Hello to all!  My wife and I are looking at possibly becoming fulltimers in about 3 years when our youngest son goes off to college.  We are both adventuresome types, non - mechanical, who love to travel, meet new people and enjoy life.  We have looked at buying a sailboat and living aboard and want to explore rving as well.  On the surface, many things about rving appeal to us over sailing.

My question to this forum....where is a good place to begin gathering info.  Besides this one, what are good websites?  Books?  Magazines?

We live in NW Houston, TX.  All kinds of rv sellers around us for us to go visit and explore. 

We have a lot to learn and don't mind the research, just want to get pointed in the right direction.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

hc

I suggest you start with Howard and Lindas front page and read all they have stored on their site. They also have references to other sites for additional information. If you have specific questions that they do not address post them on the forum page and someone here will have the answer or a place for you to look and find it. Welcome to our family and we hope to hear from you more. You may be able to help some of us here with our questions. Joe and Sherri

You have started in the right place.  You can also search out the Escapees site.  They have a great forum and many other links that are helpful.  You can join that RV group.  Go to www.escapees.com
There is also an RV Bookstore that offers many good books on fulltiming.  Go to www.rvbookstore.com
Attend as many RV shows as you can and ask lots of questions.  Fulltimers are great folks and love to share and help us newbies.  Good luck in your research.

Do what Speedhitch suggests.  Howard has posted so much actual, honest and straight-forward information.  His website is truly a how-to course on becoming a full-time RVer.

The Escapees forum also has a ton of information.  I also suggest that you look at gypsy journal.net.  Nick Russell is the editor and has about 3 years of previous blogs that are informative and fun to read.

Come back again with your quesions.  Goof luck and have fun.



-- Edited by foxriverguy at 09:36, 2009-02-05

Hi,

I'd echo what others said and take your time reading through the RV-Dreams site. I'd also go to a lot of RV Dealerships & shows - take a lot of time seeing what you want/don't want in a rig - it's a huge decision & you'll want to make the decision with care. 

Spend some time in RV parks/campgrounds & talk to people & ask about their experiences.  Usually the camphost is a fulltimer, and they will have lots of info to share.

Of course, you have all of us too!

Enjoy the experience!
Suzanne
www.campingandtravels.com

Thanks to all for the good ideas. We have so much to learn, but look forward to the process. hc

Hi, HC

I am also a newbie/wannabe. I've been researching RVing for almost 2 years now, via books, RV sites and forums on the web, and going to the RV shows (twice a year) here in Baltimore. I still have at least 6 years to go before I can hit the road - I'm trying to learn as much as possible in the meantime.

RV Dreams is not the biggest or busiest forum on the web, but it is far and away the friendliest! You might also want to browse the forums on http://www.rv.net but be warned - while there are many outstandingly knowledgeable and experienced folks there, and many are encouraging and friendly, a few posters tend to fly off the handle when anyone pushes their particular "button" (like overnight parking in Wal-Mart parking lots, who is entitled to call themselves a fulltimer, how much money one needs to fulltime, etc). And they get quite huffy and sarcastic when anyone makes generalized assumptions about RVing and/or RVers. It's quite entertaining, really, as long as you don't take their grouchiness personally.

The RV Travel website http://www.rvtravel.com/ has a nice weekly newsletter you can subscribe to for free, and serves as a sort of hub for several interesting websites on different RV topics. For instance, did you know there's an entire website devoted to video clips of RVs on fire? It's not intended as a fetish-feeder, but as a warning to take things like safe propane handling, smoke detectors, and on-board fire extinguishers very seriously.

Someone mentioned the RV Bookstore website: the RV Travel website and newsletter is affiliated with RV Bookstore. I agree - it's a great bookstore, which has nice "bargain corner" deals. Shipping is free for orders $50 and over.

So far in my reading, I have found several books that were interesting and helpful, but two of them really stand out (at least from my absolute-ignoramus perspective):

Complete Guide to Full-Time RVing by Bill and Jan Moeller

and

Living Aboard Your RV by Janet and Gordon Groene

The first one is a big, thick book covering just about every aspect of RVing. I have the third edition, which came out in 2008 (I think). The Moellers include many stories about their own experiences, as well as those of other fulltime RVers they know. It will give you a lot to think about.

The second one is WAY thinner, but is written in a more direct and compact style. So the Groenes manage to cram a surprising amount of information into a much smaller book.

With so many rapid changes in technology, any RV book you pick up will be soon outdated when it comes to on-the-road communications. And any info about RV costs and budgeting that you find in a book, must be considered in light of changing prices for fuel, campground fees, food, and just about everything else! But the basic "human factor" stuff seems to remain constant: is fulltiming a good fit for you? how do you live in such a small space? how do you handle mail, banking, and healthcare issues when you have no fixed address? what about ongoing rig maintenance? and so on.

The Moellers' book goes into a lot of detail, the Groenes' book hits a lot of points briefly. They sort of complement each other.

Well, I've rambled enough. Best of luck to you, and I hope to meet up with you down the road.

Eileen

Eileen,

Welcome to the forum.  Your first post could be a model for others to follow.
Wow.  You have really been doing your homework.  Your post was well written and well organized.  I learned a few things too.

Don't be bashful.  Keep those contributions coming.

-- Edited by foxriverguy at 21:53, 2009-02-11

-- Edited by foxriverguy at 21:53, 2009-02-11

A couple of magazines that have information worth looking at would be: TrailerLife or Motorhome Magazine - RV, campground and accessories reviews, places to go & see, things to do, tips and advice.... and lots of RV related ads. Family Motor Coaching Magazine -you'll need to join the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) to receive this magazine. It has lots of information. The club is for motorhomes only no trailers. RV-Dreams.com and www.escapees.com are my favorite sites to get RV related info and help. If you've never travelled in an RV before, rent an RV for a long weekend to get your feet wet. This is also a good way to determine what type or model of RV works best for your needs. We've run into people who do both, sail for a few months and then RV for a few months and then back to the sail boat for another trip.... they have a sailboat to explore the world and use the RV to explore US & Canada. One guy said he travelled from the US to all around europe and back to the US in his sailboat and only used 40 gallons of diesel...that makes for a cheap trip. 40 gallons would get you about 600 miles in an RV with a tail wind or 400 miles with a headwind.