RVs. Definitely not recommended for full time living unless you’re single and traveling regularly.
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If you’re going to live in an RV, you’re going to need a place to put it. There are a lot of options and what you choose will depend on how mobile you want to be. If you’re going to be in the same place for a long time, I suggest finding somewhere with a power, water, and sewer hookup. It makes a huge difference in comfort.
Here are some ideas for places to park your RV while full-timing.
Most campers don’t take up much space. If you have parents, in-laws, grandparents or other family that has some spare space in their driveway, that might be a good fit. If you’re going to stay long-term you can negotiate having some services put in.
Pro Tip: If you’re staying long-term and do not have access to septic, negotiate having a 100 gallon or larger plastic waste tank put in the ground near your trailer. This will give you somewhere to dump your black water without having to haul it away in small loads every week. Most septic companies can pump out this type of tank.
If you own a home, why not just park it on your own land? If you live somewhere that is a good market for VRBO or AirBNB, you could rent your house out while you live on the property. This would cost you very little and dramatically accelerate your debt repayment.
RV parks tend to be a the most expensive option, and unless you’re moving around a lot, I’d view them as your last choice. On the positive side, there’s almost always full services including septic hookup and laundry, but you’re going to pay for it. Most parks are still far less expensive than rent would be but there are better options in my opinion.
You could always try to rent a piece of unused land. If somebody in your town has some property that they’re not using they might be willing to rent it out to you as an RV parking spot. This type of arrangement may result in you having limited access to water and power however.
I’m going to give it to you straight here – family RV living can be tough. There are several reasons for this. First off, there just isn’t much space. There’s not really anywhere to go to get away when you need some alone time.
Additionally, if you’re RV living with kids, you’re probably going to want them to have their own bedrooms. Trailers with a second bedroom tend to have very little living space. You’re going to have to be comfortable in close quarters.
That said, it certainly can be done and I know families who have full-timed (including one who lives in a 5th wheel with 5 kids…). I would approach it as a temporary arrangement however. Just my $0.02.
The cost of living in an RV or camper full time can vary dramatically depending on two things:
If you own your RV, you’re in good shape. Not having to make a monthly payment is going to reduce your costs considerably.
Parking or “pad fee” as they call it around here, can range from $200/mo for a simple place to park with no services, to $800 or more. In the high range you can expect to have access to electricity, water, and sewer hookup and in some cases, internet, cable and laundry.
If you’re setting up a long-term situation, take the time to make sure that you have access to all of the services you might need.
Absolutely. If you are willing to reduce the number of things that you have in your home, have a bit of adventure in you and really want to focus on saving, you can save money by living in an RV.
The best way to save money is to find a cheap place to park as pad fees can add up quick. I think the best way to find a cheap place to park your RV is to find an arrangement where you’re doing some property management/yard work in exchange for the space. This will make it possible to save money up more quickly than if you are living in a trailer park.
I’m not going to sugar coat it, winter is hands down the toughest time for full-time RVers. You will need to first buy a unit that is appropriate for winter. Here are some things to look for:
There are some issues that you will have to learn to manage. When you open the front door for example, you’re immediately in the weather. There’s often an awning on RVs, but most are unsuitable for use in winter weather.
Second, temperature and humidity management can be difficult. We had to run a dehumidifier full time in the cold months. It’s not the big a deal but it costs a pretty penny to buy, takes up space, makes noise and needs to be emptied every couple of days.
The last issue that we had was lack of an entryway. When you come in from the rain or snow BAM you’re right in the middle of your kitchen. It can be tough to find a place to put your mucky boots and wet jacket.
That said, if you’ve got a bit of adventure in you, RV winter living isn’t all that bad.
Do you have any tips for RV living to pay off debt? Tell us about them in the comments!
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