RV Wanderlust

Full-time Living in Our Diesel RV

Redecorating the RV: Window Cornice Box Reupholstery

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Old RV Cornice Boxes

Kerensa and me with the old cornice boxes

After you’ve seen a few brand new RVs, stepping into a coach that’s over a decade old can jar your aesthetic sensibilities. In fact, as we went through the purchase process with Meriwether, Eric had to keep reminding me that all the outdated and worn things I saw inside could be changed.

First project: dinette cushions. They grossed me out, so I painted them.

Second project: cornice boxes. Though I didn’t know what they were called at first, I immediately knew they had to go.

Frankly, I had no clue where to start. I read a few articles online and the process sounded too complicated for me. I was extremely fortunate to [Read more…]

Thai House Is My Arlington, TX Thai Food Pick

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Thai House Restaurant Arlington, TX

Thai House Restaurant in Arlington, TX

Ah, Arlington, TX…the antithesis of Austin…Here, I ask a resident, “What is your favorite non-chain, local restaurant?” And - after a loong pause - he responds, “…Non-chain?”

I found three blog articles about the best Arlington restaurants, and they all mentioned pretty much the same places. Nothing looked too enticing, until I read about Thai House Restaurant.

We love our Thai food, and we have some favorites in Austin that are pretty fantastic. But the review made Thai House sound pretty good, and Yelp confirmed.

So we made it our celebration spot for our 33rd monthiversary, which is today! We weren’t disappointed. Did I mentioned it’s located all of four minutes from [Read more…]

Comparing AT&T Phone Plans After Our Recent Upgrades

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iPhone 5S with Mophie Rechargeable Case

New iPhone 5S

Connectivity is almost always a big deal for full-timers. And it doesn’t only matter for those of us who work online. Our retired next door neighbor here in Arlington was just telling us how crazy she gets when she doesn’t have phone or Internet service! We all want to feel connected to our loved ones, current events, and individual interests.

But connectivity comes at a premium. Before getting on the road, we were extremely concerned about our Internet options and the level of service we would have in different parts of the country. Through extensive research, we chose Millenicom’s wireless device for our Internet service. It runs off Verizon’s network, and we’ve been extremely pleased with it (despite the recent price hike). With some advance planning and use of the Coverage? app, I can’t think of a single work day we’ve lost for lack of Internet service.

On the phone side, we’ve had iPhones through AT&T since about 2009. We love our iPhones, and for the most part we’ve appreciated AT&T because of its reliable coverage across the country. But we hadn’t [Read more…]

How to Liquidate Your Possessions for RV Life

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Sorting for Full Time RV Life

So much to sort! Taking one container at a time

Everyone planning for full-time RV life faces the same challenge: what do I do with all my stuff? Some have gracious relatives with extra space and others spring for monthly storage. But those options aren’t always available. Sometimes, everything must go!

You’re not here for disclaimers, but I have to give two up front:

  1. Eric and I had not accumulated a lifetime of possessions before we went on the road. In fact, from the time we were married in 2011, we purposely kept our belongings to a minimum. We already had some idea that this lifestyle might be in store for us, so we only got what we really needed…with just a handful of splurges along the way! All that to say, the amount of stuff we had to get rid of is very likely less than you have - and I want to recognize that!
  2. Our 40-foot RV has a ton of storage space. I still have drawers with nothing in them, and our basement storage underneath is kind of unbelievable. If you’re making a gas RV your home, you’re facing a challenge I can’t even imagine, with no pass-through storage!

With those notes out of the way, our 700ish square feet of apartment space, plus a storage closet off the patio, held plenty that I couldn’t take with me. And yes, it was absolutely overwhelming. [Read more…]

Week of Nashville Noshing and Nightlife

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Downtown Nashville

Downtown Nashville at night (Photo credit: Ryan M. via Flickr CC)

The northern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway brought us to the vibrant city of Nashville, TN. After weeks on the Parkway, plus our week-long detour to Red Bay, AL, I was really looking forward to big city life for a while! In my excitement, I may have gone out on our first night to run a ton of errands…including a happy visit to Super Target.

Our time in Nashville spanned March 22-29, 2014. We had extremely cold weather for most of the week, dropping below freezing temperatures many nights. The weather put a damper on our sight-seeing, but we still made the best of our time!

Campground

We stayed at Nashville I-24 Campground in Smyrna, TN, about 20 miles from downtown Nashville. It wasn’t the [Read more…]

Photo Tour: Our 40 Foot Diesel RV Just After Purchase

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2004 Tiffin Phaeton RV

Meriwether, our 2004 Tiffin Phaeton

Due to my rush to start redecorating, I accidentally skipped the photo tour of our RV at purchase! For those who are new to our blog, we own a 2004 40′ Tiffin Phaeton diesel pusher. Overall, our decade-old home is in great condition. The previous owners put in a lot of upgrades that we’re very thankful for!

Without further adieu, here’s the walk-through of our beloved Meriwether. [Read more…]

Bottoms Up at Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, TX

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Dr, Pepper Museum in Waco

You’ll find the museum at 300 S 5th St. in Waco

During our maiden voyage from Austin, TX to the Dallas area, we stopped over in Waco for lunch. (By the way, we ate at Bangkok Royal, purportedly the only Thai restaurant in town!)

As we followed directions to get to lunch, we passed a small street sign for the Dr. Pepper Museum. My favorite coke and one of my very favorite drinks - how could we resist?!

Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco

I was just a little bit excited

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Repairs and RV Service So Far

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Camping World RV Service

Taking care of Meriwether at Camping World

Buying a used RV is definitely a bit scary. Extended warranties can be purchased, but they’re pricy and you have to decide whether you’re going to take the plunge. Rather than pay for a warranty, we decided we’d be better off setting aside a certain sum every month for emergencies. (We have a separate line item in our budget for routine maintenance.)

Determined to be risk takers, we also opted against a pre-purchase inspection. I can’t say I recommend this. We had always planned to get a pre-purchase inspection, but our purchase ended up falling right around Christmas and New Years Day, and we were having an impossible time finding a reputable inspector who wasn’t on vacation and could fit us in.

We did get a couple of inspectors on the phone. Once they found out we were buying a Tiffin with new tires and new batteries, and a diesel no less, they ended up convincing us that we didn’t need an inspection. When respected inspectors who inspect for a living talk you out of getting an inspection, things get a little bit confusing.

But what were we to do? We really felt like we had found the RV of our dreams. We knew the most-expensive-to-repair components were solid, and we were getting a good enough deal on the coach that we felt like we could pay for any other unforeseen repairs.

Not wanting Meriwether to be snatched out from under us, we turned down the crazy road through No Inspection Land. [Read more…]

Choosing Class A, B, C…Easy as 1, 2, 3?

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The switch to a full-time RV lifestyle has been a long time coming. There was money to save, priorities to order…and we had to come to terms with the fact that we’re crazy to have a home on wheels.

Even though we weren’t ready to pull the trigger and make our purchase, we used the time to research and decide which type of RV was right for us and our unique needs.

The conversation went something like this, over the course of a couple of years:

Brittany: “These Class C’s look nice.”
Eric: “I don’t think Class C’s are big enough for us to live in full-time. We need to look at Class A’s.”
/time passes/
Brittany: “Okay…you’re probably right.”
/time passes/
Eric: “I’ve done some research and diesel Class A’s have more power and can carry more weight. We should get a Class A diesel pusher.”
Brittany: “Okay…”
/time passes/
Brittany: “Newer Class A gas models have more power than they used to. I think a diesel might be overkill, and they sure are expensive! Hey, I think we can afford this new Class A gas.”
Eric: “Okay…”
/time passes/
Brittany: “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could pay in cash and not have a monthly RV payment?”
Eric: “Okay…I guess we need to buy an older RV.”
/time passes/
Eric: “Diesel Class A’s have more power and can carry more weight. We should get a Class A diesel pusher.”
Brittany: “Okay…you’re probably right.”

(And somewhere in the middle at an RV show)
Brittany: “Look at these fifth wheels!” [Read more…]

First Time Here? Get to Know Us!

About Us

Welcome to RV Wanderlust! We're Eric and Brittany Highland and we're on a pretty amazing adventure. As of 2017, we're starting our fourth year as fulltime RVers and we've been transparently documenting the journey all along the way. In December 2016 we … Keep reading

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