Hit the Road - my list

[Keri Morgret <morgret -at- stanfordalumni -dot- org>]

I've had several requests for my information, so I thought I'd clean it up 
a little and post it to the list.  My experiences and recommendations are 
not technical writing specific, but are directed towards resources for 
people that want to live and work in their RVs full time. A tiny bit of 
background: I'm in my late twenties and have been going on camping trips 
since I was six weeks old.  My parents retired a few years ago and spent 
about a year and a half living in their 30' fifth wheel trailer while 
travelling around the continental US. Before they retired, I lived in the 
same RV for several months - and it was heaven compared to dorm life!

Some links:

http://www.workersonwheels.com/  A website with lots of resources for full 
timers, with book reviews, links to magazines that offer jobs for full time 
RVers, etc.
http://www.lifeonwheels.com/ offers a weeklong workshop on all aspects of 
long term RV life.  My parents found value in this conference, even after 
nearly three decades of camping.
http://www.escapees.com/website/ Escapees is an organization for full-time 
RVers, and will forward your mail and take care of / offer advice on some 
of those other logistics.

Some suggestions and comments:

If you've never gone camping for more than a weekend at a time, do some 1-4 
week long trips to get used to the lifestyle (laundromats, finding ways to 
check email, can you and your spouse/partner/dog get along with each other 
for that much time on end) and to the type of vehicle you're considering 
(does driving a motorhome and listening to the dishes in the kitchen rattle 
bug you? Do you want to tow a car behind you so you can run out to the 
drive through without having to break camp and disconnect everything? Would 
you rather have a truck and a trailer? Does your setup have enough storage?).

I didn't find the part about the black water (from the toilet is black 
water, shower/sink is gray water) to be as much of a problem as one person 
did.  If it's real hot weather, you'll want to dump the tank more often, 
and consider the type of chemicals to use (the big debate is whether or not 
to use formaldehyde in the stuff you dump in the tank).

What I DID find to be a problem was only having a five gallon hot water 
tank!  I needed to take a shower first thing, before I washed dishes or 
anything else that would use up some of the precious hot water.  My living 
situation was not at a campground, so I didn't have access to showers there.

For the most part, I loved camping growing up (we'd take 2-3 week trips 
from California to Iowa and back many summers), and I enjoyed living in the 
RV for those several months.  Best of luck to those considering doing this!

Keri Morgret


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