Your Advice For Full Timer Wannabes - RV-Dreams Community Forum

MPMomof3 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Your Advice For Full Timer Wannabes

Jim01 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Meredith,

You must really "Like" your husband or wife. You will be spending most of your time together.

Slow down and smell the roses. Your not on a vacation.

Don't wait. Start full-timing as soon as possible. So many couples we've known have waited and then had medical problems or something else happened and they never did get to go full-timing.

These are just a few things that I think are very important. I'm sure you'll get many more responses.

Jim

I just thought of another thing that I think is very important.

Both of you must really want to go full-timing. If one is doing it just to please the other, it probably will not work. Sit down and have a heart to heart talk about it.

Jim

-- Edited by Jim01 on Monday 11th of August 2014 06:17:06 AM

-- Edited by Jim01 on Monday 11th of August 2014 06:18:02 AM

-- Edited by Jim01 on Monday 11th of August 2014 06:18:57 AM

Jo And Craig · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lessons learned: Start purging WAY in advance. Don't wait until you get a contract. You have WAY more stuff than you can ever imagine and the process takes time. Getting rid of 99.9% of your worldly belongings in 5 weeks is a killer. Ask me how I know! Stuff just ties you down. Think about that.

We decided to full-time (this week, actually) because it is the most opportune time in our lives to live our dreams. Why wait? We are looking for the freedom it brings. After working since we were 14 and being responsible for so many things (and others), we just want to fly and be free... experience this great country of ours first hand, not by TV or a book. Meeting new and very nice people of a kindred spirit.

Research, research, research and buy your 3rd RV first! We researched for 3 years.

And, finally, just to experience life like we have never experienced it before.,

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

We actually just hosted a casual video chat about RVing as a Couple that you might enjoy. Here's the archive: www.youtube.com/watch

We also have another video chat that folks seem to enjoy called 'Realities and Myths of Full Time RVing' - www.technomadia.com/chatnotes

Best wishes!
- Cherie

Dog Folks · RV-Dreams Family Member

One item: Be debt free when you start to fulltime!!

We have never been real “responsible” with our money. We spent what we made. Too many toys. It is the best advice ever.

We bought a less expensive camper than we wanted, and a late model used truck rather than new, but we were debt free when we started. We are still debt free. That is not to say we don't have bills, but a no installment loans, no credit card debt.

We don't have much, but what we have, is paid for. This was the best advice we ever received and for once, I was smart enough to take it.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'll Second that motion!!......if you bring your debts on the road with you , then you will have to find an income stream for those debts above your travel costs

buy a coach that fits your needs whether new or used, dont just run out and buy the coach of your dreams or because it makes you look good.....that extra money you save can go along way on the road

plan for financial trouble...if you see it coming early it will be easier to adjust & correct it..

if you happen to be on the east coast on monday....dont try to be on the west coast by friday....you will miss alot of good things and spend alot money on fuel while your criss crossing the country passing the same places....take your time , RV relaxation is not a race its a spectator sport!!

The Sages · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree with most of the statements, except buy your 3rd rv first. Until you actually live in the rig on a day to day basis, and discover your full time personality (resort person, campground, boondocker) it is hard to know what will suit you. We got a 31 foot travel trailer and used truck (yes be debt-free!) I love the truck, but after 4 months think I would have opted for a smaller unit. I totally embrace minimalism and quite frankly have extra space in the trailer. Cherie from technomadia is a great source of information. I absolutely love her youtube video series. My #1 tip is definetly make sure you are best buds with your travel companion. And if one is onboard but the other is waffling, it is probably not the life for you as a couple. Sheryle

RVKevi · RV-Dreams Family Member

Go to an RV-Dreams rally. We went before we decided on an RV and are glad we did. We learned so much!! Some of what we learned helped us decide what we wanted to full-time in. Some helped us decide on things - like the Progressive Industries EMS (Electrical Management System) - that we could have our dealer install. There was just so much that helped us on our way that I wouldn't have wanted to do it without having attended the rally.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Oh there are so many questions to address here.
We were part-timers before becoming full-timers and the park we disliked about that was cleaning before and after and the loading and unloading. We ALWAYS forgot at least one thing. Often there are stores nearby but often you have to drive some distance depending on how you like to camp.
People say it's not vacation but I guess what they mean is they must run and see everything, but do plan shorter distances and time to relax which is what vacation means to me.

We're so glad we did it. Plan a reserve fund of $10,000 to $20,000 for repairs or upgrades you choose to have IF they fit your budget.
While it wasn't a big deal to us, we didn't enjoy having a lot of commitments to be here for that graduation by this date, or there for a rally or upgrades. We very much enjoyed meandering...

Don't wait IF you're both committed. Plan ahead and start clearing now as others have said and DO attend an RV-Dreams Rally.

Do go to RVDrivingSchool, both of you.

Don't take everything you think you might want or need. Ask me how I know. Keep it simple. There are stores along the way.

Enjoy, breathe, relax.

Sherry

-- Edited by WestWardHo on Monday 11th of August 2014 08:46:58 PM

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

If you are both committed, don't wait, go for it now. I was inspired by the fact that both my parents did this at different points in their life but neither are in a position where they could do it now for medical reasons. We have met more than 1 couple in the past year that were cutting their FT life on the road short due to medical issues. We don't know how long we will be on the road, but are so thankful to have a chance despite the fact that we are not yet retired.

We are loving this life, enjoying the fact that we could do this before retirement even though we might not be able to explore everything an area has to offer due to work schedules. We use the "missed exploration" as an excuse to say "we'll be back" knowing that even if we never make it back, we've seen and experienced life as we never would have if we stayed in our S&B house.

In the 1st year on the road, we've seen LOTS of new sites, bicycled more trails than the 3 years before cumulatively, spent more time in our kayak, etc, etc,. We've been to more museums, botanical gardens, local exhibits in the past year than we seen in a normal 5 year period.

Next adventure??? Riding the Trail of the Hiawathas this weekend, I can't wait! A "must do" item on our list for 3 years and now we're fitting it into our travel / art / adventure schedule.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Aside: The Trail of the Hiawathas is a good bicycle trip. Those tunnels are cold and completely dark, so make sure you have a backup flashlight in case your headlight flakes out.

I don't need to add much to the discussion except that a good, positive attitude is golden.

-- Edited by bjoyce on Tuesday 12th of August 2014 09:19:47 AM

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Have an exit plan. I know some feel that you don't need one but we have seen people that did not have one and it wasn't pretty. With any lifestyle change, it really pays to consider what the worst case scenario might be and then, if you can live with that, go for it! Most of the people we came across generally full-timed 2 to 3 years so in reality, ask yourself if you really need a rig that will last 12 to 15 years especially if money is an issue. If you need to work to support the lifestyle, be willing to move to and do whatever job is available. Now, if you intend to set it up and live in an RV permanently when you no longer travel, definitely go for the best you can possibly afford. Now, there are SO many used units on the market which really drives down the selling prices IF one can get a unit sold. We saw more than a few people that were upside down on their loans and trying to sell and couldn't, those that traded for a newer unit while still owing on the trade-in and those that had their units repossessed. Count us in that debt-free is the way to go and not just to the RV lifestyle but with any lifestyle change.

We have full-timed twice and am considering doing it again. Reasons we stopped were that we simply got tired of it and since we had to earn an income, we had to stay in areas and parks that we didn't really care for. It is hard using new doctors, dentists and vets and adjusting to different cost of living quirks. And, the weather now, I could write a book on that.

Another issue that we saw was that some people got the biggest unit and never got comfortable with it. They were stressed and nervous each time they hit the road. That will definitely take the fun out of it.

There is the belief that the full-time RVing community is one big happy family which they aren't. It is just like any other lifestyle and you have all sorts of people out there - check out FB for some real insight on the new face of full-time RVing. Every lifestyle has a cast system in place.

If you haven't traveled, it is worth experiencing. My husband and myself were both in the military which I think made entering the lifestyle and being comfortable with diversity much easier. It is an education and the feeling of freedom that comes from having everything there on the road with you is awesome, you have no strings to tie you down!

The lifestyle isn't for everyone and if anyone isn't on board about full-timing, there will be an endless lists of reasons to stop if you get them started.

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lots of good advice here. We started by accidentally discovering that both of us had thought about the idea, but neither one of us had mentioned it in 25 years of marriage. Once we brought up the subject we continued to talk about it, asking each other questions based on what we had learned from questions of others. Those conversations helped us to focus on the type of RV that would be right for us. COMMUNICATION IS CRITICAL!!! I can't emphasize that enough.

We didn't start purging soon enough, but we did have more warning than most. We started going through our stuff, initially just pulling out the stuff that needed to go on the burn pile and doing some preliminary sorting. Eventually we got the stuff in some sort of order and then had the kids all here (one via Skype) to go through the things that were not going to be kept. We had an auctioneer lined up for a date a couple of months ahead of that visit, so the kids knew when things would go away. Anything that they wanted would not be put on the auction.

Our son arranged for a storage unit that we all use. None of the kids has a very large place, but the all wanted some of the furniture, so it went into the storage unit. We have some things in storage in case we ever end up in a S&B again.

Our exit plan isn't all that firm yet. Our plan is to see as much of the country as we can with an eye to finding a place to call home when we decide to slow down the travels.

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lucky Mike wrote:
...RV relaxation is not a race its a spectator sport!!

I agree with all that Mike wrote, however, I'll focus on this part.... to agree on...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrg0dEC50z

biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin

Shortest I could find for data challenged types on here.

Brian

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

First make sure your RV can carry what you will want/need.

Many full timers find that they need at least 1500 pounds of cargo carrying capacity (CCC) for each adult. For motor homes the CCC or the newer designation OCCC will be on a sticker somewhere in the motor home - usually in a cabinet or closet. I don't know about fifth wheels.

You can see the definition of CCC HERE, and OCCC HERE.
Scroll down to "2009 New weight label" and download the pdf file.

To get CCC subtract the weight of water you will carry and the weight of the people you will carry from the OCCC.

It is common to see CCC numbers as low as a few hundred pounds (even on diesel pushers) which means it would be overloaded for weekend trips and unusable for full timing.

We had 2800 pounds of CCC and would like to have had 3500. We started with a 30 footer with no slides and after a year traded it in on a new 35 footer with two slides.

Second, I think an exit plan is important. Many folks say they will just park it and live in an RV park somewhere when the time comes that they have to leave the road. If that is what you want to do with your last days that is okay but it sure wasn't how we wanted to spend our time after we left the road.

We put the money from the sale of our house away and let it earn interest for the 12 years we were full timing and used part of that to buy our house when the time came for us to stop full timing and settle down.

Third, we did not follow the advice given by many about getting rid of all of our stuff. We got rid of an amazing amount but stored our expensive hard furniture, my shop equipment, guns, my wifes shop equipment, and quite a few family heirlooms, some of which came down from great grandparents.
It was in storage in NH and we moved it here to CO when we bought the house. Money wise we came out a lot ahead by doing that in spite of all the dire predictions made by folks that advocate keeping nothing.

This advice may not apply to you but it is what worked for us.

-- Edited by Clay L on Friday 15th of August 2014 10:48:25 AM

-- Edited by Clay L on Friday 15th of August 2014 11:10:05 AM

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are all so different with no right way as many have said before. We would not have been able to go full-time had we waited to be debt free. I should say we didn't want to deplete savings to go debt free. We had significant cash flow so having mortgages on our vehicles was not a strain for us. Being debt free is certainly a great goal but cash flow rules in our case.

Cathy (SnowGypsy) your comment that full timing is not one big happy family perplexes me so I'll have to do some poking around to try to see what you are referring to. We've not been static for any length of time but our only problems with other RVers anywhere was related to our frustration to irresponsible dog owners. We have met so many enjoyable people in campgrounds and by following this forum.

Clay, like you we were happy we had stored some things when we sold our home. It's been enormously helpful as we are now exiting. Exit plans are so personal as well. We had thought we might just park somewhere when we couldn't travel anymore to either live in or have as a second home, or that we might find someplace along the way that we'd prefer to live. As it came down for us, steps into our fifth-wheel won't be an option for us for much longer. Our children are spread out everywhere, mostly in snow country so we're back to the house we left about a year ago because we really liked it here and have many friends. Guess what I'm saying is we never know when or why or how we'll need to exit but using the flexibility reinforced by full timing we're adapting and making it work. While we're in part refurnishing a house we'll NEVER accumulate stuff as we had before and look forward to living nicely but simply.

Sherry

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Meredith:

My parents full-timed for over 3 decades and so with that perspective this is our philosophical take to your question:

Make sure it is something you both desire and, as Jim properly commented, make sure you “like” each other, not only love each other.

Don’t do it just to escape a situation as such – make sure it is a goal in and of itself.

Our view

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sherry: It can be a different world for people who are not retired and full-timing. I often see, elsewhere, that the lifestyle is promoted as a "Utopia" which no lifestyle is. Sort of like people think you can move to Kansas and have instant "Mayberry". There are people from all walks of life in the lifestyle and people set-up permanently, these are not retired people, can be, ah, people you might not normally choose as neighbors. Some people are friendly and some not. And, dogs? We had problems with people traveling with show dogs since they would pen them outside, sometimes as many as 8 and when we walked by, they would tell us that we were making their dogs bark and, of course, the poo and those that leave their dogs all day in the RV because there dogs don't bark. Well, news, the dogs do bark, non-stop and when my husband was on night shift........... There are thoughtless people everywhere.

BillandLinda: You are so right! You also need a tolerance for neighbors if you'll be close as some people can be a real pain! And #1 for sure is not entering the lifestyle to "escape" a situation.

I think full-timing is wonderful but there are negatives and refusing to look at them and just diving in, well, something I would not recommend.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

The sideways way this discussion is going has reminded me that there are many kinds of fulltimers. What a surprise. There are those that work, some with jobs that keep them tied to one place, while others can move around but often have constraints of time, airports, internet access, etc., that limit travel at least some of the time. There are those who move often, others who move only in fall and spring, and others who rarely move. There are those who look at fulltiming as a temporary thing, "we will fulltime a year or two to find where we want to settle down", while others plan to keep it up as long as they can, years or decades. All of this and not bringing in all the other preferences, like RV choices, campground choices, do you cook or eat out and how much of each, pets, TV, internet, activities, and everything else that makes us all unique.

You get to figure out what kind of fulltimer you think you will be and what kind others are. Then you can compare where you are similar (not the same, since we are all unique), relate, not relate and have a chance of making your own choices.