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A cautionary tale for the new RVer

My husband Bill and I have been full-time RVers for quite a long time now and we love the lifestyle. We do not, at this time, want to go back to the more traditional way of life which we enjoyed for over 33 years. We lived rather typically, in a nice home, which took almost every spare penny we had in life to improve, maintain, repair or pay taxes on. Our life was filled with the constant job of raising children, working to earn a living, and having maybe one day a week to relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Well, those years are behind us now and we are truly loving the life of the full-time RVer. Everyday is a new adventure. We love the fact that we are free to move in a few hours if we don't like neighborhood, we really love being able to see this beautiful country of ours from the inside out, and meeting new people is one of the most wonderful joys of our life.

We have, what we think, is the best of both worlds. We can travel and still have our home and our belongings with us. If we don't feel like moving around, we can just park it for a while.

There are a few pitfalls which, if you are entertaining the thought of becoming full-time RVers, you must be aware of.

When you leave a house for vacation or a trip, all you normally have to do is take care of securing the house so that you avoid being robbed or burned down while you are gone.

In a motorhome, fifth wheel or trailer, you must prepare your home for travel. Breakables are to be safely stored. Cupboards, TV's, computers and furniture, etc. must be well secured prior to your picking up your house and placing it on a fast moving freeway or bumpy country road. You also need to remember to put down that TV antennae so that you don't chop it off at the next overhead bridge. And if you forget to empty the water out of your toilet prior to leaving, you may spend the next few days trying to dry out your bathroom carpeting. The RV park where you have been staying would also appreciate it if you don't drive off with their electrical boxes in tow. We use a checklist for all of the items we need to take care of, but even then there is a small amount of stress related to the moving process.

Also, remember how you used to be able to be a part of the fast moving traffic on the freeway? Well, be prepared. You may now be one of the slowest vehicles on this fast moving, potholed, always under construction, racetrack of a highway, filled with people whose brains are at the bottom of their shoes.

Another advantage of living the life of the full-time RVer is that if the weather is bad you don't have to travel. You can just sit in your little home on wheels and wait until the weather clears up. No reservations or deadlines to worry about.

However, if you have never been in 50 mile an hour winds in your RV, you haven't lived. The first time we had this experience I was sitting at our dining table in our slideout and the wind whipped up to gale force speeds. One burst of wind came up, lifting the slideout up a couple of inches, and throwing an H20 train set we have at the top of the slide clear across the room (landing in a 100 pieces all over the floor). I was OUT OF THERE looking for the nearest building. We were staying at a park that tended to be very windy.

We did not want to leave the park for a while, and soon learned to live with the sounds of the wind howling through our fiberglass sides and awnings. The wind doesn't bother me as much now, although I do get a bit jumpy when it kicks up.

If you enjoy cooking you can still accomplish all of the things you want to while living in an RV. Just choose the appliances you want to carry with you with space in mind. Everything should be in miniature form including some of your furniture. You would not want to place a 12 foot sofa in the living room of your 30 foot trailer. And, your refrigerator is too small to keep a large stock of food on hand. You cannot fit a watermelon into a 8 or 10 cubic foot refrigerator no matter how hard you try!

If you enjoy gardening then you will have to understand that your garden may consist of nothing more than a few potted plants or herbs. If this is your garden on wheels, don't forget to place them on a towel in your bathtub while traveling or you will soon be feeling the earth under your feet while inside of your RV. Do remember, however, that most of the RV parks you will be staying in have a lot more greenery than your old back yard. And, no more lawns to mow!

Life on the road is very peaceful most of the time. Sometimes a little too peaceful. Especially if you have children and grandchildren that live far away. I would say that the worst thing, for me, about traveling the USA, is that sometimes we travel for several months without seeing our family. I miss the noises, the touches, the hugs and kisses that are showered upon us when visiting our grandchildren.

And, when you are not traveling and sightseeing, you must keep yourself busy, or life will become one book after another or one TV program after another. Get out, meet your neighbors, volunteer your time for something worthwhile, or write a book like I did. Bill and I have created a whole new career with the publication of "Your Home On Wheels".

One of the advantages of living in an RV, is that everything, if you do it right, is right at your fingertips, including your spouse. Bill and I love being close and knowing what our partner is up to at any given moment. However, you must also prepare yourself for the difficulties of living together with someone in such small quarters as an RV. If you are not considerate of each other's space, you will find that you will be frustrated and sad for the loss of your own space. No matter how much you enjoy being with your partner, you must spend some time away from each other if you live in the small confines of an RV.

A few of the other pitfalls to be aware of are the inconsistencies of your service related needs. Phone and television are not always available to you. You may have to visit a different mechanic or beauty shop every month and not have a chance to build a relationship with your service people. Health issues also must be addressed because you can no longer visit your regular physician when a problem arises.