The transition from living in a spacious house to a compact travel trailer can be difficult. You don’t only need to downsize and rearrange your life but also prepare yourself emotionally to live as a minimalist.
It is always recommended that you talk to someone who lives in or has lived in a travel trailer before you make the decision to start living in one. Here are some tips that will help you ease the transition and survive life on the road.
Communication Is Key
If you are sharing a travel trailer with someone, you need to be prepared for arguments. Because the space is so small and you hardly get much privacy, it can become difficult to get away from tense situations. Establishing healthy communication and making sure to address small things will help you transition smoothly into living in a travel trailer.
Familiarize Yourself With The Vehicle
Just like you explore everything before moving into a new house to make sure you know where everything is, moving into an RV is no different. You need to know your travel trailer inside out to act fast during emergencies or other issues.
These vehicles come with user manuals that contain an extensive amount of information that is important for you to know. So, you need to go through these manuals thoroughly and keep them safe for later reference as well.
Knowing your travel trailer will save you a great deal of time and hassle. You can find guides on Camper Front to learn more about living in a travel trailer.
Lists Are Your Best Friend
It is quite normal for people to forget certain things, despite how important they may be. Therefore, it is always better to have a checklist of all important items that you can tick off before leaving.
So, before you start living in a travel trailer, make an extensive list of all the gear and other essentials and keep it safe. This list will prove to be helpful every time you depart a location and help you keep track of all your items.
Designate Spaces
Since your RV will now be your home, you will need a place for everything. Firstly, this is important because you need stellar organization to keep everything in order in such a compact space.
You will not have a lot of storage space or extra room, so designating places for things will help you avoid losing anything. Moreover, travel trailers are constantly moving on bumpy trails and rough roads, so the way you arrange things will also need to be efficient and safe.
Having a place for everything will also make packing and unpacking easier. You can learn more about organizations in RV living here.
Having Company
Living in a travel trailer alone does get extremely lonely at times and very tiring. If you are alone and plan to start living in an RV, we suggest giving it a shot with a friend before making the permanent shift.
We have gathered that keeping a pet is an excellent strategy to combat loneliness. Moreover, sometimes when you have to drive all night long, you end up wishing there was another driver who would take over for a while.
So, it is extremely demanding to live in a travel trailer, but having good people around will keep you going. You can ask friends to tag along, so you can take turns driving.
Downsizing
It is very easy to lose sight of your goal and start hoarding things after moving into an RV. This unwanted stuff can pile up to be a big and untidy mess. Having extra storage space does not necessarily mean that you should fill it up.
In order to prevent the building up of things, you can follow this simple rule; every new thing you bring, you throw out an old one. Moreover, instead of investing in things that you may need in the future, only buy items that you need then.
Use the extra space to store at least 30 days’ worth of food, water, and essentials instead. Since travel trailers are so small, they get easily cluttered, so a minimalist lifestyle is best for campers.
Flexibility
Living in a travel trailer is not for the faint of heart. You need to be prepared for all kinds of weather conditions and changes in plans due to weather, road, or other conditions. So, you have to make up your mind to be more flexible and adapt to changes as they come.
Uncertainty is one of the biggest attractions but also a drawback of RV living because adventure aside, sometimes it can cause serious delays or problems. Making and sticking to schedules is important; however, unforeseen delays or early departures are part of this lifestyle.
