A big day!: An interview with the nomads

Your driver for today's blog is Susanne.

Today's a big day: we're bringing Clark the RV home! In anticipation of this, I asked Trent, Sam, and Biscuit (and myself) a series of questions.

We're bringing our RV home today. What are you most excited about?

Trent: I’ve been reading and watching everything I can find about how RVs work, what needs to be done to maintain them, and how to prevent common problems.  Before we started down this path, I knew almost nothing about RVs and the RV lifestyle.  I’ve learned a lot. However,  what I’ve learned is general information.  For example, one of the things I’ve learned the manufacturing of RVs is very different from that of cars. Each car that rolls off the lot in a given model year is almost exactly like every other car in that model. This apparently is not the case in RVs. They make minor changes in materials and parts within a model year. What is listed in the manufacture’s brochure for a given year is not necessary what is exactly in your RV. I am most excited about being able to go to the RV and find out what exactly is in Clark and then being able to go learn all I can about the specific equipment, systems, and materials that make him work. I can start skipping resources about systems and materials we don’t have and instead focus directly on what will help us make this journey as smooth as it can be.

Susanne: I'm excited that this is actually happening. We're past the "castles in the air" phase and into the stage of putting foundations under them. I'm also excited to dig into the nitty gritty of getting rid of more of our stuff and figuring out how to organize the RV.

Sam: That we can go to the beach!

Biscuit the Cat: Running around the RV like a crazy cat lunatic. Can't wait! [Yeah, Biscuit. Neither can we. Sounds like a blast.]

What are you most concerned about?

Trent: I’m most concerned about the electrical systems in the RV and at the parks we stay at. We are a truly modern family. We use a lot of electricity to power our lifestyle. Clark has a generator to supply AC power and is built to draw from 30 amps (that’s not a lot) from electrical hookups to power our AC equipment. He also has two 12-volt batteries we can use to power any DC systems in Clark (e.g. lights) or our AC equipment if we buy an inverter (to change DC to AC). In our current home we don’t have to monitor our use of electricity at all. We use all we need and pay a very moderate bill for it. In the RV we will need to be aware of exactly how many amps we are drawing, what the status is of the batteries, and how best to prevent any electric problems. We don’t currently have to think about any of this in our house.

I’m also concerned about electric systems in RV parks. From what I’ve read they are unreliable. Damage from spikes in voltage can be avoided fairly cheaply by using surge protectors at the hookup and at the outlets in Clark. However, it seems like low voltage is a bigger hidden problem because it causes your equipment to draw more amps. Drawing more amps than the equipment  is designed for damages it over time as it causes problems like overheating. We can limit the danger from low voltage by using a voltage regulator. These are not cheap but I think we need to get one to protect our expensive electrics.

Susanne: I'm concerned about a bunch of weird things over the next three months or so... Like, if we have a bad tornado season here, how will we protect the RV from damage? What's the best way to prevent mold in Clark given how humid and mold-friendly southern Indiana is? I'm also concerned about learning how to use the RV hookups - especially the black water tank. The last thing I want is for us to accidentally contaminate our water.

Sam: The lack of snow. [We're planning to move with the seasons and avoid snow if we can. The adults are fine with this, but Sam loves snow.]


Biscuit the Cat: I will be afraid if the RV moves. ...Does it have to move?

What is the first thing we should do with the RV after we get it home?

Trent: Clark will be winterized when we pick him up. We can’t really fully use him until we de-winterize in the spring. This means he mostly will be sitting in our driveway for the next few weeks. I think the first thing we should do after we are done inspecting everything is do what we can to protect him from the elements. We should clean and then apply wax, UV sprays, and any other covers or materials we can to protect him. I also think we should consider installing a remote humidity monitor in him. We get a lot of rain here and the last thing we want is a lot of humidity inside of him that condenses at night when the temperate drops. If we find humidity is a problem, we can run a dehumidifier or take other steps to limit moisture. We need to avoid mold at all costs.

Susanne: Wow, Trent and I are totally on the same page here. I am worried about mold and exposure to the elements. I think we should get a cover for Clark, but I also don't want to trap in moisture. I also want to spend more time just inspecting the storage in the RV and planning out where everything should go.

Sam: We should go to the beach! [Susanne: I could get on board with that.]

Biscuit the Cat: I'm going to invite my boyfriend Rufio over.