RVing Made Easy with RV Girl

10. You don't have to go looking for a clean public restroom while crossing your legs.

9. You can prepare your own healthy food instead of eating greasy fare.

8. If you get tired while driving, you can pull over and sleep on an actual bed.

7. Hot summer day? Take a cool shower right on board.

6. If you are on a budget, campgrounds are much cheaper than motels - and you know who has slept in your bed.

5. Totally cash strapped? Most Wal-Marts and some other establishments let you camp overnight in their parking lots for free.

4. If you need to work while on the road, you can set up an fully-functional home office on board your RV.

3. When the weather turns sour, you are still warm and dry while the tent campers get soaked.

2. Perfect travel arrangement for the family, you and your partner or you and your pet!

1. You can see the world - literally - from the comfort of your home on the road.

RV Girl...Home is where you park it!

It was the Year 2000 and after forming and running an Internet company for five years and unsuccessfully trying to start a second one at the time of the big dot com market crash, I was looking for a change. I began dreaming of driving cross-country, getting away from New York City where I had lived for over ten, fast-paced, high-pressured years.

So I did what any Internet savvy woman would do. I went online to research cars for my mythical cross-country drive. Then, on a whim, I began researching RVs. Yes, recreational vehicles. Even though I had never even seen an RV up close, I reasoned that my drive across the country would be more affordable if I could sleep and cook in my mode of transport.

In August, I bought a 23-foot, 1977 Dodge Apache Class C motor home. For the uninitiated, Class C motor homes look like U-Haul trucks with a bunk over the cab of the truck. Class A look more like buses and Class B are converted vans. Suddenly, I was seated behind the wheel of a very large vehicle that contained a kitchen, bathroom, living room, dinette and sleeping bunk. I had thrust myself into the unfamiliar territory of operating and maintaining a home-on-wheels.

To overcome my fears and gain a fast education about RVing, I did several test runs at campgrounds in upstate New York until setting up camp became a Zen-like routine. As I drove out of New York City in September of 2000, I welcomed the simplified lifestyle and compact living space of my RV, taking only my two Chihuahuas and some carefully selected possessions.

I spent the next year and two months on the road, camping in 40 of the 50 states, visiting friends and family and finding a new home.

Are you interested in taking a "radical sabattical" or extended road trip by RV to see the country? Here are some ways you can make it happen.

Read on to find out what you'll need before you leave...

Before You Leave:

1. Assess your work situation. Can you take time off work? Can you afford to leave your job or business entirely? Or can what you do translate well on the road, sort of a mobile telecommuting situation? At the time of my road trip, I had two books coming out the same year and had embarked on a freelance writing career. I reasoned that I could take my work on the road with me and even use the traveling as a means of promoting my work.

2. Assess your bank account. Can you spend the next 3-6 months skimming some money off of each paycheck and tucking it away where you won't touch it until you leave? Did you get a big tax return check and are tempted to just pay down some credit cards? I took part of the advance from my third book and bought the RV with about $1000 left over for repairs and supplies.

3. Assess your vehicle situation. Do you have a roomy SUV, mini-van or station wagon where a foam mat and sleeping bag could fit comfortably? Or can you trade in or sell your current vehicle to purchase a new or used RV? I hadn't owned a car for over a decade while living in New York City so I paid cash for a used RV from its third owners.

4. Assess your travel tolerance. Do you like to drive? Buy yourself a good road atlas and use websites such as Mapquest.com to check driving distances, then chart out your trip in advance. Because driving a big RV was a physical challenge, I made sure my daily roadtime was around 6-7 hours, with only 4-5 hours of actual driving time and breaks every 2 hours or so.

5. Assess your solitude or closeness tolerance. Can you stand to be alone? Or if you take a trip with others, can you stand to be without privacy or personal space? Now's the time to really find out or to plan your trip so you have a mix of alone time and social time. Since I traveled solo, I made a point of camping mostly at KOA Kampgrounds (www.koa.com) because I knew they were clean, safe and had a good crowd of campers who I could socialize with if I wanted.

Read on to find out what it cost me...

I estimated that I could live on less than $2000 per month on the road as opposed to barely getting by on over $3000 per month in the city. My main road expenses were:

1. Gas. Unfortunately, old RVs can be gas guzzlers, averaging around 8-9 miles per gallon. Gasoline was my biggest expense, and I estimated costs at $2 per gallon since gas prices fluctuate drastically month to month and town to town. On an average month of driving 20 of 30 days, I was spending about $60 per day so around $1200 per month in gasoline alone.

2. Food. Take full advantage of the kitchen in an RV and shop at supermarkets. Stock up on lots of unperishables such as pastas and grains, canned meats and dried fruits and nuts. I spent less than $50 per week on groceries but cheated by spending another $50 per week on meals at miscellaneous restaurants and truck stop diners. I made special allowances when passing through Louisiana where I indulged often in Cajun cooking at little out of the way places. I spent under $500 per month on food.

3. Lodging. Good private campgrounds range in price from $15 - $35 per night. State parks can range from free on a first-come-first-served basis to $20 per night, averaging around $12. There are several great campground directories such as Trailer Life and Woodalls which you can get online or order at any bookstore. Both rate and review the campgrounds. You can also order a KOA Kampground directory from their website (www.koa.com) and will find have sites around most major cities and right off of most major interstates. State parks can be very affordable and a little more rustic, but before camping for the night, take a look around at your neighbors. Sometimes, I found that I was the only woman and chose to drive on to the next campground.

4. Miscellaneous Supplies. I ended up with an engine that ate oil so bought 6-8 quarts a month at Wal-Mart. Try to avoid buying any motor vehicle supplies at gas stations where the prices are inflated. I also spent several hundred dollars before my departure on camping supplies including good flashlights and a florescent lantern, special RV toilet paper and chemicals, non-breakable kitchenware, bug spray and anti-itch cream and a campsite lounge chair. The best places for RV and camping supplies include Camping World (www.campingworld.com) and believe it or not, Amazon.com.

You don't have to be retired or a senior citizen to enjoy the RVing lifestyle.