Once we owned Arthur, envisioned our strategic travel plan, and began camping, we became increasingly aware of and interested in a variety of RV media. For example, we enthusiastically purchased ROVA, The Magazine for Epic Road Trips, during a Barnes & Noble visit. Within this October/November 2019 edition was an article by Patrick McGuire titled, “Social Media: Not the Whole Story,” which I found particularly appropriate. The premise of the article was captured by his opening question to readers, “Why is the road tripping lifestyle largely represented in one unrealistic dimension?”

The dimension to which he was referring, of course, was how media makes “road trips look like one euphoric, gorgeous, and easygoing day after another.” ROVA, despite publishing McGuire’s article, was a perfect example that supported his contention. This issue was filled with travel-appealing articles titled: “Falling Back in Love with America” and “Packrafting and fly-fishing Colorado’s high country.” And accompanying the articles were numerous, high-quality pictures of natural wonders, beautiful scenery, and relaxing campers. Many included dogs and giggling children to enhance the idyllic photos. To strengthen his point, McGuire added this caption to a picture of a father carrying his daughter and son while wading through ankle-deep water toward a shimmering waterfall, “Carefully staged instagram images show the best bits of travel; but seldom the reality.”
The glamour of RVing definitely has its place and definitely deserves coverage. But this image needs to be balanced with the non-euphoric, not so gorgeous, and often difficult day-to-day struggles that are the complete RVing experience. Experiences such as the following also need to be heard:
– setting up Arthur in darkness and the rain,
– being swarmed inside by mosquitoes and lady bugs when the door was
only open for seconds,
– finding feces covering the inlet to the wastewater dump inlet,
– having no water because the campsite supply lines have frozen, and
– losing the wheels to your wastewater Rhino while towing it from the
dump.
So that is what TPM and MFI blogs will do; share the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of road tripping with Sid and Arthur.