The idea of living off-grid in a motorhome sounds more adventurous and exciting. Off-grid living implies lifestyle choices that you can make to stay away from the urban environment. Motorhome living, however, provides an extra sense of freedom.
What is the off-grid lifestyle?
The off-grid lifestyle is generally defined as a way of life independent of major public utilities, including electricity and water.
A more aggressive approach towards off-grid living is to avoid all public infrastructures. Motorhome living doesn’t fit the hard-core definition of an off-grid lifestyle, because you still have to use public infrastructures, such as roads. Even the softest definition of off-grid living involves staying away from fundamental utilities, meaning that this lifestyle is not without its challenges.
Off-grid motorhome living
Off-grid motorhome living makes you dependent on the road network. There are certain advantages and disadvantages to this lifestyle. The advantage is that you can travel anywhere you want. The disadvantage, however, comes in form of government laws, rules, and taxes.
If you want to live permanently in a motorhome, you need to keep in mind that this lifestyle can be as tiresome as exciting. You may want to get a break from time to time. Sometimes, you may need to grow your food and get water. It will be not something like parking the vehicle in the middle of nowhere and start growing your food. Authorities will come eventually and ask for the permit.
If you want to settle down for a brief duration, you may need to do the following things.
- You can look for a residential site that accommodates motorhomes. In most cases, you can live in these areas for as long as you want. In some cases, authorities may ask you to leave the place after a few months. That, however, will not be a significant problem.
- Another way is to ask a friend or family member to let you park your vehicle on their land for a few months. This land can be a large field or a simple driveway.
- You can root your address at a family member or friend’s house. This option will allow you to travel independently. You may come back to your semi-permanent address when you have sort out taxes and perform other administrative duties.
The most classic option in this regard is to live without a permanent address. You will be traveling from cities to cities and state to state. This option, nonetheless, can be quite complicated.
Sourcing power in the motorhome
You can source power in your motorhome, thanks to modern technological developments. Here are a few ways to make it happen.
- If you are living a motorhome life, you will have to have solar panels installed on the roof of the vehicle. Although purchasing these panels can be an upfront expenditure that might seem to dent your budget, it helps you get clean energy for several years.
- You will need to have gas cylinders to cook things on the stove and cool your items in the refrigerator. It is best to have at least two cylinders in your vehicle.
- You can keep generators as a power backup in case solar panels prove to be insufficient. The best approach is to get a small 500-watt system to fulfill your particular power requirements.
Living a motorhome life can be exciting, but you will have to brace yourself for the challenges if you prefer living this way. The best way is to have a semi-permanent address to take a break from road life from time to time.
