My wife and I would like to retire early, buy a recreational vehicle and start seeing the country. At the same time, I would like to continue working, in some fashion, from the road. Have you talked with retirees who are RVers and work while traveling? Any resources you can recommend?

Yes, we have talked with retirees who have taken this route, most of whom find life, and work, on the road immensely rewarding. But they also caution that rookies need to navigate, simultaneously, two steep learning curves:...

My wife and I would like to retire early, buy a recreational vehicle and start seeing the country. At the same time, I would like to continue working, in some fashion, from the road. Have you talked with retirees who are RVers and work while traveling? Any resources you can recommend?

Photo: WSJ

Yes, we have talked with retirees who have taken this route, most of whom find life, and work, on the road immensely rewarding. But they also caution that rookies need to navigate, simultaneously, two steep learning curves: how to live successfully in an RV, and how to think and operate (as one expert told us) like a “nomadic entrepreneur.”

To start, we’ll assume that you and your wife—as almost every expert recommends—already have rented an RV for one or two weeks (or, better, one or two months) to gauge whether living in a vehicle does, in fact, agree with you.

“It sounds romantic,” says Joel Cawley, a 61-year-old retired IBM executive who began RVing in 2020 and now writes books from his Winnebago. “But you don’t think about all the practicalities involved.” Mr. Cawley offers a partial list:

  • Learning how to maneuver the vehicle. (“Gas stations are tricky,” he says.)
  • Mastering (and, ideally, being able to repair, as needed) an RV’s various electrical and mechanical systems, particularly Internet access.
  • Finding the balance between travel and stationary days.
  • Deciding what you’re going to use to explore and run errands while your RV is parked. (This will help you decide what type of RV to buy in the first place.)

For beginners, Mr. Cawley says, “there’s plenty to stress about.”

There’s also the “emotional part,” says Don Cohen, 67, a self-described lifelong entrepreneur who estimates that he and his wife have traveled about 100,000 miles in their RV in the past eight years. “I think it’s interesting to watch the dynamics of a couple as they pull into an RV park, and how they divide up chores,” he says. “You hope your relationship is good with your partner; there’s not a lot of space in these vehicles.”

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Tell us below about your experience living—and working—in an RV.

If you’re just starting, get a copy of “Living the RV Life,” by Marc and Julie Bennett, who have been on the road since 2014. (Also see their website rvlove.com.) RV Magazine (rv.com) is the successor, as of early 2021, to two industry standards: MotorHome and Trailer Life magazines.

Popular websites also include gorving.com, rvlife.com and rvtravel.com. And on YouTube, check out Keep Your Daydream (and the companion site keepyourdaydream.com), produced by veteran RVers Marc and Tricia Leach.

As for working from the road, the 55-plus crowd tends to feel like they are starting at a disadvantage, one they can avoid, says Camille Attell, an RVer since 2016 who specializes in helping preretirees and the semiretired find such jobs. (See her sites camilleattell.com and morethanawheelin.com). Often, “they have a narrow view of what’s possible” when thinking about remote work, Ms. Attell says. “They’re so rooted in what they’ve done their whole lives that it’s hard to imagine what else they can do.”

“People have more skills than they realize,” she adds. “And those skills, many times, can translate to a remote job.”

Camille Attell, an RVer since 2016, says people often “have a narrow view of what’s possible” when thinking about remote work.

Photo: William Trinkle

A good way to start translating: Spend some time with Heath and Alyssa Padgett on their eponymous website heathandalyssa.com. This couple first took to the road in 2014 for their honeymoon and, after visiting all 50 states in 12 months, decided to keep motoring. Today, they have their own mobile business: helping other RVers figure out how to start  their mobile business.

More to the point, the couple’s 233-plus podcasts, the “RV Entrepreneur,” are an invaluable set of lessons for anyone hoping to generate remote income.

Finally, if you’re an RVer and working remotely, write and tell us about your experiences and the lessons you’ve learned. We’ll try to feature your advice in a future column.

My husband and I are retired, and we have given each other power of attorney. My husband is in poor health, and I worry that, if something happens to me, he will need help from others. Can, and should, my husband also give power of attorney to a second person?

Yes, a person can give power of attorney to more than one individual. But let’s take a step back.

Start by looking closely at your documents, says Jessica Estes, an elder-law and estate-planning attorney in Annapolis, Md. In most cases, the principal—the person authorizing another to act on his or her behalf—will appoint an initial agent and at least one alternate agent, a person who can act on the principal’s behalf if the initial agent is unable or unwilling to do so.

On your existing documents, you will be listed as your husband’s initial agent—and there might be an adult child or other family member already listed as an alternate, Ms. Estes says. If your husband’s document doesn’t specify an alternate, he simply can prepare a new POA (and revoke the old one), appointing you (again) as the initial agent and listing as many alternates as he chooses.

aSK a Question

Have a question about planning for and living in retirement? Email us at askencore@wsj.com.

That said, the bigger concern here might be you, Ms. Estes says. Let’s say your husband is in the early stages of dementia. No matter how many alternates you might have named in your document, your husband, at the moment, is the primary person authorized to act on your behalf. If you were to need help, he might balk at stepping aside, leaving you in the lurch.

A possible solution: You can revoke your current POA and draft a new one, giving authority to “co-agents”—say, your husband and an adult child—who could act on your behalf “jointly and severally,” Ms. Estes says. The latter term means the two co-agents aren’t required to act together.

If you appoint co-agents and end up needing help—and if your husband is incapacitated in some fashion—there would be no need for your husband to resign his authority or for your child to get a doctor’s note, indicating that your husband isn’t able to act. And, of course, your new POA also could include as many alternates as you wish.

 Mr. Ruffenach is a former reporter and editor for The Wall Street Journal. Ask Encore examines financial issues for those thinking about, planning and living their retirement. Send questions and comments to askencore@wsj.com.