Last week was a terrible week. Just terrible. One difficult thing after another happened. It was the kind of week where serious doubts about full-time RV life planted in the crevices of my mind and took root. And, though not all the difficulties had to do with RV life, somehow, it felt like things would be easier within the framework of a “normal life.”

Camel looking into camera.
The camel, wondering about that darned straw.

Now, you might wonder what any of this has to do with making RV park reservations. Well, you know about the straw and the camel’s back? Arriving at my new location and finding more unexpected difficulties was nearly my straw. It was the straw that bent the camel’s back and then one more thing happened the following day. And it broke. I broke.

What Happened

But let me back up and tell you how I got to that place so you have context. During December at my lighthouse job Solstice got sick. Three expensive trips to the vet verified she is really sick. There is nothing to be done but manage her symptoms as best I can. So, that’s been a stress. Low-level—after all she is nearly 12 and is a breed whose average lifespan is 10 to 12—though relentless and constant.

Add to that the fact that there wasn’t internet or cell service at the campground. I thought it would be a nice reprieve—and it was—but it’s also so much harder than I imagined.

Overall, December at the lighthouse was fantastic. In case you missed it, I posted a pictorial to show you the beauty and in the coming weeks I’ll have a more detailed post about both the workamping experience and the lighthouse itself.

I planned to leave New Year’s Day and drive halfway to my next destination where I’d overnight at a Harvest Hosts winery. Then I’d arrive at my destination on the second of January. My sister wanted to spend some time with Solstice, so we decided to stay with a friend for a week near Sacramento.

Then Things Started to Go Wrong

The day before, as I always do, I prepared myself and the rig for travel. Because I hadn’t filled up on propane since September, I decided to switch tanks as I’d need the furnace the next night at the winery. I’d been using the space heater since it gets the rig warmer without going through propane but propane is also used for cooking and hot water. Note the link is to the space heater I currently use but I may need to change to one that uses lower wattage. Unless, the electrical problems turn out to have nothing to do with the space heater.

However, a few days earlier, the other thing that happened was the space heater tripped the breaker. I found it especially weird since I’d been using the heater for a couple months without incident. So, I reset it (a first since I got the trailer). And when I returned from my pre-travel day chores (laundry and groceries), it had tripped again. I reset it again. Turned on the heater and it tripped.

And it would not reset. No matter how many times I tried. I lost power to the microwave and all the outlets since those are all on one breaker. A friend looked at it but with no luck.

But before my friend looked it, it started getting cold in the rig so I turned on the furnace. And got only cold air. No heat. No idea why. I knew the propane tank was full.

To make a long story short, I ran an extension cord out the window to the power pole that night in order to use the space heater and keep the rig warm. Then, instead of making the drive over two days, I left at 4 a.m. on the 2nd and arrived 13 hours later to pick my sister up at the Sacramento airport. Long day on little sleep.

The week in Sacramento wasn’t fun with the stress and sadness over the pup. Another vet visit with new medications and new things to try. A slightly different diagnosis but a second ultrasound confirmed a mass on her adrenal gland.

And More Things Happened

My sister and I left at 4 a.m. (again) after little sleep (also again) to make it to Desert Hot Springs and the RV park before they stopped parking people for the night. We made it with 10 minutes to spare. Then they charged me more than what their website advertised because “our prices have gone up” and, when I got to the site, I discovered you only get the 30 amp outlet.

I’ve never stayed at a place where the power pole didn’t also include a 20 amp outlet. Many people use the 20 amp to plug in strings of lights to put on the ground around their rig. It’s a tip to keep mice from moving in.

I counted on a 20 amp outlet so I could run the extension cord to the rig to use the space heater at night. Then my regular 30 amp plug-in would be for the refrigerator, lights, television, etc.

Electrical outlet on blue background.
Most RV parks and campgrounds will have one of these in addition to the 30 or 50 amp plug in.

It was on the verge of getting dark, making everything harder. However, I got lucky because instead of another rig space next to me, there was a park home and I spotted an outside outlet. I got even luckier because no one was staying in it that night. Even though I wasn’t supposed to and didn’t have permission, I ran the extension cord to it so I could have heat and plug in the 30 amp cord.

We went to bed at 9 and were up again at 3 a.m. to leave at 4 a.m. (yep, again!) to get my sister to the airport by 4:30 for a flight out. I came back to the rig, slept a couple hours, then headed to the store for hot dogs. One of the symptoms of what Solstice has is anorexia, meaning she won’t eat. At that moment, hot dogs were the only thing she’d eat.

I stopped at Starbucks, got me a coffee and her a pup cup (a little cup filled with whipped cream). The pup cup, I hoped, would help the medicine go down. One of the pills (of many) has a horrible taste and dogs aren’t fooled when its stuff in food. So the only way to get it down is to open her mouth put it at the back of her tongue and shove it down.

The Straw

I stood at the cargo door of my van in the parking lot of Starbucks, petting Solstice, all the pills in my fingers.

It’s hard to get pills down a dog who won’t eat.

I was on the brink of breaking the night before, but Solstice—still standing in front of me waiting for me to shove more pills into her—was truly the last straw. Looking at her sweet face, I just lost it. I started weeping, telling her how sorry I was. Over and again, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

I’ll spare you the minute-by-minute details, but I cried for two days.

To recap: no propane and no electric, which meant choosing between cold food in the refrigerator or a rig warmed with a space heater. Charged too much for the RV site. All on little sleep with the scratchy throat, the beginning of a cold setting in. My sister gone. My dog’s trusting brown eyes wondering why she was so sick and why I continued to shove nasty pills in her mouth. Me, feeling like a complete failure as a full-time RVer, as a pet parent, as a manager of my own money. As a human being.

A terrible week, indeed. Because I didn’t know how to fix the propane or the electric, because I couldn’t do anything for my dog, I directed my anger at the RV park.

And it got me thinking.

In the dozen or so RV parks I’ve stayed since I’ve been on the road, I’ve had an issue with about half of them. And, by issue, I mean that when I arrived I was in for a surprise. Something wasn’t what I expected it to be, from price to amenities.

That, in turn, got me thinking that what I really need is a checklist for when I call to make RV park reservations.  

What I’ve Learned

First, think of an RV park’s website more of an advertisement than a source of solid information. I find this shocking but I’ve also found it to be true. In Dubuque, for example, their website said they had a laundry room. I arrive to find no laundry room. Not only that, they never had a laundry room. And when I asked about it, the owner told me they intended to put one in when they started the place so put it on the website. When I asked why they don’t update their website, she said because it costs $100 to make a website change and she didn’t have $100.

Second, assume they haven’t updated their website anytime recently. See above.

Third, don’t believe the photos. Angles and lightening can do amazingly deceptive things. A beautiful sparkling swimming pool in a photo can be a non-working scum-covered hole in the ground in reality.

Woman reading on an i-pad.
Study websites but don’t believe them. Read reviews. Then verify everything.

Fourth, read reviews. I like to read the 5-star and the 1-star reviews. I find it helpful to hear from people who both loved and hated a place.

Finally, know exactly what is on your must-have list from an RV park. Because of my tiny wet bath, a must-have for me is a bath house as I really don’t like taking a shower in my RV.

The Tips

Actually, I have only one. Verify. Verify. And, yep, verify.

Verify everything. Even if the website says they have a miniature golf course and reviewers say they enjoyed the miniature golf course, when you call to make reservations, if the miniature golf course is on your must-have list, ask if their miniature golf course is open.

Despite all this verifying, know that it still doesn’t always work out. In Long Beach, Washington, I verified they had a bath house. But when I arrived, the women’s showers were being remodeled. It was a small RV park so the owner told me to shower in the men’s bathroom. I had to put a note on the door so no one would come in and it wasn’t very convenient. But it worked.

Checklist

A person checking things off a hand written list.
A list helps ensure you don’t forget to ask every question before making your RV park reservations.

If you don’t already have one, I thought I’d provide a starter list. Of course, you’ll have to add to it and subtract from it, based on your must-haves and the particulars to your RV. Be sure to keep notes and record the name of the person you speak with in case you need to reference it later.

  • Hook Ups
    • 30 or 50 amp (depending on your rig)
    • 20 amp for an extension cord
  • Bath house
  • Onsite laundry facility
  • Ask if their sewer fits a standard sewer hose (if that’s what you have, otherwise you might need an adapter)
  • Is the water potable (believe it or not, I actually stayed at a place that didn’t have potable water)
  • Amenities (check that what’s on the website matches reality)
    • Pool
    • Hot Tub
    • Hiking Trails
    • Dog Park Area
    • Fire Rings
    • Picnic Tables at Each Site
    • Etc., Etc.

One final hint. It’s a good idea to keep a variety of plug converters with you. I once stayed at an RV park that only had 50 amp hookups despite the fact their website said they had both 50 and 30 amp spots. My trailer is a 30 amp. It was no problem because I had a 50 amp plug that converted to 30 amp so I could use my 30 amp cord to the rig. It’s called a 50 amp male to 30 amp female RV power adapter.

If you have a bigger rig and use 50 amp power, you’ll want the opposite converter, a 30 amp male to a 50 amp female RV power adapter. I also have a 30 amp to a 15/20 amp (it’s the one I’m currently using to plug my heavy-duty extension cord into to run the space heater). And, finally, a 15/20 amp to a 30 amp.

The Days After the Really Bad Week

Now I don’t want to leave you hanging. So, let me come back around to all the things that went wrong and provide an update:

  • Propane: fixed. One tank was empty (which I knew) and the other tank I didn’t have the regulator on quite tight enough and the safety valve remained closed. A friend tightened it and I immediately had propane again. The propane is keeping the refrigerator cold since I still need the power pole for the extension cord and the space heater (see below).
  • Electrical: work in progress. Three people have looked it and were left scratching their heads. An electric engineer friend thought we had it figured out, and replaced the GFI outlet but no luck. It looks like this means a sooner-than-later visit to Tennessee for Oliver to fix it.
  • RV park cost: A couple days after I arrived, I talked to the person who checked me in at the RV park. I said that I didn’t think it was fair that both their website and the person with whom I made the reservation told me one price for the month, but when I arrived I was charged $40 more. Honestly, I thought I’d be told, “Too bad.” But they did the right thing and credited me the $40.
  • Cold: except for the lingering cough, it’s almost gone.
  • Dog: I remain sad about Solstice and the inevitability of losing her. There is no “fix.” I know this. I know sadness is part of the grieving process and part of the grieving process means some days filled with tears and heartache. That said, she is getting better. She’s finally eating again and the sparkle is back in her eye. I no longer think she just has weeks, but now am counting on months. Maybe longer.
Because she doesn’t like separation, Solstice sat in the street rather than on the pillows I laid out for her while I washed and waxed the trailer. It’s going to be hard to lose that kind of love and dedication.

So, just like in normal life, bad days pass. Still I’m struggling a little, still experiencing doubts, still wondering if RV life is too hard for me, still questioning if there is a better balance.

I don’t have the answers right now. Only the questions. But I’ll keep sharing the journey with you.

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