Family Travels With 1st Class RV Adventures
By: John Faulkner
In the summer of 2016, Luis Class and Sandra Crespo were living a "normal" life. They'd been married for a few years. They had 2 children together, and the family was living in a 1,800 sq. ft. house near downtown Orlando, FL.
But they were growing disenchanted with the normal life, with the daily grind and a sedentary lifestyle. Then they took an RV camping trip with Luis's parents, and their life would be forever changed.
"My parents bought a used Class C, it was a nothin' fancy type of RV," Luis remembers. "We met them at a KOA, and we spent the weekend - it was like 6 of us - in this RV. We started looking at each other like, 'man, we could do this. We could do this lifestyle.' Literally the next week we were RV shopping."
Shortly thereafter, they bought a Heartland toy hauler that had all the features they were looking for (they really like the side patio). They had 7 yard sales to downsize and donated what they didn't sell. They got out of the lease on their house, and prepared to hit the road full-time.
"It took us, from start to finish, 4 weeks from when we bought it until we were on the road," Sandra says. "We literally dove in. We don't recommend doing that. (laughs)."
"We did our test run the same week [of the shooting at the Pulse night club in Orlando]," Luis recalls. "We were living just down the street. It just so happened that we were away."
"That weekend confirmed that we were going the right way," Sandra says. "I was a new mom in this huge house, picking up and cleaning up day in and day out. I love traveling, I felt trapped. I think that's why we dove in that way. There has to be more to this. We're just going to hit the road and see what's out there. And we ended up loving it."
And with that, they embarked on their full-time RV adventure. They didn't even know that there were other families out there doing the same thing. "I found myself looking at YouTube channels, like is anybody else doing this," says Sandra.
They say the first year was a real learning experience for them. "Ignorance on fire," says Luis with a laugh. "That's what it is. We're out there, and we figure it out." They had their fair share of mishaps along the way. They told a story about traveling from Charlotte County, FL, to Orlando. Upon arriving at their destination, they discovered they'd left the sink faucet in their toy hauler garage on. There was water everywhere, but, luckily, it was contained to the garage so cleanup was manageable.
It was these sorts of misadventures that inspired them to start 1st Class RV Adventures (a play on Luis's last name). "There's goods and bads about RV life, and we had all of them happening," Luis says. "And I was like, "man, this would be the perfect show'. You've got all kinds of drama!"
The couple started documenting their RV adventures on YouTube and Facebook and other social media channels. They put out videos about the places they visit as well as how they finance their RV lifestyle. They have amassed nearly 800 subscribers on YouTube and twice that on Facebook. Their work on social media has opened doors to a number of new opportunities.
"We have Bow Tie Kreative, HustleZone TV, we have a series with other RVers that we're doing," Luis says. "Then Epic Nomad TV. It's crazy. It's so crazy." The show for HustleZone.TV finds 1st Class RV Adventures interviewing other RVers about RV life. The first episode, featuring Heartland Bighorn Traveler owners Wandering Wimps, aired the same day this blog was posted.
1st Class RV Adventures signed up with Epic Nomad TV at the beginning of 2018. "They're going to take our quality to a whole other level," Luis says. "We're very excited about that." They will begin filming their series in the spring. They say if you like their YouTube videos, you'll like their new show. "Now we're looking forward to 2018. We're going to be on the West Coast, Colorado, Texas…2018 is going to be epic - no pun intended."
Something that sets 1st Class RV Adventures apart from a lot of full-time RVers: they are traveling with their two small children. When they started out, their kids were 1 and 3 years old. "One of the biggest challenges is we're with them 24/7," Sandra says. "At times it can be a little frustrating," Luis says. "There's no babysitter. No dropping off at grandma's house. None of that stuff."
Despite the challenges, they believe raising their kids on the road is the way to go. "Living like this is priceless,"Luis says. "Our youngest has a speech delay. He's about 2.5 years behind," Sandra adds. "When we hit the road was when he started really improving. So we find that a mixture of being out in nature and being so hands on, he's really come a long way."
"We're going to be on the road as long as possible. We really want to see the kids grow up in this lifestyle, and be able to continue traveling all over the place," Luis says. "We've been to the west coast, east coast, we did the UP [at time of publication, 1st Class RV Adventures have visited 23 states]. Imagine being a teenager and being able to do all these outdoor activities, and go different places, and see different things."
"I want to teach them how to think outside the box," Luis continues. "You can chase your dreams, however crazy they may be, you can do it. There's always a way. You just have to do something everyday. If you do something towards it every single day, it doesn't matter what it is, eventually, you'll be living the dream you want."
Follow our 1st Class RV Adventures at www.1stclassrvadventures.com or on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. You can catch their family travels and full time RV interviews at http://www.hustlezone.tv/living-documentary/index.html. And you will be able to see their new series for Epic Nomad TV at epicnomadtv.com.