Look, I was into “Vanlife” before it was even cool to be into “Vanlife”! I’m on my third (and I think best) campervan now and still fantasize about living full time on the road.
I have lived in a van before and greatly enjoyed it and at least once a year take a long weekend up around San Francisco to indulge that fantasy.
Now that I’m retired, I’ll either do it less (cause it’s expensive) or more (cause I’m retired).
That said, I know the reality of living in a van isn’t as glamorous as maybe Instagram makes it out to be. And I’ve certainly never met all the beautiful women that seem to be living in vans all across America!
So while I expect it will always be a fantasy and certainly hope that I will always have a choice about living in a van, I read every book I can find about it and subscribe to several mailing lists about the process.
So this book was an easy sell to me (and goes with a good sized stack of similar books I have!).
Of course the first chapter is ‘What kind of RV is right for you?’ And it makes sense, but I always figure that this is a decision you’ve pretty much already decided if you’ve decided to live in an RV! Either that or you don’t have enough money to make whatever choice you want and again, the choice is a foregone conclusion!
One thing I definitely like about this book is the quality of the ‘lived in’ experience. This sounds like a voice that’s actually done the things it’s advising on and it makes a huge difference. I’m no expert, but I like believing that I’m being talked to by an expert.
The first five chapters were to help you buy a rig and they seem very helpful if you are going to ‘pull the plug’ and commit to living full time in an RV. Not useful to me but an eye opener on what really matters and what would really be doable.
Chapter 6 is about electricity and power which is more interesting to me, as I like the idea of being as far away from civilization as possible.
The discussion of generators doesn’t even mention what seems to be to be the biggest downside which is the ungodly noise they all seem to make. For me, that’s the reason to avoid them all together (and I’m glad I never opted for them in any of my RV’s).
Something I’ve never read before in an RV/Van Life book (and I’ve read a few) is a chapter on driving tips! Very real world.
“This is typical for most people moving into an RV. You own more than you think and you need less than you think.”
On page 111 the author states that she is 20 years old! I’d been reading this as if it was coming from a much older woman (about my age) so this is very refreshing news.
There is a lot of coverage on how to get good internet access and it is encouraging that there are so many options! I’ve ready quite a few books on this topic and this seems to be the most modern one because there are so many choices out there.
If only they’d make it legal to live in an RV!!
The advice about RV clubs is priceless. I don’t think I ever got my money’s worth out of Good Sams, but that’s all I knew about!
I do wish they would compare them to how much you’ll save by not joining ANY however!
“No offense retirees, but it’s nice to meet working-age RVers too.” I can totally appreciate that even though I’m a retiree myself.
You gotta like a book that recommends you go through eBay to buy stuff.
A chapter I wish I had read back when I was RVing more often is Chapter 20, the difference between a trailer park, RV park and campground. The trial and error method definitely sucked!
This is one of the best guides I’ve ever read on living in an RV and one I wish I’d had long, long ago. I can’t recommend it highly enough. 5 stars and a definite keeper.