1st Motorhome-Want to go full time...

[NoFear]

Originally Posted by full-timer

Well now lets just slow down and think about it a little. You've been rving for one year and love it. Camping is a different thing then fulltiming. You will not be on a full time vacation,it is a lifestyle that you have to get use to. As you say you will have to work,so many fulltimers do with lower wages than they had before quiting their regular jobs. Whatever you have 5th wheel or motorhome something will break or wear out. Are you handy with tools and know how to repair the small problems that come up. If not it will be big bucks taking it to have repaired.
As said before the best thing is to ease into it,maybe six months with the rig you have before you decide. Not trying to scare you just some suggestions.

Joe

Joe,
Thank you for your thoughts. If you have a moment, please explain the lifestyle you talk about. We both work for a non-profit and all we really need is a phone to take calls and the Internet. Our travels will be a great deal from place to place teaching or holding a training class. We took the lower wages when we decided to leave the corporate life. This is a passion for my husband and we both like helping others. He can fix almost anything and I can take almost anything apart. LOL. :-) But I do agree with you....even if it's only 6 months, a year..... What freedom!

[NoFear]

Originally Posted by fansill

Hey No Fear.....

Would you consider living in your rig for a couple of weeks in your driveway,,,or your "dooryard" as we say up north????

We absolutely love the layout of our 40 foot RV and would not trade it for the world. You need to explore what you need... You also need to make a list of what you love and hate about all the rigs that you have been considering.

Do you want to tow a rig and then have the truck for a principle vehicle??? Or do you want to drag a vehicle behind the RV as a four-down vehicle or on a dolly and what vehicle is your primary vehicle of choice??

But seriously, you may be living in this rolling home for a while and what makes you happy? Make sure that you are confident in your ability to live together in your space. Hubby and I have our space and I know that we can separate when necessary. When you are downsizing this much, make sure that can each have your own space. That is crucial to a happy marriage.... He knows that he can retreat to the bedroom and I can have the dinette to pursue my job and my passion of geneolagy. But when we want to watch TV together, we each have our space. We also make sure that we have enough seating for outdoor space to take it away if we need to do that...(Pack enough bug spray if you need to sut outside for a while...LOL!!!)

Best of luck...it is precarious blancing act...

Faith and Bob

We have been making lists and a lot does come down to the floor plan. What we feel we can live in with 2 dogs. I agree with you...we each need some space from time to time. We enjoying traveling together and have taken some long trips. We can be content riding in the truck for miles, enjoying the new sites, and not saying a word.

Why did you two decide to go full time if I may ask? And yes...safely bug spray! We have lots of cases of West Nile in our area.

[RickO]

Originally Posted by NoFear

Joe,
Thank you for your thoughts. If you have a moment, please explain the lifestyle you talk about. We both work for a non-profit and all we really need is a phone to take calls and the Internet. Our travels will be a great deal from place to place teaching or holding a training class. We took the lower wages when we decided to leave the corporate life. This is a passion for my husband and we both like helping others. He can fix almost anything and I can take almost anything apart. LOL. :-) But I do agree with you....even if it's only 6 months, a year..... What freedom!

I think the "lifestyle" issue is a good one to understand before you begin.

To me, it meant learning to adapt to "living on the road"... giving up the feeling of having roots... learning how to answer the question, "where are you guys from?"... getting all of life's little chores done while traveling and putting up with the fact that our society doesn't yet recognize the full time lifestyle as a common, legitimate, lifestyle so things like getting a loan can be a challenge.

Best of luck.

Rick

[JC2]

I 've always been led to believe that one should try and use their current rv setup, if they find it acceptable, for 6-12 months if they want to try fulltiming. If after that time period you still have the itch, then make preperations to sell everything except what you will need and go for it. I agree the temptation to make the big jump up to a class A can be very tempting but trying out the full time experiance first seems to be more logical. If after the trial period is done and by chance it doesn't pan out as expected, you lose nothing but your time. Upgrading now and not having it pan out later could be a very expensive experiance. Another thing is if you were to trade your 5ver in for a mh now, you stand a good chance of possibley having some noticeable expenses up front before it goes on the road; sales taxe, full timers ins, tires, possible engine/chassis maintenance items. It can be a wonderful time in ones life but "it needs to be thought through carefully".

[WheelingIt]

Originally Posted by NoFear

LOL... The longest trip we've made is 2 weeks. Now stop laughing everyone! We are serious about this. But that's a great idea. Baby steps as Dave Ramsey says. Maybe we should do a month. :-))))

Personally I won't laugh at all at this one. We bought a MH without ever having camped in one and went fulltime 6 months later with only weekend outings under our belt. Probably not the approach I would recommend for everyone, but it's sure worked out for us. Of course we're young, did not own our stix home (we were renting), and do not have children (apart from the furry kind), so its was easy to make the leap.

[windswept]

We just bought our second RV since we went fulltime 2 1/2 years ago. We found that the 40 ft that we bought before we retired didn't have everything that would really make our home "our home". Decide if you want to go to different laundries every week, taking a chance on dryers that don't dry or over dry, or do you want a stackable set in your own RV. After 2 1/2 years I really wanted a washer and dryer. Also the new RVs have "real" refrigerators...you don't have to defrost the freeaer and the food stays at a constant temperature...the ice cream is frozen! We also opted for heat pumps in the A/c units to use campground power for heat instead of propane that we had to buy. We wouldn't survive without 40 ft but I've seen fulltimers in small trailers so to each his own. But these were a few things that I found out I really wanted too late and thought I would give you more food for thought. Remember, it will be your home, don't skimp. PS, my thoughts on a used model.......there was some reason the previous owner traded.....hidden problems????

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by windswept

We just bought our second RV since we went fulltime 2 1/2 years ago. We found that the 40 ft that we bought before we retired didn't have everything that would really make our home "our home". Decide if you want to go to different laundries every week, taking a chance on dryers that don't dry or over dry, or do you want a stackable set in your own RV. After 2 1/2 years I really wanted a washer and dryer. Also the new RVs have "real" refrigerators...you don't have to defrost the freeaer and the food stays at a constant temperature...the ice cream is frozen! We also opted for heat pumps in the A/c units to use campground power for heat instead of propane that we had to buy. We wouldn't survive without 40 ft but I've seen fulltimers in small trailers so to each his own. But these were a few things that I found out I really wanted too late and thought I would give you more food for thought. Remember, it will be your home, don't skimp. PS, my thoughts on a used model.......there was some reason the previous owner traded.....hidden problems????

That is obviously a valid point of view. We are going on 6 years full time in the same coach. We bought a 3 year old top end motor home for less than half MSRP. we have had zero major and very few minor problems. There are still folks who have to buy new and after 3-5 years just have to have the latest thing. They creat great opportunities for guys like me, who want the best for less.

Just another perspective.

[JimM68]

on the lifestyle issues, full timers vs vacationers...

We always take one long summer trip in our RV. Weeks typically. This year, we took 3 weeks in June. 2-4 days in any one spot. Up and at em doing touristy stuff every day. seeing the sights. Spending money.

Including diesel, food, camping fees, and "sightseeing costs" we hammered thru $5000 in 3 weeks without hardly trying.

Typically, a full time RV lifestyle won't be so active, and won't spend so much.

[NoFear]

You all have such valid points and given us things to think about that we hadn't considered. Thank you! I think what we'll do is take a few more long trips in our 5th wheel, maybe between now and Christmas. In the mean time, start downsizing. I think with a few more trips we'll know if we're ready to make the jump. Thanks again everyone for all the replies.

[llmrealestat]

NoFear, last June when my husband retired, we sold our house, put a few big items of furniture in storage, bought a 2007 Winnebago Tour and hit the road. We had never RVd before! Yes, it was a huge adjustment going from 3300 sq. ft. to 400, but we adapted. We hit 14 states between June and January and have learned now that we can take our time, stay 2-3 weeks in a location and that we are NOT on vacation. Plus, we don't camp. We RV. We are spoiled baby boomers that like our internet, satellite TV and all the amenities so we don't boondock either. We had no idea whether we would like this lifestyle and find it suits us quite well. Our kids and grandkids are scattered across the country so we can visit when and if we want.

In retrospect, if we had it to do all over again, we might consider one of the newer 5th wheels because of their floor plans, the lower cost, and the fact that when the coach goes in for service, we are out of our home. If we have to find a motel while work is being done (hasn't happened so far), we would have to find one that accepts pets.

If you think too long about it, you might change your mind so go for it while you can.

[bbeane]

Originally Posted by NoFear

We have been agonizing over pros-cons-pros-cons..... Fretting over selling everything, store some things, letting our son watch the house and we hit the road (although that last option is the scariest). We welcome your advice. We don't know anyone personally to ask and our parents have passed. We just have a gut desire to see more of God's country. If we don't do it we feel we would always have regrets. We just have to figure out the financial logistics of it all.

When it comes down to storing or getting rid of things, most of us have a lot of "stuff" that is simply that, furnature, dishes, way to many clothes, that can all be replaced if need be. When it gets down to it I could put all my very personal things in a foot locker if need be! Sounds like you may have a great deal if your son is willing to live in your house (for a modest fee to cover the expences) you could possably store your things in one bedroom. The other thing here is it sounds like you may still have some reservations, why not simply lock up the house and go for a few mos to make sure this is what you want, we have done it, just pay some one to cut the grass (your son?) You already have an RV. Might help you make up your mind before you all in and jump into a diesel M/H and sell every thing. As far as fultiming vs rving unless you are made out of $$ lots of cooking and living at the RV, and more than likely you will be in one place longer(longer stays = lower camping fees). To sum it up it's not woo-hoo we are on vacation, it's this is where we live. Good luck.

[Grandpadave]

Originally Posted by NoFear

We currently have Cameo 5th wheel (1 yr now) and love Rving. So much so that we want to sell our home, store some furniture, and hit the road. Kids all grown and we can work from the road.

We have no idea what make of Motorhome to buy. We want 40' min. Traveling with 2 dogs and making this our home. Any advice would be so helpful.

Thanks!

You might be interested in " gone with the wynn's" their story sounds like yours. Think you can find them on Facebook. I like to keep up with there travels. Good luck!

[NoFear]

Originally Posted by Grandpadave

You might be interested in " gone with the wynn's" their story sounds like yours. Think you can find them on Facebook. I like to keep up with there travels. Good luck!

Thank you soo much! I will check it out. Knowing what to do or the wisest choice to make has been our dilemma. Don't want to just sit and grow old. Our parents have pasted so we can't go to them for advice. This forum has been priceless! So glad I found it. Safely....everyone here is so much nicer and helpful than our sticks/brick neighbors. :-)

Thank you!

[NoFear]

Originally Posted by llmrealestat

NoFear, last June when my husband retired, we sold our house, put a few big items of furniture in storage, bought a 2007 Winnebago Tour and hit the road. We had never RVd before! Yes, it was a huge adjustment going from 3300 sq. ft. to 400, but we adapted. We hit 14 states between June and January and have learned now that we can take our time, stay 2-3 weeks in a location and that we are NOT on vacation. Plus, we don't camp. We RV. We are spoiled baby boomers that like our internet, satellite TV and all the amenities so we don't boondock either. We had no idea whether we would like this lifestyle and find it suits us quite well. Our kids and grandkids are scattered across the country so we can visit when and if we want.

In retrospect, if we had it to do all over again, we might consider one of the newer 5th wheels because of their floor plans, the lower cost, and the fact that when the coach goes in for service, we are out of our home. If we have to find a motel while work is being done (hasn't happened so far), we would have to find one that accepts pets.

If you think too long about it, you might change your mind so go for it while you can.

Very good point. Something I need to let sink in... "NOT on vacation". I, like you, like my Internet (fast speeds please) and certain "conveniences" that would be tough to let go. Hmmm. So much to consider. Than you for sharing your experience!