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lj2654
Explorer
Jan 28, 2015

Full Timing Questions

We are getting our plans started to go full time in the near future. The biggest issues are with VA, appointments and getting meds while on the road...

we will be back in Florida for winters so we can do yearly appointments fine. Meds are the biggest issue I see as I have some I fill monthly and have to have sent to me....complicates things....

Also is it best to have a mail forwarding service set up and how do you do that with VA wanting an address for your VA you go to?

I know most bills and such can all be done online so no snail mail from most of them....so shouldn't be much mail....
  • We are getting our plans started to go full time in the near future. The biggest issues are with VA, appointments and getting meds while on the road...

    we will be back in Florida for winters so we can do yearly appointments fine. Meds are the biggest issue I see as I have some I fill monthly and have to have sent to me....complicates things....

    We use Walgreens for all of our meds. They are nation wide and you can have the prescriptions filled anywhere. Another option is to use Walmart.

    Also is it best to have a mail forwarding service set up and how do you do that with VA wanting an address for your VA you go to?

    We use Americas Mailbox in Box Elder SD. They weedout all the Junk Mail and just send what we want. They will deliver to a general Delivery PO. This is necessary because some CGs will not accept mail.

    I know most bills and such can all be done online so no snail mail from most of them....so shouldn't be much mail....

    Another thing to consider is changing your residency to one of the income tax free states (SD, FL, TX). If you choose to do this you can use the mail forwarding address as your residence. However if you do choose to change your residence you'll need to travel to that state and get your drivers license from the state of residency.
  • A good source for full timing info including some recent VA dealings is on
    www.rv-dreams.com

    It's by a couple that began fulltiming about 10 years ago, had never RV'd before and have become recognized experts for fulltiming in an RV.

    They have listed their expenses each month for the entire time they have been on the road.
  • The VA would have no problem with the address that the Escapees RV Club mail forwarding service would provide to you. It has been proven in courts to be a legal address. It will be unique only to you and is a street address, not a P.O. Box.

    If you take Class II drugs that will probably be a problem for you as you can't get ongoing prescriptions/renewals. Consult with your doctor/pharmacy on how to handle this. It will be a new obstacle this year that many full-timers will need to sort out.
  • Been a few years since I enrolled in VA for service connected dissabilities. I never used VA tho, so am not up to date on their latest info. Would suggest you talk to your VA rep at the clinic you use, they used to only allow a limited number of change of address per year and if you plan to return to your normal clinic in the winter you may be better off just to keep an address in Fl. If you use an address from SD (as example) and are enrolled in the VA clinic in that area, may impact getting care in other areas as you travel. I get my medical care thru a facitity where I have on-line access to my Drs and records. Has never been a problem to use an urgent care facitily when traveling, because the drs can see my records/medications and are always willing to communicate with my regular dr.