I grew up car camping and backpacking with my family. It wasn’t until Jeremy and I got married that I was introduced to the world of travel trailers and RVs.

Jeremy’s parents had a pop up trailer when we got married, and we thought that was a great way to camp. Pop up trailers are small, easily towed, and relatively inexpensive.

We started researching pop up trailers and had decided on the rugged Fleetwood Evolution (which is no longer being manufactured, though you can still find them used), until we happened to be traveling with Jeremy’s parents when Sunshine was a toddler. They had upgraded to a travel trailer, and we were able to pull over at a truck stop, climb in the trailer, and go to sleep.

That was a revelation.

You can’t do that with a popup trailer because of the setup involved.

From that point on, we determined that we wanted a travel trailer, not a popup.

So we saved a bit more and bought an 18′ FunFinder travel trailer (the 189 FDS). It was small, but perfect for the three of us. The slide gave us so much more space, yet the short length meant easier towing and less weight. And it had the frig and freezer we needed to accommodate our dietary restrictions- most small trailers only have a dorm size frig with tiny freezer compartment.

While we loved that little trailer, by the time River was born we knew we wanted to get an RV, at least for a few years. We knew we’d have potty training ahead of us, and road tripping with a barely potty-trained toddler is challenging, to say the least. Adding Ocean into the mix further cemented our desire for an RV.

When we were researching RVs, our criteria was: short, as many seat belts as possible, a dedicated bed in the back for the grownups, a cabover bed for the kids, separate fridge and freezer, and at least one slide for extra space. We found all of that in the 27′ Coachman Leprechaun 260DS, which we took on an epic 7000 mile road trip last summer.

We’re already planning on selling the RV and buying an Airstream trailer when we’re ready to hit the road full-time in a couple years, but for now, while the boys are young, the RV is the best option for us.

Regardless of the type of vehicle (RV, travel trailer, pop up trailer, 5th wheel, etc), we love being able to travel and see the country in comfort.

7 Reasons Why We Love RVing

1. We love the flexibility of having beds close at hand and not being tied down to hotel reservations.

2. We also appreciate having a clean, well-lit bathroom, which means we can skip the sketchy public restrooms that are never around when you need one.

3. Since we have young children, it’s super nice to be able to put the kiddos to bed a little bit earlier than we’d manage if we were tent camping.

4.  Staying dry while it rains all night is a definite plus, as well.

5. Oh, and don’t forget the luxury of not sleeping on the cold, hard, rocky ground. I grew up doing that, but I’m the first to admit that I am not as young as I once was, and I like waking up in the morning and not being super stiff and sore 🙂

6. However, the real reason we bought our travel trailer, and now our RV, is so we can have more flexibility with our food while we travel. Celiac disease limits which restaurants we can eat at, and those few options get really old, really fast.

Living out of a cooler is doable, but honestly, we’ve done it and it’s a pain. No matter what we did, our food always ended up soggy and questionably warm. We could go grocery shopping every day, but we don’t always have the time (or the desire) to do so while driving cross country or camping out in the middle of nowhere. Having a reliable refrigerator makes gluten free eating so much easier and safer.

7. Health benefits aside, we do love road tripping and seeing our beautiful country, and having an RV or travel trailer makes the experience so much more enjoyable for us and allows us to have quality family time.

What do you like best about RVing?

Did you know you can rent an RV or travel trailer to try out before you purchase one of your own? Skip the big corporate rental companies and rent from someone local. Look on RVShare or Outdoorsy to find a rig that will work for you.