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THE ART OF THE OUTDOOR KITCHEN, SHOWER and potty plus tent camping & MORE!SUMMER 2021BROOKE whippleGET OUT & GET HAPPY!GIRL IN THE WOODS
with Julie Benne“It’s been a busy week,” says Julie Bennett. “We just finished burning an RV.” Apparently when you’re Julie of RVLove.com, this kind of bizarre activity can actually be a part of your week. I immediately needed to know more. “Oh, it was on purpose,” she laughs. Well, that’s a relief.Admittedly one of her more out-there ideas, Julie believed burning an old, uninhabitable RV would be an attention-grabbing way to teach other RV enthusiasts about the importance of fire safety. When Julie decides to do something, you can count on it happening.Gutsy Move Originally from Sydney, Australia, Julie has always had a knack for making things happen. That drive, along with a philosophy of following her instincts, eventually led her to move to the other side of the world—Boulder, Colorado—after she had to make a new life game plan when disaster struck. For years, Julie ran her own marketing and event-planning business in Australia. She poured her heart and soul into it, allowing her to blend professional endeavors with her passion for personal growth and spiritual development. When the economy fell apart in 2008, her business imploded and everything she’d worked for was lost. By Terri MarshallON THE JOBJulie working on the road in her RV72 GIRL CAMPER / SUMMER 2021 ◼ LIFESTYLE
“I was approaching 40, single, working all the time. My business card title declared me Chief Inspiration Ocer, but I wasn’t inspiring myself. My life was out of balance,” she said. Something told her that her husband-to-be was in America. “I’d always been pulled to America and, if I was going to start my life over, why not go and try it on for size?” she says. In a leap of faith, Julie sublet her Sydney apartment in 2008, booked a flight to Boulder, Colorado and started a new life. “I had no job, no money, no friends and no visa.” Her intuition about Boulder turned out to be spot on, though. She found work, friends and then love, after meeting her husband, Marc, on eHarmony.Another Pivot Settling into a life of marriage, work and home ownership, Julie and Marc eventually realized they needed a change. “We wanted to travel more and spend more time together,” she recalls. “Marc had a job he could do virtually, so that meant home could be anywhere.” In 2014, the couple sold their home, bought an RV and hit the road with their dog. RVLove.com began without a big strategy or plan. “It was very organic and natural,” says Julie. “We just shared what we wished was out there when we were researching full-time RVing.” Apparently, the Bennetts weren’t the only ones seeking information. RVLove grew exponentially through blog posts, YouTube videos and social media. “We got so busy that Marc eventually quit his job and we focused on RVLove.”The couple’s first book, Living the RV Life, has sold more than 20,000 copies to date and will be released in audio format in July 2021, the same time their recently launched second book, RV Hacks.About That Burning RV Julie’s idea evolved from her concern for others. “About three years ago in Oregon, we drove past an RV that was on fire in front of a house. The sight left me feeling vulnerable.” The following year, Julie and Mark visited Visone RV, an RV salvage yard in Kentucky filled with unsalvageable motorhomes. Some arrived as a result of a fire, others from tire blowouts or storm damage. The sobering visit inspired their blog post and YouTube video “Where RVs Go to Die,” which highlights the importance of RV fire and tire safety. In the summer of 2020, six families Julie knew lost their homes to fire—four in houses and two in RVs. “I really wanted to do something dierent that’s Jule & Marc celebrating 6 years on the road73 GIRL CAMPER / SUMMER 2021 ◼ LIFESTYLE
unlike anything else that’s out there, but that really tells a story,” she says. “I wanted to get people to realize what simple things they can do to keep their RVs and families safe.”Julie connected with a fire chief to kick o the project. Next, she needed an RV. “I found someone with an old Winnebago in their backyard and they were happy for us to take it, especially for a good cause. So we bought it for $1 and named it “Harvey.”Working in conjunction with Fire Safe Colorado, Julie pulled together a team. Kebler Corner Campground in Somerset, Colorado oered the ideal space to carry out the plan. It had a gravel space close to a river, making it a safe place to burn the RV. Videos and information from the project will be added to the RVLove YouTube channel, the RVLove blog and social media. A supplementary education download is also in the works.“Marc wasn’t initially on board, he thought I was nuts,” Julie laughs. “But once my plan started falling into place, he jumped on board enthusiastically. After all, this video is going to save lives and RVs.”Julie’s instincts haven’t led her astray yet, and with this latest project, she hopes others will follow theirs, too, always with safety in mind. And who wouldn’t want to follow in this Girl Camper trailblazer’s footsteps?Julie at the Great Sand Dunes National ParkHarvey the RV on fireThe Fire Dept that put out Harvey”s fire74 GIRL CAMPER / SUMMER 2021 ◼ LIFESTYLE