We have everything planned out, and the heart of our adventure comes soon, so now it's time to announce the trip. For those with some experience with this, you guessed it, it's our shakedown!
Yes, that's why it's going to be trip zero instead of one. The trip will be a shakedown near our current home. This will give us a chance to try it all out. We'll want to make sure everything in the rig works, using the various modes available. This adventure isn't going to go very far, just in case we need to enact something on the limited warranty. Packing what we need and setting up what we anticipate as has been detailed in this blog, we'll head to an undisclosed location and live for a bit. Heading back, that'll give us time to adjust what we do or don't need, and then we're off on our first real adventure, which we'll be telling you about in the coming weeks.
The packing process is going to be arduous. One tip about this is to try to find some family that will help you store your belongings. Even if you have to rent a small storage shed for a while; the last thing you want to do is to throw everything out. When you get rid of something, you may find that you'll need it later, or it's a family heirloom, and you'll regret tossing it. Obviously you shouldn't be a complete pack rat; you'll probably find some things you definitely don't want. However, don't feel like you have to give it all up. There are reasonable storage sheds out there, and if you find you really didn't need it after a while, you can always have a shed sale. That's similar to a yard sale, but you'd sell what's in the shed.
With the shakedown just days away, remember to follow your internal compass.
The not-so-risk-free trial begins! With everything packed, we begin the shakedown adventure and prepare ourselves for our lives ahead.
The first thing we figured out, with an attached trailer, is that gas mileage goes out the window. When we say "out the window", we mean that the efficiency was nearly cut in half, down to about 10 miles to the gallon. It's not that surprising because we're carrying more, but the realization of fuel costs has arisen, so it would seem all the more reason to take advantage of monthly and even seasonal rates, and to mosey our way to different parts of the country instead of making cross-country trips.
Settling in was the next challenge. The shakedown is being done at a location that isn't exactly the most truck-friendly, not in terms of allowances and permissions since our host has been more than accommodating, but in terms of turn radius. It's good practice for when we have to back into a campsite or a truck stop, since "pull-through" spots are more expensive or sometimes plainly not available. The two of us seem to have a good system down, having picked it up almost immediately. Setup took some figuring out, but we have ourselves in a good spot.
As with any couple, we're not going to agree on everything. The argument count has already reached two, barely 24 hours into the adventure. Surprisingly enough, parking the trailer wasn't one of them. Details won't be disclosed on the arguments themselves unless we somehow landed a reality TV show contract, though the best "ratings" would come from the first 30 days of the adventure. For any aspiring producers out there, although it doesn't "push the envelope" as much as some of the offerings out there, it may help to promote the RV lifestyle.
With Day 1 complete, we leave you with some lessons learned that we hope will help you on your upcoming RV adventure:
Happy travels to all, and remember to follow your internal compass.
Shakedown continues for us in our not-so-risk-free trial. Be sure to visit our social media pages, links in the title bar, to see our video on Day 3.
Day 4 involved one of the dirtiest jobs of the RV lifestyle: The emptying of the tanks. This included both the grey tank, which is used sink and shower water, and the black tank, which I'm sure you can imagine as to its contents. It's a messy job, but it must be done to not only keep the weight down, but so we're able to continue living. Normally it's a simple hook and dump, but when the RV isn't level because of the location, some interesting things can happen. Needless to say, the sensor readers are not exactly something to be trusted.
As we progress from day to day, one common annoyance that seems to creep up quite a bit is the amount of accumulated garbage. This includes food wrappers, compost, and especially the number of empty bottles of water. Sure, we brought tumblers to carry with us, and we have a hook-up for potable water, but that doesn't always mean it's the best to drink. Back in the house life, we were lucky enough to get a commercial water dispenser with a decent filter for our water needs, but no such dice on the road. Tack on that many places we go will be truck-in-truck-out, and some solution will need to be found. It may be as simple as smaller litter bags and gas stations.
One of our major lessons learned, if we're banking on the generosity of family, friends, or even the house we still have in preparation, is to be cautious of electricity usage. We're up to three breaker trips from overloading household electricity. Although the trailer is rated for 30 Amps, that doesn't mean we can run everything at full blast, as most household breakers are only rated for 15 or 20 Amps. The air conditioning and water heater seem to be the biggest culprits, although the refrigerator and electronic entertainment options could play a factor. There's still some time left in the shakedown to get it right, so here's to hoping we find that sweet spot.
Just a little time left on the shakedown before our first real trip begins. We'll be announcing that location very soon, so be on the lookout. And always remember to follow your internal compass.
After six days, hundreds of miles, four arguments, and twelve ticks, the initial shakedown is complete.
First, we'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge a few people. First, we'd like to thank Roadabode Productions for both inspiration to go on this adventure, as well as many helpful tips from their years of experience. Next, we'd like to thank our host for the shakedown who has been more than accommodating in many different ways, not just land and amenities. Our respective families also need to be thanked for all of the love and support they have given from the time we decided to start doing this, to today, and throughout the future. A "thank you" also goes to Jersey Girl Beauty for managing our T-shirt sales that help to fund the website, as well as supplement our travels. Lastly, but most importantly, we want to thank all of you for reading, watching, liking, subscribing, and sharing with your friends. It's your support that helps us to keep these pages going and hopefully inspires others to embark on this adventure.
We've learned a few things on this shakedown. The most important is that we're going to need checklists for just about everything. This includes packing, hooking up, unhooking, setting up, tearing down, and some other procedures. Sure, putting them together is tedious, and it will seem somewhat time consuming to constantly "do the checklist", but with our proclivity for neglecting things, it's something we very much need. These checklists are not only procedural, but to make sure we take everything we need. Needless to say, we have a somewhat extensive list of things we didn't bring with us and either had to borrow from our host or worked around. Those will be fixed for our first real adventure, and we'll probably have to fix a few other things as well, but it's a learning experience as we go. Secondly is the importance of hydration. With the three of us being outdoors much more, the sun takes its toll, and heat exhaustion is no fun whatsoever. This isn't limited to just regular water, but also nutrients your body needs to survive. Finally, all three of us must love and support each other in everything. This not only includes the two humans involved, but also the pup. Each of us is an integral part of th ejourney, and we must be there for each other. Openly trusting yet solidifying each of our positions to make the best possible choices in everything, and hopefully limit the number of arguments.
With that, it is now time to announce the location of our first official trip: North Carolina! It will be one week in the south, along with some travel time. It's the first time that the three of us will be on our own with the RV. What adventures will we have? What will become of our journey? You'll have to keep reading, as well as following our social media, to find out.
Always remember to follow your internal compass.
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