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Featured Article 11/1/06
Getting Ready For A New Season, & Remembering The First

It's that time of year again. The leaves are beginning to change color and fall to the ground with every wind bringing colder and colder temperatures. For many RVers these are the first signs that the new RV season is upon them. As with each new season there are all sorts of planning and preparing before you actually get in the rig and begin the drive to your chosen destination. After a few years on the road you've gained experience and probably have your plans and preparations down to a science. How to efficiently pack your rig with necessities and leave just enough room for other luxuries. You've mastered meal planning and how to food shop based on storage capacity and distance to your next destination.    Not to mention the all important storage and handling of tools and septic supplies. But do you remember when you weren't a master? When you had no experience. Do you remember your first season? We all had one. The very first time you planned and prepped for that very first trip.

The topic is commonly joked about around the campfire with other RVers. Sharing stories of over packing, under packing and just being packed inside their rig. Since this is the start of a new season and the start of our new site I thought I'd take this time to reflect on our first trip and what would become the start of a new lifestyle.
Dave and I bought our first motorhome in July 2005. We did most of our research on the Internet and found ourselves a beauty about a five-hour drive away from our home in Pennsylvania. The couple that sold it to us owned a few RVs and graciously showed us each one. Like Goldie Locks trying out each size to find just the right fit we moved from their 31' Class A to their 24' Class C down to a 19' Class B. It was just right! We drove back that day in our 19' Conversion van camper we would soon call home. Our plan was to move out of our 700 sq ft apartment and into our new motorhome in January and begin our journey to Florida. Downsizing is an understatement and figuring out what we could and could not bring, or fit for that matter, would become our greatest challenge.

We had all sorts of checklists and read all the tips and advice we could find. We even went as far as a trial load-in in order to find the best fit for everything. When the day came and it was time to shove off we felt confident we packed wisely and efficiently. We brought everything. Everything and anything we could conjure up a scenario where there might be a possible need. Enough cleaning supplies to clean a single family home for years. Enough spices even a gourmet chef couldn't find a need for. And clothes, as soon as we reached Georgia our winter coat, boots and anything long sleeved just took up space. We stuffed our little van as if we were pioneers heading out into the great unknown with only a covered wagon to carry everything we would need to live. Never thinking ahead that some nights we'd be sleeping right outside a giant Wal-Mart if the need for something did arise. We barley had room to breath in our already small living space. Just trying to get to the things we did need became more of a hassle than initially finding a place to put it. .

When we returned back north in the summer and unloaded all the unnecessary items. Most of which were never used or needed. Chalk it up to inexperience or over preparedness, we began to revise our pre-trip planning in preparation for our next season. We also learned small isn't always better when buying a rig to full-time in. We are hoping to upgrade in the future to something a little bigger than our 19' van.

This season will be number two for us.    Already we feel our planning has come so far from where we were last year. We aren't masters yet, but can't wait to get out on the road and talk with those RVers with many season's experiences under their belts and hear stories of their first rigs and first trips. Here's to the start of a new season, a new site and to new experiences to come. Wishing you and yours a happy and safe RV season!