rv lifestyle full time

August 23, 2020 by Julie Chickery Leave a Comment

6 Years Full-Time RV: Lessons Learned

We can’t believe it has been over six years since we moved out of our 2,400+ square foot home and into a 44′ fifth wheel RV! In honor of this anniversary, we wanted to share our top 6 lessons learned and a couple of regrets.

We’ll share more lessons than regrets, because honestly the full-time RV life was really great. The few bumps in the road along the way made for good stories, and we were always able to correct course when needed.

Tune in below to watch this two part video series.

Don’t go yet!

Click one of the hyperlinks below to learn more about:

Why we’re traveling full-time in an RV.

How to find the means to live the life of your dreams with our Full-Time RV Finance.

Sean & Kenny’s podcast, Beyond the Wheel, highlighting the people & products that make RVing great.

We'll share our top lessons learned after six years of full-time RV living and traveling. These tips will help full-time RVers, as well as those who take extended trips or snowbird. They are applicable to all types of RVs from the largest motorhomes and fifth wheels to vans and tiny trailers.

May 28, 2018 by Julie 10 Comments

Boondocking – What We Learned From Our First Dry Camping Experience

If you know anything about us, or have looked at our campground reviews you’ll know we are a little spoiled. We are glampers (RV Resort regulars), not campers. Actually we like to say we are LIVING in our RV, not camping. So what were we to do when we found ourselves in a no hook-up boondocking situation for 2 (long, very long) weeks?

Boondocking aka Dry Camping

If you haven’t heard the term before, boondocking refers to camping without hookups (power, water, sewer), and is also called dry camping. It is very popular in rural areas, thus the name boondocking.

We have started using a program called Harvest Hosts where you can stay for free at farms, wineries, breweries, and golf courses.

Our RV Equipment

First off since we don’t boondock, or even stay at partial (gasp!) hookup sites, we had to work with what we had. Folks who do this regularly have installed things like solar panels and composting toilets or other water conservation methods. We have an Onan gas generator and fairly large water tanks. In preparation we bought a portable poop wagon (more on that later).

Lesson #1: Don’t Do It In Texas in Late May

While it may not officially be summer for another month, we had highs over 100 degrees on several days. It was HOT! While we can run two air conditioners in our Fifth Wheel on the generator, it burns a lot of gas! We thought we were going to get away with just using a battery operated fan, but not in that heat. Friends tell me that boondocking in temperate climates is much more enjoyable.

Lesson #2: Lead Acid Batteries Aren’t The Best Choice For Boondocking

Your lead acid batteries may have a 100% charge, but you can’t use it all. In fact, it is not recommended to deplete them beyond 50%. If you have a residential refrigerator like we do, you might want to upgrade. We upgraded to Lithium BattleBorn batteries and couldn’t be happier! Secondary to this, we learned that our inverter can only power the refrigerator. This meant we had no other power source while sleeping and no means to charge the batteries. So we also upgraded the inverter and converter. Below is the first of a 4-part series of videos on our power upgrade.

Lesson #3: We Use A Lot Of Water

One of the most inconvenient parts of boondocking or dry camping is the lack of a water source. You can get an additional water bladder or just get an RV with larger tanks (like we recently did). Luckily our first foray into boondocking was at a county fairground, so we were able to fill our fresh water tank when needed.

We were warned that daily showering uses a lot of water. In fact, I’ve read several articles from regular boondockers that forgoing the daily shower is helpful. Not for us. We like our daily showers. In fact, I sometimes take more than one a day. For example, I shower after my workout/walk every morning. One day we went to the lake in the afternoon, so I showered again before bed. I did employ one technique for my showers that I don’t normally do. Some folks call it a “navy shower” where you get wet, turn off the water, lather up, turn back on the water to rinse. I didn’t love it, but it seemed to help a little.

I also filled up a bucket with the excess cold water while I was waiting for the water to warm up. Then we used that water to flush the toilet. i

Lesson #4: The Water Has To Go Somewhere

Access to fresh water is not the only reason to conserve. The other reason is that all the water you use has to go somewhere. We purchased a Thetford SmartTote2 Portable Waste Tank for this particular camping adventure. We used it once and didn’t love the process. Dumping from the RV into the portable system was simple, but going from it to the dump station sewer drain was not so easy. When you lift the hose show in the image below hose, there is no valve holding back the flow until you get it in the drain.

We should have watched this video from Exploring the Local Life first. Robert explains how to overcome that particular challenge.

Will We Do It Again?

It really wasn’t so bad, and I think if we did it for a shorter period of time in a more temperate climate, we might even enjoy it. We’re going to take baby steps and check out some Corps of Engineer campgrounds with partial hookups.

UPDATE: WE DID IT AGAIN (AND AGAIN). CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE LESSONS LEARNED AND TIPS.

Recommended Products To Improve Your Boondocking Experience

These are affiliate links, meaning if you purchase anything we will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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April 30, 2018 by Julie Leave a Comment

Update the RV Kitchen – Backsplashes & More

If you’re planning to remodel your RV, I’m sure the kitchen is on the list. For most of us traveling in RVs and campers, the kitchen is basically in the same space as the living room so it is important for it to look nice. In this article I’ll share the changes we made to the kitchen in our Fifth Wheel, as well as ideas from others.

Easy RV Kitchen Remodel Ideas

Backsplash

For most tiny RV kitchens, the backsplash becomes the focal point and ours was no exception. I had been considering what to do with mine for some time. One idea that was done really well by RV owner Barbara Rodriguez is using Smart Tiles.

My Backsplash

I was trying to decide which color to get when I saw my friend, Lisa Brown’s backsplash and fell in love! Click here to see it as well as a step-by-step guide on how she created it. I followed her lead and painted thermoplastic panels from Home Depot. Watch this video to see how it looks in the kitchen.

Countertops

I just love the cozy farmhouse style of Mountain Modern Life‘s RV kitchen!

One of the things they did to achieve this look was to build custom countertops out of flooring. They completed this upgrade in 2016, so I recently asked Katie how the countertops held up over time. She replied, “We are still really happy with our kitchen counters! My only recommendation would be to go with a higher grade of flooring. We went with the cheapest and while it’s held up okay, it would have been easier when putting it together and I feel like the higher grade was smoother. Also, we do need to re-oil the counters every 6 months since we sealed it with Tung Oil. Of course it can be sealed with something other than tung oil–it’s just important not to let water or condensation sit on the wood counters.” Watch the video below to learn more about this project.

And check out these faux marble countertops from Gypsy and A Pirate!

Click here to see their tutorial on how to make them yourself.

Paint

I painted over the wallpaper in my RV kitchen and painted the backsplash (as you can see in the video). Many folks also choose to paint their cabinets. If you decide to go that route, click here to read 9 Tips for Painting RV Walls and Cabinets from RV Inspiration. You can also get a free Quick Start Guide to Painting Your RV Interior using the same link.

Organization

We all know that one of the best ways to make your RV look good is to keep it organized. I was fortunate that my RV came with a built in spice rack. To make it look a little more polished, I just purchased matching spice jars and put all my spices into them for a more uniform look.

If you don’t have a built in spice rack, consider following this tutorial to make your own magnetic spice wall from RV Inspiration. Here’s a photo of the finished product.

Need Help? No Problem!

I’ll be the first to admit that decorating is not my strong suit. That’s where friends and Pinterest come in handy.

I’m really fortunate that I was able to spend time at the same campground as my friend, Lisa Brown of Always on Liberty. She recently completed the most amazing Interior Makeover of her RV, and agreed to be my design consultant.

Another great place to find inspiration for your RV remodeling efforts is Pinterest. I created an RV decor board to help me keep track of things I like. There are many great tutorials that provide step-by-step ins instructions on Pinterest as well.

Finally, another terrific resource is a website called RV Inspiration. It is full of ideas and projects to help organize, decorate, and renovate your RV (motorhome, Fifth Wheel, travel trailer).

Have You Seen The Rest Of Our Remodel?

Click the links below to watch our progress.

Planning An RV Remodel

Painting Your RV Interior

Updating Your RV Window Treatments

RV Organization & Storage Ideas

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