One Red-Hot Handle: @amber.in.wanderland

Talking with the campers we love and follow on social media

Building your best life starts with a vision. For Amber and Jaylyn that means living smaller, leaner, and—when possible—on a beach. Following Jaylyn’s recent retirement from the Marine Corps, the couple decided to go full-time in a Heartland Torque 371M toy hauler. And now they’re on the move, crossing state lines, and starting a whole new mobile life with … wait for it … their infant daughter. Join the fun and follow @amber.in.wanderland on Instagram as Amber chronicles their ambitious adventure across America.

What you wish you’d known

That RV living is not much different than living in a small apartment and is not scary at all. Before we started RV living, we had no knowledge of RVs at all and only knew what we were learning from YouTube, so we were essentially going into this blind. Of course, there is general maintenance with an RV that a home wouldn’t have, like dumping your grey and black tanks (which terrified me the most), but it turns out it isn’t scary at all and actually pretty simple. You literally just pull a lever.

Picking your next location

use an app [All stays Military FamCamp Campgrounds] that lists military bases that have RV parks and plan our destinations according to that, since RV parks on bases tend to be cheaper. I try to not have us travel more than four hours on travel days, so we also boondock a lot between destinations. I use the Campendium app to find free spots. I essentially planned our route over the next year to drive through states we’ve never been to.

No. 1 baby item for travel

Sound machine! Living in such close quarters the sound machine has been a lifesaver with keeping the baby asleep during naps and at night. I’ve also low-key fallen in love with the thunderstorm sound and use one now too.

Making your RV your own

Oh man, where do I get started? I’ve completely gutted the main bedroom, ripping out the king bed, carpet, and closet to convert it into my daughter’s nursery. I leveled the floor in our toy hauler room and laid flooring, ripped out the drop-down couch that typically comes in a toy hauler, and put in a custom queen bed. I also added doors to the back of the toy hauler room to allow us to have the back patio dropped while stationary. I’ve also painted and added tile and wallpaper to make the RV feel homier.