A couple who quit their jobs to pack up and live in an RV with their children have shared how life has changed – with the family chasing the sun by constantly travelling around.
Stephanee DellaCruz and her husband Steven are pinging back and forth across the US with their three kids, and documenting the highs and lows on social media.
The 40-year-old content creator doesn’t shy away from sharing both the positive and negative sides of the experience, but says if you are “brave enough to take the leap, it can be a really amazing life”.
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The family is on the move every few weeks, thereby saving thousands of dollars in outgoings, and enjoying near year-round summers.
“We typically follow the weather, so we like to spend summer months in the north and winter months in the southern part of the country,” Stephanee, who is from California, US, told What’s The Jam.
“We have wintered in California, Arizona, and Florida.
“RVs aren’t as easy to keep as warm and cool as houses – anything too hot or cold can get uncomfortable or require special modifications to the RV, so mild climates are our preference.”
She and Steven, 41, who medically retired from the US Army, started their travels in 2021, but struggled with the reality of life on the road with three children, the youngest of whom was just five months old at the time.
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Stephanee noted: “I think it was also more of an adjustment to go from active military to civilian life than expected, especially with a new baby, so we ended up quitting after about three months.”
The family settled down again in a rented home in Reno, Nevada, where Steven took a job as an automotive technician and Stephanee sold products on Etsy.
However, just six months in, they realised they weren’t happy and Stephanee convinced her husband to try RV life again.
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Stephanee explained: “We sold 90% of our belongings, bought a used fifth wheel and bigger truck, and moved into the RV as soon as our lease was up in August 2022.
“We have been travelling the country ever since.”
Stephanee says that while their extended family were initially “concerned” about the change, her husband’s military career meant they were used to not living very close to loved ones.
The family-of-five typically travels every one to three weeks, exploring as many areas as possible.
They enjoy getting to experience different parts of the country and, Stephanee says, their “front yard changes often”.
“We get to constantly meet new people, try new restaurants, see different landscapes,” she said.
However, constant moving around can be “hard”, she admitted – as it involves having to deal with RV maintenance, road hazards, and navigating new places.
Challenges have also involved adverse weather conditions, finances, unexpected breakdowns and sometimes not being sure where they’ll be living in a month’s time, making planning tricky.
Stephanee said: “Life still happens on the road, like home-schooling, illness, etc, so sometimes we aren’t able to really experience a place before we have to move on – life gets in the way.
“It can be difficult to form deep relationships as adults if your travel schedules don’t align.
“Our kids make friends fast and we often run into the same families over and over again, but it can be sad to say goodbye to certain friends when you don’t know when you’ll see them again.”
However, she emphasised that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
Stephanee said: “The best part is getting to see the most beautiful places in our country with our kids.
“We get more quality time together as a family, which is something my husband missed out on for years when he was in the army.
“We have met amazing people from all different places and walks of life, and I feel like we learn something from every area we visit.
“It’s also great to be able to clean your whole house in under an hour!”
Of people’s reactions to the way she lives, Stephanee added: “People don’t always understand our lifestyle, whether that be family or strangers on the internet.
“I have had to become very thick-skinned and confident in my own decisions in order to not let that get to me.”
Stephanee says that most days are “a lot more ‘normal’ than people think” for her family, with mealtimes and home-schooling for her kids, aged 11, seven and five, taking up much of the time.
She added: “Other days, we spend adventuring in beautiful places across the country.
“Neither of us works a regular nine-to-five job, so our work schedule is flexible, and our days reflect that.”
Insisting there is more convenience to living in an RV, she said: “We can move our home anytime we want to.
“If the weather is bad or we don’t like our neighbours, we can just go somewhere else.
“We get to travel all over and still sleep in our own beds at night, and we never have to worry if we packed everything, because it is all with us at all times.
“But living in a smaller space took away a lot of the buffers we had before – there’s no retreating to separate rooms when things feel hard, so emotions and tension show up faster.
“That’s been uncomfortable at times, but it also means things don’t get ignored or pushed aside.
“We spend more time actually living life together, not just passing each other between rooms, and that’s shaped our relationships in a really honest way.”
Cost differences are an enormous plus for the family as well.
Life on the road is more affordable, with camping costs and an RV payment proving cheaper than renting or paying a mortgage on a house.
Stephanee said: “Last year, we spent about £2,900 ($4,000 USD) on campsite costs for the whole year, and even with our RV payment added in, the average monthly cost was under £730 ($1,000).”
According to Stephanee, the family’s bills while renting in Nevada came to roughly £2,200 ($3,000) per month, before including the cost of owning and driving their two vehicles.
However, there are still many expenses associated with the RV lifestyle, including fuel, changing food prices depending on their location, propane and having their mail specially delivered.
Stephanee says that while their expenses have decreased, so has the family’s income, so they rely on Steven’s VA disability income and her own content creation and Etsy shop.
They also keep costs down by spending lots of time on free or low-cost nature-based activities.
She noted: “The cost of living has increased substantially since we got on the road three years ago, so there is not usually a lot of extra income.
“We have no desire to go back to a nine-to-five grind, so we are always looking at new ways to add income, and my husband will be starting an RV tech business this year for that reason.”
Now, the family are unsure if they will ever live a conventional life at home again – though they would consider buying land one day, as long as exploring remains a priority.
Stephanee added: “I think travel will always have to be a part of our life.”
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