He mea paʻakikī ke koho ʻana i ka RV kūpono. Nui nā koho! ʻO ka ʻōlelo aʻoaʻo mua a mākou e hāʻawi nei i ka poʻe e kūʻai ana i kahi RV ʻo ia ʻAʻohe RV kūpono for you. You will have to make some sacrifices…of course unless you plan to spend a million dollars for custom options. But if that’s the case, you probably aren’t reading this post anyway.

E ʻoiaʻiʻo, ʻO ka nui o nā RV manawa piha āu e noi ai he 2 a 3 paha mau RV like ʻole. Before you’ve lived in an RV, it’s hard to truly know what you want and need. So don’t be surprised if you change your mind, too.

Hiki iā ʻoe ke heluhelu i nā mea a pau nā ʻōlelo aʻoaʻo no ke koho ʻana i ka RV kūpono (e like me ka pou a mākou i kākau ai, DON’T Buy an RV Until You’ve Read These 5 Tips!), do tons of research, and drive yourself crazy. But, ultimately, until you’ve hit the open road and discovered your travel style, your parking preference, etc….it’s hard to know which RV is the best for your lifestyle.

No mākou, ʻaʻole mākou i loaʻa i kahi RV a ʻaʻole i hoʻomoana i hoʻokahi. Ua koho 'akomi makou i ka huila elima no ka hakahaka. We loved it, too! In fact, we wrote this post – 10 mau kumu e koho ai i ka huila elima no ka holo manawa piha. ʻO ia mau kumu ke kumu i hoʻoholo ai mākou i ka huila ʻelima, a ʻo ia nō pōmaikaʻi nui i ke koho ʻana i ka huila ʻelima.

Eia naʻe, 8 mau mahina ma hope i ka manawa e kūʻai ai i RV hou, kāhāhā loa mākou iā mākou iho i ko mākou koho ʻana e hoʻololi i kahi kaʻa kaʻa papa c ma kahi o kahi huila ʻelima ʻē aʻe. We purchased our fifth wheel knowing it was a “starter unit” to simply allow us to try out RV life and determine if it was for us or not. It wasn’t designed for full-time living…it was much more of a weekend warrior RV. So we originally went into the purchasing process with the plans to buy another fifth wheel.

Eia naʻe nā kumu i hoʻopau ai mākou i ke koho ʻana i kahi kaʻa kaʻa papa c.

We didn’t need as much “stuff” as we thought we did

I ka hoʻoneʻe ʻana i kā mākou mau mea i waho ka huila elima, ua huki mākou i nā mea he nui ʻaʻole mākou i hoʻohana and actually forgot we had in there. Again, we didn’t know anything about the lifestyle and how it would be. Now, we know what we like to do in the places we visit, we know we don’t need as many clothes as we thought, and we ditched the duplicates of things.

It’s a huge adjustment to downsize from a house to ka RV. No laila, nui ka poʻe e koho i kahi RV nui aʻe a ʻike lākou i ka liʻiliʻi o kā lākou pono. It’s extremely common for full-time RVers to downsize their RV during or after their first year on the road. Ma ke ala, ʻo ka hele ʻana i nā pae, he ʻāpana o ke kaʻina o ka hoʻomaʻamaʻa ʻana i kou ola.

Mākaukau > wahi noho

Ua nalowale kekahi mea ma kahi o 50 sq ft i ka wā i hoʻohaʻahaʻa ai mākou mai ka huila ʻelima a i kā mākou papa c. Ua hala paha mākou? ʻae nō hoʻi! Akā ʻoi aku ka nui o nā pōmaikaʻi i loaʻa iā mākou ma mua o ka nalowale o ka lewa.

ʻO kā mākou pōmaikaʻi punahele ʻo ia ka maʻalahi o kā mākou papa c. ʻO ka hoʻokele kaʻa like loa me ka hoʻokele kaʻa kahiko. Since the length is right under 26 feet, we can “fit” into most parking spots. We’ve even managed to find street parking in the city and have “moochdocked” outside of family members’ houses with no problem at all.

In contrast, the last time we returned home, we had no choice but to put our fifth wheel in storage while visiting family because there was not enough space for it in anyone’s driveway or neighborhood. It was really inconvenient to move out of our home for a few weeks and not have full access to some of our belongings.

We also used to be so jealous of the RVers who could pull off the side of the road to snap a photo of a scenic view. We’ve had to settle for mental pictures because pulling over with a 30ft trailer isn’t exactly safe, if there is even space for it. I kēia manawa, ʻike mākou iā mākou iho me ka hilinaʻi e huki ma kahi kokoke i nā wahi āpau me ka maʻalahi, me ka nānā ʻole ʻana i ke aniani e hōʻoia e hoʻomaʻemaʻe mākou i kahi alahele, a manaʻo ʻo Lindsay he 100% ʻoluʻolu ke kalaiwa i kēlā me kēia manawa. 

Nā lā huakaʻi maʻalahi

Let me paint a picture of what our travel days looked like when towing the fifth wheel. First, we would have to strap down any loose furniture, along with the typical stowing of items. Then, we’d have the usual disconnecting of the sewer, water and electric. The final step would be backing up the truck just right, lowering the trailer, and hitching it up, which would typically take 10 minutes alone (on a good day). We’d often be stressed that we would forget a step, because there were just so many.

I forgot to mention that we’d have to set up a comfortable space for the dogs, pack up a bag of snacks, water bottles, a trash bag, our computers (if we wanted to struggle to work at all), cameras (you always have to be prepared for beautiful scenery), etc. We would be crammed in and have to stop every 2-3 hours to stretch and use the bathroom. If we wanted to make lunch in the fifth wheel, we’d end up taking 30-45 minutes every time we stopped, which made travel days even longer.

I kēia manawa, e hoʻomaka wau e wehewehe i ka ʻokoʻa o nā lā huakaʻi ma ka ʻōlelo ʻana i koʻu kākau ʻana i kēia pou, ke holo nei mākou i Nashville. Noho au me ka ʻoluʻolu a me ka palekana ma ka hale ʻaina ʻoiai ʻo Dan e hoʻokele ana. When it’s lunch time, I’ll get up and e hana mākou i sanwiti me ka ʻole e kū a inā pono wau hoʻohana i ka lumi hoʻomaha…no problem! The dogs can move around a bit more too.

ʻAe, a ma mua o ko kāua haʻalele ʻana i kekahi wahi, ʻo ia wale nō ka mea e lawe ai iā mākou 10-15 mau minuke e hoʻopaʻa, wehe, a wehe. ʻAʻohe hoʻopaʻa ʻana a hoʻopaʻa i lalo. Hoʻopili mākou i nā mea, huki i ka paheʻe i loko, wehe i kā mākou makau, lele i loko a hele! Hele wikiwiki mākou a noho maʻamau i 1 pule i ka manawa ma nā wahi hou, no laila nui kēia no mākou!

Huila ʻelima 38C Hoʻolei ʻia nā ʻāpana kaʻa kaʻa pāpaʻi ma luna

ʻOi aku ka maikaʻi o nā wahi hana

ʻOiai he nui nā hiʻohiʻona hou o nā huila ʻelima he mau wahi hana nui, ʻaʻole kā mākou. ʻO kā mākou wahi hana wale nō ʻo ia ma ka lumi kuke ʻaina. ʻOi aku ka maʻalahi o ka hale ʻaina me nā cushions maikaʻi no ka noho ʻana i ka lā a pau.

Inā piʻi nui ka pāʻina no kāua ʻelua, makemake au e hana ma ka noho kaʻa kaʻa, e wili aʻe ana e alo i kahi noho. Aia kekahi papa ʻaina hiki iaʻu ke hoʻonohonoho, hiki ke waiho ʻia i mua o ka noho, inā makemake wau e ʻoluʻolu a nānā i ka TV ke kākau wau. No laila ua loaʻa iā mākou 3 mau koho o nā wahi hana! 

I mentioned that I am working while we drive, which is also a big deal for us. And the computer is not sitting on my lap in the passenger seat. I am actually at a “desk”, where I can focus without getting car sick or getting a neck cramp!

We also used to only be able to travel on weekends because Dan was the primary driver and he couldn’t take time away from his work during week days. We would occasionally be able to squeeze travel in on a week day if the drive was under 3 hours and after the work day. The hardest part about that though, other than driving at night, is that our weekends are our most valuable time. Weekends are the best time for us to be exploring new places and enjoying the greatest benefit of RV life.

I kēia manawa ua ʻoluʻolu au i ka hoʻokele ʻana i ka RV hou, hiki iā Dan ke hana i koʻu hoʻokele ʻana. ʻAʻole pono nā lā huakaʻi e hoʻokaʻawale i ka manawa mai ka hana. It’s all about efficiency and multi-tasking, right? And our weekends are free for adventuring!

ʻOi aku ka maikaʻi o ke kinoea mileage

What do you get when you cross a GMC Sierra 2500 truck and a 8,500 pound fifth wheel? A gas guzzler! That’s not a joke. We used to get 7-8 miles per gallon while towing! Then we’d continue to get poor gas mileage when we would detach the trailer and drive the truck around cities. We basically lived at gas stations.

I kēia manawa, loaʻa i ke kaʻa kaʻa kaʻa kaʻa kaʻa kaʻa wale nō, which is around 15 mpg. When we tow our Jeep Wrangler behind the motorhome, we still average around 11 miles per gallon…not too shabby. But when we arrive, we can ride around in the jeep and get 18 miles per gallon around the city! Cha-ching! More money in our pockets, which makes us happy campers!

No laila aia iā ʻoe! ʻIke loa, hauʻoli nui mākou i kā mākou hoʻoholo e hoʻololi mai ka huila ʻelima i kahi home kaʻa! Ua koho mākou i kahi Winnebago Navion 24D 2018 a aloha mākou! We named her “Wanda” because she allows us to “wanda” around the country while feeding our “wanda-lust”. Or, as my dad says, we “wanda” how we’re going to pay for her! But, as they say, not all who “wanda” are lost. Ha! Okay, that’s enough puns!