Travel limits today

Steve and I regret missing the trips we had planned during the Covid years, especially to visit family members. We are now back to cruising and on the road in our RV trying to catch up for all that lost time!

Short road trips are fun

We were the best COVID campers but are now enjoying the freedom to go wherever we choose without serious worry for our health.

Purchasing an RV

Purchasing an RV can be just as big a deal as buying a house! The process depends on how big or small you want your RV to be as well as the features you want your RV to have. We spent at least two months searching, researching, hunting, deciding, choosing, eliminating, adding, and wondering.

Selecting an RV was hard work and we were overwhelmed at times by the choices and decisions. We ended up purchasing a used Class C motorhome from an individual located through RV Trader and are, so far, two years later, we are very happy with our purchase and met some delightful people in the bargain.

She’s ours!

A very short list of the most essential and first items to consider when purchasing an RV are:

• Budget?
• What type of motorhome or trailer? Class A, B, C motorhome, towable pop-up, van, towable trailer, towable fifth-wheel, towable toy hauler?
• How large or small do you want your RV to be?
• Do you want a specific floor plan?
• What physical size do you want your RV to be?
• What is your vehicle’s towing capacity if you choose a towable RV?
• Where do you plan to store your RV when not in use?
• Don’t forget insurance.
• Accessories.

We hired a professional RV inspector early on in this process to inspect an RV we were considering buying. Based on his information and recommendation, we chose not to purchase the RV he inspected.

We gained an incredible amount of information from this one inspection about what to look for and be aware of before making an RV purchase. I created an extensive checklist to refer to when purchasing a used RV, loosely based on our inspector’s information.

Click here to see my RV buying checklist of items to consider when you are ready to begin shopping. We both highly recommend hiring a professional inspector before you make an RV purchase.

Maiden Voyage in our RV

Our RV (needs a name, doesn’t it?) was purchased about three hours from home, so we planned to stay overnight at a small RV park about two hours from home to try it out. Our first adventure began when Steve attempted to hook up the water, electric, and sewer connections.

He discovered a large hornet’s nest right where these connections were! Our RV adventure got started with a bang! We drove 15-20 miles to the nearest community to purchase insecticide to destroy the nest. Back at the RV park, Steve cleared up the hornets, got everything connected, and we settled in.

We soon discovered that “someone” had not packed bath towels! Sheesh! Fortunately and strangely, I had four extra pillowcases, and they worked just fine as towels. We were off to a terrific start, right? Please see my, I have learned from my mistakes, RV packing checklist here. 

First REAL trip

Double Lake Recreation Area

We returned recently from a two-night stay at Double Lake Recreation area near Coldspring, Texas. This forested RV park is a beautiful, peaceful spot that has a small lake with a swimming area. RV and tent camping are available here as well as fishing, picnicking, and hiking.

We spent two pleasant days and nights comfortably with nature all around us. Our dogs, I have to admit that we were so eager to have with us were not overjoyed with our trip. Our larger Shih Tzu, Tank, was incredibly curious and did not enjoy being on a leash all the time.

He’s used to roaming free in our yard. Lilly, our older and smaller Shih Tzu, was not terribly “on board,” either. Lilly is very timid and scared easily, but I believe both of our dog children will adjust and eventually embrace the RV life.

Tank did enjoy cooling off in the lake during one of our walks.

Things to know

• Transportation. We chose a motorhome over a trailer or fifth wheel so we had to decide how and what vehicle to tow behind our RV for our transportation to get around after we arrived at our destinations. We first tried out towing my car on a car dolly. It was really just a lot of weight and we now flat-tow a Jeep.
  
• Internet. There are three main ways to stay connected while traveling with your RV. You can, at some expense, put together a satellite setup, use Starlink, use your cellular data plan, or use a surrounding Wi-Fi connection. Research all your options, but still be aware you may find yourself without Wi-Fi service somewhere along the road.
  
• Gas expense. Whether you decide on a motorhome or towable, you must take into consideration that your gas mileage will not be good. We have recorded our gas mileage at this early stage in our RV travel at just over eight miles per gallon.
  
• Have a plan. I love the idea of walking out the door with the dogs at our sides and taking off, so while having a plan is not easy for me, a plan is necessary. During the summer months, when so many RV families are taking vacations, you will find that advance reservations are essential at most RV parks.
  
• Budget. As with everything in life, you have to create a budget of how much you plan to spend at overnight parks, attractions, food, gas of course, and other incidentals that always crop up.

Hurricane Preparedness

Ike left our home in shambles.

We are not entirely new to RV life, and once upon a time owned a 30′ travel trailer. Steve and I live on the Texas Gulf Coast and always have to be ready for hurricanes between June and November each year. We used the trailer for recreation but its main purpose was as part of our hurricane evacuation plan.

We would drive it out west a safe distance and store it each year. In the event, a hurricane popped up and evacuation was necessary, we loaded our essential hurricane supplies in our vehicles and drove to our trailer which was already safely out of the storm’s path.

Our most famous evacuation was during Hurricane Ike in September 2008. This nasty hurricane nearly demolished our home, requiring us to live full-time in that 30′ trailer parked in an RV park nearby for nearly a full year while our home was being repaired.

Neither of us ever wants to repeat that experience, but it is a great relief to us to once again have an always-at-the-ready evacuation plan.

Where are we going?

I am beginning to plan an extended trip in our RV and expect to be posting tales of our RV escapades. We are not abandoning our international travel, but there are so many beautiful places to visit just all over the United States. Come along with us on this new grand adventure and learning experience.