My Journey Learning About RVs Through Time and Adventures
For three decades I have been privileged to embark on a remarkable journey with family and friends. During these years I’ve encountered the beauty of nature and the warmth of diverse communities and people. As I reflect on the memories amassed over thirty years of RVing, I am reminded of the profound impact this lifestyle has had on my life and the countless stories waiting to be shared. I learned so much through the years of RVing, RV technical training, and RV inspection training. In this series of tips and hacks, I will pass along what I’ve learned on my own and from so many others along the way.
My journey began with a simple dream — staying dry. I started camping late in life with one of my best friends on hunting trips when I was 18. Have you heard the old saying? In every life, a little rain must fall. Well, in my tent camping life, it fell and then fell some more. I’ve woken up with water in the tent, the tent nearly floating away, the tent coming down on top of us, coming back to find the tent 100 yards away all wrapped in a ball with our stuff inside wet and the best of all, being kept awake all night during a violent thunderstorm while hearing lighting strike the hundred-foot pine trees all around us. We even heard a few breaks, hoping one did not come crashing down on top of us. All while holding the tent roof up to keep the rainwater from collapsing the tent. The final straw was a week spent at Nickerson State Campground on Cape Cod. It rained every day. That was it for my tent camping days.
The first step for me in my RVing life was a pop-up camper and let me say, that was like a hotel compared to a tent. It had its cons. If it rained, you had to be careful not to touch the sides since it was still partly a tent. If it was wet when you put it away at the campground, you had to set it back up at home to let it dry. Try explaining to your homeowner’s association it has rained the last 3 days since you got home and you’re just drying out your camper. Since then, we’ve had travel trailers and now a 5th wheel. Each time we got a new one, they got more luxurious than the last. Now we like to refer to our 5th wheel as our condo on wheels. Who knows, maybe I will have a Super C in the future, one can dream.
Over the years we have had so many great memories with our kids, family, and friends while camping in our RVs. We have met new friends along the way while becoming an RV technician, an inspector, a camp host, and even while hiking and stopping to watch a herd of bison walk past.
Each week I will post a new tip on our website blog. https://elite1rv.com/blog/
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