So why did we buy a travel trailer anyway? Secretly, I have wanted an RV for a long time. I wanted a sleek, country music singer-style bus with all the bells and whistles. When we first moved to Arkansas in 2011, I taught at a high school around 45 minutes (during high traffic times) from our home. I wanted to watch my students play in ballgames and other various events, but that made for late nights and early mornings and a grouchy wife, momma, and teacher. My solution? Park an RV in the school parking lot during the week! Everyone thought I was nuts.
Then came COVID-19 and the worldwide lockdown. My husband and I taught school virtually during the day and binged watched TV at night. I ate peanut M & M’s to manage stress. He searched the internet and found a great deal on a truck. Trucks are very useful vehicles, right? So we bought it!
Once the truck was ours, the RV question came up again. Why not? We had missed a spring break trip to visit our grandson because of the lockdown. No one knew when or if restrictions would be lifted. At least if we had our own space, we could head in the right direction. Cabin fever began to set in and my husband, a master researcher, began his research.
First, he planned a trial trip. He rented a Vintage Cruiser on Outdoorsy and we took off for the weekend. Temperatures were running near 100 degrees, so we didn’t leave the campground at all. But getting out of the house and closer to nature was wonderful.
The research became more intense! We watched YouTube videos and visited RV dealerships around us. Because of the truck, we focused on travel trailers instead of motorized RVs. When we learned that our truck was limited in towing capacity, we focused on lightweight travel trailers. Finally, we narrowed our search to a couple of options and began looking for the best deal. In November 2020, we ordered a small couple’s trailer – a RPOD – 192. Then the waiting began!!! Due to high consumer demand and supply chain problems, our model was significantly backordered.
In March of 2021, our wait was over! We picked up our R-Pod just a week before Spring Break. Ironically, we ended up trading our original truck to a different make and model with a larger towing capacity.
Are we now dreaming of bigger RV’s? You bet! That being said, we are loving our new tiny house on wheels. Everywhere we go, we sleep in our own bed and cook in our own kitchen. It’s a year after our quest began, and we are currently visiting our precious grandson (and his parents).
This blog and our YouTube channel are a way for us to document our journey. It’s time to end this post, however, because adventure awaits!
The link to our first video is right here!
If you are interested in our YouTube channel, here’s our link:
https://youtube.com/c/OurAmericanTravel
