Newbie with a question or two about full time RVing

As I have heard...you only regret the things you haven't done....

IMO, the majority of answers will be of the opinion, to rent the house or at least keep it for a year. We didn't. Sold house, gave stuff to family yard sale for rest. Only had storage space for 3 months, waste of money to me. That was in 2004. Now, to be fair, we already had a rv site which we owned. We stayed on site, traveled when we wanted and spouse's health made it possible.

I did all the driving, whether motor home or towing a fifthwheel,most all the breaking down and setting up, he was not capable. He passed away last year, I have since taken 4 trips with just fur kid.

Have full time with 27' to 33' units. We/I, found about 30-31' to work for us.

No, do not plan to go back to S&B...I will be 73 shortly. Still have places to go, sights to see.

I use Passport America a lot, do not do the Wally world camping. Have done state parks and will do Corp of Engineers park to cut cost.

Your plan of truck and TH sound good to me. Yes, I am familiar with weights, all that stuff. Not an expert, but a good amount of knowledge.

Helps if you are a Mr Fixit for somethings. I will attempt minor stuff, no LP
or electrical problems. Just found a leak, did all required to fix it and watching it before finishing it off.

Health insurance is Medicare, we both had BCBS, which covered us in any state when things happened. For vets, I asked at the Campground.

Will help if wife knows knows how to do some "blue" jobs, not just the pink jobs.
? hook up and empty tanks, hook up water, hook up electric. If she will learn to tow, that would be a plus, for an emergency.

Good luck in whatever path you follow for retirement.

About 30 years ago while still working, we decided we wanted to try the lifestyle. We knew we wanted a 5th wheel, so we began visiting trailer builders on vacations. We began the search in Wy, then Ks, Mo, and In. We narrowed it down to two, in our opinion, had the best build quality, Teton and NuWa.

In 1991 we ordered a 40' Hitchhiker Champagne and bought a F250 gas 460. As it turned out the truck was not enough for the trailer so we trader for a F350 with 7.3. We then added a turbo and gear splitter. Truck pulled it ok, but the tranny didn't like the added torque and HP. Then we got a 1994 Nissan UD with as 6.9 Diesel. Truck did ok, but rode terrible. Search was on.

After driving several we selected a 1996 Freightliner FL60 with Cat and Allison. Retired in 1996 and began journey to find ideal location to settle later. In 1998 we traded for a 39' HH Champagne, and currently still have same truck and trailer. Have not found utopia yet. Still fulltime however.

Jim

Maybe we did it backwards.... But no regrets. A month after our last child graduated from high school we bought a used 38.5' Montana and 1 ton dually, moved what we needed into the 5er then hired an auction company to sell the rest. We sold the house to a neighbor who stopped by the auction. That was 4 years ago and while it does have ups and downs, It's been mostly a great adventure.

We aren't retired or independently wealthy, but our business allows us to work from anywhere we have a good internet connection (we carry our own). So life isn't as slow and relaxed as a typical retiree but we are really enjoying the adventure.

We've been doing some soul searching to make sure we are 'in it for the long haul' before we upgrade to a new unit... And have decided we don't want to go back....

What are some things we've struggled with?

Christian community.... We e always been active in a local church and have missed the fellowship. Someday (when retired) we want to get involved with an RV ministry but our schedule doesn't permit that currently.

Family holidays... Having young adult children (none married yet; but one is engaged) we don't have 'home' for the holidays so we e had to be creative. One year we rented a log cabin, one year went on a cruise. One we camped in Grapevine (the Christmas Capitol of Texas) and rented a cabin for the kids. And one we spent with extended family. It's been sad not all being 'home' for Christmas but weve just made different memories.

The 'pros'? Pretty much everything else!!!

Ps we also travel with a yellow lab. While he lost his yard to play in, he lives the adventure too. Sometimes he lives at the lake and other times in a forest. Always something new to sniff!

This topic is pretty common on these forums and you see many of the same answers.

The people here have no regrets. Those that did sold the RV and moved on.

Go to RV shows and get as much time in various rigs as possible. Sit in each of them for a good long time. Imagine living in it. Imagine sitting there watching TV (or whatever it is you do - sew, knit, carve, read, etc.). Is there enough room for your clothes? Is there enough storage in the basement for all the things you plan to take? With the slides in, can you access what you need? Is it big enough? Only you can answer that.

You typically get what you pay for. Very cheap is usually very cheap (pressboard cabinets, low quality components, etc.). There are exceptions, of course. Sometimes cheap is ok (e.g. weekend use) but for full-timing it is nice for the rig to hold together for many years.

Everyone has an opinion about what type of rig is "best". You just need to go sit in all of them and consider how you are going to use it. Maybe go watch a variety of rigs setup/take-down. Some rigs are VERY easy, some take a bit more effort - whether or not that matters is up to you. My coach is six buttons to level, deploy all slides, and deploy awning. I see some folks crawling around on the ground, manually setting up scissor jacks, driving back and forth on boards, etc. I don't want to do all that but some folks don't mind. Obviously, there is a cost associated with convenience. There is no right or wrong, just what YOU want.

Deciding what "type" of camping you plan to do will also be helpful. Every night in a campground with full hookups or boondocking? Will you be cruising logging roads looking for a good spot or will you never leave the pavement?

Good luck!

It is true, this is the page made up of those who have stayed in the lifestyle. You will get many comments because we all like to share our story. We planned on living full-time for 2 years, while we travelled and found a place to live. 7 years later, still travelling still looking for a place to live. In the meantime having the best adventure of our lives.

Cycler, we aren't quite there yet fulltiming but will share a little of how we got to where we are today after RVing extensively on many weeks extended trips in recent years, and doing the "assault" course back in the 90's and early 2000's when the kids were younger and we were working our tushes off to keep the wolf from the door so to speak.

Always had the dream to go FT when I hit fifty and hubby 57 = well sadly that's long gone due to youngest deciding to go late into University and completing end of this year, getting married next year and then "freedom 55 and 60's" are in clear view. Just like our goal was Australia for 3 months RVing when we hit our 25th wedding anniversary = didn't happen and we are a decade further on still not happened. That's the one thing that's become very evident to us and urgency has set in, "if" we don't just get on and do it NOW, when will we!

Initially the thought of ever giving up our SnB's just wasn't an option with me, but over time, and frustrations I've done a total 360 about turn, and can't wait to no longer own any real estate. Besides which "nothing" is forever!

Seeing what it is now costing with tripled and more to come increases in house insurance, exponential in our eyes property taxes, maintenance that takes these now achey bones and limbs longer and longer to do, I am with hubby now and happy to be "free" from RE ties and binds for a few months/years or who knows maybe decades. Just going to play it by ear, but know we like many say here "wish we'd done it long ago".

As for Fifth Wheel, C' Series, B Series, Trailer, A Class etc etc. It's a bit like trucks, you'll hear advocates for all depending on their nature = just like you have FORD supporters and GMC supporters. It truly is a personal choice and all you can read is several blogs/forums of folks in different types of RV's and sizes. For example GonewiththeWynns, prefer smaller 33ft A class diesel, and have had a gas engine lastly and initially started I believe with a small trailer (they are now starting sailboating but their site is a mine field of info). Wheelingit.us have the "Beast a large A Class, Technomadia converted a bus and have just done some major renos after a few years of owning as well others they phased in. Then there are a ton of folks that tend to stay sited for a while at each location so they prefer the roomy interior of a Fifth wheel.

Hubby and I started with a Fifth Wheel in the 90's and knowing no different loved it. In early 2000 bought an A class gas engine 37ft and it's still perfect for us all these years later. WHY? Well for "US" personally we like the extra storage in the bays, love being able to access the house items without having to go outside, love the easier press buttons inside set up, and generally we don't tend to stay in any one place for extended periods. We are travellers more than sit and stay folks, so to us "right now in time", it suits us perfectly. Yes hubby would love a diesel, but we are struggling to get our heads around the extra cost of purchase to say nothing for us not being mechanical of the extra costs for maintenance. Now that last comment someone else that's very mechanical hands on would warrant other reasons why a diesel is better than a gasser (so does my husband but it's the HP and engine stuff LOL).

We've seen many RV's with lifts on the back that have a motorcycle on them FWIW.

Anyway's one things for sure there's no hard and fast rules and no right or wrong way to RV. Good luck with your final decision. Maybe before committing you might want to rent two or three times different types to see what you feel when actually out in them? Just a thought.

I see no downside to your plans as it seems that you will be selling your current house and moving to another area anyway after you retire. What not try out full time RVing while you're deciding where you'd like to live next! Fair warning though - for a lot of us this lifestyle is addicting and many people have not found their prefect retirement home even after years of full time RVing! :-)

One more bit of advice: buy used. You'll be able to buy a higher quality RV because someone else has taken the initial depreciation hit. Hopefully they will also have fixed all of the little bugs that seem come with a new RV. Just check very carefully for water intrusion.

This is a good site with blogs of many full timers. http://www.hitchitch.com/links.html It's a good place to see all of the different rigs, traveling and living styles.

First off thanks to all who replied. Seems like all who did respond are happy with their decision to full time RV. Also appreciate the links posted. Wow, gonna take days to go through them.

TonyandKaren: thanks for the hitchitch link. Gonna enjoy that one.

Well we talked at length about the decision today, actually for the first time, and, my wife is still hung up on owning a place to keep our things. Of course, I see it differently, but, in some form or other, I am sure we will be RVing next year. Personally, I do not want the worry or expense of owning a house I do not plan to live in full time, and forget renting, too many horror stories. I am not going to force the situation, but, will take some of the advice I have read here. We will go to as many shows as possible, try to take it from there. I really appreciate the replies/suggestions/experiences you have shared with us. Regards, Cycler

I like to try things out before I commit, so I did that with RVing.

I spent $5500 for a very cheap but reliable setup, did not sell or even rent out my house, got a pet sitter, told friends and family I might be gone a couple weeks or a couple months, and took off.

That first trip turned out to be 6 months :).

I finally came home, packed up my house and rented it, and left again with kittycat. That time, gone 10 months.

Then I decided I really like this and it's time to get serious. I bought a bigger rig. I am keeping the S&B, though. Not so sure about all the stuff I have packed up and stored ;).

My advice would be that if the wife is not on board I'd find another solution. FT won't work if you have one of you pining away to be fixed somewhere else.

We're FT for 2 yrs in a 43' TH. Our kids were no longer in Texas and we knew we did not want to remain in Dallas, so selling was easy. She has had no regrets about not having a home and my only regret is when I have to pay to have a repair or procedure done that I'd have been capable of if I had space to work on it. Other than that, we are also trying to find those one or two places we absolutely love and can see ourselves staying for the balance.

Best of luck!