The Tale of Two Rigs
We switch between two rigs—a truck camper and a travel trailer—depending on the road ahead. Big Mama, our spacious travel trailer, came first. We were craving room to breathe and dreaming up longer stays—not just weekend getaways, but the kind of stretches where you could settle in, stretch out, and really stay awhile. We had her for about six months, and took her out on two beautiful trips. The stays were everything we imagined—cozy, yet roomy, full of slow mornings and long dinners.
Camp Hudson Pines, Corinth, NY (2024)
Big Mama nestled in the pines along the Hudson River.
One of those trips took us up to New York State—tucked into the Adirondacks at a quiet little place called Camp Hudson Pines, right along the river. The views were peaceful and calming, like they’d stepped right out of a postcard. Our campsite was nestled in the pines, surrounded by rustic cabins from a time long gone. The whole place had a kind of quiet charm. We took day trips to Lake George, Saratoga Springs and surrounding areas. We checked all the boxes on our list, and soaked it all in.
But somewhere between the charm and the checklists, the tidy vibe started stirring again. Because here’s the raw truth: we packed way too much stuff. Like… why did we bring an extreme amount of pillows and a full lineup of T’s “just-in-case” contingency gear? (We won’t name names.)
Louie, NY State Thruway (2024)
Even Louie looked skeptical. It was a great trip—but it was clear: we needed less bulk and more bounce.
A few months later, as we started planning a winter road trip down the East Coast to Florida, the conversation shifted. We knew we wanted to stay in Florida for two weeks, but we had some reservations—literally and figuratively—about pulling Big Mama. What we really wanted was freedom to change plans on the fly, hop from spot to spot, and go wherever the weather or whim took us.
Truth is, once we started researching campgrounds, it hit us: there just weren’t many sites available. Every spot we liked was already booked up. T’s quiet curiosity about truck campers turned into a full-blown let’s do this. He was all in—diving into research, weighing options, figuring out what would work.
“And you know… we’re on the road to paradise… here we go, here we go.”— Talking Heads, Road to Nowhere (1985)
C? Still had a few butterflies about the whole thing. We’d owned a truck camper decades ago. It did the job, but it was… tight. And here we were, considering hopping from the comfort of Big Mama into a setup that might feel like living inside a shoebox with cabinet latches.
That Florida trip? It started as two weeks and turned into four. The kind of stretch where things go sideways, get simpler, and somehow feel exactly right. (We’ve got a story coming soon: “The Detour That Made the Trip.”)
But something bigger was starting to click. We weren’t just planning a trip—we were mapping out setups, digging into gear, swapping notes, and asking each other “Wait… do we really need this?” Somewhere between the research rabbit holes and the packing list debates, The Tidy RV started to take shape.
A space to share how we actually roll—what we pack, what we skip, and how we switch between rigs without losing our minds (or our coffee filters). Not just another gear list, but an honest look at tidy travel—from the drawer that won’t stay shut to the scissors that always ends up in the wrong bin.
That’s the ride we’re sharing here.
✨ Click here to explore our rigs and how we roll.
—T, C & Louie 🐾
🔗 Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means we may earn from qualifying purchases—at no extra cost to you. 👍 Just places we’ve visited and products we’ve actually used. Not sponsored, but all part of our story.
