Outdoor Connection

The Naked Hippies - Full-Time RVing with Bruce and Trisha Barnes


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The Naked Hippies: Bruce and Trisha Barnes
The Naked Hippies: Bruce and Trisha Barnes

When you love something with a passion, wouldn't it be your natural desire to spend every waking moment doing whatever it is that you love? For ardent RVers, more often than not this desire is to RV full time, to be one with the Great Outdoors and have the freedom to travel wherever the road takes them.

If you're that ardent RVer who dreams of traveling full time in your rig but is in reality stuck to a 9-to-5 job, would you grab the opportunity to become a full-time RVer if it falls on your lap? Probably not - not in a heartbeat, at least - if you belong to the toiling middle-class. You may want to take the leap, but you'd be concerned with issues like downsizing, finding the perfect rig to call your home-on-wheels, and finding the means to earn money while traveling. For a lot of people, these issues are daunting enough to give up on the dream of full-time RVing.

For Bruce and Trisha Barnes, aka The Naked Hippies and authors of the e-book We Did It - You Can Too, the jump from apartment-renters to full-time RVers was not an easy one either. But they figured that life is too short to wait for that perfect moment and instead created that perfect moment so they could spend the rest of their lives living their dream of camping 24/7 wherever they want to camp.

So how did The Naked Hippies get started full-time RVing? It all began when their lease on a duplex they were staying at was about to expire. Bruce and Trisha didn't relish being locked into another year of lease contracts, whether at the duplex or at another place.

Eventually, Bruce came up with the idea of not renewing their lease. Instead, they'd hitch a tent at a campsite on the bank of the Missouri River for the whole summer. And why not? Camping is one of the many things that Bruce and Trisha had in common - they even had a hippie wedding in the woods. They make it a point to go camping on weekends. So why not make it a full-time deal?

And so they divested themselves of belongings - sold through garage sales or Craigslist, or distributed among friends, family and charity. Trisha recounted in their e-book that she enjoyed sorting out their treasures, writing notes about each item's history, and bestowing these keepsakes among their children. They pared their belongings down to the bare essentials, set up their tent, and camped out for the whole summer.

While watching sunsets and enjoying nature is a great way to spend your days, living at a camp is not without its challenges. Trisha at that time worked as an executive assistant, so she had to show up at work impeccably groomed, in a suit and high heels. Bruce, on the other hand, needed electricity for his laptop so he could continue working from home. Fortunately, the campground they stayed at had a laundry room, and Bruce learned how to recharge his laptop using the battery of his Mustang. They also got a MiFi service so they could have Internet access at the campsite.

That summer was the opening season to The Naked Hippies' full-time RV adventure. The following spring saw them getting invited to work as camp hosts at the campground where they stayed that summer. On the very next day they got their invitation, a friend offered them a lovely truck camper for a song. They felt it as a sign from the Universe to pursue what they have always loved doing - camping. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, The Naked Hippies divide their time between their work as camp hosts, traveling across the US, and managing their Internet marketing business. They have proven that life is too short to wait for that perfect moment when you can start living your dream. Instead of waiting, create that moment for yourself and live your dream.

Learn more about The Naked Hippies on their Facebook page, RV Full Time Living with Bruce and Trisha.

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