Full-time by 2016?? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

hopeful fulltimer · RV-Dreams Community Member

RE: Full-time by 2016??

MikkiNJay · RV-Dreams Family Member

Oh MY! oh MY! Just got all registered for the 2016 spring rally!! I can confirm that I booked the last small cabin! I can't wait to meet so many of you!! Very excited!! K, now who else will be there??

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member


this thread has the latest list of attendees... http://rv-dreams.activeboard.com/t60748408/2016-spring-rally-attendees/ Brian

MikkiNJay · RV-Dreams Family Member

thank you!! smile

Narcandbj · RV-Dreams Community Member

We also are planning on going full time in 2016. We are heading for Foley, Al. for this winter (2015) and have our s&b on the market. Hopefully it will sell soon. When it does, we will be full timers. We have been working towards this day for many years. Had a few setbacks like taking care of my 91 yr. old dad. I don't regret a moment of the past 3.5 yrs. of caring for him. Wish he was still with me. Sure do miss him a bunch. His estate should be settled in Oct. so that's why we are leaving for Al. I hope your plans go according to your dreams. You will never regret it. Happy travels.

Barb & Gary

SuzieQ · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sorry for the loss of your dad. Our initial plans to go full-time were delayed by hubby getting a retirement job. Turns out it was a good thing because of the deteriorating health of my parents (dementia/care-giver then cancer). I'll always be glad that I was there when they needed me. Now we are looking at early-mid 2017.

Antoan · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hi Mikki and Jay,

You will love the rally, we attended last Spring and loved it. Bob and I have been RVing together for about 17 years yet we had so many take-aways. We also wanted to develop a network of new friends that have the same interests and can meet up from time to time on the road. We wanted to make the 2016 Spring rally, more to connect with friends than anything but we will be heavily into getting ourselves positioned to get on the road at that time.

We have done some camping in Maine and just love it there, especially the Moosehead area. Going back is high on our bucket list of the places we want to see again although it's really hard to pick where we will head first when we are finally able to go anywhere we want! The weather there is wonderful in the summer, we are so done with the hot, humid weather in Maryland.

Enjoy the Rally, it's such a fun time!!

MikkiNJay · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you so much! We are very excited! It makes it seem more real now that we have the rally all set. :) We are really looking to meet people that are enjoying (or about to be enjoying) this lifestyle too. We get so many questions when we say this is what we want to do. I've been following Howard and Linda's blog for some years now and I know they will have a ton to share! Plus real life experience from the repeat rally visitors will be priceless.

I think we may do some time here in Maine too...even though we've both lived here most of our lives we've never had the time to really just enjoy it. We do have a large list of places to get to...but no deadlines... doesn't that sound great?!?

We'll be coming back often since most of the kids live here and the grand kids, but we're hoping they can fly to where ever we are to visit while we are all still young enough to enjoy it. :)

French Bikers · RV-Dreams Family Member

hopeful fulltimer wrote:
Hi Everyone!
We will be starting our rv travels in the fall of 2016! We finally sold our house after 5 long years!! We gave most of our stuff to our kids, and kept a few things that are in storage. It is a great feeling to finally see the end of the tunnel. We think our first trip will be to the baja, but that could change. We are looking at different places to winter. Good luck to all planning to fulltime, it is both exciting and scary at the same time

Good luck in your planning, we are also planning to start FT at the end of october 2016. Just like you we are from Canada and are liviving in the province of Quebec. We have lived in St-Albert, AB back in 1989. Hope things will go well for you.

Jean

hopeful fulltimer · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hello French Bikers!

Thank you! Good luck to you both and maybe we will see each other on the road!!

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

we just booked our first to stop of our full time adventure

we will send our first 3 months at Peters pond resort on Cape Cod, and then head to Lake George Ny for the month of September
will head south from there plan to land somewhere in Florida in January for the winter. hope to break up Florida into three section and do a month in each section, then head west.

hopeful fulltimer · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hello Bobc,

How exciting!! Good luck on your travels!!

French Bikers · RV-Dreams Family Member

T- MINUS 365 days and will have a lift off!!!! This morning I woke up and my first thought was at this date next year we will be on the road. The house is ready for sale and should be on the market at the end of february, we have sold a lot of stuff through a flea market, garage sale and on web site but still need to complete the purging process. The last two houses were sold within 7 and 10 days I hope it will be the same for the actual one. There is still a lot to do and plan but we are closer to a lifetime dream, one step at a time and we will live the dream.

Good luck to all the 2016 dreamer.

Jean

marianne57 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congrats Jean on being only one year out. It sounds like we're on about the same time frame. We are also listing end of February. We originally planned on mid March, but the realtor told us to go end of February since the market seems a little slower lately. We have purged about as much as we can at this point. I have family coming for both Thanksgiving this year and New Years, so we will wait to sell the extra bedroom sets sometime in January/February, but other than that, mostly everything is promised to go. It is really getting exciting getting this close, and we can't wait but for now I just keep working the numbers in my head and the check list of more things we can complete before the end. I hope you have a smooth transition too and hope you get sell quickly and can keep to your plans also! Take care and keep us posted!

RodandVal · RV-Dreams Community Member

We are not and most likely will not ever completely hit the road. At least for now, that is my idea. We have a small farm with a very nice S&B and although the full timing idea sounds nice, I believe it will be great to get back home once in a while for a break and also to see the kids as 3 out of the 4 live close by. I know there is maintenance on keeping the place but I would never feel quite at home without a permanent address. I will be 66 in December so S.S. check arrives in January. We have gotten a new F-350 dually and just ordered a new 5th. Hoping it arrives by Christmas and we could head south for a while shortly thereafter. We do plan on touring and seeing this great country, just not quite full timing to do it.

In Laymans Terms · RV-Dreams Family Member

It would be a dream come true to join in on the tail end of the class of 2016 . . . hard to imagine being ready to hit the road in 12 to 13 months. Unlike many of you, we only began discussing this full-timing idea in September of this year, and fully committed to it within a month's time. We have RV'd our whole lives together (28 years), and my husband his entire life (48 years - guess you know how old he was when he found me - haha!). So we have lots of experience, but it's a drop in the ocean compared to what we need to do and learn in order to fulltime. We're preparing to list the house in early spring, and if it were to sell by summer, we could potentially pull it all together by the winter of 2016. Otherwise, cheers to the class of 2017!

-- Edited by In Laymans Terms on Tuesday 3rd of November 2015 06:57:27 PM

mike54 · RV-Dreams Community Member

I'm retiring Feb. 26 2016 and going full time. Life threw my a slight health bump with prostate cancer.

found out today its low risk so it looks like it will be active surveillance but I'll have to keep my medical insurance

which will run me about 650. a month I'll have to make that work.

I can't wait until I on the road in March hopefully going to Alabama for about 6 wks.

BoAndRach · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi All!

I hesitated to comment because I wasn’t sure where we would land, but we finally put in an order on a DRV Full House that will be ready sometime in early January. So, class of 2016 it is! We plan on moving into our RV as soon as we get it, but staying local until the house sells. Fingers crossed for a quick sell!

Our first year is slated to be a slow, wide circle around the western U.S. to hit some family events and ride some epic mountain bike trails. We expect to spend a quite a bit of time in Arizona, Utah, California, Oregon and Washington.

No plans right now to attend any rallys, but we would love to keep in touch with you all. Please keep us posted on your progress. Hopefully our paths will cross and we’ll get to share a campfire together soon!

Rachael

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

welcome to dreamers 2016
May all your dreams come true

Good luck

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

All most there, just picked up our brand new 2016 Dodge Ram 5500 HD with hauler bed Nd rear air ride fro Classey Chassis, new trailer should be ready in January.
Just one more step n our quest to our adventure which if al goes as planed should start June 1 2016. How about some updates from others in the class of 2016

MikkiNJay · RV-Dreams Family Member

awesome! Good for you!

Ran n Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congrats Bob, on picking up your truck!

Here's our latest update:

We went to the HDT rally in Kansas and had a great time, we even drove a Volvo 780. We made some new friends and saw some amazing coaches. We then went up to Howe and toured the DRV factory. That was definitely worth our time.

The week after we got home, I had painters in to repair some walls and "neutralize" some colors. That took much longer than expected because right in the middle of it, my father and two first cousins died. The one cousin was unexpected since he was in his fifties, but my Dad was 92 and he had been failing for a while. The other cousin was also very ill. It was a tough week and I'm still working through it and expect I will for a while.

We have been getting things taken care of around the house. I did the first big clean out of clothes, the closets and drawers are all considerably emptier. It felt great! We have two bedrooms that we filled with "stuff". One is cleaned out and just waiting for a new carpet to be ready for the house sale. The other is mostly cleaned out and needs to be painted. Fortunately, our son who lives nearby was able to help for a couple of Saturdays.

We're almost ready for the next round of painting and will be getting our storage space soon. I've sent out a request for bid to several DRV dealers and am hoping to have our coach ordered in the next several weeks. As many of you know, Storm is being painted and will be ready for delivery before we know it. Once we order the coach, it will really feel real! Still shooting for Spring/Summer 2016!

Safe travels!

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank You Ran & Jo
So sorry for all your resent losses , I am sure it has been hard with all the different stuff you have going on.

we sold our house back in June and were so glad we did it early, thank god it sold fast ( 4 Days)

we decided to not go the HDT route only because as we get older it would get harder and harder to just get up and into the HDT truck. I know a sure could have spent less money going that way also. But the wife has bad knees and so did not want to deal with the HDT.

We also almost went with DRV but changed our mines at the last minute when THOR bought them. ( was not sure if it was good or bad)

again we decided to spend a little extra and are having our new trailer built by New Horizon, should be completed some time after the first of the year.

Good luck with your new adventure, hope to meet up on the road someday soon, we hope to start our new adventure in June 2016

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ran and Jo,

Please allow me to also extend our condolences on the losses of family members. While we might feel that someone has lived a full life, it's still hard to accept at times. Prayers for you and your whole family.

Also, if you didn't include Rolling Retreats in Elk City as a dealer to get a quote from, you might also take a look at them. They have an excellent reputation with owners of DRV models. You'd have to ask, but I think they might even deliver to where you are if you didn't want to make the trip to Oklahoma. On the other hand, Storm might need a workout by then.

Terry and Jo

Ran n Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you Bob & Terry for your condolences.

Terry, yes, we did include Rolling Retreats in the list of dealers we are considering. We do plan to go to whichever dealer we buy from for the PDI but we may need it delivered depending on some licensing issues.

Jo

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ran n Jo wrote:
Thank you Bob & Terry for your condolences.

Terry, yes, we did include Rolling Retreats in the list of dealers we are considering. We do plan to go to whichever dealer we buy from for the PDI but we may need it delivered depending on some licensing issues.

Jo

Well, if it does end up being Slade and Alicia, Slade will definitely give you an excellent PDI. I remember a case of someone else that had purchased a DRV from them and went to pick it up in late November or sometime towards winter. They had to literally move stuff from their old RV to the new one in bone-chilling cold. They also checked and found that something on the roof didn't work (A/C I think) and Slade was on the roof in that weather getting it fixed.

Terry

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Happy Thanksgiving to all in the class of 2016. This was our last thanksgiving
Before be start our new full time adventure. Things will be a lot different next year. A little scary, but so excited at the same time.

Rob_Fla · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have now enjoyed our 4th Thanksgiving on the road, we are loving the adventure and lifestyle.

MikenRobin · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ran & Jo, Our We are deeply saddened by the news of your family members passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

I have been following Storms makeover, very exciting indeed. We too have been selling, giving and throwing things away. We just finished redoing our living/dining area. tore up the carpet, refinished hardwoods, installed new crown and base molding and a new paint job. We expect to list it on March 1st and are planning to hit the road on June 1st, we are really being optimistic that the plan comes together.

Hope to meet you all on the road!

Mike

Ran n Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your condolences. We were excited to hear you are planning to hit the road in June! We are plannnng to be in CT/MA around that same time so maybe we can hook up. That would be great.

Storm is finally blue! I am waiting for an updated picture to share. We just got a storage space and I am in discussions with several DRV dealers. We're still hoping to put the house on the market in Feb.

Just think, we're heading into our last winter!

Jo

Fullswedge · RV-Dreams Community Member

HighwayRanger wrote:
We're getting set to launch in Spring of 2016. We plan to decide on a rig this Fall, and to make the big purchase right after the new year. We are still vacillating between a diesel pusher and a fifth-wheel. I've been researching for 6-8 years now, and I'm running out of gas. It's all been so theoretical thus far, but now it is getting close. I just wish we had our mind made up. The decision process is agonizing, because we want to get it right the first time.

Anyway, we'll figure it out, we'll order the RV, and will be on the road around April/May of 2016.

See you on the road!

Roy

-- Edited by HighwayRanger on Tuesday 24th of February 2015 10:29:37 PM

I sure am glad i read this. I thought i was the only that couldn't make up his mind. sounds like your are reading my mind!

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have finally set our window, sometime between June and October. It hinges on how quickly we can empty the house. The truck is almost ready, only have to mount a place for the Smart. Just got the ramps the other day. Now that we have a timeframe for launch the pressure is on to do things we've been avoiding. I might just rent a payloader and make one trip to the dump!

French Bikers · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hello 2016 class, I just wanted to take a moment and to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope that everything goes acoording to your plan and you will be FT in 2016.

In our case we are still in line with our project the house is ready for sale and will be on the market in february. In the mean time we will be celebrating the last Christmas Eve with our two boys at home, in fact this as been our own tradition for the last 29th years. Again my DW surpassed herself with the Christmas tree and the decoration. I'm pretty sure that our boys (29 & 28), will find it hard to say it is the last one this way.

We are from the province of Quebec in Canada, usually we have snow at this time of the year but the temperature is way above normal and we don't expect any snow in a near future. Therefore we've decided to trade our traditional food for a BBQ.

Again I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope that your dream will come true.

Jean

ckrkrovers · RV-Dreams Community Member

Well, thought I'd join in and quit lurking. We hope to be in the class of 2016, we also just decided this maybe a month ago and it's been a bit frantic since. We own a small farm and have cows, sheep etc. It's been a big decision but we have sold some of the cows already and have another 10 to go, they hopefully will go next Spring. Then we will do some work on the house and put it on the market.
For us much is dependent on the house sale, cattle, sheep etc. If it sells we will likely buy a diesel pusher if it doesn't sell we may rent it out and start with something way smaller. We are determined. We will have to work on and off but we are looking forward to it and to meeting lots of great people.
I wish you all a happy and safe Christmas and hope all your dreams come true in 2016!

Cheers

Carol

David and Cheryl · RV-Dreams Family Member

Merry Christmas and happy new year, Class of 2016!

We are halfway into our one-year plan to start an early retirement and full-timing in June. We bought our rig last summer, and are right now on our first long (two-week) trip in it as a final check to be sure we know what we're getting into. It's been great--mostly, it's just made us wish June would get here quicker!

Best decision we've made so far was attending the RV-Dreams Educational Rally last spring. It gave us the knowledge and confidence to make this leap and to buy a used fifth wheel. If you're thinking about full-timing, I highly recommend it.

See you on the road soon!

Ran n Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Happy New Year to the Class of 2016! We've ordered our coach and just registered to attend the spring rally! We should be starting full timing right around then and we thought the rally would be an appropriate and fun first trip.

We're really getting close now! Best wishes to all!

Jo

melody · RV-Dreams Family Member

Okay, I'm in! Yesterday I bought my tow vehicle, and this is starting to look a lot more real all of a sudden! Now I'm torn between equipping the vehicle with a few needed add-ons, working like mad on the house to get it ready to go, or getting the trailer. Can't wait to do that, so I can put it in the driveway and start figuring out what can go in it, what has to go in storage, and what has to get lost completely. And of course go off on some short adventures!

Not sure what date in 2016 I will be on the road and away from the sticks and bricks, but it will hopefully be before June 1, and by Labor Day I will either be on the road or under psychiatric care!

Congratulations to everyone on the progress they are making, it can be a Herculean task to clear out a house while doing research and planning the new life, never mind dealing with all life's other facets.

Bestest wishes to the Class of 2016!

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congrats and enjoy the journey.
There will be both anxiety ,stress and then hopefully excitement and that feeling of relief
That all is well in the world. Set back and enjoy the ride. Good luck

Camper Chronicles · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congratulation Bob C!!! Now the fun really starts. So glad you guys are supporting each other through the transition. The other Class of 14ers have been a godsend for me

Trace

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Trace. we also follow your Blog, and appreciate your incite.

Ran n Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks, Trace. I find a lot of inspiration from you and the rest of the Class of 14ers. Some of us have gotten together in PA and it really is starting to feel like a real graduating class! Ran and I look forward to meeting you and Lee at the Spring Rally!

Jo

MikenRobin · RV-Dreams Family Member

Robin and I follow MANY of the Class of 14. We learn a lot and see many places we want to visit and or work at.

It seems like things are starting to speed up with our time frame, maybe cause the end is getting closer fast. Today I gave the owner of the company my notice that I will be retiring in mid May. I must say he was quite taken back as no one at work has any idea of our plans, but after I explained the "plan" he sat back and smiled and wished me the very best. We also have two real estate agents coming on Thursday to get the house on the market.

Getting very EXCITED!!!

Mike

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Great to hear your plan Mike, we are on the same schedule you are. Except we already sold our house last May and have been renting. We just did not want the house to slow us down.

Bill and Jodee · RV-Dreams Family Member

This is your year everybody! Good luck and congrats from the Class of 2015

All the planning and purging and budgeting and explanations to your friends and family - all of that is about to become a most wonderful life on the road. Enjoy and safe travels.

Jodee

MikenRobin · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Bob, June 1st is our planned launch date. I like your plan of selling the house early but unfortunately that wasn't possible on my end as we needed to finish a couple of rooms to try and maximize the profits on the sale.

Jodee, thanks for your words of encouragement, looks like you're enjoying the west coast.

Hope to see you all on the road.

Mike

French Bikers · RV-Dreams Family Member

Update from the French Bikers Team. As of today january 30th our house is on the market, we are wishing a quick sale, our last two home were sold in 7 & 10 days. If everything goes according to our plan the new owner would take possession of the house July 1st. We are still planning to leave for our first trip at the end of october. So far the only negative point is the fact that we might change our first itinerary if the exchange rate keeps going down.

So folks another step towards the Dream, in the mean time we wish good luck to all the members of class 2016 for your preparations.

Jean & Jocelyne

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Glad to see you progressing guys,so exciting
Good luck

ckrkrovers · RV-Dreams Community Member

I'm envious French Bikers, wish mine was on the market but I have too much snow to show people around! Fingers crossed for a quick sale for you!

Carol K

Antoan · RV-Dreams Community Member

Well, we did it, we ordered our DRV home which should be ready by the second week in April. We will have the house on the market in the next couple of weeks, fingers crossed for a quick sell. As soon as the house sells, I will submit my retirement paperwork and the Dream will begin. We've been planning this for the last three years, can't believe we are on the brink of our new life!! Still working on downsizing which seems like the never ending chore but we're getting there. So excited!!! We feel like we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It's funny how our thinking has changed, the closer we get to getting on the road the more willing we are to let household possessions go. Things that seemed important before just don't seem that important anymore. Very liberating!!

We are in Maryland, just finished digging out of 29 inches of snow, more coming tonight through tomorrow and more this weekend, so ready to spend our winters somewhere around the Golf Coast. Snow birds, here we come!!

Good luck to all of you, hope your full time in 2016 dreams come true!!!

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

So Exciting Anita, best wishing with the house. it is so great to see the plan come together after all the planing.

we are right behind you.

How about we hearing from everybody in the Class of 2016 with a new progress report.