It’s amazing when we look back at our own videos and see ourselves doing adventures that we might never had tried in our 30s.  I had never dreamt about shark diving in my life.  But it was on my husband’s bucket list.  Now, I love shark diving!  To see sharks and other marine life swimming below and around you in the ocean fascinates us.  We become mesmirized and forget many of our fears!

The funny thing is that we don’t really think about the risks as much as we did when we were younger.  Oh, sure, I am still afraid of heights and know that to walk a cliff I need a certain width on the path.  But, when we research our adventures and get caught up in lifelong dreams, we forget most of our fears.

For example, we want to snorkel with whales, orcas, and sharks.  It is our bucket list goal to see as many of these amazing creatures as we can.  However, although we know we must be strong swimmers and some waters will be very cold, we just know we have to try it.

During my “career” I was more hesitant, trying to weigh all the risks before jumping in. And, I hated screwing up in public, where everyone could see my mistakes.

But in my adventures, I screw up all the time!  While hiking back with the river flow on the Narrows, I fell in three times!  Everyone was asking “Are you okay?  “We thought we lost you!”  I was thinking, “Wow, what a hike!”

We are not the crazy adventurists who get permits for extreme trips.  I don’t think I will ever hike Half-Dome in Yosemite.  I could be wrong, but it is not on my bucket list right now.  We are simply an average, middle-aged couple who want to share our experiences with each other.

Having said that, though, once we find an adventure we want to try, we try not to let our fears get into the way.  Oh sure, I didn’t want to do Angels Landing the first time I visited Zion National Park.  I thought I might need a few more height adventures under my belt first!  But, I haven’t marked it off my list yet.

And, we don’t complete every adventure we attempt.  We did not feel comfortable hiking up the loose rock to Andrews Glacier in the Rocky Mountains National Park.  However, although we didn’t complete the hike, we enjoyed it immensely.  We still believe the journey is the most important part of an adventure.

Also, the more we adventure, the more comfortable we become with other adventures.  After full-time rving for several years, we want to start traveling to other countries!  We haven’t seen the entire U.S.  Maybe we will and maybe we won’t.  We simply enjoy dreaming about the next adventure we want to attempt!

Again, we don’t want to be too afraid of crime, customs, and language barriers to not experience some amazing places and adventures in other countries.  We have met some marvelous people while traveling through the U.S. They have opened our eyes to oversea travel by explaining it simply to us, “Just buy the ticket!”.

We can’t wait to experience other cultures, festivals, and landscapes!  Working and meeting people from other countries and U.S. global travelers has increased our hunger for more adventures.

Oh sure, we try to be a little prepared before we jump in.  We want to know at least a few polite words in languages.  We want our luggage to be a little secure.  And we want to research the country a little.  However, you never really know what to expect until actually experience it.

We still have a lot more in life to see and do!  Overcoming fears enables you to life the life you want.  Afterall, life itself is just an adventure where we grow, become more confident and make errors along the way.  And, if I can snorkel with a whale while doing this, all I can say is “Wow, what an adventure!”

Traveling from Colorado to Minnesota to work the Sugar Beet Harvest is a long travel in a short period of time.  At least it is for us.  We are not fast travelers.  We enjoy our downtime and our goal in traveling is not to see how quickly we can get there.

On the way up to our beet workamping this year, we stayed in three Walmart parking lots and one Flying J Truck stop.  They were not too bad, for parking lots.  Our best night sleep was actually the Flying J Truck stop, tucked away in between two tractor trailers.

But our best decision was to book an RPI campground for six days before the beet harvest campground.  At first we questioned our decision to book another campground as we were already over budget on campsites for the year.

However, we quit questioning our decision when we arrived at the quiet, maintained Forest Hills Golf & RV Resort in Detroit Lakes, MN.  Wow!  After parking lot boondocking for four days, this campground was the answer.

We assume the campground for the Sugar Beet Harvest, although full-hookups, will not be as nice as the Forest Hills Resort.  I have plenty of walking area around the campground.  However, I could also work out in the gym, if I were so inclined.

We have plenty of downtime to catch up on shows and reading before working the long twelve-hour shifts of the Beet Harvest.  And, we cooked and froze a lot of food for the two continuous working weeks that we anticipate.

The $10 a night with an RPI membership is worth the relaxation and preparation we enjoyed while sitting at this campground.  We also met a couple who sat for a few days before they head to their Beet Harvest in North Dakota.  Windell also gained new adventuring ideas from them.

The older we become, the more we realize that we require downtime and relaxation.  I know many couples, both young and old, who push themselves.  They travel faster than we enjoy traveling.  We met one older couple in a Florida rest stop.  They drove sixteen hours and were continuing to their campground in Florida.  Of course, they couldn’t sleep in their bed as they could not access it in travel mode.  So, they just kept driving.

That is not us.  I am not sure if we are lazy or just cautionary.  But pushing ourselves to get to a destination is just not our ideal way of traveling.  We enjoy relaxation and yes, even anticipation.  Although sometimes we do get bored sitting at campgrounds, we become really frustrated and grumpy if don’t take some downtime for a little while.

So, here we are at this beautiful campground, preparing for our Sugar Beet Harvest workamping.  We are thankful for our RV memberships and our relaxation.  If you, like us, also need some downtime, be sure and take it.  No one receives a prize for getting to the destination faster.  Know thyself and what makes you truly happy.

As for us, we have already decided to book this campground again next year if we work the Sugar Beet Harvest.  After six days of resting, cooking, and cleaning, we are ready to face those twelve-hour long shifts!

We have been dreaming of overseas travel for most of our life.  Traveling through the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming in the Summer of 2024 really enforced the idea of taking our adventures to the next level.  Now we know we are ready for more adventuring outside the continental U.S. 48 states.

What really cemented our idea of traveling overseas was our chance meeting of Chris from Switzerland.  Luckily, we were all traveling through Utah at the same time.  He ended up boondocking with us for the night.  We were all staying only one night.  However, we started chatting and continued visiting the entire next day into the evening.

Our gentleman, in his thirties, had already visited more of the U.S. than we had.  In addition, he had traveled to a lot of countries that we have only been dreaming of visiting.  His encouragement of “Just buy the ticket” really put a fire under our butts for more adventurous travel.

So, now we are planning our 2025 trips and we are focusing on traveling overseas.  We still have adventures in the continental U.S. on our bucket list and plan to visit them a month or two each year.  However, our main plans involve airlines, hotel or condo accommodations, and rental cars overseas or in Hawaii and Alaska.

With this new found bravery in traveling, we also had to revamp our budget.  In addition to lodging and plane tickets, we want to dine out more and try the local cuisine, visit markets, and tour more historical buildings.

Learning About Overseas Travel

Traveling outside the United States is a whole new concept to us.  Neither of us has been outside the U.S. in all of our many years.  We know many friends who book a resort for a week vacation and never leave the resort.  But this sounds completely boring and is not our type of travel.

Part of our fascination with traveling to other countries is interacting with the local culture, learning new languages, and visiting historical buildings and places.  And, of course, in many places, snorkeling is at the top of our list.

Because worldwide traveling is new to us, we are trying to learn more about how to travel efficiently and safely.  We are reading books by travelers and watching YouTube Videos.  Also, we are trying to learn more about the confusing credit card points and using them efficiently.  Forget expert hacking tips yet; we are still trying to earn our promotional points!

Because we are newbies at the overseas travel gig, we are only planning a week or two in different countries to get our feet wet.  Luckily, many of our bucket list places are considered safe for traveling, speak english, and we do not yet have to get a Visa.

However, as we gain more knowledge and feel more comfortable, we expect to travel to less safe areas.  Especially as many of our snorkeling bucket lists are in more dangerous countries.  But some of bucket lists are once in a lifetime experiences that we don’t want to pass up.

Some ideas we have gathered so far from reading the accounts of full-time travelers are:

1. Don’t try to see everything – book a week or two and see your highlights
2. Don’t check in baggage – carry-ons are the way to go
3. Be flexible
4. Plan for fraud and theft
5. Learn a few polite words in every country you visit
6. Research the country you will be visiting

Don’t Try to See Everything in Overseas Travel

When we plan our RV adventure for a year, we try to include a lot of sights and hikes that we want to do.  Usually, they are on our bucket list.  However, sometimes it is because we get bored sitting at a campground.

During our truck camping adventures of 2024, we missed a lot of our hikes and sights on our list.  We were sometimes too antsy to get to the next spot or the weather was miserable.  As we were traveling through the desert for most of the summer, the weather was often miserable.  Especially for sleeping in the back of the truck.  And we didn’t expect the price of ice to kill our budget.

Initally, while considering overseas travel, many times we thought we would have to book a month in a country to see everything.  We discussed finding public transportation or renting a car, booking two or more hotels/condos, and how to travel to different areas.  Our friend from Switzerland simplified overseas traveling for us.  He told us to pick a few bucket list items that we must see or do and then leave.  It sounds simple, but it was an “Ah-ha” moment for us.

What a relief this was!  It is way easier to book a week or two for the main places we want to see rather than planning luggage, clothes, and travel for a month!  And, we can include a couple of days for rest and just walking the town.  Because we are not go, go, go travelers, having a few days of downtime is very important for us.

So, now in our planning for 2025, instead of booking a month in one country and traveling all over it, we are planning a week or two visit in one area.  We hope to see our main attractions in the one area and interact with the local culture.  If we have time, we might venture out a little further.  However, we can always book another trip to a different area later.

The planning of only a week or two in one area makes the overseas traveling a whole lot simpler.  We only must book one hotel or condo and do not have to travel throughout the entire country.  We expect to stay in one location, see the sights, and learn a little of the local culture and food.

Simplifying the travel to another country has made our trip planning more fun and relaxing.  We may have to plan more than one visit to a country to see everything we want in the country, but we don’t have to try to cram everything into one trip.  Whew!

Don’t Check in Baggage

We are not baggage checking travelers anyway.  I have this fear of my luggage being lost and I like to keep it all near me when I fly.  I am like Scrooge with his money. And reading books by full-time travelers supported this decision.  Full-time travelers we have read and watched recommend not checking baggage.  Instead, they suggest following the one carry-on and one personal item for airport check-ins.

Since studying the recommendations of frequent flyers, we have purchased one small suitcase that meets the requirements for under the seat luggage.  We also plan to purchase two small traveling backpacks for our overhead compartment.  We plan to pack light.  As we don’t wear jeans anyway, we will pack some nice pants and shirts for both of us and maybe a couple of light dresses for me.  As one YouTube traveler recommended, “pack your bag, take half out, and then go.”

One recommendation given by another YouTuber is to make sure your bags stand out.  You do not want someone else to take your luggage without you noticing.  So, make sure your luggage cannot be mistaken for another.  I am still looking for the most goofy, colorful way to decorate my luggage.  Also, we will put locks on everything, including our day backpack, to deter theft.  From what we have read, pickpocketing is the most frequent crime in overseas travel.

Because we will be traveling to other countries and, sometimes, visiting churches and other historical buildings, we will pack nice, presentable clothing.  After all, we do not want to offend citizens of these countries or be denied access to something we really want to see.   And, let’s face it, no one wants to see two fifty-years old walking down the street with their private wrinkles showing anyway.

As for shoes, we love our hiking sandals.  In addition to hiking in them, I can also wear mine with dresses or skirts.  The only other pair of shoes we plan to pack are our tennis shoes  To make our packing lighter and our decision of what to wear easier, we plan to purchase neutral colored pants, shorts, and skirts.  We can then choose more colorful tops to accessorize our plain jane bottoms.

Hopefully, our packing plan works for us.  We don’t want to do laundry or have sweat stains under our armpits.  The more we travel overseas, the more we will learn what clothes and personal items we really need to be comfortable and presentable.

Be Flexible

In addition to traveling overseas, this is sound advice for RVing Full-Time.  You don’t know what will happen that could potentially change your plans and even make you slap your forehead.  Sometimes, crap just hits the fan.

During the Summer of 2024, we took our travel trailer to Arizona during the hot month of July.  We expected to stay only a week or two and then head back to the cooler weather in Colorado.  We really didn’t like the heat, but we wanted to do a couple of bucket list hikes in the area.

Unexpectedly, our truck broke down.  It just wouldn’t start one morning before a hike.  So, we had it towed to the nearest dealership.  For a month we sat in our travel trailer in the over one hundred degree heat while our truck was fixed.  This was not in our plans and took us by surprise.  We had to reschedule campgrounds and change our plans.  This was our first major mishap in four years of RVing Full-Time, but we handled it.

We assume overseas traveling will also hold some surprises for us.  Our planning in some countries involves using pubic transportation.  We know this will take us some time to learn and we will have some hiccups.  So, we want to add a few days to our trip to find our way back to the hotel, just in case.

However, we also know that things we never even considered will probably occur.  Our best action is to have a few backup plans and to search for other opportunities, if necessary.  Some of our best learnings have been from life’s curveballs.

Expecting Theft in Overseas Travel

I did not even really consider this until I read a book written by a full-time traveler.  Both she and her husband have had their credit cards frauded while traveling overseas.  And their bank closed the account.  If the bank closes the account due to fraud, they will only reissue the new credit card to your physical address back in the states.

Another YouTuber traveler we watch was pickpocketed while touring a country.  She also had her luggage taken from the overhead compartment on the airplane.  It seems there are many ways to be targeted for theft and fraud in our travel overseas.

We are still researching ways to make our travels safer.  Our first plan of action is to carry most of our important items in cut proof day backpacks with locks.  We each plan to carry one so we can divide credit cards, money and important documents.  Hopefully, we also remember to keep records of the customer service numbers of our banks, just in case.

A couple of worldwide travelers that I have read also recommend carrying backup copies of important documents, including passports, in other suitcases.  One author recommends three copies of ids carried in different suitcases.  Because we are only part-time travelers, we are still researching how much actual paper backup we should carry with us.  We don’t want to set ourselves up for more identity theft for only a week of travel overseas.

Also, to make it easier on us, we are not carrying laptops or other electronics on our trips.  Of course, we will have our cellphones and a backup for our photo storage.  But we really do not want to worry about how to carry or where to store other devices while we are having fun.

Luckily, our bank allows us to exchange dollars for euros in the U.S. before traveling.  To get our feet wet, we decided our first country for overseas travel will be in Europe.  We love the idea of leaving our Debit Cards at home and not using foreign ATMs.  Hopefully, this removes some exposure to fraud and theft.

As newbies, we are still learning.  We continue to read and watch videos on scams others have been exposed to and recommended safety precautions by full-time travelers.  Our first line of defense now, before visiting a country, is to check out the travel.state.gov website and learn more about the crime, restrictions and locations of U.S. embassies in each country.  And, of course, once we begin overseas traveling, we will have a better idea on protecting ourselves.

Although we realize no one is immune to theft and fraud (and every day company hacking proves it), we plan on limiting our exposure by simply not carrying too many items that can be stolen, dividing the necessary credit cards and cash, having copies of our passports and ids, making sure we are always aware of our surroundings and our personal effects, and anticipating what our backup plan is if something does happen.

Learning Polite Words and Behaving Respectfully

Oh, yes, we have met them, the travelers that everyone warns you about.  We met them at the pool while RVing in Virginia.  Originally, we thought it was going to be a great conversation.  After all, the man was originally from Missouri, and we usually love meeting fellow Missourians.

However, the conversation soon took a wrong turn.  We began discussing the subject of overseas traveling.  We were so jealous as they had traveled to loads of countries.  Of course, us being us, we started asking a lot of questions, trying to learn more.  We really thought they would teach us tips on overseas traveling and ideas for some adventures.

What we really learned from them was: (1) they did not like the food, (2) the weather was not ideal, and (3) their favorite part of one trip was staying in a hotel with a view of the Eiffel Tower.  They were arrogant and always comparing the country they visited to the United States.

Words cannot begin to describe how disappointed we were.  I am surprised our faces did not give us away as we grimaced on every detail of their travels.  We still have no idea if they ever truly enjoyed any of the countries they visited.

We know enough about ourselves to realize we will have to make some adjustments in our normal behavior while in other cultures.  For example, I am loud.  It is not that I do it on purpose, my voice is just loud and carries.  Especially if I am excited about a new sight or adventure.  I am working on it.  But it may take me a little bit to change a habit of fifty years.  I know I must soften my voice because not everyone in my vicinity wants to hear, “Wow, baby, check that out!”

However, we hope we are open to meeting various people from lots of different areas without prejudging them.  We love meeting, talking, and learning from others.  Sometimes it is difficult not to make comparisons between other countries and the United States.  However, there is really no reason to compare unless you are deciding whether to move to another country.  Afterall, we are just temporary visitors right now.

We want to travel overseas to learn and see amazing sights.  Duolingo is teaching us a few languages.  More importantly, we are trying to learn a few simple phrases such as  “hello,” “please,” “thank you,” “good morning,” and “where are the bathrooms.” in all of the countries we will visit.   Afterall, it is very important for us to know where the bathrooms are.

We know that English is spoken in many countries, especially in the touristy areas.  However, we do not want to assume that everyone will understand us.  Also, we hate to miss amazing opportunities to learn new languages, even if it is just simple phrases!  We would kick ourselves if we did not take advantage of hearing the local language and learning a bit of the culture while we are visiting.

Even though native speakers may laugh at our attempts of pronunciation, everyone we have met to date has been so friendly.  I have been laughed at while trying to roll my Rs and other speakers have explained conversations in English to us.  But, everyone we have met was happy that we were trying to learn their language and very nice about our faults.  It is a joy to us to talk with friendly, amazing people from all different walks of life.

Research Your Desired Location

This is how naïve we are about traveling.  We did not realize that the U.S. federal government maintains the website travel.state.gov to research different countries you will be traveling to.  I learned it recently while reading a book written by a full-time traveler.  You can aslo register with the website to let the U.S. government know when you will be in another country.

While planning our overseas travel, we try to read up on and watch a lot of YouTube videos about the specific country we are visiting.  And we will continue to learn more about traveling in general.  Windell loves watching YouTube and I love reading.  So, you can guess who does the research in each area.

When we travel to a country, we want to do our best not to offend anyone.  Also, we realize the laws in that country can differ from what we are used to in the United States.  So, we do a little research.  Although we know we will make mistakes, our research makes us feel more prepared for our travels.  We are probably overthinking it.  We sometimes do.

Yet, because we want to learn and experience some of the culture as well as see some sights, we expect to put ourselves in more uncomfortable settings than just relaxing in a pool at a resort.  Who wants to relax in a resort pool?  Especially if there is an ocean nearby to snorkel!  So, we research to teach us some basics of how to visit a country politely.

The most fun research is determing the bucket list items to do!  We make a list of the sights we want to see, any markets we want to visit, recommended authentic restaurants, and the main areas we want to tour.  It is also interesting to research festivals and cultural events that may occur while you are there.  I will never forget jumping up to dance in Colorado with Hopi family members when permitted!

Preparing Ourselves for Traveling Overseas

We are so excited.  When we started RVing, we made a strict budget to retire early.  Our initial budget was so strict that it required us to stay on Thousand Trails campgrounds for two to three weeks without much adventuring.  However, we have expanded our interests since then, our budget, and our work experiences.  The more exploring we do, the more we hunger for new and more exciting adventures.

Although we have not seen all the continental 48 states yet, we have decided to start exploring via overseas travel in the upcoming years.  We still plan on traveling in the U.S. a few months out of the year.  But we will be limiting this adventuring and travel to fewer, more specific areas.

Luckily, we can start exploring together while we are still physically able.  We are grateful for this chance to meet people, learn cultures, and try things we never dreamt of while working full-time.  And we expect our overseas travel in 2025 to further expand our interests and memories.  Thanks to our friend from Switzerland and some research, we will soon be able to start this new journey.

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.

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.