Kusankha RV yoyenera kungakhale kovuta. Pali zosankha zambiri! Upangiri woyamba womwe timapereka kwa anthu omwe akugula ma RV ndikuti palibe RV wangwiro 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.

Kunena zowona, Ma RV ambiri omwe mumawafunsa amakhala ndi ma RV awiri kapena atatu. 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.

Mutha kuwerenga zonse malangizo posankha RV yoyenera (monga post yomwe tidalemba, 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.

Kwa ife, tinali tisanayambe kukhala ndi galimoto ya RV ndipo tinali tisanapiteko n'komwe. Tinasankha gudumu lachisanu la danga. We loved it, too! In fact, we wrote this post – Zifukwa 10 Zosankha Gudumu Lachisanu la RVing Nthawi Zonse. Zifukwa zimenezo zinali ndendende chifukwa ife anaganiza pa gudumu lachisanu, ndipo akadali phindu lalikulu posankha gudumu lachisanu.

Komabe, miyezi 8 pambuyo pake itakwana nthawi yogula RV yatsopano, tinadabwa kwathunthu pamene tinasankha kusinthana ndi kalasi c motorhome m'malo gudumu lina lachisanu. 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.

Nazi zifukwa, komabe, zomwe tidamaliza kusankha kalasi c motorhome m'malo mwake.

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

Posamutsa katundu wathu gudumu lachisanu, tinatulutsa zinthu zambiri zomwe sitinagwiritsepo ntchito 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 ndi RV. Chifukwa chake, anthu ambiri amasankha RV yayikulu mpaka atazindikira kuti amafunikira pang'ono. It’s extremely common for full-time RVers to downsize their RV during or after their first year on the road. Mwanjira ina, kudutsa masitepe, ndi gawo la njira yochepetsera moyo wanu.

Maneuverability > malo okhala

Tinataya china chake mozungulira 50 sq ft pomwe tidatsika kuchokera pa gudumu lathu lachisanu kupita ku kalasi yathu c. Kodi ife tikuchiphonya icho? Kumene! Koma phindu limene tinapeza limaposa kutaya kwa malo.

Phindu lathu lomwe timakonda ndi momwe kalasi yathu c iliri. Kuyiyendetsa kumakhala kofanana kwambiri ndi kuyendetsa galimoto yathu yakale. 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. Tsopano, tikumva kuti tili ndi chidaliro cholowera kulikonse mosavuta, osayang'ana pagalasi nthawi zonse kuti tiwonetsetse kuti tikonza njira yolowera, ndipo Lindsay amamva bwino 100% kuyendetsa galimoto nthawi iliyonse. 

Masiku oyenda mosavuta

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.

Tsopano, ndiroleni ndiyambe kufotokoza kusiyana kwa masiku oyendayenda ponena kuti pamene ndikulemba izi, tikuyendetsa galimoto ku Nashville. Ndikukhala momasuka komanso motetezeka pa dinette pamene Dan amayendetsa. When it’s lunch time, I’ll get up and tikonzere sangweji popanda kuyimitsa ndipo ngati ndiyenera kutero gwiritsani ntchito chimbudzi…no problem! The dogs can move around a bit more too.

O, ndipo tisanachoke kwinakwake, zimangotengera ife pafupi Mphindi 10-15 kuti mutengere, kulumikiza, ndikunyamuka. Palibenso kumangirira ndi kumangirira pansi. Timataya zinthu, kukoka slide mkati, timachotsa zolumikizira zathu, kulumpha ndikupita! Timayenda mwachangu ndipo nthawi zambiri timangokhala sabata imodzi yokha m'malo atsopano, kotero izi ndi zazikulu kwa ife!

Gudumu lachisanu 38C Cast pamwamba mbale-kalavani mbali zagalimoto Hitch Heavy Duty Hitch

Malo abwino ogwirira ntchito

Ngakhale mitundu yatsopano ya mawilo achisanu ili ndi malo abwino ogwirira ntchito, athu analibe. Malo athu ogwirira ntchito okha anali pa khitchini yodyeramo. Anali timipando tamatabwa tating'ono tomwe tinalibe ma cushion kumbuyo komanso malo osakwanira kukhala kutali ndi tebulo. Dinette yokhala ndi ma cushion apamwamba ndiyothandiza kwambiri pakukhala tsiku lonse.

Ngati dinette imatidzaza tonsefe, ndimakonda kugwira ntchito pampando wokwera, womwe umayenda mozungulira kuyang'anizana ndi malo okhala. Palinso tebulo lotayika lomwe ndingathe kukhazikitsa, lomwe likhoza kuikidwa kutsogolo kwa kama, ngati ndikumverera kukhala womasuka komanso kuonera TV pamene ndikulemba. Choncho tatero 3 zosankha zamalo ogwirira ntchito! 

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.

Tsopano popeza ndili womasuka kuyendetsa RV yatsopano, Dan akhoza kugwira ntchito ndikuyendetsa. Masiku oyendayenda sakutanthauzanso kuti tisakhale ndi nthawi yogwira ntchito. It’s all about efficiency and multi-tasking, right? And our weekends are free for adventuring!

Bwino gasi mtunda

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.

Tsopano, motorhome yokha imapeza mtunda womwewo wa gasi ngati galimoto yokha, 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!

Ndiye muli nazo izo! Mwachiwonekere, ndife okondwa kwambiri ndi lingaliro lathu losintha kuchoka pa gudumu lachisanu kupita ku nyumba yamoto! Tinasankha 2018 Winnebago Navion 24D ndipo tili mchikondi! 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!