If only picking an RV was as easy as picking your horse...

April 2011.

Full time RV family…almost ready to pull the trigger.

Palms…sweating.

Checkbook…present but still in its fuscia-colored, pocketbook holster.

Dad…feeling like he’s gonna hurl.

Mom..supremely confident.

Kids…somewhere in the RV showroom hurting each other.

There we were, standing on the precipice of the largest rolling tin-can homestead decision of our lives…

How to Buy an RV if You’ve Never Gone RVing

Did I tell you we have never really RV’ed before? But there we were in the RV showroom about to put a big wad of cash (actually just a big check with zeros at the end of it) down for a brand new Chapparal 330 FBH Fifth Wheel..

We went RVing once up to Maine in a “Class B” rental RV.

It’s called “Class B” because that is what it actually is. Have you ever seen a “B” movie? It’s kind of the same thing.

We really hated it. Too small, too bouncy, too cramped. We were miserable.

Well, actually Jen and I were miserable…the kids thought it was like a big playhouse on wheels.

Having said all that, deciding to RVing full time is a curious way to see the country, especially if you consider our less than stellar track record of success.

Extended stay hotels were considered. Camping was considered.

In the end, RVing won out.

How to Go RVing When You’re Not Really Sure If You Want to Go RVing

When we made the decision to go RVing to realize our ethereal dream of “location independence” (inspired by Timmy Ferris and his memorable book The 4-Hour Workweek), we knew we wanted to travel, to be free, to be released from the chains of location….

Sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it?

By traveling in the Class F, we had kinda figured out what we didn’t want.

That was good.

Sometimes, its better to know what you don’t want before you know what you do want…

So we got the huge Chevy 2500 Diesel behemoth truck and the bigger behemoth Chapparal fifth wheel instead because no other RV fit our style, plain and simple.

And this is what you need to know when you buy and RV:

Know what you want.

How to Pick The Right RV For You

Close your eyes.

Come on, close your eyes.

Are they closed?

Ok, now imagine yourself in an RV.

You have been traveling for 11,000+ miles.

Every ten or so miles the kids start shouting “Are we there yet” or “I’m staaaaaaaarving, when are we eating?” or “Can we got to McDonalds?” or “I gotta go to the bathroom!”

Now, think of you.

• Are you claustrophobic and anger-prone?

• Are you mild-mannered and calm?

• Are you on Xanax and Percocet and just don’t care?

If you’re the first one, then a Class B (or less) is not so good for you. If you’re the second one, then a Class B may be good for you.

If you’re the third one then you may need to seek some counseling…

However, if you’re like us and have businesses, two kids and a short fuse, then you need more space.

If so, a fifth wheel RV is the way to go. No question.

Plus you have a truck to travel to the local Starbucks with too…(don’t haul the fifth wheel there…parking is a bitch!)

Don’t Try to Be Perfect Along The Way to Full Time RVing

What we found out in or Maine debacle is that the Class B just didn’t fit our style.

We absolutely hated being in the same unit we were driving as when we were living. For most full timers, this may sound crazy. But for us, it was essential.

If you are looking to buy an RV, you need to know this for sure.

We also work from home, so we needed space away from the kids to get some semblance of peace so we could work uninterrupted.

Without realizing it, we had actually made our first RV buying decision. We knew we couldn’t go with a Class A or a Class B.

So despite a painful disaster in Maine, some wisdom rose from the ashes of that first fateful trip. If we were going to go, we needed a trailer…and a big one to haul all our stuff.

And boy do we have a lot of stuff. We have books, computers, a guitar, toys, a practice drum set…the list goes on and on.

So when we decide full time RV cross country, we knew we had to get a fifth wheel and a big truck.

First big RVing full time decision…made.

So before you make the big decision on which RV to buy before you go full time RVing, do what we did. Make some mistakes. Go on a tleats one trip in a rented RV. Figure out what you don’t want.

In doing all that, you’ll figure out quickly what RV you do want.

Awesome! Go celebrate. Pop that bottle of Veuve Clicquot you’ve been saving way in the back of the fridge.

When you wake up from your hangover, its time to get to work….you now need to decide on a few things on your RV full time trip.

Here’s a few key points you’ll need to consider:

1. Timeframe

This is the biggest decision you’ll make after making the actual decision to full time RV. So ask yourself:

• Is this full time RV trip forever?

• Is it just a summer excursion?

• Is it just for a full year then back to reality?

Whatever it is, this is the biggest decision you’ll need to make when full timing.

Why? Because this decision will affect all others in planning your full time RV trip. It will affect where you go, what you can see and what RV parks you can stay in, just to name a few.

2. RV Campsite Length of Stay

Once you decide how long you’re full time RVing, then consider how long you want to stay at each spot.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you like to set up, do a quick tour of the local area and get out within a couple of days?

• Do you like to unpack, stay a while and call it home for a week or two and get to know the area as a local?

3. RV Accessories

Time frame will also determine which RV accessories you’ll need as well.

Do you need to get your RV supplies along the way in each location or do you need to pack them ahead of time?

4. RV Driving Time

A major factor many full time RV families don’t think of is driving time between destinations. For us, we decided that we didn’t want to have to drive more than 5 hours driving per day. We stuck to that in all our planning and we’re glad we did.

5. Special Events

Next, factor in any special events that you have to get to at a certain time and day. This will seriously affect your schedule. Perhaps Uncle Ed’s 90th birthday in Dubuque is a must be at event you cannot miss. If so, factor it into the time frame and schedule.

For us, whad a U2 concert in Chicago we had to get to by the first week in July. We had to rush our way through the Eastern U.S. to make sure got there in time.

6. Trips Back Home

Maybe you need to plan a trip home for a “visit” in the middle of your trip. Before our full time RV trip, we planned a return home for November for business meetings and a family function.

Also, plan on unplanned events in your schedule. We needed to come home in September because my father became ill. This was an unplanned return home, but a vitally important one.

7. Fluff Time

Lastly, think of any unplanned “off the itinerary’ stops you may want to make. For example, we were in upstate New York and saw the Fuller Glass Museum, but couldn’t stop because our RV schedule wouldn’t allow it. We regret that we couldn’t hit this museum due to the fact that the schedule was so tight. This is a big mistake many full timers make.

So make sure you build in some “fluff time’ into the itinerary and always plan on unexpected stops to enhance your full time RV experience.

Doing this will keep the family fresh and make your full time RV trip so much more enjoyable.

So learn from our mistakes and a few of our good decisions when you’re planning your full time RV trip.

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So are you ready to go full time RVing? Post your comments below!

If you want to go RVing full time in the big rig, you gotta know your mission and your time frame!

So, you want to go full time RVing?

In our first post in this series we discussed the importance of being flexible and your mindset for living in an RV full time.

So here we get to the next important step in the process of planning your full time RV trip, mission and time frame.

What’s Your RVing Mission?

It may seem kind of obvious, but without this you’re going to wander around aimlessly as you try to plan your full time RV trip. You full time RV mission could be any number of things, but the most important thing in this step is to figure out what you want to accomplish with your family.

So what do you really want to see? Some ideas to answer this question include:

• National Parks in every state?

• Baseball fields across the US?

• Historical sites?

• Amusement parks?

• Antique shows?

• Museums?

• Natural wonders?

• Craft Fairs?

• Your 72 cousins spread across the country?

• The 4^th grade curriculum of the western movement?

• All of the restaurants that you’ve seen featured on “ Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”?

It could be any of these goals (or more) or a combination of them all. Whatever it is, start there.

Map It Out

Start by creating a list of your “must  see’s” and plot them on a map.  Now, for each member of your family this could mean a different  genre.

If your husband is a history buff (like mine), historical sites and battlefields were top priority to him, as were the baseball fields; you know that he had to get his MLB fix too!

For me, the history was ever so important:  I just HAD to see Laura Ingalls Wilder’s house, the Henry Ford Museum, and Abe Lincoln’s house too.

For our family, we tried to build much of the trip around the kid’s school curriculum that way we could tie lessons plans into real life exposure.

Get Some Travel Books

This is a good point to get some travel books on both full time RVing and travel in the US and Canada. You may stumble upon some other areas of interest to add to your itinerary.

Some of our favorites:

• 1,000 Places to See Before You Die

• Life: Heaven on Earth: 100 Places to See in Your Lifetime

• Frommer’s Exploring America by RV

• Off the Beaten Path: A Travel Guide to More Than 1000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowded and Inviting

• Live Your Road Trip Dream: Travel for a Year for the Cost of Staying Home

• Road Trip America: A State-By-State Tour Guide to Offbeat Destinations

Whatever it is for your family, start there and then you can connect the dots to develop your route.

After you have done this then its time to figure out your time frame…

Determine Your Time Frame

What is the duration of your trip?  Is it a summer?  A year?  Decide how long you have and how much time you want to allocate to each general area of the trip.  For example one month in the Northeast, go for a full year cross country or by September you want to be in Seattle.

Write it down and decide how long you’ll be away.

• Decide how long you want to stay at each spot 

Do you like to set up, do a quickie of the area, see the sites and get out within a couple of days?  Or do you like to unpack, call it home for a week or two and enjoy the surroundings as a local?

• RV driving considerations

Its very important to take into account the amount of driving that you want to do in between destinations.  We knew that we never wanted more than a 6 or 7 hour driving day.  Others don’t mind a 12 hour day behind the wheel if it gets them to the next location.

• Events to plan around?

Also are there any events that you have to get to be a certain time?  For example, we want to be at Uncle Lou’s family reunion in Nebraska by July 4^th or we want to see the Rose Bowl parade in January in California?

Or maybe you want to plan a trip home for a “visit” in the middle of your trip.

For us, we planned a trip home for November and December.  As a family, having never been away from home for this duration of time, we wanted a scheduled-in time to go home and see our family and friends.  The holidays seemed the perfect time to go home for a visit, catch up, regroup, and avoid the winter roads.

Lots of things to consider when planning an RV trip full time.

Comment below and tell us what you think. Or at the very least please “Share” this article on Facebook or Twitter by pressing the button on the left!