On the road again

Life in an RV requires a commitment to letting go of things and sharing space

By Rebecca Boren

SPECIAL TO THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR

» RV resources

An online search turned up listings for 56 recreational vehicle parks in the Tucson area, ranging from mom-and-pop-by-the-side-of-the-road parks to big resorts.

Contact information for those mentioned in this article:

• Beaudry RV Resort and Rally Park, 5151 S. Country Club Road, 239-1300, www.beaudryrvresort.com

• Voyager RV Resort, 8701 S. Kolb Road, 574-5000, www.voyagerrv.com

» Is there an RV in your future?

Even ardent proponents acknowledge that life in the tiny space of an RV is not for everyone.

Here are some things to think about:

The Schneiders and the Crains recommend that a would-be Rv'er try before committing — even if you have enjoyed the occasional RV vacation. Buy your vehicle, put most everything you own in storage, and see how you feel about your possessions a year or two later. If, like the Crains and the Schneiders, you can barely even remember what you stored, sell it all and hit the road for good.

If you and your spouse are not used to sharing space day in and day out — as is common among the newly retired — there will be a real adjustment period as you get used to the close confines of your new home.

Several RV experts said that grandmothers who are used to spending a lot of time with children and grandchildren have the hardest time adjusting. Many if not most RV resorts designed for long-term stays are for adults only, with strict limits on visits by the under-18 set.

RV life is really designed for the sociable individual, the person who likes to barbecue, go to classes and meet new friends. If your idea of fun is holing up in solitude, it may not be for you. Nor are you likely to be happy if you chafe at all the rules that resort living requires.

The simplest rule of RV life is that every time you buy something new, you get rid of something old, or, as one weight-conscious version holds, "5 pounds in, 5 pounds out." Pack rats — or even devoted collectors — need not apply.

Size matters. A bigger RV may get you more living space, but it will be harder to move and will burn a lot more fuel. The really big ones — 45 feet and up — are too big for the facilities in many park-type settings.

» Service

Servants on Wheels Ever Ready, aka SOWERS, is a nondenominational group of born-again Christian RV'ers who volunteer — primarily manual labor and construction — with Christian nonprofit organizations all over the United States and Canada. Close to 3,000 member couples each month receive a "sowergram" listing available projects. Volunteers must have RVs, support themselves and commit to work for three weeks on each project. In return, they receive free RV space and a fourth week of free time at the site. SOWERS members have built and remodeled churches, halfway houses, orphanages, schools and shelters for abused women and children.

SOWER Ministry Office, 14771 CR 424, Lindale, TX 75771, 1-903-882-8070, www.sowerministry.org

Pretty much everything Jackie and Lyle Crain own fits into less than 300 square feet plus a pickup truck.

Furniture, household goods, appliances and clothing are all neatly organized into a surprisingly light and airy trailer about the size of a typical living room.

And Jackie Crain says she couldn't be happier.

"I've had crystal, silver plate — I've had all of that. It just isn't part of our lives anymore," Crain said while sitting on a comfy couch at the Voyager RV Resort, 8701 S. Kolb Road, where the couple live every winter. "I was just tired of stuff."

The Crains are among the small but happy group of people who live in their recreational vehicles year-round — not just while on vacation.

Some do it for Christian service — traveling the United States and the world to volunteer for nonprofit organizations such as Pusch Ridge Christian Academy, 9500 N. Oracle Road, where RV'ers park in three spaces during the winter and help out with landscaping and maintenance, as well as in the office and cafeteria.

"It gives them a place to tinker and putter and helps us out," said Pusch Ridge Principal Eric Abrams. "The kids kind of see them as grandparents."

Bill and Edie Schneider have spent the last 15 years in their RV, volunteering with the Servants on Wheels Ever Ready Christian RV group before sort of settling into a manufactured home in Oro Valley this year. But they will be back on the road for the summer, helping out in an Idaho orphanage.

"It's very gratifying, and the best time I've ever had and the only way to retire," said Bill Schneider, a military veteran and a former postal worker. "You don't have anything to worry about — no home, or someone breaking in. All you need is your RV and a vehicle to drive in."

Others, including the Crains, do it for the lifestyle.

"I guess it's just that feeling of freedom," Jackie Crain said. "It's really, truly a nice feeling to know that if you want to leave, you can leave."

The Crains are among thousands of worker-campers — people who take seasonal jobs in RV resorts and campgrounds, working in return for parking spaces and, in the Crains' case, to supplement their Social Security checks. Jackie is a former travel agent and works in the Voyager office; Lyle owned a maintenance firm in Palm Springs, Calif., and helps to maintain the resort.

This summer, the couple will move north, to Yosemite Lake in California. It's a place they haven't yet seen, but they know the patio view will be really different.

So how does one strip one's lifestyle down to that of an RV'er?

By keeping it to the essentials, the Schneiders and the Crains agree.

"It's very easy," Bill Schneider said. "Just sell everything, and keep what you might need in a motor home."

Jackie Crain shows the results in their 31-foot-long home, a "triple-slide fifth wheel" in RV parlance. Translation: a trailer that must be pulled by another vehicle, with various bits that expand when the home is parked to make more room. It's essentially one room — light and airy, with pale-blue carpet and scaled-down oak furniture.

On one wall sits a built-in entertainment and kitchen unit, with a small stove and sink. The Crains replaced a heavy queen-size sleeper sofa in the living area with a modern love seat.

In the kitchen cabinets are four place settings and a few pots and pans. If the couple want to entertain, they buy disposable plates or have a picnic.

Up a few steps into the bedroom, a pile of clothes sits neatly folded and ready for the thrift shop — there's room for only a half-dozen garments each in the tiny closet. Out-of-season clothes go into storage under the bed. Christmas décor? A table-top tree.

One reason this really simple life works is that many of today's RV resorts are a far cry from campgrounds. They are dedicated to the principle of supplying everything the busy RV'ers might need, from exercise classes to computer stations to restaurants that deliver.

The 5-year-old Beaudry RV Resort and Rally Park, 5151 S. Country Club Road, even has 20 sites with their own Jacuzzis, as well as complete RV service facilities, so you can fix a broken home.

At Voyager one recent bright spring morning, the line at the activities office stretched out the door and down the sidewalk. Nearby, folks played everything from old-fashioned shuffleboard to tennis and Pickle-Ball.

Want to read? There's a volunteer library, and a bookmobile visits. And for those who have had too much of the good life, there is a chapel and Alcoholics Anonymous.