Our High Regrets As Full Time RVers
At this level, my household and I’ve been on the street for over seven years. We’ve been by way of loads throughout that point, together with two rig adjustments, a brand new child, and a complete lot of foolish mishaps and superior adventures. There are plenty of issues we did completely proper that we wouldn’t change for the world. That stated, we even have some full time RV regrets.
On this article, I’m going to deal with these regrets, taking the time to let you know what we did flawed so you may keep away from making the identical errors.
1. Not shopping for the rig we needed
After we began RVing, we purchased a small used journey trailer and an outdated ¾-ton truck to tow it. Your complete setup value us lower than $9K, and we referred to as this dwelling for just a few years. I don’t remorse this selection in any respect. It was good for our household on the time and an ideal 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 an even 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 dwelling.
The lesson: All the time purchase what you actually need.
2. Our low cargo carrying capability
Okay, so I like our present motorhome. That stated, it does have one main difficulty. The factor has an extremely low cargo carrying capability. This implies we now have to be extraordinarily cautious in regards to the upgrades we do, and I’m always purging issues to attempt to make us lighter.
Truthfully, I’m undecided a Class C with a greater CCC exists, however I do want we’d have seemed 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
After we first bought on the street, we actually solely camped in RV parks. We purchased a Thousand Trails membership early on and prevented 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 buddy lastly satisfied us to strive 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 out there all throughout the nation.
The lesson: Suppose outdoors the field in the case of discovering locations to camp.
4. Taking so lengthy to make connections
My husband and I are each fairly introverted. We will go lengthy intervals of time with out speaking to anybody apart from one another. Actually, we lived on the street for a superb two years with out actually assembly anybody. That stated, after we lastly did put ourselves on the market and change into part of the nomadic group, we realized the wonderful connections and experiences we had been lacking out on.
The lesson: Get on the market and forge friendships!
5. Shifting too quick
One of the crucial frequent regrets full time RVers have is transferring too quick. It’s straightforward to do to start with since you’re excited and also you wish to see all of it, and we completely made this error. Actually, we are going to nonetheless discover ourselves transferring too rapidly sometimes. The issue with that is threefold.
First, it’s unimaginable to truly see all of it should you’re transferring too rapidly, since you actually need to be in a spot for some time to really expertise it. Second, should 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, transferring too quick will get costly rapidly, making it unsustainable for extra full timers.
The lesson: Decelerate. Take the time to essentially expertise the realm whereas additionally giving your self time to work and handle family chores.
6. Avoiding RV upkeep
For essentially the most half, we’re first rate about maintaining with a very powerful upkeep duties. That stated, 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 harm within the nook of our RV. Fortunately, the harm was in a spot that wasn’t very noticeable, and the harm didn’t trigger us an excessive amount of grief whereas we had the rig.
The lesson: All the time keep on high of RV upkeep and seal every part effectively. Use a useful on-line instrument like RV LIFE Upkeep to maintain monitor of what upkeep is due and when.
7. Overspending on leisure
This wasn’t a difficulty after we first hit the street as a result of our price range was ridiculously tiny. Nevertheless, as our earnings has grown, we now have needed to hold 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 price range and follow it.
8. Planning routes poorly
As soon as in an ideal 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 verify for beforehand. This stuff will be prevented by rigorously 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 rigorously!
The lesson: Not all roads are large rig pleasant. Plan your route accordingly.
9. Not investing in full time RV insurance coverage
Okay, so this one will not be 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 primary RV insurance coverage plan. This might have been horrible had our rig been destroyed with all our issues in it, as we’d 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 an internet supplier like RVerInsurance.com. RVer Insurance coverage Trade presents 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. Changing into too busy
This final remorse is one I nonetheless wrestle with. It’s so, really easy to change into too busy to essentially benefit from the RV way of life. I’ve to make a aware resolution to rigorously 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 initiatives. Then again, 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’ve it—our high 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 wonderful 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.