How a “bit of extra flexibility” became a “whole new ball game”

Bob Roberts and his wife, Linny, got their start in RVing in 2017 and quickly settled into a routine of occasional work trips, long weekends, and one epic annual adventure. Regularly racking up 60 nights in their trailer each year.

Bitten by the bug after borrowing their brother-in-law’s camper for a trip from their home in Ohio to the Upper Peninsula in 2017, Bob and Linny knew RVing was for them that first night as they pulled into their campground, made dinner and ate by their camp fire. Bob remembers thinking “Wow, this is fantastic!”

They tried a number of different trailers and toy-haulers before finally settling on their 2019 Imagine 2400BH.

Originally bought with family adventures in mind, Bob and Linny drove their Ram 1500 ECO Diesel to the dealer, signed the papers and immediately drove it off the lot and straight down the 500 miles of I-71 to Nashville.

The first of many epic adventures.

Creatures of habit

Working in the field (pun intended) of crop insurance, Bob spends his days traveling to meet farmers all over the Eastern US from Kentucky to New York, often taking his Imagine with him and parking up right where they are and doing business out of his mobile office.

Linny’s job working in the local school system near their home in North Eastern Ohio, keeps her from those work trips, but leaves plenty of time for long weekends away and that “annual epic” they plan for each summer.

Like many RVers they live in the tension between being creatures of habit and diligent trip planners, and having a “round-the-compass” spirit of adventure. Planning their summer trip thoughtfully, booking their campgrounds well in advance, and researching side trips and excursions.

And they loved it…right up until Bob got inspiration from influencers “Finding Our Someday” and decided to install a full solar system between last summer and this spring.

Keep Going West

He thought adding 800 watts of solar panels to the roof, along with a 400 Ah Lithium battery bank and an inverter charger, would give them some “extra flexibility” in their travels…in fact, it became a complete “game changer.”

“Suddenly, with energy on tap, we were able to stay at a whole new range of state parks, national forest boondocking sites, Harvest Host locations, as well as RV-friendly retailers like Bass Pro Shops, Cabellas, and WalMart. That’s a ton more flexibility on the road.” Bob says.

This new-found freedom unleashed an eight-state, 4,500-mile odyssey from Ohio through Indiana to Illinois, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa and back again, with barely a camp reservation made for any of the nights of the three-week trip.

“This year we didn’t plan as meticulously as usual. For the most part, it was impromptu. We would just turn up or change plan, knowing that things would work out fine.”

“The further west we went the more boondocking made sense, so we kept going west stopping in Wyoming on a whim.”

The stand-out stay of their trip had to be the five days they spent off the grid in Grand Teton, in the exact camping spot they had dreamed about. 

“The great advantage of boondocking is you never feel you have to leave before you’re done or have to stay longer than you want to just because you have your spot booked.”