Change of heart on fulltiming

[Civilguy]

This has been a wonderful thread to read. There are a lot of heartfelt observations that I have greatly enjoyed reading.

In this household, our current trajectory is toward retirement in 2018. Our approach has entailed buying first a teardrop and then a Casita trailer, making trips of 2 to 10 nights so far. I'm a firm believer that there's nothing like actually trying something to really find out what does and doesn't appeal.

In brief, we've thoroughly enjoyed it and we'd like to make much longer trips when we quit clocking in at the salt mines. We've agreed that we both enjoy having a conventional home as a place to get away from and to come home to. We'd also like to do some additional travel without the trailer. We feel fortunate to have these prospects before us.

I am also conscious about the old axiom of making God laugh by sharing your plans. We know that we face the prospect of "falling apart time" as Norm called it. If we should live so long, our approach will have to change and adapt.

We would like to continue travelling before that time and would like to be able to get out for months at a time.

We have considered renting out a room so that we'd have someone to keep an eye on the house. Of course, that's bringing another person into your home for all the good and/or bad that may entail. We have rented out rooms to students in the past and we had some very good experiences. And, we had one that was just awful. Personally, I consider that we failed ourselves in that one case by failing to thoroughly check references as we had in all the others.

I’ve met and read of people that bought an old $10,000 motorhome with lilac upholstery, traveled the Country, and then promptly sold it when they were done. I enjoy reading approaches that challenge my tendency to carefully plan the safe-and-sure route. I read a number of forums, trying to continually learn and especially to consider options I had not thought of myself. For Missouri Mark, as a tall, single person, perhaps an A-Frame trailer might be a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-tow option.

Ultimately, each of us has to find what works for us, and to my mind that is a moving target as over time we awake as a different person every day. So to Mark and all, I wish the best and thank you for sharing your thoughts here.

[Jon Vermilye]

For what it is worth, I've been doing what you describe all my life. Started with tent camping, and moved to a fiberglass trailer (an Escape 17) in 2011. Multiple trips across the US & Canada, Alaska, and a winter in Quartzsite, AZ (where I'm slowly heading now).

If you are interested in journals & photos of my travels, check Trips. I also have links to the journals of many Fiberglass travelers, as well as hundreds of other RV blogs & journals.

While I am lucky enough to be able to maintain a small home in upstate NY on Lake Ontario, I still enjoy traveling to our National & State Parks.

[honda03842]

Though we didn't consider it early on here's a possibility. We're Escapees. It's possible to get a lot in an Escapee Park for $3000 to $30,000 depending on the state or region. Our monthly maintenance fee is $125. No need to have someone watching when you're away, people here pay attention. If you have an empty lot, no rig on it, when you're away it's rented reducing your maintenance fee. You're surrounded by people like you often in a pleasant climate. We now have a situation like this where we still travel 7 months of the year, have a comfortable place to keep our stuff, and an extremely low operating cost.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Fiberglass RV mobile app

[reeves99]

I agree. This thread is very interesting.
For me, I like the urban/county contrast that my trailer allows. Most of the time I'm living in a high rise in the city, but come the summer I'm living in the woods in my little trailer. For me that's the best of both worlds.
As this discussion clearly shows we all find our own path. There's definitely not a one-size-fits-all solution. And that's one of the things that makes the whole RV scene so darned interesting!
Thanks for sharing

[Missouri Mark]

thanks all, I thought questioning the value of FG would be deemed as blasphemy on here. HA A $15-20K investment will probably be out of question. And I have been looking around, and it seems that the sticks trailers get more bang for the buck. I' m not too concerned with resale value. Being a simple country boy, I have never had the nice things in life with all the whistles and bells, so I can make do with less than most people.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Missouri Mark

thanks all, I thought questioning the value of FG would be deemed as blasphemy on here. HA A $15-20K investment will probably be out of question. And I have been looking around, and it seems that the sticks trailers get more bang for the buck. I' m not too concerned with resale value. Being a simple country boy, I have never had the nice things in life with all the whistles and bells, so I can make do with less than most people.

Mark,

Heck, I'm even nice to people with big Fiver's and Class A's when we go out!

Seriously speaking, I've had times in my life when everything was a "get by". I remember backpacking with Goodwill and army surplus gear when all the other guys in my Boy Scout troop had Eddie Bauer and REI gear. I had cheap stitched-through quilted polyester underwear that kept me just as warm as their down sweaters, and I wore them inside my cheap sleeping bag too.

Locally here, near a major urban area, I see a plentiful supply of just about everything you can think of in the way of motor homes and trailers on Craigslist. I expect that a lot of those folks are pretty sad to see what little money they are going to get from their "investment" (ha!). In other words, there is a huge depreciation that a buyer can benefit from. There's a always a big turnover as people invest in things before they've even tried them out, the military assigns them to a new post, people fuss with each other and end up getting divorced, etc, etc, etc.

I suggest taking your time and getting a feel for the market as I have seen prices that are just-plain all over the map. Some prices that I have seen were too high, and some were very attractive. And then, follow your nose - literally! When a unit has leaked, there's a certain mustiness... Glade plug-ins and perfume smells are a warning sign.

Check out other forums, maybe even see if you can find someone experienced to help you evaluate rigs.

The Aframes I mentioned are lightweight hard-shells that fold down. They can be an especially easy tow as they have very little wind resistance. That might help you limit the costs on the tow vehicle side. Tent trailers are similarly light and easy tows, and they are very spacious when unfolded. They might be a good option to consider if you don't think you will be spending a lot of time in really cold or wet weather conditions, but they can be especially bad if a former owner folded one closed while wet and let it mildew. And there's always lots of hard shell trailers of every description...

I'd like to hear that you are giving it a go rather than giving up because you can't get a molded fiberglass or the "Eddie Bauer Limited-edition". Maybe you can haul your canoe along and find out whether this is actually something you really do enjoy as much as you thought you would. It would be great to hear that it was something you took to. There's no shame in having a good time for less money than someone else spent.

Just my two bits.

My, but I do go on sometimes.

[Missouri Mark]

Yeah I have checked out the AFrames and Tent campers, but I do plan to use whatever I get in all weather conditions, so a hard shell is almost a must as I will need heat and AC. I actually want to visit your neck of the woods, as the Pacific Coast Hwy is on my bucket list and my first long trip.

[honda03842]

Just a thought Mark,

It seems you've made your choices. For those that are making a choice, here's our experience.

We've traveled for 16 years now and have been everywhere, having a four season trailer is not necessary. You can simply travel to those places when the weather is better.

We alway buy used trailers, our entire family has, we tow with the vehicles we own, typically four cylinder vehicles (buying appropriate trailers).

As to a lake home we visited friends in way up MN who live on a small, lightly populated Lake. After a week I could see Ginny wanted a place on that lake, peaceful and beautiful.

Wishing you well



Sent from my SM-N920T using Fiberglass RV mobile app

[Denece]

FWIW, we are retired, have a small home in an unscenic small town and a CompactII because the thing we mostly do in the trailer is sleep, and it has a great big bed.
We call ours the beach house, because that is where we love to hang out.
It's all a matter of choices.
We each have to decide what will make us happy.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[steve dunham]

Whether you buy a reasonably priced used trailer or a brand new trailer doesn't change the issues with living continually on the road.
When my wife and I retired , we had the time and resources to travel so we did what many Northerners do and went South in the winter. It didn't take long , and we soon decided that the South wasn't for us. We missed our children , grandchildren and even snow/ winter (We didn't find the Southern Weather all that enjoyable or worth the drive of 1400 to 1800 miles.)
Luckily we did not have to sell our home to finance our trailer and travel . Going fulltime is not for us .
We make a 3 to 4 week trip once a year , which is plenty long for us to develop homesickness.
Thanksgiving day we will have 20 family members for dinner ,
( children , spouses and grandchildren) . On the holidays , We would rather be home than on the road .

[Carl Pa]

Yep, it is nice to go,but it is nice to get home.

[Missouri Mark]

Appreciate everyone's honest opinions. I will make it happen for me but on a smaller scale. Unless I hit the lottery and then I am going all out full scale motorhome!!!LOL

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Missouri Mark

Appreciate everyone's honest opinions. I will make it happen for me but on a smaller scale. Unless I hit the lottery and then I am going all out full scale motorhome!!!LOL

While there are some advantages to a large motorhome, don't rule out a small fiberglass trailer even after the lottery. I just spent 20 minutes showing my Escape 17 to an owner of a 40' diesel motorhome that wants something smaller so he can fit in some of the state & national parks he wants to visit. He usually found space, but it was often in less desirable sites. Something to think about...

[Raz]

I am now planning to take my savings and buy a cabin on a local lake development. Love to fish. Never owned a home. Pay cash and no rent or house payments, and live on my $3500/mon Missouri teacher's pension, with a little social security at age 62.

I toyed with the cabin on the lake idea. My wifes folks had a place on lake Memphamgogue for years. But today here in Vermont, a cabin on the lake amounts to a quarter acre lot next to many other quarter acre lots. High taxes and limited services. Typically the roads are not town maintained which means plowing your own road in the winter. This makes most places summer only. Camping on a lake in a state park, though not quite the same thing, seemed a more economical solution.

As far as taking SS at 62, do your homework on that one. all the best, Raz

[stude]

Originally Posted by Raz

I toyed with the cabin on the lake idea. My wifes folks had a place on lake Memphamgogue for years. But today here in Vermont, a cabin on the lake amounts to a quarter acre lot next to many other quarter acre lots. High taxes and limited services. Typically the roads are not town maintained which means plowing your own road in the winter. This makes most places summer only. Camping on a lake in a state park, though not quite the same thing, seemed a more economical solution.

As far as taking SS at 62, do your homework on that one. all the best, Raz

:So long as you do not own a house in some town or city then sounds okay. But if you own more than one place then don't do it as all that extra work will drive you nuts.
I owned Lake Front, sold it and bought a back lot as lots of access areas along the lake and once you get to know a few other owners through rate payer methods you can usually leave your boat there. But I also owned a Large lot in the city like more than a 1/3 acre and our lot at the Lake was now a 2 acre back lot as we paid way less in taxes than when we owned Lake Front.
But what ever you do make sure you still own a truck to haul materials, fire-wood for stoves to cook on and keep warm. I always found that wood was a heck of a lot cheaper than electricity, Propane, Natural Gas and or Oil which you have to go to Stove oil in the winter as stove oil is pretty thin and does not freeze.
So if you have the truck then look for a nice trailer or camper to do those short 2-3 week trips to other places, to see the wonders of North America.
In the end our Cabin had all the bells and whistles and yes they even plowed our roads for us , but not the driveway I had to have a ladder rack on the truck in the winter months to put up beside the high pile of Windrow (snow) left by the snow plow so I could climb up and over it to get to the cabin plus I only forgot the snow shoes once but never again as it took a bit of a walk to get to the Cabin in the winter months.
I have sold it all now and own a Class A MH which we use for 2-3 month trips whenever in the year. I do not do much to keep it in shape, I hire people now to do that work, and reason is I'm in my mid 70's and I just don't have the energy anymore to keep up with the work that goes into Cabins, Boats, homes, firewood.
Matter of Fact we are just about to start on our first Apartment, #6 minus the Cabins at the lake. It needs quite a bit of work to bring it up to today's standards but when done will be worth way more than what we paid for it.
Stude

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Raz

I toyed with the cabin on the lake idea. My wifes folks had a place on lake Memphamgogue for years. But today here in Vermont, a cabin on the lake amounts to a quarter acre lot next to many other quarter acre lots. High taxes and limited services. Typically the roads are not town maintained which means plowing your own road in the winter. This makes most places summer only. Camping on a lake in a state park, though not quite the same thing, seemed a more economical solution.

As far as taking SS at 62, do your homework on that one. all the best, Raz

That depends on where you live . We got 6 " of snow on Friday accompanied by 30 to 40 MPH winds . My lake cabin road was plowed & sanded shoulder to shoulder 15 minutes after the snow ended. This summer our road was seal coated. All done by the Township maintenance crew.

[Carl Pa]

I had a cabin in the woods, it was perfect. I had the exterior shell built and finished the whole inside myself, other then elec. and plumping. Worked on it over a 15 year period, when I could with work and all. Got to be to much work with two homes,+ the taxes. Worried about it when I was home and worried about home when I was up there. Now I got the little Scamp in my driveway and do not have a 3 1/2 hr drive to get to it. Carl

[Darral T.]

Originally Posted by Carl Pa

Yep, it is nice to go,but it is nice to get home.

To the wife and I, there's STILL "no place like home". That includes my church.

I've yet to EVER find any RV that would entice me away from my home that's paid for, wonderful neighbors, my workshop (man-cave) where my lathe/mill and all my tools are setup in a nice, heated/AC environment.... But that's me (us).

[June Bug]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Everybody would be better off with a lot of internal analysis of what's right for you....my advice is NOT to make changes you can't undo, at least for a while.

This, exactly this. Make sure the ideal lives up to the reality before making drastic changes in your life!

I do like the OP's idea of buying a little cottage in a lovely place, still keeping the local friends and social connection, and making forays from there. In a community like that, neighbors could be around to keep an eye on your place while you're gone and you might find compatible people to travel with.

[Missouri Mark]

Since I have so many experienced owners attention on this thread, please advise on a couple issues of concern on my downsizing plans....
Several people mentioned pop ups with pull outs to accommodate my 6'5" frame. I've never seen a pop up in person, but I am leery of the mesh type material in the pop ups and the pull out extensions. Does this mesh material tear easily? It would seem impossible to patch up with a tear. And then the mildew issue (which has ruined tents I've owned). Packing up in early morning with dew or after rain is impossible to get entirely dry. And surely the mesh doesn't hold heat or AC. Plus I would like to be able to just pull over on long trips and get some sleep without set up time. And doesn't rain come in thru the mesh.
I'm thinking the pop up/pull out type trailers are for fair weather only, and I don't want to be limited to fair weather camping only. And the mesh would be prone to tearing and mildrew.
Are my concerns valid? I'm still thinking a self contained model would better suit my needs, whether fiberglass or traditional.
And as I said, after checking out trailers on sites like craigslist, I can get more bang for my buck with the sticks trailers. I might add, if I can get 10 years use out of a trailer for $5-8K, which many stick models can be found, I would be happy and not have to worry about losing much money if it was worn out after 10 years.
Wish I could afford something like a Lil Snoozy - I love that trailer and would be perfect for me. I just can't afford the price for even a used one.