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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?
In the end, RVing world wide received 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 might navigate RV life in America in my sleep.
It’s one of many fundamental 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 up to now has been completely 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 could drive on the fallacious aspect of the highway.
As excited as I used to be to lease our campervan in New Zealand, I used to be equally frightened of driving on the left aspect of the highway and the best aspect of the automotive. So as to add insult to harm, New Zealand has only a few crimson lights and as a substitute has multi-lane roundabouts. Are you aware how laborious it’s to navigate a proper flip in a three-lane roundabout on the fallacious aspect of the automotive and the fallacious aspect of the highway?
Unsurprisingly, New Zealand has a really excessive accident fee, principally as a consequence of vacationers like us. They do an incredible 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 highway. 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 best aspect in most locations, similar to within the States. However if you happen to plan to RV within the UK, Japan, Australia, or New Zealand, you’ll need to be ready for this! (Final 12 months, 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 have to to study to drive a stick.
Truthfully, there’s no higher description than simply watching this video:
Heath knew methods to drive a stick…on paper. However in actuality? Not a lot. Many RVs overseas are guide transmissions, so studying methods to drive one is a necessity. In distinction, I’ve by no means seen a guide transmission RV manufactured within the States. You’ll find leases with computerized transmissions, they’re just a bit tougher to search out and generally costlier.
3. The whole lot is larger in Texas America
“You will 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 large!”
In America, the smallest RVs are about 21-24 toes lengthy. Even Sprinter vans might 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 toes lengthy and had three slide-outs!
You positively received’t be seeing RVs that huge overseas.
4. You possibly can’t drive simply anyplace.
In America, it felt like we might take our RV nearly in every single place. Certain, there’s the occasional size restrict, such because the Pacific Coast Freeway’s 30-foot restrict and sure roads in nationwide parks. However typically, 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 received’t enable RVs to drive in. In Italy, for instance, these are known as zona traffico limitato or ZTL. If we noticed a ZTL signal, we knew we couldn’t go in that route… 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 may often discover an book or weblog submit sharing site visitors indicators, what the roads are like, and issues to concentrate on earlier than we arrive within the nation. This can be a large distinction between RVing in America, the place most roads can deal with massive vans and RVs.
5. A rose by every other identify…
RV. Camper van. Caravan. Motorhome. Tenting Automobile.
Each nation calls it one thing completely different, and BONUS, in most nations, it’ll be in a special language. Don’t fear, we’ll submit footage on Instagram of l’autocaravane.
Equally, campgrounds will all have completely different names. The UK and New Zealand have vacation parks, Italy has campeggios, and we’ve got RV parks.
6. These campeggi although 😍
Talking of campgrounds…
Campeggi are INCREDIBLE.
Once you solely have a motorhome and no car, you’re locked in whenever you get to a campground. Italy understands that, and the campeggio expertise could 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, children’ loos full with toddler-sized showers, and so forth.
They even had a senza glutine (GF) menu at meals so I might take pleasure in ravioli and eggplant parmesan like everybody else. (Okay, now I’m hungry.) Campgrounds like this entice households, making them much more enticing to us now. Ellie made associates (who solely spoke Italian) and had a lot enjoyable enjoying within the large toddler pool.
We camped beneath large timber, smelled saltwater within the air, and nonetheless had entry to all the pieces we would have liked 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’d name boondocking within the US.
To say it’s wonderful is an understatement. There’s free tenting in every single place.
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 sometimes troublesome to entry in bigger RVs.
In New Zealand, we had 30 MBs down, and we have been camped on this large lake surrounded by mountains on each aspect. We stayed so long as doable earlier than we needed to dump our tanks..and promptly returned. It’s certainly 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 have to dump your cassette rest room nearly each day as a result of it isn’t very massive and can refill shortly.
Nevertheless, you could 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 rest room.
I actually can’t let you know if it is a professional or a con. Nevertheless it’s positively completely different!
9. Hookups
The entire hookups will likely be fully completely different overseas versus in America. Totally different electrical cords and plugs. Utterly completely different water hookup. (There isn’t any 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 completely different hookups and laws round propane, making this hookup significantly complicated. There’s a entire web site devoted to determining propane throughout European borders.
When you lease 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 mainly America however with cheaper healthcare.
There are usually not many variations between RVing in America and in Canada, although it’s technically “overseas”. I extremely advocate planning a visit throughout the border, if you happen to 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 most likely drive your personal RV quite than lease one, however RVs in Canada are similar to US rigs.
(However severely on the cheaper healthcare factor… Once I was sick in Canada, I bought a prescription for $80. Once I bought it refilled within the US, it was $400, and the bottle was half the dimensions. It will’ve been cheaper for us to drive again to Canada and get a brand new prescription than to fill it at dwelling. 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 stay 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 at all times had a automotive.
Overseas, this has been a fixture and one small factor that stretches our consolation zone nearly each day. Since many cities are inaccessible by RV (to not point out, I don’t need 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 price so we might go away the motorhome and discover.
We additionally rented bikes in New Zealand and Italy, which was one other nice solution to navigate.
12. Thanks for delivering my package deal, Amazon.
So this would possibly be doable overseas. I haven’t tried it as a result of I don’t suppose it’s. However usually within the States, we’ve got had Amazon packages, DoorDash deliveries, and extra arrive straight to our campsite.
I’ve by no means tried this overseas, principally as a result of comfort like it is a very American idea. Within the States, we count on issues to open once we need, ship straight to us regardless of the place we’re, and arrive quick. When you put “the massive gray motorhome with the silver Honda in entrance” into the outline on Uber Eats, you count on 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 outdoors of cities. It’s one thing we didn’t understand 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 positive if I ought to embrace it. However you’ll want to know one other language, even in Canada and Mexico. In all of our travels up to now, since tenting is a tourism business, staff at campgrounds communicate a number of languages.
Signage is nearly at all times additionally in English or makes use of symbols/footage which can be universally understood. So language is usually a distinction, however not as huge of a deal as you would possibly suppose.
14. You spend more cash.
The obvious con to RVing overseas versus the States is the associated fee. The price of dwelling (I’m speaking gasoline costs, meals, and eating places) will range extensively relying on which nation you’re RVing in. And on prime of that, you’re paying for an RV rental. That is usually hundreds of {dollars} a month.
After we determined to spend two months campervanning throughout New Zealand, we obtained a quote for over 10,000 New Zealand {dollars}! We bought inventive and labored with the rental firm to create content material to offset that invoice, however we nonetheless paid effectively over $5,000 for our rental.
On prime of the RV rental, you’ll most likely pay for flights and motels as effectively. We’ve taken 3-4 nights in a lodge or Airbnb to regulate to jetlag. I extremely advocate this if in case you have the time, however it’s an extra expense. Visiting cities in RVs is troublesome, so it is a nice solution to discover a metropolis, modify to a special tradition, and really feel energized earlier than you hit the open highway.
As a result of RVing within the States was at all times full-time for us, we knew it wasn’t a trip. Internationally, it’s laborious not to think about your journey as a trip—even when it’s long-term. We at all times 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 automotive to a mountain peak? Made your personal scorching tub on the seashore? Seen a mud volcano?
I positively haven’t completed any of these issues within the States…besides experience a gondola or two. (However the one in Italy was NEXT LEVEL.)
I really like how journey continuously exposes you to belongings you wouldn’t or couldn’t in any other case expertise. We’ve seen wonderful issues within the States…however there are some issues that merely don’t exist right here.
Like climbing at night time suspended on hanging bridges that join a forest of redwood timber.
Or leaping on a trampoline in a cave…? This was certainly one of my favourite journey experiences ever, and one which my candy four-year-old LOVED!
16. And lastly, all the pieces is an expertise.
I began this submit by sharing that one of many issues that Heath and I really like about journey is the way it stretches our consolation zone. It additionally provides you an opportunity to be captivated by on a regular basis experiences.
Getting ice cream.
Grocery purchasing.
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 gasoline stations and refilling the propane tank.
Nevertheless it makes on daily basis just a little extra memorable.