Fulltiming in a TC?

[slborba]

My wife and I are fulltimers and have a 40' Heartland Landmark with a Chev 3500HD DRW 4x4 LTZ...and we want to downsize to a TC. I really like the Host Mammoth.....and yes, I'm doing my research on GVWR issues, etc (that will be a different post).

I'm wondering who is currently full timing with their life partner in a TC. I'm all ears for the great, good, and bad....

Thanks in advance for your comments,
Steve

[slborba]

More great comments. I very much appreciate the great feedback.

MGuns....Thank YOU for your service. Two more years from today I hit 30, and can't wait to pull chocks and get underway to explore the beautiful U.S.A. I have spent many hours reading Dave and Cindy's blog....very informative. And yes, Alaska is on our list along with ferries in/around Alaska and PNW.

Thanks again for all the advice and comments.

Steve

[usmcshepherd]

Steve,

I'm recently retired USMC and just bought a new Lance 1172 when I returned from Afghanistan. We down sized from a 40ft 5th Wheel and while we loved the room I hated the setup and limited flexibiity when traveling. The 1172 is great from a FT perspective as it has the rear couch which is really nice in offering additional seating options. We haven't fully retired yet, but purchased the 1172 in preparation for it.

Another thing to keep in mind with any RV is size if a Ferry might be in your future. We want to catch the ferry up to Alaska from Seattle like Dave and Cindy did (btw they are great to talk to so drop them a line). Anyway, those things charge by the foot usually so having a 20-22 ft unit would be another cost saver (stretch that retirement check as much as you can).

Anyway, best of luck and feel free to PM anytime....also thanks for your service.

MGuns

[Reddog1]

delosholly wrote:
... We pull a small 10ft enclosed cargo trailer ...

Our only problem is the size of the holding tanks. I think our TC has the smallest of any TC manufactured, only 7 gallons each!! However, I see a lot of space to increase the tank sizes, so that will probably be done in the near future.
...

Consider a Macerator pump. With a tote in the trailer, you can greatly increase the capacity of your gray/black waste capacity. It may be more cost effective to just install a large holding tank in the trailer.

You can empty your TC tanks top the trailer with the Macerator and later dump the trailer holding tank with the macerator.

Wayne

[Testudo]

I'm wondering who is currently full timing with their life partner in a TC. I'm all ears for the great, good, and bad....

I'm in Germ-town, Steve ! When do we leave ?!?!



Okay... maybe a little too glib on my part...

The maximum number of days we have done in our 6.5 foot Caribou is about 50. I've always said we could keep going forever, though. My suggestion would be to put together a trip of 50 days or so and see what you think - - before you sell the house and commit to something that might not agree with you.

[delosholly]

My wife and I also plan to "partial full time" in our TC when we retire. We will live in a small, very small house during the winter months and full time from March - Early November.

Our TC does not have slides. We pull a small 10ft enclosed cargo trailer with our 650cc Suzuki Burgman scooter in it (we never have to disconnect the TC and usually not even the trailer). This trailer also allows us to carry a lot of extra stuff to include: clothing, food items, inflatable canoe, spare tires, tools ...

Our only problem is the size of the holding tanks. I think our TC has the smallest of any TC manufactured, only 7 gallons each!! However, I see a lot of space to increase the tank sizes, so that will probably be done in the near future.

As others have said, we spend most of our time outdoors and our interior requirements are not much. Our longest continuous stay in a TC was for 58 days, and we had absolutely no problems with it, and we had two cats with us.

[slborba]

Thank you for the great replies. My wife and I are very excited to be able to retire fom work at 48 (in 2017), and live on the road. Time for us to explore what we have defended for the last 28 years active duty USN.

Please keep the comments coming.

Steve

[bighatnohorse]

We met a couple from England at the National Truck Camper rally in Colorado Springs last month. They have been full timing in a 2005 Lance for the last seven years. They seem to really enjoy it with no plans to quit.
Also, while at the rally, met a guy/wife that have a tiny truck camper with a motorcycle tow trailer that moved down from a DynaMax fifth wheel. I'll post pictures of their rig when I get time.

[mike_kellie]

Hi Steve, we share your thoughts and choice of camper. I just unloaded ours in the driveway 90 minutes ago. We're homebound helping care for an aging parent and can only take quick close-to-home trips. But I bet twice over our short weekend, it was thought about.
Sorry we can't contribute to a full time experience. Good luck and seeing a little of your appreciation for the outdoors goes a long way sharing a smaller indoors.

[JimK-NY]

Jfet wrote:
We are planning to full time in our truck camper. It doesn't even have slides!

....

Be happy you do not have slides. You can stop and have full use of the camper at any time, anywhere. You do not need to worry about more parts that break or leak. You can stealth camp about anywhere. You are saving a few hundred pounds of weight.

[jimh406]

I think it depends on what you do for fun. If you are outside a lot, then the RV size doesn't matter as much. I find it similar to having a very large bathroom. It depends on how much time you spend in there.

There have been several people who full timed in a TC. Obviously, the Host Mammoth is huge compared to most TCs. The secondary question is why a TC. If you need 4 wheel drive in a relatively short package, it's obviously one of the better choices.

[Jfet]

We are planning to full time in our truck camper. It doesn't even have slides!

At the Overland rally we met a couple who have been full timing in a small van for around 15 years? I guess it is just different strokes for different folks.

[Kayteg1]

My Fletwood camper with slide is bigger than ClassC I had years ago without slide.
The 90 HP with Toyota engine in class C v/s 320 HP in my Powerstroke ?
Khmmm

[DallasSteve]

At first I couldn't understand going from a 40 foot trailer to a truck camper. But after reading JimK's comments it does sound like a good setup if you're going to be travelling full-time. It would be nice to not have to hitch/unhitch and take your home with you everywhere you go. You could also do that with Class A or Class C, but at a higher MPG cost and more difficulty parking.

[Kayteg1]

Not yet, but the house is on the market and as soon as I sell it we are hitting the America in our Fleetwood camper.
I still do own 40' bus conversion, but we are just fine with camper and 5 of us fit just fine in extended cab.
Make it me, DW and 3 of Jack Russel Terriers.
Fleetwood is big basement camper with slide, what offers quite a bit of storage and my pickup is one with long wheelbase. I put the camper with abut 16" space left on the bed behind the cabin. That space is used for solar panel, fuel can, 2nd (very small) generator and whatever else we need on the road .
When going camping for long weekend last year, I also put front platform for Honda quiet generator, but don't plan to do it going full time.
I think the biggest problem we will face going FT is small refrigerator.
We like to do big shopping once a month at Costco, so will have to learn how to buy smaller amount of food every couple of days.
Dry and canned food is good option.