We owe a great deal to all the RV Dream veterans and founders. Feeling a bit guilty that once we started full-timing, we have not been on the forum. We moved in to our motorhome 1 June and I am still juggling work, family commitments and the RV lifestyle. We have traveled from Maryland to Alabama to California. It has been a really cool experience so far. Here are a few things we have learned:
1. Invest in a good surge protector and water pressure regulator
2. RV living is a participant activity. No spectators. You and your significant other need to be fully engaged. Trip planning/navigation/set-up/tear down.
3. Love the pets, but there are logistics and daily routine considerations with them. Embrace it or don't bring them.
4. Love sleeping in our own bed in our own home.
5. You are hauling a load, don't get in a hurry. They can go around you.
6. Eight hours is a long day of travel when you are managing 40+ feet, 30,000lbs, at 13 feet tall and 8.5 feet wide.
7. Plan short, medium and long overnight stop locations on travel days. Stuff happens or maybe it doesn't.
8. Don't get in a position where you must buy fuel at a remote "mom and pop" station. One bad tank of diesel can send you on a quest for repairs.
9. Spray the water bib with chlorine before you hook up because the last guy put his sewer hose under/over/around it to rinse it off.
10. Road signs exist that say something like "RESTRICTED ACCESS AHEAD 11 FOOT LIMIT" and they should have more information. Are they talking about width, height or length? Stay alert.
11. You will make wrong turns that require you to stop and unhook the TOAD so you can back up. Don't get upset…deal with it.
12. Four dudes at a truck wash can clean your coach in 30 minutes better than you can in half a day. Cost $75 and they did my TOAD and bikes on the rack.
13. Ditched the Norcold and put in a residential refrigerator WITHOUT WATER and ICE IN THE DOOR. Did not get the extra batteries and bigger inverter. Runs fine on the 4 battery bank and 2000 watt inverter for a couple days. Key here is the WITHOUT water and ice in the door feature.
14. New coach tires cost more than my first car. They are worth it.
15. Have fun…most people on the planet can't imagine what we are doing let alone do it.
el Rojo and Pam said
06:21 AM Oct 4, 2015
Glad you're having fun. Very good list...I think you hit the nail on the head with that.
Red
BiggarView said
08:35 AM Oct 4, 2015
Number 9, ... seems completely obvious, but we never considered what the last guy did with it..... till now. Yuk, gross! It is now seered into my brain
All the rest are good best practices reinforcement tips. Thanks
Brian
Flashman said
09:35 AM Oct 5, 2015
I'm curious about #13 - clearly the ' no ice or water in the door' is important, but why???
Camper Chronicles said
03:20 PM Oct 5, 2015
Thanks so much for writing this...couple of these really jumped out at me
RV living is a participant activity. No spectators. You and your significant other need to be fully engaged. Trip planning/navigation/set-up/tear down. Amen!!
Ditched the Norcold and put in a residential refrigerator WITHOUT WATER and ICE IN THE DOOR. Did not get the extra batteries and bigger inverter. Runs fine on the 4 battery bank and 2000 watt inverter for a couple days. Key here is the WITHOUT water and ice in the door feature. That's extremely interesting, and the first time I have seen that . Thanks for sharing it
Trace
Jo And Craig said
08:18 AM Oct 6, 2015
I wholeheartedly agree with No. 9. I could NOT believe it, but I saw it with my own two eyes. I just can't seem to wrap my head around what people are thinking when they do this!
Hdrider said
07:03 AM Oct 7, 2015
Yup, we have seen he #9 happen as well as people putting the sewer hose on the picnic table. Of course it still amazes me to see people do everything with the sewer hoses and not wear gloves.
BiggarView said
07:13 AM Oct 7, 2015
AAAAAAAAA!!!! My eyes!!! Now I need an NBC de-con suit everytime I enter a campground. Let's petition Congress to declare CGs as superfund sites.
Brian
Bill and Jodee said
10:14 AM Oct 24, 2015
Great list, and so glad your first four months have been as good as ours. What a learning curve, huh?! Agree completely with the list, although am curious about the frig. We have water and ice in the door but do little dry camping so far - until our solar is installed. Hope you'll share with us what the difference is.
Our longest travel day has been three hours and that is rare, so for us it's short drives and long stays that make the life so perfect.
Since you're in CA, are you going to make Quartzsite this winter?
Jodee
heyduke said
05:38 AM Oct 26, 2015
Yes you need to modify number 7 and omit anything to do with traveling 8 hours... slow down and enjoy what you may be racing by and missing on such long days... 3 hour travels days are as long as I like to drive as it leaves half a day to explore where you landed...
you need to slow it down a bit...
We owe a great deal to all the RV Dream veterans and founders. Feeling a bit guilty that once we started full-timing, we have not been on the forum. We moved in to our motorhome 1 June and I am still juggling work, family commitments and the RV lifestyle. We have traveled from Maryland to Alabama to California. It has been a really cool experience so far. Here are a few things we have learned:
1. Invest in a good surge protector and water pressure regulator
2. RV living is a participant activity. No spectators. You and your significant other need to be fully engaged. Trip planning/navigation/set-up/tear down.
3. Love the pets, but there are logistics and daily routine considerations with them. Embrace it or don't bring them.
4. Love sleeping in our own bed in our own home.
5. You are hauling a load, don't get in a hurry. They can go around you.
6. Eight hours is a long day of travel when you are managing 40+ feet, 30,000lbs, at 13 feet tall and 8.5 feet wide.
7. Plan short, medium and long overnight stop locations on travel days. Stuff happens or maybe it doesn't.
8. Don't get in a position where you must buy fuel at a remote "mom and pop" station. One bad tank of diesel can send you on a quest for repairs.
9. Spray the water bib with chlorine before you hook up because the last guy put his sewer hose under/over/around it to rinse it off.
10. Road signs exist that say something like "RESTRICTED ACCESS AHEAD 11 FOOT LIMIT" and they should have more information. Are they talking about width, height or length? Stay alert.
11. You will make wrong turns that require you to stop and unhook the TOAD so you can back up. Don't get upset…deal with it.
12. Four dudes at a truck wash can clean your coach in 30 minutes better than you can in half a day. Cost $75 and they did my TOAD and bikes on the rack.
13. Ditched the Norcold and put in a residential refrigerator WITHOUT WATER and ICE IN THE DOOR. Did not get the extra batteries and bigger inverter. Runs fine on the 4 battery bank and 2000 watt inverter for a couple days. Key here is the WITHOUT water and ice in the door feature.
14. New coach tires cost more than my first car. They are worth it.
15. Have fun…most people on the planet can't imagine what we are doing let alone do it.
Red
Number 9, ... seems completely obvious, but we never considered what the last guy did with it..... till now. Yuk, gross! It is now seered into my brain
All the rest are good best practices reinforcement tips. Thanks
Brian
Trace
I wholeheartedly agree with No. 9. I could NOT believe it, but I saw it with my own two eyes. I just can't seem to wrap my head around what people are thinking when they do this!
AAAAAAAAA!!!! My eyes!!! Now I need an NBC de-con suit everytime I enter a campground. Let's petition Congress to declare CGs as superfund sites.
Brian
Our longest travel day has been three hours and that is rare, so for us it's short drives and long stays that make the life so perfect.
Since you're in CA, are you going to make Quartzsite this winter?
Jodee
you need to slow it down a bit...