Frequently Asked Questions About Our Full Time RV Travel Lifestyle

We’re heading into our 5th year of full time RV travel, which is pretty mind blowing!

When we set out in 2018, we thought it would be a one year trip, but quickly fell in love with the lifestyle. Now that we’re pretty seasoned and have a LOT of experience under our belts, we’re going to answer some of the frequently asked questions we get regarding our life on the road.

1 . What made you decide to do this in the first place?

I get it, our lifestyle is completely unconventional and hard for some to understand. We used to live a very typical life, in a 2,500 sq. ft. house in the Atlanta suburbs. It was a good life, but as our kids were growing up our schedules were becoming more and more BUSY. We found ourselves overbooked and having less and less time to do the things that we were passionate about (Biking, hiking, exploring, traveling, quality family time).

We initially decided to hit the reset button and travel the US, seeing as much as we could in one year. Aaron owned his own company building websites so we figured he could just do that from the road.

We found a renter for our house, bought an RV and hit the road. As you now know, we realized it was the life we didn’t know we needed, and we have no plans of stopping now!

2. What truck and RV do you have?

We had never owned a truck or an RV before, and thankfully we chose good ones that we still are very happy with! We have a 2014 Ford F-350 (6.7L V-8 turbo diesel) and a 2016 Coachman Chaparral 390QSMB.

Watch a walk through tour of our RV →

3. How do you make money?

We are both self employed and have diversified income. In the simplest explanation:

Aaron owns his own company building websites and doing digital marketing and buys/sells/trades cryptocurrency.
I (Lauren) create online content and partner with brands to showcase items and destinations to our social media and travel blog audience.

4. How do you homeschool your kids?

We didn’t homeschool before we hit the road, so we’ve figured it out along the way. Each year looks different for us as we asses our family’s needs and desires. It’s pretty fun to change up our learning styles year by year, trying out new methods, resources and ideas.

Each year on the road I’ve written an article with linked resources for what we’re doing as far as homeschooling.

Watch this video about our Unschooling experience →

5. What do you do for Internet?

We use Starlink! It’s been a complete game changer for us. We love visiting remote places from time to time and now our time there isn’t limited by lack of cell signal/internet. Starlink keeps us connected everywhere we go, even in Mexico!

Read our full Starlink For RVers review →

6. Do you have health insurance?

For years we had nothing, and simply paid out of pocket for any medical needs (which was basically just dental visits.) We saved a ton of money by doing this, but recently we decided to try out a health sharing program which isn’t insurance but is very similar.

After a lot of research we went with Christian Healthcare Ministries. Our family has the Bronze plan and it costs less than $300/month!

Check out all of the options for Christian Healthcare Ministries →

We are big proponents of medical tourism and still get our teeth cleaned in Mexico, which you can learn more about here →

7. How to you decide where to go and plan your route?

We, along with most RVers, chase mild weather. We spend summers in cooler places and winters in warmer destinations!

As we’ve been on the road for years now, we have decided to spend the fall seasons in Las Vegas, and we sign the kids up for sports during our 3-4 months there.

Our winter destination is Cerritos Beach, in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

For spring and summer, we pick different regions and bounce around where ever we please.

8. How do you make friends on the road?

You might be surprised to find out that TONS of young families, old families, retirees and singles are hitting the road full time every day. No matter what stage of life you’re in, there’s a sea of potential road buddies out there just waiting to meet you!

For us, being a family with kids, I’d have to say the number one way we personally connect with other families is by having a Thousand Trails membership. This membership is also the number one way we save money on the road.

Tons of people have these memberships, so they stay in Thousand Trails parks all over the country.

9. How do you get mail?

It depends on where we are! Georgia is our domicile state and we use my parents’ address officially. There are many virtual mailboxes you can use if you don’t want to rely on a family member to handle your mail.

My parents mainly get junk mail and toss it out for us, but they do inform us if they see something we may need.

As far as packages, many RV parks will accept them for you, but if they won’t, you can utilize Amazon lockers and General Delivery at post offices around the country.

10. How much does it cost to RV full time?

Honestly, this is like asking how much it costs to live in a house! There are SO many variables. We put together a list of 11 questions to ask yourself to figure out how much full time RV travel would cost YOU.

Check out the 11 questions to ask yourself →

11. How can I make this a reality for myself/my family?

You’re in luck. We have been asked this question SO many times that we decided to write an e-book about it! It’s chock full of information on the steps you need to take to make this lifestyle a reality for yourself. It truly is a roadmap, simply laid out, explaining everything you’ll need to know to become a full time traveling RVer.

Get our e-book here.

Have any burning questions you still need answering?

Drop them in the comments below and we will respond! Thanks for reading :)

RV LivingAaron GrijlavaOctober 14, 2022Comment