full time rv living in a fifth wheel

May 28, 2018 by Julie 10 Comments

Boondocking – What We Learned From Our First Dry Camping Experience

If you know anything about us, or have looked at our campground reviews you’ll know we are a little spoiled. We are glampers (RV Resort regulars), not campers. Actually we like to say we are LIVING in our RV, not camping. So what were we to do when we found ourselves in a no hook-up boondocking situation for 2 (long, very long) weeks?

Boondocking aka Dry Camping

If you haven’t heard the term before, boondocking refers to camping without hookups (power, water, sewer), and is also called dry camping. It is very popular in rural areas, thus the name boondocking.

We have started using a program called Harvest Hosts where you can stay for free at farms, wineries, breweries, and golf courses.

Our RV Equipment

First off since we don’t boondock, or even stay at partial (gasp!) hookup sites, we had to work with what we had. Folks who do this regularly have installed things like solar panels and composting toilets or other water conservation methods. We have an Onan gas generator and fairly large water tanks. In preparation we bought a portable poop wagon (more on that later).

Lesson #1: Don’t Do It In Texas in Late May

While it may not officially be summer for another month, we had highs over 100 degrees on several days. It was HOT! While we can run two air conditioners in our Fifth Wheel on the generator, it burns a lot of gas! We thought we were going to get away with just using a battery operated fan, but not in that heat. Friends tell me that boondocking in temperate climates is much more enjoyable.

Lesson #2: Lead Acid Batteries Aren’t The Best Choice For Boondocking

Your lead acid batteries may have a 100% charge, but you can’t use it all. In fact, it is not recommended to deplete them beyond 50%. If you have a residential refrigerator like we do, you might want to upgrade. We upgraded to Lithium BattleBorn batteries and couldn’t be happier! Secondary to this, we learned that our inverter can only power the refrigerator. This meant we had no other power source while sleeping and no means to charge the batteries. So we also upgraded the inverter and converter. Below is the first of a 4-part series of videos on our power upgrade.

Lesson #3: We Use A Lot Of Water

One of the most inconvenient parts of boondocking or dry camping is the lack of a water source. You can get an additional water bladder or just get an RV with larger tanks (like we recently did). Luckily our first foray into boondocking was at a county fairground, so we were able to fill our fresh water tank when needed.

We were warned that daily showering uses a lot of water. In fact, I’ve read several articles from regular boondockers that forgoing the daily shower is helpful. Not for us. We like our daily showers. In fact, I sometimes take more than one a day. For example, I shower after my workout/walk every morning. One day we went to the lake in the afternoon, so I showered again before bed. I did employ one technique for my showers that I don’t normally do. Some folks call it a “navy shower” where you get wet, turn off the water, lather up, turn back on the water to rinse. I didn’t love it, but it seemed to help a little.

I also filled up a bucket with the excess cold water while I was waiting for the water to warm up. Then we used that water to flush the toilet. i

Lesson #4: The Water Has To Go Somewhere

Access to fresh water is not the only reason to conserve. The other reason is that all the water you use has to go somewhere. We purchased a Thetford SmartTote2 Portable Waste Tank for this particular camping adventure. We used it once and didn’t love the process. Dumping from the RV into the portable system was simple, but going from it to the dump station sewer drain was not so easy. When you lift the hose show in the image below hose, there is no valve holding back the flow until you get it in the drain.

We should have watched this video from Exploring the Local Life first. Robert explains how to overcome that particular challenge.

Will We Do It Again?

It really wasn’t so bad, and I think if we did it for a shorter period of time in a more temperate climate, we might even enjoy it. We’re going to take baby steps and check out some Corps of Engineer campgrounds with partial hookups.

UPDATE: WE DID IT AGAIN (AND AGAIN). CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE LESSONS LEARNED AND TIPS.

Recommended Products To Improve Your Boondocking Experience

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February 22, 2018 by Julie 5 Comments

The True Cost of Financing an RV

When financing a new RV there is a lot more to consider than just the sticker price or monthly payment. In this article, I’ll discuss crucial factors such as depreciation and interest.

The bottom line for most people when purchasing an RV, or even a car, is the monthly payment. This was a mistake we made when we purchased our Heartland Cyclone brand new. We definitely love the product, but would have done the purchase differently if we were financially smarter at the time. Let’s walk through the true cost of an RV using a fictitious example.

The Standard Purchase Methodology

The purchase price of our fictitious RV is $100,000. Using traditional thinking, we know that we can only afford a payment of approximately $750. So, we go to the dealership with that payment in mind, ignoring the overall complete cost. Predictably, after the desired RV is selected, the salesperson asks two questions.

What monthly payment can you afford?
How much are you willing to provide as a down payment?

This will typically start the “negotiation” process. As an example, let’s say the response is a goal of having a $750 monthly payment and a down payment of $5,000. Everyone knows what happens next – the salesperson cannot actually negotiate with you. There is a mystery person in a back office that every salesperson goes to. Does this master mathematician of pricing actually exist? Who knows, but the salesperson will come back with an offer. The offer will be amazingly close, but slightly more than what you wanted to pay initially.

The Offer

The salesman returns and asks if it is possible to put down a little more than planed. If so, the payment can be very close to $750. After a couple of rounds of negotiation with the mystery man in the secret room, the “negotiation” ends with an agreement to pay $763 per month after putting $7000 down. With the down payment and your “great credit score,” the loan is 5.25% for 15 years. So, $93,000 is financed at 5.25% with a monthly payment of $763 for 15 years. Sounds great, right? You leave the dealership happy with your purchase and the peace of mind of a 2-year warranty on your 15-year purchase.

What it Really Costs

Hopefully, the RV is everything it was expected to be and you want to keep it for many, many years. However, most RVs are traded after three to five years. In addition, the average RV can depreciate between 25% & 40% within the first one to two years. In this example, the $100,000 RV is only going to be worth between $60,000 and $75,000 very shortly after purchase. This can be considered a “good times with the RV” cost because it will never be recovered from a trade-in or private sale.

But wait, there’s more! Making the $763 payment every month will pay off the RV in 15 years. Along with the cost of the RV, the 5.25% interest rate adds up to an additional $40,000+ in interest. This means that the total cost would be $140,000 for a product that quickly becomes valued somewhere between $60,000 and $75,000. This is what the bank wants because it makes them the most return on the loan.

What Can Be Done

The most ideal approach to take to the purchase is to pay cash. But really, most of us cannot afford to pay that much for an RV in cash unless the money was accumulated and saved for several years. So, one option is to wait until the money is in the bank and then make the purchase. In this option, the $40,000 in interest is avoided, but the large drop in value from depreciation is not.

A second option is to buy a used RV that fits within the budget and allows for a cash purchase. The average trade-in time, as indicated above, is three to five years. Many of the RVs in this range have several years of use left in them. This method allows for someone else to “pay” the huge depreciation in the first couple of years. In this option, interest is avoided as well as depreciation. This really is the ideal option for RVers who want to be debt free and live on a reasonable budget.

Lastly, do the homework before making the purchase. The dealership and private seller will not talk about the historical depreciation of the RV model you are considering. This would not be counter to their goal of maximizing profit. Review what two- to three-year-old models are selling for. Also, scour the Internet for information on problems related to that model along with impressions from people that own it. The more information gathered before negotiating the purchase, the better the decision will be on price.

Feedback

We are interested in your feedback/advice on the RV purchase. Please let us know if you have any tips or tricks you used when purchasing your RV.

There are a lot factors involved in financing a new RV. More than just the sticker price or monthly payment. In this article, we cover the crucial factors of depreciation and interest.

December 15, 2017 by Julie 5 Comments

Why We Are Traveling Full-Time In Our RV

We’re often asked why we chose to live and travel full-time in our RV, and would like to share our story with you.

Our Background

We have both moved a lot throughout our lives. Sean’s father was in the military and he was raised in England, Spain, Alaska, Montana, and Florida to name a few. Julie moved so often as a child, that she attended 10 different schools (K-12).

In addition, we both served 20 years in the military. During this time, we moved on average every 3 years. Between us, we’ve lived in 12 states and 3 countries. We also traveled extensively on vacations because we love experiencing new places.

Crossroads

In 2014, we found ourselves at a crossroads. Our youngest son had just moved away from home and we became empty nesters. At the same time, we were preparing to transition from the military. Our 3 sons lived in different states, and we weren’t sure where we wanted to settle down. Since we didn’t grow up in one place, there is no specific location either one of us considers “home.” Although we had never owned an RV before, we had been eyeing them with envy for years and thought it would be a great way to travel around the country and enjoy all it had to offer.

To see our RV click here to see the video about our Tiny Traveling Home.

Digital Nomads

Although we were coming to the completion of our military careers, we were not yet ready to retire completely. Instead, we were able to find positions that allowed us work remotely. After 3 years of full-time remote corporate work, we also decided to become entrepreneurs. We now have this blog, a podcast, and YouTube Channel, 2 books, and a financial program called Full-Time RV Finance.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can earn an income while traveling full-time click here to read our article, 5 Ways to Fund Full-Time Travel.

Our Outlook

We aren’t escaping the constraints of society, we simply love the adventure and the ability to travel when we want. We still consider ourselves to be fully engaged in society with the added flexibility of being able to relocate when and where we want. As property owners and land owners for almost 20 years, we do not have a problem with the constraints placed on that ownership such as HOA or property taxes. We also did not hate our jobs. In fact, we kept them and now work from the road.

After six years of living and traveling full-time in our RV, we recently purchased a home base. Now instead of Full-Time RVers, we call ourselves Fun-Time RVers because we hit the road often to enjoy all that it has to offer. We hope you will follow our adventure!