Hello everybody and welcome to another studio session with Ben and Rebecca, from
his and hers vlogs! Today..... We're going to share the dark side of RV living
with you. It's actually a follow-up to last week's video which was all warm and
fuzzy where we shared the good and amazing things about the RV life. So if
you don't know, Beck and I have spent the better part of the last two years on the
road, exploring a good chunk of North America. And we're taking these studio
sessions as an opportunity to download all our experiences to you!...Number 1,
You are never going to find the perfect RV! It's just a reality. You're always
going to have to make sacrifices and compromises in order to get into a rig.
But.... The way to overcome this is just to go do it! Except that there will be
things that you just don't love about it but you can live with them and get out
on the road and have a good time anyway! Number 2...The weather can really suck
when you're on the road full time! Mother nature is going to catch up to you at
some point. It's a reality! We've encountered random snowstorms, freak wind
storms, excessive heat for the time of year, a lot of stuff!... And in relation to
what Beck was just talking about, maybe when you're looking for an RV you should
take into consideration comfortable places to hang out! Because there's gonna
be a lot of days where you're stuck inside that thing watching the crappy
weather outside. And at the end of the day you want to be able to look at each
other and say, gosh! That wasn't all that bad!..... Number 3...Things are going to
break! We really actually don't know anybody who's been on the road for very
long that this hasn't happened to. It doesn't matter if you buy something new
or used, at some point it will become your reality. And I promise you it's
gonna be at the most inopportune moment possible. In the middle of a snowstorm, on
the side of the mountain and.... It might be pouring down rain or there may be
nobody around to help you! Way to get around this one.... Just accept that it's
gonna happen! Be prepared for it to happen, have a
great tool box on board and extras of anything that your RV might need. If
there's somebody around... Get some help! And at the end of it, know that you
survived it and you're back on the road! Number 4...You're gonna pick up some
hitchhikers. Not talking about humans, talking about rodents. The interesting
thing about mice, is they don't care how new or expensive your RV is there's
always gonna be a hole where they can slide their creepy little heads through
and freak you out at the worst possible moment! On your end,
all you can do is keep a clean house and have some mousetraps on board. Because
eventually you're gonna use them! Number 5, Discrimination! I hate to tell you
but either your age or the age of your motorhome is gonna be a problem for one
of those RV parks out there. So first of, age. Under 55, we've noticed
this in particular in Florida and Arizona. Not everywhere but parts of it.
And.... What we did learn, was even if it's in over 55 park, they do have to let you
stay for a few days. So as long as you're not wanting to spend the whole winter
you can negotiate with them. Now then in terms of your motorhome, if it's over 10,
then they're going to sometimes want to see pictures before they let you stay
there or they won't let you stay at all! Number 6 is the one that really pisses
me off and I'm talking about the reservation system in campgrounds! Now I
completely understand the reservation system is a good thing. If you're,you
know, planning a trip with your family, you want to know you have a place to go.
But on the other side of that coin, when it's mismanaged, and places like the state
of California put all their state parks on the reservation system, that's when it
becomes an epic failure! There's times when you can pull into a campground and
get lucky to get half the site. But you can't have it for the following night
and you can't even make a reservation up until three nights out.
So.... Keep that in mind especially during peak tourist season, that you're gonna
have to work around that pain-in-the-butt called the reservation
system!....Number 7, the perfect campsite does not exist. Now first off, everybody's
definition of perfect is different. For some of you it might mean a really fancy
RV resort. But.... For some people they'll look at the price tag and the fact that
they have lots of neighbors and that doesn't appeal to them at all! Then you
go out into the wilderness for either free or paid sites. And you have amazing
views and you're across the street from the beach! But... You might have noisy
neighbors or it might not be perfectly level or you find nails and trash on the
ground when you get there! Kind of just the reality is: "Suck it up buttercup!"
Because nothing perfect exists out there! You have to decide, where you're gonna
compromise and what you really have to have to make it perfect for you!
Number 8, Your definition of dirty clothes is going to change!
Not every RV has a washer and a dryer built in. And the ones that do, they seem
to take forever to completely dry your clothes! So what that means is everybody
has to visit the Laundromat. Which also leads into, you have to leave your
campsite! So then, you'll start looking at that shirt like "Gosh! I only wore that
for a couple hours last night." "I haven't turned my underwear front to back yet."
You're gonna make all kinds of excuses just so you can stay out camping. But
remember, Laundry always catches up to you and I'll see you at the Laundromat!
Number 9...You are going to sleep and clean yourself in some really strange
places! Let's take truckstops for example.
They're great for both. They tend to be very welcoming if you come and park for
the night. They also happen to have, fantastic clean, hot showers! And when you
first start Rving you think: "I'm just gonna stay in the RV." But the longer you
do it, the more navy showers you take, the more you realize, It's not
so bad to pack your bag and walk across the street to that really nice hot
campground shower that you can leave on for more than 30 seconds at a time.
As far as places to park and sleep, when you close those curtains, it really
doesn't matter if you're at a rest stop or a truck stop or really fancy RV park.
You're home!.... Last but not Least! Number 10, Quartzite is not all it's cracked up
to be! I'm not talking about the RV community,
I'm talking about the dynamic that happens when you put that many people in
clubs and in camps and in cliques together. It spells out "D-R-A-M-A!"Now don't
get me wrong, we've had some amazing experiences of course, met some awesome
people, lifelong friendships have been built there. But there is that dark side
and it just boils down to human nature. Our first year that we went to Quartzite,
we got invited to this secret camp, which was designed to exclude a couple of
people in the RV community. And we caught wind of this and it was like this just
doesn't seem right! So our moral compass point us in the right direction there.
Second year, we showed up a few days late and it turned out there are a couple people
spreading horrible rumors and gossip about us! It was high school behavior at
its worse! Now everybody is probably gonna make the pilgrimage to Quartzite at
one point in their RV life but keep in mind it's not all struck up to be
and life on the open road in smaller groups is far better!.... Alright guys! Well
now you've heard our: "10 harsh realities to RV living."... You know we always try to
look at the bright side but we also always try to tell you guys the truth.
And sometimes it's just not peaches and cream every single day out on the road.
So by now, we have an entire playlist of these studio sessions. So if you like
what you see, make sure you SUBSCRIBE to our Channel!
And if you liked all that footage that you've seen in this video, make sure you
binge watch all our travels! We're preparing for the next chapter of
our lives as we head overseas for some overlanding travel. So you want to make
sure you subscribe to that one. Thanks for watching and we'll see you on the road!.....Bye!