Call me crazy, but I quit my job to take a cross-country trip in my RV

After 30 years of working for various companies, I decided I needed a break. It was time to reset, refocus, and put the daily grind of the office behind me. The time was right for something new. So I left my job in March of 2021 and took a cross-country trip spanning over three months.

Before I go any further, I want you to know this was not done without planning or taking on any debt. I live on a budget and saved as much as I could over my entire career. Some might even call me frugal. Because of this, our financial picture could support my ability to take time off and travel. I would never encourage taking on debt or quitting one’s job without carefully reviewing your financial picture, short or long term. Everyone’s situation is different so please consider this before making significant life changes.

So here is my story and the events that inspired me to leave my job, step out of my comfort zone and take a cross-country trip in an RV.

In August of 2019, I was traveling for business. As I usually do, I downloaded a documentary to watch during my cross-country flight.  In short, the documentary was about a couple who purchased an RV and traveled to the National Parks to reset from the stress and isolation they felt. What made this documentary so real, and I guess somewhat inspiring, was my wife and I had just returned from vacation. During our vacation, we spent two weeks visiting our son in Bellingham, WA, and traveled to Olympic National Park. It was at one of my son’s “Family Dinners” (a once-a-week ritual where all his friends gather for an evening bar-b-que), that I was introduced to Corey and “Van Life”. Yup, it’s a thing, who knew, certainly not me! Corey worked and lived in a van as he traveled wherever life took him. I was very intrigued. As we traveled throughout Olympic National Park all I seemed to notice were campgrounds and RVs. The Pacific Northwest appeared to be the destination for van living and RV travel. The seed was planted and this got me thinking about my life, work, new experiences, and adventure.  

Back to the documentary. When I returned from my business trip I watched it again, this time with my wife. I wanted to know her thoughts on the possibility of us taking a cross-country trip in an RV.  She was all in! We laid out a plan and started looking for an RV.  By the end of October 2019, we knew the Coachmen Freedom Express, 204 RD was the rig for us.  This is a 25-foot travel trailer with a dry weight of 4,300 pounds.  This is important information to know as I needed to purchase a truck to tow this rig and I didn’t want to purchase anything bigger than a 1/2 ton truck (I’ll write more about this in a future post).

The goal was to hit the road in the spring of 2021 so we would hold off on making any purchase until early spring of 2020. We figured we’d get the best pricing before the summer rush. Plus, we would have the summer of 2020 to gain experience, as I’ve never owned or towed an RV.

Little did anyone know what was going to happen in March of 2020, and a lot happened from then until our proposed departure date of April 2021.  With COVID staring us in the face, we decided to stick to the plan. In April of 2020, we found an RV dealer that had the Coachmen 204RD in stock and within our budget. We put down a deposit over the phone and set May 8, 2020, as our pick-up date. In March, we had begun test driving trucks and found the “right” truck for us, a 2017 Chevy Silverado 1500. With the truck being delivered on April 21, 2020, and the pick-up date for the RV scheduled for May, there was no turning back. Our plan was falling into place.

With the Covid lockdowns in place and summer 2020 plans turned upside down, news of RV purchases started making national headlines within days/weeks of our April purchase.  Our timing was incredible. RV prices started soaring along with diminishing stock and long lead times. 

Now about the job. I had a plan going into this and the plan was to request a 3-4 month sabbatical. I felt this would be enough time to destress, reset, travel cross- country, and then return to work refreshed. However, my request for a sabbatical was denied. I didn’t fully expect this, but I was prepared to resign and did so in March of 2021. 

I spent most of the winter of 2019 and the summer of 2020 planning our trip.  Let’s just say that planning was necessary for me as it is ingrained within me. This might go against the free-spirited travel feelings you read about from the RV community, but that’s just not me.  We picked our desired destinations, determined how long we wanted to stay, and then set out planning our stays.  I’ll outline the specific details in future posts, but in short, we visited 12 National Parks and 5 State Parks during our 3-month trip.       

One of the biggest fears of planning a trip like this was the possibility of an emergency should anything go wrong during our trip.  To be honest, my father-in-law’s health was not good and this was heavy on our minds. So we went into this knowing that we might have to turn around and head home.  

The rig and truck were purchased, all of our reservations were confirmed, and my resignation was in. Our departure date was set for April 5.  Then we received the call from my sister-in-law: dad wasn’t doing well and we should come to visit. That was March 20, my last day of work was March 19.  We spent the next two weeks in PA, and my father-in-law passed away on March 25. We spent several weeks with family in PA, adjusted our travel plans, and set our new departure date for April 16. 

Over the next three months we drove 11K+ miles as we traveled from New England to PA, and then clear across the country to CA and back, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

When we talk to people about our trip they are always excited and say “how awesome” and “good for you”. Sometimes I wonder if it was a crazy idea, and I often respond with, “I’ll let you know in 10 years if this was a great idea”. Let me know your thoughts below.