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RV'ing it!

With research and good planning, there is no better way to see this great country of ours! Arrange a membership with a camping outfit, like KOA - set up your stops/visits with them - and take off!

Sure! It takes about 8 hours to load the RV, and you begin to wonder if you're leaving anything behind. Literally. Guess what? It takes, eh, just a bit more to get the dang thing moving, especially if its facing uphill. Otherwise, you hope there's nothing in your way on the way down. Oh, how I hated those yellow and blacks road signs that showed a truck at a steep angle with a 6% next to it... and then the next sign expanded on that - for the next 15 miles!

Alright... what's the diff between 'gray' water and 'brown' water. It really is a good thing to know. Just think of it. As you're driving over that rutted dirt road - what exactly is sloshing around down there? And the hose that empties this. Geez, can't they make them wider? Then you find out why. The hole at the dumping station is the same size. All I could think of was - what if it backed up...

Keep in mind that if you don't shut the window, you may get slapped by a tree branch or two. Yep, you're up that high. Better know what that height figure is too. For the first time in your driving life, you pay attention to those height signs along the road and pasted on overpasses, cause otherwise, you just might sheer off the top of your vehicle. Or the vehicle will sheer off the overhang at the gas pumps. Hmmmm...

Oh, and check this out! I thought the Tilt-A-Whirl was a great ride! Heck, just pass a double semi with a 34-foot RV driving across Nevada! I forget which end pushes out, and which end sucks in. I had finally begun to learn to relax my hands on the steering wheel by the time we got halfway through Wyoming. I had to - they were so tired of correcting from the push and preparing for the suck!

And I totally forgot to look at the gas gauge. We got into the next Love's Truck Stop on fumes! and this was around 4am. That's when a wonderful attendant inside told me we had a reserve tank, with a switch to it - somewhere. Well, if that wasn't the cat's meow...

Now, it never fails. No matter where you go or what time of year it is - you're just gonna hit some roadway construction somewhere! I do believe these traffic workers all drive small vehicles. Do they forgot that there are RVers on the road, well dagnabit! It was a challenge, and I met it! Not one cone fell.

I learn lessons well - 'cause I learn them the hard way. Coming back to that dumping station thingy and your hose... I'd say they're each about a 2"-2-1/2" circumference. Not large when you've got plenty of square footage all around you. But I will give you this huge piece of advice. When dumping your water, no matter what color it is (but especially the 'brown') - don't have the RV keys in your hand. Some of those dumping stations' pipes go down quite a long ways. Luckily this one only went down about 2-1/2 feet before it slanted off, and luckily we had a metal hangar that we jimmied into a jimmy with a hook. A locksmith would have had a field day on this one.

The truckers are generally quite helpful drivers, especially at night. I had gotten a few flashes and had gotten a little hot under the collar, before I realized neither of us could see if we were male or female. So, I started flashing too.

Yet, all in all, it was the time of our lives. I love the open road. Other RVers you meet are wonderful people. The sites to be seen are unending and awe-inspiring.

It's the way to go!

Learn more about this author, Louweeze.
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