Full-Time RV Life as Traveling PTs: The Reality, Challenges, and Rewards

For the last 2.5 years, my husband, Jeremy, and I have worked as traveling physical therapists while living full-time in our travel trailer. We get a lot of questions about why we chose this lifestyle, so let’s dive into the background a bit.

Jeremy and I have dreamt about this lifestyle since before I even applied to graduate school. We knew we wanted to be physical therapists, and the idea of combining our careers with the freedom to travel the country, explore new places, and seek adventure along the way was too good to ignore.

When we bought our StarCraft in early 2022, we had exactly one weekend of RV experience under our belts before diving headfirst into full-time living. It was an adjustment, filled with plenty of learning curves, but we haven’t looked back since. 

We don’t live off the grid… or in a van:

Nope, no van life here—not that there’s anything wrong with that, but we prefer a little more space! Our travel trailer has a large slide-out, which means a lot more space than most people imagine. We almost always stay in campgrounds or places with full hookups. We have a full size bed, a kitchen with all the essentials (including my husband’s non-negotiable espresso machine), and even WiFi. And no, we don’t boondock on the side of the road during contracts! 

Challenges

The uncertainty of it all:
We often don’t know where we’re going next until a few weeks before a contract ends. This makes reserving long-term campground stays tricky, especially in high-demand RV areas. It also adds an extra layer of stress when planning routes if we leave before securing our next contract.

Things in RVs break… a lot:
Just like homeownership, things go wrong. If Jeremy ever wants a career change, he’s racked up enough experience to be an RV mechanic. Huge props to him (because I’m usually zero help) for fixing everything from leaks to electrical issues. We’ve learned to stay patient, troubleshoot with YouTube, and rely on the RV community’s collective wisdom.

Space constraints:
Two adults (one being 6'2"), a 60-pound pit bull, and limited square footage… you can imagine the occasional struggle. The kitchen and bathroom are usually the biggest problem areas, but we’ve learned how to make it work. It helps that we actually like each other.