These Full-Time RVers Have An Office In Their Toy Hauler

How Two Full-Time RVers Do Business on the Road

Meet Philip and Megan, the faces behind @outdoorishrv. These full-time RVers live in a 2018 Dutchman Voltage toy hauler with their two dogs, Nelson and Butters. 

These two have been living the full-time RV life since October 2019. They combine longer stays with travel to visit friends and family, see amazing National Parks, and enjoy the warm weather in the U.S. 

Why the Built a Toy Hauler Office

Back in 2015, Philip was the one to bring up the possibility of RV life. Upon initially hearing about the idea, Megan said she was not in favor—she had nightmares of the stereotypical trashy trailer park and wasn’t keen on the idea. She had yet to discover the #RVlife hashtag of Instagram. After a little convincing, and a couple of inspiring Youtube videos, Megan agreed and they started working towards full-time RV life. 

Like many others experiencing the grind of shift work and everyday life, Megan and Philip figured that there was more to life than working, eating dinner, and then going to bed. They were stuck in a routine and were experiencing a rut of “going through the motions” and no inspiration.

Prior to RV life, Megan worked retail. She usually worked the afternoon shift and was getting home later in the evening, sometimes around 10 pm. Philip worked (and still works) as an AWS cloud engineer. So he was working a typical 9-5. At the end of the day, it became a struggle to see each other. They figured there had to be more to life. 

They were stuck in a routine and were experiencing a rut of “going through the motions” and no inspiration.

Preparing to become full-time RVers

Preparing for full-time RV life doesn’t usually happen overnight. For these two full-time RVers, it happened over a period of two years.

Over that course of time, Megan and Philip slowly shrunk the size of their home. They started with a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo and worked their way down to a studio apartment before finally moving into their RV.

According to this source, the average square footage of a studio apartment is 514 square feet. Megan and Philip’s toy hauler has over 331 square feet of space. 

As well as downsizing their living spaces, Megan and Philip worked on paying off debts.

Buying an RV with no experience

This seems to be an ongoing trend. You might recall that Jesse and Rachael from Stories From The Road: Meet This Digital Nomad RV Couple also had no prior RV experience. If we’re being honest, my husband and I also had no experience… 

So, in keeping with that trend, Philip and Megan also jumped into becoming full-time RVers with no prior training. They learned how to RV by watching Youtube videos, reading blogs, and reviewing other full-time RVers checklists. Prior to purchasing their toy hauler, they did attend shows and walk around to check out floor plans. 

Philip learned how to haul their toy hauler by trial by fire. At first, he hauled the fifth wheel with a 2006 Chevy Silverado 2500. While it was technically able to pull their rig, it was a “little sketchy”. Once they started traveling more and spent less time stationary, Philip upgraded to a 2018 Ford F350 dually.  

Making an RV home for these full-time RVers

Philip and Megan purchased their RV in March 2019 and went with a 2018 Dutchman Voltage toy hauler; it was brand new on the lot. 

Because it still had the fresh, new RV smell, it was kind of challenging to rip it apart and custom renovate it. No all-white walls and cupboards for these two! 

Instead, they made their RV their home by doing some smaller renovations. First up was converting the garage into an office. Because Philip works remotely, he needed a working space (and room for a really big computer monitor).

Originally, the garage had 2 sofas on a HappiJac lift system and a loft bed. They replaced the sofas with desks that could be lifted up and out of the way. They also made the garage a little more homey by painting the walls. 

Outside of the office, they installed peel-and-stick tiles to make a nice kitchen backsplash. To really make the full-time RV life work, they installed a washer and vented dryer. Megan said it was very nerve-wracking to cut a hole in the outside of their brand new RV!

RV renovation mishap

There was an unfortunate lesson learned by these two that resulted in the painting of the office walls. The RV wallpaper came off the wall when they installed shelves using peel-and-stick hooks. In the high heat of southern U.S., the hooks pulled away from the wall and took the wallpaper with it. 

The digital nomad lifestyle

Full-time RV life and the digital nomad lifestyle go hand in hand. In fact, with today’s advances in technology more and more people are hitting the road and adapting their jobs to support their nomadic lifestyle. According to a survey conducted by Escapees, “25% of survey respondents indicated they work while on the road with 58% of them working remotely at least part-time.”

Like previously mentioned, Philip is a cloud engineer. Megan, previously a bridal alteration expert, is now a self-proclaimed “stay at home dog mom” (#goals). She also spends her days focusing on producing quality content for their social media channels – Instagram, Youtube, and their blog. On top of that, she plans their RV trips. 

Staying connected with 3 hot spots

Because of Philip’s job, it is imperative that wherever they camp has a good internet connection. Sometimes RV parks don’t have a great internet connection though. In order to mitigate the risk of having no internet (or sometimes worse – spotty internet), these full-time RVers have 3 mobile hot spots. Yes, that is correct: 3! 

Alongside the mobile hot spots, they also have a Wi-Fi booster. 

Surprisingly, they don’t pay an arm and a leg for their trio of hot spots. Philip was extremely proactive prior to them taking off for full-time life and found the best deals on mobile data. At the end of the month, they pay $150 for all 3. (Coming from Canada, where we have some of the highest prices for data, this seems like a good deal). 

Full-time RV travel plans

Traveling with an almost 40-foot long toy hauler means that these full-time RVers have to pre-plan. In order to ensure campgrounds have big enough sites and Philip can work, Megan usually starts planning a couple of weeks in advance.

When they aren’t staying at a park long-term, Megan and Philip typically move around every couple of weeks.  

Currently, they are in Galveston, Texas with plans to head to West Texas. In mid-February they have plans to be outside of San Antonio, then Big Bend, then onwards to Guadalupe. When the weather starts to warm up, they will migrate north to visit family during the summer. 

Favorite travel spots

Megan said that Big Bend National Park is their favorite spot but this will be the first time visiting in the RV. Their other favorite spots include the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and the Florida Keys.

Curious about Big Bend? Check out Four Must-See Regions in Big Bend Country, Texas. 

Philip and Megan in Big Bend National Park

Philip and Megan are living the dream as full-time RVers in their toy hauler. Check out their Instagram for daily content and blog for practical information on RV life. They are also Dutchmen RV ambassadors so watch their Youtube for how-to videos (especially if you have a Dutchmen RV). 

You can read why they chose full-time RV life in this blog post. Curious about living in a fifth wheel? Check out Pros & Cons Of Full-Time RVing In A Fifth Wheel. 

Jennifer Jennings

Jennifer lives with her husband and their two cocker spaniels in a 29′ trailer in Mexico. She is one half of DashboardDrifters.com and the founder of RVSpotDrop, a web service for full time RVers.