1st time Snowbirders - leave home or pack?

We've gone to Florida, not the southwest, but I think you might run into the same type of weather. Don't forget some warm clothes, as it can be cool in the mornings and evenings. Make sure you have good water *proof* (not water repellent) rain jackets. You might need some gloves as well.

Bring extra money to buy what you forgot when you go by Walmart.

MinnCamper wrote:
First time snowbirders heading to Arizona this winter for 6 months. Since this will be different from week long vacations or weekend camping, what are items you wished you had brought and items you could've left behind.

It can be so warm you are in shorts the entire winter or it can be a funny winter and you will need a parka every night. So make sure you pack some warm clothes. Lots of Goodwill/Salvation Army stores take in snowbirders extras, so if you didn't bring it, you can get it. Remember, you don't need to worry if ppl see you in the same clothes over and over again, everyone wears jeans,shorts,t-shirts - that's it!

Make sure you have a small heater to take the chill off in the morning. It can get cold when the sun goes down in the desert and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Great for looking at the stars and for heat out into the cosmos.

NEED: Big hats with wide brims, plenty of sunscreen, lots of moisturizer. It is DRY in the desert and your skin will itch if not slathered every day. Eye drops - eyes get very, very dry in the desert. SUN GLASSES - bring an extra pair if prescription, otherwise pick up some at the local flea markets.

Our first winter on the road we had to buy;

- A fan. I know this sounds dumb to head for Florida and leave a fan at home, but we did. Try to find a window fan in Florida around Christmas.

- An electric heater. I had 3 at home. Now I have 4.

- A basin wrench. Needed to change a lav faucet

- A Little Green Machine carpet cleaner. Carpet's gone now but we surely needed this. I didn't want to bring the big rug shampooer due to weight.

Things I'm really glad we brought that I didn't think we'd need

- A large Styrofoam cooler. Waste of space, I grumbled. Stored liquor and bottled water in it. First time we needed to defrost the fridge I was glad I had it.

Stuff that I brought that never got used; I brought a lot of spares. Spare bulbs, fuses, wiper blades, a windshield chip repair kit etc. Still in a flat storage box in the basement. The stuff that broke I didn't have spares for, like the toilet (replaced every part except the bowl). I needed Eternabond roof tape and Dicor for a leak, I had to go buy that. I also brought an old tire unmounted for a spare. Never used that.

I was pretty sure we would be overweight when I started packing the coach for the trip, so I started scrutinizing things that were heavy and probably not necessary. Turns out we were 2000 lbs under max gross so I didn't need to worry.

pawatt wrote:
May depend on where you plan to Winter? We took way to many clothes. If you forget something they do have stores in the south too.

X2

1st rule; always pack for all 4 seasons but not much for the unlikely but possible weather. You just have to experiment and learn. We take socks and underwear for 9-10 days so we won't have to do the laundromat too often. We wear outer clothes for many days and don't shower every day unless it's super hot and humid. 3 or 4 shirts and 3 pants will do fine for the 9 days. And as a southern neighbor once said, "you know they got stores where you can buy stuff".

You need to bring either a lot of money for RV parks or solar panels so you can camp in the desert. It only took us a couple years to learn that RV parks are not our for us.

May depend on where you plan to Winter? We took way to many clothes. If you forget something they do have stores in the south too.