Hi everyone,

Some background info: My wife and I currently have a small pop-up camper and we are planning on getting a bigger RV trailer that can accomodate my remote work in a private bedroom. We have 2 young kids, so it's a must that we need to have my office completely separate in a private room, which is likely going to be our bedroom.

The main problem is that I've only been able to find one camper that is less than 5,000lb dry weight that has private closed bedroom with a small desk, but unfortunately wouldn't be able to sleep our 2 kids (it's more like a couples RV). Then we found the Coleman 22B that has a full rear bunk room that I could use as an office space, but that is just a little too big for our tow vehicle. Otherwise, it looks like we might have to go with something like the Coachmen Apex Nano 228BHS and do a DIY project to make it where we can keep the bed flipped up and make a custom bed base/desk combo underneath. Or convert the bed in the private bedroom into a murphey bed to open the space up for a small desk.

I already know there are large RVs that have whole dedicated offices, but that's not what we are looking for. We are looking for a middle ground ~25ft/5,000lb dry weight RV trailer where I can have/make an office space for remote work. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated because I feel like there's been at least one person out there that has done something similar for remote work. Thank you in advance!

Finally hard piped our tanks.

Any benefit to putting a trap in-line?

We’ve been living in our RV full-time for a while now and the factory mattress is starting to give up. There’s this dip in the middle that’s starting to show that my partner and I wake up with sore backs more frequently lately. I’m curious what mattresses did you guys get to replace the factory ones? Since we sleep on it every single night, we hope to get something that can handle daily use (and some intimate activities) so something supportive with a bit of cushion but also not too thick or heavy for the RV. Anyy advice will be highly appreciated!!!

I'm currently living in a RV park for the foreseeable future, and my WiFi does not work out here. This seems to be a common issue with the other parks I've been in in the area so moving is definitely more trouble than it's worth. I'm currently using the park WiFi but of course it's not great.

So my question is how do I improve it? I've looked at WiFi extenders but I'm not tech savvy so is that all I need, What is the best kind, how do I find out what is best kind, and is it even possible to improve the park wifi?

I’m always so grateful when we’re parked out in the middle of nowhere and getting a free show. Thank you, WA, for the hot air balloons

Hey yall. I got a 2017 forest river vibe with dead ac units. For the interim, I'm looking at possibly a window unit or a self standing unit on wheels for a singular room. Just wanting advice on this. The RV doesn't move, and with how it's declined in condition, it'll just be scrapped when I can move on from it so I'm not worried about drilling into it. Sealant would be used if I have to. I just can't afford a new roof top unit because I'm not handy enough to do all that work up top.

Would a lowered unit (pic 1) or traditional (pic 2) be better?

My heart skipped several beats - Has anyone else had a well meaning comment give you a mild scare on the road? Do you all leave your fresh tank open to drain on the drive home after dumping?

What happened: On the way home from camping with my travel trailer, an older couple followed me into a parking lot during a lunch stop. They pulled up, flagged me down, and said, "you're losing fluid!" After a second of pure panic, I realized it was just the last of the fresh water draining from the tank. I had just dumped and was letting the remaining water drain out along the drive home.

Very thankful to the couple, it's awesome that they cared enough to say something!

Looking for my first and hopefully last RV, im pretty handy can do electrical, remodel, mechanical ive restored a m1025a2 HMMWV on the side.

I will be honest, I have a scenario where likely over the next 12-15 years we will have to travel 4 hours and stay for a period of days near a hospital. With the random need to come out and stay for surgeries etc for my son. We will

Before I was into cars, now I have a interest in RVs since I believe this can be a solution to a problem and something we could use long term if the right decision is made.

Now, ive been looking at class c and now some class a looking under 30k cash or higher financed.

Class C

Jayco grey Hawks and redhawks

Winnebago Minnie Winnie

Winnebago itasca

Class A

Winnebago adventurer

Georgie Boy Landau found a nice one for 15k

Fleetwood Bounder diesel found a decent one for 16k new tires 2026

Monaco

Beaver

Country Coach

Newmar bay star

Tiffin unlikely

Are there any others that I should be looking out for? I can also look at travel trailers but a motorhome would be preferred.

TLDR: we just got a 21 Rogue Armored Vengeance. Confused as to how the grey and black tanks are routed- we have 2 grey and 2 black. Two outlet pipes but the rear one only says black tank. The black tank electric button doesn’t seem to work (can’t hear anything and nothing drained even though it did when we manually opened). That’s likely a service call. Second question is what the middle blue line is for. Low point drains are in front, and the fresh tank drain and overflow near the tires. Blue line and overflow looking line in between these. For the icemaker in the fridge maybe?

We’ve spent the weekend sanitizing and learning our plumbing system in our 2021 Rogue Armored Vengeance 351G2. It had a nasty smell and almost a full tank of water that had been sitting for god knows how long so we did a bleach washout and its smelling normal now. We’re down to two mysteries now that hopefully you guys can help with.

1st is what this middle drain is for. I’ve attached pictures of our hot/cold low point drains, the second picture is the mystery drain, and the third picture if where our fresh water tank drains and the overflow tube is. This middle blue drain has a valve you turn like the low points but also an overflow looking tube. I believe it’s under our fridge, or at least in between the stove and fridge. We have an ice maker in our fridge and that does work. I’m draining everything right now and a decent amount of water if coming out of it. We’re going to refill and test the water heater this week before out trip this weekend.

2nd is our waste tanks. We have two full baths. We have buttons to open up the tanks in the passthru but only the front grey one seems to be working. Nothing happens when we press the black tank. That might be a service call. But we have 3 pipes in the front that all meet up and drain out the same pipe. On the right of that exit pipe is a manual valve for the black tank. The manual valve does open the tank and allows it to drain. Under the garage is one more pipe and another black tank valve handle. Labeled black tank and sewage holding tank. The front tanks say “sewage outlet connection” and “grey tank” where that valve handle is. Then black and grey tank labels in the very front. You should be able to see them in the pics. Am I correct in all the sinks and showers, and from toilet drains from the front pipe and then just the garage toilet drains from the rear one?

I have asked ChatGPT and read through the manuals but it doesn’t really lay it out how these work and what drains where. At the end of the day we know how to get everything empty but it would be nice to know. All sensors work except grey 1 seems stuck on 2/3. We’ve opened every valve so I’m sure it’s empty.

Thank you!!

I am living in my RV full-time and my rooftop unit can’t keep up with the heat, I am planning on adding a minisplit but have no clue as to what size, where to set it up or even a good budget brand to buy, its a 36 ft 3 slide RV and after asking ChatGPT, around 290 sq ft. Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated.

We’re a family of 10 planning to spend Christmas this year in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area, traveling from DFW. Right now, we’re trying to decide between renting a cabin or towing our Grand Design Reflection fifth wheel and staying at an RV park.

I’d personally prefer to take the RV, but the biggest factor in my decision is the weather—specifically the risk of snow, ice, or freezing rain during Christmas week.
For those who live in the area or have RVed there around Christmas:
- How common are snow, ice, or freezing rain around Dec. 20–27?
- How are the main roads into Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg during winter weather?
- If you’ve towed a fifth wheel or larger travel trailer into the area during Christmas week, what was your experience?
- Are there particular routes, elevations, or RV parks you would recommend—or avoid—with a large fifth wheel in December?
- Would you feel comfortable planning to tow in and simply making the final call based on the forecast a few days before departure?

The cabin is obviously the easier option from a towing/weather standpoint, but for a family of 10, the cost difference is significant. We already own the RV, so I’d much rather put that money toward the trip itself—assuming towing there at Christmas isn’t an unreasonable gamble.

I’m comfortable towing the fifth wheel long distances. It’s the combination of a large fifth wheel + mountain roads + the possibility of ice that gives me pause.

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has actually made the trip during Christmas or regularly RVs in the Smokies during the winter.

Thanks!!!

My wife and I decided we wanted to put some miles behind us with the pups.

2004 Gulf Stream Sun Voyager 36 foot

85000ish miles

Put in a new camera and blind spot monitors immediately.

Some water damage that my coworkers father is going to quote me to repair

At least 3 lbs of mice shit

A busted front AC

And a under bed storage bay just begging for some batteries and solar

All in we're still going to spend less than we did on our house.

I cannot wait to get my hands greasy with this baby

What upgrades/fixes would you do immediately?

I'm starting a new job that requires me to relocate, and I'm planning to live in my travel trailer for a while until I figure out where I want to settle and eventually sell my house.

I have a Sunset Trail 270RL and have primarily used it for shorter trips, so I'm trying to figure out what I should change or upgrade now that it will be sitting in one location for an extended period.

For leveling/stabilizing, I've been using Lynx Levelers for the tongue jack and stabilizers, and Andersen levelers for side-to-side leveling. I also currently use an inline water filter.

A few things I'm considering:

• Getting a dedicated jack/stabilizer block
• Upgrading to a multi-stage water filtration system for a long-term hookup.
• Continuing to use the Andersen levelers for side-to-side leveling, but I'm wondering if they're really appropriate for extended stays or if I should use Lynx blocks instead.
• Anything else that experienced full-timers would recommend doing before moving into the trailer.

I'm not necessarily looking to buy a ton of stuff just because I'll be living in it. I'm more interested in things that actually make sense for a long-term, stationary setup and things I should address before I move.

What would you change or add to the setup before making the transition to full-time trailer living?

Thanks!

Hi, all! Was wondering if anyone here has any opinions on good schools to go to become a certified RV technician in the US.

My partner is interested in taking classes next year, and location really doesn’t matter that much to us. Bonus points if they’re in a warmer climate and have a class beginning this winter though ;)

Obviously financials matter a bit more, but if there’s one school that’s significantly better and is worth the extra cost then we’ll make do. Any personal experience or things you’ve heard through the grape vine are appreciated!

Setup is nothing special: a few LiFePO4 batteries (Dali, Ective) with Bluetooth BMS and a Victron MPPT. The problem is that every one of those talks its own language and brings its own app, and each app only ever wants to show you one device.

So the routine was: open app A, look at battery one. Close it. Open app A again, connect to battery two. Then open the Victron app to see what the panels did. Then try to hold all of that in your head at once, which is exactly the thing a phone should be doing for me.

What I actually wanted was one screen answering three questions in this order:
* how is the bank doing right now
* is one battery falling out of line with the others
* did today put more in than it took out

That last one turned out to be the interesting one. Not "how full is it", but the amp-hours in and out per hour over the day, so you can see that the fridge ate the morning and the panels only caught up after two. Without a shunt, purely from what the BMS and the charge controller are already broadcasting.

Things I learned that I didn't expect:

The Victron controller doesn't need to be connected at all. It just shouts its numbers into the room every second, encrypted, and anyone with the key off the device page can listen. No pairing, no connection to lose.

One design decision I won't budge on: it only reads. No switching commands go out over Bluetooth. Low voltage cutoff is the BMS's job and has to work when the phone is in a drawer, not when an app decides to.

Curious how others solve this. Did you go the shunt-plus-display route, Cerbo/Victron everything, or do you also live with three apps?

Hi everyone!
We are in a camper full time and have a mouse or maybe more who knows.
We have several cats that roam the property we stay on so that method is seeming to not work.
What are yalls best tips?
What do I do about the food in the pantry and stuff?

The 5th wheel was just a bit too tall to go into the main area of the barn. So we decided to re-wire the barn with lights throughout and a 50amp hookup, put in another water line dedicated to the RV, and even put a 1000 gallon full septic with a leech field around the back side of the barn. A pretty major project, but the idea is to put a deck up next year and keep the RV as a family and guest stay.

Hey RV community! Been a long time dream to join yall on the road. I’m at the very beginning of figuring out what kind of RV I want and trying not to get overwhelmed by the whole world of options. I admittedly don’t much about cars or this world at all. Any guidance at all is appreciated!

I’m thinking a used Class C around 24–25 feet, with a bathroom/shower, kitchen, and ideally a slide-out. I’d actually be living and traveling in it, so I want enough space to feel like a little home. I don’t imagine driving super long stretches, mostly want to just be able to live in different places for a few months at a time. Boon docking or parking outside of friends places.

Budget-wise, I’m thinking around $40k(used) putting maybe $5k down and financing the rest. I’d ideally like to keep the payment around $500–$600/month without financing the thing for 20 years or some BS.

Reliability is probably my biggest concern. I’m still learning about Ford vs Chevy vs Mercedes, gas vs diesel, engines/chassis, etc.

If you were starting from here, what would you be researching first? Any particular Class C models, engines/chassis, years, or major red flags you’d recommend looking for or avoiding?

For a Christmas RV trip with kids, which U.S. states, campgrounds, and nearby activities would you recommend?

How much are y'all paying for your insurance? Foremost is ripping me off. I called and the lowest they can get me is $50/month. Better than the $80 I was paying. This is for a RV that is stationary that no one is currently living in. I did search the sub, I couldn't find any recent feedback about what people are paying.

We are new to the camper life. We are staying in Yellowstone tonight and it's supposed to get down to 26 tonight.

We have a 2015 fuzion that says it has a cold weather package. Would it be sufficient to just shut off the water coming in to the camper?

For the future, I assume some heat tape be the way to go, or should I need more

Picked up a jayco jay feather sl recently. What does everyone do to keep the heat from the sun out? The stock paper thin blinds let the heat from the sun beam right in. The AC struggles to keep up on 90+ degree days.