🌴 Watts on Wheels Winter Adventure Begins!

We’re rolling again! In early December, we will be pulling out of Cleveland, Georgia and officially kicking off our longest trip yet in Max, our Renegade Explorer we obtained a few months ago. This winter we’ll be spending more than three months exploring Florida from top to bottom — and we’re excited to take you along with us.

This trip has been in the works for months. Florida in the winter is highly competitive, and it takes patience, flexibility, and a whole lot of luck to line up 16 different campground stays. But the planning paid off, and we’re ready to enjoy warmer weather, beautiful scenery, and the slower pace that comes with longer stays. Here's a peek at the spreadsheet of our itinerary.

And the best part? This is our first long-haul Florida winter in Max, and being just 40 feet long (about 50 feet with the tote and Smart Car) opens so many more doors for us. After traveling at 76 feet for years, it feels amazing to fit into more state parks, county parks, and smaller campgrounds. These are the kinds of places we’ve always wanted to experience — and now we finally can.

Our Route at a Glance

➡️ Georgia into North Florida

We begin the journey in North Georgia and ease our way into northern Florida, enjoying quiet state parks, peaceful lakes, and those early hints of warm winter weather. This first leg gives us time to settle into the trip, shake off the Georgia chill, and get Max into full travel mode.

➡️ Central & West Florida

From there, we continue south along Florida’s west side, exploring a mix of county parks, COE campgrounds, and one Thousand Trails stop. These areas are some of our favorites — lots of nature, great local restaurants, and plenty of opportunities for “Dave moments” and adventures.

➡️ Three Weeks in the Florida Keys

Then it’s time for the highlight of our winter: three full weeks in the Keys. Expect sunsets, seafood, turquoise water, Key lime pie, Smart Cabriolet exploring, and probably a few classic episodes that keep the bleep button working overtime.

➡️ Eastern Florida and the Journey Home

After the Keys, we’ll work our way up the east coast with several beachy county parks, a visit with friends in Palatka, and a couple of beautiful state parks as we slowly make our way back toward Georgia for the trip home.

What You Can Expect From Us This Winter

Traveling slower means we finally get the chance to do more campground reviews — especially helpful for anyone trying to navigate Florida in the winter. We’ll cover:

• Site size & maneuverability

• Hookups and layout

• Road conditions getting in

• Local attractions

• Noise, privacy, and overall vibe

• And of course… whether we’d stay there again

We’ll be posting campground reviews throughout the trip on YouTube. And of course we'll show you all the fun places we stop and crazy things we do. As always, we’ll include drive arounds, walk-throughs, drone shots when allowed, and the usual real-world “Watts on Wheels” commentary and Campground Report Card.

👉And don’t worry — we won’t make you wait too long for the fun stuff we filmed earlier this year. We’ve got the houseboat recap, Jeep rides, and yes… Dave fixing things. We’ll sprinkle those in between the Florida RV travel, campground reviews, and life on the road in Max.

🛠️ DIYs, Fix-It Moments & “Whatcha Doin’ Now Dave?”

If something breaks, squeaks, leaks, rattles, or misbehaves… Dave will be on it. You know how this goes — tools come out, the camera starts rolling, and suddenly we’ve got another “DIY by Dave” or “Whatcha Doin’ Now Dave?” episode in the making.

Whether it’s a quick tweak or one of those all-day mysteries that ends with a few “spare parts,” we’ll bring you along for the fun. And of course… any major repair will require proper beer payment negotiations.

Why This Trip Feels Different

This journey is exciting for so many reasons:

🌞 Long, relaxing stays

Most stops are 7 nights or more, so we can enjoy the area, film more content, and take our time.

🌴 The Keys — finally, three whole weeks

We’ve visited the Keys several times before, but it’s one of those places that never gets old. The water, the sunsets, the food, the laid-back vibe — it just draws us back again and again. So yes… we’re doing it again!  This time we’ll be spending a full three weeks soaking it all in.

🏕️ Access to parks we couldn’t fit into before

State and county parks were almost impossible at 76 feet. Now they’re back on the menu.

🚐 Max’s first long winter run

This will be Max’s first true long-term winter adventure, and we’re really curious to see how he performs over several months. He’s smaller than our fifth wheel, and there are definitely some differences — no washer/dryer and no dishwasher this time around — but so far, we’re really enjoying our Explorer.

This trip will be the ultimate test of living in Max for an extended stretch, and we’re looking forward to seeing how everything goes. Keep your fingers crossed for us! And once we’ve wrapped up this long winter run, we’ll also be making a video comparing our former heavy-duty truck and fifth wheel setup to life in a Super C — now that we’ll finally have real experience to share.

🤝 Meeting people along the way

That's the best part of all...Campground conversations, friendly subscribers, fellow travelers — that’s half the fun. If you see us, please stop by and say "Hi". I bet Dave will have a beer with you.

❤️Thank you for traveling with us — even if it’s virtually. We are so excited for this winter season, the memories ahead, and all the stories we’ll get to share with you.

Here’s to sunshine, smooth travels, and a wonderful Florida winter!

— Karen & Dave

Watts on Wheels