Full-Timing Tips | Live Work Dream | RVing Lifestyle Design Blog

The Full-Timer’s Uniform

August 23, 2007 by Jim

This one’s for the Carson Park Ranger. This funny friend of mine has a hilarious routine about old full-time RVing couples, one of which we encountered at a wayside near Gaylord, MI. Where I came from they’re called rest stops, but that’s not the point. As we rested at this wayside stop, we spotted a man and woman identical to those in the Ranger’s shtick. …

Tracking the Twilight Honker

August 15, 2007 by Jim

In campgrounds across the nation, at dusk when the light is just right, if one listens carefully, the chirp of the Twilight Honker can be heard announcing nightfall and the paranoia of fellow campers. With a scientific name like Honkalarmus Paranoiac, one can imagine frail little birds taking flight at the slightest hint of danger. The truth is, these annoying beasts are the result of discourteous, mistrustful campers everywhere.

It is inevitable that you will hear someone setting their car alarm as night falls in any campground. What’s funny is to hear the next few car alarms being set by others who heard the call. What’s not so funny is when someone sets off their alarm disrupting the relative peace and quiet of evenings and mornings in the great outdoors.

Beware the Bean Juice!

August 12, 2007 by Jim

beanwater biohazard Another quick tip, before I forget … though I don’t know how I could. They say the sense of smell is the strongest trigger for recollection.

The biggest stink we ever smelled coming out of our RV holding tanks was not from the black water. Our kitchen grey water tank started expressing itself with a very pungent sulfur smell when we were staying at Lindenwood City Park back in Fargo, ND.

The lower campground had recently been re-opened after major flooding from the Red River, and a couple fellow campers said they wouldn’t be surprised if it was the water so we left it at that. When we dumped the tanks, however, we knew it had to be something more.

Never run out of propane again.

August 11, 2007 by Jim

Here’s another quick tip for RVers with dual LP tanks for their rig. This was another little chore from my RV maintenance day back in Duluth. I wrote the word “use” on a small piece of magnetic sheeting to help us remember which tank we’ve been running off of since we like to use one tank up completely and keep the other one full as …

Full-Timing Q&A Vol. 1

December 2, 2007August 9, 2007 by Jim

OK class, though I still often feel like the student myself, quite a few folks have been asking questions lately through our fulltime RVer contact form. Here’s the rundown of a few recent e-interviews…

Honey Do Day

August 9, 2007 by Jim

I laughed when our friend Spoonie once referred to us as homeless without jobs. We are not homeless! Just houseless. But one thing is certain, home repair days don’t last nearly as long in the trailer as they didback in our 3,800 sq. ft. stick house.

And I don’t recall where Rene heard this, but another thing is certain about living full-time in an RV. Everything comes loose. Oh, how true that is. But with a little routine maintenance and thoughtful repairs, taking care of chores around your home on wheels can be quick and easy.

And now for the fun part…

September 4, 2023August 6, 2007 by Jim

Aside from the few scratches and small dents we’ve put in the trailer and truck, we have been fortunate to have not experienced any major RV catastrophes … yet. Though we came very close when dumping our tanks after the recent stay at Lum Park in Brainerd, MN. Anyone who has seen the Robin Williams movie RV, and remembers the dump station scene, may think …

Which Shall It Be: Bankruptcy of Purse or Bankruptcy of Life?

September 4, 2023August 4, 2007 by Rene

Finally, I have our budget numbers for our first month out. But keep in mind, there’s no such thing as a “budget” when you’re on the road; it’s in reality, a “spending plan.” As the super frugal CFO of this family, these circumstances are difficult for me at times. Maybe this is why many people who want to do this kind of trip never do, because spending money while not working is terrifying.

When we decided to take the gamble and go on this trip, we put the following passage from the Sterling Hayden book Voyage: A Novel of 1896 in our bathroom medicine cabinet, for daily inspiration;

The Grass Is Getting Greener

August 4, 2007August 3, 2007 by Jim

I’ve been trying to remember the last time I wore long pants. I don’t think I’ve donned blue jeans since we said goodbye to friends back in Eureka over two months ago. I certainly do like my new uniform of shorts and a tank top, but we’ve finally made it to a climate where a short sleeve shirt is actually bearable.

We even slept with the blanket our first night at Joe’s Lodge. And the cool evening was quite a relief. One tip for new full-timers getting ready to hit the road: don’t over-pack, take only what you think you will need.

Good RV Eats

July 25, 2007July 24, 2007 by Rene

One of the biggest fears I had about taking this trip, was that I wouldn’t find any good produce in small towns between coasts. Well, the good produce IS there, only it’s in people’s backyards. Otherwise, I was told by a local in South Dakota today, don’t count on organic produce or farmer’s markets unless we hit big cities. On the prairie, everyone grows their ow, you won’t find organic or super fresh produce in grocery stores. So, my solution; either get to know the locals, or make do when we aren’t around any.

Today we received this lovely farm fresh produce from a wonderful couple in Hoven, South Dakota. This is the best produce we’ve seen. Otherwise, we’ve been making do with so-so eats. The food we’ve been eating is good, and 95% of the time, we are cooking our own meals. I’ve always been a tightwad about going out to eat, and just as expert RV’ers predicted, our eating out habits are mostly the same as they were when we had a stick house. By seldom dining out, it helps our budget and makes our nights out truly special.

One of the best things about eating on the road, is that the view from the dinner table is always different. We also get to eat outside. And when it’s too hot, we have the AC vent right above our dining room table.

Some big lessons we’ve learned about meals on the road include:

You never realize how much you depend on a toaster until you don’t have one.
Loose tea is a hassle when you don’t have a garbage disposal
Cast iron is the answer.
Life on the road requires extreme flexibility—sometimes, boxed meals are the best solution.
Use what you’ve got until it’s all gone, or else your produce will turn to mush and spoil in hot weather (as coastal people, we weren’t used to food spoiling due to heat).
Read more

The View is Always Different

July 22, 2007July 21, 2007 by Jim

For the record, the trees all over the hills around Deadwood, SD have always been dead. One can only assume that’s how the town got it name. But one thing I enjoy about this full-time RVing thing is how the view from our kitchen table is always different. and whenever I look up through the skylight in our shower – yeah, that’s cool too – …

Our First Roadkill

July 17, 2007 by Jim

Longest drive yet yesterday, from Laramie to Keyhole State Park just outside Devil’s Tower Wyoming. No wonder we made our first kill. Good thing René wasn’t looking when the little bird hit the grille, she would’ve cried for sure. And thank goodness it wasn’t anything bigger, like the open range cattle, free roaming horses, Pronghorn sheep or numerous Jackalopes we’ve seen littering the Wyoming byways. …

Campground Review: Keyhole State Park, WY

July 18, 2007July 16, 2007 by Rene

After a long day of driving, the last thing you want to hear is that the only campground in a small town is booked. But of course, that’s exactly what we were told when we called the KOA in Devils Tower, WY at 4;30 pm on a Monday. We were only about 50 miles from the KOA, and they are the only game in town. …

Troubleshooting the Norcold N821 RV Refrigerator

April 29, 2008July 12, 2007 by Jim

We’ve been giving the fridge a serious workout the past few weeks as we have traveled through some record-breaking heat in Arizona and Utah. I’ve been meaning to post about how the fridge issues that began at Lake Francis RV Resort seem to be resolved. Then I noticed the ignition fault error this morning after our first night in the Rockies outside Steamboat Springs, CO.

Campground Review: KOA Flagstaff, AZ

July 6, 2007July 3, 2007 by Rene

Do yourself a favor, and skip this area of AZ any other time of year except winter.

We don’t like KOA parks, but we decided to stop here because it was easy to meet my parents there, and we could use it as a base camp to explore the area south, Sedona. The tightwad in me also wanted to avoid the few overpriced RV parks closer to Sedona. So upon check in, we weren’t expecting much other than the standard swimming pool and hookups that would allow us to run our AC. But what we found out after check in was, this KOA is, simply put, a dump.

The place is run down, trash is everywhere, the sites are crammed together, and management is so cheap they won’t even buy toilet seat covers for the restrooms. Unlike other KOAs we’ve overnighted at, this one had no DVDs for rent, the office doesn’t open till 8am and you can’t even buy a newspaper until then because they’re in the office. And they don’t even have a pool! In Arizona!

As we sat in the cool comfort of our Fox’s air conditioner while the outside world baked in 100 degree heat (ok, it was 95, but is there really a difference?), someone knocked at our door. It was a KOA Flagstaff clerk, who arrived to tell us that we weren’t allowed to run our AC on their 30amp hookups, “because the park is so old it can’t handle it.” If we had been told this ahead of making the reservation, we never would’ve stayed there.