I need a reality check

[KarnaughAtlas]

Hi full timers,

I apologize in advance for the large post!

I have dreamed about this lifestyle since I was a kid. Now I'm in a position where I might actually be able to make it a reality in the coming year. Some background: I'm a 27 year old male. I am a software developer and have the ability to work remotely from anywhere. I make enough money to afford the payment on a new RV and campground fees with minimal stress, on top of current bills (cell phone, internet, etc).

Why do I want this lifestyle? There are number of reasons.

1) Freedom: I don't want to be tied down, I want the ability to pick up and leave whenever I want. I want to be the master of my own space and my own life.

2) Solitude: I like being alone. In fact I love it. With the exception of a dog, I see this being a completely solo endeavor. In the event that I want to settle down with someone I don't foresee continuing the full time life with them.

3) To see the continent: Obviously I want to experience North America in ways not possible with other lifestyles.

My plan: I want to purchase a small diesel class A motorhome. Small because I want to be as agile as possible and have as many options as possible regarding parking lots, camp sites, etc. Diesel because I want the reliability that comes with a diesel engine.

I'd like to avoid flat towing a car if possible, so my plan is to buy a small motorcycle and haul it on the trailer hitch. This will get me around town economically when it isn't practical to drive the RV. Obviously this would cause an issue in inclement weather, but I feel confident that I can get around that with some planning (cook at home instead of going out, make sure I have plenty of supplies, etc).

I don't want to travel very quickly. I plan on staying a minimum of one week, and probably a month or more at each location. I will need a stable internet connection and electrical power in order to do my job and I don't think I'll get much of that on the road - so I plan to travel short distances between campgrounds on the weekends, maybe boondocking between destinations, and staying put for the work week.

I've been doing a lot of reading and trying to learn from the successes and failures of various bloggers and forum posters. I think I have a pretty good idea of what it's really like, but of course you can never know until you try it. So those of you who have been there and done this - where are the holes in my plan?

Thanks in advance!

[x96mnn]

I am 36, have been RVing part time since I was 27. I spend about 6? months a year in my RV and work from the RV/home as an IT consultant for a fairly large tech company.

I have a wife and 1yr old child, before the child I had two dogs. Working from the RV is fine, although i am required to be on conference calls I have a 38ft fifth wheel that allows me the space and silence to complete. I do have a freind who camps mostly where we do and make use of their camper as my office when available. I have found Wifi at most campgrounds unreliable, the better spots seem to be further away and have less connectivity, asking at check in can often put you in a better wifi location. As peak times approach it gets worse, steaming Netflix for me rarely works and for their reasons installed a wind guard satellite system and pay for a subscription. I also have a cell plan that gives my wife 3gigs a months nd I 3gigs a month, which for work purpose and general browsing is more then enough, I use on average 2gigs a month.

I have not jumped full time, although I would love to, like having a place to call home, a base so to speak. I see no real holes in your plan, a motorcycle will do the trick but a smart car used would be around the same money and give you the added freedom of not caring about the weather.

Good luck and enjoy, your 27, I had a father who past away 6 months before retirement with cancer, he told me before he past not to wait to do what I want to do, I may never have the chance.

[GoPackGo]

If considering the Ural, do the research regarding reliability, spare parts. Etc.

Basically it's the bike that was used by the WWII Russian Army.

Kinda looks like a knockoff BMW doesn't it ? There's a reason.

[buta4]

Hi,

Towing a motorcycle on a smaller dolly is seems feasible.

Check out the URAL TWO-wheel drive models, mean-looking beasts!

Both the rear wheel and the sidecar wheel can be engaged for riding on trails and snow, etc.

Regards

[4X4Dodger]

I would keep your mind open to the possibility of having a 4x4 truck with a small travel trailer.

This opens up a lot of backcountry roads for exploration, gives you covered transport to the store, a large, secure and useful storage area (if you put a topper on the truck) and best of all the Pick up will be far cheaper to repair, put tires on and in case you do have a mechanical problem you still have your "house" while the truck is in the shop. Also, consider this. Getting a MH worked on in anything like a reasonable amount of time is a near miracle. Whereas a P/U has a much better chance of getting INTO and OUT of the shop much faster.

While there are good points about driving in the living area I think the pluses of a truck/TT combo wins out.

Another word of caution: whatever you do KEEP PAYING SOCIAL SECURITY. Now that I am at that age and for years didnt add to my SS account because I was in business for myself or working for foreign companies, I wish very much that I had...it would nearly double my SS check.

[Naio]

I do all of my grocery shopping by bicycle, whether I am at my S&B or camping. You just need a strong rack and some pannier bags or baskets. A good rack can hold 120 pounds or so.

[RIA]

A couple years ago I was getting ready, until a family got sick. At that time I was asking how to set myself up, what state, etc. Unfortunately, the only thing I remembered were a few states,one of them being Texas. Well, since then, she had to be placed in a nursing home. Well guys, I am in Texas. Got a UPS box. Now what do I do? My concern is my insurance. I know I jumped before looking, but was either that or pull my hair out dealing w/another family who lived to drag his heels & his wife who made Lizzie Borden look like a saint. I am not saying names just asking for help to make this a more peaceful transition.

[davidaf]

KarnaughAtlas wrote:

Kevarino wrote:
I've been thinking of internet access and working for a awhile, but have not put this into practice.

I think that getting a small virtual server at an ISP (Internet Service Provider)would allow you to have high bandwidth to do heavy lifting. And just remote into it using windows Remote Desktop, or Team Viewer and maybe webex. That way all the hard work will be done by the server and all you need is a slower connection to view what is going on with the server. Also you could have them do backups and have all data protected.

I'm not sure if there would be less monthly data use, but it could help with the performance. The ISP I currently use is he.net but there are 100's of them out there.

Kevin

This is actually a really great idea. I don't think remote desktop uses very much bandwidth at all, and I could stream all of my media to the server. Thank you!

This is essentially what I do. I run a proxy in Azure for day to day internet, it helps with connectivity since Verizon connections suffer from multiple open connections. For work we run VMWare View for a desktop in the office datacenter which would be similar to running RDP in the cloud. It uses very little bandwidth.

As for my actual internet I have both Verizion and ATT. I can't have an extended outage so If there's no internet I can't stay. Fortunately between the two carriers I've been lucky.

The biggest challenge I've found, with work, is lack of connection to the team. I head back to the office fairly often but If I were remote full-time It would be a challenge I'd need to learn to overcome.

It it were just me, i'd probably be fine in a 25ft class C or small trailer. But, since there are two of us bigger is much better. Having the truck is extremely helpful.

[GoPackGo]

I have a Verizon Mifi and added a Wilson Sleek to boost it's signal. Works great. And I think most will agree that Verizon has the best overall country-wide coverage.

As others have said, don't bother with CG Wifi.

I used to ride bikes. In hot and cold weather and also rain. Loved every minute. A bike was my only transportation for several years. I'm sure a bike WILL work for the most part for you. But I think a toad is a better solution for what you are considering. To me, getting groceries would be the biggest obstacle. I know you will do your major shopping before getting to the CG, but if you stay for a week or longer, then you might need a major grocery run before you intend to move to a new CG. Carrying groceries, including frozen, maybe also a 12 pack of beer, soda, water, etc. could be a real challenge. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that it might not be fun after the first time. And the farther you are away from a town, the less fun it will be.

Also consider that you may be many miles down a gravel road, especially if you like state and county parks, or just want to be off the beaten path a little. Gravel roads are absolutely no fun on bikes, although an Enduro style bike would work much better then a street bike.

I suspect you are going with the bike plan so I'll just suggest that you make sure that whichever RV you get has the capacity and ability to tow a small toad in case you change your mind at a later date. I've seen a few Smart Cars in my current CG so I'm thinking one of those could be a lightweight option.

Don't worry about backing up with a toad. Just don't do it ! Unhitch when you get inside the CG and park each one individually.

Tim

[monkey44]

One thing most "electronic guru's" forget about ... you can go to a community library or a public college and use high-speed internet. Sometimes, a small fee if you're not a student, or member of the library.

When I first began traveling (working as nature and wildlife journalist and photographer), cell phones and hot-spot internet were not even thought about yet, let alone on every belt.

So, I would "save up" my internet needs, and take one day a week, spend a few hours of it at the library or college, and send everything off that needed sent, check emails etc.

It worked very well, and I spent more than four years on the road in a truck camper and pick-up. No need then for a toad, as the camper just dropped off and the pick-up took me around to the work areas and groceries. I even used the college gyms about once a week for a very long and hot shower - even tho I had a shower in the camper - it's nice to take a longer one at times.

So, for what it's worth, that might solve the HD internet use when necessary, and a Verizon hot-spot for the rest. It's very unlikely you will find any WIFI service that will provide gaming and movies etc -- way too much bandwidth use, and the expense per unit will kill your wallet.

I can tell you tho' the feeling that hit me the first time I was able to send in an assignment direct from a mountain top above Sun Valley, Idaho was an amazing experience. Today, that's like no big deal ... but times change, as does the internet potential, and it changes pretty quickly.

Who can predict? But I expect communication companies will eventually accommodate the traveling public and work-force with WIFI that will service video-streaming products. A few years ago, who would have thought you could aim a phone and send a Selfie you just shot half-way around the world, and anyone with a cell-phone that was actually interested in your Selfie could see YOU instantly !!

last time I talked with my grandmother, she still described living in a farmhouse with no electricity and using the outhouse in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. We've come along way in the century she was on earth, and change comes faster every year.

[littlemo]

I agree that if you get a Class A over 30 foot you will severely limit your choice of parks.
We just looked at what seems to be a neat motorhome. I really like that the driver and passenger seats swivel and a table can be put between them. Also the passenger side has a built in desk. You have options of twin beds, corner beds or several different configurations. Thor Axis

These floorplans are also available in this Diesel
Citation



We use Verizon MIFI and have had no trouble so far.

[PghBob]

You mentioned interest in a small Class A for full-timing and perhaps a scooter/mc attached. When choosing your RV, take note of the GCWR of the unit, and the OCCC of the unit to insure that you are not over-weight on the chassis, tranny and tires. I've looked at smaller Class A units for several years at shows, and in some of them we would exceed the weight rating just by boarding the four adults in our family, without food, water, and stuff. As a potential full-timer, you will likely be carrying more stuff than we short-timers. Best wishes on your planned adventure.

[Old-Biscuit]

27 yrs. old.....have a good job with remote work capabilities.....have ESOP/401K & health coverage nation wide.

Why haven't you already hit the road!!!!

We FTd for 7 yrs and if it wasn't for 'life changes' we would still be out on the road.

Internet.......Verizon hands down. Best overall nation wide coverage.
Get some form of 'booster' for those areas where signal strength is not best.
For us a simple 'truckers antenna' with adapters to plug into our basic cell phones worked. More techy stuff available.

Transportation.......
I used a motorcycle exclusively for 8 yrs. when I was your age.
Rain/cold/hot etc. Grocery shopping/dating----the motorcycle was it.
Many people have done the same. It is a non-issue.

GO for it!

You are in a better position to do so then MANY folks.

[KarnaughAtlas]

Kevarino wrote:
I've been thinking of internet access and working for a awhile, but have not put this into practice.

I think that getting a small virtual server at an ISP (Internet Service Provider)would allow you to have high bandwidth to do heavy lifting. And just remote into it using windows Remote Desktop, or Team Viewer and maybe webex. That way all the hard work will be done by the server and all you need is a slower connection to view what is going on with the server. Also you could have them do backups and have all data protected.

I'm not sure if there would be less monthly data use, but it could help with the performance. The ISP I currently use is he.net but there are 100's of them out there.

Kevin

This is actually a really great idea. I don't think remote desktop uses very much bandwidth at all, and I could stream all of my media to the server. Thank you!

[Kevarino]

I've been thinking of internet access and working for a awhile, but have not put this into practice.

I think that getting a small virtual server at an ISP (Internet Service Provider)would allow you to have high bandwidth to do heavy lifting. And just remote into it using windows Remote Desktop, or Team Viewer and maybe webex. That way all the hard work will be done by the server and all you need is a slower connection to view what is going on with the server. Also you could have them do backups and have all data protected.

I'm not sure if there would be less monthly data use, but it could help with the performance. The ISP I currently use is he.net but there are 100's of them out there.

Kevin