Life on the Road

A Nomad's Guide by Jersey Mark · Journeys with Jersey Mark · journeyswithjerseymark.com

Friends keep asking me the same thing: "We're dreaming about getting out there — where do we even begin?" This is my answer. No sales pitch, no influencer gloss — just what I've learned living it, written for the people I'd actually want to help.

Maybe you're picturing selling the house and chasing sunrises full-time. Maybe you just want to escape for a few weeks at a stretch and come home to a porch light. Both are wonderful. They also call for very different rigs and very different budgets — so the first honest question isn't "which camper?" It's "how do we actually want to travel?"

A note on links: a few links on this page are affiliate or referral links — if you use them I may earn a small commission or membership credit, at no extra cost to you. I only ever point to things I genuinely use and recommend.

🚐 Guide One · Choosing Your Rig

If you've been making do with a popup that's grown too small — or you're starting from scratch — here's the honest lay of the land, smallest and simplest to biggest. The prices are 2026 ballparks and vary wildly by age, brand, and condition; treat them as "order of magnitude," not quotes.

❓ First, six questions that narrow everything

Every "best camper" argument online is really just people with different answers to these. Get rough answers before you shop a single rig:

1. Full-time, or long trips? The biggest fork — it changes size, four-season needs, and budget.
2. What's the all-in budget? Not just the camper — also the tow vehicle or motorhome, insurance, registration, and either campground fees or the gear to camp off-grid.
3. Hookups or off-grid? Mostly campgrounds, or "boondocking" on free public land? More off-grid means more battery, solar, water, and tank capacity matter.
4. How much driving & setup hassle can you stomach? Some rigs you park and you're done; others mean unhitching and leveling at every stop.
5. What climate and seasons? Chasing 70°F is easy mode. Snow or desert heat means insulation, heated tanks, and real AC.
6. Do you need a truck anyway? If a capable pickup is in your future regardless, that tilts you toward a truck camper or trailer. If not, a motorhome makes more sense.

🥊 The contenders, head to head

📊 At a glance

Stars are rough, relative impressions — not gospel. A well-set-up van can out-boondock a poorly equipped fifth wheel.

🛻 The "truck AND camper, or both?" reality

This is the single most expensive mistake first-timers make, so let me say it plainly. A truck has two different limits, and they are not the same number:

• Payload — how much you can put in or on the truck (people, gear, a truck camper, a trailer's tongue weight). Often smaller than people expect: a fancy crew-cab half-ton might have only ~1,500 lbs of real payload, and a hard-side truck camper can weigh more than that loaded.
• Towing capacity — how much you can pull behind on a hitch. Usually a big number, which fools people — but a trailer's tongue weight presses down, so you can blow past your payload long before you reach your towing limit.

So: want a truck camper or a fifth wheel? You're really buying payload — plan on a ¾-ton (2500) or 1-ton (3500) truck. Want a travel trailer? A smaller one may tow behind an SUV or half-ton — just match the tongue weight and add an anti-sway hitch. Want to do both (carry a camper and tow a boat)? Wonderful and very doable — but now all those weights add up against the truck's ratings, so it has to be calculated, not eyeballed.

💵 What it really costs (beyond the sticker)

• The rig is only part of it. Budget for the tow vehicle, RV insurance, registration, and either campground fees (commonly $35–90/night) or the off-grid gear (solar, batteries, water) that lets you camp free.
• New vs. used: RVs depreciate fast — a 2–4 year-old rig can be a fraction of new with the bugs already sorted. The flip side: inspect hard for water damage (the #1 RV killer — soft floors, stains, musty smell). A professional RV inspection is cheap insurance on a big buy.
• Upkeep is real. Roofs need resealing, tanks need care, things rattle loose. Motorhomes add engine and chassis costs at RV-shop rates; towables are generally simpler and cheaper to keep.

🏡 If you're going full-time (since the house may be selling)

• Domicile & mail. With no fixed home you pick a legal "domicile" state for your license, voting, insurance, and taxes. South Dakota, Texas, and Florida are the popular no-income-tax choices, and a mail-forwarding service in your chosen state gives you a real street address plus mail handling. I picked South Dakota and went with Americas Mailbox — and honestly, I've been absolutely in love with them. Here's the kind of thing they do: while I was down in Mexico, they noticed my vehicle registration was about to expire, reached out to warn me, and — since I was out of the country and couldn't handle it myself — took care of the whole renewal for me for a modest fee. That "we've got your back" service is what makes living on the road actually work. (More in the Domicile & Mail chapter below — and if you sign up, tell them mailbox #21195 referred you.)
• Four-season capability matters more — you can't just go home when it's cold. Look for heated/enclosed tanks, real insulation, dual-pane windows.
• Internet. Most full-timers now run Starlink plus a cell hotspot to work and stream from the middle of nowhere.
• Downsizing. House to camper is a big purge — start early; it takes longer, emotionally and logistically, than anyone expects.
• Space for the long haul. For living (not vacationing), most full-timers lean bigger and comfier — which is why fifth wheels and larger travel trailers rule the full-time crowd, while vans and truck campers suit the move-constantly, minimalist set.

🧰 Research toolkit — links worth your time

📝 The short version

• Outgrown the popup? Good news — everything above is more comfortable.
• Want to get way off-grid and keep a do-everything truck? Look hard at a truck camper.
• Want the most comfort-per-dollar and you're easing in? A travel trailer is the value sweet spot for most people.
• Going full-time and want a real home you park for a while? A fifth wheel, with the right truck.
• "Drive anywhere, park anywhere, minimal fuss" over living space? A Class B or C — but expect to pay more per square foot.
• Whatever you lean toward: pick the camper first, buy the truck that carries it with margin — and rent the type for a week before you commit.

There's no single right answer — only the one that matches how you actually want to spend your days. That's the whole secret, really. The rig is just the vessel; the life is the point.

📮 Guide Two · Domicile & Mail — Where You Live When You Live Nowhere

The first real hurdle of full-time travel isn't the rig — it's paperwork. When you don't have a house, where are you "from"? Your driver's license, vehicle registration, voting, insurance, and taxes all need an address. The answer is a domicile: the one state you choose as your legal home base while you roam the other forty-nine.

🗺️ Pick a domicile state

Three states dominate the full-time crowd, for the same reason — no state income tax, plus rules friendly to nomads:

• South Dakota — my pick. Just one overnight stay ever to establish residency, cheap registration, no vehicle inspections, easy mail-based renewals.
• Texas — the biggest RVer community (the Escapees club is based there); no income tax, and Texas dropped its non-commercial safety inspection in 2025.
• Florida — no income tax, popular with snowbirds; insurance and healthcare run a bit higher in spots.

📊 South Dakota vs. Texas vs. Florida — at a glance

All three skip state income tax — the real differentiators are health insurance, ease of setup, and where you actually spend time.

🧭 What about other states? (TN, NV, WY, WA, AZ…)

You'll hear other states mentioned, and a few are worth knowing — but here's the honest catch: South Dakota, Texas, and Florida dominate because they pair no income tax with a real mail-forwarding domicile infrastructure built for people with no house. Most of the others have no income tax too, but make it harder to domicile without an actual physical residence.

• Tennessee — fully income-tax-free now (it scrapped its last investment-income tax) and growing with nomads, but the sales tax is steep (~9.6%) and there's no big RVer mail-domicile setup.
• Nevada — no income tax, and Las Vegas is a handy travel hub. Doable, but registration and insurance can run higher, and emissions checks apply in the cities.
• Wyoming — no income tax, low property taxes; a favorite of folks who own land there or set up LLCs. Less turnkey for a mailbox-only domicile.
• Washington — no tax on wages, but a capital-gains tax, high sales tax, and a far-corner location make it a niche pick.
• Arizona — the snowbird favorite for climate, but note it does have a (low, flat 2.5%) state income tax — so it's a lifestyle choice, not a tax play.
• Alaska — truly no income tax (they even pay you a yearly dividend), but the logistics make it impractical for most full-timers.

For the vast majority of full-timers it still comes down to the big three above — but if you have real ties to one of these, it's worth a closer look.

⚙️ How it actually works

You don't need to own property. A mail-forwarding service in your chosen state gives you a real street address you can use for everything — license, registration, voting, banking — and forwards or scans your mail wherever you are. The big ones are Escapees and the one I use, Americas Mailbox in Box Elder, South Dakota.

The rough sequence to "move" your life to South Dakota:

1. Sign up for a mail service there → you get your new address.
2. Spend one night in the state (keep the campground receipt) and get your driver's license.
3. Re-register your vehicles to the new address.
4. Register to vote, update insurance, and point your bank, the IRS, and everyone else at the new address.

The honest caveats: this is about your legal home, not dodging tax you truly owe; health insurance is state-based, so weigh coverage into the choice; and I'm a nomad, not a lawyer or CPA — for anything complicated, get a professional's read.

🏜️ Guide Three · Finding Free Camp — Boondocking & Public Land

Some of the best nights I've had cost nothing. "Boondocking" — camping off-grid on public land, no hookups, no fee — is where the magic of this life really lives: a canyon to yourself, a desert sunrise, stars with no light pollution for a hundred miles.

🏞️ Where it's allowed

Vast stretches of the American West are public land where dispersed camping is free and legal, usually up to 14 days in a spot:

• BLM land (Bureau of Land Management) — millions of acres, especially out West.
• National Forests — dispersed camping outside the developed campgrounds.
• The classic free overnight stops — many truck stops, casinos, and some Cracker Barrels. Always ask first.

📱 The apps that find it

You almost never have to guess — these are the ones I lean on (also in my toolkit above):

• iOverlander — crowd-sourced spots, water, and dump stations. My go-to.
• RVParks.us — a big searchable directory of 33,000+ RV parks & campgrounds, with reviews and built-in trip-planning tools (great when you'd rather have a full-hookup park, or you're mapping stops along a route).
• Campendium — reviews plus cell-signal ratings (huge for working remote).
• FreeCampsites.net — free, no account, exactly what it says.

✅ How to do it right

• Leave No Trace — pack out everything, camp on durable ground, use existing sites. The land stays open because people respect it.
• Be self-sufficient — you bring your own power (solar + a power station), water, and a plan to dump tanks. No services means none.
• Mind the stay limits — usually 14 days, then move a few miles down the road.
• Trust your gut — if a spot feels wrong, drive on. There's always another.

🚿 Showers, gym & town-lot overnights

Boondocking means no hookups — so here's how I stay clean, keep fit, and grab an easy night in town:

• Planet Fitness — the Black Card — my go-to for showers and a real workout on the road. The Black Card (about $25/month) gets you into any location nationwide, so there's almost always a hot shower and a gym a short drive away. One of the best-value hacks in this whole life.
• Cracker Barrel — many locations let RVers overnight in their lot (some even mark RV spaces). My rule: always eat there — at least a breakfast or dinner, often both — and thank the manager for letting us stay. It's their goodwill, not a right; treat it that way and these spots stay open for the next traveler. (Same courtesy at truck stops and casinos — ask first, spend a little, say thanks.)

Free camping is the difference between this life costing a fortune and costing almost nothing — and it puts you in the places worth traveling for in the first place.

📡 Guide Four · Staying Connected — Internet Anywhere

If you work, post, or just like knowing tomorrow's weather, connectivity is what makes the modern nomad life actually possible. The good news: you can be online from the middle of nowhere now, in ways that weren't real a few years ago.

🛰️ The two-layer setup that works

• Satellite — the Starlink Mini — the game-changer. Real broadband from a backpack-sized dish, anywhere with a view of the sky. It's my primary connection off-grid; run it off the van's 12V or a power station with the right adapter.
• Cellular — a phone hotspot, ideally two carriers — for when you're near towns and want to save Starlink's power draw, or as a backup. Coverage gaps are real, so two networks beat one.

💡 Tips from the road

• Check signal before you commit to a spot — Campendium reviews list cell signal; it'll save your work week.
• Power is the real constraint — Starlink sips ~25–40W continuously, so a good battery + solar setup matters as much as the dish.
• Always have a backup — a library, a café, a town day. Redundancy is peace of mind when your income rides on a connection.

Get connectivity sorted and the map of where you can live and work opens up enormously — it's how I post these very pages from places with no address.

💰 Guide Five · Budgeting — What It Really Costs

"Is it cheaper than a house?" It can be — or it can be more. This life costs as much as you make it, and the difference is mostly in how you camp and how you drive.

💸 Where the money actually goes

• Fuel — the biggest variable. Slow down, drive fewer miles, stay longer in each spot, and this number drops fast.
• Camp — the great divide. Campgrounds run $35–90+/night; boondocking is free. Lean toward free and the whole budget changes.
• The rig — insurance, registration, and maintenance (things rattle loose, roofs need resealing). Budget for the repair you didn't see coming.
• Living — food, phone/internet, health insurance. Roughly what it costs anywhere, minus rent and utilities.

🎚️ The levers that make it affordable

• Camp free more than you pay — this single habit funds the lifestyle.
• Move slow — less fuel, and more time to actually be somewhere.
• Keep a cushion — a breakdown is a when, not an if. A repair fund turns a bad day into an inconvenience instead of a crisis.
• Track your real number — knowing what a month actually costs kills the anxiety more than any amount of penny-pinching.

Done thoughtfully, this can cost less than a sticks-and-bricks house and buy you something a house never could: the freedom to wake up wherever you want.

📱 Guide Six · The Apps I Live By

A handful of apps ride shotgun with me every single day — the ones I actually open, not the ones I downloaded and forgot. These are the ones that earn their place on my home screen.

📍 StayTonight — yes, I built this one

My own app, made because I wanted it to exist. Tell it where you are (or where you're headed) and how far you're willing to drive, and its AI ranks the best places to sleep tonight — real campsites, each with the weather and cell coverage, so you're not rolling the dice at dusk. Free to try, and I'm improving it all the time. staytonight.app

🧭 GuideAlong — my favorite app on this list

If you visit national parks and monuments, get this one. GuideAlong is like having a personal tour guide riding in the van with you: it plays through your radio and, using your GPS location, knows exactly where you are — telling the history and geology as you drive, and pointing out the hikes, viewpoints, and stops you'd otherwise sail right past. I bought the complete Western package, and it's become one of my top apps. I've recommended it to a lot of travelers out here — and more than a few came back to tell me it blew them away too. guidealong.com

🍷 Harvest Hosts

A membership that unlocks overnight stays at wineries, farms, breweries, and golf courses all over the country — quiet, one-of-a-kind spots you'd never find otherwise (you thank the host by buying a bottle or a few goodies). A lovely change of pace from another parking lot. Join Harvest Hosts

🗺️ iOverlander

The crowd-sourced map of free camp spots, water fills, and dump stations — kept alive by travelers leaving notes for the next person. My go-to for "where can I sleep out here for free tonight?" ioverlander.com

🐧 FindPenguins — my travel journal & map

This is how I keep the memories. FindPenguins turns your trip into a living map — drop your photos and they pin themselves right where you took them, so your whole journey draws itself out as a route across the country. The best part is the animated fly-through that zooms along your path stop by stop — a genuinely neat way to relive a trip and share it with family back home. If you've ever wanted a beautiful record of everywhere you've been, this is it. findpenguins.com

🔥 Watch Duty — fire season's essential

A great free app, run by a nonprofit, that shows all the active fires in your area in real time — perimeters, evacuation zones, and updates written by real people monitoring the scanners. Out West in fire season it's the one to check before you pick a camp, and the one that tells you when it's time to move. watchduty.org

Between StayTonight for the "where do I sleep," iOverlander and Harvest Hosts for the options, GuideAlong turning the drive itself into the experience, Watch Duty keeping watch through fire season, and FindPenguins to remember all of it — these carry most of a day on the road.

🤝 Guide Seven · The Community — You're Not Doing This Alone

The road can look like a solitary life, and sometimes it is — beautifully so. But there's a whole community out here, and leaning into it early makes the whole thing far less daunting.

🎥 Bob Wells & CheapRVLiving

If you watch one thing before you go, make it Bob Wells' CheapRVLiving. His YouTube channel is the free, no-nonsense encyclopedia of living on the road — especially on a budget — from building out a van to staying safe to finding your people. He's helped more folks take the leap than just about anyone. CheapRVLiving on YouTube · cheaprvliving.com

🏕️ The RTR — Rubber Tramp Rendezvous

Bob also started the RTR, a free annual gathering of nomads in Quartzsite, Arizona each winter. I've gone several years, and I can't recommend it enough: seminars for total beginners, hard-won wisdom from people who've lived this for decades, and the kind of instant, generous community that reminds you you're not the only one who chose this. Invaluable whether you're brand new or you've been at it forever — go once and you'll understand.

📖 Nomadland — the book & the film

You've probably heard of Nomadland — Jessica Bruder's 2017 book and the Oscar-winning 2020 film with Frances McDormand, where Bob Wells and other real nomads play themselves. It put this whole world on the map for a lot of people, and it's genuinely worth reading and watching.

But I'll be honest with you: it tells one slice of the story — the hardship, the economic-necessity side, older folks pushed onto the road by hard luck. That's real, and it matters. It just isn't the whole picture. The people I've actually met out here are a far broader, and frankly far more joyful, bunch than that film's lens — every age and background, most of them out here by choice, chasing freedom and wonder, not just getting by. So watch it for the window it opens — then come see the fuller, brighter spectrum for yourself.

And if you haven't already, my travel map and photos & videos up top are the best "is this life for me?" test there is — that's what all of this actually looks like, day to day.

See you out there.
— Jersey Mark