To expect an RV to replace a house is probably not a realistic expectation. They are two different types of living. There are drawbacks to both. Why did you move out of your house? Do those reasons still apply? I really admire y’all for the life choice you made. I think your children are going to experience things that most other children don’t. In this world with education being in turmoil (I’m trying not to be political)😂 your children are much better off with you for their education. Of course they are experiencing much of their education which is fantastic. I believe that bumping into each other in an RV, hands down beats barely seeing each other and growing apart as many families do in today’s world. You guys are awesome! Keep it up!

A lot of what y’all said rings true to us, too. We chose the rear living as well because of the space for hanging as a family or with friends and for the views we get out the back. While there are some inconveniences with a RV that you don’t get with a house (endless hot water, great water pressure, tons of storage, etc), we appreciate being able to change our backyard when the mood strikes us. LOL.

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

We are glad we could be helpful.

My dears, I haven't watched the whole video yet but ...you have young kids. A 35000sqft house or a 150sqft RV will just be a mess. It's ok. It's beautiful.

RVing gets in your blood! Once free it is hard to be grounded again. Great choice!

We've been officially full time for 2 months now and actually like the idea of having wheels on our home. You can't forget something at home when the home goes with you. You guys helped us with our RV brand choice early on in our purchasing process. Grand Design really is the best.

I love you Marissa! I love that you laugh at your own accent and the confusion caused by it. It makes me smile to see someone so confident in themselves that these things are just fun and don’t bother you. A few years back I went almost completely dead in my right ear from a random weird virus. My husband says I need to write a book of all the funny things I hear people say because what I hear is NOT what they said and makes for some pretty comedic episodes. From one person who laughs at these things to another, keep on smiling!

We also thought of buying a house house and struggled with many reasons on pros and cons of living in one vs continuing to live full time in our RV. We talked about a small house and converting a van for part time travel. We mulled over this for several months while visiting family over the summer months. We finally concluded that we aren't ready to settle down yet! There's too much of this beautiful country yet to see and new friends we haven't met yet! There are pros and cons in a house house too. No home is perfect. What makes it a HOME is the love inside. ❤

Give-n-Take indeed... RV life demands it. Thank y'all for being candid. Man, JJ is really growing up!!

Our homes were such fab investments that I'd hate to miss out on that AND I love love love coming home.

This past year we moved out of our house and into a new 5th wheel. It is definitely a complete lifestyle change, but we love it! We have the same issue with the shower. I imagine the real solution would be a different hot water heater, but one thing we found to help extend our shower time a bit was a new shower head. One that uses less water, yet still has good coverage and pressure. We found ours in the camping section at Walmart for around $40

Best thing is you can choose what is best for YOU! We RVed for 1.5 years, but ended up putting down roots in Apache Junction, AZ. one of our favorite areas we RVed. We downgraded to a smaller travel trailer that we could use part time. We like having both a home and an RV!

OmG, I giggled so much at Marissa’s whaling well troubles. LoL As someone who has a mom from southern Mississippi and a dad from Pennsylvania Dutch country (both capable of very thick and unique accents) I love it!

That southern accent does change the sound of a lot of words. Just keep on saying things the way you do, we love it!

I see so many similarities with what we are experiencing in our fifth wheel! It’s a different lifestyle for sure, but the perspective of what you “want” and “need” is the biggest life lesson we’ve learned since moving into a 5th wheel.

It's a well.. no.. its a Whale. A whale??? Yes, a well.. 🤣😂🤣funniest end scene we have seen in a long while!!!!

Love the pros and cons list. There is so much more to life than possessions, you guys have given your kids so much more.

We have had our 2016 379FL now for 5 years and working to go full time next summer/fall. The front living works well for us as it has 3 distinct separate areas. Hope you have many enjoyable journeys in your GD.

You should consider an on-demand hot water heater. We love ours. There is no running out of hot water. I could not have made the transition to full-time RV living without it.

We have similar issue with height in our Pinnacle loft for sitting up. I smile when I see our son using the vent opening in the loft to get a few more inches of head height! 😆 Still our favorite floorplan so far.

Thank you & your family for taking us into your home. I think you all have made it work & are loving your adventurous life. Stay awesome & happy ! I love your channel.

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Our pleasure!

Just love this honest and just truly a "down-home" kind of walk through with a rig.. excellent video guys!!

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

We have both a house & a 2020 Avalanche with a bunkhouse. We have 7 children we share it with, & we love it. We HAD to have somewhere to homeschool since we have children in various grades, with different learning needs. We upgraded our shower to a tankless water heater, which helps with showers, but definitely isn't like home. Most of our time is intentionally outside. I would love to find a mid-bunk that has triple bunks that could sleep 6 kids or more. Haven't found anything like that yet. I love y'all's living areas, especially the side-serving- counter. I also like the renovations y'all did. Agree, well and whale are NOT homophones. Sorry Melissa, but you sure are cute saying them. :)

Y'all make life worth living by watching your videos and sharing your life with all of us out here watching your incredible journey is great keep living the dream and loving life yall are very special family full of so much love !

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

So glad you enjoy Jamie!

It’s sweet to watch you live your life on the road with your two littles. This lifestyle seems to be the perfect way to spend more time with your babies while they grow up.

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

So true!

For your shower temp, double check that your bypass valves for the water heater are fully closed and open in the correct position. Also if you have an outdoor shower fixture, make sure both the mixing valves are turned fully off. If any of those valves are not off or set correctly it'll mix your hot water in places you didnt want and wind up with warm water instead of hot.

My 19 year old still loves the loft space in our Solitude 377MBS. She uses a sound machine to drown out some of the cabin noise.

There is a tint you can have put on your windows that will not change the view but will change the heating and cooling and that insulates amazingly we put it on our condos that was on the lake and it made a huge difference also during the day no one can see in but you can see out of course at night it is some different on the visual aspect check into it it's just window tinting but it's a special kind

@marybooher9018

2 жыл бұрын

I’m looking into it for my Sticks and Bricks.

@scarlethenderson6510

2 жыл бұрын

@@marybooher9018 the tint is really amazing for the windows also it cuts down on the heating and cooling bill because it insulates the Sun out and keeps the cool end it's amazing

I think no matter what you choose as a lifestyle you tend to keep changing up and changing homes as you family changes and grows as you lifestyle and work/life do. When we realized that we really had to decide to settle in one area due to both work restrictions, such as taking promotions would take us away from working remotely from wherever we were and adding to the fact that we had a child with medical needs that was making moving very limited as we had less and less opportunities of being to far from specialists and as we became more dependant on home Healthcare deliveries (as an RN I could deliver the care so we did not need to be in the same spot for nursing care but the most supplies we could get delivered at a time were 2 weeks and they had to deliver to the same address every two week it cramped our travel distance). The one thing we could have done but choose not to was buy a house. While we knew the area we needed to be in we had to admit that we had been out of a house long enough that we were not clear as to how much space or what we needed to have in a settled down scenerio. So we choose to lease and actually are glad we did. Over a period if time we had three different leases giving us experience with different types of rooms and floor plans. We now are finally buying a house and while we may not stay in it forever by the time we started looking to buy we knew what would work and what we needed and what was not going to work and it made settling on a house a lot less stressful because when we saw it we knew it.

Merissa's mastery of English makes my day.

So. It's like this..."love grows best in little houses, with fewer walls to separate. Where you eat and sleep so close, you can't help but communicate. Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss. Love grows best in houses just like this" Like your 5th wheel. It matters not whether you live in a home with sticks and bricks or wheels. Its the living that happens within that makes it a home. If I recall, you began your journey because you wanted to experience quality time with your beautiful Hensley...and now JJ. You've made amazing memories and, as a family, you've gone on grand adventures. Its been wonderful watching all of you do that. And you're very real. You speak truthfully about even the hard times. We all have a few of those, eh? Maybe one day it won't be the what your family needs, but just ride the wave while it lasts and do your best. And keep us posted.

It's so hard to believe another year has come and gone. It seems like I only blinked and gone is the motor home and a tiny Hensely that is just learning to speak. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a fabulous 2022. 🎄✨🎅✨☃✨ ❄ Thanks for sharing your memories.

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas 🎄

We are so glad you made the choice and stayed rving....thanks for rhe inspiration Mike and Laurel

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much.

Merry Christmas! Love your videos!

It looks like you use The Good and the Beautiful, we do too and we love it!

I’m (Kelley) a realtor and it’s shocking how many people pass on the perfect place because of color and style. Those can easily be changed. We just started making changes to our 5th wheel after owning 3 years. Starting to make it really our own.

Thank you for sharing your life and adventures with us. Enjoy the videos.

Merry Christmas Marissa, Nathan, Hensley and JJ. 💛🙏💛

The Solitudes definitely hits the need for a home! They are so roomy that we have totally forgotten about living in a house! Merry Christmas guys

Merry Christmas my sweet LJMJ family😘😘

Hey y’all! Just a quick thought. We have similar coaches so I thought I’d comment on the hot shower issue. My wife turns on the gas to assist the electric water heater on her way to the shower. We usually have enough hot water for me and our 2 kids after her. I’ll give it 5-10min after she gets out but nothing crazy. Anyhow it’s nice to see other families on the road. ☺

Sue! I can’t believe it’s been a year since you have owned this fifth wheel. This fifth wheel fits you both and the kids. I love your fifth wheel. It’s nice and big. Love the kitchen. You have plenty of room to work with. Glad the kids like their rooms. I love when you say use that extra sos e for a taco bar. That’s so cute. Matt from Rv reviews he says it too when showing an Rv that has one. Very funny. And cute. Hope you have a great week and have a Merry Christmas 🎄 you and your family. Love you all! ❤️❤️💕 See you soon!

Thank you for being so truthful , this was one of the best

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much.

There is No perfect! Family is what matters and yours is amazing! Thank you for sharing! Hugs and Merry Christmas! To all of you!

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas 🎄

Thanks for another great video. We’re 3 months into full-timing with the Reflection version of your floor plan. We were apprehensive about selling a 2800 sq. ft. house to move into a 400 sq. ft. 5th wheel but it’s been great. The windows do make it feel much larger. Our 367BHS came with a tankless water heater. A definite improvement over a normal RV unit. We’ve followed your journey and found your videos inspirational.

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

That is awesome! Thank you.

I can't believe that you where in your RV for a year already. Hensley and JJ are growing up to fast. I love all of your videos and thank you for sharing your experience with all of us. Sending many MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A JOYOUS NEW YEAR. 😊 😃 😄

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!! Merry Christmas.

Can't wait for face two of the renovations 🤗 Marissa, you make my laugh so hard with the whale and well thing. We have a dialect as well but our parents made sure we can also speak without one. But you really can't and it's cute 😂 Here in the Netherlands we are in another lockdown. So sad for all the restaurants and shops. This is the second time that they have to close a week before Christmas. The big company's can sell stuff online but those cute little shops that we have might not make it. Hospitals are full again....Really sad. But...I wish you guys a merry Christmas, that everybody stays healthy. Lot's of love from the Netherlands, Daniëlle 😘🙋

In the loft area, we added to rods. One over the rail between the wall on the kitchen and the rail the attaches to the ceiling. We put a blanket over that rod and it gave us and our son the extra quiet we needed. Then we put a rod in the space that you crawl up in and push the curtain to the side all day and pull it closed at bed time. Our son who was 6 years old at the was in that loft for 6 years until we sold our camper in October of this year. He made it work for sleeping but at 6 feet now, he needs much more space than the loft provides.

I really like your 5th wheel. Thank you for sharing. Blessings

Merry Christmas you guys. 🎄🎁🎅🏼

Love watching you guys! Merry Christmas!

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! Merry Christmas.

Happy Holidays🎄⛄🎄

A very realistic and honest video. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

It is great to hear you mention the water heater problem. We have the exact same problem with our 378MBS. I am not sure what the problem is yet but we never had a problem with our previous 397TH or 351M. We always run it on propane and electric. Water is cold in just over 5 minutes like you said.

Love you guy’s, such an awesome family.

Nathan, Marissa, thank you for the informative positive video. I am pleased to see how you develop and grow in an effort to improve your living space, without forgetting about children. You're cool! Good luck to you guys. Merry Christmas...

Nathan, Marissa, Hensley, JJ: Merry Christmas! 🎄🎆 🙏 for a safe holiday time.

"Because it's pretty" is a valid reason. How my home makes me feel is more important to me than perfection.

We just bought a new 2021 jayco pinnacle and I didn’t care for the furniture.. I want to thank you for sharing your products and changes you made to your new rv. We bought from Article- the same couch as yours but in blue and replaced recliners with chair and ottoman It does make it more home like and it’s fun to make it as comfortable as you can with the touches you like . Thanks again We enjoy your adventures !

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

We are glad our videos have been helpful. Best wishes on your new adventures.

Whale and well only sound the same when Marissa says them with her accent! 🤣❤️

You make me laugh Marissa "because it's pretty " 🤣😅. Thank you for taking us on your journey. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.🎅🎄🤶❤🇬🇧

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! You too!

I showed my family the clip about the Homophone, and we all had a good laugh. Thanks for including moments like these in your episodes. My kids remember playing with Hensley and noticed how much she's grown.

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for appreciating these moments. 😀

Marissa, your Tennessee accent is part of your charm. You say "whel", I say "whale". It's funny that Hensley hears the difference, and you don't, but it makes sense, because you grew up hearing the Tennessee dialect for many years, and she's grown up all over the US!

Have an awesome Christmas. It should be fun with Hensley and JJ.

Use the sound machines for white noise to help the kids sleep.... and you can get heavy insulated short curtain to cover the open area of the loft.

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tips!

So many right answers and not one that's universal. What works for us is having a home base and then traveling in a smaller trailer. But then it's difficult for us to get rid of so much "stuff" and that's the nice way of saying it. As we plan our move to Albuquerque (from NorCal) it's amazing just how much junk we have in our trunks.

Good video! Merry Christmas!

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Merry Christmas.

Lovely overview guys. Good video 👍🏻

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Whale or well! Thats too funny. I love the sofas, very classy.

Merry Christmas 🎄 and May God 🙏💜🙏 Bless you and yours in 2022!!! 🎇🎆🥳

Great video. Love how the couches look.

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

Merry Christmas to your sweet family! 🎄🎅🐳

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas 🎄

When we bought our property in Whitleyville, we were just looking for a place as a home base where we could park our RV. We got lucky as it came with an almost 800 square foot cabin as well as a brand new shed. Now we will still be able to take the RV on the road, but still have a place to park when we need it.

Can't wait to see phase 2

We're not a 50/50, house/outside kinda family. Some must be 20/80, house/outside or more kinda people. If the moble life is good for you then outside life must interest you much more. We're more of an 80/20, house/outside kinda fam. But 100% loving this content!!

Teacher here: I’m on team Hensley with the homophones!! The animal has a long a sound. The other has a short e sound. I find it a bit odd that those words are included as homophones. Merry Christmas!!🎄🎁

Sense you already have a home base just build a house next to the house that’s already there, you’ll have the best of both worlds, and family too. I still think you could also add a smaller RV for those weekends or day trips. 🤔🇺🇸👍🏻🥂

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tips!

Bless you guys.🎄🥰

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! ❤️❤️❤️

I thought at first you were saying whale and wail - but at end I realized and Nathan actually showed the spelling which is whale and well - everyone has an accent which affects how we pronounce words - Love it!!! Mercy me I'm from Maryland, 3 miles outside of DC area and when my father was transferred to Cincinnati - everyone asked me what part of the South was I from - as of 2007 I was still asked that question (although I lived in Maryville, TN for about 4 years where my accent came back). Anyway, besides the Air stream I do believe this 5th wheel feels the most "home" - my opinion. I love that you have 2 couches in there along with the eating area - I love lots of counter space, especially with a growing family and meals to prepare & regular size frig - but down the road, the children will both outgrow their personal spaces; but til then, I love the home you have now and you do have home base property so you're not always having to find places to park in year round. One final question - would it be possible to add some kind of sound barrier between kitchen and bedrooms? In the Air Stream I believe it was, you had a curtain up to keep light and sound out of the sleeping area....... Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! ❤

Merry Christmas 🎄

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas 🎄

Whale and well……two completely different sounding words. Unless you have a heavy accent. Lol! Your 5th wheel is gorgeous and I love how you’ve made it your own.

Merry Christmas... Y'all need to get a Truma Aquago Comfort Plus. I had a tank, the next unit had the other Girard tankless, and then I had Truma installed in my current unit.... I would never go back to a hot water tank again. The LP saving alone is worth the upgrade. I love my 20-30 minute hot shower every night. Yes 30 minutes.... but I added a pressure adapter on the shower so I can turn the pressure down unless I am rinsing off. The install is quick (professional install only). It's almost plug and play simple. Another upgrade I did to reduce my LP consumption was adding CheapHeat on the main furnace. Hauling two 40lb LP tanks to get filled and then struggling to lift them up onto the high sliding tray once or twice a week (cold winter days) was getting to be too much. Unless temps drop to the teens the fireplaces and CheapHeat maintain 73 degrees inside my 46ft unit easily. Those are my two favorite upgrades. In third place is the awning over the living/dining slide Cheers!

Whale and wail are the same. Whale and well...definitely agree with Hensley!

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

😂

As a former kindergarten teacher who taught phonics for 34 years, technically the "wh" is supposed to have a breathy sound, kind of like in who, but most people say the "w" and "wh" the same. The"ale" and "ail" do sound the same. So in a way you are both correct.

I enjoyed your comparisons! Hugs to your adorable family 🖖🏻😘🙏🏻👍🏻

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

So glad your happy with your home. MERRY Christmas and hoping I get my LJMJ SHIRT SOON.

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Yah! Hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas 🎄

We use TGTB and we are from northern Michigan. My daughter and I thought those were not homophones either. But I understand now why they are in there. It's a matter of accent and we don't have an accent that doesn't make them homophones. Also, we have a relatively spacious house that we have lots of table set up around the house and the past few weeks we have ended up doing school on the floor. My husband came upstairs one day to find my two girls and I spread out in the hallway doing school. lol

Nathan, have your considered adding window film to your windows? We have done it on our single pane and it is a dramatic difference in solar heating inside. We could not even set in our dining area of our 29RS before adding it. It does not impede the view at all from the inside and adds a little privacy from the outside. Enjoy you videos and your journeys, thank you so much.

Sitting up in the bed was a major factor for us(or rather my daughter) in the selection of our 5th wheel. While I really like mid bunk 5th wheels so you get more seating space in the rear it just wasn’t going to give us the “space” needed for our 7 year old son and 10 year old daughter. For that reason we went with a traditional rear bunkhouse(specifically the Keystone Avalanche 378BH) which gives the kids their own room with plenty of space to stretch out, sit up, and hang out along with their own 1/2 bath and entrance. As your kids get older space becomes important to them. Merry Christmas to you all. We enjoy your videos.

Hope you guys have a whale of a Christmas and Happy New Year from Mackinac Michigan....

@mikenowak2360

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas from Alpena Mi Don

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas 🎄

very helpful series

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful, thank you.

Merry Christmas🎄🤗

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas 🎄

Love your videos

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much.

The trick to longer showers in an RV is to not turn hot water on fully. Only turn the hot water about 1/2 way if even that. Then adjust temp with the cold water as per usual. When hot water is on full blast it just uses it too fast. Took me a long time living in an RV to figure it out! Lots of cold showers! Lol! I’ve got as much hair as Marissa! Good luck!!

Merry Christmas from Michigan ❣️

@LessJunkMoreJourney

2 жыл бұрын

Same to you! Merry Christmas.

I *love* your accent Marissa! You would not be as interesting and fun to listen to without it! LOL is it a whale or a well? It had me *wailing* with laughter!!

Oh my gosh, whale and well was one of the homophones in TGATB drove me nuts. We are from CA so they do not sound the same but we lived in Utah for a while and understand why they would sound the same🤣

Next your going to tell me oil and ool sound the same 🤣🤣🤣. Enjoy your channel and the hard work show’s, it’s been a great year!

Mixing full hot with a percentage of cold water is supposed to extend the hot water time. So I saw on KZread.

Exaggerate the WH in whale. Interesting how Marisa can’t hear the difference. So cute because you can tell she is serious. Love your videos. Safe travels and Happy New Year!

Love following y'all. When Ainsley and JJ get older, are you possibly then going to buy a smaller home so they can be active in sports etc? I think those windows are the coolest for an a amazing campsite with a view but otherwise, I'm too private of a person and I'd feel too exposed lol! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to y'all!!