Rolling with the Tribe: RV Camping Adventures Hey there! How We Caught the RV Bug (And Why Our Marriage Survived It)

Meet the Otto Crew We’re the Ottos! Picture this: two millennial parents (Stephan & Megan) somehow managing to keep three boys alive while living in rural Northern Indiana. We love the great outdoors year-round, though we’re still waiting for Mother Nature to deliver on those epic snow days. Seriously, what’s a Midwestern winter without being snowed in for at least a week? We’re basically your average country folks who accidentally stumbled into the RV life and now can’t shut up about it.

5/8/20242 min read

The Backstory (AKA: How I Traumatized My Husband)

Megan’s Origin Story: I grew up tent camping every summer, and back then, I called it “roughing it.” Plot twist: I had NO idea what roughing it actually meant. The adults who dragged me into the wilderness barely knew which end of a tent stake to use, but hey—waking up surrounded by trees hits different when you’re a kid.

Stephan’s Camping Debut: My poor husband had zero camping experience until I basically held him hostage with my childhood nostalgia. Picture this man—armed with some very colorful vocabulary—wrestling with a six-person tent in our backyard like he’s battling a fabric octopus. We’d last maybe one night before one of the kids tapped out from the cold. Spoiler alert: Stephan did NOT catch the camping bug.

After several backyard camping disasters that left us more exhausted than a toddler after a sugar crash, I started questioning everything. Maybe camping loses its magic when you’re the one responsible for keeping tiny humans alive in the wilderness. Maybe adulting ruins everything. Maybe I just needed better gear and fewer mosquitoes.

The Game Changer

Fast forward a few years. We borrowed a bumper pull camper for one weekend and—BOOM—instant addiction! Sure, we had our share of rookie mistakes (and our first ER visit, but that’s definitely another story). But something clicked. Suddenly, camping didn’t feel like surviving the apocalypse with three kids.

The “What If” Spiral

You know that dangerous game couples play? The “what if” conversation that usually ends with a major purchase and a slightly panicked bank account? We went full millennial and asked ourselves: What if we dove headfirst into this camping lifestyle? What if we bought our own rolling home? What if we became those people who post way too many sunset photos?

Summer 2024: We pulled the trigger on a used 2014 Forest River Salem 38′ fifth wheel. Yes, it’s basically an apartment on wheels. No, we don’t regret it.

The Maiden Voyage

Labor Day weekend 2024 became our RV baptism by fire (thankfully, no actual fire involved). Stephan shocked everyone—including himself—by becoming the research king. Usually, I’m the one who disappears down YouTube rabbit holes for hours, but this man watched approximately 847 RV setup videos and found checklists. CHECKLISTS, people. I was both impressed and slightly concerned. Our first trip went smoother than expected, though buying a used camper definitely came with some “learning opportunities” (translation: things broke, and we learned creative new swear words).

We’re Officially Hooked

The RV itch is real, and we’ve got it bad. This year we’ve already planned three epic adventures and we’re scheming about a fourth because apparently, we never learn when to quit.

Join the Adventure!

Ready to follow our chaos? We promise entertaining stories, questionable decision-making, and probably too many photos of our kids covered in s’mores.

Drop your questions, camping horror stories, or just say hi in the comments below. We love connecting with fellow adventure seekers (and anyone who understands the struggle of keeping kids entertained in a confined space).

See you on the trail, and welcome to our beautifully chaotic tribe!

Our first camper in which our camping shenanigans take place.