New Awning

Well, apparently the frigid cold of Fargo, North Dakota (our RV's original home), the heat of Southern California, the cold of Northern California, and the extreme heat of the desert where we are now, plus all of the trips in-between have finally killed our awning. We had dreams of an electric, automatic awning, but after pricing it out. we just decided to go with the standard manual awning. We just couldn't justify the cost right now (for us!) But our poor, tattered awning must be replaced!

After watching a couple of youtube videos, we felt relatively confident enough to try. 

This one was SO very helpful for us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnxDLPDoVCc The process seriously took just over an hour, and that was mainly because we were being very slow and cautious. It really was painless and made a huge improvement to our rv. Seriously, watch the video. You can do this!

Before---tattered and worn and really sad. 

You will need 2 tall ladders. We also used a tall stepstool and a pre-teen in the middle which was nice and helpful, but not essential if you don't have either.

Rolling out the new awning. We had to roll and unroll a few times to make sure it went smoothly, and didn't have any major creases.

Yes our kids like to perch on ladders and "supervise" our work. We are used to that now.

 

Thankfully this was a VERY quick and painless project, because our across the street neighbor was washing his Porcshe in his driveway at the time, and I didn't want to get reported to the neighborhood association... :) Gotta love HOA's. 

RV- upholstery & curtain (and Life) Changes

Well, once again it's been a long time since I've blogged here. Life just has a way of taking over. Between the crazy re-start up of my Real Estate career, visiting our beloved family members fighting cancer, the kids growing insanely fast, the start of homeschooling first one of them, then two of them, now all three of them....well, let's just say, I let my writing here lapse. But the adventures have never stopped!

We just returned from one of our favorite trips so far! Over 3,000 miles, 14 days, 7 states (okay, I cheated and used the one we live in too, but really, we passed the sign...TWICE! :) ), and 5 national parks. But it all started with Zion. And what an amazing start!!

Due to all of the craziness mentioned above, I was a little apprehensive about departing on our trip. But I tried to build off of my husband and kiddos enthusiasm, and we got to work prepping for the trip.

It's now been over 7 years that we've been RV'ing in our little Winnie. When we started, our little guy was a baby. We had 3 carseats! Now, our oldest is a teenager! We have used that dinette non-stop on all of our trips, and the now threadbare cushions and flattened foam seats are just starting to show their wear. So we treated ourselves (and mainly the kids tuckuses) to an upgrade. We could NOT be happier with the results!

Here's a close-up of the curtain fabric before:

I managed to score some amazing room-darkening curtains from a Pottery Barn end of year clearance sale. They were all the wrong size, and various hanging styles. But the fabric was very high-quality, and had the room-darkening backing we were looking for. We measured the rv, and were able to buy panels which were originally $160 each, for $7 per piece. That is cheaper than I could even buy fabric! So we were very excited about this find. I measured, and cut, and re-sewed the curtains, but I sitll think it was much easier than starting from scratch. 

And here's after:

We have plans to upgrade the flooring eventually too...but time and money...have to be saved up. 

And the upholstery... Before: 

 The re-upholstered seats were done in a black leather (to match the captain's chairs that were already done in the cab). Upgraded foam makes it so much more comfortable for long drives, and for sleeping!

After pics: 

With our growing kids, we also felt that a privacy curtain would make changing easier for everyone. It was a huge hit on this trip!

Here it is closed--

 We installed a track on the ceiling, and sewed attachments to the curtain. This is a much better solution than our previous mod using a shower curtain rod, which kept falling down during drives.

 We installed snaps on the wall behind the dinette seat, so the curain is easily tied back when not in use. The master "bedroom" already had a snap (receiver) in place so we just put a corresponding snap part on the new fabric strap and voila!

Now that we're utilizing the cab for a sleeping area for our youngest (more to come on that), and the overhead bunk for our oldest, we replaced those old curtains as well. The overhead bunk used to have a curtain that clipped in with metal, hard to use clips. We installed another track system and are thrilled with the results. We chose to make the curtain a bit longer for privacy and darkening.

Here she is closed:

And opened:

I am a "halloween costume" and "necessity only" seamstress (and I feel like a fake even calling myself a seamstress but I couldn't think of a better term here) and still this project was doable, and we are all VERY happy with the results.

Here are some pics during the process:

Adding snaps (those are my man's hands, not mine ;)

More snapwork (and more man hands. My arms aren't that hairy.)

The changes we made were small, but they hugely improved living conditions for this long trip. Much more privacy, extra space to change in, an ability to close off sections of the rv at night for earlier bed-timers, and a super swank & comfy ride for our 3 passengers. All in all, an excellent upgrade!

Where does all that water go? Conserving water while RV-ing

One of our biggest challenges when rv-ing with three kids is water conservation. We teach our kids how to use water conservatively, but we still want them to practice good hygiene. And with 5 people, and one little rv, that means we use our water tank up quickly. Being new to rv-ing, the first thing I had to learn was where the water from each faucet, shower, toilet came from and went.

Fresh Water Fill without hookups- Winterization Valve Siphon

We love our rv's small size. It's easy to drive, maneuver and park almost anywhere. We knew it would be a small space for five of us, but our View is so well designed that we always have plenty of room (for us). Despite teaching our kids how to conserve and use "camping water" when washing their hands, or flushing, it's almost inevitable that we will use our fresh water tank up within 2-3 days of camping. These kids get DIRTY!! And I like my RV kept (relatively) clean! So nightly (quick) showers are a must for us. 

I mean this is the face of a happy, dirty kid that NEEDS a shower.

It's not all fun and games

There is actually quite a bit of work that goes along with RV'ing. While we love the lifestyle, owning and using an RV does require maintenance. Every trip requires planning and preparation. Most of us know that once we get home, the work continues. And the laundry...ugh, I won't even go into the laundry! But for us who love the open road, experiencing nature, spending quality time with our families, the hard work is worth the amazing times we have on each trip.

Last week we went on a whirlwind weekend trip to San Diego to spend time with our family. Driving down (and back up) the California coast in springtime is a beautiful, beautiful thing. We saw almond trees in full bloom, patches of brightly colored wildflowers covering the hillsides, and fields of fruits and vegetables beginning to blossom. And we saw bees, lots and lots of bees. The busy pollinators (along with their other flying friends) hit the rv with alarming frequency.

When we got home and surveyed the damage, we couldn't believe how many bug carcasses dotted the rv. We did a quick rinse at home, then looked for a carwash that would accommodate our tall rig. We found one 10 miles away! So we packed up a picnic lunch, grabbed the kids, and went to work.

We try to include the kids as much as possible in the work portion of our RV ownership and maintenance. Our RV enables our family to go on many fun and exciting adventures that we all enjoy. While my husband does take on the bulk of the maintenance duties, and I normally do much of the trip prep and clean-up, we ask the kids to help out with age-appropriate tasks. We both feel it's important that they understand that owning a vehicle does require extra work and that we all need to care for her properly. We also notice that they are more careful while eating (for example) now that they are responsible for vacuuming under the table and their carseats after each trip. Sometimes they grumble a little (just being honest here) but normally they are very good sports and have become very good at their responsibilities. I was seriously astonished at how much of a help my kids were on our last solo (mom & kid) trip.

We hope to teach them that we can have fun even when we're working. We all laughed and joked as we scrubbed off bug guts and got soaked with car wash over-spray. Even our one grumbly kid soon forgot her crankiness and scrubbed and laughed as much as the rest of us. After we finished, we praised them and admired our sparkling clean RV once again. Hopefully days like this teach them to be thankful for the things we have, and to take care of things they own. Or they may just decide that RV'ing is too much work and they do not want to do it when they grow up. And that's perfectly fine with us. 

Our 2008 Winnebago View J- RV Tour

Here she is, our 2008 Winnebago View J, or as we fondly call her, "Winnie." We love to explore in our little rv, and get out as often as we can. 

We decided to purchase this model for several reasons. First, its diesel engine is dependable and long-lasting (knock wood). Made by Mercedes, these little guys have a great reputation for quality. So we were able to purchase an older model and not worry so much about it falling apart on us. Also, the View consistently gets between 15-17 mpg, making it a very fuel-efficient vehicle. It gets better gas mileage than many passenger vehicles on the road!

Possibly most important to our family, the Winnie is slim and trim (relatively) making it easy for almost any driver. We wanted to get an r.v. that both my husband (who can drive anything) and I would feel comfortable driving. I have even taken her out on a solo trip, and have no qualms about doing so! It's actually really fun to drive. It's also very easy to park and because it is so little (again relatively) it can almost fit into a standard parking space, so parking and camping spots are simple to find.

For those of you curious, here is what some of the interior looks like. The fabric is a little 70's chic, but since we have three (messy, VERY messy) kids, it's almost always covered in protective fabric (read: dropcloths for children) anyway. 

Here's the dinette. We were enjoying Thanksgiving dinner in Sedona, Arizona here. As you can see, it comfortably seats four, so we purchased this little stool which is comfy enough for us, and super-easy and light for storage during our drives.

Our fridge and freezer have been perfect so far. I can always (barely) squeeze in just enough food for our trips. Our longest time out has been for 10 days so far and we made it perfectly. Any longer than about a week, we need to shop and replenish our fresh supplies.

Little vanity sink outside bathroom.

Toilet and shower. It may look tiny to you, but it's a glorious, amazing commodity to me, a mom of three active kids who love to play in dirt or beach sand. It's so nice to let them fully enjoy themselves, knowing they'll be neat and clean at bedtime. Ahhhh....

Our master bed. Very cozy and comfortable. We sleep better in the r.v. than at home. Maybe it's the vacation, but I'm seriously thinking about getting a bed like this for our house. hehe. We've topped it with a memory foam piece purchased on amazon and cut to size. Then use regular sheets and blankets. Perfect!

Our kitchen includes a stove-top, and microwave/convection oven combo unit. It also has a great large sink. 

Just some of the plentiful storage in the View. There is so much well-thought out storage that we always have extra space left after packing. And with five campers, I think that says so much about the Winnie's design. We love it!

The kids love the bunk above the cab. The girls sleep up here normally, but all three of our kids have fit there and slept well on occasion. There is also a TV/DVD player but we need to do some upgrades as the player stopped working right after we got it! Anyway, it's a great feature for the drives, as we can use it to play our own movies on it through our own devices.

 So, that's our tour of the Winnie. Hope you've enjoyed it. We sure love our mini-home away from home, and are very thankful for it!

RV or not an RV? Winnebago View or Bust

So, my husband and I had the RV bug. Well, really we had the camping/outdoors/hit the road/see more scenery/get out of the house/get to hike again bug. And with our three kids we really felt like the easiest and most enjoyable way to do that was to buy an RV. 

As I mentioned, my hubby had been researching them for quite some time now, and had really taken a liking to the Winnebago Views. Of course selecting the right RV is so subjective, but after really evaluating everything, this model seemed to fit our needs best.