Our High Regrets As Full Time RVers
At this level, my household and I’ve been on the highway for over seven years. We’ve been by so much throughout that point, together with two rig modifications, a brand new child, and a complete lot of foolish mishaps and superior adventures. There are loads of issues we did completely proper that we wouldn’t change for the world. That mentioned, we even have some full time RV regrets.
On this article, I’m going to give attention to these regrets, taking the time to let you know what we did unsuitable so you may keep away from making the identical errors.
1. Not shopping for the rig we needed
Once we began RVing, we purchased a small used journey trailer and an previous ¾-ton truck to tow it. The complete setup price us lower than $9K, and we known as this residence for a couple of years. I don’t remorse this selection in any respect. It was good for our household on the time and a terrific starter rig, since we didn’t have a complete lot of earnings on the time.
What I do remorse is the subsequent RV we purchased. We knew we actually needed to improve to a motorhome, however couldn’t afford it but. We needed one thing larger as a result of our second child was going to be born quickly, and as an alternative of simply making the smaller trailer work till we had the funds for the motorhome we needed, we purchased a much bigger journey trailer.
I by no means beloved that trailer the way in which I beloved our first trailer or the way in which I am keen on our present Class C motorhome. It had points with leaking, was cumbersome to tow, and by no means actually felt like residence.
The lesson: All the time purchase what you really need.
2. Our low cargo carrying capability
Okay, so I really like our present motorhome. That mentioned, it does have one main situation. The factor has an extremely low cargo carrying capability. This implies we now have to be extraordinarily cautious concerning the upgrades we do, and I’m continuously purging issues to attempt to make us lighter.
Truthfully, I’m unsure a Class C with a greater CCC exists, however I do want we might have appeared into it, making this quantity two on my checklist of full time RV regrets.
The lesson: Purchase a rig that may accommodate your wants.
3. Sticking to RV parks solely
Once we first bought on the highway, we actually solely camped in RV parks. We purchased a Thousand Trails membership early on and averted areas that didn’t have Thousand Trails parks so we wouldn’t be caught paying excessive tenting charges.
We did this for a number of years, till a good friend lastly satisfied us to attempt boondocking. That’s after we realized simply what number of free tenting alternatives are on the market. We might have been having so many extra superior adventures if we had recognized free tenting is obtainable all throughout the nation.
The lesson: Assume outdoors the field relating to discovering locations to camp.
4. Taking so lengthy to make connections
My husband and I are each fairly introverted. We are able to go lengthy intervals of time with out speaking to anybody in addition to one another. In actual fact, we lived on the highway for an excellent two years with out actually assembly anybody. That mentioned, after we lastly did put ourselves on the market and turn into part of the nomadic neighborhood, we realized the superb connections and experiences we had been lacking out on.
The lesson: Get on the market and forge friendships!
5. Shifting too quick
Some of the frequent regrets full time RVers have is shifting too quick. It’s straightforward to do at first since you’re excited and also you need to see all of it, and we completely made this error. In actual fact, we are going to nonetheless discover ourselves shifting too rapidly occasionally. The issue with that is threefold.
First, it’s not possible to really see all of it in the event you’re shifting too rapidly, since you actually should be in a spot for some time to actually expertise it. Second, in the event you’re hopping from one place to a different too rapidly, you don’t have time for day-to-day duties, resulting in burnout. Lastly, shifting too quick will get costly rapidly, making it unsustainable for extra full timers.
The lesson: Decelerate. Take the time to essentially expertise the world whereas additionally giving your self time to work and care for family chores.
6. Avoiding RV upkeep
For essentially the most half, we’re respectable about maintaining with crucial upkeep duties. That mentioned, after we bought our very first RV, I waited awhile to take a look at the roof seals.
Sadly, a skylight seal was leaking, one thing that led to water injury within the nook of our RV. Fortunately, the injury was in a spot that wasn’t very noticeable, and the injury didn’t trigger us an excessive amount of grief whereas we had the rig.
The lesson: All the time keep on prime of RV upkeep and seal every part properly. Use a useful on-line device like RV LIFE Upkeep to maintain observe of what upkeep is due and when.
7. Overspending on leisure
This wasn’t a difficulty after we first hit the highway as a result of our funds was ridiculously tiny. Nevertheless, as our earnings has grown, we now have needed to maintain shut tabs on how a lot we’re spending on issues like consuming out and sightseeing.
Whereas consuming out and sightseeing are nice methods to essentially expertise an space, there are many methods to do that with out spending a small fortune. Some months I look again on our spending and actually want we had spent much less on eating places and saved extra for RV upgrades and emergencies.
The lesson: Create a funds and follow it.
8. Planning routes poorly
As soon as in a terrific whereas, we are going to discover ourselves in a predicament due to one thing like a low clearance overpass or a low weight restrict bridge that we didn’t test for beforehand. These items could be averted by fastidiously planning routes utilizing instruments like RV LIFE Journey Wizard, the RV LIFE App, and even a Trucker’s Atlas. Don’t be like us. Plan your route fastidiously!
The lesson: Not all roads are huge rig pleasant. Plan your route accordingly.
9. Not investing in full time RV insurance coverage
Okay, so this one isn’t actually a remorse, however solely as a result of it by no means bit us within the butt. For years, we traveled with solely a fundamental RV insurance coverage plan. This might have been horrible had our rig been destroyed with all our issues in it, as we might have had nothing left and nowhere to go. Fortunately, we realized this potential drawback earlier than it grew to become a remorse and switched insurance coverage.
You can begin with coverage buying from a web based supplier like RVerInsurance.com. RVer Insurance coverage Alternate provides free quotes for RV Insurance coverage, Well being Insurance coverage, even Prolonged Warranties.
The lesson: All the time, all the time carry insurance coverage for full timers.
10. Turning into too busy
This final remorse is one I nonetheless wrestle with. It’s so, really easy to turn into too busy to essentially benefit from the RV way of life. I’ve to make a aware determination to fastidiously steadiness work, family duties, journey days, and getting on the market and experiencing every place we go to.
That is simpler to do if we journey slowly, however I nonetheless typically discover myself overwhelmed and unable to essentially get pleasure from our travels as a result of I’ve taken on an excessive amount of work or too many different tasks. However, it’s simply as straightforward to get so wrapped up in adventures that I miss work deadlines.
The lesson: Make an effort to steadiness work, life, and journey enjoyable.
There you could have it—our prime 10 full time RV regrets. Hopefully this checklist helps you keep away from the errors we’ve made, so you may have extra enjoyable and fewer mishaps as you discover this superb nation.
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Chelsea is a full-time RVer who teaches in campgrounds and on-line as she travels. She shares roadschooling ideas and extra on her weblog, Surprise Wherever We Wander.