Customer Spotlight: Traveling the backroads of America with Dave and Judy Roby

For Dave and Judy Roby their motorhome life began when they rented a RV for a road trip adventure. This was just a glimpse of what their future would be, and it was love at first sight. That trip led to their first purchase and a lifelong love for traveling the backroads of America. From 2017-2019 the Roby’s drove over 33,000 miles seeing the north and south western national parks, traveled the whole length of Route 66, parts of the Oregon Trail, and the Lincoln highway. The Robys found fun and adventure traveling the backroads and made many new friends along the way. We were so inspired by their travels we talked with them to find out more. Here’s what they shared with us:

It was Judy’s dream to travel in a motorhome with a group of friends to California. Growing up, Dave travelled with his family. His parents took the family to a rented cabin 4 months out of the year, for 20 years. The Roby’s shared that since they have been together, they have made it a priority to plan secret adventures for each other four times a year with a spring fling trip, summer anniversary trip, fall fiesta and winter wonder trip. They take turns planning a surprise and packing for each other as well as making arrangements with their employers and babysitters for their children ahead of time and then completely surprising the other. Travel was a priority for them and a part of their lives as individuals and a priority they made together in their marriage.  

Judy had always wanted to have a motorhome but being able to take their beloved pets with them on their travels was also a big part of their decision. It has been so much easier for them to travel in a motorhome than it would be if they flew or stayed in hotels. They are able to travel safely and have the freedom to boon dock and do so much more than they would through traditional travel. They love being able to travel with their pets and they feel less limited traveling in a motorhome.

Dave’s Mom had a family motto they shared, that “it’s later than you think” and the Robys have made that their family motto as well.  Both Dave and Judy were very passionate about the fact that you don’t need to wait or be super wealthy to get started - that you should just do what you can when you can. Start by travelling on the weekends, and to take your kids on big adventures with you when they are young. The Roby’s said they have encountered many families on their travels who aren’t waiting for retirement to start traveling. Judy and Dave had so many wonderful things to say about the benefits of traveling in a motorhome versus traditional travel. They have met and made so many friends while traveling and their circle of friendships have grown through the years.

Judy shared that as they have traveled by motorhome, they have seen so much more than they would have staying in a hotel. The Robys have experienced incredible wonder and experienced the beauty of this country in a way that most people couldn’t experience from a hotel stay. Their travels have also offered them the opportunity to experience places through other’s eyes. Not only do they get to share their favorite places with their friends and experience the wonder all over again, but they also get to see the places they visit through the eyes of the locals they meet along the way. Some insights they have gleaned: the world is such a fun place, that life is sacred, and life should be enjoyable and full of adventure. Many people have told the Robys when they read their newsletters, they feel like they are living their dream through them. Their response: that they want people to go and live their dreams and they share their travels in hopes of encouraging others to live their lives and do more of what they love to do. Dave and Judy said they have a kitchen towel that says, “do more of what you love” and they live by that motto every day.

Many of their travels have taken place on the backroads of America and throughout the Midwest. They like to say “there’s always one more roadside American attraction to see. You just don’t see things like this driving the interstate highways” and “taking the backroads of America gets you to see more unique places, meet interesting people, and enjoy unusual attractions.”

Some of the unique sights the Robby’s have discovered on their travels:

• Devils Lake in Paraboo Wisconsin
• Hot air balloon festival in Wisconsin
• Potato Museum in Illinois
• Route 66 museum in Kingman, Arizona.
• Seligman Arizona, the place that inspired Pixar's 2006 film “Cars”.
• Meteor crater national landmark, Winslow AZ.

Dave responded that for them travel is all about the freedom to go and see places. He shared that they once drove 2,500 miles in 4 days to volunteer at a balloon festival (one of the backroads gems the Robys discovered in Wisconsin) because it was something he and Judy really enjoyed doing together. The Robys have worked their way through much of the Midwest, Utah, and Nebraska and their next stop is the valley of fire in Nevada, which they learned about from another couple they met on their travels. They emphasized throughout our conversation about how the community and friends they have met on their travels is a big benefit of traveling in a motorhome. In light of recent events, we wanted to share the Roby’s most recent travels and thoughts on travel with our readers. The Robys were able to boondock in Lake Havusu for the month of March and then went to the Valley of Fire in Nevada. After they spent five weeks in Tucson, Arizona and then visited New Mexico. They then came to MOT for some repairs before heading home to Illinois.

Some advice the Roby’s want to share with first time motorhome buyers: First, Dave said that he couldn’t recommend MOT enough for getting started on their motorhome journey. In his words “MOT tells the truth and are not just interested in selling things.” He said he couldn’t recommend the whole staff enough and especially wanted to thank the whole Motorhomes of Texas team. Their other piece of advice for buying your first motorhome or going from part time to full time is to find other people who are doing what you want to do or who own the motorhome you are interested in buying and talk to them about any frustrations, problems, or concerns you have. The motorhome community and online forums have helped the Robby’s through many of the issues they’ve faced on their travels. Their last piece of advice was how important community is, to talk to others and don’t do it alone. Before we ended our conversation, Dave reiterated that he is so impressed with the service they have received from MOT and that the level of friendship, love and comradery they’ve developed with the staff here is not something they’ve had or found at other motorhome dealerships. We are so grateful to receive this high praise from the Robys. All of us at MOT admire the Robys for the way they live their life with passion and enthusiasm and inspire us to do the same. We hope their story has inspired you as well to “do more of what you love” and know that you don’t have to wait to travel, just start where you are!

Dave and Judy found a sign on their adventures about travel, “Travel - the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” The Robys shared in one of their most recent newsletters that as they travel and see the world, they make new friends and the value of this is priceless and timeless! No matter what the vacation budget allows, lifetime memories are not based on how much money was spent. They read somewhere “Invest in travel, not things.” Life is too short and the only things that will stay with us forever are all the adventures and memories. Dave and Judy hope by sharing their stories it will inspire the next person to get up, get out, and get busy and just go ahead and travel!