I remember when Brian and I got married and we decided that we would camp for our honeymoon. We took out the back seat of the van and loaded it for a week of camping. As we set up our tent, and started to unpack, I had to stop and laugh. I told Brian that I think we brought the kitchen sink with us! It's a good things that the girls were with grandpa & grandma, because I sure don't know where they would have sit!

So a year goes by and we take a trip to Wisconsin, with the girls and yet, I think we still brought the kitchen sink with us! So you live and learn....

Now as we are full time rv'ers ourselves, we can sit back and watch all those that come in to camp and how they brought their kitchen sink!! We can't help but smile and say "Yep, been there, done that..."

So now that you have decided to live on the road, it's time to make some changes. Unless you have a motor home that has all those extra compartments, you will need to watch what you pack and take with you. Even if you are not becoming a full timer, you are just going south for the winter, or maybe an extended vacation, you really need to watch what you are hauling. Here are some tips that I hope might help you and a story or two of folks that have overloaded and what has happen to them.

• Many times we have met folks living in a 5th wheel or travel trailer and they are carrying an extra freezer. Question is why do you need that freezer? Yeah, the frig/freezer aren't the biggest in the world in these campers, but seriously, don't you go shopping every week or maybe twice a week? By having that freezer, not only have you added weight, but now you tend to buy more than what you will eat, and before you know it, you have frozen food with freezer burn.
• Food: again you don't need 10 cans of this and 8 cans of that. Cans add wieght, weight that you need to watch. I promise you there is a Wal-Mart or grocery store just down the road.
• Clothes is another thing. Remember your camping full time. So you really won't be wearing that formal dress/suit any time soon. Yes, you should have a few dressy outfits for special occassions. But again, you have limited space, so think seriously on how many pair of pants, shirts, sweaters, ect that you will need. Get rid of that parka coat-unless of course you plan on camping in the rockies during the winter...It's much easier and wiser to wear layer of clothing. If we do hit a cold spell, we put on our sweatshirt and we have a rain/wind coat that works for a second coat. Remember-you will do laundry again and things can be washed....
• Ladies: Come on now, you're living a different life style, really how many pair of shoes do you need? Yes, you will need a pair or two of comfortable shoes, maybe a dress pair for special occassion, sandals are great or maybe a pair of crocs. Our middle daughter would NEVER make it traveling-for she owns over a 100 pair of shoes! Just remember you do have limited space....
• Men-tools, tools and more tools. I know, just like us women with our shoes & clothing, it's hard to depart with the tools. But think about it, are you going to use that saw table on the road? Probably not...Now, you will need to take some tools with you. You never know when you might have to do a repair. Just think about what tools you will use and won't. We carry the basic, Hammer, varies screw drivers. Brian does have a chain saw (trust me, we have been in areas where we had to do our own tree trimming!), skil saw-he gets the urges to build small things once in a while (like extra shelving or maybe a step). I beleive he even owns a wrench or two.
• Leave the fine china behind. If the China has a special meaning to you and you see yourself not parting with it; then maybe give it to someone that you trust your own life with or put it in storage. A 5th wheel or travel trailer just isn't the place for fancy dishes. All roads are NOT smooth as glass!
• You really don't have the room or storage to carry every holiday decorations with you. Besides where are you going to put that 8 foot Christmas tree anyways? I'm not saying don't decorate for the holidays, but be very selective on what you do take. I do have my mothers ceramic Christmas Tree and I just won't part with that (it's the only special memory I have of her). So it is packed in "peanuts" in a box and travels under the bed, where it does get the best ride. I use to also have other Christmas decorations, and then I got tired of taking it down and storing it. So now I just enjoy everyone else's Christmas decorations. If you must decorate, pick items that are easy to store, and maybe lay flat.
• Are you going to reread all those books and magazines? If it's something or an article you must keep, then think about maybe scanning it and putting it on disc. Disc are much lighter and take up much less room.
• What about your family photo album? Well, we did take ours with us. But I compacted the pictures by trimming them down and making pages of collages; so instead of having a dozen books, I narrowed them down to just a few books. Well, now I have become computer smart and I have taken every picture and scanned them. I put them on a disc (along with an emergency disc as well). We shipped the books to our youngest daughter to hang on for us-if we ever choose to settle down again. Photo books add a lot of weight and take up lots of spaces. Besides, now Brian and I put the disc in our CD player and we can now view them on our TV. I think we look at the pictures more now than what we did when we had the books.
• Laptop computer vs. Home type computer. Now that's a preference that only you can decide on. some of the 5th wheels now and travel trailers have desk in them (ours does). Some just can't work well on a laptop. Myself, I'm the opposite. Although our rig comes equip with a desk and room for a home version computer. I still prefer the laptop. The lap top is easier to pack up and place in a safe place for travel. Where as it takes a little extra effort and then to find a place to put that big hard drive, the monitor, and keyboard & mouse. What's also nice about a laptop, is if we are stopping for just a night somewhere, all I have to do is whip out the laptop, turn it on, and I'm ready to go. Whereas the home version, it takes a little more effort and I can't sit just anywhere I choose with a home version. Brian bought me the home version when we got this 5th wheel. Kept it for a year-sold it and bought another laptop.

A few years back while working a winter job for the Corps of Engineer we had met this couple that also was full time Rv'ers. One day they invited us over to their place. When Brian and I walked in, our mouths hung open and I'm sure the folks thought we were weird. But going into thier 5th wheel, there was only a small path down the middle. Not only did they have the furniture that the rig came with, but she also had this rocker along with a floor lamp. then in one corner, was magazines piled sky high!