Family of 4 thinking of buying and living in motorhome fulltime

[MikeSW214]

I have been a semi full timer for 3 yr. I had a HR 27? Class C only had a overhead queen bed (no rear bed) with dinette and couch that folds out.  So it was all living space on the main floor.  Now I was not moving around and I was by myself.  My first 15 mo. in an RV was at the Oasis RV park in Las Vegas NV ( I recommend this place HIGHLY BTW). Now Im in a 36' DP Monaco Dynasty! Here is what I learned:
1- My electric was Cheaper that Propane. I added a hot rod in my hot water and almost never used my propane for hot water.  And Heat strip in my A/C unit keeps my rv warm down to 20s. (in the HR/ Monaco more like mid 30?s)HR was a duel fuel and had a big propane tank but in 2.5 yrs I did not fill the propane since all I used it for was cooking.
2- Window covering help keep heat and cold out!
3- Make sure your frig, not your camper, is level. This is important for the life of your frig. The frig can be off level  to the camper so use the frig to determine level
4- Invest in digital TV?s for better use of campground cable
5- Look for a camper with a slide. My HR did not have one. When my wife came out or my kids it was tight. My Monaco has a 14? long slide and oh my is it nice!
6- Organization. Storage bins will be your best friend.
7- My Monaco has a washer dryer combo what a time and $ saver.

I now teach at a college in Elko NV and my home is in LV NV. So I commute to work and live up here in my RV again. Elko is 5500? and we see sub zero temps. So now I learned cold weather camping:
1- If your staying long time skirt your camper. Warm floors are nice and help keep your heat in.
2- Insolate your outside water line with insulation and a heat tape.
3- Make sure your sewer line is angled to keep it empty so it will not freeze up. if there outside keep them open. If your connections are in a compartment, I keep a small ceramic heater and have temp. gauge to monitor temp in the compartment.
4- Seal all opens for rodents. Steel wool  trick work well here.

Both in cold and hot do a every 30 day start up on engine and generator. Let them get up to temperature and load the genny. If you can drive it,  if not, at least shift from park to drive to reverse to move the pistons lube the seals. Fill fuel tanks and ad a stabilizer to them. I am sure I missed a few things. My 2cts ? good luck in your adventure!
Mike

 

[jbrock]

I've only been living full time in 34' TT for 6 months, only 2 adults, but here is my 2 cents. You know your family. This can be an adventure if you want. I've owned a house that was nothing but a money pit. Experience tells me that you have to have enough money to do anything.  So doing your homework to find the best MH for your family is very important. And conversing with other families that have made it work would be the best idea. I say go for it. Go in with a positive outlook and expect wonderful things to happen and watch out. Being a Christian, I have that outlook for everything I do. So if it doesn't work out, go back to land living. And chalk it up to experience that the kids and you will have memories about. Some good, some not so good, and living life to it's fullest. Hope this helps...

 

[millartist]

I think it would be a great experience for your children, I grew up traveling with my grandparents all summer every summer we learned a lot. I have looked at some really nice 5th wheels with full rear bedrooms some even have their own bath back there. Explore all your options then explore them again before you commit to something. We raised one daughter in our various RVs over the years 6 of them full time.

 

[TravelLover]

Perhaps.  The truck needs to be hefty enough to tow the fifth wheel and you need space for the four of you when you're driving around sightseeing, going shopping, etc.

As to weather, you want the kids to play outside but what will you do if it's pouring buckets of rain?  A RV can get very small in those circumstances.

ArdraF

A friend of mine with two children drives a pickup truck that can tow a fifth wheel.  I can look into buying one of those.  It was some type of GMC truck, I think.  I'll ask her about it ...

As for the weather, we plan on spending time in warm & arid climates so the rain would be quite rare.  If in the rare event it does rain then I can take the kids to the library!

 

[TravelLover]

I've only been living full time in 34' TT for 6 months, only 2 adults, but here is my 2 cents. You know your family. This can be an adventure if you want. I've owned a house that was nothing but a money pit. Experience tells me that you have to have enough money to do anything.  So doing your homework to find the best MH for your family is very important. And conversing with other families that have made it work would be the best idea. I say go for it. Go in with a positive outlook and expect wonderful things to happen and watch out. Being a Christian, I have that outlook for everything I do. So if it doesn't work out, go back to land living. And chalk it up to experience that the kids and you will have memories about. Some good, some not so good, and living life to it's fullest. Hope this helps...

Thank you! 

 

[TravelLover]

I have been a semi full timer for 3 yr. I had a HR 27? Class C only had a overhead queen bed (no rear bed) with dinette and couch that folds out.  So it was all living space on the main floor.  Now I was not moving around and I was by myself.  My first 15 mo. in an RV was at the Oasis RV park in Las Vegas NV ( I recommend this place HIGHLY BTW). Now Im in a 36' DP Monaco Dynasty! Here is what I learned:
1- My electric was Cheaper that Propane. I added a hot rod in my hot water and almost never used my propane for hot water.  And Heat strip in my A/C unit keeps my rv warm down to 20s. (in the HR/ Monaco more like mid 30?s)HR was a duel fuel and had a big propane tank but in 2.5 yrs I did not fill the propane since all I used it for was cooking.
2- Window covering help keep heat and cold out!
3- Make sure your frig, not your camper, is level. This is important for the life of your frig. The frig can be off level  to the camper so use the frig to determine level
4- Invest in digital TV?s for better use of campground cable
5- Look for a camper with a slide. My HR did not have one. When my wife came out or my kids it was tight. My Monaco has a 14? long slide and oh my is it nice!
6- Organization. Storage bins will be your best friend.
7- My Monaco has a washer dryer combo what a time and $ saver.

I now teach at a college in Elko NV and my home is in LV NV. So I commute to work and live up here in my RV again. Elko is 5500? and we see sub zero temps. So now I learned cold weather camping:
1- If your staying long time skirt your camper. Warm floors are nice and help keep your heat in.
2- Insolate your outside water line with insulation and a heat tape.
3- Make sure your sewer line is angled to keep it empty so it will not freeze up. if there outside keep them open. If your connections are in a compartment, I keep a small ceramic heater and have temp. gauge to monitor temp in the compartment.
4- Seal all opens for rodents. Steel wool  trick work well here.

Both in cold and hot do a every 30 day start up on engine and generator. Let them get up to temperature and load the genny. If you can drive it,  if not, at least shift from park to drive to reverse to move the pistons lube the seals. Fill fuel tanks and ad a stabilizer to them. I am sure I missed a few things. My 2cts ? good luck in your adventure!
Mike

Thanks Mike for the many great tips!  If we ever stop in Vegas we will check out the Oasis.  8)

 

[DearMissMermaid]

I think it is doable if you are realistic. Sometimes in order to truly follow your dreams, you have to stick to the positive folks that rally around and ignore the negative. Otherwise your dreams may never happen. Sometimes you want to go out on a limb, because that's where the fruit is. Not everyone will understand.

I've traveled and met families full timing in modest RV's and on sailboats in far flung ports. I think as Americans we tend to think of owning a mountain of stuff but the families I met full time RVing and sailing fulltime with kids, pretty much kept "stuff" at a pure minimum. One thing that seemed common among traveling families I've met  were that books were in hot demand and readily traded at every opportunity.

The focus seemed to be more on nature and taking advantage of the unique opportunities their traveling lifestyle afforded. One day I met an interesting 8 year old who was barefoot, wearing some old faded shorts and fishing all alone every afternoon. We got to talking. He was living on a small sailboat with his parents and sister. He rattled off islands, countries and places they had sailed to in the past year. He gave me an astonishing education on all the types of fish he caught and how he felt about their colors, markings and quality.  He said he fished every day for their supper but some days he didn't catch any fish. I asked so what do you do then? He seriously replied "Well, then we eat beans for dinner!"

When I think back on my own childhood, I don't think about a mountain of clutter or lack of, I think with great fondness the time my parents spent with me, teaching me nifty things and making sure I grew to love books. I grew up wearing used clothing, hand me downs, used toys and a constant influx of library books. I wasn't allowed to own any battery operated toys. I never knew there was anything wrong with this. I just remember the fabulous times with my parents.

 

[tonyandkaren]

Have you read any of the Bumfuzzle's blog http://www.bumfuzzle.com/?  I really enjoy their blog because they have never excepted the common perception that everyone should constantly strive for something bigger and better, that suburbia is the American dream and he who has the most toys wins.  All four of them seem to be doing just fine in their little class A.  Check out the remodeling that they did to provide nice sleeping areas for the kids.

 

[Oscar Mike]

I think it is doable if you are realistic. Sometimes in order to truly follow your dreams, you have to stick to the positive folks that rally around and ignore the negative. Otherwise your dreams may never happen. Sometimes you want to go out on a limb, because that's where the fruit is. Not everyone will understand.

I've traveled and met families full timing in modest RV's and on sailboats in far flung ports. I think as Americans we tend to think of owning a mountain of stuff but the families I met full time RVing and sailing fulltime with kids, pretty much kept "stuff" at a pure minimum. One thing that seemed common among traveling families I've met  were that books were in hot demand and readily traded at every opportunity.

The focus seemed to be more on nature and taking advantage of the unique opportunities their traveling lifestyle afforded. One day I met an interesting 8 year old who was barefoot, wearing some old faded shorts and fishing all alone every afternoon. We got to talking. He was living on a small sailboat with his parents and sister. He rattled off islands, countries and places they had sailed to in the past year. He gave me an astonishing education on all the types of fish he caught and how he felt about their colors, markings and quality.  He said he fished every day for their supper but some days he didn't catch any fish. I asked so what do you do then? He seriously replied "Well, then we eat beans for dinner!"

When I think back on my own childhood, I don't think about a mountain of clutter or lack of, I think with great fondness the time my parents spent with me, teaching me nifty things and making sure I grew to love books. I grew up wearing used clothing, hand me downs, used toys and a constant influx of library books. I wasn't allowed to own any battery operated toys. I never knew there was anything wrong with this. I just remember the fabulous times with my parents.

I always enjoy reading your posts, they are always full of optimism.