Learning to Love Mondays! Playing Across the USA the RV Way
Tired of mainstream travel? Want your own space? Want your own bed? Want your own kitchen? Want to be able to take your “toys” with you? Most importantly, want your own freedom? If you answered yes to these questions, then traveling via recreational vehicle (RV) may be your answer. Now, there are as many ways to do this as there are people doing it today! There are excellent resources available to help you – once you decide what you want to do and how you would like to travel. The options of vehicles are endless and camping locations have literally exploded over the past ten years. This brings me to our story…
My husband and I started “camping” part-time in the early 1990’s, with very little prior experience. Our jobs were extraordinarily demanding and we just wanted to run away – at least for the weekends. By the late 1990’s, we began seriously evaluating turning this into a full-time adventure. We sold our house in January 2000, retired in the spring, and on Memorial Day Weekend left our home base of 30 years to see the country – in a 34″ Airstream Travel Trailer, with our new Irish Wolfhound puppy. Today, we are in a 44′ motor coach and tow a PT Cruiser.
Over the course of the past seventeen years, we have learned what works for us and what does not. This will be different for everyone choosing this lifestyle. Generally, I believe there are several factors to success – being best friends (if traveling with a spouse, partner, or friend), flexibility, being open to change and, for me, planning and organization. The first key to helping you maximize the pleasure of your “Freedom Rides”, no matter where your travels take you, is acknowledging that, just as freedom is not free, neither is traveling by RV. No money tree available? We did not have one either. So a few cautions to the first-time RV adventurer –
First, I am not a financial planner! What I can tell you is this – if you think of this as an investment, with a return on your money, think again. In a few instances, you may sell an RV and recover your initial investment and/or make money. However, in general, you really need to think of this decision as part of your expendable household budget (and I thought of it as a way to stay out of the doctors’ offices and build my “happy factor”).
When we began RVing seventeen years ago on the weekends, we had a few up front expenses but spent less money on the weekends than we would have if we had stayed home. We began with our Taurus station wagon, a very small microwave, portable heater, simple food and melamine dishes, paper products, a porta-potty and a duffle bag with extra clothes. Therefore, our general expenses consisted of camping fees and fuel.
After about six months of traveling this way, we graduated to a conversion van with custom interior and bench seat that made into a queen size bed. Our major expenses here were to add a custom drape to close off the sleeping area and to upgrade our camera equipment. No one wants to miss seeing raccoons trying to steal your dinner off the picnic table – do you? Then – our first giant leap – we rented a motor home for a week to see how we liked it. Now, my husband had never driven one, but he had driven large trucks and tractors. This was a major expense, even back then (around $900). However, this was time and money very well spent. We did this one more time with close friends (in the middle of winter) and decided we were hooked.
Think having a baby puts butterflies in your stomach – try our next leap of faith – our first major RV financial expenditure – a vehicle with enclosed bedroom, bath, kitchen and living area. In our case, we knew this needed to be a used vehicle of some kind and this meant a cash purchase. After much research, we decided on a 1972 23′ Airstream Travel Trailer. Fact – when you purchase a used vehicle of any kind, you will spend money for safety and aesthetic reasons – know that up front! Typically, you will have to replace the tires on the vehicle – not necessarily because of wear and tear but exposure to sun and ozone. You may need new tools – this brings up a caution: if one of you is not mechanically inclined, you will need to budget money for someone else to make repairs and you will have them. For the interior, you may need new bed linens, a variety of plastic holders, cooking utensils and dishes. You may have things at home you can contribute or you may be able to get some things at yard sales or discount stores. Your disposable income budget will dictate how you approach this. If you do not have the space to park the vehicle on your property, you will probably have to pay for rental space for it. This does mean you may not use it as frequently, as you would have to get groceries, clothes, etc. packed and drive to the storage location to get the RV, transfer everything to the RV, then start your trip.
After several years, you guessed it – we decided to get something a little larger. So we traded in our 23′ Airstream Travel Trailer for a 25′ Airstream Travel Trailer. As we could still park this one behind our house, we did not have to pay for RV storage. However, the interior had a different configuration, so while some of our containers and equipment did fit, some did not. Once again, we did have to replace tires. We continued to use our RV on weekends and for several weeklong trips each year, predominately visiting State and National Parks. We kept this vehicle until the year before we retired. By this time, our weekend ‘get aways’ had transformed our approach to Monday mornings. We felt relaxed and frankly, less attuned to the insanity of the workplace around us.
We then determined that we would need more space in the end, so we sold our 25′ Airstream Travel Trailer and bought a 34′ triple-axle Airstream Travel Trailer and a used 1-ton Ford Econoline Club Wagon to tow it The additional space and storage was a blessing. The downside was increasing difficulty in finding spaces for our larger RV in older State and National Parks. We also found that we needed an internet connection more often, as we had developed a business, so now we combined work and play. Most State and National Parks did not offer a way to connect to the internet from your RV. We began spending more and more time in private RV Parks, increasing our amenities, but providing less nature Have I mentioned there are always tradeoffs, no matter what options you choose?.
After two years, we began looking at motor homes, as I wanted something smaller than a van to drive. The result – a 1995 Safari motor home and the purchase of a new Chrysler PT Cruiser. No money tree here either! However, I did get a combination washer-dryer for the first time – a real lifesaver. Now we were hooked on 50-amp electric service to power our air conditioners, washer-dryer, etc., so older RV Parks which typically only had 30-amp service were frequently ruled out. We were doing less ‘camping’ and more ‘living’ in our RV.
You guessed it – after a few years, I wanted more space and convenience. We sold the Safari and bought a 1992 44′ Newell motor coach, which we have owned for over 4 years now. It took time and experience to learn what would work best for us as full-timers, so just know that the first purchase you make may not be what you want in the future as your life changes. From weekend get-aways to nature, to highway cruiser that melts the miles away as you travel from one side of the U.S. to the other with all of the comforts of home, RV’s offer life style choices to fulfill so many desires.
My wish is to create a spark that turns into a full-fledged flame – a passion – for you to experience the beauty and majesty of this incredible land we call home. The most important advice I can give you is to let your dreams be your guide – the only thing you need to do is quite simply get started! Happy Trails!!!
