What We'd Do Different After a Year of RV Living

What We’d Do Different After a Year of RV Living

After seven months of full-time travel and more than a year living in a fifth wheel, we’re looking back at all the things we thought we’d need, the things we absolutely didn’t, and the little changes we’d make if we could start this journey all over again.

In this episode, we talk about the lessons we’ve learned from life on the road so far. Some practical, some funny, and some that only make sense after you’ve lived in a tiny space with your entire life packed into 500 sq feet.

We also share a small update for the podcast. Going forward, new episodes will release every other Friday so we can focus on making each episode more consistent and higher quality, while still keeping monthly bonus content going over on Patreon.

We chat about what we’d do differently if we had a do-over, including:

• Starting sooner instead of waiting for the “perfect” time
• Preparing earlier so we could slowly collect RV-specific gear before hitting the road
• Bringing way less stuff and letting go of all the “what if we need this someday?” totes that have barely been touched
• Stocking up on favorite regional foods and hard-to-find ingredients we’ve discovered along the way
• Adding more outdoor gear for parks without many amenities, since we spend way more time outside than we expected
• Relaxing our travel planning and relying more on local recommendations instead of over-researching every stop before we arrive

From missing Best Maid pickles and Alabama white sauce to realizing some of our favorite memories came from completely unplanned moments, this episode is a fun and honest look at how travel changes the way you think about home, routines, and what actually matters.

Transcript

 We're the Essary family, and we're exploring America one destination at a time. Today, on TravelEssary, we're going to talk about the things that we would do differently if we could go back and start over again. Let's chat. Welcome, and thank you for joining us on this episode as we talk about what we would do different if we were to start over. And man, is there a lot, and I mean a lot, that I would definitely change. So when we say start over, we're talking about going back and starting our full-time journey over again. Now that we have been traveling for about seven months, and we have lived in our fifth wheel for a year now, I wanna go back and talk about what, would we do differently? Now that we know some things, we have some insights, we have some experience and some knowledge, yeah, I, I have quite a bit of things that I'd do different. Yeah, even with the small time that we've spent, and we know people that have been doing this for years, that it's totally different from whenever they first started. Right. But even in, within , our first year of doing this, there's a few things, and matter of fact, we already have plans whenever we go back to redo some stuff. Yeah. It's almost like a restart for us, just a little bit. Yeah. So Jeremy has a list of things that he would redo, and I have a list of things that I would redo. We don't know each other's list, so some of them may or may not overlap. We're gonna see. But before we get into that, we have a quick announcement and update. - You know, if you're listening to this, uh, when it comes out, the weeks it comes out, then you probably have realized we have not had a podcast come out the last couple of weeks. We have not had any episodes because we are traveling, and we've been very, very busy, and it's been very hard sometimes to get that content out. But I hate that. I hate that we have not been able to do that. And so one of the things that we are changing is we are changing our episode release to be every other Friday instead of every Friday so that we don't feel pressured to get it done and, you know, not be able to travel, which is why we're doing this. If we can't travel, we can't give you guys travel content if we don't get out there and ex- explore. But, you know, to give you guys good content, that gives us enough time to create good, quality content and get it edited and out there, and I think it's gonna be a good thing because you guys are gonna have it more consistently than you have in the last couple of weeks. So just be aware that from here on out, our podcast will be released every other Friday. And it is something that we're changing just a little bit, but it's something that we're looking forward to as we're gonna be able to give you better quality instead of just more quantity. Right. And, , if you just need more episodes than that, then go hit up our Patreon. We still release bonus episodes on there every month. That's not changing there. , And, you know, there's tons of extra content over there as well. There are bonus videos that we do every month that are not put out anywhere else. So let's get into it. All right. Do you wanna start with you first , or me? Uh, I don't care. Uh, I'm good. All right, why don't you go first? Okay, so the very first thing that I would change is that I would start sooner. Well, okay. Okay, yes. I kinda figured this would be on your list somewhere. Yes, I would. I would go back, and I would do it sooner because we talked about it for years. We did. We talked about it for, like, eight years- Eight, yeah ... of wanting to do something like this. And but it was always, like, a dream that we never thought we would be able to obtain. I would start sooner because I didn't realize how very doable it was. That's what I mean by starting sooner. We did- we didn't have to wait those eight years. I mean, it did, and everything worked out, and I feel like we were where we were supposed to be, but I, I'd start sooner. I'd start a lot sooner. So mine's kind of on the line with that, but it- it's a little bit different variation. Okay. I would Start saving or accruing items earlier Items. That's an interesting take. 'Cause whenever you look at going from a regular house, large fridges, um, cooking- Mm-hmm ... you know, usually even your outdoor barbecue pits and stuff are very large. Very large. And they're, they don't f- they're not travel compact, you know what I'm saying? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like, you, you, you can't just throw them in the, in the underbelly of, you know, whatever you're trying to drive around or, or move around. And so there's a few items that you get that either go outside or even inside that - they're different from your normal brick and s- stick or even apartment type places. You have, there's other things that you have to get. And so accruing those items, because there's a cost that comes with that, accruing those I would have started way sooner. Okay. We actually have a, a whole podcast gonna come out pretty soon about all the things we didn't realize we needed or slash wanted when it comes to our travel life, and I'm sure we will go into depth on that way more on that episode. Way more. Because yeah, - what you use in a house is not the same as what you use in an RV. Like, there's very few things. But okay, so that makes me wanna go into my next one. I said I would keep less things. Okay. Because we have a lot of things that we have kept that we have not touched during our travels, and I don't think we're going to. Which is hilarious because my next... And we're gonna, we're gonna talk on this, this topic kind of extensively, , right now because mine is remove what ifs. Yes. We brought a lot of stuff that we were like, "You know, if this happens, then we're gonna need this," or we, we actually already thought in our minds like, "Hey, this would take place." Yeah. Like, even, even a year, seven months into this, it was like, "Oh, we would definitely... We're definitely gonna use this. We're definitely gonna need this," that we haven't even touched it. Yeah. So we, we have the same thing on that one then. Yeah. Because we've done so much camping- Mm and our families have done so much camping, whenever you go camping, you bring the what ifs. Yeah, be- yeah. Because- Because you're not leaving where you're going camping. Right. It's not like you're traveling or going to live in another community where you have to get out and go shopping and go explore what's going on and be a part of activities, where you're kind of- Y- you wanna get to a destination because you're spending family time, or you're fishing, or , you're trying to get on , the water as much as possible, and so you bring the what-ifs so you don't have to leave that area. Yeah. Um, I am already thinking of all the things I want to take out of the RV when we get home for the holidays. Oh, yeah. Like, I already have... Like, we're gonna have to take a whole day just to go through our things and take more stuff out. And it's not just, like, the items that we brought that we thought that everyone would use. There's so much stuff that I thought that we were going to need. Like, even personally, like I thought that I was going to have more time for- Mm-hmm ... and it, that just wasn't the case. And there's so much stuff that we need to unload. Yeah. I can't even, like, think off the top of my head what those things are - but I know there are quite a bit of items under our bed, in the underbelly of the RV, above the couch, in the cabinets that we've never touched. I don't, I don't know what they are, but I know they're there, and we haven't touched them. Yeah. And I know they need to come out, and it's not because we're, like, running out of space. We still have quite a bit of space to put more things, and we will for sure once we get rid of some stuff. But I know what I would do with some of that space because one of my next things is I would stock up on the things I didn't realize I'd miss. Okay, no, for real. I'm being dead serious right now. Oh, gosh. There are things- Oh, Lord ... that I enjoy Just bear with us, people ... that are not available- ... everywhere. And the biggest thing, like, I'm a pickle person, okay? I like pickles. But I got spoiled, or it's, maybe it's 'cause I was raised on Best Maid Pickles. You know, in Texas, it's a Texas thing. I think they're from Fort Worth. I was raised on Best Maid Pickles. There are no Best Maid Pickles outside of Texas. We have yet to find- And here's, here's the amazing thing is it's not just what you miss at home. It's other places that you go- Right ... where you find something. So exactly, yes. And you're like, "Yes, I, I..." It's one of those I can't live without moments, and then you move. You could even stay in the same state, and you move three hours in that state, and it's extremely hard to find. Mm-hmm. Y- you know, but also moving, like, different regions or even different states. Like, going from Alabama to Florida was a huge thing. Going from Florida to South Carolina is gonna be a huge thing, and then from South Carolina on up all the way up the East Coast, it, it's just gonna be all different- And so being able to, whenever you find that item that- You find that thing that you can't live without ... that thing that you need that is, like, either a perishable good or something that will last for a long time that you'll be able to, you know... Misty talks about her pickles, and it's true. We have yet to find pickles that are as good as Best Maid, and- Yeah, I'd get a whole case of pickles, and I'd put them under my bed and And if, if anyone is a pickle lover and you've never had a Best Maid, you have to try them out. You have to have Best Maid because they're the best. You, you will love them. We've tried some other pickles, and they're not as crisp or... I, I don't know, it's just- No, they're not. They're like- It's just one of those things ... a lot of the pickles we've had, I'm gonna get off on a pickle tangent, it's like they're mushy. They're mushy. Why are they mushy? , They're extra soft. Any- anyways, we're more of the, the snap, crackle, pop kind of pickle people. Yeah, and there are a couple of other things that are, like, specifically Texas that I know when we empty out all this other stuff, that I'm gonna refill some of those spots- Right ... with. And then again, while we travel, if we come along, things that we're just like... Like in Alabama, their white sauce. Oh my gosh. White sauce. And we're already out, and- ... now we don't know what to do. Now we don't have any white sauce. White barbecue sauce, like I need some more. And anyone who knows us or anyone who's ever listened to any of our podcasts, you know we are foodies. We love food. We love trying different food. We love all the different types of foods that are out there. And another thing that we've run into is we've run out of noodles. Oh my gosh, yes. That's another thing. And the- So next time we go to, like, Houston, when we're around the Conroe area, you're gonna bet your bottom I'm gonna stock up on noodles. Or if we start going up north and we start running into more places that, that have those- Like, I need an Asian market ... yeah, that have those different markets. Um, even down south, and w- there was a little bit of it in Florida, but the... you know, getting into, um, the Cuban markets. Yeah, it was mostly, um, like Cuban and Puerto Rican markets- Yeah and things like that. I didn't see- Different spices and everything that you could, you could get down there ... no Asian markets that I saw- Yeah ... that we came across. None that we came across. And I haven't t- came across any since we left Houston, which has a huge, variety of markets. There are Mexican markets. There are Asian markets. There's like, a big culture diversity in Houston. And so you're able to, you know, benefit from that by getting all the different things that you love as far as, like, food and products are concerned. And now it's just, like, fish and barbecue. So yeah, I mean- Fish and fried food. stocking up on some items is a big one. Yeah. Especially You know, all you people at home, you know. You have that one specific food type, but it's not guaranteed anywhere else that you go Yeah, so , that's one of the things I would do. I would keep less of the things that we have Because we don't use them. Like, uh, there's very few things that we use in our home, sticks and bricks, that we use in the RV because we just have a very, very different life now. Like, the things we use the most are not the things that we used the most two years ago. , It's very different. Right. - So I would change that, and then I would add the things that I absolutely love, which is mostly food items. Because I have written down on my list is less totes. Less totes. Because we, not only on, on the underbelly, because , we carry so much stuff with us, but underneath the bed. Mm-hmm. We have some totes that we really don't- I'm gonna, I, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be open. That's all Jeremy. I didn't wanna keep those things. That we don't use a lot. In our mind, in our, you know, process planning part was, hey, we're gonna find things out on the road such as, you know, different clothes or something of that nature that we wanna store, or presents- Mm-hmm ... that we wanna take back, and this will allow us the capacity, to be able to transport things around. But the amount of items that we have or the cabinets that we've never gotten anything out of, we might have opened them- Mm-hmm ... but we haven't gotten anything out of, is like, if we get rid of those, then we can move a vast majority of those totes and items into those storage areas that we know we're going to use, and we'll still have underbelly or different storage capacities to acquire the different items and to pick up those items that we can't live without. Yeah. Which is really weird, because we were supposed to do a list of three each, and every single one of the things that we've written down separately, you were on your side of the table- ... I was on my side. It was almost like we were taking a test. Yeah. We like, "Don't cheat off of me." Don't, don't look at my paper. Yeah. Have been pretty close, but I think we, knowing each other a little bit, we were like, "Okay, hey, let's write a fourth down, and then let's... I think this is where we're gonna separate on our, our list here." Okay. Okay. So what's, what's kind of the, the bonus item that you have for people? Okay, so my next one is, and this is gonna be crazy for me to say I would plan less. I would plan less. Oh my good- But we have told everyone- But let me, let me expound on what that means. You need to plan. Okay, go ahead. Plan less, because in the beginning, especially our first, like, three or four stops, especially before we went back home for the holidays, so from October through, um, the 1st of December- Okay I pre-planned our activities before we got to that spot. And I did a ton of research, I'm talking like months before we got to these spots, and did a ton of research of where to go, what to do, even places to eat. And I don't do that as much anymore, as you well know, and one of the main reasons is because I wanna experience and visit with local people before I make all those choices, which we have talked about a lot, like visitor centers, people that live there. Now, not not plan at all. I did not say that . I h- I am going to do a rough plan, especially if it's somewhere where you're gonna be with us for a large quantity of that time and I know we're gonna do a lot of exploring. I will do a rough, like, idea of what's in the area. Like, I know here we're gonna have a lot of beach time. Right. Like, that's my big thing while we're here at our current place here in South Carolina, 'cause we're close to Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, and we love those places. But , I am not and no longer and would not do this if I could go back again and plan so extensively as far as activities, and even down to our eating places, before we even arrived at a place. Now that I know what I know, I need to talk to locals first. I need to get a lay of the land. I love how our first day when we get somewhere, , or the day after, we get a lay of the land. We find the grocery store, we find the church we're gonna visit, we find, the area and we get a feel for it. We talk to people, we ask questions, and then I start making plans. So yeah, okay, so I understand where you're coming from. , It's more of , the detailed plans of kinda what's going on. Yeah, I mean, I think it's silly that I was planning our restaurant stops, you know, two months before we even got to a place, and I knew nothing about that place. Well- I was simply going off of Google. And , that's the interesting part to it, because whenever you plan or whenever you're looking into a location, , you're gonna be at , the wheel of whatever internet search you're using, whatever engine you're using. Yeah. They're gonna bring up certain things based upon their algorithm, and it may not- Actually be the best place for you to go Well, not to mention sometimes people will tell us things, it doesn't even exist on Google Yeah, or it's closed and it's not even open anymore Yeah And so you get your hopes up of going, "Oh man, this place ha- you know, this place has 4.8 stars. Um, and this place is gonna be amazing." And then you get there and it's a run-down hole in the wall, and the food is absolutely disgusting because they got all their reviews the first four months that they were open, and now they've been open for a while, they've let their service go, you know, the cook has left or something like that. The locals are gonna know that. Yeah. Google's not gonna know that, but the locals will know that. Now, I am by no means saying that we are, like, last-minute, completely wing-it people, and I will never be that person. No. But I am, you know, flying by my cuff a little bit more as we do this. I'm not, definitely not so rigid in, , pre-planning things. Yeah. And because, you know, even our schedules, they fluctuate so much, like our work schedules and things like that, and I've found that pre-planning is sometimes difficult. Anyways, , it's been nicer not pre-planning and extensively going through all this stuff before we even arrive at a place. I, I enjoy doing it more so once we arrive. That's what I do differently. What about you? What's your fourth one? And this is gonna be crazy. I don't know why we have two different crazy things that are almost on the opposite spectrums of what we stated at the very beginning. Mm-hmm. I would have more outdoor stuff. This, this kinda goes along with your first one, no? Well, yes, I would, accrue things, but I'm also talking about inside and outside. Because we spend a lot of time outside. Well, I, I think one of the reasons that has changed for you is because we're in warmer weather now, and when we first started, it was in October, and we only had a few weeks of warm weather before we hit the winter times, and then we were inside a lot. It also stems from camping. Mm-hmm. Because some of the things that I'm gonna talk about, when you go to Corps of Engineers- Yeah ... state parks, you don't have to worry about this. Mm-hmm. But whenever you get to go to KOAs, Thousand Trails, the different membership places that are more RV parks or RV resorts- Mm-hmm than campgrounds, what you take with you changes a little bit. Yeah. So some of the stuff that I'm gonna talk about is- We need a table. We do. I'm not talking about, like, a full-blown eight-foot long- No, no, no ... folding table- No ... that we, that we can set up and- Even just like a little side table ... and eat around. But just a side table because you're not guaranteed a picnic table mm-hmm. We've been to a couple of them now that, you know- Didn't have picnic tables? Didn't have picnic tables. Yeah. At all. There was no room for them. They're side by side, they're too close. , You didn't have them, In one of them, , you had to share a picnic table between two spots. Yeah, that's awkward. Which was really weird. And, you know- It- ... those people are ... I, we don't know if they're on vacation. We don't know if this is what they do full time. And so it was really weird in that situation. Um, some type of fire pit, fire grill. Yes., I do. I feel like we're getting to the territory of things we didn't know , we need and we're gonna have to dive into later on another episode. But yes, that is something that I've been thinking about as well, but I didn't dare mention it because , when we first started, Jeremy was very adamant about not having hardly any outside stuff at all. All mine kind of compound because the less totes that we have underneath the belly- Mm-hmm ... then we can put those items comfortably 'Cause the main thing is not having to move something to get something. Yeah. That's , our whole plan. And so if we get somewhere and we don't need the table, we don't need the pit, then we can just leave them in there. Yeah. And it doesn't get in our way, and we're perfectly fine with it. But right now we have so much stuff underneath our belly, we can't do that. I think that we could very easily, um, summarize both of our list into getting rid of things that don't fit the lifestyle and getting more of the things that we need to fit . , Because we spend way more time outside, I think, than we ever have in our marriage now- Yes ... than we did before. I think of our homes that we have owned, you know, we didn't just sit outside a lot because, one, we were so busy. Right. And when we weren't busy, we were inside relaxing. And it's not that we don't enjoy sitting outside, and it's not like we don't enjoy sitting in our RV and enjoying the comforts that our RV does. Mm-hmm. It's just because as of right now, the way that we're traveling, it's so beautiful outside. Yeah. You know, we're traveling with the weather and we have a whole episode about traveling with the weather, and we are currently experiencing the benefits of that. Like, we have so many beautiful days where we're able to just sit outside, and we have a two-year-old who is obsessed with outside and dirts and rocks and sticks. And I love sitting outside and working or sitting outside and reading a book while he plays. And, and it's just too beautiful not to be outside. Yeah. Why would I wanna be cooped up in the RV when I can be sitting outside working or reading or playing or- We have an outdoor radio that we can just quickly push the power button. We don't have to worry about setting anything up for that. Yeah. Jeremy cooks outside a lot when he's here. He's gonna do it again tonight. He did it last night. Well, I'm able to cook outside more because I'm here. Yeah. You know, usually the time I'm cooking outside, I'm traveling back from work- Mm-hmm ... and then I'm tired from... It's- I think that's another big thing is because- The lifestyle is so different ... yeah, I think that's another big reason why we're outside so much. It's not just the weather. It's that we have time to be outside together. Right. I'm not... I don't have a list that I'm trying to knock out during all my free time because I'm stuck in an 8:00 to 5:00. It's, it's just a different lifestyle. Yeah. And , living that lifestyle for a while now has changed our perspective and our view on the items that we actually use- Mm-hmm ... and need, and not the view of, hey, we're going camping but after seven months on the road, I can already tell you, yeah, there's quite a bit of things that I would go back and change. But you know, some things you may need, some things you may not need.