Community Forums

cromag · 10-17-2013, 01:25 PM

Many thanks to those who responded to my query. I believe we'll start out in our 36 footer!

glarnold · 10-17-2013, 02:33 PM

Sounds like a very smart plan.

GL Arnold

halfwright · 10-17-2013, 03:58 PM

My question would be: "If you do not go full time in an RV, what will you be doing?"

I am not going to sit around the house or old folks home waiting to die. The grim reaper will have to chase me down. As far as an exit plan, I do not have one. I do plan on being full time until they shovel dirt in my face.

tedgard01 · 10-17-2013, 04:15 PM

My dad & his SO are in their 80's still going strong and enjoying their MH. They don't see an end....

cromag · 10-17-2013, 04:17 PM

I like the sound of that!!

gemini5362 · 10-21-2013, 10:48 AM

Full timing can be affected by health. In my life right now I am not full timing but my wife took a contract job to be near her daughter for a few month before the daughter gets deployed. I need to have knee replacement surgery but cannot do it right now because I would not be able to get in and out of our coach for several weeks after the surgery while I heal. In my case I have a stick house to go to and after this job is finished in a couple of months I can go back and have the surgery performed with no problems. If I was full timing that would be a problem to resolve. My surgery is also a temporary problem. If it was something that was not fixable getting in and out of the coach would be a big issue I believe. That is one of the many reasons why I do not do full time. You can get an insurance policy that will provide a driver to drive your MH home if you become incapacitated and cannot drive. It makes it nicer when you have a home to go to.

For the most part the stick home will not lose value. I realize that is not always the case with the real estate bust and other issues but generally speaking houses are worth more today than they were ten years ago. Your motor home is worth less every day from the time it drove off the lot. Money invested in it today might not be enough to buy a stick house ten or longer years from now. I gave less than a third of what my 2005 allegro bus cost new when I bought it last year.

My advice would be not to give up your stick house if you are not sure about it. Use the unit you have now and if you get feeling to restricted go back to the stick house for a while. When my wife finally gets tired of working we are going to spend winters in Arkansas it gets just cold enough there to be a welcome change of season then we will take off for summer and early fall somewhere else.

ernest917 · 10-21-2013, 06:18 PM

Wife and I are 71 and plan on keeping our paid-for stick house for our fall-back... We are planning on trying workkamping for 4-5 months each summer until we decide to quit the RV lifestyle... Plan on 2014 being our jumping-off summer for this.

We have a 38' diesel pusher with 4 slides so space won't be a issue... We spent all of past July traveling 4K miles in it with two grandkids so we know we can manage for extended periods in it...

Modela · 10-22-2013, 09:44 AM

Who said 70 was old. I will be 70 next year and I plan on going for a long time. I'm not a full timer and would be gone more if I could talk the DW in to getting rid of most of her 4 legged babes. We take two with us and have someone to look after the rest.

Go for it. I meet a lot a lot of young people with a MH and in their 80's and going strong. I might see you on the road. Have a good one.

gemini5362 · 10-22-2013, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Modela

Who said 70 was old. I will be 70 next year and I plan on going for a long time. I'm not a full timer and would be gone more if I could talk the DW in to getting rid of most of her 4 legged babes. We take two with us and have someone to look after the rest.

Go for it. I meet a lot a lot of young people with a MH and in their 80's and going strong. I might see you on the road. Have a good one.

I understand that at 70 you are going strong and I know a lot of people your age and older that are doing very well. I am sure you also know people that were younger than you who were doing well then got ill and it took them down really fast. I would not advocate against anyone not going full time if that is what they want to do. The Poster has indicated that he has some concerns about going full time and what the long term consequences might be. I have talked with several full timers. They were people who sold everything they owned invested in a new expensive motor home and that is how they are living their lives. I am very envious of them in some ways but mostly it is very scary. What will happen if one or both of them get sick. At these ages it is very hard to even find a job let alone one that will pay enough to start over again. Unless you have an extremely strong retirement income being able to buy a house and make house payments will be hard if not impossible for some people. If you take your motorhome to a park and park it semi permanently then how does that fit in with the buy a motorhome and travel around the United States philosophy. Also how does the motor home fit in with taking care of someone that is severely ill. My wife and I have a 2500 square foot house with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. If one of us gets sick there is a lot of space available to take care of them. A full kitchen for cooking, A regular sized washer and dryer, If someone is very ill and one of us needs to sleep in a separate bed there are three bedrooms. I love my motor home but it cannot compare to the stick house for comfort. I think the idea of full timing is very romantic and very alluring I also think having a backup plan should not be overlooked.

Modela · 10-22-2013, 10:47 AM

I guess I should have worded that different. The young people that I was referring to were the ones that are in their 80's. No I don't think they should get rid of their home. Maybe rent it out. If I was going full time that is what I would do. I was just trying to point out, if you are in good health, regardless of your age, don't stop doing the things you want and like to do.

CampDaven · 10-22-2013, 10:59 AM

We went F/T and sold the S&B.

The increased cash flow and total erasure of S&B labors, problems and responsibilities is our grand liberator.

We will F/T until we are unable, or change our minds. Then, we will rent a place, so we can move as required or on a whim.

An S&B "fall-back" would clearly be an impediment.

To the OP, if you want to and you are physically capable, just do it.

jimmyjnr · 10-22-2013, 11:11 AM

Why not rent your house through an agent , accept that it will need redecorating and carpets etc when you return .
Rent will help cash flow and agent should take the worry , hopefully a few years down the line in May have increased in value

SarahW · 10-22-2013, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cromag

I'm kind of curious about any full-timers' opinions as to whether or not age 70 is too old to start full-timing. While health is good, we would be spending an amount for our motorhome that would make it difficult to purchase a stick house later. Has anyone stopped traveling and have parked at an RV park until nursing home comes into play? No one wants to think of himself as ever getting too old to do what he wants to do, but I think it will happen to us all!

I'm not a full-timer, but I'll chime in anyhow if you don't mind. Age is just a number, until our health begins to fail.

Personally, I believe that owning a home AND an RV is the best possible situation.

I agree with the others who recommend that you start out with your existing Ventana and take some long trips. See how that works for you before committing to a lifestyle that may or may not work for you. Good luck, and have fun.

Air Baron · 10-23-2013, 06:55 AM

Cromag
We moved out of our paid-for big house 16 months ago with no intention of returning. Sold half the stuff and kept in a storage locker only what will fit in a townhouse. Now we are in the process of putting a small mortgage back on the S & B...in order to pay cash for a small townhouse with an RV storage yard. In another 20 months, when the 3-year tenant moves out, we will sell the house and still avoid paying capital gains under the IRS 2 out of 5 year rule. We may go to 3/4 time until one of us is no longer able to travel. Then the M/H will be sold. This exit strategy appears to be working quite well.