A little different perspective on the quality debate that seems to have infected the rv world over the last few years. I personally look at things from a different lens being that I have a background in Submarine Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Quality Assurance, where proper manufacturing and assembly are paramount to the success of ships operation and mission, while protecting the humans that live and work on board. Do i believe that a higher standard needs to be had in the rv industry absolutely, but i also believe that after taking 14 rv manufacturing factory tours, that they are putting in the effort (even though most end users don't think so) to ensure a quality product is put out. Recently a former fulltime RV couple who i have followed for over 10 yrs, the Wynns, who have gone from RV's to Sail Boat's just purchased a $1.6 million dollar custom boat, and in this vlog they speak of the quality issues that they are going through as they continue their cruising around the world. Trust me i'm not trying to call anyone person or company out, i just hope to expand some thinking on the subject when the proverbial "issue(s)" comes up in your rig possibly.
Q24 RV Rally and Meetup
Welcome to the crazy
January 19th to the 29th will be the annual meetup of content creators. This meet up started in 2020 right before covid as a very informal gathering of creators who invited friends along for the festivities. That first meetup and subsequent meetups that have followed have been nothing short of amazing, and this years version should be nothing less than amazing as well.
This year has taken on a little more organization with the amazing work of Greg and Penny Cameron who just happen to live in Q, so they have step into the dare i say logistical position, but really i have no idea how we were blessed that they chose this group, because we would be completely lost without their guidance and can do spirit for all things gathering.
This year will have a few organized events i.e. River Paddling, Side by Side trail riding, Cooking class’s, Electronic Power Bank building class’s and a few more items, that will go with the always desired potlucks and the very enthusiastic evening campfires.
If you have not made it to Quartzsite to attend one of our events, you are missing out on a great opportunity to meet new friends, who will become family, and to experience the many sides of the nomadic community.
This year we will have every type of livable vehicle represented so it should be a great time. Looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new. Hope to see you there.
Traveling to Texas
We left southern California, Santee Lakes Regional Reserve where we cabin host heading to Irwing, Texas today. Travel days for us are what its about, we love the journey hence or name Living Our Journey 365. For this trip we are taking a lazy 8 days to get there. Along the way we will have various stops at campgrounds, rv parks, fairgrounds, state parks, national parks and harvest hosts with a little bit of boondocking thrown in as well. To say we like a variety of places to stay is an understatement, we are not glampers by any stretch of the imagination we don’t gravel, dirt, or grass actually we prefer it most of the time. Over the next couple of weeks i will be posting some of the stay’s we have so i can give you guys an idea of what’s out there when you start your journey, hopefully you will follow along with us.
Bayview Campgound Point Loma, San Diego
Harvest Host Boondocking at Nelson Family Vineyard
Harvest Host Boondocking at Nelson Family Vineyard
Second stop on the Spring Fling Tour: Winslow, Arizona "Take It Easy"
As we continue on up the road to our first destination on this “season” of travel we make a stop in Winslow, Arizona. This is the second time we have visited Winslow during out travels, we stopped here to “Stand On The Corner in Winslow, Arizona” the famous song by the music group the Eagles. That stop was a day trip as we were staying in Flagstaff at the time. This time we are staying the night in Winslow as we pass through heading over to Albuquerque, New Mexico which is a visit that i share in the next update. So since we have visited Winslow before, we decided to just grab something to eat at the local brewery and also visit a couple of memorials which we had no idea were in Winslow. We stayed at a little family owned campground called Take It Easy RV Park, this is not a place to stop if you looking for a resort feel because it is not. This was though a great place to stop for a night or two if your passing through or just want to rest for a couple of days, we don’t mind places like this for the night since they are not that expensive and put us close to things we want to do so it makes sense to us, but most would just drive right past. With that it served its purpose for us. Stops like this to cool little towns or cities during our travels are always fun and interesting because we love to explore and find new things. So after a great evening in Winslow we headed out to New Mexico to visit someone one that I haven’t seen in over 20 years when we were brothers in the Navy.
First stop on the Spring Fling Tour : Sonoran Desert RV Park
The Sonoran Desert RV Park over the past few years has become one of our favorite stops weather we are going out or come in to California. When we are passing through Arizona on our way to other parts of the country or coming back to California from our travels one of our favorite places to stop is Sonoran Desert RV Park. This is our first stop, it gives me a chance to check the rig before we head to parts unknown. This park is located in Gila Bend, Arizona. It has all the amenities that you could want. Its also located very conveniently off HWY 8 and Interstate 10. So if you are driving through Gila Bend and need a nice park to hand out for a few days this is a great stop over.
The next few post will be of the stops that we made on our way to South Dakota where we will officially become South Dakota residence.
Something Has Changed!
Five years ago, we embarked on this Journey. We decided at that time to move into our 4-month-old still new smelling Forest River Sabre 5th wheel. Our Sabre was perfect for what we were doing at the time. We were camping almost every weekend and even taking extended trips in comfort and style. Since we were so new to lifestyle, we decided to continue our travels with Little Mama (our Sabre) until we decided to upgrade at a much later date. Well, we took that and ran well drove with it, over the next 5 years we traveled well over 25K miles through California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Idaho, and Wyoming. We visited 6 National Parks and over 10 National Monuments. We visited family and friends and some amazing sites in-between it all, but as things begin, they also come to an end. We always discuss upgrading when we see a new 5th wheel we like, and with me being a You tube junkie who watches as many vlogs as possible, and comparison vlogs with the new rigs that are hitting the market every year, it, was inevitable that we would come across something that put that want and desire into hyper mode. Well for us it started with the introduction of the Keystone Arcadia. We watched as many reviews as we could and did as much research into that rig as I could. We were convinced that would be our next rig, but first we needed to walk into one. While searching for a dealer to do a walkthrough of the Arcadia we came across a new 5th wheel the Alliance Avenue. As we looked into the Avenue it appeared at first glance that it met all the points that we were looking for in a new rig. We really thought that we would have to settle because all we heard is that you will never find one that meets all your wants. Well the Alliance Avenue on paper met all of our wants, needs and desires, so now we had two rv’s that we needed walk-through and now compare. So, anyway I finally found a dealer that had the Keystone Arcadia on the lot so we decided to go check it out. So, we drove an hour and a half to the dealer, met up with the salesperson I had corresponded with and started walking out to see the Arcadia. During that short walk, the salesman asked if we were looking at any other 5th wheels so i told him yes, we had two others that we were interested in the Rockwood 2899KS , and the Alliance Avenue 32RLS, to our surprise he said well, we have all three on the lot. This was like a dream come true, when have you been able to see, besides a show, three rv’s from different manufacturers on the same lot right next to each other. So, we get to the Arcadia first and after much interest we walked in and was immediately let down, it just didn’t feel right for one, but as we walked through it, it just didn’t seem comfortable at all especially since this i was going to be our fulltime home. We walked out of the Arcadia very disappointed, we really thought that would be the one. So, from there we walked to the Alliance Avenue and from first glance it just felt different, every aspect from the outside was on point, i just felt put together well so from disappointment of the Arcadia we had really high hopes for the Avenue especially since we already felt on paper it was a good fit for us. Well, the salesman opened the door and from outside looking in, it just felt different, I walked in and felt like I had been there before. This rig really felt more like a home than an rv. So the more i walked and looked and explored the more i fell in love with the Alliance. It truly met all of my wants and needs. The home feel was a bonus, but the fit and finish was the deal sealer. It looked good, felt good and made us feel like we were at home, we had found our new home on wheels. Yes, we did look at the Rockwood, but it felt a lot like the Arcadia, it was different, but it felt like a rv unlike the Alliance. So, as you can tell I’m sure by now we did purchase the Alliance Avenue 32RLS and couldn’t be happier. We picked Big Momma up on the 4th of March 2022 and I have been getting her ready for our first long run at the end of May through June as we head north to Montana and Glacier National Park. We couldn’t be happier with our Alliance; I would buy this rig repeatedly again. It is truly a home on wheels, we will soon find out how she travels, and i expect she will perform as advertised. Stay tuned for more about the upgrades and add on’s as we prepare for her maiden voyage.
Keystone Arcadia 3250RL
Rockwood 2899KS
Alliance Avenue 32RLS
