Full-Time RVers

I was 19 the first time I ever met someone who intended to live in their RV full time. It was cool because they sold me their washer, dryer, stove and refrigerator. I'd worked with the guy. He was retiring and he and his wife were selling their house and all their stuff and taking to the open road.

Were they happy? Did they regret their decision? I don't know. I never saw them again after we picked up the appliances. Were they nuts?! I suppose so. My experience with RVs, campers, whatever you want to call them is somewhat limited.

When I was in my early teens, my mom and dad bought a pop-up camper. What this means in practical terms is that my mom and dad had a bed while me and my siblings slept on the ground in sleeping bags. After I got married and left home, they got a better camper. They never lived in it. I'm not sure they did much traveling with it. They liked to go for weekends. My son and I stayed with them a few times after I separated from my husband. We stayed in the upper bunk. I bashed my head on the ceiling every time I wanted to turn over.

So I wasn't a fan of campers. Not a problem. My second husband and I bought an Airstream. I absolutely LOVE those things. I went shopping and got it all kitted out. New TV, new beach towels, new dishes ...new everything. We never spent a night in and and one day I came home from work to find that he'd sold it for $5K less than we'd paid for it - with all of the stuff I'd bought still in it. I wasn't especially happy.

So when Mark decided that we needed a camper, it was a bit of a hard sell. But he finally convinced me with things like knowing who's been sleeping in that bed and knowing what's in your food. And truthfully, I've quite enjoyed it. I like going places and seeing things. Touring. I like touring.

But then we have Mark's CAD to deal with. We thought we could take the RV and go south to San Antonio or New Braunfels to get away from the colder temperatures in Dallas last winter.

It didn't work. We spent two months in New Braunfels, just living there and working. It was only 5 degrees warmer than Dallas, which still wasn't warm enough. So mostly we stayed in. And I didn't like it. Not much to do but work. You couldn't really go outside much because most days it was just too cold. And that's when we realized that we just needed to move to Florida where it's warmer.

The plan was to take the RV to Florida and look for a house and live in the RV until we can move in to the house.

We've been living in our RV for the past month. It seems like six months. All things considered, our RV is decent sized. We have a kitchen (with an island). We have a queen size bed and a bathroom with a shower that you can actually turn around in. The refrigerator may not be full size according to American standards, but it's bigger than most UK refrigerators.

The real problems - we have no dishwasher and the cats won't do the dishes. We are constantly doing dishes. It seems we wash them several times a day. It's boring. It's tedious.

It's hard to make the bed because even though it's a queen size bed, you can't actually walk around it easily. I have a hard time doing it but I hate when it's not tidy.

I don't have my own washer and dryer - which is okay when you're touring but not when you're living there. I'm not going to wash a bra I paid in excess of $100 for in a laundromat, thank you. I'd rather go to Kohl's and buy a couple of cheap ones that I can throw in the washer than ruin my good ones.

We are trying to work but things are just piling up - even though I brought filing boxes to try to eliminate that problem. It just makes me crazy - probably because I'm too old for this.

Our cats have minimal space to run around in. We tried putting harnesses and leashes on them to take them outside but they fall over like they're dead. But we just can't let them go outside in a campground - and I'm told that there are predators living in the surrounding fields. 

And I am constantly battling ants. I don't like to use the harsh chemicals because I don't believe they're good for us or our cats. So mostly I'm spraying with bleach. It kills them, but they keep coming back. And from what I can see outside, there is an endless supply of them.

I will be so happy and relieved to get out of here and into our house. I am happy to go someplace in our RV to visit. I am not happy to live in it. We probably won't even be planning any trips until next summer.

To my friends and family who choose to live in their RVs. If you're already doing this, I assume you enjoy it and good for you! For those who are planning on moving into their RV, I hope you've given it plenty of thought and a trial run.

At least Mark and I are in agreement on this. We like touring - defined as a trip to a specific destination, an exploration of that area and then a return home. We don't enjoy it as a way of life and can't wait to get in our new home. Hopefully, we're only a few weeks away now.