Could you travel for a year? Phil and Carol White did; they bought a Class B RV, rented out their home and hit the road. Their book, Live Your Road Trip Dream, details their adventures, from initial planning to the road trip itself.
The Whites published an expanded second edition of their book in March 2008; it includes new material on working and studying on the road, gap year travel and homeschooling while traveling. Several sections, particularly those dealing with communication and computer technology, have been updated.
- The book is richly detailed, covering everything from financial planning to how it feels to return.
- The second edition includes new sections on sabbaticals and on working and learning on the road.
- Worksheets and lists in both the main text and appendix are very comprehensive.
- The White’s differing points of view give you a feel for their “couples travel” experience.
- Renting out your home sounds deceptively easy. In reality, it can be a difficult, costly process.
- Part 2, “The Trip,” is long compared to Part 1, “The Plan,” and lacks Part 1's practical focus.
- Live Your Road Trip Dream is divided into three useful sections.
- Part 1, “The Plan,” explains how to organize yourself so that you can travel for a year.
- Part 2, “The Trip,” is a week-by-week description of the White’s year-long trip.
- The 24-page appendix features lists, worksheets, sample letters and helpful Web links.
- The book's new sections were clearly written to address the many questions the Whites field when they give RV travel talks.
If you’re planning a long trip, Live Your Road Trip Dream should be your first purchase. While the book is aimed at RV and automobile travelers, you can use the detailed, helpful planning tools to organize practically any trip. Checklists, packing tips, and budgets fill both the first part of the book and the handy appendix. Happily, the Whites don’t push their agenda or travel philosophy. They are clearly pleased with the trip they took, but state several times that there are many ways to organize a road trip.
I found Part 1, “The Plan,” to be the most interesting and helpful part of the book. Phil and Carol White carefully planned their road trip and organized their finances so they could travel without worries. In Part 1, the Whites share their plans and tell you how to use their worksheets and resources to create your road trip adventure. The financial planning and insurance information is comprehensive, and the budget worksheets are extremely detailed.
The Whites used their website as a travel journal and adapted their online trip narratives for Part 2 of Live Your Road Trip Dream. Part 2, “The Trip,” is a week-by-week summary of the Whites’ road trip. It’s easy to see that the Whites enjoyed learning about regional culture, eating local specialties and expanding their horizons.
The weekly summaries are fairly brief, which is understandable given the scope of the trip. The Whites spent quite a few nights in motels, primarily while Carol was in an ankle cast, and the reader is left wondering just how many nights the Whites actually camped in their RV.
If you’re ready to plan your own road trip, don’t miss the appendix. The authors include lists of supplies, sample letters to send to tenants, to-do lists and much more. You can use these worksheets as is or adapt them to your particular situation.
