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Old 01-04-2017, 09:21 AM   #1
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Scaling back for retirement and Rv'ing

Fairly new to Rv'ing (less than a year) we've been on enough trips to know we love it. We love exploring together and don't mind the small footprint. (31' Class C.) We fully expect to upgrade at some point, maybe to an A.

We're getting ready to retire next month and planning to do alot of traveling. However, we'll have to scale back to afford it. Thinking of selling the home and downsizing to a smaller one, but wondering about full timing it.

Everyone is different and I know lots'of you love full timing it. I'm worried that, at some point we'll tire of it, have health issues etc. and want to go back to sticks and bricks.

Thoughts and advice would be appreciated - Rob
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Old 01-04-2017, 09:52 AM   #2
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The general trend I have seen comes down to what you do for hobbies. If you do anything that has a large collection of equipment then you will not be able to take it with you and will miss it after a while on the road. That will make full timing a hassle but part timing fun over time. OTOH if you are a social animal that is always out somewhere then you will not miss a home base. Either way you may find you travel some to see new country then settle into a more repeated pattern as you hook up with friends in various places every year.

The other big issue is family. If you have children there will be a lot of pressure to be with them on occasion. That will come to dictate travel patterns and target where you will go off road. Might as well settle on a smaller house home base there.

The other advantage of the home base is you need somewhat less stuff on the road. You have a place to store records, clothes and off season equipment so you don't need the extra storage in the RV. That can make a shorter rig an easier and less expensive choice.
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Old 01-04-2017, 09:58 AM   #3
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Thanks for the reply!

We have children/family in many parts of the country so traveling will likely increase our visits to many.

My hobbies are minimal but I hope to change that. I've been a computer tech for 40 years so that will likely be part of the equation. It doesn't have to have a big footprint.

My other hobbies are photography and fishing. Either should be good matches for RV'ing.

My DW likes to craft and sew. Those will require a little more 'stuff'.

Again, thanks for the input. - Rob
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Old 01-04-2017, 11:04 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by RobReab View Post
Fairly new to Rv'ing (less than a year) we've been on enough trips to know we love it. We love exploring together and don't mind the small footprint. (31' Class C.) We fully expect to upgrade at some point, maybe to an A.

We're getting ready to retire next month and planning to do alot of traveling. However, we'll have to scale back to afford it. Thinking of selling the home and downsizing to a smaller one, but wondering about full timing it.

Everyone is different and I know lots'of you love full timing it. I'm worried that, at some point we'll tire of it, have health issues etc. and want to go back to sticks and bricks.

Thoughts and advice would be appreciated - Rob
the odds are good that at some point you'll need to go back to a stix and brix residence. that can take the form of a single family home, townhome, apartment, etc. whatever you decide to do you need to have a financial plan for transitioning from the RV to the residence in place before going fulltime. don't get caught short. good luck.
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Old 01-04-2017, 11:35 AM   #5
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Rob,

You are/were a computer guy, you can run a spreadsheet.
Build a model and keep including more as you think of it. Cramp Ground fees add up fast even on a monthly rate.
Food done right is near the same cost, but bulk buying is out of the question.
Communication cost can bite you if you don't pay attention.
Repairs can also be a surprise.
You too are a photographer. That is no problem as darkrooms are history. But as a word of warning, do not reuse SDs. Save them, label them and label the directories. SDs are cheap now and if your storage HDD takes a hit, you are toast.
If your coach can store poles, fishing is good, but a boat will not work out.
As said, start the spreadsheet now and keep working on it. The whole secret is the money.

I see one Problem: Sewing and crafting are tough to fit. DW, has to give it up, there just is not room. She can still knit, croquet and do other things. Everything on her casual reading list comes in on her tablet.

In our case, we can't afford full time. The house is cheap.
BIL Matt is closer, but he can't afford much after the Abrogation of the Bankruptcy laws during the autobuz crash. (When he found that he lost the equivalent of 28 years savings, we all cried.) I am only a little better off.

Frank
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Old 01-04-2017, 02:02 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RobReab View Post
Fairly new to Rv'ing (less than a year) we've been on enough trips to know we love it. We love exploring together and don't mind the small footprint. (31' Class C.) We fully expect to upgrade at some point, maybe to an A.

We're getting ready to retire next month and planning to do alot of traveling. However, we'll have to scale back to afford it. Thinking of selling the home and downsizing to a smaller one, but wondering about full timing it.

Everyone is different and I know lots'of you love full timing it. I'm worried that, at some point we'll tire of it, have health issues etc. and want to go back to sticks and bricks.

Thoughts and advice would be appreciated - Rob
My wife and I are quitting work in a couple of months. We thought about FT in our coach but I like to have my home base. Even though we are in the process of downsizing I still have a lot of tools and like to do things around a house. So we sold our home in SoCal and bought another in Arizona and this was a financial gain. Plus we both wanted out of this state and found our beautiful new home to enjoy along with being able to take our coach for trips any time we want for as long as we want. Good luck with your venture.
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Old 01-04-2017, 02:27 PM   #7
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I've been retired for almost seven years now so I get to take ours out several times a year. Unfortunately my wife still has six years before she retires. Her parents dreamed and bought a camper when her father retired so they could take a cross country tour and her mother passed away before they got to use it. That bothers her a lot at this point.

She is now talking about selling everything so we can take ours out full time for a couple years and then just getting a small place after that someplace warmer all year round. Big steps, different lifestyle, and selling everything will be a huge chore for us but we both agree that would be the only way we could manage it before she actually hits retirement age.

I get a good pension, retirement, and have built a good on-line business over the last ten years that I could manage on the road with out too much effort. I planned it that way originally. We started figuring things out and the monthly cost between staying put and leaving it all behind will be about the same.

Hardest part would be selling all I've worked for all my life and not actually having a nice home with land anymore. Would be trading that for being snow birds and being able to ride our motorcycles all year round. Just have to bite the bullet at some point and do it. We will decide in the next couple of months.
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Old 01-04-2017, 04:23 PM   #8
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We are spending about the same as having a house as full timers. But we see family and friends more. Certainly see and do more than siting around the house. Winter in south, summer in north. Far fewer stresses except driving which at 7500 miles per year is only 2% of the time. Met and lot more people and are working on Nat. Park visitations, about third done.
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Old 01-04-2017, 06:24 PM   #9
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Plus we both wanted out of this state
Welcome to the land of the Free and Home of the Brave. Good move.
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Old 01-04-2017, 06:50 PM   #10
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If you thinking of full timing, here are some personal opinions..... Other opinions will vary.
When you sell your home put any proceeds into investments. Don't take the money earned from an appreciating asset and plow it all into a depreciating asset. Pay only enough down on an Rv to keep ahead of depreciation. You always want to make sure you have an exit plan should anything happen. The idea is to be able to quickly put the money from investments towards a permenant home and sell the RV for at least what is owed.
Expenditures: in our circumstances we have found that full timing is actually a little less than when we had the house. We changed our domicile to FL. No state income tax, no property tax, and drastically lower vehicle registeration fees.
However, everyone's circumstances are different, do,your research.
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Old 01-04-2017, 06:51 PM   #11
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We are in the process of getting our home ready to put on the market and go full-time. We cannot afford both the motorhome and a home. My husband has no hobbies. He likes to socialize. I have too many; sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, painting, crafting, reading, etc. I will not be able to take everything with me, but with 4 grown children I will be able to store my excess supplies with them. I plan on taking a few pre-planned projects on the road and restocking at different stops (kids in 3 different states). We both like to play cards and games. Going full-time will enable us to visit with our children more often than we do now. Down side is we live in Michigan which means Christmas here is out. If your wife sews she can take her machine and basic supplies, just not her entire stash of material.
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Old 01-05-2017, 09:39 PM   #12
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I just loss 2 friends, 1 retiring this year another who retired a year after me.
You do not know what brings you tomorrow. My words,
Sell everything, do whatever it takes to get out of dept, and I mean out of it.

Then, plan, budget, stick to your budget. have an emergency fund. Try not to touch your investments if possible.
Then go out and live like there is no tomorrow.

This now makes 4 friends, 3 of them my age 65 - 66, 1 in his 70's. All in good health, who have died in the last 4 weeks.
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Old 01-06-2017, 04:41 PM   #13
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sorry gatorcq. seems as we get older this starts to be our reality :(

I live in the cold and rainy Pacific NW. I still have eight more years before I retire and that will be five years early (I'll be 60). My wife retires in three years. We plan on buying a used 34'ish foot Class A before she retires and will start doing mini trips as work allows (I get plenty of time off each year)

Once we are both done, our plan is to sell the house here and downsize significantly down south in a warmer climate. We will base out of there and travel as we see fit. We have kids in Texas and up here in PNW, so there will be those travels for sure, plus whatever we feel like doing, or staying put

i have a shop full of woodworking tools, plan on selling that when we move... I think. Haven't decided completely on that one. My other hobby is BBQ, which I have every intention of taking with me, and having as we travel. My wife has no hobbies and I've been trying to get her into something else she will go nuts on me (short trip). Wherever we base out of, we will likely get into service work of some sort - kids or dogs, and making sure they are fed and taken care of, is important to us.

I appreciate some of the input provided. I just added my plan for reference to the OP. The exit strategy is something that has been on my mind. My wife thinks I over think things, but I'd rather be prepared
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Old 01-07-2017, 06:38 AM   #14
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When I retired, I could not even give away most of my tools and other items. I realize it only had value to me. Very few other's wanted it. I gave most if not all away.
We live FT in our 40 Ft. I have enough tools to manage most of the small jobs, including a small set of battery operated ones. I have learn to live wisely and freeof stuff.
Susan and I have learned we do not need to collect stuff from all over.
Currently we are volunteering at a children's home. They have all the tools I need to do bigger jobs. So, enjoy life -
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