This posting has been needed for a while. I am sure some of you, who are wantabe RV Full Timers or are at least considering the idea, have this question in mind. How Can You Be an RVer during these times of high gas prices?

Actually, the answer is easier than you would imagine. At least in my case, I am a casual RV traveler. With the exception of when I am traveling from point A to point B. I tend to spend a month to three months in places I call my home port. This is a carry over from my Navy days. While I am in transit between two home ports I sometimes take my time stopping for a week here and a week there. I do this when I have plenty of time to get where I am going.

For example, last year I attended a Navy reunion in Branson, Missouri in May. I had spent the winter in Arizona and in February I began heading east through New Mexico (1 stop in Carlsbad for 1 week), Texas (2 stops 1 week each in San Antonio and Houston), Louisiana (2 stops 1 week in Lake Charles and 2 weeks in Hammond), then North to Mississippi (2 weeks in Jackson) then to Tennessee (1 week in Memphis) then on to Branson where I stayed 6 weeks. In each of these places I stayed in RV Parks. I always had a home.

Even that trip was a little faster than I normally like travel. Next time I make that trip I will take at least 3 times as long.

Which brings us to the topic of this posting. My lifestyle is such that I work from my RV with my online business www.WWWHelper.com. This means the only commute I have is to the local coffee shop or grocery store. For those of you with daily commutes of 20 or 30 miles, I probably don't have to tell you how the costs for a daily commute to work can add up. I can usually last 2 or 3 weeks or more on a single tank of gas.

The only time it get's tough is when I go into transit mode. For example I was in Boise up until 22 May when I moved lock stock and barrel here to La Grande, Oregon where I am staying the summer months. It took one tank of gas to get here. I will be here 3 months then It will take another tank of gas to go back to Boise for a couple of months before heading to my winter quarters in Arizona. That move will take another tank of gas but will cost probably $20 or $25 more than in May.

On my journey South to Arizona I plan to take a couple of months getting there. I for sure plan to spend a week or so in St. George, Utah, a month in Las Vegas and a week or two in Quartzite before the big crowd hits.

As you can see I will have several gas stops along that route but they will be spread out over several weeks which spreads out the average daily or weekly cost. I am sure that it will be less than most people who commute to work an average of 20 or 25 miles a day.

Yes, it is more expensive to live my nomad lifestyle than it was a year ago but it is still affordable and definitely worth not being stuck in one place. That would be the worst thing that could happen to a rolling stone like me.

14 August 2008 Update:

After writing this article I read an article in the Wall Street Journal article titled "The RV Lifestyle on $4 a Gallon" By JONATHAN WELSH. I think you will find this article interested if you are already or considering living the RV Lifestyle.