“People wish to be settled;
but only as far as they are unsettled, is there any hope for them.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Overview and Scope

This first article in this series is intended to provide a helpful overview for beginning the hunt for the type of rig to live in while pursuing the fulltime RV lifestyle, for the would-be fulltime nomad.  There are a myriad of types of rigs in the RV world, when multiplied by the number of floor plans available, can present the buyer with a mind-numbing array of choices.

It is best to begin the choice of appropriate rig, by beginning with a general series of revealing questions, as often what one intends to do, and what kind of nomadic life one wants to live, is most important in beginning to decide in choosing a home on wheels.  What looks good in the parking lot may not fit in to the daily lives of the participants involved, as to serving them to live a life of high nomadics.

We also want to emphasis that our focus is on fulltime nomads, not part time.  Part timers have a house to come back to; they can live in relative disarray and discomfort for a period of time, knowing they are going back to the cozy, familiar, comfortable house that takes care of their daily needs.  Fulltimers ARE home, the rig has to provide it ALL, ALL year long.  Everything has to be there, the important papers, tools, hobbies, food storage and preparation and so on.

Questions First

Write down and/or debate truthful answers to the following questions:

• What type of terrain do you envision yourself living in?  Primitive boondock areas, forest service campgrounds often with small sites and tight driving conditions, large full-service RV parks; all the above?
• How many people will be living fulltime in the rig?
• How many people do you plan to entertain, or have overnight on a regular basis?  Are the facilities, seating, kitchen etc., adequate to entertain them?  Are there adequate beds that can be made up if you plan to have occasional or regular guests?
• Is the bathroom maneuverable enough to take care of your showering, grooming and washing needs?  Try it out on the lot!
• Is the bed big enough for the two of you, (provided there are two of you), and you actually sleep in the same bed?
• How much and what type of storage do you need?  What quantity and type of possessions are you taking with you?
• What type of daily activities, need to be done INSIDE of the rig?  If you’re an artist, musician, or computer programmer for instance, can you operate comfortably?  Can you store and carry all your gear safely?

• When the weather is bad, for sometimes several days in a row, is there adequate space and facilities to prevent a bad case of cabin fever?
• Do you prefer to have a towable, (travel trailer or 5^th wheel), or a motorhome whereby you’ll be inside the rig as you go down the road?
• Do you have an adequate tow vehicle to tow it, if it’s a towable, or will you have to purchase a newer, heavier duty tow vehicle, thus adding to the purchase price?
• Do you have the where-with-all to drive the size of rig you have picked out?  How about maneuvering and parking it?
• Can you afford to purchase this rig outright, or will you need to finance it?  If so, can you honestly afford the payments?  Can you liquidate assets such as a house, cars etc., towards the purchase price?

Reality Check

Living in an RV, is different than checking one out on a lot, as an RV may seem adequate briefly walking through it, while living in it is completely different.  What seems attractive at the time can prove cumbersome in trying to use it in daily life.  On the lot, have you and your partner, and/or family; go through the motions of a typical day to find deficiencies as you narrow down your choices.  Don’t get caught up in the wiz-bang gadgetry, or the fluff; get the basics right as to quality construction, insulation, size, and floorplan.

Speaking of parking, different campgrounds often have different size restrictions, and this is an area where preferred lifestyle comes into bear.  It’s not that they don’t like large rigs, it’s just that when the campgrounds were built, there weren’t a lot of large RV’s, with multiple slideouts like there are now, thus the sites are small, and the roads are too tight to drive a large RV through, or the vertical clearance is too short.  Surprisingly, I have found a number of sites to accommodate large rigs in most campgrounds one comes across.  Of course, at RV parks this is hardly an issue.

Preliminary Best Advice

Claim your freedom...

Take your time!  Before making a big purchase do yourself a favor and rent the preferred RV for at least a week to see how you like it’s handling and to whether it fills the bill.  Doing so will reveal deficiencies you can never anticipate without actually using it “in the field”.

The biggest decision here, is type and length of RV to buy.  In general, we advocate the larger motorhomes towing a dinghy, travel trailer or 5^th wheels towed by a heavy duty vehicle such as a truck or van, as the most appropriate for extended fulltiming, but for singles, a van conversion, truck camper or smaller motorhome can suffice.  ANY rig will be adequate in the short term, but will begin to wear on the participants over the long-haul.  Indeed, we have met people fulltiming in almost anything, but would almost always prefer something bigger, more efficient, and more comfortable if they could afford it.

No matter what, never purchase an RV outright, spur of the moment.  Always, let the deal sit overnight before deciding.  I have made many mistakes purchasing in haste and over-excitement.  Hopefully this article can spare you some of those regrets, and has covered some of the basic issues to be aware of, in your search for the perfect moveable home, for your dream nomadic lifestyle.

Later in future articles in this series, we will discuss the specific types, as well as the positive and negatives of nomadic homes one can purchase and operate.  Each type of RV, has its pros and cons, indeed there is no such thing as the perfect rig.  We’ll just collectively shoot for the most appropriate for the type of nomadic life one is attempting to live.

See ya soon for Part 2: An Overview of Homes On Wheels
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