RV-Dreams.com Testimonials - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Howard · Host

RV-Dreams.com Testimonials

Karon · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard and Linda,
The community you have created is one of a kind. It is made up of folks, starting with you two, who show integrity, responsibility and respect. It is a place to learn and grow. One can ask a question on the forum and get intelligent answers, unlike other full-time forums, where you may get many different comments and still don't get the answer to the question. It is a group of like minded folks who have come to feel like a family. The fact that you are putting together the Rally is icing on the cake. Thank you for creating this “family” and for all the time consuming work you both put into this project. We look forward to meeting you in Branson.

Dan and Karon Saunders

-- Edited by GritsTraveling at 13:41, 2007-06-19

Judy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Inspiration is what the two of you have given us and that means quite allot for us in the rv'ing world out there. It is the best website so far that I have found on the internet. The whole community that has been built up here is like a "big family". Knowing that help is here for all issues....thanks Howard and Linda for creating RV Dreams.
southwestjudy & Bob & 2blackdogs smile

Bob2K · RV-Dreams Community Member

Howard and Linda I have gone into many, many web sites such as yours and I can say they :DON'T HOLD A CANDLE TO YOU'. I have picked up several good tips from the forum section and that is not the case in other web sites. I have deleted the other sites since they don't help. I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy your journals and the wonderful pictures. I look forward to them just like a child looks forward to Santa arriving.

Digitog41 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hi Howard and Linda,
The three replys above us have said it all for us. I can say "Ditto - Ditto - Ditto".
We have totally enjoyed the site and the info for us will be invaluable when we can finally Get Goin' in two years. Thanks for all you do!
I see that as of today there have been 64 views on this link and only four replys. Come on folks, show some support for Howard & Linda. It's the least we can do to show how much we appreciate their hard work. It's the best site out there!
Also, try out the new Chat Room and see how much fun it is.
Thanks again,
Ken & Barb Pace

azed · RV-Dreams Community Member

Howard and Linda,

I want to thank you for creating and maintaining
your wonderful rv-dreams.com web site. The site
is a wealth of information on so many RV'ing subjects.
I refer to the forum on many topics, and always learn
something new as I read the postings of your very
knowledgeable readers. Your daily journal is a
highlight of my morning with the amazing pictures
and your sharp wit. You two are a credit to the
RV'ing community, and are apprecitated so much
for the amount that you give back to all of us.
Keep up the great work.

Ed Yurs

foxriverguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dear Howard & Linda,

Nine or 10 months ago Sandy and I rekindled an old idea and decided to become full-time RVers in September of 2009. In a few days the idea became a dream and we are now actively working to pursue that dream. Early on in our quest for information (like two days) we found your website. We were astounded at the wealth of information and the honest and open approach you use in sharing so much from your own lives about finances and more. We continue to learn from the thoughtful responses to questions we have posted as well as those presented by others. The RV-Dreams website has become a daily destination for me. And even though we are still wannabees I know there is a warm and welcoming community of friends out there who will take us under their wings once we "jump on the bus" and begin to experience first hand this marvelous life style.

Keep up the excellent work. You and Linda are a positive influence in so many lives. Thanks for giving up that old lifestyle to experience the new one.

George & Sandy Stoltz
aka: foxriverguy

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Howard and Linda,
When I first found RV-Dreams.com about a year ago, it was by far the best site I had run into for wannabes. Your openness, and the detail you provide are by far the best I've seen anywhere. Since then as the community has continued to grow it has become even more than a site for wannabes... Even an experienced RVer can pick up more than a tip or two here.
You guys need to write a book. It would rapidly become one of THE books to have. In the meantime, anybody who is interested in the RV lifestyle needs to bookmark your site and come back often!
Cheers,
Tim Fansler

Donna162 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Started planning to full time just this past fall, so that for me meant lots of research and thinking especially on the internet. Your site was one of the first I found and I have read every entry and will continue to do so. Lots of good information and friendly people. "I'm addicted."

Thanks,
Donna Stenger

Coyatee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard and Linda -
We have been seriously researching the web for our re-entry into the life style of full-time RVing, and have found your sites to be the most intelligent, comprehensive and informative ones currently on the internet. Your openess and amazingly accurate coverage of the expenses, and the ins and outs of such a life-style, is refreshing. As a result you have obvously attracted like minded individuals, with similar values, to your sites.
Marie and I look foreward to meeting you two, and your growing legion, on the road and at the First Annual RV-Dreams Rally in June 2008.

Bob and Marie Rogers (Coyatee)
Valley of the Little Tennessee

hogans1947 · RV-Dreams Family Member

I first became interested in Howard and Linda when they were featured in the Courier Journal, Louisville, Ky. about their lifestyle change. We were living there at the time. It was a dream that my husband and I had been thinking about for several years but didn't really know how to go about it. We didn't know any other fulltimers to talk to. I started following them daily and learned so much and continue to learn through the forum. The financial section was very helpful and it was so easy to set up our budget by using theirs. The thing I appreciate so much is their honesty and their commitment to all of us. There have just got to be days when writing the journal is a struggle but it is always there. Any time I have asked a question on the forum, I always get several quick intelligent responses.
We have been full timers since Sept. 2006 and couldn't be happier about that decision. RV-Dreams.com changed our lives and I am so glad we are a part of the family. Thank you

DAFT · RV-Dreams Community Member

One of the most sincere forms of flattery is to be used as a reference for others to emmulate. As a testimonial to your website, Howard and Linda, anytime we get questions about this fulltime lifestyle we are leading, we simply send folks to your website. We tell them that, as far as we are concerned, there is no better place to find answers or to get a real "feel" for the joys and benefits of fulltiming. There is not a "one size fits all" answer to give everyone, but your site and your style seems to best decribe what it should be all about. Thanks to both of you for the time and effort you are putting into this. We continue to be amazed as to the growth and development you all have accomplished with the site.

DAFT
(Don & Alice Faye Turney)
http://goodsamclub.mytripjournal.com/TurneyTravels

wmalefyt · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard and Linda,

My wife Linda and I have been RVing since the mid-1970's with everything from a pop-up trailer to a Class A motorhome. It's in our blood, but until we found your website we never gave much thought to the full-time RV lifestyle.

Well, after immersing myself in your journal we have come to the conclusion that this is the lifestyle we want, even if it is a little late in life. We've been retired (early) since 2001 and did the traditional move to Florida and bought a condominium to get away from the cold Midwest.

So, many thanks to you both for your fantastic journal which has been an inspiration to us as you travel the country doing what you want to do where you want to do it. We hope to join you by next year at the latest and for sure we plan on being at the first ever RV-Dreams Rally in Branson next June.

Thanks for being such great role models for a wonderful and fulfilling lifestyle!

-- Edited by wmalefyt at 08:36, 2007-06-19

Cardinal John · RV-Dreams Community Member

Howard and Linda -

As a reader from the early days of your adventure, I have enjoyed all the daily stories, words of wisdom, and tidpits of information - rv and non rv.

You guys are truley the Rock Stars of RV webs sites.

See you in Branson June 2008.

smile

emeacham · RV-Dreams Family Member

Linda & Howard, I first heard about rv-dreams.com from a new friend just about a year ago. We were not fulltiming then, and actually hadn't made the decision to full time yet. My husband and I had just retired and were on our first trip as retired folks.

I found your site and started reading the journal entries from the beginning. I was pretty impressed with your nerve, making the decision to go full time without ever setting foot in an rv! I also confess to thinking you were pretty full of yourself, giving advice when you'd hardly started your adventure. But my opinion changed as I got to "know" you better and my respect for both of you has grown almost daily.

We started our own fulltiming adventure just a few months ago, and reading your daily journal has become an important part of my day. We've taken your advice on both the Pressure Pro tire monitoring system and contacting Miller Insurance Agency to obtain our fulltimers policy. We trust your knowledge and your wisdom.

I've looked at a lot of other fulltiming web sites and forums. I agree totally with the other folks who have posted that this feels like a family. You've created a really special community and I totally appreciate the way you keep it friendly. Thank you for all the work you do every day to make this web site a place I don't want to miss!

I am so glad you're planning the rally, we are really looking forward to meeting you and all the other community folks!

Sincerely,
Ellie

Doncat · RV-Dreams Family Member

I forget how I ran across the RV DREAMS website, but I remember reading the first few entries about the trials and tribulations of the decision to fulltime, then I was hooked. The articles posted were like reading a suspense novel with a chronological plot leading to Howard and Linda's moving into thier new Cambridge fifth wheel. The posting were real and meaningful as they revealed all the emotions and trials of thier experience. Just by reading the story of thier journey to fulltiming, I know what my wife Cheryl and I are going to experience in our journey. Thanks to Howard and Linda, we will be better prepared to make the journey ourselves. Thank You Howard for your insightful, detailed and honest style of writing about your real life experiences. Thank you Linda for your outgoing personality and providing an emotional and sensitive insight into your new lifestyle. .................... Don and Cheryl Catoe

ken and cindy · RV-Dreams Family Member

About three months after Linda and Howard had started their blog, I was searching for answers to "Our Dream",,,,, the prospect of a full time RV lifestyle and a simpler life.

Mostly researching the financial aspect, everything that I had discovered ,was so outdated, that our "Dream" was getting buried in doubt, statements like "your going to spend just as much or more" or "its a great lifestyle if you can afford it" these entries were made when gas was under a buck !

I kept reviewing what I was spending each month on the house alone, and had almost given up on the "dream" ,when one day, while surfing the web, I stumbled upon this "RV-Dreams.com" blog. Howard is hilarious, he has that wonderful gift of writing things down that connects to your soul,like most great authors have, I was hooked.

Within a few hours I had read everthing Howard and Linda had posted about this bold new adventure they had decided to take. I was left wanting more.

The "real people" factor was addicting, I could relate to almost everything H & L were doing, having been on that hamster wheel for over thirty years. Cindy and I had lost touch with each other, our kids were grown and had long since moved away to start their own lives. The process never changed, we woke ,we dressed ,went off to work. The only time we actually enjoyed ourselves was on the few vacations we took.

After reading the "RV-Dreams.com" daily journal ,and relating its content back to my dear wife about how "we" need to start dating again, get rid of all this stuff, and get back to a simple life with each other.

I cant begin tell you how much the open ,and honest ,no frills answers Howard and Linda have provided has helped us decide that what they are doing "is" the the right thing for us.

Thank You for being YOU, Howard and Linda, you two have helped me re-connect with my best friend.

Ken

-- Edited by ken and cindy at 19:41, 2007-06-19

jimdee · RV-Dreams Family Member

In November 2005, we were in the searching stage of RV'ing, when we saw Linda and Howards URL in another RV forum. I only read about 2 hrs of the very beginning of their journal and was hooked. It took 2 weeks of reading every word, and we learned so much. They add new articles and ideas all the time, which are very high class and quite informative. I can't wait to meet L & H on the road along with so many others from the forum. The journals are enticing and the photos are spectacular. I tell everyone about the site. The details and descriptions are very clear and anyone can understand them such as the "what state to choose as your homebase".

I rate this site #1+.

Jim & Denyse

bago40 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard and Linda, Mega Dittos to all the above comments. I wanted to full time for years but, I thought it was only for people who had to travel because their career would not let them be at home or retirees. I'd been looking at RV's etc since 1999, and one day I stumbled across your site. I was "hooked" from the start. Your story about leaving the "rat race", chucking the societal pressures and expectations, all the considerations you both had to deal with and the final leap into fulltiming. You started this wonderful site and have been an encouragement to those of us likeminded folks who thanks to your hard labor have realized this is possible! biggrin

Your candor about what the lifestyle is and isn't. Earning a living on the road, Expences, insurance, repairs and so on. All the folk on this site are like a family! smile

This is truly a place of friendship and respect. smile

The encouragement, answers to questions and all the hard work you two have put into this site are invaluable!, and the family's participation is invaluable as well! I'm looking forward to the Rally in June! biggrin

I'm in my mid forties and God willing will be visitiing this site for a long while. Thank you both so much! You really should write a book! biggrin

Okey.

-- Edited by bago40 at 12:07, 2007-06-23

Howard · Host

Wow! You people have just blown us away!

We expected "Nice site", "Great site for wannabe full-timers", etc. Stuff like that.

We never expected you to pour your hearts out with these beautiful sentiments. I get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes every time I read these. Your words reaffirm that every hour we spend on these sites is worthwhile. I don't know what to say other than "Thank you so much!!"

It is with much pride and satisfaction that I have published these comments on the new What Readers Are Saying page.

And we still have plenty more room. I'll risk choking up even more. smile

This is truly one unbelievable Family. We can't express enough how glad we are to be a part of it.

Well, I have to sign off now because I can't see to type through these misty eyes. Much love to all of you.

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard,
Shame on you for being up this late! If today's journal entry is late because of it, we will never forgive you! smile

ahoweth · RV-Dreams Family Member

I too cannot remember how I first came across RV-Dreams.com, but we had just began full timing and it was just about the same time they did. I was immediately captured by Howard's straight forward style and their experiences and emotions seemed to just parallel our own. When we returned from our first foray into the full timing lifestyle to sell our home of 35 years, the emotions were running very high. Just to know that others were feeling the same emotions seemed to help some how. Coping was made a little bit easier. Thanks Howard and Linda. Reading your journal and visiting your web site have become daily rituals, not to be neglected.

SoCalToolGuy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well, it seems that just everything that could be said has already been said. Let me just add our thanks to all the rest. I found your site by asking a budget question on the Escapee's forum and someone there pointed me in your direction. After reading for a little while I knew that I had to read from the beginning so I figured out how to go all the way back to day one and totally enjoyed every minute that I spent reading your journal. We had toyed with the idea of extended traveling and were going to sell out here after I retired and find a homebase somewhere but after we read your journal, we decided to put the money in the bank and go full-time. If and when we ever get tired of it we will pretty well know where we want to settle down. We can't say enough "thank you's" for all of your hard work and research on the many subjects related to full-time RV living. We hope to be out of here in time to attend the first rally in Branson. Wish us luck in the rapid sale of our home. The garage sales have begun. To all of your other readers, we hope to meet you all someday somewhere. Please don't ever stop your writing, Howard.

Thanks again, Ray and Barb

Bigfish · RV-Dreams Community Member

Howard and Linda: The work that you put into the financial end of full timing has been really helpful to us. After reading your infomation we realized that we could make it happen. The personal touch that you lend to your replies has really impressed my wife and I. The form is very informative and the people on it have been a big help to us. Thank you for all of the effort that you have put into RV Dreams.

Jim01 · RV-Dreams Family Member

On behalf of all the RVers that are thinking about going Full-timing, I want to say Thank you!!

As you can see from our signature, we have been Full-timing for quite a while, and I only wish there could have been a web site like this when we were trying to figure out how to go about it.

At that time, there were only a few good web sites about Full-timing, and only a few good books. We did as much research as possible, and then finally "closed our eyes and dove in". Boy, it was scary!!! We didn't know if we had enough money to sustain the lifestyle, we didn't know what to expect after we got out on the road, and most of all, we just plain didn't know what we were doing!!

The information on RV Dreams is invaluable, and the people and the attitudes on the forum are just great!

Keep up the good work, and maybe from time to time, I can help answer some questions that come up.

Thank you again,
Jim

Old Snipe · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard and Linda,

You two are the best friends we have not met (yet). Both my wife, Marti, and I really appreciate all the time you've selflessly dedicated to creating a truly unique RV resource. I've been an RV website junkie for about a half dozen years now, advidly absorbing all kinds of information that others have shared.

You, however have blown them ALL away!!! RV-Dreams is the most informative, best laid out and in depth RV resource...and also is the MOST fun!!! You continually develop new and exciting features, and to take on a Rally, WOW!!! It is a labor of love that you so freely give to others.

You are the poster children for everything that is right about America. The wildlife, the scenery, the sunsets and the friendships you have created. Too often, life runs you over and you miss the beauty of this wonderful planet and the great folks that live on it. Thanks for helping us reconnect with nature and good people.

I can't thank you enough for your total transparency into your life on the road, we've found your budgeting information most reassuring as we look to hit the FT lifestyle soon. Nothing is off limits, your trials, tribulations and successes you openly talk about, to paint a true picture of a lifestyle of fulltimers. wink

Dreams can come true, Howard and Linda, you've proved it! You are the "Pied Pipers", leading many others to live their own RV dreams.

Best Regards!

Ken Cindy Ditka and Sox · RV-Dreams Family Member

In spring 2006, there were several major life events that caused Ken and I to start seriously considering ‘recreating’ our lives. Although only 49 at the time, I was totally burned out from 30 years in high-tech corporate management. I knew that I was not going to hold out another 16 years until normal retirement age and really craved a vision of our future that was free from business travel, long work hours and the day-to-day stresses of the corporate grind. Call it synchronicity if you like, but late one night, one click lead to another which lead to rv-dreams.com .

I was hooked. I had found kindred spirits. The Payne’s came from the kind of life my husband and I are living now and moved to the lifestyle of our dreams. The best part is, that they are doing so, with such transparency, that those of us wannabee’s could feel we’d found a sanctuary where we could learn honestly and openly from the voices of experience.

Howard and Linda, and those that frequent their forums are a unique family on the web. Howard controls the site content very well and the participants all feel comfortable sharing lessons learned and providing advice. I’ve never once encountered rudeness, sarcasm or any ugliness in responses from the participants in this website.

One of the reasons we are attracted to the RV lifestyle is because of the type of people that you find living it. Nobody cares whether you are a millionaire or dead-broke, a Harvard graduate or a high school drop-out. You can share a campfire, a drink, stories and just enjoy the good life together. Rv-dreams seems to be a virtual community of that same type of people.

At the beginning of 2006, we had no idea if the RV lifestyle was for us. In spring 2006, after reading about it on one of Howard’s journals, we decided to sign up for Life on Wheels, in DesMoines, to delve more deeply into the idea of an RV-focused early retirement. After meeting all the awesome fulltimers at that conference, we got serious about our RV search. I’m happy to say, largely due to the help of people like those frequenting Rv-dreams we are now the proud owners of a brand new motorhome, have set a retirement date (albeit 56 months away – and counting!!) and with the help of our RV-dreams family, are testing out our RVing skills on frequent short trial-runs. Meanwhile, we are also laying out a long-term transition plan, all of this with the help of some ‘virtual hands to hold’ in the Rv-dreams community.

The gamut of info we’ve gotten from rv-dreams ranges anywhere from how to set up our own blog site so our family and friends can follow our adventures, to how to figure out impact of early retirement on future social security, to options for extending our freezer space. The list of ideas we are using from the site grows every day.

In fact, this is such a unique community of experienced full-timers helping wannabe full-timers that the wannabe’s often ask questions I hadn’t even considered yet, so even we wannabee’s are helping each other!

The rv-dreams family continues to grow and Howard and Linda continue to find new ways for us to interact. I’m thrilled there will now be rallies and online chat so we can all get to know one each other even better.

Thanks so much, Howard and Linda. Be assured what you are doing with rv-dreams.com is ‘life changing’ for people like us!

-- Edited by Ken Cindy Ditka and Sox at 21:48, 2007-06-25

Happytrails · RV-Dreams Family Member

     It was August of 2005 and we were just "thinking' about the possibility of fulltiming. We read about a couple that had just started fulltiming and would be in the Birmingham area so we decided to ride over and visit with them. We met Howard and Linda at the Oak Mountain State Park in Alabama in August of 2005. We talked and asked many questions and shared many thoughts and feelings. I was especially impressed with Linda's take on the emotional side of fulltiming. Up till that moment most people made you think you were not committed if you had any emotion toward leaving the traditional lifestyle. Not Linda, she was honest.
     We followed their journal and their adventures and began to plan our own fulltime adventure. We were very excited and shared with them our excitement. We purchased our motorhome and even took on a hosting position in October of 2005.   It was at this time that our lives fell apart. We had to put our plans on hold and go back to our "sticks and bricks" to work out some things with our son. We even had to sell our motorhome. We continued to follow Howard and Linda and even stay in touch with them. They continued to be such a bright spot in our day. Some days it was the only bright spot we had. As long as we could follow their journey there seemed to be hope for us.
     This wonderful couple made a stop at FDR State Park in April 2006 on their way through our area. This was the park were we had hosted earlier.
They invited us to come visit them while in the area. We sat and visited with Howard and Linda that evening and I know they saw the pain in our eyes and hearts. They allowed us to express what we were going through and they listened with their hearts. What a wonderful evening that was for Mike and I.
There are no words to describe what it meant to us. They cared! We knew when we left them that evening that we would one day return to the fulltime lifestyle. We had a long road to travel before that would happen for us.
    Howard and Linda, thank you for that visit at FDR! Thank you for caring enough to listen.   Thank you for your journal and the inspiration that it has brought into so many lives including ours. We might have given up if it had not been for your inspiration. Thank you for allowing us to call you our friends.
    It has been a long journey for us but last weekend we purchased another motorhome and in October 2008 we will join you as fellow fulltimers.
    Thank you!
    Mike and Gerri Jones

dreamjosie · RV-Dreams Family Member

We were just two green RV newbies, bumping along on the road of this new life about 2 months when Howard and Linda wandered into our lives in April ‘06. Unlike many of you wannabees, gonnabees or soon-to-bees, we had not come across the RV-Dreams website during our planning. We did not know them or know of them. What a pleasant serendipitous event. We had no idea then, what it would grow into.

Because we’re not naturally social RVers, had it not been for them, I don’t think we would have become part of this amazing RV community. And actually it is so much more than a community. It really is a just a big wonderful family. We will always be grateful for all the new readers you brought to our blog. We have made some fine friends as a result.

Howard, you have truly found your calling. I have never seen anyone pour so much time, effort and love into something with no expectation of return. Every time you add something new to your site I think of all the work it is for you, but how much more you give to us.

And Linda, you may be behind the scenes on the website, but I know you are the front “man” in real life. Thanks for birthing my interest in birding. Thanks for validating my feelings and fears as we travel through this life. Individually, you are both great people, together you are synergy.

Keep it coming.

Jo and Fred