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The 5 RV Questions We Are Asked the Most

| Updated Jun 20, 2023

Between the RV Lifestyle blog, podcast, Facebook Group and Page, YouTube channel, various other social media platforms (you're following us on Instagram – right?), and my columns for various organizations, I get a lot of RV questions in my email.

It's impossible to answer them all. I'd never be able to do anything else all day, let alone travel!

If it's a question that can be handled fast, I try to write a short response. But we do appreciate each question and these days our Facebook Group holds a massively experienced group of people ready to answer your questions.

Make sure you ask your questions there first! We learn from them and also find topics to write about.

I'm not a mechanic or big DIY guy. Technical questions I pass on to others or refer the Facebook Group to an RV dealer or manufacturer, or, more often, the manual.

So many of us just don't read manuals. But most of the questions are about the RV lifestyle, not the mechanical. So from time to time, I lump them all together and do a group answer.

Here are the five most frequently asked RV questions I've been getting recently:

1. How can two people get along in such a cramped space?

The 5 RV Questions We Are Asked the Most 1
Mike and Jen have some advice for you.

Actually, up until a few years ago, it was Jennifer and me and our 65-pound Norwegian Elkhound, Tai. Now we travel with Bo, who has his own followers!

Not only do we get along just fine, but we also love the togetherness.

That said, traveling for extended periods in a small motorhome does require some flexibility.  Early on in our RVing days, we put together this post and video on how to get along while traveling.

And more recently we created these two posts:

Essential Newbie RV Advice: Just For Men and Helpful Newbie RV Advice: Just For Women

Both of these articles contain loads of advice for living the RV Lifestyle.

2. Where do you put everything? How can you possibly carry enough things with you in such a small motorhome?

This question is a very common one. And the answer is always evolving.

We always overpack. Always.

We don't carry nearly as much as we used to but still, we carry too much. You do not need that much.

Two or three days of clothing. You can wear most things more than one day, you know.

Plan out your meals and pack them ahead of time for the freezer, supplement them with fresh produce you buy on the road.

Also, learning how to use things Organized Obie has created for RVers is a good idea.

Use eBooks, you can take a whole library on your smartphone. Each time we go out, we take less “stuff.”

A couple of years ago, I did a story on the late Ray Dwyer, then the owner of Van City RV in St. Louis, and considered the dean of the RV business. I remember him telling me about how many owners of Big Class A and Class C RVs were downsizing to Class B coaches.

The first lesson Class A owners need to learn is “they don’t need all the stuff they thought they did,” he said.

Dwyer told me about a couple who showed up with their Class A to unload their possessions into their new Class B campervan. “They started hauling stuff out and it literally filled our parking lot,” he says.

”They were amazed at all the stuff they were carrying around that they never needed or used.  They had to go get a big U-Haul trailer to take it all back home where they probably sold it on a garage sale.”

3. More RV questions – How do you set up the bed and where do you keep all the bedding?

Some small motorhome owners prefer to set their beds up as singles and leave they like that all the time.

We've preferred sleeping with the beds configured as a king in our other RVs.

And now we like our Leisure Tavel Van Rear Twin Bed Wonder.

We've tried so many different kinds of bedding. We recently did a review of our three favorites.

4. How do you find places to go and place to stay?

First, other than the general direction and eventual destination, you need to know that we don't do a lot of pre-planning.

We have a general idea of our route and the big things we want to see and do on the way there, but free and easy is our style. We leave a lot to serendipity.

Serendipity means a “happy accident” or “pleasant surprise,” something fun and useful and enjoyable that was discovered by happenstance along the way.

That’s a perfect description of what we find every day in this wandering life in a small motorhome. While we have a different van now, the information on our RV wandering style is still valid.

We also rely on many apps and organizations including; Harvest Hosts, Campgroundviews (a magical way to find a campsite), Boondockers Welcome, AllStaysPRO, RV TripWizard, and so many more.

We also do a lot of off-the-grid boondocking. We've enjoyed boondocking so much we wrote an entire ebook and now PRINT book on the topic.

Want to learn how to boondock?

We created a PRINT version of our most popular guide to help you with the most common boondocking problems. We get a ton of questions from our subscribers about how to get started boondocking that range from where to go and wild animals to water conservation to what equipment to use and more. 

The 5 RV Questions We Are Asked the Most 2

Throw off the shackles of traditional RV Parks and campgrounds, stop paying high fees every night that you spend in your RV, and experience the boundless amounts of nature while boondocking!

You’re done with the noisy RV parks, the 3.5 feet of room you have squished in between two other RVs, and other people’s kids running through your campsite?

You’ve ditched the hookups, the concrete blocks and have replaced them with self-leveling and Navy showers?

This is the book for you.


But these days, you might want to explore other camping options like we did during this podcast The Rise of the Campground Alternative and this one where RVers Share Their Secret Best Camping Spots

Now back to our RV Lifestyle questions!

5. I'm thinking of buying a small motorhome. What do I need to know to be a smart shopper?

Buying an RV is perhaps the second biggest purchase most of us will make next to our house. In some cases, with kids grown and newly retired from our jobs, it becomes our house as more and more people embrace the fulltiming style of a life on wheels.

And these days, Class B RVs seem to be at the top of the motorhome popularity chart. Many who bought larger Class A motorhomes are downsizing, or “rightsizing,” as some call it, for the more mobile and maneuverable Class B or eve the Class C RV style motorhome.

I have several great posts for you to read and do your research. Here's a shortlist! You can always use our blog as a sort of RV Lifestyle “google” and search for answers to all your questions. Just look for that section to the right of any post – type in the main word of your question and see what we have for you! Try it!

Well, that should get you started. And if you are concerned about this not being the best time to buy an RV – give a listen right here 7 Reasons Why There Will Soon Be a Glut of Used RVs for Sale.

What are YOUR Questions about the RV Lifestyle?

Again, check out our Facebook Group or ask them in the comments below.

Mike Wendland

Published on 2021-08-14

Mike Wendland is a multiple Emmy-award-winning Journalist, Podcaster, YouTuber, and Blogger, who has traveled with his wife, Jennifer, all over North America in an RV, sharing adventures and reviewing RV, Camping, Outdoor, Travel and Tech Gear for the past 12 years. They are leading industry experts in RV living and have written 18 travel books.

6 Responses to “The 5 RV Questions We Are Asked the Most”

June 19, 2022at5:12 pm, Sharon Palmer said:

How do I find your site so I can order one of your hats?

Reply

June 20, 2022at11:46 am, Phyllis Khare said:

https://rvlifestyle.com/goshopping and then filter for hats — Team RV Lifestyle

Reply

August 16, 2021at1:16 pm, Linda said:

We enjoy your site! I do have a question that you may be able to give me us some insight. We live in Canada and are booked for holidays down in Florida and the Keys, flyi g down in December. Your suggestions of where to go in the Keys is great. We have been there before and stayed in a motel in Marathon.
We are considering to purchase a motorhome in the United States and bring it back to Canada. Do you know the procedure of purchasing in the United States and the concerns we may have in buying and bringing it across the line?
Thank you so much!
Linda and Dave.

Reply

October 17, 2017at5:46 pm, Charles Crall said:

I have seen sign out west that say if you have propane tanks you cant use the tunnels what does everyone do?

Reply

August 10, 2015at7:48 am, Mary Foster Moran said:

I just bought a used RV and the water smells from the tap. Is there a way to fix this?

Reply

August 15, 2021at2:20 pm, Dr. Mike said:

Good afternoon

We had the exact same issue.
We had to do several rounds of sanitizing the fresh water tank. We used 1 cup of bleach for every 10 gallons in the fresh water tank. After a few rounds of filling the tank with water and bleach, turning on the faucets and then draining the tank, the water is good.

Reply

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