Curiosity question for the FULL-TIMERS

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driftless shifter said:
On the DH (dear husband) tools. It would amaze you how much $$ can be saved if repairs can be done by him and a 100 pounds of tools. I saved $1400 by removing and replacing my radiator after having it rebuilt with a new core. Saved approximately $2000 by doing a complete brake job myself. If DH is inclined toward that work it may be well worth bringing those type of tools along. My DW (dear wife) wasn't too happy with the idea at first, I did the radiator and brakes before we left. But we struggled with an exhaust donut on the motorhome, replaced it a couple times in 4000 miles, and then this spring when I had starter issues with 3 different vehicles, she now fully appreciates the $$ saved.

Bill
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Yes it is true you can save money by doing your own repairs but not everyone has the knowledge to do so. And many RV parks will not let you do repairs to your RV. I used to be an auto mechanic and an electrician but in my old age I would much rather pay someone else to get dirty and bust knuckles than do it myself.
 
Just do like my dad recently did. Sell all big stuff, then load the rest into the motorhome and pop in for a surprise visit and leave it all with the kids.  I needed to add more shelving to my storage area anyway...
 
SeilerBird said:
] I used to be an auto mechanic and an electrician but in my old age I would much rather pay someone else to get dirty and bust knuckles than do it myself.
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Hahahaha...that is EXACTLY how the Hubs feels!!!  :D
 
lone_star_dsl said:
Just do like my dad recently did. Sell all big stuff, then load the rest into the motorhome and pop in for a surprise visit and leave it all with the kids.  I needed to add more shelving to my storage area anyway...
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That's good stuff..hahahahaha!!!!!

I've been going through a lot of things. I have large plastic totes for each one of the 8 kids, they're getting all that I saved of there's and everything they made for me while they were in school :)
 
I have large plastic totes for each one of the 8 kids, they're getting all that I saved of there's and everything they made for me while they were in school :)
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My gramma gave us everything we ever gave her. She did not use any of it. I told her if I had known she was going to do that, I woulda given her better stuff!  :eek:
 
We didn't even intend to full time. We intended to move from NH to a warmer cheaper place. We stored our stuff, put the house on the market and set out in October 2002 on what we thought be a 3 to 6 month trip visiting friends and relatives all over the country and finding a place to build or buy a house. The house sold in a month and after a year we were having too much fun to settle down, so we traded the 30 foot no-slide motor home in on a new 34 foot two slide motor home.


At that point we decided we would full time until we were too old, too sick, or too bored to continue. After 12 years we decided it was time to get a home base.
We bought a house in western CO and had all of our stuff moved here from NH. We had sold all of the big appliances and most of the soft furniture but still had a lot of stuff stored.
I am sure glad we did not follow the convectional advise and get rid of all of it. We have spent about $15,000 buying what we need for the house - stuff that we sold for maybe 10 percent for what it cost back then. If we had to replace what we had stored - like guns, complete woodworking shop, electronic equipment for my lab, my wife's equipment for building miniatures, her genealogy research records and small appliances, it would have cost a lot more than what we spent for storage.


We have zeriscaped the grounds to eliminate or minimize yard work. That is common in western CO so it isn't out of place. We have also put in two RV sites with hookups for RV friends that visit.
 
Look for a book by Marie Kondo

it was a cheesey read, but really rather a good philosophy about getting rid of stuff you don't like or need.
 
cadee2c said:
My gramma gave us everything we ever gave her. She did not use any of it. I told her if I had known she was going to do that, I woulda given her better stuff!  :eek:
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Hahaha!!!! Right!!  ;D
 
blw2 said:
Look for a book by Marie Kondo

it was a cheesey read, but really rather a good philosophy about getting rid of stuff you don't like or need.
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I'll look into that, thanks. I'm admitted former hoarder (not the gross kind). I always thought, I'll use that or I'll need this. Not so much anymore, but I still can't seem to part with weird stuff, like my 8th grade report card?!?! Seriously..hahaha
 
Clay L said:
We didn't even intend to full time. We intended to move from NH to a warmer cheaper place. We stored our stuff, put the house on the market and set out in October 2002 on what we thought be a 3 to 6 month trip visiting friends and relatives all over the country and finding a place to build or buy a house. The house sold in a month and after a year we were having too much fun to settle down, so we traded the 30 foot no-slide motor home in on a new 34 foot two slide motor home.


At that point we decided we would full time until we were too old, too sick, or too bored to continue. After 12 years we decided it was time to get a home base.
We bought a house in western CO and had all of our stuff moved here from NH. We had sold all of the big appliances and most of the soft furniture but still had a lot of stuff stored.
I am sure glad we did not follow the convectional advise and get rid of all of it. We have spent about $15,000 buying what we need for the house - stuff that we sold for maybe 10 percent for what it cost back then. If we had to replace what we had stored - like guns, complete woodworking shop, electronic equipment for my lab, my wife's equipment for building miniatures, her genealogy research records and small appliances, it would have cost a lot more than what we spent for storage.


We have zeriscaped the grounds to eliminate or minimize yard work. That is common in western CO so it isn't out of place. We have also put in two RV sites with hookups for RV friends that visit.
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This is our first Motorhome. We haven't even taken it on a trip yet. But somehow the Hubs and I started making comments like, "I could live in this" or "that tiny house idea is cool, but movable is better", and then it kind of snowballed ;)

We won't be seriously considering an adventure like that for at least another 10 years. Still have one kid at home and we still need the Hubs' job.
It is a viable option though, if I can tear myself away from my kids, grandkids and parents. My Step-dad has Parkinson's and I need to stick around to help my mom with him, and take him to the Vietnam Memorial in D.C. before it's too hard for him to get around.
My kids are all Momma's babies, I see or talk to almost every one of them daily. The grandbabies, I've spent their whole lives convincing them that I was their favorite :)

I agree about the tools!! My father-in-law was an electrician so the Hubs has all the tools for that. He is a master wood-worker (well, maybe not a master, but pretty damn talented) plus he's pretty handy with vehicles. He has a garage loaded with tools, plus his room in the basement...I'd guesstimate about 2000+ pounds of tools..haha

Yeah, about those guns...hahaha  We have a newly built 'gun room', someday I'd like to physically count all of our guns, but I would probably throw-up. There has to be well over 50, he has a bad habit ;) In my defense only 6 are mine...1 revolver, 4 semi-auto's and an AR-15 (my step-dad is a former sniper/sharpshooter, I want him to teach me) I couldn't imagine replacing all of those, plus the old guns he's gotten over the years.
 
but I still can't seem to part with weird stuff, like my 8th grade report card
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Not weird at all.  Your kids or grandkids might enjoy it, especially if one is a teacher.  When my mother went to the nursing home and I was getting her genealogy "stuff" ready to ship home I came across her diary from her last year of high school.  I loved reading it to see what her daily life was like!  When I told her I found it her comment was, "Oh just get rid of that; it's not worth keeping."  Maybe not to her, but priceless to me because she was dating Daddy and talked about the things they did together.  I still have it.  Keeping it for her three great grandchildren who might enjoy it too.

ArdraF
 
ArdraF said:
Not weird at all.  Your kids or grandkids might enjoy it, especially if one is a teacher.  When my mother went to the nursing home and I was getting her genealogy "stuff" ready to ship home I came across her diary from her last year of high school.  I loved reading it to see what her daily life was like!  When I told her I found it her comment was, "Oh just get rid of that; it's not worth keeping."  Maybe not to her, but priceless to me because she was dating Daddy and talked about the things they did together.  I still have it.  Keeping it for her three great grandchildren who might enjoy it too.

ArdraF
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That is the sweetest thing I have read!!! Don't know you from anyone but, that brought a tear to my eye, not gonna lie  ;)
Those are the things that mean the most, truly.
 
ArdraF said:
  Maybe not to her, but priceless to me because she was dating Daddy and talked about the things they did together.  I still have it.
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I hope it wasn't everything they did together.  ;D
 
JeffandTracy said:
This is our first Motorhome. We haven't even taken it on a trip yet. But somehow the Hubs and I started making comments like, "I could live in this" or "that tiny house idea is cool, but movable is better", and then it kind of snowballed ;)

We won't be seriously considering an adventure like that for at least another 10 years. Still have one kid at home and we still need the Hubs' job.
It is a viable option though, if I can tear myself away from my kids, grandkids and parents. My Step-dad has Parkinson's and I need to stick around to help my mom with him, and take him to the Vietnam Memorial in D.C. before it's too hard for him to get around.
My kids are all Momma's babies, I see or talk to almost every one of them daily. The grandbabies, I've spent their whole lives convincing them that I was their favorite :)

I agree about the tools!! My father-in-law was an electrician so the Hubs has all the tools for that. He is a master wood-worker (well, maybe not a master, but pretty damn talented) plus he's pretty handy with vehicles. He has a garage loaded with tools, plus his room in the basement...I'd guesstimate about 2000+ pounds of tools..haha

Yeah, about those guns...hahaha  We have a newly built 'gun room', someday I'd like to physically count all of our guns, but I would probably throw-up. There has to be well over 50, he has a bad habit ;) In my defense only 6 are mine...1 revolver, 4 semi-auto's and an AR-15 (my step-dad is a former sniper/sharpshooter, I want him to teach me) I couldn't imagine replacing all of those, plus the old guns he's gotten over the years.
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:) :) :)
 
I hope it wasn't everything they did together.
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Are you kidding?  Rene, Mother grew up in a strict Methodist home and she never danced or had a drop of alcohol until after they married.  As a kid visiting Grandma I wasn't even allowed to read the Sunday funnies on the Sabbath!  Nor play Parchesi.  Mother was 14 and Daddy was 16 when they met.  They got married about four or five years later.

What's so interesting about Mother's diary is what it did NOT say.  Mother wanted to be a nurse but her uncle Doctor Harold said it wasn't a proper profession and raised cain so she was sent to teacher's college.  Daddy was a military person but his dad wanted him to be a doctor so he was shipped off to pre-med school.  That was September 1928 and they eloped in October 1928, at which point they were both kicked out of college.  Did you know that in the 1920s married people were not allowed to attend school?  Jerry's parents also eloped but managed to keep it a secret for a full year before anyone found out so they got a year of college.  Married people also weren't allowed to teach.  Things have changed!

ArdraF
 
Stuff that I once thought was precious to me is now just junk and stuff that costs me to store.
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When we moved from the UK to California, we sold everything. But, I had a couple of boxes of "must keep" stuff. Those boxes sat in our rental home for 6 months, then in the garage of our first purchased home for 10 years, then 5+ years in our next home. I finally opened the boxes and the "stuff" was no longer needed.
 
Looks like we are getting an RV this week and will be moving into it. Ive been going through stuff for about a month now, getting rid of tons of things. I have a few boxes of "treasures", certain clowns, christmas things, family things, an anniversary clock given to me by my son... etc. Not enough to warrant renting a storage unit, but too much to haul around in the RV, not to mention too fragile. I asked my son if I could store them there, he said they didnt have room. So I said, how bout I give you your inheritance early. :D
 
If we ever get to the point where we can get rid of everything, Im going to call in all the kids and sit in the front yard in a lawn chair with a beer and when I holler START, sit back and watch the show ;D
 
itsb said:
If we ever get to the point where we can get rid of everything, Im going to call in all the kids and sit in the front yard in a lawn chair with a beer and when I holler START, sit back and watch the show ;D
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Hahahaha.....would love to be a guest at this show...fabulous  ;D
 
While we are not yet full-timing we fully intend to and working towards that direction along with workamping. When DW's parents passed on a few years ago we watched in dismay how the family squabbled over the tiniest things. We decided that we would not let that happen when we go. The kids can start taking things they want now, everything else gets sold or given away. We are working on the house making it more salable while at the same time dejunking the S&B. 
 
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