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After RVing to all 50 states and touring a dozen nations by motorhome, our household of 4 has loads of expertise RVing right here in America and RVing overseas.
With journey restrictions winding down, Heath and I’ve mentioned at size what we needed to do subsequent. Ought to we RV full-time within the States once more? Or ought to we go on shorter journeys and preserve working towards our aim of RVing world wide?
Finally, RVing world wide gained out!
RVing America Versus RVing Overseas
Increasing our consolation zone and difficult ourselves are large motivations for Heath and me once we take into consideration journey. After six years of full-time RVing within the States, RVing right here merely doesn’t stretch our consolation zone anymore. I may navigate RV life in America in my sleep.
It’s one of many major issues that makes RVing overseas interesting to us. It’s a brand new problem, and it opens us as much as experiencing so many stunning locations.
Each nation we’ve visited thus far has been totally different than the final, however I needed to share a number of of our ideas on the principle variations between RVing overseas and RVing right here within the States. Let’s begin with the plain.
1. You might drive on the incorrect aspect of the street.
As excited as I used to be to hire our campervan in New Zealand, I used to be equally frightened of driving on the left aspect of the street and the appropriate aspect of the automobile. So as to add insult to harm, New Zealand has only a few crimson lights and as a substitute has multi-lane roundabouts. Have you learnt how laborious it’s to navigate a proper flip in a three-lane roundabout on the incorrect aspect of the automobile and the incorrect aspect of the street?
Unsurprisingly, New Zealand has a really excessive accident price, largely resulting from vacationers like us. They do a tremendous job of labeling the roads to compensate for this, and our rental additionally had notes and arrows on the windshield to assist remind us to remain on the left aspect of the street. Maybe most useful is that the gear shift, blinkers, and windshield wipes are on the identical aspect you’re used to within the States.
You’ll be on the appropriate aspect in most locations, identical to within the States. However should you plan to RV within the UK, Japan, Australia, or New Zealand, you’ll wish to be ready for this! (Final yr, we RVed in Japan, New Zealand, England, and Wales after which visited Grand Cayman. Now, I mechanically drive on the left aspect and get honked at. Oops!)
2. You will want to be taught to drive a stick.
Truthfully, there’s no higher description than simply watching this video:
Heath knew the best way to drive a stick…on paper. However in actuality? Not a lot. Many RVs overseas are handbook transmissions, so studying the best way to drive one is a necessity. In distinction, I’ve by no means seen a handbook transmission RV manufactured within the States. You could find leases with automated transmissions, they’re just a bit tougher to search out and generally dearer.
3. The whole lot is greater in Texas America
“You might have a small rig then?”
“Yeah, it’s fairly small.”
The supervisor on the vacation park leaned over the desk and peered out the window. “Oi! That one’s huge!”
In America, the smallest RVs are about 21-24 ft lengthy. Even Sprinter vans could be this lengthy! Overseas, that would be the dimension of the largest RVs. This can be a large adjustment for us mentally. A seven-meter (23 ft) campervan feels small as a result of within the States, our final RV was 40 ft lengthy and had three slide-outs!
You positively gained’t be seeing RVs that large overseas.
4. You possibly can’t drive simply wherever.
In America, it felt like we may take our RV nearly in all places. Certain, there’s the occasional size restrict, such because the Pacific Coast Freeway’s 30-foot restrict and sure roads in nationwide parks. However on the whole, we run into few limitations. (The largest ones I can consider are propane-free tunnels and low clearances round New York Metropolis!)
However the older the nation, the harder it’s to navigate in an RV. Once I say roads are tiny, I imply TINY.
And plenty of cities and particularly cities gained’t enable RVs to drive in. In Italy, for instance, these are referred to as zona traffico limitato or ZTL. If we noticed a ZTL signal, we knew we couldn’t go in that course… Or at the least shouldn’t. Positively ended up parked in a single within the video above 😂🙈
Earlier than we RV in every nation, we Google search “ideas for driving in ________” and might normally discover an e book or weblog put up sharing site visitors indicators, what the roads are like, and issues to pay attention to earlier than we arrive within the nation. This can be a large distinction between RVing in America, the place most roads can deal with giant vehicles and RVs.
5. A rose by another title…
RV. Camper van. Caravan. Motorhome. Tenting Automotive.
Each nation calls it one thing totally different, and BONUS, in most nations, it’ll be in a special language. Don’t fear, we’ll put up footage on Instagram of l’autocaravane.
Equally, campgrounds will all have totally different names. The UK and New Zealand have vacation parks, Italy has campeggios, and we have now RV parks.
6. These campeggi although 😍
Talking of campgrounds…
Campeggi are INCREDIBLE.
While you solely have a motorhome and no automobile, you’re locked in whenever you get to a campground. Italy understands that, and the campeggio expertise may be very all-inclusive.
Actually.
We stayed at an all-inclusive campeggio in Orbetello on the coast of Italy. There was a non-public seashore, swimming pools, a number of eating places, a grocery retailer, gelateria, a restaurant, a schedule of actions, a number of playgrounds, youngsters’ bogs full with toddler-sized showers, and so forth.
They even had a senza glutine (GF) menu at meals so I may take pleasure in ravioli and eggplant parmesan like everybody else. (Okay, now I’m hungry.) Campgrounds like this appeal to households, making them much more engaging to us now. Ellie made mates (who solely spoke Italian) and had a lot enjoyable taking part in within the large toddler pool.
We camped underneath large bushes, smelled saltwater within the air, and nonetheless had entry to every thing we wanted all week!
7. Free tenting abounds overseas*
*not together with Canada or Japan
Italy and all of Europe are identified for plentiful free in a single day tenting choices. (I do know what you’re pondering—superior campgrounds and free tenting choices? Why am I not there already?!)
New Zealand has a repute for freedom tenting or what we would name boondocking within the US.
To say it’s superb is an understatement. There may be free tenting in all places.
Free tenting within the US is virtually unique to the west coast the place there are extra public lands. Even then, the lands are distant and infrequently troublesome to entry in bigger RVs.
In New Zealand, we had 30 MBs down, and we had been camped on this large lake surrounded by mountains on each aspect. We stayed so long as attainable earlier than we needed to dump our tanks..and promptly returned. It’s considered one of our favourite free campsites on the earth 🌏
8. Two phrases: Chemical bathrooms.
In all of our RV leases to this point, the RV has had a cassette rest room. RVs within the States have them too, significantly smaller rigs just like the Winnebago Revel. This implies you need to dump your cassette rest room nearly every day as a result of it isn’t very giant and can replenish shortly.
Nonetheless, you might not dump your cassette rest room in the identical place as you dump your gray water. In Italy, we dumped our cassette in chemical bathrooms particularly for this objective. In New Zealand, I recall Heath rolling our cassette rest room like a suitcase throughout the parking zone to dump it in a public toilet.
I actually can’t let you know if it is a professional or a con. However it’s positively totally different!
9. Hookups
All the hookups shall be utterly totally different overseas versus in America. Totally different electrical cords and plugs. Utterly totally different water hookup. (There isn’t a fixed water hookup, so you’ll fill your tank and use your pump.) No dump station at your campsite.
And, when RVing throughout Europe for instance, each nation could have totally different hookups and rules round propane, making this hookup significantly complicated. There’s a entire web site devoted to determining propane throughout European borders.
If you happen to hire an RV, the rental firm will cowl all of this whenever you choose up your rig, so that you’re not completely misplaced whenever you attempt to hook up for the primary time!
10. Canada is principally America however with cheaper healthcare.
There usually are not many variations between RVing in America and in Canada, although it’s technically “overseas”. I extremely suggest planning a visit throughout the border, should you can, as a result of Canada has a lot magnificence to supply and is filled with tenting alternatives.
Since it’s our neighbor to the north, you’ll in all probability drive your personal RV moderately than hire one, however RVs in Canada are similar to US rigs.
(However significantly on the cheaper healthcare factor… Once I was sick in Canada, I obtained a prescription for $80. Once I obtained it refilled within the US, it was $400, and the bottle was half the scale. It will’ve been cheaper for us to drive again to Canada and get a brand new prescription than to fill it at house. I take into consideration this on a regular basis.)
11. Public Transport 🚃
I don’t suppose I’ve ever ridden the bus in America.
I’m scratching my head, however since I don’t reside in a serious metropolis, it has by no means been part of my life. And aside from the shuttle bus in Glacier Nationwide Park, we’ve by no means used public transport as a part of RV life both! We nearly all the time had a automobile.
Overseas, this has been a fixture and one small factor that stretches our consolation zone nearly every day. Since many cities are inaccessible by RV (to not point out, I don’t wish to drive an RV in Paris!), public transit is the easiest way to get out and discover. Many campgrounds, significantly in France, included bus tickets in our campsite value so we may go away the motorhome and discover.
We additionally rented bikes in New Zealand and Italy, which was one other nice method to navigate.
12. Thanks for delivering my bundle, Amazon.
So this may be attainable overseas. I haven’t tried it as a result of I don’t suppose it’s. However usually within the States, we have now had Amazon packages, DoorDash deliveries, and extra arrive straight to our campsite.
I’ve by no means tried this overseas, largely as a result of comfort like it is a very American idea. Within the States, we anticipate issues to open once we need, ship straight to us regardless of the place we’re, and arrive quick. If you happen to put “the large gray motorhome with the silver Honda in entrance” into the outline on Uber Eats, you anticipate your tacos to be delivered straight to you. That is so particular to America.
Overseas, we’ve struggled to search out eating places open earlier than 7 PM, and virtually nobody delivers exterior of cities. It’s one thing we didn’t notice we did so usually within the States till we went overseas and didn’t have the choice.
13. Languages, clearly.
This felt so apparent I wasn’t certain if I ought to embrace it. However you’ll want to grasp one other language, even in Canada and Mexico. In all of our travels thus far, since tenting is a tourism trade, staff at campgrounds communicate a number of languages.
Signage is nearly all the time additionally in English or makes use of symbols/footage which can be universally understood. So language could be a distinction, however not as large of a deal as you may suppose.
14. You spend extra money.
The obvious con to RVing overseas versus the States is the fee. The price of residing (I’m speaking fuel costs, meals, and eating places) will fluctuate extensively relying on which nation you’re RVing in. And on high of that, you’re paying for an RV rental. That is sometimes 1000’s of {dollars} a month.
After we determined to spend two months campervanning throughout New Zealand, we acquired a quote for over 10,000 New Zealand {dollars}! We obtained inventive and labored with the rental firm to create content material to offset that invoice, however we nonetheless paid properly over $5,000 for our rental.
On high of the RV rental, you’ll in all probability pay for flights and inns as properly. We’ve taken 3-4 nights in a resort or Airbnb to regulate to jetlag. I extremely suggest this you probably have the time, however it’s a further expense. Visiting cities in RVs is troublesome, so it is a nice method to discover a metropolis, regulate to a special tradition, and really feel energized earlier than you hit the open street.
As a result of RVing within the States was all the time full-time for us, we knew it wasn’t a trip. Internationally, it’s laborious not to consider your journey as a trip—even when it’s long-term. We all the time eat out extra and pay for extra experiences overseas than we might in America.
15. We attempt issues we wouldn’t in any other case expertise.
Have you ever ever heard of jetboating? Ridden a cable automobile to a mountain peak? Made your personal sizzling tub on the seashore? Seen a mud volcano?
I positively haven’t achieved any of these issues within the States…besides journey a gondola or two. (However the one in Italy was NEXT LEVEL.)
I like how journey always exposes you to stuff you wouldn’t or couldn’t in any other case expertise. We’ve seen superb issues within the States…however there are some issues that merely don’t exist right here.
Like climbing at evening suspended on hanging bridges that join a forest of redwood bushes.
Or leaping on a trampoline in a cave…? This was considered one of my favourite journey experiences ever, and one which my candy four-year-old LOVED!
16. And lastly, every thing is an expertise.
I began this put up by sharing that one of many issues that Heath and I like about journey is the way it stretches our consolation zone. It additionally offers you an opportunity to be captivated by on a regular basis experiences.
Getting ice cream.
Grocery buying.
Going for a stroll across the campground.
All these little issues really feel extra magical whenever you’re someplace new.
Sure, that does imply some issues are further difficult, like discovering fuel stations and refilling the propane tank.
However it makes day-after-day slightly extra memorable.