While we're on the topic, has anyone here lived in an RV pre-FIRE and/or seriously considered doing this (i.e., researching it)? Besides the obvious need to divest oneself of many possessions d/t lack of room, any other advice or surprises or thoughts about the transition?
We have seriously considered living in the RV full time. We purchased an RV in September and have been considering it for this year after the snow melts. The biggest drawback for us is the weather here. -5 F temps and 12+ inches of snow could make it difficult. Adding skirting and insulation would help but I'm uncertain of how effective it would be. Lots of people do it so it is possible in cold and snowy areas. The upper 90's and 100+ F days of summer would be a challenge but easier than the winter. Weather extremes pose difficulties. A more temperate climate would be easier.
Another drawback here is the location, RV parks within the city aren't pretty (your city could be different). There are some just outside the city but would add time to the commute if you're still working (this is what I would choose especially for part time work). From what I've found it looks like it would cost 60 to 70% of what we pay now to move into an RV. We got a great deal on the rental house we are in now, so for others it could cost 50% or less.
I found it way more difficult than expected to find a well taken care of RV for a great price. Build quality is very different between makes and models, do your homework. Start looking at RV's now. Look and inspect as many as possible, you will begin to spot the problem RV's. There are many of them. I found that about 1 in 20 was very well taken care of. Those are what I'm looking for.
Much of that might be seen as negative but I think that moving into an RV is a great long term housing solution. Especially for those of us that would like to travel internationally for 3 to 6 months and then come back and tour the US. Then maybe work for awhile or visit family. We want to be able to change things up and live in multiple places.
The RV we purchased is huge at 40 ft long, but it's about 300 sq ft. Which I think is a great amount of space for us. Could we have gone smaller? Probably, but we were worried about feeling cramped and wanting to sell it due to lack of space. We weren't going to purchase one unless it was a smoking deal. Insurance valued ours at $61,000, we paid $30,000.
In my opinion the best RV deals are 10 plus years old and no slides. Everyone wants slides and many banks won't give loans on 10+ years old RV's. My target market was the 32-40ft late 90's high end models with extras like solar and recent updates. We started out looking at class c's but this is what we ended up with.
Long term storage if not using it, additional transportation needed, maintenance, depreciation, and expensive parts (depends on what systems the RV has) are other considerations not mentioned but should be considered. I've derailed this thread enough already.
