Episode 101: The 10 Ways RV Travel Has Spoiled Us

In this episode of the Roadtreking RV Lifestyle Podcast, we talk about how RV Travel in our motorhome has spoiled us, especially when it comes to automobile travel. Ten reasons immediately come to mind. Plus, we have reader questions about emptying RV waste water tanks, a tip on a way to sanitize and clean them, traveling tech info, RV news of the week and a great off the beaten path report. Click the player to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details and resources and click the player below to start listening. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] We’ve just driven about 1,000 miles in an automobile instead of our RV. And we can’t believe how much we disliked it. Traveling by motorhome has spoiled us. The trip, from our Michigan home to Atlanta, was unplanned and very quick, made necessary by a family medical emergency. Because we were going to be in downtown Atlanta around the Grady Memorial Hospital medical complex, we only had parking garage space available. Same with the downtown hotel where our other family members were staying: There was only underground parking available. Our Roadtrek CS Adventurous XL motorhome was too tall to bring. So we drove. By car. First, let me say that the medical emergency passed and had an excellent outcome. We had hundreds of people praying, many connected to me from Facebook and many part of our Roadtreking Facebook Group. The Roadtreking community support was so comforting. But the drive down and back in our personal vehicle was anything but comforting and made us really miss the motorhome. To that end, Jennifer and I have identified 10 ways Motorhome Travel has spoiled us. Here’s what we missed: [spp-timestamp time="5:50"] The high seats in the motorhome – We love sitting up high, over the road, with a huge panoramic windshield that lets us see the road, traffic, the conditions around us from a position much higher than that in our car. We feel more “on top of things” in the motorhome, better able to see road conditions and traffic and anticipate corrective moves when needed. The refrigerator – In the motorhome, the fridge is always on, always cool and we have lots of water, snacks, fruit and refreshments on hand. A great road snack is sliced apples and cheese. I suppose we could have packed a cooler for the car. But the fridge in the RV is much more convenient. The bathroom – Have you stopped at gasoline station rest rooms or interstate rest areas lately? Most all leave something to be desired in the cleanliness department. Our own bathroom in the RV is clean. Always. The kitchen – Eating on the road while driving in a car almost invariably means fast food or lots of online searching and review checking to find nice places to eat on route. In our motorhome, we can quickly prepare anything – breakfast, lunch, dinner. We just pull over and eat off our own plates, with our own utensils and always, the food we prepare ourselves in the RV is cleaner, healthier and better tasting than what we’d find at a roadside diner or fast food joint. Being in control – This is a real intangible. But it provides a great sense of security. We are not dependent on anything other than fuel as we travel. We are self-contained. Everything we need is with us. This has to truly be one of the nicest things about RV travel. Closets – We have plenty of extra clothes with us in the RV. If the weather turns suddenly cooler, we can go to the closet and replace shorts and T-shirts with long pants and sweaters. We have extra shoes on board the RV. Raincoats, jackets, hats and gloves. We are ready for most anything Mother Nature delivers. For a trip by automobile, where you have to pack everything in suitcases, it’s difficult to be prepared for different weather conditions. A bed – I cannot begin to say how nice it is while traveling long distances to pull over and lay down in the motorhome’s bed for a quick roadside nap. On this recent trip down to Georgia, we were challenged by torrential rains. We had to pull over three times and wait a half hour or so each time for storms to pass. It’s very hard to nap in a car. In our Roadtrek, with the patter of rain on the roof, a rain delay makes for a wonderful nap. How we missed being able to do that on this trip! Big side mirrors – I’m talking here about the mirrors outside the driver and passenger windows. The motorhome side mirrors are big and cover a very wide area. We feel we really can see what is around us and behind us in the motorhome. The mirrors on our automobile are much smaller. Was not nearly as comfortable making lane changes as I would have been in the RV. Being able to stand up and stretch – Our motorhome lets me walk around and stand up. I can move around and stretch out (while Jennifer is driving, of course!). We felt cramped and a bit claustrophobic in the car. Our Home on Wheels - Put all of the above reasons to