Full Timers mind set - RV-Dreams Community Forum

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Full Timers mind set

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

The reason we all say to not be in 'vacation mode' is that most vacationers are heading for Point A, spend time, then back to home. The travel is not part of their 'vacation' thoughts, just something to get through. These are the people talking about doing 500+ miles each day to get to grandmas, Disney World, the beach, etc. They don't explore as they move. I can remember the warning of "make sure you go when Daddy stops for gas, because we have to make xxx miles before we will stop again".

Barb

Russ Ranger · RV-Dreams Family Member

I totally agree with you. Full timing can be anything we want it to be. We are just starting our fifth year and our definition has changed over these years. We began thinking we wanted to live in Mexico half the year and to RV the other half. In the last two years that has evolved to traveling around the world to expand our adventure. (16 countries so far) It does seem like we have been on vacation for the last four years.

I don't see anything wrong with the vacation mindset. It works for us.

Living in a RV allows us to walk away anytime we want with a very minimal cost to doing so. We store our RV in West Tucson for $38.00 per month and are free to travel in any mode we like. The fact that we don't have to worry about a home has freed us from that encumbrance.

The RV lifestyle and mindset changed how we think. After the big step of giving up our home and too many possessions, it is now easier to see new opportunities.

Life is good.

Hdrider · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have been like you most of the time as well except the first almost 4 years we moved about every week even during the winter months. Last year we stayed in one spot for 3 months and that worked well having as you say, a little normalcy, and plan to do the same thing this winter.
We are just turning 5 years now and are starting to think about a spot to sit a while during the hot months as well so every year we morph a little into something else.

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Barbaraok wrote:
The reason we all say to not be in 'vacation mode' is that most vacationers are heading for Point A, spend time, then back to home. The travel is not part of their 'vacation' thoughts, just something to get through. These are the people talking about doing 500+ miles each day to get to grandmas, Disney World, the beach, etc. They don't explore as they move. I can remember the warning of "make sure you go when Daddy stops for gas, because we have to make xxx miles before we will stop again".

Barb

Yeah ... that's not us. We're on our way to Niagara Falls and we've been in our current RV Park for 6 days, leaving tomorrow. We'll go 200 miles or so and stop for another week, then on to Niagra. So that's what our pace looks like. We're not in hurry to get anywhere.

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

So you are in fulltimers mode. It is not a 'vacation' it is your new way of life. You are stopping to smell the roses, etc. Our first six months we did almost 12,000 miles (Dallas to Seattle to Ohio to Michigan to North Carolina to South Carolina to Georgia to Dallas). The next year we also did almost 12K, but took 12 months to do it - MUCH better.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

We spent a lot of years moving often, not staying more than 2 weeks anywhere. Then we started staying longer in winter, a month, then two months and now we stop for 3 months. We have even done some one month stays in summer, mostly due to things out of our control, like medical issues. I am just saying that moving weekly is not what most of us call "vacation mode". Barb's description of vacation mode matches mine.

We are about to cross the country, actually two countries since we are including a trip into Ontario Canada, and expect to travel faster than we normally do for that trip. Then we will slow down and wander south into Florida for the winter. A fast travel pace for us is two days of 250 to 325 miles, then we stop for at least two nights, repeat. This doesn't tire us out too much and we end up traveling around 1000 miles a week doing this. We had planned on starting this journey a month earlier, but medical stuff got in the way, so we have to move faster than we like before the cold weather sets in.

We know others who think nothing of doing 500 to 700 mile days when needed. We also know others who won't do back to back travel days. We are all different and that is great.

At least my eyesight is now better, since I had cataract surgery on both eyes and spent the extra money for multi-focal lens. The only glasses I need are sunglasses.

FastEagle · RV-Dreams Family Member

We started planning before we made a decision on the type and size RV we thought would fit our needs.

I/we spent 31 years on active duty with the USN. Uprooting and moving became second nature for our family. After retiring from active duty we had a home built and stayed put for more than a dozen years before we got antsy.

Our fulltime RV traveling years were haphazard by design. We traveled in all lower 48 and a hand full of CDN Provinces. We knew we were going to do that but had no travel agenda. We knew we were not going to dry camp or use someone’s parking lot. If a parking site did not have some sort of utility connections we were not going to consider staying there.

We looked at travel trailers, 5th wheels, class “A” and some class “C” vehicles. We eliminated the motorized options because of vehicle servicing requirements. The largest thing I had towed was a dual axle boat trailer. When we were stationed at Virginia Beach, VA for 6 years I spent a lot of time fishing in the Chesapeake, mostly in the bay bridge tunnel area. I had a large deep-v. When loaded correctly it handled nicely. The number people onboard on any given outing would change the loading and sometimes it would wag at highway speeds. So that sort of ruled out a large TT.

So, our selection was a 38” fiver with upgraded A/C and a washer dryer. If done today I might opt for a 40’ toy hauler for the extra storage space to conduct a smallish business. (We shopped flea markets/yard sales and sold our finds on internet sites like eBay). Our tow vehicle was a Dodge dully with the Cummins diesel and 4.10 gearing. When it had to be serviced I’d take it to a dealer and get them to take me to a golf course where I’d spend 4/5 hours while they did the service.

Parking with the 38 footer was never a problem. We hardly ever made reservations. We’d just call ahead and ask about open sites and their size. We stopped for about a month in the north in the summer time and another month or two in the south for the winter. Our random stops were from 2 day to not more than 10 days. More than 50% of our travels were on US highways. Our normal traveling day was about 200 miles depending on what might attract us to a mid-day stop. We never traveled at night.

We always picked a place that would be be large enough for our rig. Here are some that fit the bill.

Myrtle Beach state park;

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=23027

Natchez Trace state park (TN)

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=16890

Coles Creek state park (NY)

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=15906

Roosevelt state park (MS)

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=14949

Here are some that were real close; 60’ KOA Scott, LA

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=19934

During seasonal changes we liked CGs/parks that seemed to be friendly with lots to do. This is KOA Starke, FL. Bingo on Friday nights. Fire ring gabbing on Saturday nights and good golfing, fishing and shopping nearby. Plus a huge farmers market/flea market.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=19508

We use a lot of military campgrounds/RV parks, mostly out west. We never found one that had smallish sites. Here is one that even had a covered patio.

Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, TX;

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=12513

This is just a glimpse at our travels. We like old train rides/boat rides (we even took the boat ride in the Grand Ole Opry Hotel) and visiting places like the Soo Locks, Acadia NP, Theodore Roosevelt NP and NYs 1000 islands. We also like Van tours. With them comes head of the line privileges.

-- Edited by FastEagle on Saturday 26th of August 2017 01:51:37 PM

-- Edited by FastEagle on Saturday 26th of August 2017 01:55:46 PM

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

FastEagle ... thanks for your service! I did 26 in the USAF.

FastEagle · RV-Dreams Family Member

RonC wrote:
FastEagle ... thanks for your service! I did 26 in the USAF.

TYVM! Same to ya!

I was in Naval aviation. Did 31 years active and another 10 at NADEP Jacksonville as a journeyman aircraft mechanic.

Lot's of nice FAMCAMPS around the country. Ellsworth at Rapid city has nice sites and MWR runs van tours to all the major attractions. Very nice, leave the driving to someone that knows where they are going. They pick-up and return FAMCAMP users at the FAMCAMP office.

FastEagle was the call sign for Navy Fighter Squadron 41 (F14 Tomcats). I was their flight deck maintenance coordinator on the USS Nimitz. Earlier in my career I was their Airframes flight deck troubleshooter (F4B Phantom IIs) on the USS Independence. I retired as the Maintenance chief for VFA-132 (F18 aircraft) at NAS Cecil Field FL.

-- Edited by FastEagle on Saturday 26th of August 2017 06:45:29 PM

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

F4 C&D was what I cut my teeth on. We used to laugh at the Navy pilots ...10,000 ft runway and they'd land SPLAT cause that's what they needed on a carrier. AF pilots liked "greaser" landings. Too funny! I worked my way up to the top (E9) as a maintenance Chief, then picked up for Command Chief. My final job was Commandant of the NCO Academy. I would have stayed for 30, but they elected Bill Clinton. Not my cup of tea, so rather than stay and bitch, I just retired and moved on. No regrets! Look forward to meeting you one day and swapping war stories! Stay safe my friend!

BTW ... my Dad was a Master Chief Boatswains Mate ... so I got raised right😜

-- Edited by RonC on Saturday 26th of August 2017 07:25:01 PM

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well, our full-timing experience is way different from most, if not all, of the RV Dreamers. We have traveled to a "place" and stayed for over a year before moving on. After retirement, we moved from Oklahoma to Colorado Springs and was there for 20 months before coming here to Oregon. We have been here for about 16 months so far, but there is "change in the air." (I'll leave the details for that for a post in General Discussions.)

We like staying long term for various reasons. That gives us much more time to see all we want to see in a given area before moving on. There have been some neat state parks that we might have missed by moving more often. In addition, not towing the fifth wheel very often saves us a ton on diesel fuel costs, thus making it easier for our finances when we do move. Colorado was a bit different in that it allowed Jo to spend more time with her sisters, and I got out to take pictures and see the sights.

So, I would never say we are in vacation mode. We are just living, and friends back in Oklahoma think we are living the dream.

Terry