SURVIVAL IN THE RV – 8 YEARS IN THE CAMPER

Motorhome instead of an apartment was exactly 8 years ago when I decided to exchange my normal middle-class life for a life in a RV. Alternative living was exactly my thing back then, although “living on a campsite” was never even up for discussion. Living in an RV – being at home when travelling. Mobile living, is a story of a modern-day nomad of the street before it you went to go RV sales Memphis.

2923 days living in a RV

From Sunday, April 5th, 2009 to Wednesday, April 5th, 2017 there are 2923 days. That corresponds to 417 weeks and 4 days, or almost exactly 8 years. It all started quite inconspicuously and much more unplanned than some might imagine. There was never the big plan, “we live in the RV and today our new life begins”. It was a dream in the back of my mind that I slowly built up in small steps over the course of 8 years to what it is today. At the time, I would never have believed that I would ever be able to spend a year in the south without having to have a permanent job in Germany.

Always have the goal in mind and work towards it

Isn't that what it's called? I wish I could confirm that now. But I don't have big goals, rather always many small ones that can be achieved quickly and easily. Small, quickly achievable goals also provide feelings of happiness much more often than if I only have one big goal in mind that I could only achieve in the distant future. Eight years ago I knew just as little what I will have achieved by now as I do not know today what I will be doing in 8 years. I don't even want to know when I'll be back in Germany next time. But that's exactly what's interesting about this life for me.

This is how my life in the motor home began

8 years ago my van got a solar system. I still remember that I installed this solar system on the weekend before Easter. With independence from shore power, the foundation stone was laid for life in a RV. In the week before Easter, we spent the night in front of my employer's hall as a test phase, until finally on Wednesday evening we went to the Franconian Lake District in Bavaria for the long Easter weekend. After the depressive winter in the basement apartment, this was our first longer tour with the RV in 2009 and at the beginning, no one knew that it would be the longest tour ever. I will never forget this weekend. It was 30 degrees during the day and ground frost at night. All day I looked at the solar charge controller and was so amazed, at how the new solar system with 260Wp simply recharged the battery in the RV without shore power. I was finally independent and free! That was the first small step on this journey to living in a RV.

Self-sufficient through solar – the way is free to live in an RV

A weekend goes by quickly, on Easter Monday we went back home. Were at home for a short time to shower and swap clothes. It was only 4 p.m. and it was still warm – I had to go back to work the next day, but none of us wanted to spend the evening in the basement apartment. So we got back in and drove to the nearby reservoir in Welzheim. There we spent a nice evening and another night in the RV. After all, it doesn't make any difference whether I drive to work in the camper van from Welzheim or from the reservoir four kilometres away on Tuesday morning. But it was really unusual! Suddenly spending the night in a RV next to where you live for years is strange. That was the second small step to my life in the RV.

After the first working day of the new week, the weather is still good, should we go home now? Oh no, there is a small bathing lake near my work. You can also spend the night there. One day passed after the other. After work on Friday afternoons, we drove further away and during the week we stayed close by. Spend the night in forest parking lots, under the windmill, at the reservoir, in the industrial area, in the vineyards. Almost every day in a different place. It was a great time, with the best weather in 2009, which had a positive impact on life in a van. Because rainy days in a van were pretty stupid back then.

Alternative housing considerations

In the winter of 2008/2009, I indulged in many dreams. I always thought living in a trailer was great, but where do you put such a vehicle? Pulled by a tug like Jonnson did back then is cool, but I couldn't imagine travelling so slowly in combination with a permanent local job. Living in a trailer and parking on the side of the road wasn't my ideal idea of mobile life either. Living on the campsite, just so that life in the construction trailer is possible, was not possible at all. So the idea of living in a construction trailer was quickly discarded.

Living in a caravan was never an option either. Such a box on the hook brings flexibility since you can use the towing vehicle individually. But such a caravan is too much camping and not enough living for me. Living in a caravan is like living permanently in a hotel. Rearrange the caravan before each trip so that it is drivable. Paying attention to weight distribution, not having a load and all of that brings me too many disadvantages to outweigh the advantages. Caravans are also rarely seen, which is another disadvantage for me, which is why I preferred an RV from the start.

Between bewilderment and normality

“What, you live in the RV?” “Isn't that cold in winter?” I think something has changed over the last few years. But in the early days, I kept coming across totally stunned campers who couldn't even imagine that anyone could live in an RV. Especially in Germany, during the summer travel season, I noticed that the “normal vacationers” with the motorhome are sometimes quite stunned.

Overwinterers in Spain and Portugal often live in RVs themselves or are on the road for at least 3 months at a time. For them, it is not a big sensation that someone lives permanently in a RV.