Hello! We are Deas and Jennifer Nealy. We have been RVing with our 3 dogs since 2013.
We first started toying with the idea of RVing when we somehow ended up with 3 dogs, and it became ridiculously expensive to board them when we went out of town. We started taking more and more car vacations where we could bring the dogs with us, and we talked about how nice it would be to just have an RV so we wouldn’t have to worry about finding dog-friendly accommodations (which is especially difficult when you have THREE dogs!)
For over a year we read about RVs and attended a few RV shows. We had four must-have criteria: 1) It had to be 35 feet long or less, 2) It had to be diesel, 3) It had to have a king size bed, and 4) It had to have a washer and dryer.
We looked and looked, and people kept telling us that the right RV would eventually come along. And it did: the perfect RV for us showed up on eBay in early 2013 – a 2010 Tiffin Allegro Red. Since we had been looking for so long, we new immediately it was the right one for us and agreed to buy it sight unseen!
The first few days with the RV were a little crazy as we tried to educate ourselves about it as fast as we could. There were a few moments of “What in the world have we done??”, but overall we were very excited and couldn’t wait to take our first big trip.
In 2013 we rented out our house in Grayton Beach, FL, took a 6-month trip out west and visited 11 states. We returned over the winter to our “home base” and spent the winter there. In March 2014 we set out in the RV again, sold our house in Florida that summer, and have been in the RV ever since! We still spend the winters around Grayton Beach to catch up with friends and family. In 2015 we will be traveling up the east coast and will spend the summer in Maine and Nova Scotia.
Our Dogs
Jake is a Australian Shepherd mix that we found running on a busy highway in TN in 2008. He is an extremely smart and active dog, which as anyone with a smart/active dog knows, means he can be a bit of a challenge. He would prefer to be an outside dog, but much to his dismay we have given him a cushy life and force him to sleep inside on a dog bed in the air conditioning. He once broke out of our RV when we weren’t home by pushing a screen out of the window, and had a grand time running all over the RV park before someone snagged him and turned him into the camp hosts. He’s terrified of thunder and rain, and he has terrible breath.
Nikki is a black German Shepherd that we got as a companion for Jake, since Jake was driving us crazy as an only dog. She came from a pound in South Atlanta. When we got her, she was skin and bones, had heartworms, was completely unhousebroken, and her teeth are completely worn down (the vet guesses from being either tied on a chain or contained by a fence.) It took us a good 4 months to nurse her back to health, and we have been rewarded by having the sweetest dog we could ever imagine. In true German Shepherd fashion, Nikki never lets me out of her sight – even if I walk from one side of the RV to the other, she follows me. She loves her “babies” – her stuffed animals – and she’s almost always carrying one around in her mouth.
Shorty is a Corgi/Golden Retriever mix that I found running down a highway in Georgia in 2011. When I first picked him up, I assumed that he was just lost because he is completely adorable, and he was neutered and housebroken. However he was not wearing a collar and did not have a microchip. Despite my placing signs all over the place, contacting multiple vets and rescue groups, and checking every lost-dog website I could find, I never found anyone looking for him. So suddenly we had 3 dogs. Shorty is full of attitude, insists on sleeping with his head on a pillow on our bed every night, and he really, really hates cows.
Nealys on Wheels 
Hi Nealy’s! I do remember you (and the pups) from Grayton Beach and are thrilled for you that you are now RV’ing. Glad to see you have a blog and are sharing your adventures. I have such a limited knowledge of blogging and have no idea why the wrong address comes up. Blogger has a pretty simple way of inputing a link and I just copy and paste the address in. I have heard Word Press is much more user-friendly so you made a good choice.
Sorry about your booze-induced ticket! What a drag. But, at least not all federal campgrounds have a no alchol policy. We are loving the federal campground we are volunteering at and our only complaint is the lack of internet in the wilderness…but I will not complain too loudly about that. We are headed to Montana, Canadian Rockies, Washinton, Oregon, and northern California before we start a long winter stay in, of all places, Grayton Beach. YEA! Take care and safe travels. I’ll try and link you blog to my blog roll – it’s GREAT!
Nancy (RVAGOGO)
Thought we should get on your bandwagon since many of our blog friends have meet up with you in your travels west. That’s the same place we crossed paths with most of these new friends. Now that we are in the east and heading to FL for the winter, we won’t be seeing them til next year when we head west again. Enjoy the remainder of your travels in the beautiful west!
Hello! We are actually headed back towards Florida also – we have a house in Grayton Beach (in the panhandle) where we’ll be spending the winter. Where are you headed in Florida? Maybe our paths will cross somewhere down there!
I did look to see exactly where Grayton Beach was located. The last two times we wintered in FL we spent the month of April in Miramar Beach. However, this year we will head north April 1 to revisit family and then around mid May begin our trip west. We will be staying in the Ft. Myers and Cortez (west of Bradenton) from Jan. thro March. We are very anxious to return to the west. After 14 months out there, we realized we would much rather spend our time out there. I am addicted to mountain hiking and rocks!
So maybe if you head west again we’ll meet up out there. You live in a beautiful area:) We really enjoyed out time in the Panhandle.
We’ll be following along on your blog and watch where you are headed next year.
I have enjoyed your blog and your photographs. We want to travel the country and photograph & paint. you are excellent role models for this life style. It sound like the diesel pusher is the way to go. The extra length is nice as well.
Hi Nealys! We’re working on a plan to do that same next year and were just looking at a 2011 Tiffin Allego Red. Now that you’ve been in it for a couple years, do you still love it? Anything you don’t like? Does the king bed feel cramped or totally worth it? Thanks so much for writing about your experiences!
Hi Jaime! Yes, we are still very happy with our Red. The king bed is absolutely worth it! Yes there is a little less room on each side of the bed, but how often are you just walking around your bedroom anyway. For us, the king bed was probably our #1 must-have item and I’m very happy with have it. If there’s anything I could change about the whole coach it would be that I wish we had a little more counter space in the kitchen. We cook in the rig a lot, and there’s just one small area of open counter space between the sink and the cooktop. But as far as reliability and dependability, it’s been fantastic. Good luck and keep in touch!
Jennifer, thanks for your response! Limited counter space seems to be an issue in most RV kitchens but you probably get used to it and learn to cook “smaller”. Right? Thanks again. If you find yourself near Redondo Beach, California, let us know and we’ll buy you a beer!
Yes, you just to learn to live with it….and less counter space means less counter top to clean also. 🙂 We won’t be heading west again until next year…this summer we’re traveling up the east coast and going to Maine. So maybe by the time we do head west you’ll be RVing too by then!
Fingers crossed!
The new site looks great! Really shows off your photos!
Thanks! I’ve had a lot of down time this week, so perfect week to drive myself completely crazy trying to do this…LOL.
When do you guys get to the ft Myers area? We like to meet you all
Nice site! Your photos are wonderful!! If you get back to Maine and the Atlantic Maritimes again, let us know! Lots more suggestions of places that aren’t such tourist traps but every bit as beautiful! Also, if you get back to Cape Breton, consider taking the ferry from N Sydney and spending week or three in Newfoundland! It’s a magical place with photo ops nearly every mile, and the people there are wonderful. We bought a rig in December and preparing to fulltime within the next few months. Looking forward to following your posts! Cheers!
Thank you! We will definitely go back to Maine and the Maritimes someday. We’d love to visit Newfoundland too…but we don’t like the fact that you have to leave your dogs in your RV for the long ferry ride, so we probably won’t do that anytime soon. Congrats on going fulltime!
I just found you blog and have enjoyed it so far. I look forward to following along on your travels 🙂
Thanks for following!
Following your blog and learning about the whole full time RV life. We are planning to do the same thing- in a few years. Would love to ask a few questions!
Sure, ask away! You can post on here or email us at nealysonwheels@gmail.com.
Tricia and I have been researching travel blogs since January; have enjoyed reading about your travels, reviews and adventures. We are well on our way to joining the RV travel lifestyle, and creating our travel blog. Within the next two months we will be departing from Louisiana to Key West then Maine in time for the fall colors. Your blog has been a great source of information for us. Safe travels….Craig and Tricia
Fall colors in Maine will be amazing! Where do you live in Louisiana? I grew up in Mandeville, outside New Orleans.
Wow- just came across your reply. We are currently living in Covington, still trying to sell our home. So, the East Coast is on hold. Following y’all on Instagram!