The First Year Living Full Time in the RV

We have lived one full year and a month in the 5th Wheel. For the first six months I worked and then my husband had to have radiation for his prostate cancer reoccurrence.
It was so nice to just be able to pull the 5th Wheel to San Antonio for his cancer treatments. It was so nice to be "home" every day after the stress of the radiation.
After 2 months we went back to Monahans for him to go back to work in the oil field. I, however, did not go back to work. I am back to studying Hebrew and Writing.

The washer and dryer my husband installed has been wonderful. It has been just a relief to have normal laundry days.

A few things that I have learned over this year that surprised me:
The forward slide outs won't slide all the way in. We called a service tech but I don't think he knew what he was doing because all he did was push on the slide outs to try to get them closer to being totally closed.
I can see light at the floor at the edge of the carpet on one of the slide outs. I had to caulk it on the inside because you cannot see that from the out side.
There are several places on the floor that seem to have gotten soft. In a sixty thousand dollar 5th wheel, I expected it to hold up better than that after just one year.
The front air conditioner drips on to the bed, sometimes even if the 5th Wheel is tilted to the back.
These are things that could be taken to the shop and fixed on warranty but when you live in it full time that is not a reasonable option. Extended warranty's are not worth much when you live in one full time. Especially the one we bought because we have to take it back to the dealership where we bought it.

On a personal note the things that I did not expect:
It is not that hard to live in such a small space. Cleaning house is a breeze!
Having a small closet bothers me more that I expected.
I wish that I was more organized. That becomes a real issue in the RV.
Having a two burner stove seriously limits meal choices.  The oven bakes at 350 but it does not
bake like a regular oven.
I am learning to bake in the Micro/Conv oven. Still, it is very difficult.
We never eat at the table but it is a great place to collect junk.
Sewing in an RV is not that hard to do. Cutting out the pattern is the hardest part. I need to put a large cutting board under the bed. I just want a very stiff one because the bed gives a lot.
Washing dishes EVERY night is more important that brushing my teeth everyday.
The preinstalled vacuum cleaner is sucky! But the sweeping port is wonderful.
Color in the form of accent is absolutely necessary to let the eye rest from all of the brown neutral decorating color.
There is no where to hang pictures. I miss them a lot.
4 glasses are not enough but 6 cereal bowls are too many.
Having a pantry is a necessity and I do have one.
You can always find where space was wasted!
It becomes too easy to stop oil treating the wood. I have to set a reminder for myself.

Living in a 5th Wheel is so much easier that I though it would be!

One Way I Made Life Easier

When we bought our RV it had a "walk in closet".

 
Great… I can always use a BIG closet. It even had this really neat curved hanging system that went from one side of my 4 foot closet and curved around to the other side.

Great idea right? It looked like a great idea but looks can be deceiving. I hung clothes on the right side and then as I started into the curved corner I realized that it was pushing on the clothing I had just hung up. As the back straightened out, those clothes pushed on the ones in the curve…. And so it went all the way to the right side. The hanging system was pulled toward the center and there was extra room behind the clothes on the right side. Wasted space? Nope I could put in a hook or two and hang things behind the clothing on that side. One hook held purses and the other hook held three coats. That was a good use of space.

But what about the clothes in the curves that was crowding everything else?

After living with it this way for two months I decided to change it. The biggest problems that I ran up against was that the clothes hanging system hung from the shelf in the closet. Normally the clothes hung on a rod which hung from hangers screwed to the wall or the pole was long enough to be attached at the ends. Since my closet was only four foot wide and I had double sliding doors in the front of the closet, the shelf supported the hanging system. How do I work around this problem?

I looked on the internet for more of this hanging system that I could install in two straight lines. No luck. I couldn't figure out what it is called and I did not find it. My solution was to straighten out what I could on one side and I to hang a bar from the shelf on the other side.

Wow, what a difference it made. Now my clothing are not crowded because I don't have corners to hang into. And I gained 12 more inches of hanging space!!!!!

  
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a "before" picture even though I planned to so you could see what I was talking about. Alas, I only have a good "after" picture. If you look at the shelf you can see where it was curved to and how crowed it had to have been to hand clothing in that space.

I keep reminding myself that change is inevitable and I might as well view it as an adventure with a smile and a positive attitude. God is good to me.

3 Steps to learning to cook in an RV Convection Microwave Oven

My first cookies in a Convection/Microwave

I have spent the better part of an hour trying to learn how to make cookies in the convection oven but I still don't have any cookies.
     First I forgot to take the microwave tray out of the bottom of the oven. Finally I figured out I needed to take that out and put the wire rack in. I did that, but cookies were still not getting done. I wondered what step I was missing. Then I took my half baked cookies out of my glass dish because I discovered that the sides were too tall.

Now I have my mushy squashed ugly cookies on a cookie sheet but they are not cooking. So I turned the oven off and resetting all of the settings.

I think they are starting to bake... Let me go check!  Yes!!! They are almost done.

They are done!

Boy, are they UGLY!

Wow, that was a lot of effort, for a batch of cookies.  But it was a great learning experience!

The second batch came out a lot better.

What did I learn?  

     It is not that easy to find the user Manuel.  When we bought our RV it had the installation instructions to the microwave but no user manual. I went online and hunted for my brand and then looked for the model. By the way, you can usually find the model number inside the microwave door.

When you do find the manual online, they assume that you have SOME knowledge of how to cook with a convection/microwave. Well, I don’t.
    
What I needed was a true beginners guide. Did I find one? Nope... so I wrote one. Short and sweet.

For those of you looking for a beginners guide, here it is!

Beginners Guide to RV Convection/Microwave cooking.

     1. IF you an find the user manual ... Read it! Mine was missing so I skipped this step.

     2. If you don't have a user manual you need to do the following;
          Take the microwave tray / plate out. Then insert the metal rack(s).
          Look for the setting that says Convection or Bake and punch that button
          Preheat the oven.      That was hard for me to figure out because there wasn't a count down like my full size oven. You might have to fiddle with it a bit to figure it out yourself. What worked for me was to realize it was getting hot and then wait for the microwave panel to flash.
           Use a dish, yes please use metal or an oven safe dish, that has the lowest sides you can get away with. For cookies use a cookie sheet. Even for meatloaf use a very short dish.
           After you have placed your dish on a rack in the oven start your oven.
           Mine requires that you push the start button every time the door is opened. I think that was why it took me so long to cook my first batch of cookies. I kept turning it off when I checked on the cookies.
         After your food is cooked remember to take the metal rack out and replace the rotating microwave tray and reset it to microwave cooking if your microwave oven requires this step.

     3. Practice, practice, practice. I can't stress this enough.

Start with something easy like cookies. I made cookies first and the next day I made meatloaf. I overcooked the meatloaf so I know it will take some tweaking.

I keep reminding myself that change is inevitable and I might as well view it as an adventure with a smile and a positive attitude. God is good to me.

Moving with 0 Minutes Notice

     When your an oilfield wife and you choose to follow your husband from job to job... you get to do what I did last weekend.

We drove five and a half hours to spend the weekend with my parents and with my husband's Mom. Friday evening we left Beeville Texas and drove to Buffalo Texas. It was a nice drive because we like to look at the country side and visit. Ok... we like to look at the country side and I have a running monolog for most of the trip. There, I said it. I talk to much. Nevertheless, we got to Buffalo just before ten o'clock that evening. My Dad was still in the living room watching TV so my husband sat and visited with him and I went to bed.

On Saturday morning we got up and took my parents and brother out to breakfast. It was nice to get to visit with no other agenda. We have been to Buffalo a lot this past month but we were moving out of our house and putting our things in storage in Buffalo so most of the time we were busy and did not have much time for visiting.

After breakfast we went back to my parent's house and my husband got a phone call. Within five minutes he was off the phone and said, "Its time to load up. We are moving to Leona."

I kissing my parents good by we headed back to Beeville. We asked my brother if he wanted to ride along and he said yes. Now I had someone to keep me awake when we drove back. My husband pulled the RV and I followed in our other pickup. We were back in Beeville by 4:00 p.m. It only takes me about an hour to get things ready to go and it only takes my husband about an hour and a half to get the outside ready. We were gone by 5:45 p.m. At 11:30 p.m. we pulled in to the RV park we were going to live in for the next three to four months.  We got the RV off of the pickup and slid out the slide outs. Then we went to bed exhausted. We drove 11 hours and ended up 30 miles from where we started because we ended up in Leona which is 30 miles from Buffalo. Now we are 30 miles from my parents and 15 miles from my husbands family. Wow... what a day.

The next day we discovered we had hitchhikers. Two baby birds. Their mother made a nest in the 5th wheel hitch. Next time we move we will look in the hitch for babies.

 

They are common Starlings. Read about Starlings here Starlingtalk babycare   I did some research and found out that it was legal for me to feed them until they could fly away but it would be best if I found a rescue center. Did you know that there is no place with in an hours drive that will take baby birds? So I learned that I could feed them kitten food because it is high in protein. So I soaked the cat food in water and started feeding them every hour. Evidently their mother does not feed them in the evening/night so they only need to be fed 12 hours a day. They tolerated the cat food very well ( you can tell by looking at their poop) and chirped  at me every time I opened the door to the 5th wheel. I named them George and Gracie. George was neater and pooped outside of the nest but Gracie pooped where ever she was standing. Once she even pooped on George. How did I know if they were male or female? I didn't but I figured I would just name them according to their personalities. My sister in law has birds and cages and she said that she would take them raise. I took them to her this morning. In two or three weeks they should be able to fly away. It is sad that their mother will miss them but I did my best to keep them alive. Now they should be okay until they are able to fly away. George and Gracie are now safely in a cage, so that other animals can't eat them, until they are big enough to fly away.

 

 

The move to eastern Texas was without problems and I think that is the best kind of move.

 

I keep reminding myself that change is inevitable and I might as well view it as an adventure with a smile and a positive attitude. God is good. 



4 Steps to Choosing a Washer and Dryer for the RV

Seriously, the best RV upgrade!           

 When my husband and I started talking about living in the RV full time he asked if I would like to have a washer and dryer. We had to talk about it for a few days because we had an All In One Washer/Dryer combo when we bought a motorhome a few years earlier.  That particular unit would not dry anything. It never occurred to us to check and see if the heating element was broke. We just assumed that it was a sucky idea and did not work at all. We have since learned to NOT assume anything. 

Step 1: Research

While we were thinking it over we did a lot of online research about the washer and dryer we might want to buy.  We knew that there was an All In One that washed as well as dried the same load.  That was one unit. The other option was like a home washer and dryer only smaller. The first thing I discovered, on line, was the complaints about not being able to dry the first load while the second load was washing. I guess I had not thought that through before I read the reviews.  That helped me decide that I wanted a separate washer and dryer so I could dry one load while washing the second load.  

Step 2: Which Brand should I buy?

More research dug up the fact that that there are only two major brands of washer and dryers for an RV. There are a lot of small washer and dryers and then there are the apartment size washer dryer combo. But we chose to go with one of the two that are specifically made for the RV.

You might ask why? Because they are made to take the shaking and rock and roll of the traveling RV. We also worried about the height and depth of the other brands.  The space in our RV dedicated to the laundry system was frugal. And the truth is that there is no wasted space in an RV. I will caution you to measure carefully before you buy and especially if you buy a system not built specifically for an RV, that or ask a lot of questions about the return policy where you buy it.

 Step 3: Vented or Ventless Dryer

I knew that the vented dryer would work better and the reason I knew that was because my husband told me so. The RV is wired for 110v and a house is wired 220v for the dryer. That is one of the reasons we choose a vented dryer. With less drying power we thought we needed all of the help we could get to dry a load of towels in less than a day. We took into consideration that a vented dryer meant that we would be drilling a plug out of the wall of our, $60,000.00 +, 5^th wheel. We still considered it a good choice.  Don’t forget to purchase a vent kit if you buy a vented dryer and a stacking kit. Most RV’s don’t have the space for them to sit side by side. The cost of the kits are extra but well worth it.

 Step 4: Measure, Measure, Measure

Like I commented in step 2, measure your appliances. Also, measure the opening of the RV front door. Measure any other doors you have to go through. We have a slide out that blocks one of the doors about 10 %. We thought that might be a problem but we managed to wiggle around the problem by taking the door off and lifting the washer and dryer over obstacles.

The space where our washer and dryer goes seemed to be big enough and the door way seemed to be big enough but…. we had to take the door trim off of the door after we removed the door.

Our RV has a closet for the washer and dryer and it measured at a good size.

We did not know that we needed extra space for the dryer vent to exit the RV. Our good size laundry closet became too small when we decided that the dryer needed to vent to the side of the washer that was opposite of the vent outlet on the back of the dryer. The vent hose is 3 inches around, not so big right? But you have to have space for that hose to make a 90 degree turn so your 3 inch hose needs six inches of space. My husband worked and wiggled it until he got that hose to make the 90 degree turn. It is a tight fit. I think that the manufacturer of the RV should have thought more about the placement of the laundry  space. Still, we managed to get it installed.

While your thinking about doing laundry in the RV, take some time to redefine what constitutes a load of laundry.

It is just my husband and myself so doing smaller loads of laundry is a good option for us. Our washer can do four towels in one load or three pair of genes.  It takes about and hour to dry four towels or the three pair of jeans.

 

What do I think of our RV washer and dryer?

All in all our Arisdon made by Splendide, Washer and Dryer are GREAT and they have made my life easer living in the RV fulltime.

Check out Splendide Washers and Dryers at www.camperworld or at www.Splendide.com

(disclaimer, I did not get paid to tell you about this product... I just like it.)

 

 I keep reminding myself that change is inevitable and I might as well view it as an adventure with a smile and a positive attitude.

Changes Are Inevitable

Have you ever noticed the beauty of a cactus?

 Most of the time they are just thorny plants that are to be avoided. Then one morning you look across the pasture and see this wonderful display of color and it reminds you that a storm brought this beauty into your life.  Changes are inevitable and I have come to realize that God uses the strangest things to cause the most growth and color in my life.

Three and a half years ago God changed our circumstances.  My husband took a job in the Eagle Ford Shale oilfield. We moved to Gonzales Texas and I though we would be there until he was ready to retire. We bought a house and settled into a sweet church. But that was just one step that the good Lord had for us on this journey. At the end of March, oil prices were so low that the company my husband was working for laid off a lot of men. We got cut in the last rounds of cuts. By the end of the day he had three job offers and by the time a week had rolled around he had more than a dozen offers. He went to work for another company and we put our house up for sale the next month.

     We were blessed that we had a contract on our house in five days. They wanted to close in three weeks and we needed to move out. My husband had already moved the  5th wheel to Beeville, Texas and was at work so the majority of the packing fell to me. We made a decision to sell or give away most of what we owned because we would be living in the 5th wheel for several years. Most furniture does not store well for that long and especially the baby grand piano. After, unsuccessfully, trying to sell the piano we decided to give it to the church that we attended. Most of our furniture went to our daughter and son-in-law and we had a yard sale to get rid of the rest. Even at that we had enough stuff that we needed to rent a large UHaul to move it to Buffalo, Texas.
     Three trips later we had the house and garage empty of furniture and tools and cars. Our house closed at the end of May during the rains and floods in south Texas but we were fortunate to have moved everything the week before when the rain was lighter. The house we sold was not in the flood zone so it was high and dry at closing and everything went smoothly.

     Now we are living full time in the RV and this is what my blog will be about. We could have chosen for me to have lived in the house and him to work away from home. After 40 years of marriage we could not imagine living apart five days a week. We are better living in a small space together than living separately in a big house.

    I made some changes to the RV to make it cozy but with four slide outs it is not such a tiny living space. I have looked on Pintrest for ideas on this life style but I haven't been able to find any so I started my own blog for other women who might be looking for ideas to get them through the same experience I am going through.



    
    Right now we are parked on the yard in Beeville. Basically that means we have no internet except for the hot spot on the phones. That is the only real hardship I have come up against. We started using our cell phones as our only phone when we moved to south Texas and cut our dependency on a land line. We had a land line when we owned the house for the security system and the fax line on the printer. Here we have no security system (other than we live on the yard and we know everyone) and we no longer need the fax.
     We have not gotten a satellite system because we get plenty of TV channels on the antenna and I really don't watch that much TV to start with. I would like more internet time so we might eventually get something like Hughes Net, maybe.
      This is my first chance to take a breath and rest in a month so I have taken it easy the past couple of days. I will get in a routine soon because I like routines. I want blogging to become part of my weekly routine. My goal is to write several times a week about ways to adapt to this life style. My next post will be about my RV Washing machine and dryer... See you soon!

     I keep reminding myself that change is inevitable and I might as well view it as an adventure with a smile and a positive attitude.