Why Are Full timers Wrong?

Here in Bermuda we are one of very few couples, less than 6 known, who own a RV. We know quite a few who own boats larger than 40' which are kept overseas. There are many others who own timeshares or a second house somewhere else.

Most know nothing of the RV lifestyle except what they have seen on the Travel Channel. We know how close to reality that is. Jaws drop to the ground when we run off some of the exotic, & not so exotic, places we have been in 7 seasons & over 120,000 miles. Most are very envious. We have converted one couple, & have another recently retired looking at getting one &, if not fulltiming, longtiming.

Investments aside, it is a lot cheaper for me to live and travel full-time in my RV than it is for me to live in a sticks & bricks house. Surprisingly I drive less in one month full-time RVing than many of my neighbors who live in houses and go to work everyday.

Out here in California a lot of my former neighbors drove 50-miles/day, or more, one way to their workplace, that’s 100-miles/day round trip, 5-days a week, to and from work. Approximately 2,000-miles/month and that does not count what driving they may do after work going out to a movie, restaurants, etc., and driving on the weekends. I do not drive 2,000-miles/month fulltime RVing.

Full-time RVing I have no mortgage, no homeowner association dues, no home insurance on top of my vehicle insurance. My 5th wheel trailer insurance and extended warranty is a lot cheaper than my former home insurance, especially if you include earthquake insurance on my house, which is highly encouraged in California. In short, my expenses are a lot less and I save more money every month full-time RVing than I would if I were maintaining a house.

Other than that, as earlier mentioned, the lifestyle is priceless. It is healthier being in the great outdoors than it is living in a house. If I don’t like my neighborhood I can just leave unlike owning a house where you are responsible for that property whether you live there or not. For me, and probably a lot of other folks, the advantages of full-time RVing outweigh any advantages that owning and living in a house may bring.

But I will also say that this lifestyle is not for everyone, and thank God for that, because if it were for everyone the campgrounds would always be full and the roads cluttered with RV’s. Living in, and owning, a house served a valuable purpose for me and now full-time RVing serves that same valuable purpose. For me, because I can only speak for myself, fulltime RVing has more of an intrinsic value than it does an extrinsic value.

bigdogger wrote:

loulou57 wrote:
I don't agree with being one wreck away from being homeless. Sadly, your home can burn down etc. Both homes are insured and can be replaced.

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You may not be one wreck away from homeless, but you are one major mechanical malfunction away, or 10 years of depreciation away from being extremely house poor. Your stick home generally appreciates long-term, at least keeping your net worth somewhere close to staying even with inflation (assuming your home is your largest asset) Making your RV rig your largest asset is a sure way to see your net worth start circling the drain.

Well one thing for sure you can't take it with you, and when I'm all stove up at the end of my days, I bet I'll have a lot of great memories to reflect on.

The lifestyle may not be for everyone, but for most of us we only have one shot at doing this and really enjoying it.

There are other ways to invest and make money also.

second time this week I've read all 7 pages of this...

Someday.

brirene wrote:
Yeah, I get that. Surprisingly, I don't think our plans sound as appealing to friends who are outside of "our" community. I have yet to mention it to anyone without getting essentially a blank stare. I've yet to figure out exactly why, but I think the vast majority just can't understand the concept. But that's ok; to each his own, and less competition for the best spots! ;)

I am getting the same type of response and it shocks me. We decided to full time for awhile,one or two years. We bought a 2013 Entegra Anthem and are going to try full timing because I got sick of maintaining the S&B and the motorhome. Not to sound like like I'm better than anyone but in a lot of cases the motor home is better decorated , has better appliances and systems than there house and I still get the blank stare. Most of my male friends seem to think they would go crazy spending that much time with there wife in close quarters and need their "male-time" . Don't really get that as I can do the same things I do now and enjoy spending time with each other. I even got the stare from people that live in mobile homes.

I have “backup plans” A, B, and C, but you know a backup plan is not about dying, because it does not matter where you die. As a combat medic during the Vietnam War and later after the military working in the healthcare field, I’ve seen a lot of people die. Where you die is not as important as how you die; because some die with a smile on their face and others die in great pain and fear.

My backup plans are for a total disability, an emotional meltdown, or financial meltdown where you may need some supportive intervention. They are the same backup plans I’d had if I lived in a sticks and bricks. I was totally blind for about 5-years and went thru more than a dozen eye surgeries to regain my eyesight. Now I’m out here fulltime RVing alone and enjoying it, but what if my surgery failed and I once again found myself without eyesight?

Every 5 to 7 years I have the implants in my eyes adjusted. My eye doctor told me once, after having surgery on one eye, that in California you can legally drive with one eye as long as it has 20/30 vision. I did that once and it was very hairy but I don’t know if I’d want to attempt that pulling a 5th wheel. I’d probably wipe out a bunch of parked cars.

Insurance policies come with a backup plan; if you have things like “vacation liability” or “personal effects replacement” in your policy. It feels great to get rid of all the clutter and I agree with what someone else said about full timers not wanting to go back to the life they had before full timing. This has been an opportunity for me to downsize my life, travel lightly, and explore the natural beauty of this country, and regardless what others think, it feels great.

Our exit plan is to put $$$ from the sale of the house into a conservative investment plan, put what we would have paid for taxes and insurance and maintainance into the same account. Since we planned to downsize, anyway, there should be no problem with a future purchase. Real estate prices are not going crazy again for a good, long time. We have a specific time frame of about 5 years in mind, but will extend that if things are going well or if market conditions make that advisable.

We are giving the good furniture to son & DIL. It probably wouldn't fit in a smaller place, anyway. The money we save on storage will pay for a lot of nice furniture that will fit.

This sounds like a well thought out plan to us, but so many people around us are still appalled by the risk they perceive. Personally, I think we have a good plan and don't see much risk.

Not only that but if property values rise beyond where you can afford? Do you:

A: Die in the gutter
B: Stay in your RV
C: Move to a lower cost area

Pick the option that works for you.

I'd argue most FT have a decent to excellent back up plan if you want to call it that. Not sure why you NEED a house for care but everyone's needs are different.

RE: Backup plans....the good thing is that the majority of ex-full-timers don't want to go back to the way they lived.

They will want a much, much smaller place to buy and probably in an altogether different state to live. A park model in a permanent park would suit them just fine. They are used to living in small spaces and not 'collecting stuff' once again. They are also used to being someone warmer in winter and cooler in summer. They're attitude about just about everything will have changed. Exit plans don't always work. Full-timers are used to being flexible. You really can live much more cheaply than before full-timing.

Many medical issues can be dealt with just fine in an RV, park trailer or mobile home. In fact, from experience it's really much easier to recoup because the space is smaller with less walking. A ramp or lift can be used for entering and home health care will come into the RV to help out. We've dealt with surgeries, joint replacements and cancer. All is easily doable.

I think most people are too busy living check to check paying bills for******they likely junked years ago to think outside the box.

Need a house for all that******you bought, are still paying for and don't use.