r/Rvingwithpets

been going back and forth on this for a while now.

the case for lithium is pretty clear on paper. better depth of discharge, lighter, longer lifespan. but the upfront cost is significant and I keep hearing mixed things from people who've actually lived with both in real boondocking conditions, not just spec sheets.

AGM has been the reliable workhorse forever and there's something to be said for a technology that's proven itself across thousands of rigs in every condition imaginable.

Max and I do a fair amount of boondocking and i'm at the point where i need to make a decision rather than just researching indefinitely 😅

So i'm curious , if you've run both, what actually changed day to day? And for anyone who made the switch to lithium, was there a moment you wished you'd stuck with AGM?

Or is this one of those things where lithium is just obviously the answer and i'm overthinking it.

When you want to go somewhere away from the campground and it's a place that you can't take a dog, do you leave your dog inside the RV for periods of time? Just make sure they have AC? I want to do right by my pup and I'm weighing all options.

Soooo, some context. I'm not someone who grew up camping. My idea of roughing it is a hotel without a pool. I rent RVs a few times a year mostly because my friends convinced me once and now Bruno basically demands it, but I always go with people.

last month I did my first solo trip. just me, Bruno, and a rental I definitely booked before I fully thought it through.

The first night I pulled into a campground in the middle of nowhere Florida, completely fumbled the leveling situation, ate cereal for dinner because I forgot real food, and genuinely considered just driving home.

but then Bruno jumped up on the bed, took up his usual 70% of it, and just... looked at me like everything was completely normal.. and something about that was very settling honestly.

by day three I had a routine. Coffee first, walk Bruno around the campground, chat with whoever was outside. met a retired couple on day two who gave me unsolicited but genuinely useful advice about my awning. met a solo woman on day three who'd been full-timing for four years and made it look effortless.

I came home a different person about this. Still not buying an RV tomorrow but the "maybe someday" got a lot louder.

Has anyone else had a trip that just quietly changed their mind about something?

something i've been genuinely curious about lately!

how often do you all actually reach out to your vet while you're on the road? like is it a "only if something goes wrong" situation or do you have regular check-ins built into your travel schedule?

and when you do need vet support away from home, what does that actually look like for you? telehealth apps, finding a local clinic on the fly, calling your regular vet and hoping they pick up? Max has needed a couple of unexpected visits over the years and my system is still pretty much "google frantically and hope for the best" 😂

curious what's actually working for people out there.

okay so this happened on my last rental trip and i need to talk about it.

i was traveling with two friends — let's call them Couple A. they've been together for like six years, super solid, but they had never done an RV trip together before. day two, somewhere in the middle of absolutely nowhere, they got into it over... the dish sponge.

i am not making this up. the dish sponge.

apparently one of them had 'a system' for the sponge and the other one had used it 'wrong.' what followed was a 45 minute negotiation that covered...the sponge, dish drying order, cabinet organization philosophy, and at some point the concept of personal space as a love language.

i was sitting approximately four feet away the entire time. there was nowhere to go. i considered stepping outside but it was raining. i just stared at my phone pretending to be very busy.

the thing is... by the end of it they had actually sorted out like five underlying things that had probably been simmering for months. the RV just... forced it. there was no room to avoid it.

they're fine now btw. great trip overall. Couple A is probably stronger for it.

has anyone else noticed that RV trips either bring couples closer or completely stress-test everything? because i feel like there's no in between 😂

genuinely curious about this because i've never had a good system for it.

Max has been with me through multiple states, a couple of different vets, one emergency visit that i was not prepared for, and every time i'm sitting in a new vet's office trying to remember when his last vaccine was or whether i have the paperwork somewhere in the rig.

i know people at home probably have a folder somewhere or just rely on their regular vet to keep everything. but when you're moving around, that whole system kind of falls apart.

do you have something that actually works? a folder, an app, photos on your phone, just vibes and hope? or is this one of those things we're all quietly winging?

I'm having trouble finding the right make/model/floorplan and was hoping for some suggestions. I'm planning on keeping it parked full time and I'm located in Massachusetts so it needs to have a fully enclosed and heated underbelly. I love the living room of the Grand Design 2670MK but would like an bigger bedroom, preferably an east-west style bed since those seem the most spacious. Hitch side will be facing a street so I don't care much about the windows there, but the other sides overlook a lake and I would love as many windows as possible to take advantage of the view. I'm interested in destination trailers, 5th wheels and travel trailers.

I'd like to buy something inexpensive and then if I'm comfortable living in it for a year I'll upgrade to my dream model ( Cedar Creek Cottage Fifth Wheel 412FWC 🤩)

It's just myself and two 85lb dogs so privacy is not a big concern.

i've been thinking about this a lot lately.

i know people. good people, experienced RVers, who go back to the exact same campground every summer. same spot if they can get it. same neighbors, same routines, same local spots. and they love it. genuinely.

and part of me totally gets it. there's something real about having a place where you're known, where you don't have to figure anything out, where it just feels like coming home.

but then i think about why most of us got into this in the first place. the whole thing is supposed to be the opposite of staying put. right?

i don't think there's a wrong answer here, i'm just curious where people land. do you have a spot you return to every year? does it feel like comfort or compromise? or is the whole 'explore everywhere' thing kind of an ideal that doesn't hold up once you actually find somewhere you love?

Max and i are still firmly in the 'never the same place twice' camp but honestly, ask me again in five years.

What's the one thing nobody told you about traveling with a pet before you actually did it? mine is Bruno, 2 year old Doberman who takes up exactly half the bed and has absolutely no opinions about this arrangement 😭