Roaming Free In An RV

Relaxing at the top. View of Provo and the lake.

Hiking trail

Mnt Nebo

Top of Bald Mountain

Hiking view

Two years living on the road on July 30th. Two years since we took a chance, sold everything, packed up a 5th wheel, and took off exploring this beautiful country. It’s amazing all that we have done in the last two years and crazy how fast the time has gone by. When I wrote the blog post about being on the road one year, a lot was up in the air with regards to jobs. Brad’s first at home job didn’t work out, we had to stop and get jobs along the way, and my photography wasn’t selling as much as I hoped.

It’s mind blowing what a difference a year makes. I have sold a few photos (yay!) and Brad now has a stable job working from home (double yay!!). It took a lot of patience and faith but we are traveling and living the life we set out for. For anyone interested in this lifestyle, go for it. There is never going to be a perfect time or opportunity for anything in life so take a chance. Things will work out. Have faith and trust the journey.

Like before, I’m going to list our top activities from the last year, what we would go back and do, etc. If you have any questions, send them our way and I’ll be sure to make a Q and A post.

What states were we in:

• Arizona and Utah

Our top activities:

• Both: Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, and Arches National Park. All hiking in Utah–hiking Mount Timp being number one, repelling in St. George with friends. Major accomplishment: Hiking Angel’s Landing in Zion
• Jen-Sedona, the Salt Flats in Utah
• Brad: Seeing the ballet and roller derby in Arizona, being an umpire in Utah for baseball

What we would go back and re-do:

• Jen: Re-visit Monument Valley and Sedona so I can get the photos I want
• Hike the Grand Canyon
• See the stars in Bryce during the spring/summer

Upgrades to the 5th wheel that would have been nice:

• A small office space or alcove
• Automatic leveling
• Convection oven–no propane oven
• Air conditioner for the bedroom
• Awning covers for each slide
• Double pane windows

RV/Truck fixes and maintenance over the last year:

• The fridge is causing issues still sometimes. This happened in South Carolina and in Arizona. We had someone come out in AZ the week we were leaving because it started to act up again (no longer cold). We were all set to get a new heating element but it wouldn’t be in in time so we had to skip on it. It was fine in Utah but was acting up again once we got to AZ. It took a week but it’s working fine again. We did finally buy a small fridge to keep in the “basement” area in case this happens again.Still dealing with the headboard no longer staying attached to the wall in our bedroom. We have tried everything and it still will not stand up.
• Maintenance has been done to the slides of the 5th wheel, spraying the rubber seal every six months and moving them in and out every month when we are stationary. We checked the brakes, tires, and had the once a year roof cleaning and resealing done.
• Normal hitch maintenance
• The truck had normal vehicle maintenance: oil change, fuel filter, air filter change.
• Truck got new tires!! And windshield wipers.
• Our air compressor broke so we got a new one
• One of the water connections in the “basement” got loose and had to be replaced.
• Propane hoses replaced
• Propane sensor in the house kept going off and we were freaking out! Turned out I sprayed Febreze by it and messed it up, getting a new one fixed that issue
• Got a new much needed new sewer hose
• Stove has to be lit with a lighter

What we plan for the future and what we are working on for the blog:

• Keep on traveling!
• A cost of living blog post, which will come out next year
• More YouTube videos. A drone and a Go-Pro are much needed and wanted for this!