We had a picnic table with bench in a box that we barely ever used so we got rid of it.

WE bought a pressure sprayer for bug repellent and it's been sitting in the basement for almost 4 years now. I keep thinking of tossing it, but it's light and someday I MAY need it.

BTW, we have never had a problem with critters coming in the rig.

You have no idea how important this is right now for us.  We are reading carefully since today we start loading the RV for full time.

By the way anyone know the best way to carry a router table on an RV? 

Just kidding...or not...if Nanette sees this I am in some REALLY big trouble...dont' tell her!

Ken

I think the tractor is agreat idea as a toad. Open air, never gets stuck on the beach., etc...

Patti,

Heck, we've finally come to the sad realization that our pool table just won't fit in our 5er!   

Ours came with a generator, I think it is great.  In the summer if you stop for lunch you can just turn on the generator and have air and the microwave to fix lunch.  One cg we were in had a storm, and lost power we used the generator.  We had to leave a cg because of a hurricane winds..we went to a empty parking lot no trees..used the generator again. JMO

I started this topic for the exact reason that some of you have mentioned. I hope others will talk about more than their need for a generator. That cold become a separate topic.

I also brought a couple of smaller items that I ended up leaving taped to a dumpster so that someone else might be able to use them. One was a soft plastic strap to use to coil up an extension cord. Did not liike and thus did not use it.

We have a leaf blower that we have used a couple of times, but really is not a necessary item, especially when you consider the space it takes up. We put it out in a CG yard sale once, but had no takers.

We bought many things that weren't needed. Most new RVer's do the same thing, they see thing others have and think we need that. The most expensive thing was on board Generators, and we also have a 50 amp Generator in a Toolbox. We only had about 150 hours on the onboard and Generator in a Toolbox hasn't been used but about 150 hours. Unless you do a lot of boondocking a Generator is a waste. The King pin stablizer is also really not needed, there is no way to stop all the movement, get use to it, you are setting on air and springs. We do now have a 5th wheel with all hydraulic jacks (6 ea) and it can raise the 5th off the ground, I don't raise the tires off the ground but do take a lot of weight off them. Hand tools can really add the weight also. Just the basic tool are needed. We do have a small leaf blower, we don't care for the slide toppers, they only make noise and hold water and are expensive to buy and maintain. Thats why I have a Leaf blower, just in case we have to be parked under trees, we try to avoid trees if at all posible, they only cause problems. We have plenty of space in our basement after we learned having full basements are a waste of money. One other point, never ever blackflush your Black tank with your fresh water hose. Always carry another hose just for flushing your Black Tank. GBY.....

Back in the spring of '98 were parked long term on Omussee Creek in Columbia, AL and had to evacuate because of flooding. When the water went down, the owner called us on a Saturday and told us we could go back in but that Alabama Power wouldn't get the power restored until the following Tuesday or Wednesday. DH sent me to Lowe's to get a generator while he moved the campers (ours and our friend's) back down the hill. LOL, so I went to Lowe's told the guy I needed the biggest generator they had (dh didn't tell me what kind or size to get but I knew it had to run 2 rv's preferably with a/c). I came home with a 7,000 watt generator rofl! It has come in handy, I admit. We've used it a handful of times both with the rv and the house and dh had it on a job site for a couple months but most of the time it just sits there.

We don't boondock. We travel for work not pleasure so we only stay where we can have a full hookup. Fulltiming for us, eliminates the hassle of trying to maintain a residence while being away for months at a time or me having to commute for weekend visits. Tried both, didn't like either option.


We've considered selling the generator mostly because right now I have a Ford Ranger and until I get a bigger truck (translate pay off the 5er) I can carry either hubby's toolbox and tow the boat or carry the generator and tow the boat, but I can't haul all 3 (and where dh goes, his boat goes lol). On the other hand, since we're always in the southeast (Fl and the Gulf Coast mostly) dh is hesitant to sell it without replacing it with a smaller lighter weight one so for now it sits.

As a side note, we do use the leaf blower and the weedeater has come in handy more than once.

 



-- Edited by Footsiebear on Friday 11th of December 2009 03:13:05 AM

When we bought our fifthwheel we had a generator on the option list but took it off once I learned how much space it took up (let alone the extra weight). Instead, we purchased a Honda 2000 watt generator, that weights 46 pounds, knowing that if we needed more power we could buy another one and link them together. Over the past three years we've used the generator maybe a dozen times and have never needed any more power than it generates.

Whether you should get a generator or not entirely depends on your lifestyle. If you are looking to live off the grid most of the time then a generator would be high on your list as would extra batteries and an inverter. But most of us stay connected to shore power and only need the generator when the power goes out or maybe a couple of nights while traveling and staying in various parking lots so a smaller unit will be more than enough.

If I were buying today, I would look at the Yamaha 2500 which will run a 13,500 BTU air conditioner (the Honda 2000 will not).

Now, what did we buy that we didn't really need - It would have to be the George Foreman Grill. Thought it would be quick and easy but found that a frying pan is quicker and easier.

Like ahoweth we also ditched half our clothes we also downsized the amount of books we carry. We are taking our lounge chairs with us one more year but if we don't use them any more than we did last year they will be gone. I do carry a good assortment of tools but I use them on the church building jobs we volunteer with and weight is not a problem on our truck. We thought about buying a blueboy but I'm glad I did not. We have always worked around that when we dry camped. We just recently left 3 of our dinning room chairs at our daughters as they are not used. We moved the dining room table and use it as a desk.

I am so glad we had my parents to guide us when we decided to full time.  One of the things my mom told me about the inside items was if you don't use it now .. you won't later.  Although I did pick up a few things I wanted in the stick and bricks and didn't have the main thing we did was replace items that were older with new ones like our knife sets and some cooking utensils and we have added some little things along the way like the knife sharpener.  And yes we have things with us that we haven't used but I won't give up as well and Gale has his things as well!  Just like in the stick and bricks!!

We had our rig built to our standards.....yes we did have the generator installed.  We boondock here and there, but have been in Florida during their rainstorms when the electric goes out and stays out for hours.  It's nice to hit a button and the A/C comes back on ....especially when it is 95 degrees and 100% humidity. 
Anyway, we had waaaaaay too many pots and pans.  Cut them down within the first year of fulltiming.  DH and I both cook, we have realized over 5 years on the road, that the crockpot and pressure cooker are our "Go-To" kitchen comforts.  Easy to use and convenient. 
My DH had a truck full of tools that he has slowly gotten rid of.....pictures/picture albums have all been scanned and put on CD.  Pictures have all been passed along to our children.  We still carry quite a few books, but we like to do wth exchange thing as we travel to different RV parks.  DVD's are all gone....we use netflix.  And my thing that I gave up....PLANTS!!  I had a bunch of them, spent quite a few years hauling them around.  I have finally gotten myself down to 2 plants......and I buy plants and give them to the office personnel when we leave that area.  I also volunteer at the parks to tend to shrubs, flowers, etc.  My greenthumb just gets the best of me.
Hope this helps some....we LOVE our lifestyle and just go with the flow.

-- Edited by Postalpair on Tuesday 29th of December 2009 11:43:11 AM