1001 Ways to Camp | RV Life

What’s the best way to live your life on the road?

Ask a question on any forum and you will get 1001 different answers. So, which way is the right one for you? There is no right or wrong answer. What works for one person or family will not work for another. You will NEVER have all the answers before you set out on your RV life. Even when you are a seasoned RVer, something will happen or come up that you didn’t think of before. You can only start a checklist of what you need (not want) to get you on the road.

Is it a travel trailer, 5th wheel, Class A, B or C, or a truck camper? Let’s not forget the oldie but goodie cheap option of a tent. Upscale it to a pop-up tent trailer. The options are endless to get out and adventure. So where do you start?

We started with tent camping. When my children were younger and as a family who loaded the truck with bikes, it was our thing, a tent was the cheapest and best option. We spent a lot of time setting up and tearing down. It was a process. Then as my children grew into adults and I grew into my older years, it became a quick NO. I’m too old for this. The comfort of a bed and sleeping off the ground with some sort of protections from the elements became an important checklist number one. We upgraded to a tent trailer. Still a bit of a process for set-up and tear down. It worked and fueled my desire to make life on the road a reality but wasn’t quite right.

The hunt continued for the perfect for us way to travel. I had my heart set on a Class C. The ease and accessibility I felt would be the best option for us. The price point was a big roadblock. During the pandemic the price of a Class C was $70,000 plus. It was ridiculous. It derailed my dream of life on road, but I didn’t give up completely and I kept searching. It took a couple of years for the economy to calm down from the pandemic high for dealerships. I finally reached a point I couldn’t wait any longer. My determination was to live a life on the road, and you CAN live on the road several different ways. For me, it was do it now with whatever you have. We have a mini-van, I thought this could work. I started looking at ways to convert our van into a comfortable option for travel that didn’t require hotel rooms. I started purchasing what we needed; mattresses that folded into chairs and looking at ways to create a kitchen area, and we could use the tent to create an outdoor living space but sleep in the van. There was the obstacle of how to fit three dogs and us in the van for night-time and I did get a little discouraged, but determination was winning. This was going to happen.

Twenty days before our launch date, it was a Friday. I checked RV trader dot com and there she was, our Class C and the price point was perfect! It was in Arizona; I was two hours away. I didn’t care. I called them to inquire if it was still there and if I decided to purchase what would be required for a deposit to hold. Questions answered and we set out for a drive day. The decision was quick – it was everything we wanted. Checklist completed. We bought it and I have zero regrets. There isn’t anything about our Lazy Daze I would change.

You have to have the mindset to make your adventure life on the road happen with whatever you have and don’t give up. Just go!

During our travels and my observations this past year I’ve seen some fancy set-ups with all the bells and whistles, some thrown together set-ups, and not fussy set-ups.

The fancy set ups I refer to are the massive fifth wheels, sparing no cost on every detail you would have in your home, that goes for the Class A motorhomes too. Then you have the I bought this for next to nothing and you are surprised it even travels down the road, let alone they sleep in there? Then you have the not fussy ones. They bought a rig, didn’t do anything to it and that suits their bare minimum needs, and they are in it for the experience and not having all, but some, comforts of home. I say, start with the not fussy program first and see what works for you and progress or grow as you go.

What is the right rig for you?

Depends on how you want to travel. What you can live with and without. Such as a separate vehicle. Are you the type of person who has to go out a lot? Are you comfortable with towing a trailer? Or do you prefer the Class B style where you can go anywhere, anytime without any restrictions? Don’t forget to factor in the most important aspect of RV life – how much can you afford? The bigger the price tag, the bigger the cost to run it, maintain it, park it, drive it, and live in it.

I have to be honest; I think the massive 5th wheels are ridiculous. I get wanting all the comforts of home and the space, but to drag that around the country doesn’t make sense to me. Too many limitations. That is where the difference between me and maybe you come into play. People ask us all the time how can we live in such a tiny space with three dogs, no slide-outs, and no tow vehicle? Simple. I wanted a simple life and we both wanted to travel that way. Set up takes about ten minutes combined inside and out. Wolf does the outside, I do the inside. The dogs, they all have their spaces. The two little ones have their spots they prefer to lay and hang out, Sasha she is all over the place. Having the larger dog does get tight. We are constantly moving around her. But the beauty of it she spends a lot of time outside with Wolf, and she goes on several walks and has run time throughout the day. So, when she is inside, she is usually chilling out or napping. For us, it’s really not that big of an issue to justify a larger rig, that would cost more money and limit us to a certain camp style.

Are you on vacation?

The one important aspect of full-time life on the road is to remember that you’re not on vacation. Every day isn’t a cram packed itinerary of theme parks and exotic or unique locations. You have down days, travel days, errand days, and even the ones you don’t want like mechanical days. A mechanical issue can sideline your plans and you may have to stay in one place for a week or so waiting for a part to arrive. Weather can factor into how days and travel days are spent. When it’s pouring down rain or high winds. Sitting in one place inside for a few days will more than likely happen.

We are homebodies who are perfectly happy hanging out in our camp space. It’s the location. Location changes are probably my favorite aspect of RV life. I get to experience what it’s like to live at the beach, in the mountains, and in the desert. Visiting small towns, local businesses and the culture in different areas of the country. It’s more than reading about it on the internet or watching it on YouTube. Everyone will have a different take away memory and experience.

Cooking and grocery shopping

Cooking is another question that is asked a lot. I’m not a prepper, we prefer to cook everything. To me, warming up the prepped foods takes the same amount of time as cooking fresh. Once and done. Also, most of the time you need to microwave prepared meals. I store paper plates in our microwave, and it is rarely used. Plus, it needs shore power or the generator. We do a lot of dry camping without hook-ups. We love cooking outdoors when the weather permits. Outdoor cooking on the Blackstone grill is so easy to clean up. We have a one burner butane if needed, but rarely use it. For inside, I love my cast iron skillet and that is normally the only pan we use. They are easy to clean and have multiple uses.

We cook and grocery shop the same on the road as we did in our sticks and bricks home. At the beginning of the month, I do a big shop and about two weeks later a fill in shop. We don’t eat out, maybe once a month. It’s a treat.

Menu options are endless

You’re not limited to burgers and hot dogs when you are RVing. Watch several top chefs and you’ll see many of them cooking outside. My favorite quick go to on the Blackstone is chicken fried rice. You can cook all the ingredients on the same grill, and at the same time. I use a chopped chicken breast, a 90 second rice bag and frozen peas and carrots. You can cook the rice and frozen veg, just add water during cook time. During the frying process the rice and veg absorb the water. In the cast iron one of our favorite quick meals is chili. Yes, we add beans. Hahaa. I didn’t even know this was a thing until a year ago. Really? Eat it however you want.

Planning your trip

This is a process that gives me a headache. I have mentioned this before, I don’t plan. I tried to preplan for this season, and it just doesn’t work for me. I plan the route and the points of interest, but the places to stay, that is where I get frustrated. I don’t think people realize the options you have when it comes to camping. There are so many places you can park up for the night. Once you are out on the road you start to see it’s not that big of a deal. There are always options. I use the app Campendium (not affiliated, for reference only). I use the free version and it works great! Put in the location you want, and you’ll see a ton of options free and paid, you can tap on the icon and check out reviews, locations, photos and cell service. The websites are listed for rules and updated pricing. We have a few “strikes” against us when it comes to certain campgrounds. With the app, I can browse through options quickly and find the ones I will avoid due to restrictions. There are a lot of apps you can use, Campendium works best for me.

There is an app RVLife Pro. It is a paid subscription service that you can do trip planning. For routes, gas stations, campgrounds and so on. It even has a budget section for fuel and mileage. I personally hated this app. It is not user friendly. It takes a lot of tutorials to understand how it works. Probably created and best used by millennials. Not my thing, maybe I’m old – but I don’t care for it, it might work for you.

I have a Good Sam membership (not affiliated, for reference only). The paid membership has a trip planner and I found this to be the best option for route planning and it also pops up campgrounds. I don’t use any of their “add-on” subscriptions, just the basic membership. I think it was $180.00 for 2 years? I honestly don’t remember.

Older rig, three dogs and breed restrictions

We have all three strikes on the FAQ list. I never gave it a thought when we decided to go full-time. I didn’t even think it was issue, and for us it’s not. For some it is a concern on making their decision. If you look online under a search engine for campgrounds you get a limited number of places to stay – you get the ones who advertise. Several of those will state; No campers older than ten years. No more than two pets. No dog breeds that have been labeled as aggressive. Well, our rig is twenty-five years old, 1999. We have three dogs, and one is a German Shepherd. With the three strikes you’d think we would have a lot of trouble when it comes to finding a place to stay. Nope, not an issue at all. KOA is my go-to when we are looking to stay somewhere that has hook-ups. We have only stayed on the west coast, and I hear the eastern KOAs do have restrictions, but for the western parts in the US the age, number of dogs and breeds are not an issue. State parks in the west also do not have restrictions on age, number of pets or breeds. These two places have worked best for us.

In closing

Don’t let not having the “perfect” camper stop you from getting out and exploring the RV Life. Whether you are camping, a part-timer or going all in full-time, start with what you have without putting yourself in debt. You learn and realize as you go with your needs and eventually what you want for traveling.

Have a great week and until next time, all the best from Teresa, Pets*Life*Adventure