05-04-2016, 10:20 PM
My mother did this with the stepfather for about 12 straight years starting in the early 80's and I did the same for a lesser period from 88 to 93. Admittedly we were living much more hand to mouth, and considerably more on the outlaw/sketchy side of things, so some of the things you ask about are a bit...hazy in my memory. But:
1. Re: licensing and registration etc. Some states are much more lenient than others regarding proof of address and car licensing requirements, at least at the time. Nevada was very easy to register a vehicle with just a lot space as a proof of address, because it is such a transient state and there are hundreds of RV lots there. I remember Oregon being pretty easy and I'd suspect Florida would have similar ease of registration. Do a little online research for different state requirements. Hell, I left Vegas in a truck I didn't want to register there because it was too pricey (car reg is where they make their revenue instead of property taxes) so I collected trip permits all the way across country lol.
2. The big problem living in an RV is space. You must strip away damn near everything but the essentials, because in a trailer it ain't just room, it's weight. If you aren't extremely efficient and very organized, long term RV life will wear on you. Not to mention, you better REALLY love looking at the OL. Because you will be right on top of one another 24-7. No joke. Your living room is your bedroom is your kitchen and she's always fucking THERE. That can get very tiresome even in the strongest couples.
3. You will murder your love of camping. I'm not kidding, I used to love going camping, but there is a huge difference between packing up some goods and hitting the trail for a week or a month, and getting up to prepare a campsite every damn day for two or three straight years. People don't realize just how much work goes into RV life setting up and breaking down your site every time you move. Electric or generator, gas, water, shit lines both full and empty. There is no worse job than hitting the dump station. Water tanks empty too fast, shitters fill up too fast, food runs out, every single day in the same site quickly distills into a very basic routine that just never ends. I was a year on a beautiful Oregon wild river, then two years in a lot in Vegas. I sold my truck and trailer rig when I left Vegas, and aside from one or two isolated incidents for other people's joy I haven't been camping in twenty years. It just lost all its joy for me.
3. You will have problems you never dreamed of. I have broken down at rush hour on a windy canyon road with full rig and caused a massive traffic jam; I have knocked my sewage pipe loose while driving, didn't know it and rained liquid shit on a few hundred miles of Nevada highway including every car behind me. I have gotten lost on a logging road that got progressively smaller until I was forced to back blindly down a half mile of mountain trail literally on the side of a cliff because there was no turn off and we met a logging truck coming the other way. I got chased by a blizzard all the way through southern Oregon, sneaking onto roads the troopers were closing because we didn't dare turn the engine off or it would die in the middle of nowhere and we couldn't get the goddamn thing to shift into second gear anyway. This is the life of a RVer.
Don't get me wrong, it was a hell of a good time and the adventures we had were worth it. But if you set out on the road have an endgame in mind for when you get sick of it. Because you will.
Final bit of advice: State and national parks often have much better deals for RV lodging, and better facilities, than joints like KOA. Some even have joint pricing, where you buy a traveler's ticket for multiple parks. Do research. And for god sake bring your toolkit hahaha.
1. Re: licensing and registration etc. Some states are much more lenient than others regarding proof of address and car licensing requirements, at least at the time. Nevada was very easy to register a vehicle with just a lot space as a proof of address, because it is such a transient state and there are hundreds of RV lots there. I remember Oregon being pretty easy and I'd suspect Florida would have similar ease of registration. Do a little online research for different state requirements. Hell, I left Vegas in a truck I didn't want to register there because it was too pricey (car reg is where they make their revenue instead of property taxes) so I collected trip permits all the way across country lol.
2. The big problem living in an RV is space. You must strip away damn near everything but the essentials, because in a trailer it ain't just room, it's weight. If you aren't extremely efficient and very organized, long term RV life will wear on you. Not to mention, you better REALLY love looking at the OL. Because you will be right on top of one another 24-7. No joke. Your living room is your bedroom is your kitchen and she's always fucking THERE. That can get very tiresome even in the strongest couples.
3. You will murder your love of camping. I'm not kidding, I used to love going camping, but there is a huge difference between packing up some goods and hitting the trail for a week or a month, and getting up to prepare a campsite every damn day for two or three straight years. People don't realize just how much work goes into RV life setting up and breaking down your site every time you move. Electric or generator, gas, water, shit lines both full and empty. There is no worse job than hitting the dump station. Water tanks empty too fast, shitters fill up too fast, food runs out, every single day in the same site quickly distills into a very basic routine that just never ends. I was a year on a beautiful Oregon wild river, then two years in a lot in Vegas. I sold my truck and trailer rig when I left Vegas, and aside from one or two isolated incidents for other people's joy I haven't been camping in twenty years. It just lost all its joy for me.
3. You will have problems you never dreamed of. I have broken down at rush hour on a windy canyon road with full rig and caused a massive traffic jam; I have knocked my sewage pipe loose while driving, didn't know it and rained liquid shit on a few hundred miles of Nevada highway including every car behind me. I have gotten lost on a logging road that got progressively smaller until I was forced to back blindly down a half mile of mountain trail literally on the side of a cliff because there was no turn off and we met a logging truck coming the other way. I got chased by a blizzard all the way through southern Oregon, sneaking onto roads the troopers were closing because we didn't dare turn the engine off or it would die in the middle of nowhere and we couldn't get the goddamn thing to shift into second gear anyway. This is the life of a RVer.
Don't get me wrong, it was a hell of a good time and the adventures we had were worth it. But if you set out on the road have an endgame in mind for when you get sick of it. Because you will.
Final bit of advice: State and national parks often have much better deals for RV lodging, and better facilities, than joints like KOA. Some even have joint pricing, where you buy a traveler's ticket for multiple parks. Do research. And for god sake bring your toolkit hahaha.
Thank god I am oblivious to the opinions of others while caught in the blinding splendor of my own cleverness.