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RV Wanderlust

Full-time Living in Our Diesel RV

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Visiting the Home of Tiffin Motorhomes in Red Bay, Alabama

April 16, 2014 by Eric Highland 18 Comments

1976 Allegro Gas RV by Tiffin

Red Bay, Alabama, where all Tiffin Motorhomes are built. Pictured is a 1976 Allegro Gas RV.

We veered away from the beauty of the Natchez Trace Parkway to make the obligatory stop that every Tiffin owner has to make: the trip to Red Bay, Alabama, home of Tiffin Motorhomes.

Yes, this is Meriwether’s birthplace. For those new to the blog, Meriwether is the name of our 2004 40′ Diesel Tiffin Motorhome, named after Meriwether Lewis. Even though we had only owned Meriwether for less than three months, there was a certain nostalgia in making the journey to where he was built. That and we needed some work done. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Activities and Sights, Exploring America, Food We Found, Our Full-time RV Life, Repairs and Modifications Tagged With: alabama, tiffin

RV Park Review: Treetops Carefree RV Resort in Arlington, TX

March 26, 2014 by Eric Highland 2 Comments

Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX

Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX - home of the Texas Rangers (Photo credit: TexasEagle via Flickr CC)

Why would anyone go to Arlington, TX?

Hmm…let’s see. Texas Rangers baseball, Six Flags Over Texas Amusement Park, the International Bowling Hall of Fame, Headquarters of American Mensa…should I go on?

Ok, all you Mensa people already knew this, but Arlington is a perfect “base camp” if you want to visit anything in Forth Worth or Dallas. It sits pretty close to the midway point between the two cities.

And Treetops Carefree RV Resort in Arlington sits just off I-20, which is perfect for RVers wanting to go to all of the above and have an easy escape route from the Metroplex. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Exploring America, Park and Campground Reviews Tagged With: arlington, dallas, texas

RV Park Review: Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

March 25, 2014 by Eric Highland 9 Comments

The city of Austin, the Live Music Capital of the World

Austin, Texas: Live Music Capital of the World!
(Photo credit: John Cabuena of Flipintexfotos.com)

So the “Live Music Capital of the World” is calling your name…

Trust me when I tell you that you aren’t going to be spending too much time in your RV if you’re close enough to downtown Austin. If you do, you’re missing out on one of the best cities in the world.

All you really need is an RV park that is really close to downtown, has decent security and great customer service.

Austin Lone Star Carefree RV has all that and more.

General RV Park Information: Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Photo of the main office of the Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Main office at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV
(Photo Credit: RVResortlife.com)

  • GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 30.1856889 Longitude: -97.7733354
  • Physical Address: 7009 S IH-35 Austin, TX 78744
  • Phone Number for Reservations: (800) 284-0206
  • Rate as of March 24, 2014: Starting at $44 per night
  • Weekly Rate: Starting at $264
  • Monthly Rate: Starting at $515
  • Military Discounts: Yes, 50% off daily rate
  • Other Discounts: Yes, AAA 10% daily rate, Enjoy America 50% off second night, Passport America 50% off daily rate, Good Sam 10% off daily rate
  • Additional Information: Don’t take the William Cannon exit off IH-35. Take the Slaughter exit instead. If northbound, just stay on the service road. If southbound, get in the left lane after exiting and go under IH-35. Then head northbound on the service road.

RV Site Details: Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Site number 64 at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Site #64 at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

  • Site Pad Material: Gravel
  • Water: Yes, included with daily rate
  • Electricity: Yes, included with daily rate
  • Sewer: Yes
  • Laundry: Yes (see below)
  • Cable TV: Yes
  • Wi-fi: Tengo Internet (see below)
  • Dump Station: Yes
  • Propane: Yes (see below)
  • Pull Throughs: Yes
  • Back In: Yes
  • Big Rig Friendly: Yes
  • Pet Friendly: Yes

Particulars of Our Stay

Kerensa of Drive Dive Devour and Brittany of RV Wanderlust

Kerensa and Brittany with the fabric we chose for our cornice boxes. Kerensa and Brandon of Drive Dive Devour were awesome helping us get these things reupholstered!

  • Dates of our Stay: February 22-March 1, 2014
  • Site Number: #64
  • Cellular Coverage: We received strong Verizon and AT&T signals in the park
  • Most Memorable Moment: Getting help reupholstering our cornice boxes from our friends Brandon and Kerensa of Drive Dive Devour. They are awesome folks!
  • Other Awesome Moments: Grilling with Brandon and Kerensa and John and Laura of the Democratic Travelers. Followed by the obligatory watching of We Are the Millers.
  • Least Fun Moment: Glaring at some strange woman. Ok, look, let me explain. ~shifts eyes~ You see, we knew that Brandon and Kerensa were out of town for a couple days. They told us they were leaving their RV in the park and were headed up to Dallas. So, being a good neighbor, I went to check on their rig and there was someone in it! So I walked right up to the window and glared at this woman, so that she would know I was there. She looked back at me and we sort of stared at each other for a moment. Glad she knew I was watching, but it turns out it wasn’t Brandon and Kerensa’s RV. I had the wrong site number. ~blush~
  • Fun People We Met: Brandon and Kerensa of Drive Dive Devour.

Personal Reflections on Our Stay

Brittany from RV Wanderlust relaxing at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Brittany relaxing at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

If you want to be close to downtown Austin, this place is hard to beat. At just 5 miles from downtown, the location is great!

Austin is our “home city,” so we didn’t spend much time going out during our week, as we were just launching into our full-timing adventure. The week was spent mostly on learning our rig, meeting folks and learning about RV stuff from people who had traveled a mile or two further than us.

The pull-through sites are fairly large, level and packed fairly tight, but not as tight as other parks we’ve been in. The temporary spots come with 30/50 AMP service, water, sewer and cable. A picnic table and charcoal grill are also provided for these spots.

Traffic noise from IH-35 is there, but it’s not overpowering. If this is a stickler for you and you still want to be inside the city limits of Austin, consider McKinney Falls State Park as an alternative. But know that McKinney doesn’t have cable, sewer or laundry and is much further from downtown.

The restrooms and laundry facility at Lone Star require an access code, which you’re given upon check-in. The restrooms are clean, though dated. The hot water was hot and the water pressure was good. Both bathrooms were co-ed, which Brittany tells me she didn’t like. The laundry facility was clean and adequate and had a television that was showing I-Robot, which was a nice plus.

Austin Lone Star Carefree RV has Tengo Internet, which was horrible. But then again, we’ve never been at an RV park with Tengo that was good…and haven’t heard of one either. At least not yet.

Garbage collection each morning at your site is really nice. Something I thought was fantastic was their ON-SITE PROPANE DELIVERY! They have a truck that comes around on Tuesday, so let the office know by Monday if you need filling. Big points for this!

With the exception of the main road leading into the Austin Lone Star Carefree RV park, the other roads inside the park are in disrepair and have speed bumps that will rattle your teeth. So take your time going over those. BUT…word on the street is that they are repaving the entire campground in April 2014. So.. take that into consideration. WTG Carefree!

The on-off from IH-35 is annoying if you are headed southbound. It’s not a big deal if you’re only going out once or twice. But if you’re doing multiple trips each day, this can get old over an extended stay. But that isn’t Austin Lone Star Carefree RV’s issue. Just the way the roads are laid out.

The staff at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV was kind, accommodating and friendly. They even took time to help us figure out our cable when us noobs were having problems. And by “us noobs,” I mean me. The security at the resort was also great. From the access card security gate to the bathrooms and laundry, the place had a good, secure feel to it.

The proximity to other things in the area is pretty awesome. Target, Sam’s Club, Lowes, Home Depot, Academy, restaurants and more are all within minutes.

Things to Do in the Austin Area

Screen shot of the Austinot Blog

The Austinot Blog, a blog all about the city of Austin

There are so many things to do in Austin that we created an entire website dedicated to everything Austin. It’s called The Austinot and it has over 500 unique articles. Check that out for sure if you stay at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV.

Final Thoughts on Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

We’d stay here again for sure. The proximity to the city, the secure feel of the RV park and the friendly staff make it a no-brainer if you’re wanting an RV park with full hook-ups in the Austin area.

Do you have anything to add? Any other thoughts on Austin Lone Star Carefree RV? Maybe you have a question. We love comments, so please don’t hesitate!

Filed Under: Exploring America, Park and Campground Reviews Tagged With: austin, texas

RV Food Finds: Twisted Root Burger Co. in Dallas, Texas

March 11, 2014 by Eric Highland 1 Comment

The front of the Twisted Root Burger Co SMU location in Dallas

Twisted Root Burger Co. - SMU location in Dallas

In March 2014, we stopped in the Dallas, TX area for a week. Brittany’s brother Adam was gettin’ hitched.

As you can imagine, the week leading up to the wedding was filled with activity. One of those was a “Ladies Lunch” and apparently I wasn’t invited. Really? Reverse discrimination I tell you!

No matter. Time to do the manly thing and find some burgers in Dallas, Texas. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Exploring America, Food We Found

RV Park Review: McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, TX

March 7, 2014 by Eric Highland 7 Comments

McKinney Falls State Park sign

If you want an RV park in Austin, TX, but you still want to feel like you are RV camping in nature, you can’t beat McKinney Falls State Park. (If you want to be in Austin but closer to the city, you can take a look at our Review of Austin Lone Star Carefree RV Park here.)

When we are looking for an RV park in Austin, McKinney Falls State Park is definitely one of the RV parks on the top of our list. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Exploring America, Park and Campground Reviews Tagged With: austin, rv park review, state park, texas

The RV Wanderlust Crew Up Close and Personal

February 27, 2014 by Eric Highland 29 Comments

Sign that reads never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” -Author Unknown

Definitely words to live by, and we’ve taken them to heart. On Friday, February 21, 2014, we locked the front door of our stick and brick home for the last time and started our full-time RV journey.

We chose this lifestyle not to escape life, but so that life doesn’t escape us.

We have wanderlust to the extreme and hope you do too. If you are living vicariously through us, don’t hesitate to ask us questions. If you are on the fence about the lifestyle, feel free to poke and prod us.

We want to be transparent about our journey with you. Know that we’ll be sharing the good, the bad, AND the ugly. There is no topic we’re not willing to cover. Whatever you read here will be the actual experience. There is no sugar coating this journey. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Our Full-time RV Life

Searching for the Best Portable Gas Grill

February 25, 2014 by Eric Highland 19 Comments

I needed a portable gas grill. Heck, everyone who RVs needs a portable gas grill, right? After all, who wants to be “that guy”? You know who I’m talking about - that one guy who shows up to a campsite without the essentials. I mean, would other campers look at me funny if I rolled up in a 40′ diesel and had no grill? That guy on the right is looking at me funny even now.

People at a campsite grilling

See how happy they look? (Photo credit: SteveR via FlickrCC)

I envisioned myself looking longingly at other people’s campsites as they enjoyed their evening festivities with the aroma of seared meat filling the air, my stomach grumbling something unintelligible to me…nope, I wasn’t going to let that happen.

It was decided. I wanted the best portable gas grill I could get. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Full-time RV Resources, Keto Life

3 Cold Weather Tips for a Diesel RV

January 7, 2014 by Eric Highland 6 Comments

It was sunny when we bought the Diesel RV. Then the cold front came.

It was sunny when we bought the Diesel RV…then the cold front came

I’m shivering like a mobster in a tax collector’s office.

It’s 21 degrees in Austin and dropping to 16 degrees tonight! Ok, ok, I get it. All you South Dakota folks and Canadians out there are just snickering at us. But hey, anytime you have to open the refrigerator to heat the house (or the RV), it’s too darn cold!

So here’s the story. Brittany and I bought our brand “new to us” RV on January 2nd. On the 3rd, we took it to an outdoor storage facility and parked it. Our intentions were to clean and prep it for full-timing by February 22nd when our lease expires.

It was a good plan. A solid plan. One that worked with our timeline. What could go wrong?

Then came the cold weather report. Immediately I started getting texts and messages from quite a few people with cold weather tips for a diesel RV. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Lessons Learned, Our Full-time RV Life, Repairs and Modifications

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Eric and Brittany Highland

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Welcome to RV Wanderlust! We're Eric and Brittany Highland and we're on a pretty amazing adventure. As of 2019, we're starting our sixth 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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