The Future Fulltimer's Roadmap: 10 Landmarks to Lead You to Freedom

By Jon Penland

Have you ever dreamed of become a modern day nomad? Have you thought of living in an RV, finding work as you travel, and hitting the road?

If you have, you are not alone.

Every day more people find their way from a regular predictable life, to a life of greater freedom and adventure as fulltime RVers. However, finding your way isn't easy, and your journey will be smoother and faster if you have a map to show you the way.

This book is your map. It highlights the ten landmarks you will need to reach as you transition from the life you have to the life you want. Every aspiring fulltimer faces unique challenges, so rather than take a one-size-fits-all approach, this book provides a high-level overview of the challenges you will face, and prepares you with the knowledge you need to tackle the obstacles that lie in your way.

If you're ready to start learning what it will take to become a fulltime RVer, this book is for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483559445

Book preview

About

Introduction

The dream of going fulltime was awakened in us on the way home from vacation in 2013. At the time, I was working in an office-bound job, we owned two homes, two vehicles that did not fit a fulltime RVing lifestyle, and we had four young children. To top it all off, we had never owned an RV, and had done very little camping.

We started from square one, with a lot of obstacles stacked in our way.

Eighteen months later we moved into our RV on a stationary basis, and six months after that we started to travel. Today we are a location independent fulltime RVing family.

In the time between dreaming of becoming fulltimers, and achieving that dream, we had to do all of the following things:

•    Sell two house and two cars,

•    Research and purchase our tow vehicle,

•    Research and purchase our travel trailer,

•    Hold two garage sales, and sell many items on Craigslist,

•    Find a way to earn a living from the road,

•    Move into our travel trailer on a stationary basis,

•    And finally, transition into traveling fulltimers.

Along the way, we also faced a number of career miscues and life circumstances that delayed our planned launch date, including:

•    Having our fifth child,

•    Going through a failed attempt at finding remote work,

•    And relocating from Georgia to Texas.

We made some mistakes along the way - mistakes that slowed us down and cost us money - but we made it.

I don’t know where you are starting from. You may be facing a lot more barriers than we faced, or a lot fewer. But I do believe that I can help you navigate from where you are now to life as a fulltime RVer, if that’s the life you want.

That’s what this book is about. It’s a roadmap that identifies the landmarks you will pass on your journey to life as a fulltime RVer, and gives you some pointers on reaching each landmark successfully.

If you’re ready to start planning your escape from a regular sticks & bricks life, and working towards accomplishing your dream of becoming a fulltime RVer, then let’s get started.

Why do you want to go fulltime?

There are lots of reasons to go fulltime. Everyone has their own.

Reason 1: To see the country!

This is a motivation for most fulltimers. The desire to explore more of the country, and have new experiences, is enticing to a lot of people, and not just RVers. Once you realize that the opportunity to travel is just waiting for you to reach out and take it, you can almost make yourself sick with wanderlust.

I was surprised to learn not too long ago that some people don’t have any innate desire to travel. That may be the case for you, and if so, there are still plenty of other reasons to become a fulltimer, but for most of us, wanderlust is one of the strongest motivators when working towards becoming a fulltimer.

Reason 2: To save money!

Fulltime RVing can be a way to live more frugally, and many fulltimers first look into fulltiming out of a desire to trim their monthly living expenses.

When you become a fulltimer you take certain expenses, such as your rent or mortgage payment, and move them from being fixed expenses to being variable expenses. Right now, if you have a lean month or two, you still have to pay your mortgage or rent. On the other hand, if I have a lean month or two, I can find an inexpensive RV park and shave hundreds of dollars out of my monthly budget.

The monthly cost of being a fulltime RVer is up to you.

The more frequently you travel, the geographic areas you choose to stay, and whether you finance your RV and vehicle or pay cash will all determine how flexible your budget is as a fulltimer. There are fulltimers whose budget is $10,000 per month, and fulltimers whose budget is $1,000 per month.

Becoming a fulltime RVer won’t automatically save you money, but it will add flexibility to your monthly budget, and you can decide whether you want to use that flexibility to save money, or to explore somewhere new.

Reason 3: To live more simply!

Have you looked at personal spending statistics for Americans lately? As a culture we are consumed with buying and owning things. We’re also far too busy. Think about the last time you tried to get together with a few friends. Unless you’re in the minority, it was probably really hard for all of you to find some time in your schedules to hang out.

Living in an RV forces you to downsize to only those things that you actually need, and living a mobile lifestyle trims the number of social commitments you make. As a result, many fulltimers find that they own less stuff, and have more time on their hands once they go fulltime.

Reason 4: To spend more time with family!

Lots of fulltimers get into the lifestyle to spend more time with their family. This is particularly true of families where the primary breadwinner’s job takes them away for months at a time. People in the military, pipeline workers, and construction workers are some of the fulltimers that cite a desire to take their family with them as a big reason why they started fulltiming.

This is also true for folks whose jobs don’t demand that they move all over the place. Think back to Reason 3: To live more simply!. If fulltiming really can simplify your life, then you’ll have more time on your hands to spend as you wish - including with your family.

Reason 5: Freedom!

The freedom of the open road! I can feel it calling me now. Don’t laugh! I’m serious.

The desire to be independent, to have autonomy, is often a strong motivator for those who feel trapped by their current circumstances.

If you embrace the fulltime lifestyle hard enough you’ll find the things that hold you back falling away. Your fear of being different and standing out will fall away. If you work hard enough at it, you can find ways to earn an income from anywhere. Your reliance on a specific income level will become less pronounced as you learn to live on less.

Once your attachment