Our Rig - The HaRV Life

The HaRV Overview

Year	2016
Make	Keystone
Model	Bullet Ultra Lite
Floorplan	287QBS
Length	32′ 10″
Slides	1 – Living Room

Exterior

One of the main reasons that we chose a Keystone is brand reputation and build quality. This is especially important when looking at ultra lite models. We chose an ultra-lite to conserve in fuel and to be able to pull it with a half-ton pickup truck. This model features a 15′ exterior awning, fiberglass body, and outdoor kitchen. We felt that the outdoor kitchen is a necessity when cooking multiple times daily for the family.

Interior Layout

The Bunk House

This was a requirement for us. Because we plan to be on the road for months at a time, we wanted the girls to have a separate space to call their own. In the HaRV, there are 4 bunk beds in the bunk house, with one that converts to a table and bench seats. This is perfect for homework or playtime. As an added bonus, when it’s bedtime Amy and I can still move about the cabin without distrupting the kids.

Master Bedroom

At the very front of the travel trailer there is a master bedroom with queen size bed. There’s plenty of storage overhead and on the sides. One feature that is a nice-to-have is the laundry chute that allows you to drop dirty clothes into a hamper that’s located in the outside passible pass thru storage compartment. The bedroom has it’s own TV with Roku and reading lights for each of us.

Indoor Kitchen

Our kitchen isn’t huge and it doesn’t have an island, but this is typical in ultra-lite models. We have a refrigerator/freezer, microwave, 3 burner stove, oven and kitchen sink. All of the appliances run on propane except for the fridge, which can run on either propane or electric. We rarely eat out and do all of our cooking, so it’s important for us to have a capable kitchen. Aside from the indoor kitchen, we have an outdoor range, refrigerator and LP hookups for a grill or griddle. We plan to cook mostly outdoors in order to keep the inside clean & less stinky. Cooking indoors can also create issues with condensation.

Bathroom & Shower

Though we plan to shower mainly at camp facilities, we have a full shower with a glass-like door. Our bathroom has a standard toilet and sink, vanity area, and mirrors. Nothing fancy here!

Dinette & Living Room

The HaRV currently has a stock dinette (table and bench seating) as well as two recliner chairs in the indoor living room area. The indoor living room features a mounted television & entertainment center and ceiling speakers. The outdoor living room sits underneath a 15″ awning and has power and outdoor speakers. Again, we plan to spend most of our time outside.

Connectivity

Internet

This is a hot topic. In the line of work that I’m in, it’s imperative that I stay connected. However, we weren’t quite ready to dish out thousands of dollars for a top of the line cellular router & antenna. So to start, we’re somewhere in the middle.

Redundancy is key. Our setup includes both cellular connectivity and satellite. For cellular, we opted for Verizon as they offered the best LTE coverage (and pretty good 5G) where we’ll travel the most. We ordered Verizon’s latest flagship Inseego MiFi X Pro 5G UW UM3100 mobile hotspot. Additionally, we purchased a pre-owned Starlink satellite & router for as-needed use.

I’ll write an entire article on internet shortly.

TV & Entertainment

Let’s face it, we’re not going on this journey to sit in front of the tube. We do have two televisions within the rig, one in the master bedroom and another in the living space. We have a DVD player and some children’s movies on hand just in case it’s a rough or rainy day. We also have a digital antenna that can be raised from the roof for local stations. For times where we have adequate internet for streaming, we also have Roku (Netflix, YouTube, etc.). And, if the park features cable internet then we have a direct hookup on the back of the rig to cable. There’s also a location in the kid’s bunkhouse where a TV can be mounted; however, we are choosing not to use this for the time being. The main media center, which can play to both the indoor and outdoor built-in speaker system, can also play music via AM/FM radio, USB, or Bluetooth.