We’re on the road heading back from the Life On Wheels RV Conference in Tucson. It was, as always a delight and joy to meet a wide variety of folks, all sharing the same dream. Life on wheels is one of the greatest programs around. Born out of a dream of Gaylord Maxwell, it has grown and expanded into 5 venues, spread across the country. It is a purely educational program, with a good healthy dose of fun thrown in throughout the event. During the opening ceremonies, Gaylord always asks how many are repeats, how many newbies, and how many have yet to purchase a rig?
It never fails to demonstrate a surprising distribution of involvement in this RV lifestyle. There are those who have been full timing for years and now know what they don’t know. They attend Life on Wheels with strong purpose and direction, and have many specific questions they want expert answers to. Life on Wheels specializes in experts, in such a wide variety of interests and topics. There are those who aren’t even sure this is the life for them, these are the cautious folks who plan ahead, ask questions and investigate first before making a decision. The classes offer a wide range of expertise and knowledge. The most frequent complaint is “too many classes at the same time” and I had several couples tell me they struck bargains, dividing up so that they could gain double information. One woman said to me indignantly,” My husband made me go to map reading, and he got to go to your class, that dirty dog.”
One thing that pleases me immensely is the commitment Gaylord has kept to preserving this as an educational venue. Although many of the presenters have product or are involved with products, none sell here, or make pitches for their product. All selling is done through the bookstore, which keeps the conferences from turning into the “slice and dice” vendor madness that characterizes many rallies.
In my field, health and fitness, there are a thousand scams and schemes that use health or weight loss promises to make a profit. Life on Wheels is a quality program, thanks to the unswerving sense of purpose Gaylord and his crew has. They defend education as the key to success in the RV lifestyle. The times are tough, the economy is not booming, gas prices are going up, and we’re not getting any younger, but thanks to Life on Wheels and the others who share the dream of exploring this wonderful country, of getting to know what America is really all about, it is still possible to fulfill your dreams. See you on the road.