Building the Perfect RV

If you haven’t chosen an RV yet, allow me to give you some advice and I’ve been involved in the purchase of two different models. If you have children, choose an RV that allows all the children to have their own personal location to tuck away into. These areas should not be the main kitchen table area nor the front room couch area, doing so reduces the amount of family hang out space. Avoid motor homes due to the fact that the tires are incredibly expensive but if you have to change these tires, you need to find a garage with a bay that’s high and wide enough.

While some folks like to purchase a fifth wheel, the reality is that you must have a truck that can carry the tonnage of a fifth wheel and there are some unfortunate instances where the hitch ended up failing and went upwards into the sleeping area. A frequent concern is that you have to be able to maneuver the fifth wheel or it may jack knife.

There are RV businesses that may allow you to practice driving with a vehicle to help you narrow down what style you want to drive but you should call and inquire before making the trek to the facility. I do know that they will allow you to go through the selection of RV’s they have if it means they can make a sale.

Once you have chosen the RV that fits your family, you need to sit down with your spouse and decide if you want to go off grid of if you plan to put your RV some place that has a well or city water, electric hook up and grey/black water disposal in the form of a septic tank or sewer.

If you choose to go off-grid, you can install a composting toilet that will require you to bury the solids unless you create an outhouse. For water supply, you will either need to have a well dug which can run around $5,000 to $8,00 or set up a rain catchment with filtration system. For electricity, you’ll need a power pole or a fairly large solar panel collection with batteries.

Once utilities are established, you’ll need to get your vehicle kitted out so that when the time comes, you’ll have everything ready. You need to have three days’ worth of clothing for every single member that will be staying in the family, as well as enough first aid supplies, household products, pantry supplies, extra prescription medications, and any other essentials that you’ll need to have yourself setup at a moment’s notice.

While many individuals don’t consider this, no matter what state you live in you need to make sure that you locate all of the openings that will allow pests in that could damage your supplies. You can purchase rolls of foam insulation to tuck in and around any pull outs that your RV may have from your local hardware store. You should consider purchasing the little roach and ant baits then tuck them in as many cabinets as you can. Many pests dislike various smells like peppermint or citronella, so you can use these as essential oils to warn them off. I personally put bentonite cat litter in ziplock bags and thoroughly soak the contents with whatever odor offends them most.

I’m hopeful that this list will be a good start for you, but if you live around Central Florida, shoot me a message and I’ll be all too happy to assist you in your pursuits. Happy homesteading!

P.S. Look at the zones in the area you plan to spend the most of your time in, almost the entire state of FL is off limits for RV living for the full-time owner, unless you stay in an RV campground.