Full of hope, short on money- Full-time Rver want to be

[invmartyc]

Back in 1999 a coworker and friend of mine, Don Gray, became a full-timer. At the time I did not understand the appeal to living in an RV. But the more and more I thought about it the more it intrigued me. My wife and I discussed it and both of us eventually fell in love with the idea. I started researching the types of RVs and about the lifestyle in general. The more we looked into the more we wanted to do it. The more I learned the more I wanted to know. We went to the Tampa RV Super-show for several years soaking in all the information we could get.

Our plan was for us to stay in our house until my son graduated high school and whatever college or trade school he was going to go to. We wanted to be out of our house and in an RV by 2012. But then three things shook our plans and one nearly destroyed me.

My son was having issues with school and determining what he wanted to do with his life.

The economy went south and with it a large amount of our investments.

And the most devastating and unforeseeable event, my dear wife of 36 years suddenly died of cancer on April 22, 2010, at the age of 54.

Before my wife died she had me promise to keep the RV plans alive and to fulfill our dreams of full-timing and travel the US. I am working at keeping the promise and I know that dreaming and acting are two different things.  :'(

Recently I read an obituary about a man in St. Petersburg Florida and his story hit home. He was 59 years old and still working. He was having health issues and he and his wife decided to sell their house and travel in an RV full-time. They sold their house and got their Class A, and just before launching on their journey he went to sleep and never woke up. Reading his obit was like reading my own. 

I decided to stop the planning and start a plan. I will be eligible for social security when I turn 62 next year. I plan to retire from my present job then, sell the house, and get the RV. After that I plan to jump into the lifestyle with both feet.  ;D

Let me say to all you Rvers, full time, part time, and snowbirds, you are my heroes. You are proof that our dreams are not crazy, as some have told me to my face, and that Rving is the best lifestyle available no matter what your financial situation is.

 

[therealsimpsons]

Welcome to the forum. There are tons of information here for fulltimers, and purchasers, and travelers. Good luck with your dream. Go for it!

 

[DearMissMermaid]

Surprisingly, Rving can be done on a wide selection of budgets, but it's much easier to just have lots of money.  ;D

I am excited for your plans, but there are some things to think through... selling the house could take awhile, why not list it now at a price you love, you can always reduce it later. Then there is the household contents. Getting rid of that stuff may be harder than you think, especially if you have loads of sentimental stuff.

If you are short on money... it's time to get super creative.

Think long and hard about the type of rig you plan to travel in especially since you are going it alone at this point. You may want smaller and simpler, it saves on maintenance, it saves on fuel, it saves on your own work/labor of getting ready to get up and go from place to place.

You don't need to pick the major attractions to go see, and if you do, you may pay dearly for camping in those areas. I've discovered hidden secrets all over creation in far flung parks and campgrounds that had much better rates.

You can see a lot of America on a very small budget if you slow waaaaaaaaaaaaaay down. I recently traveled in a state that had great gas prices and state park rates, so I concentrated on just that area.I had an absolute blast.

Some places offer a discounted weekly or monthly rate. It takes the same amount of fuel to get there, whether you stay one night or all month. Give the fuel tank a rest and take advantage of enjoying everything you can about the place you are at.

To get top dollar on your house and belongings, it may take a year of seriously hard work to start selling everything including household contents.  You might have special items laying around that will bring a tidy sum if the right collector is found. All this stuff takes time.

So good luck and get cracking now. The smaller the budget, the more planning and consideration you need to put into making it really happen.

 

[carson]

Sorry, here is MR Doomsday  (precautionary thinking).

Money ?.... consider having a reserve account with a good amount of Greenbacks. If not, one major problem en route,  (Engine, transmission,tires ??  anything disastrous) will put you out of business.
I won't mention a dollar amount...you need to do the homework.

 

[halfwright]

What I did before we started full timing on a budget (social security only) was invested in s solar system the would power the microwave for short time reheats and run at TV and 2 laptops. I also joined the VFW, Moose, Eagles and American Legion. Many of the Moose lodges have places to hookup and most only charge $10/night. Same with the other organizations. We have also workamped 7 of the 18  months we have been on the road. It is doable, but have savings enough for big repairs. A Ford F250 transmission costs right at $4000. I plan on fulltiming until they throw dirt in my face. But, we do have an exit plan because stuff happens.

You are going to hear "start small" in case you do not like the lifestyle. In your case, I would buy what I wanted and could afford now because it sounds like you are sold on the live style

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

All good advice/caution so far.  As MissMermaid said, RVing can be done on a broad range of budgets if your requirements are flexible. We can talk budgets, both for RV purchase and living/operation/maintenance, as time goes on.

The advice to list your house and start selling contents NOW is excellent. Of course, you need an alternate if a buyer comes along sooner than expected, but maybe that just means you move into an RV sooner. Start your fulltime lifestyle while continuing to work toward retirement. That's very do-able.