Top 10 RV Myths we have encountered in our travels.
We heard a few things and had some expectations for when we adopted the RV nomadic lifestyle. Here is a list of 10 things we expected and in our experience, have shown to be myths.
1. RV = Less Work.
We thought the upkeep of the RV would be less time consuming than the upkeep of a house. With a warranty from buying new it should have been more peace of mind. Turns out upkeep is more important on an RV and takes time to find the not-as-readily available parts that are usually more expensive.
2. Easy to find Boondocking (freeish) places to stay.
Staying in and near Florida, the south east areas of the U.S. is not boondocker friendly. It is difficult to find free parking. Many cities and counties have laws against sleeping in vehicles. State recreation areas charge for camping. This just makes it harder to find ‘off grid’ areas to camp. If you have found good places to hide from the world in the south east area, let us know!
3. It’s Cheaper in a RV.
Cost can very month to month, depending on location. This goes for fuel, sites, food, electric, etc. If you are thinking long term stationary, you can get a discount on a spot, but you will pay for your electric. Insurance is similar to a house. If you have payments, you are making those. Maintenance is more often, and usually at a cost in both time and price.
4. RV’s are MOVE IN READY.
Oh boy this is far from true. You are going to make it your home and make changes. This is a given. But you have to spend more than expected to get the things needed to just live. You need waste hoses, water hose, jack pads, levelers, hitches, protection, chocks, anti movement stuff…oh the list goes on.
5. Every night there is a camp fire.
Camping and camp fires just seem to go together. Until it doesn’t. RV resorts and parks have varying rules when it comes to fires. “No open fires,” “No WOOD fires,” “NO FIRES,” “Only gas,” and sometimes “only grills.” Then throw in weather, both temperature, rain, and bugs. Outside is sometimes not conducive.
6. Healthier lifestyle/loose weight.
Healthy lifestyles takes work no matter where or who you are. More hikes, more lake time, and more bicycling are all things we look forward to, but many locations are not conducive to to being overly active. Many ‘newer’ locations are adding pickleball. Most campgrounds have shuffle board, horse shoes, and a pool. If the location is not walk/bike friendly it limits the cardio you can get. The campground gyms are usually OK at best, but most are rundown old equipment, or very limited on equipment.
7. Meet many like-minded people.
You will find people like you. The amount of time it has taken to find ‘our people’ seems a lot longer than it should have. Many of the areas in Florida have stationary RV people who just use their RV as a single wide mobile home. We go to some of these locations to get into an area of the state that we want to explore. Finding nomadic people in those areas gets difficult.
8. More Freedom.
Signing the papers on your RV gives you the ability to go ANYWHERE there are roads. You can live wherever you want. There are governmental limitations on schooling, taxes, parking and sleeping in vehicles. There is also all the normal life stuff that has to be done, i.e. schooling and doctors. Some places may price out your budget, others require saving or cutting corners for a bit before getting there. There are places to boondock for free unless you need internet for work.
9. Easy to find Work Camping/Seasonal/Part time/remote employment
Remote jobs are on the downswing. This is make finding full time employment more difficult. Work camping is a great option! Many of the places we have looked into wants 2 adults, for 40 hours each at part time pay and a parking spot. Some of the places would be nice, but why trade good paying jobs to get a low paying grind in a pretty place?
10. Minimalism–less stuff–less housework.
You always trade something somewhere. Minimalism is a great way to help in the RV lifestyle. It helps making decisions about what to keep and what to let go of. Depending on your rig though, you may need some extra stuff. Or you may need to get rid of a lot more than you think. You are able to trade hours of chores for mere minutes. Those trades are do come at a price from dumping tanks to maintenance that you have never heard of.
Wrapping up.
This is just a glance at some of the biggest myths we heard and expected when we joined into the life of full time RV nomads. What have you heard that would add to this list?
Here is the link to a TikTok for the video if you would rather: RV Myths
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