Problems encountered full timing ?

[Cloud_9]

Just wondering what you folks have found in your travels, that you did not expect, or plan for.

We are not yet full timing, but have taken several long cross country trips, For example, one of the things we were surprised by, was the "road". The harsh weather changes, traffic, 18 wheelers blowing by in blinding snow, etc. Your unpleasant surprises ? Could be anything.

[RoadLife]

ooh, let's see.

In our previous RV, driving across the Mackinac Bridge with very high winds, the large side canopy blew open, fully extended, then miraculously blew back into place.

The very large rock in the toad windshield (I was driving it at the time) that crushed a hand sized area - we were 250 miles away from the nearest windshield place.

Meeting readers of my blog in Alaska.

How much stuff we packed that we did not need.

[beetle1]

Hey,,I hope you all have left room out there for a couple - 59 and 49 year old Okies out there!! In 3 months we are heading out for a year or two at least. Bought the new Ram dually and about to change from an older Mobile Suite to a new Montana with king bed and W/D. All this advice and experiences you all post are greatly helping,,,keep it up!!

[thetaylors]

Thank you JKrussow! That's very encouraging!

The money thing is part of it, but not all.....I'm in my last week of my Medical Billing & Coding course and will be sitting for my certification at the end of July. Then need to find a work "from home" contract. But even if I don't find one right away, I can fall back on my regular job as a surgical assistant and go on 13 week assignments (as I did before getting married). So work for me is fine. Husband can do pretty much any/everything he tries, so if he can get his foot in the door workamping, I know he'll do well.

The MAIN reason for waiting is that we need to put the house on the market which we've decided to do ASAP. We considered renting it out, but do not want to be landlords. Besides, we want to come back to something smaller, so we'll be looking for that eventually. We own our home outright, so what we make on it is all ours....and what we're buying the RV with and putting away the rest. Yep I said it...no RV yet. But we know the exact model, have taken it out, love it, and are keeping our eye on prices.

I'm sure that makes us sound bumbly...but we DO have a solid plan...I know we'll do fine. We have always been about "the adventure" and could write a book about the ones we've had already...I can just imagine the ones we'll have once we hit the road. I have lived all over and lived in Alaska for some time and can't wait to bring my husband to meet my old dear friends up there!!!!

[JKrussow]

If you are going to wait for 2014 to get financials in order that's a good thing but don't let it hold you back. You need to be careful that as 2014 approaches you don't have something "come up" to put your plans on hold. Having a savings account to fall back on is a great thing but until you hit the road its all jus on paper.

The reason I say this is a year ago in May we moved into our 5er for the summer to experiment living in it; by September I was unemployed. With winter fast approaching we decided to head South; so went through all our items in storage and kept only what was needed. December 6th we left Minnesota for South Dakota to change residency then to a state that had open campgrounds. We have been leaving off of severance pay, unemployment, odd jobs and savings. We have lined up various workamping positions as needed or wanted.

With all that said only you can decide when to jump in but the water isn't too cold but can be deep at times. Jump on in you're not alone.

[thetaylors]

1252me wrote:

photonut4 wrote:
The great thing about traveling in an rv is at the end of the day you are home. Doesn't matter where you are parked, you have your own bed, home cooked meal (or eat out in a fantastic new local restaurant), and your few precious belongings with you. That helps keep you from getting "home"sick. Also with the internet and phone, it helps keep you close to the ones you love. Our kids love to see our travels through the photos that we post on facebook.

As excited as I was to go full time, I was equally terrified at the same time. It has turned out to be the best experience ever and decision ever.

Your last Paragraph explains exactly how I feel. We leave July 1st full timing, it's considerable more difficult to get everything ready than I thought
Mike

Yes!! I agree with 1252me.....that last paragraph is how my husband and I feel too. We are beside ourselves with excitement...we can't WAIT (starting in the spring of '14) yet terrified is a good word for the other feelings. Mainly because while I will be working from the road, husband has to find workamping jobs or something temporary. Worried about finances...which is the reason for the wait...so we can feel a bit more secure.

Photonut4....thank you for such an encouraging post!!! I love the "at the end of the day, you're home....." part!!!

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU, 1252me!!!!!!

And THANK YOU to the original poster for starting such an informative thread!!!! I have no experiences to report yet....but loved reading the answers! Happy travels to you all...be safe & happy!

[RoadXYZ]

Clay L wrote:
We carry lots of quarters for the laundromats.

Also for showers (campgrounds who charge for showers), and also for toll roads ... between Hood River OR and Salmon WA is a toll bridge across the Columbia River ... states haven't take the toll off yet.

And don't forget those pop machines at rest areas ... and last but not least are the newspaper stands .. we have a plastic jar of quarters in the laundry soap, etc. basket.

As to encounters on the road, I would have to say Detours which obviously think everyone knows where to go after the last Detour sign !

My biggest surprise on the road had to be finding out how friendly the staff at truck stops were ... and how the small stores can have very delicious deli foods ..

[SCVJeff]

MPI_Mallard wrote:
I find full-timing to be completely "stress-free" because I make it that way with this formula;

Truck-I have an "aggressive" maintenance program I follow to keep unpleasant repairs from creeping up.

Fiver-Same as the truck and a very detailed pre-trip inspection of the tires and brakes to keep blow-outs away.

Costs-Frau Blücher watches da' books like a hawk so that in itself makes things move along smoothly.
---snip---

[1252me]

photonut4 wrote:
The great thing about traveling in an rv is at the end of the day you are home. Doesn't matter where you are parked, you have your own bed, home cooked meal (or eat out in a fantastic new local restaurant), and your few precious belongings with you. That helps keep you from getting "home"sick. Also with the internet and phone, it helps keep you close to the ones you love. Our kids love to see our travels through the photos that we post on facebook.

As excited as I was to go full time, I was equally terrified at the same time. It has turned out to be the best experience ever and decision ever.

Your last Paragraph explains exactly how I feel. We leave July 1st full timing, it's considerable more difficult to get everything ready than I thought
Mike

[hitchup]

Clay L wrote:
We carry lots of quarters for the laundromats.

We only save quarters for car washes. Not all RV Parks allow us to wash the RV or F450. Only time we've used a Laundromat was when we were getting some upgrades on the Suite and didn't have full hookups.

Otherwise, there haven't been very many surprises. Just that we've enjoyed fulltiming even more than we originally thought.

[rockhillmanor]

MPI_Mallard wrote:
I find full-timing to be completely "stress-free" because I make it that way with this formula;

Truck-I have an "aggressive" maintenance program I follow to keep unpleasant repairs from creeping up.

Fiver-Same as the truck and a very detailed pre-trip inspection of the tires and brakes to keep blow-outs away.

Costs-Frau Blücher watches da' books like a hawk so that in itself makes things move along smoothly.

Stuff-We keep from accumulating stuff we either do not need or have space for.

Sites-Where ever we go I do very thorough research to make sure its where we wanna' be.

Traffic-Plan your trips carefully but be prepared to sit out bad situations.

Other people-Embrace the good and walk away from the bad.

Most of all have fun,you might not be able to tomorrow!!!!!!

Red Green:
Remember, I'm pulling for ya. We're
all in this together

Couldn't have said it better!

Sums it all up perfectly and if you had 2 more I'd say they could be the 10 commandants of Full timing! :C

[MPI_Mallard]

I find full-timing to be completely "stress-free" because I make it that way with this formula;

Truck-I have an "aggressive" maintenance program I follow to keep unpleasant repairs from creeping up.

Fiver-Same as the truck and a very detailed pre-trip inspection of the tires and brakes to keep blow-outs away.

Costs-Frau Blücher watches da' books like a hawk so that in itself makes things move along smoothly.

Stuff-We keep from accumulating stuff we either do not need or have space for.

Sites-Where ever we go I do very thourough research to make sure its where we wanna' be.

Traffic-Plan your trips carefully but be prepared to sit out bad situations.

Other people-Embrace the good and walk away from the bad.

Most of all have fun,you might not be able to tomarrow!!!!!!

Red Green:
Remember, I'm pulling for ya. We're
all in this together

[rockportrocket]

"The RV lifestyle is no different than any other lifestyle. It is what you make it, and your happiness will be dependent on you."

And that one statement pretty much sums up any and all problems that you might encounter
"out there"

[John_Joey]

There is an old saying that goes "Life is like a BS sandwich, the more bread you got, the less BS you taste." This is also true in the RV lifestyle (as in all lifestyles.)

If you can afford a RV that has a washer/dryer, life becomes a little easier. If you can afford a rig with 4 or 5 slides life becomes easier. If you can afford $4/gallon and 8mpg life becomes easier (you get to see "our great country" when you feel like it, instead of sitting like a bump on a log in a park waiting for the budget to catch up.) If you can afford health and dental insurance out of area, life becomes easier. If you can afford to eat out life becomes easier. If you can afford a campground with wide sites, swimming pool, and hot tub, life becomes easier. If you can afford to do diverse tourist activities when you get bored, life becomes easier.

It is no different than living in a S&B. If you have enough money, you can buy yourself out of any problem. If you don't have enough, then you need to have a very good attitude, or change your perception about what bothers you.

Yes, a lot of the roads in the US are in terrible shape and many of them are in need of desperate repair. My biggest surprise was how many are living on the road because they have too, and they can't afford not too.

The RV lifestyle is no different than any other lifestyle. It is what you make it, and your happiness will be dependent on you.

[photonut4]

The great thing about traveling in an rv is at the end of the day you are home. Doesn't matter where you are parked, you have your own bed, home cooked meal (or eat out in a fantastic new local restaurant), and your few precious belongings with you. That helps keep you from getting "home"sick. Also with the internet and phone, it helps keep you close to the ones you love. Our kids love to see our travels through the photos that we post on facebook.

As excited as I was to go full time, I was equally terrified at the same time. It has turned out to be the best experience ever and decision ever.