This past year has been a very rough time for you? You have been suffering from a lack of freedom and adventures? You are not alone. Travel addicts have been going around in circles, waiting for the borders to open again. You know what? 2021 is the perfect time to catch up and plan a RV trip with your family or by yourself. Vanlife will bring you all the discoveries and excitement you have been missing these past months.
Roadtrips are definitely becoming a trendy thing all over the world. Recreational vehicles allow travelers to discover new cultures and areas seamlessly. RV can be a camper van, a motorhome, a trailer, a roof tent or a pick up camper. These options attend to different needs.
RV allows you to have your home on wheels and travel wherever you want. You can follow your heart and decide in the morning where you want to sleep at the end of the day. RV can be used for solo roadtrips but also during family trips.
The van life offers you a bunch of advantages. You can find freedom and comfort while saving some money. Traveling in a recreational vehicle also brings you quality time.
The main asset of vanlife is, for sure, the freedom it brings you. With your home on wheels, you can change location in no time. You don’t have to pack all of your luggages before moving to another place. You just have to close the door of your vehicle and go on a new adventure.
Unlike hotel bookings, you don’t have any obligation with RV. If you want to stay longer, you can do it very easily. You don’t want to plan each and every aspect of your trip? RV is the perfect match for you! Customizing your itinerary as you go becomes easier with a recreational vehicle.
Too often, we think that freedom means camping rough. With a recreational vehicle, you can find a very comfortable solution. It can fit your family’s needs so you can feel at home in it. Depending on your plans for the trip, you will choose a vehicle between the camper vans, the trailers or even the roof tent.
In your wheeled home, you may install a shower, toilets and even a full kitchen. You can also decorate it to feel good in your space. Since vanlife is becoming more and more usual, you can find a bunch of accessories to adapt your vehicle to your wishes.
During long roads, your family will also benefit from the space and comfort of this home on wheels. If you are traveling with kids, they will love to have their personal space at the back of the vehicle.
RV trips can also be a good solution to travel a lot without spending too much money. You can visit many countries, travel for several months while fitting your budget. Unlike hotels and flights, vanlife is pretty affordable.
The main expense is the price of the vehicle. This one may seem too expensive at first. However, you have to remember that your vehicle will replace the hotel but also the transports. Moreover, you have a wide variety of prices in terms of recreational vehicles. You will necessarily find the perfect solution for you!
Your recreational vehicle can also replace your house if you want to travel during an undefined period. In this case, it will definitely be cheaper than a hotel or short-term apartment rental.
Alone, in couple or with your family, a RV trip is a great solution to find some quality time. Every minute of your trip will be an adventure. You will be able to experience things that classic travelers will never.
In van life, you can admire a beautiful sunrise directly from your bed. You can eat your lunch in front of a beautiful valley. In your RV, you will also be able to look at the stars in the middle of a big forest and fall asleep while listening to the animals.
Even if a recreational vehicle allows you to live one day at a time, you might want to plan your itinerary a bit to determine where to sleep, eat or what to visit.
Depending on the country you are staying in, you won’t be able to park your RV everywhere. By planning in advance your itinerary, you will be able to search for parking spots. You can also use a mobile app to help you find the perfect spot!
When you start to plan your trip, don’t forget that you will be driving the entire way from one place to another. Don’t be too ambitious! You don’t want to exhaust yourself. Take your time to enjoy each and every place fully.
To have a safe and comfortable RV trip, you must set a few things in your vehicle. A lack of water, electricity and gas will have a huge impact on your holidays. It will definitely help you to have the same level of comfort as in your home.
The water in your vehicle will be useful for different needs: to clean, cook, drink but also for the toilets and the shower. Therefore, you will need a tank for clean water and another one for waste water.
To fill in your tank of clean water, you can use multiple apps like Sanidumps.com or rvdumpsites.net. You will have to enter your country and state to have access to all the RV dump stations nearby. The app will also tell you whether the water is free or not.
First of all, your electricity consumption will depend on the time of the year you are traveling. If you plan your RV trip in winter, you will have to use more electricity to warm you up but also to enlighten your home since the days are shorter.
There are different electrical systems for your recreational vehicle. The easier solution is to use your vehicle battery. However, you will need to be aware of not using all the energy up – if not, trouble will await the next morning! Another option is to install solar panels connected to a backup battery. Finally, you can use a generator (diesel, natural gas, gasoline, etc.).
When you choose your recreational vehicle, you will also have to pay attention to the type of fuel it needs. Basically, you will have to choose between gasoline and diesel. If you want to travel a lot with your RV, diesel will probably be more interesting.
Indeed, a diesel vehicle will be more expensive to buy but filling it up with diesel will be cheaper than with gasoline. The original cost will be profitable in the long run. To make it even cheaper, make sure to fill your car outside of big cities where gasoline and diesel are less expensive.
In order to decrease your fuel consumption, make sure to drive slowly when you can. Due to its size and weight, your vehicle will use a lot of fuel if you want to go faster. Take your time, enjoy the road… and save some money!
Whether it is for water, electricity or fuel, try to stay as thrifty as possible. Starting a vanlife also means becoming more minimalist. You won’t be able to watch TV, play video games and cook fancy meals as much as you do in a regular home.
Another important skill to develop is to be foreseeing. Before running out of water, for example, make sure you are nearby a dump station. You don’t want to be in the middle of the Death Valley while running out of water. This is the reason why planning a RV trip a little bit in advance is very important.
If you want to plan a new RV trip in 2021 on another continent, your first concern will probably be the vehicle. You know what? Today is your lucky day! With Swap the Road, you can have access to a community of RV owners from all over the world. Then, you will be able to exchange vehicles with them in order to travel further, more often and at a lower cost.
Join the community of Swap the Road right now! It is totally free. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube for more vanlife and RV trip content. We can’t wait to have you in our travel-addicts community.
You can also check our blog post to know what type of RV will fit your needs. We share with you our advice to choose between different kinds of recreational vehicles depending on your destination, the people you are traveling with and your budget.
At the heart of the passion for freedom on wheels is an unmissable event in France: the Vanlife Expo.
More than 1.8 million viewers tuned in to M6’s Capital to discover a new and fast-growing phenomenon: the exchange of leisure vehicles, a good deal that’s becoming increasingly popular!
Discover Yupwego, the tailor-made insurance for all your trips abroad. Whether you’re away for a weekend or several months, enjoy personalized coverage and services tailored to your needs, so you can travel with peace of mind, wherever you are.
Message
We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions
