RVers React: RV Influencers traveling to our home state of Massachusetts

In a lot of ways, we feel like we did the RV life thing backwards. We decided to go full-time before ever even traveling in an RV. We began in the Northeast, a place that, compared to other regions of the country, is not RV-friendly. The roads are twisty and narrow. There are many fewer campgrounds in this part of the country. Heck, even our trailer license plate was only 5 digits long! That just shows how few Massachusettsans register RVs in the first place. Towing large RVs around here poses many obstacles. Besides the tricky roads, we have congestion. Cities are really close together, and when you're not in the cities, you're in mountains. There are tons of low clearance bridges. Then you have the "New England attitude," a blend of loudness, impatience, and sometimes, full-on rage. We can see why some RVers never venture up this way. It's a beautiful area, but it's downright stressful. Plus, it's out of the way of basically everything. No one will ever just stop because they're "passing through" on their way somewhere, unless that somewhere is Quebec or New Brunswick.

We also RV backwards because we make it a point to return to New England each year, and we're not talking summertime when all the tourists come. No, we return for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This means that, no matter how far we go each year, our route always brings us back to the Northeast.

Last year at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, we met up with RV YouTubers Finding Our Someday, who are from Maine. We shared our opinions about traveling back and forth to this remote corner of the country. They were planning to return to Maine shortly after the Fiesta, only they wouldn't be able to tow back in time for an event they were attending, so they opted to fly. We had more time to make our way back, so after the fiesta, we began our blitz east. We all agreed that, no matter how many times we do it, RVing back to the Northeast after months on the road is a culture shock. Everything is fast, loud, and cramped. We felt that culture shock the most in our first year. After five months on the road, we circled back to Massachusetts for a mid-year regroup. We couldn't believe that just five months put us at a heightened level of sensitivity to the bustle of our home region.

Over time, we've learned to expect the shock, which in effect lessens it. No matter what, we always feel comforted by our returns home, whether they are in the middle of the year or at the end of another travel season. This year, we returned to the Northeast for the longest stint since we began RVing. We went through Upstate New York and Vermont in July, and then spent all of August hopping around Massachusetts. After Labor Day, we ventured up to New Hampshire, where we'd spend the majority of the next couple of months.

As we progressed through our New England journey, we noticed on the RV YouTube channels that this was the year many of the influencers decided it was time to pay a visit to New England as well. Only, they were coming for the first time, or at least the first time with a big rig. We were interested to see their reactions. Would the cultural and historical contrast be as obvious to them as it is for us? How would they handle the stressful driving situations? Would they jive with the very unique vibe in this corner of the country?

I, personally, was especially interested to follow the journey of Happily Ever Hanks. They have been full-timing for seven years, even making it all the way to Alaska, but New England hadn't made their travel plans until now. They were hitting the region in a big way, too, stopping in all the states and basically giving themselves a grand tour of the area. They have a 35ft Grand Design Solitude fifth wheel, which is definitely large enough to feel like a monster on some of these New England roads. Plus they're our age, and so our outlooks on life often align.

I first dove into their video that depicts their arrival to Connecticut. Just by the title alone, I knew they were experiencing the shock and stress of the Northeast.

Could the words "NOT RV FRIENDLY" be anymore prominent?! Then, right in the intro to the video, we hear Renee grappling with why she got this vibe. The state is old, and old infrastructure does not lend itself very usefully to large RVs. Precisely.

They also immediately mention the cost. Things get pretty expensive up here. Land prices are high because there isn't a lot of land available. Taxes are high. RV Parks often charge full hookup prices even when you're not getting full hookups. They can do this because in the summer, RVers flock to the handful of decent campgrounds around and spike demand in a land of very little supply. The reasons extend beyond this, but right away, I found myself nodding along at their initial reactions to Connecticut.

Because the Hanks came up to CT in August, they had options for overnights that we don't have when we return home in November. They ended up staying at a marina under their Harvest Hosts membership. We have been patiently waiting for more Harvest Hosts to pop up in Connecticut because we have the hardest time finding a stopover when we travel through the state, and after towing around the insanity that is New York City, we always need a break! Unfortunately, the few Harvest Hosts there are, typically are only open in the warm seasons. Some others list a 20ft max length RV, which would help neither us nor the Hanks. Usually, our only good option for a cold weather overnight is the Cracker Barrel in Milford, CT. One year, we returned to New England in time to snatch an overnight at the KOA in Niantic, just days before their season ended in November (a later close date than most area campgrounds). We had water, electric and gray water dump (yes, that's a thing here and we've never seen it anywhere else), but the price was really expensive for what we got. The KOA is old, kind of run down, and hilly. With most of these campgrounds, that's the infrastructure they've got to work with. It's not anyone's fault.

The Hanks decided to pay the New England tolls without buying an EZ Pass, something that many commenters advised against. Tolls up this way are no joke. Why are there so many? Once again, we can blame it on infrastructure. The roads up here are carved into difficult-to-build land, and the traffic causes lots of wear-and-tear. Then you add in how close the cities are and the high price of literally everything. Toll fees are needed to keep up the maintenance.

The cognitive dissonance was real. As Renee tried to explain, it's not that they don't like CT. It's that CT doesn't like RVers. The state is beautiful, especially in summertime. The coastline spans over 600 miles, and the state has dotted this coastline with idyllic state parks. This is the state that gifts us some of the best seafood and pizza in the entire country. It's also home to the best casinos in the region. The Hanks immediately noticed the colonial architecture, something we as natives take for granted.

In general, it's sometimes hard to relax on a New England RV trip because driving, finding campsites, and maneuvering into those sites are all so stressful. Kyle worded it best when he said there seems to be a "sense of urgency" on the road. As opposed to other parts of the country, where people think "Oh, they're in an RV, so let's give them space," up here in New England it's more that we're inconveniencing other people for being in an RV.

In their next video, the Hanks continued their grand New England tour and headed to Rhode Island. They didn't even seem surprised by the fact that the country's smallest state also had some of the smallest roads. This is one state where you really want an RV GPS to help guide you, because you will not fit on some of these roads, especially in residential areas.

They stayed at Meadowlark RV Park in Middletown, RI, close to Newport where the famous mansions are located. This RV park also houses many seasonal sites and manufactured homes, something that is pretty common for this region of the country. The seasonal sites have full hookups, whereas the transient sites often don't. The Hanks noticed how cramped even the permanent sites were, with everyone only a few feet away from their neighbor. They also noted that the tight turns carry from the roads into the RV parks.

A trip into Newport showed Kyle the "condensed way of living" that Rhode Islanders endure, but boy is the architecture beautiful! There is no doubt that the residential roads are lovely and quaint. Then, as you approach the mansions all along the ocean cliffs, "quaint" goes right out the window! Later, they learned the valuable lesson, that if you want to leave the traffic on the roads, hit the water!

After watching this second video, I realized that the relatability wasn't going to stop. In fact, it was only going to increase, because next, Kyle and Renee would be heading into Massachusetts, my home state. I invited Anthony to watch the video with me, and we have a little treat for our subscribers: Real-time reactions!

And, since YouTube then noticed my interest in these "RVing New England" videos, the algorithm recommended even more. Turns out, Chris and Aaron from Irene Iron Travels were also venturing into the Northeast. Though they had brought their Class B van up here years ago, they now had an Alliance Paradigm fifth wheel, which is a totally different animal. Anthony and I decided to also watch their trip into Massachusetts and record our real-time reactions.

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