The Millers in Motion Podcast

EP18 - Modifying your RV with Harold and Cindy Strange from 1StrangeAdventure

• Millers in Motion • Episode 18

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Welcome to the RV Shenanigans Podcast from Millers in Motion, where we embark on adventures and share tales from life on the road. Join us as we explore the joys and challenges of RV living and discover the beauty of traveling this amazing country.

 

Episode Title: 
Traveling and Modifying your RV with Harold and Cindy Strange from 1StrangeAdventure 

 

Episode Description: 
Join as we continue our Live Shows from the 2024 Flordia RV Supershow!  This week we sit down with our friends Harold and Cindy Strange from the YouTube Channel 1StrangeAdvanture

We chat about what got them into RVing in the first place, plus we dive into there MAJOR RV modifications they have made!

To follow Harold and Cindy visit them at https://www.1strangeadventure.com/

  

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Liquified RV Tank Treatments

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Thank you for joining us on the RV Shenanigans Podcast. Until next time, happy trails and safe travels!

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the RV shenanigans podcast, officially and for the very first time, presented by liquefied black tank treatment. We're incredibly grateful for Matt and the rest of the team over at liquefied for officially becoming our first title sponsor of the episode. So what does that mean for you and what is going to change with the podcast? Nothing, literally nothing. You're going to see the liquefied logo integrated a little bit more into our logo and our podcast artwork. You might see a little more of an orange tint. Don't worry, nothing has changed. We're just helping promote this great brand which, by the way, we've used almost exclusively in our Alliance Valor 44 v 14 since the day we purchased, plus since the products come out in our previous coach. So we are still going to be coming to you live from the 2024 Florida RV Super Show. But before we dive into that, we have a couple of quick requests that we need from you. To fold, one If you are watching this on YouTube yes, I know that there wasn't any video previously.

Speaker 1:

We had some video issues while we were in Tampa, so we're doing our best to work with what we got. A lot of the podcasts were perfectly fine. Some, unfortunately, we had some corrupt files once we got back to Texas and started to edit them together. So we are going to see video as much as possible If you are watching this on YouTube. There's been a thing going around on the YouTube that for some reason, people that have been subscribed to us for years are not subscribed all of a sudden. So YouTube has been doing some funky stuff. So if you could do me a huge favor and just check to see if you're subscribed. If you aren't, that would be a big helpful if you would hit that button again and then also that little notification bell off to the side, let you know when we post Shocker. We do a podcast every Tuesday morning pretty early in the morning, because that's how podcasts kind of like to roll, and then we do our regular video every Saturday at 10 am and then it's up all weekend. So that's the YouTube request. If you're listening to this.

Speaker 1:

I'll be honest, we are trying to promote the audio side of this podcast a little bit more, because that's the side we'd like to see grow. If you are listening to this on your favorite podcast platform, whether it be Spotify, apple podcast or many, many others that are out there a big, big help would be if you could rate and review this show. That's really the only thing we can do on that side to help promote it from an analytical database. But another big help would be try and share this with a friend, especially the audio side. If you notice, when we promote the podcast, when we go on to social media, we always promote the audio side. So if you could do me a favor and share this with just one friend, that would go a long, long way. Okay, so that's gonna do it for my little quick update here, but before we dive into our topic for the day, with our friends Harold and Cindy from One Strange Adventure yes, that's right, that's who our guests are gonna be coming up here very shortly, back from the Tampa show we are gonna take a quick little ad break and talk about liquefied.

Speaker 1:

What's the worst part about RVing? It's the black tank. No one likes to have to deal with a stinky or messy black tank. Let the team over at liquefied RV black tank management help you out. Created from the team over at Matt's RV reviews, this is a 100% biodegradable product made right here in the good old US of A, and liquefied will help break down your black tank waste as well as help with those odors. In addition to helping with those odors, it's got an actually really great orange smell to it, so not only does it help break down those odors, it also helps freshen the bathroom.

Speaker 1:

One of my favorite features is actually this easy measure pour spout. Because it's designed this way. You don't have to bring in other cups or measuring devices of any kind. Dump what you need in for your size tank, put the cap back on and you're done. To learn more about liquefied RV black tank treatment, you can visit liquefiedrvcom. Do us a favor. Please support the brands that support us, because they enable us to be able to bring you the podcast and the regular videos. To purchase liquefied black tank treatment, please see the link down below ["The Lose Yourself"]. And we are coming to you still from a slightly more wet version of the 2024 Florida RV Super Show. It has been spotty, raining, which is less fun when you have a bunch of electronic audio equipment.

Speaker 2:

We're grateful for the tent today.

Speaker 1:

We are very grateful for the tent today and as well as the tent we are super grateful for the team over at Alliance RV for letting us come crash their party here inside their booth. So big thank you to those guys. But we have some of our friends on now and I hope it goes better than the last five minutes went.

Speaker 2:

It's gonna go great.

Speaker 1:

That was like a talent show, so joining us now is Cindy and Harold Strange, otherwise known as One Strange Adventure on YouTube. How are y'all, hello, doing great.

Speaker 3:

How are you Doing, great Doing?

Speaker 1:

good, we're officially broken in now, so I think we've got this down for the live version or so, except now we've added a new camera because it's Harold's.

Speaker 3:

Of course.

Speaker 1:

So now we have three cameras, but we're getting in there. So, all right, you ready for a burning, burning question, let's go. Okay, what got you guys in the RV?

Speaker 2:

My wife, Good answer Awesome answer for a podcast.

Speaker 1:

Three words, I just said. Yes, dear.

Speaker 2:

That was two, my wife.

Speaker 3:

It was nice, I can count, no, just like probably just like a lot of people, we started watching YouTube. We actually we were tent campers for a long time had no intention of ever buying an RV. Why, and?

Speaker 2:

I don't know the tent camping part.

Speaker 3:

Sorry, I don't know. I look back and I have no idea why, but we actually inherited our first RV and so we took it out. A couple of times I was like, oh, this is really nice, we have AC and a bed.

Speaker 4:

We quickly realized that it was not big enough for our family.

Speaker 3:

Yes, and so that led us to purchasing our first RV. And we got sucked into YouTube watching some of the originals RV channels and we're like, wow, we could do that. And then COVID hit and we're all sitting at home staring at the same four walls for months on end and we were like, you know what Time to sell, let's go. What?

Speaker 2:

was the first one you bought.

Speaker 4:

The reflection grand design reflection.

Speaker 3:

Grand design reflection 311 VHS Very cool.

Speaker 1:

So at what point did you switch over to your current, which is the momentum?

Speaker 3:

We had that for about a year, I believe. And then my son started growing and he grew pretty fast and had a heck of a growth spurt and decided like hey, we need something a little bit bigger. So the bunkhouse just wasn't cut anymore. We went with a toy hauler, kid hauler, actually, the parent hauler. The way we modified it.

Speaker 1:

You guys flipped it, which we're going to get into later.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we're going to get into that. But yeah, we decided that the momentum was our next rig and we absolutely love the side patio, so that $3.99 was for us Very cool.

Speaker 1:

So you start RVing. You say you kind of got sucked into the YouTube thing. Was there something out there that said I really just want to make videos about this or tell a story, or whatever that is?

Speaker 3:

Well, at first we didn't even think about doing like actually being content creators. When we were talking about it, we were watching others just travel around the country and get to experience all these cool things with their family and getting to see that they could visit destinations all year long. It probably take me 10 years of traditional vacations to get to see what folks are seeing in the summertime, so it was definitely worth.

Speaker 4:

And then we went to the Keys for a week vacation and we ended up having one of the YouTubers sit down and talk to him for like an hour and a half.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, jared, all about RVs. Shout out, I love that guy.

Speaker 4:

He said just take your camera and just do it Sure. You can do it however you want, and so we did, and here we are, yeah.

Speaker 2:

And it went well. It's going pretty good.

Speaker 3:

At first we started documenting our travel just because we were kind of for legacy right, just being able to show my grandkids at some point that I was able to move around and enjoy the country.

Speaker 2:

That you were fun once.

Speaker 3:

That was fun once, and my in-laws and our rest of our family not being able to travel with us getting an idea of what we're up to, and so that's why we started making videos and then kind of went from there.

Speaker 1:

So when you guys switched from the reflection of the momentum, obviously the kids were growing and all that stuff. Did you intend on modifying it from the get go, or was the OK? We're getting head nods on an audio podcast.

Speaker 3:

We got two different head nods my initial reaction all right, like we're buying a brand new 2021 momentum 399. It's an expensive rig and she's like we're going to gut it what You're going to gut me. We're going to no, we're not. Yes, we are.

Speaker 4:

So my intention from the get go was to modify that rig before we even purchased it. I said this is the rig I want. This is what I want to do to it. And he said this is the rig I want and we're not touching it.

Speaker 3:

And we see what happened. And, yep, we see that we've modified the rig several times at this point.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, quite a bit actually so.

Speaker 4:

I won.

Speaker 1:

So you won, so normal essentially.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. We just kind of along with the ride.

Speaker 1:

I get to do it so fine.

Speaker 3:

Tell me what materials I need and where I need to go to get it.

Speaker 1:

So I've got to say so. When you talk about modifying because you guys have put your rig through a lot of modifications I mean well, at least some large modifications. There's not a lot of space that hasn't gone untouched in your coach. So did you know from the get go? Well, actually, let's just talk about them. What are the big modifications?

Speaker 3:

Sure, well, I guess the biggest modification would be at the ends the master bedroom or the main bedroom that initially was in there, and then the garage because it's a toy hauler. Our idea was that we have two patios and we didn't want to have to walk through the kids' room to be able to access the patios, and so a lot of people that buy toy haulers into putting the kids in the back. It's the easiest thing to do. There's bunk beds back there already. So we were like you know what? We're gonna modify the back, we're gonna make that our main bedroom and we're gonna modify the front nose to house two teens, a boy and a girl.

Speaker 3:

So yeah, it was an interesting, but we were able to kind of navigate it and be able to make space for both of them, which was really nice.

Speaker 1:

So after you lost on the whole modify versus not modify conversation, sorry, I didn't lose all right, I conceded Sure okay sorry. Once you quit arguing about the whole that portion of it. Did you see the modifications before you did them like as you were purchasing, or was that one of those things that you kind of had to get into it and understand it a little bit better?

Speaker 4:

first, there were probably four Instagrammers that had done similar switches back and forth, and so I just took bits and pieces of each and said this is what I'm envisioning.

Speaker 3:

Sure, I'm a visual person, I have to draw it. So she just walks me into a room and says I wanna do this, this, this, this. I have a hard time visualizing that.

Speaker 4:

So then he goes home and sketches it out and then we're like, yes, this is what I want.

Speaker 2:

So the vision kind of starts with you and then, once you have that, you kind of convey that to him and then he starts to put it into a reality.

Speaker 1:

That's right, okay, so at any point, like, did you guys do all the modifications yourselves or did you bring anybody else in?

Speaker 3:

We well. For the bedrooms, yes, for the electrical system, the batteries, things like that, we did consult with others because there's just a lot that goes on with that type of stuff. So we definitely brought others to consult and help with the install and that type of stuff. But for the majority it was just Cindy and I doing it with the help of our friends, kind of moving stuff around, right.

Speaker 2:

Because it's really hard In this business. We're hiring Harold for construction and RVs.

Speaker 3:

It's really hard to live in an RV. That you're modifying, that I will say. So if I was able to do it again, I would love to be able to just kind of sit in a garage and modify it and then move into it.

Speaker 1:

So I know I want to talk about the modifications themselves and kind of how you went about doing it. But now that you said that, I'm curious how did you guys live in it while you were modifying it?

Speaker 4:

For the kids' bedroom. We sent them to grandma's.

Speaker 3:

Exported, got it. Yes, we got the kids out of there. But you kind of have to limit it to one space because you want to take on things. And what I've noticed in an RV modification is one thing leads to another, leads to another. So I have to complete B before I can get A done, and so a lot of times we're moving stuff around and just kind of living in the space that doesn't have stuff at the moment. But you're living in such a small space that once you displace one thing it has a trickle effect across several different things.

Speaker 4:

Ok, yeah, so like our bedroom, when we were painting I had to move the mattress out, but I had to have paint done in time for the mattress to come back for us to sleep.

Speaker 3:

So it was all timed.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, wow.

Speaker 1:

It's tough at times and so I know you talked about building the beds up front and we've never actually physically seen your coach, but I watched the videos that when you guys did it. So just for an explanation, you kind of made it like an L-shaped sofa kind of thing but beds. But you got creative. How did you do the front portion of that? Because that portion is kind of cap slash original bed frame.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, the way the bedroom came, there was a north-south facing bed, and so when you start to tear it apart, it's actually two pieces. There's the main kind of headboard platform and then there's the rest of the bed where the storage and where you can lift up and everything Typically.

Speaker 1:

You see the hinge there and that's where it would hinge up.

Speaker 3:

Basically what I was able to do for the front bed was take from the hinge back out and repurpose that wood to build the frame under it so that there was storage space underneath the bed. And then for the bed that came along the wall, I took a twin bed from Home Depot and had the drawers and everything and just completely modified it to fit the space, cut it down and end up making it a narrow, twin size bed, so it fit perfectly. The carpet was able to be pulled up and just kind of repurposed and it looked like it came from the factory.

Speaker 1:

So then the next bed on the side. Did you do something similar with that as far as getting a twin bed and kind of modifying it, or did you have to build something custom for?

Speaker 3:

the side wall. That's exactly what it was. It was just a twin bed frame, gotcha, cut down and modified to fit that space, gotcha.

Speaker 4:

He did have to build a frame under it on the front side to match that lip. That's on the wall where your lag bolts go in.

Speaker 1:

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4:

So he built a 2x4 framing on the front and then we just wrapped it in carpet.

Speaker 2:

OK, it's very impressive, but I'm also impressed that you got two teenagers to share that space and the bathroom.

Speaker 3:

Yes, and in the bathroom. One of the hard parts about us being in the garage is our bedroom. No-transcript, the bath is up front with the main bedroom, so all four of us have to share that space, oh boy. But what we did is there was two doors that go into the bathroom. We kind of sealed one door off and made that like towel racks and they gave them more wall space on the backside.

Speaker 1:

OK.

Speaker 3:

So it was easier for us to all kind of navigate and they basically just use that space to sleep the rest of the time, like my daughter would be out in the living room doing her homework or something like that, and my son would be up there doing his work. So they were able to work that out.

Speaker 1:

Well, I was going to say too, most likely like most kids that live on the road with their families. Hopefully they got out of the RV a lot and actually enjoyed where you were, versus just sitting inside all day.

Speaker 4:

Nikala's favorite place to work was the side patio.

Speaker 2:

That's what I was just going to say. You got two patios and two kids, just no.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely so. Then when you move back to your bedroom side because I know those are the biggest drastic ones you actually modified this kind of twice, if I remember correctly right.

Speaker 3:

There's been several kind of iterations as we went. The garage comes with like a dovetail on the backside. So we built up a platform so that it was a flat floor all the way back and then we floored it with laminate, so waterproof rubber laminate back there so that it was pretty durable and it can flex with the RV going down the road. And then we basically took closet main components.

Speaker 1:

So were those the white ones that you have, ok.

Speaker 3:

Closet main components from Lowe's and modified them again to fit the space they're made for a closet. And then have the rails come off. And then I took one of those, cut it in half, made a dresser out of it, so it all matched.

Speaker 1:

OK.

Speaker 3:

And then we modified the bed too, so we have full range of the motion of the Happy Jack system with one bed. So it goes from ceiling to floor.

Speaker 1:

I was going to say because that itself took some modification too right, because the Happy Jacks don't like to do that Trial and error. Oh you should not have said that, trial and error. Now I'd like to know the error portion. Yeah, that's interesting.

Speaker 3:

I've had to work on it a couple of times, Particularly in the New England area. The roads are pretty rough and it broke our Happy Jack system the bed, the bolts came right out of the bed, the bed's leaning on one side. And so we've definitely had to learn as we go to make it durable enough to be able to sustain or withstand RV road travel.

Speaker 2:

And for anybody who's not familiar, your bed is that on the top or the bottom of the Happy Jack, or did you remove?

Speaker 3:

Modified that. So on a Happy Jack system you have two couches on the bottom that turn into a bunk and then you have that platform on the top right. I took the platform and put it on the bottom rails, I took the couches out and then took the stoppers out of the rail system, so those can now travel the entire distance.

Speaker 1:

OK. So lots of modifying there too, so I was about to say so when you drop that, so you really don't have a bottom version. But you don't have a bottom version, you just have the one now essentially, I have the one that goes all the way up and down. So for us we did the most common modification of Toy Allows ever. I put a desk on one side, which was as hard as removing a couch and putting a desk on one side.

Speaker 2:

That's it.

Speaker 1:

So I'm like Harold, except nowhere near like Harold, because I went, this works for me, I don't need to do anything else.

Speaker 4:

So we did that first.

Speaker 1:

That was our first modification. Oh, was it.

Speaker 4:

And then he didn't like that the bed didn't come all the way down.

Speaker 3:

So yeah, I cannot sleep when the bed is high. I don't know what it is, but on, like travel day, if we're boondocking somewhere for one night, the bikes are usually under the bed and the bed is up and I have to use a ladder to get in and out. I don't sleep well, really. So I'm like I can't do this.

Speaker 1:

Do you know that the RV is elevated off the ground?

Speaker 3:

Like don't mess with my side.

Speaker 1:

Ok, sorry, don't mess with me so then where do you work now?

Speaker 2:

What kind of space have you created for that?

Speaker 3:

I have a modular desk. Basically it's like a foldable, collapsible desk that's very thin and it can actually go between the bed and the bed, the three-door, the three-season doors on the back. Oh, okay, so when the bag comes down it fits right between a space. So I can just fold it down and get rid of it.

Speaker 4:

Cool, that's pretty cool. And then I work in the living room.

Speaker 1:

We took out our dinette and put a desk, so so you guys check a lot of boxes, you travel with kids, you both remote work from the road In addition to like real, like actual, real jobs. Not because YouTube's not a real job, I've been told.

Speaker 3:

Oh no, I spend just as much on YouTube as I do my real job.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, it just doesn't pay the same. And yes, I use air quotes for everybody listening.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, right, yeah, so is there a modification that you guys would do on any rig all the time going forward?

Speaker 3:

I mean I would definitely do the battery system If I'm going to upgrade anything about the batteries?

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

If I, if I'm going to upgrade anything, I would definitely upgrade the battery system, so go go into that a little bit.

Speaker 1:

What did you actually do to the, to your your solar lithium setup?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so we have. We have two GC, three battle born batteries, which is 270 amp hours each. Ok, give us the total 540. They run a little. They can actually produce a little bit more. And then we did. We went with a two inverter setup from Victor on 3000 watt Multi plus system, the original multi plus original multi plus is, I would recommend going to the multi plus two.

Speaker 3:

There are some kind of there's some setbacks with the multi plus you. Just you can't do everything I would want to do with them because of the single line stuff. Yeah, you just can't. They don't communicate as well as the, as the new ones do.

Speaker 1:

So what we're talking about? Just so there's some frame of reference here, because we have obviously had a solar system. We're in the process of designing our new solar system. On the original multi plus and quattro you can only run one line. Rvs have two lines with a floating neutral, and so that's why some generators don't like to talk really well sometimes with RV electrical systems. Yeah, but multi plus to solve some of those problems and allows you to run them in what's called parallel Right and you don't have to worry about, you know, only 3000 watts per line You'd now just have. In your case, you'd have 6000 watts in total power.

Speaker 3:

Right, you have a bank that goes in that you can withdraw from, rather than just being able to use 3000 watts on one side of the panel.

Speaker 1:

Plus they communicate a lot better with with the servo that you can get with Victor on and smart shunts and all that other stuff, and then they can kind of just balance themselves and it just works better yeah.

Speaker 2:

I believe that translates something to the effect of my hair dryer works on one and I don't have to worry about if the microwave is on the same one or a different one, potentially depending on if we have an AC on or not.

Speaker 1:

This sounds like something that's happened. We've had conversations, because we had, on our on our setup, on our solitude, we had a few batteries, a lot of batteries, and then we had two original multi pluses and so we had to worry about each line. So we had, like our front day, our bedroom AC and our main AC separated because they were for some reason on the same line or the same breaker side, and so we separated and redid the breakers a little bit. But we still had to pay attention a little bit, because your biggest power draws, as you guys know, are your air conditioners, any sort of a heating element, ie microwave, hair dryer hair dryer, coffee maker, electric eaters All at the same time.

Speaker 3:

How do you get ready in the morning?

Speaker 2:

How do you get?

Speaker 1:

ready in the morning, all those things until you do all those things and then you don't have power. So anyway, sorry, yeah. So, as far as your system, then, how many watts of solar did you have? We actually have zero, zero solar right now.

Speaker 3:

So we have a generator and I would recommend, if you ever want to like run ACs on a system like generators obviously the most cost efficient way of doing that and we just haven't been docked as much as to really warrant getting the rest of it. We want to be able to just kind of have one night, but that's all changing. So we have some plans for a much bigger system coming down the road.

Speaker 2:

Dun, dun dun.

Speaker 1:

Dun dun dun. Is that code for stop asking about it?

Speaker 3:

Little Easter egg there and next question.

Speaker 1:

Right. So do you guys like when you boondock is running that generator bother you when you do have to run an AC or no? Not at all Not at all Really Drives me nuts. Really, yeah, I cannot. I sleep like absolute crap when that generator is running.

Speaker 4:

Well, to be fair, we sleep in the back. Yeah, we're in the garage.

Speaker 3:

It may irritate my son, but I'm going to say let me rephrase the question.

Speaker 4:

He's never said anything about it, so I don't think it bothers him at all. No, but we grew up riding around in a charter bus.

Speaker 1:

Oh, okay.

Speaker 4:

Traveling, singing, so we always heard the hum of a generator.

Speaker 1:

That was part of sleeping a little bit.

Speaker 3:

Yes absolutely Gotcha Put your sleep.

Speaker 1:

So when you say that that's the one thing you would do, is that because you do enjoy the freedom of the solar side?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely yeah it doesn't matter if we're on 50 amp 30 amp plugged into a house or not plugged in anything Like. We have 50 amps of service available to us at all times.

Speaker 1:

Gotcha. So at what point? Well, we kind of already answered this. I'm sorry, I'm just going through the notes. Is there any modifications that you guys have done or haven't done yet, that you are thinking about doing besides new solar systems?

Speaker 2:

That you can tell us, and share with the public Go ahead.

Speaker 3:

Go ahead.

Speaker 4:

We kind of want to redo Nick's rooms now that Michaela is in college, so we do want to redo his. We took out the bed across the wall to give him a little bit more space, and we would like to remodel that entire nose cap to give him just more space, to make it look cleaner, get out the factory stuff and actually like custom build something. This one is struggling with it a little bit because he can't visualize it yet, so I'm still working.

Speaker 2:

Don't worry, we'll all go to IKEA, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Please don't go to IKEA.

Speaker 2:

You all can go to IKEA.

Speaker 3:

I don't feel like walking around for four hours for nothing.

Speaker 4:

I'm still working on him.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, now there's that and then there's we would. We would love to do some modification to the front, to the living area, the middle space, just to make it make it. Make it be a little bit more like entertainment space, that way, when we have friends over and things like that, we have some space for them to sit down.

Speaker 1:

I think that would be really nice. So I know you kind of redid your desk or the dinette area so you have a little more of a workstation. So do you guys just have that straight couch on the one side then, or what's?

Speaker 3:

We just have one cow in the slide, the main slide. We have a couch in a desk.

Speaker 1:

There's no dinette and then you kind of have if I'm trying to remember, the three, nine, nine in my head. So then you have the TV, kind of between the stairwell and the entry door and there's a pantry yes, something right there.

Speaker 3:

And then kitchen, all that, and then you have the patio that comes down.

Speaker 1:

And then, apparently, you don't have a toy hauler space, you have a master bedroom.

Speaker 2:

Bedroom. Ok, I was going to say big modification when Nick goes off to college. Have you considered a different style RV?

Speaker 3:

Dum, dum dum. Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 4:

Harold would like a class A. Honestly, I wouldn't even. I don't know Slides and go down the road while I'm still sleeping.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I don't necessarily need to wait for Nick to go to school for that one.

Speaker 1:

They have really big pass through bays, you create a little bed system down there.

Speaker 3:

I am an early riser, they are not, and I could probably make it three states before they woke up Just be able to pull the jacks up, pull the slides in and just roll.

Speaker 1:

Except for the fact that the things start shaking and scares everybody at first.

Speaker 4:

Just go back to sleep, it's fine. Yeah, go back to sleep, they'll be fine. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't bother me, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's true. So that brings up kind of a good point. With all the modifications, did it change how the RV tows at all?

Speaker 2:

No, not really.

Speaker 3:

If anything, I think we'd made a little lighter, do you?

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Well, I know, sometimes too, like we had that 390 solitude for a long time and so we had a lot of weight in the real back of the coach because that was where our kitchen was. And so you know, when we switched RVs to our, to our toy hauler, now our Valor it tows completely different, even though this thing's way heavy. So I didn't know if maybe there was like a balance thing that changed.

Speaker 3:

It's kind of weird, because the 399, the way it's designed it's it's like several hundred pounds heavier on one side than it is the other, and it's because they put the kitchen slide and the side patio on the same side. So my refrigerator, my, my refrigerator, my stove and the side patio is all on one side, so like literally going down the road, the rig is kind of leaning to one side.

Speaker 4:

So when we remodeled we tried to put as much stuff on the opposite wall as we could, Like our dresser Gotcha.

Speaker 3:

So all our furniture that we've done kind of modification to has been on the left side, got it.

Speaker 4:

I'll set that a little bit and then when we load the e-bikes they go on the on the non-camp side.

Speaker 3:

So literally even service stuff is all over there, yeah, and the unfortunate part is that the the bay is also not a pass through, so that's one more thing that I have to load on that right hand side. Ok, you can get some stuff centered because it goes into the center of the rig, but most of it's going to be on the right.

Speaker 1:

So have you guys done any, obviously outside of electrical we just talked about that but have you done any like water system upgrades or anything along those lines?

Speaker 3:

No, no, not yet, other than having to fix those pecs lines every time I touch one, don't even breathe, neeram, don't even breathe, it's gonna start dripping.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we've been super lucky and I'm finding wood to knock on immediately because we've had a few, but not not as bad as a lot of people have had.

Speaker 4:

So no, ours has been pretty good we would like to upgrade to a tankless water heater. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

I think a tankless water heater. At some point I would actually like to go in and just redo all of the fittings, just brass fittings with just flopping them out, just kind of preemptive. Get all the flex stuff out of there, use pecs piping and just kind of beef it up a little bit.

Speaker 1:

So does when you put that much work of modifying your RV. Does that make you have like a moment of pause about thinking about switching down the road?

Speaker 2:

No, OK, that was unanimous.

Speaker 3:

Wow, no I don't think so, because I think we're going to give whoever gets to own that RV I think we're going to give them a unique opportunity to own an RV that is not like any other 399.

Speaker 1:

So I mean I'm saying this only because I see this as an absolute pain in the rear end to do. Did you actually enjoy doing the modifications, or is it kind of a bag?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, we both like to do it OK.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we both really enjoy it. I don't enjoy the having to work and try to work around it and stuff like that. So if I had just shop in three weeks to do it, that would be great, right? So that's the only part I don't enjoy about it. But the actual work and seeing something come to fruition, that's the part we enjoy.

Speaker 4:

It's pretty cool.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

So when the time does come to get a new rig, will you literally from the get go like I want to fix that, I want to do this, I want to get rid of that? Or is it just I for once want nothing, Because I'm assuming you'll probably just be the two of you in the next one, If there is an X?

Speaker 3:

one. I don't think it will matter. I think I will want to modify something.

Speaker 2:

I think he's going to want to tinker.

Speaker 3:

I was about to say you're the tinker Knowing what I know. Now, like I used to be scared to death to work on these things and the issues that we've had and stuff like that, like in the modifications, like been able to work on pretty much any of it, so and it's all a learning curve, right?

Speaker 4:

Like you walk into any one of these rigs here at the show and you can walk in and point out things that are wrong, things that could be improved, things that could be changed to work for you. So it's really hard to actually tour a rig, because we can visualize what we want it to be instead of what it is. So, yes, we'll always modify whatever rig comes next.

Speaker 3:

I think you try to like. You go in and try to get one as close as possible to what you think your ideal rig would be right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

And then you have to modify it to make it feel like home.

Speaker 2:

Well, I'm glad you say that, because so many people come into these rigs and I hear a time and time again I really like it but and they say something really little and they're not familiar with that, but you can change it. Yeah, and they're not confident in that, so hopefully you can inspire them to get a rig they really like and change that little, but yeah.

Speaker 3:

I've, you know, since becoming an RVer, especially full-time RVer. I was not handy at all when I was in the house. I'm not a plumber, I'm a mechanic, I'm an engineer, I'm an electrician, plastics engineer, pexis-black stick Like I've got all those titles now. So carpenter carpenter, like you name it, we've we've done it now.

Speaker 1:

So I keep my brain keeps bouncing around, because this is such a like we modify a little bit, but like the thought of what you guys have done gives me like a little bit of anxiety. Were you ever concerned? I mean, obviously we're always concerned about weight, but did the products you buy like how hard was it to find things that actually stayed inside of that kind of weight category so you didn't just accidentally add a crap ton of weight to your coach?

Speaker 4:

I looked up how much our couches came from factory, which are heated and you know they have the vibrator in them and all of that. And when I was finding couches that would fit that space, I just tried to find the lightest in that area. Stop it.

Speaker 1:

I can't look at you right now. Stop it. What's wrong with you? A lot, you know me. It's a family show.

Speaker 4:

Anyways, the massager the massaging seats. Yes, the massage recliners. So I tried to offset that weight as equally as I could.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 4:

And actually the couch is about 50 pounds lighter than those two recliners.

Speaker 1:

Really.

Speaker 4:

Because it doesn't have any electronics in it.

Speaker 1:

Gotcha yeah.

Speaker 4:

And then same for the desk. Like I took out the kitchen chairs and the table and the things off the wall and all of that, I made sure my desk was light and what I put in it is light.

Speaker 3:

Another thing is like researching the materials that you're using. So like pressed wood is heavier than some of the real woods, right? So you know, just doing a little bit of research, kind of going into it and then understanding how that affects the weight that you're adding back to your rig.

Speaker 1:

Man, you could start like a masterclass. You already got a camera back there, just start filming them and put them out there it's almost like a Nina YouTube channel.

Speaker 1:

Yeah Well, I'm just saying get paid more for it in a masterclass. So, with that being said, we have a sorry, just one listener question. Okay, we talked to her earlier, but she submitted it through the QR code that we sent a little bit ago. Okay, so it's Jessica Gar, who's one of your patrons? Yes, she's actually one of ours too. Okay, cool, and this has absolutely nothing to do with RV modifications. So, nice, natural, as I'm trying to make this as seamless as possible and as not.

Speaker 3:

Great transition?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, pretty much. What's your favorite destination?

Speaker 3:

Go for it.

Speaker 4:

My favorite destination so far has been a bunch, but if I had a thick one, I would say Acadia.

Speaker 1:

I like America.

Speaker 4:

Acadia is my favorite national park so far, okay, and then I loved going to Cottonwood, arizona, just to be right there outside of the. You know all the different hiking trails and all the little tiny towns up on the hill, like it's just beautiful.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I'm going to say the Florida Keys, like I absolutely love being in the Florida.

Speaker 1:

Keys. You can tell who edits the videos, because every time a Florida Keys things come up they're like right, front and center on Yall's videos real fast, well, I mean it's beautiful down there.

Speaker 3:

We spent five weeks down there this year. Every year we've gone down for the last three years in a row in the winter and first time was like two weeks, three weeks, five weeks.

Speaker 1:

Oh wow. Next, how do you find a site for five weeks down there? Buy some property or something, I don't know?

Speaker 4:

We go to Fiesta Key and then to Sunshine Key. Oh, okay, yeah.

Speaker 3:

So we use our 1000. Trails program and be able to purchase the sites through those.

Speaker 1:

So again, we've gone off the rails at this point. So do you have any advice for people that want to try and RV the Keys, because it's a tough spot to get into sometimes?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, most of your campgrounds down there start booking a year in advance.

Speaker 4:

So, if you know you want to go down there, start pricing out campgrounds and get your reservations done. Most of them also have it where, if you cancel within like 24 days before you come, they'll refund you Once in a while. They'll require deposits. We have friends that actually just rent personal spots down there for a month, which is cheaper than going to a campground, because people actually own like an actual lot down there but they travel in their RV, so they're lots empty. Okay, you can find those down there as well.

Speaker 3:

Yep, yeah, and, like she said, just start booking as early as possible, and, and there's also some websites they slip my mind at the moment, but there's some some ways that you can actually monitor when openings kind of come up and get notified. Like, get owned waitlist. Oh, okay, especially like Bihihanda, like that's one of the most popular state parks down there. It's impossible to get in, and there's just some techniques that you would need to kind of deploy in order to be able to get a spot there with you guys having a big rig.

Speaker 2:

Is it big rig friendly or is it really tight?

Speaker 4:

Both of the fiesta key and sunshine key are big rig friendly fill up.

Speaker 3:

My tip would be to fill up with fuel before you get into the keys. So stopping that last little town I think it's homestead Before you get into the keys and fill up, because there's not many places that you're gonna stop once you're down in there. When you say fill up, do you?

Speaker 1:

feel fuel right. Okay, it's making sure.

Speaker 3:

They are adding a few things, but that's just recent and it's you know, it's still kind of tough to get in and out of places, so it's so small.

Speaker 1:

Just like anything else when you have a larger rig, because how long are you guys when you're hooked up?

Speaker 3:

62?.

Speaker 1:

Okay, yeah, so we're not that much. We're a few feet longer than you, but not a lot. But you just have to think ahead of stuff and if you're gonna be in the keys, you know it's tight.

Speaker 3:

Yep, make sure you have enough fuel to get down there, get unhooked and find more a lot of people don't realize when you hit the Like key Largo like you're, it's another three hours key West like is it really? Yes, like most people don't realize how far it is to travel down the Florida keys.

Speaker 1:

Ask. Ask Lauren how she does on bridges with the RV.

Speaker 2:

I was just gonna say that bridge terrifies me seven mile bridge.

Speaker 3:

Oh that, that one's great.

Speaker 4:

There's 42 bridges in the keys.

Speaker 1:

She doesn't like a Two-minute long bridge.

Speaker 3:

Oh yeah, seven miles of open water, Just uh my worst nightmare.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, good job, she's getting anxiety talking about the most beautiful water, though, like you're just looking out when we lived in Galveston We'd have to go over the the bridge to get to school and stuff, so I bought one of those like seat belt cutters, windows smashers, just in case there was ever. He was like you're going over you can see the end of the bridge.

Speaker 4:

Like I keep one in my door jam exactly.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, just in case. Oh, it terrifies me.

Speaker 1:

Have we missed anything with modifying your RV that you just like I, because I'm not modifying mine that you just blew past?

Speaker 3:

No, I think you've covered it pretty much. There's been a few little things here and there that we've done, but a lot of maintenance, but stuff like that.

Speaker 4:

I will say for anybody listening that wants to modify your rig You're too scared to do it. Do your research, ask questions. Whoever you see that has done what you like, just reach out to them. They might not answer you right away because you know, if they're like us, they have a whole slew of comments that they need to get to, but eventually they'll answer that question and that's good advice?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, reach out to people who've done it.

Speaker 3:

Also consult professionals if you're not sure. Yeah that's the big thing, right like? I went into modifying the RVs electrical system kind of a newbie and so I had a lot of consultation before I touched the first wire I was gonna say especially certain things like it's one thing if you're gonna just like turn a desk or something.

Speaker 1:

That's you can recover from that, but when you start introducing electrical systems, that can get dangerous really quick. So, yeah, especially that kind of stuff, absolutely, guys. Thank you so much for coming down and chatting and take some time out of your day. Thanks, thanks for having us. Yeah, absolutely, hopefully that was painless. We only had one off the rails moment, which is impressive and that was your fault.

Speaker 2:

Wow so it always is yeah, yeah, what.

Speaker 3:

And here's number two.

Speaker 1:

Where can everybody find anything one strange adventure?

Speaker 3:

One strange adventure, calm. You can go to our website. You can find all of our, all of our social media, lots of posts, all of the information about us, how to get in touch with us. We're always monitoring that stuff, so reach out anytime. Awesome.

Speaker 1:

Thank you guys again so much for spending some time with us and a big thanks to Alliance RV for letting us crash their booth and that's gonna do it for us for this version of live from the 2024 Florida RV Super Show. So we will see you next week. You.

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