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Started By
Message
Living in a luxury camper full time, truck advice
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:28 am
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:28 am
So the wife and I outside of our mortgage have no debt. We both love camping and have two younger kids. She stays at home already and I work in a fairly unique tech-ish field where it wouldn't be too hard to find a job making as much or close to what I make now, but it be a remote position.
I'm kind of thinking about just selling everything and getting us a luxury 5th wheel and a new diesel truck to tow it with and hitting the road full time. The wife would homeschool the kids.
We are very much in the theoretical phase of this, but wanted to get some feedback and see if anyone on here doing this or has done this, and what it was like.
Also a few more questions:
What diesel truck would you get? Idk much about diesels, but after initial glances think I would want to get a Ram.
Would a motorhome and us just towing a smaller more economical vehicle to get around in after we set up be a better option, or just a pain in the arse?
We don't really have anything holding us down here. The big drawback would be finding other kids for ours to play/socialize with. Our families live in areas we don't really want to move to, but spending a few months per year around there wouldn't be bad.
Any thoughts?
I'm kind of thinking about just selling everything and getting us a luxury 5th wheel and a new diesel truck to tow it with and hitting the road full time. The wife would homeschool the kids.
We are very much in the theoretical phase of this, but wanted to get some feedback and see if anyone on here doing this or has done this, and what it was like.
Also a few more questions:
What diesel truck would you get? Idk much about diesels, but after initial glances think I would want to get a Ram.
Would a motorhome and us just towing a smaller more economical vehicle to get around in after we set up be a better option, or just a pain in the arse?
We don't really have anything holding us down here. The big drawback would be finding other kids for ours to play/socialize with. Our families live in areas we don't really want to move to, but spending a few months per year around there wouldn't be bad.
Any thoughts?
42
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:30 am to VolSquatch
How old are your kids?
Homeschooling is great if they are active in play groups, sports, church
Personally I’d wait until they graduated
ETA
Why not try it out for a summer? See how it goes, living in close quarters isn’t for everyone
Homeschooling is great if they are active in play groups, sports, church
Personally I’d wait until they graduated
ETA
Why not try it out for a summer? See how it goes, living in close quarters isn’t for everyone
This post was edited on 12/27/24 at 8:33 am
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:32 am to VolSquatch
it gets old. but, a ram is the right choice.
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:34 am to VolSquatch
I know of a family who just did this. Too early to give an outside determination. Sold their house. Kids are homeschooled. And I believe one of the spouses went to working remotely.
I think their motiviation was losing their mother and/or father at a fairly "young" age. One of them may have retired and then died immediately afterwards, and I think that gave this couple of a different perspective to live life now.
I think their motiviation was losing their mother and/or father at a fairly "young" age. One of them may have retired and then died immediately afterwards, and I think that gave this couple of a different perspective to live life now.
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:35 am to VolSquatch
Mrs. Cotten and I traveled full time for around 7 years until our little one was born. She’s about 3 now and we’re itching to hit the road again.
We started in a class c and pulled an accord behind it. Space was great but we hated that setup. We were solely contained to rv parks. Sold it and renovated a EL/HR transit and lived out of that for 4 years. Hot/cold filtered water, full size shower, toilet, heated floors, elevator bed, dual monitors for both of us for work..we love it. You’ll meet some of the craziest weirdos and also some of nicest folks ever who live full time in RVs. Feel free to ask me anything on electrical/solar setups, storage, plumbing, etc and I’ll be happy to help.
The traveling life is an amazing experience but it absolutely isn’t for everyone and stuff like grocery shopping and laundry can be a pain when you’re in the middle of nowhere boondocking for weeks. shite absolutely will break and you better know how to fix it and have the tools or you’re screwed. Another example: we were trapped inside for 2 days by a big arse herd of moose in Idaho.
We started in a class c and pulled an accord behind it. Space was great but we hated that setup. We were solely contained to rv parks. Sold it and renovated a EL/HR transit and lived out of that for 4 years. Hot/cold filtered water, full size shower, toilet, heated floors, elevator bed, dual monitors for both of us for work..we love it. You’ll meet some of the craziest weirdos and also some of nicest folks ever who live full time in RVs. Feel free to ask me anything on electrical/solar setups, storage, plumbing, etc and I’ll be happy to help.
The traveling life is an amazing experience but it absolutely isn’t for everyone and stuff like grocery shopping and laundry can be a pain when you’re in the middle of nowhere boondocking for weeks. shite absolutely will break and you better know how to fix it and have the tools or you’re screwed. Another example: we were trapped inside for 2 days by a big arse herd of moose in Idaho.
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:37 am to VolSquatch
quote:
We both love camping
Yall like camping or living in a trailer? The two aren’t the same. Doesn’t matter how much you spend on the camper it’s still just a trailer. If camping is what you’re after, you’re better off renting houses in areas with good public land. Kids shouldn’t grow up living out of a truck and trailer if you have the means for other shite.
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:38 am to VolSquatch
Budget?
Have towed/backed-up a large trailer?
Are you fairly handy with tools?
Have towed/backed-up a large trailer?
Are you fairly handy with tools?
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:38 am to Cotten
quote:
we were trapped inside for 2 days by a big arse herd of moose in Idaho.
That sounds wild… Literally .
I have no idea how this works, but if you simply turned on the van and started slowly driving away- it seems like they’d scatter, but i guess not …
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:40 am to VolSquatch
Doing this with young kids sounds like a terrible idea and really not fair to them
This post was edited on 12/27/24 at 8:40 am
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:40 am to VolSquatch
An RV seems to be the better option…they can’t chill in the tow behind when you’re driving.
This post was edited on 12/27/24 at 8:41 am
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:42 am to LSUJML
quote:
How old are your kids?
Homeschooling is great if they are active in play groups, sports, church
2 and 6.
Yeah I was thinking we could link up with some homeschool groups wherever we are staying at the time to get them some friends. I'm sure we would likely come back to certain spots yearly where they would at least see the same ones occasionally. And they would have cousins to play with part of the year when we decide to hang around our hometown for a bit, which they don't have right now.
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:42 am to VolSquatch
There are plenty of YouTube videos of people doing exactly what you are talking about.
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:45 am to N2cars
quote:
Budget?
Haven't looked into it enough to have a strict budget. We probably couldn't get Willie Nelson's tour bus or anything extravagant, but we could afford pretty much any motorhome I looked at in my albeit brief time browsing. And definitely any travel trailer.
quote:
Have towed/backed-up a large trailer?
Not as large as a travel trailer that you'd want to live in. Smaller stuff yes.
quote:
Are you fairly handy with tools?
Yeah
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:48 am to VolSquatch
If it were me I don't think I'd use a one ton truck, I'd be thinking more along these lines
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:49 am to VolSquatch
Make sure your wife knows what a nest egg is and stay away from Vegas.
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:50 am to VolSquatch
5th wheel will give you more space than a Class A. You can also buy a smaller vehicle and one of you can follow. Nice 5th wheel plus truck is still cheaper and more roomy than a nice class A. If the class A breaks down, you have to find somewhere to stay while they are fixing it.
As far as the lifestyle goes: what are the chances they bring you back to the office? How much attention does your wife's job require. Doing a good job at homeschooling really requires one of the parents to focus on the kids each school day. Where do you plan on staying? Campgrounds have limits on the number of days that you can stay and can get expensive ($30 per day is $900 per month). If you are planning on being a camp host to cover the fees, it will take time away from your kids and adventure. RVs also fall apart and depreciate. The 220k you spend will be worth 30k after living in it with a family for a decade. It is not going to be a significantly cheaper lifestyle than you have now.
Only way to really enjoy the lifestyle is to have enough money saved up to not work and be able to cash flow it all.
The best deals right now are on Rams.
As far as the lifestyle goes: what are the chances they bring you back to the office? How much attention does your wife's job require. Doing a good job at homeschooling really requires one of the parents to focus on the kids each school day. Where do you plan on staying? Campgrounds have limits on the number of days that you can stay and can get expensive ($30 per day is $900 per month). If you are planning on being a camp host to cover the fees, it will take time away from your kids and adventure. RVs also fall apart and depreciate. The 220k you spend will be worth 30k after living in it with a family for a decade. It is not going to be a significantly cheaper lifestyle than you have now.
Only way to really enjoy the lifestyle is to have enough money saved up to not work and be able to cash flow it all.
The best deals right now are on Rams.
This post was edited on 12/27/24 at 9:41 am
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:53 am to VolSquatch
quote:
Any thoughts?
This sounds like a horrible idea.
I have a RV and a week is about all I can stand in the thing.
Everything is cheaply made despite the enormous price tag. Being crammed together for days on end isn't fun, either.
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:53 am to Cotten
quote:
we were trapped inside for 2 days by a big arse herd of moose in Idaho.
I've never heard of moose traveling in a herd...
Posted on 12/27/24 at 8:56 am to Will Cover
quote:
I think their motiviation was losing their mother and/or father at a fairly "young" age. One of them may have retired and then died immediately afterwards, and I think that gave this couple of a different perspective to live life now.
I think I've always kind of just had this mindset to try new things and just see how it goes because you've only got one life to live.
One of my close friends grew up living around the world in different places and has tons of awesome experiences to share. Known him for years and he tells me stories from his childhood I've never heard before even still to this day. Think it would be an awesome experience for the kids in ways, but I could see how it might 'rob' them of some things as well.
Posted on 12/27/24 at 9:17 am to VolSquatch
When buying a vehicle for towing, it’s not just the horsepower for towing. It’s stopping it.
Make sure that the diesel engine has an engine brake. Most do but I’ve seen where some don’t.
Check the fill location for the DEF. You don’t want to have to move the vehicle at the pump because the fill is on the opposite side than the fuel fill.
Some trucks will come with fifth wheel ready packages with the electrical hook up wired into the bed and have extra frame support.
Get the biggest alternator possible. It will allow you to keep certain things in camper running while towing.
Airbags if you can get the dealer to throw them in.
Make sure that the diesel engine has an engine brake. Most do but I’ve seen where some don’t.
Check the fill location for the DEF. You don’t want to have to move the vehicle at the pump because the fill is on the opposite side than the fuel fill.
Some trucks will come with fifth wheel ready packages with the electrical hook up wired into the bed and have extra frame support.
Get the biggest alternator possible. It will allow you to keep certain things in camper running while towing.
Airbags if you can get the dealer to throw them in.
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