Love your time line Roy, we are about a year behind you. Love following the class of 2015 even though we are the class of 2016 . Just sold the house so that is over, time to order the truck and trailer. That should happen in the next couple weeks. Retirement is planned for June 1 2016. Already working on a semi retirement schedule.

We launched! We sold our bricks and sticks last week. We moved stuff we want to keep to storage and we are learning how to RV full-time. Some lessons from the first couple weeks. Pre-planning and prep over the past 18 months helped. The sorting of things and getting rid of half our stuff was hard (physical and emotional). Just shredding the paper files we didn't need was a chore and burned up a new Fellows shredder. At launch, we had boxes of stuff we didn't know what to do with stacked all over the RV as well as too much food from the house pantry. Over the last two weeks we have found place to put things, thrown away stuff and eaten down the food stuff by planning meals around items we had on hand.
The main thing we are seeking with this lifestyle, we have not realized yet. That is being master's of our own schedule. I am still working and we have some family issues to work around. We are hoping to shake free of these issues over the next 6 months.
Good ideas we employed or will soon:
1. Digitize paper photos and family videos.
2. Buy a large CD/DVD notebook carry case and toss the plastic cases they came in
3. Invest in a good water pressure regulator with gauge and power conditioner/surge protector
4. Invest in a good volt meter and circuit tester to troubleshoot electrical issues
5. WiFi is weak in most campgrounds. We use a AT&T Unite Pro with 10G plan for $69 mo. It connects to 4G & LTE then sets up a WiFi network throughout the RV.
6. Keep lunch items in cabinets you can access when in travel mode (slides in).
7. Allstays app is good for finding rest stops, fuel, campgrounds, Wal-Marts, Elks Lodges, etc.
8. Sit in TOAD when hooked up and take note of where hood lines up with back of motorhome so you can easily line up for future hook-ups.

I'm gonna do a catch all here.

Bill and Jodee,

Sorry I'm a little late to the party, but congrats on gettin' r done!  Wish you the best in your travels.

Gpndavid,

Congrats to you, too!  Liked your ideas.  Some of those are on my list as well.

Ranger,

I think I started counting in the 100s.  My boss is doing that right now.

So, we just did 2 days of garage sales.  Where I believe we did rather well, I can't say we were priced to sell, but we were priced to have things be gone.  And we 'goned' a lot of stuff.  Funny part is, we still have quite a bit left.  We'll do one more in mid-July.  Then more things will start to get donated.  I know others have said it, but it's astonishing how much stuff (I could use another word but it wouldn't be so nice), one tends to accumulate.  The hits (or stuff) just kept on coming.  One thing that amazed me most was the DW turned out to be one heck of a salesperson.  She kept sayin' "Come talk to me, I'm in a bargaining mood!"  Pretty funny from my perspective.

Anyway, still on track and the butterflies are getting bigger!

Good luck to everyone and hope to meet a bunch of you on the road.

It has also been nice and cool, but often sunny, here in the Long Beach/Ilwaco area of Washington (just across the Columbia River from Astoria Oregon). We will be here through July 7th if anyone comes through.

My wife thinks I've been dragging my feet and procrastinating (and she's probably right). She also had some serious complications after a minor procedure a couple of months ago (was in tremendous pain during the Sevierville rally). Now that we're seeing the light at the end of that tunnel (and she's starting to see that it's not just a locomotive coming our way), here's what's happened in the past week: 1) interviewed realtors through the USAA Movers' Advantage Program and selected one - she's coming over tomorrow to finish the listing paperwork; 2) made the "final visit" to the RV dealer to lock in the price and start the loan application (payments to be made for seven months and then paid off from the proceeds of the house... for credit rating and penalty purposes); 3) ordered and paid for the fifth wheel hitch and decided on a replacement tonneau cover for the truck (the current one-piece won't work with a fiver and hitch); and 4) uploaded photos and listed the travel trailer on IWANTA.

Now... we have at least 30 days (assuming the house goes under contract tomorrow) to finish dealing with all "the stuff!" In reality, the average time on the market in our area is 58 days, so we'll likely have more than a month to do the hardest part... pray for our sanity!

Rob (and Laura)

-- Edited by Second Chance on Monday 29th of June 2015 03:21:39 PM

Darnit Bill, won't be up there until after you leave Glad to know it's still nice and cool.

You're so close Leslie )))))

Well Rob I know it's hard to move forward with gusto when your partner is having health issues, but sounds like if the light isn't a train then you're back on track! Your list sounds like ours did a little over six months ago and we're now three weeks on the road. Time drags and then it's gone in a flash. Enjoy the preparation, you'll look back with fond memories

Jodee

Jodee,

Our house went under contract this past weekend (two weeks on the market!). The buyers want to close on August 21, so we have to get our bu++s in gear. Made the down payment on the fifth wheel this afternoon so they can get started installing a few things. Our main problem is the lack of decent RV parks in the area to homestead for a month while we wrap some things up (without driving 45 minutes to an hour up to the lake). Have two potential buyers interested in the travel trailer, so that should move within the next week or so. We'll try to keep you posted in between the panic-inspired bursts of work output.

Rob

Well Rob, a sold house is a mixed blessing sometimes!! Still it sounds like things are moving quickly and congrats on the 5th wheel purchase!! You'll have to tell us what you got and how you like it after a few weeks.

There was only one park near our place but a friend of ours had just purchased and prepped a storage lot in town and we were able to use full hookups for two weeks while we finalized a few things. It wasn't pretty but it was safe and quiet and free is very sweet Check with your friends, you never know what connections they may have )))

Remember to breathe!

Jodee

While I sometimes wondered if I would ever get here, the house is under contract with a scheduled August 17th closing date.

Still have a few things to clear out of the kitchen and workshop, but I am down to just one bedroom and the buyer wants that furniture. Everything was moved into the RV the last of May when the house went on the market and the RV went to the campground. I have been going back and forth just to cut the grass and clean the house between showings.

I have been working the past week on getting the Christmas presents wrapped for the great grandkids (Yes, I don't want to have to send them while I am on the road this winter). And trying to get the last of the pictures scanned.

Plan to be on my way south from PA to FL the first week of November and I am sooooooo very excited.

UPDATE: Had the PDI and orientation on the fifth wheel this morning - left it on the lot to pick up Monday, tow to the house overnight to load some things, and take to the only decent RV park in the area Tuesday for the month of August (yes - we got reservations). Got home from the RV dealer today about 12:45 to find the buyer for our travel trailer out beside the garage going over things and the home appraiser was inside asking Laura a bunch of questions she couldn't answer. Answered the appraiser's questions and turned our attention to the TT buyer. Very nice older gentleman from Mississippi (isn't THAT fun to type!) He had mailed a deposit and decided that the TT is just what they wanted. So, Laura fed us lunch and then we got out in a 104 degree heat index to set up the E2 equalizer hitch. Two hours later, he was on the road west - and I didn't smell so nice.

Our daughter's boyfriend (an Air Force pilot) is moving from Alabama to Maryland next week and will pull through town with a big U-Haul to cart off about 75% of our furniture and a bunch of other stuff. The bedroom suite and dining set go to new homes on the 8th, and our contract for storage starts on the 15th. I don't think there are enough NSAIDs in the state to take care of what's going to happen to my back...

Laura and I spent the weekend planning and making reservations (all while she's corresponding with workamping prospects for after the first of the year). Except for a few weeks in October, we're planned and reserved through January 4 of next year. How's that for newbies, eh?

Update!

I retired about two weeks ago now......and I'm still not used to it! I just traded the stress of work for the stress of buying the truck/trailer, and getting moved out of the stix & brix. But, it will soon be over and we'll be sitting under the awning someplace! Regarding planning the 2016 calendar, the DW has had to throttle me back a bit. She wants to take it slow as we move around the country, and I want to line up a bunch of rallys and such. We'll have to compromise on that somehow.

As for the rig, we just finished working deals on a 2015 GMC 3500HD Denali, CC, long-bed, 4x4, dually, and on a 2016 DRV Mobile Suites 38RSB3. It looks like we'll pick up the truck on August 11th, and we'll do the PDI on the trailer on the 13th (won't bring it home at that time, since I just know there'll be a punch list.) I have my roll of blue painters tape ready, along with a steno pad!

Assuming everything is completed on the trailer by September 1st, I should be able to go bring it back to the sticks and bricks (if we can get it up the driveway safely!).

We will then accelerate the donations/sales/trashing of 98% of our stuff, and will hit the road around November 1st!

YeeHaw!

Roy

Roy,

Did you order the DRV or are you buying it off the lot?  Having a GM truck, you'll find that the bed rails are higher than they used to be, and that can cause clearance problems.  Now, if you ordered the coach with the 2" risers on the frame, then it may not matter.  We've been "helping" a couple in Denver that purchased a used DRV and he has a GM truck.  Even with the three inch riser on his TrailerSaver air ride fifth wheel, he is going to be limited on clearance.  He's already talking about towing his trailer to MorRyde and have them add risers to the trailer.

Terry

Where are you guys staying in dessert

Looks like a lot going on with a lot of folks.  Here's our update.

Finally retired on July 31.  Had a party on Aug 1.  DW and I were pretty much moved to the basement a couple weeks ago and the kid was able to move in.  Made the logistics a bit interesting.  Had a couple garage sales and a few trips to donate stuff.  But it was all concluded by Aug 2.  Made one last trip to Goodwill, attached the 5th wheel, and we are ON...THE...ROAD!!  We've been up at St Vrain State Park near Longmont CO since Aug 2, and getting a better feel for where we want to store and keep things.  A few trips to Walmart for hooks and things.  We'll be headed a little bit further south this coming Sunday.

It's funny.  Colorado has some spectacular sunsets on a pretty consistent basis.  A lot of the time, you can't just sit back and enjoy them.  But now, we've been able to sit outside and just take it all in.

Many happy trails for all!

 

Paul and Kim,

That's a beautiful part of Colorado.  Colorado also has lots of other beautiful places as well.  We've vacationed in Colorado for decades and for the last year have been living full-time and long term just south of Colorado Springs.  While we've been living full time in our coach since 2011, but in static conditions, we retired last year and moved from Oklahoma to Colorado.

Just out of curiosity, how far south were you planning on going?

Terry

 

We'll have to stay in touch. Looks like we'll be making a one night stop in the Q in early December before more time in January. Maybe you'll be in LH by then and we can get together for dinner.

Jodee

pkhalin wrote:

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Terry and Jo,

You're absolutely right about Colorado.  Been here since '78 and have done quite a bit of camping around here.  We were down checking out Mountaindale a few weekends ago.  Beautiful place.  Tried getting in there on our way south but it was all booked up.  Oh well.  We'll still be in the Colo Springs area for about a month starting this coming Sunday.  It's not the best, but not all that bad either.  I'm a firm believer in it's all in what you make of it.  If you want to be miserable, you will be.  And vice versa.

And it's on we go.

---

 I've not seen it but once, but a place just south of Colorado Springs called Golden Eagle is a fairly nice RV park.  It's got more space than any in town I've seen and it's a lot quieter.  Well, except for maybe gunfire from Fort Carson.  If you've not been there, it is at the turnoff where the big bug is on the hill at the roadside advertising the bug museum.

If you're going to be in Colorado Springs that long and want to meet up, send us a private message.  We drive by the "bug" every time we go to town.

Terry

Bill and Jodee, Terry and Jo,

I think that's a possibility on both counts (LH and CS).

We checked out the 'bug' the same day we checked out Mountaindale.  It wasn't bad, and yes, a bit of room there.  We already had reservations at Foot of the Rockies and decided if we didn't get a call from Mountaindale, we'd stick with it.  We didn't get the call, so we stuck with the reservation.  The good part is it's close to Manitou and Old Colo City.  It's all good.  And we'll have friends and family coming down to meet us on occasion, as well.  What ever it is, we'll make it work out.  

On the Ft Carson side, we've stayed at Cheyenne Mtn State Park a few times.  Beautiful park for camping and biking, a bit windy at times.  But man what view!  And a few times we heard the gunfire (tank, cannon?  It was heavy duty), and watching choppers go in and out.  Fun stuff.

Terry and Jo wrote:

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Roy,

Did you order the DRV or are you buying it off the lot?  Having a GM truck, you'll find that the bed rails are higher than they used to be, and that can cause clearance problems.  Now, if you ordered the coach with the 2" risers on the frame, then it may not matter.  We've been "helping" a couple in Denver that purchased a used DRV and he has a GM truck.  Even with the three inch riser on his TrailerSaver air ride fifth wheel, he is going to be limited on clearance.  He's already talking about towing his trailer to MorRyde and have them add risers to the trailer.

Terry

---

Terry, we bought off the lot, but one reason we did is that the unit was equipped with the MorRyde IS suspension with the 2" lift. I also have the TrailerSaver TS3 hitch, and I hope that things are level and that I have enough clearance. I'm sure it's going to be close. I haven't looked into whether or not the MorRyde rubber pin box is adjustable for height or not. The TS3 also has a 2" lift kit on it. I also just put Firestone Ride Rite air bags on the rear, so I should be able to do some leveling with that as well.

I guess I won't know till we go up for the shakedown cruise!

Roy

Made it!!! Settled in our 5er in Cherokee, NC. Still working on the mini-house and getting the last of our "stuff" from the S&B but almost all done. At one point I thought we wouldn't make it in 2015, it was one delay after the other, but we finally did it. Now comes the other "not so easy" part - unpacking and putting "stuff" away. We won't be traveling and our mini-house will be our home base until I stop working but it already feels great.

Best of all - our cats are happy exploring the new place!

CONGRATS!!! Rob & Laura, so happy for you two.

We still need to grind it out for another 49 weeks & 18 hours, but who's counting.

 

Mike

Great to see more of our class making the final move!

Anyone planning to attend the Spring Rally? Looks like our school reunion will interfere, pushing us to Fall of next year. Would love to connect with folks before then!!

Jodee

Well, guys, Karen, Freyja (my Doberman guide dog) and I have made it, we are now full-time RVers. This post is being sent from our travel trailer in the upstate of SC.

We still have to close on our house, which is scheduled for September 17. We will visit the house one more time, to have our final moving sale and discard everything that doesn't sale from September 10-17. But for all intents and purposes, or trailer is our home.

We will be stationary in SC until the first of November, when we will be in motion until February 1, when we return to the SC upstate for the birth of our first grandchild. From there, who knows where the road will lead.

We are excited to begin our new adventure. Best of luck to the rest of the Class of 2015. 

Just reading through and checking up on everyone's journey so far. It's so exiting to see the various stages of progress.
We were hoping to leave our home base back in July, things changed with jobs. Now happy to say we have both fully retired. These wheels hit the pavement September 23rd. Whew!