HAWAII APPLICATION

First things first when applying for travel contracts is to make sure you can get that state’s license in time. Some jobs are willing to wait for the license to come through, but just to be safe it’s better to already have the contract underway when applying for your next contract.

After changing plans from Alaska to Hawaii, I knew a potential set back in securing a Hawaii travel position would be the fact that I didn’t already have a Hawaii license. Hawaii is not a part of the compact so you must file for a full state licensure. Luckily for me, the Hawaii licensure is one of the shortest and easiest applications I’ve applied for! However, that doesn’t mean it has the quickest processing time.

I was told repeatedly by my recruiter that it would take a bit of “pestering” to get the Hawaii state board to process the license quickly. Since I had a job on the line, I did not mind doing that at all. I updated the board every step of the way. I made sure to email when all appropriate forms where in the mail or important documents were being sent via email.

Unfortunately, the biggest hang up with getting the license approved was needing licensure verification from every single state that I currently or have ever been licensed. Fortunately, many of the states I’ve worked in have been compact states and don’t fall in this category. But even still, that required 6 other states to then send Hawaii a licensure verification or provide instructions on how to verify online myself. This was a tedious process, especially when each state has different rules.

As tedious as this process is, the other states processed things fairly quickly for me and I was able to get a Hawaii license approved and issued in 2-3 weeks. I was originally told to expect 6-8 weeks. You never want to be overbearing when reaching out to state boards for “expediting” your license, but I’ve found that establishing a line of communication early on and letting them know that you have a travel position lined up soon has helped me get most licenses processed much faster than the expected timeframe.

WHAT NEXT?

So, you just got hired for your first Hawaii travel therapy contract and secured your Hawaii license, now what? Do you ship or rent a car? Do you rent a furnished or unfurnished apartment? Should you ship all your belongings or check multiple bags on your flight? What is going to be the most cost-effective strategy? These are all great questions to be thinking about! We didn’t have anyone telling us what the best solutions were. But that’s why I’m here, to help you so you can go into your Hawaii travel therapy contract with excitement instead of stress.

RENT OR SHIP CAR

As soon as I signed my Hawaii travel therapy contract, I started looking at what the best option would be as far as having a car on the island. Because I signed a home health contract I HAD to have a vehicle. That was non-negotiable. I looked into the cost of renting a car for 6 months. The total was near $7000. Ouch. It would have been nice to put miles on someone else’s vehicle, but I couldn’t afford that. Luckily, we were living in California and to ship a car from Long Beach, CA to Honolulu, HI was around $1,500 (one-way). There are a few different companies you could go through, but we ended up booking through Car Shipping Hawaii.

A FEW THINGS TO BE AWARE OF WHEN SHIPPING A CAR:

SHIP YOUR CAR FOR SURE

Working with Car Shipping Hawaii was such a great experience for us! We had absolutely no problems and they walked us through every step of the process. I would highly recommend using them! Shipping our car to the island was a no-brainer. The total cost will be about ~$2,500 (it’s cheaper to ship back to Cali).

WHAT TYPE OF HOUSING SHOULD I RENT?

Oh, the dreaded housing search. This is our least favorite part about signing new travel therapy contracts. Packing up our belongings, finding a new temporary house that is within our budget, reasonably close proximity to work, and makes us feel safe is a lot harder than it seems! Especially when you have to commit to a place before you really get to see it or the area it’s in. This is ultimately one of the big reasons why we purchased our RV, “Georgia”, three years ago. It gave us some sort of stability through this dreaded process. Yes, it’s fun to live in new homes, but sometimes those homes can be cockroach infested, have bad landlords, make the commute to work extra-long, or out of budget. Check out my blog post TRAVEL THERAPY HOUSING PROS AND CONS for more insight. So, what should you do in Hawaii?

UNFURNISHED APARTMENT

The main benefit of renting an unfurnished apartment is that it is going to be the cheapest option. I would hope because there is nothing in it. We played around with the idea of this. We could save more money by signing a 6-month lease on an unfurnished apartment with a full kitchen, bath, gym, pool, extra amenities. The downfall is we would have absolutely no furniture. No bed, couch, tv, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, washer/dryer, you name it. However, we were planning on bringing our backpacking equipment: blow up mattress and sleeping bag. Maybe we could get away with no bed??

The average monthly cost of an unfurnished apartment that we were seeing were around $900-$1,200. There are companies on the island that will rent furniture month-to-month. If you do the bare minimum, you were looking at around another $300/month. Now you’re at $1,500. You can find furnished apartments and not have to sleep on a mummy mattress for $1,500/month. Thank God!

FURNISHED APARTMENT/AIRBNB

Luckily, there are quite a bit of furnished apartments on Furnished Finder, as well as great options on Airbnb. I found that Furnished Finder had cheaper options month-to-month vs. Airbnb. The average cost of a furnished apartment varied depending on location but ranged anywhere from $1,000-$3,000/month. Obviously, there are some really nice homes you could stay at if you wanted to ball out, but I think most of us are going to look for budget-friendly options.

Another thing to consider is are you looking for a shared house or a separate unit? I travel with my wife, and we have done shared housing before, but for an extended period of time we find we will pay extra for privacy. If you are traveling alone, then a shared housing unit really isn’t too bad for cost of living in Hawaii (we just lived in California and Washington, so our “too bad” is relative).

In the end, we went with a furnished beach front studio condo for 6 months at $1,400/month. The apartment complex comes with a pool, small gym, full kitchen (we will have a full-sized fridge which we are very excited for, RV’ers IYKYK). Because we could only move in on July 1st, we still needing housing for 19 days.

Finding housing for that long was turning out to be VERY expensive. I mean its Hawaii, if it was cheap everyone would be here all the time. But we found the cheapest option was to book 1 month on Furnished Finder in a shared housing unit. We have a private bedroom/bathroom and share the kitchen with one other person. There are other tenants, but they have a separate floor/shared living space. And honestly, we are loving it. The tenants/landlords are kind, there are fruit trees in the backyard that we can help ourselves too, we stare at a beautiful mountain out our bedroom window, and we’re just across the street from the beach. For 19 days, $1,200 was manageable.

HOW DO I GET MY STUFF TO HAWAII?

You’ve landed the job, got your license, you shipped your car, you have your housing figured out, now you just need to get there! But how do you pack for 6 months and how do you get it there? Fair question. We struggled with this one because we are both over-packers. If you don’t have too many things and live out of one suitcase you can just skip this part, it’s not for you. But for my over-packers, keep reading.

Honestly, I didn’t even look into what the cost would be like to ship your things via UPS or USPS. I figured those rates would be astronomical. We booked our flights through Southwest, which means you get two free checked bags, a carry-on, and a personal bag. That’s already 4 bags per person! However, don’t get carried away and go over that 50lb weight limit on the checked bags because that will be an extra $100/bag. I would suggest purchasing a luggage weight. It helped us tremendously. We were able to pack our bags to the tenth of a pound and didn’t have to deal with the frantic last-minute “stuff clothes in your carry-on” situation.

Alright, you know you can have two large bags and two smaller bags, that’s still not a whole lot of space for the over-packer, especially when you want to take camping gear, hiking gear, snorkeling gear, and paddleboards. Yes, we could just rent some of those things in Hawaii, but at the rate at which we will be using said gear just doesn’t make sense for us. But also, the rate for each additional checked bag is $125. Getting to Hawaii is adding up quickly and I don’t really want to spend all my money on getting clothes there. I laid out everything I wanted to take and quickly realized there was no way I could take all that. After sifting through and removing more items about 5 separate times I finally could fit what I needed for my Hawaii travel therapy contract.

OUR TRAVEL NECESSITIES

We ended up spending $250 on two extra checked bags. That’s 10 bags total. Honestly, it’s still probably too much and we could have made 8 bags work, but you know, we’re over-packers, it’s what we do.

IS THERE MORE?

Everything I’ve said up until this point are really big items to cross of your list for getting to Hawaii for that travel therapy contract. You will definitely come across smaller expenses you may not have been prepared for, but it happens. You don’t have any food or condiments, so you are starting fresh there. Because Paige doesn’t have a car, she has to get a bus pass which is $80/month. If your car isn’t in Hawaii yet, you may need to rent a vehicle for a while. And I’m sure more unexpected expenses will pop up, they always do. Is it all worth it to be living in Hawaii for 6 months? Absolutely!!

As I said earlier, everyone has a different experience and will do things differently than I did. We planned our entire trip in under two weeks, not because we wanted to but because we had to. I’m sure there are more cost-effective ways to do things and by all means comment below and let future travelers know! If you have any other questions regarding the process of getting to Hawaii for a travel therapy contract, please contact me here. Goodluck and be sure to follow me on Instagram for some epic Hawaii adventures. Mahalo!

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If you haven’t already, check out our blog post RV LIFE: TIPS WE’VE LEARNED AFTER 1 YEAR, where we discuss everything we learned after owning and living full-time in our RV. While all of that information is still accurate, there is quite a bit more we’ve learned after another year of RV living. Some great, some not so great, but overall still worth it!

MAKE YOUR RV YOUR HOME

Let’s start with the good. In our first year of full-time RV living we made a few changes immediately to the RV to represent our style and brighten the place up a little bit. After a few mishaps (you can read about it here) we decided to just leave things as they were to avoid having to redo anything else. We started thinking more practically, simplified our needs, and tried to be as minimalistic as possible. I think that the first year helped distinguish our needs vs. wants. While all of that is great, our RV didn’t quite feel like home yet.

After surviving the first year, we knew that Georgia was going to be our home for years to come. So we decided to actually make it our home. We added pictures, and wallpaper, changed cabinet handles, bought a new couch, added flowers, and displayed the things we loved. Yes, we still try to live a minimalist lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be colorful, or include what makes us happy. Georgia is our home and it finally feels like it.

LESS IS MORE

One of the best things to come out of full-time RV living was our perspective on what our future home may look like. As much as we love Georgia and living in our RV now, it’s not something we see forever. Eventually, we’d like to have a home and fill it with kids and dogs and love and laughter, but we thought that we needed a huge space to make that happen. We don’t think that anymore.

Before I go further, let me remind you that we don’t have kids or dogs. It’s just me and my wife, and our tiny home on wheels which is perfect for the two of us. Throw a kid and dog in here and maybe everything that I’m about to say is going to go right out the window. BUT for now, I think we could be really happy living in a much smaller space than I once imagined.

We don’t need a mansion, we don’t need spare bedrooms, or a house so big that I don’t know where my wife is. Also, cleaning is way easier in smaller spaces! Living in our RV for two years has brought my wife and me so much closer together and the thought of raising a family in a smaller space excites me! I truly believe that RV living has changed my perspective on what I need in my life and what I cherish the most. We’ve found that less truly is more and we’re better for it.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP

Our first year of RV living was fun, but rough. If I’m being honest we didn’t do a whole lot of research before purchasing the RV. Therefore, when we had the RV we had to be on our toes. It can be scary especially when you’re on the road, away from people you trust and who are great at fixing things and know more than you do. Nevertheless, we are problem solvers! We can do anything, we just can’t be afraid to ask for help!

As soon as we purchased the RV we joined some Facebook groups (there are so many great resources out there). These groups are communities that all share similar interests and probably have the SAME questions you do. The first year we didn’t participate much because honestly, we were scared. Why?! We started to participate more in these groups during the second year anytime we had RV-related questions. Whether that was what the best campground near a specific location was, how to fix a frozen pipe, a leaking toilet, etc. These groups became really resourceful for us!

When we couldn’t find the answers we were looking for, we just so happened to be in RV parks where tens to hundreds of other RV’ers lived. Maybe one of them has the answer. My point is, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Owning and living in an RV full-time can be stressful, but there is a community out there for you willing to help!

GLAMPING IS AMAZING

As a travel physical therapist, my contracts are anywhere between 3-6 months long. During those working months, we try to stay at one campground if possible. Sometimes there’s no availability for the entire time so we have to move locations, but other than that we don’t move the RV unless it’s in between contracts. On the weekends my wife and I will go exploring and either tent camp or rent a hotel/Airbnb/etc. But, I always find it funny when people ask me if I take our RV on our weekend getaways. We do not. Some people might, but for us, that sounds like a hassle that isn’t worth our time or money when we’re perfectly fine with tent camping.

However, when we travel between contracts we usually take off for about a week and visit any National Parks, Monuments, or points of interest on the way. We obviously have our home with us and let me tell you how much fun it is to stay at a campground with your home! So much fun! We clearly do this every single day, but staying at National Parks and campgrounds that have fire rings and picnic tables and then getting to go INSIDE and sleep in your OWN bed is next-level camping.

I love tent camping so much and would go every weekend if I could, but being able to glamp in between contracts has me second-guessing taking our RV out on weekend adventures…not really though. Moreover, traveling in between contracts with our home on wheels has been so much more fun because we get to travel the world with our home and enjoy the perks of glamping.

NOT ALL CAMPGROUNDS ARE MADE EQUAL

Now you may be thinking, “Oh you don’t have a fire ring or picnic table at your campground even though you live in an RV?”. No, we do not, most of the time. Not all campgrounds are made equal. We have had our fair share of great campgrounds, but also our fair share of not-so-great campgrounds. The worst part is having to move to a new location and booking a campground based purely on what you see on the internet. Make sure to do your research people! Check reviews, photos, multiple websites, and blogs to make sure you fully trust and are okay with where you plan to move to.

RV HOUSING OPTIONS

We typically stay at RV campgrounds or RV parks. There are also RV Resorts, State Parks, sites connected to houses you can find on Craigslist, Hipcamp, and so many more options. The campsites can come in all different sizes, with different hook-up options, different amenities, and different pricing options depending on daily, weekly, and monthly stays. Some parks, state parks specifically, will limit your stay to 14-28 days. Others require at least a one-month stay. Finding housing options for our RV is still the worst part of being a travel physical therapist. Check out our blog post TRAVEL THERAPY HOUSING PROS & CONS for the pros & cons of an RV and other housing options.

What we’ve come to find is that on average RV parks are the cheapest ranging anywhere from $500-600/month plus electricity. (Obviously, this depends on the time of year and location. Some can be anywhere upward of 1,000/month) They typically do not have picnic tables or fire rings because these are more long-term sites that are stacked on top of each other.

We tend to stay away from State Parks because we need monthly stays, not weekly stays, and they’re going to cost a lot more, but might have a picnic table and fire ring! If you can afford to stay at RV Resorts, this is the way to go! They are usually gated, giving you peace of mind for your belongings, and have fun amenities such as a hot tub, pool, gym, pickleball courts, etc, but are going to be in the 1,500-2,500/month range. RV Resorts may also be 65+ depending on location.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

When we’re searching for our next RV campground or site there are a few things we look for. Most of the time we probably won’t get everything we want, but if we can check a few boxes that works for us!

NECESSITIES:

• PRICE $500+ELECTIC IS IDEAL
• FULL HOOK-UPS
  • 50 AMP
  • WATER
  • SEWER
• SITE BIG ENOUGH FOR RV+2 CARS
• SAFE CAMPGROUND/NEIGHBORHOOD

LUXURIES:

• LAUNDROMAT ON SITE
  • SOME MAY ADVERTISE THIS BUT COULD BE GROSS OR DON’T WORK
  • GOING TO A LOCAL LAUNDROMAT WORKS FINE FOR US THOUGH (JUST MORE OF A HASSLE)
• FIRE RING
• PICNIC TABLE
• SPACIOUS SITE
• WALKABLE (WE LOVE OUR NIGHTTIME WALKS)
• GYM
• POOL/HOT TUB
• GREAT VIEWS
• AWAY FROM PLAYGROUNDS!! (WE HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE PRIOR)

Most of the time we know that our RV site is going to be basic, crowded, and just enough space for the RV itself and our cars. The campground won’t be fancy or have nice amenities and there won’t be great views, but at the end of the day where we stay isn’t want matters. For us what matters most is exploring the surrounding area we’re living in and feeling safe in our home. We’ve had some great stays at Rainier RV Park in Washington, Hill Country Lakes & RV Campground in Texas, Californian RV Resort in California, and Grand Mesa RV Park in Colorado. Here’s to hoping for more great stays in our future!

SURPRISE, SOMETHING ELSE IS BROKEN

I’m sure every homeowner can relate to this, but why is something always broken?? As soon as you fix one thing, something else inevitably breaks. Our first year we had our fair share of leaks, broken steps, wrong calibrations, and more. The second year has been better in the sense that it doesn’t bother us as much anymore. We’ve sort of become immune to how often things break. This is probably a bad quality trait to have and I 100% recommend fixing the problem as soon as it arises. However, we’re human, and we procrastinate, we say we’ll get to it and then 6 months pass and the bathroom door still doesn’t close. It’s okay, we’ll fix it next weekend…

My point is there’s always something broken and unless it’s urgent and needs to be fixed ASAP, we’ll get to it when we get to it. This brings me to my next point.

RV’S ARE CHEAP

RV manufacturers make things as cheap as they possibly can. One reason things break so much inside is that one, the material used is trash and you’re constantly dealing with stripped screws, and two, the quality of the work is poor. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve found pieces screwed on backward or upside down. Our motor home is a 2018 and “knock on wood” we’ve had fairly good luck when it comes to our RV, but the amount of horror stories we hear from brand new RV model owners is scary!

If you’re interested in living full time in an RV just know that things are bound to happen, just like any other homeowner. It’s hard to tell when purchasing the RV what could go wrong/already is wrong, but trust your instincts, do your research, and pray for the best!

LIKES/DISLIKES OF RV LIVING

The past two years have taught us a lot about both ourselves and our RV, Georgia. Through all the broken bits and stressful situations, there have been wonderful memories made and personal growth developed that has come with full-time RV living. We wouldn’t change a thing and are so excited to see where Georgia takes us over the next few years. To follow along our journey be sure to follow our Instagram and sign up for our monthly Newsletter. If you have any questions regarding Travel PT, RV living, or places we’ve explored please feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best on your journey!

The post WHAT WE’VE LEARNED AFTER 2 YEARS OF FULL TIME RV LIVING appeared first on Trails of a Travel PT.

Not only does traveling full-time in an RV give us so much more freedom than before, but it also gives us routines, structure, and so much more comfort! However, traveling full-time in an RV also brings some uncertainty, stress, more planning, and lots of crap. Let’s be honest. It brings a lot of crap. Literally and figuratively.

But don’t let crap get you down, we are here to tell you what we have learned in the past year that might be helpful for new RV owners!  

CREATE A CHECKLIST

One of the first pieces of advice we received when we bought the RV was to create a great checklist! A checklist that you will follow every time you are ready to venture out on the road, and every time you park. You may even consider creating a monthly checklist to keep up with routine maintenance. Either way, you want to be able to have a solid routine to create as few mistakes as possible and ensure that you are taking great care of your RV.

I would also suggest that if you are doing these checklists with a partner be sure that each of you knows how to do every item on the checklist. You never know when you may have to do everything yourself! It’s so important that every person knows exactly what to do when setting up and taking down the RV.

INVEST IN PRACTICAL APPLIANCES

The first month we owned the RV we were living on the coast of Georgia (hence why our RV is named Georgia). It was mid-summer and humid as ever! Because we live full-time in our RV, our drawers/closets are full of all of our belongings. After just a few days we noticed that some of the clothes in our closet felt damp. We had purchased Damp Rid and placed them throughout the RV to help collect any moisture, but it just wasn’t enough. We weren’t sure why or how the clothes were getting SO damp! After about a month of trying to fix the problem and not having any luck, we decided to purchase a dehumidifier.

DEHUMIDIFIER

A good dehumidifier isn’t cheap, nor small. BUT the results of having a dehumidifier were magnificent!! It was almost life-changing for us. The amount of moisture it collects throughout a day is unreal. Now if you live in a very dry area year-round you may not need to invest in one. But from our experiences, if you are living in very humid areas like Georgia, or areas that get LOTS of rain like Cape Cod, I would highly suggest one!

While living on the Cape we went through many rainstorms, hurricanes, and nor’easters and our dehumidifier gave us peace of mind knowing that if there was a leak or moisture in our RV at all we would be okay! I’m not saying that it’s a permanent fix if you have a leak, but at least you are able to get the area dry and fix the problem accordingly without permanent damage.

We also hang dry a lot of our clothes and there are a few campgrounds/RV parks that don’t allow you to hang clothes outside. Therefore, the clothes must be hung inside. With a dehumidifier, all of our clothes are dry within 24 hours, and we don’t have to worry about the musty smell that you might have to deal with without a dehumidifier!

Long story short, invest in a great dehumidifier!! When we are not using it, we just roll it under the kitchen table for storage! We are absolutely obsessed with ours! Check out the one we have here!

SPACE HEATER

Another appliance that I would recommend is a space heater! Our RV has heat that runs off propane. Our propane works great; however, propane eventually runs out. And you don’t want to be in the middle of winter and run out of propane. No propane=no heat. Sure, you can pack up the RV and take it somewhere to fill up the propane, but honestly, that’s a task that we just don’t want to do. Learn from our mistake! Buy a space heater. Check out the one we have here!

**Be sure to unplug these appliances when not in use for safety and energy efficiency**

CHECK REGULARLY FOR ANY LEAKS

My wife is an absolute nut when it comes to checking for leaks after heavy rainfalls! But thank God for it. After our first heavy rainfall in the RV, she noticed a pretty heavy leak coming in on the backside of the RV above our bedroom window. Because it was pouring we had to wait until morning to check it out. Turns out the rearview camera was not properly sealed and the screws originally used by the manufacturer were rusted out. Once resealed and screws were replaced, we no longer had a leak! At least in that spot.

The second leak was above our slide where the ceiling meets the wall. This one was harder to spot, but like I said my wife is a nut. She breaks out the flashlight and looks for any sign of water all throughout the RV. Luckily, we noticed it before letting it get really out of hand. Again, the problem was a screw on the outside of the RV that was rusted out and not sealed at all.

The third leak was on the wall under our microwave. My wife had just put a new backsplash behind the oven when not even a week later she had to rip it all out because there was water building up behind the backsplash. After a thorough inspection outside, we found that water was coming in through the top and sides of the oven vent, where the seal had diminished over time.

Leaks are going to happen. It’s inevitable. However, it doesn’t have to be costly or cause permanent damage as long as you are inspecting the RV regularly and doing routine maintenance as needed! Annnnd have a dehumidifier handy to quickly soak up any moisture that may get into the RV.

RESEAL EVERY YEAR

Leaks bring me to my next big point. It is very important that you are taking proper care of your RV, whether you live in it full-time or part-time. You need to be making sure that every year or even 6 months you are checking the roof and sides of the RV for cracks or any other problem areas. By neglecting the roof and sides, you could cause serious problems later on down the road, and that won’t be cheap to fix! But if you keep up with the proper maintenance that your roof and sides need you shouldn’t have any leaks to worry about!

The reason we had quite a few leaks, in the beginning, was because you could tell that the previous owners had not resealed the roof since they first purchased it. And all the caulking on the sides of the RV around the windows and doors were worn out and needed to be redone. When in doubt do some regular resealing and caulking where it’s needed.

GET TO KNOW YOUR RV 

It is so important that you get to know your RV inside and out. When we first purchased the RV we had to do so much research. Whether that was trying to figure out how something worked, where to find something, etc. I would recommend doing as much research as you want/need to better know your RV. That way when a problem arises you can act fast!

SUGGESTIONS ON THINGS TO GET TO KNOW

• Understand what tank each water source leads to.
  • Black: toilet and bathroom sink (normally)
  • Gray: kitchen sink and shower
• How to access pipes in the bathroom/kitchen.
  • Access from both inside and outside
• Control panel for water/tank heaters.
• Switching from electric to propane visa versa.
  • Refrigerator
  • Water heater
• Know where your breaker box is located.
  • Ours is on the side of our bedframe
• Locate your carbon monoxide/smoke detectors and make sure they are working.
• Know what appliances can run only on shore power/generator.

USE LOTTTSSS OF WATER IN THE TOILET 

Now let’s talk about crap. We are very familiar with crap. If you are about to purchase an RV and don’t want to get familiar with crap, don’t buy an RV. Crap doesn’t have to be bad though! As long as you have plenty of water you can enjoy crap! Okay, maybe that’s too far…

But seriously, use A LOT OF WATER! When we were reading up about how to use an RV toilet everyone was always like “Use water, use water, there’s never enough water.” I was like okayyyyy, I get it! Well, turns out, I didn’t get it. For the first 6 months, we had to spray and flush out our black tank multiple times because we would have piles of toilet paper sitting at the bottom that would eventually lead to a clogged toilet. We thought we were doing everything right! We use single-ply toilet paper and don’t flush any other products besides said toilet paper. And we use lots of water. Or so we thought.

Over the past few months, I think we finally figured it out! What we do is fill the toilet bowl full of water, do our business, then flush. Then fill the toilet bowl back up with water and flush again. This second bowl of water really seems to do the trick in flushing all of the toilet paper down to the bottom of the tank. The extra water also helps dissipate bad smells building up in the black tank. Therefore, use lottttsss of water! If you do start noticing some bad smells, it’s a good idea to occasionally flush down some enzyme toilet treatment. This rebalances the good and bad enzymes in the black tank to reduce bad smells when you flush.

BUY A WATER FILTER AND/OR BACKUP WATER JUG. ALWAYS HAVE WATER 

Most of the campgrounds that we stay at long term do have full water hookups for us to use. However, not all water is made equal. We’ve found that many places across the country, especially those in dry, arid regions end up having many more minerals in the well water. We’ve been told that this water is still safe to drink; however, you will not want to.

The impurities in the campground waters often have an unpleasant taste, so we ALWAYS filter our water. First, we filter it right out of the spigot with an RV water filter. Then for any drinking water, we filter again through a water filter pitcher before drinking. We love our ZeroWater filter pitcher because it comes with a little testing meter that tells you the level of impurities detected and allows you to know when your filter needs to be replaced.

Even with these filters, if you are in an area with HEAVY minerals in the water, like in the Hill Country, Texas, these filters won’t last long with such heavy filtering responsibilities. The water in Texas worked through a ZeroWater filter in less than a week. Normally, the filter lasts up to a few months in other areas of the country. This is when we bought a water reservoir for drinking water instead.

In many places, like grocery stores, you’ll see water stations capable of delivering up to 5 gallons of pure, filtered water for cheap. Much cheaper than buying a new large jug of water from the store each time. With space being a concern in an RV, I wanted a lightweight, collapsible jug that, when not in use, could be easily stored. So, once again Walmart came in clutch in supplying us with a durable, collapsible 5-gallon water jug that was easy to refill and easy to use for our drinking water needs. And when we’re back in areas where our ZeroWater filter pitcher fulfills our filtering needs, we then have the collapsible, space-saving water jug for our camping needs! Overall, a very useful purchase!

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS RV LIFE TIPS

Here are several other quick tips for helping make your RV Life a success:

• NEVER leave your awning out in a storm. If you know there’s a storm or even wind coming in, bring your awning in. We’ve seen SO many broken awnings after a storm!
• If leaving the sink dripping in the winter, don’t use the bathroom sink. Many bathroom sinks drain into the black tank, which are smaller and run the risk of overflowing when full. (What happened to us). Therefore, drip the sink in the kitchen, which leads to a much bigger tank.
• Buy a heated water hose and/or hose insulator and heating cable for those cold winter nights!
• Never run 2 major electric appliances at once! For example, running our Keurig and the space heater at the same time will trip a breaker EVERY SINGLE TIME.
• If in a Class A or C RV, start the engine every so often to ensure the batteries are staying charged and everything is still running smoothly. We try to start ours every couple of weeks for ~10mins.
• The tank fullness detectors typically don’t work. If it is something you feel the need to have, then you may want to contact someone to help you fix that problem or try recalibrating it yourself.
• When planning out your road trips, download the Gas Buddy App to find truck stop friendly gas stations with easy pull-in access.
• If you have 2 AC Units, be careful of running both at the same time. In extreme heat, this may cause power overload and trip power breakers.
• In our RV: When the gray tank is full, you will start to get a foul odor and water coming up from the shower drain. When the black tank is full, the toilet will “burp”. Neither of these are pleasant. This is why we now consistently empty the gray tank after every 4 showers and the black tank every 4 days.
• Some people may leave their gray tanks continuously open. We do not do this so that we have plenty of water to flush out the hose after emptying the black tank.

EMBRACE THE RV LIFE

The RV life is meant to be about adventure and freedom! And a majority of the time, the RV will give you exactly that. And with the appropriate planning, routine maintenance, and tools/supplies needed, you will be able to spend more time making memories and enjoying these adventures versus putting extra time and money into fixing your RV. With RV living there’s always more to learn and I’m sure in the years to follow continuing to be “Full-Timers” in the RV, we’ll have even more to share. We’ve learned a lot from the friendly and helpful RV community and would love for you all to comment below or contact us and share what you have found vitally important to making your RV life a success. Check out our Instagram to follow along and for plenty of travel and adventure ideas!

The post RV LIFE: TIPS THAT WE’VE LEARNED AFTER 1 YEAR appeared first on Trails of a Travel PT.

We have officially been traveling for over 1 year now and have stayed in just about every housing option you can think of. North Dakota-> Apartment. Maine-> Airbnb. Colorado-> Extended Stay Hotel. Georgia-> Condo. And now we live full-time in an RV! Throughout all of our stays, we have realized what our priorities are when we travel, as well as what we like/dislike about each housing option. The main thing is we had a roof over our heads and that’s all that really matters!

NEEDS

When searching for housing we have to understand the difference between what we need vs. what we want. Our “needs” are non-negotiable and absolutely necessary for how we want to live. “Wants” are nice to have but not completely essential to live how we want to live.

The first factor in the “needs” is the cost. We want to make sure we are staying within our budget and saving as much as we can for fun adventures. We want to make the most of our time while traveling and that means doing new and exciting adventures, such as dog sledding or whale watching! But that doesn’t mean we don’t also plan for our future and put money away for savings/retirement.

Secondly, it is very important for us to have a kitchen. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, but we need someplace with a stovetop, microwave, and fridge. Originally when all we traveled with was our two cars we had to make sure we were able to cook meals every night instead of being dependent on going out or eating prepackaged meals. Investing in an air fryer and/or instant pot can save you a lot of room/capability to do without an oven (like we had to in Colorado)!

WANTS

The first factor in our “wants” category is personal space. After living with a couple in an Airbnb for 3 months in Maine (which wasn’t that bad!) we realized personal space was a higher priority than we thought; however, it isn’t completely necessary! We definitely would have done it again, but maybe not on back-to-back contracts.

The second “want” is having a furnished place. Since we do not travel with any of our furniture, we don’t have a bed, couch, table, washer/dryer, etc. However, there is a nationwide company, CORTS, that you can rent as much or as little as you want! It is an extra cost month to month, but sleeping on a mattress is kind of nice.

Next is location. We are willing to drive within an hour of our job locations if that means housing will be cheaper further away. Depending on where your contract is you might have to drive a ways to even find a housing option. Or you may just want to because the city you are in is way over your budget. Either way, the location is totally flexible!

And last but not least, amenities. This would include a pool, gym, laundromat, free wifi, utilities included, coffee bar, and more. These are all just an added bonus! Staying somewhere with a gym that is free to use is so nice, but it isn’t necessary. I can guarantee you there is probably a Planet Fitness nearby that you could pay ~$10/month and get a great workout in!

PRIORITIZE

Once you decide what your priorities are, finding housing that suits your needs will be faster! But, that doesn’t mean it will be easy. Most of the time you will be finding out where your next assignment is ~4-6 weeks out of your selected start date. Sometimes you will find exactly what you want right away, but that’s not always the case. You may be searching for days and weeks until finally, you give up and just buy an RV…(like we did). But seriously it will likely take time and a lot of phone calls and/or online messaging.

One reason we haven’t gotten a dog yet is because that would cut our already limited housing options down even more due to pet restrictions in certain housing situations! And even where they do allow it, typically there’s at least an extra fee we’d have to pay at every place. We love pets (especially dogs), but for us, it’s just not a high priority.

Traveling with a partner also eliminates some options. Especially if you are booking through Furnished Finder, a friendly traveling nurse website that is best suited for solo travelers. I’ve reached out to several places that were willing to take me alone if I were a solo traveler but denied me since I travel with my wife and she’s not a healthcare worker.

Finding an option that fits all your wants and needs is NOT impossible, but may happen. Therefore, before searching for your next home away from home make a list of your priorities so you won’t be disappointed if all your wants are not met. 

PROS & CONS

APARTMENT LIVING

PROS

• PERSONAL SPACE
• FUN AMENITIES, SUCH AS A POOL & GYM
• FULL KITCHEN
• APARTMENTS ARE EVERYWHERE

CONS

• NOT ALL HAVE UTILITIES INCLUDED (POTENTIALLY)
  • HAVING TO SET UP ELECTRIC/WIFI EVERY 3 MONTHS SOUNDS LIKE A PAIN
• NOT ALL ARE FULLY FURNISHED
  • CAN RENT THROUGH CORT THOUGH
• NOT ALL OFFER SHORT-TERM LEASES
  • SHORT-TERM LEASES ARE ALSO WAY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN MOST PRICES LISTED ONLINE
• NON-REFUNDABLE APPLICATION FEE
• NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT IF YOUR CONTRACT FALLS THROUGH AND YOU HAVE TO BACK OUT
  • MAY NOT EVER HAPPEN TO YOU, BUT HAS HAPPENED TO US (ON OUR FIRST CONTRACT!)

AIRBNB’S/FURNISHED FINDER

PROS

• DISCOUNTS ON MONTHLY STAYS
  • WE LOVE A GOOD DISCOUNT
• MOST ARE GOING TO BE FULLY FURNISHED
  • THIS INCLUDES WASHER/DRYER, KITCHEN, ETC
• UTILITIES ARE INCLUDED
• LOTS OF FUN AND CUTE HOMES

CONS

• CHEAP ONES WILL LIKELY BE ROOM-ONLY
  • ARE YOU OKAY WITH LIVING WITH STRANGERS?
• YOU WILL LOSE THE FIRST MONTHS RENT IF YOU HAVE TO CANCEL
• NOT ALWAYS, BUT WILL USUALLY EXCEED YOUR BUDGET
• HARD TO FIND LONG-TERM STAYS
  • THIS MEANS POTENTIALLY MOVING MORE FREQUENTLY

HOTELS

PROS

• FREE BREAKFAST!!!
• MAID SERVICE!!!
  • THEY WASH YOUR SHEETS, CLEAN YOUR BATHROOMS, ETC
    • BE SURE TO TIP THOUGH
• PERSONAL SPACE
• FURNISHED
  • & SOMETIMES KITCHENETTE
• AMENITIES, SUCH AS POOL, LAUNDROMAT, GYM, SNACKS, ETC
• UTILITIES INCLUDED
• PULL OUT COUCH FOR GUESTS
• DISCOUNTS ON LONGER STAYS/AAA

CONS

• THIN WALLS/DOORS
• COST DEPENDING ON THE AREA
• SOMETIMES UNSANITARY
• DON’T ALWAYS HAVE A KITCHENETTE

RV FULL TIMERS

PROS

• PERSONAL SPACE
  • BUT WAY LESS
• SPENDING MONEY TOWARDS OWNING A HOME
• DECORATING OUR HOME HOWEVER WE LIKE
• NEVER HAVE TO UNPACK EVER AGAIN!!!
  • THIS IN ITSELF IS WORTH IT
• MEETING FUN & FRIENDLY RV/CAMPER PEOPLE WHEREVER WE STAY
• HAVING A CONSISTENT HOME WHEREVER WE GO
• FEELING CONNECTED TO NATURE MORE
  • MANY CAMPGROUNDS/RV PARKS ARE MORE IN SECLUDED AREAS

CONS

• THE UPKEEP AND MAINTENANCE OF OWNING ANOTHER VEHICLE/HOME
• TRAVEL TIME INCREASES
• CAMPGROUNDS CAN BE BUSY/LOUD
• ADDITIONAL COST OF CAMPGROUND/RV PARK SITE
• NOT HAVING A SAFE PLACE DURING NATURAL DISASTERS

Additional Websites or Apps for Housing:

• VRBO
• Apartment List
• Zillow Rentals
• rent.com
• Hotpads
• Trulia
• apartments.com
• extendedstayamerica.com
• Marriot

There are many pros & cons when searching for your next home while traveling and I’m sure your priorities will be different from ours. However, be sure to do your research and find the best fit for you! We have been very fortunate thus far to have stayed in very decent places. We have loved every single one, and we were able to make each one feel like home. Moreover, we are absolutely loving our RV and can’t wait to see where it takes us on future contracts. If you have any questions or would like to know more about our experiences contact us and we’d be happy to help you out!

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