From a House to RV Living Full-Time in 100 Days

From house to RV living in 100 days! Read about all the steps we took to make this dream a reality. For years we talked about downsizing and traveling. We wanted to explore and go on more adventures as a family.

Taking a year-long journey in an RV sounded pretty cool. Selling our family home and most of our earthly possessions then launching our road trip in 100 days seemed pretty crazy.

This is how we made it happen. These are the steps we took to go from living in a house to traveling and living full-time in an RV.

Launching a Full-Time RV Living Journey

Once this adventurous vision broke over our family’s horizon (carried by my wife, Julie), we embraced it wholeheartedly.

In truth, we clearly did not comprehend what we were embracing. I guess that’s how it always is with the most amazing things in life, isn’t it?

It was merely an exciting idea without specifics, sacrifice, sweat, dollar signs, struggles, pain, or thousands of exhausting, necessary decisions. The idea was pristine and unchallenged.

Yet the vision lived and expanded.

Our First Step: We Purchased an RV

I spent a full week extensively researching RVs. My family and I stepped foot on an RV lot together in mid-February of that year.

It was a fairly simple and unassuming start to our journey. Especially compared to the mind-bending, ridiculously quick process of shedding much of the life we had known during 21 years of marriage.

It was far too fast without enough planning or number crunching. But, in our blissful ignorance, we shopped and chatted and moved forward as if we belonged. As if we knew what we were doing. Somehow we acted like we were meant to be here and so it worked.

By early March, we had a 26-foot travel trailer parked at an RV storage facility in our Texas hometown. We accomplished Step 1 in less than one month.

The speed at which everything was happening made me question whether it was actually “supposed” to come together. Was this outlandish plan coming really together? Was everyone still on board as much as we were a month ago? And did any of that even matter? As you can tell, I had a lot of questions.

Launching a Full-Time RV Life Can be Scary

This dream had taken on a life of its own. Our doubts and fears and heart-stopping questions still orbited our every move. But move we did. We moved forward, undaunted, into the next phase of our grand vision.

Okay, that’s kind of a lie.

To be more honest, I had a few “shut down” days during the first month. My entire being was on overload and I couldn’t even form sentences. The real truth is I was very daunted.

I would stare and grunt and point. That’s about it.

Julie suggested more than once that we pull the plug on the whole RV around the country idea because I was struggling with the unknowns. I had lots of fears of making a huge mistake.

It was pretty scary and crappy. And that’s the truth you should know about some real hiccups I experienced during those 100 days.

Our House Sold Quickly

I put one foot in front of the other. After countless hours making repairs and cleaning, we had prepared our family home for sale. It was the end of March.

We listed the house on March 31. Within 24 hours we had a full-price offer. That was unexpected.

During that first week there were dozens of showings. By the end of the week, we received and accepted another full-price offer.

A closing date in early May materialized before we had time to process it all. Despite all reasonable odds, our timeline for rolling out of town as summer hit Texas seemed possible.

We literally could not have scripted it any better. Aside from my “mini breakdown” the dream was becoming a reality.

Selling Our Personal Belongings

During the month of April I posted approximately 730 times on social media and Craiglist. What was I doing? Selling all of our random possessions.

My son and I took almost daily trips to Goodwill and other local charitable donation sites. We spent hours offloading the slew of cheap-but-still-useful items our family had accumulated over the years.

I suspect there was a garage sale or many garage sales during that brief time in our lives. Honestly, it’s hard to confirm. It’s all kind of a blur.

Online sales and offline donation runs continued uninterrupted during May. In addition, the number of trips to the local waste treatment landfill facility increased.

Those trips were unfortunate, but unavoidable as we got down to the cluttered reality of our suburban family existence.

We had so many things. We leased the house back from the new owners for a few weeks to give us more time to clear out and prepare for our trip. Organizing, processing, selling, storing all our possessions felt like a full-time job, particularly as our move-date (May 26) was quickly approaching.

Dealing with Possessions and Guilt

At this point, guilt was poking its prickly head into my business. It didn’t seem possible to face the spoils of past compulsive consumption habits without being ashamed. We faced an appalling mountain of otherwise forgotten stuff.

It’s one thing to sell or donate things for other people to get some use out of it. When it’s passed down, at least you can feel some redeeming usefulness in the accumulated crap.

It’s a little salve for the painful and oozing sore caused by years of over consumption.

But, when you are down to the dregs of your possessions and you are up against a “move out clock,” those things have to be moved along somehow, somewhere.

When far too many useful items end up filling a hole in our green earth, despite trying to give it away, it truly leaves a mark n the soul. Just as it does on the earth.

I’m not proud of this and still feel the sting of guilt as I lay it out before you now. But there it is. The honest truth. And I deeply wish not to repeat that consumption pattern in the coming years.

Moving into Our Home on Wheels

Despite all of this mess brewing internally, the work continued. We finally moved into our new “home on wheels” and slept there for the first time on May 26th.

The trailer was parked near my in-law’s home, which was a few miles from our house that now belonged to another family.

We were transported from an idea and barely-formed vision into full-blown reality. Our new reality was five people living in a 200 square foot space. And now we were on the verge of very long-distance road trips.

It’s still a surprise that we made it happen so quickly. The only reason it worked is because our crazy vision was fully embraced by everyone involved.

Our passion and excitement, even when mixed with fear and doubt, forced all the right pieces into place.

We simply brought our engaged selves, whether or not we had all the answers. In fact, we knew we only had a few answers.

So we acted in faith that we were making the right move.

Looking Back

Now I look back after many months, over 4,600 miles, and incredible memories visiting national parks. I recall the beautiful cities across the U.S. and Canada.

And I realize this remarkable adventure reminds me of the importance of welcoming and embracing new visions for my life. Now, and in the future.

Living in an RV with your family for months or a year may not be an exciting dream for you. Maybe just the thought is your worst nightmare. It’s definitely not for everybody.

Things to Consider: Is RV Living is Right for You?

I believe that most of us in the American culture do need to find a way to break out of our consumption and accumulation patterns. Not just for the inherent benefits that result from such a shift in behavior, but also in order to embrace new adventures.

It is good for the soul. You cannot convince me otherwise.

Your Choices About an RV Life are Yours

So, what about you?

If you want to stop accumulating and start adventuring, the first step is to make the choice. Start crafting your adventure and then take steps to reverse habits of accumulation.

And trust me: Your “adventurous vision” will be much easier to glimpse when the mountains of distracting possessions are out of your way.

It may not happen all at once in a 100-day window as it did for me and my family. Honestly, you probably wouldn’t it to happen that way.

But, if you keep yourself focused on the direction you are moving, and not just the destination, it will be farm more likely to come together. I think you will be far more likely to begin to see your own consumption and accumulation patterns clearly. Then have a chance to change and grow as a result.

Giving Thanks and Dreaming

Give thanks for today. Dream for a better tomorrow.

We should all dream of peace and adventure that we have not yet known. Not just for ourselves, but for everyone with whom we come in contact.

Get Ready for Adventure: How to Prepare for RV Living

Todd Bonner

Todd loves a competitive game of table tennis, a breathtaking hike, and exploring new places. He lived and traveled in an RV with his family as they traveled throughout much of the US and parts of Canada. Todd has extensive knowledge about RV travel, safety, and accessories and has shared many of his stories here on TREKKN. When he’s not busy launching and building small businesses, you may find him staring at pictures of Glacier National Park (probably his favorite spot on earth).