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Linda1000

Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2022
Posts
6
Location
Minnesota
I wanted to introduce ourselves before we start asking a plethora of questions. We are Linda and Jeremy Holt. I am 60yo and my husband is 47yo (I know, I know). We are looking to quitting our jobs and selling our lake home and everything in it to purchase an RV and just spend the rest of our days RVing. My husbands dad was doing this for quite a few years but getting information from him isn't always so easy so we wanted to get some info from all of you!.
We don't even know where to start or what to expect but we're ready!

Thank you in advance for any information that would be helpful in getting us headed in the right direction.

Sincerely,

Linda and Jeremy
 
We saw that! We're really excited to discover what we can so we can decide where our life is going to take us next!
 
Welcome to the forum we love to help people out by answering their questions. Remember no question is a dumb question. If you don’t know the answer it’s not dumb to ask. All we ask is that you start a new post for each question you have. Makes it easier to respond to.
 
Welcome to the forum we love to help people out by answering their questions. Remember no question is a dumb question. If you don’t know the answer it’s not dumb to ask. All we ask is that you start a new post for each question you have. Makes it easier to respond to.

We are totally new to this adventure that we are currently looking into. We don't know anything about it. All we know is that we want to travel and live simply. We don't know the good, the bad or the ugly so anything we can find out as we move forward is SO appreciated!
Thank you all so much!
 
Welcome Aboard!
Have you ever owned or used an RV in the past?
Nope, never. We're feeling like there is more to life then 9-5. I'm getting close to retirement and we want to just live the simple life. Unfortunately we don't know anything about taking that leap. We have so many questions.
We want to sell our lake home and everything that comes with it. We are looking at buying a newer RV but have no idea what type.
Do we want a 5th wheeler?, a tow behind, a motor home???
Is it expensive to live this way?

We want to enjoy the simple things in life, we don't have much and we don't need much. We just want to "feel" again.
 
First thing please be aware all RVs are depreciating assets. Full timing is not a cheap lifestyle. Even being frugal you can expect to spend at minimum $2000 a month. Many people spend way more than that a month. Fuel prices alone could cost you 800 dollars. Insurance, maintenance upkeep, food, camping sites etc all add up. Heck a full hookup site in state parks can run as much as 50 dollars a night, that's $1500 a month. You can get a bit cheaper if you park for a month or more in one place, but then what's the use of full timing? There are ways to reduce camping fees by camp hosting, work camping etc.
Next on the worry list is maintenance and repairs. How handy are you with house repairs, car repairs etc?
There is no one type of RV that is right for everyone. If you have lots of money and plan to move every day or two a Motor Home could be ideal. In the other hand if your preference is to setup in one place and explore for a week or so, then a TT or fifth wheel might make better sense. Motor homes are the number one most expensive for of RV. With a Tent trailer being at the bottom. Over 35 years we have owned or used every RV type. For DW and I and our life a fifth wheel was by far the best choice. Even with a dually to tow it with we were for under maintenance and upkeep of a motor home.
 
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Everyone on the forum seem to be very nice and just reading through the threads, it is clear that they are the pros when it comes to RVing. Some really nice rigs on here as well. we thought we had a good idea of what we wanted but now have some additional ideas.
BTW, I could be wrong but it looks like you will need a toy hauler or a really nice trailer for your bikes.
 
First thing please be aware all RVs are depreciating assets. Full timing is not a cheap lifestyle. Even being frugal you can expect to spend at minimum $2000 a month. Many people spend way more than that a month. Fuel prices alone could cost you 800 dollars. Insurance, maintenance upkeep, food, camping sites etc all add up. Heck a full hookup site in state parks can run as much as 50 dollars a night, that's $1500 a month. You can get a bit cheaper if you park for a month or more in one place, but then what's the use of full timing? There are ways to reduce camping fees by camp hosting, work camping etc.
Next on the worry list is maintenance and repairs. How handy are you with house repairs, car repairs etc?
All good information, thank you so much! We were talking about traveling the State Parks circuit and staying at each for a month each, maybe less. Whether that's realistic, I don't know because like I said, we have no idea what we're doing. All I know is we are looking into doing this very seriously, whether we end up being able to is another question. I guess that's why I chose this site :)
 
Everyone on the forum seem to be very nice and just reading through the threads, it is clear that they are the pros when it comes to RVing. Some really nice rigs on here as well. we thought we had a good idea of what we wanted but now have some additional ideas.
BTW, I could be wrong but it looks like you will need a toy hauler or a really nice trailer for your bikes.
Hahaha! My husband gave up riding about a year ago, I just can't let it go just yet. My hope is that if we're able to make this a reality that he'll get another bike. There are so many beautiful places I'd love to see on a bike!
 
All good information, thank you so much! We were talking about traveling the State Parks circuit and staying at each for a month each, maybe less. Whether that's realistic, I don't know because like I said, we have no idea what we're doing. All I know is we are looking into doing this very seriously, whether we end up being able to is another question. I guess that's why I chose this site :)
Typical state park stays are limited to about 14 days.
Obviously. Esides budget and repairs there are pros and cons with each type of RV. TTs leave the truck bed open for stuff. Fifth wheels have more storage capacity, but need more truck. I would strongly suggest you visit a RV show to get a feel for what you might find best for you. As full timers there is a lot to consider. Laundry, kitchen, storage are among the top.
 
When I was 57 I took an early retirement and my wife quit her job, we sold the house and packed everything we owned into our 36', gasoline powered motorhome and headed out. We lasted almost 12 years before my wife's health issues forced us to get a home-base again and return to part-time. Without a doubt the very best support system for those who travel fulltime in an RV is the Escapees RV Club. I would suggest that you spend some time looking over what they have to offer. They also have a forum that you may want to add to your list of RV forums as it has a lot of very experienced full and part time RV folks on it. They even have a separate section for RV folks who are still working.

I think that you would be wise to start by visiting the largest RV show that you can find and spend at least a day there to learn just what is available and what new RVs offer versus the prices. In addition, you would be wise to read one or two books on living in an RV and Amazon has a good selection, or get some ideas there and check to see which ones are in your local library. As it happens, the book that we used as a guide is still available on Amazon, but it has not been updated in a long time so may not be the best choice. Some of the others on the forum may have a recommendation.

Another issue to consider is where you will choose to claim as your domicile or legal residence for driver's license, insurance, vehicle registration, and insurance.
 
There are MANY ways. We’ve come across full timers traveling via fully packed bicycles and staying in tents. Van life and ‘Stealth camping’ on streets seems to be a growing trend. Many folks like to spend the majority of their time in BLM land, COE, or state parks. (This sounds like the m.o. you indicated.) Then there are others that generally stay at private, commercial parks with full hookups.

There are many things to consider when it comes to type of RV. You’ve never RVd, yet you’re talking about jumping in as full timers. For us, full timing requires LOTS of storage space… and, for us, that means either a class A or a 5th wheel. (As I said earlier, some full time in tents and vans.. that’s simply not an option we’d choose.)

Having no RV experience at all it might be a good idea to rent an RV for a week or two. I think that may help you gain focus on RV type.
 
Hahaha! My husband gave up riding about a year ago, I just can't let it go just yet. My hope is that if we're able to make this a reality that he'll get another bike. There are so many beautiful places I'd love to see on a bike!
Do I dare say....3 wheeler? We are both still on 2 wheels but time may force us to 3 wheel or give it up! Hate to think of either right now.
 
Welcome aboard - You won't be the first and you won't be the last. Everyone's got opinions and I'm no different. I retired June 1 last year from Ohio.

1 - Setting up your retirement. I chose to break residency with Ohio and domicile in Florida. I rented a place for 6 months and got licenses, vehicle registrations etc. Then I bought a piece of property with a street adress. You may consider buying or renting an RV pad in a gated community etc. so you have a continual "home base" in whatever state you decide - mail can be forwarded to wherever you are.

2 - Then it's a decision of do you want to tow or drive a Class A. If you go Class A or Super C you can have a "TOAD" (towed vehicle). If you go towed RV your tow vehicle becomes your get around vehicle. For me that works up to about 3/4 ton truck after that (for me) the get around vehicle is too big an unwieldy.

I may get a bunch of arguing for this but I think I have a very rough guide for a towable.

1/2 ton truck - Up to about 24 feet trailer
3/4 ton truck - 24-30-ish
1 ton - 30+

I think all in all apples to apples the cost of a Class A vs. a Truck and a trailer is about the same.

You can spend $130k on a 30 foot class A and $70k on a 3/4 ton truck and another $70k on a 30-ish foot trailer.

Of course that's one example. You can spend $10,000 or you can spend $250k depending on your choices.

I will say that for my wife and I we would be happy "traveling" to and from home base for a few months at a time in a 24-26 foot trailer but to live in full time it's gotta be 30 feet or bigger.

We wanted room for a permanent desk/computer set up, a "remote" master berth and the ability to have at least a couple of seating areas - dinette, sofa and desk without sitting on top of each other all the time.

Good luck on your journeys
 
We just bought our 4th 5th wheel trailer a 2016 28'stepped down from a 31' toyhauler the longest we been on the road at one time 6 weeks. It's always nice come home and regroup. I've talk to full timers who sold everything and hit the road to fine out it's costly, and had to take part time jobs on the way.
Try rving first part time take few trip test it out. if you sell your house you may not be able to buy back in.
Just my $.02 Blessings!
 

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