Community Forums

Bob Foisy · 02-07-2014, 07:53 AM

I'm wondering about full time RVing in a 40' Newmar.
What are the do's and dont's?

DSL417 · 02-07-2014, 08:09 AM

Don't be a vacationer...be a visitor. Take the time to enjoy everything a location offers before moving to the next site. That includes the weather, the ambiance, the activities, the sites, the food (not too much eating out as it is expensive), etc.

In other words, you can't vacation...to fast a pace and way to expensive to pack up and move every three to five days. Plan on two to four weeks in a location to leverage weekly and monthly camping rates.

Air Baron · 02-07-2014, 08:09 AM

Don't let it sit too long in one place. Do think of it as your magic carpet and let it take you anywhere you want to go.

PS - You'll have plenty of time to count the dots in the ceiling tiles of a nursing home.

**pasdad1** · 02-07-2014, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Foisy

I'm wondering about full time RVing in a 40' Newmar. What are the do's and dont's?

Kind of depends upon your monthly budget..... If you have enough money to eat out every night, and pay fuel and other expenses, why not ? I would.

If on a smaller budget, park on BLM land for cheap or free, cook over a campfire. Anything is possible.

GeoffM · 02-07-2014, 08:28 AM

Just go for it!

My wife and I did it.

We sold everything (mostly) with and estate sale company, paid cash for our coach and said, 2 years! We'll give ourselves 2 years of traveling and if we just can't stand living in 40 feet of house on wheels in constant state of earthquake than we will have seen enough of our great country to know where we want to try for a new home. And if we don't like there we will move to the next place.

A year into it we LOVE it!

The best and most stress free thing we have ever done. We've done some customizing on the interior to make it our home, found out we didn't need all the "things" we thought we did and after 20+ years together we rediscovered each other and ourselves. We got married because we loved each other and found out we were loosing that living the "rat race".

pumper9x9 · 02-07-2014, 08:50 AM

We're on starting on yr 5 in a 36' with 2 slides.
#1) stuff is going to break and you'll have to get it fixed
#2) preventive maintenance by a great shop will help prevent most of #1 but not all
#3) a long day of driving should be about 200 miles we often do less than 100 and stay for a while.
#4) Go to a major FMCA rally you will learn a lot and help you realize that your are ignorant of what you are ignorant of.
#5) The western USA has a lot of BLM, Forest Service, and Park service land. If you're over 62 yo. get a geezer card it cost $10 is good for the rest of your life, gets you 50% of camping and gets you into all national parks for free. Back east not so much but they are there and there are also state and county parks.
#6) Be flexible with your plans and try and find a place to hang out a head of time for 3 day weekends and stay away from places during their busiest times.
#7) Remember you are driving a pavement queen. Do not try to do too much dirt road driving. You can probably do it but it will beat up your toad and be hard on your coach.
#8) Boondocking is great. Right now we are down in Quartzsite after the bid rally and our closest neighbors are about 1/4 of a mile or more away.
#9) Stop and check out small towns. They often have some great museums and local history that is pretty interesting.
#10) Try and stay out of big cities. Very few have any RV parks or places to stay. Better to find someplace outside of town and commute in and play tourist.
#11) If sure you'll get a lot more but remember this:: IT'S SUPPOSE TO BE FUN!!!!
Good Luck and welcome to the life

pumper9x9 · 02-07-2014, 08:53 AM

#12) go to rvreviews.com to check out rv camping. It's a peer review site and it's pretty much right on if you look at most of the reviews. You'll always get someone who wasn't happy about some aspect of the place but you have to balance those with the ratings and other comments.

Okiedoke · 02-07-2014, 08:54 AM

First two replies show how different full-timers are: one says stay in one place and the other says to keep moving. To each his own.

We rarely stay in one place a week or more. Four nights seems to be our sweet spot. We prefer state parks and boondocking, but like to stop at rv parks to do laundry and other chores needing civilization. Sometimes we will move to different parks within an area we like and even return to a previous location. As said, staying in on place a month or more saves money. Ultimately, figuring your desired length of stays will be easy.

I say to get a good internet connection to plan travel, find services, and make reservations. A roof antenna has been a big help to us in connecting in fringe areas out west.

nbargolf · 02-07-2014, 09:34 AM

"#3) a long day of driving should be about 200 miles we often do less than 100 and stay for a while." Amen don't get into get there mode you have plenty of time.
"#9) Stop and check out small towns. They often have some great museums and local history that is pretty interesting.
#10) Try and stay out of big cities. Very few have any RV parks or places to stay. Better to find someplace outside of town and commute in and play tourist."
We skit metro areas don't want to get in traffic in one of these rigs. Also when we do drive like a trucker put on your signal wait a few seconds come over. If you don't they will never let you in.
Lastly try volunteering in State Parks as host. Always the greatest scenery in the area ,meet great people (other volunteers), free FHU and not really work and they need the help. Plenty of down time to tour the area. You can sign up for a month or two and then move on. We have done it for five years at different states, love it.

ohhwell · 02-07-2014, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okiedoke

First two replies show how different full-timers are: one says stay in one place and the other says to keep moving. To each his own.

We rarely stay in one place a week or more. Four nights seems to be our sweet spot. We prefer state parks and boondocking, but like to stop at rv parks to do laundry and other chores needing civilization. Sometimes we will move to different parks within an area we like and even return to a previous location. As said, staying in on place a month or more saves money. Ultimately, figuring your desired length of stays will be easy.

I say to get a good internet connection to plan travel, find services, and make reservations. A roof antenna has been a big help to us in connecting in fringe areas out west.

I thought the juxtaposition of the first 2 posts was pretty funny as well. There are a few websites / blogs that may have a lot of the info you really need like mail forwarding, tax return filing, vehicle registration, voter registration and all that kind of stuff that you might not even think about.

Selah · 02-07-2014, 11:49 AM

Remember that FT is not an endless vacation it is simply a different, albeit a wonderfull, life style. You will still have the normal daily responsibilities, bills to pay, routine maintenance, taxes, etc...
Do travel to see this wonderfull country. Don't let minor problems dominate the day, they happen so just roll with it. Do put some thought into the weight and size of what you need to carry, things like nesting cook ware, light weight patios chairs, collapseable ladders, corell dishes or similar. Don't expect perfection, it's not going to happen. Do, as read on another post, manage your expectations. Do open your mind, you will meet all sorts of interesting people on the road. Enjoy that diversity.
Don't just sit inside your coach, get out there and "just do it".
And lastly, bring wine!

DSL417 · 02-07-2014, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumper9x9

#12) go to rvreviews.com to check out rv camping. It's a peer review site and it's pretty much right on if you look at most of the reviews. You'll always get someone who wasn't happy about some aspect of the place but you have to balance those with the ratings and other comments.

that's

campgroundreviews.com

I think you we're citing for RV park reviews.

Bob Foisy · 02-08-2014, 08:31 AM

Thank you all.
Very helpful and cant wait to start our new life.

Bob Foisy

poppopc · 02-08-2014, 08:57 AM

We also did the "Estate" sale thing. Sole the house. Almost 3 years ago.
Made one mistake, put some things in storage. Should have gotten rid of all of it,
that didn't fit into the MH.
We try to ad here to the 3-3-3 philosophy ,
Less than 300 miles ,set up by 3:00 PM (beer thirty)' and stay at least 3 days.
The only exception to that is that we are staying 3 mo. On S.Padre Is. ,Tx. For
The winter. Am re thinking that. Getting itchy feet after only 6 weeks.
Weather has been less than enjoyable there this year, although better than the
Far north.