One of our favorite adventures in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State is the hike to Rialto Beach, located in the Olympic National Park. We love the Olympic Peninsula for its coastal beaches, mountains, lavender farms, and its unique beaches and sea life. And the beaches contain so much sea life! Before reaching Split Rock and Hole in the wall, you will see a few rocks on the beach with starfish. However, when you arrive at Split Rock, you will be overwhelmed by the number and variety of starfish and sea anemones.
Our favorite place on Rialto Beach is Split Rock. We couldn’t believe how many starfish and sea anemones were in this area! We spent most of our time at Split Rock, counting the starfish and listening to the waves. It took us awhile to pull ourselves away and hike back even though the tide was coming in.
To hike this trail, you can use the Rialto Beach Tide Chart to determine when low tide occurs. You must hike the beach during low tide as it is not accessible during high tide. This is a short 3.3 mile hike along the beach. You will see many people on this hike and you can easily follow them from the parking lot. Restrooms are available at the parking lot.
From the parking lot, simply turn right and hike down the beach with lots of other people on the Hole-in-the-Wall Trail. Give yourself plenty of time to explore and take your picture at Hole-in-the Wall. Check out all the amazing sea life and have fun! Although we also explored Kalaloch Beach 4in the Olympic National Park, Rialto Beach is our favorite beach in this area and we will visit again when we come back.
W&J at Kalaloch Beach 4 on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State
Washington is one of our favorite states to explore. We tend to shy away from big cities like Seattle and focus on hiking, kayaking, and adventuring. Although we spent many months in Washington, there is still a lot of adventuring in this state on our bucket list. Below is a list of our favorite explorations in Washington and future explorations on our bucket list.
Our Favorite Explorations in Washington
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier was one of our favorite national parks to hike and explore. We visited the park several days while staying at Paradise RV Campground Thousand Trails in 173 Salem Plant Rd, Silver Creek, WA 98585. Our favorite hikes in the national park were the Freemont Trail, the Skyline Trail, and Comet Falls. Although we visited the park in July, there was still some snow on the Freemont Trail. We hiked the Skyline Trail in several inches of snow. It required quite of a bit of exertion and caution. The Skyline Trail is the one hiking trail that we wish we had hiking poles. To come back down from the Panorama Point, Jessica had to slide on her butt part way.
The Freemont Fire Lookout was Windell’s favorite trail until we explored Zion National Park in Utah. However, we are not finished with Mount Rainier. When we return, we want to hike the Tolmie Peak Fire Lookout and the Sourdough Ridge Trailhead. Of course, we will probably be adding more explorations to the list as we continue watching Wandering Washington on her excursions.
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is truly an amazing place to visit. The temperate rainforest, Pacific coastline, lavender farms, and the extraordinary features of this area will simply take your breath away. We stayed at KM Resorts – Diamond Point Resort 294 Industrial Pkwy, Sequim, WA 98382, which is one of our RPI membership parks. Sequim, Washington is a fabulous place to visit lavender farms and hike the spit to the Dungeness Lighthouse. Read our blog regarding hiking the Dungeness Spit with the tide tables.
While we were there, we also visited the Olympic National Park for some amazing beaches and hikes. Our favorite hike was to Rialto Beach during low tide. We never saw so many different colored starfishes and sea anemones in our lives. Split rock was our favorite spot to explore during this hike. If we return to the Olympic Peninsula, we will be hiking this beach again. We did have to check our tide schedule and we have a short blog on Hiking Rialto Beach.
We also hiked Hurricane Hill and Kalaloch Beach 4. However, they were not our favorite explorations. When we return to the Olympic Peninsula, we would like to attempt to hike the Mt. Ellinor Lower Trailhead and Mount Storm King. We did not attempt these at the time simply because we weren’t sure of our abilities. However, since hiking and pushing ourselves more, we are more confident in hiking more elevation and Jessica is a little less afraid of hikes.
Crescent Lake is a sight to behold. The lake is incredibly blue and many people were jumping off the bridge into the Devils Punchbowl. We kayaked this lake in the afternoon after hiking to Marymere Falls. However, next time we will kayak it in the morning with less wind!
San Juan Island
We love sea creatures and chartering boats to see wildlife in the oceans. While staying at La Conner RV & Camping Resort 16362 Snee Oosh Rd, La Conner, WA 98257 Thousand Trails, we booked a ferry from Anacortes to San Juan Island. We love Washington ferries! Taking a ferry to an Island is a great way to get some scenery and maybe see some wildlife.
Exploring a little of the San Juan Island was fun. However, our main reason for going to the Island was our booked boat charter to see some Killer Whales. Besides our YouTube video, we also wrote a short blog on our Killer Whale Adventure. We had an amazing time, although the boat trip was a little colder than we expected. When we return to this area, we would like to explore more of the Islands, including Orcas Island. Maybe Jessica can even convince Windell to kayak around the areas.
Future Desired Explorations in Washington
Leavenworth
Although we explored the town of Leavenworth and did a few hikes, there are some amazing areas that we did not know about or explore while we were there. When we return, we want to hike the Cascade Pass Trailhead to Sahale Arm Trail, and especially The Enchantments. The Enchantments will be an intense one day hike. We want to apply for a backpacking permit to stay overnight. This hike is our main bucket list item in the Leavenworth area, although we realize it will be extremely challenging.
North Cascades
We did not visit the North Cascades National Park or surrounding area while we were in Washington. At the time, there were many vehicle break-ins while they were repaving parking lots and we didn’t want to chance it. However, as we watch our favorite YouTubers hike the North Cascades, we have discovered many hikes to add to our bucket list, including Trappers Peak, Sourdough Mountain Trail, Lake Ann Trail, Hidden Lake Lookout Trail, and many more. We are sorry we did not explore this area more while in Washington. Thousand Trails has a campground near North Cascades National Park. It is Grandy Creek 1000 Trails 7370 Russell Rd, Concrete, WA 98237 or you can reserve Goodell Creek Campground State Rte 20, Marblemount, WA 98267 or another National Park Campground.
During 2024 we traveled throughout Utah, visiting five national parks and many more amazing sights. We did not have any Thousand Trails or other campgrounds; we only stayed on dispersed camping sites in Utah for our entire visit. Although we were truck camping, there were only a few sites we would not have felt comfortable pulling in our travel trailer. There is so much boondocking in Utah that it is very easy to find spots near the national parks and other areas. The only area we had difficulty finding a spot was near Salt Lake City. So we bypassed that area and went to the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, where we saw lots of moose!
The GPS coordinates for this dispersed camping in Campendium actually led us past the Mill Canyon Dinsoaur tracksite which has a small campground. However, there are many designated spots along this road. The pictures in Campendium look as though the travel trailers, etc. took a right to sit beside the rock. We, though, continued along the Cotter Mine Road and found an amazing spot on a really bumpy road. The Cotter Mine Road is really bumpy and we would not feel comfortable pulling our travel trailer on it. But, if you have a truck, van or car, these spots are great.
There is some UHVs that travel the road for some off-roading. They were very considerate. The designated campgrounds are not near each other, so you have some privacy and quiet. Hiking in the area is a lot of fun. You can visit the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Bone Trail and the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Track Trail. This is a great place to boondock for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. We stayed here for almost a week.
This boondocking campground is huge! There are many designated campsites on the campground. We would be very comfortable pulling in our travel trailer and leaving it while we explored. Bigger rigs can easily fit in this campground; you just have to check out the individual sites for ruts and travel slowly on the road. This is a great spot to explore Escalante.
Our Verizon cell service was good. In fact, we really had few issues with our cell service at our boondocking spots in Utah. We stayed in this campground for several days.
This is BLM dispersed camping that allows a fourteen-day stay maximum. There are many campsites and roads leading into the designated campgrounds in Hurricane Cliffs. This is fifteen minutes away from Zion National Park.
We stayed here for over a week exploring Zion and taking care of some maintenance on our truck. The individual campsites 55 and 56 are very private and were our favorite. However, we also sat on one site that had a road going through it. The sign for the Hurricane Cliffs boondocking lists the sites for tents and for RVs.
You can easily pull in bigger rigs into the campground, making sure you find the bigger campsites. Most of the main roads are well maintained. We would have parked our travel trailer and felt easy about leaving her while we explored the area. There is some public and UHV noise, but it is pretty quiet and secluded. Our Verizon service was excellent here.
Panguitch, UT 84759, Dixie National Forest (near Bryce National Park)
This is a great spot for boondocking on BLM land. Per Campendium, the maximum stay limit is 16 days. Although we turned right on the first road that led to smaller campgrounds, there are larger rig campgrounds further down Road 117 off Highway 12. However, an A and a fifth wheel did fit into the first campground.
This is an awesome designated campsite campground. Some of the campsites are pretty close together. However, we would have no concerns about leaving our travel trailer while we explored in this area. As in most areas of Utah, our Verizon cell service was good. It is a very quiet area. We stayed here a few days.
Hancock Road Dispersed Camping instead of Hog Canyon Dispersed Camping
We looked for boondocking near Kanab, Utah after returning from the Grand Canyon North Rim. At first we tried Hog Canyon Dispersed Camping, GPS 37.0812, -112.5295. The road is rough, and although there is a large parking lot closer to the entrance of the road, it is not very private. Also, our cell service was not good in Hog Canyon. Jessica was not comfortable staying overnight and we would definitely not leave our travel trailer at this location.
However, we traveled further along highway 89 and found a Hancock designated campground on the left side on the way to Pink Sand State Park. The campsite was quiet and secluded and we stayed for several days. There was another campground right across the road and we saw vans and Class Cs check it out. But we saw no one pull in to camp. The campsites are very sandy and we might have been more concerned if we were pulling our travel trailer. Luckily, we had no rain while we were there. However, if there had been a forecast of rain, we would have left rather than chance getting stuck.
We probably would not pull our travel trailer into the Hancock boondocking simply because of the sand, although Campendium has pictures of travel trailers at a site. Our Verizon cell service was good and we stayed a few days at this boondocking site.
Heading North from Kanab, Utah towards Salt Lake City, Utah, we decided to park overnight in the Freemont Road Dispersed Camping. The first area is just a large gravel parking lot. However, there are a couple of campsites further down the road. When we arrived in the early afternoon, we were the only ones there. However, we were really lucky and a Jeep SUV pulled up and asked if he could pull in. We had no idea that the person in the Jeep would be a gentleman from Switzerland traveling throughout the U.S. and that we would visit and chat the entire next day about traveling, customs, and languages. It was a chance meeting that gained us a friend and changed our view on future travels. We stayed two nights rather than our expected one-night stay so we could visit.
Larger rigs should have no issue finding enough room at this BLM land. The dirt road may be a little rough but it is not too bad if taken slowly. Cattle does roam this area and the gate may be closed. There are two more campsites further down the road. However, you cannot hear the highway much at the first parking lot. There is no shade, but our Verizon cells ervice was very good.
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest near Salt Lake City
Our game plan was to boondock in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and hike to Donut Falls and Lake Blanche near Salt Lake City. Using the Campendium App, Jessica thought we could find dispersed camping nearby with Forest Road 182 Dispersed Camping 40.5308, -111.5945 or Big Flat Dispersed Camping 40.56, -111.5577. However, this area is extremely tight, even for just our dually truck. It is a very busy area and trying to maneuver around all the people was difficult. We were frustrated and a little tense on the narrowness of some of the roads and the amount of traffic and people. We were grateful we had not tried this area with a travel trailer. We may have missed some boondocking opportunities in this area due to our frustration. However, we simply skipped our hikes and continued to travel north after we thankfully reached highway 15 again.
This area in the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest is amazing. We stayed at the Christmas Meadows Campground. However, there is a lot of boondocking in this area. It is free to stay if you are primitive camping, as we were in our truck. However, our America the Beautiful Pass would have covered the fee with our travel trailer.
Although the Verizon cellservice was not good in this area, we enjoyed our stay of several days. We saw lots of moose early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Christmas Meadows is a long gravel road that also has permanent summer homes on it. The road traffic can be a little much sometimes. However, there is a lot of other boondocking sites besides the Christmas Meadows area. Some boondocking sites are nearer the wetter areas where we saw moose.
This is a beautiful area with plenty of campsites for larger rigs. Just make sure and check out the fees for staying here and check in with the office. We stopped and chatted with the Ranger who told us about the camping regulations and fees and when and where to see moose.
When Windell wanted to advertise our YouTube channel on the back of our truck and camper, I thought it was a waste of time. We created our YouTube channel for ourselves to record our own adventures. I thought most people would not be interested in our simple adventures. And, I wasn’t sure I wanted people to know me based on our videos and posts. After all, we are simply amatures with no previous experience in videomaking. Of course, we have a blast learning more about making videos and posting on YouTube.
However, advertising on our vehicles has provided some surprising benefits. We have met some really nice, amazing people simply by having our YouTube channel posted on our truck and camper. Recently we met a friendly couple who followed us while taking a detour in Colorado from our campground. We then followed them to the nearest Super Walmart. It was a blast to smile and chat about our short adventure together.
Our little YouTube channel is not big by any means. We are not influencers and we do not make money from it. We do not really care if we ever do. Not everyone we meet will want to subscribe to us or watch our videos.
Our videos do not contain a lot of drama. We do not post our Full-Time RVing life or the maintenance and repair on our camper. You will not find campground reviews on our small channel. And, our adventures will not appeal to everyone; not everyone wants to shark dive (I don’t know why!).
But our YouTube channel has provided us many benefits which we have written in a blog. One of our greatest benefits of advertising our channel has been meeting and chatting with new people. Because they see the advertising for our YouTube on our vehicles, we have more people coming up and saying hello or asking us about our travels. We love the comments and suggestions we receive. Unfortunately, while traveling, we do not always have internet service. It may take us a few days to reply to comments. But, we do read them and try to reply.
Being afraid to post publicly on social media or advertise your YouTube channel simply so people will not judge you does not make any sense. Since advertising, we meet awesome, friendly people that we would probably not meet if we did not advertise. We receive a lot of friendly comments about seeing the advert or meeting us at a place. It makes us feel warm and fuzzy.
Sure, we get dislikes on our video and sometimes harsh comments. We do not take it personal. We make our videos for our own enjoyment and memories. However, we do enjoy it when people find new places to explore from us. And, we love when people provide us with new ideas on adventuring. So, it is no big deal if we receive a dislike on a video or a critical comment.
Also we know we are not perfect. As we plan to travel overseas more, we hope to open our own minds to new experiences without any preconceived ideas or notions of how people should act. We cannot wait to explore and learn from various cultures and populations. And, we hope we continue to make new friends along the way.
We will continue to post our adventures for our own memories and for anyone else interested. Our vow is to remain true to ourselves. Sure, we may not have many subscribers or any revenue from our little YouTube channel. However, the joy and opportunities it has brought us to date has already paid us back in rewards.
This dispersed camping spot had a small area below the hill for a couple of vehicles to sit. We actually went up the hill a little bit where there was a camping spot with our travel trailer in tow. The gravel road was busy during the day with large trucks. However it was very quiet at night. Further up the hill, there were no camping signs.
This is a great spot for an overnight stay only. We would not stay here for several days, though. We used this site as our first campsite in Colorado after leaving New Mexico. It is right off Highway 25.
We dispersed camped in the Pike-San Isabel National Forests, near Divide, CO. While we were staying in late April, we experienced a brief snowstorm with several inches of snow. We had to dig in our winter clothes for some sock hats and glove after being in Florida all winter. There were a lot of campers in this area while we were there, including a couple fifth-wheels. Large rigs can easily fit in this area. The road is well maintained and we had no issues pulling our travel trailer in. You can stay for fourteen days on this BLM land.
However, it is loud during the weekend. There are many UHVs during the weekend with a lot of music and noise. If you want peace and quiet, it is better to stay through the week.
This dispersed camping area has designated camping sites on the west side of Colorado. This area is about 45 minutes away from Montrose, CO. We used this area while returning from Wyoming. The area has designated campsites; some are larger than others. Bigger RVs can either find a spot or park in the parking lot at the beginning of the road. The road is maintained. The area is used by the public for recreation. However, it is quiet.
The sign at the parking lot says seven days of designated camping. However, some of the campsites have signs with fourteen days of boondocking. The parking lot is not as quiet as the designated campsites. There is a lot of traffic in the parking lot where people will stop for an hour or two, even in the evenings.
This area is in the desert. When it rained on us, it was extremely muddy. We waited a day but still left tracks trying to leave.
RV Repairs are a constant when you live in an RV full-time. There are many conflicting views on what RV to buy and how much you need to know to make your own RV repairs. When we decided to RV full-time, we purchased a brand new Salem Hemisphere Lite 23 foot travel trailer from RV Nation for about $21,000. After we purchased it, we took it to a dealership to have it inspected and fix anything they found. Luckily, they found no real issues that required immediate repairs.
The first year on the road, our awning would not work. So, we called a mobile RV tech for the first time to fix our awning. The repair was simply reconnecting a wire. The tech not only reconnected the wire, but made sure it couldn’t pop out again. This was the start of our relationship with Mobile RV techs.
We have used a total of four mobile RV techs during our four years of Full-time RVing. The last three technicians we used were called to repair our water pump. We have replaced our water pump twice. The water pump fails, and the fresh water tank will fill while connected to city water. The water pump should not allow this to happen. So, our most frequent repair to date on our travel trailer has been replacing the water pump. The last time we replaced the water pump, we added a brass check valve to prevent the water from filling our fresh water tank even if the pump itself fails.
The last repair we had was the camper toilet valve replacement. This is an easy repair. We knew something was wrong when we began seeing water around the floor bolt on the toilet. So, we had the part replaced.
If we have repairs that we do not feel comfortable fixing ourselves or if we want more information, we ask the park where we are staying for recommendations on RV Techs in the area. Although we do research the most likely fix in YouTube, there is a lot of additional service technicians provide us. We are always asking lots of questions about our RV. Mobile techs are great sources of information, and for us, much better than exploring the internet.
We now know how to replace the seal that cracked on the front of our camper, that our slide out rubber does not need replacing, and that no leaks can be detected in our RV. They have even offered us suggestions on installing a We-Boost on the camper. We love asking questions and speaking with experts who have been in the field for over twenty years. Many people simply look at the cost of the repair but do not consider the wealth of information you receive from a knowledgeable RV tech. We appreciate all the advice and information most of our technicians have provided. And, they have saved us quite a bit of money on their advice.
Many posts have been written on the poor quality of the Salem Hemisphere and the worst buying experience from RV Nation. We have been very lucky. Our experience with both have been really good. However, we are glad we had another dealership inspect our camper before taking her on the road.
Our travel trailer is now four years old. The trim and cabinets on the inside show their wear and superglue has become one of our best fixes. We have taken her to a trailer place in Okeechobee, FL and had our wheel bearings replaced and greased. We have installed our silicone roof and continue to observe and maintain our RV. However, we know she will not last forever and that the repairs on her will become more frequent. We expect to replace her, hopefully way in the future, whenever the cost to repair her becomes too much.
For now, though, we fix what we feel comfortable doing ourselves and call Mobile RV Techs for the rest. We have watched many YouTubers who insist that you must learn how to repair your RV yourself. But don’t fret. If you, like us, are not mechanical or if you are unsure about the fix, call a reputable RV tech. We have only had one tech who stopped by but never returned to actually repair our RV. No worries, though. You only pay when the job is finished. There is no shame in acknowleding that someone else is smarter than you in an area and that you can learn a lot from them.
When we started RVing Full-Time we watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a log of blogs on RVing. Many of these recommended unneccesary RV improvements, renovations, and purchases. 2024 is our fourth year of full-time RV living! We have learned so much about ourselves and our Full-Time RVing. We have made few RV improvements to our little travel trailer as we are not remodelers nor are we mechanics.
Our little travel trailer has done amazing for us. It is our means of comfort while not exploring and playing. However, we are not people who are comfortable drilling holes, doing major rewiring, or making significant overhauls to our camper. Our few RV improvements have been simple, easy, and have made our full-time RVing more comfortable for us. We do believe in preventive maintenance, however, and try to inspect and clean our camper on a regular basis.
Our RV Improvements
Silicone Roof Sealant
For the first year of traveling, while we had warranty on our roof, we cleaned and took care of our rubber roof. While sitting in North Carolina under trees, our rubber roof got black mold in some areas, although we never saw any punctures or integrity loss. After North Carolina, we began investigating coatings for our roof to provide more protection and to minimize maintenance. We decided to apply a silicone roofing layer to our camper. This may not be the best choice among experts, and we are not RV techs. However, we love our new roofing.
When our manufacturing warranty on our roof expired, we added the silicone layer. We know that reseach indicates that rubber RV roofs should last ten years, and we had no issues with our rubber roofing. However, we have also known people whose RV roofs had to be replaced within a year. Because we are the sort of persons who like preventive maintenance, we wanted to avoid any obvious leaking or issues before they happened.
Our travel trailer now has two layers applied. We really coated the areas around the skylights and fan bases with the silicone to make sure there were no leaks and to better insulate our little travel trailer. The camper is definitely more insulated and more comfortable. During the nights when it gets cold, we will still wake up with the camper about ten degrees warmer than the outside air.
Although we still inspect the roof a few times a year, we do so less frequently than when we had the rubber roofing only. We were checking about every one to two months with the manufactured rubber roofing. Now we check around every four to six months. If we start seeing issues where areas are not covered or the silicone layer is reducing around the skylights, we will apply another layer. And, if we purchase another RV with the rubber roofing, we have already decided to add the silicone layering after the warranty expires.
One of our favorite RV improvements is our silicone roof. We have no issues that we are aware of. It doesn’t leak, is well insulated, and stays cleaner. Applying our due diligence, we even made sure our camper could handle the extra weight of the layer on the roof. However, the slideout still contains the old rubber roofing. It is not recommended to add roofing layers to slideouts and we wanted no issues. So, we clean and maintain our rubber roofing on the slide. But it is a small area that does not take long to clean.
We do not recommend everyone add silicone layering to their roof. We are not experts and we are always learning more about our camper. And we have made a lot of mistakes. However, our silicone layer on our roof is one of our simple, but positive RV improvements. Everyone should research and decide their own roofing maintenance and replacement if needed. We do recommend that instead of YouTubers and Bloggers, however, asking questions of RV techs is the best way to decide on your personal RV improvements.
LevelMatePro for RVs without Automatic Leveling
We live and travel in a small travel trailer that we love. It does not, however, have automatic leveling. We purchased many items when we first started RVing full-time that we did not need. Again, we were led astray by many YouTubers and bloggers. Yet, the LogicBlue Technology LevelMatePRO Wireless Vehicle RV Leveling System we purchased on Amazon has made leveling our travel trailer so easy. You can turn it on any time before you set up.
Our four year old LevelMate Pro connects to our cellphone using bluetooth. Please note, however, there have been many updates since we purchased ours. After it connects, the app on our cellphone simply tells us which side needs to be raised and how much. It also tells us how much we need to raise and lower the front jack to be level. The most difficult part of using the LevelMate is remembering to turn it off! It is so easy to use we recommend this tool if you, like us, don’t have self-leveling jacks on your RV.
Leveling is very important to us and worth the extra money of purchasing the Levelmate Pro. We do not put our slide out if our travel trailer is not level. Also, we have been told that if you have a propane fridge, it is not good for it to run while not leveled. Besides, Jessica does not like sleeping in an unlevel camper. It is no fun to feel as if you are rolling downhill while flipping in bed.
New Battery and Solar – Our Favorite RV Improvements
Our first year of full-time RVing, we kept the lead acid battery that came with the travel trailer instead of replacing it. Unfortunately, we did not know that if you let a battery empty, it decreases the ability of the battery to hold a charge. At the end of that first year, when we pulled over in rest stops for the night, we only had lights for about fifteen minutes before the battery went dead. Luckily, we carry lots of flashlights.
Our second year we knew we would have to boondock more on our trip out west, and we decided to upgrade our battery to a 200 ah AGM battery and purchase a 300 watt portable solar panel. What a difference these two RV Improvements have made to our lives! We know that if we sleep without a power hookup, we will still have lights in the morning and the refrigerator will be fine. While we stored the travel trailer for a month and a half and disconnected the battery, we still had 80 percent left on the battery.
When we need to replace the battery again, we will again purchase the 200 ah AGM again. Lithium batteries are too expensive and require rewiring of our little travel trailer. Many YouTubers praise the lithium batteries. However, a RV tech that we respect warned us against them. He warned that when Lithium batteries lose charge, they plummet instead of gradually losing charge. Our AGM battery should lose charge a little at a time.
We do check our battery frequently, even if it is not hooked up to the camper, just to make sure it does not drop below 70%. We learned our lesson with the first battery. Temperatures can also affect batteries, so while we were staying with family over the winter, we still checked the battery and kept it charged. Yet, if the battery charge becomes insufficient, we can easily buy a new 200 ah AGM battery and continue traveling.
Both the battery and the Jackery can be charged with our portable 300 watt solar panel. The solar helped us out a lot charging the Jackery while truck camping. And we like using the solar to charge our battery in our travel trailer while boondocking. The 200 ah AGM batter, the 300 watt portable solar panel, the Westinghouse Inverter Generator, and the 500 Jackery are sufficient for our boondocking power needs and worth every penny we spent. If we purchase another travel trailer, and upgraded battery will be one of our first RV Improvements.
Water Saving Showerhead
One very small RV improvement that we recommend for everyone is a water saving showerhead. Windell wanted to upgrade the showerhead as soon as we purchased our travel trailer. However, Jessica, not thinking it was a necessity, put it on the bottom of the list. She changed her mind quickly while moochdocking with friends. The water pressure was so low, the water barely dripped through the showerhead. Taking a shower was frustrating and forget about washing your hair. So, we went to Walmart and purchased a water saving showerhead. What a difference!
Instead of trying to maneuver your body under the dripping, the new showerhead allows us to rinse our bodies and wash our hair without being a contortionist. And, when we do have some pressure in the parks (even though we always use a pressure regulator), we can take some awesome showers. The water in the shower can now hit the opposite wall! We never experienced such great water pressure in the shower with the old showerhead. This may be a told you so from Windell, but the water saving showerhead will also be one of the first upgrades in any RV we own going forward.
Reinforcing the Bumper
We had no issues with the original bumper from the manufacturer for the first year of RVing. Therefore, we did not reinforce it. We put the bike rack with two bikes on the bumper and took off with no worries. We traveled from Missouri to Virginia, then south to Florida. So, we may have been a little over-confident in our second year that the bumper was just fine, without reinforcement, traveling out west.
Then, we hit a huge pothole traveling from Washington State into Oregon. Yep, the bumper ripped. During the rest of the trip in the west, when we moved, we put the bikes inside the travel trailer and took them out at the next site. This was an absolute pain in the you know what.
So, we had our bumper reinforced with some plates while we are sitting in our home state. We have realized that putting our bikes inside to travel and outside when we get situated is not a long-term sustainable plan for us. And after several months of traveling this way, we will try to make sure we never ever do that again. Reinforcing your bumper right from the get go is a necessary RV improvement and will probably save you headache in the future. As with everything on an RV, when it breaks, it may not be in the most convenient area to have it fixed.
Bidet
One of our most favorite unnecessary RV Improvement is our bidet. We originally purchased our bidet to save on toilet paper and wet wipes for two reasons. Jessica is trying to reduce the usage of throw away plastics while Windell rolls his eyes. And we are on a tight budget. The money spent on groceries cannot be spend on adventures. So, we try to analyze our expenditures frequently and see where we can save money for more flights and boat trips.
The RV bidet by Clean Camper that we purchased on Amazon was easy to install. We nonmechanics had no issues. At first, we were uncertain about using a bidet. Now, we love it! It was one of the main comforts we missed about our travel trailer while truck camping. It has saved us a lot on wet wipes and toilet paper usage. However, we also feel cleaner. No matter where we live in the future, we know we will want a bidet.
The few RV Improvements we have made to our little travel trailer has made our RVing full-time more comfortable and easier. We are uncomfortable with major improvements that could affect the integrity of our camper. Instead, we enjoy adding simple improvements that we can carry on to the next RV. When we first started RVing Full-time, we watched a lot of YouTube and read a lot of blogs. Some helped us a great deal, but many recommended major changes to our camper. However, our first rule should always be Know Thyself. Our few small improvements have been enough to make us feel comfortable without any major overhauls.
We love whale and other marine life watching and we love boats. So, while we were staying in the La Conner Thousand Trails in Washington State, we booked a Killer Whales Charter from San Juan Island.
Before arriving at the docks for the charter with Western Prince Whale Watching Adventures, we had to take a Washington State Ferry from Anacortes to San Juan. We love taking the ferries in Washington State that provide access to the Pacific Islands in the area. The ferries have always been clean. And, loving boats as we do, the ferry trip itself is a fun adventure. You can book the ferries online with WSDOT and see the Islands and schedules. If you are in Washington, we definitely recommend taking a ferry ride.
We took the earliest ferry ride from Anacortes to San Juan so we could explore a little of the Island. Specifically we wanted to visit the Lime Kiln State Park on the Island. Lime Kiln has a whale watching observation viewpoint and a lighthouse. Although we did not see any whales from the observation point while visiting, many have.
After exploring the Island, we parked the truck and hiked down the the Friday Harbor docks to get our gear and board our boat. We love marine life, as you can tell from our videos. And we were so excited to book a charter to see Killer Whales. The best time to see Orcas is April through October. Humpback whales are more often seen August through October. However, it is possible to see whales and other wildlife year round.
On our charter, we saw a family of killer whales that live in the waters. It was amazing to see the only male, a brother, and several sisters together of the family pod. The top fin of the male was six feet tall – the same height as Windell! Unfortunately, we did not see the mother who at the time had a baby with her. It was an exhilerating experience and our first whale watching tour. Since then, we are committed to going on more whale watching tours whenever we can.
Although it was summer when we visited San Juan, being on the boats is chilly. We were cold, especially on the Killer Whale charter. If you book a charter or ride the ferry in Washington, you may want gloves, a sock cap, and very warm socks. It will make your adventures more comfortable. The charter will provide you with warm clothing for the rest of your body, however.
This was an amazing experience and we still talk about the Orcas to this day. We have never regretted booking any whale watching or Orca charter. They are so much fun and we always learn a lot about the animals.
2024 is our fourth year of Full-Time RVing in our 23′ travel trailer. We have seen a lot of things, learned a lot of things, and missed a lot of things from living in a sticks and bricks home.
Living in a Camper Full-Time
When we sold our house to start RVing Full-Time, we had no idea what we were getting into to. We simply knew we were tired of working long hours without spending enough time together. While traveling we thought we would also look for a permanant home area while on the road. We would explore areas and see if any fit our needs.
Our travel trailer is a lot smaller than any house we have ever owned, including our first one-bedroom house in town. When we moved into the travel trailer, we didn’t know what to keep and what to get rid of. We spent a lot of money on a storage shed and tripped over a lot of stuff all over our camper. After the first year, we finally organized our travel trailer. Now, most everything has its place; although we still have a few things sitting around the bed. After the first year, we also sold everything in storage and got rid of the storage shed.
We still do not have the space for everything in our travel trailer. For some reason, the more adventures we try, the more toys we want to buy. So, the wetsuits, snorkeling gear and boogie boards are in the back of the truck. One of the reasons we do not have room in the travel trailer, though, is that we are carrying coats and old clothes for the Sugar Beet Harvest we work every year. When we decide to no longer work the harvest, we will have more room in a travel trailer for our toys.
After figuring out our organization, there are still many other considerations to full-time RVing that may differ from living in a house. Internet is a biggie. We have a Thousand Trails membership. Although we love our membership because it offers us campgrounds in a lot of areas, their campgrounds are notorious for not having the best cell service.
We have Verizon cell service for both our phones and our jetpacks. Because we do not work from home, we have the luxury of not requiring internet service full-time. However, we are addicted to Amazon Prime. And, we like to make videos, post blogs, and study Spanish. So, internet access is still a daily ritual with us. Right now, we are both sitting in the truck with the jetpacks on the weBoost in a Thousand Trails campground. Our goal is to buy an additional antenna for the travel trailer. Hopefully we can sit in our recliners and have internet!
Originally we purchased NETGEAR Omnidirectional MIMO Antennas from Amazon. These atennas connect directly to our jetpacks. They have greatly improved our cell service for watching television in most campgrounds. However, we still do not have enough service in some areas to make phone calls. Because we were truck camping this year, we also added the weBoost Drive Reach OTR – Cell Phone Signal Booster for Trucks and SUVs. This has really made a difference in cell service curing our travels. Especially as we rely a lot on GPS and Campendium for locations and boondocking. Our Signal Booster works very well, which is why we are currently sitting in the truck for internet.
We have not tried Starlink. However, we see many full-time RVers with the notorious Starlink receiver sitting on their roof or in their yard at campgrounds. Right now, with our budget and how we want to spend our money, Starlink is not on our purchasig radar. We will continue to rub our bellies while patting our heads to try to receive cell service at some of our campgrounds rather than subscribe to Starlink.
However, we have experienced internet issues even when we lived in a house in the country. We could not make or receive phone calls in our dead zone. For internet, we signed up with a satellite service that cost nearly $100 per month. We still have issues when we visit our friends in this location. So, having cell service issues is not uncommon to us, but we still cuss a little. If we did work online, it would be more stressful. This is one of the reasons we decided to not to pursue online jobs. We didn’t want to fall back into stressful jobs while full-time RVing. Cleaning toilets and working the beet harvest temporarily are enough for us right now.
We don’t consider the repairs on our travel trailer being any more frequent than repairs on our houses. We have owned homes where the roof leaked, water flooded into the carport, and cinder blocks held the house up. In our opinion, houses require a lot of maintenance. And, the more bathrooms you have, the more stories you have, and the more windows you have, the more maintenance you have. Now that our travel trailer is approaching five years old, it seems to require more repairs. However, when the repairs become too costly, we have decided to buy a new, larger travel trailer with more storage. Then, we can put our toys inside. Of course, with us, nothing is set in stone.
One constant in our Full-Time RVing is the planning. We usually move more slowly than most of the RVers we know. We sit at our Thousand Trails campgrounds for two to three weeks. This did change a little while we were truck camping this year. We usually only stayed at a boondocking site for a few days. But usually we will sit in an area for at least a week. We do a lot of planning. We plan our trip, our campgrounds, and our activities. This was something very new to us from living in a house. When we planned a small getaway from our house, it was usually last minute and for a few days. Now, we plan months in advance and have several plans saved at once. Just in case we change our minds.
What We Miss While Full-Time RVing
There are some really important things we miss from living in our sticks and bricks. It is not the space of the house or the internet. We miss our hobbies. Although we have added a lot more fun hobbies while traveling, there are some activities we really enjoyed while staying put that are difficult to continue on the road.
Gardening on the Road is Difficult
Jessica loves gardening and having chickens. When she lived in the country, she had fresh veggies throughout the summer and fresh eggs throughout most of the year. She built cold frames and a hoop house and kept honey bees. Some of the things Jessica misses most is picking a watermelon and dividing it to share with the chickens. She misses mulching the grapes and blueberries and pulling weeds from the herbs and flowers. Watching a plant grow in the spring from a bulb you planted in the fall can be so exciting.
Windell misses hunting and fishing. He loved planting crops, including turnips, for the deer. Then, he would set up game cameras to watch the deer eat and see how well they grew in the Spring. Although he really enjoyed bow hunting in the fall, his real passion was caring for the land and the deer. Both of us miss feeding the fish in the pond together while sharing a beer.
It is very difficult to continue the same hobbies we had in our homes while traveling. Jessica has tried. She irritated Windell until one year he carried grow bags full of Salvia and alpine strawberries in the back of the truck. He would unload them everytime they moved to another campground and reload them when we left. She still owes him for this, and he still lets her know she owes him.
When we are sitting at a spot for several months, Jessica will probably still try to grow some flowers and vegetables to satisfy her gardening itch. And, if we ever do find a spot that we want to sit at permanently, we have already decided to have some gardening space and maybe a couple of chickens, if we can. Of course, it all depends on where we will eventually end up. Who knows!
Quitting Full-Time RVing
Although we thought we might find a new location to settle down on, we are not yet there. Everytime we think about settling down again, we cannot imagine ourselves waking up to the same view day in and day out. Also, we would have to settle down somewhere near the ocean. Snorkeling has become the number one hobby for the both of us, beating even gardening and hunting. We want to continue playing in the ocean, no matter where we end up.
However, right now we are excited about traveling overseas. There are so many adventures that we have yet to try and so many places we still want to see! As much as we love snorkeling, we are considering trying scuba diving. So, no, we have no desire to quit full-time RVing as yet. But, we do understand why many people do quit. The desire for a constant location, more living space, and a desire to return to our previous hobbies would be the reasons we would quit, if we wanted to.
Our first two years of RVing Full-Time, we did not know anything about workamping. We had both retired early from our jobs to take a break and spend some time together. We created a tight budget for a lifestyle we thought we could afford. Our budget did not include much expense for adventuring or campgrounds.
Our initial plan was to stay on Thousand Trails Campgrounds with our membership and see sights around these campgrounds. We expected to stay on our tight budget by doing this. But, of course, after the first six months, we wanted more! More adventures, more toys, more fun. With our tight budget, our adventuring was more limited than we wanted.
The second year was also a little scary for us. The stock market was falling and we were traveling in the Northwest. We experienced higher diesel prices for the truck, higher cost of food, and, of course, we had to do some cool boat rides in this area. So, after that second year, we decided we needed to work. For our first workamping experience, we stayed for seven months with a relative and worked as Professional Housekeepers over a winter. We learned a lot on our first Workamping Job that we could apply to future positions.
Our Workamping Experiences
Working for family – Our First Workamping Experience
Our first boss was amazing. She trained us well and then let us run amuck. You might think that cleaning toilets does not sound like a good job. But there are many positives to professional cleaning. As mere employees, the boss handled all communications wih the clients. We did attend meetings, work outside in the elements, or work full-time.
Our first workamping gig was a great experience and we learned a lot. We did the best job we could and we left on excellent terms. So, we added the experience and our reference to our Workamping resume on Workamper News.
The Beet Harvest – Our Second Workamping Job
Our second workamping gig was the Beet Harvest. This workamping experience was a little more intense simply because of the long hours. However, the job is pretty simple and it only lasts a couple of weeks. We planned ahead by preparing and freezing meals so we would not have to cook while working the Beet Harvest. We also kept old clothes that we no longer wore so we would not have to do laundry while working twelve hour shifts. When the beet harvest was finished, we simply threw them away when we were done. It sounds like waste. But, after all the beet dirt, you do not want to wear those clothes again. After every shift, Jessica would dump the beet dirt out of her sports bra before walking into the travel trailer.
The Beet Harvest was awesome for two reasons. Everyone knows you make a lot of money in just a couple of weeks. It really helps with the adventuring budgeting. However, we also received an extra benefit at the beet harvest. We worked on a fabulous team and met some amazing people. Because of our great experience, we signed up to work it again this year. But now we will be on nights. Jessica is not sure how well she will handle nights, and how much coffee she will require. Windell has already promised to keep reminding her of next year’s planned adventures. Hopefully, we will also be on the same awesome team as before.
Working at a Florida Resort
The same year we first worked the Beet Harvest, we signed up for Housekeeping in a beautiful resort in Florida for the winter. We really did not know at first what to expect. We had never worked at a campground/resort before, although, most of the other Workampers had lots of experience at campgrounds. They would work half the year in Florida for the winter and the other half at a campground/resort up North. We felt a little out of place with our limited experience. But as we tell ourselves with every Workamper job, “if it doesn’t work out, we will simply leave.”
But it did work out! The resort is gorgeous. We only worked three full days a week. That left us four days a week for adventuring and RV maintenance. We were still Housekeeping, so we could keep to ourselves and simply do our job. Our supervisor was laid back and had a great attitude. Again, we were trained and then allowed to run amuck. We loved the cleanliness of the resort and the great location for adventuring. And, Jessica learned how to drive a golf cart!
Some of the owners at the resort were not sure about us either. And we can understand why. Sometimes the workampers and the employer work out great, as has been our experience with all our gigs. However, we have also heard stories about workers and employers not being a good fit. Also, we know we are not perfect workampers. But we will try to remember to clean the vacuum filter next time before complaining about it!
After a few months of cleaning and doing our best, people at the resort became more friendly toward us. We tried to learn names, and they already knew ours. More “hellos” came our way, and we even added new subscribers. When we started working the parties at the end of the year, we met even more awesome people. We worked as food servers and had a chance to dance with the owners at the last parties for the season. What a blast!
Our Future Workamping
Workamping has been an amazing experience for us. We have loved learning new skills and meeting new people. Sometimes there has been a little drama. Jessica does get a little cranky when she is tired or not out adventuring enough. Sometimes others try to throw drama on you. But, overall, we would definitely recommend workamping to anyone wanting to earn a some extra cash flow.
Although we have met some amazing people, our favorite part of workamping has been the huge increase in our budget. We love booking bigger adventures and buying more toys. Now we are even looking at traveling more overseas in the upcoming years. The increase in our wages and our budget have expanded our adventuring.
We have not explored all the opportunities of workamping. There are many more skills to learn. Jessica would like to workamp on a farm. Although Windell says no. These are temporary positions in different places. You can apply for whatever position you want wherever you want to be. If it does not work out, your career is not affected. You do not get demoted or put on corrective action. If you don’t want to, you do not have to work the same job for twenty years and hope you can retire while still physically healthy. You can explore and adventure while you work.
So, if you are traveling full-time and you need some money, look into some Workamping opportunities. It is a lot of fun. We already plan to continue workamping for many more years to have bigger and more exciting adventures.
