Don't fulltime

[Howard Jaros]

Hey, all good answers here!  We all have our reasons for living in tiny homes, and you know what?  We don't have to justify it at all!  We are all free to choose how we live, and why we do it doesn't matter.  I will take the other approach.  I would prefer less people go full time because it is making it difficult for me to secure cheap park rent with the influx of wannabees!  So, do yourself a favor and don't bother going full time!  You will just hate it!  You will miss all that house work and expense!  Just leave it for those of us who are crazy!  OF COURSE I AM KIDDING!  I just wanted to express that in written word one time in my life!

 

[vmyoung61]

I agree with Howard.  It's just awful to be able to clean your whole "house," top to bottom, in an hour.  It stinks to be able to leave when the weather gets too hot/cold, and take your house with you.  Don't even get me started on the ability to change the scenery outside your living room window, anytime you want to.  If a neighbor moves in next door that you just can't get along with, it is too horrible to mention that you can leave.  I can't go on any more!  Just to unbearable to talk about . . . 

 

[UP Travelers]

The one (1) week anniversary of buying our MH (in which we will Fulltime) is still a few days away. An RV Forum thread titled "Don't fulltime", as one might imagine, is gonna get my attention. I thought "this is going to be interesting". Rather than "Oh darn, what did we do?"
It was an interesting read. Many good testimonies as to why folks love the lifestyle. Not many to the contrary.
As for the official definition of Fulltiming. I could not offer one. I might be more comfortable,at this point, trying to define what is it not. I would not call living permanently in an RV park and never moving "Fulltiming". And when I contemplate what I believe we are is store for I think about Christopher Columbus, Lewis & Clark and William Bakewell. I think about seeing new places, new wonders. Staying long enough to get to know it like an old friend. Then moving on. I think about adventure, about meeting new people and making new friends.
When I was young, way back when, I did a fair amount of traveling by-the-thumb. Like a lot of our generation. For no other reason than for the adventure. I remember the feeling of freedom. Sleeping along the side of the road in the middle of Iowa and being woken, in the morning, by truckers tooting the horns. The people I met, the experiences I had, the things I learned have served me every day of my life since.
Then came the next phase of life. Which was great. Wife, kids (3 boys), work,  hockey (had to throw that in). Still have the Wife, kids are gone. All married and doing well. Enjoying there own lives. Life is in phases and that phase is over.
We have friends who are at about the same place, in life, that we are. They travel the world. Not fancy. But on a budget. Backpacks, one change of cloths and sleep cheep. They have been in more countries that I can name. And I know people who when they are 10 miles from home, in unfamiliar surroundings and around new people they are very uncomfortable. If they don't hurry home or take a pill they freak-out. "It takes all kinds to make a world". And so it should.
For me I like travel. Not for the travel itself but for the adventure, the learning. Life has challenges and we have had some. I know there will be some challenges along the way and that is to be expected. But I'm ready. To hit the road again.
There will be a phase, not this next phase, when we stay put again. We know where that will be. And it's not where we now live. Until then, starting this next fall, we will be "Fulltimers". Until we decide not to be. That's the beauty of it.
So there you have it. And remembering the first website, about Fulltiming, I happened upon. Right in the middle of the page was the Mark Twain quote; "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you don't do........". So those that don't can read about the one's that do.

Jim

 

[Mr Bojangles]

UP TRAVELERS:
Jim,
Since you signed with Jim......, and your posting was so forthcoming, open and clearly friendly, I feel you are one who would want to be called just "Jim".

I don't remember reading a post that was so "right on" about what "Full time RVing" means to them. And, it is the closest explanation of what that would mean to me. I do not "Fulltime" but want to RV for extended periods at least.

Keep posting. Your style of expression is precise, inviting, and interesting. I for one will follow your postings for awhile anyway, intriged by your verbal painting of thought.
Thanks Jim
Mr. Bojangles

 

[RodgerS]

This turned out to be a very interesting thread to read based on a very good question. Some words, like full-time, don't really lend themselves to simplistic explanations.

 

[UP Travelers]

Mr. Bojangles,
Thank you for your kind words. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that "fulltiming" will be what I imagine. I was expressing what I think, what I hope and what I believe we will experience when we embark on our new lifestyle. Time will tell. The reality is out there and we are not yet.
Jim

 

[John From Detroit]

Well, when I think of Full Time I think of living in a MOTOR HOME full time, key word MOTOR, alas, mine is not just now (but give me a year or two and I'll be singing: On the Road Again.

When you see grass under the rig higher than .. it should be...

Faded awnings
Rotted (or missing) tires,
Residential fridge
Evidence that RV has not moved in a decade.

Well, there is another name for those folks... 

(Actually: One here I call Friend, but that's a long story)

 

[Glenn West]

I still work but we full time also. I am a welder and work got poor at our S&B. Going west of Mississippi made an 150% increase in pay. We sold house/land and bought a 5ther and dually. We just love our lifestyle and see parts of this country we never would have before. Did take a job that lasted a year and we don't want to do that again. Although we moved twice in that year to a neighboring town. Most my jobs are weeks long and we move on to next outage or state. Look forward to retirement when we get to go places where jobs are not, at lest in my field.

 

[TonyDtorch]

From What I see there are about 3 main groups of "fulltimers".

1. retired people that really enjoy fulltime RV life.
2. Transient workcampers that are comfortable with fulltime RV life.
3. former sub prime mortgage holders that are struggling with fulltime RV life

 

[Ernie n Tara]

Just to present another aspect of full timing; I find the sense of community to be much stronger than in any sticks and bricks neighborhood I 've lived in. Perhaps its common interest,  perhaps proximity but its there in most parks we've spent more than a week in. This is certainty not the only reason we full time, but it is a nice aspect.

Ernie

 

[NY_Dutch]

It seems to me that the majority of run down, been there forever RV's I see in many campgrounds belong to seasonal folks that use them off and on for vacations, weekends, and such, rather than living in them full time.

 

[docj]

From What I see there are about 3 main groups of "fulltimers".

1. retired people that really enjoy fulltime RV life.
2. Transient workcampers that are comfortable with fulltime RV life.
3. former sub prime mortgage holders that are struggling with fulltime RV life

I'd rewrite your list a bit:

1. retired people who chose the fulltime RV life.
2. younger, working people who have chosen a traveling lifestyle, some of whom may be workampers, but many more of whom are oil field workers, nurses, etc.
3. people who lost homes in the downturn who may fall into either of the above groups.

 

[TonyDtorch]

I'd rewrite your list a bit:

1. retired people who chose the fulltime RV life.
2. younger, working people who have chosen a traveling lifestyle, some of whom may be workampers, but many more of whom are oil field workers, nurses, etc.
3. people who lost homes in the downturn who may fall into either of the above groups.

You are right I should have said "people that lost their homes due to the economic downturn caused by sub-prime home loans" and are struggling with full time rv life.

but that seamed a bit long so I shortened it a bit.

 

[Dutch and Di]

To each his own on his/her/their lifestyle.  Fulltime does mean different things to different folks.  We are just finishing up our 18th year of living fulltime on the road and wouldn't trade it for anything. 
For us, we usually stay a week to two weeks in one spot then want to move in and do more exploring or find a new golf course.  Only on rare occasions do we stay a month and only 3 times in the 18 years have we stayed 3 months but didn't care for sitting still that long.
For us it is not the same as being in a house, it is better.  We have a 38' triple slide Carriage 5th wheel and have 400 square feet of living area.  It is perfect for just the 2 of us.  We have everything we want and it is easy to take care of.  We have the perfect package to travel and see our beautiful country at our leisure.  We also don't care for cold weather so this affords us to pick up and move when we don't like the weather.
We are a bit limited in where we can go for the winters, Florida, The Rio Grande Valley in Texas, Southern Arizona and Southern California because we like to be in shorts.  So far we are still enjoying just staying a few weeks then look for another area of that state.  It works for us.  Hugs, Di

   

    I'm not trying to judge anyone just curious why
anyone would want to fulltime? Why set up in a park
and live there in a RV? Isn't that the same as a house,
just the walls are thinner?
    Someone help me to understand.

 

[AirDragon]

I've been at this fulltiming in an RV for almost 8 years. I was forced to retire early because of a botched back surgery and spent 6 years prior, moping around in a house. I watched how the economy was taking a dive while friends of mine were talking survival mode. I weighed the situation and decided to go mobile full time. Bought a new 30 ft Coachmen with one slide-out and took-off for Arizona with my daughter for the summer.

When I get bored of the view and neighbors, I change my view...sometimes for free and other times for a fee.....

I learned from the first night, after picking-up the RV, that parking under a big tree under a thousand black birds...with the slide out no less, and a truck hauling pigs, parked next to us....the smell was outrageous and my stupidity at a peak. Note: Park with the trucks and not in front of the truckstop restaurant under a tree and certainly not with the slide out ! (A no no at truckstops). The pig truck parked next to me anyway.

Did the generator thing for about 3 years before buying solar panels and since then....several modifications inside and outside and life is great !

People that live in tight neighborhoods are basically stuck...unless they can survive financially on the road. The choice between being a neighborhood prisoner and a free spirit, is a tough choice for most. Once you do it, you still have to give it at least a year to feel actually comfortable and knowledgeable about boondocking, National Parks versus State Parks, and how to behave in RV Parks.

RV Parks are an option and provide a chance to get really charged-up (electrically) while enjoying the A/C and microwave. If you get stuck a couple times in the hot summer desert, the RV Parks are the place to be. Low traffic and lots to watch.

The reality is...

If you decide to fulltime in an RV, you have many more options than being stuck in the same neighborhood for 40 years. The only big glitch to it all...is keep your eye on weather forecasts. Houses don't survive very well and all trailer RV's hit by a tornado or hurricane....are destroyed.

I've seen two lucky older folks walk away from their destroyed, in pieces RV...after getting hit by 70mph straight line winds in Arizona while others might take flight. Same in many homes that are wood frame and cheap siding.

Know the weather, go underground if you can...or pack-it-up and head away at a 90 degree angle if possible.

Bottom line....

Full time RVing is not easy and requires some vigilance...knowing various laws from state to state while knowing ahead of time where you plan to park. Once you get there and everything is fine, just think back to everything you had to deal with in your house.  

 

[CLiNTon]

I'm not trying to judge anyone just curious why
anyone would want to fulltime? Why set up in a park
and live there in a RV? Isn't that the same as a house,
just the walls are thinner?
    Someone help me to understand.

That'll depend on you and your own situation & preferences, but work travelling is the game for me.
I got tired of loosing money because it was all going to some cheesy apartment I'd only be staying at for a few months travelling.

For me it's good living. I work and travel frequently and RVing is an economical way of doing so.
1. It's YOUR home on wheels, and you can come and go as you please, even move to another park if you don't like it.
2. Since it's your home there is no packing. You become adept (really fast) at choosing the junk you'll want to loose.
3. For working/traveling it can be a VERY decent tax advantage, just make sure you keep a permanent tax address.
4. People in RV parks, although friendly, laid back, and helpful, and tend to be of similar mindset.
I have yet to stay in an RV park where anything was stolen or where there is violence. They are usually very quiet places.
You also tend to get older people who are...friendly, laid back, and helpful, and tend to be of similar mindset.
5. Living in an RV while traveling for work is cheaper than apartments with a greater sense of independence.
6. You'll learn to become a handyman, and or learn where to find one quick. If you're in an RV park, it'll usually be the guy next door to you.

There's quite a learning curve for full timing it, but it can be fun if you choose it to be.
For myself I jumped in full time 2 years ago with no prior experience, so it definitely helps to know an experienced full timer.