Think you could squeeze your life into a space about the size of a parking spot?

Carly DeFelice wouldn't have it any other way. The 38-year-old community manager at a coworking space in Austin, Texas, lives in a 20-foot by 8-foot travel trailer, and doesn't plan to leave the RV life anytime soon.

"I love tiny living. I love everything about it. I love that everything has a spot," she tells CNBC Make It. "It's so quirky, it's so weird — but it's just so much fun."

Of course, it hasn't always been a dream living situation. DeFelice began her tiny living journey in 2019, when she was feeling career burnout and took a sabbatical. She quickly learned that she loved the flexibility and simplicity of tiny living, but that conducting your life from an RV meant acquiring some new skills.

"At first, everything was intimidating," she says. "I had no idea how to do anything with the tanks — the black water, the gray water — everything was like a foreign language to me."

DeFelice eventually learned the ropes and currently lives a stationary RV life, setting up her trailer in a park with other RVs and tiny homes. With the benefit of experience, here's what she says are the best — and worst — things about living in an RV.

Pro: Affordability

DeFelice bought her RV, and an SUV to haul it, in cash, paying $14,000 for each. The move gives her a monthly cost advantage over other RVers who opted to finance fancier digs, she says.

"A lot of people buy expensive rigs, so they have a payment on their RV. And then they buy this massive truck to haul it," she says. Paying for a vehicle she could afford in cash and avoiding taking out a loan, she says, "makes everything a lot less expensive."

DeFelice pays $750 for the lot she parks on in East Austin, though she paid as little as $350 a month when she briefly lived in South Carolina.

In September 2023, she paid about $42 for utilities, split between propane, water and electricity. Wi-Fi is included in her lot rental.

Add it all up, and DeFelice pays about $792 a month to live within a short bike ride of her office.

Con: Maintenance

Before she gave tiny living a try, DeFelice assumed upkeep would be pretty straightforward. "I thought, how much could possibly be dirty?" she says.

"Somehow, that's not the case. It's the fall, so leaves come in. You're constantly sweeping. And everything breaks all the time."

Even though her amenities are limited, DeFelice has had to learn how to fix numerous issues that have come up, such as a lack of water pressure in the shower that turned out to be a broken aerator. Once DeFelice got that fixed, she had to figure out how to unclog her shower drain.

"If you're thinking about RV life, there's always maintenance to consider," she says.

Pro: Freedom of movement

DeFelice likes the sense of community she has keeping her RV parked in Austin, the city where she has spent most of her adult life. But having a home on wheels means she has the freedom to pick up and live wherever she wants.

Before settling back in Texas, DeFelice embarked on a lengthy road trip, towing her rig up through the Pacific Northwest with stops in Sedona, Arizona; Devil's Bridge; the Grand Canyon; Pismo Beach, California; and a lot of national parks.

"The most empowering thing in the world is hauling my RV," DeFelice says. "I felt so empowered getting that tow hitch, attaching it to my SUV and just hitting the road. There's an amazing sense of freedom and adventure and thrill that I could not explain unless you've actually done that."

Con: Living without certain luxuries

DeFelice's travel trailer doesn't have the bells and whistles that might come with a more glamorous RV, let alone an apartment.

"I'm constantly doing dishes. I don't have a dishwasher," she says. Laundry has to be outsourced as well. "I don't like the fact that I don't have a washer or dryer, so that's something that is kind of annoying."

One luxury some apartment dwellers might take for granted: a tub.

"The biggest thing that I miss with an RV is I don't have a bath," DeFelice says. "I love me a good hot bath to wind down. I'm potentially going to do a Japanese soaking tub, which is like a tiny bath."

Overall, though, DeFelice is happy that her tiny home allows her to live a simple, pared-down life. "I think the best use of space is just not having random stuff. I'm very mindful of the things I do purchase," she says.

"I look around and honestly say, 'Man, I have everything I need.'"

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