Catching Up With The Border Hookups

RV Life

The Border Hookups perform live in the desert.

Busy Duo Balances Music and RV Content Creation

Time flies when you are having fun, or working very hard. The Border Hookups, a popular musical duo and RV content creators, have been doing both. Dave Hudson, the US-born half of the cross-border duet, and Manitoba-raised Jacqueline have their hands full. When not playing music around the country, Dave and Jacqueline put in a lot of hours living the RV life full time, and documenting much of it for their YouTube channel, The Border Hookups Go RVing.

I recently caught up with Dave and Jacqueline, who we last saw in September at the RV LIFE Hershey After Party in Hershey, Pennsylvania during the annual Hershey RV show. Eager to know what they have been up to, I posed a few questions.

Q: Let’s Talk Music – Where have The Border Hookups been playing?

A: We have been playing shows for numerous corporate partner events such as the Grand Design Owners Rally in Quartzsite, Arizona, as well as playing for our Pop Up Concerts. We are also in the process of planning our Romp it Up with The Border Hookups in October. This event will be filled with live music, wine tours and daily events.

Q: How Much Travel Will You Be Doing This Year?

A: We started the year with the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous in early January. We have slowed down a bit since then after realizing that moving camp every week is far too exhausting. Lately, we have been spending more time in one place and filming day-in-the-life experiences for our YouTube channel. We are also in the process of producing a new music video for the song, Livin’ the RV Life.

Last year we put on about 10K miles. During that run we played at the Hershey event, and some smaller venues in the east. We also hit the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and the Xscaper’s Bash in Lake Havasu City. This year we expect to do the same as far as mileage is concerned.

We will be traveling and shooting scenes from the Mississippi River Road as we make our way to the upper midwest for summer shows. We will then be visiting Idaho to play another Grand Design Owners rally, and hosting another Pop Up Concert in the same area. In between corporate events, we will be playing in Billings, Canada and West Yellowstone, Montana.

Q: That Sounds Like a Lot of Work. How Much of Your Time is Music vs Content Creation?

A: Our current breakdown of content creation vs concerts is roughly 80/20. Creating and maintaining a YouTube channel is a day in – day out job of filming, editing, writing, designing and promoting. People often ask us if having a YouTube channel pays the bills. The short answer is a hard no. With that said, we do receive products and compensation for partnerships, but we are incredibly picky about who we choose to work with. If it’s not a product that we actually use, then we pass.

Q: What Kind of RV Do The Borders Hookups Have?

A: We still have our 2020 Grand Design Reflection 260RD and 2020 F-250 Lariat Super Duty 7.3 gasser. Our setup works great and we have no plans to change things up. One of the best parts is that our camper is paid for. Can’t beat that!.

Q: Is There Any New Music on the Way?

A: We are always working on new songs. We won’t be going back into our usual studio this year, but we will most-likely be doing some recording in California next winter. We love spending time in the studio, but it can’t always happen every year.

Q: It Sounds Like There is No Letting Up? Strike While the Iron is Hot as They Say.

A: We are very excited and fortunate to be seeing our brand growing and the work beginning to pay off. Between our amazing relationship with RV LIFE and our rapidly-growing subscription base we are continuing to work to build community in the RV space through our music and videos.