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Go RV’ing; Our Experiences as First Time RV Owners

Several years ago, my husband and I bought our first RV. Today I thought I’d share some of our experiences as RV owners with you guys, along with a pillow sewing tutorial! It’s called the “Hit the Open Road” Pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV. This post is sponsored by Go RV’ing.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

I’ve mentioned a few times in the past that this year our family took on a new “project.” In January, we decided to purchase an RV. We have been talking about something for nearly 10 years, and this year we finally decided it was time.

Since we’ve purchased our RV, we’ve had lots of chats with friends and family about it. Plus, a lot of questions about our RV experience. Today I thought I’d sit down and share how our RVing experience has been so far, answer some of the most frequently asked questions and share with you a tutorial for a fun pillow that I stitched to decorate our RV.

Things to Consider when Buying an RV

We frequently ask what made us decide to buy an RV and how we picked the one we did.  It was hard for us to decide which RV to buy, and some days I go back and forth deciding if I’m 100% sure we got the right model. Today I’d say I’m 98% sure *wink*.

My husband and I have been talking about purchasing an RV for a long time. In that time went back and forth between buying a motorhome or a travel trailer. We found that there are many pros and cons to each one.

Motorhome or Travel Trailer?

For example, motorhomes make for insanely comfortable road trips, yet towable units allow you to use your own car when you’re on a trip (you can also tow certain cars behind a motorhome, we tow a Jeep Wrangler behind ours).

Price Range

There is also a price range we had to consider; you can find nice towable RVs starting around $6,000 with prices for some decked-out motorhomes going all the way up to “celebrity level.”

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

After deciding on an RV, we next needed to decide the type and size of RV that we wanted. We went back and forth on this FOREVER and finally made a decision. Like I said I’m 98% sure we picked the right one.

After thinking about it for a while, I’ve finally decided that there are things that I would love about each type of vehicle. So no matter what I bought, I think I’d be wondering if we should have bought the other. Does that make sense? Isn’t it like that with everything in life??? You pick one thing and spend time wondering about the other; it’s just human nature. So I need to figure out how to stop doing that.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

4 Things You Need to Know about RV’ing

  1. Think about how you’re going to travel in it. I mean the logistics of where everyone will sit when you’re on the road. I mention below the mistake we make with the seatbelts. I had envisioned a big empty RV with kids laying all around the back and me making lunch as we drove. It’s not like that. The RV is really too bumpy to assemble lunches while in motion, and the kids really need to be buckled into they don’t bounce around when it’s in motion.
  2. RV spots fill up EARLY. You need to plan months, if not a year early, to get a good RV spot. When we visited Arches & Zions, we reserved our spot a year in advance. I had imagined packing up and taking off for the weekend at the spur of the moment. You can’t do that; there won’t be anywhere to park.
  3. Repairs take a long time. We have had a few things break on our RV. Once it was in the shop for 5 months. I’m not joking. I had to call the manufacture and complain. Unfortunately, it seems to be the norm in the industry. I don’t know why it’s just “how they do things”. My husband and I have figured out how to do much of the maintenance ourselves to avoid this.
  4. If you live in a hot area, you need to run the A/C when parked. This means you’ll need to be hooked up to RV electrical or run your generator. An RV is like a car; leave it in the sun all day can be dangerous. If you’re not hooked up (called boondocking), you’ll be limited in what you can do and run in your RV. You can get around this a bit by adding solar panels to your camper. But most A/C units won’t run on the electricity generated by Solar. They need more amperage.

Our Biggest Mistake

As far as tips go, I will give you one today: if you buy an RV, you need to pay attention to the seat belts. We have 4, but I wish we had 6. We might have made a different decision if our salesman had been clearer during our purchase. Ultimately it’s our fault for not researching it more on our own. Each State is different, but many require each passenger riding in the back of an RV to be buckled into a seat belt.

About our RV

Our RV is a Winnebago View 24V. If I had it to do over again, I’d buy the View 24D since I think it makes sense to have a murphy bed and more living space.

We tow a Jeep Wrangler behind our RV so that we have a car when we travel. We’ve been doing it for years, and it’s worked out well for us to have a tow vehicle.

Our RV is considered a Class C Motorhome. Which means it runs on a truck chassis. It has a diesel engine. Our RV is smaller than many Class A Motorhomes, but we have found that we prefer the smaller size. It’s easier to back into camping spots and maneuver when we are traveling. It also only takes us 30 minutes to set up when we camp. Some travel trailers take hours!

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

Adding our Personal Touch to the RV

As soon as we bought the RV, my husband wanted to go shopping to get “the RV stuff.” I think it’s a guy thing. He began researching the “best” and most necessary accessories, and for the most part, I just let him do his “thing.” Until one day we were shopping and he wanted to buy blankets for the beds. At this point, I had to interject and say, “NO, that is my department.” *wink*.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

Let me tell you; you can bet that at some point, the inside of this RV is going to be covered in handmade quilts and pillows. I’ve already started construction on the quilts; they are not done but are getting close. One day while working on the quilts, I noticed that I had accumulated a big ol’ pile of scraps. So today, I’m going to share with you what I did with some of those scraps by creating this Hit the Open Road Appliqué Pillow.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

Many people have asked us if we like our RV and RVing. They also want to know if it was hard to figure out how to use all of the “stuff” on the RV. The thing is pretty much a house on wheels complete with electrical and plumbing systems.

RV FAQ’s

How Did you Figure out How to Work all the “Stuff”?

The first time we took the RV out was a pretty big experiment, with us referring to YouTube videos and owners manuals all day. After that first trip, things got pretty easy, and we seemed to have figured most of it out (I don’t want to say we’ve figured it all out because I don’t want to jinx it, but we’re feeling pretty confident).

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

Do you Like your RV?

Yes! We love it. We’ve taken it on long road trips (to Disney World in April, where we stayed at their campground) and short trips to local campgrounds. I have to tell you that the thing is pretty dreamy on long trips.

I love the fact that I have my own bathroom. All we need to do is pull off the road for a super-quick pit stop to let someone use it, no hunting for clean restrooms on the road. I also love that I have my own bed, my own pillow, and my own sheets.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

One of our favorite things is to take it on quick trips; sometimes, we don’t even stay the night. Instead, we love to pull into a campground, cook dinner, and spend the evening enjoying the outdoors.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

Personally, I love that the RV has a fridge and a kitchen. There’s nothing quite like the smell of waffles cooking on an early Saturday morning when you’ve got a terrific view out your window.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

We’ve been playing around with Dutch oven recipes all summer and have discovered a few favorites. Once we get them perfected, I’ll have to share a few recipes with you guys. The best thing about it is that my husband does most of the Dutch oven cooking, which is a major bonus for me!

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

It’s been so nice to get the kids AWAY. Yes, they still take their phones, but most of the other distractions are far away. We play cards, watch movies, take the dogs on walks, and spend a lot of time talking to each other. SO much better than everyone retreating to their “spaces” at home.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

We live in Kentucky and are always on the lookout for fun new places to park. If you know of any places in Indiana, Kentucky, or Tennessee, let me know. Part of the fun has been exploring new places in our area that we’ve never been to before.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"
Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"
Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

Free Hit the Open Road Pillow Pattern

This pillow is SUPER easy to make; you can even make it without a sewing machine if you want. You’ll need to purchase an already sewn pillow cover. I’ve included a free pattern printable for the HIT THE OPEN ROAD lettering (the tutorial is pretty long and detailed, so I’ve moved it to another page to make things simpler).

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

If any of you are experienced RVers I’d love to hear your best tips and places to go, just leave them in the comments so that everyone can see them.

Free tutorial for a Hit the Open Road pillow, a fun DIY project for an RV or camper. Plus why our family loves to "Go RV'ing"

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16 Comments

  1. Get the app Allstays Camp and RV. Well worth the $10 it costs!! Lists campsites, Free overnight parking, low clearance, rest areas, etc. we use it all the time when out in our RV. We live in Indiana and have been to a few spots. Last fall we stayed at Horseshoe Bend in Leavenworth, IN. It’s right on the Ohio River. Relaxing place, not the greatest road to get in, but your size RV should have no problem. We enjoyed watching the barges go by. Also really enjoyed Ceraland Campground in Columbus, IN. Starve Hollow State Recreation Area in Vallonia, IN is nice too. There is a lake there for fishing.

    1. Thanks for the suggestions! We had Brown County on our “list” but I had not heard of Ceraland. We debated about the size of the RV for a while and decided to go with smaller one because of the road issue you mentioned. I’m going to have to check out Leavenworth as well as Starve Hollow! .. My husband mentioned that app before, but I think I wasn’t paying attention *wink*. Thanks for the suggestions!!!

  2. Welcome to RV life! Once you get started, you will be hooked for the rest of your life! We wish we had one when our kids were younger, but now that they are grown and have families of their own, we’ve embraced the lifestyle. Our RV is similar in size to yours, and we just returned from a three month adventure to Alaska and the western US. The smaller size was perfect for this. Check out RVillage.com for lots info and groups with similar interests. I second the suggestion for the AllStays ap! We used it almost exclusively on our trip.

    Locally, we enjoy Clifty Falls St Park in Madison, IN and even Charlestown St Park for a quick getaway. Anything along the Blue Ridge Parkway is also a favorite. Have fun and enjoy your RV! (I might be making one of those pillows soon! )

    1. Our kids are now in high school, which is one of the main reasons we decided to buy this year instead of waiting. I wanted it for at least a little bit before they left home. After that we plan to do “stalk” them all over the country in the RV *wink*. Thanks for the tip about Clifty Falls, we actually had a reservation there but had to cancel it due to a conflict with one of the kids. Adding the other suggestions to my “list” Thanks!

  3. Oh don’t get me wrong we loved the RV experience but there are always things to consider when your at the campground. Don’t forget to get the name of the local police and number just incase or whom to call when/if there is an emergency. Don’t ever park under buckeye trees, they sound like a loud thud on the roof in the middle of the night. and Don’t forget the bug spray as well as the ivy block.

    1. Yes, I’ve thought about all of those things. I tend to be a worrier so finding safe places is one of the top things I’ve been worried about. We have bad bugs in Kentucky in the summer, so we are usually not without our bug spray! and thanks for the tip about the buckyeyes!

  4. As a Montana resident, I recommend a trip to Yellowstone, then north on Hwy 93 where you can hit Glacier National Park (also Waterton in Canada). Continuing north on Hwy 93 into Canada go to Banff, though the Columbia Icefields and end in Jasper. These parks contain the most spectacular scenery anywhere in the world! Before you hit the Canadian border stop in Eureka, MT for lunch and say hi to me at the town hall!

    1. We have Montana on our “list”! I’ve only been to a portion yellowstone in the winter, and it was on a snowmobile, so I didn’t see much. We are just counting the days until my husband can take enough time off work for a nice long road trip out west! Thanks for the suggestions, I’m adding them to my “wish list”!

  5. We also have just had our trailer a year (we opted for the towable travel trailer)….love it so far and took it out of the driveway for the first time last weekend. (PS where we live is as pretty as a campground so it’s even fun staying in the driveway in it! LOL)…but….i agree…hubby cooked alot and i had alot of time to read craft magazines and knit! And we played games and had lots of family time….great memories! Thanks for the pillow idea…it’s GOING TO HAPPEN! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog! Keep up the good stuff!

  6. Check out Fall Creek Falls and Rock Island State Parks in Tn. Fall Creek has the highest waterfall East of the Mississippi, Rock Island has many falls and even is home to a world champion family of kyakers. Both parks about 2 hours east of Nashville Tn. A lot to see and do there. Caves, hiking, photography,shopping and the list goes on. In Ind, check out Brown County in the fall, Parke Co in Oct has a covered bridge festival and a tour to about 20 covered bridges. Spring Mill State park just outside of Mitchell is great. Has a 1840-60s village with a 30 foot overshoot wheel driving the mill stones. We travel with a 5th wheel.

  7. Check out Madison Indiana. Clifty Falls State Park. A lot of hiking trails and water falls.

  8. Our all-time favorite is Topsail Florida State Park. Google it!! You literally have to book it 11 months in advance if you want summer time reservations. It’s near Santa Rosa Beach, Florida on 30A.

  9. Where did you get the fabric for the back of the pillow? I’m in love with it! Super cute pillow…definitely need to make one for our RV now too. Thanks!

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