Why We “RV”

Myself (April) and my fiance (Amanda) have been labeled “hippies”, “drifters”, “gypsies”, among others throughout our short lifetime, yet we don’t consider ourselves to be any of those.  We’re just people.  People who want to experience every ounce that life has to offer.  Being that we’re such people, living in a small, 1940’s apartment in BedStuy section of Brooklyn for 3 years wasn’t exactly our idea of “experiencing life”. Our original plan was to stay in Brooklyn for at least 5 years, however around the same stretch of time that our rent skyrocketed through the roof $1,000, we simultaneously lost our perfect parking spot, and all of NY was prepping for Hurricane Sandy, so we took that as a sign from the Universe (or whomever) to start our “on the road” journey.

We began our travels by house-hopping as I’d like to call it.  For a year, we spent two months at a time staying over various people’s homes that stretched from Delaware, to North Carolina, to places out west, and where we lived was where we were. That “where” could be a friend’s house, family member, hotel, or a couch. Honestly, it was one of the most free experiences I’ve had to date (besides now of course).

In the beginning of 2013 we purchased our first piece of land in Southern Virginia.  While in Brooklyn, we drew out blueprints and ideas for our little piece of America, and eventually, we will make our land as eco-friendly, energy efficient, and off the grid as possible, with full composting and rainwater facilities, cob and straw bale construction, and more which you can read about here soon.

During our travels, we also began to really ponder the full time RV lifestyle, compare budgets and costs, and make a solid plan for financing, viewing RV’s, etc.  We spent countless hours researching the perfect RV situation for us and narrowed it down to two – either a Thor Outlaw Toyhauler, or a Fifth Wheel Trailer.  The problem with the fifth wheel is that it required another vehicle, in particular a truck, which we did not have.  The Thor was able to accommodate our traveling lifestyle and living situation perfectly.  In our Brooklyn apartment, we had two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom and kitchen,equaling to roughly around 1,000 s.q. feet of floor space.  So with the layout of the Thor Outlaw, we were able to keep our same “setup” but just on the road!  (I’ll post “Our Love/Hate Relationship with Ellie” next!)

Finally, in March of 2014, we purchased our Thor Outlaw (a.k.a. “Ellie”).  Of course everyone’s first reaction was, “You did what?!”.  Being that we travel so much, it took a good amount of time to get completely set up, and by August, we had an apartment again – on wheels.  We no longer have to worry about utility or cable bills; our only “bills” are gas for the engine, oil for the engine/generator, and propane filling (blog on our “Savings” coming soon)!

Being that we love to learn and educate, we’ve created this blog as a go-to guide for everything RV traveling and lifestyle, and for anyone who is curious/wants to learn more about full-time RV living, as well as living off of the “grid”.  In the coming posts/months, will review eateries, campgrounds, modifications and upgrades, and of course, off-grid living.  Thanks for visiting our blog and happy reading!

 

 

 

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