Considering the RV Lifestyle

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Windsurfer

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Jan 12, 2018
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Hi,

This is my first post. Recently my wife kicked me out of the house after 25 years of marriage. Don't need to go into the details but I'm not sure if this is separation or will be divorce. For now I am trying to figure out where to live. She and the kids will be going out of state for the summer and I can stay in the house during that time (for now). A short-term rental apartment will be at least $1,000 per month. I'm wondering about an RV instead? Could someone give me an idea of what my costs might be if I buy a used RV and just lived in it for about 5 months? I might take it to do stuff in our state or neighboring states every so often, but it would not be a regular occurrence. If we do get back together (my hope), then I could sell it or keep it for family trips.

Thanks for any help with this.
 
Welcome to The RV Forum!

With a name like Windsurfer I presume you live in an area with mild winters?  If you're in an area that gets snow and below freezing temperatures, an RV isn't a good place to spend the winter.  That's why most RVers either put their rig in storage or head to the warmer Southern states until the rest of the country thaws out.

RV parks run anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $1500 or more  per month depending on where you're looking.  If you're thinking about stealth camping on city streets, don't.  It's essentially living like a fugitive with curtains drawn, not making a sound and hoping people don't notice you're there.  And you'll still have to find places to legally dump your waste tanks and take on water every few days.

The first thing I'd do is see if there are any RV parks you'd like to live in.  Like I said, pricing and the quality of the parks vary widely depending on where you are.  If you're looking at nicer parks, see if they have any restrictions on the age of the RV (some do to keep out the clunkers) or if there's a limit on how long you can stay there.

Then start looking at RVs after you have an idea of where you'll be staying with it.
 
Let's start with what part of the country you're in, since weather (especially winter) can strongly affect your costs, and even the suitability of an RV. Next, let's look at type of RV (motorhome, 5th wheel, travel trailer, van- probably not pop-up), and figure budget, what (if anything) you currently have to tow with (if a trailer), or to tow behind (if a motorhome). Of course how much stuff you have to take along, do you have a big city commute, and other operational factors come into play.

Buying an RV (and tow vehicle if needed) is unlikely to be less than $1,000/month by the time you count purchase cost (payments), insurance, RV site rental, utilities, etc.

Perhaps I've given you some food for thought. In any case, others likely will chime in here shortly.
 
Recently my wife kicked me out of the house after 25 years of marriage.
Click to expand...

Where are you staying now?
Do you have any camping or RV'ing experience.

RV'ing is not cheap - it's a lifestyle.
OK it MIGHT be cheaper then living in a hotel/motel for months at a time, depending on where you are and if you want better than a Motel 6.

Are you still working - I'm going to assume so - then you will need a way to get to work, because you don't want to take an RV to work.
Do you have a truck now?  Many people think a F150 or a 1500 truck will pull anything they want - and that just isn't so. So what vehicle
you have makes a big difference in what trailer you can tow, as I again assume that you can't afford to change vehicles and get an RV.

So if you really want our help - which we are glad to do - you have to give us a little more info to do that.

Where do you live?  City and State.
What vehicle do you now have?  Make and model.
Do you have RV experience?  If so with what?
In your case is this something you need to do ASAP?  It takes awhile to find the Right Unit and how to know a good one from a bad one.

I hope things work out for you in a positive way because many times they don't. 
I think your smart for checking here 1st before you bought the wrong unit and that would only compound your problem.
 
My son moved from California to Delaware (with us, at my urging). He is an Iraq War veteran and has PTSD. It is difficult for him to be around people, especially anyone with any authority. I bought him an old travel trailer, a fixer upper. I think I paid about $3,000 for it. The guy I bought it from (a real shady guy) moved it for him into a kinda okay RV park. He pays $500 month and has metered electric. His sole income is an 80% VA disability. About $1500 per month. He could make it on that if he managed his money better and didn't smoke so much pot. He does spend some on working on the RV but most of the lumber he uses comes from my house (no, doesn't rip the siding off mine, I have a woodpile out back).
 
Oldgator73 said:
He could make it on that if he managed his money better and didn't smoke so much pot.
Click to expand...

Way better a little fuzzy on some pot than whacked out of his heads on opioids.  You think he doesn't manage his money now.

BTW, tell him I said "thanks" for his service, and that some of us out here do care.
 
Old_Crow said:
Way better a little fuzzy on some pot than whacked out of his heads on opioids.  You think he doesn't manage his money now.

BTW, tell him I said "thanks" for his service, and that some of us out here do care.
Click to expand...

Thanks Old_Crow. If he doesn't have the marijuana he gets pretty paranoid. There's a big difference when he's not on it. He used to drink a lot but since he found the marijuana he quit drinking and gave up anything with caffeine.
 
Only one thing I can add... The RV lifestyle isn't cheap. Even for a occasional RVer like me the maintenance and operating costs are quite high. I live in Nevada and my registration fee went down $500.00 this year, from $2,005.00 to $1,500.00. Fuel costs aren't inexpensive, maintenance costs, food, camping fees, etc., etc., etc.

An apartment at $1,000.00 per month starts to look appealing.

I hope that you and the Mrs. can patch things up.

 
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