You can live on a campsite year round, but only if you pick the right kind of campsite. Private RV parks with monthly or annual leases are built for it. Public land isn’t: federal agencies cap stays at roughly two weeks and treat camping as recreation, not housing. The practical path for most full-timers is a long-term lease at a private park, paired with a legal domicile, the right insurance, and an RV set up to handle whatever weather comes with the location.
Where Year-Round Campsite Living Actually Works
Private RV parks are where this becomes genuinely feasible. Many offer monthly, seasonal, or annual leases specifically designed for long-term residents, with full utility hookups, laundry, and community amenities that make daily life workable in a way public land never will.
Monthly rates for a full-hookup site generally run $500 to $1,400, with parks in Sun Belt destinations and resort areas at the top of that range. Electricity surcharges, Wi-Fi fees, and pet deposits add to the bill. Rural budget parks are the cheapest long-term option; parks near beaches or major metros price accordingly.
One rule catches people off guard: the “10-year rule.” Many private parks restrict entry to RVs that are 10 model years old or newer, a policy meant to keep the park’s appearance up and cut down on maintenance problems from older rigs. Enforcement varies. Some parks are strict; others make exceptions for a well-maintained older unit after a photo review or visual inspection. Budget parks tend to be more flexible than resort-style campgrounds. If you’re planning to live full-time in an older RV, call ahead.
Private parks set their own rules, so read the lease closely before signing. Pay particular attention to eviction procedures, rate increases, skirting requirements, and any limits on modifications or vehicles per site.
Why Public Land Won’t Be a Permanent Home
Federal land agencies enforce stay limits that make continuous residence illegal. The specifics vary, but the pattern holds across the board: roughly 14 days, then you move.
On BLM land, dispersed camping is capped at 14 days within any 28-day period, and once you hit the limit you have to relocate at least 25 to 30 miles away before setting up again. Exact distances and timing vary by state and field office, so confirm with the local BLM office before assuming.1Bureau of Land Management. Camping on Public Lands National Forest campgrounds typically cap stays at 14 days within a 30-day period, and overstaying can bring a federal citation.2eCFR. 36 CFR 261.58 – Occupancy and Use National Park campgrounds are the most restrictive, often capping total nights per calendar year at around 28 to 30 across all developed campgrounds in a park.3National Park Service. Campground Regulations Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds along reservoirs and waterways generally follow the same 14-day rule within a 30-day period.
The one meaningful exception is BLM’s Long-Term Visitor Areas in the desert Southwest, mostly southern Arizona and southeastern California. LTVAs allow stays of up to seven months, September 15 through April 15, with a long-term permit currently priced at $180.4Bureau of Land Management. La Posa Long Term Visitor Area Thousands of snowbirds use them each winter. Amenities are minimal; you’re dry camping in the desert with whatever you brought.
Rotating between public sites is possible if you enjoy moving constantly, but it’s a lifestyle, not a residence. Most people who try full-timing on public land alone burn out on the logistics.
Your Own Land Isn’t the Easy Workaround
Buying rural property and parking an RV on it sounds simple, but local zoning ordinances frequently prohibit full-time RV occupancy on private land. Many counties zone residential property for stick-built homes only and treat an RV as a vehicle or temporary structure rather than a dwelling. Violating a zoning ordinance can bring daily fines, orders to vacate, and in some cases forced removal of the RV.
Enforcement ranges from nonexistent in remote unincorporated areas to aggressive in suburban jurisdictions. Some counties allow temporary RV living during home construction with a permit; others ban it outright. Call the local planning or zoning office before buying land with plans to live in an RV on it. A phone call is far cheaper than a code enforcement battle after the fact.
Getting a Legal Address
Without a fixed address, routine tasks like registering a vehicle, filing taxes, and voting get complicated. Domicile is the legal term for the one place you consider your permanent home, and every state requires it for driver’s licenses, vehicle titles, and voter registration.
A PO Box usually won’t work, because state agencies require a physical street address. The standard fix among full-time RVers is a commercial mail forwarding service that assigns you a real street address with a personal mailbox number. Services like Escapees Mail Service operate in Texas, Florida, and South Dakota, giving you an address you can use for driver’s license, vehicle registration, and voter registration. You’ll complete USPS Form 1583 authorizing the service to receive your mail, and you’ll usually need at least one in-person visit to the state’s DMV.
Texas, Florida, and South Dakota are the most popular domicile states for full-timers. None of the three has a state income tax, which eliminates a layer of complexity for anyone earning income on the road. Requirements for establishing residency differ, so research which one fits your situation before committing. Once you pick a state, keep everything consistent: driver’s license, vehicle title, voter registration, bank accounts, and insurance should all reflect the same state address.
Insurance That Will Actually Pay Out
Standard recreational RV insurance is written for a vehicle you use on weekends and vacations, not one you sleep in every night. If you live in your RV full-time on a recreational policy, you risk having claims denied when the insurer discovers your actual usage. Coverage limits on a recreational policy also tend to be too low for someone whose entire household of belongings is inside the rig.
A full-timer policy closes that gap. These policies function more like a homeowner’s policy layered on top of vehicle coverage, typically including personal liability for injuries in or around your parked RV, medical payments for guests, higher limits on personal belongings, and often temporary living expenses if the RV becomes uninhabitable after a covered loss. Premiums run higher than a recreational policy, but the alternative is coverage that may not pay when you need it.
Disclose your living situation honestly when you apply. An insurer who knows you live in the RV full-time and writes the policy accordingly is far more reliable than one who might contest a claim later.
Health Coverage Across State Lines
Health insurance is one of the trickier logistics. If you buy an ACA marketplace plan, it’s tied to your domicile state, and that plan’s provider network probably concentrates there. That creates problems when you’re camped 2,000 miles away.
PPO plans generally offer the most flexibility for seeing providers outside the home network. Some plans use national networks and are worth seeking out if you move often. Before enrolling, read the provider directory and look specifically at out-of-area coverage. A plan that works perfectly in your domicile state can leave you paying out-of-network rates everywhere else. For anyone over 65, Medicare gives more geographic flexibility, since most providers nationwide accept it.
Making the RV Livable Through Winter
If you plan to stay in cold climates, the RV has to handle freezing temperatures, and most recreational rigs aren’t insulated for extended winter use. At a minimum you’ll need a heated water hose rated well below freezing, and many parks require RV-specific skirting around the base of the rig to protect pipes and tanks. Parks that allow winter stays often spell out what skirting materials are acceptable and what heat sources you can use near water connections. Improvised solutions like tarps or hay bales are typically banned.
Propane use jumps in winter, and a furnace running around the clock drains tanks fast. Many long-term winter campers supplement with electric space heaters when plugged into shore power, but that requires adequate electrical service at the site. Condensation inside the RV is the other winter problem: without ventilation and a dehumidifier, it leads to mold.
Ongoing Costs to Plan For
Beyond monthly site rent, budget for propane or electric heat, dump station fees when you’re not on full hookups, vehicle maintenance, insurance premiums, and periodic repairs to systems that wear faster under daily use, like water heaters, air conditioners, and slide-out mechanisms. RV registration fees vary a lot by state, from under $50 to over $1,000 depending on weight and value. If you’re financing the RV, add the loan payment. Full-time RV living can come in cheaper than a mortgage, but it isn’t free, and the costs creep up on people who don’t track them.
Location adds one more layer. Campsites, especially on public land, can sit far from grocery stores and medical facilities, so long-term campers plan supply runs and keep provisions on hand. If you work remotely, cellular signal boosters and mobile hotspot plans have made coverage better, but dead zones still exist in exactly the kind of scenic, remote spots that draw long-term campers in the first place.