As with any home, RVs require maintenance — even if they’re not driveable. We live in a fifth wheel: Tagalong. Although it has no motor, things still break or need attention from time to time. When you travel regularly, proper RV maintenance becomes a priority. Otherwise, the issues that arise could quickly exacerbate as a result of the mini earthquakes experienced during transit. Nearing the end of a long-term RV stay, we knew we needed to take care of some problems. Every year, it seems, we have to deal with broken window shades. Sometimes they get stuck open. Other times, they stop rolling up or down. We’ve learned how to replace the springs that control the movement, but removing the shades from — and, even worse, reinstalling them on — the walls is no easy feat. Still, the job had to be done. Here are some other maintenance tasks we’ve had to tend to. Shine Restoration We bought our fifth wheel in Mesa, Arizona, in June 2019. With no place to store it, the dealership agreed to keep the rig on its lot for six months. That worked well for us, but the Arizona sun and heat took their toll. Fast-forward just a few years, and we found ourselves wanting to address the dullness of Tagalong’s exterior to extend the life of our rig before it was too late. So, we booked a wash-and-wax job. Three workers showed up at our home and walked around the rig, assessing the job ahead of them. After their evaluation, the foreman explained that the clear coat protection on the rig had eroded. A wash-and-wax job alone would not restore it, he said. Tagalong needed something more intense: oxidation remover. Since we don’t have to paint the exterior of our RV home every few years like we did our sticks and bricks, this seemed like a necessary equivalent. We decided to invest in the added protectant to restore Tagalong’s luster — for nearly double the price we had planned to pay. Four hours later, the men finished the job, eager for us to see the results of their labor. The dullness we had grown accustomed to had been erased, replaced by a shine that made our rig look almost like new. Upholstery Fix Like other RVs built in 2018, our rig came equipped with artificial leather living room furniture. This quickly became an industry problem as the furniture material kept its integrity for only a few years before starting to peel. Because of that, modern RVs come with fabric furniture. When our recliner loveseat began peeling, we bandaged it with brush-on leather repair. That held for about a year before it, too, started to deteriorate. Not wanting to spend hundreds of dollars to replace our loveseat, Bob did some research and discovered self-adhesive leather repair kits in a variety of colors and sizes, available on Amazon. We took some measurements and ordered a roll to cover the material on both headrests, the location of most of the flaking. Working together, we cleaned the furniture, measured and cut the replacement material, and carefully and slowly attached it to the loveseat. Although it’s not a perfect color match, the fix covered beautifully. Thrilled with that success, we ordered a larger roll to blanket the loveseat seats, one of which had started to peel. Requiring larger pieces, that repair job proved a little more challenging. But we pulled it off and salvaged our furniture. Step Renovation The two stairs inside our rig that lead from the main living area to the bathroom and bedroom came covered in a protective plastic. Situated right inside the entry to the rig, the stairs are regularly exposed to sunlight, never mind the day-in, day-out use they’re subjected to. In many areas, the plastic had become brittle and broken. Wanting to prevent a tripping hazard, I decided to rip up all of the plastic protectant down to the particle board. I vacuumed the stairs to remove any dust and debris. Then I taped the edges and painted the stairs with a durable black floor paint with granules in it to prevent slipping. The two-coat restoration lasted for a year. After that time, some of the paint along the edge of each step wore down to wood. A little touch-up paint did the trick to correct the issue and keep the stairs protected and looking nice. Seam Recaulking We’ve had our share of water issues since moving into our RV. Not wanting to face anymore, we keep a close eye on external areas that could be at risk for allowing rain in. When installing new solar panels, we noticed the caulking along one side of the roof had pulled away, likely a result of the sun beating on it. Bob ordered some silicone caulk to fix the issue, but before he could apply it, he had to remove the old silicone. He spent a couple of hours teetering on the edge of the rig, painstakingly peeling the old sealant and rubbing the seam clean. After another hour on his hands and knees to recaulk the seam, he emerged victorious — and sore from all the kneeling. Despite that, we shouldn’t have to worry about rain seeping in.
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Spring cleaning takes on new meaning when you live full time in an RV—especially if you stay in one place for the winter months. It’s easy for items to accumulate and take up precious space in your rig. Without closing and opening RV slideouts, it can seem like there’s more than enough room for both your existing and new belongings. When travel looms, however, RV owners are forced to find homes for things that could be in jeopardy if left out during relocation. This can be a stressful endeavor with space at a premium. Although Bob and I have been full-time RVers for four years, staying stationary for about five months during the winter, we still haven’t mastered the “one-in, one-out” methodology to introducing new items to our fifth wheel. As a result, we end up dedicating one day a year to minimizing our accumulations before hitting the road. Eradicating Extras Admittedly, the purging process has gotten easier. We’ve definitely learned to acquire less than we accumulated after two years of travel. To be fair, though, some of those items were leftovers from our sticks and bricks. We take a structured approach to the eradication process, going through all of our clothing, drawers, and cabinets. But because we start out with less than we originally did, we have a better idea of the extras we’ve gained. That makes paring down easier. Our biggest challenge tends to be finding permanent locations for larger items we obtain, such as a pasta maker, food sealer, and toaster. Protecting a Pasta Maker Removing the pasta maker from its box proved to be a good decision, significantly minimizing its footprint. But we had to be strategic in the placement of the appliance to ensure its safekeeping during transit. I found the optimal spot behind our recliner loveseat. After verifying that the gadget would be out of harm’s way with the recliners both open and closed, I had to determine what to do with the pasta maker’s accessories. Lacking weight, they could get jostled and lost if we stowed them with the machine. I put them in a gallon-size zippered plastic bag and looked around the rig for the ideal location. Bob suggested a kitchen drawer where nothing could slide into them. The solution worked perfectly.
Finding a Home for a Food Sealer Moving on to the food sealer, I came up with a plan to stash it in an out-of-the-way interior corner near our dining table. The device fit there beautifully. But I still had to stow four rolls of plastic wrap for the machine. Examining the interior of our upper rear cabinets, where we had previously found evidence of a mouse invasion, I discovered some empty space in the plastic, lidded bins we had purchased to protect our dry goods from another rodent attack. Moving some things around and removing items we knew we wouldn’t use provided just enough room for all four rolls. Problem solved. Tucking Away a Toaster When we started our RV life, we gave up our toaster, thinking it a fire hazard in an RV. Plus, it consumes a significant amount of electricity when we’re running on batteries. After three years of making “toast” in an iron skillet when we wanted the indulgence, we invested in a used toaster from a thrift store. It weighed little, cost little, and fit well in a deep kitchen drawer. The only problem? It took the in-transit space of our coffee French press and a saucepan we use for boiling water. We had planned to leave the toaster behind before we hit the road, but we had grown to enjoy the occasional delicacy it provided. With travel approaching, we had to find a more permanent solution for housing the appliance. As a general rule, we strategically pack our cabinets and drawers to minimize items shifting during transit. Because of that, we had limited options for our treasured device as most drawers and cabinets lacked space for something its size. But then I had an idea. The shelf in the cabinet under our bathroom sink could work. Sure enough, the toaster fit in that spot. The travel toaster solution may be a bit unconventional, but it allows us to keep the toaster. Once we arrive at a location, we remove our water-boiling saucepan and French press from its kitchen drawer, and the toaster takes up residence there for easy kitchen access. There’s something liberating about having few possessions to weigh us down. Because of that, we’ll continue to set aside time for spring cleaning. It’s well worth it for the freedom it gives us to go where we want, when we want, and spend time with the people we want. You might also like What an RV Travel Day Is Like. “I need to drill a hole in the roof,” Bob told me. A red flag quickly sprang up in my brain, reminding me of the many months of roof troubles we had encountered only a year earlier. Those issues had resulted from a leak. We certainly didn’t want to introduce the possibility of another one. The impetus behind this intentional hole in the RV roof was to run another pair of cables to support additional solar panels, significantly increasing our power capacity for boondocking endeavors. Bob thought we could add another junction box next to the existing one on the roof for the six solar panels already in place there. But, after attempting to break the seal around the attached box to get underneath it — prior to his announcement to me — he had managed to cut through Tagalong’s roof membrane, exposing plywood to the elements. Breaking Through the Ceiling Per usual with any roof job, the weather forecast called for rain, giving us a definitive deadline to get the wood covered. Some Durabond tape and self-leveling caulk took care of that. But Bob still needed to add the other cables and junction box. With our longest drill bit secure in our cordless drill, he started making a hole in the roof as I watched, my anxiety easing at seeing just a tiny hole. When the bit didn’t cut all the way through to the interior ceiling, Bob remembered he had to cut through the space between the roof and rafters. We needed a longer drill bit. An RV neighbor loaned us one, and Bob was able to break through the ceiling. Then, using a borrowed fish tape, he pulled some twine from inside the rig up to the roof — and then the cables needed to power the solar panels. Zip, zip, zip. Bob completed the wiring job, with the help of RV friend Alan. Placing the Panels The solar panels still needed to be added. On a blustery day, we managed to get the four new panels up on the roof, with Bob at the top of our onboard RV ladder and me climbing and clinging to the lower rungs to awkwardly hand each panel to him. Next came the placement. Where was the right location for each panel to ensure maximum sun exposure? After much deliberation, we agreed on the best arrangement, and Bob got busy securing the panels to the roof. With 10 solar panels, we should be able to live off grid indefinitely — well, until our black tank fills up. The additional panels provide 42% more electric-generating solar capacity than our previous arrangement did. For the new panels to convert solar power to usable electricity, Bob also had to install a second solar charge controller — along with myriad wires, fuses, and junctions — in the basement of our rig. He completed the install with no issues. The initial test of the new panels didn’t look promising. The new solar charge controller displayed a message indicating inefficient wattage. But after a couple of days — and the sun emerging from behind clouds — the new panels started working properly. Look out, America. Here we come for more boondocking!
You might also like 12 Best RV-Related Purchases. When we started our full-time RV lifestyle in 2020, we began with a blank U.S. map. We decided that to add any state sticker to the map, we had to sleep in our rig in that state. The map includes the state of Hawaii, but how do RVers honestly put Hawaii on their map? We’ve heard about some creative ways to add the 50th state to an RV map. Some RVers have taken a picture of their rig with them when visiting Hawaii and hung it above their heads while sleeping to say they slept there in their rig. Small RV rentals, such as camper vans available on the islands, offer another possibility. Some RVers have left their traveling homes in the contiguous states and taken the camper van rental route to get Hawaii on their RV maps. We decided to forgo putting Hawaii on our map, but that didn’t prevent us from visiting the beautiful state. We did so by embarking on a cruise from Long Beach, California, with stops in Maui, Honolulu, Kauai, Kona, and Hilo. We slept on the cruise ship every night, so we technically didn’t sleep in the state anyway, even if we had taken a picture of our rig with us. Island Allure Millions of tourists are drawn to Hawaii’s volcanic islands every year for their tropical climate, bountiful flora, colorful sand beaches, captivating volcanoes, abundant sea life, expansive pineapple plantations, and plentiful hiking and surfing opportunities. Having taken the same cruise on the same ship eight years earlier, we were drawn by the 15-night sailing, our love of cruising, and easy accessibility to Los Angeles from Arizona. After a very busy year, a cruise offered a much-needed getaway for us to disconnect from technology, unwind, and refresh. After relishing four relaxing sea days, being rocked to sleep every night by the ocean waves, we toured volcanoes, paid our respects to the soldiers entombed in Pearl Harbor, basked in the Hawaiian sun, dined on fresh seafood, and admired uncommon-to-us sea life. One of the things we enjoy about our full-time RV lifestyle is the myriad opportunities we get to visit friends and family across the country. We had that same opportunity in Kauai, where Bob’s brother Rick and his wife, Carolyn, were vacationing. We spent a wonderfully easygoing day with them — and even saw sea turtles and whales. Making Memories The highlight of our Hawaii visit was renting a Mustang convertible in Maui and driving to the top of Haleakala Crater, a national park with a summit that rises 10,023 feet above sea level. As the car ascended the switchback road, we found ourselves high above the clouds without being in an airplane. We even looked down on a rainbow, a truly unique experience (but unfortunately didn’t get any pictures of it). When we reached the visitor center shortly after the park entrance, gusting winds made us shiver — and close the car top. A few miles later, at the summit parking lot, the outdoor temperature registered 48 degrees. Pushing the car doors open against what felt like 35 mph winds — and dressed in only shorts and short sleeves — we braved the cold, passing ice on the ground as we approached an overlook building. Closed, it offered no respite from the cold blasts. We quickly snapped some pictures overlooking the crater and ran back to the car to return to the visitor center. After descending the volcano and reaching normal altitude, we opened the top of the car to enjoy the Hawaiian sun. With some of our favorite Petra tunes blaring, we drove toward a black beach off the beaten path. In Hawaii, all of the beaches are public. Despite that, we had this one virtually all to ourselves.
Of course, we had to go into the water. We had originally planned to snorkel here, having read about the coral reef not too far from shore. But the wind had made the waves choppy and the water murky. We swam for a while and then sat in our beach chairs to dry as the sun neared the horizon, thankful for an amazing day, time together, and God’s beautiful creation around us. You might also like Where We Park Our Rig for Flight/Cruise Travel. As full-time RVers, we often get asked, “What do you want to do while you’re here?” by friends and family. Because of our RV lifestyle, many think we’re always on vacation. As intriguing and attractive as that sounds, the reality is that I work full time. That means that, although Bob isn’t employed, work responsibilities have to come first.
Back in the day, when we owned sticks and bricks and a travel trailer, we made a point to get away every summer for a family vacation, often with our trailer in tow. We enjoyed cooking and eating meals outdoors, sitting around campfires, roasting marshmallows, playing games, and exploring nature. Since we sold our sticks and bricks and moved into our fifth wheel, vacation looks a bit different. We get away to somewhere new every week or two as part of everyday RV living. We sightsee and get out in nature regularly. No longer do we plan weeklong adventures in our rig. Every day is an adventure. I used to feel guilty for sitting in our rig watching TV while other campers gathered around fires to enjoy the great outdoors, but I’m over it. Our RV life may look the same on the surface as that of weekend warriors or RV vacationers, but it’s actually quite different. Clearing Up Vacation Misconceptions An RV vacation can be a wonderful experience: a nice camping setup, maybe with family or friends, outdoor activities, and plenty of recreation. It can include stories around the campfire every night, stargazing, and sleeping in. Because we live full time in our rig, we don’t often have campfires, just as most people in sticks and bricks don’t have campfires most nights. Visiting friends and family across the country may be part of vacation for many people, but for us, it’s typically not. Sleeping in is a weekend luxury not afforded on workdays during the week — at least not for me. Our daily RV life includes sightseeing and adventures to capture the essence of the area in which we find ourselves. We try to fit in as much as we can, but we have to do that strategically around my work schedule. What Vacation Looks Like for Full-Time RVers At this point, you may be wondering “What do full-time RVers do for vacation?” More often than not, vacation for us means escaping our rig and not sleeping in our own bed. It involves taking time off work for me but may include light volunteer work for Bob. It means more eating out and less cooking in, flying not driving, fewer responsibilities and more relaxation, and investing more time and money into sightseeing and adventures than we normally would. Although our vacations often leave Tagalong behind, they may include Gulliver, like on our anniversary trip to Mexico or our visit to the Arctic Ocean. Driving the Alaska Highway was a vacation for us in that I took time off work, but it included Tagalong and sleeping in our bed every night. Our favorite kind of vacation is cruising. It gets us completely away from our rig and out on the open seas to explore areas we can’t take our rig. I relish the disconnection from my normal busy life and appreciate home more when we return. Although as full-time RVers we don’t use our rig for vacations, we continue to enjoy our RV lifestyle and the many perks that come with it. You might also like Where We Park Our Rig for Flight/Cruise Travel. Despite the logistics involved in full-time RV living, the lifestyle offers numerous perks. We have the best of two worlds: months of living on the road and months in a single location. After four years of this lifestyle, we have a pretty good grasp of the perks of full-time RV living — at least for us. Others might disagree or see other things as perks, but here are our top four:
1. Freedom Because we sold our sticks-and-bricks home and live only in our 42-foot fifth wheel RV we named Tagalong, we have a lot of freedom. If we don't like our surroundings or views in one area, we can pack up and move to another without too much trouble. If we like where we find ourselves, as we did in Homer, Alaska, we can cancel our plans and choose to stay longer. The world is our oyster. 2. Seeing Family and Friends One of the greatest joys of our RV lifestyle is the ability to see family and friends across the country much more often than we'd see them otherwise. Because of our involvement with the Commemorative Air Force, our history with the Continental Singers and Orchestra, our cruise experiences, and our hailing from different geographic areas (Massachusetts for Bob and Arizona for me), we know people from the West Coast to the East Coast, and even into Canada. This can make for some great moochdocking opportunities for us, depending on our loved ones’ living situations. (Thank you, friends and family!) We truly value the times we get to spend with loved ones near and far and are thankful for the many opportunities our full-time RV lifestyle affords us to do so. 3. Amazing Scenery From magnificent rock formations to welcoming waters and everything in between, full-time RV living puts us up close and personal to beautiful scenery. For example, we camped on the top of a bluff in Wyoming, overlooking the town of Rock Springs below. We backed up our rig to Port Valdez, a fjord of Prince William Sound in Valdez, Alaska, parked with fantastic views of Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula of the state, camped amid red maple leaves in Idaho in the fall, stayed on spacious farms in Florida and Michigan, and saw the northern lights on our return trip from Alaska. We also glimpsed lots of beautiful sunrises and sunsets across the country. 4. Always a New Adventure And that brings us to our fourth perk of full-time RV living: It's never boring. There's always a new adventure awaiting, whether that entails investigative troubleshooting to find the cause of a leak or tracking dinosaurs in the desert of Moab, Utah. We have very few, if any, dull moments. Full-time RV living is not for everyone, but it is for us. We plan to keep enjoying it and all that it has to offer until we get sick of it or we’re physically unable to continue, whichever comes first. You might also like Is RV Life as Glamorous as It Looks? Some full-time RVers are drawn to the lifestyle by the freedom to fly by the seat of their pants, deciding when and where to move based on how they feel upon waking any morning. Others, like us, take a more disciplined approach. It’s more conducive to success with our 42-foot fifth wheel that stands 13 feet, 3 inches tall.
For our plan of attack, we rely on a number of phone apps to aid us in navigation and exploration. Apps for RVing abound, many of which we haven’t tried in our four years on the road. But a few have become standbys. Let’s take a look. 1. Campendium If we’re not moochdocking on the property of friends or family, Campendium tends to be our first app of choice for checking camping possibilities in a given area. For an annual fee, it shows us campgrounds, boondocking options, dump stations, overnight parking stops, and even Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land to help us make informed decisions. We’re able to search based on location, price, hookups, cell signal strength, amenities, and more. What we really like about this app is the reviews of people who’ve stayed at the places we’re considering. Freecampsites.net is another source we consult sometimes when researching places to stay. 2. Harvest Hosts If we don’t like what we find on Campendium for the area we plan to visit, we check our options on Harvest Hosts. We’re part of Boondockers Welcome, which was acquired by Harvest Hosts. The app incorporates both memberships. Harvest Hosts allows RVers to stay at museums, farms, wineries, breweries, and more for a single night. Boondockers Welcome lets guests stay on people’s personal property for up to five nights, depending on the host. Some hosts even offer electric, water, and/or sewer hookups for a small fee. Each host and experience is unique. We enjoy meeting our hosts, learning about their area, and spending time with them. 3. Open Roads As we travel the country, we make a lot of fuel stops — but fewer than we did before upgrading our fuel tank. Open Roads is our go-to app to save money at the pump. It allows us to get trucker discounts at Petro, TA, Love’s, and a few other truck stops across the country — and fill up at the diesel pumps the truckers use, which is super helpful since our rig is only 3 inches shorter in height than most semis. We’re also able to fill our diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) at the pump this way, instead of having to pour the smelly stuff into our truck’s DEF reservoir from a box. We use a handful of individual fuel station apps as needed in concert with Open Roads: TA, Love’s, Pilot, and Maverik. Although Open Roads tells us the prices for diesel fuel with our discount, it doesn’t tell us if a given stop has a dump station or other amenities we might be interested in, such as restaurants. The individual apps help with that. 4. CoPilot Because of the size of our rig, navigating can be challenging. We pay an annual fee for the CoPilot trucker app, which allows us to enter the dimensions of our rig and then routes us accordingly, steering us clear of low overpasses and bridges that can’t handle our weight. Other apps, such as Roadtrippers, allow RVers to enter their rig’s dimensions as well. We haven’t used those apps much as we’ve been very happy with CoPilot. However, after entering our height, length, and desired stops into Roadtrippers to plot a possible course for travel, I received a warning that certain legs of the journey wouldn’t work for us. But the app didn’t reroute us to routes that would. 5. Google Maps Although we trust CoPilot and its directions, we don’t solely rely on it for navigation. We also check Google Maps — especially satellite view — to ensure we can get into and out of fuel stops, parking lots, and potential camping spots. In addition, we take advantage of Google Earth and its distance-measuring feature to give us a realistic picture of what we might find at a given destination. 6. Ultimate RV Checklist To ensure we don’t forget any steps when packing up the trailer for travel and connecting it to and disconnecting it from the truck, we use a checklist app. We had used Tasks for a couple of years, but when it suddenly lost our checklists, we decided to trade it for an app with a backup option. Ultimate RV Checklist fit that bill. It comes with preloaded checklists you can use as is, or you can create your own to fit your needs. We did the latter. At one point, that app also stopped working. When that happened, we found that the backups couldn’t be easily reloaded into the app. So we moved them into Google Keep. I plan to put them back into a checklist app, where I can easily check them off and then uncheck them to reset the app for the next use. 7. OneControl Our Jayco Pinnacle came with OneControl by Lippert onboard, which we can use to turn lights on and off, open and close slideouts and awnings, and level the trailer. The control unit is right inside the trailer door. There’s also a OneControl phone app that offers the added convenience of being able to use it from outside the trailer. It comes in handy to assist with retracting the rear and mid stabilizers when we’re getting ready to connect the truck to the trailer, as well as opening and closing awnings while outside enjoying nice weather, and things like that. Other apps we use on occasion include CAT Scale and Allstays. You might also like 4 Reasons We Avoid RV Resorts. I gingerly stepped over boxes for the umpteenth time to turn on the lights adorning our little Christmas tree, the clutter starting to get to me.
With our family gift exchange right around the corner, stacks of packages had made their way into our fifth wheel, taking up precious room in our 400 square feet of living area. Empty boxes the gifts had arrived in took up valuable floor and loft space while providing possible solutions to potential wrapping quandaries. The additional accumulation provided fewer options for normal everyday items such as mail, groceries we didn’t have time to put away, and wallets and phones to hang out. This only added to our cluttered situation and robbed my peace. Isn’t Christmas supposed to be a time of peace? And joy? Had I really let things steal my joy and the true meaning of Christmas? Surge Gives Way to Simplicity My thoughts wandered to the crowded city of Bethlehem in Judea. Our fifth wheel had filled with accumulated packages in anticipation of Christmas gift giving, much like the City of David had filled with people who needed to register for the census. That’s what compelled Mary and Joseph to travel 70 miles there from Galilee toward the end of her pregnancy. The hustle and bustle of that crowded city prevented the couple from finding a normal, hospitable place for her to give birth. No vacancy forced Mary and Joseph to seek shelter in a most unusual location: a dirty, smelly stable of live animals. Yet, those extraordinary circumstances led to the simple, humble birth of a king, who was wrapped in cloth and placed in a manger, or a feeding trough. God smiled down on his son in the form of a bright star that led shepherds to the stable to see this mysterious child, having been told about him by an angel. A Matter of Focus Back in the present with renewed joy, I made a point to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, despite the clutter in front of me. I knew that temporary state of chaos served a purpose to bring joy to others. It wasn’t meant to steal mine. Before I knew it, our living quarters would be back to our acceptable and preferred norm, with minimized distractions and greater simplicity, making it easier to focus on the things that truly matter. That’s what the stable birth provided for Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. I’m grateful for this reminder about the importance of simplicity. I’m especially thankful for the humble, unceremonious birth we celebrate at Christmas time. Jesus came to Earth as a baby to make himself relatable to humankind. May this mystery cause you to reflect on your life as you come to grips with the simple message of Immanuel, God with us. You might also like Wrapped with a Bow. Living in an RV full time looks spectacular on YouTube, where RVers showcase magnificent travels, amazing destinations, and exciting adventures. But is RV life really all that glamorous? After four years on the road, we can tell you it definitely is not. Sure, parts of the lifestyle live up to that reputation, but many others leave much to be desired. Here are some of the negative aspects of full-time RV living: Travel-Day Squabbles Typically, we enjoy a week or two in a single location, exploring what the area has to offer and keeping busy while there. When we get into the truck on travel days, we have dedicated time with each other, interrupted only by fuel and rest stops or rare sightings along the way. It seems these occasions often become times to discuss issues between us, since neither of us can walk away. This can make for unpleasant travel that may carry into arriving and setting up at our destination. Sometimes, we forget we’re on the same team and in a partnership. That’s why you can find T-shirts and mugs that say, “I’m sorry for what I said while backing up the trailer.” Long Driving Days Reaching a destination by a certain date — for a wedding or a cruise, for example — may require multiple days of driving. This can be exhausting. One day, we drove 11 hours trying to get somewhere due to a family member’s medical emergency. Similarly, we spent eight days driving the Alaska Highway each way. Even though we traveled only three to four hours on most of those days, we kept all but our dining room slideout closed at any overnight stop. That kept us from taking up too much space at, say, a rest area while still allowing passage to our kitchen and refrigerator. Not being able to “be home” day after day wore on us. To help break up the trip, we spent two nights at the Liard River Hot Springs Campground in British Columbia both ways. This enabled us to open all four of our slideouts and truly feel at home. On the way back to the Lower 48, we also stopped at a museum in the Yukon to make the journey more enjoyable. Breakage Towing all of our belongings across the country equates to an earthquake in our “house” every time we relocate. Some roads are definitely better than others. The constant vibration can knock things loose. Big bumps or potholes can bounce hanging clothes off their closet rack. Pipes leak, sealants let go, and screws come loose. It seems that almost every time we move, we find something else that needs our attention. It may be a tire, a window, the truck bed cover, or any number of other things. That’s why we make a point to give the vehicle a thorough walkaround before travel and when we stop at a rest area or fuel station. We’ve learned to roll with the punches and take these issues in stride. They’re just part of RV life, but they’re not necessarily fun.
Logistics Unless you have a small rig such as a camper van or a truck camper, logistics tend to be a big part of full-time RV living. We have to do a lot of research before venturing anywhere to make sure our big rig can fit. This can take a lot of time. Checking our desired destinations is more crucial in the East, where clearance can be more challenging, than it is in the West. We had absolutely no clearance issues in Alaska. There, 15 feet, 10 inches is considered low clearance, compared to anything below 13 feet, 6 inches in the rest of the country. Uncertainty Because we move so often, it’s hard to keep track of where we are and where we’ve been. We both experienced that same situation when we toured with the Continental Singers and Orchestra, which is how we met. For three months, we had a concert in a different city every night. Fast-forward 36 years, and we’re having deja vu moments. Many mornings, we wake up unsure of our location. What state are we in? Where were we yesterday? Where were we when that happened? Despite these challenges, we enjoy RV life and the freedom it gives us. We also relish visiting family and friends across the country much more often than we’d see them otherwise. Life is good. RV life is great. You might also like More Answers to Your RV Lifestyle Questions. Kapow. Kapow. The sound of gunshots jolted me from my work. With Bob still snoozing, I knew the TV wasn’t on. Darting from window to window, I peered out in search of the source of the noise but saw nothing conclusive. When you live in an RV and are parked in unfamiliar territory, gunfire can be quite sobering. We were camped completely on our own close to a lake about a third of a mile from the main highway near Tok, Alaska. Noise travels fast in the vastness of Alaska. Just because I had heard what sounded like nearby gunshots didn’t mean the shooter was close by. Research confirmed bull moose hunting season open in the Tok area. I hope the hunter got his or her moose. We didn’t hear any more gunshots after that. The incident was only one of many unusual happenings we encountered during our fourth year of RV travel. Here are some others: Wacky Waterfill Station We like to take advantage of boondocking and moochdocking opportunities whenever possible. Oftentimes, doing so means being strategic about filling our 75-gallon freshwater tank. We’re able to make the water last for a while, but there always comes a time when we need to refill our supply. Many dump stations offer potable water that can be used for this purpose. After leaving our campsite in Valdez, Alaska, we headed into town to empty our black and gray wastewater tanks. We opted not to get freshwater there because we had to climb through a mountain pass on our way back to the main highway and didn’t want to tow the extra weight. Beyond the pass en route to my cousin’s remote cabin and boondocking thereafter, we needed to fill our freshwater tank. We learned about a place near Glennallen where the locals got drinking water after a flood contaminated their regular source. It turned out to be quite an unusual fillup. The first “spigot” we came to was an open pipe with no hose fitting nor the capacity to attach a hose. Using that “faucet” required turning a wheel nine times to get the water to come out. Since we couldn’t figure out a way to connect a hose between that fixture and our trailer, we walked to the other side of the booth building to check for another option. Sure enough, we found a normal-size hose — but again with no capacity to attach another hose to it. Getting water into our rig requires a screw-tight connection. Bob remembered he had picked up a Water Bandit hose fitting (paid link) for just such an occasion. After locating it, he fitted the adapter to the hose. We deposited four quarters for 3 minutes of filling, and Bob moved the valve to make the water flow while attempting to hold the hoses together. Cold water spurted everywhere, dousing the bottom of my jeans. Good thing I was wearing boots. Bob backed off the water pressure, adjusted his grip, and succeeded at keeping the hoses connected. Three minutes of water filled our tank about 10%. We had started with about that much, so that brought us to 20%. We inserted another four quarters for 3 additional minutes with the same results. Clearly, we would need to do this about seven more times. The water running through the hoses left Bob’s hands frigid, to the point that he didn’t think he’d be able to endure the process for much longer. I grabbed a mechanic’s glove from our trailer basement and a leather work glove from the truck. (Neither had a match.) Donning those, Bob changed his position on the hoses to use different muscles. My job was to deposit quarters and keep mosquitos off of Bob. We continued the painstaking cycle until our tank was completely full — about 30 minutes and $10 later. By then, we had gained a greater appreciation for traditional water fills with a regular hose bibb, something we had previously taken for granted. Plentiful Pasta Making Not all unusual experiences are, or have to be, challenging. While visiting family in Oregon, we had a rare opportunity to make pasta from scratch, something we couldn’t pass up, as neither of us had ever done it before. With all five of our kids in town for a family reunion, we needed a lot of pasta, so Bob’s brother Rick put us to work. We felt like we were on a TV cooking channel, breaking eggs into a well of flour on a countertop and mixing it with a fork. After getting the dough to the desired consistency, we shifted to putting it through a pasta maker to press it thin enough to cut into spaghetti noodles. This involved many rounds of feeding the dough through the machine and adding flour in between, a backbreaking process. We made more than enough spaghetti for everyone to eat their fill and combined it with marinara sauce Bob had made earlier following Alton Brown’s recipe. Since then, we picked up an all-in-one pasta maker that mixes ingredients into dough and pushes out pasta as spaghetti or penne noodles. Making pasta is no longer novel, or backbreaking.
In addition to those incidents, we had plenty of other unusual encounters in our fourth year on the road, including getting snowed on, visiting an ice house, seeing the midnight sun, dealing with rodents, camping in fall foliage, and tracking dinosaurs. They’re all part of our amazing, adventurous RV life. You might also like Our Most Unusual Experiences in Year 3 on the Road. * As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. |
AuthorThis is the travel blog of full-time RVers Bob and Lana Gates and our truck, Gulliver, and fifth wheel, Tagalong. Categories
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