Summary

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Before heading back to work I took a few days at home to unload the trailer, do 10 loads of wash, clean up the house and visit with family, oh and cry (I am so excited to see my friends, but getting back to reality is hard to face). Nate was fortunate enough to have two and half weeks left to get things in order. After visiting with friends we decided to post some common questions, but if you have more please send a comment.

Fun Facts


• Our total trip was almost eight weeks long starting on June 11, 2016 and returning home on August 4, 2016. Once leaving Florida we drove in 18 states.



• We drove about 10,000 miles, costing $2,128.13 for fuel, stopping 66 times for fuel. With only one day without any driving at all.



• We took a total of 1,894 pictures and videos, shared 481 on our blog, posted 34 blogs.



• Camped 55 nights in 24 different campgrounds, costing $1,505.12.



• Purchased 3 bags of ice. Went to grocery store 16 times. Stopped 3 times to do wash (this requires the purchase of extra under clothing and socks before trip).



So the ultimate question would we do it again?


• The answer YES! Although we have not experienced the fall out and repercussions of our decision to take this trip, I can honestly say without a doubt we thoroughly enjoyed our time together and the experiences we shared. We feel truly blessed that we had this opportunity at such a young age and believe that we had God watching over.



Would we change anything?


• There were a few stops that we skipped along the way due to location or time frame, the only solution we have contemplated is switching to a small class C or a large class B to give us more flexibility and ease of movement. The only other thing that would make the trip easier is unfortunately to not bring along a pet, this would allow for more freedom to stop along the way.



Did we do anything to prepare for the trip?

Are main goal was safety so Nate did a lot of research and made some great purchases:


• Tires: Our tires were aging so we purchased five new tires and rims with upgraded steel valve stems. When Nate removed the tires he found one had a bald spot on the backside that was not visible, this could have caused an accident. Another reason this was a great purchase was we ended up with two tires with flats so we even used the spare tire.



• Tire Pressure Monitoring System: TST 507RV tire, this system worked really well; it beeped when the tire pressure was low and allowed us to monitor the tire pressure and temperature at any time.



• GPS: Garmin RV 760LMT with optional back up camera connection. This is a GPS specialized for RV travel: you enter your specifications like height of trailer to prevent unsafe travel, options are available for custom avoidance like U-turns, there is a speed limit indicator that warns when speeding, you can also switch to a car mode and many other customizable options.



• Backup Camera: Nate’s truck came with a backup camera that makes hitching to the trailer easy, but he purchased one for the back of the trailer to help with back in sites.



• Tint & Insulated Foil: Nate tinted the windows of the RV and cut insulated foil to fit each window; this really reduced the heat within the trailer.



• Wireless Thermostat to Monitor Pet: We were fortunate enough to have some great people from my work help set up a wireless thermostat to monitor the temperature of the trailer when we were out site seeing. This reduced my stress level greatly knowing that my little doggy was safe. The system would send us a text if the temperature was higher than the set perimeters, we could also view on an app at anytime on our phone. This was important because there are times that the RV Park can lose power or even your own breaker can trip.



• Tub: Oh and a comfort splurge on a new tub that has plenty of room to stand up in without an oversized seat taking precious foot space.



How much did it cost?


• Fuel $2,128.13



• Eating Out $1,187.04



• Grocery $ 689.71



• Camping (Passport America really helped with keeping this cost down) $1,505.12



• Entertainment/Other $1,089.10



• TOTAL $6,599.10


Top 10
Yellowstone
Grand Teton
Grand Canyon
Petrified Forest
Sedona
Schilaterbond
Roswell
Carlsbad
Valley of fire
Arches

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Comments

[Stella]

Well Worth It!!!
Sounds like you guys had such a memorable trip and well worth the money you spent (which really wasn't much!!!). We could spend almost that much for one week at Disney!. I am so glad you guys made the blog. I hope it was beneficial for you guys, to remember everything you did and saw, as well as for us who were allowed to experience it with you on a daily basis. Thanks for the invite into your vacation. Glad you made it back safely and ready for school and work.

[travelwallaces]

Thank you so much for your kind words, we are in the process of turning the blog into a Shutterfly Book.