How We Became a Full-Time Travel Family — And How You Can Too
- Sarah Kramer
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Six years ago, if someone had told me I’d be living in a motorhome, traveling full time, and homeschooling four kids while exploring the country… I would’ve told them they were absolutely nuts. I was loving my career as a luxury global real estate advisor with Sotheby's.
But here we are.
RV living wasn’t a whim or a sudden desire to escape. Travel has always been our dream, and our transition into full-time travel took years of planning, big conversations, financial preparation, a lot of faith, and plenty of “are we really doing this?” moments. At one point, our Austin home had become nothing more than a very expensive storage unit. ( Sell or Rent?)
In January 2025, we finally launched our WanderLuxe social channels with one purpose: to inspire families who dream of homeschooling, RV living, and travel to take the leap.
We travel, work remotely, homeschool our kids, and live full-time in a luxury motorcoach. This lifestyle isn’t perfect, but it is incredibly freeing. After being asked how we did it, we decided to share our roadmap, in hopes our story helps another family break free from routines holding them back.
This article breaks down the practical steps that helped us transition into full-time motorhome travel so you can do it too — confidently, sustainably, and without losing your mind.
Step One: Get Your Finances in Order for Full-Time Travel
Before you jump into RV living or buy your dream motorhome, you need a strong financial foundation. Debt can slow everything down and add unnecessary stress to a lifestyle that already comes with its fair share of unknowns.
For us, paying off debt was the first non-negotiable step. We used the Credit Karma app to track our progress, improve our credit, and stay accountable. It took nearly two years to pay everything off and raise our credit score above 800 — but it was completely worth it, especially because getting financed for a full-time motorcoach lifestyle is no walk in the park (more on that soon).
Financial Prep Tips for Future Travel Families
✔️ Create a realistic budget. Track everything and put every extra penny toward debt.
✔️ Tackle high-interest debt first. We paid minimums on everything except the highest-interest account, which got all the leftover funds.
✔️ Build an emergency fund. RV life is magical… but things break. A lot. (Insert Instagram carousel of breakdown videos.)
✔️ Monitor and improve your credit score. Credit Karma’s alerts and suggestions were incredibly helpful.
Taking the time to get your finances in order will make your transition to full-time RV travel smoother, safer, and less stressful.
Step Two: Make Your Work Mobile
The biggest challenge for full-time travelers is keeping a reliable income on the road. Some careers support remote work; others need reinvention.
Chad owns an insurance brokerage, so switching to a remote operation was doable. But for careers tied to a location — like dental assistants, nurses, teachers, or retail managers — it takes creativity, retraining, or a total shift.
Below are realistic paths to mobile income, no matter your background.
Remote Work Ideas for Full-Time Travelers
Virtual tutoring or online teaching
Remote admin or customer support roles (FlexJobs, Indeed, LinkedIn)
Freelance writing, photography, graphic design, web development
Sales or consulting roles via phone or Zoom
High-Paying Remote Jobs for RV Families
Software developer
Digital marketer
Virtual assistant
Online tutor/teacher
Customer support representative
Social media manager
Content writer/editor
Data entry specialist
And then there’s content creation.
Yes — Content Creation Is an Option
It isn’t easy. It takes consistency, resilience, and the ability to learn fast. But it can be rewarding.
Even though our follower count wasn’t massive in the beginning, and still isn't really anything to boast about, we were blessed to land a huge sponsorship within our first year: Foretravel Motorcoach, our dream brand. (The moment we got the call: from Foretravel.)
If you want a breakdown on how to start creating content in the family travel or RV niche, just ask; we’d love to share the resources that helped launch us.
Step Three: Homeschooling on the Road
For many families, homeschooling is the biggest roadblock to full-time travel. For us, it became one of the most rewarding parts.
In 2020, I was working in luxury real estate. The income was great, but I missed my kids. When COVID closed open houses and our children’s preschool, I tried homeschooling. It was overwhelming, messy, and yes — Grayson was my guinea pig.
Over time, we found our rhythm. Now I homeschool all four kids, and it’s more fulfilling than any commission check ever was.
Travel became our curriculum, althrough we DO use a traditional curriculum that we love. It's called The Good and the Beautiful. It's absolutely amazing. You can check it out here: (click the image below)
Examples of Real-Life Learning on the Road
We also learn a ton while we travel. I love to curate mini lessons based on our adventures:
Washington State — Salmon Life Cycle The kids studied salmon spawning, learned the life cycle, and even found real fish eggs on the riverbank.
Boston — The American Revolution We threw “tea” into Boston Harbor, toured Paul Revere’s home, stood at the site of the Boston Massacre, and fully immersed ourselves in early American history.
Junior Ranger Programs Boston’s National Park Jr. Ranger program kept our kids engaged for two full days as they earned their badges through hands-on learning.
Homeschooling on the road transforms the entire world into a classroom.
Step Four: Decluttering, Downsizing & Selling Our House
Once finances, work, and schooling were sorted out… it was time for the real emotional work: letting go.
Our home in Austin had become a glorified storage unit. We were traveling in the RV for 1-3 months at a time. We debated renting it and using a storage unit, but ultimately, we decided to sell it all!
It was emotional. We have always been 'stuff' people. It was super hard to walk away from the house and wave goodbye to it all, but when we did, it was so freeing.
We planned to host garage sales… until we saw the attic, closets, and storage rooms. Nope. Too much. Too overwhelming.
So we brought in an estate sale company. They gave us two choices for the sale date: Now… or wait six months.
We chose now.
We had three days to grab what mattered and say goodbye to the rest — and weirdly, that was exactly what we needed. No time to stall. No time to overthink.
Check out THAT chaos HERE
We sold the Lincoln, kept the truck so we could tow our golf cart (hello Disney!), made upgrades to our 2013 Forest River Charleston… and officially hit the road.
Our Charleston was amazing in many ways, but the repairs piled up fast. Our original five-year plan to upgrade turned into a five-month necessity.
That’s when we made the biggest leap yet: We purchased a 2023 Foretravel Realm Presidential Series — sight unseen.
THAT was insane! Watch us pick it up and do a full walkthrough HERE.
Step Five: Financing a Motorcoach as a Full-Time Travel Family
This is the part most full-time families struggle with — and for good reason.
Even with excellent credit and strong finances, most lenders won’t finance a motorcoach for families without a permanent address. Banks worry you’ll disappear with the RV — literally. They’d never find you.
We hit wall after wall until we finally found the unicorn:
IncredibleBank
They were the ONLY lender willing to do a jumbo loan for a full-time travel family that we could find.
If you know of another lender, please drop the name in the comments below to help other families considering this path.
With financing secured, it was time: pick up the coach. I feared finding a disaster — but watch the reveal for that story.
Where We’re Headed Next: The Remodel Begins
Now that we’ve sold everything, embraced RV living, secured financing, and upgraded into our dream motorcoach, we’re stepping into the next chapter of our full-time travel journey:
The Foretravel Remodel.
A massive, custom, first-of-its-kind project — including a quad-bunk redesign never before done in a Foretravel motorhome.
Think demolition days, design decisions, weekends in Nacogdoches, and documenting it all so you can follow along (and maybe take notes for your own RV remodel).
The adventure is just getting started, and we’re thrilled you’re here for the ride.
Join us as we remodel, rebuild, and reimagine our new motorcoach — and keep exploring the world with our four wildlings by our side. Subscribe to our journey and share your own travel dreams or questions in the comments — let's connect and support each other on the road!
It's our sincere hope that sharing our journey will not scare you off because this life is so rewarding. Thank you for checking us out and we can't wait to share the rest of this process with you!
♥️ Sarah | WanderLuxe With Us
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