I'm Colleen (46), hubby is Tim (43). We have our youngest son Steven still at home (going into 11th grade), Dixie our golden retriever and Sonic a 60lb mutt. We recently purchased a new TT, a 2008 Wildwood T28DDSS-LE. Followed very quickly with a TV upgrade to a F250 Diesel. We also have a F150 (the former TV) which pulls our 2002 Seaswirl Striper 2101WA fishing boat. Sorry, our story is kinda long.
We made the decision in January to sell our house this year. The PLAN had always been to "downsize" when our youngest was a senior in high school. We looked at the national real estate market which was bad and our local market which was still good and decided there is no time like the present! We put the house on the market in early March and we had a contract 1 week later. Moved out May 2nd. At this point we had not decided we wanted to LIVE in a camper, just that we would upgrade our hybrid trailer to an actual camper with beds that weren't tents! Everything went into storage - NIGHTMARE for me right now, I have a 12 foot POD and 2 10x10 storage rooms full of STUFF. We planned to rent an apartment for a few months, then rent a house while we look for a condo or townhouse to downsize into - hence the aforementioned storage room problems. We took delivery of our TT, towed it a few times and decided we needed a larger TV, plus we tow a boat so really needed 2 TV anyway. Tim is lucky because he works 4 12-hour days, then is off 4 days. I quit my job so we could spend more time together. We started camping in the TT whenever my husband was off and found we LOVE it. Had always thought we would live on a boat someday, but now we know for sure we want to full-time instead in an RV and bring a boat along. The big test will be on our 45 day road trip this summer from Texas to MD, VA, and FL visiting family and going to Disney World. So I will confirm that I still LOVE it after that!
Our PLAN now is to keep renting an apartment for school residency (our district is impossible about residency requirements for school), and live in the camper as much as possible. When the boy is out of high school, we will full-time locally while Tim stays at his job. Already know there is a BIGGER TT or fiver down this road! (Probably pay for it when I get around to selling the STUFF in storage.)
Thanks for the time. I love this website!
Jim01 said
05:50 AM Jun 6, 2009
Welcome to the forum.
Sounds like you have a plan.
Be careful, once the full-timing bug bites you, it's hard to give it up. That trip you're planning should be a good test to see if you really want to do it. Remember though, full-timing is done at a much slower pace than a vacation, so it really is quite different.
Good luck,
Jim
DaveSam said
06:20 AM Jun 6, 2009
Welcome to the best RV site on the web. Three years ago we sold everything and left Grand Priairie and have not looked back. Next week we will be visiting our 48th state. Its a great life and you will definitely enjoy it.
retread said
09:30 AM Jun 6, 2009
Howdy!
We lived in Corpus the last 5 years of dh career. Best wishes in culling through the stuff - it can be so overwhelming, but we found the process of reducing our belongings very liberating! Hope it proves the same for you. Have a great time on your trip - our first stop was WDW this past February and we loved it! Enjoy the site - it's fantastic! Linda
pierreandcolleen said
05:14 PM Jun 6, 2009
Welcome to the RV Dreams Forum!
I too found getting rid of all that 'stuff' very liberating.
-Colleen
Speedhitch said
06:01 PM Jun 6, 2009
Sherri has not learned yet to part with all the S T U F F that we have in our barn. I am sure in time she will see that she can live without it. Good luck and welcome to the forum. We will be looking forward to you posting here often
We made the decision in January to sell our house this year. The PLAN had always been to "downsize" when our youngest was a senior in high school. We looked at the national real estate market which was bad and our local market which was still good and decided there is no time like the present! We put the house on the market in early March and we had a contract 1 week later. Moved out May 2nd. At this point we had not decided we wanted to LIVE in a camper, just that we would upgrade our hybrid trailer to an actual camper with beds that weren't tents! Everything went into storage - NIGHTMARE for me right now, I have a 12 foot POD and 2 10x10 storage rooms full of STUFF. We planned to rent an apartment for a few months, then rent a house while we look for a condo or townhouse to downsize into - hence the aforementioned storage room problems. We took delivery of our TT, towed it a few times and decided we needed a larger TV, plus we tow a boat so really needed 2 TV anyway. Tim is lucky because he works 4 12-hour days, then is off 4 days. I quit my job so we could spend more time together. We started camping in the TT whenever my husband was off and found we LOVE it. Had always thought we would live on a boat someday, but now we know for sure we want to full-time instead in an RV and bring a boat along. The big test will be on our 45 day road trip this summer from Texas to MD, VA, and FL visiting family and going to Disney World. So I will confirm that I still LOVE it after that!
Our PLAN now is to keep renting an apartment for school residency (our district is impossible about residency requirements for school), and live in the camper as much as possible. When the boy is out of high school, we will full-time locally while Tim stays at his job. Already know there is a BIGGER TT or fiver down this road! (Probably pay for it when I get around to selling the STUFF in storage.)
Thanks for the time. I love this website!
Sounds like you have a plan.
Be careful, once the full-timing bug bites you, it's hard to give it up.
Good luck,
Jim
I too found getting rid of all that 'stuff' very liberating.
-Colleen