Full Time RV Living- The Highs and Lows

Three days ago, we hit the road heading to our next destination, Boston/Cape Cod, MA.  It was a rainy day in Atlanta and was going to prove to be a rainy trip to our first stop in Gaffney, SC.  But we were headed out ahead of the tropical storm that would hit the gulf coast the next day.

Upon our arrival in South Carolina,  we discovered that the full wall slide will not go out. Apparently the motor has broken (for the second time in two years). This means that our roughly 400 square foot motorhome is now about half that size.  

Then I dropped an entire glass jar of pickles on the floor resulting in pickles and broken glass everywhere.  The final straw? We forgot Ralph’s insulin in Atlanta. 

We had to unhook the car (did I mention it is pouring rain?), go to Walmart for the insulin and then spend the evening trying to make my coach floor unsticky.

And to think we left this sweet thing to deal with faulty equipment, pickle juice and rainy Walmart runs.

This is our second issue with the slide mechanism on this coach.  Winnebago is aware of the problem.  Apparently the motor which operates the slide is too small for the weight of the full wall slide.  They have solution.  Which means a trip to Iowa to the Winnebago Industries facility.

So there you go.  Plans are changed instantly.  As full timers, we are getting used to the highs and lows of this lifestyle.  With that in mind, I thought I’d put together a list of those highs and lows in order to put this past experience into perspective.  I mean, at least we aren’t stranded on the side of the road, right?  (Knock on wood).

Let’s Start with the Lows

Broken Finger

living full time in a rvThis little incident that happened at our first campground of residence in Bar Harbor, ME.  Word to the wise, don’t wrap the leashes around your finger while walking the dogs.  You see, an errant squirrel can cause quite a bit of havoc.  One little 20 pound dog totally broke my finger.

Medical insurance is not what it used to be.  We are currently on Obamacare and with the latest changes and the fact that we have next to no selection for healthcare, we are limited to seeing only doctors in our home of record- Atlanta, GA.  That doesn’t help us much when we are dealing with a broken finger in Maine.

We ended up paying for this injury in full.  On the bright side, I have to say that the folks at the hospital in Ellsworth are amazingly friendly.

Bad Employment Experiences

two guns ghost town in arizona

With any job you have to expect that you are not going to get along with everyone.  There will be things you don’t particularly want to do.  There will be days that you won’t want to go to work and days where everything seems to go wrong.

More often than not, those experiences are balanced by good experiences, people that you love to work with, great employers, and beautiful places to work.

We have been lucky in the fact that in the two years that we have been on the road, we have only experienced one place that made us regret our decision to work there.  But I have to say that we learned a whole lot from that experience.

Pet Illness


Our dog Ralph has been through the ringer this past year.  In early 2016, he was diagnosed with bladder stones and diabetes.  He had surgery to remove the stones and then was put on insulin twice a day.

Learning to give him shots was pretty traumatic for both of us.  And getting his diabetes under control was a whole other issue.  It wasn’t long before he went blind.

After much thought, we opted for eye surgery to remove his cataracts.  It took months of recovery and a huge dent in our wallet, but Ralph can now see again, and his diabetes is under control.

Click here for a look at the Highs from the past two years

5 thoughts on “Full Time RV Living- The Highs and Lows”

  1. A lot more highs then lows. Sorry you had trouble with the slide out again. That stinks. Esme says just come on back to Atlanta, he he he

  2. After 30 years and 7 RVs we can certainly relate to breakdowns, health issues and last minute changes in plans. After awhile it almost becomes routine!
    But, like you, we’ve had great times too. As far as I’m concerned, RVing is the only way to travel. Best of luck getting your slide repaired and travel safe. I’m still hoping to meet up with you somewhere!

  3. Sorry about all these lows but things can only get better as my old Mum used to say.
    I am enjoying time with my son in FL at moment but fly back to UK 2nd July for grand daughters graduation.
    You all take care and travel safely.

  4. Sorry for your unexpected slide out issue …. at least you have someone who cares and has knowledge when you do get it repaired.

    We’re heading home from Canada so maybe our paths shall cross 🙂

    Safe and Happy Travels,
    Neil & Yoly

  5. Hi,

    I just ran into your blog and then ran into this post. It struck a cord with me because I too managed to end up with a broken bone (my leg) less than a month into our RV travels and it was also the result of dogs running amok (someone else’s, not ours). And we can relate to having pet illness issues on the road as well. 🙁 BUT, we can also relate to all the good times! Even though there have been challenges, we wouldn’t change anything about this experience. It’s been a fantastic ride. Anyway, nice blog… Just wanted to say hi!

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