What an amazing and talented community we have represented in our first ever “Life In An RV” Story Contest!

Below you will see all of the submissions our traveling friends have so generously shared with us, so please take a moment to enjoy what they’ve prepared and leave a “vote” for your favorites by commenting on the ones that touch or tickle you the most! You can vote as many times as you like – just be sure and leave a comment at the end of the post itself for your vote to count!

VOTING ENDS: Wednesday, December 19th at Midnight Eastern – so don’t delay!

Congratulations in advance to everyone who gave of their time and joined in the fun to make this holiday special for us all with your inspirational, funny and though provoking tales!

Mina Greenlee – Truck Shopping While Traveling Full-TIme
Rebecca Anne – Hunter Of The Night 
Lu Swart – Johnny and the Bear Essentials
Jennifer Hodgkiss – Throwing of the Colors
Dennis Swart – The Sled
Angel Price - Beginner RVing – Let The Adventure Begin
Wanda Peel – What A View
Jody Scholl – Stale Popcorn
Kent Butterfield – Waiting With a Purpose
Dana Butterfield – The Day the Hurricane Hit
Ron Hart – Our First Christmas in the RV

Life In An RV Story Submitted By Mina Wells Greenlee:

This story actually begins with our Montana Camping group known as MOC – Montana Owners Club. The National MOC Rally is every year in Goshen/Elkhart, Indiana in September. When we meet it is like seeing family at a reunion. (Except the people who are here “want” to be here participating!). There is sharing/learning about axles, brakes, warranty issues, tires….etc.

So imagine, all the same brand of 5th wheel (Keystone & all Montana) just different floor plans.

Now, in order to move the 5th wheel, you need …… A truck w/5th wheel hitch. (I know there are a couple other ways, but the hitch is for this story!). And men, being men, have to check out each others “ride”!

To shorten the story, let’s just say HoboBob got the bug for a dually!!! The pull truck at this time was a ’05 SRW 3/4 T Dodge Ram. It pulled our other 11,300 ib Montana just fine!

After our first Indiana rally, we returned to California & decided to go full-time. In the meantime, he is still happy with the ’05 pulling our 5th wheel.

Fast forward to 2 years ago this winter, and know that we have been to a couple more rally’s with truck towing Montanas! Every time he takes the 05 in for maintenance (ie oil change, filters& such) he checks out the newest dually on the lot! 60,000 dollars plus!!! This is of course in Tracy, California. Too much $$$$$$!!!!! So, that winter we went to Arizona (Quartzsite then Apache Junction area). Priced dually Dodges there!!! Same price! Went to South Dakota, about the same. That year went to a rally in Nebraska and “almost” bought there, but…. Not heated seats and not right “color”! ’05 is Maroon, his favorite color!!!

Then we went to Salina, Kansas to visit friends (& fill in Kansas on our map!). Priced trucks there, but no Laramie dually on the lot. They could order or check other dealers though! (By now he is getting pretty good at saying “No”! Too much $$$ or not right color or did not have something on it he wanted if he traded!!!)

So, we headed to Goshen for an appointment for our black tank slow leak repair. Also just a couple weeks before the rally, again. Trailer is in for repair at 7 am! We go to breakfast & ride around shopping, killing time. Go back to pick up trailer and we could not stay in our home because the sealant stuff needed to completely dry! So go to motel!

Next day, kill time, looking for furniture to replace what we had in trailer. Was driving to another shopping stop and had to stop at a light. I was driving and HoboBob was looking around. He noticed a “white” Dodge sitting on a berm with a Jeep, across the street! So, (not really into furniture shopping again!) he says pull in! We can “look”!

It was a 2011 white w/gold trim dually, Laramie (which means heated seats!)……with ….. 14,300 miles on it! Just purchased at auction! Okkkkkkkaaaaaayyyyyyy…….. It “also had” ….. Price tag $20,000 cheaper than brand new off the lot! Okkkkkkaaaaayyyyyy, but……not right color! But, had power-rear window opening (05 did not), had step-up rails already on it (I could get in!), had the rain gutters over window already on it AND did I say it was $20,000 cheaper than new!

Okkkkaaaaayyyyyyy, he is seriously considering this trade “if” they give him what he wanted for ’05 AND keep the payment at his point range!!! I am having a hard time believing that this is happening ….. So, then I get serious and talk about needing to prep the truck for the 5th wheel hitch…you know that means taking the truck to a place to have a new one installed. Guess what …… There was rails already in the bed of truck!!!!!!! All we had to do was UNCLIP ours from the ’05 & move it over!!!

And that my friends, is the story of how we got our current truck and how he traded his “baby”!

If you are a believer that God is in control of all things, then you will understand me when I say God blessed without us even asking. (No way I would have ever believed he would trade his beloved new, Maroon, Dodge truck 3 years ago!)

If you enjoyed this story and would like to vote for Mina – please leave a comment below!

(Enjoy all the other stories submitted by clicking here - you can vote on as many stories as you like, but your vote will only count once per story. Have Fun!)

To be honest, we’d never even considered the possibility of becoming full-timers, until one day in March of 2007 when we drove past an old-fashioned Airstream travel trailer cruising down the interstate — a beautifully polished classic from the 60′s. I was immediately enchanted!

Making It Happen

I had always thought RVing meant those obnoxious, 40-foot monsters that take up half a parking lot and spew diesel fumes everywhere. Matt and I never wanted a motorhome, because they run counter to nearly every one of our core values and most deeply-held principles. How exactly would buying a $250,000 RV be simplifying life? Who wants to take a tour bus the size of a building with them as they travel? Not I! But this teeny, slick, hip-looking travel trailer really clicked with us. I went into high gear. We could do this! Become full-timers and live on the road — nomads, Bedouins without all the sand! And in an Airstream! They’re practical and compact and last forever! Perfect!

You know the time is right for something to happen in your life when opportunities seem to fall in your lap from out of nowhere — and this was certainly was the case as we started shopping for a rig. Once I made my intentions clear, the process absolutely snowballed! In April, I posted a request on several Airstream websites, outlining our requirements for a suitable trailer. At first, I agonized over the condition of the ones we could afford (falling apart) and the cost of the ones that were in any kind of decent shape (exorbitant) — it seemed that never the twain should meet. Then in May, I got a call from two local Airstream aficionados who had seen my ad. This lovely lesbian couple spent their weekends renovating vintage models, and were selling the 29-foot Excella (named “Stella”) that they used for personal travel. They really wanted someone who would love her, and were thrilled by the idea that she would be our full-time home. After an hour-long phone conversation (during which I grew more and more excited, until I was pacing the room and gesticulating wildly to no one as I talked), we scheduled a time the next day for me to meet “Stella.” I could barely sleep that night, imagining our new life on the road.

I tried not to get my hopes up too much — I knew that this trailer would probably need work. It was a 1989 model, for pete’s sake — at the very least, we would have to update the mauve-and-gray upholstery that was so popular during my senior year of high school. But I was amazed by the condition Stella was in — after having looked at so many junky trailers on the internet, this was heaven. Custom oak cabinetry, new electronics, a stained glass window in the living room, red and black accents throughout — and of course, mechanically sound. It was the perfect combination of funky and tasteful, of retro and modern. Best of all, they were asking far less than I had originally planned on spending. The “fixer uppers” being sold on the web (ones that needed to be gutted and completely rebuilt, requiring tens of thousands of dollars in work) were selling for as much as $10,000-$12,000. A custom-renovated trailer could run upwards of $60,000-$75,000 — and a new one might cost $150,000 or more. Stella was delivered to our home on June 2nd for just $15,900. A new home for less than the cost of a car!

The stars aligned, my husband and I welcomed our new baby girl Stella into the fold — and in June of 2007 (exactly six months after I created my “vision board” for our new RVing lifestyle, the one with a projected launch date three years down the road!) our time frame for becoming nomads suddenly got a violent shove forward. We had a place to live — now all we needed was a plan. Before Matt and I could get out the door, we had to sell the house, decide what to take with us, and get our “administrative” ducks in a row. But that’s another blog for another day!

Copyright Ramona Creel, all rights reserved. Ramona Creel is a modern Renaissance woman and guru of simplicity — traveling the country as a full-time RVer, sharing her story of radically downsizing, and inspiring others to regain control of their own lives. As a Professional Organizer and Accountability Coach, Ramona will help you create the time and space to focus on your true priorities — clearing away the clutter other obstacles and standing in the way of that life you’ve always wanted to be living. As a Professional Photographer, Ramona captures powerful images of places and people as she travels. And as a travel writer, social commentator, and blogger, she shares her experiences and insights about the world as we know it. You can see all these sides of Ramona — read her articles, browse through her photographs, and even hire her to help get your life in order — at www.RamonaCreel.com. And be sure to follow her on Twitter and on Facebook.

Talking about income (as I did in my last blog) leads me to another major benefit of the full-timing lifestyle — the financial savings. I am a born cheapskate (something else I inherited from my father), and I’m always looking for a bargain. And the full-timing lifestyle is essentially a rolling bargain you take with you everywhere you go!

Thriving, Even In A Down Economy

I absolutely hated how much owning a home cost us (actually, “hate” may not be a strong enough word — more like abhorred, detested, and loathed!) When you tell me that I can trade $2,500 worth of house expenses for a $400-$700 a month campground site with utilities included, I’m in! Seriously, this is a great lifestyle for a frugal person who doesn’t need a lot of material possessions. Of course, we all define ourselves at least in part by where we live and what we own. But rather than attaching our self-worth to the size of our house or how much stuff we have to fill it, Matt and I have gone the other way — we take a great deal of pride in owning less, needing less, and wanting less. For an organizer, it’s the perfect “simplify your life” challenge. When you’re living in 200 square feet of space, carrying your entire home with you like a turtle, how little can you get by with and still be comfortable? Some people don’t believe that full-timing is cheaper than stationary living, and I have to prove it to them. Just think about the major expenses that go along with a conventional life — and see how ours compare:

• a place to stay (we shed the big brick home, paid for the Airstream and truck with cash from equity in the house, no longer have a mortgage payment, and now spend an average of $550 a month on our entire living environment — utilities included)

• maintenance (since our home is smaller now, we have many fewer things that can go wrong — our plumbing and electrical systems are simpler and less likely to break, each one is self-contained and has a backup in case of failure, and maintenance is ridiculously easy — if we ever do need a repair, we stand a much better chance of being able to do the work ourselves — and there’s nothing on our rig that would ever cost as much to replace as in a house — Airstreams are also notoriously well-built, and nearly immune to the kind of “wear-and-tear” body damage that fiberglass rigs can expect — most importantly, since our trailer is raised up off the ground, we run about a 0% risk of ever having a flood like we did in the damned house!)

• furniture (our Airstream has built-in furniture, so no need for the constant remodeling, upgrading, and replacing that we did in a house — and we actually MADE money selling all the stuff that used to clutter up our home before we hit the road)

• other paraphernalia (we brought everything of importance with us and refused to rent a storage unit for a lot of junk we didn’t really need — we’ve got plenty of space in which to store the things we use and love, as long as we don’t accumulate a bunch of unnecessary clutter — just think how much money we save by NOT going shopping every weekend!)

• food (since we take our house with us, we have unlimited access to our cooking facilities — even on travel days, we’ll stop at a roadside park and make picnic food for lunch, instead of having to drive through some fast food joint — when we eat out, it’s because we want to, not because we have no other option — and since we follow the warm weather, we can take advantage of less expensive seasonal farm stands where groceries are more affordable than at a supermarket)

• clothes (we share a single closet and have limited storage space for clothes, so I’m very picky about buying anything new — I have to absolutely love it or it doesn’t come home with me — also, since I’ve trimmed down my wardrobe, there’s no clutter left in my closet — I love everything I own, it all looks good on me and fits properly, and those “I don’t have anything to wear” shopping sprees are a thing of the past)

• owning multiple cars (we have one truck that serves as both a tow vehicle and our “around-town-automobile” when we’re parked — there is no reason for us to purchase a second car)

• gasoline (while gas is still one of our major expenses, we actually drive fewer miles each year than the average commuter — we park in one spot for a couple of weeks or months — then during our stay, we work from home and only drive to do fun stuff that’s too far away to reach by bike or public transportation)

• insurance (when we became full-timers, we were allowed to declare domicile in any state we wanted — we picked South Dakota, where our health and car insurance rates dropped by half)

• income tax (South Dakota has no state income tax — we’re living less expensively and don’t need a big salary to pay the bills, so we’ve chosen to work fewer hours and pay less federal income tax)

• travel (this lifestyle has all but eliminated the need for hotels, airfare, and rental cars — we still use these services when we take a trip abroad or have to fly across the country in a hurry, but it hurts less when we aren’t shelling out big bucks for the majority of our travel anymore)

• entertainment (while we are frugal, we don’t skimp on fun — since we spend so much less on daily living, we don’t mind the cost of tickets to the theater or a whale-watching excursion or a nice dinner anymore — and we’re able to take advantage of “local” discounts in a way that we couldn’t when doing our banzai vacations — and we find ourselves surrounded by so much free entertainment that it balances out — we spend as many days hiking, biking, canoeing, going to the beach, or just wandering around town taking pictures, without spending a penny)

• raising children (all I can say is that we have cats instead — if you’ve already given birth, you’re stuck with the expense of raising the little boogers, so there’s really nothing you can do about it — and although our decision not to have kids isn’t a direct result of the full-timing lifestyle, it’s still had a positive impact on our finances)

Honestly, Matt and I live more grandly than anyone with such a small disposable income has a right to. But it’s all because we make frugal choices — and full-timing helps us do that even better.

Copyright Ramona Creel, all rights reserved. Ramona Creel is a modern Renaissance woman and guru of simplicity — traveling the country as a full-time RVer, sharing her story of radically downsizing, and inspiring others to regain control of their own lives. As a Professional Organizer and Accountability Coach, Ramona will help you create the time and space to focus on your true priorities — clearing away the clutter other obstacles and standing in the way of that life you’ve always wanted to be living. As a Professional Photographer, Ramona captures powerful images of places and people as she travels. And as a travel writer, social commentator, and blogger, she shares her experiences and insights about the world as we know it. You can see all these sides of Ramona — read her articles, browse through her photographs, and even hire her to help get your life in order — at www.RamonaCreel.com. And be sure to follow her on Twitter and on Facebook.

When you first begin full-time RV traveling or even if you are considering traveling full- or part-time, one of the things that you want the most is information. If you search the Internet you will be able to find a plethora of traveling websites, articles about traveling full time and blogs written by full time travelers.

One thing that you might not think about searching for right away though is podcasts! Podcasts are entertaining, full of information and can be more personal than other sources of information.

One of the best podcasts that I have found about traveling full-time is called “Living the RV Dream” by husband and wife duo John and Kathy Huggins. This lovely couple has been traveling across America full-time for eight years and in 2009 began running their podcast. The show originally began as a weekly radio show, but now it is aired as a podcast for the ease and convenience of their huge following of faithful listeners. On average the shows tend to be around and hour long and you can click here to view current and upcoming shows.

This podcast is great because not only does it review a wide variety of places the couple has been to but it also gives a large amount of helpful advice that can be very useful. The podcast gives you information like what RV parks you should go to and which ones should be avoided, positives and negatives to traveling full-time, fun places to visit and a myriad of other extremely valuable tips and treasures that will make your RVing life a dream.

I think that the podcasts are well thought out and extremely entertaining! If you have the time I am sure that you would enjoy listening to several of these in a row. They are available to listen to on your phone, so as long as you have Internet you can enjoy listening to these great pieces of education and entertainment!

Since John and Kathy have been running this show for around three years you can easily look through old shows that they have done and listen to them as well and I highly encourage you to do so. All of the podcasts that I have listened to are informative, professional, humorous and overall fun – just as learning about life on the road should be!

However, the podcast is great not just because it is fun and informative, but also it will answer your questions – literally! You can simply send in a question or comment to John or Kathy and odds are that they will read it out loud and answer it on their podcast! Another fun plus is that special guests are fairly common on the podcast giving it even more depth and dimension.

This is the part of the review where I will usually inform readers about anything negative or unfortunate about whatever I am reviewing to maintain balance, but in this case I really have nothing but good things to say about the “Living The RV Dream” podcast! I really enjoyed it and it was great listening to something so informative and fun about full-time RV travel!

In addition to listening to the podcasts online you can also download past episodes and subscribe to future ones on iTunes.

If you really enjoy the podcast or if you would like to learn more about traveling full-time, then I’m sure you will also enjoy John and Kathy’s new book, “So you want to be an RVer?” When you get your copy of this book, you can downloaded it immediately to your computer, mobile electronic device or eReader for easy reading.

I highly recommend that you check out both the podcast “Living the RV Dream” and the book “So you want to be an RVer?” I guarantee that you will thoroughly enjoy both as much as I did!

Soon after discovering that we’re RVers, folks usually say something like, “Gosh, I wish I could afford to retire in my 30′s.” Well, so do I! Why do people automatically assume that life on the road means a life of leisure? Not all full-time RVers spend their days sitting on a lawn chair, drinking beer and gossiping about the neighbors!

Working For A Living

Make no mistake about it, Matt and I still work to pay the bills — we’ve just moved away from traditional employment and opted for “portable” jobs that can travel with us. I’ve always preferred to crack my own whip — but it took me three years under someone else’s thumb to discover that I was not built for taking orders! I’ve been self-employed since 1998 and have never looked back. I left the poorly paid and under-appreciated world of Social Work to start my own business as a Professional Organizer and Simplicity Coach, helping clients to clear out the clutter and regain control over their lives. I am a born problem-solver, and I love taking my clients from chaos to order. But even though I was technically “in charge,” my appointment schedule still dictated my every move — I felt just as trapped by my job as I had been when I worked for someone else. In fact, I was still working for someone else! I was at the mercy of my clients, caught in the 9 to 5 grind all over again.

I was also frustrated by the fact that my husband was still under corporate control, shackled to a 40-hour work week. We needed a solution that would set us both free. So we launched an e-commerce organizing website that rapidly took off and became an industry leader. After a few years, Matt quit his job to assume the role of full-time webmaster, and our lives became truly “virtual.” Finally, we had complete control over our schedule and could travel to our heart’s content (I seem to remember three months of “working vacations” in that first year alone — heaven!) Then, of course, we decided to take the show permanently on the road in our new Airstream. Matt and I thought we were so cool, managing our business while driving down the interstate! But the website continued to grow, and we soon found that it had become a 24-hour-a-day job. The internet never shuts off — and even though we hired staff to handle the day-to-day responsibilities, someone was always needing something from us. Matt and I had become digital slaves, flies caught in the web. I had pictured us parking for weeks at a time in the mountains, by a river, along a deserted stretch of beach — but we were unable to enjoy really remote natural areas for more than a day or two, before we had to hurry back to civilization where we could get an internet signal.

After nine years running the site, we sold the business — giving us something to live off of while we made yet another career transition, back into a more “service-oriented” mode. We thought about what what we liked best (and least) about each phase of our careers, and tried to choose income-producing activities that reflected these values. Matt needed more time to be creative, and wanted to combine his artistic talents with the analytical programming side of his brain. I missed the personal interaction of hands-on organizing, but was no longer content to simply help compulsive hoarders, ADDers, and the chronically disorganized keep their heads above water. I also wanted to teach clients who were interested in radically simplifying how to overcome those obstacles standing in the way of their dreams (hell, if I could do it, so could anyone else!) Matt and I would continue to be “virtual,” but on our own terms — neither of us want to be tied to a set schedule again. Now we’re freelancing on a project-by-project basis, Matt doing graphic art and web design (he custom-built this site for me and would be happy to do the same for you, your company, or your community group) — me as a writer, speaker, traveling organizer, and accountability coach. I also enjoy training new organizers who need help getting started in the industry. And I find ways to share my endless wanderlust through travel writing and photography, as well.

Matt and I were never destined to earn that gold watch at retirement — we enjoy our days far more when they are filled with a variety of activities, and would be bored to death doing the same thing over and over again. Sure, it was scary quitting “secure” jobs and striking out on our own — but you would be amazed how far a passion for your vocation will go toward alleviating those fears. Yes, we could be making a lot more money working for someone else — but Matt and I value our time and mental well-being more than a huge salary. You might be thinking, “That’s fine for you, but I can’t afford to be so cavalier about my job situation. I have bills to pay.” All I can say is that it’s a lot easier when you downsize your life (and reduce your expenses) like we have — it’s all about the choices you make.

Copyright Ramona Creel, all rights reserved. Ramona Creel is a modern Renaissance woman and guru of simplicity — traveling the country as a full-time RVer, sharing her story of radically downsizing, and inspiring others to regain control of their own lives. As a Professional Organizer and Accountability Coach, Ramona will help you create the time and space to focus on your true priorities — clearing away the clutter other obstacles and standing in the way of that life you’ve always wanted to be living. As a Professional Photographer, Ramona captures powerful images of places and people as she travels. And as a travel writer, social commentator, and blogger, she shares her experiences and insights about the world as we know it. You can see all these sides of Ramona — read her articles, browse through her photographs, and even hire her to help get your life in order — at www.RamonaCreel.com. And be sure to follow her on Twitter and on Facebook.