Most of the things we saw there were about the American Revolution which my brother Alex is learning about  for fifth grade…so I picked up some tips for next year!

This is me sitting on Ben Franklins lap...I saw his toilet too!

It was really cool to see some of the same things that I have heard my parents talking about all these years.

That is RVing full time road-schooling at its finest!!

RVing Full Time in Philly

When we got to Philadelphia, we saw Independence Hall where our founding fathers debated  independence from Great Britain and the Declaration of Independence.

RVing to see Independence Hall - yeah! Independence!

In Philadelphia, they also signed the Constitution.

We also saw the Declaration House…it kind of a funny looking house.

Declaration House is kind of a half house...you see strange things RVing full time for sure!

That was the house that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. He wrote it almost completely by himself (with bit of help from Benjamin Franklin and John Adams).

As someone who has to write blog posts about RVing full time, writing a whole Declaration is a lot of work. Jefferson was smart, he had a soft voice
but could write really well.

We also saw The Liberty Bell too…

My brother Alex and I saw the Liberty Bell RVing

Also, when we were in Philadelphia full time RVing, I went to see Carpenters Hall.

The first Continental Congress was held there in 1774. I thought my mom was going to cry when she first went in and saw where it all began.

Mom was crying when she took this picture!

She loves revolutionary history.

If you ever go to Philadelphia full time RVing, make sure you go see Betsy Ross’s house too.

Betsy Ross was the person who made the first American flag and she had a contract with the first US government to make ammunition for the Patriot troops.

She ran her business out of her basement, just like my mom.

This wasn't in Philadelphia RVing but it was in North Dakota at Lawrence Welk's house in North Dakota....she dragged us there too.

She was a very smart business woman, just like my mom!

I also saw where Ben Franklin lived. You could almost feel his ghost directing us to the library, the post office, the fire stations…all the institutions he created that we still enjoy today!

RVing Full Time in Philly…Don’t Forget The Food!

My favorite part of visiting Philadelphia was when I ate a Philly Cheese Steak Sub with sweet peppers. It was delicious!

The cheese and juicy steak melted in my mouth.

Philadelphia was a blast!

If you like this post, please hit the Share Button to the left and share this with your friends on Facebook who may want to know about RVing full time in Philly.

A while back, Alex did a great job outlining the 13 RV supplies you must have when you go full time RVing.

Although that was an extremely inclusive list, there are certain RV accessories that a Mom RVing full time absolutely needs to make sure that the inside of the home runs as smoothly as the outside.

The iPad (here being used by Eli) is just one of the RV accessories a full time RV Mom cannot live without...

And all the kids get home schooled properly as well.

Although these may not be “traditional” RV supplies or accessories, like sewer pipes and stabilizers…they are absolute “must haves” when going RVing for any period of time or if you take the plunge and go full time RVing like we have for the past year:

1.  The Kindle

The first RV accessory you must have is the one that both saves you an enormous amount of space while actually helping your kids learn. A two for one as it were is Amazon’s Kindle.

On our first fulltime Rving venture. I packed four (4) HUGE plastic storage boxes of books…homeschooling books, reference books, favorite books, rving books…..these boxes took up 75% of the RV’s storage space!

Best of all, you can even borrow books on the Kindle at no charge!! Check out that feature here.

You see, I was totally against the concept of my children reading electronically.  I wanted them to read real books.  Well I was wrong!!
We were just lugging around too much stuff and when we got the kindle we realized four extremely helpful features for those full time Rving families:

• Enlarging Fonts: The Kindle (and with other electronic readers) you can increase the font size which was very important to assist one of my children in reading more fluently.

• Multiple Readers: If you purchase one book (at least from the Amazon Kindle store) every member of your family can read the same book on all your Kindles and iPads at the same time!

• Electronic Dictionary: Yes we make the kids look up all the words they dont know and this feature really makes it fun to do that and it doesn’t interrupt the flow of a good book.

• Text to Speech: (soooo cool!) This is truly helpful for reading in the back while the parents are driving,  pronunciation and also for tired eyes!

Note to all future full time Rvers…save your back, open up your storage space, help your kids out and save some money….buy a Kindle and although there are multiple kinds and versions…..the Kindle, Wi-Fi, 6″ E Ink Display only costs $79 at its least expensive of all of them.

If you must have the color while reading then buy a Kindle Fire or even an iPad ( see below).

Don’t forget to get the Kindle Light and the Kindle Power Adapter too. We really like the Kindle Cover with Book Light best of all.

2.  The iPad

Nothing  beats the Apple iPad.

Although we love the Kindle, the iPad is an essential tool when RVing. We have found it to be so useful for so many different tasks, including:

• Emailing work and friends - quick emails are easy on the iPad
  

• Facebook – check in on Facebook in a second or two…but not too much time there!
  

• Doing Quick Internet research – Google searches are a breeze
  

• Blogging - blogging and writing posts are simple to do on an iPad
  

• Thousands of Cool Apps – and hundreds you can use to assist in homeschooling

• Reading Books – backlighting makes it easy to read at night and so portable! ‘Nuff said!
  

• Working – when on the road when one of us is driving or with the kids, the other can be working away on the iPad

• And tons more cool stuff….

I love to read on my iPad in bed late night or early morning when everyone is asleep. One of the coolest things about reading on the iPad is I dont need to turn on a light and wake everyone up. That’s because the screen is backlit — but NOT harsh on your eyes at all. I also love to read on the iPad in those rare times when the RV is completely silent!

Also we have never let our boys have ANY electronic video games, no Nintendo, no Wii, no Xbox etc…

So the only video games they are allowed to play are apps on our iPads, kind of old school, but it works for us. This rv accessory especially comes in handy when we need a reward for an above and beyond task accomplished or on those super loooong days on the road driving through endless plains or cornfields.

And you don’t have to get the spiffy new iPad 3, the original Apple iPad (first generation) you can still get on Amazon for nearly half the price and they’re just as good.

We have both an iPad 1 one and an iPad 2 and although the Apple iPad 2 has a few more features, the original iPad suits our needs just fine.

However, if you are hell bent on getting the best and newest, then go for it on the Apple iPad 3. The screen resolution is really unbelievable and all the extra features are very cool.

When you get one, don’t forget to get a good iPad cover, especially if you get the older iPads, because they don’t come with a case.

3. Audible.com

Audible.comhas been a lifesaver!

I recommend you get your first 3 Months at Audible for $7.49/month and purchasing some downloadable audiotapes for the long rides ahead…we  love the Joy Hakim Series called A History of The US.  Joy Hakim  makes history come alive.

Other favorites are:

• David McCullough’s books are some of our favorites…and more classic books than you could ever possibly listen to in fifteen cross country trips!

• How to Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie – why isn’t this taught in school? As this classic book states, 85% of your succcess in life depends on how you interact with other people. In our case, we still have a few things to learn here. One of the best books on a subject that ever roadschooler (or traditional schooler) should read!

4.  The Trusty GPS

We’d be LOST without our trusty GPS while RVing full time…need I say more?

We highly recommend the Garmin nüvi 2455LMT as it is easy to program, has traffic monitoring in it and has multiple voices to keep the kids entertained.

We have our guide is an Australian and we call him “Brett”…for absolutely no apparent reason.

The kids and we always crack up when we miss a turn and Brett gets obviously upset and blurts in his mechanical Australian accent “recalculating”…endless hours of fun.

Most importantly, Brett gets us to where we want to go. And when you’re hauling a 6 ton behemoth fifth wheel, you don’t want to take the wrong exit or get lost…that could spell disaster.

The Garmin nüvi 2455LMT GPS has been a lifesaver for us.

5. Netflix

Netflix is a mom’s best friend for those nights when you just want to watch a chick flick and all the guys are watching sports or war movies!
You can get it on the iPad, which makes it a “movie for one”…a great escape for the full time RV mom.

Plus, the Netflix subscription is really cheap and you can get it for less than $10 per month when you click here.

Totally worth it!

Just think of all the space you save by not lugging all your DVDs on the road with you. That unto itself is worth the $10 a month!

6.   Mattress Foam Pads

Although, the foam mattress cover is not an electronic device like some the other RV accessories listed above, this is an absolute MUST for saving your back in the not so comfy RV mattresses.

You can certainly opt for upgrading this RV accessory and replace the mattress with one like the Sleep Number Bed for an RV, but the cheapest and easiest solution is to just get a mattress cover. Although we are mattress snobs, to a certain extent, this really works just fine and best f all is one tenth of the cost of a new mattress.

Of all the RV accessories we recommend this one is especially important for MOMs!  Since we have a full sized mattress, I like the Perfect Harmony Mattress Topper – Full, but if you have a Queen bed, go for the Perfect Harmony Mattress Topper – Queen.

And a must have considering your mattress sits on a plywood board in most RVs!

Where To Buy RV Accessories That Mom’s Need Most

When you’re shopping for RV accessories, Camping World has a great selection of these as well as has tons of other small RV accessories (links provided here). They are a trustworthy and reputable vendor to find many of your RV accessories.

We have long recommended Amazon.com (links provided here as well) as their customers service is amazing, returns are easy and the vendors they deal with pass a rigorous testing to be qualified to sell on Amazon. With either store, you can’t go wrong.

Both Camping World and Amazon.com ship out your RV accessories quickly and the customer service is top notch. We have even ordered supplies in advance, gave a forwarding shipping address of our next RV stop and then picked up the RV accessories when we got there.

How cool is that!

So that is the top 6 RV accessories a Mom must have (and for the Dads out there, seriously consider these as well to keep the wife happy ), although for you Dads, please refer to Alex’s post on RV supplies for more of the outdoor “manly” RV supplies that you must have.

Please SHARE this post with your friends on Facebook as there are so many people who are looking to both RV full time as well as just go RVing who would really benefit from these RV accessories that every RVer must have….especially Mom!

We loved RVing full time in San Francisco, here we are in front of "The Seven Sisters"

There were lots things I loved about RVing full time in California.

Because the state is so big, when you RV full time in California, there is so much to see.

But my brother Eli and I liked San Francisco the best, because we stayed there the longest. What made it the most fun is that we had our cousins there.

When you RV full time, you get to see many neat things and learn a lot of things that you never knew about before. And sometimes you just have FUN!

In this full time RVing post, Eli and I tell you about some of our favorite things about RVing full time in Cali!

1. Seeing Our Cousins Cobalt and Cypris (known as Cy Cy)

We went to the aquarium with Cypris and Cobalt RVing

We went of lots of cool places like the aquarium in Golden Gate Park.

At their house, Eli played Legos with Cobalt and Alex chased Cy Cy around.

2. The Big Sleepover at Cobalt and Cypris’ House

Alex and Cy playing peek a boo

In the morning at about six o’ clock Cypris woke up and started crying and Alex tried to put her back to sleep. But she kicked him in the crotch! Ouch! He then put her in the bed he was sleeping in and she was fine.

3. Going to Ghirardelli Chocolate 

Ghirardelli chocolate while rving full time was our favorite place to eat!

We went with our cousins to get sundaes and they were good!

Eli almost ate his whole sundae! Believe me it tasted good. It had hot fudge,whipped cream, and a chocolate waffle cone.

4. Playing Baseball with Alex’s Buddies at Baseball Field in The Marina

Here is the Baseball field I played baseball on

Alex met a bunch of kids on a base ball field. He ended up being very good friends with them.

5. Taking science classes at the Exploratorium with Ken and Cassie

RVing at the exploratorium was fun!

Ken and Cassie were great teachers, they were fun too! Cassie was project-based and Ken was just trying to make it fun.

Here is Ken in class with me - I am on the right

We learned a lot from Ken and Cassie at the Exploratorium, it is a must see for all kids (and adults too)!

Meet the Elements at the Exploratorium

6. Building Legos at Cobalt’s house and Making New Creations

Playing with Legos at Cobalts house was a lot of fun when rving full time

Eli made at least three Lego bases. They all looked awesome!

7. Having sodas at the Top of The Mark

Root beer for Alex and seven up with sweet and sour for Eli. The soda was really good, but they had a very long line. Plus to just get a table, you had to wait 30 minutes.

We pretended we were James Bond when we went to the Top of the Mark

Once we got in, we pretended we were James Bond…that was fun.

8. Walking Across the Golden Gate Bridge

The longest walk we did RVing was the 11 miles on the Golden Gate Bridge

Wow, I remember that long 10 mile walk! We did it with our cousins. It was the longest walk that I ever walked!

9. The Alcatraz Tour When RVing

Eli "in the hole" RVing to Alcatraz

My mom thought the Alcatraz  was scary, but I thought it was interesting and cool!

I enjoyed the boat ride out too…it was as fun as RVing.

Alex enjoying the scenery when rving full time and visiting Alcatraz

10. Lego Robotics and Lego Engineering Classes

Eli at Lego robotics class

They were extremely cool. You got to make your own robot.

11. Going to the Monterrey Aquarium with Ridge and Maren

We saw this shark at the Monterey Aquarium

Ridge and Maren are our new friends and the aquarium was awesome!!

We had fun with our friends Ridge and Maren at the aquarium!

12. The Epic Sock War on Alex’s Birthday

Right before the epic sock war battle RVing!

We had a sock war and our cousin cobalt cried because he got hit in the head by a sock! Sorry Cobalt, but that WAS funny!!!

13. Super Duper Burgers on Chestnut Street

Super Duper burger was awesome!

The burgers at Super Duper Burger were awesome and the pickles were homemade and awesome!!!!!!!!

14. Getting Frozen Yogurt at Yogorino on Chestnut Street

They were right, Yogorino is the best yogurt! 101% good yogurt they said.

15. Delicious BLTs at Fresh Bay Cafe

Fresh Bay Cafe BLTs were the best BLTs we have had RVing full time

These were the best BLT’s in the world.

16. The Pool War in St. Helena

We went to a big castle in St. Helena…

We went to a castle in St. Helena and it was cool

But the epic pool war we had with Oliver was the best. We threw plastic bags with water in them at each other. Oliver’s dad Tom played whiffle ball with us while my mom and dad went to a winery. We had fun at Tom, Shirley and Oliver’s house, they were very nice to us.

17. The Best Fish Ever at Fog City Diner

The Fog City Diner was awesome!

Even though it was only made with Bay Seasoning, it was awesome!

18. Riding The San Francisco Cable Car

We rode the cable car a few times and it was fun

The cable cars were very helpful because they got people up big hills. I liked that you could jump on and off.

19. Art Class With Cousin Kyle

Kyle was an awesome art teacher! Here she is before our epic walk over the Golden Gate Bridge with Cy

The lessons she gave us were very good – we got to paint and draw. Plus, Kyle was very good at art.

Well, that is our list of the best things we did in San Francisco when we were RVing full time. When you go RVing, make sure you go to San Francisco, its the best city (next to Boston of course)!

If you liked this article, please “Share” this post with your friends on Facebook so they can read why RVing full time in California is so cool – just click the Share button on the left of this post to share it!

Thank you

Alex and Eli

Me using some of my favorite RV supplies

Ever since I started RVing, people have asked me for tips on which  RV supplies I like the best.

I am not an RVing expert, but after RVing full time for nearly three months and being responsible for:

RV maintenance

RV security

RV sewer duty

RV trash duty

RV setup and RV breakdown duty

….and just about any other RVing duty my mom and dad can think of…

I feel I am somewhat qualified to give at least a few good RV supply tips!

When you are RVing full time there are certain RV supplies that you have to get the for the RV to work properly. If the RV doesn’t work properly, your neighbors might think you’re stinky, smelly or loud…but that doesn’t have much to do with this blog post!

After all I am 10 and I get a little bit silly sometimes!

So I have listed 13 absolutely essential RV accessories (my Dad helped me with that word )that you must have when RVing full time like us.

Here they are:

1. Chocks

Good RV chalks are very important so the RV doesn’t start rolling down a hill. If that happens, then your very expensive RV is wrecked and you don’t have a place to sleep.

Wheel Chocks are also used to stabilize the RV so it doesn’t sway when you walk in it. They are important needless to say!

2. Level

To get the RV level, one of the most important things in your tool box is a good level.

Also, if you need to move the RV in a certain spot you use a leveler. If you don’t have one all sorts of bad thing happen. For example your refrigerator many not work right and may get broken.

The one that we use is the Stanley FatMax Magnetic Level because you can put it on the back bumper and its magnetic so it sticks there!

3. Sewer Hose 

The sewer hose you get with your new RV really stinks! I guarantee you it will crack and leak as soon as you start using it. And you will step on it and break it just like I did (but I didn’t mean to).

To drain the sewer you don’t want to have a full black water tank spill out on you! To prevent this from happening, you want the hose to reach so you can you don’t bother your neighbors.

I recommend RhinoFLEX 5′ Extension Hose with Swivel Fittings, because it is so tough it won’t break. It is really tough. I have stepped on it many times and it has never broken. My dad has stepped on it too and he is heavier than me and it STILL hasn’t broken.

4. Disposable Gloves 

When you are dumping out the black water it is really gross! So you need really good RV Sanitation Gloves that won’t break but you can throw away after. These gloves are really tight on your hands so they keep out poop and all kinds of gross stuff.

This is what they look like:

The are the best kinds of disposable gloves I have found.

5. Extra Water Hose

You need to get an extra water hose because it really stinks when the town water hookup is too far from your RV. If it doesn’t reach, then you might have to re-park the RV. This is where you could use a garden hose.

To prevent this, always have an extra water hose on board!

6. 30 or 50 Amp Extension Cord

When you arrive at the RV park, set up and then try to plug in your electric cord but the electric box is too far away, this is a pain too. What can you do?

You could re-park the RV. Or you could have and extra extension cord just in case.

If you cannot get the electric into your RV, you would have to use your battery, but this gets drained quickly. So have an extension cord, they come in either 30 or 50 amps.

The one we use because its really tough is the Heavy Duty 30-amp 10 Electrical Cord with Handle.

7. In- line Water Filter

So you don’t spend a fortune on bottled water, you should always have an in-line water filter to get the water clean.

Its easy to hook up, just add it to the end of your water hose at the town water hookup.

We use the TastePURE CX90 Ceramic Water Filter because the filter lasts a long time and the water tastes great!

8. Inside Fan

If you need to dry something inside the RV, its good to have a fan. Also, think of a hot day and you do not have air conditioning, you need a really good fan.

I would recommend the Lasko 42-Inch Wind Curve Fan with Remote because it kept me cool all summer and it helps to dry my clothes sometimes.

9. Good Tool Box

You must have a good toolbox to fix stuff with. Stuff always breaks in an RV. Many people have a tool box back at home, but its good to get a tool box just for your RV.

You need the following tools:

• Wrench

• Hammer

• A really good 18-Volt Li-ion Drill

• A good knife

• Pliers Set

• Hatchet (for chopping up firewood)

• All-in-One Screwdriver

There are probably more tools you need, but those are the most important.

10. Lighter

When you’re RVing full time, you make lots of fires both to cook dinner and to keep away the bugs, so you need a good lighter to light all this with. Sometimes I use my flint, but when its wet it doesn’t work too well. You can also cook s’mores on an open fire too!

Plus you may need a lighter to light the stove in the RV too. I really like the Comfort Grip Lighter, it rocks!

11. Stool

In most RVs, the cabinets in them that are really high. I am almost five feet tall, but I still have a hard time getting stuff down from the higher shelves.

Get a Collapsable Stool to get stuff in cabinets. Also make it folds up so it can be portable and can fit in a closet.

12. RV Spare Tire

If you get a flat in your RV tire, make sure you have an extra wheel just in case! We nearly popped a wheel and were glad we had a spare tire just in case.

13. Jack

If you pop an RV tire, you need a heavy jack so you can lift the RV if you have a flat tire. I would recommend at least a 30 Ton Jack if you have a fifth wheel RV.

It would really stink to be on the side of the road with a flat but no way to fix the flat!

Just check the jack specs to make sure it is powerful enough to lift your RV.

We have the Torin T93007 30 Ton Hydraulic Bottle Jack. We haven’t had to use it yet, but it lifts 30 tons so we’re in good shape!

So that is my list of RV supplies you definitely need. Please feel free to click on any of the links or images on this page to get any of them for yourself.

And when you do click on any of the links or pictures on this page and you buy anything, I make a small amount of money!

Any money I make goes to my college fund…so I can’t spend it on Nerf guns though

Oh well!

Also, please hit the “Share” button on the side of this post and share this with your friends on Facebook. It can help them get good RV supplies too!

I just recently watched the movie An Inconvenient Truth by former Vice President Al Gore and it made a big impact on me because I saw many of the things Mr. Gore talks about in this movie while I was RVing full time this past summer.

Global warming is important to stop because there is no other place to go to live. It effects many people, wildlife, and habitats. There are also cleaner ways to make energy.  Global warming must be stopped.

RVing in Mitchell south dakota KOA, those guys recycled!

Recycling at RVing Parks

One of the things I noticed was that not a lot of RV parks recycle their trash. Many of the KOAs we went to ll across the country did not recycle at all. On my trip back home, I want to change this and talk to the RVing parks about recycling. I think this will help alot.

However, the KOA in Mitchell South Dakota had recycling. Those guys were cool!

Climate Changes while RVing

When we were RVing in the West this past summer, it was over 103 degrees in some places that have never been that hot before. This is a sure sign of global warming.

Global Warming Effects on Wildlife

Global warming effects wildlife in so many ways. It melts the ice that polar bears live on. It warms the water and as a result it is killing fish like Trout and Salmon. Global warming causes drouts and that kills plants.

When I was in Glacier National Park, I saw that many glaciers had melted because of global warming

I Saw Glaciers Melting While RVing

When we visited Glacier National Park, we saw that global warming had taken its toll. In 1910, there were over 150 glaciers there, now there are only 25. Many scientist think that all of them will be melted in the next 30 years. I am glad I saw them, but sad that they may disappear soon.

RVing and Pollution in Salt Lake City

Also, pollution is ruining the environment. People throw litter in the water and that is bad for the environment. This kills fish and coral. When I was in Salt Lake City, Utah RVing, the smell was awful because of the chemical plants around the city polluting. Also, there was lots of trash in the lake which is bad for birds and fish.

Other Effects of Global Warming

Global warming also ruins habitats like rain forests. The rainforests are over-populated by people. They are cutting down trees and that shrinks the rainforest.

Also, global warming effects the wetlands. We are draining all the water so we can build. We saw this in some lakes we saw in the West that are lower now than they were years ago. I saw this in Nevada and Utah. When this happens, the ground gets hard and animals that lived there can’t survive. Trees are also dying which creates less air and it effects the weather, the environment and us.

We Need to Use Cleaner Sources of Energy

We need to use cleaner sources to get energy; like using solar panels or wind turbines. We must do little things too like turning off the lights or car pooling and using hybrid cars. Plus pick up garbage when you see a piece.

These simple things will help save our environment. We can educate people to stop cutting down trees and stop littering. This is important to do because we can save our earth.

How Rving Full Time May Help Global Warming

When we are RVing in our truck, we use alot of diesel gas but we use cruise control to conserve gas. We don’t speed either. By Rving and not living in our house, we may actually be reducing our energy usage because we don’t use electricity which comes from power plants fired by coal. Coal is very dirty and creates alot of CO2 emissions and pollution.

I think I am helping the environment by RVing full time, but I am not sure. I will study this further. What do you think?

There are some people that still think that global warming does not exist. I don’t understand how this can be because I saw evidence of it RVing this past summer.

So please Share this post with your friends on Facebook by clicking the Share button to the left,  so that other people can learn more about global warming.

Thank you. Alex

Our very cool sandcastle RVing in San Francisco!

Have you ever gone to a sandcastle competition?

Not at a camp, but with adults who are architects and in San Francisco?

Well we have! And we did it our first weekend in San Francisco full time RVing when we got there.

It was awesome! We love San Francisco because there is so much cool stuff that goes on here.

We sometimes like it better than home although we do miss home. But building giant sandcastles makes it hard to miss home sometimes.

Making Giant Sandcastles When RVing Full Time

A sandcastle competition is a competition about sandcastles. The goal is for you and your teammates to work together to try to build the best sandcastle, while raising money for a good cause and being creative.

San Francisco schools sponsored the competition so kids can be creative. Leap is the organization that made it possible.

Leap raises money for schools so they can have art classes, which kids don’t have because the politicians cut out money for it…that’s what my Mom and Dad say.

That doesn’t make any sense to me…how about you?

Anyway, you can see all the pictures of the sandcastle contest here.

For our full time Rving sandcastle, we made an Angry Bird volcano with pigs coming out of the top and all the birds around it. It took us all day to make it, but we finally completed it right as the buzzer sounded.

Even better, we got a trophy for “Best Feelgood Sandcastle”.  Here is the picture of our sandcastle here. It was huge!

My Dad’s cousin Kyle was the emcee and she was awesome! Our cousin Cypris helped too.

How To Build A Sandcastle When RVing

Alex, Eli and Cobalt celebrating the masterpeice!

You might ask how we built this giant sandcastle? It was because we worked on a team.

First we put water and sand on top of each other. Then we stomped on it until it was compacted into a hard sand mountain. Then we  worked on the details like the nests, pigs, and birds.

It was our first experience in California and we loved it. We had a lot of fun with our cousin Cobalt, as well as with all the other people we made the sandcastle with.

This is just some of the fun kinds of things you can do while RVing while helping a good cause at the same time.

Please join us in helping Bay Area kids and “Like” this post on Facebook (you can just click the “Like” button to the left by the way, its really easy ), so we can all help support Leap!

Thank you!

Alex and Eli

Professional Sandcastle Engineers and Full Time RVing Kids

Before you hit the road and go rving to cool places like Chicago, its good to folow our 4 tips on how to pick a good RV campsite first!

So you’ve decided to go rving full time and you’ve already decided on your RV itinerary.

Your next step is to now start booking your RV campsites.

So get out the pen and paper or bookmark this post for later use because we’re going to give you 4 things you must know when picking out your RV campsites when full time RVing.

1. Know Your RV Specs

It seems kind of obvious, but you do need to know the dimensions of your RV. In our case its a 37 foot Chapparal Fifth Wheel. This means a lot of RV campsites are way too small for us; a good thing to know before calling around or looking online. Making sure the RV campsite will fit your RV is always a good thing.

Make sure you have the specifications of your RV you haven’t already bought, borrowed, or rented your travel rig, do it prior to making reservations. When booking your RV campsite you may need to know: type, length, number of pullouts, and the type of hookups that your vehicle requires.

2. Know What Amenities You’ll Need

A major thing to consider is whether you’ll require an RV park with certain amenities. We already told you about the importance of WI-FI when RVing full time or just plain RVing. Since my wife and I work from the road, this is absolutely essential for us.

As we discussed in that post, we do use and highly recommend getting either a laptop wireless stick like the AT&T GSM USB aircard or the Verizon USB AirCard. In addition to that, having the WI-FI at the RV campsite is a big plus as well.

We have really started to use the Samsung 4G Mobile Hotspot through Verizon and it works super well.

As far as other amenitities go, if you need cable tv and dont have a DISH or DirecTV, then cable hookup is definitely something to ask for.

Although in most new RVs, the antennae gets surprisingly good local TV signals. Its all high definition now so its high quality.

We actually watched the entire Bruins Canucks Stanley Cup final using local, air antennae signal, so for a guy who insists on a good picture when watching sports, that should give you an idea as to how good the signal is!

3. To Pull Through or Not To Pull Through

If you have a massive RV like us and are don’t have a background in 18-wheeler trucking, then “pull-throughs” at RV parks are a big plus.

A “pull through” is exactly what it sounds like; they enable you to “pull through” the RV parking space so you don’t have back in and risk taking out your neighbors brand new Ford Explorer that was parked just a bit too close to your full time rving campsite.

If the question is to pull through or not to pull through, take the pull through any day of the week. Even if it costs you $10 more per day, its worth it.

4. Check Out The RV Campsite Photos

Many campgrounds have photo sections on their websites. We found this a huge benefit when scouting out campsites on the web. Check out the RV campsite photos, or even better if they have a live web cam, this will give you a really good feel for RV campground in no time flat.

With photos or webcams, you can instantly see if the RV spots are spacious or cramped, if the site has is shaded by trees or if its clear cut or if the RV campsite just looks nice or dumpy.

You can also tell if there is a general store, maybe even a restaurant, along with essential RV amenities like laundry facilities or even a pool.

Photos will tell you a lot about the RV campsite very quickly…after all a picture IS worth a thousand words when RVing.

Before you go pick your next RV campsite, make sure you consider all these four factors first.

In future posts we’ll tell you even more secrets to getting the best deals on RV campsites all throughout the United States.

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If you’re RVing full time around New York City, then chances are you wouldn’t have a lot of connectivity issues.

But when you’re rving in places like Hungry Horse, Montana, these are spots not exactly known for their spectacular 4G cell service….

So because of that we have multiple backups to make sure we stay connected and are able to work even in the most remote locations.

RVing Full Time and Staying Connected

Unless you’re independently wealthy (we unfortunately are not), you have to figure out a way to pay the bills while you’re out on the road RVing full time. A few years ago, after getting The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris from Jen for our 9th wedding anniversary, I was inspired to start an online business with the ultimate goal of leading the “location independent lifestyle”…which is perfect for RVing full time.

Since we both work from home with our respective businesses, full time RVing was a perfect way for us to see the country, educate our kids, fulfill our travel dreams while continuing to work at the same time.

But when you work from the road, chances are pretty good that you have to stay connected to the Internet. As they say in the online world: no connection, no business.

Although it is an awesome device, the iPhone 4 will only will take your so far. There are going to be plenty of times when you’ll need to connect from your laptop or your iPad to get business done, not to mention stay in touch with friends and family to send cute pictures of the kids mugging in a big ear of corn….

So here are a few ways we recommend staying connected while RVing full time:

1. Get Wi-Fi at the RV campsite

If you are living the connected life, a major thing to consider when you are booking your RV campsite is ask the RV campsite about amenities like Wi-Fi. Since we both work on the road RVing full time, we made sure every site we booked had WI-FI, either paid or free. Whatever the cost is at the RV camp site, its totally worth it, so I would recommend getting it.

When you are booking your RV campsite though, make sure to ask them how strong the Wi-Fi signal is at your site. We learned this the hard way on our first RV campsite. So make sure you ask to get a RV campsite that has a strong Wi-Fi signal.

2. Get More Than One Aircard

The two biggest wireless carriers, AT&T and Verizon both have holes in thier coverage no matter where you do in the United States.

Although Verizon is ten times superior as far as coverage goes, we did find some spots where the AT&T signal was actually stronger than the Verizon signal (go figure). So as a result, we highly recommend getting at least two laptop wireless “sticks” as they are called.

We recommend both the AT&T GSM USB aircard or the Verizon USB AirCard.

Like I said, the Verizon wireless card will be more reliable, but you should have both just in case. Its that important email or proposal that you need to send out at the very last minute and then you realize you have no signal is the exact wrong time to realize you only have one wireless card. So get both the AT&T GSM USB aircard and the Verizon USB AirCard just in case!

3. “My-Fi” Is Your RVing Full Time Best Friend

When we first started RVing full time we used the Verizon AirCard a lot. But soon after we started, I found myself  using a different device to get online which I found even more reliable called “My-Fi”.

“My-Fi” is different than WI-FI in that its a way in which you can pull in an outside cell signal into your RV using a small  transmitter. Its about the size of a deck of cards and it looks like this:

The one we use (pictured above) is a Samsung 4G Mobile Hotspot through Verizon and it works super well. The signal is clear and reliable and we have been really happy with it.

Although it relies on the outside Verizon wireless signal to get its signal, it seems stronger than the Verizon wireless card most of the time.

4. Consider the Satellite Dishes (If You Can Afford Them)

One last way to get an Internet signal is go through either DirectTV or the Dish Network. These Internet signals are always bundled with the TV packages and are really expenseive. I have heard they are reliable, but I wouldn’t recommend them as we have not tried them.

We did look into the pricing for both systems; but between the equipment you have to purchase, the time to set it up at every RV campsite and the size of the transmitters, it just wasn’t worth it. That’s why we stuck to the wireless cards and the My-Fi.

However, feel free to check them out here though.

The RVing Full Time Connection

So when you are RVing full time and you absolutely need to stay connected, make sure you have multiple ways to do it. We receommend multiple backups for wireless signals, one from the RV park, the My-Fi and the two wireless carriers. It may seem like overkill, but when you get out on the road full time rving, you’ll quickly realize that it isnt overkill at all, in fact its just essential RV accessories for your survival.

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RVing full time

If you’re RVing with kids, it requires ALOT of planning. After all, you can’t just “show up” at Yellowstone National Park on the fourth of July weekend and expect for them to have a full hookup RV site for you ready and waiting for you.

So as much as RVing full time is all about spontaneity, getting away from the “structured life” , and “location independence”…when push comes to shove, you’ll need to do some research, planning and preparation.

The Most Important RVing Full Time Tip

The most important thing when RVing, aside from making sure you have enough gas to get to your destination, is far and away the choices you make for RV parks.

And the best way to make sure the RV parks you are thinking if staying at are not complete dumps, we recommend checking RV park reviews on the Internet prior to booking.

Another great way to get information on RV parks is to ask your friends and have them make recommendations as well.

You can also go to RV forums and ask questions on these RVing sites as well. Campers love sharing their wealth of information! If they enjoyed a campground, then ask them which particular area of that campground would they recommend that you stay in.

Great Full Time RVing RV Park Reviews

If you are like us a bit and are more prone to flying by the seat of your pants, go online and read the reviews.

One site in particular that I used constantly was www.rvparkreviews.com. Another great RVing full time review site we love to use is yelp.com.

Between the two of them, these are two of the most popular RV campsite review sites online and has hundreds of RV park reviews available to you.

Sometimes people give recommendations for neat things to do in the area, which will help you in deciding what to do once you get there.

If for some reason, you cannot find a good RV campground on either of those sites, simply search for the campground name followed by “reviews” and more often than not, you’ll get really good information to make your RV campsite choice easier.

RV Park Review Watch Outs

Now keep in mind that when you are looking up rv park reviews, there are always going to be people with nothng better to do who somehow find the time to write bad reviews. So if you see twenty great reviews and one really bad one, then there’s not need to stay away from that RV park.

If you see multiple bad reviews however, then you may want to find another RV park.

When we were RVing full time in Springfield, Illinois, our RV park choices were a bit slim. We Googled reviews and couldn’t find many RV parks that would fit our fifth wheel except one, the KOA in Springfield.

In the review online however there were four reviews, two good and two not so good ones.

But after reading all four RV reviews, the objections they had seemed so minor, we booked it anyway. We ended up staying at that RV park for five days and had a great time.

So if the objections are relatively minor, then chances are the RV park is just fine, especially if the pictures look good.

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At least this is the way me and Jen feel.

I’m never quite sure what the kids thought about living in an RV full time because sometimes they tell us they miss home, they miss their friends, they miss being at school.

So I wasn’t so sure about how they really felt about RVing full time until I stumbled on this picture in a big pile of stuff….

We weren't so sure if our kids thought the RV was home...until we found this drawing

I guess they think RVing full time is pretty cool too…and even a little bit like home.