FAQ’s
There are common question that we frequently get asked so we are creating a FAQ to help you get your answers!
Did you sell everything or rent a storage unit? We sold everything that we could. Our parents help us keep sentimental items and extra tools at their homes, everything else went!
Is rv traveling cheaper than living in a house? We get this question a lot and there are several factors that go into this. We find that it’s more expensive to travel fulltime in an rv than it was to keep our 2500 sq ft, 7 acre home. The biggest expense is moving every 2-3 weeks, not just in fuel but in wear and tear that comes along with putting our rig through a earthquake every time we move.
Where do the kids ride on move days? We spent the first 3 years with one truck, where the kids rode in the back seat and our german shepherd under their feet. We’ve recently added a second vehicle, a car. This makes it so we split the kiddos up on move days so everyone has more room. Because we both have a little work to do that requires driving, it makes it easier to schedule business meetings since there’s 2 vehicles.
How do your kids like living in an rv fulltime? They love it! It’s ideal for us at the moment. If we were in one place all of the time then it would be more challenging. Moving frequently makes the small living space worth the trade off for our family. They love meeting new people and seeing the adventures/new experiences along the way.
What’s your favorite location you’ve visted? So far, The Florida Keys! It was not only beautiful but we got to experience different lifestyles and cultures since we were so close to Miami and Cuba. There was a lot that we learned as we spent almost 5 months there this year.
How often do you travel? We like to use the Thousand Trails membership so we can stay 14-21 days at each campground. Sometimes we use the Harvest Host when it’s a quick overnight stay.
What about health insurance? When we launched, Joseph had to quit his job so we lost our insurance. We were able to find another fulltime traveler who had a family of his own and knew what we needed to get coverage anywhere we were located. You can contact him here, he’s amazing and we’ve been using him for 3 years now.
What’s been your biggest expense while traveling? Just after a year of fulltime traveling, our truck broke down in Daytona and needed a whole new engine. After being taken advantage of 2 auto shops in Daytona, FL and neither could fix our truck, we had the rv and truck towed back to our home state, Ohio. Transporting everything back made it so we could stay with family until the truck was fixed and also ensure that our mechanic wasn’t going to take advantage of us. It costs 30k that time. Since then we’ve had multiple other large expenses happen such as a transfer case. That’s why we like to remind people of having a savings before they start to travel full time.
What’s been your favorite upgrade to the RV? Honestly, as cheesy as it sounds, the RV LOCK has been our favorite! It makes life so simple. It’s a keyless entry lock. This way our kids can go in and out of the rv without worrying about who has a key. It’s just simple and super convenient for our family.
How do you keep your rv a comfortable temperature when it’s too hot or too cold outside? In the really cold or really hot seasons, we use reflectix on the windows; it’s like bubble wrap with aluminum foil. It’s on our amazon shop here. This helps a ton. If it’s really hot outside then we turn on the ac units in the front and back of the rig, then plug in a third ac unit that’s portable in the middle. Our rig comes with 3 ceiling ac units but if we turn on the main living space ac then we trip a breaker. I think this is because our rig is a 2014 and needs some updates. During cold seasons, we use the reflectix and also 2 space heaters along with our propane heat. The space heaters are cheaper to use for us since we don’t pay for electric at the campgrounds.
How do you homeschool? We LOVE unschooling but as the kiddos are getting older (9th, 7th & 6th grades) we also have to use a english and math curriculum. We have always used Math U See for math and started Essentials in Writing last year. History and science are interested led, meaning that we study whatever they’re interested in learning about.
How do your kids socialize? Our kids have a lot of friends. We see the same groups of people over and over again. We also try to schedule the same campgrounds with other families so that our kids have a community as we travel. We see the same families multiple times throughout the year and our kids keep up with each other on messaging apps or texts.
Saving money in 2023 is critical, let’s run through some tips!
There’s many people who say that you can save money while traveling but we have found fulltime traveling in an rv to be more expensive. However, here’s some tricks to help save money while you travel.
Use an app that helps find the lowest fuel prices around (such as gasbuddy).
Use the Fetch app and earn gift cards by scanning your receipts to all shops. I love this app because I don’t have to look at what I’m buying and just scan every receipt I get. I use the gift cards at the end of the year for an extra Christmas fund. Here’s a link that gives you an extra 2,000 points.
Use a membership for campgrounds such as a Thousand Trails membership. This is all we use unless we are using Harvest Host or boonedocking. I have an awesome person to get you info if you’d like.
Snag whatever you can online so you can price shop. Here’s our Amazon store link so you can see our favorite finds.
Use all big grocery store apps where you are and download the digital coupons. Big stores that have them include Winn Dixie, Kroger and such.
Use a credit card for large purchases that help give discounted gas prices so you earn points towards travel or cash back.
Don’t eat out! Period!
Travel every 2+ weeks when possible. Stay longer in one spot to explore the area and save on fuel. You’ll also get weekly/monthly rates at the campgrounds.
Use state and national park passes instead of paying every time you visit.
If you’re traveling Florida a lot then snag the Sunpass to help with tolls.
Use electric skillets or pans instead of the propane stove. Also use a space heater instead of propane heat (unless you pay for electric).
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Another fun option… and slightly addicting is to head over to my facebook group for Amazon codes. Deals that I get directly from Amazon to share with hefty discounts. Click here to join me!
I hope this helps and I’ll continue to grow the list as I find new ways to save more money on the road! - Amanda
KratzersJourney@OurJourneyToHappiness.com