Jimmie Crawford’s touring plans seem to reflect Johnny Cash’s popular traveling anthem, I’ve Been Everywhere. Since the full-time RVer hit the road solo in his 2014 Itasca Sunstar 35F in early 2016, Crawford has traveled 6,000 miles along the East Coast.
He has been as far south as Key West, Florida and as far north as Gaspé at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in Canada, approximately 300 miles north of Montreal.

A photographer based out of Raleigh, North Carolina, for 37 years, Jimmie Crawford felt it was time to retire and pursue his goal of visiting many places he has never experienced. Photos courtesy of Jimmie Crawford
When RV Life spoke to the North Carolina native, he was in Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region and indicated no signs of slowing down. His plans are, well, to go everywhere he can in an RV.

The Myakka River State Park in Florida.
A photographer based out of Raleigh, North Carolina, for 37 years, Crawford felt it was time to retire in the fall of 2015 to pursue his goal of visiting the many places he has never experienced. So far, full-time RVing has been nothing but a positive experience.
However, this isn’t Crawford’s first time traveling on the road. As a single Dad raising a son and daughter, he would plan trips every two to three years. They once even packed up and did a long-distant trek from North Carolina to Bar Harbor, Maine.
“Full-timing was always in my plans once my kids were grown and moving on,” says Crawford. “I have been planning this for about 15 years. So, I decided to retire. I sold my house and started making plans last fall. I want to do this while I still can.”

Crawford in Mount Airy, NC—the home of Andy Griffith—on a recreated set of the Andy Griffith Show.
Like many full-timers who decide to take the plunge into full-timing, he did get cold feet. That is until a friend or relative would pass away. But now, he doesn’t regret it whatsoever.
“Once in a while before I left I would get cold feet. But every time I doubted myself, someone close to me would pass away. That would just reinforce everything because I realize that life is just too short,” says Crawford.
“…I don’t hit all the museums as some RVers do, but I do like to tour all of the micro-breweries…”
The lone traveler says one of the greatest benefits of full-time RVing is meeting people from all walks of life. He periodically gets invitations from other RVers to travel to certain events, yet other times he just hits the open road. Being a photographer, he admits, inspires him to visit select, scenic locations.
As an example, Crawford explained he has been to Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, then down to Key West. On his return trip, he went up through the Everglades and along Florida’s Gulf Coast, before making his way through the Carolinas. From there, he motored through Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and eventually landed in the Province of Quebec.
The full-time RVer on-the-go
Once in Quebec, Crawford enjoyed Percé Rock in the Gaspé Peninsula, then visited New Richmond and Grand Falls, New Brunswick. He crossed the border into Maine, went through New Hampshire and Vermont, then on to the Finger Lakes.

Camping at Percé Rock in the Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec.
Crawford’s short-term goal is visiting the upper portion of the U.S. through to Elkhart, Indiana, for a break at the 2016 iRV2.com International Rally in September. This is where he also planned to have his Class A serviced before heading to the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“So far, I have seen a lot on the East Coast,” says Crawford. “However, I haven’t seen California, Washington, Oregon, and the rest of the Northwest. Those are the other places that I want to visit. Maybe someday I will go to Alaska. Right now, it’s not a priority as I have heard many bad stories about the roads and weather. But I do plan to see all of the United States. ”
For now, however, with his GPS on the dash and a series of travel plans to complete, Crawford is well on his way to meeting his goal of going, well, pretty much everywhere you can in an RV.
See more of Jimmie Crawford’s travels:
- Crawford In Key West
- Horses in Myrtle Beach, SC
- Parc National du Bic, Quebec
- Solomons Castle in Ona, FL
- Sainte-Anne-des-Monts in Quebec
- Shark caught in Miami, FL
- The Everglades – The smallest Post Office in the US.
- Perce Rock in Quebec
This is such an inspiring story. Just recently bought my RV and I love it. I hope you stopped in Sanibel Island, FL. It is one of the major shelling beaches in the US. Wonder if you stopped by Floyd, VA. It is part of the Crooked Road Music Trail. The Floyd Country Store has bluegrass and country music nearly every day. There are many street performers. I, too planned to be an RVer at retirement. It is a dream come true. Best wishes to you on your roadtrips.
I did stop in at Sanibel Island and had a wonderful day on the beach. I grew up in NC and had friends who lived in Floyd and spent lots of time in the area. Never caught anyone playing there but will be back one of these days I’m sure. I’ve been to many bluegrass festivals and really enjoy the music. Thank you!
My name is Johnny Crawford and my wife and I sold our house in 2015 and started full-time rving. We are currently in a 2014 Thor palazzo 35.1. We are now in Nova Scotia and just came from Pierce Rock and will be in Elkhart by the end of September for a rally and some service. We have a lot in common.
Just recently returned from a 3 month trip to the Arctic – B.C., Yukon, Alaska and Northwest Territories. Trip of a lifetime. The roads aren’t as bad as you think. I beefed up my 2006 truck with new 10 ply tires plus new 8 ply on my trailer; took 2 spares for each and didn’t need them! Had all my hoses, fluids, plugs, etc. updated on the truck and put a protective coating on the front of the travel for preventing rock damage from gravel roads. No problems at all on the 8,000 mile journey.
The trick to managing the roads that are gravel is to slow down, watch the weather, and move over for vehicles approaching from the other direction. I did end up with a small chip in my front windshield, but that’s all. Saw quite a few big rigs like yours on the Dempster Highway to Inuvik in the NWT.
Plan on going north – the last great wilderness in North America. Saw grizzlies eating locoweed by the side of the road, wolves, bison, black bears,and moose of all ages, The only animal not seen was a live caribou as it was the wrong time of year since they are all up on the barrens during the summer.
Left in the middle of May and returned the middle of August. It’s not really feasible to go earlier due to snow and spring breakup, or to be up there much later than mid-September due to the early start of winter.
Go – you won’t regret it. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey! We’re only here once.
I went to Alaska this summer- 2018 – and enjoyed it very much! Thank you.
Sumter County Fl I live here in Bushnell where was home for you
I spent my entire life in NC. Not a bad place to be.
An update to this story, I’ve now traveled 26,000 miles and I’m returning from a summer in Alaska! I’m headed to Death Valley Days again in November and wintering somewhere in Arizona. 2 and a half years and going strong!
Wow! Good for you. Glad you are enjoying life.
My boyfriend and I had always wanted a travel trailer and we finally got one in December of 2015. I am retired but he has two more years to go. However we travel every chance we get for his vacations and holiday time. We live in Georgia and we love the National and State Parks. We went to Padre Island National Seashore and Big Bend on the Mexico border on our first big trip. Our 2nd long trip was to Colorado Springs, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Mesa Verde National Park. This year we went from Georgia to Maine for our long trip. We visited family along the way going up and spent a week at Acadia National Park. On the way back home we sent one full day at Cape Cod National Seashore and and two days at Shenandoah National Park.
This past spring we bought land in the Ozarks near Buffalo National River in Arkansas. We found this beautiful area during one of our twelve RV trips the first year and fell in love with it, It’s a great place to retire.. We will move there and camp on our land while we build our home in about 2 years. Then we will travel south in the winter. North in the summer and east and west as we want. My son lives in Idaho Falls so I am sure we will spend a lot of time there. He met us in Colorado for a week last summer and this summer he flew to Boston to spend a week with us at Acadia National Park. I have no idea how many miles we have gone but we sure have seen some awesome places and animals along the way.
Our 3 dogs travel with us and they seem to love it as much as we do. We have also met some awesome people along the way. I’m glad that you are enjoying life with your RV and your travels. We love it too but we still want a home base even if we don’t spend too much time there.
is there anywhere I can follow you and your adventures?
I use to post photos on Facebook but have moved to Jimmiecrawford.blogspot.com where I post photos about once a month. For older photos search Jimmie Crawford on Facebook. I don’t know what you can see without being friends and I usually don’t accept request from people I don’t know so that may be a dead end. I’m on YouTube as seeinsilver but have not been active there. You can reach me at seeinsilver at gmail dot com. Enjoy!
I have updated where I post online my new website is http://www.rollmeaway.com there are links there to YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Enjoy!
Only wish I could do what you do. I retired at the same time and bought a new trailer. That was my dream, but I was discouraged by family and problems I had with the trailer. I am not a handy person and may have gotten in over my head with my expectations.
You gave me encouragement again. Life is short. We should do what we enjoy. Thankyou.
Do you plan in advance where your are going or just go?
Kathy I hope you do try again. So sorry that your family discourages you. If you have an RV Roadside Assistance they can help in case your vehicle breaks down. We have used Good Sam Roadside Assistance a few times. They have been great. Also campers are friendly and some may even help with small things on your trailer. I know my boyfriend would help anyone having a problem with theirs., Just always have your cell phone. You may want to start out going to close by places for short trips until you feel more comfortable. We have met a lot of single campers out there and some make friends and end up traveling in a group. That would work out great for you. Just make sure your cell phone is charged when you are traveling. I traveled and camped with my son since I was divorced when he was 18 months old and we went everywhere we wanted to. It was just tent camping then or car road trip staying in hotels but now my boyfriend and I have had our trailer for 3 years. My son is grown now but he flies out to meet us (or drives if close enough to where he lives) for a week on our long trips. I grew up camping and most campers would help you with small problems with your trailer. I know my boyfriend who is very handy would help anyone who needed help.
Good luck. Never give up your dreams. Life is too short and there is a beautiful world out there for you to see.
There are many resources and YouTube videos on line to help you learn about fixing things. Any kind of RV is going to require some maintenance. Unfortunately some brands are less reliable. Joining local RV camping clubs will help you meet people that you can camp with and they will help teach you the ropes. Start small and camp close to home until your build up experience then venture further from home. I’m in several clubs and there is always an event somewhere that I get interested in and plan to attend, other times, I have a vague idea of heading north or south and look for interesting places to go or things to see along the way. I usually have a campground and 3-4 backup places in mind for the end of the day especially if they are first come first serve. Good Luck!
To Kathy: Others have given you most of the hints to single person travel, and I wish you a wonderful
time trying it again. There are also clubs or groups of single women only who travel together. Check
the internet for such groups of ladies who live ear you, and see if you could visit with one or two to
check out their single travel. Good Sam offers very good prices per year for RV travelers in the way of
on-the-road service. A membership to Good Sam Club is incredibly valuable, especially if you are new
to travel. They also offer several other insurance, etc. that may come in very handy. Passport America
offers excellent discounts to RV parks. Lots of other stuff too. My husband and I have been traveling
since retirement about 10 yrs. ago. We are not full time, but get out on the road two or three times a
year for 2 to 4 months each trip. Yep, our family was worried at first too, but you will find all will go better
than expected, and they will calm down. See you on the road, Lyn
Just an update to this story. I now have a website where I publish my photos and there is a link there to a new YouTube channel of my travels. Go to ROLLMEAWAY.COM there are links on the ABOUT ME page to my YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram pages! Enjoy – JC
PS – 34,000 miles and still going!