ONE-YEAR RV REVIEW | 2020 Rockwood Mini Lite 2507s - (Special Report)

Even with 2020 being the Worst Year EVER, the first twelve months of having the Aluminum Falcon 2.0 just flew by! Sure, we love him, but we have always admitted that no RV is perfect, so in this video, we'll tell you about a few of the things we've learned about our 2020 Rockwood Mini Lite 2507s. Of course, there are both good AND bad things, and we'll even confess to a few things that Rockwood is including in the new year's models that make us wonder if we should've waited a little longer to upgrade. Hmmm.... 🤔

Mission 017 - Baker Creek State Park | RV CAMPING | Lake Strom Thurmond

Thanks to the COVID-19 scare ruining our (and most everybody's) longer-distance travels this spring, it seems our camping "theme" of 2020 is turning into a tour of they myriad parks and campgrounds in a fifty-mile radius of our house!  In this video, we visit Baker Creek State Park, another of the many RV camping spots up and down the Savannah River. Come along and see what we discovered at this quiet little boating and biking haven on the South Carolina side of Lake Thurmond... not that we had the chance to do either of those things this particular weekend...

Thinking of Buying an RV? 🤔 | ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS!!! - (Special Report)

It’s definitely a major life-decision - should YOU make the investment in a recreational vehicle? Why wouldn't you??? Well, to be fair, there are some decisions in life that definitely should NOT be “impulse” decisions, and deciding whether to purchase an RV certainly fits into that category. In this video, we share the thought process we followed when we first starting kicking around the idea of getting into the RV lifestyle. Take heed of our experience, fellow “noobs!”

Mission 015 - "Shakedown Cruise" to Hickory Knob State Resort Park

South Carolina's only State Resort Park was our destination for Aluminum Falcon 2.0's "shakedown cruise" over the Valentine's Day weekend. Less than fifty miles from our home, Hickory Knob was a great choice for a quick "run up the road" sort of trip to experience how hitching, towing, setting up and living in the new rig would be. Take a look and see how we spent our shortest RV trip to date (less than twenty-four hours!!) and what we thought of this campground on the shores of Strom Thurmond Lake.

FINALLY! See the "Aluminum Falcon," version 2.0!!

At long last, we present the Aluminum Falcon 2.0! (Well, to be fair, we've only owned the thing for eight weeks, so give us a break! 🙄) This much earlier-than-expected upgrade is almost surely all the RV we'll ever need... unless we hit the lottery or something! Take a look out our newest home-away-from-home, and see how Forest River is outfitting this "couples coach" model, which sits at the higher end in their Rockwood Mini Lite lineup. Now THIS is Glamping!!!

Five Ideas for Organization & Storage in a Small(er) Camper - (Special Report)

Two people can definitely survive in a 19-foot travel trailer, but two people AND their mounds of stuff surviving in that space is still an open question! In this video, we share a few of the tricks, hacks and accessories that help keep all of our loot and supplies from piling up and overtaking our limited living space. Maybe one or two of these things can help YOU in your "home on wheels!"

Furrion Vision S Backup Camera - Unboxing & Installation (Special Report)

Haven't all we towable-RV owners struggled with backing our rigs into spaces at one time or another? Being able to see everything you need to see from the driver's seat with a large trailer behind you is always a challenge, and having electronic "eyes" on the rear of your rig can certainly benefit you. In our latest YouTube video, we'll install one such product - the Furrion Vision S Vehicle Observation System. Take a look and see for yourself just how easy this process is!

Mission 007 (Part 2) - Our First MeetUp with Fellow YouTubers!

New Video Day! (Yes, we know you've seen this photo before, but bear with us) As we told you earlier, one of the highlights of our St. Augustine trip was meeting Chris and Lisa of the "Camp More/Bark Less" YouTube channel. Take a look at our latest clip, in which they introduce us to their poodles and give us a tour of their motorhome, on which Chris has done some pretty extensive renovations! 

Mission 007 (Part 1) - St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum

Here it is! The first video from our recent week-long journey to St. Augustine, Florida!  After our first boondocking experience at a Walmart parking lot outside Savannah the previous evening, we completed the journey to Ocean Grove RV Resort, the spent the following afternoon at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. "Spring Break" lived up to its name, as we were blessed with sunshine and mild temperatures, FINALLY experiencing some weather more suited to RV camping! 

Of course, there will be more video highlights of this trip in the weeks to come!

Five Cold-and-Wet RV Lessons Learned (so far...)

In retrospect, we probably began our RVing life at the worst possible time of year - late summer.  Our first "mission" with the Aluminum Falcon to Lake Greenwood State Park, was a glorious time.  We had never towed a travel trailer to a campground, never set up a campsite, never had to deal with things like water hookups and propane-powered refrigerators.  However, the weather was fantastic - warm and dry, with pleasant breezes coming off Lake Greenwood, and lots of natural scents and sights to enjoy as we lounged and relaxed.

That didn't last, though. Fall/Winter 2018/19 in the American South was INCREDIBLY cold and rainy, and our next four camping trips were plagued with drenching rains, blistering cold, or some combination of both! We have tried to find the proverbial "silver lining" in all this by convincing ourselves that we now know lots of things about how to camp in BAD weather, and now that springtime approaches, we'll have even more fun going forward learning about camping in GOOD weather!!

Another benefit is that you dear folks get to learn from our experience! In this video on our YouTube channel, we tell you about five cold-and-wet lessons we've lived through and learned about dealing with dreary camping weather:

The ANGRIEST RV vlog Ever Recorded!

Well, sometimes the best-laid travel plans just don't work out. In our latest video, you'll see how our trip to take the Aluminum Falcon back to the dealer for some maintenance was only partially successful. You may also see Smokey blow his stack... EEK!!!

New Month, New Updates!

Hey, Happy Campers!  Today's post is just a "status update," to let you know that, just because the world at large considers this time of year to be the camping "off-season," we still have some things going on.

We got the Aluminum Falcon up to Camping World in Spartanburg last week for his planned maintenance.  Of course, we had to leave him there for a while, as we expected, but we intended to spend the weekend in a hotel in Spartanburg and do some other things while we were there.  Note I said "intended" - that didn't work out so well...

However, it did provide some fodder for our next YouTube video!  Keep your eyes open this Sunday, when our latest video mis-adventure will debut, and you'll get to see for yourself how we adapted to everything from Mother Nature to the Lodging & Hospitality industry working against us.

We haven't pinned down a date for running over to Congaree National Park, as the afore-mentioned Mother Nature seems determined to never again allow the Southern U.S. to see a sunny weekend.  When it happens, we'll let you know.  St. Augustine is still firmly on the calendar, though!

Again, check back either here or on the YouTube channel this Sunday for the new video, and be sure to subscribe to the channel, and share it with others! It's easily found at YouTube.com/LiveNLearnRV.  

Mission 005 - Aiken State Park, or as we call it, "Camp Spooky"

Peace and quiet. These are just two of the many things RV camping can offer, depending on where and when you go. Can there be such a thing as TOO MUCH peace and quiet? Well, check out the video for our recent long weekend at Aiken State Park for the answer.

Again, we won't be doing any camping in February or March, but there will be travels (of sorts) and news to report, so keep your eyes peeled for more words here!

MAJOR MILESTONE!!!

Hey, Happy Campers everywhere! Jessie here, and Smokey and I want to share this milestone with all of you! One hundred subscribers on our YouTube channel! It is mind-boggling that anybody at all is interested in our adventures, let alone a hundred somebodies! 

When we started this blog and the YouTube channel, our goal was to prove to ourselves, and by extension to others, that getting into the "RV lifestyle" did not necessarily mean selling your home and all worldly possessions and roaming the country in a large motorhome. We wanted to prove that it is possible to be "normal," continue to have a home and a job, and still experience RV camping and learn about some  our country's natural wonders. At least one hundred people are Livin' and Learnin' right along with us, so why don't you come along, too?

If you haven't subscribed, please head over to YouTube.com/LiveNLearnRV and hit that red "subscribe" button, so YouTube will know that you're interested in what we have to say, and click the bell-shaped icon so you'll get notifications whenever we upload a new video.  

...and again, THANK YOU to you (first) one hundred folks out there! 

See the "Aluminum Falcon," Inside and Out!

RV Camper Tour! In our latest YouTube video, you finally get to learn all about the "Aluminum Falcon," our home-away-from-home! We'll show you our Rockwood Mini Lite 1905G, a 19-foot travel trailer, which is the basis for our philosophy that you don't necessarily need a Giganto Fifth-Wheel or massive motorhome to get into RV camping!

Even though we won't be taking on any new travel "missions" in the "Falcon" until closer to springtime, don't forget that there will be more content coming here throughout February and March, so keep checking in on us!