... or at least we feel like graduates 🎓 By completing the following course "requirements" -- we are no longer RV newbies but rather joined the ranks of full-time RVers.
1. Today marks 45 days of living in the RV
Geoff moved into the rig on May 1st and I joined him on May 5th.
We currently have all reservations booked between now and October 1st, when we check into our new home in Keystone Heights, Florida.
While no lifestyle is perfect, I can honestly say we both thoroughly enjoy this tiny house living 💛
We have settled nicely into a daily routine. And we are learning to give one another space when we need it. Fortunately, Geoff prefers the outdoors, so the picnic table significantly increases our living quarters.
Even Hero is acclimating to the RV life.
Are we concerned about the price of gas?
Of course, we are. But once we reach Florida we can control how often we travel and how far. We may need to adjust our original travel plans but are thrilled to have the opportunity to call Florida home for a year. I'm sure we will find lots of adventures within a 500-mile radius, giving us the opportunity to travel while conserving finances.
2. We own a Jeep
We traded in our two cars (2012 Kia Rio and 2014 Toyota RAV 4) for a 2022 Jeep Gladiator.
Why is this significant?
Not only does this mean we are a one-car family (!) but Jeeps are the most popular car to flat-tow behind a motorhome.
While the dolly served us well in the beginning, we knew flat-towing would be easier and more convenient. The dolly was about a foot wider than the rig, which made for some stressful driving moments (especially in busy metropolitan areas like Dallas and Atlanta). In addition, we had to ensure campsites could not only accommodate Toto and the car, but also the dolly.
Flat-towing will allow us to tow the Jeep behind the rig using only a tow bar, which is easy to connect and disconnect. While other vehicle brands and models can also be flat-towed, they come with restrictions (either how far you can travel at one time and/or how fast you can drive). The Jeep has no such restrictions.
And the flatbed will definitely come in handy for extra storage.
3. We own a Honey Wagon
Also known as a poop wagon or a turd toter 😆 The official name is Portable Waste Tank.
Why do we need one?!
Most private campgrounds are Full-Hook-Up (FHU) which means they offer electricity, water, and sewer at each campsite.
But we prefer to camp at either State Parks and/or COE campgrounds (Corps of Engineers). These campgrounds offer beautiful scenery (often lakefront property) for a reasonable price.
In exchange, however, we rarely have sewer hook-ups available. So every three days or so, we have to empty the tanks (gray water and black water) at the nearby dump station.
Without the handy honey wagon, this requires packing up the rig, driving to the dump station, then returning to the campsite and setting up again. While it only takes about an hour, it is rather inconvenient.
With the honey wagon, we empty the tanks into the wagon (black tank first then the gray tank) -- attach the wagon to the jeep -- and drive the waste to the dump station. This method is significantly less time-consuming than our old way, although it does come with a slight learning curve 💩
While we don't pretend to know all there is to know about RVing, we have come a long way since our first trip in September. So cue the pomp-and-circumstance as we don our graduation caps. We are ready to proceed to the next educational level.
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