A Beginner's Guide to Living in an RV: Everything I Wish I Knew Before Full-Time RVing Across America (RV Travel Books) Paperback – November 14, 2017

I am planning to buy a fifth wheel, a subject I know nothing about. I am going to retire, travel the country, and maybe go fulltime for the cost savings. I have 4 siblings I can stay with as backup! I just now bought my first ever truck, Ram 2500 6.4L, and now I'm looking for a fifth wheel to pull. I want to know not only how to do it, but how to deal with the problems that always come. I grew up camping in tents and pop-out campers, so at least I have been face to face with mother nature, and had to "survive". This is the first RV book I purchased and it was a great choice. Instead of my blow and go past, I am trying to put the research in before spending the money! I love Alyssa's first person approach to her writing. She starts the book when she knew nothing about RVs, like most of us. Then she presents a travel chronology, giving good coverage of every mistake they made, and the many resources/ways/tools to fix it. She talks about the all important el dinero, and how not to spend a lot. She talks about pros and cons of different brands, and types, of RVs. She reviewed all the different ways to tow a car behind an A class RV, and sure enough, I see most RV'ers pulling their car 4 wheels down. Her "what we put in our RV" list really scared me, because I will have to either put everything in storage, or give rid of 99% of my "stuff", including my sacred real paper books. She compares different brands when appropriate. She gives you actual cost up front for everything. I thought the emergency breakdown and repairs topic was especially helpful because you're often looking at $$$$. She covers every essential topic I can think of, including how to get a snail mail address, health insurance, emergency roadside repairs, and more. Last of all, she puts her own brand of unique humor into it that makes it fun to read like an adventure novel. Married couples will love it too since she travels full time with her husband, who is also a full time writer in terms of work. Thanks Alyssa! I really hope I will run into you on the trails one day.

This is a must read for anyone considering a lifestyle that includes full-time work and play while living in a recreational vehicle rather than a “traditional” home. I have owned a travel trailer and taken numerous extended family vacations to state and national parks, bureau of land management properties, and private land. The thought of doing this full-time has been a lifelong dream. Now that my wife and I have retired I hope to soon realize that dream of exploring and experiencing places that we have not yet ventured out to see, and revisiting those that we have enjoyed in the past, in one continuous journey from one destination to the next.I had questions that needed answers...Alyssa provided answers to many of those questions. Establishing ones legal domicile, insurance plans that work, and equally important, insurance that does not work. She has detailed good and bad experiences and explained what worked and didn’t work in her context. She provides experience with real situations, for example when a disabling breakdown occurred and a call was required to secure emergency services when traveling, or the plan versus the reality of scheduling and obtaining necessary routine maintenance and when warranty work is needed for minor repairs to the RV. These examples were insightful and informative.I appreciate the variety of RV resources hi-lighted, both free and especially pre-paid, including the ROI analysis for each based upon her firsthand experience.Thanks for a great read!

If you can overlook the lack of professional writing and editing, and incomplete information in a number of instances, this self-published book seems to be a good primer for those of us who are considering living on the road permanently. That’s a decision and life choice that one should research thoroughly before deciding to become a “nomad” (nods to the SUPERB movie “Nomadland”), and this book seems to offer plenty of ideas on where to start that research. I was part way through another book on the same subject when I picked this one up, planning to spend about 15 minutes doing a quick “browse through” - and four hours later I’ve already highlighted multiple sources, bookmarked and visited websites, and don’t want to stop.When one knows virtually NOTHING about a subject, being pointed in the right directions to start looking for knowledge is a great help - and this book seems to be doing that very well. This is good basic info, written by a woman who is 20-40+ years younger than the great majority of people who live on the road full time. I mention this simply because her book reflects her youth and generation, and (relatively) limited life experience. Having said that, she’s spent her entire six+ years of marriage living the mobile life, and has covered a LOT of ground in that time. So while some of what she presents for consideration (various kinds of insurance coverage, healthcare, having a good mechanic, the idea that “things will break”, “try before you buy”) might seem self-evident to those of us who are two or more generations older than her, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded to put such important items on that LONG checklist of things we need to have or do before making such a huge life change. {NOTE: This book was first published in 2017, then updated in 2020, apparently before COVID-19 restrictions were in place. We all know how COVID has changed EVERYTHING we do and how we do it, so keep that in mind as you read this book and do other research on becoming a full timer.}

We are selling our home and hitting the road in a RV. This book has provided us with some useful information and tips. I read it fully and plan to reference the information along our journey. Thanks for such good info!