A Typical Day for a Full Time RV Life
Are you thinking about packing it all up, moving into an RV, and exploring the countryside? So you want to know – what does a typical day look like for full time RV life?!
Full Time RV Living is the Journey of a Lifetime
Congrats! You’re about to embark on an incredible journey. Full-time RV life is a great way to travel, bond with your family, make new friends, and create memories you’ll cherish for a lifetime.
All the Questions
But before you embark on this journey of a lifetime, you’ll have questions. And lots of them.
Some of our questions were answered by watching and learning from YouTube videos covering full-time RV life. (Have you subscribed to ours – you can do so right here)
Some were answered by reading blogs as well as RV and travel-related books. Many of our other questions were left unanswered.
That was due in part to learning on the road and also because there were quite a few questions we didn’t even yet know to ask.
What I really, really wanted was to sit down face to face with fellow full-timers, ask them some questions and just hear first-hand what this life is really like.
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Our First Meeting with a Full Time RV Family
A few weeks before we launched, I messaged a full-time RVer. I had noticed (thanks to Instagram) that she and her family were in the Austin area, which is where we were living at the time.
I asked if they would mind meeting up with us for dinner and she said yes! So we met Eric, Brittany and their adorable son Caspian from RV Wanderlust.
We met at The Soup Peddler and I recommend that if you’re ever in Austin, do yourself a favor and go eat there.
It was so fun getting to know them, hearing about their travels and their life on the road. They gave us some fantastic advice and shed some light on some of our most burning questions.
One of Our Biggest Questions
One of our biggest questions was what does a typical day look like on the road. Another topic I was very eager to learn more about is how and when do you get work done?
Travel days wear us out, which means we’re worthless the rest of the day
Yes, we’re traveling to some amazing places. And we’re living a life I had no idea was even possible until a couple of years ago.
That said, it’s still important to maintain both work responsibilities and personal interests.
Eric and Brittany told us two things:
- They work from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Then they explore in the afternoon and evenings.
- They typically stay in one place for two weeks and only travel about 250 miles to their next destination.
In other words, a slow and steady approach to traveling has worked really well for them.
We’ve taken their advice and work from 7 in the morning until about noon whenever possible. Unfortunately, we haven’t stuck to the second piece of advice.
Rather, we have been traveling too far and too often. It’s a common mistake I hear full-time RV newbies make. It’s hard to resist to be honest. We want to see everything!
We want to visit all the national and state parks, zipline in Glacier National Park, and walk amongst the tallest trees in the world.
After the summer is over, we’re hoping to slow way down.
What Does A Typical Day Look Like Living in an RV?
So what does a typical day look like?
Well, for us, that’s kind of hard to answer. (That’s just what you wanted to hear, right?)
For example, as I’m writing this post, it’s 4:39 p.m. I typically never do any work at this time of the day because my brain is mush.
But I had an eye exam this morning and the appointment was in a town located about an hour’s drive away.
That appointment with the eye doctor essentially took half the day because after the exam, I had to wait for my glasses.
Despite taking so much time, it was the right decision. I can see the words on the computer so much better and I must say, it’s pretty great being able to see.
We didn’t arrive home until almost 2:00pm. And then it rained, which immediate triggers nap time (duh). So here I am working at … oh 4:43 p.m.
So what does tomorrow look like?
Well, we want to go hiking and in order to beat the crowds and the heat, we get up early. So again, not a ‘typical’ day. We won’t be working our 7am – 12pm shift.
There Really Is No Typical Day
I guess it goes without saying by now, that for us, there is no typical day when we’re living in our RV. Do I sometimes miss the routine of living in a house? Yes. Without a doubt, I do.
But man are we learning how to go with the flow because if we didn’t, we’d go crazy and be irritated with each other all the time.
A Typical Day is Simply Going with the Flow
Although there are some RVers who are doing way better at creating a routine, I imagine they would admit to a very loose definition of the word ‘routine’.
You never know what to expect when it comes to full-time RV living and that’s part of the beauty of this lifestyle.
Did this somewhat rambling post about a typical day scare you off from trying a full-time RV journey? I hope not.
Just know that if you enjoy routine and thrive on it, your best bet is to travel slow and also embrace the fact that sometimes (oftentimes) that routine will be wadded up and thrown in your face. Because…RV life.
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Julie specializes in helping you whip up delicious meals in your tiny RV kitchen, as well as RV organization tips and helping fellow RVers make their RV feel like home. Her favorite RVing spot is in Banff National Park in Canada where yes, the water really is that blue and the people really are that nice.
