Meeting Minnie: How We Found Our Perfect Home on Wheels (in 48 Hours)
Updated: Sep 10
June 9 – 15, 2025
📍Location: Fort Pierce, Florida 🏕️Campgrounds: Road Runner Travel Resort, KOA Holiday
We traded the damp, sea-sprayed apartment in Hollywood for a cabin in Fort Pierce, expecting a downgrade. To our shock, we walked into a glamper’s paradise: a brand-new cabin that smelled like fresh timber and luxury.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to get cozy. We were on a deadline.
Between repairing the sunroof on the truck (this rusty thing broke when we first opened it, so Alex had to manually shut it forever) and Liza becoming an overnight expert on US insurance rates (pro tip: shop around by state!), we had one massive box left to tick: Finding the Trailer.
Our search started at the behemoth: Camping World. Our salesman, Eddie, was a gem, cruising us around in a golf cart to show us the inventory. We fell in love with a brand-new Jayco Feather—perfect layout, perfect style, but perfectly out of budget. Then came the "Closers." First, a beefy sales manager; next, a finance guy trying to scare us with the old "you can’t register this in Montana" speech. We’d heard it before, and we weren’t buying it. We walked away with our wallets full but our minds made up: We knew exactly what we wanted, but we were going to find it on the private market.
We scoured Craigslist, RV Trader, and Facebook Marketplace until we found a lead in Port St. Lucie. Mitch invited us to see his Winnebago Minnie. The photos were blurry, but the description was intriguing. The trailer is 28 feet long with one slide-out and everything we need: a sofa, a separate dining area, enough space in the kitchen for two, an oven, a microwave, and a large refrigerator with a freezer. Outside, there is an additional shower, a huge storage room, and inside, there are also many different storage cabinets. The coolest thing is the “walk-through” bathroom with access from both the bedroom and the hallway.
She was slightly over budget, and Mitch wasn't budging on the price. We walked away to "sleep on it," but we barely made it to the car before admitting the truth: This was our home.
TACTICS FROM THE ROAD: Cash is King 💵 When buying privately in the US, credit cards don’t fly. Sellers want cash. Be warned: Banks often have daily withdrawal limits. We had to make multiple trips to scrape together the stack of bills needed to close the deal. Plan your liquidity in advance!
On June 12—just two days into the search—we made our second big purchase. Before we could take off with Minnie, there was one last hiccup. Our truck's connection port failed - no brake lights on the trailer. By the time we figured out the source of the problem (it was Fercho's burned fuse) and hitched the trailer to the truck, it was already 6:00 p.m. To boost our stress level even more, Mitch's wife Mary Jane miscounted the money and claimed that we were short. Luckily, Mitch calmly recounted and found two bills stuck together. Crisis averted.
We towed Minnie to our first ever campground, we decided to try the famous KOA chain and got ourselves a membership. Alex executed his first parking maneuver with surgeon-like precision.
We had a trailer, but zero spoons, cups, or plates. Dinner was a victory lap at a local American diner. The next day was a massive Walmart haul to stock everything from dishes to pantry staples.
By the evening of June 13, we were sitting in our new camping chairs, eating a homemade grilled dinner, listening to the quiet hum of the campground. We even squeezed in a beach day (although at the same time, we were already looking for the next campground and figuring out the trailer lights).
On June 15, we hitched up. Four hours of road lay ahead. The real journey to the first State Park had officially begun.
Comments