In the past year, my wife and I drove our 1994 coachmen RV to 49 out of 50 states. Being a younger RVer at 23, I had a lot to learn about full-time living in a motorhome. Most of the lessons came in the form of minor setbacks (like our rig being struck by lightning in South Dakota or breaking down in the middle of the desert in Arizona). However, I wouldn’t change our experience of driving around the country for anything.
Broken down in Williams, AZ
Exploring Alaska
The original plan was to begin with one year of traveling; we’ve now decided to continue living in our RV for the unforeseeable future. While I could easily compile a list of 100 lessons I learned this past year while RVing, I settled on just nine of them I wanted to share with you.
- RV’s aren’t just for retirees. I met tons of people on the road who were working while they traveled (even with families).
- Don’t park your RV on a hill—coils on the back of your propane fridge might blow up.
- It’s not as crazy expensive as I thought it would be. In fact, my wife and I learned how to travel full-time for less than $2k/month (here you can view a breakdown of all of our expenses).
- Always carry an extra sewer hose in case you accidentally break yours while dumping the tank.
- Never go without coffee, toilet paper or wine.
- Some of the best places to stop and eat are rest stops overlooking a lake, ocean or mountain.
- Being in a small place with my newlywed wife actually helped us grow closer together, not apart.
- Working from an RV is much better than working from an office (believe me, I’ve tried both). A view of the mountains is beats a view of the vending machine any day.
- RVing around the country should be flexible and not every route should be planned to the tee.
Like I said, I could have made this list 100 things I learned, but then it would probably have to be a book or something. If you’re reading this, I’d love to know some things you’ve learned while traveling around the country in your RV. Leave a comment below as I’d love to hear from you.