Leap of faith with some questions

Thanks a lot! I was trying to remember the name of that place in Texas for mail etc. I'll look in to them today! I am setting up at a monthly lot so I will be paying for my electric I will find the prices for gas and electric and make a decision from there thanks for the help

I have a washer/dryer in my rig and love it. Would not be without it. I do realize you may have a space problem.

Propane vs electric heat. First you need to know if electric is included in your campsite rent. It usually is if for daily, but usually is NOT if signing up for a month at a time. Then you will need to know what the KWH rate is that you will be charged. Then you need to know what will be charged for a gallon of propane. THEN, you can compare the cost and decide which is cheaper. There is a nice comparison formula floating around that allows you to input costs for electric and propane, then determine which is cheaper to use. You should also understand that many propane furnaces are ducted into the underbelly so your water tanks and lines get some heat to keep them from freezing in cold weather. Using an electric heater set up in the living room may not route any heat to the tanks and lines, which could cause a freeze problem.

On edit - forgot to talk about mail.

You are already in Texas and I ASSUME that will be your domicile state. If so, you have a ready made solution - contact ESCAPEES.com. They are headquartered in Livingston, Tx. Florida is my domicile and I use a different company - ST Brendan's Isle, which is also very good. Full disclosure - I belong to Escapees.

We do our laundry either in town when we are parked someplace for an extended time, or use the laundry facilities at campgrounds. Many have them and some are very nice, some just ok, but we have found they are much cheaper than using the laundromat. We do not want to give up the huge closer and the storage it provides for a washer/dryer in our unit. Many like them, but they also continuously are doing laundry. We prefer to go every couple of weeks and get it down in a couple hours, or sometimes have been parked across from the campground laundry so could start it and sit under the awning while waiting.

Many RV parks and campgrounds have washers and dryers. Or we search for a nearby coin laundromat. For the mail, set up an account at a mail forwarding service in the state of your choice. You can use that to establish residency in that state. We have used www.myrvmail.com (located in Florida) very successfully although now we have our daughter forward our mail. UPS stores also have mailboxes and will forward mail. Post Office has a service but I have not heard good things about their service and it's much more expensive.

Laundry: We specifically did not want a washer/dryer in our motorhome. We did laundry in town every 10-14 days and got it all done in 1-1/2 hours. We didn't use campground laundries as they are more expensive. While in town we'd grocery shop or do other errands. It sure beat doing little dabs of laundry in the RV daily.

Heat: If you're in a RV park and electric is included then use a small space heater rather than the furnace which is noisy and inefficient. If you stay in places where you pay for your own electric a small catalytic propane heater is great. We used one for our 16 years of full-timing. They give a constant warm, quiet heat.

Mail: As stated, try to put everything on AutoPay then you don't have to worry about getting bills on time. They'll be paid automatically. You will need an address even though you're full-timing and getting a address is done by using a reputable mail forwarding service. We used Escapees RV Club's mail forwarding without any issues. You'll need an address for your driver's license, registrations, voting, taxes, medical and vehicle insurances.

If you're on Medicare you will have no issues while traveling. However, if you're younger and need to purchase your own medical insurance be sure to check carefully what is available in the state you choose. You need something that you can travel with. Right now for the upcoming 2017 year, Florida is the best state for full-timers who need to buy their own insurance. Some other states used to be good such as Texas and South Dakota but now neither one will have good medical insurance you can travel with.

Good luck!

Pick a 'domicile' state......that will be your legal residency
Then set up a 'change of address' with a mail forwarding service
This will become your legal address used for DL, registrations, insurance, voting, where your mail is sent, etc

Laundry .........town laundry Mats, CG laundries
Pick at week day and go get it down...couple hours (Wednesday was our laundry day...early morning---wash/dry fold then late breakfast/early lunch)

RV Furnace......
Uses DC and propane so you need both
Better equipped RVs have enclosed/heated underbellies to HELP keep tanks/piping etc from freezing in winter. If furnace supplies that heat via a duct into underbelly you will need to run furnace (some have heat pads on tanks that require 120V AC or 12V DC Power)
Supplement heat via space heaters to stay warm is OK just don't forget running furnace

Monday was our 'travel day'
Wednesday was our 'laundry day'
Tuesday/Thursday/Friday were for 'adventuring'...'entertainment'....local excursions etc
Saturday was prep day...checking truck/rv over. Cleaning/light maintenance etc
Sunday....total relaxation

Great lifestyle. Hope it pans out for you

Tyandkate wrote:
One of my first questions is where do you do laundry? I've looked at the little counter top washers and while they look like something from a doll house I question the worth. We will be moving in to our 07 Jayco 25z and there would just be no where to put that fancy washer drier combo camping world sells. Secondly do most of y'all use your gas heater through the winter or try to use an electric heater and gas as a back up? And finally what's the easiest way to get the mail? We've been wanting to do this for quite a while and now with my grandmothers cancer coming back we think it will be wise to make our way back towards Georgia to be closer to family

Laundry: we did 14 months of campground laundry facilities. Cost was $3-6 per load. My family of 4 went through 6-9 loads a week. We opted for the weight and expense of a combo unit- very small loads, but fixed cost. It's radical, but you could consider replacing a love seat or dinette and installing it there.

Heat: we mix gas and electric. We don't pay for electricity and it's usually more cost effective to use space heaters. Watch electric usage and your breakers; especially as it seems that's a 30amp rig.

Mail: there are a ton of mail services. We personally use St. Brendan's Isle out of Green Cove Springs, FL.

Much love to you and your grandmother's cancer. It's an ugly beast.

the bear II wrote:
a good website is www.rv-dreams.com

the folks who own the website became RV'ers and Fulltimers for the first time 10 years ago and have been on the road ever since. Lots of great info on the site regarding fulltime RV'ing and life in general.

Thanks a lot I'll check them out!

a good website is www.rv-dreams.com

the folks who own the website became RV'ers and Fulltimers for the first time 10 years ago and have been on the road ever since. Lots of great info on the site regarding fulltime RV'ing and life in general.

Iceman1777 wrote:
Congratulations on your decision, and you will have many, many more questions as you prepare. We made the leap this past June and no regrets. Here's what we found:
Laundry: we have a full size washer and dryer in our rig, and my wife does not mind laundromats. She can get all the wash done at one time rather than an all-day event with one unit. But it is super convenient to have laundry equipment with you.
Heat: if possible always use electric rather than propane. The park generally pays for electric; you pay for propane. In freezing weather you need to run some heat on propane to keep the underbelly warm.
Mail: we opted for a mail address at a UPS store and periodically forward our mail. It gives us a physical address where we vote and pay taxes from. Your state of residence will be a decision you have to work through. Many advantages/disadvantages that are individual preferences.

Thanks for the help yes I do have a lot of research todo as mentioned above but typically I come here for the real life experience. We are super excited and ready to do it!