When 
plans to start our RV fulltiming lifestyle in the summer of 2004 started looking more solid, we started a journal to record our "Countdown to the RV Fulltiming Lifestyle". Here, you can read about our preparations for the year prior to moving into the motorhome. This journal records various events starting 12 months before we "hit the road". The oldest entries are at the bottom.
Larry grew up with various types of camping and Recreational Vehicles (RV's). His parents owned Volkswagen campers for many years, and bought a Class C motorhome in 1973. During the years after we got married, we did the routine of tent camping, moving up to a tent-trailer, then a trailer (or caravan, as it's called in Germany), then later moved up to a Class C motorhome. Around 1990, we sold the Class C Tioga motorhome, and started back with tent camping. We moved up again to a tent-trailer in 1998. While on vacation in Yellowstone, we met a couple living and traveling in their large Class A motorhome. We had never even thought of this idea, but the idea was planted. What an ideal lifestyle! Slowly traveling around North America and seeing as much of this wonderful world as we can, while we can. Of course, the Jeep will be towed along and we'll be having new adventures everywhere we go. Ahhh... to us, this would be living the perfect life. With that seed planted, Larry started researching as much as he could. After reading numerous books, attending many seminars, meeting and talking with many fulltimers, joining the Escapees RV Club, attending RV rallies, and spending a week at the "Life on Wheels" university, we knew this was a lifestyle we wanted to try. We planned to make this lifestyle change for over 6 years and finally made the leap in September 2004.
2005 Expenses 2006 Expenses 2007 Expenses 2008 Expenses 2009 Expenses
Finances are one of the primary concerns of potential RV full-timers. While doing our research before full-timing, I greatly appreciated looking at other people's expense records. My research showed it cost the average full-timer about $2500 a month to maintain this lifestyle. Of course, some claimed they could survive on less than $1000 a month, while others stated they couldn't survive on less than $5000 a month. This big variation is probably contributed to the difference in lifestyle choices. We've tried to be frugal in this lifestyle, yet not cheap. We've budgeted ourselves and try to live within this budget. Two of the largest expense items can be controlled. Our campground fees are kept under an average of $6.50 a day by boondocking and workamping. Fuel for the motorhome is also kept reasonable by not driving everyday, staying at least 2 nights at each stop, and staying still for workamping.
