On the Road For Good

Photo Courtesy of Quintin Gellar
presented by go rving

Why travel sometimes, when you could travel all the time?

The whole vanlife thing might seem a little far-fetched to people who have a big family, are workout junkies, play the guitar or the drums or anything else that might seem hard to do within the confines of a vehicle. But the reality is, anyone and everyone can live the on-the-road-again lifestyle. It’s easier than you’d think. 

RV and vanlife are likely more inclusive than that all-inclusive resort in Mexico you found for a deal. Alright, maybe there’s no swim-up bar and you have to mix your own drinks, but the good news is, you can get a vehicle that suits you and all your needs. And also you can take the RV to a place with a swim-up bar. The opportunities are endless. Where you go, what you bring, and most importantly, how you get there. 

We took a ride with some folks that call their RV and vans their traveling vacation resort—who are actively making the world their oyster.


Meet Karen & her family

They travel in and out of the country in their 2016 Fleetwood Tioga, but that’s far from all they do.

Two adults and a child, all smiling, stand in front of Fleetwood Tioga RV.

Karen founded Black Kids Do Travel, a place to encourage black families to hit the road and bring diversity to the travel space. More than just a place to post photos and share adventures, this also allows black families to share destinations where they feel safe and comfortable and vice versa. Something you don’t see in a normal Facebook group. Karen and her family encourage other families to just do it—to take the risk and get on the road. Her eight-year-old is more enthusiastic about it than anyone. He even wants to save up for his own RV when he’s older. Karen also teaches finance, and pretty damn effectively if her eight-year-old is talking about saving.

“But if you don’t do it then you’ll never know if it’s for you or not. There’s just no way to tell, you just have to do it.”

Most unique feature

We took out the stove and put in an oven and air fryer combo. 

Favorite RV memory

While spending a month in the Idaho, Montana, Wyoming area and visiting Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone, we got to see a bear which is something we have never seen before which was really nice. My eight-year-old loves animals so he talks about that trip a lot. Being able to see them up close was something that was really amazing for us.

Two adults and a child sit outside of their parked RV in folding chairs. They're dressed for cold weather and sitting in front of a fire pit.

Meet James & Stef

A power couple to say the least. These two spend their days on the road in their new 2022 Winnebago EKKO, which they personally named, “Number One.” Yes, like Star Trek.

Two adults, a man and a women stand on top of their 2022 Winnebago EKKO. The RV is parked in a grassy field with trees behind it.

These two keep it healthy. Together they run a blog called The Fit RV, where they offer workouts, recipes, and traveling tips. Stef is an online personal trainer and wellness coach and James works in IT software. Proof you really can work from anywhere. As active cyclists, they bring all of this equipment in their van. To keep themselves going, they base their trips on doing, rather than seeing. James is an avid musician, but they have learned to make it work, and more importantly, fit. Who knew they made “RV guitars”? They fit far easier than his drum set. As far as their workout gear, the most important part is your body, so the equipment is easy to keep as small as a resistance band or yoga mat. Plus, you get a pretty nice view when you’re exercising. Far better than the gym.

Most unique feature

Its gear garage. This wouldn’t be a big deal for a large RV, but since our Ekko is about the same footprint as a van, having a gear garage in such a compact space is a huge perk. We’re bicyclists, so we can store our bikes and our bike gear inside the garage instead of on a bike rack. We get the best of both worlds… we can stay compact like a campervan, but we get the storage space of a much larger RV.

Favorite RV memory

This RV is so new to us, so it was when we discovered there’s a vent cover in the galley that passes directly into a big empty exterior storage cabinet—the perfect spot for our cat Mel’s litter box. And we didn’t have to give up any of our precious interior space for it. Best discovery so far.

A man and a woman, wearing backpacks, sit close together on a ledge looking over rows of houses. Mountains are in the background with a setting sun.

Thinking about it but don’t know where to start? Our friends at GoRVing make it simple. Like Karen said, you just have to take the risk and do it.