When Is It Time to Move?
When traveling full time is your lifestyle, how do you decide when to move?
Well, that is a good question and one we have been asked quite a few times. It is also a great campfire conversation starter, as everyone’s thought process is unique.
For us when to move comes down to these four factors:
1. If the tanks are full, it’s time to go! When our grey tanks read ¾ full, we need to plan our next move. Yes, you read that right we have two grey tanks instead of a traditional black and grey tank system. By converting our system to a composting toilet, we created the space for us to have an additional gray tank. This has greatly extended how long we can stay out in our favorite boondocking spots.
Filling the Queen by hand
One of our best purchases, this $2 funnel from the tents at Quartzsite. Being able to refill and manage water without moving our home has been a huge blessing in year two.
2. If the water light turns red it’s time to get creative. Filling our fresh water used to mean putting everything away, hitching up and moving our whole house down the road. In year two however, we have become much more experienced and streamlined with our process. One of our best purchases this year was a flexible plastic funnel. Now, when we go exploring or to get groceries, we can fill our water jugs at any of the water stations (sometimes we find it for free or pay for 5 gallons for $1.25) and using the funnel replenish the Queen’s tanks. It’s a nice feeling to know you don’t have to give up that perfect spot to refill water.
Chasing perfect weather
We don’t mind seeing snow up in the highest of peaks like Mt. Lemmon outside Tucson, AZ. However, that’s about as close to it as we want nowadays.
3. Weather: We have found that we are happier, more productive, and lots more fun to be around when we can be outside. Watching the weather looking for moderate temperatures, minimal moisture, and winds! Even the nicest of days can be a challenge if it is windy. It does not matter if it is blowing snow, sand, rain, or dust.. When your life is set up to be outside as much as possible, getting blown away is not much fun!
We love finding new favorites
But how can we find a new one if we don’t say goodbye to our current one. The best part of traveling life is that it is always “Goodbye for now friend”!
4. No GPS Needed: We love getting familiar with an area and finding our “favorites” to share with everyone, but our whole goal in this lifestyle is to be on the move. If we can navigate to the grocery store, gas stations, or post office without using any of our mapping systems, it is time to move!
Being able to stay in place longer
Allows us to enjoy more moments like this.
Conclusion: We just finished our longest boondocking stay to date at 20 days without needing to move the Queen! We refilled the water twice with our portable jugs and had to make some adjustments in doing dishes, and shortening our showers for the last couple days to manage our tanks.
Maybe it was a good thing we were out by ourselves, so no one noticed! 😊
When you are traveling, how do you know when it’s time to leave?
See you down the road!