The Best Part of Full-Time RV Living: The Friends You Meet Along the Way
When people imagine full-time RV living, they usually picture the places.
National parks. Mountains. Beaches. Desert sunsets. Beautiful campsites tucked into forests.
And yes, those are certainly part of it.
We’ve traveled to some incredible places since becoming full-time RVers.
But somewhere along the way, we discovered something we hadn’t really expected.
Some of our favorite memories aren’t about the places at all.
They’re about the people we met there.
A conversation at a dog park.
Someone stopping to help when you’re stranded with a flat tire.
Neighbors gathering their camp chairs for an impromptu concert.
Two RVers swapping stories and discovering they have more in common than they realized.
Some of those people pass briefly through your life.
Others become friends you keep in touch with for years.
That’s a side of full-time RV living that doesn’t always make it into the campground reviews and travel guides.
But it’s one of the best parts.
The Surprise We Didn’t Expect From Full-Time RV Living
Before we started traveling, we naturally thought about everything we’d get to see.
We thought about the destinations.
We thought about traveling across the country.
We thought about national parks and historic places and all those little towns we’d never visited before.
We didn’t spend nearly as much time thinking about the people we’d meet.
It turns out that RV travel can be remarkably social.
You’re constantly arriving somewhere new.
So is somebody else.
Everyone has a story about where they came from, where they’re going and what happened along the way.
Sometimes all it takes is saying hello.
A Friendship That Started at a Dog Park
One of my friendships began at the dog park in Quartzsite.
I met a wonderful woman there, and we simply started talking. That’s it.
There wasn’t some big RV event or organized gathering. We were at the dog park.
One conversation led to another, and eventually I was taking her along when I went to Walmart in Parker.
We stayed in contact afterward.
It’s funny how easily that can happen on the road.
You start talking to someone because your dogs are playing together.
Before long, you’ve made a friend.
General has turned out to be a pretty good social director.
Meeting Scott and Ariane in Moab
We met our friends Scott and Ariane while we were in Moab, Utah.
They became close friends.
We continued talking regularly even after our travels took us in different directions.
That’s another interesting part of RV friendships.
You don’t necessarily live anywhere near each other.
Your paths simply cross somewhere.
Then everybody moves on.
But moving on doesn’t necessarily mean the friendship ends.
Later, when Scott and Ariane were traveling through Arizona, they came to see us while we were camping near Williams and spent the night there in their van.
That’s RV friendship.
You meet in one state.
You see each other again somewhere completely different.
Peanut and Janice: A Flat Tire Became a Friendship
Then there were Peanut and Janice in Wyoming.
We definitely didn’t meet them under ideal circumstances.
Ed had gone exploring on White Mountain when he got a flat tire.
He was a long way from our trailer and discovered he didn’t have the special tool he needed to lower the spare tire.
Then Peanut and Janice appeared.
And somehow Peanut happened to have exactly the tool Ed needed.
They didn’t simply point Ed in the right direction.
They helped him.
And when more tire trouble followed on the way back, they continued helping.
What started as strangers helping a stranded traveler turned into spending time together, exploring Flaming Gorge, sharing a meal and forming a friendship.
We continued keeping in touch after we left Wyoming.
If Ed hadn’t gotten that flat tire, we might never have met them.
Travel is funny that way.
Something can go completely wrong and still lead to something wonderful.
Sometimes We’re the Experienced RVers
We also met Nick and Nan while traveling in Montana.
They were beginning their own full-time RV adventure and had lots of questions.
By then, we’d already learned a few things.
Usually the hard way.
It felt good to be able to pass some of that experience along.
We could explain little things we’d discovered and why we’d chosen to do something one way instead of another.
That’s part of the RV community too.
Eventually, you realize you aren’t the new people anymore.
Someone else is just beginning.
And now you’re the ones who can say:
“Yep, we tried that. Here’s what happened.”
We certainly don’t know everything.
But if one of our mistakes can save somebody else from making the same mistake, we’re happy to share it.
RV Friendships Work Both Ways
Of course, sometimes we’re the ones learning.
Some of the people we’ve met have extensive experience with trailers, fifth wheels, camping, particular areas of the country or things we’ve never done before.
Everyone knows something.
That’s one of the things we enjoy about talking to other travelers.
You don’t need to have identical lives.
You don’t need the same kind of RV.
You don’t even need to travel the same way.
You just start talking.
Campgrounds Can Become Temporary Neighborhoods
One of the strange things about full-time RVing is that your neighborhood keeps changing.
One week, your neighbors may be in Montana.
A month later, they’re in Wyoming.
Then Arizona.
You may never see most of those people again.
But for a little while, you’re neighbors.
People wander over to talk.
Dogs introduce their humans.
Someone needs a tool.
Someone has a question.
Someone starts a campfire.
Someone pulls out a guitar.
And suddenly a group of strangers is sitting together having a wonderful evening.
When a Campsite Turns Into a Concert
We’ve met some incredibly talented people on the road.
Artists.
Musicians.
People who create things simply because they love doing it.
Every once in a while, we’ve found ourselves in a campground where somebody pulled out an instrument.
Then somebody else brought over a chair.
Another person wandered over.
Before long, we had our own little concert.
No tickets.
No stage.
Just camp chairs, favorite beverages, good company and acoustic music.
Those are the experiences you can’t really schedule when you’re planning an RV trip.
They simply happen.
Meeting Danny and Hearing His Original Music
One musician who particularly impressed us was Danny.
We met Danny and his wife while traveling and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them.
Danny was an incredibly talented guitar player and songwriter.
The songs featured in our video were his original music, performed right there while everyone sat around listening.
It was one of those evenings that perfectly captured what we’re talking about.
We didn’t set out that day expecting to attend a concert.
We certainly didn’t buy tickets.
We simply met someone.
Then we got to hear something he’d created.
And afterward, we had another friend.
We continued exchanging emails and cards after our travels separated us.
Staying in Touch After Everyone Leaves
That’s perhaps the biggest difference between simply meeting someone and making a friend.
Eventually, somebody pulls out.
Sometimes it’s us.
Sometimes it’s them.
The campsite is empty again.
But now you have an email address.
Or a phone number.
You send a Christmas card.
You check in.
Maybe your travel routes cross again someday.
That’s happened to us more than once.
Full-time RV friendships don’t always look like conventional friendships where you live ten minutes apart and meet for coffee every Tuesday.
Sometimes your friends are scattered all over the country.
But they’re still your friends.
Does Full-Time RVing Get Lonely?
This is something people considering full-time RV life may wonder about.
If you’re constantly traveling, how do you have a community?
Our experience taught us that community doesn’t necessarily require everyone to live in the same place.
There are opportunities to meet people almost everywhere.
We’ve met people in campgrounds.
We’ve met people while boondocking.
We’ve met people at dog parks.
We’ve met people because somebody needed help.
We’ve met people simply because one of us walked over and said hello.
The important part is actually getting outside the RV.
As Ed put it in the video:
Don’t just sit in the trailer.
Get out there.
Simple Ways to Meet People While RVing
You don’t have to become the campground social butterfly.
We certainly don’t go into every campground determined to make ten new friends.
Most of our friendships happened naturally.
Sit outside instead of spending every evening inside.
Walk the dog.
Say hello to your neighbor.
Ask someone where they’re from.
If people are gathering for music or conversation and you’re invited, grab a chair and join them.
If someone needs a little help and you’re able to give it, help.
If you’re new to RVing, ask questions.
And if you’ve been doing it for a while, answer questions when you can.
Sometimes that’s all it takes.
The Places Are Only Part of the Story
We love making our travel videos.
We love showing you the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier, Petrified Forest and all the other incredible places we’ve visited.
We love campground reviews.
We love finding weird roadside attractions.
We love photographing landscapes.
But years later, when we talk about our travels, the stories aren’t always about scenery.
They’re about people.
Remember Peanut and Janice?
Remember Scott and Ariane?
Remember that couple we met in Montana?
Remember the woman from the dog park?
Remember the night Danny played guitar?
Those memories become part of the journey too.
The Best Part of Full-Time RV Living Might Surprise You
If you’re thinking about becoming a full-time RVer, you’ll probably spend a lot of time planning the practical stuff.
What RV should you buy?
How much solar do you need?
Where can you dump your tanks?
How do you get mail?
Where will you camp?
Those things matter.
But there’s another part you can’t really plan.
You don’t know yet who you’re going to meet.
Somewhere out there may be a person who will help you when your truck breaks down.
Someone who’s just beginning RV life and needs the knowledge you’ve accumulated.
Someone you’ll meet because your dogs decide to become friends.
Someone who pulls out a guitar one evening.
Someone who lives a thousand miles away but becomes part of your life anyway.
That’s one of the gifts this lifestyle gave us that we never expected.
We started traveling because we wanted to see the country.
Along the way, we discovered that sometimes the most memorable part of a place is the person you met there.
So get outside.
Say hello.
And see what happens.
And we’ll see you down the road…and Over the Hills!
Continue the Journey
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