My kids are homeschooled and I have an IT job where I can pretty much work anyplace where I can get internet. I think my wife and I have decided to "Roadschool" our kids, living full time in an RV.
Do any of you know anyone that has full timed in an RV with a pair of teenagers (Boy will be 15 and girl will be 14 by the time our lease is up in October)
There are a few blogs out there. Can't come up with them at the moment but start with technomadia. They have a ton of links. Also great reading there.
We've came across a few, Technomadia is good reading, too.
We are looking at a '79 Wanderlodge FC33 as our rig. Your posts about the Wanderlodge made me a believer.
I had been considering home schooling my daughter when she comes of age, hadn't even thought of doing it in an RV.. may need to look into this
m4ff3w wrote: We've came across a few, Technomadia is good reading, too. We are looking at a '79 Wanderlodge FC33 as our rig. Your posts about the Wanderlodge made me a believer.
Good choice! Except to consider the 35 footers as there are more for sale and cheaper, and that extra few feet makes a big difference. (More storage) We have put tons of miles on ours with five plus a dog although only ever for a couple weeks max.
Have you seen the Robin Williams movie RV? Just curious.
Seriously though, I can't really imagine living full time in a bus with two teenagers. Maybe up to half time and come home to a "base" in the Midwest somewhere, but 100% of the time? Nope.
This type of thing is somewhat popular with sailboats.
Do you have saltwater running through your veins?
Do you have interest in visiting the world? (at least the parts of the world that have water)
Look up sailboat cruising family lifestyle.
KyAllroad wrote: Have you seen the Robin Williams movie RV? Just curious. Seriously though, I can't really imagine living full time in a bus with two teenagers. Maybe up to half time and come home to a "base" in the Midwest somewhere, but 100% of the time? Nope.
This. If that's what you want to do, more power to you and best wishes. But for me...the phrase "oh hell no" comes to mind. I don't think my wife and I would want to spend a week in an RV with our kids, let alone live in one. We love them to death, but are very happy with our own spaces. But again, that's just personal choices.
Have you discussed the thought with your kids? I know mine wouldn't want to do it, as they like living in our neighborhood, where they get to see other kids every day and play with them, go to school and interact with other kids, etc... Would your kids get lonely and isolated living on the road and being home schooled?
KyAllroad wrote: Have you seen the Robin Williams movie RV? Just curious. Seriously though, I can't really imagine living full time in a bus with two teenagers. Maybe up to half time and come home to a "base" in the Midwest somewhere, but 100% of the time? Nope.
Especially opposite-gender teenagers. And I say that as the father of 15-year-old boy-girl twins. Sometimes they need their own personal space. Sometimes you need YOUR own personal space away from them. In an RV, there is precious little of that.
I assume you've looked into the internet access part of this? If you need it for your job, I wouldn't count on campground wifi, in my experience it's universally terrible. It makes hotel wifi look solid and reliable. You'd want some kind of mobile hotspot solution, I would think.
The best things about my teenage years were having fun with my friends and experimenting with girls. I feel like you're taking those opportunities away from your kids.
My wife's family moved around a bunch while she was growing up and she hated it. I couldn't imagine being a teenager, being stuck in an RV, not having any consistent friends, not having a car or any independence or freedom from the RV/parents. I wouldn't want to go through that as either a parent or as a kid/young adult.
Once we moved from San Antonio to Austin, the kids haven't really made any good friends. They have lots of acquaintances in the home school community, but unlike San Antonio they haven't made really close friends.
Their best friends are friends they met online. I travel for work and took them on one trip and we met one of my daughter's friends at the Zoo in Chicago. They are both excited about being able to travel the country.
They were both a bit iffy at the thought first, but we spent a solid 4 hours talking about it Monday night and they are both excited. Sure, their are logistics to figure out; but life is for adventure.
I moved around a lot as a kid and was home schooled as a teenager. I probably would have gone even more insane and taken my parents with me traveling full time in an RV. But it's your family and your kids sound like they might enjoy it.
I have found this family's blog pretty good. http://whensparksfly.org/ They live in a sportsmobile van. Very small.
I have a 21' RV we take on ski trips, two 100lb dogs, and a 7 year old, its full. But we do a week at a time without killing each other.
Tom_Spangler wrote:KyAllroad wrote: Have you seen the Robin Williams movie RV? Just curious. Seriously though, I can't really imagine living full time in a bus with two teenagers. Maybe up to half time and come home to a "base" in the Midwest somewhere, but 100% of the time? Nope.Especially opposite-gender teenagers. And I say that as the father of 15-year-old boy-girl twins. Sometimes they need their own personal space. Sometimes you need YOUR own personal space away from them. In an RV, there is precious little of that. I assume you've looked into the internet access part of this? If you need it for your job, I wouldn't count on campground wifi, in my experience it's universally terrible. It makes hotel wifi look solid and reliable. You'd want some kind of mobile hotspot solution, I would think.
Plan is for the kids to share the bedroom (with twin beds on opposite walls) with "sound proof" curtain in the walkway between the beds. We'll partition the living room/cab area as the same for our bedroom at night. We will tow something like a Suzuki Sidekick 4x4, I'd love to have a rooftop tent on it as well, for an extra "bedroom"
Internet: Yes. Dual SIM cellular router on Verizon and ATT, LTE repeater, and big ass antenna. The router also will bridge a wifi connection - I'll have a directional antenna pointing to whatever wifi a campground night have - just in case we get lucky.
from what I have read with kids living on a boat fulltime... best to get them used to the idea when they are still in single digits. Once they hit the teens, they will probably hate it
Kids are homeschooled and bored out of their minds, of course they are going to be excited about the adventure of living in an RV.
The average public school educated kid would not want to leave his friends for more than a few days, especially a boy at 15 who needs every possible moment with opposite sex potential....
PHeller wrote: Kids are homeschooled and bored out of their minds, of course they are going to be excited about the adventure of living in an RV.
I think that is slightly presumptuous. But I know that is the perception of homeschooled kids.
I full timed for 4 years, but it was just me and a wife. No kids.
But if you have questions about full-timing, feel free to ask. If you have questions about kids, you can ask that too, but any advice I give about kids tends to end up maiming or killing them. I know as much about kids as I do Nepalese Sherpa training.
Um...are you feeling ok? I jist inherited a teenage girl, and i barely want to be in a car eith the damn thing long enough to go to the mall let alone live in a space the size of a large bedroom...permanently. i cant imagine adding teen boy to that...god knows i were one.
I'd think about an enclosed trailer to haul a vehicle but has a bedroom space in the front, and a RTT on it. If I'm the son, that's my space.
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