I just finished reading in Howard's blog about last year's incident with the brakes on the trailer and all the headaches that went into getting the parts and getting it fixed. And it hit me -- all the what ifs. We were planning to buy used. That means no warranty, which means we need money to fix anything that goes wrong. So if we have a savings account with about $5K in it for emergencies, just one thing like that could cause it to be emptied out. And there are so many things to think about - weight and tires and axles and being able to boondock, batteries and generators and all this other stuff. And what if we can't find workamping jobs and my transcription money won't be enough?

And I found two blogs from people who quit this life. They were fairly young, in their 30s, and they did it for a couple of years and then quit because of money issues, vehicle issues, etc. I don't want to do this and then end up quitting and having no money to put into anything else.

So now I'm scared. The plan was to save enough to buy a truck, have a downpayment on the fifth wheel and make payments and have at least $5K in the bank with workamping job lined up before we took off. I don't know if that will be enough, but would it ever be enough? And would it be enough if we were getting a stick house or mobile home?

I know even if we have a stick house or even the mobile home we were talking about on a lot there will be issues. Things will have to be fixed. But we'll have steady jobs and be near family and we'll get them fixed. It will be a lot harder out west or up north somewhere if/when something breaks down.

I'm 39 and feel like I'm a scared little girl now, not sure what to do. Hubby and I agree we don't want to spend another 40 years living to get by, but I'm not sure how to change at this point. He pretty much told me today that he said he'd do this because I want to, but he would also be happy getting the mobile home and setting it up on a lot somewhere and staying put. So now I feel like I'm torn in two. I know there will be always be questions. There will always be what ifs. Just not sure how to make a decision I can be happy with.

I still want to go to the rally if at all possible. Maybe after attending the rally and getting some questions answered for me and dh we will feel more confident.

Christina in Alabama

Yeah, It can get scary.

My advice to you would be to go ahead and go to the rally. Ask a lot of questions, especially to full-timers that you will meet, (they're a friendly bunch),  and then sit down with your husband and have a serious heart to heart talk about what you want out of life.

It's not all roses, and can be difficult at times, but for Linda and I, there's nothing like the freedom full-timing gives us.

Jim

I'm one of the ones who did it for a couple years in my 30's. I was 36, hubby 37 when we left. We traveled for 12 mos, lived in the moho for 22 mos. It's not something I regret, but I don't have any desire to do it again, nor do I miss it. In my opinion, $5000 is NOT nearly enough. We left with a LOT more money than H & L had when they went on the road. We learned pretty quickly that not having an income is hard, medical insurance is expensive. there's very few people our own age in RV parks, RV park life is boring. It just seems like lots of parks are old people, waiting to die. Not me. I wanted to go on living. We did do lots of free stuff; mountain biking, hiking, exploring. But we realized that we wanted more and to be in a community again. One RV breakdown or medical emergency, can and will wipe you out. Then what? FYI....we had an issue with major leakage on our 4 yr. old, out of warranty, motorhome. It would have cost us $24,000 to fix! Thank god Monaco came through and fixed it for free and got us a discounted extended stay room for the 3 weeks it took to fix it. But even that still cost $2000!

If I waited until we had $250K or more in the bank we'd never do anything. Plus, the only way that would happen is if we won the lottery or a rich relative left us a lot of money. I don't see that happening. I'm just so tired of saying "someday" and someday never coming.

Jim, I totally agree with you and I think that is what we're going to do. I guess the other issue is that I'm more of a "make a decision and move forward" person and my husband is more of a "let's see" person. But like Dave Ramsey says, that's a marriage issue and needs to be worked through.

Christina in Alabama

I can't imagine not being able to find workamping jobs...there always seems to be plenty. You should be able to limit travel expenses by staying in a tight geographic area when looking for jobs. And not all workamper jobs are volunteer/barter type. We rely heavily on our coach warranty for big ticket repairs. There are also clubs that offer road side assistance plans. There are ways to protect yourself from catastrophic repair bills. I think all of us who full-time went through the "what if" stage. Giving up everything to live in an RV and travel around the country...yes it's scary. But the rewards from the freedom are worth the risk.

Like Jim, I would suggest going to the Rally and asking a LOT of questions.Many people will tell you..go ahead and jump in you can make it.I would say many but not all of them have a backup plan and money to cover that backup plan. I'm not trying to rain on your parade but for the most part it cost's the same to live on the road as it does in a stix and brix. If you have to park in one place long term and work full time to make it are you going to like that any better than having a stix and brix and saving to travel when you can and maybe putting money away to go on the road later. Due to my wife's sudden disability we had to postpone our plans for 5 years and now are glad we did.It CAN be done as there are people out there doing it on limited budgets but I just say,think hard,ask questions and have a backup plan you can live with.Good luck and we will all try to help you as much as we can.

We left one year later than we originally wanted. I am now glad we did. I was old enough for SS, hubby not. Since February we have lived on my SS, his small pension, savings and he worked most of this past summer. AND because we have done some volunteer projects which provide free sites, we have saved some funds that way. Had we left February 2009 and not this past February we would have had to use a LOT of our our savings than I thought. Now we only have 3 more months before he starts on SS. As far as older people in RV parks, that is mostly true. But I have found none of them yet sitting around waiting to die. Most of them, if able, are very active. Don't let that stop you.

rolo9999 wrote:

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...very few people our own age in RV parks, RV park life is boring. It just seems like lots of parks are old people, waiting to die. Not me. I wanted to go on living. We did do lots of free stuff; mountain biking, hiking, exploring. But we realized that we wanted more and to be in a community again.

One RV breakdown or medical emergency, can and will wipe you out. Then what?

RV Park Life?  Interesting you must stay in different campgrounds.  The neighbors just saddled up to go wind surfing which they do every day.  It depends on where you stay and what's to do.  Like a lot of things it depends on you.  Do we socialize with people our own age?  Not so much most of the people we talk to are older but full timers do tend to be retired.  But hardly waiting to die.

If what you want is to live in a community then good for you.  But say that instead of putting down the people you lived near as "old people, waiting to die." 

Just one man's opinion and worth what you paid for it.

Mallo

 

I'm scared too. Any major change in life is scary. What scares me is that by going on the road I will be giving up the career that allows me to support myself and relying on my spouse to pay the bills. I"ll be 50 next year and have never done that. I don't have any pension to speak of. So alll I will have is SS if that is available when the time comes. The other thing we will do is keep the house I have and lease it out. That means that someday it will be paid for and generating income for me. But I'm not going to let being scared stop me from living my dream. What I do to work though it is keep working the numbers and making sure they still make sense. And I do tons of research and keep asking questions of those currently living the lifestyle I want to join. And I talk to Johnny A LOT. We need to make sure we are still on the same page with our plans. Our plan is to continue working on the road. Johnny is semi-retired and has been working outages at electrical plants. That means he's been traveling to work which is part of what has gotten us to this point. Right now he is working a long term project, but most projects are about 2 months in length and if he works 2 projects a year, that generates almost $50K in income. More than enough for us to live comfortably on the road. If can do some workkamping while he's working, that will help keep me busy and minimize our expenses. We might also do some workkamping at other times. I'm not sure what your skill sets are, but given that you are both so young, working projects while on the road might be an avenue to consider. We've made great friends through Johnny's work and the income is nothing to sneeze at. Send me an email if you would like to chat more about it. caroljkerr@gmail.com And the advice to attend the rally is great. Even though many folks living the fulltime lifestyle are older than me I still find that I enjoy their company and they are definitely not "waiting to die." More than the folks in my neighborhood, they are out living life!

Now I am going to add my 2 cents worth (and that may be all it is). My husband and I were kind of forced to make this lifestyle change, but had been dreaming of it for years. The economy was bad and constrution jobs locally for guys over 50 were slim (or taken by our neighbors from the south of Texas - and that is not malicious, simply the truth). I have been on disability since a cancer diagnosis qualified me for Medicare and need to remain on for insurance, even though I am in remission. I am 60. I also have Lupus and am in remission for that.

Then I had a serious auto accident that caused me serious (but now healed) injury. That was it! We made the decision that life is TOO short to sit around waiting for our dream.

We used settlement money to purchase our travel trailer (used but in excellent condition) and a good towing vehicle, paid of bills and have some money left  to spend, but to be honest, money goes quickly on the road. Gas (diesel for us), food, rv stopovers and things you find you need and cannot do without (true necessities).

Then we had truck problems. We had an extended warranty we purchased on our used truck, BUT still, $500 deductible, $250 for a park for a week while waiting for truck to be repaired, no job, money out for food, personal needs, etc.

Then back on road. Days spent in RV parks on way to FL. Average stay $30. Then we found a great site near daughter and paid for that. $525 for one month, PLUS food, gas for going places, and other expenses.

Now we have jobs lined up for Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer, with full hook up site as a perk, plus pay for all hours. No site only for work and no volunteerism. We can't do it. But we can live comfortably in our travel trailer, not pay for gas to get to work (plus get exercise walking to and from office, etc.) eat sensibly and without great expense and not pay for phone, cable tv, wi-fi or electric, plus we get cost on propane. A really good deal.

Both jobs are like this. We should be able to save and not touch any more of the settlement money and have some in the bank for emergency, but believe me, if all we'd had was $5000, we'd have been in trouble. You can do it if going directly to a paying job, barring any emergencies, but this life initially costs you to get started and can be expensive when an emergency hits.

On the other hand, if your heart and soul ache to do it, do it as inexpensively as you can and give it a try. The worse case scenario is that you can't make it and you can start over on solid ground, with steady jobs, in a mobile home or stix and brix. That costs too. Furnace goes out. Lots of moolah. Taxes. Gas/Electric/Propane, out of control with todays costs. Driving to work costs money. Furnishing a new home costs money. It ALL costs money.

So, as advised, go to the rally if possible, get some insight from Howard, Linda and all and get a true perspective of what the best case and worst case scenarios are. Then decide. You are young enough to put this aside a few years and keep it as a dream. You are also old enough to know that life hurries past quickly and if you want to live a dream, sometimes the best time is NOW.

Oh yeah, one more thing: DO NOT ever say that older people in RV parks are simply sitting around waiting to die. They live productive, fun, inspiring lives and unless you are in a retirement village with lots of ill elderly people in it, it is a statement lacking substance. I admire the older people and want to be just like many I have met. They might seem
"Old" to you (and believe me, the closer you get to what we once considered at "old", the younger the people seem) and to a 30 something, that is not unusual, but they could teach you a lot about living life and enjoying it and not wasting a day of living it. That said, you're forgiven for that statement....I have 3 thirty something kids and know they think I am old at 60.

GO for it if you truly want to, but also as Dave Ramsey would tell you, make sure you and hubby are on the same page or there WILL be trouble. It can get kind of crowded in an RV and unhappy spouses do not make good RV mates.

Well Christina you are getting alot of excellent advice from everyone ( except the waiting to die bit )

My wife is retired and I am semi-retired. As it has been said it does cost alot no matter what you do.

You may neeeed to do this now but, does your mate. I know that I can do anything that my wife lets me Ha Ha, just kidding. But togeather we have done everything we have set out minds to.

We have made 5 year plans for the past 20 years. Its the old saying, if you don't have a plan then you are planning to fail. We may not always succeed but we get close.

If both of you want to do this than DO IT!

But as others have said have a back up plan. You need to know how much money you need per year. You may find if you both work a few months a year you can get there. You can find seasonal employment other than campgrounds.

As Racerguy says, go to the Rally and ask alot of questions. Then take pen to paper and make a PLAN !

Rvin is a wonderful life, but its not the only way to a great life!

I hope you all the luck in the world in finding your way


PS - I am 56 years old and can't keep up to most of those old people waiting to die !!!


Pitbull

Thanks for all the perspectives. As of now hubby said plan to attend the rally. So I'll be registering around February and getting our hotel rooms booked. I hope to see some of you there and get more of a first hand perspective and maybe get some questions answered as well. I know that there is "no right way" so we just need to see what questions get answered and what questions come up when we're at the rally. We are looking into some other income streams and seeing what other world may be out there for us to tap into. So thanks again for giving me a few more things to think about.