Living or traveling on the road can be lonely. Especially if you’re an introvert or are apprehensive about meeting new people. But, it doesn’t have to be as challenging as it used to be. Forging friendships on the road can be fun. But, you just have to know where and how to make new friends.
Being we are both fairly outgoing, we let our own personalities take the wheel. We’re not new at this game. As a military family for over 30 years, it’s a life we’re accustomed. So, you could say this comes a little easier for us.
So, we thought we’d share our list that prospective or new(er) RVers who struggle with getting out there can build amazing friendships, have fat address books and look forward to meeting up again down the road.
Pin for later!
Smile and wave!
Don’t be that grumpy one that looks the other way or grumbles as others wave to you. Be approachable! Strike up conversation while walking your cat (or dog), polishing your coach or lounging by the campfire. It is a long-held belief that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. Just curl up those lips and show your pearly whites! Try it, you’ll see.
Invite!
When we have a campfire, watch outdoor TV game or just sit outside, there’s nothing sweeter than our neighbors dragging their camp chairs and five o’clock somewheres over to join us. Okay, so you may cheer for the rival team. but it’s not only about the game. It’s about camaraderie and making new friends. That’s how many of our RV friendships began.
Our Marine Corps friends, Ed & Gail whom we met at Malmouth AFB in 2016 and met up with again at Gila Bend, AZ in early 2017. Today, we are life-long friends!
RV park and campground activities
RV Park and campground activities are a great way of meeting new friends. Pricier RV resorts typically have an activities director that plans events ranging from potlucks, shopping trips, pickle ball tournaments and holiday parties. GO! Don’t just sit inside and watch television. Sign up and Go!
Plan outings
Hiking with our friends “Timily” (Tim & Emily)from OwnLessDoMoreat Red Rock Canyon in Nevada
You’ve may notice the decals on your neighbor’s roof carrier. It screams “we’re hikers”! So, when they sit outside, go over and ask if they know where the best hikes are. Invite them to go along with you. Or maybe you notice your neighbor has a dog. Go see if they want to walk your pups together.
We always our neighbors if they know where the local brewery or winery is. Oftentimes, we end up going out together. We’ve met the coolest RV peeps doing this.
Attend rallies, convergences, and meetups!
We’ve met some of our best RV friends at rallies, convergence and meetups! So, we recommend joining your RV manufacturer owner’s club. Or, consider joining RV clubs like Escapees, Family Motor Coach Association, who have huge national rallies.
We are members of Heartland Owners Club and Xscapers and Escapees. This is where we meet a lot of our friends. We tend to break off into different interest groups (ie. favorite type diners, ADV/motorcyclists, RZR or Jeepers, etc.). At the Xscapers Quartzsite Convergence 2017, we organized an a dirt bike ride with others of the same suit. We had a blast! Now, though we no longer ride, we still meetup with them for a campfire or five o’clock somewhere.
Xscaper ADV Riders at Quartzsite 2017
For a comprehensive listing of RV Clubs and Associations, visit RV-Camping’s site HERE.
Social media networking
Before we started RVing, we joined about a dozen RV groups on Facebook. For the first few months, we just read, listened and learned. Then, once we bought our toyhauler, we made friends with those who answered our many questions. Soon, we would be messaging each other to see where we could meet up.
We also follow other like-minded RVers’ social media pages, blogs and vlogs. Oh! And our Facebook page is Always On Liberty if you wish to follow us too!
We met Matt and Diana from Adventurous Way at the Xscapers New Years Eve Bash in Quartzsite in 2018. For the following couple months, we caravanned with them to other events. We also helped them install their solar panels!
Visit your sticks and bricks friends and family
Why? Because have two friends and those two friends have two friends, and so on. We went to San Antonio to meet up with our Army comrades, Leon and Barb. While we were there for a month, they invited over for bonfires, bbq’s and even military balls! Before we knew it, we were invited to more bonfires and bbqs! Now, each time we visit, we pick up where we left off.
We got to go to the Army Ball (even though we’re Coast Guard!) in 2015 with our friends, Leon and Barb, whom we were stationed with in Louisville, Kentucky way before we even contemplated the RV lifestyle.
Travel cards
After traveling a bit, you’ll notice other fellow RVers may have cool looking travel cards. We exchange them much like kids exchange baseball cards. We keep theirs in a small file book. We write on the backs where we met them, date and type of RV so it rings our noggins a year or so down the road.
If you don’t have them, get them!! Even if you don’t have a blog, simple contact information is all you need. We don’t list our phone number(s) or address but we have our blog and social media information on the back.
So, as you see, making friends can be simple as starting with a smile. Before you know it, you’ll be making plans with the friends you made on the road.
Hi Lisa & Dan, We met you at the Heartland Meet up, Last January in Quartzsite. Love you articles! My question is about cards, Why don’t you put your phone number.? I have a FB private group travel page. Should I show that? I’m wandering about our email also?
Hi Sally, thanks for keeping up with us! We enjoyed meeting you as well! The reason we do not share our phone number is we hand out our cards to most everyone who shows interest in our ventures. We can’t imagine everyone having our phone number and calling us, perhaps all hours of the day. As it is, we have quite a few ‘unknown numbers’ that we can’t differentiate between robo calls, spam calls or what may be serious followers with legitimate questions. Though we are ‘out there’, we still need to keep some of our lives private. I hope you understand.
As far as what you share on your cards should be what you feel comfortable with. Personally, I would leave anything ‘private’ off until you get to know whomever you give them out to. But again, it’s your call. -Dan & Lisa
Thank you for your service, I only served 22 years but changed stations many times. My children always made friends in a very short time so maybe they knew more that me. I like to go out of the way to greet new campers and welcome them to our RV neighborhood. Small talk makes new friends.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Hi Lisa & Dan,
We met you at the Heartland Meet up, Last January in Quartzsite.
Love you articles!
My question is about cards, Why don’t you put your phone number.?
I have a FB private group travel page. Should I show that? I’m wandering about our email also?
Hi Sally, thanks for keeping up with us! We enjoyed meeting you as well! The reason we do not share our phone number is we hand out our cards to most everyone who shows interest in our ventures. We can’t imagine everyone having our phone number and calling us, perhaps all hours of the day. As it is, we have quite a few ‘unknown numbers’ that we can’t differentiate between robo calls, spam calls or what may be serious followers with legitimate questions. Though we are ‘out there’, we still need to keep some of our lives private. I hope you understand.
As far as what you share on your cards should be what you feel comfortable with. Personally, I would leave anything ‘private’ off until you get to know whomever you give them out to. But again, it’s your call. -Dan & Lisa
Thank you for your service, I only served 22 years but changed stations many times. My children always made friends in a very short time so maybe they knew more that me. I like to go out of the way to greet new campers and welcome them to our RV neighborhood. Small talk makes new friends.