More Americans are living in RVs as housing costs rise

Moving into an RV may seem like a way to save money, but it can come with unexpected costs and trap families in a cycle of debt.

MEDFORD, Ore. — Days before his 12th birthday, Dante Reynolds zipped past rows of tightly packed RVs on his kick scooter until he arrived at the 22-foot travel trailer his family calls home. It was parked that week in a southern Oregon campground off a highway.

Inside, his mom was quickly washing a pile of dishes before the water in their RV’s tank ran out. He leaned his scooter next to his sister’s “Frozen”-themed tricycle and came inside to help make lunch. The RV doesn’t have any tables or chairs, so he sat on a makeshift bed covered by a SpongeBob blanket with a cutting board on his lap, chopping peaches, apples and kiwis while his mom cooked hamburger patties on the RV’s small gas range.

“This lifestyle doesn’t accommodate things like sitting at a table,” said his mom, Andrea Stitt.