Why an RV retirement?
In the previous post I covered some planning and financial considerations of taxes, health care and retirement. Living in an RV is much less expensive on a fixed home. Let me tell you why.
RV CAMPS
If you have planned well by the time you retire, you should have your RV, and have it paid for. So there won’t be any large payment for that. There are RV campgrounds where you can get full hook-ups. Full hook-ups mean water, electricity, and sewer included in the camp fee. I normally pay $250 in an apartment per month for these utilities. My rent here in Maryland is about $1000 per month. There is an RV camp just down the road from me that charges $750 – $850 depending on the monthly season. And they have FREE Wi-Fi and CABLE TV. Which is another $142 per month for my apartment. SO the RV camp is $750 – $850 versus $1362 for the apartment. If I was ready, I could live in the RV for $512 LESS per month. How much would you save? Don’t forget to add RV Insurance to your calculations.
BOONDOCKING 
Boondocking is the term used for camping without any hook-up, sometimes called dry camping. This is one of the reasons I LOVE RV living. You can pull off the road and fire up your generator and spend the night. There are many places where boondocking is not allowed, but there are just as many where you can. Truck stops allow overnight parkers. Walmart is famous for allowing RVers to spend the night. Just be sure to check with the store management, it is only polite. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees public lands and allows RVs to camp.
FINDING FREE CAMPING GROUNDS
It is very easy to find free camping with campground locator websites like Campendium and UltimateCampgrounds are adding more free locations every day. And the BLM has their own website that lists all its free location 
OTHER PLACES
There have recently been several other organizations that allow boondocking. The Boondockers Welcome club allows you to find people that will allow you to park on their land or driveway. For only $30 a year you’ll be able to request stays with any of the group’s hosts. With over 1000 hosts and more added every day, you’re sure to find a place to sleep and save a few dollars.
For a unique experience, try Harvest Host. They are a membership network that invites self-contained RVers to stay overnight for free at member wineries, breweries, distilleries, and farms. Harvest Hosts currently has over 620 Hosts in all the lower 48 US states, Canada, Alaska, and Baja California. The fee for this organization is only $49 a year. 
As you can tell, there are many places to camp that would fit your budget.
If you liked this post, please let me know in the comments below.
Barbara
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