What is it like living in an RV fulltime?

The next question after; “Why are you living in an RV?” is often; “what is it like living in an RV fulltime?” That answer is as varied as the families, rigs, lifestyles, and campgrounds that are out there. My goal is give you an insight on what it is like for our family.

To start with, everything we brought with us is carefully evaluated for:

• · Fit (we only have 400 sq feet)
• · Function (can the item have dual uses and how likely are we to actually use it?)
• · Durability (fragile priceless china doesn’t travel too well)

Once everything has passed through those filters, we slowly packed up our RV over the course of several months. This gave us some major advantages; we learned about the rig, ourselves, and things we found wanting time and time again. When the time came to pack up for good (early May 07), we made another conscious decision NOT to pack more than 70% possible—in other words we left space for things we had not yet anticipated. I have laid this out because it gives a good background in the systematic way we have prepared, because it lays the foundation on how we live our daily lives.

Admittedly, we are an Army family and it somehow I have passed the “revile” genes onto my daughters. First call or wake up, generally occurs around 0600-0630 for the girls (weekdays or weekends). On week ends, our general routine is for me to get up with the girls. I use this opportunity to attempt conversation with “Big E”, who almost always wakes up first. We usually pick out a Disney (or other suitable children’s) movie and I set her up on the sofa with a pop tart while coffee brews and I open window shades. I usually set up my laptop and log in to the University website to sign in, check emails, and read the news. “Salsa” usually takes this time to sleep in a little and get ready.

Most mornings we have birds come to our bird feeder. This fascinates both girls as they take great pleasure in watching them shell seeds and interact with each other. Once everyone is up, awake, and dressed we usually get outside and go to one of several locations like: hiking at Jack’s peak (a local park with numerous wooded trails), the Monterey Bay Aquarium (we are members), shopping (“Salsa’s” personal favorite), or another planned outing like Pinnacles National Monument, Muir Wood’s, Point Lobos, or just the beach in Marina.

This fairly active outside lifestyle has gone over well with our girls. During the last trip to Yosemite, they made a 4 mile hike around the Wawona Golf Course. We have also gotten into geocaching which they view as a “treasure hunt”. We usually wind back up at the rig for lunch and we tend to use our grill to cook some type of chicken, burger, or hotdog on. After lunch, “little e” still takes a 1 – 1 ½ hour nap (“Green” likes to take naps too!) and “Salsa” takes that time to catch up on emails and her internet time.

After naps and a small snack we are usually back out again at a local playground or doing some sort of shopping. One downside to living in an RV is a lack of storage space. This translates to usually keeping no more than 1 to 1 ½ weeks worth of food on hand. We tend to make 2-3 grocery trips per week. We try and use this time to work on “Big E’s” social skills and have her help, or use it to expand her vocabulary. Evenings are usually a simple affair, with grilled quesadillas, hot cheese sandwiches, PBJ’s or something similar. We usually wind down the evening walking through the golf course, where we are camping at, looking for errant golf balls or walking with colored flashlights or have an old fashioned campfire.

Bedtime for the girls is usually at 7:30 pm after “Green or Salsa” reads them several books. We have put in a nightlight in their bedroom in the shape of the moon which glows for ½ hour. During this time each of the girls has a small flashlight which they can use to read any book of their choice. Generally by 8:00 they are sound asleep and “Salsa” goes in to shut off lights and make sure they are covered up and sleeping comfortably.

“Salsa” and I use the remainder of the evening for our time to talk, balance the checkbook, or just watch a movie together. Most of you by now are saying, aside from the limited storage space for groceries, that sounds like my life—and you are right. That is my point; living full-time in an RV is basically the same as living in a residential home. We just tend to do more outside activities and are forced to interact with each other just a little more.

We have noticed some differences…

“Salsa” keeps laundry going almost continuously (an RV washer and dryer is about 2/3 the size of a residential unit. She also can clean the entire rig, from top to bottom in an hour (this is where 400 sq feet work to our advantage).

“Green” tries to keep the dirty dishes washed (limited counter space is quickly cluttered up and necessity forces us to keep them washed and put away).

“Big E and little e” keep their toys picked up because there isn’t much room on the floor for clutter. We have all of their toys in bins that make it easy to pick up and put away.

What we have noticed is that we tend to keep things clutter free, beds made, dishes washed, and toys put away. We have observed we do more outside activities and walks as a family. We have noted that we talk more and have no residential home distractions (cutting grass, fixing fences, or spring cleaning). We watch less TV (no commercials, halleluiah!), exercise more (hiking and other outdoor activities), and read more. We talk more (maybe out of necessity) but have learned that we really like each other.

What is it like living fulltime in an RV? It has made us healthier as individuals, brought us closer as a family, and broadened our experiences that will fuel family stories for years to come.

Why we are full-timing...

Often, I get one of two types of looks, once people find out we are full-timing. One look is what I call the “cult look”, like my wife and I belong to some bizarre sect. The other, is what I call the “light bulb look”, as if all of a sudden they realize how cool and unique an experience we have. Both groups ask the same question; why are you full-timing, much less with children? I usually explain that it was a number of factors that all came together to allow us to full-time.

First, my children are younger and view this as a huge camping trip. My youngest “little e”, was 3 years old when we started and can adjust to just about anything. She views this trip as one huge camping adventure and has minimal “needs” as space, privacy, and sanity. We took great care to bring toys and personal belongings for her that she really seemed to enjoy and can play with outside. We took further steps to use velcro and attach a magnetic board at the head of her bed that she controls and can configure any way she wants. We brought plenty of books and exploratory toys (binoculars, building blocks, chalk, magnets, and such) to keep her interested. We also brought along an extensive video library (400+ movies) because we made a conscious decision that we would NOT have TV, cable, or satellite services on this trip.

My oldest was 5 years old when we started the trip and for her, this was a little different. “Big E” has been diagnosed as having Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD), which is an autism spectrum disorder. Most people hear the words “Autism” and immediately paint the proverbial “scarlet A” on her chest. She is in the mild to moderate range and this trip, if anything, is an attempt to pull her closer to normal. In our previous residential home, it was not uncommon for her to lose herself somewhere in the 2000+ square feet in the attempt avoid interaction with her younger sister. Early on we also noted that “Big E” became highly excited and began to use spontaneous speech when looking at animals in Zoo’s or National Parks. We have taken this a step further by removing her ability to isolate herself and forcing her to interact on a daily basis, sometimes out of necessity, by living in an RV of less than 400 sq feet with us AND her sister.

The second reason we choose the full-time RV approach was the unique weather in the Monterey, California area. Obviously, we cannot spend day after day cooped up in the RV and need to get out. The weather in the area is extremely moderate, requiring very little in the terms of air conditioning or heating. We have almost perfect “outdoor days” 95% of the time, again reinforcing exploration and a healthy lifestyle.

The third reason was the “base camp” location. Most full-timers use one specific campground to homestead around, especially if their children are in school. Our base camp is located on Monterey Pines RV Park, which is ¾ mile from the school which I attend. This gives us the ability to carpool to work, bike, and even on occasion walk.

The fourth reason is financial. The Army provides over $2500 in a housing allowance to find suitable quarters. I can either spend that on rent and drive away from it, or invest it in an RV and have it paid off when we leave to take with us to continue adventures at our next duty assignment.

The fifth reason is temporal. The program I am in is 18 months long. It gives the entire trip an almost festive feel. It truly feels like we are on one big camping trip.

The sixth reason is the ample time off I am afforded in the course to spend time together as a family to explore the west coast of the US. Neither my wife nor I have spent any significant time out west and much of what we see and do is for the first time. We try and get away on long weekends, semester breaks, and wanted to take advantage of the two long term breaks around Christmas and Summer. The RV provides ample ability to sustain these long trips where our “peers” using hotels cannot last as long.

Finally, the seventh reason is that we are experienced RVers who did the research and purchased a rig that provides comfort, privacy (2^nd bedroom was a must for us), and most major conveniences, like a washer / dryer, in rig vacuum cleaner, filtered water, and a good grill.

So in a nut shell, that’s why we are full-timing. I hope it answered your question.

Welcome to our life...

We are an active duty Army family (husband aka “Green”, wife aka “Salsa”, with a 6 and 4 year old daughter) living fulltime in a 5^th wheel RV while “Green” is assigned to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.

We are relatively new to RVing (just over 2 years) but we have been married for 11 years. “Green” has been in the Army for 21 years, currently serving as a Special Forces Warrant Officer and is credited with 4 combat tours.

Approaching retirement, the Army offered “Green” an 18 month assignment to get his masters degree in Monterey, CA. The cost of living in the Monterey area is so expensive that the Army’s BAH rates top over $2,500 a month to locate suitable housing. So “Green” and “Salsa” made a decision and instead of spending the $2,500 on a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment, they bought a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment, aka “the Fort”, a Cedar Creek 362BTS 5^th wheel RV. After months of planning and visiting multiple RVs dealers we purchased “the Fort” and “the Beast” (aka my truck, a F-350, crewcab, PSD, dually) over Veterans Day, 2006. We took the pair out on short trips, slowly extending their lengths and distances until finally in May of 2006 we moved into “the Fort”, sold our home in Fort Bragg, NC and began our great western adventure.

We drove 5,000+ miles, pulling the rig over mountains, deserts, rain, snow, and hail over 30 days visiting family, friends, and national parks. For the first time we visited The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave, Devil’s Tower, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Salt Lake City, North and South rim of the Grand Canyon, finally spending a week at Disneyland before pulling north to our new duty assignment in Monterey, CA. Along the way the Army reimbursed our family 9 days of leave for time spent driving and over $11,000 in moving expenses.

Since we have been in Monterey, we been on whale watching tours, and have explored the Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur Country, Pfeiffer State park, Pinnacles National Monument (three times), and of course the crown jewel of California, Yosemite National Park, two times. Currently we are set up at the Sea Breeze RV Park at the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach, CA. Over Christmas we will be satiating the 4 and 6 year olds love of Disneyland over the 3 week break. We have further trips planned north during semester breaks to explore more completely, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Humboldt State Park, Crater Lake, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Craters of the Moon National Parks.

We will be taking these trips and adventures and invite you along as we explore our National Parks, our family, and our “unconventional approach” to life, in an RV.