Always on the Road

As the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association continually reminds us, there are golden days ahead for the RV industry because that huge Baby Boom generation is approaching retirement, and a lot of Baby Boomers are going to be buying RVs.
It stands to reason that many of these retirees with new motorhomes and fifth wheels will want to spend a lot of time—maybe even full time—traveling across the country. If you are one who is contemplating becoming a full-time RVer, you will want to read a series of articles that begins in RV Life this month.

The series is an elaboration on some articles we’ve been running under the title, “The Meanderthal Generation.” Those articles by Columnist Sharlene Minshall tell the stories of interesting people who have chosen to live their lives on the road. This month’s article focuses on a former Marine paratrooper and Alaskan bush pilot who has been a full-time RVer for seven years.

Sharlene, or Charlie as she is known to her friends, has been a full-timer herself, spending most of the past 20 years on the road in adventures that have taken her from camping on a beach in Mexico to paddling a canoe across the Arctic Circle. She has also written a book called Full-Time RVing: How to Make it Happen.
In her RV Life column Silver, Single and Solo, Charlie writes this month about some of the advantages of being a full-time RVer. In subsequent months, three other women will share their experiences as full-timers. Donna Ikenberry, who spent 16 years on the road, will offer her list of the nine best and nine worst things about living year-round in an RV. Marti French will tell you how she and her husband arrived at the decision to sell their house and go RVing full time and what has happened since. And Jane Kenny, author of RV Retirement: How to Travel Part-Time or Full-Time in a Recreational Vehicle, will explain the many things you will need to do once you have decided to travel year-round. All of these women have had different experiences as full-time RVers, but what they have in common is a lot of useful information and many interesting stories to share.

And speaking of sharing, we’d like to introduce you to another author who has useful information for RVers. Lorrin Walsh, a 30-year RVer with experience as a bus driving instructor, has written a book called “Drive Your Motorhome Like a Pro.” It’s a small book, just 54 pages, but it is crammed with information that can help almost anyone become a better driver.

Walsh, who lives near Silverdale, Washington, retired after a 38-year career at the Naval shipyard in Bremerton, and went to work for the tour bus company Gray Line of Seattle. Although he has owned motorhomes since 1975 and driven them across the country multiple times, Walsh said it was not until he went through the Gray Line training course that he realized how much he didn’t know or understand about driving a large vehicle.

After becoming a Gray Line training instructor, Walsh became convinced that there were many other motorhome owners who needed driving instruction, and so he wrote the book for anyone who wants to become a safer and more confident driver. As one of the vanguard of Baby Boomers just entering their 60s, Walsh said he anticipates that a lot of his generation will be acquiring motorhomes soon and will be looking for information on driving a big vehicle, Whether you own a 25-foot Class C motorhome or a 40-foot Class A, Walsh’s book has driving advice that can be applied.

The book explains how much room you need to allow for the vehicle in front of you, how to make a turn so you don’t run over the curb, how to use your transmission and brakes, and much more, down to the right way to grip the steering wheel. All of these things are handled one way in a car, and differently in a motorhome.

You can order a copy of Walsh’s book for $12.95 by sending a request to Drive Smart, P. O. Box 3690, Silverdale, WA 98383-3690. The book is also available online through www.RVbookstore.com.

Write to Mike Ward, editor at RV Life Magazine, 18717 76th Avenue West, Suite B, Lynnwood, WA 98037 or e-mail editor@rvlife.com. Find First Glance on-line at rvlife.com.