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10 Shocking Confessions From A Full-Time RVer

This post was updated on March 15th, 2024

I have a confession to make. Actually, I have ten of them. Ten confessions about my lifestyle as a full-time RVer.

Ten confessions about how I view my life, the things I enjoy doing, and even a bit of dirt on my bad habits.

This is not a how-to article, nor does it contain wisdom pertaining to living in an RV full-time. You won’t find bits of advice on sharing a 200 sq. ft. house with your spouse, successfully dumping your black tank without gagging or backing into a site that is clearly too small for your RV.

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What you will find are my heartfelt confessions that stem from years of living and traveling full-time in a 25’ foot Airstream. 

1. This is not camping.

Full Time
Photo by Amanda Watson

My version of full-time RVing is not camping—it’s living. In other words, I don’t consider my life to be one big camping trip. I don’t eat s’mores every night, nor do we sit around the picnic table playing board games by lantern. (Although now that I think about it, s’mores every night does sound good).

Yes, I live in a campground, and on occasion, I do typical camping things, but for the most part, I am not camping.

2. I like the laundromat.

Full Time
Photo by Amanda Watson

Back when I lived in a house I felt like I was always doing laundry. A load of towels one day, whites the next, sheets and blankets after that. Half the time one load would only come out of the dryer before the next load needed to go in. It was a never ending cycle that I couldn’t seem to break.

That is until I moved into an RV with no washer or dryer on board. Now I do laundry once or twice a week at the most. And it only takes me a few hours. The hassle of packing it up and trekking it to the laundromat is nothing compared to the convenience of getting it done all at once.

3. I enjoy watching TV.

Full-Time RVer
Unearthed Comics

Yup, I watch TV in my RV. Sometimes I even watch it on nice evenings when the rest of the campers are out sitting around the campfire. As evidenced by how many satellite dishes and TV antennas I see on top of people’s rigs, I know plenty of other RVers are watching TV too.

But I swear sometimes when we’re in there watching the Daily Show or True Detective with the curtains open, I imagine people walking by and shaking their heads when they see our TV on.

4. I find holiday weekends a drag.

As anyone who has ever visited a campground on a holiday weekend knows, this is prime camping time. Which makes it a complete drag for those of us who rely on campgrounds as a place to live.

While I am absolutely thrilled to see so many families enjoying nature and each other’s company, an overflowing campground jam-packed with kids on bikes, loud generators, and billows of campfire smoke floating in my window is not my idea of fun.

5. I will always pick my tiny house over your guest bedroom.

Full Time
Photo by Amanda Watson

When I park in your driveway (which I really appreciate by the way), chances are I’ll say thanks but no thanks when you offer up your guest room. You see, the thing is that I like my tiny house with my cozy bed, my favorite pillow, and all my clothes within reach.

I travel in an RV because I enjoy the convenience of always having my house with me. So it’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but I really would prefer to sleep in my own bed. I will take you up on that offer to use your shower though! 🙂

6. I like spying on my campground neighbors.

Ohhh..it’s getting juicy now. I can’t fully explain this one, but it turns out that when it comes to my campground neighbors—I’m rather curious.

When a new neighbor pulls in I love to watch them back into their site and set up. As someone who lives in a relatively small RV with no slide outs or automatic jacks, I get a kick out of watching the big rigs as they level and expand — in my eyes, it’s like a magic trick.

And I really enjoy watching the owners of pop-up and teardrop campers set up all types of tents and structures to extend their living space. It’s like free entertainment all day long.

7. This is not a permanent vacation.

Full-Time RVer
Photo by Amanda Watson

This is a hard one for non-full-time RVers to grasp. So you live in an RV and you get to travel to any cool place you want, yet you don’t consider yourself to be on vacation? Nope, not even a little bit.

The main reason why I don’t consider this a vacation: I’m not retired and I work nearly every day. But even if I didn’t work, I think you can only function in vacation mode for so long. At some point, you have to create a normal routine with downtime and off days. For me, full-time RVing is a lifestyle choice, not a vacation.

8. I sometimes forget that I’m not “normal.”

I sometimes forget that my lifestyle is considered out of the ordinary. Especially if I’ve been spending time with other full-time RVers who view living in a tiny house on wheels as commonplace. It usually takes an encounter with the “normal” folks to remind me that how I live is fascinating and envy-worthy.

9. I have no idea when I will “be done.”

Full-Time RVer
Photo by WatsonsWander

I get asked this a lot and I’m always tempted to reply, done with what? Done with a lifestyle that brings me joy? Done with expanding my horizons and becoming a more well-rounded person? Done with meeting incredible people and making lifelong connections?

Why would I want to be done with all that?

The short answer is that I have no idea when I will be done, and I enjoy not knowing. There is something very appealing about a future that is open to endless possibilities. I’m confident that when I get the urge to settle in one spot I will know when the time is right. But for now, I will continue to roll down the road with no plans to “be done” anytime soon.

10. I will never see everything.

Full-Time RVer
Photo by Amanda Watson

I could travel round and round the country for many years and still not see everything. In the beginning, I enjoyed keeping track of how many states we had visited and made sure we checked off all the major attractions along the way.

At some point I realized that it didn’t matter how many things I checked off the list, I would always be adding more.

And I love that! I love discovering things to do, and explore than I could possibly hope to accomplish in any amount of time. I love that our country is incredibly diverse and filled with such an array of landscapes and communities that even if I traveled for decades I could never see them all.

So there you have it. Ten confessions of a full-time RVer. Agree or disagree, these are the realities of my life. A life that I love and couldn’t imagine changing in any way.




2 thoughts on “10 Shocking Confessions From A Full-Time RVer”

  1. Love this, feel like sending it to soooo many friends 🙂 Numbers 1, 3, 4, 5 are my favorites. Well done, and thanks for showing I’m not alone in my occasional love of binge-watching TV in my tiny trailer! (You can find me at wynnworlds.com, I’m a full-timer too).

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