My Experience living and Traveling in an RV for about a month and a half
..
The advantages-
~ OOOH so much less to
clean. I really love this aspect. I used to spend at least two days a
week mopping my white kitchen floor and doing other deep cleaning. Also, everyday
I had to spend time doing dishes and cleaning up.
Not anymore. Yes, there is a lot of dust from
campgrounds, but we could get this place sparkling clean in about a half an
hour. (It probably helps a lot that the only toys the kids own now are
their Legos, bikes and “books”.
~ Being in close
quarters with my family, I know that this might sound
weird, but I have enjoyed us all being “forced” to spend time together. No one
really can go off and be their own island, which would often happen at home.
The older kids would spend hours in their room doing homework or reading. They
still spend hours reading and doing school work, but now I can actually SEE
them and interact with them more, because they are right there next to me.
 |
| Shelby and Ally on the Russian River Healdsburg Ca |
~ The world as our backyard- We
may have a small living space, but we sure do have a large “backyard”. There is
always something new to explore ,and I loving doing it as a family. No more “
What do you want to do today??” questions. There is always something to do or
see.
 |
| Paul Bunyon in Klamath Ca |
 |
| Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield Ca |
 |
| A the TOP of the light house in Battery point Ca ( Actual Light next to them , sooooo fun!!) |
 |
| Collin being a Jedi in Jedediah Smith National Redwoods, where filmed Star Wars
~ Life simplified - No sport practices
to rush to, music lessons to make, no play-dates to organize, overall less
demands on my time. I am still tired and the days still fly by, but I feel like
my fleeting time is spent on the most important things. Investing in my kids
and our family. (none of those other things are inherently bad , but a brake
from them is a bit freeing)
The stuff is simplified as well, like the kids
only owning Legos to play with, we have way less clothes to wash, less cooking
wear to store and clean. (There simply is no room, so it makes it super
simple to simplify) ;-)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The disadvantages -
~ I will state the
obvious “a home on wheels”
Just imagine everything you own, traveling down the interstate at 55 miles an
hour. Before we leave from each site its like we are preparing for a
good-ol’ southern CA earthquake. Everything has to be locked down. You really
don’t want heavy books from the cabinets above the couch falling on kids
heads. (Not that I would know) :-/
~ Travel time- l am
lumping a lot into this one, as each of these can be seen as a
disadvantage. The time it takes to hook up a car to a car dolly, the time
that it takes to “dump”, yeah if you have ever lived in an RV you know what I
am talking about. The time it takes to fill an RV with gas, the time it takes
to put all your out side gear away (chairs, table, water hose, electrical
plug) All this is totally doable and we work as a team, but we have
yet get out of “doge” in the time we anticipated. It always takes
longer.
~ Making beds- It’s like a yoga class gone terrible wrong. All sorts
of body contortions and stretches with the opposite of peace and
serenity.
~ Close Quarters with my
family - yup, listed in both advantage and disadvantage. It is
difficult not having space to go and talk to my husband without ten little ears
listening to every word. And where on earth do you stick a kid for “time-out??”
We all need a bit of “my personal space” and in our case it really is a “BIT of
space”
Yah, we are making it work, but it can pose a
challenge.
~ Sickness spreads like
the plague- nough said!
Note- no matter how much time and effort you spend on
organizing your RV so that everything will be in just the right place, along
the way you will have to move things around and get rid of even more, or
replace things with more realistic items that take up less space.
-The list is slightly longer for the disadvantages,
but that shouldn’t fool you into to thinking that the advantages don’t out
weigh the later. It is worth it and it is a great, fun adventure.... thus
far.
 |
