Transition from our house to living an RV

We learned a few things while sleeping in our RV in the summer and fall.

• • Our 1996 Bounder RV is not insulated
  • Our RV is hot in the summer
  • Our RV is cold at night in the fall

• • Use storage space for personal items
  • Store kitchen towels and linens in upper cabinets.
  • It’s easy for it to get cluttered.

My husband and I moved in our RV while we were trying to sell our house. We put our house up for sale on July 5^th. We thought it would sell within a month. We had a few bids on our house. We took the highest bidder. The person was supposed to be qualified for the loan. We wasted over a week for them to do an inspection. The loan didn’t end going through. We had to put our house back on the market. My husband and I stayed overnight at the house occasionally when we came back to check on it, mow the lawn, put trash can out on the street and pickup the yard. We finally closed on our house on September 19^th.

Minnesota summers are usually hot and humid. The RV was hot like a sauna when we came home from work. We usually waited until after 7pm to go in the RV. There wasn’t much of a transition from hot weather to chilly weather. My husband and I attended the Twin Cities Veg Fest on September 16th. The weather was sunny and hot that day. After the TC Veg Fest the daytime temps were in the 40’s and 50’s. The temperatures were below average in October and November. My husband drove to F-350 towing the 32′ trailer to Texas. I slept in the RV by myself for a few nights. I had a portable radiator heater running in the RV. We had the portable heater running in the kitchen. One portable heater doesn’t produce enough heat to warm the entire RV. A portable heater will help prevent stuff from freezing in your RV. The bananas that were on the countertop didn’t like being that cold. We put the portable heater between our twin beds. We closed the sliding door closed at night in the bedroom and only heated that room while we slept. I slept with a sleeping bag and quilt over myself. We bought an electric blanket from Walmart. I used the electric blanket for a few nights to keep warm. Sometimes it’s too easy to set the temperature up too high and get hot. You’re better off waiting for the blanket to gradually get warm. You might forget to turn the dial down before you go to bed. The heating blanket worked well with a flat sheet over it to help keep the heat in.

We had a light snow a couple times. I placed an old rug at the entrance by the stairs. It’s so easy to track in snow and have it melt on random spots on the floor. We have to remember to take our shoes off when coming in the RV.  The grass is usually damp in the morning. The grass gets tracked in the RV when we’re going in and out of the RV. I use a small Dyson vacuum to clean the floor after it dries. It works great for carpet, linoleum and wood floors.

I stored some extra towels and pans in a drawer under the refrigerator. I noticed mouse poop in the drawer. I removed all of the contaminated towels in the drawer and wiped it out. I washed the pans and put them back in the drawer. I washed the kitchen towels and put them in an upper cabinet in the RV.

My husband winterized the RV. Every time we drive the RV we have to pack up like were moving. We have to remove dishes, food and the coffee pot off of the countertops in the kitchen.  There’s not much cabinet space to store stuff compared to all of our IKEA cabinets in our old house. I use the microwave to store large plastic bowls. We use the shower stall in the bathroom to store stuff in plastic bins. I unhooked the speakers from the stereo that were on top of the dashboard. I put the speakers and stereo into boxes. I placed the boxes between our twin beds.  My husband drove to a gas station a few miles from where we’re parked. I walked inside the gas station to get the (poop) key for the steel plate that is locked to prevent RVers from using it without paying. This gas station only charges to dump your waste water  if you don’t buy gas. My husband drained the black water tank and grey water tank. We put clean water down the kitchen drain, bathroom drain and down the toilet. He drained the water out of the tanks again. My husband put pink antifreeze in the water tank and the waste water tanks to prevent them from freezing. We used the toilet in the evenings after work and at night.

The temperatures have been colder in the last few weeks. We have been sleeping at my father-in-laws house since November 13th. I work at my job until November 30th. We plan to drive to TX after we sell equipment, get rid of furniture and everything else at my husband’s office.