By the Never-Bored RVers
When the flash of bright light hit us telling us that we were meant to become RVers, we knew next to nothing about recreational vehicles or an on-the-road lifestyle. It was, as the Classical Romans call it, a “tabla rasa,” a blank page ready to be written upon.
We did have lots of experience as tent campers, and we knew that we always looked forward to our next weekend get-away. Yet, our new direction was filled with mysteries and unknown expectations.
I’ll talk a little bit about the philosophy of being full-timers, but first, I think there may be a nugget or two of wisdom in talking about a few of the changes that we have made since first starting out in a recreational vehicle.
1) Most obvious is our rig. We took off in a 22-foot lightweight travel trailer, which we loved and actually met our needs, but after a year of jostling, it 
We pulled our first trailer with a Nissan Xtera. – but only twice. After that, we realized we needed something much beefier, so we upgraded to a three-quarter ton diesel. Sadly, we were forced to sell our Prius, because it is not designed to sit around waiting for our traveling days to end.
And now for the lifestyle changes:
2) Our pattern of staying one or two nights at a time in a site finally got old after a year or so. We vowed to stay a week or more in each campground in 2010 … it hasn’t worked out that way. From March 1 to October 7, we have stopped for at least one night in 80 different places (including 29 on our Alaska trip this summer). If you think that’s insane, we are inclined to agree.
3) We have come to realize that when we are driving through cities, our attitude changes as we pick our way along congested streets not designed for a 50-foot truck-trailer combination. Maps may help a bit, while the GPS often adds fuel to the fire. To overcome this, we keep saying, “Let get out of here,” and, of course, our temperatures rise more when we circle a block twice trying to find the end of the current labyrinth.
4) And speaking of the GPS, just mentioning it is a great way to get a conversation going at the campground.
5) We started RVing with a satellite dish perched on the roof that connected us to cyberspace and the Internet. We practically gave it away and now use a cellphone connection.
6) Since we have no permanent home, we changed our mailing address to a state that offers favorable financial benefits. Our car and RV registration is in that state.
7) We do all our banking and bill-paying on-line. We receive very little mail that needs to be forwarded.
8) After two incidents where bottles fell from high cabinets and broke on the floor of our trailer, we now keep them in low cabinets, not in the back of the RV, which takes the most punishment on bouncy roads.
9) We recorded all our CDs on an MP3 player the size of a cigarette pack. It works as well as the original CDs.
10) We began our travels with two 2000-watt generators. We rarely used both, so we sold one to a neighboring camper. We don’t regret the decision, except on a few days when air conditioning is needed.
11) One of Monique’s favorite benefits of our situation is that she spends more time reading fiction and non-fiction. My least favorite effect of our travels has been that I have to force myself to exercise instead of having the routine I had in my previous life.
Over the past four years, we have matured greatly in our understanding of what it means to have a different backyard every few days.
Many people we talk with – both RVers and hotel travelers — still don’t seem to understand the concept of not having a home, including the commenter to our recent rv.blog post who suggested that we should leave a lot of our stuff at home when we RV. Others can’t get over the concept that we aren’t weekenders — that when we take a journey toward a destination, we don’t necessarily have to get where we’re going, we can stay longer or leave earlier than planned. Or, we can move onward without a destination at all, just a direction.
Probably most Americans not only find that confusing, they think of it as unnatural. Despite being normal in-town residents all our lives, we took to this lifestyle immediately and haven’t had any desire yet of settling down again.
We continue to change our ways to make the most of our lifestyle, putting emphasis on comfort, finding new vistas and surrounding ourselves with nature. The magic ingredient for us — and we understand it’s not for everyone — is being open to change. That why we’re …
… the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.