Thanks, Terry. I'll check on that later on my laptop. I've been trolling around a bit and have already picked up a few tidbits here and there. Looks like the place I've been looking for.

(Fixed first post and deleted 2nd apology post - laptop got 'er done).

Well, a long overdue bump.

Hi, I'm Malcolm Talley and my wife is Val. We are now, well, full-time (explanation below). We are home-based out of Wetumpka, Alabama.

A little history:

September, 2012 - we found a Big Country 3690SL on a dealer lot in Florida (Dixie RV) and went to look at it. We were going to wait two more months for the stock awards to pay for it outright, but it was becoming difficult to find new units nearby, the factory had a 2-3 month waiting period for ordered units, and the folks at Dixie were a pleasure to work with. We ended up financing it and bringing it home the next weekend.

We made three payments - the first monthly payment, a payoff payment, and an $11 payment to cover the difference on interest due between the payoff quote date and the actual funds clearing date. By Thanksgiving day, we were totally debt free, paying off the truck, our son's car and any other niggling debts that were still hanging around.

The plan became to turn in my notice the Monday after Thanksgiving, with a last day at work of Dec. 21. We were flying out the following week to spend a couple of weeks with our grandchildren, then return to start our vagabonding. I had not lined up any replacement work at that time (other than some side work I've been doing off and on, but which would not pay the bills).

We had put together a budget and figured we could live on 1/2 of what I was currently making in my cushy desk job. Our stock options paid a little better than I had anticipated (cashed out a day before the presidential election, when the whole market dropped like a rock), so we had about 6 months of living expenses set aside to tide us through a job search on the road. I also anticipated my employer would probably at least look into retaining me on some sort of consulting basis, considering I was the first IT employee and probably the largest system knowledgebase they have.

My company proved me wrong to some extent. When the former owner of the company found I was leaving, he countered with an offer we accepted - work at one of their two offices (Alabama or Texas) 26 weeks out of the year and travel the other 26. They would pay me on an hourly basis with my former salary amount converted to an equivalent hourly amount and an additional $1,000 a month to cover health and dental insurance.

So, we became semi-full-timers, in a way. Though, really, I consider us full-time. We've lived in our fifth wheel since we bought it, even though it is parked at a campground within 15 minutes from the house. Our college-age son is living in the house and keeping it up while we travel. We will sell it eventually (no big hurry at the moment).

Our inaugural 3-week trip ended this past Sunday. Our next RV trip starts the end of February, and we can't wait to hit the road again.

We have a blog - Travelingtalleys.com

It lists all the mods we've done to our trailer, all the things we've done to our older tow vehicle to bring it up to date and make sure it is up to the task of pulling a heavy fifth wheel. And, of course, all our travels.

P.S. - We did check out the Heartland forum and are now Heartland Owners Club members 2267.

 
-- Edited by MandV on Tuesday 5th of February 2013 09:27:39 PM

Edit by moderator: Activated blog link.  Terry