The Zen of Full Timing - Living Comfortably

[4X4Dodger]

The Buddha taught that Attachment was suffering. Attachment having to do with, on one level, the amount of stuff one has.

Well if preparing to be full-timers doesnt bring you face to face with the huge amount of stuff you have collected and the process of divesting yourself of it nothing will.

But, while I agree in general with the Buddhas philosophy on this, I have to say there are some things I think it smart to carry with you.

While my Mothers idea of Roughing It was slow room service mine is a bit different. But I still do not want to feel like I am camping-out on an endless basis while full timing.

So I have put together a short list of things that (for me at least) make life on the road more civilized.

1. Real Wine Glasses The best ones you can get. A set of four
2. One set of 4 real plates (not plastic or melmac) and silverware
3. A set of 4 Real glass drinking glasses
4. Really good sheets and bedding – no sleeping bags except as guest sleeping.
5. A really good comfortable chair – one inside and one for outside

This is not a complete list but it is the big and heavy things. But taken all together the weight is minimal. Especially since you are only dealing with the difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff.

Feeling like you are in a real home not on an extended camping trip I think is key to the success of RV'ing full time.

One of my first projects will be to install a good wine cellar.

Whats on your list?

[4X4Dodger]

Laman wrote:

noplace2 wrote:

Laman wrote:

noplace2 wrote:
We have been FT traveling for 14 years. We have owned 3 rigs and have downsized every time (now in a 28' FW) because we enjoy the many places inaccessible with larger rigs. I can't imagine doing what we do in a 40' je rog we cueentl haerig and missing the experiences that are not available to that mindset. To each their own.

Don't feel sorry for those of us with 40' rigs you would be surprised at the number of places we can get to an if not our toads will get us into the other spots for whatever activity we want, those experiences are available to any mindset.

No they really are not. Been there done that. You apparently don't have a clue about off road experiences along the ALcan or the roads to cenral America. Take an offshoot from the Central America websites and look at where you are likely to be. Oh yeah, I'm guessing that you wouldn't ever consider a space without creature comforts. As always: to each their own.

Sorry old boy but you continue with your presumptuous attitude and you are dead wrong. I have camped under the stars many a time also in the rain, mud and ate what we killed if we killed. Alaska is on the schedule, central America no thanks. At this time I, like many others, prefer to travel with my wife in comfort with the things we like go where we want to. So again don't feel sorry for us, a lot of us probably have experienced more that you have or will.

This is completely off the topic of this post. It was supposed to be about the things you take with you that makes it more like home and life more civilized while roughing it, not a mine-is-bigger-than-yours argument.

[Laman]

Ok, lots of parks like that but if I want to experience that type of park, and I have a number of times, I can always find a park within easy driving distance, drive over in my toad, enjoy the wilderness experience, than go back to my glass wine glasses and cheese by the fire.

Get over it, you don't have a monopoly on the RV experience just because you have a short ....... RV.

[noplace2]

Laman wrote:
a lot of us probably have experienced more that you have or will.

LOL, you have no clue.

I'll continue to be responsive to those who are here for information. I maintain that a large rig limits the potential. Case in point, we are currently in a county park within 645 heavily wooded acres, miles of hiking trails, and only 44 FH campsites. Since we've been here we've hiked roughly 95 miles and have only encountered 2 other humans on those hikes. In the past month we have experienced the likes of more deer than we could count, birds ranging from owls to chickadees, armadillos and wild pigs in abundance. It is a wonderfully quiet and peaceful place, but still offers wifi and cable. I do get that this type of solitude is not everyone's cup 'o joe, but it suits us perfectly.

The point of this exercise? The park STRICTLY limits RV's to 30' or shorter.

[Laman]

noplace2 wrote:

Laman wrote:

noplace2 wrote:
We have been FT traveling for 14 years. We have owned 3 rigs and have downsized every time (now in a 28' FW) because we enjoy the many places inaccessible with larger rigs. I can't imagine doing what we do in a 40' je rog we cueentl haerig and missing the experiences that are not available to that mindset. To each their own.

Don't feel sorry for those of us with 40' rigs you would be surprised at the number of places we can get to an if not our toads will get us into the other spots for whatever activity we want, those experiences are available to any mindset.

No they really are not. Been there done that. You apparently don't have a clue about off road experiences along the ALcan or the roads to cenral America. Take an offshoot from the Central America websites and look at where you are likely to be. Oh yeah, I'm guessing that you wouldn't ever consider a space without creature comforts. As always: to each their own.

Sorry old boy but you continue with your presumptuous attitude and you are dead wrong. I have camped under the stars many a time also in the rain, mud and ate what we killed if we killed. Alaska is on the schedule, central America no thanks. At this time I, like many others, prefer to travel with my wife in comfort with the things we like go where we want to. So again don't feel sorry for us, a lot of us probably have experienced more that you have or will.

[4X4Dodger]

There have been a lot of good additions to my list here.

A good Mattress...Yes for sure

And really good cookware including a set of campfire cookware.

I carry my Cuisinart Stainless Steel Pans, a couple of Cast Iron pieces and two non stick pans.

Cooking well, eating well and drinking well, all done one hopes with some grace, some style, some laughter, a few friends, my two pooches and absolutely NO PLASTIC dishes, utensils or glasses.

[noplace2]

Laman wrote:

noplace2 wrote:
We have been FT traveling for 14 years. We have owned 3 rigs and have downsized every time (now in a 28' FW) because we enjoy the many places inaccessible with larger rigs. I can't imagine doing what we do in a 40' je rog we cueentl haerig and missing the experiences that are not available to that mindset. To each their own.

Don't feel sorry for those of us with 40' rigs you would be surprised at the number of places we can get to an if not our toads will get us into the other spots for whatever activity we want, those experiences are available to any mindset.

No they really are not. Been there done that. You apparently don't have a clue about off road experiences along the ALcan or the roads to cenral America. Take an offshoot from the Central America websites and look at where you are likely to be. Oh yeah, I'm guessing that you wouldn't ever consider a space without creature comforts. As always: to each their own.

[noplace2]

.,

[Laman]

noplace2 wrote:
We have been FT traveling for 14 years. We have owned 3 rigs and have downsized every time (now in a 28' FW) because we enjoy the many places inaccessible with larger rigs. I can't imagine doing what we do in a 40' rig and missing the experiences that are not available to that mindset. To each their own.

Don't feel sorry for those of us with 40' rigs you would be surprised at the number of places we can get to an if not our toads will get us into the other spots for whatever activity we want, those experiences are available to any mindset.

[4X4Dodger]

Mike LeClair wrote:

MFinCA wrote:
In July '13, I took a job about 130 miles away from my home. So I put my TT in an RV park near work and stayed in it Monday-Friday and went home to my family on the weekends.

I treated it like a studio apartment. I brought leftovers to warm up during the week. I did cook quite a bit as well when I needed to (I ate well). But since I was just by myself, I slept in a sleeping bag. I ate off of plastic plates. I drank my cocktails in a nice hard plastic drink glass.

I felt that I did just fine for 13 months. But I was happiest when we put our house on the market and moved up here permanently. Now I can use my TT for fun trips. And have my wife and dog with me every night.

Whaaaaaaaaaaat? Wait!!! Just what in the blazes is wrong with hard plastic cocktail glasses??:B

We replaced most of our glassware with plastic after one particularly violent application of the brakes which caused the contents of the "dishware" cupboard to come spilling out of the cupboard, breaking the door in half, and shattering EVERY piece of glassware/dishware that was in the cupboard. Lesson learned at great personal expense, grief and heartache.

Cheers!

Mike

Nearly Everything. Including Feel, Environmental, cost, taste of the hydrocarbons being outgassed into your wine, and just the terrible tackiness of trying to drink a very good bottle of wine that way...ugh..no thanks. (or for that matter scotch) I'd take a good Mason jar over the plastic anyday.

[noplace2]

We have been FT traveling for 14 years. We have owned 3 rigs and have downsized every time (now in a 28' FW) because we enjoy the many places inaccessible with larger rigs. I can't imagine doing what we do in a 40' rig and missing the experiences that are not available to that mindset. To each their own.

[lonnie4801]

We didn't go full-time to camp or rough it. We are not campers; we are travelers. We didn't give up our home to full-time; we just transferred our home to wheels.

[2gypsies1]

rockhillmanor wrote:

C-Bears wrote:
There is probably a learning curve when going full time. Probably the worse thing to do is go through a CW and start buying kitchen stuff or other "camp goodies" for the RV. After a year or so you will be giving most of that junk away and getting what you had in your sticknbrick anyway.....

:B

That sure brings back memories. Did the same thing when I started out!
All these items that were scaled down little miniatures for use/storage in a MH that were all labeled as a must have if you were RV'ing!

You could always tell where I was traveling because I left a trail of all the RV nonsense stuff I had bought in the CG office or in the laundry area marked 'free' for other campers to enjoy and eventually pass on to someone else. :C

X3. When you're a full-timer that's your home. Use things that you used in your home and stay away from the 'camping stuff'.

[rockhillmanor]

C-Bears wrote:
There is probably a learning curve when going full time. Probably the worse thing to do is go through a CW and start buying kitchen stuff or other "camp goodies" for the RV. After a year or so you will be giving most of that junk away and getting what you had in your sticknbrick anyway.....

:B

That sure brings back memories. Did the same thing when I started out!
All these items that were scaled down little miniatures for use/storage in a MH that were all labeled as a must have if you were RV'ing!

You could always tell where I was traveling because I left a trail of all the RV nonsense stuff I had bought in the CG office or in the laundry area marked 'free' for other campers to enjoy and eventually pass on to someone else. :C

[C-Bears]

There is probably a learning curve when going full time. Probably the worse thing to do is go through a CW and start buying kitchen stuff or other "camp goodies" for the RV. After a year or so you will be giving most of that junk away and getting what you had in your sticknbrick anyway.

When we started a used 38' FW seemed pretty big. We thought we would get used to a small combination washer/dryer, a queen bed, a separate closet toilet, single small frig, and manual leveling system.

After a year of full time traveling use we decided we wanted a slightly larger FW with a side-by-side washer/dryer, large double door frig, king bed, big bathroom with everything in one room, and 6-point auto leveling. Now at only a foot longer, we wonder how we did a year in the old unit!

If we actually really wanted to "camp" we would be in a tent and not be full time.

[anniemae]

I agree with 4x4 Dodger. My 44 ft. MH is my traveling resort. I have worked too hard and long not to enjoy the fruits of my labor.