 A lot of people ask me how do you drive such a big rig like this, you know, especially with the towed car on the back, and I tell them very carefully, and with bravado, you know, you just go for it. Right. You know, after a while it's what you see in front of you, and forget about what's behind you. So, can we come in and take a look at your rig? Yeah, sure. Wonderful. Okay, thanks. Oh my God, look at the view through these massive windows. Yes, that's one of the pluses of a Class A for sure. Yeah. You can see the view, the mountains. Oh my gosh. Sitting over here on my couch. And you can have a party in here. There's a lot of room to sit down. That's true. Yeah. So sorry, I was overwhelmed by how beautiful it is in here, but so you guys, this is Teresa. Hi there. And tell us about your rig. What do you have? I have a 2003 Fleetwood Flare. It's a Class A, and it's 33 feet long. And I love it because, you know, it's got 86 gallons of water. So when people... No. Yeah. So when people are talking about conserving water, I don't really have to. I heard that you loaned somebody who was desperate 10 gallons of water. That's true. That is very nice of you actually. It's okay, you know, when you've got the extra despair you share. Great. Yeah. So why did you choose this rig? Well, I was in a four bedroom house and I was, you know, pertinent or hoarder. So for me to try to downsize all the way to a cargo van on one fell swoop was just mind boggling. I couldn't even think of doing it, you know. I got the Class A because I could have things in here, you know, that I've at the time felt was necessary for my happiness. Right, right. I had no idea of minimalism and I never thought of myself as that. So the Class A is working out for me because I can have my things. But I'm thinking actually of downsizing to a cargo van. That's a lot. Yes, you know, it may not happen right away, but I definitely want to do that because the Class A when you're on flatlands like Arizona, it's great, you know, in the winter it's great. You got lots of room. But when you're going in the summertime into the elevated areas, it's a lot harder to get to some of the places that I want to go to. I can do it. It's doable. And you have trouble getting up hills because you have a tow car. I have a tow car, yes. What's the name of your rig and what's the name of your tow car? Okay, the rig, this is Goldie. And I named her Goldie Mae after my grandmother, Goldie Mae. And my car's Ruby and the dolly is Dolly. That's awesome. So when did you hit the road? November 10th of 2017. So it's almost a year. Almost a year. Yeah. So I have a party when a year. That's right. So we were talking before about the first year on the road and the ups and downs, which I did a video on before. So tell us about like your first month out, your second month out. What happened around month six and what you're thinking about it now? Well, the first month out was all joy because it was, you know, for sure. I was leaving everything that I had known to be true in life. Right. And being the sticks and bricks and full-time employment. Right. Right. So now I no longer have that. Great changes. Yes. And so I went through Arkansas. I had a couple problems with the dolly falling off the back of Goldie. Not only once, but twice. And the first time I was actually rescued by an off-duty police officer who hitched up, you know, the dolly and my car to his truck and took me, you know, we went back to the campsite. Oh my gosh. And then the second time it happened I was on my own and I just did some kind of Herculean thing, you know, and it's pure desperation and put it on there. Oh my gosh. But it turns out that it's locked tight. Who'd have known? Oh. You've got to put locked tight on the nut or it'll just fall right off. Okay. Now hold on a minute. Let's just make sure people understand this. Anyone that wants to tow a car behind their rig, whatever their rig is, there's a dolly between your rig and your car. There can be. Yes. There can be. And you have to put this gizmo on it called? It's the ball. The ball. Basically the ball hitch. And underneath there's a nut. But if you don't put locked tight on the nut, the vibrations, it'll just, the nut falls off and then the ball just pops right out. That is a really good tip. Yeah. That is a really good tip. Let you know. Because you are not an RVer. No. So there's a lot of stuff that you had to learn in your first year along the way. And a lot I still have to learn. Right. There's a lot to it. It's a huge learning curve. So now that you've had some time under your belt, what do you think your long-term plan is for your rig and are you going to do a box van? I was thinking of a cargo van. A cargo van. Yes. For sure. Yeah. The reason why is because of the simplicity of it, not having all of these things that could go wrong, leaks and, you know, Yeah. All of the things that can go wrong. Right. And we know what they are. So at the time I had only done tent camping. So an RV was completely a new idea for me. And for some reason I wasn't really thinking about the maintenance end of things. Right. Just the adventure. Yeah. Just the size and whether I wanted to live inside or outside. Right. And things like that. Right. And, you know, so if you, you know, are planning on doing a lot of that RV, you know, where you're going to hook in, then a class A is great. Right. Like an RV park. Yeah. Right. But if you're boondocking and you are counting on the weather to keep you cool or warm, then a class A is trickier. Yeah. So we're camping together in a place in Colorado. And I actually, when I saw you pull up, we had not met yet. I thought, wow, that lady's got up here in her class A. The road is a little bumpy. It's not bad if you take it slow. True. But it's tougher in a class A. Yeah. It is. You know, the class A itself takes the road fine because I have a V10 and, you know, the tires are either high clearance. You do. The benefit of a class A is you get all this room. So will you give us a tour? Sure. Thanks. You can look around. Okay. Wonderful. Wow. What I really love about the class A is that you get a bedroom. Right. And, you know, there's so much storage here. Yeah. And it's hooked in, you know, television could be used in here. Uh-huh. I have a TV in there. Right. I don't really watch TV on the road. Right. Just so much nicer not to. I know. I watch a lot less TV than I did in a regular house. Yeah. I watch a movie. That's for sure. Okay. And then you've got, this is a slide out, right? Yes. It slides out and, uh, and I, that's really a blessing that, you know, I have all this room because when this comes back in, it's tight. Right. You can't get back here anymore. So you have to crawl over the bed this way, but you can still use the bed with the slide. I can still use the bed. Uh-huh. And then have access to the bathroom. Oh, that's nice. There's always the, the most important room. Oh my gosh. It's the bathroom. Look at. You are a girl. I am a girl. I love it. Oh, you have a bathtub. I do have a bathtub. Oh, you're lucky. So, you know, it's great. Um, I had keep extra water in there. Mm-hmm. Um, so that, you know, I don't always have to use the shower. Right. Um, and also one thing. Hi, everybody. Can you see me? Peace, man. Hi. Oh, you can see it was windy outside. Yeah. That's why we're doing this all inside. That's right. Let's fix ourselves. Okay, go on. Well, I was just going to tell you that I keep the water turned off, you know, because I don't want, you know, less chance of leaks. So with my toilet, I keep water in here and a little cup with a cleaner, you know, and so. Oh yeah. Because in an RV, you're not flushing like you are in a house. Right. You're not really flushing. You're rinsing. Yes. Yes. So that's genius. I've never seen anybody do this. I've told people this before and they all like the idea. So I thought I'd share. So you keep the water turned off to the toilet itself. And then you rinse it with the water and the jug. Mm-hmm. And then you've got a little cleaner. That's right. That is genius. Yep. Yeah, I bet you use a lot less water too. I do. Tell us about your locks on me, the shelves. Were those coming open? These are just child locks, safety locks. Mm-hmm. You know, you just slide it open like that. Because that's so they don't come open when you're driving. Yes. Did you have a problem with that? I did. And then, yeah. Mm-hmm. I know a lot of people do when I've seen all kinds of different solutions. So you just got a child lock and put it through the hardware. Mm-hmm. Smart. Locks in there. Okay. And I love the skylight too. Oh my gosh. Yes. So you can, you know, have some daylight, natural light while you're trying to shower and stuff. Yeah. And you get a lot of windows in here. This is great in here. This is my closet and all my drawers. Wow. So I do have a large closet. That is huge. Oh my gosh. You know, I always say I want like the Harry Potter magic bus where it's like a van on the outside, but then on the inside you have all this room, if only, right? I've found size of my clothes three times. Have you? Yeah. And I still have too many. It is, you know, it's just, that's how it is. Yeah. So you said you were a semi-horter before, so you're doing great. I am. I'm almost a minimalist. Pert here. And then you guys look at it from this direction, look at all the seating she has and the color. It's really great. Does this, what was this on the left here originally? Well, this is the table. Okay. I just have it in the down position because I'm storing my solar panels over here. Oh, gotcha. And so that's why I have these. And they're outside now. They're outside. You store them between those mats. That's smart. Yes. Great. And between each one, I put one of these, and that's how they came. And, you know, it is a bed, so people can sleep there as well. I don't usually eat at the dining room table. Yeah. I'm one of those ones that's got the plate like this. Me too. Yeah. Okay. Oh, and here's the kitchen. Yeah. What a great kitchen. And this is my Kodiak actually. Oh, tell us about it. Where I plug in my lights. And you can see I've got the lights here. Okay. And the Kodiak is like a totally self-contained battery. Yes, it's a lithium battery that is solar. Mm-hmm. And so the panels are hooked into this where it comes in. And then I have, you know, the USB and the 12-volt. 12-volt. Yeah, the 12-volt, you know. Nice. And then this morning, I saw you were just putting the cord out the window for the panels. That's right. Which I thought was genius. And this is the cord actually that is for the RV. Oh. Because that's a 30 amp plug here. So you're charging your RV house battery. Right. Through solar, through this Kodiak. Through trickle down. So you didn't have to, you didn't have to get one of those big expensive built-in systems. All you got was the Kodiak and the cord. Yes. And the reason I did that is because I'm not really sure I'm going to keep Goldie. It's something I can sell as resale value. Mm-hmm. And it's something that I can use in another vehicle. Sure. You know. Yeah. I'll put links for those down below if anybody wants to see one of those if they need one. Yeah. That's great. So, you know, that's the Kodiak. And I don't, you know, this is my stove and I never use the stove. I'm just not a real huge cooker. Right. So. Microwave. Yeah. I use the stove top. Microwave not so much anymore because it just takes too much power. Right. When you're running off the solar. Right. You know, there's things you, you just say, you know, I don't need that anymore. Right. The funny, the things that you thought you needed that you don't need. And you just, you know, just like, you know. What are the things that you thought that you needed that you have found now after almost a year that you don't need? For sure. The microwave and the TV, you know. Mm-hmm. I bought one of those fire sticks and I don't even use it. I know. Because, you know, I was home for two weeks in Indianapolis. Mm-hmm. You know, just recently I took a side trip. And all I did was sit there with the clicker. And I was thinking, you know what, I'm so glad I don't do that anymore. Right. Look at these windows. Is where I do my driving course. Wow. Oh my gosh. Only sailors can drive here. Yeah. Teresa was in the Navy. Yes. I was in the Navy. Okay. You want to sit down and chat a little bit more? Yeah, sure. Let's tell people how you got to retire a little bit early by choosing an RV life. Right. That's exactly right. I think that's the best part of your story. That's true. All right, let's talk about it. Everybody, I hope you enjoy the tour of Teresa's rig. It was so nice of her to let us see it. And come back for the next video, which is an interview with her where she's going to tell us how she retired early by living in an RV. Teresa, thank you so much. You're welcome. Anything you want to say to the people out there before we sign the tour off? No, just be happy and find joy in your journey. Find joy in your journey. You know, I find joy in mine so you can do it too. That's right. Give us a thumbs up on the way out of this video. Please leave us a comment and subscribe if you haven't already. Everybody have happy travels out there. Be free and find joy in your journey.