Last week, Cliff posted in our Team Journey community:
He was freezing in Missouri, and it was only getting colder. He needed to get south. Fast.
The RV was packed. The campground was booked. But he couldn't find his RV GPS — the Garmin he'd relied on for years.
Some people told him to buy another Garmin. Others suggested different apps. A few hinted it might make sense to wait until everything was "just right."
I told him something different:
Go for it with what you've got.
Two days later, he made it safely to Florida.
Using Google Maps. The free app already on his phone.
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Most people never hit the road because they're waiting for conditions that will never come. The perfect RV. The perfect GPS. The perfect timing.
They think success means having everything dialed in first. Zero risk. Zero mistakes.
But that's not how RV life works.
Perfectionism masquerades as preparation — but it's really just fear.
Five Screens, One Answer
There have been times in RV life I've been obsessed with getting it right.
For navigation, I once had five screens running simultaneously in my truck:
- An RV-specific Garmin ($400+)
- A trucker app (monthly subscription)
- Google Maps
- Apple Maps
- RV Trip Wizard (another subscription)
For a month, I ran all five at once to figure out which was best.
I thought the perfect tool would eliminate risk and make me confident.
That's how most people approach RV life. They convince themselves they need the newest RV, the best GPS, every gadget.
They're not preparing. They're procrastinating.
What I Learned the Hard Way
The specialized tools I paid extra for made just as many mistakes as the free ones.
The Garmin tried to route me through neighborhoods my RV had no business being in. The trucker app added 30 minutes to avoid a left-hand turn that would've been fine.
The winner? Google Maps. The free app I already had.
Why? Best real-time traffic data. Paired with Apple Maps as backup, I had two sources that almost always agreed. When they matched up, I had confidence. When they didn't, I slowed down and thought critically.
But here's the bigger lesson: No GPS is perfect. Not even the $400 ones.
Even with the Garmin, I still had to research my route, stay alert, and trust my gut.
I was still the most important part of the system.
The expensive tools didn't eliminate judgment. They just gave me false security and a cluttered dashboard.
The same pattern shows up everywhere. People think the newest RV protects them from breakdowns. But things fail. People think more planning eliminates uncertainty. But campgrounds cancel. Weather changes. Roads close.
Perfectionism doesn't make RVing safer. It just makes starting impossible.
The fear of not getting it exactly right keeps far more people stuck than the actual failures ever would.
The 95% Rule
I've adopted a simple mantra:
Not 100%. Just 95%.
Before we hit the road in 2015, we didn't have everything figured out. We were terrified. But we got to 95% — an RV, a plan, enough savings — and we went anyway.
When Cliff couldn't find his GPS, he didn't wait. He used what he had.
When I navigate now, I use Google Maps on my iPad Mini, Apple Maps as backup, and my brain. That's it.
I still research routes. I still stay alert. I still don't blindly trust the GPS when it tries to send me down "Skyline Drive."
But preparedness beats perfection every single time.
Perfect is a prison. 95% gets you on the road.
Key Takeaways
You don't need as much as you think. Five GPS apps didn't make me a better navigator. Two free ones and common sense did.
Perfectionism is fear in disguise. Ask yourself: Am I preparing, or am I procrastinating? If your standards keep rising as you get closer to starting, that's fear talking.
No tool eliminates the need for judgment. The most expensive GPS still made mistakes. No amount of preparation eliminates uncertainty — so stop waiting for certainty.
95% is better than 100% — because 100% never happens. Getting to 95% means you're prepared enough to start. Getting to 100% means you're still sitting at home.
Action creates confidence, not the other way around. Cliff didn't feel confident before leaving Missouri — he felt confident after he made it to Florida.
So What's Your Fear?
What's keeping you from your next step?
Are you waiting for perfect... instead of good enough?
RV life will never be perfect. Things will break. You'll take wrong turns.
But if you're willing to get to 95% and leap, you'll discover something more valuable:
You're more capable than you thought. Problems can be solved. Mistakes are part of the journey.
And here's the best part about Cliff's story:
Two days after that post, he pulled into Splash RV Resort in Florida — the same campground where we were staying. That same night we sat at an outside table, eating from the food truck and listening to live music laughing about the whole thing.
He didn't wait for perfect. He got to 95% and leapt.
Your journey is ready and waiting. Are you ready to make the leap?
Until next time, see you down the road!
— Nathan
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