New to site.

[RobotechMaster]

Good day to everyone!

I thought I would take the time to introduce myself and give a little back story. So without further delay.

My name is Andre. I am 37 yrs old with a wife and 3 children. 12 yr old girl, 3 yr old girl, 1.5 yr old son. We all have been born and raised in Michigan our entire life's. The wife works as a Home cleaner (Kinda Like Molly Maid). I work in hotels as a night auditor/front desk manager for the last 10 yrs.

At the present moment We live in a 1998 super single Skyline Manufactured home paid off. We own 1 vehicle, My 1998 Mercury mountaineer with 160k miles also paid off. The area we live in is awesome but very expensive. I choose to live here in this area for the schools and the education they offer. Oakland county is the richest county in Michigan and has the best school district. At the time when I moved out here the job market was good. But when the BIG 3 decided to pack up and pull out the area I live in was impacted really hard. We had the Ford Lincoln Mercury Plant here that made the Lincoln town cars. Well needless to say the plant closed and was tore down. When that happened the job market here crashed and jobs became basically extinct. As of righting this letter I am making $9.00 an hour and wifey is making a little more. Our total monthly income is about $3,000.00 a month give or take a few bucks.

With a total of 5 mouths to feed along with lot rent,utilities, gas in truck and insurance,ect.ect.. We have little to no money each month. We are playing the rob Peter to pay Piper game and we are starting to lose. The house is worth about 10k-13k. My truck I will run into the ground before I sell it. LOL gotta have my truck. 😃

Anyways now on to the plan and the part where all of your input is need and welcomed.

As stated before We are playing a game with our finances which I don't like but I am doing everything I can and then some. Our Plan (My Plan) Is to sell basically everything. The house and other items that I can't bring along. I am keeping my truck no if and or butts about it.

I am currently Looking at a few Class "A" R.V.'s ranging from 32 to 35 ft long. I do Have a few R.V.'s in mind. I am in love with the 1986 and 1988 Holiday Rambler Imperial Class A R.V.'s.

I need help and advice on either year model as in what to look for and questions I need to ask the previous owners. The plan is to live in the R.V. with 3 kids while we move from Michigan to a state that has good employment with good wages.

I know I am forgetting some stuff but I am sure your eyes are hurting from the wall of text I have just wrote.

Please ask me questions and give me all your insight. This is a completely new thing for me and my family and we just want to do it right with little to no extra costs.

I look forward to hearing from you all and hopefully grow a great friendship and learn from you. Cheers!!

[RobotechMaster]

Here are 2 links to the 2 R.V.'s that I would like to know more about. 1988 Holiday Rambler Imperial

1986 Holiday Rambler Imperial

[427435]

When you find an area and a job that you want to move to, sell the house and use a U-haul to move to a rental unit.

The unemployment rate in Rochester, MN is under 4% and a lot of jobs available. Go online to Rochester Post Bulletin.

[RobotechMaster]

Hello all and thank you for your thoughts and input. I know I left out a few very key items which I will address now.

I Am currently looking for work. I will not sell my house and go looking for a job. That is just plain irresponsible. I am looking for work in 3 states. If they offer me a job, That is when I plan to sell the house get the R.V. and travel to the state where the job is at.

Hopefully with the money we get from selling the house and other items. We will be able to Buy and Insure the R.V. Do any type small work to it such as fluids changed and checked before hitting the road. Have enough cash to stock the R.V. with food,cloths and other items.

In the process of doing all this I am still doing research and gathering information from you guys. I know this isn't going to be easy for us but I am not about to sit here and watch my family suffer and lose everything. Atleast with a R.V. I don't have to worry about my family not having some type of roof over their heads. Even if it is a Mobile Home it is still a roof. I know R.V. were never intended to be lived in full time. But i would rather sell my house while I can turn a profit before I lose it and have nothing. Either way it's not easy or pretty but I am doing everything I can. The word sleep isn't even in my vocabulary. I might get 2-4 hrs of sleep a day if I am lucky. But what father does get sleep?

No my s.u.v. does not have a tow hitch so I can't haul anything with it. Still tring to see if it would be better to haul the suv with the R.V. or have the little woman follow behind the R.V. If I have to sell it then I guess i have to sell it but i am trying not too. I will need a mode of transportation when i get to the new state. Can't go to work in the R.V. lol

I have more to say but I will wait to see what other have to say now that I have layed 90% of my plan out.

Thank you all again.

[Matt_Colie]

Well Robo,

You have three issues to deal with as I see it.
1 - You feel you have to get out of the state.
2 - You are hoping to use an affordable mobile residence to make this feasible.
3 - You need a mobile residence that will work were jobs are.

As to line one: I can't argue this at all. Go Some Place else. Even though Michigan is now a "Right to Work" state, that will take another three years (at least) to have an effect. We are now retired and the house we have lived in for over 20 years is just now getting up to what we paid for it.

About line two: Living in an RV is more expensive than you might believe. You need to be someplace that you can access electric power, potable water and a sewer dump. This typically means a real RV park. These can be more "reasonable" at a monthly rate, but they still are not free. 4~500$ per month is pretty common and may not include the electric cost. Southern is usually lower. Then residence issues kick in. Check out the costs before you uproot.

More about line three: Your mobile residence can be a trailer (what can your truck tow?) or a motorhome. Both have some of the same problems.
The Cheap ones aren't free and a Free one isn't cheap.
A - If anything you look at shows signs of water damage and it is not an all metal unit, walk away. Repair is complex and expensive. If it has square corners on the roof, it is stick and staple. If the wood rots (this can happen fast) is will loose integrity and it is toast.
B - Very few are insulated enough to be "4-Season". This means if you go to North Dakota (Unemployment is 3%) you will either spend a fortune heating or freeze you butt right off.
C - If it has not been run at least 1000 miles in the last year, be cautious. Sitting still is not good for running gear.

Michigan did take it in the ear when two of three were forced into bankruptcy. The state is coming back and the election will determine how fast. I got cut loose in the Chrysler purge of 2001, I was a highly respected but old member of the automotive development community. I did a lot of work on pleasure boats before the depression, but that is all gone now. Over two thousand uniquely prepared resumes and cover letters yielded about a dozen interviews over 10 years. So, I worked little low income jobs until I could hook SS. My investments for retirement were "redistributed", so any possibility of comfortable life is squashed.

What ever you choose to do, I do wish you and your family the very best.

Matt

[JumboJet]

NW Arkansas is still in a boom with jobs available. Walmart, JB Hunt, Tyson, UofA, etc. Houses being built. Hotels/Motels being built. Highways and other infrastructure being built and repaired. You name it, we have lot's going on. Not cheap to live here though, but not California prices either.

[rockhillmanor]

With a total of 5 mouths to feed along with lot rent,utilities, gas in truck and insurance,ect.ect.. We have little to no money each month. We are playing the rob Peter to pay Piper game and we are starting to lose.

I am currently Looking at a few Class "A" R.V.'s ranging from 32 to 35 ft long. I do Have a few R.V.'s in mind. I am in love with the 1986 and 1988 Holiday Rambler Imperial Class A R.V.'s.

The plan is to live in the R.V. with 3 kids while we move from Michigan to a state that has good employment with good wages.

The hard cold facts here is, by what you have stated, that you are not financially able to purchase an RV AND have money to travel in it. I.E. gas and CG's etc. While you are moving out of Michigan traveling in an RV in search of a job you will have no income.

Using the equity from your house to put into a used MH and it is not a good move. That leaves you with squat for savings and living expenses. When you finally find a job in another state what money will you have to buy a home for your family?

You will STILL have insurance, CG fees, gas bills, etc to pay if you buy a MH. Plus maintenance and repairs. In actuality you will dig yourself into an even bigger financial hole.

Contrary to what most people think, owning a MH and RV'ing in it is NOT a cheaper way to live.

Sorry if that is not what you wanted to hear but sadly it is the truth. Good Luck in your endeavors and hope you find the job you are looking for.

[RobotechMaster]

Thank-you 🙂 that is why I'm here I'm new to this and I just wanted to make sure I do everything right for my family sake and my sake because this could be a financial gain or financial devastation.

[Kennedy64]

Welcome 'neighbor', I'm right up the road from you in the Holly area.
Sorry to hear of your troubles, I know first hand the impact on our state with the Big 3 as we are in the manufacturing industry ourselves.
I can offer no advice for you but I do wish you the best of luck with your search for both the MH and better work.