There will come a time when you are finally ready to hit the road! It’s a big decision, one that’s not taken lightly. But are you really ready or are you delaying because you don’t thing you are ready?
Let me offer you some advice when it comes to making the decision to become a full time rver. You know when you are ready when:
- You’ve got the RV! And it’s in good mechanical order.
- Your family is pretty much on board.
- You know where your daily income will continue to come from to cover your expenses.
- You’ve got all the insurances you need in place such as towing, health, etc.
- You are mentally ready.
Let’s break each of these points down.
1. You’ve Got The RV!
Sounds like a weird thing to say, but what I’m getting at is you have the right RV for the job and everything is working perfectly. With this you need to be sure that you know how to use and maintain all of the systems in the RV.
I know from my own experience, I’ve needed a few seasons just to get the feeling of things. And I’m still learning. If you read my articles on batteries, you know that I ruined $300+ worth of batteries that were just 6 months old.
You want to be good to go when it comes to operating the RV too. Again, you don’t want to be 1,000 miles from home when you discovered you are in trouble. That just screams of spending money on something you don’t need too.
If you’ve got yourself and your RV in order, let’s look at point number 2.
2. Your Family Is On Board
You will have family that comes and family that says behind. You need to be sure that everyone is happy with this decision. It’s a big sacrifice for some as they will not see the benefits because they are morning the lost of someone or something.
Let me give you an example. My two oldest children are teenagers and shutter the thought that we decide to pack up and leave on an extended trip! What about my friends? What about my boyfriend/girlfriend? This is unfair!!
Yes as you’ve guessed, I’ve heard the drama. I have to tell you travelling with younger children is so much easier! And that brings up a valid point too. Is it better to wait until children are on their own and go with just your spouse? Again big decisions.
Next, you need to be sure that all who stay behind are in a good place too. Especially if you decide to not sell you primary residence and your kids or relatives are staying behind. Make sure that they can handle things while you are gone, so you don’t get an emergency help call when you are thousands of miles away.
3. Your Daily Income
We’d all love to live in a bubble, but money is highly important and all the things that come with that. You need to be sure that you can live on what you have coming in regardless of the source. It could be retirement funds, working on the road or a combination of things.
Also you need to be sure that you can deal with things like taxation. Just because you are in a foreign country when tax time comes doesn’t give you a get out of jail free card. Your friendly government still wants a return every year.
Also be sure that you have a slush fund. Consider it an engine replacement fund. Figure out how much it would cost in total to have your truck or RV engine completely replaced. Then makes sure you have it available and in reserve. When you have it stashed away for emergencies, when an emergency occurs, it’s not the end of the dream. Just a bump in the road you planned for.
4. Insurance
I’ll be honest but I’m unsure why insurance is a dirty word for some people. It’s something that you are never forced to have but it’s a great idea to have. Always thing of insurance as saving up for a rainy day. It’s going to rain, just plan for it.
A few types of insurance that should never be skipped include:
- RV towing insurance – when you see how much it costs to tow a bus or a truck and a 5th wheel, you understand how cheap it is to get RV towing insurance
- Health insurance – don’t leave home without it. You don’t know what tomorrow will deal out to you and to think that you don’t need this, you are nuts! Let me give you an example. I had a lump start forming in my throat and I discovered that it was cancer!! If I didn’t have health insurance, I’d have been truly screwed. And just so you know, I’m not even 50 yet. Don’t believe that youth and health are one in the same.
- Life Insurance – Yes, this really goes without saying. The need for life insurance never ends. Get life insurance while you are insurable. In my example, I cannot get any more life insurance. What I have is good but I’m considered uninsurable now.
- Vehicle and content insurance – You want to cover things like theft or damage that can occur. Let’s face it you are on the road and not every place is a friendly place. Again, cover this and you can rest well at night.
There may be other types of insurance to consider but to me the four above are the big four. Get them before you leave home!
5. You Are Mentally Ready
This is the last point and it’s really a personal check too. If it’s you and your spouse that is hitting the road, are you really ready for the challenge? Will you be able to hold out in a smaller space with each other?
Consider all of these points. My recommendation is to take short runs as vacations to get the feel of things. Extend the short runs into longer vacations. Before long, you’ll be gone for two months, loving it or hating it and you’ll know where or not you and your family really are ready. Also, think of the good times and practice you can get when the day comes!
I hope that this article makes you think about the big move to the RV. Full time RV living is a big jump and it has it’s good and bad attached to it. The trick is to minimize the bad and increase the good!