Tracy found the doors at IKEA. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/grimo-door-gray-80435188/#content and I designed the box around that.

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The video above is a few days into cutting out all the mold we found.

If there is any take away from this experience, please please please, if you’re buying an RV and one of the first things you notice is a soft spot in the floor, pass on it. Even if you just drove hundreds of miles to pick up the RV. Sellers can be dishonest as this one was. We bought the RV at a good price, so it’s not a total loss.

When we started looking for rvs we always considered the possibility of buying one that’s a few years old but has a great lay out and good bones for a renovation. Even with the mold mishap, this RV was a great buy for us. The exterior is still basically in showroom condition. My wife hand I are very creative people and have enough energy to get the job done.

It took several days to find and tear out all the moldy wood. It got a little tricky and took several days because that affected wood when into areas difficult to access, under the master bathroom and bedroom.

Ultimately had to take the furnace, as well as, the hot water heater out, which had some of the worst damage underneath it. Still, I’m not 100% sure what caused all this damage. There are a few culprits however. When I first bought the RV, behind the wet bay there was a leaky hose connection. After I fixed it, another one started to leak from moving things around back there. This pattern repeated until I cut and recrimped every hose behind the wet bay. The manufacture positioned a catch tray underneath these hose connections in the case any started to leak. However, I think this problem went to unnoticed for a long time. It probably overflowed. Like a lot. The real problem formed because the water that seeped past the plywood where it sat just below it in a moisture barrier, which created a super humid environment. That’s how the mold took root and spread. It had time enough to nearly consume the ply wood, getting in between each individual ply layer slowly turning it back into earth, making it super brittle weak.

I’ve taken a bunch more footage of this whole process. I’ll be sure to edit it and get it online, for posterity sake.

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Long story short, We found THE RV. THE 5th wheel we were looking for. While we were in Pennsylvania, I spotted this baby in Tennessee on the RV Trader and jumped on it like an excited dog after a milk bone. After many repeat visits to the Hershey RV show, again, looking at new RVs just wasn’t fitting well. The prices were too far out of our budget for comfort. Meanwhile, we were keeping an eye out for an older RV that needed some renovations. I’m a handy guy and both my wife and I enjoy home renovations. So, if we came across one that had good bones and the right layout, we’d jump at it. We found JUST the RV we were looking for.

This 2016 Open Range Roamer 376FBH had EXACTLY the layout we were looking for. You might imagine, 2016 is older than we were hoping for, but here’s the thing; It’s been kept in a warehouse since 2017! Most of the RV, especially the outside, is basically show room condition. The inside, while dated, was also in good condition. The owners were asking $35K. I couldn’t have asked for a better deal, so after an inspection, I paid them what they wanted.

Next stop was to change out the, basically unused, 2016 factory Westlake tires for fresh rubber and repack the wheel bearings for the 12+ hour trip back to PA.

The above photo is shortly after arriving back in PA. The autumn leaves were spectacular on the drive. As you can see, on the ground to the right of the RV, I barely got it unhooked from the truck before my wife and kids started gutting the interior. Check out the video of the moment I caught them in the act below .

Instead of a bunkhouse, one of the primary features of this layout is the forward den, which has a door to separate it from the kitchen area, 2 equally sized closets, a 1/2 bath, and a mini fridge. It’s basically mobile Shangri-La for a couple of kiddos.

After the dust settled, the couches vanished. The girls put up some wallpaper, pastel yellow on Eva’s side, and pink on Ana’s. They installed their twin mattresses and far too many stuffed animals. This was enough to get us through the rest of our summer/autumn season in the North. I plan on building bases for these twin mattresses that doubles as storage, because no RV can have too much storage, right?

Now that we’re back in FL for the winter, its time to get the fillet knives back out to gut the rest of this beast. There is a single biggest problem with this year range in the Open Range line of RVs, the floors. They are notorious for soft spots, and our RV is no exception. I noticed it right away during my inspection. To get through the season, I threw a piece of plywood over it, and a rug over that, which worked well to firm it up and avoid any further damage. Basically, the floors are made of a ~3 inch piece of Styrofoam sandwiched between a 2-ply and 1-ply piece of plywood on the top and bottom, respectively. What could go wrong?

Looking on the bright side, we wanted to change the floors anyways, especially the carpet which is holding onto the faint smell of cigarette smoke from it’s previous owner. Even after days of airing out and an ozone treatment that my wife wanted to try out, there’s a tinge that remains. But, I’m pretty confident that will be gone with the carpet. So, BYE BYE carpet!

I’m incredibly thankful for the RV we found and bought. I don’t think there could have been a more optimal outcome. I tend to thank God for that kinda thing. Thank you Lord.

Well, I think we’re “kinda sorta” caught up. I’ll attempt to keep the blog updated as I work through these renovations. For real, this time.

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We have decided to start out in our existing RV, which is only 28 feet long and has a single slide. This space needs to house two adults, two children and a dog, as well as, all of the essentials needed to do life. Enough housewares, computers, and educational materials, bicycles, tools, etc. Everything you need to stay productive, functional, and comfortable while traveling the country.

Besides that we had a major setback. 3 months ago, I owned a Ford F-150 ecoboost. I bought it new, upgraded it to be a better tow truck. It was a great truck. Though in order to eventually pull a bigger RV I needed to upgrade to an F-350 which has much larger towing capacity. So I went shopping and made a trade. I almost instantly regretted it. After only 400 miles it had a catastrophic failure. The 6.7 Powerstroke, the motor in the F-350, has an Achilles Heal, its fuel pump. The Bosch CP4 is designed to be lighter and smaller and less expensive than previous fuel pumps put into diesel engines. But it has been found to be unreliable, specifically in the US. When it fails, it fails big. It shreds itself, then metal flakes goes through the entire fuel system contaminating every other component along the way. The injectors, other pumps, the fuel lines, everything needs to be changed out! Fortunately, the truck is still under warranty and the repair was honored otherwise, the bill could have been north of $10,000! The whole experience was extremely suspenseful for me. Throwing our plans and my expectations out the window. I often wondered if God was sending me a message that I’m doing the wrong thing. The truck was in the shop for over two months. Delays getting parts, unreliable technicians, and other hold ups brought our departure plans to a halt.

In the meantime, Tracy and I continued sorting and moving our things, one load at a time, out of the house. Some of it went into our parents attics, spare rooms, and open space. Some of it was given away. Some donated, or simply tossed in the trash.

Finally, in the last couple days, we are seeing an end to the clutter. We’re completing our last tasks in the house, to get it ready for rent. Our departure date has been set back time and again. But finally, we will be getting on the road, ironically, on Independence Day.

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Travel Trailer vs 5th Wheel

In my life, I’ve owned and otherwise experienced staying in a number of different RV types. Class A and Class C motorhomes, as well as our current Travel Trailer. It seems I needed to experience them all to finally land on a 5th wheel.

Back in 2012, we tried living in a Class A motorhome for a year, which is a long story that I won’t dive into right now. The motorhomes are very convenient for getting from destination to destination. Bathroom breaks, and snacking and meals on-the-go is seamless. These are great for frequent travel, tourists on the go, RVers who want to move often. However, somehow they never felt like “home”. Maybe it’s the motor and pilot chairs in your living space, but I couldn’t kick the “land yacht” feeling. For us, we always felt the pull behind options felt more “homey” and welcoming.

In 2020, I bought our current 2019 Grand Design 2800BH. We honestly love it, but I don’t know if we could live in it and simultaneously maintain our sanity. I mean we love each other, but people have limits.

One reason we decided to make the jump to the 5th wheel is the length you can get with a similar total footprint. For example, our travel trailer isn’t that long, at 32 feet. However, with the added a ProPride 3P Hitch, the total tow package length, with the truck attached, is around 55 feet long! Travel trailers pull pretty far behind the truck. With a 5th wheel, most of the added living space comes up over the bed of the truck. So, on the road, you’re not that much longer. But, trust me, you can do a lot with an added 10 ft of living area. 5th wheels are typically offered with more slides, which also factors into even more added space.

The post Finding and buying an RV appeared first on Nomadic Novaks.

Thankfully, we do have a bit of a cushion, as I’ll be receiving some severance and we’ve saved some money. But there’s more to this story. I believe this could be an answer to a prayer for guidance. Something I’ve been praying about for a long time.

You see, my family and I are RVers. We love to travel and explore new places. My work was remote, which allowed us to live this nomadic lifestyle, in smaller doses. Here’s how it would work.. During the weekend we would drive. Then, we set up camp and I would work during the week, while my wife homeschooled our two girls. We spend our off-hours exploring the area, meeting new people, and forming new friendships. We’ve been doing this for years, but last year was the longest we’ve ever been on the road – over four months. This year, we had planned to travel for six months.

The thought about renting out our house to fund our travels had come up several times. But now, this decision has been thrust upon us. Looking for the positive in all of it, this layoff may be the push we needed to start a new chapter in our lives. It’s uncomfortable, terrifying actually, but I believe it could lead to great things. I trust in God. Sometimes I feel it’s the only thing I truly have. Maybe this is all part of His plan for us.

There’s a lot to do now. We need to get the house ready to rent out and move out of the home we’ve lived in for over seven years. It’s scary, and I can easily get overwhelmed if I think about it too much. But, with each step, we will walk and hope that we’re on the path the Lord has laid for us.

Well, this is the first post on Nomadic Novaks. There will be more. I hope you’ll join us on our journey.

Fingers crossed.

~Sean

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