One year ago: traveling for the first time in my new home- a 1999 Thor Chateau Sport Class C RV
- ginarestaino
- Dec 21, 2025
- 4 min read
I have countless voice recordings, note memos, videos and pictures from the past year that I am going to go back through and reflect on. I should have organized them along the way but the learning curve was pretty all encompassing at the time and one of the most important things that the last year has taught me is how to do things at my own pace. So we are going to do this as a retrospective...
Last year at this time I was in Hampton, VA. I was in Amanda Feather's driveway. It was my first actual drive in the RV. In September, my friend Alden drove it from the purchase site to his driveway. It as there for about a month and then I drove it under the cloak of midnight to my parents'. I drove it a couple of times (to get propane and gas) in the time frame at my parents' as I got it registered and got acquainted with the inside and how everything works. I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family and got on the road in early December. My first real drive in my 30 ft RV was 10+ hours and included an unintended detour in Yonkers, NY and the 17 mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. I arrived at the Feathers' on December 7th, 2024. It was around 70 degrees on the 8th. Here is where I learned that you should use a GPS for truckers/campers that you can enter your dimensions into. Picture me: voice asking google if an RV is a passenger vehicle while driving on the highway, in a non blue tooth having 1999 Ford E450, because Google Maps keeps trying to take me on the parkway. It is NOT, btw.
Amanda and I have known each other since my early days in Philly. When I first moved there from MA in 2005, I was going to school in Center City with an apartment on Franklin Blvd in the North East. We worked at an Applebees together in the NE and developed a soul connection. I made a replica of my parking permit for my apt lot so she could park there without being towed cause she was there so often. It was a great time in my life and a majorly transitional one. She was one of those people where the connection shaped you as a person so it stays important to you. We had lost contact for a long while and had reconnected in the past few years, thanks to technology and the interwebs. We chatted virtually but this was the first time I would be SEEING her in person in basically 20 years. I, of course, would do that with a big ass RV I need to back into her driveway. Can't do anything small, gotta do it big.
We picked up like no time had past and it as amazing to see her as a mom and get to know her friends and family. They have become my "southern" home base and part of my live's blood. I spent my 40th birthday there, Xmas, and New Year's. I continued to learn more about my RV's functions and adjusted to using them; getting a feel for the amounts the tanks could hold, dumping my tanks for the first time at Ft Monroe etc. It was like dipping a toe in to the life a little at a time... my parents' driveway with my car available and can get deliveries , my friends' driveway without my car available but could borrow theirs or coordinate things with them and get deliveries. Next stop was my first camp where I don't know the property owner and would be away from my village and entirely on my own. Toddville, MD.
I decided to name her Large Marge but we call her Margie.
This blog will probably end up a pretty mixed bag but I believe in stream of consciousness writing. I will organize as I go too, and try to stay as tidy as I can, but this will be a stroll down the memory lane of last year, riddled with introspection and triggers, and insight to all of the lessons I've learned along the way.
I have been working on a GoogleSheet that outlines my recommendations, suggestions, resources, and anything useful to know about RV Life and will share it here once it is up and running. A helpful guide so anyone that might want to try this lifestyle has a decent reference. Below are the items that popped into my head as I was writing this entry. Welcome to RV Life as seen through the nuero-spicy lens.
*Use a GPS for truckers/campers that you can enter your dimensions into. Open windows once a day if you can, get stale air out and fresh air in. Burn sage. Have smoke and propane and carbon monoxide detectors. They are not the same for RVs as houses. make sure they are hard wired with battery back ups and are on when you are using only your shore battery. Air purifiers and dehumidifiers are recommended. Watch the electricity consumption/voltage but humidity inside the RV will be a constant problem, especially in corners. Take down your paper towels if you're going to drive with windows down. Have a CC, copy of all keys, and form of ID in a fireproof lock box that is a combination entry. I lost my wallet at a rest stop for a few hours and learned the lesson of not putting your entire life life of options in the same spot. This is in case of emergency- crash, fire, lost wallet or lost keys. Check list for before take off. post it taped to dash listing height, width and approximate weight of RV. Truck repair shops for oil changes truck related work. If spare in under vehicle, seal it some how or move it because mine was dry rotted.
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