Single RVing is the way to go

Single RVing can work for you if you like to spend time on your own and you're comfortable traveling on your own to the places you want to go to.

There's a lot of flexibility, freedom, economy and new experiences when you go solo RVing that may not be available if you're traveling with a companion.

As with any form of solo travel, single RVing allows you to meet up with people, join up with them if appropriate, travel with them for a while, then find something different, somewhere different or someone different and then move on to the next adventure.

Basically you can go wherever the wind blows you.

With single RVing, everything is your own and your own choice:

• the food you eat
• the people you meet
• the places you go
• the way you live
• the hours you keep
• the music you listen to
• the shows you watch
• the places you go
• the experiences you have
• the discoveries you make
• the learning you get
• the books you read and

All quiet? Don't kid yourself that single travelers don't have conversations. Just watch them as they drive past you - their lips are moving and they're not necessarily singing.

the conversations you have.

Go Single RVing and all this is yours. It's your choice whether, where and for how long you add other people and events into your life. No one else decides, just you.

As a single person, you will usually be very welcome, because a solo guest breaks up the couple, couple, couple, arrangement that often happens with RV gatherings.

For some people, traveling solo is a problem because of fear or loneliness.

For women, the question of single RVing can be particularly difficult. Most women who go solo RVing find that they have a fantastic time and are never in any real danger.

Some advantages of single RVing

By traveling on your own, you only need a space that works for one person, and that one person is you. This may seem obvious, but there are some interesting things about this such as:

• A workspace for one person is much easier than a workspace that allows for another person to be present. This is true even if the other person is not working but just sitting and reading while the other is preparing food etc. Plus there is the freedom of being able to put things down where you want, which may suit your style of cooking but be perceived as a problem by the other person if you're traveling with a companion.
• If you are quite tall, you may need a queen size bed, as I do. However if I were not sharing the bed with someone, I could sleep on an angle in a double bed, thus saving space. I've done this very comfortably.
• You only need to store one type of food and only need to cook one type of food, and that's the best sort of food: the food you like.
• You only need to allow for the things that you like to do, not for the things that other people like to do.
• Unless you are a particularly odd character, there will be no arguing, no hassles, no blame, no conflict.
• There are no problems with directions, and no need to negotiate where to go.
• If you find it dull or too much to cook every evening, in most campgrounds you'll find people who are happy to share a meal, rotate the cooking or have a potluck dinner where everybody brings a contribution to be shared by the rest. This also happens when you travel in convoy (a caravan in North America) where there may be a specific cooking roster.
• Some single RVers regularly add other people into their journeys. For example, someone might decide to cross from one side of their country to the other. They arrange with various workmates, friends or relatives to meet up in different places, travel together for a while and then part company. This requires flexibility form the fly-ins or a predictable schedule so that the fly-in visitors can plan around the main participant.
• When you boondock, you can stay twice as long on the same amount of food, water, power and LPG.
• With single RVing, only one person is responsible and only one person needs to fit their habits around the demands.
• People only need to like you, rather like you and like your partner for you to get on with them. This makes it much easier to spend time with some people, have some fun and then move on.
• If you decide to do some work along the way to earn an income, you only need to stop where there is work for you rather than trying to find a place where there's work for you and work for your partner.
• There is plenty of room for your stuff - you only need to allow for one sort of stuff.
• Some people RV solo with pets. I met a woman who had a pack of dogs who slept in the lower part of the trailer in a compartment that opened to the outside when required and had a heavy welded mesh top. Her mattress sat on top of that. To me, the aroma (stench?) would have been overpowering. To her it was the perfume of something she loved.
• You can go single RVing with kids - in some ways this is much simpler for the children and for you. There is only one set of rules, no arguments between partners about discipline or structure and the kids get to see you as a competent and caring person who takes them on the adventure of a lifetime. This is great modeling for when they are adults. The open road is an ideal place for kids, they have the freedom, the flexibility, the interest, the engagement and something very different from what most kids in a cotton wool society have. And they get the memories, skills and experience that helps to make them more competent and confident in childhood as well as when they are adults.
• Along the way, you'll meet up with people who are great teachers of all sorts of things: Geology; Geography; Birds; Living free; and Life generally. Traveling alone, or alone with kids, you can take advantage of these opportunities to learn more about the wonders of nature and humankind.

If you have an open mind, you'll meet plenty of people, have some great experiences and learn a lot along the solo RV highway and byway.

Of course, there can be some drawbacks, such as:

• you may experience a lack of community
• loneliness (but remember that being alone does not necessarily lead to loneliness)
• you may experience a lack of the familiar things of home and of being in relationship
• for some people the lack of discussion about "where to next?" can leave them with a sense of meaningless wandering or of a lack of purpose
• you may experience feelings of obsession with self (as a result of too much time alone and of insufficient challenge to your views, ideas and emotions).

but none of these and no other negative experiences may be your lot.

So, don't be concerned if you don't know where to go or how to do it. Just get out there and try it. You'll meet up with lots of people who will give you the guidance that you need and want.

Also, don't be concerned if you have only a limited set of skills. Try single RVing out by hiring an RV the first few times so that you can build up your skills in an RV that has been properly set up by a good RV rentals company.

Plus you can call in expert help when needed. Seek out websites, books and people who can inform, support and train you in the things you need to have a successful single RVing experience.