Will The Real Diane Please Stand Up

Bill and I both agree we could easily live in the RV full time. We love the life; traveling from place to place, meeting new people, experiencing new things. But it's more than that. We're also discovering new things about ourselves and each other. It's like we're different people on the road.

I like to cook. No, I love to cook. OK, mostly I love to cook. Doing anything routinely can become tedious, and sometimes I run out of ideas. I do enjoy the experimentation, trying new spices and flavors, or attempting to duplicate a delicious restaurant meal at home. I especially like to take our favorites and make them healthier without sacrificing the taste. Not to brag or anything, but I'm pretty good at it. So, yeah, mostly I love to cook. But cleaning...uh, not so much. I don't like it and I'm not good at it. I do it because you have to clean. Right? However, it would never be something I choose. Or at least I thought so.

When we are camping I'm relaxed and happy. I take things in stride and roll with the punches. I don't get stressed out by things the way I might at home. And I clean! Willingly and regularly. I can't bear it if the stove top is greasy. The water spots on the stainless steel sink are intolerable. You could eat off the shower floor. Every mirror is gleaming. The bed is always made. The floor is always swept. Everything is put away, because I disdain the clutter. I keep the rig as close to pristine as possible. Most surprisingly, I enjoy doing it. Of course, this fact is not lost on Bill. Actually, he'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to notice the stark contrast, and he teases me about it.

You could say it's because I'm away from my everyday life, but it's not like I'm free of my responsibilities. I have my cell phone and computer. I am usually only a few hours from home. I still have to pay the bills, make sure our parents have what they need, that the condo is taken care of, etc. All the same stressors exist. I just seem to handle them better. I am like water, I go with the flow. And, for some unknown reason, I feel the need to clean.

So what is it that transforms me? Well, it's a mystery. One I don't feel the need to unravel. Why look a gift horse in the mouth? But it does beg the question - which Diane is the real Diane? Is it the occasionally overwhelmed condo dweller who would rather stick hot needles in her eyes than vacuum, or the laid back neatnik RVer? Perhaps I'll never know, but I'm growing rather fond of that easy-going RVer chick.

-Diane (or is it?)

I Could Do This Full-Time...

Willie Joe Billy Bob (my RV persona)

Even with the little experience I have RVing, I know I could do this full-time. I'm 61 years old but it makes me feel like a kid again. I enjoy the challenges RVing has posed: overcoming my fear of driving and parking the giant beast; learning the different systems; solving problems; fixing things; using my mind and getting my hands dirty. I love seeing this country and I'd love to see the whole, beautiful thing. Not to mention BBQ’s, a cold beer, and sitting around a campfire.

I don’t think I could just sell the condo and take off. Being the cautious guy that I am, what I’d like to do is rent out the condo for a year and give it a shot. We’d still have the condo to fall back on and have some help with the expenses. That’s what I’d like to do.

The reality of the situation is that Diane and I are both very family oriented and most of our family members are here in the NYC / Long Island area. I have 3 brothers – the longest drive to one of them is 20 minutes. My son and his family - including 3 of my grandchildren - are 2 blocks from me. Until very recently, my 96 year-old mom, was 2 blocks away as well.

Which brings me to the biggest reason we can’t just up and go – we both have elderly parents who need and deserve our help. My mom is currently in a nursing home after breaking her hip at the end of February; but we’re doing everything possible to get her well enough to go home. There are daily, sometimes multiple visits to the nursing home, trips to various doctors, and we try to get her out of there as often as possible – not to mention the insurance nightmares. Fortunately, the aforementioned big family helps – but, it’s a big commitment. Diane’s parents have health issues of their own.

So, like I said, we can’t just up and go whenever we want. There will be no full-timing. For the time being we’ll have to settle for short trips and a once-a-year, month-long adventure. Our parents are worth it. But we can dream…

-Bill

The Cupboard Was Bare

So, you've bought an RV. Congratulations! If you're part-timers, like us, then you are now the proud owner of a second home on wheels. The rig will come fully furnished, so there's that. But what about all the other stuff? Unless you intend to lug everything back and forth every time you hit the road, you will need to stock your RV with all the necessities, and it would be easy to spend a small fortune doing so. Because space can be at a premium you might think that RV specific items are your only option, but that's not true. No doubt some are practical and worth the cost, but in many cases there are inexpensive alternatives that will work just as well.

You could call me cheap, but I'm not. I will spend the money for a quality product if it's on sale. I prefer the term frugal, because I don't see the need to spend more than necessary. I don't see why you should either. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of buying and outfitting your RV. The lure of the specialty products can be hard to resist. I won't lie, I indulged at first, but soon realized that many were over priced gimmicks. I did buy nesting pots with folding handles, nesting kitchen utensils, nesting measuring cups with snap on caps...seeing a theme here?...a broom with a collapsible handle, an adjustable cutlery tray and a dish drying mat (the RV dish drains don't hold much and take up storage space. The mat is machine washable and can be folded and stored in a draw). I am pleased with all of them, but my favorites are the nesting bowls...there it is again...which includes a strainer, sieve and measuring spoons, and my ceramic knife set.

We also bought an ordinary cutting board, toaster, tea kettle, blender, small bath mat and bowl brush, pillows and bedding at a discount store. We use inexpensive covered wastebaskets for the garbage and recycling. We found lots of useful things at the dollar store, including silverware. We made use of extras we already had at home. Those towels that no longer match our remodeled bathroom now reside in the RV. That second microwave pasta cooker I got for Christmas now has a new home. My massive collection of food storage containers (a bone of contention between Bill and I) has been cut in half. I shop at one of those big box stores and pulled from that; sponges, paper towels and plates, plastic cups, shampoo and conditioner, soap, toothpaste, etc. Not only did I outfit the RV, but I uncluttered my house. Win, win.

Of course, your needs will be dictated by the size and storage space of your RV, but there is no need to break the bank. Splurge on the useful things, but buy quality (on sale, of course). Amazon and Walmart offer RV specific items at competitive prices. For the rest, discount and big box stores are a great resource.

-Diane 

It's Not the Tools...It's the Carpenter

So far I've set up and broken down the RV about a dozen times. I gain more knowledge and confidence each time I do it; but, it seems every time I set up, something doesn't work right.

I think I've gone about learning the rig as well as you can. We bought the RV from Chuck Neer of C. Neer RV in Equinonk, PA. Thank God for Chuck. When we picked up the rig, he took 2 or 3 hours to walk us through every component, system, valve, and switch. We weren't rushed and asked many questions. Even so, by the time the walk-through was over, my head was spinning. Thankfully, Diane and I had the good sense to videotape the entire thing for future reference. I've also read many of the manuals, talked to other RVers, and researched different things on line. But there's no substitute for experience.

On our maiden voyage at the end of February 2015, buried in snow and subjected to sub-zero temperatures, among other things, the battery froze, the heat wouldn't work, and we had problems with the electric system. (More on this misadventure in a future post.) Once again, thank God for Chuck. I tormented the poor guy with telephone calls for days. On one of these panic stricken calls, Chuck good-naturedly ribbed me by saying, "Wow! It's 10am and I hadn't heard from you yet. I was getting worried." On that voyage and subsequent trips I have found that invariably I'm the problem. I'm getting better but I have a lot to learn.

On our latest foray, I went with utmost confidence. We store the RV at the place where we were going to be staying, and they put the RV on the site for you. Just hook up the electric, water, and sewer and start having fun. Right? Wrong! I forgot to mention one very, very important thing - leveling the RV. Our rig has a "Ground 3" automatic electric leveling system. It's has a big button that says "Auto Level." Just push the button and watch it do it's thing. Right? Wrong! The guys who put the RV on the site manually pulled the pins and allowed the landing gear to drop to the ground. Long story short...you can't do that. The motorized portion of the jacks was maxed out and there was not enough stroke to level the RV.

This wouldn't normally be a big deal. Just hitch the RV onto the truck, raise the jacks, and start over. Right? Wrong! We drove 3 hours to the campsite in my pickup truck with 3 of my grandchildren, 5 bicycles, coolers, luggage, and NO HITCH. I had taken the hitch out to make room for all the stuff. I could have gotten the camp people to come back with their truck, but I managed to operate the jacks individually and got the rig pretty close to level (although the eggs did run to the back of the pan). So when I say to myself, "I've got this down. Right?'' Wrong!

-Bill

Making Room for Guests

On our most recent trip we had to find room for five in an RV that only sleeps four. We have a queen sized bed in the bedroom and a sofa bed in the living room. We could have added sleeping space with a convertible booth dinette, but we didn't care for the look. The sleeping area looked uncomfortable, and you have to convert it into a bed each night and back into a dinette each morning. It's a hassle.

Since its just the two of us primarily traveling alone, we opted for a free standing dining table and chairs. And, even though we planned to occasionally take along Bill's three granddaughters, we figured we'd come up with a solution when the time came. Well, the time came last week, and like all aspects of RV life, we had to get creative.

Our Actual Dining Set

We considered putting the girls outside in a pup tent, but if it rained or was very hot and humid they would be miserable. We didn't want that. We thought about having one of the girls sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag, but with the sofa bed open it would have been tight. We finally came up with the idea of putting the sofa bed mattress on the floor and closing the couch. Viola! Accommodations for three. Two slept on the floor and the third on the couch. It worked out beautifully.

If you're a couple like us, unless your having company, sleeping space is not much of an issue. If you're a family traveling together, it is. In this case, the booth dinette is an option. You might also consider bunk beds. They come in several configurations depending on the floor plan and size of your rig. They can be used as storage when not in use and don't need to be converted daily. But, they can detract from your overall living space.

My advice is do your research. Know your needs and learn what you like. Shop around. Look at all your options. You will be glad you did. And, when  you walk into right one you'll know it.

-Diane