Tracy and Jamie,

First of all, let me thank both of you for your service to our country.  Even spouses have to sacrifice a lot in those years.

Welcome to the RV Dream forums.  Believe me, you will soon meet enough folks here to give you encouragement with getting in touch with the lifestyle of RV'ing, whether it be part-time or full-time.  You will find that a lot of information is available within the minds of the people that are members of the forums, and a lot of information in the rest of Howard and Linda's website.  Feel free to ask questions, read as much as you can, use the "Search" button in the blue bar at the top of the forum pages, but keep your search phrases as short as possible to prevent getting too many responses.

As you learn, you will find that you are always learning.  I've been on the RV Dreams forums for a number of years, as well as being on two other RV forums, and I'm still learning.  Never feel that a question is dumb because the only dumb question are those that don't get asked and one then suffers expensive or time consuming mistakes.

Take in as many RV shows as you can and also visit a lot of dealerships to get an idea of what "systems" on on-board and for what they are used.  While in such circumstances, keep in mind that you shouldn't necessarily believe everything that a salesman or dealer tells you.  I've even had factory reps try to steer me wrong.  Do your own homework by asking questions.

When you narrow down to specific brands of RV's, look for owner's associations that also have forums for those that own those brands.  Register for those forums and get on there to ask questions of actual owners.  Now, with that in mind, keep in mind that forums have a tendency to attract folks that are looking for solutions for problems.  Just because you see a lot of problems mentioned doesn't mean they are bad RV's.  I have had a number of times where I've asked owners that if they were to buy another RV, would they buy the same brand/model again.

One thing I always try to mention is that the very foundation of an RV is made up of the frame, suspension, axles, wheels and tires.  For that reason, it is a good idea to really look at those parts of the RV so as to get as good of quality that you can.  When we've researched different RV's, I took lots of digital pictures so that I could go back later and "see" things again.

Good luck with the research and planning. 

Terry