Full-time Living in Our Diesel RV
Oak Park Army Corps of Engineers campground in Dawson, TX
We knocked out our work this morning to get packed up. By 11:30 a.m., the RV and Jeep engines were running, and Caspian was in his carseat. I happened to look under Meriwether before telling Eric, “The front jacks are still down.” [Read more…]
Normally we get all our repairs and maintenance done at the end of each year when we come back to Texas for the holidays. Of course, we make exceptions for repairs that can’t wait. But 2016 was different. We knew we were going to be in one area for months, and we didn’t want to invest in too much RV stuff when we had a baby about to arrive. (Secret: the baby was cheap. The new Jeep wasn’t.)
We decided to save the things we needed done before our next adventure, and make one last visit to Iron Horse RV in San Antonio before leaving Texas for our 2017 trip. As planned, we headed south from Austin last Wednesday. We didn’t get to Iron Horse [Read more…]
I knew I would have to come back to Austin for the remainder of my pregnancy. I knew we were going to need to stay for Caspian’s vaccinations through six months. But I didn’t understand how long 11 months in one region would actually feel.
We’re now in our fourth year of full-time travel, and it’s in my blood. Our routine of moving every two weeks has become as natural as the Circadian. Mess with the cycle, and everything gets off-balance.
I have the utmost respect for everyone who lives in an RV full-time, but isn’t a full-time traveler. Some people stay in one place out of necessity. Some stay because they’re actually where they want to be. But full-time RVing without travel is not what I signed up for. As our departure date is finally within grasp (June 1!), I’m reflecting on the past months, appreciating the ability to travel more than ever.
Here are a few reasons I prefer full-time RV travel. [Read more…]
Some of you have probably been wondering whether we’re ever going to get back on the road. Now that we have a baby with us, maybe we’ll decide to put down roots and abandon the fulltime RV lifestyle.
Eeeek! Even writing that sentence grates my sensibilities like fingernails on a chalkboard. We have been dying to start traveling again!
Let’s backtrack. We arrived in Central Texas at the end of July 2016. I was at the end of my second trimester and needed to be close to my OBGYN for appointments. After Caspian Theodore was born on Dec. 3, 2016, we had to stick around for his doctor’s appointments and vaccinations.
…We were itching to travel somewhere around August.
Oh, we’ve ping-ponged around a bit. San Marcos, Austin, Fredericksburg, Corpus Christi, back to San Marcos. It’s all been good and necessary, but we haven’t sniffed out any new trails in forever.
So we’re definitely traveling again. That’s settled. But when, and to where? Plans for the rest of 2017 are still tentative, but we have an idea of our general route. And we’re ready to share it! [Read more…]
Meriwether on the lift at Iron Horse RV in San Antonio, TX
We’re more than a quarter into 2017, but it’s never too late to disclose how much it costs to maintain a used RV! In all seriousness, we don’t regret buying used. We haven’t had an unexpected breakdown since our first year–2014. Since then, the only unplanned repairs have been minor. We try to save our repair and maintenance items for our annual trip to Iron Horse RV in San Antonio around the holidays. We rarely get out cheap, but–in better news–we get to travel full-time in a home on wheels.
Here’s the rundown of the repairs and maintenance we had done in 2016. [Read more…]
Trogdor in his “sleepy spot”
This past Monday morning, we said goodbye to Trogdor the Burninator, our sandfire bearded dragon who was Eric and my constant companion for almost eight years. [Read more…]
It wasn’t long after we hit the Natchez Trace Parkway in 2014, at the beginning of our full-time RV life, that we noticed something was wrong with our odometer. The numbers didn’t add up. We knew exactly how far we were driving every day, and the odometer was counting way more miles than that. [Read more…]
Before RV redesign with old blinds and cornice boxes – driver’s side
I am not crafty and Eric is not handy. So when it comes to RV projects, we’re nearly useless. But seeing our little one’s due date on the horizon was the push we needed to finally tackle an RV redesign of our living area. Also known as half our home (see? It sounds like a massive project when you put it that way).
With help from friends, we redesigned our bedroom a year ago. We’ve been really happy with the finished product, so we decided to make similar changes in the living area. Including: [Read more…]
My dad takes the wheel for 2,300 miles in five days
We have an RV travel rule. We don’t go farther than 250 miles in one day, and then we stay put for two weeks.
But there’s an exception to every rule. And for us, family is it. We had a campground reservation in the Seattle area through July 23, where we were spending the summer with our kids and Eric’s mom. But I had a long overdue OBGYN appointment scheduled in Austin, TX for July 28. With these priorities in place, we had no choice but the insane: cover 2,300 miles in only five days. [Read more…]
Saying goodbye to Smaug, our Jeep Commander
This article is the dramatic conclusion of Part I.
So, where were we. Portland, Oregon. It’s Monday around 12:30 p.m. We’re back at our RV park with a broken Smaug (our tow vehicle) and a rental car. We have six and a half hours before I have to be at the airport. We have five days before we have to move to Seattle and pick up our kids from the airport there. No pressure.
As we set out on a lighting fast vehicle shopping tour, we had two options: [Read more…]
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
