TOP

FAQ’s

Or…The Stuff we get asked most often

We’ve done a few Q&A’s over the years.  You can check those out here: https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/category/qa

 

And just for fun, here is a blast from the past interview from our RV’ing days.  It answers some of the common questions…

 

Most common questions  

How can I contact you?
The absolute best way to reach us is by leaving a comment in the “comments” section of any blog post. We read every comment and do our best to respond to as many people as possible. It’s best if you leave a comment or question in a related blog post (for example please ask solar questions in our solar posts, NOT a post about a town or adventure). We’re also on social media and you can find those links in our Contact Us page.  We took our email addresses off the site as it just became way too much and we couldn’t keep up.  If you really want to pin us down, we give our patreons priority responses: patreon.com

 

Your Map shows that you are in XYZ but your facebook/instagram shows another place and your most recent article shows you somewhere else. Where are you really?!?It takes days to edit, select images, write and publish our videos. We’re not “real time” bloggers as it’s incredibly hard to edit that quickly, much less have reliable internet to upload at any given moment with how we travel.

 

We love what you do, how can we support you?
First off, thank you! If it wasn’t for people just like you we wouldn’t be able to survive on the road and share our experiences through video, writing and photography. We keep a list of ways people can keep us sharing on our Tip Jar Page. We can’t thank you enough for asking, each comment receive on this page from supporters is like a huge high-five and a hug, it makes us all warm and fuzzy inside 🙂

 

Are you rich?
No, but oh how we wish!  We’re enriching our lives, not our bank accounts as the saying goes.  We both come from working class families and through continued hard work, penny pinching and diversified income streams, we manage to keep ourselves afloat.

 

How can you afford this?
The short answer is we work just like everyone else.  We’re not retired or independently wealthy.  We worked really really really (that’s right, 3 ‘reallys’) hard and saved up for the initial take off and we still work…..you can do it too!  Now, we make our money on the road through photography, video and travel writing.  We wrote a post about it here:  How We Make Money and Travel.

 

What did you do to save enough money to start this traveling lifestyle?

The best way to get the answer to that is to read our Make Money and Travel story mentioned in the question above.  Jason owned a successful photography company and Nikki owned a successful makeup & styling business.

 

What Kind of Camera are you filming with?
Coming from a photography background I’ve used Canon Cameras my whole life. But what worked back then doesn’t work as well for filming our adventures on the fly.  Check out Gear Store for the latest scoop on our fave gadgets.

 

I have XYZ product and it’s broken/doesn’t work/I don’t know how to use it/etc. can you help me?
We honestly wish we had the time to help everyone but if you’ve seen our “hot not to” videos you’re better off calling the mfr. direct and seeking their tech support.

 

Can you do a review on ABC product or the XYZ brand RV or sailboat?
We like helping where we can but we are not Consumer Reports and we do not have the resources to review every product on the market. We research products that we need, want or solve a problem in our life. Once we’ve had some experience we may review them or at least add them to our gear store if we really love them. We aren’t paid for our reviews. As for RV and boat reviews, we share from experience which means if we haven’t traveled in it, we most likely can’t give you a reasonable review of our experience.

 

Are there any Movies that inspired you?
This may sound sad or depressing but I’m gonna lay it out there anyway. Revolutionary Road (2008) A story of real dreams crumbling under the “American Dream”. Into the Wild (2007) A young man abandons his possessions to travel across the USA and Canada with the goal of living in the great Alaskan Wilderness.

 

How do I get my face or an image to show up when I leave a comment?
It’s super simple, visit https://en.gravatar.com/ and once you sign up you can have the image appear anytime you leave a comment on any website. So go on what are you waiting for? Show us your best side 🙂 We wanna see ya.

 

Are you sponsored, or do you have advertisers?
We don’t have sponsors.  We have worked with a few various companies over the years but it was always you provide X service for X fee.  Year One we purchased a Damon Avanti but had to return it because it was a lemon. Year two we contacted Monaco and they made sure we got a good deal on the purchase of the “new to the market” Monaco Vesta, no strings attached (we paid for the RV, it was not given to us).  After two+ adventurous years on the road, learning and sharing we gained a little attention.  So, we became test dummies for Fleetwood for 2 years in an effort to try and improve the dinosaur that is the RV industry.  But we still had to pay for use of the RV, provide feedback to the engineering team and designers, still wasn’t a sponsorship or given to us.  We do have a few like minded companies that we work with, create content for, and sometimes we write about our experiences because this is a website about our life, and that is part of our life.  If we really like a product, we will accept the product for review purposes. This way our opinions are not purchased and we are still free to write whatever we like about said product and our experiences with it.

 

Is anyone paying you to write this blog?
No. We keep this blog to help others learn (and maybe be inspired) from our travels. Because we are living and traveling full time we get loads of questions about our lifestyle.  We share to help answer those questions, show a glimpse into the life of a full time traveler and hopefully inspire others to find their own adventure along the way.

 

What’s with all the green talk?
We are eco minded people so we have added some very cool eco-friendly options/gadgets to our RV’s and sailboat like solar and a composting toilet to help reduce our carbon footprint. The more we explore of this amazing planet, the more we want to preserve it.  We try to be easy on the environment in our daily lives. You can read more on our Wild Camping page.

 

Do you have a home base?
No. We sold everything, packed up the 2 cats, and hit the road back in 2011.  Since then it’s been whatever we fit in the RV and now the sailboat.

 

Why don’t you post more often?
We do our best to post regularly however we are not always in an area with Internet.  So, please be patient and we’ll get another fun video up shortly.

 

Can you create a website/social media/video for me?
We are not web developers, we barely grasp social media and we don’t often do videos for other people/companies. It’s a ton of work just keeping up with our website and social media accounts, thankfully it’s a labor of love.

 

Your cat looks like a leopard, is he?
Yes, he is part leopard (a silver Bengal actually), the most beautiful cat with the best attitude ever (most of the time)! We rescued him back in 2009 after he was taken from a bad breeder.  BTW – we let Singa write a post, if you’re interested read the RV Traveling Cats article.  FYI, our other cat is Cleo.  She is a tabby, feels like a teddy bear and growls like one too.  She sometimes sounds grumpy but is a total softy.

 

How do the cats like traveling?
They are fantastic travel companions and love exploring new climates, territories and hunting new creatures.

 

How do you select the places and products you feature?
Mainly from research, tips from friends and viewers who live or have visited before. We search out companies that are passionate about being green, sustainable, organic, biodynamic, slow food, local ingredients, etc. We visit the location, and if we love it we feature it.  As simple as that.

 

Jason, how did a guy like you get such a hot wife?
Really guys, no love…..thanks. – Jason

 

You’re and Idiot, how can you misspell ……..?
Dunno how, ooops.  Never claimed to be an English major or a wordsmith.

 

What kind of Fuel Mileage do you get in that RV or sailboat?
Our Leopard Catamaran burns about .5 gallons per hour when we run the engines.  But we have sails and we try to use those and not the engines.  As for the RV’s official numbers vary depending on factors like temperature, elevation and such. In perfect conditions we could get 18 MPG from the monaco vesta!  OK so that number was only when we were driving empty and slightly downhill!  Ha.  Want to know more? Check out our detailed posts on the

You’re driving an RV, you’re not Green/Sustainable/Eco Minded. I’m so much greener than you.
Yes we traveled by RV and we don’t claim to be the greenest people on the planet.  We are eco minded and try to do our best.  We’d love to hear any recommendations you have on making our travels more eco-friendly. You can check out some of our green initiatives thought this site BEFORE you email us.

 

Does Nikki Drive the RV?
Of course she does! Granted she usually is in the back working on the computer while I drive, but it’s because I have a weak stomach and she has a stomach of steel! Gotta love her for that.  You can check out her solo RV trip here:  Nikki Goes Solo

 

Do you drive that little car on the roads?
Seriously? We get this question so often it’s frustrating! YES! A smart car is a car, we drive it on the roads. I know the smart car looks tiny but it has been the best tow car!

 

Jason, why don’t you shave more often, you look like a dirty hippie?
Disposable Razors are wasteful, specialty heads cost a small fortune, or maybe the real reason is I’m a little lazy! I use a beard trimmer every few days to keep it under control, and I feel pretty good about it.

 

Can I get some free stuff from you?
Actually, YES (or maybe)!  Several of the companies we’ve met along the way offer discounts, swag, etc.  When they are willing to offer up a product, we are willing to give it to one of you!

 

How many RVs have you owned?
We consider our “introduction” to RVing to be our little 1985 VW Vanagon that we bought to drive to our wedding back in 2006. Several years later we purchased our first “real” RV in the hopes of hitting the road to find a new place to live and work. In order here are the Motorhomes we’ve had: 2009 31′ Damon Avanti; 2011 32′ Monaco Vesta; 2014 33′ Fleetwood Excursion; 2016 33′ Fleetwood Bounder.  Now of course, we live aboard our sailboat, a 43′ Leopard Catamaran.

 

How can I travel full-time and still make money?
We received this question so often we began an entire segment to answer the question of How To Make Money and Travel.  Check it out here: www.gonewiththewynns.com/make-money-travel

Want to learn a little more about our travels check out our About Page