Life isn’t all black and white and neither is the definition of a full-time RVer. Although it might seem as simple as the RV Tech Library’s definition of a full-timer, which is “Someone who lives in their RV on a permanent basis,” apparently to many people in the full-timing community that’s not all there is to being a full-timer.
Take my situation for example. My husband and I own mortgage-free property in Colorado with a small modular house that sits on five acres of gorgeous mountaintop land. We’ve spent as many as five consecutive months there but the majority of our time is spent living on the road in our RV. The frequency and length of our stays at this property all depends on our travel and workamping schedule. We love our mountaintop retreat but eventually want to sell it and invest in something else.
Purchasing this property was a lifetime goal for us but when the deal was done I was a little sad: I felt as if we had fallen outside the definition of “full-time RVer.” Even though we maintain residency requirements for our primary home state of Texas, the fact that we were back in the game of property taxes and homeowner’s insurance felt like we had moved on to another lifestyle. However once we realized the harsh winters conditions at our retreat, we were back on the road faster than you could say “wind chill factor.” Within no time at all, we were full-time RVers once more.
I consider myself a full-timer but apparently there’s a contingent of people living this lifestyle who don’t see it the same way. A few weeks ago I watched an online discussion unfold about the definition of a “full-time RVer.” Some RVers felt that the definition of a full-timer means severing all ties to real estate ownership. Others felt that a full-timer was someone who lived in their RV all year long, but owning rental property was acceptable. A few outliers wanted to define a full-timer as someone who changed locations multiple times per year. And finally, some folks felt that as long as the RVer lived in their rig the majority of the year, they still met the criteria of being a full-time RVer, even if they owned a second home elsewhere or only moved their rig occasionally.
I got a good chuckle over the ridiculousness of the conversation. After all, full-timers are adventurous souls who chose to live on the road because they don’t enjoy living within the narrow constraints of a “typical” sticks-and-bricks lifestyle! When it comes down to it, trying to pigeonhole the “full-time RVer” definition is as crazy as willingly jumping right back into that stifling box that we tried to escape in the first place!
Personally, I think that a full-timer is anyone who lives in their RV for the majority of time each year. Whether you own property or not doesn’t matter, all that counts is that you have an insatiable appetite for adventure and living outside the box.
Now it’s your turn: what’s your definition of a full-time RVer?
Rene Agredano and her husband, Jim Nelson, became full-time RVers in 2007 and have been touring the country ever since. In her blog, Rene chronicles the ins and outs of the full-timing life and brings readers along to meet the fascinating people and amazing places they visit on the road. Her road trip adventures are chronicled in her blog at LiveWorkDream.com.
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