This post is a little out of sync, but I wanted to put it out there.
If you are traveling from the Tucson, Arizona area to Carlsbad, New Mexico, you may go through Texas! Geography is a crazy thing.
We drove through El Paso on our way. If you have a larger RV/Trailer, especially a diesel, stop to get fuel right by/in El Paso! There is literally nothing for over 100 miles (no bathrooms, no diesel) once you drive out of town. There were maybe a few small gas stations, but no diesel and nothing we would fit into. Please make sure to fill your tank completely full and also fill a back-up container of fuel.
After passing the salt flats, we stopped at a picnic area to put our emergency 8 gallon diesel container into the truck. I am so glad we kept that filled. I don’t think we would have made it into Carlsbad without it. There were several fuel stations that had diesel, but most of them are tight for larger rigs. We filled up, but not after I cracked the outdoor electric cover on the RV by not clearing the last ballard.
We did see a really neat informational sign at the picnic area though, so you never know what you will find when you stop!
The Night Before A Move No One Was Stirring…Wait! Everyone was stirring!
Most of our moves require hours of driving, usually anywhere from 5 – 10 hours. (Any more than that and we usually boondock for a night.) We try to get a lot of the inside stuff done the night before so we have a quicker leave time in the morning.
The day before a move, we have a normal morning and early afternoon. If it’s during the week, the boys have school and Ben works. If it is the weekend, we normally try to get any groceries that will keep and any last minute sightseeing done. In the later afternoon/early evening, we will start to get the inside of the RV ready to move.
INSIDE THE RV:
KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM:
We have some collapsible bins that work great for holding items during a move. When they are not in use, they fit nicely under the kitchen sink. One is used to pack up the bathroom items (stuff that normally lives under the sink, in the shower, and in the cabinet). The other is used for packing up under the kitchen sink and any hanging items (my wood sign, any hats, etc.) and surge protectors/electrical cords in the living area. Items on the shelf over the fireplace (electric picture frame, bins that hold keys, remotes, etc.) go in the cabinets above the TV. Anything on the walls have to be stored: signs, calendars, pictures, notes, etc.
We empty the garbage, clean out the fridge, and do any remaining dishes. We place any meat in the freezer the day or two before moving, along with water bottles. Once the water bottles have frozen, we will place some in the fridge on move day to help keep it cold. If it is a long drive or we are boondocking, we will place cold items in the cooler with a bag of ice.
The Berkey* gets emptied of any remaining water and I remove the filters. I roll these up in a towel and place in the bottom compartment of the Berkey. Both sections go into the kitchen sink, along with the coffee pot and Nick’s Venus Fly Trap plant. Another towel is wrapped around the plant and coffee pot to help keep them in place. I make sure the window blinds are secured. (The blinds by the oven have tabs to lock them in place.)
The shoe rack/table gets emptied. After dinner, I collapse the kitchen table and the shoe rack lays on top of it. The entry way and couch floor mats get placed on either the couch or the table top (once it has been collapsed). The kitchen/living room area bin gets placed next to the fireplace/counter. (Everything has to be kept in place so it doesn’t move, so we place things so that the slides will help keep them in place once they are pulled in.)
Our hot spot and WeBoost* normally live in the kitchen/living area. I move those into the truck and get it set up for the next day. I will also take the back-up camera monitor and tire pressure monitor and put those back in the truck so they are ready to go in the morning.
The microwave glass plate and the pizza stone in the oven get removed, wrapped in a towel, and stored underneath the cabinet. It seems like a weird step, but in the forums and countless YouTube videos we have watched, occasionally the doors can pop open and the microwave plate can fly out. The oven can’t really open when the slides are closed, but I still worried about it sliding, hitting the glass oven door and causing problems.
We also make a snack bag for the truck. Once all the food is taken care of and any remaining dishes are put away, all cabinet drawers get bungie or gear tie wrapped* together.
BUNKROOM: After work is done for the day, all school and work supplies are put away (laptops, printer, etc.). Their desk chairs are packed up. Any loose items on top of the dresser or desks (books, toys, school items, etc) are put in their bins. The boys’ room is usually more of a cleaning up their mess so it is ready to move.
BATHROOM: We get showers the night before a move and turn off the propane and electric for the water heater. We pack up a collapsible bin with things we won’t need in the morning (loose items from the cabinet, shower items, things under the sink) and store it in the shower. I usually place a towel and/or the laundry hamper bag in the shower stall as well to keep the bin from moving around.
MASTER BEDROOM: The folding chairs (Ben’s office and boys’ desks) get stored under our bed. The large Ryobi fan and my air purifier* also go under the bed. The under-the-bed storage holds a lot. In fact when someone is trying to find something, it’s become a joke to ask “Did you look under the bed?”. It seems everything is down there.
I have a set of plastic drawers that hold my overflow of items. It normally sits on top of the shelf in the bedroom (over where the fuse box is), but it gets moved against the wall in front of the closet for moving day. We do have to make sure we get a change of clothes out first, as it will block the bottom drawers.
OUTSIDE:
The outdoor kitchen gets stocked with snacks and drinks for rest stops. Once we shut the water heater switch to off and are done with the stove/oven, we close the propane tanks outside. The boys are in charge of removing the tire covers and the x-chocks. We keep the wheel chocks in place. If we had the extra water hose hooked up, we will disconnect and put it away. We will normally leave the slides out, with water, electric, and sewer hose connected until the morning we move. If we had the coaxial cable set up for campground TV, we will also disconnect that. Nick climbs up to the top of the RV and sweeps off the roof and slides. The bikes get put away on the bike rack, mine gets stored either in the truck or on the couch. The outdoor rug is put away. After the sun has set and it has cooled off a little, I check and adjust the tire pressure on RV and truck.
DAY OF MOVE:
Most of the packing up is done, but we still have a few quick items to do. After finishing in the bathroom (brushing hair, teeth, etc.), we place the rest of the items in the bin in the shower. Then we close and lock bathroom fan and lock the shower doors. I’ll empty the black and grey tanks once everyone has gone and will disconnect and pack up the hoses. I’ll run back in and place a couple gallons of water, some Dawn, a capful of Calgon, and a RV toilet tab into the toilet and flush it down. Now it’s all ready for when we get to our next place. Sometimes we will dump a bag of ice down the toilet as well. It helps loosen anything stuck in the tanks as we drive.
I’ll unplug the cord for my phone (it lies across the floor). We double check around our bed and will bring that slide in. Once we turn the lights off and shut our bedroom and bathroom doors, the back of the RV is good to go. We’ll add some of the frozen water bottles to the fridge if needed, make sure everything is out of the way and then bring in the living room and kitchen slides.
Any phone cords in the bedroom have to be unplugged and put away (they are where the slide comes in). We double check around our bed and will then bring that slide in. Once we turn the lights off and shut our bedroom and bathroom doors, the back of the RV is good to go. We’ll add some of the frozen water bottles to the fridge if needed, make sure everything is out of the way and then bring in the living room and kitchen slides.
That part is usually pretty quick, or at least it’s getting quicker.
Next up is attaching the RV to the truck. This is what takes some time. We are getting better, but not super fast yet. We have the backup camera, but it does have some distortion until you get close, so I’m still learning and adjusting. Once we get it lined up, attached at the hitch and the cord plugged into the truck, we test out the turn signals, brake lights, and hazard lights on the back of the RV. We do a final walk around to make sure we got everything and it looks good. The boys will pull out the wheel chocks and store them in the back of the truck. I’ll pull out of the spot and drive a little bit while Ben is outside looking for anything wrong or weird noises. After everything checks out, we’re on the road!
Our time in Las Vegas came to an end and we were off to our next adventure: California. We were staying near San Diego and it was about an 8 hour drive. There was definitely some haze in the air when we got to California.
We got to our campground and stopped at the office to get our check-in packet. We had a pull-through spot, so it made setting up a lot easier. The space was the perfect size for the RV, but fitting the truck in was a little challenging. We had a 50 amp site with a picnic table, hedges, and some palm trees to help provide shade.
We did a quick grocery run to Albertson’s. We then drove up to see the town of Coronado and the Coronado Hotel. The town looked really cute and I couldn’t wait to explore it. Parking was completely full when we drove through, so we didn’t stop. Hopefully we can find a spot next time! It was getting to be dusk and we headed back home. Even though we were right next to the ocean at times, it was really hard to see the waves through the haze in the air.
It was time to leave Utah and move on to Nevada. Our next stop was Las Vegas. Ben and I have both been here before, but it’s been about 14 years for me.
We got checked into our campground and set up. So far, this is not my favorite campground, but I will get more into that when we do our review.
After getting set up, we drove to Costco. (Are you noticing a theme yet? 😉 ) This Costco sold propane per gallon from a large tank and had a large wine and liquor selection. Ben bought me a wine advent calendar! The food court was similar to others we have seen (mostly pizza, hot dogs, ice cream), but it had a window where you could watch them make the pizza. They had a cool machine that puts on the sauce, which was fun to watch.
After putting the groceries away, we headed down to Las Vegas. Our first stop was the Fremont Street Experience. Masks are required in Nevada and it wasn’t anywhere near as crowded as I remember it being. There were several street performers/buskers, some of which were not wearing a ton of clothing. The ceiling still changes and is very bright. It was fun, but seemed to be half ads instead of the crazy light show I remember it being. It was still the first time the boys had seen it, so they thought it was neat. They had a Covid safety message that would routinely show as well. (YouTube link here.)
We then drove down the Strip. It was starting to really light up at this point, which is always amazing to see. Ben managed to have perfect timing in the traffic and we were stopped at a red light right in front of the Bellagio when the fountain show went off! It was spectacular as always. Driving past New York New York, the Statue of Liberty was dressed in a Raiders jersey and a mask.
Getting back on the highway to drive home, we saw a glitter covered minivan. The back said “life without sparkles…is not life at all”.
We had a good start, finished packing up inside and worked on the outside. I went to line up the truck and bumped the hitch into the trailer. It wasn’t raised up with the jack yet. I obviously needed coffee and to not rush. Luckily nothing happened, but not a great start to my morning.
The drive was uneventful (thank goodness) to our next campground in Hurricane, Utah. We checked in and they led us to our campsite. It was a back-in and they helped direct us in. We set up the RV. It was pretty hot out (104 degrees F), but at least the site had some shade! I am so glad we had a 50 amp site and could run both A/C’s.
The town was bigger than I thought it would be. There were several restaurants and grocery places close by. The one grocery store was within walking distance!
We ran into St. George (about 10-15 minutes away) to go to Costco. This Costco was not very different from others we have seen, although they did sell ice and had diesel at the fuel station. It was very crowded. It was the least amount we had ever spent: $34, including a pizza!
Yes, I do get a picture of Will at every Costco 😉
We unpacked the groceries and Ben took the boys into town to try to find a replacement cup and forks. I got to read for an hour by myself! It was so relaxing. The boys came back, but didn’t have much luck at the nearby store. We called it a night and settled in.
After Colorado, we headed to Utah. We had had mostly hazy skies in Colorado during the last of our stay due to the wildfires. I was really worried about our route, as the highway we were originally going to use had been shut down. Luckily, it opened a couple of days before our departure.
Our drive was pretty uneventful, although long. We passed several signs that said “Wildfire in Area. Do Not Call 911.” and “No Stopping On Highway”. We saw some smoke in the distance, but no large fires. However, we did pass where the fire burned next to I-70. It was immense amounts of burned trees and shrubs. It was crazy. We did get stopped in traffic for about 20 minutes or so. It was standstill, but next to a creek, so at least it was pretty.
Wildfire smoke in the distance
We arrived at our campground after hours, so our paperwork was in the outdoor box waiting for us. This time we had a pull-through spot (YAY!), so it was a little quicker getting settled in. We got everything hooked up and did a quick grocery run in town.
It was almost sunset, so we drove into Arches National Park (about 15-20 minutes down the road). We missed a lot of the sunset, but managed to catch the end. Arches looks pretty neat and I can’t wait to explore it more.
Moving day! The boys and I got a lot of the RV ready to move while Ben worked. When he was done we finished packing up and got on the road. We were still going to be in Colorado and it was going to be a pretty short drive to our next campground (just 1 1/2 hours).
There was a lot of construction on our way down. The RV park only had a back-in spot when we booked and I had called down a few days before to see if they had any pull-throughs available. They said they would see what they could do.
Unfortunately, our site was a back in. The plus was it was a little shaded! It’s been pretty warm and dry so far in Colorado (getting to 90 most days), so the shade was really nice. We had just enough room to put up Ben’s tent.
That was where the decent day ended.
The new bike rack made the turning tighter. I didn’t notice right away because I was paying attention to the RV back up camera and truck side view mirrors. I knew when to stop when it was just the RV and the truck, but hadn’t accounted for the bikes. I thought (stupidly) that they wouldn’t be in the way. The bolts on Will’s bikes tires ended up scratching the paint on the truck and the truck cap. It also made the rear wheel of Will’s bike now rub against the frame. There is no visible big bend in the wheel. We’re going to see if anyone can fix it, but it is the back wheel with the gears.
We have some extra paint for the truck, if I can find where we packed it, so I can help fix the truck and the cap.
Now the next part is not so easy to fix, nor do I have any idea of how it happened.
The rear passenger stabilizer arm bent. We didn’t have it down yet. We had leveled before putting the stabilizers down. I really can’t think of what we could have done to have caused this.
On the plus side, it’s nothing that is integral to the moving of the RV. (I don’t think.)
It was just not a good day and very stressful. Tempers were high and there was some arguing. Having loud neighbors up until long after quiet hours probably didn’t help anyone’s mood.
June 9th started our adventure. Although we had been living in the RV for a month now, it’s very different trying to pack it up, move it, and then unpack it all again.
We have watched countless YouTube videos. Seriously, we have been watching for about a year or so now. Trying to do this in real life is so much different (and harder) than watching all the videos would make you think it would be.
The night before we packed up all loose items. All loose items: coffee pot, radio, paper towel holder, baskets holding remotes, Nick’s plants, dehumidifier, all cords/games/etc.. Everything had to be moved out of the way of the slides. Anything that could move had to be packed away, shut away, etc. We even took out the microwave glass plate and wrapped it up after hearing about how the door could open in transit and the plate could fall out and break.
We also packed up the cooler and the snack bag for the truck and preloaded everything we might need. The slides were put in, and we thought we were good to go.
It still took us almost two hours in the morning.
After finally getting on the road, driving was ok. We hit a few spots of construction where there was heavy stop and go traffic. We had to slam on the brakes once when the person in front of us slammed on theirs. There was a semi behind us. Of course, the semi is larger and heavier than even us and stopping is even slower for them. He ended up pulling onto the shoulder to avoid rear ending us. Based on where he was sitting on the shoulder, we definitely would have been hit. We were very lucky. My heartbeat took awhile to get back to normal.
We ended up stopping every few hours for bathroom breaks and/or for fuel. Indiana had surprisingly nice rest stops with lots of larger parking spots for semi trucks and RVs.
Will took a turn in the front passenger seat when Ben had some work to do. (For some reason the back seat has more space than front passenger seat.) He took a few pictures, but quickly fell asleep!
Stopped traffic, Will’s reflection in mirror taking pictures, sound asleep minutes later
Iowa was very green. As we were driving through, we checked with the BassPro Shop that we were planning on stopping at for the night. They told us that the city had recently put out No Overnight Parking signs, so we could not stop there. As we were trying to find a new place to stay for the night (we were planning on boondocking), a big storm rolled in and with it a tornado warning. So much fun. The visibility was extremely low, even with headlights and wipers on full blast. It got extremely dark very quickly. It was a harrowing part of the drive. When it cleared up a little bit and the sun came back out, we decided to call it for the night and looked for another place to stay. With a little more research, we found Riverside Casino in Iowa. They did allow overnight parking.
We got the RV parked and went to find some dinner at their cafe. I’ve had casino food before and it’s normally not something to write home about (excluding Las Vegas). This place was delicious. We got several items to split between us: fish tacos, pizza, salad (with chicken), and an amazing poutine. It was a wonderful dinner. We also got a chocolate chunk cookie and a zephyr (glazed donut filled with mouse/cream puff filling, topped with sugar and glazed walnuts).
On our walk back to the RV, we were greeted with an amazing sunset. All in all, it was a decent day. But now I want more of that poutine and another zephyr!
