It's hard to believe that our family has been on the road now for almost eight years! It has been an incredibly wild ride full of lots of surprises and things that none of us could have ever prepared for. Has this adventure been like we thought it would be?

From long days on the road, meeting new people, and all kinds of fun adventures along the way, it is no surprise that this lifestyle has taken off in such big ways! Full-time RVing is not all roses, though. It does have its challenging times. Read on to find out some surprising lessons that we learned after our first year of RVing so you can be better prepared if you decide to take on this exciting journey!

Has Living in an RV Been What We Expected?

Thinking of trying the full-time RVing lifestyle? Wondering if it would be like you imagine or completely different? Chances are it is a bit different in reality than you imagine the lifestyle would be.

For our family, full-time RVing was a bit different than our vision in both exciting ways and in challenges. We hope that by sharing our experiences on the road in the first year, you can have a better idea if the full-time RVing lifestyle would be a good fit for you!

It Felt Freeing to Downsize

Selling our 3,000-square-foot home jam-crammed full of stuff was no easy task. In fact, our house sold at the beginning of December, which means we had to sell all of our furniture and belongings in possibly the hardest month of the year to sell stuff. We only had one month to get rid of it all. It was purely exhausting.

I bet you aren't at all surprised that downsizing was tough, but what was surprising was how we felt afterward. We custom-built that house and felt it was our dream home in some ways. We not only left the house but sold both cars and every piece of furniture inside. So one could imagine that the day we drove away would be extremely emotional.

In some ways, it was emotional, but the shocking feeling of pure freedom followed right away. It was as if the weight of the world had been lifted off of us to no longer own all of that stuff and to not have a house payment anymore. Not everyone begins full-time RVing debt free, but if you can, it is an amazing feeling that we have never had in our adult lives before. It was completely unexpected and one we will never forget!

It Took a While to Adjust

Some people living in an RV will say that it felt like home right away, and everything was great from the start. That just wasn't the honest truth in our situation. I loved the fifth wheel we chose to start our adventure in. I was thankful for the whole process of getting it and starting to travel. The truth is that it did take a few months before it felt like it was our home and to sink in that this was our new life fully.

Getting everything packed and ready, taking care of final tasks before we left, and planning our first leg of travel were a lot to take in. It was physically exhausting and felt like an emotional rollercoaster. Once we were on the road, it felt a little like we were on vacation until it set in that this was home now.

There were mornings after consecutive travel days when we woke up a little confused about where we were that day. There was definitely an adjustment period before our RV felt like home, and this felt like our life. I think this is true for many people when they get started, even if this isn't talked about much!

The New Experiences were Even Better than Imagined

Adjusted or not, we found out right away that all that we went through to get on the road was absolutely worth it! In our first three weeks on the road, our family had racked up an entire lifetime of firsts!

When you live in the middle of the Midwest, it takes a bit of effort to make it to the beach, the mountains, or a national park. Our daughter, who had just turned six at the time, got to experience all 3 of those spectacular places for the first time in just two short weeks. Shockingly, even as much as I love to travel, I had also never been to the mountains and got to see them for the first time right after we left.

To top off the incredible initial leg of our trip, we made it to Florida and took our daughter to Disney World for the first time. Talk about an exciting whirlwind start to full-time RVing. No wonder we were worn out and didn't have a chance to get adjusted! It was worth every second and validated our decision to sell our belongings and go for it!

Traveling Fast and Long Distances was too Much

As exciting as the places we traveled to in the first month were, we quickly learned that this was a pace that we could never maintain. In fact, even though it felt like full-time RVing was a vacation at the beginning, we were exhausted.

We had to find a pace that worked well for both travel and daily living. Even though you are traveling and exploring, there are still bills to pay, laundry to do, shopping, and sometimes work or school. It takes a little while on the road to find the right life balance.

Some Friends and Family Members Didn't Understand this Lifestyle

When we made the decision to hit the road and try to really experience all this life could offer, we thought that most people that we love would be very excited for us. After all, many people would see this as the adventure of a lifetime. We were surprised by the concern and lack of support we found from some instead.

We quickly realized that this was our unique dream, and we couldn't expect others to see our vision. This lifestyle isn't one that is easy to understand for most people. Why? We are all exposed to the American Dream from a very early age. In a lot of ways, full-time RVing bucks the system and is the opposite of the American Dream. Living in an RV is about working less and owning less to have more time and more life experiences. It can be hard for some to understand this dream, and that is okay.

We Never Expected the Incredible Friendships

We knew that we would meet people out on the road, but we had no idea how incredible those relationships could be and just how many people we would connect with. We have met so many people from all walks of life and from all over the world through our travels. It's been one of the greatest parts of full-time RVing.

It's much easier to meet other RVers than we thought it would be. When you stay in a campground, you are surrounded by people that already share many of your interests. I can't think of anywhere else where your neighborhood is filled with people who all enjoy the same hobby or lifestyle.

Even though we only have a brief amount of time together, it is shocking how many times we see friends again in new locations. We have actually met people in Florida and then seen them again in California. We keep in contact with many people we meet and plan to see each other again down the road. Friendships with other RVers have been an amazing part of traveling.

Full-Time RVing is More Work than We Thought

Full-time RVing was more work than we ever thought it would be. When you take a vacation, you normally go home at the end to rest and reset. However, when you are traveling non-stop, there is no going home.

It's actually a lot of work to pack up, drive to the next location, set up, plan the next trip, and keep up on RV maintenance. There are times on the road when we have felt a bit little like travel agents. It takes time and effort to plan where to go, how to get there, what to do there, and of course, making all of the reservations.

We love this lifestyle, and it is worth it, but it is more work than we thought it would be. This is another reason why we have found we need to travel slower to maintain life balance. If you travel too fast, it's easy to feel a little exhausted and burnt out. It's okay to slow down, rest, and adjust your schedule when needed.

The Educational Opportunities Have Been More Than We Expected

The amount of learning that has taken place for our whole family was something we never expected. We started out with a travel goal to visit as many state parks, national parks, national monuments, museums, forts, and historical sites as possible in the destinations that we visit. All of these travel experiences have taught all of us an incredible amount about history, geography, and nature. It's been an indescribable education for our daughter, and we are thankful for these experiences. I could never have understood just how much we could all learn just through traveling and real-life experiences.

Living in an RV Was More Expensive Than We Expected

When working out a full-time RVing budget on paper before launching into this lifestyle, we felt like we had a pretty good idea of what things were going to cost. The reality of traveling is that there are many unexpected expenses that pop up as you go. Now we budget unexpected expenses and repairs into our monthly RV budget and maintain a decent savings account for when things go wrong.

Flexibility is The Most Important Part of Full-Time RVing

We learned very quickly into our traveling adventure that things do go wrong and plans have to change. The best way to enjoy the full-time RVing lifestyle is to remain flexible and embrace both the good times and the challenging times as all part of the journey. Things will break, weather and fires will cause you to have to reroute or cancel, RV reservations don't always work out, and travelers get hurt or sick sometimes. Life still happens out on the road, and it helps to stay flexible.

The Memories Made are More Than We Could Have Imagined

If we decided not to pursue this dream of full-time RVing, we would have always wondered what if. It was scary to jump into the unknown and pursue this lifestyle, but it has been so worth it. You can't put a price on all of the incredible places we have seen and experienced together.

We have swam with the manatees, visited national park islands, been whale watching, paddled natural springs, been to the beach and snow sledding in the same week, hiked up mountains, climbed lighthouses, explored caves, and just enjoyed lots of quality time together as a family that we would have never had if we didn't leave our comfort zone to go for it.

Our first year of full-time RVing was both harder and more incredible than we expected. We learned that you couldn't put a price on experiences like this. This lifestyle is not always easy, but despite the challenges, it's worth it. If this is your dream, I hope you have the courage to go for it! You won't regret it.

Looking for an RV to hit the road for weekend trips, vacations, or even full-time RVing? La Mesa has the selection to find an RV that meets your entire wishlist. Stop by for a visit today!

Scott, his wife Van, and their 12-year-old daughter Sissy have traveled full-time in their RV for 7 years. They have worked and homeschooled on the road through 42 states so far. They blog about RVing tips, travel destinations, jobs for RVing, and the full-time RV lifestyle on their blogs theadventuredetour and rvnomadjobs. They are also RV content creators @theadventuredetour on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. They love connecting with RVers, so be sure to reach out to them and say hi!