Forum Discussion

DallasSteve's avatar
Sep 18, 2020

Full Time For Six Months

I completed my first six months living in an RV full time about 1 week ago. I will write some thoughts about the experience in case someone wants to hear about it and I will try to answer any questions.

I am 64 and I retired 2 years ago because nobody wanted to hire old, expensive programmers in Dallas. I had planned to live in an RV and travel for several years and had read a lot of threads here to gain some knowledge.

My goal was to be able to travel and see some new areas of the country to try to pick a better place to retire. I've said it before, Dallas is a nice place to work, but I wouldn't want to live there.

I did not follow some of the advice here and I changed my mind drastically on what I wanted in an RV. I believe a truck + bumper pull is the cheapest choice for a large living area. It's me and my wife and I would want something about 35 feet long to be comfortable, which is a lot to pull behind a truck.

But as I compared options I decided a Class A motorhome plus toad would be easier and that I could afford it in my retirement budget. I found a model that is about the same price as a Class C of the same size considering the driving area can be used as living space, too. I also decided to go all new, which is not what most recommend for a first RV purchase. I have been happy with my choice.

I bought a 2020 Winnebago Intent 30R and I paid $80,499 plus tax. I had to go to Florida to get the best price, but I was out of the country so I just changed my return flight to Florida and rented a car to drive to Jacksonville where I bought it.

The Intent 30R was the best floorplan for us and I trust the Winnebago name. It is not perfect, there are a lot of things I wish were different, but I still think it is the best motorhome for me at a reasonable price.

The Intent is their economical entry level Class A. There were not many Intent 30R available new or used across the country. I didn't want the hassle of shopping around used vehicles and hiring someone to inspect them. I also didn't want a lot of hidden problems. The new Winnebago hasn't been perfect, but I haven't had many big problems.

I bought a new Jeep Wrangler to tow behind it and I was able to install a baseplate by myself, but it wasn't easy and I almost gave up several times. But I got it done, I know it's done right, and I probably saved over $1,000 doing it myself.

I can post more about our travels later, if there is enough interest.
  • valhalla360 wrote:
    If it makes you happy and you can afford it, great choice.

    But why would you need a 35ft travel trailer but only a 30ft motorhome? When you take into consideration the loss from the cockpit, you have a living area of maybe 23-25ft.

    Also, how do you figure it's "easier"?

    valhalla

    Perhaps I wasn't very clear. Originally I was looking at travel trailers and the floorplans that fit my desires were about 35 feet. When I started looking at Class C the biggest floorplans were usually about 35 feet and they would work even though I would loose the driving area. As I think I mentioned one of the things I like about the Class A is the driving area can be used as part of the living area so a 31 foot Class A like mine is about equal to a 35 foot Class C. It still is smaller than a 35 foot trailer, but it feels comfortable to me and fits my budget.
  • gbopp wrote:
    I think there's enough interest. Tell us your experiences and opinions, a lot of us will read your thread.
    Not everyone who reads them will respond so, you won't know how many read what you posted.

    I'll second this post. I probably wouldn't have responded, but thought I would to add one more "read".
  • Congratulations on the lifestyle change and Yes I'd like to hear more. I like your writing style as evidenced in the OP and i think that hearing of your experiences as a noob fulltimer while they are still fresh in your mind would be interesting. I'd even suggest a blog might be worthwhile.

    re disregarding the hive mind here, its not about the Right Answer, its about what works for You.
  • If it makes you happy and you can afford it, great choice.

    But why would you need a 35ft travel trailer but only a 30ft motorhome? When you take into consideration the loss from the cockpit, you have a living area of maybe 23-25ft.

    Also, how do you figure it's "easier"?
  • Congratulations on your first 6 months of full-timing. We are FT'ers out of the Dallas area also, but just completed our 6th year as FT travelers. Continue having fun - There's a lot to see in the USA!
  • Congratulations on your new rig. Winnebago definitely has a good reputation. Glad you are satisfied with your Intent so far.

    We welcome additional posts as your travels continue.
  • I think there's enough interest. Tell us your experiences and opinions, a lot of us will read your thread.
    Not everyone who reads them will respond so, you won't know how many read what you posted.