The significant decrease in activity on the RV-Dreams forums over the last year or two saddens me. I respond whenever someone posts a question and I think I might have something useful to say, but I'm also guilty of not starting new topics on this forum as often as I should.

That said, the RV-Dreams spring rally in 2015 is what lit the fire under Laura and started our headlong plunge into full-timing (which we've been doing since the first of August, 2015). We've had some great adventures - including the last half of a summer in New England and this past entire summer on the upper Olympic peninsula in Washington. The mobile lifestyle has also allowed us to spend much more time near our ageing mothers and all of our grandkids than we would have had tied down to a stix 'n brix. 

We had a period of painful soul-searching the first half of 2019, though. I was getting a bit tired of the physical aspects of moving frequently (more on that later) and feeling a desire to get a little place in my hometown in southern New Mexico for a home base. We love the area and access to the El Paso airport - a very easy airport to fly in and out of - is quick and simple. The problem with this setup is that our 14 grandkids (and one on the way) are in the Baltimore area, Cincinnati, and Augusta, GA. We've done it, but the distance makes for a long, rough air travel day each way for two old folks. (Note: our son-in-law is a pilot for Southwest and we would be crazy not to utilize the free travel benefit - but it subjects us to standby flying and Southwest's "cattle call" boarding process in which we are always the last on the plane.)

There were many evenings of serious discussion as we left southern NM last spring to head north and west. I had spent the previous year putting together a spreadsheet of the best places in the US to retire. All the statistics in the world don't matter if the situation doesn't suit your lifestyle and family needs. As much as we both love the culture in the southwest, there were too many logistical problems with settling down there. Bottom line - as we went through all the possibilities and scenarios, the only thing that either of us could get excited about was staying on the road!

I had mentioned getting physically tired during the times we move frequently. This is due, in large part, to the fact that our current fifth wheel doesn't have auto-leveling. It also doesn't have dual pane windows. We've managed OK with the 12 cu. ft. RV refrigerator, but had to have the cooling unit replaced two years ago (it was only about 2-1/2 years old at the time) and recently had another issue with the frig. Without solar or a generator, we had a bit of a scare in southern California in October when the Escapees park (and the surrounding area) were put on notice for a PSPO (public safety power outage) due to the fires, the low humidity, and the high winds and temps. Our one flooded house battery would have lasted about 24 hours to keep the frig going on propane and run some lights in the evening.

So... having arrived at the decision to continue rolling for the foreseeable future, we decided that we needed to address the things that we are lacking in our current rig that will make us more comfortable and "at home" as we continue our mobile life. We didn't want to make the kind of drastic change that Howard and Linda did :), so we have ordered another fifth wheel. One could say that we are just "fifth wheel folks." We decided on a Solitude 310GK-R (same manufacturer as our current Reflection fifth wheel). The Solitude 310 is 7 inches shorter (at 34' 11") and 6 inches wider than our current Reflection. This keeps it in a size range that can be fit into most parks and campgrounds. The Solitude also taller with a lot more glass all the way around. This and dual pane windows are "must-haves" for Laura since she doesn't like the caveman feel when I have the Reflectix in many of the windows in cold weather. The major standard equipment/options/modifications that will be in place when we take possession in a few weeks are:

• MORryde independent suspension and disc brakes (Grand Design pulled the unit to MORryde when it came off the line for installation prior to delivery to our dealer).
• 6-point hydraulic auto-leveling
• Dual pane windows
• 18 cu. ft. Samsung residential refrigerator
• Solar system with Battle Born LiFePO4 batteries

We listed our Reflection on one of the Grand Design forums and have found a buyer to lives in the southeast (where we will pick up our new rig). It's getting close enough that both of us are starting to fret just a little about the logistics of the actual move. I know many have done it before and we'll get through it. It won't be nearly as bad as moving from house to house or when we did the purge and sold the last house. On the other hand, we ain't gettin' any younger!

We value the RV-Dreams community. Please help us keep the forums going!

Rob (and Laura)