Did you know that there are roughly one million Americans that live full-time in recreational vehicles? These modern nomads are challenging the idea of a “normal” American life, embracing minimalism and the journey of existence.
Have you considered living in a camper trailer but aren’t sure if it’s right for you?
There is a long list of benefits to living this lifestyle, including the massively increased accessibility of travel. When you first start living in a camper trailer, you might feel practically euphorically overwhelmed with the sense of freedom you have.
Let’s take a look at what it might really mean for you to live in a camper trailer and what factors you should consider when you make the decision.
Living in a Camper Trailer: Your Ticket to More Travel
It can be hard to imagine before you hop into the lifestyle, but living in a camping trailer offers you a whole new kind of freedom.
If you love traveling and you live in an apartment or home, you might find you don’t get to do it as much as you’d like. Whenever you leave your home to go on an adventure, you’re still responsible for paying the rent or the mortgage, making sure your pets are fed and walked, and taking care of the property. But what if you could take your home with you everywhere you go?
When people live in their camper trailer, this is what they do.
Instead of showing up at a vacation destination after a long plane ride with one suitcase and a carry-on, they can bring their home base with them wherever they go.
When you live in a camper trailer, you can stay put for as long as you want (assuming that the laws allow you to do so) and move around as much as you want. You can methodically plan out your travels or you can move on a whim.
This means that travel can become your way of life, rather than something that you do once or twice a year to recharge. You can explore any sites that you’re able to drive to, and you’ll be able to really live that cliche saying that it’s the journey, it’s not the destination.
If you’re more country than city, you’ll probably want to consider an off-road camper trailer so you can access more remote spots. Check out these fully customizable camper trailers at CaravanWoods.com.
Why Live in a Camper Trailer?
Increasingly, more and more people have been choosing to live in a camper trailer in order to live a simpler life in a chaotic world. Others do so out of financial necessity, as rents and home prices have been climbing across the country and the cost of living becomes increasingly difficult to deal with.
One of the big appeals of living in a camper trailer is that it allows you an incredible sense of freedom. You can hit the road at any time of day or year that you please, which is a freedom that Americans bogged down with a mortgage and property to take care of simply don’t have.
Even if you aren’t living in a camper trailer because you need to financially, some Americans choose to do so because they find it to be a more frugal lifestyle. If you’re trying to save up for the future, it’s possible that living in a camper trailer can help you do so with less stress and more efficiently.
Have you ever felt like you just don’t know where you want to live? Some days the deserts of the southwest sound good, while you also love fall in New England? You don’t have to settle for just one option when you live in a camper trailer: you can have it all.
What Are You Giving Up When You Live in a Camper Trailer?
The idea of living in a van, camper, or trailer has gotten pretty romanticized in recent years. You can find countless YouTube channels and Instagram pages of young, beautiful people claiming to have overcome materialism and the mundanity of normal life to live a beautiful and adventurous life.
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
People live in houses for reasons. While it can be limiting to live in a house that you can’t drag around behind your truck, it also comes along with a long list of benefits. For better or for worse, you are giving up some of those advantages when you choose to live in a camper trailer.
Unless you have a lot of friends across the country with driveways you can park your trailer, your life in a camper won’t always feel stable. You might struggle to find parking, have to pay expensive RV campground fees, and feel like you’re lacking in the privacy department.
Living in a camper can also be a real compromise if you’re a person with hobbies that require equipment. Sure, mountain biking is a great hobby for the camper trailer lifestyle, but fine woodworking really isn’t. You’ll want to consider what is important to you before you make the leap.
It’s also important to understand that while you can save money living this way, it isn’t a given. If you’re constantly driving, the cost of gas will add up. There are also repairs, campground fees, and other costs to factor in.
While there are some tradeoffs you are making when you choose to live in a camper trailer, it can also be a truly fantastic way to live. That being said, it can be a good idea to find a camper trailer rental to give it a try before you go all in.
Camper Trailer Life: Is It For You?
It’s easy to dream about living in a camper trailer. It’s a truly remarkable picture: you wake up in the morning to the sound of a waterfall and the birds and the smell of last night’s campfire still lingering in the air. You make yourself a cup of coffee and some eggs while you contemplate what it means to be alive.
Living in a camper trailer really can be this magical. It can radically take you out of your daily life and the modern grind. That being said, there are also a lot of challenges that come with the territory. When your lifestyle changes, you also have to change, and determining whether or not you’re willing to do that is the first step to deciding whether or not this is the right step for you.
Did you find this article about living in a camper trailer interesting? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog for everything the modern man needs to know to succeed in this world.
