My wife Chris and I are approaching the six-month mark in our short history of owning an RV, since October 15th, 2021. During that time, excepting hotel stays during both scheduled maintenance and emergency repairs, we will have lived full-time “on the road,” in a huge, fifth-wheel trailer. For two people who have enjoyed the comfort of brick and mortar homeownership, lived otherwise conventional lives, and frankly did next to zero “camping,” this has been a huge leap.
In the span of the last 6 months, we have stayed at 43 campgrounds, driven 10,062 miles, visited 15 states, and consumed over 1,400 gallons of diesel! We’ve slowed our pace of travel now, primarily to keep mechanical and wear and tear issues to a minimum. But when Chris and I look in the rearview mirror and think about everywhere we’ve been, our heads spin!
But, as we approach this anniversary, we are all in; excited about the adventures to come, but schooled and educated in RV living via hard knocks, unexpected failures, and considerable dismay at the RV industry itself.
We set out on this journey with a mission in hand. We established a foundation that gives voice to food insecurity and focuses on support to food banks in small towns across the country. The Rolling Help Foundation came together organically, as we plotted out our future a few years ago.
However, one of the first lessons we have learned is the recognition that our motto, “RV’ing with a Purpose,” is vital to the enjoyment of this alternative lifestyle, at least for us. Simply put, without the responsibilities of the charity which includes the effort we put into raising awareness, procuring donations from our audience, and occasionally visiting food banks, we might not find ourselves so committed to living in 450 square feet, in a fold-out fiberglass and metal shell, towing it behind a big-ass truck!
Just hanging out in campgrounds and picking up stakes, filling up the tank, and motoring on to the next stop, without any purpose, isn’t appealing to us and to plenty of other folks we’ve talked to at our many stops.
In fact, there is a population of an estimated 1,000,000 plus RV’s on the road that are full-time residences and many of those RVers are working full-time, raising families, like us – doing philanthropic work, etc. Of course, there are retirees whose “purpose,” is enjoying life. But they are more active and more engaged, typically, than if they were living a brick and mortar life. As many full-timers will attest to, we sometimes feel like maintaining an RV is almost a full-time job, in itself.
The second lesson we have learned, which is just as critical, is to manage expectations about all aspects of RVing. I’m referring to expectations in respect to the reliability and quality of our RV, our truck, the campgrounds we stay in, and even some of the destinations we go to see. Basically, prepare yourself to be disappointed, inconvenienced and in some instances, thoroughly ticked off. Then, if everything goes smoothly, you will be surprised – not the other way around!
When it comes to issues with our RV, we have quite a story. Check out our YouTube video on the subject, below. But in a nutshell, in these short six months, around just the third month, we had to trade our original fifth wheel for a new one. Not because our original rig was terminally inoperable or we didn’t like it, but because the RV repair and maintenance industry is totally on its ear. It is in crisis, it is dysfunctional and beyond frustrating.
The bottom line is that we discovered that a relatively minor electrical repair could not be addressed by our dealership for literally weeks and the parts required to ultimately fix it might not be available for 6 to 8 weeks. We opted to solve the problem in a bold way; we sold our Grand Design Momentum toy hauler back to the dealership and doubled down and purchased a top-of-the-line, DRV Mobile Suites Houston. A 44 foot, triple axle, 23,000-pound behemoth.
But it wasn’t the size that appealed to us. It was the quality of the build and the reported reliability that more than doubled our financial commitment to this adventure. We couldn’t sit around and spend crazy money on hotels and take-out meals, waiting for the repair of our original rig. So, we started over with a rig that we drove off the dealership in a few days and have been thrilled with since.
However, even with a brand new, $200,000 fifth wheel, problems still occur, and build quality isn’t perfect. In fact, the issues we have had all seem to track back to human error or neglect and could have easily been prevented. A mangled ice-maker water line that wasn’t placed properly in the slide-out; the hot water heater wasn’t attached to the floor and was just about ready to drop out the side of the wall, onto the roadway! Then of course the trademark trim pieces that cover the seam between wall-boards. It seems that just about every fifth wheel I’ve seen has suffered this issue that is so easily resolved with super-glue.
But, we must say that DRV has been incredible in terms of assisting us with repairs, advice, and reimbursement for having these repairs taken care of by mobile techs, along our path. And, they always seem to answer the phone and in fact, I’ve spoken to the same guy every time I call! Great customer service, compared to Grand Design, who literally took 6 days to return our call when the electrical system failed.
The buzz in the campgrounds, on YouTube, and other social media platforms is that RV build quality is simply put, crap, these days. It has become widely known that the manufacturers are delivering inferior builds to the dealers and the dealers aren’t doing their part in “make-ready,” before the units are delivered to new buyers. They prioritize getting as many units out the door over quality control. It seems that just about everyone who has purchased a new unit in the last 18 months, if not longer, has more than their share of battle scars.
It doesn’t take an engineering degree or a deep, analytical mind to figure out why this is happening! The volume of new unit deliveries in the last two years has doubled and the manpower to fix and maintain, not to mention build, has likely only increased by 25%. If the same were to occur in the auto industry, it would literally be a threat to our national security. We would have a broken transportation system.
Then we have campgrounds…
Campgrounds are in short supply and while there are some new locations and expansions of existing campgrounds are underway, the supply hasn’t come close to expanding at the same rate as new RV ownership. This has played a significant role in elevating frustration and disappointment for those caught without reservations at the park of their choice.
This is especially frustrating to those of us who haven’t dared “boondock” yet. And yes, I know that’s a wonderful experience…but we prefer a hooked up sewer line, 50 amps of shore power, and awesome water pressure into the rig! Maybe we’re spoiled, but it’s a matter of choice – and we have so far navigated the landscape, ensuring that we always have a decent space.
These are the challenges of RV life. There are more, of course, like – don’t get me started on wifi and connectivity issues! However, the pros far outweigh the cons, in our book. Imagine living life and being productive, but being able to hook up your home to the back of a truck and moving hundreds of miles along the open highway, and landing in a beautiful campground, along an iconic coastline. Or in the Yosemite Valley. Or next to the Kentucky Horse Park or Big Bend area of Texas.
Cuz we have!
It’s an alternative lifestyle. It’s not an escape. While we get to keep in relative constant motion, we still have bills to pay, and groceries to buy, and keep up with the news of the world, and communicate regularly with family and friends, and rent movies, and bathe regularly, etc., etc. All the things of modern life…
We just do it without the restraints of brick and mortar life; tied down to a certain community or state.
Stay tuned to our future adventures as we will soon be touring Arizona and then back to Texas, the Gulf Coast, and then into sunny Florida for the holiday season and beyond. But all the while, we will be managing our foundation, maintaining our 10 ton, rolling home, and doing all the things you do in your daily life.
We just move around one whole helluva lot, and love it to death!
Please consider donating to Rolling Help, which is an approved 501C3 charity, so your donation is tax-deductible. Also, please subscribe to our YouTube channel, which also helps our mission!
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