Will our motorhome separate my wife and me?

[VoiceNinja]

I'll kill the suspense right away: No, the motorhome won't separate us.

But when we got it last year, my wife was really excited for the loooong trips and I was really excited about the short trips. I don't have deep love for our actual house, but I sure do for my 1400 sq ft woodshop, our local trout streams, and all of my sea kayaking on Lake Superior! I just couldn't imagine being away for long periods.

In our first 9 months of ownership, I spent more than 115 nights in the coach, including a 6 week trip out West with my wife and young sons. We put it to bed in mid-December and pulled it out in the last week of April. We just got back from 17 days in Tennessee and will be heading out for 21 days in Montreal, Maine, and Vermont in a few days.

I'm ready to sell the house, say goodbye to the woodshop, and go fulltime! My wife? Not so much. She really missed her gardens and seeing the seasons change in our backyard.

The boys (5 and 10) feel the same as my wife does. We'll still have lots of grand adventures, but I don't think I'll convince them to go mobile permanently. 2 to 3 week trips with about the same amount in between at home seem to be the sweet spot for us right now.

It's taken me by surprise just how much I enjoy both the travel and the simpler living when we're in the motorhome. I'll probably sneak out for a long weekend here or there between the longer adventures...

[SeeTheUSA]

A happy wife is a happy life .... sure wish I was better at that

[Mr_D]

I think I would have been in your same spot. I wanted to sell the house and gi full time, my wife not so much, maybe half time so she could have her flowers.
The "problem" solved itself for me when she died from a liver transplant. Personally I'd love to have her back and never travel again. Now it's just the 6 cats and I.

[Arizona]

I hear you can buy bucketloads of grasshoppers on amazon. No garden No problem.

[bfisher003]

I would go full time, but my wife will not, either. She loves our home too much. She should because we have spent thousands on upgrades and it never seems to end. Also, and sadly in a way for me, her widowed sister moved here and so did our daughter and family, so she does not like being away from our two young grandsons for long. Hey, I love them all, too, but we most likely only have a few more years that we could full time. Me, I prefer the travel and the much simpler life of RV’ing. When I am home I just feel like I am sitting around waiting to die.

[Whirrlly]

hubby and I are chomping at the bit to go full time. My 13 yr old daughter wants to finish school here...ugh..told her we could easily do it on the road, the big adventures etc. but right now she LOVES home and friends.

When she hits college we are gonzo

So waiting on that but we were farmers and horse owners and big land type stuff and selling most of it already and can't wait to unload it ALL...still got tractors and backhoes to unload and we can't wait til all that mess is gone

working on it now!

Thing is if one is more of a homebody it is hard to sway that person to give up 'home'....some just love it....us, we are ready to ditch all the nooses around our necks and fly off and set our wheels in motion

[wildtoad]

I have a nice log cabin on a small pond. Live close to one of my sons, 2 hrs from the other. Really like my golf course, and the people I play with. Have no issues still cutting my own grass, trimming bushes. Like going places in the RV, a long trip is a month. Could take several of these in a years time. We also like taking cruises, other non rv’ing trips. No way we’d give up where we live to live full time in a MH.

[wildtoad]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

I think I would have been in your same spot. I wanted to sell the house and gi full time, my wife not so much, maybe half time so she could have her flowers.
The "problem" solved itself for me when she died from a liver transplant. Personally I'd love to have her back and never travel again. Now it's just the 6 cats and I.

Not withstanding my previous post, should I be by myself I may revisit the whole plan! Two dogs (both still puppies) and a 15 year old anti social feline.

[petrel]

Initially, the DW and I wanted to full-time. However, after much soul searching and research, our current plan (once all the children are in college) is to mix it up and return to home base with some regularity. We too have many things right in our back yard that we wish to continue to enjoy.

[RMD3819]

The wife and I are full time. We have met MANY couples along the way where one wants to FT and the other does not.

Full timing is not for everybody.

[Dmrad]

I agree that unless both husband and wife are for the full time life, life can be miserable for the person who doesn't want to do it. I feel thankful that both my husband and I were all for at least trying the full time life for a while. We've been doing it a year now and not ready to hang up our GPS. But all of our lives (even before we met) we both have had a yearn for travel. Now we're just livin our dream.

[Electra 225]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

I think I would have been in your same spot. I wanted to sell the house and gi full time, my wife not so much, maybe half time so she could have her flowers.
The "problem" solved itself for me when she died from a liver transplant. Personally I'd love to have her back and never travel again. Now it's just the 6 cats and I.

Dean, you're one of the 1st people I talked to upon joining iRV2. I remember your loss like yesterday. It's really sad when the whole world gets turned upside-down like that.

Your story is almost a carbon copy of a friend of mine. He and his wife ran a farm implement store for many years. They retired, let the son/family take over the business, had a big celebration at the store, and then ready for travels. His wife didn't last one year. All the sudden, a cancer diagnosis, a short time into the treatment, and she was gone.

He decided to continue, though plans were destroyed. He owns a very nice '09 American Tradition, and travels the Southwest in winters......doing most likely what they planned to do, though with a void.

I'm sure I speak for many others here hoping you can get out there in that big ol' Magna soon as you're able.

[biggcrisp]

I could do full-time travels. My Better half says no way! The answer is: we will not be going full-time.

[Whirrlly]

Originally Posted by biggcrisp

I could do full-time travels. My Better half says no way! The answer is: we will not be going full-time.

Hopefully you can get that long 1 month to 3 month long trip or so like that and maybe a new side of thinking might come her way ya never know