There are a lot of books on the market about RVs, the RV lifestyle, and travel in general. We’ve found the following to be the most valuable in our full-time RV journey.
PREPARATION: So, You Want to Be a Full-Time RVer?
John and Kathy Huggins are the inspiration for many of us that have chosen this lifestyle. Through their writing, podcast, and speaking engagements, they allowed us to see the ins-and-outs of the full-time lifestyle. They provided a very honest assessment that this was not necessarily a vacation, but it could still be a lot of fun.
The book, published in 2012, covers every aspect of full-time RVing including making the decision, preparation, maintenance, and lessons-learned. It is an easy, but extremely informative read. They cover everything you need and some things you may not have thought about, but should. We first purchased the e-book, but decided to get the paperback so we could make notes, highlight, and have it handy to show those that were curious about our lifestyle. If you want the paperback, we recommend the revised version.
We cannot recommend this book enough. In fact, we not only recommend the book, but everything John and Kathy Huggins produced. If you enter their names into Google, there will be a plethora of material they have produced that has helped shape and influence this lifestyle.
MOTIVATION: The 4-Hour Workweek – Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
What? This is a business book. Why is this a must read? Well, this book was a 
great motivator for me in making this decision. I am still fairly young, mid-40s, and have many years of work left in me. Also, we are not wealthy and certainly cannot live on the road full-time without making any income. In this book, Tim Ferriss explains how a life of travel is possible, while still making a living.
We haven’t quite cut our life to a 4-hour work week. We still work full-time, but remotely, and are working on building Chickery’s Travels. However, without this book we would not have even ventured in to seeking permission to work remotely and most certainly would not have started working on our Chickery’s Travels blog and YouTube Channel.
This book is important because it gives a fresh perspective on how to approach the work-life balance. It is full of helpful tips on how to achieve the full-time travel life while still providing income. Most important, it is inspirational and motivating to know that this life is possible for those of us that do not want to give up working yet.
INSPIRATION: On the Road
If you are looking for inspiration to travel North America, then Jack Kerouac’s novel is the must read. The book tells the story of Jack’s travel adventures with Neal Cassady across the country. Many describe it as a novel filled with freedom and hope. It is not the easiest read, but really made me want to hit road and create an adventure across the continent. Definitely a must read if you are feeling the travel bug burning inside you. The novel has also been made into a movie if you do not like to read. Although, as they always say, the book is much better than the movie!
MONEY MATTERS: Full-Time RV Finance
In this book we discuss our financial lessons learned after 3 1/2 years of living and traveling full-time in our RV. We share easy tips that we used to allow us to pay off $91,000 in debt in less than one year. They include how to save money to purchase an RV, how to earn an income on the road, how to budget for full-time travel, and how to minimize travel expenses.
HUMOR: Tales From The Black Tank
This next book provides a humorous look at some of the things that can go wrong in the full-time life. Jam-packed with laughs, guffaws, and the occasional gross-out moment, this 40+ page e-book is the read you didn’t even know you were waiting for!
ORGANIZATION: Create Space from Thin Air: Ideas for Adding Storage to Your RV (Or Other Tiny Home)
This full-color, 36-page e-book will help you discover new potential storage space in your RV or tiny home! With over 75 color photos and more than 60 ideas for storing and organizing, you cannot go wrong here. The book includes:
- Ideas for adapting solutions to fit your needs
- Ways to make use of vertical space for storage
- Tips for finding and utilizing empty space
- Ideas for modifying furniture and built-in spaces to add extra storage
- Step-by-step action plan to help you discover the best storage solutions for your space
EDUCATION: A Complete Novice’s Guide to RV Water System’s Preventive Maintenance
After reading the previous book, you may be afraid of the black tank. Don’t be. We wrote a book on the RV’s water systems (water filtration, tank maintenance, etc.). It includes a lot of pictures on how to perform your own preventive maintenance and properly care for your RV water tanks.
We hope these books help you in making your decision to make the move to full-time travel. If you think we missed any books, please let us know in the comments below.
I’m reading the 4-hour workweek now. I started it ten years ago and never finished–wish I had then, but at least I’m back to it. I’d love to read the Jack Kerouac book too. So many good reads!
Oh my gosh! My book is on here! How sweet.
I definitely need to read the 4 hour work week!
Love this list EXCEPT for On the Road! I slogged through that whole book hoping for a payoff that never came! I can see why a lot of people are inspired by it and why it’s considered a classic as a representation of an era, but it just wasn’t for me! 🙂
Thanks for the comment, Ashley. You are right, that book isn’t for everyone. Sean really enjoyed it, but many others have commented that it wasn’t for them.
Looks like a great list! I can’t tell if I’m living in a bubble or if more and more people really are considering the RV lifestyle. I think it’s the latter though, especially with so many people being able to work remotely. I can barely remember what it was like before we hit the road, hahaha.
I think more and more people are doing it, but I wasn’t very aware of them when we first started out. I was still working full-time, albeit remotely, and kind of in my own bubble as you say.
The 4-hour work week idea you mentioned from the book is quite interesting. I wish more companies would offer that option so a family man like myself can have more time with our loved ones. To think there are so many things to do while in an RV, reading books would not immediately cross my mind. Next time we go on a recreational trip, I’ll advise my girlfriend to bring more educational books to read outdoors.