Never-Ending Road Trip: An Oklahoma Family’s New Life As RV Nomads

There's a growing trend nationwide to sell all you have & hit the road for a more adventurous way of life. News on 6 met an Oklahoma family who is leaving city life to start their "never-ending road trip." 

The Conrad family loves the open road.

“RVing is an adventure,” said dad John Conrad. “It’s a lifestyle. Some people are just weekend warriors. We’re going full time.’

John doesn't want just a single getaway, not even a summer road trip - they're all in!

“I’m not at work all day and they’re at home and then we find some time to do something on a Saturday. This is every day, all day,” said John.

Meet the Conrads: dad John, mom Devaughn, 12-year-old Ava, seven-year-old Jane and three-year-old Max, all turned nomads. They sold their house and everything they owned.

“We loved our house, we left friends and family,” explained Devaughn Conrad. “We probably got rid of 90% of our belongings That’s the most peaceful part. Getting rid of stuff.”

But they felt an even deeper calling to their road trips. They knew they weren't the only ones with an itch to leave city life and saw this as an opportunity.

“I felt like some of them left more than they wanted to and so we’re there to reconnect people back to a community and also just reconnect Christian families with one another and reach out to people in need,” said Devaughn.

With RV camp sites as their new mission field, they had a plan. John is a video producer and can easily take his editing on the road. Devaughn was already homeschooling their kids. So, they set out on their first adventure. They left Guthrie, headed to Branson and mapped out stops along the way to Ohio.

But they didn't get far. Just 40 miles down the road, their front tires blew, and John's car broke down. A long wait at the RV repair shop and no home to return to, they temporarily moved in with the nearest family.

Because COVID-19 opened up new possibilities for working remotely there has been a 300% increase in the RV business.

“The last year has been really awesome. The RV community has just expanded so much,” said Willy D of Wade’s RV. “So, in the past it used to be kind of, you know, you had to be retired, you might be older and traveling around and a lot of people my age have really started hitting the road. So, it’s really changed the dynamic.”

The nomadic movement turned mainstream, and no one could have been prepared for the sudden surge. But after three weeks in the shop, the Conrads were ready to return to the road with flexibility.

“So, RV life is freeing and it’s hard. Sometimes things break, sometimes it doesn’t work right. There’s a lot of setup and teardown. But when you’re there it’s actually wonderfully free,” said John. “People ask great questions like, ‘where are you going to be in six weeks? or ‘what are you going to do?’ and I don’t know and right now, I don’t care.” 

The Conrads are hitched for the highway with roads of memories to make.