How We Do Full Time RV Life
It has been almost two months now since Andrea and I set off on our new life of full-time travel in the Queen.
The number one question we get asked is, how we decide where we are going in the country and where to stay?
If you know Andrea, she loves logistics. So much so that her lists have their own lists 😊
I on the other prefer to play in my moment and thinking to far ahead causes me to lose that. Thankfully this balances us out, so we have fun but also adhere to a budget and travel plan.
Where we are going is what we call our “big rocks” in the calendar. They are usually work and income related activities that require us to be in certain locations on an exact date.
We place those in our calendar first, then book our travel around getting to those and what we would like to see and do along the way.
RV Trip Wizard is a mapping application we use to plan our road trips and research RV friendly routes.
For example, the first week of November we are teaching a course in Florida. We must make sure we arrive there a few days early to prep.
We then decide where we will be coming from and map out several routes. These are the factors we use in determining the route: gas prices, weather, things to do, and people we want to see.
As for where we stay, we have that primarily put into four categories:
The Queen parked along side the North Platte River outside Sinclair, Wyoming.
Boondocking – this is free camping, with no services, usually on Bureau of Land Management areas, or in National Forests. These usually offer very limited amenities, maybe a vault toilet.
This is what many of you would consider as your weekend type camping. We must be totally self-sufficient out there, filling our water before we head out and planning on staying put for a few days.
Boondocking is a great way for us to mitigate our fuel costs, stay on budget and really see some interesting landscapes.
A glimpse of Chickamauga Lake from Harrison Bay State Park in Tennessee.
State Parks – These cost money, but from what we have experienced are very affordable and do offer services like electricity, water, dump station and a bath house for showers.
The spots here are usually well spaced out and allow you to feel like you are still getting away from it all but with amenities.
We like these if we need to be around people for some social time and internet access for work.
Harvest Hosts – This is a paid membership (about $40 yearly) that allows you to camp overnight at participating wineries, breweries, museums, bowling alleys, golf courses and our favorite, farms.
We have really enjoyed our harvest host stays and have met some incredible fellow travelers as well as small business owners through this program. It is expected you make a purchase or support the small business hosting you for the night with a minimum of $20.
That can get expensive depending on your tastes, thirsts and where you are at.
For us the experiences of giving belly rubs to week old piglets, drinking Jalapeno Cream Ale Beer straight from the source, and learning all about grapes has been some of the highlights these stays have offered us.
The Queen parked in the Salt Lake City, KOA Kampground.
Private Campgrounds - We have only used this once and did not really care for it. It’s like being in a city while living in a camper.
Your neighbors are usually close and there was a lot of traffic at the KOA we stayed at. Admittedly it was in a large city environment that work required us to be at. Otherwise, we would probably have skipped this option. T
he good thing about these campgrounds in they have unlimited electricity, water, and pools! Waterpark Jerrod did not mind that part at all 😊
Moochdocking - We have gotten pretty good at this one!
This is where you stay in a friend or family members driveway or cul de sac and “camp” with them.
his is especially helpful if you need to do repairs, laundry, and just catch up with friends and family.
Both of our moochdocking experiences were with family and provided us some much-needed time to reconnect and enjoy their space without fully intruding.