Rv camping for newbies

Does anyone else just love hanging out in their camper?

What do you look for FIRST when choosing an RV park or campground?

Next Friday, I officially become a nomad.
I’m 73, terrified… and trying my best to be brave. ❤️
My rent finally climbed beyond what I can afford, and even though I knew this day was coming, it still hits hard. I couldn’t afford a van or a camper, but I found a little Kompact Kamp — basically a tiny bedroom on wheels — with a small A/C already installed.
Not what I pictured… but it’s what I have.
I tried building out my 2016 Subaru Outback first, but the lack of headroom made me claustrophobic.
Sleeping separate from my vehicle isn’t ideal… but here I am, figuring it out one step at a time.
Here’s what I’m starting this journey with:
• Ecoflow River Max 2 + 1600W solar panel (my former boss is teaching me how to use it)
• 12V Euhomy fridge + backup battery that lasts 9 hours
• Mace + a taser (loose dogs terrify me — I need to keep my little pup safe)
• 2500W gas generator
• Battery charger + air compressor
• And a whole lot of nerves
I’m still struggling with organization. I’m still learning how to find free campsites. I’m still scared of the unknown.
But I’m trying. Really trying.
If any of you have ever started this life with very little — just courage, a small budget, and a lot of hope — I’d love to hear how you made your first steps.
Any words of confidence would mean the world right now.
I’m in southern Lancaster, PA, and I’m not even sure which direction to head first.
Thank you for listening. 💕
EDIT:
WOW.
I’m honestly overwhelmed by the kindness pouring in.
Your messages made me feel less alone… and a little more confident than I was yesterday.
What a beautiful group of women. Bless every one of you. ❤️

I just turned 61 — and for the first time in my life, I’m finally doing something just for me. For 30 years, I dreamed of traveling the country in an RV… but my husband never wanted that life. So I stayed home, raised our children, worked as a travel nurse close to home, and put that dream quietly on a shelf. He passed in 2018. The kids are grown now. My health is steady. And that little voice inside me — the one that used to whisper “someday…” — it’s louder than ever. This November, I’ll be heading to Yuma, Arizona to start my RV life. I don’t even own a truck yet, and I’ve never towed a thing in my life — but I’m learning, one step at a time. For decades, we as women pour everything into our families — our time, our hearts, our energy. But I truly believe God gives us these extra years so we can finally live for ourselves. Here’s to second chances. To new beginnings. To finding freedom after a lifetime of giving. ❤ If you’re sitting there thinking “it’s too late” — I promise you, it’s not

I get asked all the time how I manage living in a 17ft trailer while working my nursing shifts 🤦‍♀️
And honestly… it’s not about the space.
It’s about what you do with it.
Some nights, it’s just me, a quiet cup of coffee, and a little corner that somehow feels like home.
It’s small, yes… but it’s mine.
And somewhere along the way, I realized I don’t actually need much to feel okay.
Tiny living didn’t shrink my life… it made room for the parts that matter 👊
Anyone else surprised by how little space you really need?

A year ago, I said goodbye to my husband — and to the life we built together.
Our dream was simple: sell everything, buy a Class A, and spend our years chasing warm weather and open skies.
8 months in Canada, 4 months down south — just the two of us, free and together.
Now it’s just me and my dog.
And even though it looks different now, the dream is still alive.
I’ve started researching like crazy, learning everything I can.
I’m giving myself three years — by 65, I want to be on the road full-time.
For now, I’ve got a little 17ft travel trailer, and next summer I’m planning to take a short leave from work to “test the waters.”
People think I’m crazy.
Even other women worry instead of cheering me on.
But honestly… what’s crazier — following a dream, or letting it die with the person you loved?
I’m nervous, I’m excited, and I know this won’t be easy.
But I also know this: he’d be proud of me for trying.
Any other solo ladies out there who turned heartbreak into a new beginning?

My grandmother has a flour drawer in her kitchen and I didn't understand why until she told me she can't afford to bake anymore. She's 83 and living on $980 a month social security and last week she told me flour costs too much now to keep stocked. This woman who baked every single birthday cake for our family for forty years, who taught me to make pie crust when I was seven, who won ribbons at the county fair, has an empty flour drawer because groceries are $200 a week and her medication is $340 a month.
I found out because I stopped by unannounced and caught her eating toast for dinner. Just toast. No butter because butter is expensive. She tried to laugh it off, said she wasn't hungry anyway, but I looked in her cabinets and it was canned soup and crackers and nothing else. Her flour drawer that used to overflow with Gold Medal and cake flour and bread flour was completely empty except for one measuring cup and a sifter. I stood in her kitchen trying not to cry while she told me it's fine, that she doesn't need to bake at my age anyway.
I went home and started a small baking business the next day selling custom celebration cakes through Tedooo app. Just simple designs at first, nothing fancy, but people started ordering for birthdays and graduations. Every single dollar I make goes straight to her grocery fund. I don't tell her where the money comes from because she'd be furious, so I say I'm helping her budget better or that I found discounts. Last week I filled her flour drawer completely, five pound bags of every type, and she stood there crying saying it's too much.
I also started buying her baking supplies from other makers on Tedooo app, gorgeous wooden spoons and vintage measuring cups that make her happy just to look at. She's started baking again, making bread for the neighbors, and yesterday she asked if I wanted to learn her cinnamon roll recipe that she's never written down. I took the day off work and we spent six hours in her kitchen, flour everywhere, and she kept saying she can't believe she gets to do this again.
My mother said I'm enabling her and I told her to leave. You don't get to watch someone slowly disappear because they can't afford flour and call it aging gracefully. This country abandons old people and expects families to just accept it. I'm not accepting it. That flour drawer is staying full even if I have to bake a thousand cakes. She raised me and now it's my turn.

The day I realized that our year of living in our RV was over and we could move into our custom-built home on our 46-acre ranch, equipped with heated floors throughout! FYI: Don’t let the RV content creators fool you. RV life with a kid is tough! However, we were saving money to cash-flow our build. Shoutout to our awesome neighbor who built our home within 6 months as he promised. We’ve never had an issue with anything. It was a quality build!