I’ve been asked about living as a full time RVer. Things like “Do you still like it?”, “How can you stand not having a house to come ‘home’ to?”, and “What’s it like living in your RV?”. So I thought that I would take this blog to answer these questions.
First of all, yes we still love our lifestyle. We have met some of the nicest people and seen some memorable sights since embarking on this adventure. The relaxed pace of life now is wonderful and I don’t miss the stresses and demands of a daily job.
“Are we ever bored?” There are times when I feel that I should be out “tinkering” or doing something, but I can’t say we’ve ever felt bored. There’s always something going on in the campground or around the various areas that we have stayed. We have access to internet and satellite TV, so we don’t feel like we’re missing out on anything. We do miss friends and family, but there’s this thing called Skype for the computer that lets us video conference with them and keeps us in touch.
Neither of us really misses our “stick and brick” house. While we really liked the “farm”, it took a lot of TLC. Living in a 40’ motorhome significantly reduces the amount of TLC that has to be applied. Housecleaning is a snap and doesn’t take all that long. You don’t have a yard to maintain and care for. Not to mention the difference in the hit to my wallet for taxes and such.
Which leads me to the last question. “What’s it like living in a motorhome?”. My first reply is, no different than in any other home. We have a living room, dining room, kitchen, bath, and bedroom just like a stick house. Our house just has the option of driving away if we so choose to. Our coach is 40’ long (outside measurements) and is about 8 1/2’ wide when folded in for travel. This leaves a narrow hallway between the drivers cockpit and the back bedroom. During travel, the passenger can get up and get something from the kitchen or go to the bathroom. For lunch, a quick stop at a truck stop or rest stop along the highway lets the driver get up and stretch. Fire up the onboard generator and you can run any appliance in the coach. This includes the heater or AC (depending on what time of year it is and where we are), the convection oven/microwave, and TV’s (We have an ‘in motion” satellite dish which technically means that passengers can watch TV while the coach moves down the road. For obvious safety reasons, the front TV is inoperable when the coach is in motion.) When we get to a campground, we have self leveling hydraulic jacks that level the coach and we have four slide outs; two in the front and two in the back bedroom. When these go out, we are about 15’ wide. This allows us to be very comfortable in what amounts to a small apartment. Hook up water, electricity, and the waste water system and you have a very comfortable home.
The view from mid-coach forward. The big TV is mounted up front. There is a DVD player up front that can play in any TV in the coach. There are opaque shades that can be drawn to reduce bright sun or for nighttime. As you can see from above, the shades even cover the front windshield.
Turning around on the passenger side of the coach is the kitchen. The four drawers in the foreground all pull forward to reveal an extension to the countertop. Along the wall, at the center of the picture is the mid-coach TV. It is smaller than the front TV but is the unit connected to the surround sound system. Not sure why Tiffin did it this way, but they didn’t ask me my opinion. The floor is ceramic tile, very easy to clean and care for after the dog comes in from her walk.
Across from the kitchen is the dining area. The refrigerator is a residential style unit. In other words, it is just like you would have in a stick home, with an ice maker and cold, filtered water. Tiffin added two batteries in the coach just to run the fridge while traveling. The dining room table doubles as a computer station and has drawers that hold the printer and outlets for the computers. The table can actually pull out and we have two more chairs that we can put out for guests. The couch to the right fold out to a full sized queen bed.
Behind the kitchen is the bathroom. On one side is a sink and the shower (with the curved glass surround). Above the shower is a skylight that can be opened or closed depending on your mood or need for light.
Immediately across from the shower is the toilet. Here, there is another sink and cabinets for storage. The window is frosted and lets in quite a bit of light.
The bedroom includes a queen “Sleep Number” bed. The closet is behind the mirrored sliding doors and holds our hang up clothing You can see the bedroom ceiling fan reflected in the mirror.
Across from the bed is yet another TV and dresser drawers The big closet on the right can hold an RV washer/dryer but we chose to put shelves in it and use it for more storage. The dog sleeps in her crate in the lower left.
And if 3 TVs are not enough, there’s a fourth one built in to the side of the coach on the outside (great for watching the races!). There’s also a large awning to protect you from the elements.
So, all in all, not a bad way to see the country.
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