oh I got the tv honey
I got the lamp honey you got the lamp all I need is this lamp and you know you gotta
have a big huge vacuum this is all I need and some flowers it's all gonna fit we'll
make it fit I know you might need some iron something I got the surfboard honey
this thing is huge
all right right here this uh that's where I have to draw the line
why hello and welcome to grateful glamper here at this channel we are dedicated to helping
you with RV life with organization tips tips to make RV life more simple after four years
of rv living we realized there are some things we would have done differently if we had to
start all over again today so in this video we're going to share with you what those are
so number one we would have brought way less stuff now of course this is just for fun we
really didn't bring the big screen tv and the surfboard and the full-size ironing board
we may or may not have brought in the guitar but suffice it to say you actually need way
less than you think that you need so think about this with coffee cups for example we
have just only two coffee cups because you're gonna do dishes every single day we've really
minimized down one pot one pan one set of mugs four plates for our family of four very
minimalistic in what you really need to bring with so thing number two that we would have
totally done differently is we would have rented a couple of rvs before that we actually
bought now here is the deal us included and so many other families that we have talked
to that have been living this lifestyle for more than a couple of years are not in the
same rv that they started with what you end up finding is that when you're out there and
you're in your rv you're traveling from place to place you're doing life in an rv as a family
you start to realize what is not working and you need something that is going to work and
so this rv we have right now is not the first rv we started with we realized that our first
one was way too small it didn't have the sleeping space that we really needed to be able to
do life together as a family while we were on the road and so we ended up with something
different in hindsight we would have rented a couple first really checked out what was
going to fit best before we made that purchasing decision so the number three thing that we
would have done way differently was utilize state parks national parks and city campgrounds
more often now when we first started we didn't know much about anything rv related and we
kind of always just thought well the koa campground was the only campground that you could take
an rv to and for some reason we had stuck in our heads that campgrounds that were run
by national parks or state parks we're like more for tent camping and were we wrong and
we spent way too much money on campgrounds that first year of camping we also had no
idea about how to really plan out our trips using things like rv parky or rv trip wizard
and being able to find these privately run campgrounds along the way if we had to start
over we would trip plan better and utilize state parks and national parks more often
I am so hot and uncomfortable um just like that time we went to the nickelback concert
so if we had to do it all over again number four we would have upgraded our rv mattress
a lot sooner than what we did now we kind of thought maybe if we just get one of those
foam toppers and put that on top of the mattress that came with the rv that will make it more
comfortable but it doesn't work so now is a perfect time to thank the sponsor of today's
video rvmattress.com by brooklyn bedding their mattresses are made right here in the u.s
and shipped conveniently to you for free no matter how or where you sleep rvmattress.com
has the right mattress for you rvmattress.com makes mattresses that are the perfect fit
to ensure a restful night's sleep and maximum energy on all your adventures they even make
rv specific and non-traditional sizes to fit into any type of rv or van lifestyle they
also offer different firmness options heights and dimensions and plus they're made to be
comfortable in all temperatures and climates they don't harden when it gets cold like some
memory foam mattresses can do rvmattress.com is the destination for all of your rv or van
betting needs they do come in three firmness options and have a 120 sleep night guarantee
and speaking of this guarantee we thought after looking on the website that we would
want the brooklyn aurora hybrid in a medium firmness so that's what we had them sent to
us however after sleeping on it we felt like it was a little too soft for our liking so
we let them know and they sent us a firm one with absolutely no hassle in it has been a
hundred percent perfect it was a super easy process to get and swap out and what we really
like about it is it feels like a real bed and not an rv bed we do love that it's made
in the usa and the process to ship it and get it in the rv was super simple it comes
rolled up in a box and wrapped in plastic we hoisted it in the rv they're super heavy
when you first get them it's a two-person job for sure all of their mattresses do come
with a 10-year warranty so we're not going to have to worry about replacing this mattress
until at least the kids are out of college and since we're loving our new rv mattress
from brooklyn bedding we think that you probably will too so if you're looking for a new mattress
check out rvmattress.com and you can click the link below and enter the code grateful
to save twenty percent
honey honey come check this out what what what you're not gonna believe this uh okay
so check this out uh the laundry yeah yeah it's not just a laundry basket oh really yeah
it's magic it's magic i'm dead serious okay you won't believe it i don't know if this
comes standard with the rvs or not but i am so glad we got this option option yeah because
every time i put my underwear socks jeans yeah into this basket the magic basket magic
basket they end up in the closet folded put away really everything yeah you're kidding
right no it's dead serious does it not happen to you i don't know maybe i'm the chosen one
oh sure you're the chosen one right so number five if we had to do it all over again we
would have gotten an rv with a washer and dryer a lot sooner than what we had now this
particular rig came with this washer dryer and i would have never thought that i would
love something as much as i have loved this but not having to use the laundry room in
a campground has been amazing especially during the pandemic and let me just give you another
little secret about this if the barbie's rocking it's just the washer dryer nothing to see
here so number six is we would have gotten our tsd logistics fuel savings card way sooner
than we did now we didn't really realize that this was even an option for us it does only
work for diesel currently but they've got gasoline programs coming and we have saved
so much in the last year that we have it it absolutely pains me to think about how much
money that we really wasted by not having it before now tsd logistics is a great fleet
program that you can participate in to get those fuel discounts but there's other field
discount programs that are out there too so if you're in a particular area very often
just check and see what reward programs are available in that area a lot of grocery stores
that have gas stations attached to them also have some sort of point system where you can
get fuel savings so always take advantage of that look at what are the fuel programs
that are going to save you money because you're going to use a lot of fuel when you're living
the rv lifestyle
let me tell you number seven there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to connect
to the internet when you should be able to so if we had to do it all over again we would
have gotten a hot spot way sooner than we did versus thinking that we could rely on
campground wi-fi because let me just tell you that doesn't work out so well and if we
were going to start rving today in 2022 we would actually bypass all of those hot spots
and go straight for the Starlink internet setup our Starlink has been great for us so
far we absolutely love that we have had service anywhere that we have traveled with it to
date and the speeds have been amazing so definitely if you are going to jump on the road this
year make sure that you either get yourself a good hot spot or opt for Starlink if you
can
not good not good at all if we had to start rv life all over again number eight is we
would have had our rv professionally inspected before we purchased it now it wasn't until
that we were knee-deep in renovations that we realized we had some pretty major water
damage and the signs were there when we bought it we just didn't know what to look for i
also have a family member who purchased an rv out of state drove up to get it brought
it back and every time that he's taking it from point a to point b his windshield is
popping out of his rv he's taken it in it's got some sort of body damage that they're
not able to fix and essentially he bought a lemon and it could have been avoided with
a quality inspection so if you purchase used or new do yourself a favor hire a certified
rv inspector have it inspected before you sign that final paperwork so the number nine
thing if we had to start all over that we would do differently is we would start flat
towing right away versus spending any time with the car dolly that we used to use now
using a car dolly is a great option if you need something that's inexpensive just to
get you going but let me tell you what the hassle factor is not worth the savings in
our opinion it is much easier to use this tow bar and flat toe our jeep we're able to
get it on and off literally within minutes versus the whole process of having to use
a car dolly so if we were starting rving this year today we would flat toe from the get-go
so number 10 is we would have opted for the thousand trails camping pass a lot sooner
than we did now we don't have the full blown big huge thousand trails membership we still
feel like that that is not the best option for us but the zone pass the camping pass
where you can choose the particular area of the country that you're going to be in and
add on that encore parks option has saved us so much money just in the one month that
we've had it already we are kicking ourselves for not doing that sooner so hindsight being
2020 if we had to start all over we would definitely opt for that zone pass based on
where we know our travels are going to take us in that coming year come on here you bring
it oh sorry sorry i bonked you in the head will you be quiet
so if you'd like to check out some more videos you really you should know of all people
i don't know i can't act snoring i might have to put an audio clip in.
i don't know does that work so you'll have to let us know in the comments below what
are some of the things that if you had to start over again today that you would do differently
we always love hearing from you but you're also letting the rv community know as well
some of the things that you do differently and we can all learn from each other if you'd
like to check out some more videos to avoid some of the pitfalls that we've fallen into
I'm gonna put a playlist right up here that is perfect for getting started or even if
you've been on your journey for a little while I bet you'll learn something new if we don't
see you out on the road or around the campground we'll see you in the next video