We choose our residency as full-time RV'ers carefully. Our RV Permanent Residence is Nevada. We put a lot of thought into where we would spend most of our time while full-time RV'ing, where we would want to be in the case of an emergency. We considered how easy it would be to get our mail sent to us wherever we were traveling. This is the story of how we choose to become full-time RV residents of the state of Nevada and why you might want to consider Nevada as your RV domicile.
MAIL FORWARDING & DOMICILE SERVICES FOR TRAVELERS
You might be wondering how do I choose a mail forwarding service? The best place to start deciding which mail service is right for you is to google. I like the resources listed here because they breakdown a number of different places. This link has a comprehensive guide to mail forwarding services, their prices, and some of the features and benefits like what state are is the mail service in. The article includes what is the cost of mail forwarding, a link to each mail forwarding service, and if you can get your mail online or not.
I will say that getting mail online has been a lot less important than I first thought it would be. We usually have our mail forwarded to us only when we know something is there that we need. Almost all of our notices that once came in the mail can be obtained on the internet.
The Cost of Choosing Nevada as your Domicile
I'm going to start with the major downside of registering your domicile in the state of Nevada. The cost. If you have an older RV, truck, van or trailer, this is a real benefit to you in the state of Nevada. If you are a veteran, Nevada is also a very affordable state to register in. If your mode of full time travel is less than seven years old, Nevada is a very expensive state to register in.
We paid just over $1,400 to register our truck and trailer in the state of Nevada for one year. That price will go down slightly every year for the next seven years. Owning a new vehicle in the state of Nevada is pricey for registration. Our trailer was more expensive to register than the truck.
You can check how much it would cost you to register in the state of Nevada by clicking here. There is even a calculator where you can enter your VIN number and find out exactly what it would cost to register your actual vehicle in Nevada.
Maps.com
Keep in mind that if you register in Clark or Washoe Counties you will have to come back every year in order to do a smog check within 90 days of your yearly registration being due. This isn't expensive, it's only $16. Personally, we don't know where we are going to be 90 days before our registration is due. We also don't want to be tied to coming back to the state every time we re-register our equipment.
We choose Nye county specifically because we did not have to do a smog check and because it was only 45 minutes away from Las Vegas.
WHY WE CHOOSE NEVADA FOR OUR MAIL FORWARDING
This might or might not apply to you, but we actually were residents of Nevada before we became full-time RV'ers. I've lived and worked and owned a business in Las Vegas for 8 years before we moved into the RV full time. Most of my close friends and connections are in Nevada. I am familiar with the city. I know how to get help there if I need it. In the case of an emergency, I can survive and take care of myself in Nevada. I consider myself a true Nevandan.
We discussed domiciling in South Dakota because of the cost of registration, but ultimately, in the case of a medical emergency, we would want to be in Nevada where we can be surrounded by friends and be in a familiar place.
That leads me to my next point. Nevada is one of the states who signed on to the extended Affordable Care Act, which makes getting health insurance in the state of Nevada much easier than in South Dakota, Texas, or Florida domicile. You can apply for health insurance in Nevada at this site. In South Dakota the residency stay to receive benefits though ACA is much longer and you have to actually be in the state during that time.
If you look at it this way, which we did, the cost of affordable healthcare outweighs the cost of vehicle registration greatly. That is why we choose Nevada as our RV permanent residence.
HOW TO DOMICILE IN NEVADA
We made a video on one our visits to pick up mail while we were still in Nevada. That's a really cool option too. Pick up your mail if you are in town. We visit Vegas a lot because we have so many ties there, including a storage unit. It's easy to pick up your mail rather than having your mail forwarded if you are in town.
STEP ONE: CHOOSE AN RV PARK TO STAY AT WHILE YOU ESTABLISH RESIDENCY IN NEVADA
You will need to stay in Nevada for 30 days. In that time you will go to the DMV and get your driver's license and vehicle registration. You must stay at an RV park because you have to use their address as your home address for establishing residency in Nevada.
The absolute best RV park in Pahrump, Nevada in my opinion is Wine Ridge RV Resort. The winery is featured in the above video. One night a week they have a wine dinner at the RV resort and it's only $15 last time I checked for dinner and two glasses of wine. I hear they have been known to liberally pour. Dining at the restaurant is usually over $100 for Paul and me, so this wine night is an excellent deal. The RV resort has two pools, a hot tub, and the very best gym I've ever seen at an RV Park. The people who work there are fabulous and you will have an enjoyable time while you spend 30 days becoming a resident of Nevada.
Bonus! Their monthly RV Parking rate is so low that you'll be shocked.
If they don't have any openings then use Campendium to find another place to stay. All of the RV Parks in Pahrump are aware of people staying there to establish residency. This is a normal occurance there and Nevada welcomes people to the state easily. You are not doing anything wrong or illegal. It is accepted in the state of Nevada to make this your RV Permanent Residence.
STEP TWO: BEST MAIL FORWARDING SERVICE
I think the best mail forwarding service is Mail, Messages, and More located in Pahrump, Nevada. This has been our forwarding service for the past year. They are extremely accurate, helpful, and easy to work with as an RV Mail Service. If you do decide to use them please tell them that we referred you (box 372) as there is a referral bonus and we'd consider it an energy exchange for the information about mail forwarding services if we got your referral. Thank you in advance!
STEP THREE: REGISTERING AS A RESIDENT WITH NEVADA DMV
For Pete's sake, do yourself a favor and make an appointment online with the Nevada DMV when you register to become a full time resident of Nevada. You absolutely can go to the DMV in Las Vegas and register in Pahrump. We did.
If you are already a resident of Nevada, you can do all this online. I was told that you could not change your address with the DMV to the mail service online, but that was inaccurate. I did it it.
THANK YOU!
I hope this was all helpful information about RV Permanent Residence in Nevada. If you think it was give this article a like, leave a comment below, subscribe to our YouTube, become a Patreon. Help us keep providing content. I encourage questions so if you comment on this post I will be sure to get back to you!
The best change we did on our RV was upgrading the ceiling fan. Check out our article on the best fan swap out. Do yourself the favor of having cool days and even cooler nights with an upgrade. It's easy and you can do it yourself for around $200.
