We want your advice and opinion on our fulltime RV living plan

[Yorick]

I didn't see any mention of an "exit plan" that covers what you'll do when the time comes to hang up the keys due to health issues, age related infirmity, or just plain getting tired of the RV life. Every fulltimer should have an exit plan, whether it's money set aside for a residence purchase, arrangements to move in with a relative, or some other plan.

Great question @NY_Dutch , our plan is to only do this for about 5 years as the girls (ages 17 and 18) get settled in and working. My wife (43) and I (48) then will retire to the Philippines where we have a home to start full-time Christian ministry in our retirement years. At that time, we'll then give up the keys to my sister (43) and brother-in-law (43) along with our rig. They have a desire to RV around also in their retirement years.

Then, the RV serves as our place to stay when we come and visit the US from the Philippines.

 

[Yorick]

Have you looked also at the Arctic Wolf 321BH? With 2 bath rooms it might fit your needs. But again it's pretty big.
As an option you might consider a tow hauler and have the garage outfitted with a desk and bunk beds.

@donn , great advice. The Arctic Wolf 321BH is a really good option that also meets our requirements and is even shorter which could be easier to haul. Thanks!

A toy hauler fitted with an office/bunkhouse? Hmm.. An interesting option to consider.

 

[Yorick]

Health insurance is very expensive and the companies who sell them and prices they charge vary a great deal from one state to the next. I highly recommend that you figure out that very important issue before you start buying any RV. You will also need to have an address somewhere to be able to register and insure your vehicles so choice of domicile and getting that set up is critical to your success.

Another thing to consider is what sort of RV connections are there on your sister's land to connect the RV to? You will need water, sewer, and electricity at the minimum. Some kind of pad for the RV would also be very helpful. All of that is not without cost to someone. If you choose to domicile in ID, will your sister become your mail service? Have you shopped health insurance for your family there? Do you plan to stay in RV parks and if so, have you budgeted for the cost of them? It is much less expensive to dry camp with no hookups but you would then need to have a good solar array to supply electricity and you will still need to empty waste tanks and refill your water on a regular basis.

There is nothing that you can't deal with as many families do but you need to determine the answers to these very important questions and budget accordingly before you shop for an RV. After living for 12 years with no home other than our RV, I assure you that it can be a very pleasant way to live but there are numerous issues that must be addressed before you start and with children it is vital to have that in place first.

Thanks so much @Kirk for the points regarding insurance. I will begin researching that as well.

As for your other points/questions:
- My sister's property will be built with an RV driveway with full hookup including waste connection.
- My sister will be our mail service to open, scan, and send mail to us.
- Planning to put full solar on our rig so that we can boondock for extended periods
- I've researched KOA costs in cities we would plan to visit and am putting together a budget for that

 

[Yorick]

Much of that is an illusion. RVs are heavily discounted from MSRP, sometimes 25% or even 30%, so it appears there is a huge first-year depreciation. It's just a paper loss, though. If you were able to track actual selling price for a new one vs a 1-2 year old model, the difference isn't that great.

Thanks for the insight @Gary RV_Wizard .

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

As for your other points/questions:
- My sister's property will be built with an RV driveway with full hookup including waste connection.
- My sister will be our mail service to open, scan, and send mail to us.

Since it is your home base and permanent mailing address, you can reasonably claim your sister's property as your domicile (legal "home") and use that for vehicle title & tags, driving licenses, and your home for health & vehicle insurance purposes. In effect, you live there even though you are away from home much of the time. That simple fact vastly simplifies a lot of things.

 

[Skookum]

Idaho sees overnight freezing starting as early as the beginning of October. It's not uncommon to have snow events in late October. Some parts of Idaho can have feet of snow on the ground in November. It has an inland-winter climate, but not as cold as the midwest. Negative temperatures aren't as common or as persistent during the winter months.

Having worked remote in an RV (two of us), you need a dedicated office setup and private space. You will also need dedicated cellular equipment with very large data plans, probably with multiple cell carriers depending on the signal strength in your location. Free RV park wifi is...free. Free park wifi systems are generally poorly managed, and when overloaded you simply cannot connect. Upload speeds may be 56k-territory. Download speed I've seen as low as 150kbps. When all the park has is an incoming 10Mb DSL connection, you can't use that to work (No VPN, no video conference calls, wifi calling will not work, nor will Teams/Zoom audio work consistently. Not when 50 other sites/campers are trying to stream, browse, connect Smart TV's, etc.

Your plan is to have a lot of people in a very small space. As I mentioned, private space is a big thing. With multiple people trying to work/study and or play, I would think that would bring a lot of frustration. I wish you the BEST of luck. Maybe try it for a while, but have Plan B ready in your back pocket if it's not working.

 

[Kirk]

I've researched KOA costs in cities we would plan to visit and am putting together a budget for that

KOA is not known for inexpensive or extended term parking. If you plan to sit in one spot for a month or longer you should look for RV parks that have a monthly rate. Typically, such parks will charge about 5-6 times the daily rate per week, and about 2-3 times the weekly rate for monthly but you pay electricity as well. That is done because some folks use electric heaters while others use propane that they buy.
If you use a tool like Campground Reviews you can locate the parks and you may need to visit the park's website to find the weekly and monthly rates.

 

[Yorick]

Since it is your home base and permanent mailing address, you can reasonably claim your sister's property as your domicile (legal "home") and use that for vehicle title & tags, driving licenses, and your home for health & vehicle insurance purposes. In effect, you live there even though you are away from home much of the time. That simple fact vastly simplifies a lot of things.

Whew! Thanks, @Gary RV_Wizard !

 

[Yorick]

Idaho sees overnight freezing starting as early as the beginning of October. It's not uncommon to have snow events in late October. Some parts of Idaho can have feet of snow on the ground in November. It has an inland-winter climate, but not as cold as the midwest. Negative temperatures aren't as common or as persistent during the winter months.

Having worked remote in an RV (two of us), you need a dedicated office setup and private space. You will also need dedicated cellular equipment with very large data plans, probably with multiple cell carriers depending on the signal strength in your location. Free RV park wifi is...free. Free park wifi systems are generally poorly managed, and when overloaded you simply cannot connect. Upload speeds may be 56k-territory. Download speed I've seen as low as 150kbps. When all the park has is an incoming 10Mb DSL connection, you can't use that to work (No VPN, no video conference calls, wifi calling will not work, nor will Teams/Zoom audio work consistently. Not when 50 other sites/campers are trying to stream, browse, connect Smart TV's, etc.

Your plan is to have a lot of people in a very small space. As I mentioned, private space is a big thing. With multiple people trying to work/study and or play, I would think that would bring a lot of frustration. I wish you the BEST of luck. Maybe try it for a while, but have Plan B ready in your back pocket if it's not working.

Thanks @Skookum. That is so helpful! It really is. Have our own large data plan, check! Have multiple carriers... ooooohh, nice suggestion. I could keep me on Verizon then get AT&T for my wife. We are then each other's data backup with our hotspots. Love it! That is a golden suggestion and exactly why I posted these two topics (this one and the sex in the RV one)! Golden!

 

[Yorick]

KOA is not known for inexpensive or extended term parking. If you plan to sit in one spot for a month or longer you should look for RV parks that have a monthly rate. Typically, such parks will charge about 5-6 times the daily rate per week, and about 2-3 times the weekly rate for monthly but you pay electricity as well. That is done because some folks use electric heaters while others use propane that they buy.
If you use a tool like Campground Reviews you can locate the parks and you may need to visit the park's website to find the weekly and monthly rates.

That is awesome advice, @Kirk! Thank you SO much! Use RV parks for longer stay, check! Will definitely add that to our planning and will save us money. Nice.

Thanks for the website also. I just bookmarked it.

 

[Yorick]

@donn , great advice. The Arctic Wolf 321BH is a really good option that also meets our requirements and is even shorter which could be easier to haul. Thanks!

A toy hauler fitted with an office/bunkhouse? Hmm.. An interesting option to consider.

@donn , after further reviewing the Arctic Wolf 321BH, it seems that it does not have any closet space in the master bedroom which would be an issue for the wife. Nice model, but a bit smaller than what we are looking for. Thanks for the suggestion.