Lana Gates
  • Home Page
  • Gulliver's Travels
  • Lana's Book
  • Life Speak Blog
  • About
  • Contact

​
​​​​
Gulliver's Travels

6 Biggest Surprises of Full-Time RV Living

11/15/2020

14 Comments

 
Picture
You know you have a good thing going when you’re away from your RV for two weeks and miss being home. That’s a nice surprise of our new lifestyle. Dorothy said it best in “The Wizard of Oz”: “There’s no place like home.” In addition to that revelation, here are the top surprises from our first six months of RV living:

1. 400 square feet is more than enough space.
Picture
The living area of our fifth wheel doesn’t sound like much, but it’s just enough for the two of us. We have everything we need: a living room, kitchen and table, bedroom, bathroom, and a dedicated office — even enough space to entertain. It’s easy to take care of and keep clean, and it feels homey. We really enjoy it.

​
2. We have more than we need or use.

When you set out on a major adventure, you likely have an idea of what equipment you’ll need. We did. And it’s always better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, right? 

But thinking about inventorying the things in our trailer we haven’t touched since we left the Phoenix area in May sounds like work. We have more unnecessary things than I’d like to tally. There are the fishing poles, DVDs, certain clothes, some dishes, and plenty more. And we didn’t even fill up all the space our rig has to offer.

3. Solid friendships traverse time and distance.
Picture
It truly is a small world — and country. Traveling across it and reconnecting with friends and family we hadn’t seen in months and years reminded us of the depth of those relationships. The time apart didn’t matter. We made new connections and rekindled longtime friendships, picking right up where we left off. 

4. Truckers are our friends.
Picture
Semi-trucks (tractor-trailers in the East, where Bob grew up) were one of the best sights for us to see on any road. If truckers who travel regularly drove the roads we were on, it gave us confidence we could make it on those same avenues — because our rig is only 3 inches shorter than a semi. 

Seeing trucks at rest areas and travel stops gave us that same level of confidence for the same reason.

5. Rest areas are quieter at night than we thought.
Picture
At the onset of our RV journey, the thought of sleeping in our rig in the parking lot of a rest area didn’t sound very attractive. Vehicles going in and out of the stop every so often would surely keep us awake. And, knowing we’d have to park where truckers park because of the length of Gulliver pulling Tagalong just added to the certainty of the din. 

While traveling across the country to stay ahead of some storms, however, we quickly learned otherwise. Wanting to cover a lot of ground in a few days’ time necessitated overnight stays close to the highway. As you probably guessed, rest areas made the perfect stops. And we slept just fine, unbothered by the drone of the diesel truck engines. 

6. Even though our rig is made for full-time living, things break.
Picture
Not all RVs are created equal. Some are made to be taken out for a short weekend trip, or even for up to two weeks or a month at a time. Others are more robust, designed for full-time living. But no matter the durability behind the construction, all of them are susceptible to things breaking. 

Someone summarized it well: Our home experiences a mini earthquake every time we take it on the road. Highways aren’t designed for transporting your home every day, or even occasionally. Just as things break in earthquakes, they break in our rig and require fixing. 

Our downtime from traveling during these winter months gives us the perfect opportunity to address those issues (some have to be dealt with right away) — and dwindle down our belongings.
14 Comments
Betty & Ken
11/15/2020 07:06:46 pm

Nice to see your visit to our home included in this post! And you are so right! We picked up right where you and Bob left off so many years ago! You'll always be welcome in Otter River!

Reply
Lana
11/24/2020 01:20:10 pm

Thanks, Betty. We enjoyed seeing and catching up with you guys.

Reply
Jan
11/15/2020 07:24:22 pm

Really enjoyed it again. Especially liked the picture of you Lana. Love you guys!💖

Reply
Elise link
11/15/2020 11:07:43 pm

Isn't it great that 400 sq ft is enough?!? We are at 160 and think that about 250 would be perfect. And I hear you on the too much stuff. Though, I wish I had brought my tiny immersion blender.

Reply
Lana
11/24/2020 01:21:26 pm

I'm truly amazed that you guys are still going strong in 160 square feet — and with your dog. Very impressive! But it's such a great life, right?

Reply
Bobby
11/16/2020 07:17:40 am

Always a good read and I like keeping up with you. Kind of like that Gates Gossip you had going for many years. I still have a copy from December 2008!!!

Reply
Lana
11/24/2020 01:22:22 pm

Wow! From 2008? That must have been a good one if you kept it this long. Thanks for reading and keeping up with us.

Reply
Henry Killingsworth link
9/22/2022 12:17:20 pm

It was interesting to me when you mentioned that some RVs are designed for full-time living. If you are wanting to turn your RV into a full-time living space, it could be a good idea to seek out a remodeling contractor. A remodeling service should be able to turn your RV into a miniature home.

Reply
Iris Smith link
4/18/2023 10:26:20 pm

I appreciate you saying that it's always better to be over-prepared than under-prepared and that when you embark on a huge expedition, you probably have an idea of what stuff you'll need. My sister wants to take an RV trip. I'll find her an RV park with the necessary and sufficient amenities.

Reply
Victoria Addington link
4/30/2023 08:14:36 pm

I liked how this post shared that RV allows you to travel and reconnect with friends. My friend wants to get RV insurance. I think it's best to opt for an RV insurance estimate service.

Reply
Pensacola Campground link
5/9/2023 11:57:38 pm

The discussion below is illuminating since it shows some of the unexpected challenges of RV life. The author offers advice based on their own experiences traveling the country full-time in an RV. The text is well-written and instructive for anybody considering this way of living. The post is made more helpful by the comments area, which provides additional tips and questions from readers. In sum, this is a valuable guide for anyone thinking about making a permanent move into an RV.

Reply
Lana Gates
5/23/2023 09:15:40 pm

Thank you, Pensacola Campground. I appreciate your review.

Reply
Niklaus Mikaelson link
9/5/2023 12:51:42 pm

Nice blog yyou have

Reply
Lana Gates link
9/6/2023 08:42:45 am

Thank you, Nicklaus. Glad you like it.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    This is the travel blog of full-time RVers Bob and Lana Gates and our truck, Gulliver, and fifth wheel, Tagalong. 

      Subscribe

    Subscribe to Blog

    Categories

    All
    Alaska
    Detours
    Lessonschallenges
    Lists/Rankings
    Preparation
    Qa
    Rv Living
    Rv Tipstricks
    Sightseeing

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home Page
  • Gulliver's Travels
  • Lana's Book
  • Life Speak Blog
  • About
  • Contact