What do you get when you cram a disabled vet, a burned-out wife, two dogs and a cat into a 350 square foot house on wheels? A last-ditch attempt to save our dying marriage.
PTSD from my three years in combat was destroying our marriage, we couldn’t work hard enough to break free from living paycheck-to-paycheck and banks wouldn’t even consider granting us a home loan. We were working opposite shifts, so we never saw each other, and we just fought when we did. We may as well have been roommates with rings as we were ships passing in the night.
That wasn’t the life we dreamed of having together.
So, rather than becoming another divorce statistic, we decided on a plan that was quite-possibly the most INSANE thing we could have come up with. Sell everything, buy an RV, quit our jobs and try a nomadic life on the road. What’s the worst that could happen?
People told us we were crazy to throw away our careers. They said we’d divorce for sure living in such a small space together. Instead, we became a team who learned to communicate again while growing closer together and defying the odds.
We placed all of our eggs in an RV basket to save our marriage and we’re now living a story we’ll never forget. As we continue to share our journey through YouTube and social media, we wanted to give people an inside look at how we got here through my first passion, writing.
Little did we know when we started down this path, but the adventures, craziness and occasional insanity we continue to endure would unite us on this incredible quest and inspire many others to start their own #RVLife.
#RVLife details our journey. From deciding we wanted to radically alter our lives, to finding an RV we could buy, to the hard lessons we learned and the amazing experiences we had along the way. #RVLife will teach you about life on the road in an RV, it will teach you about making hard decisions to choose marriage over a career, it will teach you that taking a leap of faith can pay off and it will show what you can accomplish when you refuse to give up.
Enjoy!
Hebard’s Travels
Free. Your. Life.
This book could have also been titled, "If I Wasn't There, I Wouldn't Believe It" since the experiences of new RV ownership the author writes about could seem too outrageous to believe. The book is a wonderful compliment to Hebards Travels social media presence where they document their foray into full time RV living, provide travel reviews, and lots of helpful how-to's.
Like many of us who were quickly educated in the reality of buying a new RV in hopes there would only be some minor fixes, the book relates some of the best of the worst in manufacturer's "warranty" practices I've heard to date. Anyone who has needed urgent or immediate service after their purchase can indentify with the Hebards struggles to get what they paid for - ourselves included when we parked our two week old travel trailer so it blocked the dealer's service bays (with the slides open) to ensure it would be worked on - after the 3rd time they told us the slide leaks in two of the three slides were fixed but had obviously not been touched.
True to its title, #RVLife is about RVing AND Life. Aside from grappling with keeping a large monetary investment from falling apart, the book reminds us the regular stressors of marriage, money and living in general are with us where ever we go. But as they say, a burden shared, is a burden halved. The Hebards have certainly endured a full serving of burdens. Through the events shared in the book, John recounts how he and wife, Laura, continued to call on their loving foundation to build and rebuild their connection in the midst of calamity and at times, near catastrophy.
Among the life tribulations in the book, John is quite open about the combat PTSD with which he is diagnosed. Something many of us know friends and family returning from war are also going through but aren't sure exactly how that manifests to them or even how to help or talk about. #RVLife gave an unexpected and helpful glimpse into how PTSD can be triggered in some day to day situations and the internal strength sufferers call on to muster through each one. I appreciated this perspective very much. It shows a Veteran's sacrifice is never ending.
In short, this is easily one of those books anyone thinking about buying an RV should read before taking the plunge and is also a great read for the old timers among us. Wether a weekend warrior or a full timer, new or experienced, #RVLife will educate you or take you on a (not so?) fond stroll of "remember when" in your own RV journey in an entertaining, humorous and easily readable way. You will definitely laugh and you may even cry while reading about the lifestyle of these full timers. Some experiences are Hebard-specific but much of what they have gone through can happen to any RV owner.
Many thanks to John for writing #RVLife, to Laura for supporting him during the process, and ironically, to Lemonade...without whom my husband and I would not have crossed paths with the Hebard's YouTube channel as we searched for solutions to our comparably mild but equally concerning new RV issues.
Bravo, John! Encore! Encore!
Loved this book. Well written with lots of humor. I was hooked from the first page and read it in a day. The book really captures the highs and lows of living everyday in a RV and the everyday struggles from the highs of realizing the freedom of living off the matrix to the reality of all the hurdles that comes with it. Really good book. Good job.
Amazing book! It is so well written that you just keep turning pages without noticing.
I’m only partway through but I keep scrounging for time to finish this great book.
I’m already looking forward to this author’s next one.
Want to rekindle your life with your significant other? Seeking a new adventure? Want to travel more? If you said yes to any of these questions- This is the book to read!
Want to rekindle your life with your significant other? Seeking a new adventure? Want to travel more? If you said yes to any of these questions- This is the book to read!
Amazing book, John did a amazing thing by writing this book I am about 2/3 through it and hate having to set it down. I love how it's like hes talking with you. Love this book and will be the first rving book I've bought to put on the table and share with others. Highly recommend this book.
I loved this book. i started reading it at 11pm, turned off the light at midnight and woke back up at 2am to read some more. Hebard has an incredible ability to pull you into his world. I laughed, I cried, I mourned. This book celebrates John and Laura, their love for each other, and their adventures and mishaps on the road. Frankly, I can't wait to read his next book.
Love the way it’s written, it’s not all puppy dogs and rainbows this is real life and could not have told it any better, we love their YouTube channel as well.,
The honesty and real life detail. Me and my husband hope to go full time also. This gave us a bird's eye view for the future.
What I didn't like was the fact that it was to short. Lol
This was a great read! It tells the real-life stories of what it can be like to live fulltime in an RV. Anyone considering this lifestyle or already enjoying it can learn a lot from this book. Definitely the best RV'ing book I have read!
I have gotten about a quarter of the way through the book and I am hooked. I truly enjoy reading about John's story and everything that they are facing. If you are looking for an inspiring story pick this book up today.
John Hebard does an excellent job of describing the highs and lows, the good and bad, of full-time RV living. He covers it all from the excitement and stress of downsizing, absolute frustration with RV dealers, and poor quality manufacturing to exploring our country's national parks (with great travel tips for New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Wyoming, and Washington). Having been on the road for a year, we can say we've experienced many of the same highs and lows. If you're thinking of RVing, full- or part-time, this a great book to help you jump in with your eyes open! If you're already on the road, you'll read it with compassion, empathetic chuckles, and a few fists raised in solidarity. Enjoy!
I’m nearly halfway through the Kindle edition and this after having it for a short time as it just became available yesterday! It’s a page turner for sure, I’m having a tough time getting anything done around here because I keep reading it!
I’ve laughed, been surprised (about some of the campers the writer has encountered) and been impressed by the witty yet poignant writing style. This book has something to offer everyone who has ever questioned why they keep chasing the elusive so called “American Dream”. It affords the reader the opportunity for self reflection and hope for a better existence.
I can’t wait to see what the next chapters bring!
This book is very entertaining. I'm only partway through the book but the author has a very entertaining way of writing. It keeps you wanting to read chapter after chapter!
The story is very dear to my heart because I to have gone through similar issues and though John was in the military and I wasn't, there were direct correlations to how my wife and I have discovered #RVLife as well. While we have been in an RV "full-time" longer, we went to the RV to start living simpler and then graduate to travel from there. John's story is so strong that in reading chapter after chapter there are extremely strong emotions due to the memories I have from my own experience. It often brings a tear to my eye as I can totally empathize with the writer.
If you are struggling with life and your marriage like this author was (and as I was!), then you NEED to read this book! It is exposing the truth about the American "Dream" (Nightmare).
I'm not done with the book yet as it just came out a few hours ago, but I had to get on here and say that if it touches others like it already has done for me, then it's worth 1000 stars.
I love John's writing style, and I like the down to earth stories he tells. John tells it like it is. RVing is not all wine, roses, and sunsets.
Great introduction to the RV life, from the very beginning to a full year of road time. Lots of great insight on how to downsize and get out on the highway.
Great work John!
