2021 brought an explosion of RV travel. More people than ever were hitting the road in motorhomes and travel trailers, and we loved every minute of it. After all, what could be bad about more people getting out there and exploring this beautiful country?
Some might think we would be sad to see such a great year of RVing go, and in some ways we are. However, we don’t think the end of 2021 means the end of this explosion of RVing at all. In fact, we believe we are going to see even more people hitting the road in 2022, and we can’t wait to see that play out.
Why do we think this? Well, because there are tons of reasons to travel in an RV right now. Below are the top reasons we believe 2022 will be the year to give RVing a go.
RVing is a Safe Way to Travel
As we are all aware, COVID isn’t going anywhere. This is unfortunate, but it’s something we’re going to have to learn to live with. For many, this means changing the way they do certain things. And the things people modify most? If, where, and how they travel.
Some people choose not to travel at all, but we don’t think this is the way to go. We’d go crazy staying home all the time, and our country is too beautiful to miss out on seeing as much of it as possible. No, the better option is definitely to change how and where you travel instead, and RV travel is the perfect safe travel solution.
Avoid Common Areas
Traveling in an RV is fantastic because it allows you to avoid dirty common areas. You won’t have to use sketchy truck stop restrooms along your route, nor will you be stuck sleeping in a bed that may or may not be clean. Heck, you won’t even have to enter a hotel lobby or walk through a public hallway. Instead, you can sleep, shower, and use the restroom in your own tiny home-on-wheels. No sharing germs with strangers.
Cook Your Own Food
In addition to having your own bathroom and bedroom with you wherever you go, traveling with an RV also gives you access to your own kitchen. This is excellent because it means you can avoid less-than-clean fast food dining areas and sketchy hole-in-the-wall restaurants that may not do a great job of keeping things sanitary.
Not only that, you can also make foods that are rich in vitamins that you may not find at a restaurant, something that will help keep you healthy during your travels.
Travel to Outdoor Attractions
Most RVers choose to travel to outdoor destinations. This makes sense. After all, outdoor recreation and camping tend to go hand-in-hand. Luckily, these sorts of destinations and attractions are the safest options right now. They ensure you can distance yourself from others, and we all know it’s better to be in outdoor public spaces than cooped up indoors with a lot of other people. All the more reason to try RVing right now!
Health Benefits of Spending Time in Nature
Not only will traveling in an RV help keep you healthy by both helping you avoid germs and motivating you to cook healthier meals for yourself, it could also help by encouraging you to spend more time outside. You see, time in nature is hugely beneficial to our mental and physical health.
This means that going on that RV vacation, exploring that national park, and going on that hike could help you avoid illness while also putting you in a better emotional state.
Reduce Stress
It’s no secret that the last two years have been stressful. It seems like the punches keep coming one after another, and nobody is able to keep up. If you’ve been feeling this stress and it’s getting to be too much, spending some time outside might be exactly what you need to unwind and reset.
Increase Vitamin D
A huge percentage of our population suffers from a vitamin D deficiency. This can cause all sorts of issues, including depression and a weakened immune system. Clearly, nobody wants to have a weakened immune system right now, and for obvious reasons, depression is on the rise, so getting plenty of vitamin D is more important now than ever.
Improve Concentration
More people than ever before are working from home. This is fantastic for a number of reasons—but it can lead to problems, particularly if you have trouble concentrating. With all that’s going on in our world today, concentrating is difficult for most of us, and studies have shown that spending time outside can really help with this.
Why not take your home office on the road and find a beautiful place to set up camp so you can do your work outdoors and increase your focus?
Lower Your Blood Pressure
Getting outside has also been proven to lower blood pressure and heart rate. Considering that COVID can cause long-term problems for those with high blood pressure and heart problems, it only makes sense to spend more time outside to try to help get your heart in the best shape it can be in.
Parking your RV in beautiful places might be just the push you need to get outside and start exploring nature.
Working and Schooling from the Road
Another reason to try RVing in 2022? Freedom.
As mentioned above, more people than ever are working from home these days. Additionally, a the number of homeschooled children has risen dramatically. Telecommuting and homeschooling are awesome for a variety of reasons, but one of the best things about both is the freedom they give you.
When you work and school from home, and your home can move around, your office and classroom can be absolutely anywhere! This makes long-term travel possible, and some are even choosing to travel full-time in their RV homes.
→ Tips for Working on the Road
Working from the road is amazing. That said, it does take some getting used to. If you’re feeling unsure of yourself as you set out on your travel working adventure, consider the tips below.
Get Connected
First and foremost, if you need internet to do your work, you will need to figure out how to get connected while traveling.
Our recommendation? While StarLink satellite internet will be our go-to in the future, for now we think mobile hotspots are your best bet. There are a variety of carriers and plans out there, and the ones that are best for you will depend on your situation. Many RVers love the Visible plan, which is incredibly affordable.
Most travelers who work on the road have at least two cell carriers, because this increases the chances that one or the other will be working wherever you go. We recommend having a plan with Verizon (Visible also works), one with AT&T, and a third with T-Mobile. The goal is to get as many gigs as you can for the least amount of money possible.
It can also be helpful to invest in a cell booster to boost signal when it is weak.
Research Cell Signal
Once you have your internet set up, the next step is to ensure you have cell signal in the places you visit. To do this, we recommend heading over to Campendium, finding the campground or boondocking location you plan to visit, and checking out what others had to say about the cell signal in the area. This will give you an idea of what to expect.
Set Up a Mobile Office
Having somewhere to work is also important. Many people can work from their dining table, but this isn’t ideal for some. Figure out what you need and find a way to make it fit. We’ve seen people set up fold-down desks in their bedrooms, office spaces in their cars and trucks, and entire Clam tent offices. Heck, we’ve even seen a bathroom office setup in a fifth wheel that had two bathrooms!
Schedule in Work Time
Life on the road can be busy and hectic. If you don’t have someone breathing down your neck, it can be super easy to let work go and get way behind. Obviously, you want to keep your job, so you don’t want to let this happen. Therefore, we highly recommend scheduling in your work time.
Don’t let travel or sightseeing interfere with your scheduled work hours, and make sure you are sitting down and fully focused in order to be as efficient as possible with your work time. This is especially important if you get paid by the project rather than by the hour.
→ Tips for Schooling on the Road
Schooling on the road—better known as roadschooling—is an incredible adventure. Of course, it does take a bit of adjusting, especially if you’re jumping into it without any homeschooling experience at all. Below are our top roadschooling tips.
Use Travel Days for School Work
As is the case with work, it can be super easy to let all the fun of the travel lifestyle get in the way of school. For this reason, many roadschoolers choose to dedicate travel days to school work. This isn’t the only time they do school, obviously, but it does make good use of time (usually hours of it) that otherwise would have been spent sitting still and doing nothing.
Find Educational Opportunities
If you’re schooling on the road, be sure to take advantage of your unique situation and seek out interesting educational opportunities. This might mean visiting museums, historic sites, and national parks. It could also mean meeting locals, learning about regional culture, and planning travels together to learn about map reading, budgeting, and more.
These sorts of experiences are incredibly valuable and really help enhance your roadschooling and make it amazing and memorable.
Make Friends on the Road
If you plan to try RVing and roadschooling full-time, you may be wondering about socialization for the kids. Believe it or not, this isn’t actually much of a problem at all. There are tons of families on the road these days, and most are happy to make new friends.
We recommend joining groups like Fulltime Families and attending events to make connections. That said, you can also just make a point of being in Florida or Texas during the winter and you will almost certainly meet some families while you’re there.
Once you find some friends, make a point of meeting up with them as you travel. You might be surprised by what a tight-knit community you can make, even while moving around.
Take Advantage of a Booming RV Rental Market
Considering how popular RVing has become, it should come as no surprise that the RV rental market has also exploded. There are now thousands of RVs available for rent in just about every nook and cranny of the US. This means it’s easier than ever to find the perfect rental RV.
If you don’t have an RV of your own yet, this is great news! You should have no trouble at all securing an amazing rig to take your family on their 2022 RVing adventure. What are you waiting for? Why not book your RV and try RVing today?
