Full Time Road Trip Adventure

After spending three months preparing for the most epic trip ever, we are officially on the road again. This time, in our new home or should I say motorhome, for as long as we can. It is safe to say we have wanderlust.

Slow and Steady

It didn’t take much convincing to embrace the RV lifestyle; the simplicity of being a minimalist, the excitement of exploring new places and most importantly doing what matters the most to us.

We left our traditional lifestyle for the reasons above and while you may question our sanity, I don’t see a clear reason why we can’t hit the road and have best of both worlds years before retirement.

Through diligent planning and budgeting wisely, we created a sustainable model and addressed the biggest challenges facing us while enjoying full time RV travel, school, and work.

It is of utmost importance that our little ones complete the school year virtually with limited to no interruption when it comes to Internet access and connectivity. Same goes for me; I need to be able to put in an honest day’s work.

Leslie’s company, OVI Consulting has always done work remotely. She’s does health coaching for Optavia, and also does contract administrative work for other small businesses. This has allowed her to be home with our children whether that’s on the road or at our condo.

With no real reason to rush and looking for adventure, we are taking it slow and steady from coast to coast.

Unlimited Data with no throttle? Possible?

You are probably asking yourself how in the world we are pulling this off. Well, it’s not been without growing pains. I’ll explain what we’ve gone through, in hopes it could help some of you out there looking to do the same thing.

We decided we wanted to go the cellular internet route because it is cheaper alternative than satellite internet and requires minimal time to setup. So we ended up purchasing an unlocked LTE wireless router with 1 LAN port for our Network Attached Storage (NAS) and a SIM card with unlimited data. For our solution we ended up paying $180 for the router and $55 for the SIM card.

The first couple of weeks, we had to call the cellular provider because they would throttle the data usage but after going over the fine print of their advertised unlimited data plan and resetting their network settings, it has been smooth sailing.

This has given us the ability to camp and work within spectacular scenery around the country.

Work Life Balance

If you crave adventure like we do, there is nothing better than having the ability to change your environment whenever the mood strikes you.

However, every time we move to a different campsite we find it hard to avoid distractions from new neighbors, the beautiful scenery and sometimes even keeping our children focused on their school work.

Timing and discipline is everything and it helps us stay productive. We do most of our driving over the weekend when there is no school and work. On days we have to drive during the week the kids do school on the kitchen table or the kitchen island. Leslie and I usually take turns on the reclining chair and the couch with a portable laptop desk.

During special occasions when we need to have our motorhome serviced or detailed, we are looking to take advantage of a club house or workplace setup.

As we head westbound, we have to get up early because of the time difference to do school and work BUT we have more time for after school and after work activities such as hiking, sightseeing, and fishing.

Budget – The Process

Purchasing a motorhome was no small task and it is a big decision, hence why it took us 3 months to find the one that checked all of our boxes. We practically bought a barely used in a totally new condition Newmar Dutch Start 4034T diesel pusher with 37,000 miles.

It helps when you buy the magazine/floor model which comes loaded with standard features plus all extra optional features offered by the manufacturer. Aside from sleeping capacity, storage, washer/dryer, residential refrigerator, unlimited supply of hot water, everything else is extra to us.

The pictures didn’t do justice, seeing in in-person and admiring the craftsmanship, did.

The initial cost was $142,000. We put $14,200 as down payment and finance the rest over 20 years. Which brought our monthly payment to $861. My fist impression was that this is a lot of money but then I though about it for a moment and I couldn’t put a price tag on all the memories and fun times we are going to have.

Looking at it another way, I estimated that the alternative way to explore our nation by driving, lodging, dinning, and exercising would have cost us over $2,000 a month.

Aside from the capital purchase, our operation budget vary depending on our driving versus camping days. If we do more driving then we spend more money on diesel, however if we are camping we pay $0. So our monthly expenses look like this.

• Mortgage $861
• Groceries $400
• Diesel $220
• Wifi Data Plan $55
• Insurance $33
• Camping $0
• Miscellaneous $150

In order to make our stay on the road more sustainable we signed up for annual memberships with the following institutions.

• Thousand Trails $350
• Good Sam Platinum Roadside Assistance $80
• Harvest Hosts $67
• Passport America $44 (referring ID – C; member ID – 780915)
• Good Sam $29

By trading condo for RV lifestyle, we were able to save $700 a month on expenses.

Our Experience

We had a bumpy start but things are looking pretty good now. We started our trip at Chesapeake Bay campground in Virginia and ten days later headed to the midwest (Ohio and Indiana) in the dead of winter.

As we are approaching a month on the road we are working our way south via Kentucky, Alabama and South Carolina until we got to the sunshine state.

In the mean time, our children are doing a great job adapting to the new lifestyle and learning virtually. I’m sure they will have a blast at each campground and rv resort we go to as we explore America. So far their average play time outside is four hours and they are experts in starting a bonfire.

They are becoming comfortable running the laundry machine and have already started folding and putting their clothes away. Maria Grace has taken charge of washing the dishes, where as Niko and Lessie take turns putting the dishes away and setting up their beds.

Leslie appears to be enjoying the outdoors as much as the kids. She’s taking advantage of indoor and outdoor cooking like a true master chef. Nothing tastes better then open fire meal. Just because we’re limited in our ability to dine-in at our favorite restaurants it doesn’t mean we don’t get the Chef’s table talent around here.

Mean while in the captan’s quarter, I’m learning the ropes of a true RV road master and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

Once we embrace the sunbelt climate, I’m looking to incorporate outdoor swimming and tennis into my schedule. I miss playing soccer and I need to find another way to get my cardio workout.

Summary

Since we will be traveling for a while, we have decided to spend our time in a way that bring us the most joy. We purchased a house on wheels. Now we spend a lot of time outdoors, exercising, playing, eating, and traveling.