Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
This has been a long, and sometimes bumpy ride, but the unit is at the dealer, and pickup day is Monday. We placed our order for a 2017 Arctic Fox 29-5k in August of last year, after missing the last 2016 production run of this unit by one week
So here we are. We sold our house last July, and have been doing the "purge" ever since. Like many of you here, I've sold things I never thought I'd part with. As had been repeated here often, the more I get rid of, the better I feel! It is really amazing, and at the same time sickening, to look back on all the stuff accumulated in a relatively modest sized house. I call that stuff the "X" factor of home ownership. Mortgage interest, insurance, and property taxes are all there in black and white to add up. The OTHER stuff is where we really threw money away. Just the simplest example of a box of nails or screws from Home Depot. Maybe I needed one, or a dozen. I didn't "need" a box of 100, but it was quick, so I grabbed it, thinking "I'll have these on hand next time I need them". Multiply that $6.99 example by however many times a year we did things like that, and you would have a $ figure for "X". Judging by what we threw out, and gave away, it adds up, deep into the 5 figure range, if not 6, over the course of owning our home for 11 years.
We both are looking forward to focusing on the hobbies we enjoy now, not a mountain of stuff we will use "someday", when we get the time.
My Wife likes to make soaps and candles, and we share a passion for astronomy, and astrophotography. I do a little bit of daytime photography as well, but have a lot to learn!
Two metal detectors, one small dual sport motorcycle, plenty of astronomy gear, Wifey's hobby stuff, and some fishing poles. That's all that is going with us for hobbies. We have agreed to not jump in to any new hobbies that require $ or storage space, without some deep soul searching. I like the definition of multi tasking as "Doing twice as much as you should, half as well as you could". That's been my life for as long as I can remember. It will be nice to be limited by space, and a fixed budget, to help focus us both on the things we love doing. I predict our skills will improve greatly, without all the distractions of our soon to be former lives.
We are heading to the dealership with a PDI list from the hell. I plan to spend as long as it takes to get through our checklist, as I am super paranoid about spending this kind of $ on something thrown together as fast as an RV is assembled. I'd rather have as many issues resolved as possible, before I hand over a check. Thankfully, our salesman at Apache camping center has been both gracious and patient with my OCD phone calls.
We have a place to stay on private property for a month, so we can shake the inevitable bugs out of the unit. I will be installing 400W of solar on the roof, a Progressive EMS50, water softener, and a bunch of other stuff, before we truly "hit the road".
Thanks, Ron and Janice. I've been guilty of lurking here, more than posting. Primarily because I haven't had much to add that was relavent to rv'ing. That said, I have followed your posts, as you progressed to the point you are at now. Your story has been an inspiration, as have many others here. This would be a much more daunting prospect, without reading other people's success stories, and the steps they took to get there. Regards, Kyle
-- Edited by Vagabond on Thursday 6th of April 2017 11:09:40 PM
-- Edited by Vagabond on Thursday 6th of April 2017 11:11:16 PM
Hey ... no problem, I don't even know how to do that😬 It has been a real learning experience that's for sure! This forum has been a life saver. I learn from it, I get support from it and it has made our new beginning possible. Hard to overstate the impact it has made on us. I am blessed to pay it forward to help others learn as I have ... payback from a grateful team mate.
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Ron and Janice
2016 Ford F350, King Ranch, DRW, 4x4, CC, 6.7 PS Diesel, remote control air lift system
2017 Durango Gold 381REF, Lambright furniture, MCD shades, morRYDE IS, 8K Disc brakes, GY G114 LR H Tires, 27,320 lbs CGVW
