After our boondocking attempts last week, Steve decided to upgrade our off-grid capabilities. We already have several smaller USB battery packs for charging various things and a small EcoFlow portable power station (which worked great to watch TV at night). In an effort to save our house batteries for the important things like our refrigerator, cooking and using the roof fans, Steve purchased a portable solar panel to allow us to recharge our smaller battery packs. And while our new truck has a built in 2kw generator using it means running the engine which is sitting there burning diesel. Works well when you need to make a run to the ice cream shop though!

We’ve been full time in our Solitude 390RK for the last 2 1/2 years and this project has been on Kate’s list for a while! If you have a teak shower seat this is a quick project to make it look brand new!

With just a screwdriver, scrub brush, a hose, and a teak cleaner and oil, your shower seat can look brand new again!

We had some rain on our last travel day. Steve purchased rain gear earlier this year so he doesnt have to drive in soaked clothes. The bright orange is also great in case of emergency!

Only about $22 and 45 minutes to replace the end on our power cord after the ground lug broke off! It would have been a lot easier with the right tools, but a razor knife got the job done.

One of the ways we try to save money on the road is to eat at home. We all know cooking in an RV is viewed as being very different than cooking at a house, but it doesn’t have to be!

After leaving Alamogordo, we headed west, making a stop at a Harvest Host on our way to Tucson, AZ. Touted as “The West’s most authentic ghost town”, there aren’t really ghosts at Shakespeare Ghost Town in Lordsburg, New Mexico. But you will find the amazing story of an abandoned mining town and the generations of a family that have worked tirelessly to preserve and upkeep the physical town as well as keep the stories of the old west alive by sharing this amazing piece of history with the world.

We’re wintering in Texas this year, y’all! The drive from Glen St. Mary, Florida to Texas was a long but uneventful 3 days. Along the way, we stayed in a few really neat Harvest Host locations!

We’re almost always are either in a full hook up (power, water, and sewer) or partial hook up (usually power and water) spot. But every once in a while, we completely boondock! Boondocking is where you go without any external services, relying only on what your RV has onboard. While we currently only do this for a night or two, we (should) have the ability to go for about a week “off grid”.

We use a program called Harvest Hosts for some of our overnights in between destinations. Harvest Hosting is free to stay, but there is a recommended minimum spend at the place you’re staying (currently $30).