These five qualities of highly successful RVers are ones that can make a camping trip worthwhile. They are the ones that can make RVing fun and fulfilling. The successful RVer can turn on a dime and take a trip from misery and turn it into a lifetime memory.
Here are the 5 qualities of highly successful RVers
Flexible
When things start to go wrong or begin to unravel, the flexible RVer will be best able to clearly address the situation and bend rather than break. Plans can change in the blink of a punctured tire! Sometimes it just takes a better attitude and being able to roll with the punches and find alternatives. Things change, the RV breaks down and the sun doesn’t shine for eight rainy days in a row. The flexible RVer will acknowledge that rainy day and take the family to a movie!
Tenacious
The highly successful RVer is nothing if not tenacious. Being a problem solver, they will stick at it until a solution is found. Warranty issue? The tenacious RVer will make a hundred calls until someone listens and honors the warranty. They will find a campsite when the one reserved is under 4 feet of water. Supply chain issues and no new parts anywhere? They find the part used. It is all about knowing when to throw in the towel and when to keep at it.
Positive
Such a cliché, but… for positive people the glass is still half full even when the bottom has sprung a leak. The positive RVer will work at finding the beauty in a 50-mile detour, their baby will still be cute after hours of colic, and Goldenrod is pretty despite hay fever. A campsite might be within six feet of the next RV, but the positive RVer will only try to see the view from the front window.
Friendly
RVing is a community sport! One of the best parts of RVing is meeting and talking with other RVers and sharing interests and commonalities. It is disregarding the differences and staying with the connections. They follow the unwritten rule of avoiding politics and religion. The most successful and happiest RVers are usually the friendliest and take an interest in others. They are the ones that will help put up a tent, and invite other campers to share a s’more and the campfire.
Grateful
The grateful RVer is thankful. They are grateful to be RVers whether a weekend warrior or a full-timer. RVers with gratitude know that many others would like to be RVing too. They appreciate the experiences—the camping, the travel, the museums, sunsets and family. Even in the midst of problems, breakdowns, rising gas prices and crowded campgrounds, they are grateful.
These five qualities of successful RVers have the power to make a trip a wonderful memory.
##RVT1047
Is there really anyone who can meet all those requirements? I doubt it!
YUP!
Good lord guys!
Life is not all sunshine & roses, but really? You can’t be all 5 of these things just some of the time?
Many many many of us chose to be this way as much as possible!
When you catch yourself slipping, you examine your motives and course correct as best you can. You are soon back on the path! Tenaciously…
When times are tough you phone a friend (of like values).
Surround yourself with friends with like values and discard those who don’t. We are who we associate with.
Very few ALL of the time. But many people at least some of the time.
Just a good reminder that we are mostly in charge of our own destiny and happiness….or not….depending on our own attitudes and actions.
Oh, come on Bob, you can if you try! It’s not hard, it takes having a positive attitude, a can do spirit, and some common sense planning. As an RVer, you already have these foundational traits or you wouldn’t be doing this on a frequent, if not full time, basis. Come on Bob, you can do it!
Read this quote somewhere;
“People become what they think about themselves.”
I think everyone that’s been in this hobby for long has exhibited most of those qualities. If you don’t you won’t stay for long.
I had our refrigerator fail 2 weeks into a 4 month trip. The mobile RV guy I hired to replace it damaged our entry door and it took 2 weeks to resolve and we drove 1200 miles round trip to get it fixed. We lost 2 weeks of camping reservations but we did get back on schedule. It was very stressful and costly but in the end it was a trip I’ll never forget for all the good things we experienced.
Agree 100% with all five! I am not being very modest here, but all five describe me to a T.
Love it! I’m rarely all five, but am always trying.
I would place gratitude at the top of the list. I am grateful to be born into a country that has resources to spend on pleasures such as visiting our national forests and parks. That we aren’t being bombed out of our homes by a nut job.
That we wake up to clean air and clear water most places we camp. That we tolerate diversity and are generous to strangers more often than not when we travel.
I love it! It’s so true about being flexible, thinking outside the box and rolling with the punches. We have wheels, so roll them if you don’t like the situation you find yourself in. There are so many wonderful people to meet, everywhere. You just have to be open to the experience. We have been loving this lifestyle for years, the last 6 of them full-time, without a minute of regret. Yep, things break, things don’t work, and we have often fixed it ourselves. It’s part of what we do. All of us that love RVing know what comes with it. I am one that think the positives far outweigh the negatives. Thanks for the article Nanci.
Accurate list for DH and I as full timers!
When we began our journey in 2015 we quickly learned the importance of working together and sharing responsibilities.
We didn’t have all of these qualities when we began but through experience we learned the value of them. Each of us has strengths, neither of us tries to be all…and that’s okay.
This article raises a good reader poll question: what do you do on rainy days or even windy days when you are stuck inside.
Play Yahtzee!
And why do rainy or windy days keep you stuck inside? Those are shower and air dry days.
Hmmm – Successful RVer? Looks to me like a successful life. Never thot about it. Seems to me to be just living life or getting thru life, if that is the way you look at it. I think that people that PLAN too much must set themselves up for disappointments. Over the years, my dogs have gotten left out in the rain, got locked in a room they snuck in when I was not looking, got fed late when I didn’t get home on time, …. but stuff happens and they still come out happy as can be. I guess I just live like a dog. If a turn in the road or stuck in a ditch ruins your day, well……….. Oh, I’ve been stuck in ditches for sure, but do I have some great stories to tell. Yep, that’s life alright.
This article is spot on correct.
It’s all good. I just enjoy who and what I have to work with.
I agree with these points, and I find that maybe these qualities are what draws people to camping. I was raised watching my Daddy, a WWII veteran, exhibit all these qualities-daily. He also took us camping while growing up- tents, campers, then back to the tent. I know that these reasons are why I ALWAYS wanted a camper, and got one at age 57. As far as being Friendly and Grateful- I have one observation. Mingling doesn’t mean having to avoid discussion of politics and religion, because I have found that the camping community folks are mostly proud to be patriotic Americans who appreciate the Creator of all the awesome creations we are out there to immerse ourselves in, and interaction with that great community is a Joy!❤🇺🇸
Well said! Wife and I got our camper at age 62 (now 69) and full timing, it’s great! Because we don’t avoid talking about politics and religion, we to have found most camping folks love America and have a relationship with our Creator.
Pretty good description of those who have been RVing for a while. Doesn’t match up with a lot of the RVers who have jumped on the bandwagon the last two years….many not all. Consideration for your fellow campers is not much of a concern for many new campers who are more of the mindset of “I paid for my site so I will do what I darn well please from lighting the place up like a neon bar show to booming music that hurts ears on the other side of the campground to kids will be kids so it’s perfectly okay to let them scream and fight loud enough to be heard across the campground as long as they don’t bother mom and dad.”
Not trying to say your previous work is lacking, but I think this is your best article so far!
My wife sometimes mistakes my grumbling as not being ‘positive’, but more so it is my way of saying, ‘this isn’t going to work like we thought’ as the flexibility kicks in and we find a plan B. Or she grumbles and I reach into my meager ‘box’ of contingencies (parts and alternate plans).
And honestly the perseverance can be what you remember most! Like a rest stop on I-90 east of Billings, MT with the sign warning people to stay on the walkway as a nest of rattlers reinforced the message; returning to the parking lot to find a fuel line leak and just enough fuel to get to a dealer garage in Billings. The garage saying they didn’t have a replacement part but would manufacture ‘something’, handing you a business card and shuttling you to the mall with the advice ‘call us in two hours’. Pulling into the Red Lodge KOA after sunset and find yourself socked in with fog the next morning.
Work together when those bumps in the road happen. While my husband is great diagnosing issues and able to do most repair work himself, I can help by researching for parts, a repair place or mobile repair, YouTube how to’s. I ask a lot of questions and sometimes it even has given him an idea. I help out with the repair/fix anyway I can, handing him tools, crawling in/under (I’m smaller & more flexible…not sure how much longer, tho😂). And of course, reschedule reservations if necessary.
I have absolutely mastered the last four. I don’t think anyone would say that I’m flexible, though. It’s hard for me to deviate from plans and it really gets tricky when something breaks or goes wrong. Sometimes a bit of steam comes from my ears before I catch myself. I had thought I would get better at handling the unexpected as I got older – but no.
After over 45 years of camping and RVing together I believe my wife and I can cover all those qualities , mostly on her end though…😊
Great advice, thank you, Nanci!