Fulltiming In an RV

A few questions:
How easy is it to travel with a large dog(German Shepard)? Is it normal to put a doggie door in the coach door for him to go out? Do campgrounds frown on dogs? Would a wireless electric fence work?
Would you generally, it is cheaper to live full time in an RV than pay rent for a home. I live in Southern Calif., and thinking about getting a RV and going on the road. Do Resorts frown on you doing small services for people in the resort for money? Does fulltiming get boring and you long for a real home?

gc24 said:

A few questions: How easy is it to travel with a large dog(German Shepard)? Is it normal to put a doggie door in the coach door for him to go out? Do campgrounds frown on dogs? Would a wireless electric fence work?
Would you generally, it is cheaper to live full time in an RV than pay rent for a home. I live in Southern Calif., and thinking about getting a RV and going on the road. Do Resorts frown on you doing small services for people in the resort for money? Does fulltiming get boring and you long for a real home?

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Yikes, you have aked? a few? $64,000,000 questions. Most of the answers are? up to your individual preference.? Some campgrounds allow pets in only one section, some charge extra for them. Almost all require pets to be on a leash.? I have not seen any doggie doors in coaches. I have seen large dogs with RVers on the road.? They have to worry about inside temps for animals when they are gone. They have to get back to take care of doggie needs if out for touring? during the day. WE have found that it is no less expensive to live in our RV than in our house.? So much depends on how you choose to live. Would you have an RV payment?? ?Campground fees are generally? getting higher and are certainly more expensive than they used to be? but whether to not that is cheaper than rent? depends on how much you were paying for rent. When you live in an RV it is a lifestyle choice.? I have never been bored with anything in my life.? Even a nap is interesting to me.? That said I personally like a home.? I like to decorate and collect "stuff."? So I? want a home but husband loves the RV lifestyle.? We will be getting a home? again here shortly, but will continue to travel in our RV many months of the? year.? I don't know anything about working in campgrounds as my work career has ended.? I do see people driving through campgrounds with vans or? trailers indicating RV repair.? I don't know what arrangement they have with the campground owners. Seems to me like you are asking all the right questions but the answers will ultimately be within your preferences.? We used to live in SO Cal and are very glad to no longer deal with the crowds and hassels of? a big city life.? Good luck in your search.

Betty Brewer

Thanks Betty. Well, looks like its a better bet to just give St. George, Utah a go as I had planned to begin with and bite the bullet, pay rent and live in a home. The dog seems to be a tough issue and not alot of dog friendly resorts are going to take too kindly to a dog unattened, even though a radio fence works very well on a dog.

Know of alot of dog friendly rv resorts or parks?

gc24 said:

Thanks Betty. Well, looks like its a better bet to just give St. George, Utah a go as I had planned to begin with and bite the bullet, pay rent and live in a home. The dog seems to be a tough issue and not alot of dog friendly resorts are going to take too kindly to a dog unattended, even though a radio fence works very well on a dog.

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My reply certainly was not meant to discourage you from living full time in an RV.? Just meant to be sure you had considered lots of the elements.? "Better bets" are only those that YOU really want to do.? All of life is relative.? I see plenty of people who? are in RV's with big dogs.? I guess if there is a will there is a way. Even if you pay rent and live in a home, I highly encourage folks to enjoy the RV lifestyle.? Traveling and meeting? people is an experience? not to be missed. Just my opinion.? We started by renting a Class A over a 4 day weekend.? Once I had my own bathroom, I was never going to tent camp again!
Betty

gc24 said:

Know of alot of dog friendly rv resorts or parks?

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PMFJI but we have always travelled with a critter -- in the 30-40 lb category.? ?We have found RV parks to be mostly pet permitted, if not exactly friendly.? ?A lot of RVers travel with dawgs.? ?It never hurts to check in the Trailer Life or Woodalls Guides to see if pets are permitted.? ?Mention the critter when you reserve or register.

Couple of rules in general:

1.? Always clean up after the dog -- immediately.

2.? Never leave it leashed outside without you there to supervise it.

3.? Check to see if parks allow pens.? We have never used one ourselves.? ?With a single dog, we have never seen the need.

4.? ?If you leave the critter in your RV, make sure is not a compulsive barker.

5.? ?Be sure you have a adequate water supply for it in the RV.

GC24:

We travel with a 90 pound Chesapeake Bay retriever and have no problem at all.  Much more trouble right now with our 12 year old cat who is undergoing an attitude adjustment about riding in a coach. 

One reason we chose the motorhome is that it is more reliable than trailers in maintaining a good climate for the pets.  We crate trained our dog beginning at 8 weeks.  He is now 8 years old and has NEVER had a house accident since 10 weeks of age.  He can go 24 hours if he has to, but only once did that ever happen.  We would never let him run free outside, though he would be quite reliable off lead.  Retrievers never let their owners out of their site.  When we hike on a trail we will let him run free if permitted.

I have yet to find a campground that does not allow pets, though I know there are some out there.

We find living in an RV MUCH less expensive than living in a home.  Of course we are new at fulltiming, and working hard at avoiding any kind of disaster that would throw our budget into a mess. 

We avoid resort campgrounds as much as we can.  (I say this as we are right now parked in Cherry Hill at $60 a night  ;D).  This week is an exception as our granddaughter is on board for a goodbye visit before we leave the area for a year.  We very occasionally will reward ourselves with a week's stay at a resort campground.  But most of the time we look for boondocking, WalMarts and Flying Js when on the move, escapee campgrounds, state and Fed parks, and reasonably priced campgrounds.  It is one thing to vacation and quite another to fulltime.  We have adjusted the price of our landscaping accordingly.  Interestingly, we are finding there is no direct correlation between campground price and beauty.  One of the most picturesque places I ever spent the night was at the Laramie Wyoming Wall Mart!!  One of the ugliest places I ever spent the night was a private $50 a night campground in Oklahoma City.

One of the most picturesque places I ever spent the night was at the Laramie Wyoming Wall Mart!!  One of the ugliest places I ever spent the night was a private $50 a night campground in Oklahoma City.

Location Location Location.  There are many very scenic campgrounds in the West.  Just wait till we get you to attend the Moab rally.

Ron said:

Just wait till we get you to attend the Moab rally.

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There's no WalMart or Flying-J there either.

Ron and Tom:

You budget-busters!!! ;D ;D ;D

Ok, So maybe I should give this a go again. Smokey: Would a radio fence work for your dog(a collar that has a frequency that warns them not to go any further out than the wire or they get corrected, and are you saying that you put the dog in a crate in side of the MH when you are out on a short visit somewhere?

Also, I have read some places do not want either a large dog or a guard type of dog. I have a German Shepard.

gc24:

Most campgrounds that allow pets (and some have weight limits) require them to be on leashes. I have seen small dogs in temporary fences outside of RV's.

Ok, thanks. I understand the leash thing.

I would think that fulltiming it would be cheaper than rent, even if you stayed for a month in a spot.

We have found over the past 8+ years that fulltiming isn't any cheaper or more expensive than living in a house or condo.  The expenses are just somewhat different.  Many expenses are about the same like insurance and groceries.  Instead of rent or house payments, you have campground rentals and/or RV payments and fuel.  Maintenance is similar to a house, things break in those too

Your lifestyle will determine your cost of living more so than where you live or what you live in.

Thanks for the info.

What will be less expensive for us is that we have had both the house AND the M/H for the past 20 years.

GC24:

Sorry for slow reply, just got back yesterday from 6 day trip.

As someone else mentioned, leashes are usually required at all times when a dog is outside of the RV.  They will not know nor care if you have an electronic virtual fence.  And yes, if it is a cool day our dog stays in a crate outside.  Otherwise inside the MH.  We are blessed that he is totally reliable inside the MH.

Is it normal to put a doggie door in the coach door for him to go out?

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I just noticed this statement.

No, it is not normal and is bad idea.    I have a dog door in my home, but it exits to a backyard surrounded by a 6 foot high fence.    You never have such in an RV park or when boondocking.    A dog door is tantamount to letting your critter wander free and unsupervised.  It is even illegal in many states.  In coyote and rattlesnake country, it is even dangerous for the dog.

When RVing with a dog, you should expect to take your critter for regular morning and evening works and even in between -- all on a leash.