Interview questions

Tell us about your family. Who is traveling with you?

Trevor, Lia, Lennon, Banana Pig, Mango Salsa

How are you traveling? What mode of travel?

36ft fifth wheel. 2019 Keystone Sprinter Campfire 31FWMB.

When did you begin traveling? How long have you been traveling?

We began in June 2020. 2 years on the road almost.

How long do you intend to travel?

Our initial goal was at least 2 years. But we love it. So we intend to do it for the foreseeable future. Until we get sick of it for some reason.

Why did you start traveling? What prompted a travel lifestyle?

We chose this lifestyle because we knew we wanted to travel more. We started by researching #vanlife on Instagram, but quickly realized that would be a budget breaker. And then we stumbled upon #rvlife and we were sold.

What do you do for income?

Trevor works full time as a software engineer at Sensei.

How are you handling healthcare while traveling? Doctors, dentists, orthodontist, prescriptions, births, mental health, etc.

We use Aspen Dental, which have offices around the country
We use Banfield Pet Hospital for the dogs, which also have pet hospitals around the country
Trevor’s insurance has doctors in network pretty much everywhere
Trevor does have a regular prescription for sleep apnea, so we have to call his doctor in Boise to order a new prescription at a new pharmacy (usually Walgreens) every month
We are currently not using any mental health services, but we’re looking into Better Help, and Cerebral

How are you currently handling school for your children?

Lennon is 4, so we haven’t had to worry about that too much yet. We plan on home schooling her, and purchasing a pre-made curriculum for it, but haven’t selected any for sure yet.

What is your setup for connecting to the internet?

An unlimited Verizon ($147 per month) and an unlimited AT&T ($105 per month) data plan, both through resellers. We just purchased a PEPWAVE router from Mobile Must Haves which we put both SIM cards in.

If you are religious, how do you meet your spiritual needs while traveling?

We are not.

How do you maintain an intimate relationship with your partner while living this alternative lifestyle?

We just have Lennon, and she has her own bedroom. So it’s not really an issue.

What has been the hardest part about living a traveling lifestyle?

Staying constantly alert and aware of the weather. And having to factor that in to 6-12 month travel plans. Especially if it’s a new area we are less familiar with.

Internet was pretty tough to figure out for the first few months. We’ve had to do more research about signal strength from campground reviews in the RV Life app. Getting the second AT&T plan made a big difference for that.

Why do you continue to travel? A nomadic or traveling lifestyle can be much tougher at times than a stationary one. What keeps you going?

We like it a lot more. There are tradeoffs. We love going to new places, and we love that being in an area for only 2-3 weeks forces us to get out and explore it. We’ve lived in some awesome places stationary, and we missed a lot of opportunities to get out and explore what was around us.

Do you miss anything from living in a sticks and bricks home?

The standard stuff. A bathtub, dish washer, washing machine, and dryer would be nice. And a big garden to grow vegetables. That’s pretty much it.

What is your current favorite piece of gear?

Our CLAM tent. We waited way too long to buy it, but we’ve had it half a year, and are still in love with it.

Tell us about some of your failures while traveling? What did you learn from that experience?

Our slide cable frayed
Water heater switch stopped melted
Sail switch on the furnace stopped working
We ran two air conditioners on 30 amps, and fried our surge protector
We almost lost our back bumper when we pulled off a shoulder that was a little too steep
Shut the slide on our bike
Took off the bike rack because we realized it was way too heavy for the back bumper
Drove off without un plugging the RV from the truck bed
Missed the pin when hitching once, and knocked the RV off the blocks it was on. Only an inch, but it was the loudest, most terrifying sound ever.
Dogs locked themselves and our then two-year-old daughter in the running truck when we were hitching. The dogs finally unlocked the door right as the lock smith arrived.
Our truck turbo went out in Richfield Utah, on the way to meet family in Moab. So we took it to the only mechanic we could find, two hours away, got a loaner car to drive two more hours to Moab, and temporarily abandoned our RV in a KOA (with permission) in Richfield.
Leaky toilet foot pedal
Rv awning degradation- lippert sent us a new one because they’re awesome

Where is our current favorite destination?

There are too many to choose. Yachats on the Oregon Coast, Sedona, Monterey, the Grand Canyon, Grand Escalante in Utah, Beaufort area in South Carolina.

How do you plan your routes and locations?

RV Trip Wizard. We stay almost exclusively in Thousand Trails and Harvest Hosts when we need to break up a drive.

How do you stay connected with friends and connect with new friends while traveling?

Mostly Instagram. And FaceTime with friends and family.

Do you have any favorite travel apps?

Bring Fido, because we have to take our dogs everywhere. Happy Cow, because we eat a plant based diet. Google Maps. Open Roads (TSD fuel card), and Upside for fuel discounts. Rover for dog sitters. Tornado (by Red Cross). And every laundry app on the app store.

Have you ever used roadside assistance or filed an insurance claim? What lessons did you learn from it?

We called roadside assistance to change a flat tire at a campground, and they showed up with a donut on their car. We’ve filed a couple warranty claims after having a mobile technician do a repair.

What is the craziest thing you’ve seen or experienced while traveling?

Probably a lot of things that would have seemed crazy to us before we started traveling, but they seem totally normal now so we can’t even think of any examples.

Literally everything we’ve done for the last two years. Like, just the fact that we get to have every meal together every single day. And the fact that our scenery changes every 2-3 weeks. And the fact that we always have something new to explore at all times.

What’s been your worst, experience while traveling?

We have really enjoyed all of our experiences. It’s not that it hasn’t been difficult or challenging at times, but we learn so much from it, that we’re actually grateful for it.

Yes. We are @llamallamaadventure on Instagram and Facebook, and llamallamaadventure.com.

Can folks listening to this connect with you? Where is the best place to do that?

Yes, PLEASE connect with us. Instagram is the best spot.