Motoring toward retirement and dreams of wide-open highways might be stoking your passion to hit the road, a recent report from Kiplinger stated. With no job to tie you down, the kids grown and gone with kids of their own, why not sell the house and buy a recreational vehicle and see the country (or countries) on your time schedule?
A Go RVing 2025 RV Owner Demographic Profile by IPSOS reports 8.1 million RV-owning households in 2025. The median age of RV owners dropped from 53 in 2021 to 49 in 2025, with 46% aged 35–54 and 36% being first-time owners. Diversity is also increasing, with 30% of owners from Hispanic-American, African-American, Asian-American or LGBTQ+ groups.
So are you ready to ride? [Kiplinger] spoke with retirees who spend much of their time in recreational vehicles for first-hand guidance on the pros of RV living in retirement. Here’s what they had to say about the upsides of life on the road in an RV.
1. Nervous? You can get trained to become an RV ninja
If driving one of those gargantuan RVs gives you the willies, help is out there.
During the buying process, folks at the dealership where you’re looking will likely have eager staff on hand to give you tips and explain each model’s driving quirks. The bigger the ride, the more systems there are to master, from mirrors to backup cameras — maybe even air brakes. Towables — from tiny pop-up trailers to the giant fifth-wheel trailers that demand a dedicated truck — present their own learning curve: backing up and negotiating tight turns.
For more extensive training, reach out to an RV driving school and instructor. Training programs might even save you money on your RV insurance.
Head over to RVBasicTraining and have a certified instructor come to you for one-on-one training in your own RV. They also offer manuals if you’d like a more DIY approach. Costs vary (depending on your location), so call ahead for details.
2. You can live on a modest budget in an RV
About those savings. It’s fairly common for income to dip in retirement, and that can necessitate lifestyle changes. Longtime RVers say that life on the road works well on a limited budget.
“We live modestly,” Charley Hannagan, who began RVing with her husband, Joe, in 2014, told us. “Joe tries not to spend more than $40 a night, on average, on housing. We have spent more, and we have parked for free.” Of course, over the years, the costs have risen, like everything else.
That’s the old $40. With private RV parks and state and national parks overflowing with RV travelers, the prices have increased. Retirees Nancy and Allen Fasoldt, who have been RVing for 15 years, are on the front lines of rising campground costs for RVs. “What used to be $25 a month can now run $40 or more,” says Nancy Fasoldt. “And what used to be $40 is $89 and higher. And many campgrounds have become resorts, mega-corporate lots. Give it time and hedge funds will start gobbling them up.”
But don’t worry, there are many places you can still park for free: Many Walmarts and Cracker Barrels welcome overnight stays for RVers, as do some retail destinations, including Cabela’s (which offer water and dump stations) and some L.L. Bean stores. Most won’t have hookups, however, for electricity, water and waste disposal.
“Our favorite overnight stops are at Elks Lodges,” said Geoff Baker, a retired commander with the British Royal Navy who has been RVing across America with his wife, Laura. “I am a member in Gillette, Wyo., and we can stay at Elks Lodges around the country that offer RV parking — often free, and up to $25 per night donation for water and electric service.”
Another option: A senior pass for the national parks ($20/year or $80 for a lifetime pass) that gets pass holders in for free and cuts the price of parking in half. Parking fees usually include electricity and water, access to a sewage dump station and sometimes amenities like Wi-Fi and cable.
Click here to read the full report from Kiplinger, including the remaining eight reasons to retire in an RV.
