We are a family of hardcore, middle-class weekend warriors who love to get out and camp just about every other weekend. Living in Texas, we do this all year long, even when temperatures dip into the 30s.
Alison and I budget and are relatively frugal. We rarely eat out, and most of our extra money is used for having fun outdoor experiences with our two boys. So for us, buying an RV that was guaranteed to last a long time was essential.
Also, being able to simply pull up and camp in just about any campsite we select is very important to us. So, with all of these factors in consideration, our family decided to purchase a Jayco Jay Flight 184BS.
Welcome To Our RV!
When we first got into RVing over eight years ago, we picked a travel trailer that perfectly fit our needs. As our kids grew, we felt we needed a few small upgrades. Essentially, we switched from the Jay Flight 184BH without a slide out to the 184BS which has one for just a bit more room.
Our Jayco is perfect for us and has everything we need: a shower, a sink, beds for the whole crew, a refrigerator, a toilet, great tires, durable walls, and a sturdy roof. It’s all that we need to go on our adventures.
Our Favorite Features
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Slide-Outs
When our children were smaller, space wasn't an issue. Seven years later, our boys are much larger and need more room. The slide-out adds several additional feet of space in width and keeps us from having to buy a longer RV. It's become an important feature as we now have a 6-foot-tall teenager.
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Comfortable RV Beds
When we were shopping for RVs, comfortable sleeping arrangements were a top priority for us. For years we were tent campers and didn’t mind sleeping on the ground with our foam cushions and inflatable mattresses. However as time marched on and we grew older, sleeping on the ground also got old.
We felt it would be best if our kids had their own space to retreat if needed instead of sleeping in a tent, especially when we traveled to bear country. We also want to travel with our kids as long as they still enjoy it, and we feel the bunk beds give them the privacy they need at this stage of life.
As far as the master bed, we love that it is non-convertible, which might sound odd if you have never owned an RV before. The dining room table in our first model turned into a bed. This meant that we had to put away blankets, pillows, and bed sheets every morning before breakfast and unfold our bed for it to become a usable table during the day. Making and remaking the bed daily isn't difficult, but it's not something you want to think about when you are enjoying an RV trip.
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Storage Capacity
Having plenty of storage for longer road trips is essential when selecting a travel trailer, but this doesn't mean you need room to pack your entire house when camping. All RVs have weight limits and you need to be aware of these limitations.
Storage can be found under our bed, the kids’ bunks, and even under the dinette seats for larger items. In these spots, we keep all our clothes, board games, sporting equipment, camping chairs, exterior rug, camera gear, and so much more. The storage spaces are easy to access and fit our camping style well. Of course, we also have other storage locations like the pantry area, under the sink, and above our bed, but the first three are large enough for anything we might need to take on a trip.
Why The Jayco Jay Flight Fits Our Needs
RV Specs
Our Jayco is a little over 21 feet long, around 3,400 pounds unloaded, holds about 20 gallons of fresh water, and can sleep up to 6 people. It's the perfect size for our family of 4. Our travel trailer is compact enough to fit in spaces we want to camp in and light enough to tow with our Ford F-150 or similar half-ton trucks.
We also like that the dining room table converts to a bed, which allows our kids to occasionally bring a friend along. Plus, it has enough water storage for everyone to last for several days while dry camping.
Fitting Our Lifestyle
As part-time RVers on a budget, our small Jayco allows us to affordably take regular vacations. We can go on quick camping getaways over the weekend or use our RV as a hotel room for events in other cities. There's no need to spend hours packing tons of gear when going on these mini trips. We simply grab the necessities like a few clothes, food, and camera gear, then we hit the road for some fun.
It's also a good size for our longer summer trips. There is enough room inside for us to feel comfortable when we aren't outside exploring and relaxing.
Our Travels
Traveling in our Jayco part-time for close to a decade has given us the chance to see so many amazing places across the US. Since we love both dark skies and unique landforms, we tend to center our RV trips mainly in the West where the night skies are typically less light polluted and the Earth’s features are more dramatic.
For our summer trips, we change our theme each year. Sometimes we'll explore Southern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains to hike alpine lakes and go off-roading using a side-by-side. Other times we'll do some desert hiking near the arches and slot canyons of Utah. We even plan trips that stretch across eight or nine states looking for the best stargazing experiences.
From the Badlands of the Dakotas to the basin and range topography of Nevada, we try to see it all and document it on our RWT Adventures YouTube channel. We simply love to explore whenever we get the chance.
On the weekends, we normally like to stick to our massive state of Texas and neighboring Oklahoma. We've been to well over a hundred different campsites in each state and are always trying to find new ones as a quick family getaway to enjoy the stars at night.
