Our “Hit the Road” To Do list is done! Our “so long for nows” are said. Our parking place for the last 19 months is empty. We are mobile full-time RV life, finally!
We began our journey a little over two years ago when we made the decision to become full-time RVers when retired. We went RV shopping in December. We were just looking. We fell in love with Ruff Road and ended up purchasing our motorhome within one month. That was two years ago. I was still working. Gary had recently retired. This made it easy to bump my retirement date up! We’ve never looked back.
Fast forward to today, our dream of traveling across this beautiful country living in our RV full-time has become a reality. We are especially thankful for all of the RV full-timers who have shared their experiences and expertise. Had it not been for learning that this lifestyle is possible, we wouldn’t be here. Our hope is that we can inspire others, in addition to documenting our own journey of full-time RV life. Months ago, we stared out our large front RV windshield and said, “We like looking at freedom.” We are loving full-time RV life.
Follow along! We will share campground reviews, places we visit, and full-time RV life tips. Subscribe so you don’t miss a post. Leave a comment. Ask a question.
I am a list person but this one was overwhelming! Our TO DO list for full-time RV Life really began when we made the decision to travel and live in an RV full- time. That was about two years ago! We have been living in our RV, Ruff Road, for over a year at this time. Our plans were to be in travel mode before now, but circumstances and my Appalachian Trail hike delayed our launch. We did go on a few camping trips to get our travel feet wet and of course, living in Ruff Road everyday allowed us to get to know the ins and outs of RV living.
So my one piece of advice if you decide to become a full-time RV dweller and before you make your own TO DO list for full-time RV life is to be flexible. There were circumstances beyond our control that required us to delay our plans. That’s ok. We have lived happily as stationary full-time RVers. We are looking forward to finally “hitting the road.”
Final load plan- what goes in the car, what goes in the RV, what stays behind (trash/ donate)
Make sure bank cards don’t expire. Replace if needed.
Do taxes!
Scan pictures and copy videos- as many as I can get done, organize remaining picture/ video totes in my daughter’s shed.
How are we doing on our final TO DO list for full-time RV living?
Well, I’m happy to say that most items have been checked completed. We still had a few weeks to go at this point. This list is not a comprehensive list of all we’ve done. However, it includes the things that we needed to purchase and/or to do before we begin our full-time RV travel life. In addition, it includes items that we didn’t even think about initially such as check bank cards.
The Roadmaster Baseplate Kit installed to use with our Roadmaster Falcon All Terrain non-binding tow bar.
We are moving forward with our plan to “hit the road” soon. One important task for motorhome owners is to determine how to tow a vehicle with their RV. That was a biggy on our TO DO list in terms of cost and decision making. We learned about different methods to tow our car. Then, we made our choice and began the process.
What was our reason for a second vehicle?
Ruff Road is a class A motorhome and we wanted a second vehicle for our journey. We have taken trips without a towed vehicle and in some locations that worked out okay, however as full timers we want the flexibility of a smaller vehicle to run errands, get to trailheads, sightsee, and of course to transport our toys.
We have heard of others who found that renting or ubering when they arrive at their destinations is more cost effective since you don’t always need a second vehicle. That is an option to research or consider if you are traveling in a motorhome. We have not tried that and with our two lovely shedding 55 pound dogs, I don’t think it’s even an option. Yes, we have the extra maintenance and the insurance on this towed, however the benefits for us outweigh these factors. So, we dived into how to tow our vehicle with our RV.
What are the different ways you can take a second vehicle with you?
There are four ways to take a second car with you while traveling in a motorhome. We explored each method when deciding how to tow our vehicle with our RV. However, the first method doesn’t involve towing at all.
Your partner can simply drive the second vehicle. I know there are rvers out there doing this. We’ve done it ourselves on some trips. Pros: You have a second vehicle with you. You avoid the expense of adding a trailer, dolly, or tow system. Cons: You don’t have that ride time with your partner- that could be a pro for some, however. You will be paying more for gas/ diesel to cover miles in two vehicles. Your vehicle will experience more wear and tear driving the extra miles which could increase maintenance costs. Entrance to some campgrounds could cost more due to the second vehicle. Many campgrounds consider a motorhome with a towed car as one vehicle. While we haven’t had any experience with campgrounds that charge extra, they are out there and you could end up paying a daily fee to have that extra car. Cost: No extra cost for equipment.
Another option is to trailer your vehicle. You would need to pull a flat trailer behind your motorhome with your car strapped to it. Pros: This one is probably the best to save wear and tear on your second vehicle. You can back up if you find yourself in a tight spot. A trailer can tow any vehicle. This is a quick way to just get rolling- no installation required outside of a hitch. Cons: You will need to find a place to store your trailer at your campsite. There may or may not be room at the site requiring you to park it at a designated overflow lot. We have limited experience with getting a car onto a trailer, however in our experience it is just a little stressful. Although with practice this should become fairly easy and straightforward. You will have the cost of the flatbed trailer plus maintenance and insurance. You also have the extra weight. Of course, you will need to purchase a tag yearly. Cost: $2,700 – $4,200 approximate costs, varies based on weight and size of the vehicle you are trailering
The third option is to tow your vehicle on a dolly, two wheels on the dolly and two wheels on the road. Pros: This tow option will take up less space in your campsite. Dollies are cheaper than flat tow trailers and do not require installation of equipment that flat tow vehicles require. It is a quick and easy way to hit the road. Cons: This, for me, would be another stressful option driving the vehicle onto the dolly correctly and insuring it is strapped down appropriately. Not all vehicles can be towed by a dolly. Check your owners manual to determine if yours can be dolly towed. You will have to ensure that your vehicle’s running lights, brake lights, and turn signals are connected to the motorhome. Cost: $1,600 – $2,000 approximate
The final option is to flat tow your vehicle behind you. We researched the other options but went with flat towing when deciding how to tow our vehicle with our RV. We really wanted to keep our truck but the only way we could have towed it was on a trailer or to back it onto a dolly- yikes. So we went with our older, but still great, Acura. Pros: You will not have to store extra equipment at your campsite. The tow bar folds out of the way and you are done. It’s easier (read less stressful for me) to hook up to a tow bar than the dolly/ trailer option. Cons: You can’t back up. Not all vehicles can be flat towed- check your owners manual. This method requires installation of a baseplate to connect the tow bars. It also requires the purchase of a braking system mandated by many states. Additionally, you will need to ensure that your lighting system is connected either through your vehicle or through magnetic attached lights. Cost: $2,363 for our system- Roadmaster Falcon All Terrain non-binding tow bar, Roadmaster baseplate kit, and Blue Ox Patriot II Braking System- purchased from etrailer.com. http://etrailer.com We had to add a six inch hitch adapter which added another $115. We did not pay for installation since we did it ourselves. Installation cost can be $1,200.
Moving on, we are flat tow ready!
Deciding how we would tow our vehicle with our RV was the first step. Then we purchased the equipment and made a date to install it. We “did it ourselves” or rather Gary and our son-in-law did it themselves. They installed the baseplate on our Acura MDX so we can connect it to our Falcon All Terrain non-binding tow bar. The install took about four hours and since they did the job we saved approximately $1,200.
I’ll admit that it was scary as Gary sent me pictures throughout the morning of our car in parts. However, it all hooked up fine except there were more than three inches from the center of the RV hitch receiver to the center of the base pin on the baseplate. This meant we had to purchase a high- low hitch adapter to ensure we were towing safely and to not void our warranty. Our next step is to tow our car to the dump station next week.
How do you tow your vehicle with your RV? Share any lessons learned or tips in the comment section. We’d love to learn from others. Our decision is based on our situation and of course, your decision on how to tow your vehicle with your RV will be based on your specific situation and your needs.
This brings us one step closer to finally “hitting the road”. If you want to see that baseplate install, check it out on our You Tube Channel, Ruff Road RV Life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpyvKQkis74&t=18s
Check out our latest video, Fun With Fuses! We are excited that we solved three electrical issues in Ruff Road. We became more knowledgable and saved money by solving these issues ourselves. https://youtu.be/qJrbbYTsexM
Together again! I’m home after 600 Appalachian Trail miles. I have 278 miles to complete the entire trail. It’s been a great journey but I really missed Gary, the pups, family, and my cozy Ruff Road bed. It’s good to be home. If you want to check out my Appalachian Trail Journey, go to Trail Gator Trail Tales on YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDhM9jZwVlQ
Hiking the Appalachian Trail
Together again- What are we doing?
We have a list as we begin our plans to officially hit the road. We have been living in Ruff Road for a year and three months now. Our plan was to be on the road by now but with my hiking, hiking injury delay and other obligations we are still living at home base in Florida. We will be wintering here as we complete final tasks necessary before hitting the road. We will be sharing our prep list in the next post since it will include things we’ve done to date to prepare and our final TO DOs.
Our major TO DO for this week was to purge and reorganize inside cabinets and outside storage bays. My post from April stated: “They say if you haven’t used it in a year, it has to go. I think in a small space like an RV you need to assess the clutter more frequently.” This is definitely true since we have had more than one purge and organize in a year’s time. This time was more thorough for cabinets in the front of the coach. since kitchen and bedroom areas have been thoroughly reworked in recent months.
How much did we purge?
We threw away five bags of trash- mostly from the inside of the RV which included outdated and unnecessary paperwork. I know that’s a lot! I couldn’t believe it myself but when we moved in it was quick so some notebooks or folders were stored without a close review of contents. For example, our notebook containing product manuals contained a few manuals of items we no longer owned. Our outside purge yielded one large trash bag full of items not suitable for donation. In addition, we filled one tote of items for donation. This included those items that we thought we needed but never used.
Our Biggest Accomplishment
The biggest accomplishment from our reorganizing this time was better utilization of space. For example, when we moved in we planned to group like items together. When that space was filled, we plugged in excess items as logical as we could but still had like items in two places. Also, we have learned over the course of a year, which items we used most frequently and moved them to the easiest accessible bay. We started out with what we “thought” would be important in grouping items and what to keep. However, as we put that into practice we learned that changes were necessary based on day to day reality. We realize that as time goes by, we will revisit our newly reorganized areas and go through the process again…and again…and again. That’s ok. That’s RV living.
Our cooler stores all of our kayak equipment. Vacuum items are now easier to access.
Purging is like losing weight. It can be hard to do. It is easy to creep back on you. However, when you lose it or purge it, you do feel better.
Upcoming Posts:
TO DOs for Hitting the Road
What did Gary do while I was away for months hiking the Appalachian Trail and hanging out in Colorado?
Yes, we have uploaded our first “official” You Tube video. This one is short and just introduces us. You will see where we were living and our RV, Ruff Road. Check it out!
The two Ruff Road dogs, Terra and Luna. “We like looking at freedom!”
Month eight of RVliving has brought out the creativity, especially in Gary. What about me? Well as our RV becomes overrun with backpacking gear and Appalachian Trail prep, I couldn’t take it anymore. Things that have not been used just had to go and our RV, Ruff Road, was in need of some better organizing.
RV Living Yields Creativity- Gary the songwriter!
As you may know, Gary is a musician and a very talented one at that. He plays the guitar, bass guitar, and piano. No we don’t have a piano in Ruff Road but we do have multiple guitars. Comment below if you need or if you have guitar storage ideas!
Creativity! This month he has been busy writing lyrics and music to songs. We needed a theme song for our very young YOU TUBE channel. He has now cranked out three songs and the instrumentals will be used for background music on our channel. No music copywright issues here!
Having the freedom to be creative through music, writing, singing, and photography has been a bonus of retirement. We are loving having the time to use our right brains to create.
RV Living Can Lead to Clutter! Clutter Control-Purging and Organizing
This month’s challenges were an overstuffed clothes closet, clutter due excess gear clutter on top of the regular clutter and an ineffective dirty clothes receptacle. They say if you haven’t used it in a year, it has to go. I think in a small space like an RV you need to assess the clutter more frequently.
Decluttering Clothes Closets
Gary had already gone through his closet and made a donation pile. He was ahead of me. I faced my clothes closet- it contained the remnants of my walk in closet from my big house life. It seemed I was always cramming, and I do mean cramming, my clothes in any nook or cranny I could fit them in because my cute little organizational square clothes totes and other containers were overfilled. In addition, unstuffed items would fall out when I opened the door. Now I probably wouldn’t have jumped right into this project just yet but in addition to this I now have backpacking gear taking up space. This caused me to re-evaluate the other items, especially items that seemed ineffective, unnecessary or unused.
I took everything out of my closet. Next, I went through each clothes container and pulled out items I haven’t worn or wasn’t planning on wearing. I did accumulate a small pile to donate along with some of the baskets and an old drawer I was using for storage containers. They were not the best use of space. So not only were there too many clothes stuffed in my closet but I did not utilize the space effectively. In the small space of an RV, optimizing space is a must!
Closet organized. Seldom used items are easy to find.
Organizing Tip: Make a diagram of your closet. This will help to quickly see where infrequently used items are stored.
Making More Floor Space
Next, I looked around my bedroom and the items taking up floor space. I had tried a tall Thirty-One double hamper for awhile. It came from the big house but was too big so I gifted it to my daughter. I then tried a smaller Thirty-One tote I had on hand as a hamper. It wasn’t working out either because of the location being hard to reach. I discovered that it was a perfect fit for my closet. This tote became the holder of my bike shoes and equipment getting them off the floor and out of yet another tote they were housed in. Now I had the most effective storage in my closet to hold all of my clothes except underwear and work out clothes which are stored above the bed. As a result of reorganizing this area, we gained some much needed floor space in our bedroom.
Dirty Laundry Solution
What about our laundry though? We now store our dirty clothes in store recycle bags. Gary has one in his area. I have one hanging up on my purse hook. We have a third one stored in the shower for any nasty laundry. This is a new system so we’ll let you know how it works out. So far so good.
Let us know if you have any laundry solutions. Share on social media and subscribe to follow us on our journey.
Follow Sharon’s Appalachian Trail prep and hike on our Backpacking and Hiking page: http://ruffroadrvlife.com/appalachian-trail-section-hike/
Ruff Road RV Life in month seven has been busy. This month was dedicated to clearing out brush and trees, fixing our fence, and final to dos so our home can be appraised and sold. In addition to all of this busy and physical work, we have both made sure that all doctor and dental visits are up to date, including Terra and Luna’s shots. Finally, Appalachian Trail prep has taken over Ruff Road making it seem just a little smaller.
Our lush woods
Before
After- Nice and Clear
Downsizing to Sell
Our home sits on approximately one acre. We have lots of trees and lots of tree saplings. I love the natural look so our back yard was like a forest with ferns, trees, saplings, cabbage palms, and all sorts of brush but beautiful in their own right. In preparing for a good appraisal and to have our fence repaired, the forest had to be thinned. It was a fun family effort with my daughter and her family. Bonus- Campfire every day! It was like camping in our own backyard. Our downsizing to sell list is now done! Well, except for the most time consuming scanning and copying of pictures and home videos.
Medical, Dental and Veterinary Visits
It looks like February and March are our annual medical, dental, and veterinary appointment months. We wanted to make sure we were all up to date since take off time is quickly approaching. Our goal is to head west in August!
I continue to plan for my upcoming and final section hike of the Appalachian Trail. This will be my longest section hike which really comprises three sections. When I am finished this year, I will have walked every mile of the Appalachian Trail! Read about my progress on our Backpacking and Hiking page.
Stay tuned for more RV living updates. Share this on social media and subscribe to see more updates. Happy hiking, happy camping and happy fishing!
Florida Beach Campground – Yes, life is good here in Florida!
Our latest campground review is for Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area in Flagler Beach, Florida. We stayed at Gamble Rogers in February. February in Florida, on the beach or near the beach, can get quite chilly. In fact, it was one year ago this month that we took Ruff Road on his first excursion- a drive along A1A in this same area and we were freezing when we stopped for a beach walk. This year, we were lucky and the weather was great!
This campground has a river side and a beach side. We camped on the river side because that was all that was available when we booked.
Terra and Luna’s first beach trip!
Peace and Quiet
Why yes. This campground was peaceful and quiet even though most or all sites were occupied. The river bordered our campground area allowing peaceful nature walks or just chilling on the soft green grass or having a picnic riverside. The beaches in this area are less crowded than the neighboring beaches to the south of us, Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach.
Peace and Quiet Rating: 5 stars
Things to Do
Well this is one of those parks that you just want to sit and be zen with the breeze blowing through the palms and beach side waves that you could even hear at times in the river side campground. Watching the sunset or sunrise at the beach or the river offered some excellent photography moments or again to just soak it in. There is a small nature trail that winds through the palms and trees and even along the river. The beach is within walking distance to do some beach walking, shelling, or just chilling at the beach.
Gary was able to surf fish and he also fished in the river. This park also has a boat ramp. If you like to bike, A1A is a scenic highway along the Atlantic coast that passes through North Peninsula State Park. I rode my bike on the sidewalk for miles with little stress of traffic or busy road crossings. It was too windy while we were there to kayak but if I wanted to drive over to nearby Bulow Creek State Park, it would have been less windy than the river. There are several state parks in this vicinity so you can plan to “park hop”. You will find many activities listed on the Gamble Rogers website. There is something for everyone.
We didn’t really have the need to use these but a quick glance proved they are clean. Florida really does a nice job with their facilities and the upkeep.
Bathhouse Rating: 5 Stars
Dog Friendly
This one is important to us since our two kids, our pups, Terra and Luna are with us always. Sadly, dogs are not allowed on Florida State Park beaches. We could walk the trails and have them in the campground but no dogs at the beach. Fortunately, there is a public beach right next to the park where we were able to take them. It really wasn’t much further than the park beach and even had a parking area. They enjoyed romping in the sand at the beach and romping at the river. The trails are long enough to get a good walk in. Wildlife is around because they loved sniffing everything along the trail.
Dog Friendly Rating: 4 stars (because no dogs on the beach!)
Always playing
It’s a feather!
Campsite
The campsites are nicely spread out so you have space. There is no vegetation between sites and the beach side seemed to be a little tighter that the river side. Sites on the inside of the river side loop were just in a grassy field with a few palms here and there. Most sites on the outside of the river side loop had nice wooded backdrops. Either the road or the beach dunes were behind campsites on the beach side. We loved our site because we were on the outside and we could access the nature trail through the woods right behind us.
Campsite Rating: 4 stars (personal preference, we like a little more woodsy)
Overall Rating: 4.6 out of 5 Stars, YES, we would stay here again!
Blanket to block the wind…and view of other pups
Funny Story…
I always say, if you don’t have an adventure, you don’t have a story. Here’s our Gamble Rogers story.
My dear Gary (insert bless his heart here), just loves to fish. On this trip, he decided to try his hand at surf fishing. Of course, we would need to take the dogs with us so he planned on doing a little evening surf fishing. He spent the day getting ready. All bait, equipment, water, chairs…ready to go. Our plan was to park in the beach side parking lot and walk to the dog gate that led to the dog beach because remember, no dogs on the park beach. As I whizzed by on my bike earlier that day, the walk didn’t look that bad.
So we parked and headed out, with the dogs, with the chairs, with the bait, with the fishing gear- hands, shoulders, and backs were loaded! We began the trek to the dog gate. We walked and we walked. I think Gary may have done a little cursing along the way. When we got to the point that I thought had the gate, we realized that the campground went on and we were only halfway through it! After much huffing and puffing and lugging, we finally made it to the dog gate and followed a little path to a parking area. Gary wondered out loud, “Why didn’t we park here in the first place?” I laughed and we went on down the stairs, across the sand to our fishing spot.
Then Gary remembered, he forgot his pvc pole holder. Sooo, I volunteered to walk back across the sand, up the steps, across the parking area, through the dog gate, through the now glaringly large beach side camping area, back to the truck. The plan was to just move the truck to the dog beach parking area. I turned the key. Nothing. Dead battery. I asked passerbys for a jump start but no one had cables and we didn’t either. Ok. So I locked the truck up and carried the pvc pole holder through the beach side camping area, through the gate, along the path, through the parking area, down the steps, across the sand and reported to Gary that the battery was dead.
We decided to go ahead and fish and get a jump from one of the campers or campground host. It was a fun evening of Gary catching a few fish and the pups happily digging and playing in the sand. We headed out a little after dark. I sat with the gear and Gary headed back on the trek to the truck to try to get a jump. He returned awhile later and had to call our insurance company for roadside assistance. It appeared the campers were all tucked away in their rvs and the host’s lights were out.
So we loaded up with the last gear left and headed back to the truck on this long trek now in the dark. When we reached the truck, I asked for the keys. Gary said that he had left it open. Well the wind had other ideas and had blown the door shut with the keys inside. We had a spare in our RV, but the RV keys were in the truck also! So another phone call to roadside assistance was made to request a locksmith to get into our truck. I won’t lie, I had some choice words until I learned that this was covered and would not cost us money. Then I was good. I’m not sure about Gary. He was tired from all of our trekking today.
We waited. We just unfolded our chairs and had a sit under the night sky with the crashing waves sounding behind us. This story has a good ending. Our rescuer arrived, unlocked the door, jumped our truck in a matter of minutes. During this wait time, Gary realized the battery was the original battery and most likely done. We then had a nice little drive to the nearest auto parts store to buy a new battery just 15 minutes before closing.
And that, my friends, is a story that we will remember about this trip!
Fishing riverside…Luna just wants the bouy
Have you ever stayed at Gamble Rogers? How was your experience? Subscribe to hear more of our travels.
