Mobile Dorm: The RV Life Enrolls College Students

Oh, the things we wish we had known earlier in life! For example, if I’d known how happy I could be living in an RV, I could have saved so much money on rent/mortgage over my lifetime. But until I tested the idea for myself, and found out just what I really needed, it remained a joke in the back of my head. (Kinda like Chris Farley’s character on Saturday Night Live who was “living in a van, down by the river!”) Once we made the switch, it made me wonder: How much earlier could we have done it? My wife and I were formerly education professionals. Could the RV life work for college students?

Turns out, we’re not the only ones who’ve thought of a mobile dorm. Although the RV life is not a larger trend, some college students are already doing it. And there’s a reason why.

The Main Problem the RV Solves for College Students: Money

The rising cost of affordable housing in college towns is common problem on campuses across the country. And that is not a new problem. Institutions of higher learning have always struggled with where and how to accommodate their students when they aren’t in class. There are never enough beds. And they are always too expensive. While some resourceful students are converting vans and delivery vehicles to make their education housing less expensive, often the challenges can overwhelm the willing. Who wants the stress of having to move their home night after night especially when cramming for finals week?

But for the creative and resourceful, living in an RV can help contribute to educational goals of college students in the following ways:

1. Spend less money on housing than a traditional apartment or residence hall room.
2. Facilitate living independently, while still being a part of the community.
3. Teach a vital lesson between needs vs. wants — super important for the good life!
4. Build creativity and resourcefulness — which employer doesn’t want these skills?

What We’re Hearing About RVs on Campuses

Shari and I were in higher education for nearly two decades before entering our current nomadic phase of life.  Since then we’ve kept one ear to the ground with trends at colleges and universities and stayed in touch with friends in the field. Recently, we reached out to them to see if this was a growing trend or just an anecdote. Most of our sources have heard of a few students managing life this way, but didn’t believe that it was a growing trend. While more and more campuses are attempting to address students’ “basic needs” with a knowing eye to the bottom line, housing is one of the primary concerns. 

Dorm, from the Latin dormitorium, or “sleeping place” means many different things to different generations of students, from unheated bunk rooms to comfortable condos with every kind of modern convenience. It should always be a safe space where most of those basic needs can be met — sleeping, studying, and eating among them. 

Strategies for Using an RV at College

Many RV owners only use their RV for weekend camping trips in the summer. So, during the school year, it sits on their property (or worse) in expensive rented storage. Anyone with a kid in college could be using that RV in a different way. Primarily, though, you need to tackle to big obstacles.

Parking

Challenges: Even more precious than beds are parking spots near classrooms.  Campuses, especially those in/near a city, guard these jealously. Often rules coming either from the campus directly or the municipality forbid people from sleeping in vehicles (Don’t get me started on home football game days!)

Solutions:

• Local RV parks. These often have seasonal or year-round sites that would be only too happy to have a site making money during the off-season. When compared to prices during the summer months especially, these longer term sites can offer a huge savings. 
• Work-Trade. Does a local farm or family need a few hours of work per week in exchange for a place to park your rig on their property? It could a great solution.
• Public transpo. Many schools have free or low cost public transportation to lessen the campus parking nightmare.  

Hygiene and Laundry

Challenge: Personal hygiene and laundry are big, even for college students. (I’m kidding!). In seriousness, many college students are handling things like laundry for the very first time.

Solutions: 

• A modern RV model. Modern RVs have modern facilities, and RV parks often offer full bathrooms and laundry, in addition to water refill and dump stations – or even full hook-ups.
• Rec centers and laundromats. Showering at the campus recreation center and doing laundry at the local laundromat is always an option. Lots of other students use these that aren’t even living in RVs.

So, How Much Money Can Be Saved? 

A quick search yielded that college housing in 2025 can be anywhere from $8,000 to $14,000 per year. In contrast, a similar search for year-round RV sites yielded between $6,000 and $14,000 in the US. So, there is money to save, but to get a true idea, you’ll need to localize the costs. (You know, university housing costs vs. local campground fees.)

Even so, that might not tell the whole story. Here are a few additional considerations:

• Can you take the RV home for winter break and/or summer to save some cash during the school year down time?
• Is there a way to volunteer or work for some of the expenses while staying at the RV park?  It’s a strong possibility the RV park or campground is hiring!
• Are there other places in the nearby community where you could park your rig legally and ethically that are less expensive than a traditional RV spot?

A Proposal for Universities: Create Quick and Inexpensive Housing Options

I know it’s a long shot — and that most readers are more likely parents than university officials — but in the off chance that a college administrator is listening in, hear this out.

When compared to a traditional residence hall, taking years and millions of dollars to build, a small college owned and run campground could be a quick and inexpensive way to help take some pressure off the housing crunch.

Imagine turning some nearby property into a lovely RV park which could not only offer places for students to live, but also a source of additional revenue for the school.  Which RV owner do you know who would rather bring their rig to campus for graduation or parent’s weekend, rather than have to stay in a hotel an hour’s drive away? The possibilities are endless! Think about it.