Any Advise?

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BCBowtech

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May 17, 2017
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15
Any tips or advise for a couple in their late 30's that have decided to go full time.. We are also complete RV newbies as well.

We are just waiting for subjects to be removed on our townhouse sale and we have decided we dont want to do sticks and bricks anymore. We are looking at purchasing a 2016 Outdoors RV Blackstone 27ft travel trailer to live in. We live on Vancouver Island, British Columbia where we get more rain in the winter than anything else normally.

We plan to stay pretty stationary for the first year and a half to continue working our jobs and pack away even more savings before we take the following winter off work and head south to explore!

So any advise or info etc would be very much appreciated. We have been binge watching Youtube videos on RV life and fulltiming as well which has taught us certain things but it would be nice to hear from you folks as well!

Oh we also will have a 8 year old small/medium size dog living with us so pet advise is great also!
 
Individual needs vary, but a 27 ft trailer is awfully small for two adults, a child and a dog. About 200 sq ft, probably less than 1/5 what you now enjoy. Even if you expect to spend a lot of time outdoors, there are still evenings and rainy days, and kids need some play space too. My first suggestion is to revise your purchase plans upwards to 30-32 ft, with a separate bunk area for the 8 YO.


Addendum: Oops! I though it was an 8 YO AND a dog. My bad!!!
 
Gary RVer Emeritus said:
Individual needs vary, but a 27 ft trailer is awfully small for two adults, a child and a dog. About 200 sq ft, probably less than 1/5 what you now enjoy. Even if you expect to spend a lot of time outdoors, there are still evenings and rainy days, and kids need some play space too. My first suggestion is to revise your purchase plans upwards to 30-32 ft, with a separate bunk area for the 8 YO.

Gary, I believe the 8 year old is the dog.  :eek: ::)
 
Can it be done?  Sure, lots of folks have taken the plunge with smaller RVs than that.  Will you like it?  Not my call?  What I will say is heating bills will kill you, and being crammed into that small of a space may not be to your liking.  The RV life is not cheap.  It is going to cost you every bit as much as your towhouse living does.  These things are called Recreational for a reason.
On the trailer choice?  Outdoors RV is a decent brand with good insulation, built quality.  But it is still no where as well insulated as a stick home.
 
You didn't say what your tow vehicle is. The ORV models are heavier than most (I have one), and it would be pushing it for a half ton pickup. Remember you will be putting four seasons of clothes, hobbies, etc in the trailer so it will be filled to the max. We don't full time, but with our slightly smaller trailer (see signature), we find ourselves wanting things in our regular house after about 6 weeks. Maybe you don't want or need those things, but think carefully what you do with your spare time and if you can bring those things with you.

As to the cost of utilities and such, we run 30 pounds of propane every 3-5 days if no electricity is available and temps are 10-15 Fahrenheit at night. The ORV trailers are well insulated compared to other trailers, but still nothing like your townhouse. Warmer temps mean less propane, and an electrical site means even less. Most long term sites will,charge you for electricity use, but it still should be less than using propane.
 
The 8 year old is the dog.. lol We are childfree!

As for tow rig, 2016 F350 Turbo Diesel..

We are used to being together in smaller spaces for longer periods of time. Plus we generally are gone for 12 hours a day during the week for work, evenings we are in relaxing or if its nice out for longer walks for with the dog, so truely we dont spend a lot of time at home. Weekends we are always up to something as well, fishing or motorcycling..

We have been downsizing our clutter of stuff as we feel we have become slaves to our items, even those we dont use anymore but just cant seem to get rid of. We are making sacrifices as well such as giving up hunting, we are food hunters so we wont have the room for a big freezer full of meat. Im sure we will go out the odd time for grouse or rabbit but no large game. And I am ok with that. My wife is giving up her soap making as there is just too much stuff to go with it. I will continue my fly tying and possibly try and make that a bit of a income when on the road, and my wife likes to knit and crochet so thats also a possibility for a hobby and small sales at swap meets and such.

I know its going to be a huge change, but I honestly feel it will be good for us.

Is it ever possible to talk dealer ships into throwing in certain items with a sale such as the leveling blocks, or wheel chocks... Small stuff like that..

As for the trailer length. I should also mention its a triple slide.. one on each side in the living area, kitchen has a center island for our cooking needs. The third slide is the added wardrobe in the bedroom, since we like to cruise we have a bit of clothes, as well as work and outdoorsy wear.

 
A few things come to mind....

You didn't say where you plan to stay for the first year.
In a (town) house you don't have to think about where the waste water or Black water goes to.
But in an RV you have to have either a dedicated sewer hook up or have the tanks emptied every so often.
Even with a sewer hookup you don't leave the black tank open all the time - something you never have to think about with a house.
With the size of TT you are looking at the tank sizes are smaller when compared to most Motorhomes, so that will apply
when you camp without hookups.  And a 6 gallon water heater is pretty standard - so shorter showers are usually called for.
Most TT in that size range also many time only have 2 house batteries vs. many MH's have 4 or more.
Most TT in that size also have 30amp service vs. 50amps in larger vehicles.  Many TT's don't come with generators either - MH's do.

I agree that no RV is going to be insulated as well as most homes are.  The wall thickness isn't enough to afford much if any insulation.
That being said if you are out in the sun with no shade it will get hotter than your use to and in the winter even 40? will seem really cold.
AND if it ever freezes you have to take extra precautions to keep pipes from freezing too or big problems can occur.

It wasn't clear whether the 2016 was a NEW (leftover?) unit or a used unit only one year old.
If it's used - why did someone what to get out of it so soon?  If it's a NEW unit you need to know about depreciation on RV's in general.
They are NOT like cars and trucks and we all know how bad they are when we drive them off the dealers lot.  RV's are way worse.
Also unlike most cars and truck RV's are notorious for poor workmanship by comparison to most cars too etc.

We are also complete RV newbies as well.
We almost always recommend that first time buyers buy used.  You will get much more for your money and IF you happen to buy the
wrong unit or change your minds it won't hurt as bad.  Someone getting out of Rv'ing or upgrading will likely leave a few things behind
like leveling blocks or patio mats that might not match their new unit etc.


You mentioned a motorcycle.  Unless you are planning on a toy hauler (which I don't think you are) you will be parking your bike outside.
I would HATE to have to park my bikes outside so I have an enclosed trailer which I take with me when away from home.  I doubt that is
something you would be able to do, at least easily.  As far as fishing I would have to assume it's from shore, as a boat in the mix will be
another hurdle to overcome if you want to keep it while full timing.
 
Good luck and welcome to the forum.  Hope things work out for you.  Don't be in a hurry - any don't believe what a salesman tells you.  ;D
 
BCBowtech said:
Is it ever possible to talk dealer ships into throwing in certain items with a sale such as the leveling blocks, or wheel chocks... Small stuff like that..

You can often get the dealership to throw in a gift card to use in their on site store. It doesn't cost them much and you spend it (and maybe more) buying the stuff that they stock. There is also often included a "set up kit" that will include stuff like water hose, sewer hose, and some tank chemical with some TP. Especially if you buy a new unit. It's all already figured into the price.
 
Unfortunately the buyer of our townhouse had issues with his financing so the deal fell thru.. Now we are back to showings and hoping to get another offer soon..
 

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