"Living Aboard Your RV"

Jill's Journal: As much as I love to read, actually enjoying a book rarely happens with little ones about. But this time I was persistent, which meant sometimes half a page every three days and sometimes 20 pages in one day. The end result was reading from start to finish “Living Aboard Your RV” by Janet and Gordon Groene.

It’s touted as “The Complete Guide to a Life on Wheels.” At times it was overly simplistic, but they tried to cover everything, which I do appreciate. It was a wonderful surprise to realize we had actually already thought of just about everything they brought up – everything from dental care on the road to mail forwarding to generators. And that in itself was very rewarding – just knowing that we’re going about this the right way, with our eyes open and our bases covered.

However, the best thing about the book was three realizations it gave me. First, it never occurred to me to sell most of our belongings. I just assumed we’d put everything in storage until we returned to a stationary home. But many things don’t weather storage well and why pay storage fees for stuff we barely use now or for furniture that may not fit into a future home anyway? The thought of purging everything unnecessary – none of it which is valuable – is quite appealing to me. We’ll obviously keep the sentimental things, but most everything else can go. For instance, this desk at which I’m currently sitting…why keep it?

Second, I always thought Rob would handle all the maintenance of the RV. And by that I mean not only the vehicle-type of maintenance, but also all the RV systems -- hooking up when we arrive at a new location, handling gray water, black water, etc. But this book made me realize it is vitally important for me to know all these things too.

And third, we’re going to get our whole family passports before we go (our adult ones have expired and the kids have not yet needed them). Not only is a passport the best form of identification around, but it would certainly enable any impromptu visits to Canada when we’re near the border. (No driving the RV into Mexico, thank you very much. I’ve been to several cities and beaches in Mexico and love it, but the thought of driving our entire life (especially young children) over the border into a sometimes-lawless place that preys on tourists…well, we’re brave but not stupid!)