I can tell you what we bought within the first couple months of being on the road that I wish we would have bought before.

#1 solar

#2 new batteries (I knew we needed them)

#3 and really good mattress

#4 we got rid of our PITA original blinds and went with MCD

#5 replaced bulbs with LED

I probably should say more. Notice we have been on the road as full timers for over 9 years and started with a motorhome and car we already owned and had used. We have been through a lot of stuff, are on our second motorhome, second tow car, second solar setup, even our second Sleep Number mattress. We have worn out and replaced appliances, computers, cell phones, RV gadgets, etc. Most people full time 3 years or less, it is a fact.

I am about 80% sure we would have spent the money badly if we tried to anticipate what we would need before we went full time. We had already been part timers for a while and had taken one to two month trips, so we had more clue than many. But it was not enough, we found the reality of full timing was somewhat different than we anticipated. The worse thing you can do is spend all your money up front, on your RV, truck, appliances, etc. In six months, if you figured out it was a mistake, you will need to have the resources to make changes. You might want to change the type or model of RV, it happens all the time. You might find you want to boondock more, or less. You might find that no matter how much you thought you would love full timing, it isn't working out. You might find it is working out, but your dreams are not matching reality, in a good or bad way. The east coast might call you much more than you  expected, the west coast might call you more than you expected, Mexico might call you, cities, country, a job at a national park might grab you.  So you would have to make changes. I recommend being prepared to make changes instead of trying to anticipate them. It certainly is true of us.

Side note: If you have a way to watch an hour and a half Youtube video look for the video Technomadia put up on March 7, 2013 - http://www.technomadia.com/chatnotes/ .  I know Cherie of Technomadia pops on this forum and would normally put a link up herself.  But she hasn't yet and I started watching this and ended up viewing the whole thing on my unlimited Verizon smartphone since I liked it.  It is fun and covers a lot about the realities of full timing.

bjoyce wrote:

Side note: If you have a way to watch an hour and a half Youtube video look for the video Technomadia put up on March 7, 2013 - http://www.technomadia.com/chatnotes/ .  I know Cherie of Technomadia pops on this forum and would normally put a link up herself.  But she hasn't yet and I started watching this and ended up viewing the whole thing on my unlimited Verizon smartphone since I liked it.  It is fun and covers a lot about the realities of full timing.

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*blush* - Thank you :)  We had a great time doing the video chat, and glad that others are enjoying it. 

To James and Cindy - I definitely concur with the advice given regards to technology. Hold off as long as possible so you can get the 'best of the best' at the time. This is the sort of stuff that can quickly become obsolete. 

For membership camping clubs, aside from Passport America, get out there traveling before pre-committing yourself to any of them. See how your reality works itself out and if you find yourself naturally gravitating to the membership campground parks enough to utilize a lifetime membership. 

For us, life on the road is just that... life. There's only so much you can pre-anticipate that you'll desire once you're out there. Who knows what you'll discover, how you'll change and how you'll adapt.  And after your first convergence with fellow RVers, you're going to be introduced to all sorts of nifty gizmos they utilize and be creating quite the shopping list :)

- Cherie

Thanks again for all the info. Bill, I watched Cherie and Chris's video. Good info there. We don't really need to downsize because we never upsized. We are in the same house we bought as a starter home years ago. Same 9 year old fifthwheel we bought new. Bassboat just turned 20 years old. I am in a new one ton truck, 6 months old. Last truck was 10 years old. We are not the type that has to change every few years to something new. We don't like debt. When we go on vacation we never want to head home. We have researched for 10 years been to 2 RvDream rallys. We camp at the local State Park and go to work from there. We are not planning on workcamping for a paying job. We want to volunteer at national parks for a site so we can sightsee on our days off. I have decided to keep my camp on Toledo Bend where we will spend our winter months and be able to fish. Cindy will contract nurse at the local hospital and I will work for a friend. This should suppliment our savings so we won't touch our retirement accounts.

James