Kerensa Durr & Brandon Hatcher (RV to Freedom)
Age:37/37
Travels: Full-time
Traveling Since: January 2014
Business Name: RV to Freedom
Website: RVtoFreedom.com
Blog: www.drivedivedevour.com
Occupation: Product Designers, Photographers, Illustrators
Here is Their Story
The Income
We have a product design consultancy designing everything from watches to ovens. We have also done photography, graphic design, and illustration for clients. We’ve been working with our main client since before we hit the road, but we pick up other jobs along the way mainly through word of mouth and relationships. Luckily, we’re able to make all this work from the road with a few plane trips for in-person meetings.
Getting on the Road
We both sat in offices for most of our working lives. When we knew that we wanted to become full-time RVers, Brandon left his job to start freelancing and build up clients for our consultancy. Luckily, the timing was right and he started working with our main client. They knew from the start about our plan and even pushed us to get out there.
The Fears
One of our biggest fears was having a continuous income. Thankfully, we were able to create a good relationship and good work which led to a long-term contract that sustains us.
We also needed to make sure that we could connect with our clients on the phone and by email. In this regard, we keep mobile plans on the two major cell carriers and haven’t had too many problems. If we know we’ll be out of cell range, we try to keep it to the weekends or save the trip for “vacation” time.
The Awesome Side
We absolutely love being able to travel and having new views outside our office window. This helps keeps daily tasks fresh and provides an infinite amount of inspiration. This combined with creating our own schedule has given us a better quality of life.
Being able to pick up and go is invaluable. Instead of having to go into the office during bad weather, we can choose to move locations like we did when in the path of a projected hurricane. Our house has wheels and we use them! We can also take our home/office to visit friends and family, it’s perfect.
Challenges
Work/life balance can be a challenge sometimes. When you’re around friends or in a location for a short time, you want to take advantage of these times. It can be easy to spend too much time playing and fall behind on work. On the flip side, we’ve sat inside for days on end when we’re busy and never get to explore a locale before we need to move down the road.
To overcome this, we try to evaluate our workload for the week, so we can make sure to devote enough time to both work and play. And even during busy times, everyone needs a break. We make sure to get outside and meet friends if we have the chance.
For the Aspiring
You can’t plan every aspect of your nomadic life, but before taking the leap, it’s wise to know how you plan to make a living. If you plan to ditch the office job and use your skills freelancing, it’s good to start that transition as soon as possible even part-time while still working. It will help build your confidence and client list for living on the road. Make sure you have the will and mentality to work on your own or if you need to be more accountable to someone. There are different options for mobile work as you’ll see in this series.
If you’re unsure how you’ll take to the lifestyle or what type of traveling you’ll be doing (RV parks, state campgrounds, boondocking, etc.), you might look into finding a cheaper unit that won’t bother you to sell in a year or two. You can figure out what you like before buying your dream rig.
In the End are we Happy?
Yes! We love what we’re doing and are happier on the road than we’ve ever been as stationary workers
