2 HARD TRUTHS about Full Time RVing & Travel Nursing

The full time RV travel nurse life isn't all glamour. Here are two things we have learned that aren't always talked about.
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Each week we put out a new Episode following our journey on the weekend. We also do a Tuesday video called Real Talk Tuesday where we spill the beans on many aspects of our everyday life.
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[@casspiper]

I've watched this video before I started travel nursing when I owned my home and now during my 2nd travel contract living full-time in our 5th wheel. I'm fortunate to be a handy man who can fix most anything. But recently we ran into a potential life changing complication when my RV battery was boiling and about to reach critical. This problem was caused by wrong information from the camping world delivery guy which resulted in the battery going bad. Thankfully there's a reliable mobile RV mechanic in the area. We do have some interesting stories from a campsite we were at and great stories from our current site. I've also completed my BSN in our RV. It's been interesting but rewarding at the same time. Great channel you two.

[@blackl1steddrums]

I appreciate your genuine take. So many videos were people are non-stop smiling and positive about everything.. Life is both smiles and frowns.. you guys are real people. Keep it up!

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Thank you so much! We try hard to keep things real. Our life isn't perfectly polished - actually no one's is! Glad you enjoy our content.

[@maddyjose5995]

I love your channel. I’m a CNA and a nursing major. I’m thinking about becoming a travel nurse in the future after I finish school. Thank you for sharing your story and helpful info with us. It’s very inspiring to see your beautiful family and the amazing things you do.

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Thanks Maddy. Good luck with nursing school, we need more and more good people in the profession. Glad you're here!

[@Channelinterrupted]

Excellent point! Buy the land before you set out full time. I'm feeling the same way and we've only been full timing since September and I want the homestead family mini farm and garden also!! I think it's a common need (to want a home base) once you set out and yes, most of the full time families seem to be buying land also. It should be said that you need to set up the land before setting out. Great point! And I'm in Arizona too and have been looking at middle to northern Arizona..the sweet spot where it doesn't get too hot in summer and not too cold in winter....I see a bunch for sale in Payson, Prescott areas it seems...anywhere the elevation is about 5000 feet should be good....and all you do is pay 20.bucks.i believe to park your RV on your land for 5 years as you slowly build your own home or tiny home or whatever .....I'm so doing this. It's been more difficult than I thought itwould be to live and travel as a nurse with your family. It's not so easy to just pick and move spots it seems...seems too many people out everywhere...I didn't expect that. So instead of moving often, we stay put for a contract as we don't know if we'd get our spot back again,or worse be stuck paying an arm and a leg or having to stay at a crappy spot rest of the contract. And that's depressing to have to do this! I set out to move places and have new experiences with this travel nurse rv life, and staying put 3 months is the antithesis of what I set out to do. Very disappointing. Anyway, You guys should do a buying land series and then how to set up a homestead, etc. Seems it's the next most popular thing for full timers to be doing.

[@torij1649]

Will banks not look at your pay stubs instead this would show realistic income vs tax free money

[@n1uno1965]

I really enjoy the way you share your struggles. People need to hear how the ebb and flow of life works in full-time RVing effects them. Thanks for being courageous to share everything! 😃

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Thank you! We appreciate the encouragement. Sometimes we're like, "should we share that?" And then we're like well other people probably feel it too. Why not? 😊

[@schickstead]

This was the real talk that I needed to hear! We are closing on our house (selling) tomorrow praise God! I was in a low point just last week due to having to gave our slide out floor repaired and thought it wasn't going to be finished until after we were supposed to be at our next assignment! I was just struggling with the logistics of all the plus the other problems and scenarios THAT I WAS CREATING IN MY HEAD!!😂😭 BUT GOD IS GOOD!! We had talked about up grading our rig to something bigger and I found a 5th wheel toy hauler that I believe will fit us nicely and was in our price range (private sell). And all of the other pieces are falling into place this week. Its nice to know that we are not the only ones to experience the Highs and Lows. We love watching your videos and hope we meet someday on our travels! God bless you all!

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

God is good for sure! Those lows can be brutal but look for some highs just around the corner. Congrats on the fifth wheel and happy travels!

[@gregjonesdfw]

Appreciate your honesty and transparency. Good luck.

[@07psimmons]

Definitely great info from me, I’ve been traveling in between ADN program breaks, and in a few weeks I’m excited to travel full time.

[@99avilyssa]

I’m planning on RV travel nursing too. Thinking of getting the small airstream (Bambi) cuz I don’t wanna buy a dually (was planned on buying 5th wheel at 1st) but scared of the breaking down. Tired of living in a house (kids grown house is 2800 sq feet and I’m Alone!!) . But now y’all scaring me lol. I just don’t want to live paycheck by paycheck anymore. I was thinking of tiny home as my end game the good thing I have a small piece of land I can put it on. Btw y’all have awesome energy shunning thru I love it

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

I think that is a great idea. We don't want to scare anyone but we have always tried to be honest and show the good AND the bad. We tried to buy land this summer and could not qualify in part because it looked like we didn't make much on our tax return. We have been saving money to be able to purchase something in cash instead. But if you already have land KEEP IT! :) Don't let obstacles scare you away - just know what they are so you can be prepared. :) You got this!

[@Nurdse_326]

Just as long as you watch your weight limits, you can pull certain larger campers with just a 250. Good luck!

[@alang5245]

What a great blessing and soooo true that God has something better....He always does! Great video you two are super genuine. I am in a different stage of life with kids and all so the land is on the search board now before I can even get nursing. Great info

[@bluefamily3937]

I graduated to RV-ing after I backpacked across Europe for 3 years in the 1990s, then in my van, now to the RV...ahhh!!...but thanks for the "end game" tips about taxable and nontaxable income pitfalls.

[@Avaepaw]

We live in Fremont County Colorado and it is a great place to live in Colorado with great schools and community! We are selling our home and purchasing land here for our home base. I’ve actually been getting frustrated because our house hasn’t sold yet however I’ve had to lean into God and and trust his plan! Thank you for your videos, our family loves them! You have given our children encouragement because our now 10 year old boy is liking the idea of traveling when he didn’t before. I am a labor and delivery nurse however we don’t plan on living on travel nurse income as my husband is a veteran and he also is a pipefitter for the union in Colorado Springs so he is going to work as he can travel with his job as well. I plan to stay home with the children and homeschool them and work on my master’s degree to become a FNP!!

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

That is so great! What an opportunity for your family. I love that you get to use your time to be with your kids more and work on your own school. What a fabulous role model for your kids. And thank you to your hubs for his service. ❤ Your time on the road is coming - your house will sell all in Gods timing. 🙏

[@NursingOurTravelBug]

Great points for the #RealTalkTuesday! We’ve also considered buying some land. Ideally, a spot north for the summer & a spot south for the winter would be perfect. But that darn taxable income makes it more challenging. Dang, Kristin, that is a gnarly bruise!

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

That would be great. We kicked around the idea of buying small plots at like 3 or 4 places and hopping around. But you know, money. 🤷😜

[@ChristianCareerJoy]

Thanks for trickling in a beautiful truth to this video. Let go & let God, He is in control.

[@mooseknuckle_4474]

I’m impressed by a couple things. Not a huge channel but enough subscribers that l wouldn’t expect you to reply to every comment. But on this video, you have. Kudos. That’s alot of extra work on top of the hassle of just creating the content. You’re very likeable with good info. Also difficult to do. Typically you see one or the other. So thanks for that. You essentially have confirmed some of my fears. The wife is looking to start travel nursing. Kids are grown. Home is paid for. No debt to anyone. So it seems logical to just.......do it!! I appreciate your video. And remember. Those “lows” are just what’s happening right now. You adjust course and start working back to those highs.

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Thank you for your encouraging words 🥰 We are glad you enjoy your content. And yes - do it!!!!!! 🙌💪

[@albertoa.g.5369]

Those were very good tips I’m personally a senior I’m high school looking at travel nursing and yes I was aware that you get paid well but I didn’t realize most of it was in the form of the tax free stipends which look bad to banks. I was planning on working in the ER for a while like a year to 3 years then maybe hit the road to get that experience needed but I didn’t think about loans thank you

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Like most things in life, it has it's ups and downs. We just want to make sure we talk about them both. :)

[@eddiestatsmann9457]

Ozark Mountains in Northern Arkansas. I am not from here and have lived in some pretty awesome places, but who would've thought Id fall in love with the Ozarks.

[@tskirchman]

Look in the Flathead valley area of Montana! It's gorgeous there

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Oh I bet! We didn't get to check out much of Montana but we'll be back. Beautiful!

[@jamescox9528]

Yep, this is so true! The highs and lows are crazy. So worth it though! I know your struggle Jon, i miss my own land too, LIKE CRAZY!!!

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

The struggle is real! Some days more than others. But then we get to do fun things again and its like "squirrel!" 😂

[@torij1649]

sorry you've gone through that but love the honesty! we all have high expectations or visions of what things will be like and we forget ..hey life happens. good luck on wendy! my husband and i totally get not caring about house space but land..something of your own is hard to not have especially in the time with kids ha.

[@lauriepidgursky2643]

If you want to find land just Google land for sale. That's what I did and I find 14 acres in the north carolina mountains. We lucked out its only an hour away from where we live. We leave our tt their permanently. We also were lucky that the property already had a septic system and well on the property. Good luck in your search

[@sandblaster04]

I’m thinking of the exact long term game plan. My husband is from East TN-no state income tax and great land prices. Asheville, NC has some amazing mountains, one of the most dog friendly towns, and less than 5 hours from the ocean (Charleston is my all time favorite beach). I even want to line up a travel assignment there sometime to scope out future options.

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Sounds like our exact thoughts... :)

[@sydsflicks]

We know we will want to get some land at some point too, but can’t help but feel like it is contradictory to our love of travel to start a garden and get chickens and all that again - which ties us to the house and doesn’t allow us to travel. Maybe we all need to go in on some land together and take “shifts” RVing and taking care of the homestead. 😄

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

I love that! And yes we've talked about that too. We would need to make friends with neighbors or pay someone to help is take care of things while we are gone. Lots of logistics for sure.

[@sandpiperadventures9487]

I live in the Mountains of North Georgia in the heart of apple country. Just saw some beautiful land near Lake Nottly

[@campsaintsnowallsrvers1703]

I work online as an IC and we have come across this loan issue, dh is retired with an income. We are full-time RVers, 6.5 yrs this time. We really can not stop. Too many issues coming down the pike from our own country.

[@trey2735]

We getting a 35 foot fifth wheel end of year. NO KIDS. So hopefully alot of these negatives will be dampened in our situation. Traveling echo tech in Texas now, hating this rent.

[@inmyimage1081]

my son and i are both disabled and he will always live with us. we both have appointments every 3 months so we plan to get a plot of land early and put septic and then a well so we can stay there the couple of weeks we have to be in Indy every quarter.

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

I love this. Sounds like a wonderful idea. We haven't been to an area where God has been like, "this is it!" yet but we're hoping it happens soon. 😀

[@pillmatik4239]

I just took my first travel contract and I’ve been wondering how difficult is it to find a place for your trailer? Any apps that help? Class C vs towing a camper?

[@hunteroftruth4986]

Lands of America! A friend of mine just purchased a few acres to park their RV on near Alamosa CO. Seriously you guys should start a Nursing community! Also check out BillyLand.

[@bobbythreet-btdrummer418]

Travel Nurse here! Been traveling for 5 years, from Houston to Las Cruces to El Paso (Wal Mart shooting victims came to us), to Huntsville, TX to Pandemic Epicenter New York City in 2020 to Tucson to Ft Wayne, IN and now in Augusta...whew! Problem is we rented Airbnb's all the way. With all of that money spent, we could have paid off two Rvs. This month, we have smartened up and are buying a motor coach. Looking at getting a 2016 Thor Challenger 37 GT. With our average cost of AirBnb's to be around $2,000 a month, plus our $2300/month mortgage (yes, we bought a home last year when interest rates were 2.75%) it's got to be way cheaper. Any advice or videos about keeping the expenses low would be great. One quick question that you may have covered in other videos (this is my first one to watch), how do you dump your black tanks when it appears to be that you are boondocking. If it hasn't been moved in 6 weeks, that question popped in my head. Thanks!

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Welcome to the RV lifestyle Bobby! Congrats. Travel nursing this way brings lots of advantages but can bring some challenges too. In terms of the black tanks we utilize our portable black tank we lovingly refer to as our Sh-wagon to go dump the blacks. Check out this link to a good q&a page with lots of videos you should find useful. Best of luck! www.noordinarypath.com/copy-of-master-q-a-list-1

[@timcarlson3763]

Keep the home and rent it out. Find a good property management company that can make you money and build equity to borrow against.

[@DabidRobinson]

This would be such a fun experience lol

[@electronicfellows2113]

you say you only get taxed for the 20/hr but don’t you have to declare money going in your bank and still have to declare / get taxed on it after a certain amount? (10k/year before the bank is required to report)

[@TheDSquad]

I’m looking for the same things. I haven’t been but i like the black hills, SD; flathead area Montana and wyoming. Would love to hear where you like. Because we like the similar things. I want to have a homestead again too. Ill be starting my travel nursing journey and am freaking out because i want my family to come with me. Learning all i can about how we can all do this together and build for our future.

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

We actually haven't been to the black hills yet or much of Montana. We did see Yellowstone which was amazing. The drive through Wyoming was awesome. Thank you for watching! This video was released almost a year ago. We've been through a lot this last year and are still looking for our new home base but we know we'll get there. Everything we have done and seen has been worth it. It's just another thing to look forward to and we'll keep plugging away. It's worth it.

[@teemmm538]

I know I've said this already but.....I LOVE Y'ALL 💘 💗 ♥ 💓 💛 💖

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Thank you!!

[@torij1649]

southern Missouri ha some wonderful homes with cheap land with like 50 plus acres...weve been looking but live in iowa as of now

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

We saw Loftis Party of 6 latest episode and drooled over their plot in southern MO. Def something to think about.

[@TheSurgeonsRoadie]

You guys are so brave. I could never travel with kids. Hahaha!

[@diegomunhoz6508]

Do you find that you have to commute a long way to get to the hospitals you work on?

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Honestly, it's a toss-up. There have been places where I've had to drive an hour to work and others where it's only 15 min. I'd say on average it's around 30 min.

[@WeekendRVing]

We have the same goal. Good luck

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Thank you! You as well. 😉

[@thedingo8833]

Hit them tanning beds girl. Just for fifteen mins three times a week for winter

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

I have honestly never thought of that!

[@thedingo8833]

@@NoOrdinaryPathit works. Take it from a fellow sufferer

[@Afro-Capitalist]

Sorry if this is an inappropriate question. Are you guys able to do the business (😉 😉) with the kids in the rv? Are the walls thin?, does it shake? Or do you send the kids outside?

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Haha! Well...some nights are extra windy. 😜 Luckily we haven't ever had a kid ask questions. Our rooms are on opposite ends of the trailer.

[@floridalife2800]

Can I make a wild guess? Are you an ER nurse? =)))))) Also, subscribed!

[@WyattChristman]

Couldn't you leverage a bit of remote consulting or online consulting so that your income would be truly location independent?

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

Do you mean instead of travel nursing?

[@WyattChristman]

@@NoOrdinaryPath it's leveraging what you know as a travel nurse to do online consulting or remote work...I don't have an understanding of a travel nurse however there are plenty of people with existing skill sets leveraging online consulting or remote work...is that even possible for you? Might be so that's why I asked as that would be a great way to pivot!

[@sandpiperadventures9487]

I enjoyed your video. I am also a Travel nurse and live in my RV. Would love to talk sometime

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

send me an email anytime, I'll get back asap: [e-mail]

[@martezgregory2256]

How does this life happen if their husband is a cop??

[@mathews1528]

How do you protect yourself proving you have a tax home if you sold your house?

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

We rented a room from John's parents at fair market value.

[@NursesWithoutPurses]

Kids have friends?

[@NursesWithoutPurses]

Were two RN’s with 2 boys (5) and (3). Worried about traveling with them

[@NoOrdinaryPath]

RVing has taught my kids to be social way more than school could ever. They make friends everywhere they go, aren't afraid to talk to kids, and hang with kiddos of all ages. Recently a group of about 8 kids from 4yrs to 13 years taught my 6 year old how to ride her bike. She was so proud of herself and I marveled at how encouraging the other kids were. They did several laps around the RV park together after she finally got it.