There’s No One Way to RV: Inspiring Examples from the Winnebago Community

There’s No One Way to RV: Inspiring Examples from the Winnebago Community 
Four real RVer stories showing endless possibilities.

By: Morgan Field

After spending years in the Winnebago community, I've realized something: there is no single "right" way to RV.

For some, an RV is a passport to places they never imagined reaching. For others, it's a way to create deeper connection, embrace retirement, keep working while exploring, or simply find more freedom in everyday life.

To explore what makes RV travel so personal, I sat down with several Winnebago owners whose adventures look completely different. Different journeys, different seasons of life, but one common thread: they each found their own way to make RV life beautifully their own!

1. How Scott is Creating Connections

For some people, traveling solo sounds lonely. Scott Watson, of Go Small Live Large, would tell you: "Alone doesn't have to mean lonely."

His travels, in his 2019 Winnebago Travato GL, are built around a simple philosophy: connection doesn't happen by accident. Sometimes, you have to create the conditions for it.

When Scott grabs a meal on the road, his phone stays tucked away, and his earbuds never make it in. Instead, he opens an interesting magazine—something unusual enough that someone eventually asks, "Whatcha reading?"

That's all it takes. One question. One conversation. One small moment of openness that could become a friendship, a lasting memory, or simply a reminder that connection is often closer than we think.

Scott has a way of creating little permission slips throughout his day—quiet invitations that say, "You're welcome here."

His favorite ways to travel reflect that same philosophy. Urban camping places him in the heart of a city where conversations are waiting around the next corner. Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome introduce him to local hosts and fellow RVers.

Caravans and meetups become campfires, shared meals, karaoke, workshops, and friendships that often outlast the trip itself. His travel choices remind us that the relationships we're longing for often begin by putting ourselves in places where people are already gathering.

At RV events, he's the person hosting workshops, opening his doors for rig tours, answering questions, and sharing lessons learned from years on the road. He makes it easy for people to step into his world—creating the kind of welcome that turns strangers into friends.

Scott reminds us that traveling by RV solo doesn't have to mean traveling alone. Sometimes connection starts with something simple: putting your phone away, asking one question, leaving the door open, or making it just a little easier for someone else to say hello.
 
Because for Scott, connection isn't something to wait for. It's something we can all choose to create.

And if the road ever feels lonely, perhaps the question isn't only, "Where can I go to find connection?" but also: "What small invitation can I create to welcome it in?"

2. How Cathy is Expanding Possibilities through RVing

Some people tell travel stories that leave you thinking, "I could never do that." Cathy Crouch tells them in a way that quietly makes you wonder, "… Maybe I could."

Listening to Cathy describe shipping her 2014 Winnebago Travato G across the Atlantic to spend months exploring Europe was surreal—not just because of what she did, but because of how she talked about it. With the calm confidence of someone describing the next natural adventure.

It struck me that Cathy has a relationship with uncertainty that many of us spend our lives trying to cultivate. Where others see reasons not to go… she sees possibilities.

In 2017, she sold her house and stepped fully into a life built around curiosity and wonder. Nine years later, that curiosity has carried her across the United States, throughout Baja Mexico, and into seventeen countries across Europe—all in her RV.

One day she's quietly paddling a kayak through the Sea of Cortez as sea lions relax upon the shore. Another, she's standing in awe as wild bison move across the landscape.

Her travels aren't random; they're guided by wonder. She plans her routes around mountain biking trails, kayaking adventures, birds, plants, wildlife, and places she's never experienced before. She's not trying to check countries off a list; she's following her sense of joy and curiosity.

After hearing story after story, I finally understood why Cathy lives by three simple words: “Here. Now. Wow.”

Be here. Be now. Allow yourself to be wowed. They're more than a travel motto; they're a way of paying attention to life.

Her story invites the questions: What adventures have you been assuming are out of reach? With a little more courage and creativity, could those become possible?

Because sometimes the biggest journey doesn't begin with crossing an ocean. It begins with believing you might be capable of more than you originally imagined.

3. How Roger & Pam Keep the Adventure Alive

There is a certain sparkle that comes from people who are genuinely excited about life. You can hear it in their voices. You can see it in their smiles. And you can feel it when Roger and Pam Bohnke talk about their Winnebago adventures.

They waited until retirement to take the leap into RV life, and like many new owners, they heard the familiar question: "Are you sure you'll really use it?" A decade later, their answer is a resounding, "absolutely!"

Since purchasing their 2017 Winnebago Travato 59K, Roger and Pam—along with their two Westie pup-pilots Rocky and Buxton—have traveled more than 134,000 miles, explored 45 states, and built a collection of memories that proves retirement isn't the end of adventure. For them, it was the beginning of a whole new chapter.

Their home base remains in Virginia so they can stay close to their children and grandchildren. Then, each winter, they trade snow for sunshine by spending several weeks snowbirding at a naval base in the Florida Keys.

But what struck me most wasn't where they go; it was why they go. While their travels have taken them through nearly every corner of the country, the Bohnkes have discovered that the destination is rarely the best part of the journey … the people are.

Rather than choosing destinations first, they often plan their travels around Winnebago gatherings like Winnie Bs events (including BNR) and Camp Winnebago. The meetups become the reason to leave home, while the scenic drives, national parks, and unexpected stops along the way become the icing on the cake.

Somewhere along the way, Roger and Pam built a retirement community that doesn't exist in one neighborhood—it stretches across the country. Their richest currency isn't miles; it's shared adventures, campfire conversations, spontaneous music jams, and the familiar faces waiting at the next meetup.

They laughed as they shared stories of caravanning through small farming towns while locals stopped to watch a parade of Winnebagos roll by, and of gatherings where complete strangers quickly became lifelong friends. It's something they've experienced over and over again.

Next year, the Bohnkes celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with another adventure already on the calendar: camping at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta with Fantasy RV Tours.

As they talked about the trip, I noticed the same sparkle that had been there from the beginning of our conversation, not because they were reminiscing but because they were still dreaming.

Listening to them, I couldn't help but revel in the wonder of optimism for what’s ahead. 

What if your most meaningful adventures aren't behind you—but still ahead of you? 

How might you live if you truly believed your next chapter could be your richest one yet?

4. How Charlie Grace is Choosing Today

For many people, RV life lives in the "someday" category. Someday … when work slows down or when retirement arrives or when there is finally enough time.

Charlie Grace, of Every Day Is An Adventure, chose a different path.

Now in her 50s, Charlie Grace spends more than nine months each year traveling with her dog, Rosie, in her 2025 Winnebago EKKO 23B—while continuing to work full-time from the road. 

She didn't wait for retirement or the perfect season. She built a life where work and adventure could exist side by side. (Read tips for working from an RV here!)

For Charlie Grace, an RV isn't the destination. It's the tool that makes more of life possible. It's what allows her to wake up somewhere new, take Rosie for a morning walk surrounded by scenery that changes every day, log into work with a view outside her window, and trade a typical evening at home for a sunset beside a creek, a beach, or a mountain.

"I don't want to look at four walls all day while I work," she shared. "I want to look at scenery. I want to be able to go outside during breaks, enjoy the creek, look at the cliff, or the beach—wherever I am."

And that's the heartbeat of how Charlie Grace travels. She isn't escaping her responsibilities; she's expanding her life around them.

Charlie Grace believes the things we dream about doing "someday" aren't always guaranteed to still be waiting for us when that day arrives. Our circumstances change. Our bodies change. Life changes. 

So, she chooses today … while she can hike and drive and wake up to step outside into a world that feels bigger than four walls.

Her story invites us to ask: What if you stopped making your life wait for a future version of you? And what dreams have you quietly placed in a tomorrow that may never arrive?

Because sometimes the biggest adventure isn't waiting for someday; it's deciding that today is the day you begin.

What’s Your Favorite Way to RV?

After each of these conversations, I found myself inspired, expanded, and delighted by all the different ways people create a life through RVing. 

And that's the real beauty of RV life: there isn't one right way to do it. There's only the way that fits your season, your values, and the life you're creating.

So, take the pieces of these stories that spark something inside you and create an adventure that's uniquely yours!

—Morgan Field (Follow along on Instagram @themorganfield or on Facebook)