Seniors who have hung up the keys, do you have any regrets?

[garyb1st]

Been RVing for almost 17 years. I'll be 82 in June and fortunately don't have any health issues. For several months I've been vacillating between hanging up the keys and buying a diesel motorhome. So for those of you who have done it, do you have any regrets? If so, have you thought of getting back in to the lifestyle? If not, how do you keep from going stir crazy?

 

[rvlifer]

If you are going to be buying a diesel mh what keys are you hanging up and what will change?

 

[rvlifer]

One of the goals we had while rving was to find a place we really loved to settle down when we couldnt travel anymore. Luckily we did. I still miss it and wish we could still travel but you have to live within what you can do. Living in a place we really love helps a ton.

There are benefits to not travelling. I get to do a lot of things i missed such as working on the house and having a workshop and a garden.

I am now trying a lot of things that are difficult to do in an rv such as growing mushrooms. I also am doing hobbies that i havent done since i was a kid such as model building. Staying busy helps keep from going stir crazy and this area has so much to do that it is harder to get bored.

I cant say it is better or worse living in a house vs travelling in an rv. It is just different and it helps to find things you enjoy that are difficult in an rv. It isnt that one or the other is better. It is what you do in either that makes it worthwhile

 

[Seilerbird]

I have both hung up my keys and bought a DP. I hate it every single day that I am not out exploring this big beautiful country we have. I miss it a lot. But I had ten great years of fulltiming and I saw every state and every National Park. But the facts are I am getting older and my reflexes are not as sharp as they used to be and I feel like I would not be safe traveling like I used to. Fortunately I have zillions of photos to look back on.

I don't do anything to keep from growing stir crazy. I am constantly stir crazy. There are so many trips I did not have time to take. I wanted to see one game in each of the 30 Major League ball parks in one season but did not get around to it. I have about a dozen other similar trips but ran out of time. But I sure am thankful for the wonderful years I had RVing.

 

[Laura & Charles]

Three and a half years after we moved into our first coach (a Pace gasser), we got into Rosie (our current coach). Zero regrets. Still no idea where we’ll exit. Pretty sure you won’t regret getting a DP to finish your nomadic spell.. But you might regret hanging up the keys before you do.

I worked several years in a small hospital’s ICU. I held hands with and heard confessions of many patients as they were nearing their end. Very rarely did anyone regret things they did.. Much more often, regrets were about things undone.

 

[Larry N.]

I'm 82 Gary, and we hung the keys up a year and a half ago. I wish I could get back at it, but DW was never that fond of the travel and is very much against getting another RV. Neither of us has the endurance we had even two years ago, she has trouble getting up and down the stairs, and it's a bit tougher than it was doing some of my chores, so yes I'd like to get back into it but it wouldn't be the same so it's unlikely to happen.

 

[John From Detroit]

I hung up the keys when a nice semi driver clipped me while parked (I was parked) and did just enough damage the insurance said "TOTALED": and glad I did. But I have health issues.. and my Wife died (years prior) and .... Well there are a lot of other thigns I found out ... Now I have a nice one bedroom apartment Cost about the same as the RV. per month so no financial change there. But.
Well if something fails (Dishwasher. I got one here (had one in the RV too.... ME) when it failed. Phone call they brought out a new one.. Water heater... When it gives me trouble.> Same thing. .Furnace.. They came and fixed it (Multiple issues it turns out) A/C You got it ... They also rake the leaves. mow the lawn, shovel the snow (And it's snowing as I type Heavily.. Best road I was on was the Complex private road.. Yup only one the snow plows have hit I watched them) I am very happy to be "Parked" .

I was also very happy in the Motor home.. But Life is like the seasons... Always going forward.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

We hung up the keys after my wife's chemotherapy needs severely limited our travel itinerary. Can't just drop in to a local urgent care doc and get a dose of Kadcyla or whatever! But we substituted by leasing a summer cottage at a favorite area where she established medical care, so we never felt deprived even though we weren't traveling widely. And our RV friends would drop by when they were in the area, so we could keep up relationships. Did that for 4 more years, until she passed. Did we miss the itinerant lifestyle? Sure, but we gained new friends and alternative places to visit via day trips (in the western NC mountains).

The net is that "hanging up the keys" need not mean you sit home and stare at the walls. Don't let life pass you by.

 

[garyb1st]

Tom, maybe stir crazy is just a state of mind for a few of us. I also have ADHD and dyslexia which exacerbates the crazy part. Hope you are well otherwise in your Florida location. Always glad to see you're still posting.

Charles, I'd love a tag axle diesel but we're not big on RV parks and so-called RV resorts. Do you boon-dock with your 43 footer?

Larry, I recall when you posted about hanging up the keys. Don't recall you mentioning your wife was not an RVing lover. That's a difficult one. My wife is a relatively young 60, loves traveling, and the main reason I'm reluctant to hang up the keys.

Rvlifer, didn't know you were no longer RVing.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

I don't know how many more years my DW and I will continue with our 36' DP, which isn't huge by any means. But, we have had discussions that when we are done with multi-week trips we would downsize to a smaller Class C, maybe one that has become so popular today on a Mercedes chassis, or your typical Ford chassis rig. We would still take trips to Lake Placid, NY every year (less than 400 miles away) and to the various campgrounds we enjoy around the Finger Lakes region of NY. We would still visit two NY state parks near us less than 40 miles away each. That is our plan today at least looking down the road "so to speak".

 

[NY_Dutch]

My wife is 80 and I'll be 82 next month. We fulltimed for 13 years, hanging up the fulltime keys in 2023 when our doctors and family restricted us to traveling no more than 2 hours from home due to our health issues that have seen both of us in and out of hospital multiple times. We still manage to spend some time at a couple of NY State parks that we enjoy from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Not a day goes by though, that we don't wish we were still on the road full time.

 

[garyb1st]

The net is that "hanging up the keys" need not mean you sit home and stare at the walls. Don't let life pass you by

The only thing that will let life pass me by would be health related. Leaving my wife with an unpaid RV is another reason I've been reluctant to go into debt with a new(er) motorhome. If the wife was comfortable driving, that would make a huge difference. At least we could continue RVing if I wasn't able to drive.

 

[garyb1st]

We would still take trips to Lake Placid, NY every year (less than 400 miles away)

Unfortunately, we don't have any area as nice as Lake Placid that we can do in a one day Jeep trip. but we've done many 300+ mile one day drives to escape the boredom of Stick Build living. The wife and I love getting out and seeing the countryside.

 

[Oldgator73]

We fulltimed for 5 years after I retired from the AF and enjoyed it. Gave that up when we moved to Dover, DE and got a job at the base. We purchased a house and sold our 5th wheel. Then a couple of years later was offered a position at Whiteman AFB in Knob Knoster, MO. Had a house built there and a few years later took a position at Scott AFB, MO and purchased a home there. After a few years there I was offered a position at RAF Lakenheath so sold our house and moved to Cambridge UK. After 5 years I retired and we moved back to Delaware, built a house and purchased another RV and traveled with the grandkids. That trailer is sitting in our backyard waiting for someone to clean her up and hit the road. We knew it was time to hang up the keys when I was offered a second career.

 

[Ernie n Tara]

i'm 82 and retired to a park model in our favorite RV (kinda!) resort. Tara is younger, and healthier, than me so I handed her the keys (I still drive, but rarely) a couple of years ago and we traded our 35 foot DP for the park model.
Since then, we have completely renovated the park model to include replacing EVERY moving part and replacing or renewing every surface except for the LR floor. We're happy and comfortable here and don't regret the exchange. It has the virtue that if, as is likely, I pass away first she is not burdened with the RV or the house and all that stuff (we sold or gave away all of that too).
I believe that life comes at you in stages and a part of ensuring happiness lies in recognizing each new one in turn.
Regards,
Ernie

 

[garyb1st]

That trailer is sitting in our backyard waiting for someone to clean her up and hit the road.

I take it that someone is not you.

 

[garyb1st]

Tara is younger, and healthier, than me so I handed her the keys (I still drive, but rarely)

I would love it if Maria would take over the wheel. Not sure what we can do to make the Pace steer better and honestly, I'm not sure that's the issue. Regardless I don't want to spend money on the Pace if we're going to replace it.

 

[Kirk]

So for those of you who have done it, do you have any regrets?

I'm 82 Gary, and we hung the keys up a year and a half ago.

My wife is 80 and I'll be 82 next month. We fulltimed for 13 years, hanging up the fulltime keys IN 2023

There seem to be a lot of people who are 82, as I am. We left fulltime RV travels after 12 years due to health issues of my wife but continued part-time for another 11 years, after downsizing. We moved into an independent living community (with age in place facilities) just before Covid hit but kept the RV until 2023, just as I turned 81 and my wife 82. I kept busy when not traveling by driving a senior citizen bus for the community until last year, when we also sold the RV and my truck, keeping only the little car. We stopped RVing partly due to my wife's difficulties in the RV and partly because I know that my reaction times have slipped, and my driving skills are sure to be less than they once were. I also gave up driving the bus so have scrambled some to keep busy but have found other ways to volunteer. Do I miss the RV life? Absolutely yes but anyone who thinks that their driving skills are as good as ever at 80+ either was never a very good driver, or they are just in denial. I do OK with our little VW Jetta and was OK with the RV and bus, but good judgement made me realize that I should not wait until I had an accident to stop driving large vehicles. I also realize that my driving days will come to an end at some future time, and hope to know when that is without having to be in an accident to realize it.

 

[Oldgator73]

I take it that someone is not you.

Depends. If I purchase something to pull it with I might just freshen it up and hit some local state parks. Otherwise I will sell it.

 

[ferfer]

I would love it if Maria would take over the wheel. Not sure what we can do to make the Pace steer better and honestly, I'm not sure that's the issue. Regardless I don't want to spend money on the Pace if we're going to replace it.

From my limited motorhome driving experience:

Our Ford F53 Chassis (think you have Workhorse) has a lot of steering play even with modifications. Each time I drive it I wear myself out! I do recognize frequency of driving means I am not developing driving skills.

The seat travel is insufficient for me to reach the pedals without a pillow type back support moving me to the front seat edge. I have sunk to 5'3'.

I test drove a Newmar Vantana 35' diesel motorhome. WOW. All the above problems with the F53 vanish. The learning curve would take some miles but I do not feel I would be exhausted as I built driving memory.

I suggest Maria take a diesel test drive. You likely would benefit too.

Dan likes to drive and I like to read. So as long as we have the current motorhome, my driving skills will be poor and forget parking and jugging distance and the rest of the more complicated non-liner skills.