Social media is filled with photos and videos of people out RV camping in breathtaking places
with not a care in the world. Heck, they look like the happiest people on the planet.
The truth is RV camping is not always peaches and cream. But make no mistake RV camping is
not for everyone. Here's the thing. If you're not willing or prepared to deal with these eight
worst things about RV camping then you should not buy an RV. But after you get a dose of reality of
the non-glamorous side of RV camping and you're still really excited then you know it's going
to be worth it. But first, if you're new here I'm Randi and every Thursday I help you make
big memories in small campers and say it with me because weekends are just too short. This list is
in no particular order but everything on this list is very important so you need to hear them all
and I'm not embarrassed to tell you that the last thing on this list is a thing that's been
the worst thing for me to deal with when it comes to RV camping. Okay let's get started
and the first thing on the list is you're gonna need to empty your toilet. At home when you flush
your toilet the waste material just magically disappears but when you own an RV with a bathroom
there are some extra steps that you're going to need to take to dispose of this waste.
You see the waste in your RV toilet dumps into a holding tank and this is known as your black tank.
To empty this tank you connect a sewer hose to the tank antiseptic system and flush the contents out.
Yes, you're going to be carrying a sewer hose with you and you're going to be using it every time you
go camping. And during this process, you might just get a whiff or two of some unpleasant odors
and this is not glamorous. But it is part of the RV camping experience. I gotta tell you I
got pretty grossed out the first time I watched my husband Tom do this. Just the thought of handling
the sewer hose even with gloves on made me cringe. And not knowing if the person before us at the
dump station had any spillage was a thought that kept running around in my mind. It's kind of crazy
how your mind wanders. Oh and there's other fun RV toilet things that you're gonna have to deal with
like poop pyramids. Yeah, that's a thing. Sometimes it's just hard to get all that solid
waste out of the tank. My point is dumping your RV tanks is just part of the RV camping experience.
You will be dealing with bathroom things that you'd never have to deal with at home.
Number two on the list is unexpected RV camping expenses are expected. Oh boy, the true cost of
RV camping can be expensive. When you bought your RV you probably had to write a hefty size check
or take out a hefty-sized loan. But that's only the beginning. Some of your ongoing RV expenses
you can budget for but some of them you have no way of knowing how much you need to budget for.
The truth is you're just never gonna know ahead of time how much these unexpected expenses will be.
Let's start by talking about some of the smaller ticket items that you may not have thought about
and then let's work our way up to the higher ticket price items. Let's flash forward in time
for a minute. Now you've bought in your RV and you're so excited about your first camping trip.
Yay, we're gonna go camping. You've probably been anticipating your very first camping trip
for months just like I did but wait not so fast because there's going to be gear that you need to
purchase before that first camping trip. There are going to be things like a sewer hose and
disposable gloves like we just talked about but there are going to be other things like wheel
chocks to keep your camper in place when it's parked leveling blocks to level your RV when it's
parked or at the campsite and other essential RV camping gear. And these things can add up
real quick so I've created a previous video and a checklist that will tell you exactly what you
do need and more importantly what you don't need because you may need to keep those extra funds
for things that I'm going to share with you next. Next, let's talk about fuel costs. It's going to
cost a lot more to tow a camper down the road than it is if you were just driving your vehicle down
the road and this is because it takes more fuel to tow the additional weight and this can add up
quickly. And I wanted to mention this because this could be a cost that you may not have considered.
Next, you're gonna have maintenance and upkeep costs. You won't know exactly when you may need
to replace your RV battery or replace your tires but at some time you will incur these costs.
And the number one unexpected expense that you need to expect is for RV repairs. No
matter how well your camper is built things are gonna break. After all, you're towing a camper
down the road so things are bound to happen. And depending on what breaks in your RV this
could cost you several hundred dollars or several thousand dollars. What you're never going to know
is the next time you see one of those gorgeous breathtaking pictures of somebody out RV camping
what were the expenses that they just paid for? What things just broke in
their RV that they didn't expect? Huh? Huh? Right they never talk about that.
I hope I haven't scared you off yet because there are still six more RV worst things about camping
coming up. But real quick before we move on I want to take a real quick moment to let you know
I'm making this video because I want to help you overcome your biggest RV newbie obstacles,
fears, and challenges. And this video is the first in the series I'm calling make memories,
not regrets. If you're a first-time RV buyer these videos will help guide you through the
process but more importantly stop you from making mistakes so that you don't have any regrets. If
I've missed anything or you've got questions that I've not answered I want to hear all about them.
Let me know in the comments section below. This series is all about you and I want to help you
in any way I can. Number three on the list you may be forced to disconnect from this connected world.
Are you gonna be okay if you need to spend a few days without a sell signal or an internet
connection? Over half the campgrounds that I've camped at have had little or no cell service at
all. Sometimes when you find yourself in that situation where you don't have any cell service
this might be difficult for some people. Being out in nature while camping is the thing I love most
but there have been times when I gotta tell you I wish I had had a sell signal. After all once
I take that perfect photo and want to share it on social media if I don't have a sell signal I
can't upload it. You know yourself best. Are you gonna be okay if you don't have access to Facebook
or Instagram for a few days? I guarantee you this some of the most gorgeous breathtaking RV camping
photos that you have seen on Instagram they have not had any cell service. Number four. Getting
campground reservations can be challenging. Americans have been craving the freedom to travel
and to explore the outdoors more than ever. According to Go RVing, 11.2 million households
now own an RV and this is up over 26 from the past 10 years. Now, this is really good news but the
reality is this also means that the most desirable campgrounds often will book up just hours after
the campground becomes reservable. Now that's craziness. Four years ago when I first bought my
camper I was never concerned about finding a place to camp even if I wanted to go last minute. Those
were the good old days. And I got to tell you I've gotten pretty strategic about doing this too.
I've done a previous video about this topic so I'm not going to go into full details here
but the fact is getting campsite reservations at popular campgrounds such as National Parks
or State Parks can be challenging if you don't make your reservations far in advance. I couldn't
waste the opportunity to mention winter camping because I love winter camping in
Minnesota. But you want to know what the best thing about winter camping in Minnesota is?
I don't have to make a reservation,, there aren't any crowds and I usually have a campground all to
myself. I'm just saying winter camping's fun. Number five. Unpredictable bad weather can ruin
your camping trip. Now you know that you're gonna be planning a lot of your camping trips months in
advance and you're gonna be really excited to go but let me tell you weather can often dampen any
camping trip. Even if you do plan last minute and the forecast looks beautiful mother nature has her
own plans. Most of our time RV camping is spent outdoors and if you're like me a weekend warrior
and if it happens to rain all weekend well this isn't glamorous. In Minnesota, the summers can get
really hot, and then when the humidity sets in it can be miserable just standing outside. So tell me
how many RV camping photos or videos have you seen when it's been pouring rain outside or storming?
Probably not too many but the reality is you will be RV camping in bad weather sometimes.
Number six. It's difficult to keep your camper clean and tidy. Every time that you see the
inside of someone's RV while they're out camping it always looks so inviting. It's sparkly clean,
neat, organized and so tidy. But I'm here to tell you don't believe what you see because
your RV isn't gonna look like this when you're all camping. This one got me at first. I'm one
of those people that just like to keep things clean and tidy. But I found that when I was out
camping keeping my camper clean and tidy was hard especially the floor. Of course at home, I always
take my shoes off before I enter my house but when I'm out camping I'm constantly coming and going so
I don't want to be taking my shoes on and off each time I come and go. It just isn't practical for
the most part. Or even if I do wear my flip-flops and take them off dirt still gets inside. And if
you have a dog even more dirt is going to get tracked in. At the end of most camping days,
my RV floor is filthy dirty. To help me keep my sanity I started following a routine. Every
evening I always sweep the floor and at the end of every camping trip, I do a thorough cleaning job
and make this just part of my tear-down process. Oh and don't get me started about keeping things
tidy. I'm all team small camper but at the end of the day small places can quickly become cluttered
and when things are cluttered this makes me feel unorganized. So if you're like me and you like
things clean and tidy this is going to take some extra effort on your part. I told you RV
camping's just not as glamorous as the photos and the videos that you're gonna see on social media.
We're already up to number seven and number seven is learning new things is gonna be essential. And
this is a biggie because if you've never owned an RV before there's gonna be a learning curve.
There are going to be some things that are going to be okay to figure out along the way
things like how to attach a sewer hose and how to clean your black tank how to winterize your RV if
you live in a climate where the winters are going to reach below freezing or how to maintain an RV
battery. And then there are the things you must know before your first camping trip. Probably the
two most important things that you're gonna need to know as a first-time RVer are gonna be how to
hitch and how to unhitch your RV. Doing these two things properly is going to ensure safety for you
and your family when you're towing your RV down the road and always ensure that your RV is safe
and secure while you're camping and it's parked. Yes, there's definitely a learning curve to RVing.
And I'm not an expert I'm constantly learning new things and that's the main reason I first started
my youtube channel. I want to help you avoid making some of the same mistakes that I've made
along the way. Number eight. Towing and backing up a camper can be really challenging. I'm here
to tell you if you've never backed up or towed an RV before it's not as easy as it looks. Here's the
thing. I've been watching my husband tow and back up our Little Guy Max for years and he's never had
any big problems and he makes it look so easy. So I was sure that after practicing for a few times
I would have nailed this. Well, when my vehicle is moving forward I don't have any problems. There
were a few things that I did have to adjust to like when I pulled into a gas station but that
wasn't too difficult for me. Now backing up for me I like want to just pull my hair out.
I can't tell you how many times I've practiced this but I still don't have the confidence and I
just don't feel comfortable doing it. Sometimes I can back the camper into a campsite and then
sometimes a well is just so dang frustrating. I know I'm gonna master this. Right? Well,
to help myself out I did find an RV driving school and I'm going to be attending a backup class
this spring. Over the course of time, I've witnessed my share of people that have struggled
getting their camper into their campsite. Not so much because they didn't know what they were doing
but because the campsite was either like really narrow or there were trees or rocks in the way
or there just wasn't a lot of room to maneuver the RV and the tow vehicle. I mentioned this
because even if you feel confident backing a camper up there's probably going to be times
when you pull up to your campsite and wonder how the heck are you going to get your camper in that
campsite. Now tell me how many times have you seen somebody post a picture or a video on social media
that has shown the real struggles that they've had when they've tried to back up their camper
into a campsite? Drumroll please because i need to know after hearing about the worst things about RV
camping are you still in? If you said yes yay. Then you'll need to watch next Thursday's video
because we're gonna have a candid conversation about RV sizes. I'm all team small camper but
the truth is there are both pros and cons to owning a small camper versus a larger travel
trailer. And this is another biggie. The size of the RV that you do purchase is gonna matter.
And I don't want you to have any regrets so I can't wait to see you in that video next Thursday.