What they don't tell you about 'getting away from it all'! Couple who lived every worker's dream of selling up to live on the road in a luxury RV reveal it was a NIGHTMARE - with sewage pooling in the bedroom, constant expense and trips from hell

Bill and Jennie Mangan spent $270,000 on a motorhome to spend retirement in 

The couple had grand plans of seeing the country while living on wheels

But serious plumbing problems had them living in sewage and breathing in gas

Their experience is rare, with most van inhabitants saying they'll never turn back

But all the Mangan's want now is a refund and a home that doesn't move 

Every year, hundreds of people announce they're giving up their ordinary lives in ordinary houses to hit the road in a decked-out RV.

Their decision allows them to live wherever they want and enjoy a free and exciting lifestyle, or so they tell friends as they set up an envy-inducing social media account.

And while the pictures are stunning and their lives seem perfect, underneath the Instagram filters and careful staging can lie piping problems, space issues and a bedroom full of sewage.

At least, this was the case for Jennie and Bill Mangan.

Bill and Jennie Mangan (pictured) bought an RV expecting their life on the road to be full of adventure and sparkle

The couple told the Star Telegram they had intended to spend the beginning of their retirement on the road, exploring the country in their new luxury RV, a Thor Tuscany 44MT which had cost them $270,000. 

But within just months, the New Haven adventurers had given up on their dreams, and decided to buy another house instead. 

Every day, the Mangan's say sewerage pooled in their bedroom and shot out of the shower drain. The explosions would be triggered every time someone flushed the toilet.

Fumes filled their bedroom one night as a break in the piping saw hydraulic fluid leak into a basement drawer.

And while the RV appeared to be a 'shiny penny' to Ms Mangan, she perhaps should have seen her issues coming. 

On the couple's first night as nomads, they say the water line broke, forcing them to park at a Walmart so they had access to a bathroom.

Though the motorhome looked like a 'shiny penny', the Mangan's dream of a retirement adventure quickly dissipated as they discovered their RV had a serious plumbing problem

The couple spent $270,000 on the RV, and have been unable to get a refund, even though a problem with the sewage system has left the van covered in waste

Ms Mangan says she has abandoned her dream of living on the road, and began asking for a refund on the vehicle just one month after she and her husband bought it. 

'We bought the RV for fun, and all it's been is work, headaches, expense and horrible experiences,' Jennie said.

'We don't believe in this vehicle. There's no trust that it is going to stay put together for the next 10 years. I don't want it anymore. I'm done.' 

Unfortunately for the Mangans, their experience is more rare than one would expect.  

Most people who choose to put their lives on four wheels say they'll never turn back, and their problems are more minor - and a lot less smelly - than those faced by the Mangan family.

Cees Cornelis and Madison Elizabeth - and their cat Vladimir - set off in 2016 to try and see every national park in the US.

The couple gained a massive social media following for their incredible pictures of life on the road - most featuring their adventurous kitty - and when they'd seen the 59th and final park, they realised they didn't want to go home.   

On the road: Cees Cornelis and Madison Elizabeth have traveled to every one of the American National Parks, accompanied by their cat Vladimir

Cees and Madison gave birth to their son, Theodore, along the way. The biggest problem the couple seemed to experience publicly was a struggle to keep Vladimir away from Theodore's pacifiers. 

'We think his last habit [of chasing pacifiers] is a protest move toward his new "cuteness competition",' the couple wrote on their website. 

Brandon and Ashley Trebitowski, both 32, have been living in the $33,000 bus with their children Cayden, nine, Jackson, six, and Rhea, four, for nearly two years.

The couple took their three kids out of school and sold their home in October 2016, swapping their permanent address for Walmart and Sam's Club parking lots across America. 

Ashley home schools her children now, and the family have seen so much of the US through their home on four wheels.

For the mother-of-two, one of the more difficult adjustments has simply been changing her shower routine.  

'I save my “shave” days for the gym showers because we have about 7 minutes of hot water,' she wrote on the couple's Instagram.

'We go where we feel led and move once we feel the urge,' Ashley said. 'We are living life in the moment and enjoying every second of it'