8 MilSpouse-Approved Tips to Downsizing & Traveling the U.S. in an RV

Introduction

As a veteran or military family, you’re no longer just limited to traveling in an RV: you could even choose to live some or all of the year on the road. As a military spouse, you’re already uniquely able to pivot and adapt on the fly. After all, how many times did you PCS with kids in less than ideal circumstances? Oops, sorry for reminding you about all that stress!

Traveling in an RV might be easier for you than you expect when you keep these ideas and downsizing tips in mind. If you just retired or are nearing the end of your military adventure and looking to transition into a new life, read on to learn more about how to keep your sanity and safety intact when you live a road life.

Is Traveling in an RV Right for You?

Now you’re getting a military pension that you can use to pay for gas and things to do as you travel around the U.S. in a tiny home or RV. Now that you’ve waved goodbye to BAH, there’s no doubt you’re excited about the possibility of keeping your monthly home expenses as low as possible. If there’s no need for you to have a permanent physical home, you can sell or rent your current one and take things to the road for that RV life.

RV life is also perfect if you’re searching for a great post-retirement state. Don’t commit until you’ve tried it out in an RV.

If your spouse already works remotely or newly has the opportunity to do that, it’s the perfect storm for you to start searching for downsizing tips and get in the market for a new or used RV.

8 MilSpouse-Approved Tips to Downsizing & Traveling the U.S. in an RV

Life on the road either for a short term trip or as a lifestyle is freeing, fun, and also sometimes annoying. Be prepared for what reality looks like. This makes it easier to set and manage your own expectations fairly. Make the experience a better one with these downsizing tips and ideas for traveling in an RV.

#1: Map Out a Loose Trip

You know what’s way harder than anyone tells you when you’re an active duty family? Having 100% control over where you want to live. Now that you get to choose, spend plenty of time letting everyone brain dump things they want to see.

Give yourself extra time for every leg of the trip you have planned. You never know when you’ll hit traffic, need an extra morning to sleep in, or just want to take it easy for the entire day. Keep activities on board like card games in case you need or want to fill time. Map it out loosely. If you’re really careful, you might even be able to make this an educational map-reading experience for your older kids (who probably are living off of phone GPS as a crutch like the rest of us) as they help you plot the trip or make adjustments.

Even if you’re flying solo with just you and your spouse, a loose plan of where you’ll be parking the RV each night is a good idea.

Don’t box yourself in with back to back activities; remember that day to day life like cooking, cleaning up, and showers can take longer when you don’t have access to all your at-home amenities.

Reduce your daily mileage expectations, too. This isn’t like a car road trip where you’ve got to pull an all nighter to get back to work after vacation. Since the RV life has become so popular, there are many military campgrounds and civilian stopover points out there, so you’ll have no shortage of options.

#2: Declutter With Gusto

Seriously, what was wrong with me and my husband that we had to hire a junk hauling service before every single move? I was increasingly embarrassed since it felt like no matter what we just kept accumulating. It’s time for a much-needed and possibly painful deep clean with downsizing tips.

Need to practice a few months before you get an RV? Start closing off doors in your home and live as minimally as possible by decluttering. Some things will have to be stored, some sold/given/thrown away, and others packed.

Remind yourself that you’re embarking on a new lifestyle here and you just won’t need all these things.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything you own, use these downsizing tips:

Go through one room at a time rather than doing “all books” or “all clothes” together
Take pictures of every room before you start. If you have items that are sentimental but will be given away, photos can make that easier
Set ground rules before you start so no one gets their feelings hurt
Get rid of all duplicates
Keep piles separate: storage, to take, to give away, and to sell. (Pro tip: use those closed off rooms in your home for these piles)

#3: Lay Out Everything You Want to Take, Then Cut it in Half

A smaller living space means you need the best downsizing tips before you go. It might not seem like a lot when you create your mental list, but you’ve got to store as much onboard as you can without it feeling cluttered or weighing the RV down. Walk through the RV before you go and leave post-its on the storage areas with what you’ll put there. Your eyes will be opened quickly about what’s realistic.

Trust me, you probably will have a fight over someone bringing too many clothes or tools in the future. You can do your best to avoid it, but just remember you love this person when you trip over their toolbox or eighth pair of shoes again.

When you need basics like hampers, opt for things that can fold or be smashed down smaller like mesh bags. Any item that can be repurposed in two or three different ways is a winner.

#4: Get the RV Inspected by a Mechanic

In addition to an RV roadside assistance plan, getting the right vehicle to start with can reduce your anxiety quite a bit. Get a mechanic to look over the vehicle in full before you buy. If there’s anything already worn down that the salesman is likely to gloss over, you want to know about it so you can have a backup plan.

FYI, the things most likely to happen to you on the road in an RV include dead batteries, engine issues, overloading the volts, and tire blowouts.

#5: Assign Out Arrival & Pack Up Tasks

You’ll get sick of RV life quickly if you’re always the one dealing with the trash can or popping out the awning. Involve kids or your spouse by giving them chores just like you would at home. You’ll be much happier knowing that everyone has a role to play every time you set out and settle in. Use a checklist to make sure no details are missed.

#6: Set Aside Alone Time or Split Up Kids

Your family will drive you crazy at points on this trip. Not that it will make you feel better, but the very nature of a compact living situation and on-the-road stress means you will also drive your kids insane, too.

Build in time for people to get the breathers they need. If letting your kid read Harry Potter for 30 minutes each morning keeps you from having an emotional breakdown at another national park, let them eat cake.

When you make pit stops, build out time for kid-specific activities. If one kid is not interested in the museum of sports heroes, find an alternative activity and split up. This makes sure everyone gets some one on one time with their parents, too!

If you’re just traveling in an RV with your spouse, it’s okay to be apart for a day every so often, too.

#7: Bring Your Own WiFi with You

Yes, most RV parks have Internet, but the connections are slow and after hours on the road, you really might need a little Netflix to reset. Unlimited data plans for your cell phones and tablets work well and you can always use the park’s connection as a backup. A cell booster is a must have, too. When you’re in an area with good reception, make sure you take care of any major work-related or admin tasks like paying bills.

And speaking of bills, you can use a service like Escapees to receive mail and packages. You can contact them with where you want something specific sent while you’re traveling in an RV.

#8: Know You Won’t Get it Perfect

Remember how there was always that one person in your family or friend circle who would tell you that dealing with a deployment or PCS for the fourth or fifth time wouldn’t really be that stressful because after all, you’d done it before?

Yep, I think we’ve all held back an eye roll.

Deployments and moving are always stressful because your life gets thrown into chaos mode immediately and there are so many things outside of your control. One way to prepare yourself for this new part of your life is to embrace the adventure: you are going to encounter challenges on the road and you’ll handle them as you come. Do your best to be prepared, but don’t overthink it and talk yourself out of this once-in-a-lifetime chance for traveling in an RV.

Conclusion

Yes, you probably will break down in the middle of nowhere at some point no matter how much pre-trip maintenance you did on the vehicle.

Yes, your family might get food poisoning from the gas station where you stopped for a quick breakfast.

That space you totally reserved to park for the night might lose your reservation.

Here’s what to remember: you’ve been through worse and you know your family can adapt and overcome with the best of them. So prep your spouse and kids that you’re going to hit snags as you go and that it’s okay because you’ll work together to make it happen.

Are you ready to hit the open road? This trip is not up to your detailer, so it’s time to get planning!

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8 MilSpouse-Approved Tips to Downsizing & Traveling the U.S. in an RV

Introduction

Is Traveling in an RV Right for You?