I don’t know about you, but COVID-19 has led me to think about things I hadn’t given much thought to prior to the pandemic and stay-in-place recommendations. One of those is today’s topic. In quiet contemplation of isolation, I have thought a lot about the pros and cons of having a home-base. Obviously, during the pandemic my thoughts were mostly along the lines of the pros, reasons why having some place to go at the drop of a hat for any reason might be a good idea.

Obviously, for seasonal or part-time RVers, they have a place where they go during non-RV time whether that’s a home they maintain or the home of a family member. But what about full-timers? I don’t know many full-timers who also maintain a home-base. But, like I said, the current situation has me pondering the idea.  

I came up with a few pros and a few cons on the idea of having a home-base as an RVer. But I’d love to hear your thoughts on the ones I’ve listed and, especially other pros or cons I didn’t consider.

Pros of Having a Home-Base

A Place to Go During a Pandemic

At the beginning of the pandemic, when shelter-in-place orders and recommendations came from the powers that be, there was a general, low-level rumbling in the RVing community. Within a few weeks, as many of us were getting cancellation notices in our email boxes and with public lands shutting down, the rumble turned into a minor panic particularly among full-time RVers.

The question everyone was asking: Where will I go? Where can I park my RV? In other words, where will I live?

I’m happy to report that the initial panic died down and things worked out for most people. Actually, all the people in the RV groups where the discussion was lively found solutions. Solutions varied greatly. Some were able to shelter-in-place with friends or family who had enough room on their property for the RV. Other people put their RV in storage and then sheltered-in-place with friends or family. I even knew one person who put her RV in storage and rented an apartment to ride out the pandemic.

Initially, the big fear was that all campgrounds everywhere would shut down. And while many did, many did not. And that many did not was really the saving grace for most of us. Some went to 50% capacity. Some let RVers who were there stay but didn’t take new reservations. Many closed their community rooms and bathhouses. But they at least had a place for the RVers to park.

It all worked out. But during those uncertain and scary first weeks of the shut-down in March, I spent a lot of time fantasizing about the security having a home-base would provide. I suspect a lot of full-timers did the same.

Place for Maintenance and Cleaning

When you are boondocking, you really don’t have the water supply to be able to wash your rig. When you are hooked up at a campground, most have rules against washing your rig. Even something as simple as getting road dirt off the rig can be a challenge.

That challenge, as a side note, actually, is pretty easy to get around because what it usually means is that they don’t want you hosing down your rig. But I’ve never gotten into trouble for having a bucket of water and a sponge to wipe the grime away.

But if you want to drag out a hose and products, it sure would be nice to have a place you felt comfortable where you wouldn’t ruffle any feathers as you made your RV shiny clean.

It’s probably even more true for maintenance projects. Those can involve tools, taking apart pieces of the RV, the need to spread out. Plus, in a tight campground where they line you up like sardines in a tin, you may not even have the physical space to spread out the way your project calls for. Not to mention a project could take multiple days and possibly leave oil or other stains on the ground.

Wouldn’t it be nice to do all your washing, waxing and maintenance without worry or restrictions?

Storage

Every full-time RVer goes through the process of downsizing. And without a home-base, that downsizing is radical and severe. It must be. No matter how severely you downsize, there is always some things you cannot bear to part with or shouldn’t part with and yet it doesn’t make sense to haul that stuff around in your RV.

It’s the legal and sentimental items that come to mind. Things like photos, scrapbooks, letters, family heirlooms, three years of taxes and financial records as required by law, etc.

So, a home-base would mean no guilt or worry over those important items having a proper and safe place to live.

Tax Benefits

With a mortgage comes a decent tax write-off. Not so with an RV, even if you live and work in it full-time. While there are a couple very specific exceptions, in general, every RV tax professional I’ve heard speak, says writing any portion of an RV off (including payments, maintenance, travel costs) is not allowed.

It certainly doesn’t seem fair but, in general, the world doesn’t know what to do with us full-time travelers on many levels so it’s not surprising to learn this includes taxes, write-offs, etc.

Even a small home-base has the potential to make a difference on your tax burden so it’s another factor to consider.

An Address

If you are a full-time RVer or still in the planning phase, you must think long and hard about your address. What state will be your domicile? It’s a big question because it has big implications—everything from voting and jury duty to the ease of getting the tags on our vehicle or driver’s license renewed. Not to mention cost of insurance and access to a good health plan for your needs, and whether or not you will pay state taxes.

It’s an important exercise to go through as there are many factors to consider, some having more weight than others. Regardless of whether you keep your home state or change to a domicile state (Texas and Florida are, hands down, the most-used by full-timers) you must have an address.

Of course, there are many companies that offer an address as a service and this includes a place to have your mail delivered to. Still, how nice to be able to have a home-base and the address that comes with it? One less thing to worry about or service to have to pay for.

A Place to Call Home

Even though RVs can feel homey, even small ones like mine, and even though you have everything you need with you, there is simply something about a home-base—a home—that cannot be replicated in an RV. Maybe it’s the constant moving you do in an RV, maybe it’s knowing exactly where everything is in the local grocery store. I don’t know. As much as I adore RV life, when I think about having a home-base, it fills me with a sense of peace, hominess and community that the RV simply doesn’t.

I don’t know if my own feelings on this are common or uncommon among full-time RVers. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Cons of Having a Home Base

Expense

Even though you get the tax benefit of owning a home-base, for all practical purposes, you are maintaining two homes. This can add up. No question, the expense of two “homes” is the biggest con of having a home-base.

In fact, many RVers simply cannot do both. That was certainly my case as I needed the cash from the sale of my house to purchase my trailer and tow vehicle without having to finance them. From a practical point of view, even if you could afford it, you still might not like the idea of double living expenses when you can only live in one place at a time.

Expenses in general can be mitigated by doing things like primarily boondocking in the RV. Or, you could rent out the home-base. (But, for all intents and purposes, in my mind that means you have a property but not really a home-base since you cannot use it whenever you want.) Of course, you could opt for a quite small home-base. Thus, reducing the overall cost of maintaining it with lower mortgage, utilities, taxes, etc.

Still, with all the factors considered, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where, financially speaking, having a home-base plus an RV isn’t more expensive than the RV alone. Of course, expense is not the only consideration.

Security

With a home-base, one issue you’d have to address is security. That might not be quite the right word. But if you are going to be away from your home-base a good deal of the time, you need to make sure a pipe doesn’t break, rodents don’t invade or thieves don’t target your place. You might be able to do this by asking a friend or neighbor to keep an eye on the place, maybe doing a walk-thru once a week.

Similarly, you have to ask yourself how you’d deal with mail and packages that are delivered as well as menus and political cards that get attached to your front door. Just like when you go on vacation, you don’t want to announce to the world that you are gone by letting things noticeably pile up. It’s an open invitation to bad guys.

And, if you are able to work out an arrangement for someone to keep an eye on the place and pick up mail, what if that pipe busts or the rodents invade? Will you leave money with that person for such issues? Will you drop your RVing adventures to return to deal with things yourself? All questions you have to answer if you are going to have a home-base but spend a significant amount of time away from it.

Land Only

Many RVers have the idea to buy land. Then use that as a home-base, a place that is theirs to go to as needed and wanted. It sounds like a good compromise. You still have a home-base without the added expenses and burdens of an entire house. Some imagine putting in power post, running a water and sewer line. Then they can park it as long as they want or need.

This, indeed, might be a good solution. But it’s super important, before you go purchasing land, that you look at the local ordinances. If you have ever been interested in a tiny house (which are built on a trailer bed), you know that a tiny house cannot automatically be put on any lot or plot of land. Many locales have size requirements for something to be called a house (over 400 square feet is what I’ve most often heard cited), bigger than a tiny house, bigger than an RV. You’d hate to buy land only to discover you aren’t allowed to park your RV on it for extended periods of time.

Final Home-Base Thoughts

COVID will pass. We all know it will. What we don’t know is when. What we don’t know is how many more times things will shut down between now and then. In other words, I suspect fantasies of a home-based are going to be around for a while. Fear of not finding a place to camp might linger as well. When I got reservations for October and November, it was a big sigh of relief. More so, I realized, than I’ve ever felt before getting a reservation confirmed.

I’m curious if others have had similar thoughts? Or what are your thoughts in general on the pros and cons of having a home-base as an RVer?

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