Why the Road Keeps Calling RV Atlas' Jeremy Puglisi

Written By RV Out West
Jeremy Puglisi of RV Atlas standing by his outdoor kitchen of his Nucamp Trailer

Jeremy Puglisi of RV Atlas

For more than 15 years, Jeremy Puglisi has explored North America by RV, building a lifetime of experiences that have inspired thousands of campers through RV Atlas. In this episode of RV Out West, host Brooks Smothers sits down with Jeremy for an honest conversation about family travel, campground culture, and the lessons that only years on the road can teach.

Jeremy reflects on how a simple decision to buy a pop up camper evolved into a career creating RV content while also giving his family countless opportunities to explore the United States together. He shares why RV travel remains his favorite way to vacation, the value of slowing down, cooking outdoors, and connecting with friends around a campfire. The conversation also explores raising kids who genuinely enjoy spending time outside, navigating the teenage years while keeping family camping traditions alive, and why the campground community continues to be one of the best parts of the RV lifestyle.

Brooks and Jeremy discuss common mistakes made by new RV owners, practical advice for reducing stress during trips, and why focusing on experiences instead of equipment leads to more rewarding adventures. They also revisit favorite destinations including Acadia National Park, Assateague State Park, Yellowstone National Park, Olympic National Park, and Nova Scotia.

SHOW NOTES

Why the Road Keeps Calling with Jeremy Puglisi of RV Atlas

RV Atlas co-founder Jeremy Puglisi shares 15 years of RV travel experience, family camping adventures, and lessons learned from life on the road. This RV Out West episode explores campground culture, raising kids through outdoor adventures, common mistakes new RV owners make, and practical tips for stress-free RV trips. Discover why RV travel continues to create meaningful memories, from favorite destinations like Yellowstone, Olympic National Park, Acadia National Park, and beyond.

In This Episode

  • Why Jeremy never expected RVing to become his career

  • Why camping continues to beat cruises and resort vacations

  • The value of cooking outdoors while traveling

  • Raising kids who genuinely love spending time outside

  • The campground culture that keeps bringing families together

  • The biggest lessons learned from over 15 years of RV ownership

  • Why new RV owners shouldn't obsess over every broken screw

  • Advice for parents traveling with teenagers

  • Why simpler RVs often make better travel companions

  • What Jeremy hopes his children carry into adulthood from growing up camping

  • Favorite destinations that continue calling him back

Campgrounds & Destinations Mentioned

Products & Brands Mentioned

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Jeremy Puglisi & RV Atlas

Website:https://thervatlas.com

Podcast:https://thervatlas.com/podcast/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thervatlas/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RVAtlas

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thervatlas

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thervatlas

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Podcast Episode Transcript (EP206):
Why the Road Keeps Calling RV Atlas' Jeremy Puglisi

Brooks, Host For more than a decade, Jeremy Puglisi has explored North America by RV, and today he shares the lessons, stories and practical wisdom he's picked up along the way. Welcome to RV Out West. I'm your host, Brooks. My family of four is. Base camp is located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and our RV adventures radiate out from there. Please grab a mug of coffee and join us as we discuss our RVing around the American West. From sweet camping spots, gear and equipment to tips and tricks, we've got you covered. We are RV out west. If you spent any time in the RV community, chances are you've come across. Today's guest. Jeremy Puglisi is the co-founder and co-host of RV Atlas, one of the most respected and longest running RV lifestyle podcasts in the country. Alongside his wife, Stephanie, he spent years helping Rv'ers discover great campgrounds, plan memorable trips, and get more out of their time on the road through podcasts, videos, articles, books and campground reviews. But beyond the travel tips and destination guides, Jeremy has become a trusted voice in the RV world by sharing the stories, lessons, and experiences that come from a life spent exploring with family. Today, we're taking a slightly different approach and digging into what RVing has meant to him over the years, how it has shaped his life, and why the road continues to call. Jeremy. Welcome to RV Out West.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas It's so good to be back. Brooks, thank you so much for having me back on the show. I've been listening and loving the show, so it's great to be here.

Brooks, Host Well, thanks. And you know, it's been like, I think two years or so now since we last kind of.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas It's been it's been two years too long.

Brooks, Host Yeah, exactly. Well, Jeremy, I'd like to spend a few minutes in reflection and looking back across the years, the miles you've traveled and the life you've built around RVing, there are often a handful of moments that quietly change the course of everything. When you think about that person who bought your first RV, what did you believe would happen that never actually happened?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Well, everything I believe what would happen kind of did happen. I mean, it was sort of a dream come true situation. I guess. I didn't think that I would end up making a career doing it. Uh, that certainly is. Did not cross my mind when we bought the first pop up camper. I mean, we were really just thinking, we want to take the kids camping. We want to get outside. We want to show them, you know, our region. I don't think we were really even thinking broadly about seeing the whole country at that point, which now we have. Um, but I mean, it certainly never crossed my mind that I would end up quitting my teaching job and making a career out of creating RV content. So, you know, there's really, there's, there's two roads I've traveled on and that's that, that personal road as a family RV and showing my kids the kids, the country. And then there's kind of this, you know, similar overlapping, but different road where it became my career and Stephanie's career as well. And that was never expected.

Brooks, Host Well, after all of these years, what has kept pulling you back onto the road? But my comment and to that is what EJ hasn't been scratched.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Yeah. So we and it's interesting you ask that because over the last five years we have flown to Hawaii. We have taken a cruise. We have done some different types of vacations. And universally we come back to camping. We come back to wanting to be in the RV. Um, we had a nice time on the cruise, but all five of us sort of looked at each other and were like, yeah, you know, I don't think we're going to do that again anytime soon. So I think there's a few reasons why we keep coming back to RVing as being the best way to travel. You know, one is it is definitely more affordable. I mean, we spent a ton of money on the cruise. We spent a ton of money going to Hawaii. I mean, the price of going to Hawaii with a family of five is like my typical RV ING budget for the year, basically.

Brooks, Host Right?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas So the affordability of it pulls us back. I think I get pulled back to it again and again and again, because I love to cook outdoors and any other type of vacation tends to fall short there. I'm not bringing my Blackstone on the plane to Hawaii. Right. I'm not bringing my cast iron on the cruise. So cooking outside is a huge part of the experience. Um, so that pulls us back. But then also, you know, over fifteen years, we have met a lot of friends who own RVs through our podcast and just through traveling and just through being part of the community and part of the culture. And as you know, I think that that RV owners are really friendly, fun people and we want to travel and meet with our friends. We want to meet up with our friends John and Heather. You know, once or twice a year I want to meet. I want to meet up with my friend Chris and my friend Jessie and my friend Casey and camp together. And that's. Yeah. I'm not going to go to Hawaii with a bunch of, you know, family friends. That's no one's going to be able to pull that off. But hey, you want to go to Streak State Park and do, you know, three nights and all camp together and hang out? So I think that communal aspect, uh, so it's, you know, the cooking, the affordability, the communal aspect, all those things pull me back again and again and again. And I, you know, I'm just at a point where I'm an rver for life. They will have to drag me away from my RV at some point and say, you can no longer tow this RV, eighty nine year old Jeremy or whoever, you know, whenever it happens.

Brooks, Host Yep. Or they're going to have to dig a really big hole and bury you in an RV. So you're, you know, I don't know, it's a little more.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Yeah. And look, like I said, we've done other trips. We've traveled other ways. It is, it's the most fun I have had traveling and it's very consistently fun. So every RV trip has been good to great. We've done resort trips, we've done other types of trips that felt mediocre, but they are the RV trip always, always really just works out really well for us.

Brooks, Host Well then kind of what's a lesson from the road that's taken you far longer to learn than it should have?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas A lesson from the road that has taken me far longer to learn than it should have. You know, I've never been super handy as an RV owner. Um, you know, when I started, I was not handy at all. I couldn't do any, any of the basic maintenance, any of the basic repairs. And I have learned very slowly, very slowly over fifteen years how to get better at doing the basics in the RV. Um, but that has taken a long, long time. And I should have learned much faster because also, as you know, it's important as an RV owner to be able to take care of the basic stuff. So you're not bringing that rig in to the dealership and you're not waiting for things to get fixed. So I wish that had been something that happened a lot more quickly along the way.

Brooks, Host I completely relate, I am not super handy myself. The RV is kind of forced me to learn to become a little bit more handy.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas The RV has a funny way of doing that to you.

Brooks, Host Yeah. And you know, it's taught me patience in that sense where something's broke and so, okay, I'm gonna have to kind of figure this out. And sure, I might throw a few swear words up at the skies and be like, this is really frustrating, but we'll figure it out. And if not, I can always throw money at it, unfortunately or fortunately, whatever. I mean, it'll get fixed. It's just a matter of what's it going to cost.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I just hate losing the RV to the dealership for repairs. I don't want it out of my driveway. And also because now it's part of my it's my work. So I can't I can't have an RV at the dealership for four weeks. It doesn't work that way anymore. And if you come to RV life and you're not handy like, like me, uh, and I'm not naturally handy, it doesn't come naturally to me. It's worth forcing the issue and, you know, forcing yourself to get a little bit better at the basics.

Brooks, Host Well, you know, every meaningful journey comes with its own shares of challenges, which we just kind of talked about. So in that RV world, it's easy to focus on the flat tires, the breakdowns, the bolts, as I just said, or these unexpected detours. But the obstacles that leave the deepest mark are often the ones that shape us as people. Has there ever been a trip where you've arrived home and realized that the journey changed you in some way?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I feel like every every trip changes me in some way. And, you know, we've seen so many places in America now and, and we've seen, you know, so many wonderful places. And I think that we come back here and it makes me appreciate home more in some ways, and I've always felt kind of like Odysseus in the Odyssey that the greatest, the greatest journey is the journey home. I actually love coming home and being, being away is a wonderful adventure. But then I really actually love coming home. And, uh, you know, I feel when I get home, I appreciate home more. And then in some ways, also I see what I'm what we're missing around here. You know, you go to someplace like Traverse City, Michigan, and you see the craft, you know, craft brew scene for beer. Uh, you go somewhere like Portland and you see how wonderful the craft roasted coffee is, and you come back home and you're like, oh, man, we're kind of kind of missing that here in our community. So simultaneously, it makes me appreciate home more. And it makes me also realize what home is, is missing. So just broadens the perspective, uh, in general, I think when you come home from a great trip.

Brooks, Host Well, and it's interesting too, because you had mentioned about, you know, the people that you have met along the way in the campgrounds and on your journeys, and you've spent years observing that kind of camping culture. What if campgrounds taught you about Americans that you don't think you could learn anywhere else?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Well, the campgrounds are, you know, in some ways, the last surviving old fashioned communities. You know, I think that the campground is an idealized version of American life in so many ways. I mean, we happen to live in a small town where everybody knows each other, and the kids ride bikes and the kids have summer jobs and all that stuff. But, you know, having been all over the country, we realized that that's it's not like that everywhere that that strong sense of community. But when you're at the campground and this, you know, this at the risk of being super corny, you know, you realize you have more in common with people than you have, than you have differences. But I love the communal aspect of being at the campground. It's like the old American Main street, you know, where you open the door in the morning and you let the kids go out and go crazy and have fun and go fishing and go swim or go ride bikes all day. And then they come back in at night. Uh, and not not everybody has that. And I really I've really appreciated that aspect of camping and it's helped shape my children's lives because my my kids grew up camping summer after summer after summer. Stephanie and I were teachers. We were gone summer after summer, and they spent their entire summers outside. And now they're doing that at home. You know, now when we open the door in the morning, they're gone. They're off to the races, they're taking their bikes to the beach, and they have summer jobs now, too. But the American camping experience shaped their childhoods, uh, both while we were traveling and the way they look at the world when they're back home. And we, we, we raised outdoor kids and kids that really love being outside. I always joke around and say, my kids are bad at video games. Like their friends make fun of them because they're not good at video games, but they're out there fishing. They're out there surfing. And that's a, that is a gift that that camping has given our family, you know, and I'll always appreciate the community at campgrounds and the safety of just kind of letting your kids not run wild. That's maybe the wrong way to put it, but letting your kids run all day, you know? Yeah.

Brooks, Host You know, as a kid growing up as a Gen Xer too, it was like, you know, my parents were like, come home when the street lights come on. And I don't we don't do that anymore. I think society has changed and we don't need to get into the whys and the what's. But, you know, now it's, it's just a little bit of a different world. So I think that campground provides that as an opportunity for children to be able to go and play and do that and have that kind of initial taste of freedom. Like the first time you learn to ride a bike, you're like, oh my gosh, it's freedom for you.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas All three of my kids rode their bikes for the first time successfully at campgrounds. So the Quechee Pine Valley Koa in Vermont. Max and Theo took off on their bikes for the very first time and just took off and like, went around the entire loop and disappeared around the corner. Uh, because we were practicing at the campground on that road trip. So, you know, it shaped their, it shaped their childhood in a great way. And what's exciting for me is my oldest two or seventeen and my youngest is thirteen. And they're all still at home, but they are talking a lot about camping. They're talking a lot about wanting to camp with their friends and to do their own trips and, you know, to get their own tents or, hey, can hey, dad, your rooftop tent on your truck, do you think maybe you could give that to me? So it's what's cool is I can see that I, I feel like I'm pretty confident that it's shaped the way they're going to live their lives as young adults and as adults too. I think they're going to kind of carry on that tradition of camping on their own, with their friends, camping with their own kids. And then I even, you know, I'm corny enough to look forward to multi-gen travel, you know, and maybe camping with my kids and my grandkids. I think that would be tremendous.

Brooks, Host And hopefully it's a hey, dad, sit down on the camp chair. I'll set the trailer up, hear the sound of that, and they just hand you one and you know, you're like, this is great. I don't have to chalk it and level it and deal with that and make sure the toilets all got water in it, and they're just taking care of it for you and you just get to chill.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas That sounds good to me.

Brooks, Host I know, right, it sounds amazing. So on the flip side to that, what has been your hardest? Maybe season isn't the right word, but what has been the hardest part of our being that you've gone through personally? And I'm not talking about financially or professionally. Has there been a trip or a season where, you know, it was just kind of overcome with constant kind of knock downs or whatever that might be, and what did that look like?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I have said for years on, on my podcast to friends, we've never had a bad RV trip. That's one of my lines. We've never had a bad RV trip, and I sort of I've had the realization and just the last three to four months that that is probably a lie, that that is probably not a little bit disingenuous because we did have one trip that was filled with challenges. It was really difficult. And I think that I've sort of glossed over the fact that that that was a tough, tough trip. So we towed all the way to Nova Scotia one summer from new Jersey, which is a long haul. That's awesome.

Brooks, Host That's on my list, by the way.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas It was amazing. It was amazing. But, um, we had horrible, horrible mosquitoes, um, at one of the provincial parks and had to, and had to leave early. And luckily we stayed at the Bay of Fundy National Park on the way home and that was awesome. But we had to bail because we, the kids couldn't go outside. They were like bleeding. They were getting bitten so bad. It was, it was, it was crazy. Uh, and then we, we dropped back down into main and we went to Sandy Pines Main, which is a great campground. And all five of us got a really bad stomach bug and we were all in the RV really sick. I don't need to go into the gory details. All in the RV, sick together for three days. Uh, just wasting the reservation. Basically just couldn't drive, couldn't go home, but couldn't go out and enjoy the campground. We were like in quarantine, practically in the RV. And then in our last few days there, my whole electric system blew out. Uh, the air conditioner was running and I ran the macerator at the same time and everything blew out and it was a bit harder to fix. I ended up in the situation you were in where I had people saying, oh yeah, we can come look at it in three weeks. I'm like, we're leaving in two days. So then the last two days were spent looking for some obscure part that I needed to get everything up and running again. So in retrospect, that was a very challenging single trip. Now, interestingly enough, right now I'm in a little bit of a challenging time with the kids because Max and Theo are working all summer and Wes is also working a bit. So everyone and I thank the good Lord, everyone wants to camp and wants to travel together, and they still want to do it. And I think generally speaking, they always will. But our schedule, it's like rocket science, trying to figure out when everyone is free for either a weekend camping trip or a week long family vacation. It's become very challenging. I've got a kid playing football. I've got three kids doing wrestling in the summer. We've got baseball tournaments where most parents are familiar with this point in time, where it gets very hard to schedule family outings. And frankly, a lot of people sell their RVs at this point. You know, when the kids get a little bit older and they get involved in activities and sports and, and we haven't done that, you know. We're still, still camping together, still using it. But the scheduling part has become incredibly challenging. Where when they were little, it was like, let's just go. Let's go this weekend. Let's go next weekend. Let's we were I mean, we were taking, you know, fourteen, twenty one day, twenty eight day RV trips because nobody had obligations during the summer. Now all the kids have have obligations, but it's all for the better. I mean, I want them working their lifeguards, but it's a, it's a bit of a challenging chapter right now for family travel.

Brooks, Host Have you thought about staying close? I'm saying within thirty minutes, forty five minutes of home. So that way the boys can get up in the morning and drive and go to work, but then they come home and you guys can have a campfire and you could have, you know, a nice dinner down on the Blackstone.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Unfortunately, yes, I would love to do that. In fact, I would love to have a seasonal site. So a lot of people who have kids our age or in sports, seasonal sites are really big in the northeast. I don't know if they're big in the West. And basically you you book a site for the entire season for spring, summer and fall. Right. And unfortunately, I'm in a part of new Jersey that's so dense and so expensive. We just don't have a lot of campgrounds around us. If there was a good campground and a good seasonal site, I would go park the RV on that for the summer, you know? And then we could dive in and dive out, spend a night, or just be a bit more spontaneous. Oh, it's, you know, football practice got canceled tomorrow. All right, let's go camping. But we just don't have we're not spoiled like some people are in the Pacific Northwest and just surrounded by amazing campgrounds everywhere you look. You know, one of the reasons we bought an RV was to get out of new Jersey in the summer. And I'm not I'm not even saying that as a knock on new Jersey because I actually love new Jersey in the summer. But, you know, when the kids were little, we wanted to get out of here. You know, we wanted to go to New England. We wanted to go to the Adirondacks. We wanted to, you know, for spring break. Go to Myrtle, go to Charleston. You know, we don't have a great ecosystem of campgrounds around us immediately, though that would be a great way to do it for sure.

Brooks, Host Jeremy shared with us about why RV and camping are such an important part of both his and his family's life. He's talked about how owning an RV has helped him learn to be more handy. How a campground is a microcosm for community, and the importance that RVing has been imprinted on his kids as they choose to spend their time outside as much as possible. After the break, Jeremy is going to continue to share with us about other experiences and things he's learned on the road, as well as a few of his favorite destinations. Stay tuned. You're listening to RV Out West. But first, if taking the scenic route and discovering the roads less traveled is your style, be sure to check out our sponsor, Scenic Washington. Discover all twenty nine of Washington State's scenic byways with Scenic Washington's twenty twenty six guidebook and map packed with route details and must see stops. Best of all, it's free. Pick up one at visitor centers all across the state or at scenic wa dot com. You can also click the link right there in this episode's podcast description. So order yours today. What are you waiting for? Start planning your next adventure. Welcome back to RV Out West. I'm your host, Brooks. You know, Jeremy, we've talked about the road itself, some of the challenges that came with it, but I'd like to go a little bit deeper now. And for many people are RVing starts as something they do. Yet over time, it becomes part of how they see themselves and how they move through the world. If our RVing disappeared from your life tomorrow because you didn't get a new camp camper delivered to your driveway tonight, what part of your identity would be the hardest to let go of?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I would be emotionally crippled. I don't know what I would do. It's it's become such a huge part of of who I am. Um, I almost don't know how to answer that question. I can't I can't imagine life without camping and RVing. I mean, I guess I would be become that guy who just day trips, gets outside, goes fishing locally. I just crave being outdoors.

Brooks, Host Would you go back to a tent?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I would, I mean, I have a rooftop tent right now. Um, I'm.

Brooks, Host Taking a rooftop tent. I mean, that's great. That's that's nice.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas A rooftop tent is a tent.

Brooks, Host It is a tent. It is.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I'm not.

Brooks, Host I'm not judgy. I'm bougie.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas No, we, I mean, we we we we actually tent camp once or twice a year. And partly we, even though we're RV owners, we tent camp once or twice a year because we have a lot of friends who don't own RVs, but just about everybody has a tent. So, you know, there's other dads who, you know, hey, let's, let's hit a local campground and tent camp. So I would absolutely go back to tent camping. I, I will be very honest with you. I would kind of go the bougie route, and I would certainly have very comfortable, thick bedding and pads and mattresses and all that stuff. I have no desire to be on the ground and have a rock in my back, and there's so much great stuff out there to have like a really nice, comfortable tent set up. Um, and I'd get an expensive spring bar canvas tent and sewn in Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah for one thousand five hundred dollars. That's what I would do.

Brooks, Host With this wood stove too. I'd put a wood stove in that thing too.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas They have ones that are. You can add the wood stove for sure.

Brooks, Host Yeah. That's amazing. So what's something you have learned from a campground neighbor? That it was not a friend, just somebody in the campground that you had met that stayed with you over the years, whether that's a little nugget of information or a, what's something you learned.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas On a second on our second or third RV trip ever in our pop up camper. Um, and I mean, we were as green as green could be. I really did not understand RVs. I didn't understand the furnace. I didn't understand anything. We couldn't we couldn't get our furnace going in the pop up camper. And it was going to be a pretty cold night. And the boys were my twin boys were one. And so I was, you know, fussing with the furnace outside the pop up camper because like the access door couldn't get the pilot light lit. And, um, a couple of veteran RVers walked by. And now this is such a simple thing now, but at the time I didn't know this trick. You know, light the stove, get the stove lit, pull the propane through the system. That'll help get the furnace going. Just a basic little hack. But I think that, you know, more importantly than learning that basic little hack is like I learned to, you know, our RVers, particularly an older generation of our viewers, was really good at passing on the love and the knowledge and helping that younger generation come in. And I really like in any hobby and any pastime. I really think it's important for the veterans, the older generation, to to help and assist and provide support for the younger generation. Because if you don't do that, the hobby dies. You know, I've heard I've heard a lot of old guys complain that people aren't fishing that much anymore. Well, you know, maybe there's a lot of cranky fishermen out there who haven't done their best to cultivate the next generation. So when we started, I think the lesson I learned was, you know, help the newbie. Welcome the newbie. Help the newbie. They're good for the sport. They're good for the pastime. And that's very counterintuitive because a lot of people say, oh, there's too many people arguing now. It's too crowded, there's too many people into it. I think about that issue totally differently. I think it is incredibly important for new people to come into RVing. Uh, otherwise the industry will die. Otherwise there won't be innovation, otherwise there won't be new campgrounds. I mean, yes, will certain places be full on the weekend? Well, fine, but it's necessary to cultivate that next generation. So now that I'm a veteran rver, you know, I'm, I go out of my way to try to make people feel welcome at the campground. If I see them struggling, I'll go over and try to help.

Brooks, Host That's great. I actually was at a campground in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and my water regulator and water filter was completely leaking at the spigot. And some veteran old guy like old guy. I mean, I'm I'm not a spring chicken. And this guy was definitely an elder to me. And he came over and he was like, you need a new hose washer. You got one of those in your set. And I was like, no, hold on a minute. He goes and he comes back and he gives me a hose washer, solves my problem. And now I have like an overabundance of hose washers in my, you know, tool bag, go kit inside the RV because you just never know whether I need to dole one went out to somebody else or use one for myself, and they're so cheap. And I was like, I didn't even think that that was something I needed to like, carry so simple, so silly, and no idea.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Sometimes I think us Gen Xers weren't taught the basics. Somehow it skipped over on us a little bit.

Brooks, Host We can go down that rabbit hole completely. I blame my father for that. I love him dearly. But like, there was no knowledge sharing in that sense from you're.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Supposed to learn through osmosis in my family, I think just by.

Brooks, Host I would.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Say.

Brooks, Host Similar.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Families, I think it's, I think it's important to, to help and cultivate the new, the new RV. They shouldn't be a source of mockery. They shouldn't be made to feel unwelcome. So I try to make people feel welcome at the campground. That's important to me.

Brooks, Host What moment in RV life? This one I'm really excited to ask you. So what moment in RV life do you wish you could experience again for the first time?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Oh my goodness. First RV trip to Acadia National Park. You know, having a waterfront site in Acadia and just being like, this is this is Paradise. You know, and that the rest of the trips were, were great too. You know, there's been five trips to Acadia. But you know, that that first time you fall in love with the place and, you know, Acadia was like head over heels. My wife fell in love with Acadia. I fell in love with Acadia. The boys, though little, fell in love with Acadia and Brooks. I cannot tell you. This is it's it's so interesting. My sons are talking about taking their very first road trip with their friends to Acadia.

Brooks, Host That is so cool.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Yeah. And they that, you know, their first trip, like we want to go to Acadia National Park and they're like, we remember that that CoA was awesome and we want to go back there. We want to show our friends that, um, so you know, that feeling of, of discovery with a place like Acadia. I'd say the same thing about Olympic, um, just being in awe of, of nature and being in awe of the way the RV gets you up close and personal to these places. Um, yeah, so I'd love to, I'd love to take another first trip to Acadia National Park.

Brooks, Host I love that, that is so cool. What is a place you've visited repeatedly that means something entirely different to you now than it did, say, ten or fifteen years ago?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Oh, that's another great question. I think that that Assateague State Park is a place that I've been going to since I was sixteen. I turned fifty recently. There's been twenty trips to State Park, and so many of those trips have come at different stages in my life. So my first trip to State Park was with Stephanie and her family when we were teenagers. And, you know, I had a, you know, kind of a crush on her. We weren't dating yet. And, uh, you know, we were just teenagers going with her parents, crashing in a tent on the beach, you know, really just young and free. And then once we started dating, we went back. We went back with friends. We went back by ourselves. So it was a it was a huge part of our lives when we were, you know, dating and falling in love and getting married. And then when we had kids, we started bringing them there. And that's obviously a very different type of trip. You know, then we were going in an RV and bringing our little boys there and, uh, you know, much more organized and planning meals instead of just like, hey, let's leave for state park tomorrow, you know? Um, so then it became the family trip. And what's interesting now is it's entered almost a third stage where I've been going to Assateague every spring with friends. The boys have been so busy with baseball, but it's like I still need my Assateague State Park hit. And so now I've been doing it as like a guys trip for the past several springs so that that Assateague State Park, that campground, that location has kind of covered three very different chapters of, of my life as a camper.

Brooks, Host Assateague is absolutely stunning. I've been there a couple of two or three different times, and we've taken the RV out from the northwest. But I've, you know, been down there as well. So it's just cool. I love it there too. So let's focus on now kind of what you've gathered from all of these journeys, not the destinations, the campgrounds or even the miles traveled, but the wisdom that can only come from having a decade and a half worth of experiences. What advice would today's Jeremy give to the Jeremy a decade ago who was standing in that first campground?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I know exactly how to answer this one. Uh. I used to really stress out about little things being broken on the pop up camper. The the the stereo wasn't working or the fabric ripped on the sofa, the gaucho bed that pulled out and I'd get because we'd invested so much money in it. It was such a big purchase for us. I remember I literally remember sitting in the RV in that pop up camper, trying to fix just little stupid things that were breaking while my kids were outside playing, and I caught myself on that. I didn't go too far on that, but I think I'd go back and tell myself, hey man, chill. Enjoy every second. RVs are not perfect. There's always going to be some little thing wrong or something that's not working. And I did improve though, because I remember going to Myrtle Beach once. Once we were five or six years into RVing, we had a Jayco travel trailer at that point, and it was our first trip of the spring, and we didn't do a shakedown trip close to home. We just drove straight to Myrtle, plugged everything in and, um, the sink wasn't working, you know, there was like a crack in the sink, hadn't been winterized properly. And so we had no, no kitchen sink for the entire spring break. And I was like, all right, whatever we can, we can get by without it. You know, I had a little outdoor sink at the bathroom. I'm not letting this ruin my vacation. So I would say to my, to my younger self or to anybody getting into RVing, because I, I really do see a lot of first time RVers getting driven to distraction by all the little things that are not working. Now, if it's something, you know, that makes your RV unusable, well, then it's something that makes your RV unusable. But most things are really are smaller. And I think a lot of new RV owners get super obsessed with everything working correctly. And most of us don't do that with our houses. I mean, at any given time, your house has this problem or that problem. Writers need to be cleaned or whatever. And I don't sit around all day at home like, oh my God, I can't sit down and relax because my house isn't perfect. So I, you know, I've learned to kind of roll with the punches there. And that's part of our ownership and like, don't go camping at some gorgeous place and be futzing around with your broken, you know, stereo system or mis wired speakers or whatever dumb thing it is.

Brooks, Host I could not agree more. For me, it was locating, you know, you set up camp and I go in and I'm finding random screws and I'm like, where did this screw come from? Why, why do I, why is this screw loose? Where did it go? And I, and again, kids are outside running around playing, doing their things. And I'm inside trying to figure out. And I got to a point where I'm like, this is ridiculous. I'm going to buy a box of random screws from Harbor Freight, and I have them. Eventually I'm going to figure out where that screw went. And I got a spare screw. I'll put it in. No big deal. It's crazy.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Yeah. I mean, RVs are always going to have little things that can drive you crazy, but you've. I think you've got to maintain emotional control over yourself. And, you know, like the American camping experience is so awesome. You know, put the priority on enjoying that. And as long as the are as long as the wheels are rolling, you're good fun.

Brooks, Host Yeah, exactly. What do you hope your children remember about growing up this way?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Wow. Yeah, I don't I think that I'm not as concerned about what they remember and what they don't remember, because a lot of that's age based. So like Wes is younger and he might not remember this trip to Acadia. He doesn't remember our first trip to Fort Wilderness, you know, memories and interesting and strange thing. And I, I don't think I really have my finger on what I want them to remember or not remember. I think more I want them emotionally to remember that we loved them so much that we did all of this with them, that it was sort of this act of love towards our kids like, hey, we want to show you the country, we want to get you outside. And we had fun and we had great memories and we were in the great outdoors together. And I think that, you know, that manifests itself in the fact that that's what they want to do now. They want to be outside. They want to go camping with their friends. My son Theo is always asking if we can go back to Yellowstone. Wes is like, hey, are we going to go to Fort Wilderness again? So they have the desire to do it and in their lives moving forward. And I think that matters a lot more to me than what they remember or don't remember, if that makes sense.

Brooks, Host Absolutely. It does. And that's okay. I think that's a a fatherly parenting kind of thing that will click for them at some point and twenty five years or, you know, should they decide to have children of their own, that that will finally be a final lesson that clicks for them when they have children of their own.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Well, what's interesting is I feel like a lot of it's clicking now because, you know, my older two are seventeen and there was really I know a lot of parents talk about years where the kids resist travel and resist family travel because they're teenagers, they have FOMO, they don't want to leave their friends. I get all that. But to be honestly and truly our sons, there's only really one summer when we went to Utah, when they were kind of acting like we were dragging them against their will. Oh, look, dad, another rock. You know, there was that one summer and I was like, oh, God, is this where we're going with these kids on our family trips? You know? And but then that passed. And then really the last three years, they've been largely a delight to travel with. I mean, you know, they, they wrestle, they get in each other's faces, they annoy each other. They're loud, but they're siblings. That's siblings. Siblings, but they, you know, I look I'm far from a perfect father, far from far from a perfect family. You know, we have our issues just like anybody else does. But we have raised kids that are good at traveling and that love traveling and that desire to, to travel, you know, and now they also they want to go with their friends, whatever. But they still also, you know, they want to do the family trip this summer too. So, um, if you're out there listening and you're, you have those teenagers that are resisting, I would give the advice to just be patient and like this too shall pass. I think that a lot of kids do go through that stage where they don't want to travel with mom and dad. But then I, I hear from a lot of people older than me with older kids that most kids do circle back, even if it's in their early twenties, they'll circle back to being like, well, first of all, mom and dad can take you somewhere cool. You know, you're broken your early twenties, right?

Brooks, Host Right, right.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I can picture saying to my kid, if, you know, my kids are in their early twenties, I'd like to take him to Hawaii again. Yeah. I don't think they're going to say no to that. No, because they're not going to get there themselves. So I would say, you know, be patient. It's it's it's biological that your kids want to be independent, you know, and that that can spread their wings. And that's that tough lesson. That's what we'll go on family travel and in interesting ways. But if you do it right when they're young, I think they'll want to continue to do it with you as as they get older and hopefully as they have kids.

Brooks, Host Okay, so now I'm going to go kind of a different route. But what is one thing every arvier should stop worrying about?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas One thing every arvier should stop worrying about. I kind of address the issue of getting obsessed with things, not working correctly, and not to harp on that point, but I. There's a lot of conversation out there right now about the quality of RVs. And, you know, know, it's problem after problem. And what what upsets me is I see some people saying, well, I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to buy an RV. So I'm talking to the person who doesn't own the RV, but who's interested in RVing. And I think that that there's a lot of negative conversation on YouTube, a lot of clickbait. And yeah, there's, there's truth to some of it, but it is such an amazing way to travel. It is such an amazing way to see the country. Um, the American camping experience is so exquisitely beautiful and wonderful and varied that it is worth it is so worth it. Even if you have some quality issues with an RV. You know, I'm in every Facebook group for every manufacturer because I always want to see what people are talking about. And so many people are, are obsessed with this braking or that breaking or whatever it might be. And I look, I know that stuff can get annoying, but if the RV can get you to the campground, I'll say it again. Go and have fun. You can fix it there. They're not built like a brick house.

Brooks, Host But even.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Still.

Brooks, Host Sorry. But even still, when things break in your house, there's things that are like, oh, whatever. Um, I've got a clog that I got to deal with because the sink's not draining. Okay, fine. Or there's the, the door's not quite shutting. Exactly. An interior door is not quite shutting. Exactly. Right. I'll get to that. And yet in an RV, the door not shutting. Right. You know, you fixate on that and you're like, oh, this build quality is terrible or whatever it might be. And you're like, but if that was in your home, you'd be like, you'd know.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas But people are trying to buy their, their happiness. And I don't mean that as a negative. People are like, oh, the RV is, is where I'm going to be happy. It's where I've simplified my life to get away from all that stuff. And so then I think the the expectations can be too sky high. And I'm not excusing any quality issues in the RV industry.

Brooks, Host No, and that's not necessarily right. That's a whole different conversation for a different time about there are problems and issues with it.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas One more piece to this puzzle. I think that a lot of people are buying very complex RVs to with a lot of technology in them. You know, people are buying eighty thousand dollars fifth wheels, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, three hundred thousand dollars, motorhomes that are packed with so much technology, so many appliances, so much equipment, there's literally thousands of things that can go wrong. And I think I very counterintuitive with this. I believe in simpler RVs. I believe in simpler RVs with fewer features. I do not like electric leveling or automatic leveling systems. I like to do that by hand. I like to, you know, I think our viewers could stop worrying about having all the current tech and just look for something simple and well made, because I just want somewhere to be comfortable to sleep and an RV that's going to get me out to the campground. Yeah, it's not for me. It's never been about the RV, which is why I get frustrated with how much people worry about their RVs. It's not about the RV. The RV is a way to get me to the campground, right? So there's so much worry and concern about the RV. Uh, I, I've learned to not get too deep into that.

Brooks, Host Well, then let me ask you this. What's one thing you think every rver should be worrying about more?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Something that every rver should?

Brooks, Host What's the antithesis to what you're saying? If you're saying they shouldn't be worrying, fine. What should they be worrying about?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Oh, driving safely, towing safely, you know, planning your route ahead, knowing where you're going. Not not driving when you're tired, not rushing to your destination, um, staying safe on the road. You know, I think particularly when you're a family, you've got young kids and you're I remember telling sixteen hours to Charleston, sixteen hours straight and being exhausted. Um, you know, I think people should maybe worry a little bit more about just the safety of driving, of towing, of taking it easy, taking it slow, not rushing out on the road, having really good checklists, checking your checklists over and over again. That's a place to put some worry and concern, maybe more so than whether, you know, every single component in your RV is working perfectly. Are you working perfectly as the driver of that of that RV? Are you prepared? Are you ready.

Brooks, Host Right as you're piloting, piloting that down the road? Exactly. Well, Jeremy, like so many of us in the RV community, I appreciate and have been a fan of RV Atlas. You guys are the reason I got a pop up. Umpteen years ago, because my wife and I were listening to the show and we're like, we could do that too. So I've always appreciated that you and Stephanie have not been full timers. You're living the weekend life. You're that version where Irving comes with its own kind of reality. And so the noise of everyday life is crazy between work and schedules. You're your sons now working their activities and their commitments in their own lives. And then you've got this added layer of trying to pack everything in to a short window where you're supposed to go and relax. You have spent years helping people discover RV ING and places to go. When life gets busy and noise starts to creep in. I'm curious what helps you reconnect with yourself.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas It is getting to the campground. I mean, I just I was at Spacious Skies Minuteman outside of Boston, uh, for four nights. I booked it for four nights, went up there, had a little bit of work, you know, a little bit of my RV industry work to do, but then very, you know, conscientiously said, I'm going to just slow down, relax, get my camera out, do some cooking at the campground, explore the area, enjoy the simplicity of being in the RV. That is a huge appeal for all of us. I think our homes can get complicated. Our community lives can get complicated. Our work can get complicated, our church can get complicated. Taking care of everything in our house can get complicated. The simplicity of camping and RVing is hugely appealing, which is why I'm. I'm the guy who's going to tell you not to buy that three hundred thousand dollars motorhome packed with technology, you know, like I'm just the guy who's like, you know, keep it simple, get something comfortable and enjoy having less stuff with you, less things to worry. Oh, look, I, I'm quasi a hoarder with all my camping gear and I like records and what's that? Coleman.

Brooks, Host Especially Coleman.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas But I but going Irving is simplifying everything. Yeah. It is just simplifying everything. And I never fell out of love with Irving at all. But like on this last trip and this was just a month ago, like I felt like I fell in love with it all over again. I was like, oh my God, I want to do this as long as I possibly can. This is so relaxing. I'm enjoying the campground. I'm enjoying exploring the area. I had friends with me doing the campfire at night, doing some cooking, and it was very restorative, you know, it just really was deeply relaxing in a way that home life is not always that way.

Brooks, Host Well, Jeremy, you know, we've talked about your story kind of we've learned some lessons. And I'm reminded that the road has never really been about the RV. It's about what happens to us when we leave the familiar behind and make room for discovery, challenge, and connection and growth. What began as an adventure evolved into a way of seeing the world. And along that way, you've helped countless families create memories of their own. Myself included. For people who want to learn more about what you're up to and follow along on your travels, where can they go?

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Everything we do is under the RV Atlas, whether that's the podcast, the TikTok, the Instagram, the YouTube, um, all of those things are under the RV Atlas at the RV Atlas. And then I do a fun camp cooking show for Blackstone called Camp Griddle more. So you can see all of my recipes, which are all very accessible and easy and really fun to do at the campground. So check me out on the Blackstone YouTube channel too.

Brooks, Host Before we sign off, I have to share with you. We just tried something new at the campground. Mind blowing. You ready for this? I'm gonna give this nugget. Get fresh strawberries, use marshmallow fluff and a spoon, and paint the strawberry and marshmallow fluff and roast that over the coals. The marshmallow fluff hardens and you have this, like, crunchy strawberry. It was unbelievably amazing. So much so that my daughter said, no, I don't want to do any s'mores. I just want strawberries and fluff. And when I do s'mores, we get the Stroop waffles. I only buy like one package of them, right? So it's not just graham crackers. We're using Stroop waffles, Reese's Thins, and the marshmallow and really kind of elevating. And I only have enough stroopwafels because they're not cheap. So everybody gets one. And then I have the graham crackers, like if you want round two or three. She had her one Stroop waffle, did the strawberries and didn't want to go back to the s'mores.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas My mind is blown too. I know what I'm doing next time I'm at the campground.

Brooks, Host So elevated, give it a try and report back to me and let us know. It was unbelievable.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas They used to have the Stroopwafels at Costco. You used to be able to buy the huge pack, which would be perfect for this, or you can get.

Brooks, Host Them at Trader Joe's, but I'm. I'm even more so saying try the strawberries and the jar of marshmallow fluff. Game changer.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I'm worried that if I do that, then there's no turning back.

Brooks, Host The good thing is at least you're eating strawberries. So while I'm not a nutritionist, the odds are they're a little bit more healthy than you know. But the stroopwafels are amazing because that caramel inside too melts a little bit. Delicious.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas I'm gonna do it, I promise.

Brooks, Host Okay, well, you report back. Let us know how it goes. But, Jeremy, thank you so much for taking the time to join us here on RV out West and for sharing not just the stories from the road, but the lessons, challenges, and reflections that come with a life built around adventure.

Jeremy Puglisi, RV Atlas Well, thank you so much for having me. I would love to come back any time. Just say the word.

Brooks, Host Sounds good. Thank you so much.

Speaker 3 Thank you. Brooks.

Brooks, Host And to everyone listening, wherever you are in your journey, may this conversation remind you that sometimes the most meaningful destinations aren't found on a map. They're found in the people we become along the way. All right, my friends, the conversation doesn't have to end here. If anything, we talked about sparked your curiosity, head over to RV Outwest dot com and take a moment to check out the show notes. We've got links to everything we mentioned so you can dive deeper and explore more. If you enjoyed this episode, please send it to a friend or family member. Before we go, I want to give you a sneak peek at next week's episode. You see, it's been a while since we've done a deep dive destination episode, and next week we're changing that. We're heading to Central Oregon to explore everything John Day has to offer. So tune in next Monday and start planning your next RV adventure. Thanks so much for listening to RV Out West. Join us again next week. Please like and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you choose to get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. I sure would appreciate it if you left a rating or a review of this show. Special thanks to Scott Holmes Music for providing us the intro song. We Are One RV Out West can be found on Instagram and Facebook, where you can interact with us and follow along on our RV adventures around the Pacific Northwest. So get out there, explore and go see what's beyond the horizon.

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