Celebrating the RV Lifestyle: 10 years and still going strong!

This month sees us celebrating the RV Lifestyle 10th anniversary and on RV Podcast #388 Jennifer and I reflect on the changes we've noticed - the good and the bad, especially as it relates to RV travel.

It was March of 2012 when we bought our first RV, a gently used 2006 Class B motorhome and since then, we've had five others, traveled about half a million miles, and crisscrossed North America multiple times.

The first blog post we wrote was on April 10, 2012, and detailed the lessons we learned from our first long RV trip.

As I re-read that early post, I can read between the lines the excitement and anticipation we had for what was to follow.

And here we are today, just as excited, maybe even a bit more. We're still loving this lifestyle and still have a bucket list that continues to grow.

We recorded this podcast from our camping spot in the Big Bend area of Florida this week.

To see the video version of the podcast, click the player below.

You can hear an audio version on your favorite podcast app or click the player below to listen to it on whatever device you are reading this.

Why we're not coming in from the road

New adventures with owning our own land.

If you have followed other RV influencers and YouTubers you've probably noticed that a lot of them are coming in from the road. Many of the full-timers, if not quitting, are selling their RVs and turning to other pursuits like homesteading, boating, international travel.

Jennifer and I have never been full-timers. We have a sticks and bricks house in Michigan and we use it as our home base. We are on the road in our RV from half to three-quarters of the time.

More recently, we purchased five acres of land in Tennessee which we are turning into a private RV retreat for ourselves and invited guests.

We want to do the same thing in Michigan, finding some property in the north woods. And we want to keep traveling across the country.

But we have noticed some changes.

How RV Travel has changed in 10 years

I hope you will take some time and watch or listen to the actual podcast. But here are the big changes we have noticed.

* These are the highest fuel prices we have ever seen - My first fillup of that used motorhome in 2012 was $72. That was for diesel. Today filling up with diesel in the same motorhome would easily exceed $100.

* 90 mph seems to be the new normal highway speed! I travel close to the speed limit. Maybe 73 or 74. But even in the right-hand lane, that often gets me dirty looks or nasty gestures. There is no doubt, people are driving very fast.

* There are more impatient and reckless drivers. They weave in and out of traffic. Passing in any lane they can at great speeds.

* There are more driver distractions. A decade ago, it was talking on a cell phone. Now it's texting. Or watching videos.

* There are more RV-friendly highway rest stops encouraging RV camping. We first noticed this on the Ohio Turnpike, east of Toledo, where designated RV camping areas have been set up, complete with hookups. More and more other rest areas have dump facilities, as well.

* Diesel is much more available. Ten years ago, we often had to search for diesel.