Questions for you "Full-time RVer's"

[BigPapa]

I have a couple of questions for those of you that are "Full-time RVer's". Not trying to be nosey, these questions have come up in a discussion and I know we have several of you here.

• Do you have a permanent address so that you can do things such as register your vehicle, renew your DL, pay taxes, etc.?
• Is it by chance one of your kid's addresses or maybe a friend's?
• If not, how do you do the things I mentioned above?

 

[DavidC]

Have a box at a UPS Store with a street address. Some use a mail service in South Dakota, Florida or Texas

 

[AnonEd]

A friend of mine who lives on a boat uses a PO box, but some of his official stuff (like his Real ID drivers license and passport records) also has the boat's berth for a "physical" location. This might be helpful... https://www.escapees.com/education/domicile/

If all else fails you could just use Ozy's address

 

[slowmover]

Escapees (SKP) is where to get the best range of experience in one place.

 

[SnoKing]

We have a physical address at our summer RV park. We can get packages delivered there, however no USPS mail. So we have a mail box at a Mail Zone store. State knows we have two addresses. DL has physical address.

BIL and SIL towed their 5th wheel too wrong address!

 

[Ozymandias]

South Dakota seems to be the place for Snowbirds addresses. Company's there offer "we do everything for you for a small fee", it's a business there. Don't know how it is tax wise. It is a physical address though.
Also no DOT checks or other such nuisances.

 

[BigPapa]

South Dakota seems to be the place for Snowbirds addresses.

Yes, South Dakota and Texas, as well. I found a forum from slowmover's post. EscapeesRVClub has a service where they offer addresses in SD and TX and forward mail on to you wherever you are. I'm wondering if they register to vote at that address?

 

[Ozymandias]

I hear SD ten times more often then TX, must be a reason for that.
But I never dived deeper into it as it isn't relevant for me yet.

 

[SSage]

I did the family option just for my "residence address" for a while till my parents went on the road full time, then I did a UPS store mail box up in Charlotte, NC where I was staying a good bit of the time. But the best option is a real mail service, I ended up using the one in Florida. SBI has excellent service, they specialize in boating and RV customers. My parents used the same service, no issues at all for us. https://www.sbimailservice.com/

SBI will scan your mail too, so you don't really need much sent to you physically. The UPS store I had was not good, those are independent franchises, so your level of service received will vary. Mine was fairly poor, they lost some packages of mine. My family was great at handling my mail, but that varies also.

I considered the Escapees service in TX, but I was usually closer to Florida. I ended up working in Daytona Beach just south of the Jacksonville SBI folks for a year. Having a the state DL is nice if you want to buy a gun. I don't travel in SD or TX usually. I'm from Texas, but I rarely travel there these days. You want to choose one where you can get your DMV stuff done in person, Florida made more sense for me. I don't mind visiting Florida....

 

[DavidC]

I hear SD ten times more often then TX, must be a reason for that.
But I never dived deeper into it as it isn't relevant for me yet.

No vehicle inspections. I would think you have to go there for Drivers license so do it in the summer unless you really like the cold.

 

[BigPapa]

From this it looks like you have to go the first time to get the photo taken, but after that you can renew on line or by mail.

https://www.escapees.com/education/domicile/south-dakota/

From reading on their forum, the main drawback to SD seems to be health care if you're not on medicare.

 

[Ozymandias]

No vehicle inspections. I would think you have to go there for Drivers license so do it in the summer unless you really like the cold.

I think not even that is needed, works online through these companies.
SD is very famous with Overlanders that need that stuff to be done, let's say, from Chile, Panama or Brazil.

 

[DavidC]

I think not even that is needed, works online through these companies.
SD is very famous with Overlanders that need that stuff to be done, let's say, from Chile, Panama or Brazil.

Not sure. In Az your license is good up to 65 then every 3-5 years you need to show up for eye test at least.

 

[Tuesdak]

Not sure. In Az your license is good up to 65 then every 3-5 years you need to show up for eye test at least.

Not good for Federal ID unless you get the new AZ ID that's good only for 8 years.

 

[SnoKing]

I think not even that is needed, works online through these companies.
SD is very famous with Overlanders that need that stuff to be done, let's say, from Chile, Panama or Brazil.

SD gives one free pass(do it online) on the 5 year cycle of renewal. So a lot of the times at the first renewal people make the "trip", with the understanding at ten years it might be harder for them to do the "trip".

 

[Ozymandias]

Thanks, so ten years, not to bad.