By BRVR Staff
June 2019
This article reviews the top 10 books about RV travel on a budget.
Hitting the open road in an RV and seeing the country in all its glory is one of those American Dreams. But many who have the leisure to do this are also bound by the considerations of limited finances. If you find yourself wondering how you can realize your goals of RV travel on a fixed income or a more restricted budget, there are some wonderful books you should explore. They lay out problems, provide solutions, and offer advice for RV maintenance, personal safety, and even entertainment opportunities along the way. We’ve gathered a list of our top ten favorite books so you can start reading and planning your next adventure.
1. How to Start Enjoying the RV Life on a Tight Budget, by Robert Nichols
After being downsized from his accounting job, Nichols was concerned that his wife and he would not be able to afford their house over the long term. A friend introduced him to the idea of the RV lifestyle, and, after some research, the couple took the plunge. In his book, he explores topics such as the benefits over sedentary life, constructing a cost comparison plan to work your own numbers, how to find and maintain a good, used RV, proper loading and packing, where to park, how to go rent-free, healthcare options, and even how to maintain contact with your family while out on the road.
2. The Secrets of RVing on Social Security, by Jerry Minchey
If you’ve recently begun collecting your Social Security income and retired from the 9-to-5 lifestyle, this book will show you how to live frugally on the road. For many individuals and couples at this stage of life, maintaining a house note is no longer feasible. Living in a mobile home or RV isn’t for everyone, but it can drastically reduce your costs of living and allow you the freedom to explore all the spaces and places you never could while working or raising a family. Minchey offers an inquiry into the methods that can permit easy RV travel, safe exploration of the country, and even adding to the nest egg you worked so hard to build.
3. Big Travel, Small Budget, by Ryan Shauers
If you think the RV lifestyle is just for those enjoying their golden years, think again. Shauers’ book explores the finer points of taking life on the road at any age. While he does devote space to living inexpensively while abroad, he also details the sorts of budget considerations and their real impact. This demystifies and clarifies what you need in order to live a free and adventurous life on the road.
4. Road Trip U.S.A., by Jamie Jensen
Eisenhower’s interstate project revolutionized travel across the continental expanse of the United States. But while it made getting from one coast to the other far easier, it also sapped much of the local flavor from the experience. The older highways and byways are still there. Many of the small towns and gorgeous sites remain as if trapped in the amber of time, and you can see them all. If you’re jumping into RV living, you have time and leisure to see them the way they were meant to be enjoyed—at a human pace. This book provides a deep and appreciative exploration of America in between the featureless freeways and acts as a map to a slower, more beautiful country.
5. Full-Time RV Living, by Jerry Minchey
Troubleshooting is a phrase that has grown smooth with common use in our language. Minchey devotes the pages of this book to providing tips and guidance based on his own experiences. There are many mistakes you can make when getting into the RV life, but this book offers Minchey’s experience with the most common errors to save you time, headaches, and, most importantly, money.
6. Solo RVing on a Budget, by Misty Schade
Most budget RV guides are geared for older individuals who have recently retired. But what about the young and single people who want to experience the adventure. They often set it aside, saving it as a pipe dream for later, because they believe they can’t continue to work and also enjoy the RV lifestyle while they are young. Schade offers helpful tips, budget considerations, and planning assistance for such individuals. Her book takes the fairytale gloss off the putative apple and presents it as a pragmatic and realistic proposal that young, single individuals with full-time jobs can enjoy.
7. How to Live in a Car, Van or RV, by Bob Wells
One of the most difficult aspects of transitioning to the RV life is changing the mode of thought. We are trained from our earliest childhood to frame all the aspects of life and how we engage with the world from the perspective of a sedentary lifestyle. Living in a home that moves changes even the smallest features of how we accomplish our lived experience, and it can be daunting for many. But Wells presents a thoughtful treatise on how humans can adapt and shift their perspective in a cost-effective manner.
8. The Simple Life Guide to RV Living, by Gary Collins
Some may wake up one morning with the realization that you haven’t truly been living but simply existing. Modern life usually consists of getting and keeping any job that allows you to accumulate stuff. But do you ever have the leisure to enjoy that stuff? The RV lifestyle is about letting go of many preconceived notions. Collins offers a guide to decluttering and helps new RV enthusiasts avoid costly pitfalls that inexperience can present.
9. How to Live in a Van and Travel Anywhere, by Mike Hudson
Whether it’s for a longer vacation on the road or you’re interested in transitioning to a full-time RV lifestyle, Hudson offers useful advice for clean, easy, and frugal living in a camper van or mobile home. Mobile life is often presented as frivolous and improbable for anyone without an independent income. This doesn’t have to be the case, and it can be a liberating experience if you do it in the proper fashion.
10. RV Living Full Time, by Kevin Moore
Moore presents the prospect of RV life as a remedy to the modern malaise gripping many young professionals. The “zombie life” of work-sleep-work that grinds so many people down into barely functional human beings saps life of its beauty and wonder. The cure is travel and plenty of it. But too many people simply cannot afford to do so while maintaining the lifestyle they’ve been told they must. Moore provides over a hundred useful tips and guidance to achieving freedom from this gray nightmare of a dull half-life.
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