Community Forums

gobeargirl · 06-11-2014, 06:41 PM

Hello to all! I am a newbie and have a couple of questions. First of all we rent a home and have lots of stuff! We want to buy a motorhome and make it our home. I am ready to downsize, but worried about my sweetie. He has tons of camping gear, tools,,, a garage full. How do you guys go from having a man cave- aka the garage-to the storage space under the MH? Did major depression follow?

Do you have a storage unit? Just wondering.

We get along well and respect each other's need for private time and space.
Are we crazy for considering this?

I would love to hear from you.

gobeargirl

Medico · 06-11-2014, 06:56 PM

Welcome and glad to meet you!

bdickson · 06-11-2014, 07:00 PM

No, you are not crazy. Yes, going full time takes a lot of adjustment.

Gadget63 · 06-11-2014, 07:54 PM

Howdy from SC and welcome to the forums. We aren't full timers yet, but still have the same dilemma as you and most likely everyone else.

**TonyDi** · 06-11-2014, 08:06 PM

Glad to have you here with us. You are not crazy. It is a different lifestyle and there are sacrifices you have to make. But the rewards more than offset them. Good luck!!

Hudgens · 06-11-2014, 08:57 PM

Welcome to the irv2 gang! Folks here are really helpful and I'm sure better comments than mine are coming your way. I'll just throw a thought or two out there and let others bring on the good ideas (unfortunately, I'm not a full-timer). 1) Look for forum comments that talk about picking a particular state to be your "home of record." That's where I would put storage if it were me. 2) Consider the size of motorhome you want and evaluate the storage from there. 3) Research the OCCC (occupant and cargo carrying capacity)...and that needs to include your toad (towed vehicle)...this weight limitation will dictate how much "stuff" you can carry. 4) The size of the MH will dictate how much private space you have to meet your needs while full-timing. 5) Think about the things that will impact your satisfaction while full-timing...like having your own washer/dryer, icemaker, size of shower and so forth. OK...I've probably said more than I should. Whatever you decide, be sure to Have Fun!

**JohnRR** · 06-11-2014, 10:17 PM

Good luck with your search.

Chiefbvfd · 06-12-2014, 05:45 AM

Welcome and your not crazy....It's just Physics, whatever don't fit in the MH and toad you either have to get rid of or put it in storage. That's just part of the Full Time lifestyle. Good Luck.....

Dog Folks · 06-12-2014, 06:37 AM

Welcome to the forum.

How do men handle it?

I had a 20X30' COMPLETE wood shop with every woodworking tool you could imagine and a few you can't.

My son got them and I had no trouble making the transition.

I think the transition for your man will depend upon the desire to go full time.

The higher the desire, the less the problem.

Over the years, I have added just a few handheld power tools, based on need.

Downsizing and getting rid of "stuff" an be very liberating! Good luck.

MSHappyCampers · 06-12-2014, 08:26 AM

Hi folks! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

We too are struggling with that decision. My wife would like to sell the house and all the "stuff" and go fulltime in the MH. As much as I love RV'ing, I just can't make up my mind to do that. I love to tinker in my shop when we're not traveling and mess around in the yard. I would suggest that you give it a lot of thought before jumping in. Of course, your decision would be different than ours. We have a home that's paid for whereas you are renting. You could always try the fulltiming for a while and then rent another home if it doesn't work out!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

itgeekgal · 06-12-2014, 10:19 AM

We were initially unsure also so we rented various RV's and took multiple "test" trips to see:

1. could we get along in such a small space
2. did we like the RV crowd
3. did we like the RV lifestyle
4. could we handle driving an RV

We passed all these tests & jumped in with both feet. Renting RV's isn't cheap but we learned a lot and compared to the cost of buying one and then rejecting the lifestyle it's a good investment.

We had no depression over getting rid of all of our "stuff" once it was gone because we were too busy out on the road having a wonderful time... but that was just our experience, yours could be different.

myshaggydog · 06-12-2014, 04:11 PM

Welcome to the Forum and we hope you have many wonderful RV adventures. We started fulltiming about 6 months ago and haven't looked back. The hard part is getting rid of all those treasures you collected in your S&B home. Once we started, it became easier and easier to let go.

We sold, donated, trashed and gave the majority of our possessions to our kids. We did not want to store anything in a storage bin and pay that monthly fee. We also scanned all of our pictures and documents and stored on a USB key. The big thing for guys is condensing their tools down to a what you will need on the road. There are several good books on fultiming and include what you probably should carry with you. Best of luck and keep us posted as you progress towards fulltiming.

Happy RV'ing