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

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.

In the meantime, please Share this post with your friends on Facebook so more people can learn how to RV full time.

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.

Fell free to Share this post with your friends on Facebook by clicking the “Share” icon to the left. And as always, please comment below, we’d be happy to help you full time rv in any way we can!

If only picking an RV was as easy as picking your horse...

April 2011.

Full time RV family…almost ready to pull the trigger.

Palms…sweating.

Checkbook…present but still in its fuscia-colored, pocketbook holster.

Dad…feeling like he’s gonna hurl.

Mom..supremely confident.

Kids…somewhere in the RV showroom hurting each other.

There we were, standing on the precipice of the largest rolling tin-can homestead decision of our lives…

How to Buy an RV if You’ve Never Gone RVing

Did I tell you we have never really RV’ed before? But there we were in the RV showroom about to put a big wad of cash (actually just a big check with zeros at the end of it) down for a brand new Chapparal 330 FBH Fifth Wheel..

We went RVing once up to Maine in a “Class B” rental RV.

It’s called “Class B” because that is what it actually is. Have you ever seen a “B” movie? It’s kind of the same thing.

We really hated it. Too small, too bouncy, too cramped. We were miserable.

Well, actually Jen and I were miserable…the kids thought it was like a big playhouse on wheels.

Having said all that, deciding to RVing full time is a curious way to see the country, especially if you consider our less than stellar track record of success.

Extended stay hotels were considered. Camping was considered.

In the end, RVing won out.

How to Go RVing When You’re Not Really Sure If You Want to Go RVing

When we made the decision to go RVing to realize our ethereal dream of “location independence” (inspired by Timmy Ferris and his memorable book The 4-Hour Workweek), we knew we wanted to travel, to be free, to be released from the chains of location….

Sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it?

By traveling in the Class F, we had kinda figured out what we didn’t want.

That was good.

Sometimes, its better to know what you don’t want before you know what you do want…

So we got the huge Chevy 2500 Diesel behemoth truck and the bigger behemoth Chapparal fifth wheel instead because no other RV fit our style, plain and simple.

And this is what you need to know when you buy and RV:

Know what you want.

How to Pick The Right RV For You

Close your eyes.

Come on, close your eyes.

Are they closed?

Ok, now imagine yourself in an RV.

You have been traveling for 11,000+ miles.

Every ten or so miles the kids start shouting “Are we there yet” or “I’m staaaaaaaarving, when are we eating?” or “Can we got to McDonalds?” or “I gotta go to the bathroom!”

Now, think of you.

• Are you claustrophobic and anger-prone?

• Are you mild-mannered and calm?

• Are you on Xanax and Percocet and just don’t care?

If you’re the first one, then a Class B (or less) is not so good for you. If you’re the second one, then a Class B may be good for you.

If you’re the third one then you may need to seek some counseling…

However, if you’re like us and have businesses, two kids and a short fuse, then you need more space.

If so, a fifth wheel RV is the way to go. No question.

Plus you have a truck to travel to the local Starbucks with too…(don’t haul the fifth wheel there…parking is a bitch!)

Don’t Try to Be Perfect Along The Way to Full Time RVing

What we found out in or Maine debacle is that the Class B just didn’t fit our style.

We absolutely hated being in the same unit we were driving as when we were living. For most full timers, this may sound crazy. But for us, it was essential.

If you are looking to buy an RV, you need to know this for sure.

We also work from home, so we needed space away from the kids to get some semblance of peace so we could work uninterrupted.

Without realizing it, we had actually made our first RV buying decision. We knew we couldn’t go with a Class A or a Class B.

So despite a painful disaster in Maine, some wisdom rose from the ashes of that first fateful trip. If we were going to go, we needed a trailer…and a big one to haul all our stuff.

And boy do we have a lot of stuff. We have books, computers, a guitar, toys, a practice drum set…the list goes on and on.

So when we decide full time RV cross country, we knew we had to get a fifth wheel and a big truck.

First big RVing full time decision…made.

So before you make the big decision on which RV to buy before you go full time RVing, do what we did. Make some mistakes. Go on a tleats one trip in a rented RV. Figure out what you don’t want.

In doing all that, you’ll figure out quickly what RV you do want.

He wasn't singin' about a city when he wrote this classic schmaltz...but this full time RV guy is.

I keep singing that Barry Manilow song over and over in my head…

“Looks like we made it,
Left each other on the way,
To another love…”

For a guy whose  idea of soft rock is Metallica’s Black Album, this is quite a departure, needless to say…

My usual songs that wake me up in the morning are more along the lines of Alice in Chains, Van Halen, Staind and most recently thanks to my axe man buddy, Rich Sossone…Ozzy Ozbourne.

But since we arrived in San Francisco after RVing full time across the U.S. coast to coast for the past four months, I can’t get that song out of my head…

And I also can’t help but thinking about the last four months on the road as the most influential four months of my life.

And now that we’ve made it to California, I can’t stop thinking about the two opposite ends of this country and how I love them both almost equally.

The Full Time RVing Goal Realized?

I always thought of the end goal of our full time RV trip as “making it” to California and San Francisco specifically…hence the silly Manilow song rattling around in my head all week long.

We did make it to California.

Holy crap! We did actually make it to California!

And we did it driving a full time RV I honestly have no right in the world to be legally operating with my drivers license.

It was the last 250 miles that I thought we may actually not “make it” white-knuckling it up one side and down the other of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in a eight ton behemoth teetering from one side to another, tipping ever so slightly on the 7-10 percent grades…yikes.

Thank God I had Tom Brady and the Patriots on XM to keep my mind off the impending doom.

Total tally of 11,000 miles RVing full time across this great country of ours.

And so many memories and stories to tell.

Full Time RVing and Barry Manilow

The second half of the Manilow song really tells the story though…

“Left each other on the way to another love”…he croons.

The “other love” is not another woman (I think it was for ol’ Barry…although not sure on that one either…if you know what where I’m going here). But for me, it’s the city of San Francisco and the “left each other on the way” is our wonderful home back in Sagamore Beach.

I’m sure the old king of 70’s schlock, now Las Vegas strutting Barry wasn’t singing about being pulled between two places 3,000 miles from each other when he sang his ode back in the mid-70’s, but I am when I sing it…

(Don’t worry Jen, there’s no “other TRUE love” here aside from you baby!)

The "real love" RVing full time in the Bonneville Salt Flats

I could have titled this post “The Tale of Two Cities” but I think someone else had already thought of that one.

The point is that San Francisco is a city I have always wanted to live in for a long time. Its the most beautiful, culturally diverse, varied, majestic, just plain cool city in the United States (sorry fans of Boston and Chicago).

Jen and I were fortunate enough to live in the city of Boston for nearly three years and when we knew we wanted kids, we decided to sell the ultra cool downtown South end condo for the quiet, family-friendly confines of Sagamore Beach.

The day we sold that condo though, something died in me.

My love of the city has always been there ever since that day. And I vowed some day I would live in my favorite city in the world and that city is San Francisco. So here we are…

The "other love" on the West Coast....

Looks like we made it….

Please comment below or better yet….Share this post with your friends on Facebook…we make it easy, just hit the “Share” button just to the left of this post.

Most of the time you have a lot of fun RVing full time (like here in South Dakota), but sometimes there are bad things too

If you are RVing full time cross country, you may want to think about some bad things, but some of these problems are fixed by money. I will tell you here what those bad things are about living in an RV full time.

1. Hitting Stuff in Your Full Time RV

Some times, if you are not careful, you can smash up the RV. In our case, we crashed into a gas tank.

That happened to us in Billings, Montana. My Dad was going forward and the rear of it smashed the gas tank. Then we had to pay the man who owned the store and gas station. That was no fun.

2. RVing Full Time Can Be Expensive

Lots of times, if you are not careful, money can be a problem, especially when paying for gas. Some times gas costs over $150 to fill up the gas tank and you use gas a lot!

Our truck uses diesel and that is even more expensive.

Campgrounds can cost a lot too. Some cost 50 dollars + a day. So if you are full time RVing, save your money!

3. Stuff Breaks in an RV

If something breaks in your RV that is a problem. One time our awning broke in a wind storm in Wisconsin, so we got another person to fix it but it cost money. It cost over five hundred dollars to fix it.

Our insurance covered most of it but we had to pay some money anyway, which really stunk!

So my Mom and Dad recommend if you go RVing full time, make sure you get insurance for your RV.

So RVing is lots of fun for sure, and I really like it a lot, so much I may actually like it more than being at home at times. But if you are thinking about going cross country in an RV, its important for you to know that there are bad things that happen too.

Please try to make the best of these problems and just deal with them as best as you can.

Please Share this with your friends on Facebook – there is a button on the left of this post you can do that with. Your friends may want to know about what bad stuff can happen when RVing full time too!

If you share this post with them, then they will know too!

Friends we made RVing full time in Iowa at a museum. It was easy!

Some people think that when you are RVing full time that it’s hard to make friends. We used to think that too, but now we don’t.

As a kid, you may miss your friends at home too. But to solve the problem, all you need to do is just write postcards, e-mail, Skype or call your friends. When you do that, it makes it a lot easier when full time RVing.

So for all those kids who are worried when they go live in an RV full time, that they might be lonely or they may not be able to make friends, me and my brother Alex put this list together to show you that it is actually easy to make friends when RVing full time.

1. Go to Where Other Kids Are

Usually, you can find friends in swimming pools and fun places at the RV parks.

I would recommend KOAs as the funnest campgrounds and best places to meet kids.

They have pools, playgrounds and other stuff. Although my mom and dad say they are more expensive, it makes it easier for us to make full time RV friends.

Me, Alex and Nick at the KOA in Springfield, IL in the pool!

2. Don’t Be Shy

Please don’t be shy! The butterflies won’t  fly if you don’t make friends (that means that you will be lonely if you don’t at least try).

But always be yourself! If that means being a little bit goofy, then that’s OK. But don’t try too hard, just be you.

One time in Jackson Hole there were kids playing soccer. We asked them if we could play with them and they said yes.

Sometimes all you have to do is ask the other kids to play and they will say yes!

So be brave and be friendly.

Us 3 swamis in Wisconsin (Dyllan, me and Alex)

3. Tips if You Are Shy

If you are extremely shy and you have a brother then ask him to ask the other kids to play for you. If you don’t have a sibling, then just wait for them to come as a last option.

But the best thing to do is just go over and start playing. You don’t even have to ask them sometimes!

Plus, with kids in RV parks, they all miss their friends like you so don’t worry, they are missing their friends and want to make new ones too.

Alex playing old time baseball with a bunch of kids at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit

4. Share

After you make the acquaintance, make sure to be kind and share things with them. If there are people that want to play, let them play!

More acquaintances for you and more friends!

Alex and Dyllan trading baseball cards in Minneapolis

5. Be Mindful of the Little Kids

If there are little kids, make sure to include them too. Also, if your playing a game, make sure not to always win. Do your best, but don’t make it like you have to win everything.

However, if you are playing for a team of kids and its a really competitive game, its ok if you play your best and try to win.

Me, Alex, Ridge and Maren rock climbing in Jackson Hole, WY

6. Always Say Goodbye

When you are leaving the place you met your friends try to see them again and remember to say bye. If you can get your mom and dad to exchange their emails or if they live close to you, their addresses so you can see them again.

We met some kids in Idaho that actually live only 30 miles from us back home! I can’t wait to see them when we get home.

Alex and Spencer in Great Falls Idaho. Spencer and his sister Ella only live 30 miles from us at home!

Me, Ella and Ella's mom Carla in a museum in Idaho

So in conclusion, it is easy to make friends when you are full time RVing. If you are worried about being lonely, then don’t be. We were at first when we went in our RV full time, but we have met so many good friends, now we no longer worry about it at all.

So as long as you take the first step, you will be fine. Plus meeting new friends makes your full time RV trip a lot more fun!

Please “Share” this post with your friends on Facebook by clicking the “Share” button to the left – so other kids who want to RV full time can learn what we have learned!

And as always, please comment on our blog below as well. Alex and I interested to see if you have any tips on how to make friends we may have missed!

Thank you!

One of the "paint pots" in beautiful Yellowstone National Park

Back in September of 2009, one of the things that cinched the deal for us to go full time RVing was watching Ken Burns’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea series on PBS.

Once we saw it, we were hooked. We had to take the plunge and go full time RVing – and the places we had to see were many of the parks highlighted in that series.

Although we joke now that watching that series late night is the surest cure for insomnia known to mankind…it is an awesome series. A bit long in the tooth, but awesome nonetheless.

We loved the Ken Burns series so much it inspired us to go full time RVing.

Apparently, we were not alone. In fact, after that series aired on PBS, the attendance at America’s National Parks, especially the ones that received the majority of exposure in the series increased by nearly 25 percent! And since then National Parks have become even more popular places for RVing full time families and tourists to visit.

With good reason too..

They offer incredible scenery, lots of history and tons of opportunities for outdoor activities like hiking, biking and sightseeing. You may even see some really cool wildlife like buffaloes, elk, moose, bald eagles and so much more.

The next full time RV Christmas card shot?

The best part is that while most national parks charge entrance fees to enter, on many occasions during the year they waive those entrance fees. This offers full time RVing families excellent opportunities to see the parks gratis…on Uncle Sam. These kinds of deal usually occurs after the busiest seasons in the summer time, so they are worth it to look for because these times of year are often the best times to see the parks as well.

If you visit an area that contains many National Parks, like the southern Utah / northern Arizona area, which contain no less than seven national parks and monuments in a 500 square mile radius, you can get the most bang for your buck and see some incredible sites in the process.

Before we started RVing full time, we visited that area and saw the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Canyon De Chelly, Vermillion Cliffs, The Petrified Forest, Monument National Park and Zion National Parks all in just over a week’s time.

The best part about it was that we just so happen to hit it just right as it was National Park Week – and all our entrance fees were totally free, saving us nearly two hundred dollars!

So check out the U.S. National Park Service website and look for weeks in which they offer this awesome deal. For example, this coming Veteran’s Day weekend on November 11-13 is 100% free. Quite a deal.

Take this great opportunity to see these beautiful destinations and save a few bucks in the process. So if you’re living in an RV full time or you are just planning a trip and want to see the awesome beauty of our country’s National Parks, take advantage of the savings and see some amazing sights in the process.

Please Share this post with your friends on Facebook so they too can learn how to save a ton of money when visiting our National Parks!

Awesome! Go celebrate. Pop that bottle of Veuve Clicquot you’ve been saving way in the back of the fridge.

When you wake up from your hangover, its time to get to work….you now need to decide on a few things on your RV full time trip.

Here’s a few key points you’ll need to consider:

1. Timeframe

This is the biggest decision you’ll make after making the actual decision to full time RV. So ask yourself:

• Is this full time RV trip forever?

• Is it just a summer excursion?

• Is it just for a full year then back to reality?

Whatever it is, this is the biggest decision you’ll need to make when full timing.

Why? Because this decision will affect all others in planning your full time RV trip. It will affect where you go, what you can see and what RV parks you can stay in, just to name a few.

2. RV Campsite Length of Stay

Once you decide how long you’re full time RVing, then consider how long you want to stay at each spot.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you like to set up, do a quick tour of the local area and get out within a couple of days?

• Do you like to unpack, stay a while and call it home for a week or two and get to know the area as a local?

3. RV Accessories

Time frame will also determine which RV accessories you’ll need as well.

Do you need to get your RV supplies along the way in each location or do you need to pack them ahead of time?

4. RV Driving Time

A major factor many full time RV families don’t think of is driving time between destinations. For us, we decided that we didn’t want to have to drive more than 5 hours driving per day. We stuck to that in all our planning and we’re glad we did.

5. Special Events

Next, factor in any special events that you have to get to at a certain time and day. This will seriously affect your schedule. Perhaps Uncle Ed’s 90th birthday in Dubuque is a must be at event you cannot miss. If so, factor it into the time frame and schedule.

For us, whad a U2 concert in Chicago we had to get to by the first week in July. We had to rush our way through the Eastern U.S. to make sure got there in time.

6. Trips Back Home

Maybe you need to plan a trip home for a “visit” in the middle of your trip. Before our full time RV trip, we planned a return home for November for business meetings and a family function.

Also, plan on unplanned events in your schedule. We needed to come home in September because my father became ill. This was an unplanned return home, but a vitally important one.

7. Fluff Time

Lastly, think of any unplanned “off the itinerary’ stops you may want to make. For example, we were in upstate New York and saw the Fuller Glass Museum, but couldn’t stop because our RV schedule wouldn’t allow it. We regret that we couldn’t hit this museum due to the fact that the schedule was so tight. This is a big mistake many full timers make.

So make sure you build in some “fluff time’ into the itinerary and always plan on unexpected stops to enhance your full time RV experience.

Doing this will keep the family fresh and make your full time RV trip so much more enjoyable.

So learn from our mistakes and a few of our good decisions when you’re planning your full time RV trip.

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So are you ready to go full time RVing? Post your comments below!