TRAVELLING IN A RV
Travelling in a motorhome allows you to bring the comfort of home to your travels. You don't have to be selective about the amount of things you take with you and you don't have to leave your pets behind, if you have them. A home on wheels where you can travel around and return to your comfort zone every night. It will be your everyday hotel, transport for all hours and a restaurant for all kinds of tastes.
Whether it is for a short time on holiday, whether for a good few months and countries, travelling in a motorhome is a very exciting and fun experience.
I lived in one for 4 months, driving and exploring Portugal, Spain, France and Switzerland. I saw incredible views sitting comfortably in the front seat with the breeze coming in through the window and walked through beautiful places I might never have had the pleasure of visiting if not travelling in a motorhome.
4 good months of beautiful Spanish beaches as my backyard, of dinners outdoors, foreign walks and warm evenings.
In this post I will share with you the essentials about travelling in a motorhome so you are well prepared for your next adventure. Fasten your seatbelt here we go.
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My favourite parts of travelling in a motorhome
How easy it is to move from place to place - At any time you can decide to change plans and route without worrying about the prices and schedules of transports, as you are traveling in one.
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To travel with comfort and without any rush - Since you are traveling in a motorhome, you can still enjoy the comfort of home with all your essentials close by and without the rush of those who depend on the outside. If you are feeling tired you can choose to stay in bed watching a movie, eating your favourite snacks and waiting for tomorrow, parked in a beautiful place. If you are in an adventurous mood, you can cross a country and visit new places :)
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That you don't have to spend money on restaurants, hostels or plane tickets - everyday you can cook great meals at home, you always have somewhere to sleep and you have transport at your disposal, always, whether you want to travel between cities or between countries.
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That you can take your pets with you - One of the reasons we bought and travelled in a motorhome was to be able to take our puppies with us. You get to provide them a comfortable journey and you have a safe and quiet place to leave them while you visit new places.
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The beautiful views along the way - hours and hours in the front seat listening to the national radio, your favorite playlist or the outside sounds, while enjoying the view.
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The neighbours and their stories - Every time you change location you will have new neighbours and it is a great opportunity to meet new people, curiosities about their home countries and funny stories that they share.
You can watch my Youtube video about A random Morning in my RV LIFE
Where to sleep?
It is necessary to plan the route, the places to visit and of course where to sleep.
Our motorhome was 6,5m long and 3m high which makes it impossible to park in so many places. Maybe that is one of the advantages of a van, the possibility to park almost anywhere. A motorhome, on the contrary, requires a previous planning to be sure that we will have a place to park.
Use the APP Park4Night to find the best places to park
There are 3 things to keep in mind when looking for a place to spend the night
1- If it's safe and well located - having the reviews of people who have been there is very important to know the conditions of the place.
2- If it has a waste water disposal station and drinking water to fill up the tanks - It is not only convenient to find a safe place, but also a place where you can fill up with clean water and dump the dirty one. The app shows you which places have these stations, so you can go directly to the places you want.
3- If there's room for your motorhome - There are places where only 5 motorhomes can fit, while others can take up to 20. Having this information is important so that you do not arrive at the location after hours driving and not find space for the night.
Toilet situation
How to use the toilet in a motorhome? This was one of my least favourite things about living in a motorhome.
From the small space that is the bathroom to the constant cleaning of the dirty tank, let's say that nothing in this is charming.
But it can be done and the spirit of adventure helps.
You can watch my video of me pouring and filling the water so you have a better understanding of the process here.
If you have the chance, for hygiene reasons, you should empty the dirty tank in a dump station and clean the cassette with the famous blue product, AQUA KEM BLUE.
You will find these dump stations at most of the specific stopping places for motorhomes. Some of them are paid, others you can use for free. The maximum we paid was 3,5€ in Switzerland.
Expenses
By travelling in a motorhome you can significantly lower your monthly travel expenses, as you do not spend money per night on hotels and on restaurants. Just these two expenses have a huge impact on the bills at the end of the month.
In 4 months of travelling, the average of our monthly costs, travelling with two puppies, was 800€.
You can watch my detailed video about monthly expenses living in an RV here.
The monthly expenses were:
Insurance
Groceries
Diesel
Gas
Entertainment
Extras
Dog stuff
JACK & BENJI around the world
Essential things you should have
Just like any other trip, there are always certain essential things to take with you.
On a motorhome trip the following things are, in my experience, the things you should take with you and the things that the motorhome itself should have so that you can have a more peaceful and comfortable trip.
-Gps
- Awning
- Clothes Stand
- Table and outdoor chairs
- Solar Panel
Security measures
On a security level, one of the things I used to fear when travelling in a motorhome was that we would be robbed. Unfortunately, there is a high wave of robberies in motorhomes, because it is known that during a period of time, they are your home and, therefore, they contain a lot of valuable things.
We, for example, were travelling with a lot of video and editing material, so getting as much safety as possible was a priority.
One important thing your motorhome should have is a gas sensor. That way, if during the night, gas is infiltrated in the tubes so that you stay completely asleep, so that they can steal from you, the sensor alarm goes on and you have time to wake up and get out of there.
Another security measure is to get a good door locker, to make any robbery more complicated.
Who has dogs has a bonus in security because any person with intentions of robbing who hears a dog barking will choose another motorhome to rob.
If you don't have one, you can always buy some dog bowls and put them outside to give the impression that you have one.
I have seen many people using this technique.