One recurring theme I see on the RV Facebook groups is the behavior (or better, misbehavior) of fellow campers. As ironic as it may be, going to many commercial RV parks is a poor way to get away from it all.
The worst crowding we’ve experienced was on the coast of Washington where people were parked next to one another as they would be in a parking lot. The beautiful Pacific was a short walk away and people were willing to be packed into a campground to be in such a prime spot near the beach. The house and city lot we sold a few years ago was just a modest place on an average property. I think, though, that in that Washington campground there were six RVs packed into a spot the size of that city lot.
Not only is spacing an issue at many campgrounds, but RVers want to be outside so there are lawn chairs and campfires everywhere. Thinking about the house we sold, imagine what it would have been like if day after day my five closest neighbors came to my back yard to each build their own campfire and, while being cordial to one another, didn’t want to spend that time together with their other neighbors. And, of course, each would bring their dogs who would be out of their element and tending to bark at one another and the other folks in my yard. Meanwhile their kids would be having a great time, riding their bikes up and down the roads and sometimes through where other groups are sitting.
So, people put themselves into the crowded conditions of the typical commercial campground and then complain about the behavior of others. Of course, they are right – people are being noisy and rude, acting as if they are at home with plenty of space to call their own. At the same time, if you pick a crowded campground for your get-away weekend you might want to remind yourself that you aren’t at home. If you don’t want to hear barking dogs, slamming doors, yelling kids, and even quiet campfire conversations next door you might want to avoid crowded campgrounds. If you do go to such places, well, remember that you aren’t at home where you can get away from all that kind of stuff.
We’ve now wrapped up our 2014 Adventure. Our destination was the great northwestern United States with a focus on the Pacific coast. It was a wonderful trip – really, everything we hoped it would be. Early in our journey we found southeastern Utah to be a pleasant surprise. We’ve heard so much about the vicinity of Moab; especially Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. These were even better than we expected and some of the most beautiful spots we’ve ever been.
We spent a couple of months visiting different places along the Washington coast and then another month along the Oregon coast. We loved it all and I especially enjoyed the splendor of the Oregon coast. If a person loves nature they will love that area.
We continued into northern California and soon moved inland to the Sacramento area and points east and south. After wearing jackets and even needing heat in the camper the warm temperatures were a shock to the system. Still, camping along the whitewater of the American River and then staying in the high country of Yosemite was a real pleasure.
It was with some sadness that we turned east and headed for Arizona because that meant we were now winding down our big Adventure. Still, we’re talking about Arizona here; long one of our favorite states. We spent a month there, working our way from the northwest corner of the state to ultimately exit at the southeast corner.
Before long we were back in Texas – enjoying the splendor of the state’s southwest. We’ve always liked the Texas State Parks and it was a pleasure to visit three of them, especially Davis Mountains State Park, as we worked our way east.
After almost seven months we’ve now arrived back where the Adventure began: Lake Conroe Thousand Trails. We towed the 5th wheel about 6300 miles and then drove about the same distance sightseeing and “just living.” We stayed in about 40 different campgrounds, generally for a week and a half at a time with several shorter stays when we were in “repositioning mode.” In January I’ll release our budget figures but we pretty much stayed on target through the year.
It was a great trip and I’m already looking forward to return visits to and through these areas.
The sure-fired, guaranteed, spirited discussion topic among fulltiming RVers is, well you know what it is: which is best for fulltiming, motorhome or 5th wheel. The obvious thing is that both are quite suitable. After all, there are thousands upon thousands of people happily and enthusiastically traveling and living in both.
Still, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Just for fun, here are my comparisons (note: I’ll update this list when I come across more “pros” either way):
Motorhome
Easier to park and set up – important for people who move often or are challenged by such things. One thing that helps is that the driver is sitting right up front over the wheels – and the steering on a mothorhome lets the driver turn the rig very sharply
Lends itself to the famous “in motion passenger pit stop” and it’s less famous cousin, the “honey grab me a soda from the fridge” in motion request
Better for “bugging out” from a rest area or Walmart parking lot if things sound a bit strange outside
If you tow a car you have a small, economical daily driver – also nice for scouting out the campground for sites upon arrival
Most comfortable travel vehicle
It provides the famous, “we don’t have to even go outside if it’s raining when we arrive” advantage
While there are more steps to get inside, once inside it is all one level
5th Wheel
More room inside – important for people who stay in one place longer
The “house” and the vehicle are separate – really important when the vehicle has to go in the shop – you don’t have to get a motel room for, say, a transmission rebuild
Cost of maintenance on tow vehicle is generally less – doesn’t require “big rig” service oil changes, and camper tires are less expensive
Depending on your taste, startup costs are generally less
Greater variety of floor plans
More stable when driving in windy conditions (assuming a well matched tow vehicle and 5th wheel)
Propane tanks can be removed and taken to a refill station
When you want to upgrade you can upgrade the tow vehicle and 5th wheel separetly rather than having to greater expense of trading motorhomes
A 5th wheel is easier to level on sites that are unlevel front to back – you don’t have to worry about putting the front tires up on blocks or having them dangling in the air if using an automatic leveling system
Here’s a real biggie: a husband towing a 5th wheel is somewhat less likely to drive off without the wife aboard. 🙂
Here’s our story: when we began our search we set a budget for our fulltiming rig. We started off looking mostly at diesel motorhomes but soon became discouraged that the nice ones were over our budget. We began pricing bigger pickups and 5th wheels. It became apparent to us that we had a better chance of staying under our budget while getting something we liked if we went the 5th wheel route – and we did.
A big influence on us was the living space available in the 5th wheels as well as the better floor plans. We wanted a normal living room set up, including a more natural location of the television. Most motorhomes we looked at didn’t offer such a floor plan. A lot of 5th wheels didn’t either, but some did.
Now that we’re fulltiming, I admit that there have been times when I wished for a motorhome/towed vehicle. The truck uses a lot of fuel, towing or not. When we arrive at a campground, I really dislike driving around with the 5th wheel in tow while I cruise up and down narrow roads trying to pick out a campsite.
Most of the time, though, I’m convinced we made a good choice. We like the living space the 5th wheel provides. We think some of the advantages of the motorhome are minor at best. After all, we would have to stop motorhome or 5th wheel for the driver to make a pit stop – not to mention that walking around in a motorhome in motion is somewhat dangerous and likely illegal. We haven’t had to set up in any downpours, and if we did, we’d just get a little wet moving from the pickup to the camper where we’d wait it out. Also, we don’t do camp Walmart or stay in rest areas so the possibility of needing to make a run for it from some undesirable situation really isn’t that great.
Then, we’ve had the pickup in the shop three times now, once overnight. It was nice not having to take our whole house in to the shop and vacate it just for new radiator hoses!
Maybe, someday, we’ll join the motorhome crowd. When we do, we’ll enjoy some of the advantages of living and traveling in a motorhome. At the same time, though, I think we’ll miss some of the pluses of our 5th wheel.
We’re winding down our first winter as fulltimers and looking forward to several months of travel; exploring new places. We divided our winter between Dickinson and Rockport, Texas. Dickinson is close to family and friends (and doctors) and Rockport is a nice Winter Texan destination. Obviously, there are advantages to being in both places.
During these months we’ve taken on several projects: including the maintenance, repair, and upgrade varieties. Here’s a wrap up of those projects.
Maintenance:
Washed camper, waxed front cap
Flushed the water heater
Sanitized the fresh water tank
Replaced the reverse osmosis water filters
Had the pickup transmission and rear end serviced
Had the pickup tires rotated
Refreshed and repaired some of the camper caulking
Checked roof and applied fresh Dicor caulking where needed
Repacked the wheel bearings
Repairs:
A biggie: had to replace a bent axle (I know exactly where the damage was done)
A few light switches that were getting quite stiff to operate were replaced
Camper floor reinforced where factory had under-engineered it
Recaulked the floor around shower stall where there were some leaks
Pulled the toilet to replace a leaky valve
Changed pin height on camper (needed a bit more space between camper and PU rails)
Fantastic Vent repaired (now opens and closes with thermostat – and rain sensor works)
Yet to come: the F350 goes in the shop to find a small coolant leak
As you can see, there’s been a lot to do! Special thanks to my friend Ron who is the brains behind many of these operations – I couldn’t do the mechanical stuff without him.
We love being touring fulltimers, but we’re learning that these rigs need more upkeep than a “sticks and bricks” house does. As you can see, most of the time and effort went into routine maintenance that needs to be done on a regular basis.
Now, with Spring upon us, we’re getting excited about our 2014 Adventure! Stay tuned, good times are ahead!
We’ve all done it. We arrive at the campground ready for a pleasant, enjoyable stay. We find our spot, get settled in and then take a walk. Just across the way, we see it: the best campsite in the entire campground. Almost always it’s occupied but we can’t help but wish it was our camper nestled in that perfect spot with the great view of the lake or the nice big front yard (or maybe just closer to the bathrooms!).
Before we even know it we’re not as happy with our site as we were just a few minutes ago. We’ve fallen prey to “campsite envy.”
It’s happened to us often enough that I coined the term. In fact, we developed an unwritten policy: we aren’t going to give in to campsite envy; instead we’re going to appreciate what we have and not let campsite envy diminish our stay.
Only twice have we pulled up stakes and relocated to a different spot. And, yes, both moves were to considerably superior campsites that just happened to be available. Generally speaking, though, we think it’s better to not get started with the campsite shuffle. For one thing, it’s most often more work than it’s worth. For another, our enjoyment of a campground is seldom centered around our campsite anyway. We enjoy the activities at the campground and sightseeing in the area surrounding the campground. We like meeting the neighbors and sharing a campfire. Who knows? The neighbor you move away from as you give in to campsite envy might have become one of the best friends you’ve ever had!
So, if it’s early in your stay and the perfect campsite opens up it might make sense to make the move. Otherwise, it’s not that big a deal anyway. Make a note for future reservations and get on with enjoying the campground. Don’t give in to campsite envy!
Since retiring and becoming fulltime traveling RVers we’ve become church hoppers. It’s quite a change from being the parsonage couple and attending our local church every time the doors are open.
As traveling RVers we’re on the move about seven months each year, changing churches every week or two. We could visit the campground services or watch our home church online – and sometimes we do, but we like going to a local church. Honestly, we miss our church family. Going to church as perpetual visitors isn’t the same as being regular attenders.
Here’s our approach: after searching the web for an area church of our denominational flavor we look over the church’s web site for service times and directions. We look for photos of people at a regular worship service so we have a better idea of the unwritten dress code. Like most anyone, we just want to fit in and not be too casual or too formal. When I was a kid people wore their “Sunday best” to church. These days, not so much. That makes it challenging to know just what to wear. Also, we check the church calendar to see if there is a special event that Sunday. If so, depending on the event, it might make us more or less likely to attend that particular week (VBS program, less likely – southern gospel concert, oh yeah!). Often, the church with a website that provides us the above information is the one we visit. By the way, the church that is still promoting last winter’s Christmas program in July automatically loses potential as a likely place for our visit.
If our own denomination has no nearby church, we look for a “sister” group, but really, we’re pretty comfortable in a wide variety of churches.
We try to arrive at the church just a few minutes early. If we are too early we find ourselves sitting uncomfortably in a less than full sanctuary. If we arrive late, we fear we’ll interrupt a service already in progress. You’d be surprised at how often we’ve arrived at churches not knowing for sure which parking lot to use or even which door to enter. That’s especially true with large churches with multiple buildings on their campus or with older churches that have an old sanctuary and newer buildings around it.
We’ve concluded that most churches are completely unprepared for walk in visitors. They are comfortable with people who attend as a guest of a regular who is “showing them the ropes” but walk-ins are unexpected and unanticipated. After being the ultimate church “insiders” we’ve realized just how uncomfortable walk-in visitors are during a meet and greet time. Everyone is told to stand and greet those around them. We stand and say a brief hello to those around us and then remain standing with fixed smiles while everyone around us has short private conversations as friends do at such a time. Even churches that think they are friendly are mostly just friendly with one another, not with outsiders.
One eye opener for me, as a career pastor, has been the demeanor of pastors. When we first arrive they come up to shake hands and smile, telling us how glad they are we have visited. Then, they always ask, “Are you from around here?” When we say we aren’t the light goes out and they quickly move on, sometimes with hardly another word. I know how busy a pastor is on a Sunday morning, but this response to our not being “prospects” was surprisingly consistent wherever we visited and were greeted by the pastor.
Having said all that I want to add that, in general, we enjoy visiting churches. As a retired pastor I often remind myself that I’m attending church as a worshiper. I’m not there to look for interesting ideas or to “fix” the church. In addition, we’ve been impressed by how many good preachers and singers there are. We’ve enjoyed the variety and seeing the good that is being done in churches around the country. It hasn’t been unusual for us to drive away from a worship service and remark to one another, “If we lived here we could be a part of that church.”
We miss our church family and friends. We’re very aware that there’s a depth of spiritual life that is best fostered by being a faithful part of a good church family. Also, we’re glad for social media and the ability it provides for keeping up with what is happening “back home.” At the same time we’re enjoying our travels and the many opportunities to worship with the larger Church with a capitol “C.”
Our 2007 camper has a carbon monoxide and smoke alarm. The other night (and it always happens at night) one of the alarms started beeping. I know about the beeping – time to change batteries. I pulled the battery out of the carbon monoxide detector and went back to sleep.
Today, I put new batteries in it but it continued to beep about every 30 seconds. I read the information on the back of it and discovered that this is the “end of life beep” – time for a new detector.
I decided that while I was at it I would check out the smoke alarm. Should have done that on January 1 anyway. To my surprise it was completely dead in the water. I’m not sure if the battery died without the smoke detector going off or if the detector itself died.
A quick trip to the store and I returned home with new detectors. I replaced the two we already had and added an extra smoke alarm to the bedroom.
The new carbon monoxide detector is supposed to last about five years. I’m going to put new batteries on the calendar to remind me to check them even if they don’t remind me. There’s also a LP detector in the kitchen. It’s permanently installed and showing all systems go. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if it too won’t need replacing one of these days.
In May, after spending a week at Lake Conroe, TX Thousand Trails we hitched the camper to the pickup and headed north on I45 to begin what we’ve called our “summer of 2013 adventure.” On the first of November, after six months of travel, we arrived back at Lake Conroe completing our big circle and concluding our 2013 adventure. All told we towed the camper about 4500 miles and, with all our sightseeing miles, etc. included we drove 10,000 miles. We’ve had a wonderful time and the adventure lived up to all our expectations.
In a few days we’ll leave Thousand Trails and move to a commercial campground located about midway between Houston and Galveston. That will be our “winter quarters” although we are planning on taking a month off somewhere along the line and head south for warmer temperatures and a change of venue…just because we can!
Here are a few random observations drawn from the past months of travel:
I like planning and organizing. Some fulltimers detest it. They want to hit the road in the morning not knowing where they will be that evening. If they are driving along and see something interesting along the way they change directions and follow their nose. That doesn’t suit us. We like looking at the map, planning the best route and knowing there will be a spot for us when we land at the end of the day. For budgeting purposes, I had planned our entire summer, at least in theory, before we left Conroe. With only a few changes, we followed that route and schedule all the way. We liked doing it that way and we’ll probably continue that practice in the future.
We like stays of longer than a week, but not as long as two weeks. My rule of thumb is that, as fulltimers, we are going to spend every night somewhere. For us, the journey is the destination so we are in no hurry. At the same time, we are out on the road to see things we wouldn’t see otherwise. The occasional one week stay was fine, but having to button down the camper and move every week, we realized, could become a bit of a drag. At the same time, we had some longer stays in places where it didn’t take long to see all there was to see. For those I mentioned above, it is easy to just move on. For us, with reservations already made, we needed to stay put. We’ve decided that, aside from nights when we are simply “in route” that we like stops of 10 or 11 days.
The most dangerous time for any RVer is arriving at a campground. As you arrive you are a bit tired and you are now off the highway and needing to maneuver campground roads. You are looking at campsites and trying to take it all in, and, then you are landing the big rig. There are tree limbs and power pedestals and ditches. All this combines to increase the likelihood that something bad will happen. Another of my new found rules of thumb is this: don’t let anyone talk you into trying to park the camper in a spot where you are uncomfortable. This applies to pick-your-own-site and assigned site campgrounds. Even if “people park campers as big as yours in that spot all the time” don’t do it if you have doubts. After all, when something bad happens, it will be you who will pay for the damage, not the campground. Happily, I learned the lesson without paying the price – but I came close; not once, but three times, and in the same campground!
When picking a campsite, take your time. Don’t think you have to take the first spot you come to. Find a pull through site where you can leave the rig and take a quick walk around the campground. We’ve learned to keep an eye out for the location of the dumpsters in relation to the campsite. Who wants to listen to the lid of one of those things bang all day? We’ve also learned to take the slide outs into consideration before backing in. A tight fit becomes no fit at all if the slide will hit the power pedestal when extended. If it fits it fits, even if it’s a tight fit. If it doesn’t, well, it doesn’t. It’s good to know that before you fight your way into the site. We’re still learning this one: unless you like a nice bright campsite, it’s wise to notice where the street lights are. We like to sit out and enjoy our portable campfire and watch the stars. Twice now, as darkness fell, we realized the campsite was flooded with light.
Let me provide a spiritual dimension to all this. For years Jackie and I have stopped just prior to leaving on trips to bow our heads and ask the Lord’s protection for our journeys. We have carried that practice into our RV adventure. Each move has started with a prayer of thanksgiving for our stay and petition for a safe, enjoyable journey. The Bible tells us that if we acknowledge the Lord in our lives that he will direct our ways (Proverbs 3:6). We have taken that word of instruction to heart.
Sunday morning Nazarene General Assembly: it’s about as Nazarene as you can get. A case could be made that a person is never fully “Nazarene” until they’ve attended at least one of these signature services. The 2009 version was no disappointment. The music was excellent and the sermon by Dr. Cunningham was a blessing. The big communion service was blessed. Tradition finally won as the congregation sang (yes, we sung and didn’t just listen to) “Holiness unto the Lord.” The music team resisted the temptation to “contemporize” it up by mixing in a praise chorus or by updating the rhythm. It was nice to hear the whole congregation join together in a well known song of the church. I’m okay with the more modern songs, but I really like it when we all sing unto the Lord rather than just standing and clapping and listening to the talented folks with the microphones do our singing for us. Dr. Cunningham brought us another patented GS story telling sermon. It was fun to listen to and was quite inspirational. In preparation for communion we recited the Apostle’s Creed. If you like old fashioned worship, you would love seeing the church embracing this nearly 2000 year old Christian ritual! The hall was, I guess, around 80% full. That’s a lot of people, over 22,000 were in attendance. That means it wasn’t close to being the biggest Nazarene crowd ever…but that’s a lot of Nazarenes in one place at one time. Additionally, we’re told that there were over 6000 streaming internet connects. I can only imagine that that number will continue to grow. In 10 or 15 years we may have as many participants off site as we have on site.
