Is your truck your only home?

Not the first time the idea has come up, and it's still a questionable idea. Bottom line, while it may be possible to do, it is not psychologically healthy to do this. You end up spending all your time on the road, form no solid relationships with anyone outside of the truck, and have no end of the hjourney to look forward to. I take my dog with me a lot when I drive, and when we get close to home she lights up and her til starts wagging in anticipation. The same mental effect takes place with us, whether it's the feeling we get when the wheels of the airplane touch down, the pier that we will tie up to at the voyage's end, or the sight of our driveway coming up in the windshield. We are emotionally tied to having a destination and an end ot our journeys, and we need that for our psychic wellbeing.

In the long run, you will do yourself more harm than the amount of money you might make is worth. And you will be eating full time in truckstops or fast food places, and that isn't the healthiest of environments for you either.

I would strongly recommend against it.

 

I was in this situation at one time. My wife and I were renting at the time, and when she decided to go out with me, there was no reason to continue renting. We had two very small dogs, put them in the truck, and stayed with her parents or my parents once in a while (or in a motel) when we wanted out of the truck.

 

My brother-inlaw is currently doing this. Due to a recent divorce. He gets out of the truck and stays with different family members. We don't mind his stays.

 

It makes more sense to me to get a motel room once or twice a month rather than paying rent on an apartment when you're never there.

I'm considering getting a house, but when I start making payments on it, it will be an investment, not just money out the window like paying rent.

 

i personally have done this. i went out 14 straight weeks at one point of it without a day off. i lost the human feeling of living and didn't realize it til i took some time off. i highly do not recommend this at all. it's just not good for you mentally.

 

I understand what you're saying. When you stay out too long, you do begin to feel like you're in your own world and it can be mentally disruptive.

I get home about every 2 weeks, and I stay in a motel/hotel or at my parents house. Would it really be worth paying for an apartment when you're only there twice a month? I don't think so. I'll start paying on a house when I find what I'm looking for.

I'm home in OKC now and got a hotel room for 3 nights.

 

I did it with my then fiance for about 8-9 mos. it was hard sometimes, but we made it a point to be home 3 times amonth, we both had kids to see. Worked out on average we were gone for 21-25 days a month. Didn't save money per say, but that savings got us both out of debt. We often when the truck stopped, became tourists of the area, maybe not so much going out to places ie movies, shopping, etc. but would walk a lot saw more of the beauty in nature.

It's a very hard life, but not impossible. I think alot depends on your personality, and what you personally want/need out of life. When my kids are grown and moved out on their own, I have every intention of doing it again. Move everything into storage and just drive awhile. Personally being alone for me is very comforting...not to say I don't have friends or do not make time for friends, but given the choice having me , my companion, and the radio and I'm pretty content.

 

I agree with Burky. I moved to a rooming house after my divorce. That was my home base where I kept my clothes and business records. I used the laundry service at a local dry cleaner, but that was expensive. My employer paid the motel bills, so I did not spend much time at the rooming house. Typically, I would arrive on Saturday and leave Sunday morning, but it was good to take care of business at my home base. Eventually, a personal relationship developed and I got a different home base and the desire to spend all of my free time there.

If you are going to rent storage and motel rooms, you may as well rent a small apartment. Years ago, I observed that a driver was a permanent resident of a truck-stop sleeping room. I felt sorry for him, but at least he had truck parking. I noticed that his small room was crammed with his personal possessions.

Staying with friends or family can be problematic. They may have to pick you up at the truck stop and take you back there at odd hours. You will have to contribute your share of the groceries, etc. Your parents may have looked forward to an empty nest, and now you are back. Your married friends want their privacy.

You can save serious cash by cutting back on your housing costs. One winter, I rented my dad's travel trailer that was stored behind my sister's house. My heating costs for the winter were only $35. Of course, I slept either in the truck while on the road or in company paid motels. After four years of the single life, I got married again, paid cash for a new car and made the down-payment on a house.