Full-Time RVing by Bill and Jan Moeller

[Vivian]

This is an excellent book that covers all the basics and then some, and is a practical easy-to-read guide. The copy I have was published in 1993 but there is a more recent edition usually available at Camping World and bookstores, or it can be ordered directly from Trailer Life Books.

Vivian

[Tom Trostel]

Or you can buy it used for very little......

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResu...p;y=14&x=35

Tom Trostel

[Loren G. Hedahl]

I have their first edition. If you were using a vehicle built in the '70s or '80s you might well prefer this edition.

Later editions cover the present time frame better. But either is good reading and a thoughtful guide in your considering full-timing.

After my wife and I read it, we discussed the issues, possibilities along with our personal priorities, etc. and decided that the full-timing lifestyle is an interesting study, but not for us.

We love to travel. We love to go, but after two or three weeks we are itching to get back. I enjoy mowing grass, working in our orchard and garden, as does my wife. I have a complete woodworking shop I like to spend time in. My wife has her sewing shop. We are never bored staying home.

So full timing is just not for us.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Loren, it has been my observation and personal experience that if you have something to come back to, it will drag you back, but if you don't, it won't.

When I first started FullTiming, I had a household full of stuf, including enough tools, compressors, scaffolding, etc., to literally build a house, in a large storage place in Florida. I sort of felt that I had to come back to Florida and 'visit' the stuf or something. After two years of paying storage fees (and the stuf not appreciating in value), I came back and sold, gave away or discarded all of it except a small utility trailer full of personal stuf which I parked in a friend's Back Forty.

It was amazing how free I felt, and except for a very mild attraction to visit the small trailer, I felt no particular urge to return. In fact, I only got back to Florida once in seven years after that.

I've also noticed that friends with anchored homes, who may travel in their RVs for several months at a time, will spend about 95% of their trip getting somewhere distant, wandering around in the process, but when they decide to go back, it's a direct route.

I have heard/read many FullTiming couples remark that one of them was reluctant, but once the house was sold and the ties with 'stuf' were cut, the feelings changed.

Folks with RVs and anchored homes regard 'home' as geographical, whereas FullTimers regard their RV as 'home', regardless of where it may be.

[Bob Starr]

I thot that I might put my .02 worth in on this fulltime thread. Some of you may remember me saying that I fulltimed for about 10 years in my school bus that I converted. I did this thru the '80 with my ex. I had some great times and often think about doing it some more, but wonder if I could be really comfortable in our Casita. Frankly, Jackie is ready to go, and I just have to sever my ties to this mountain I live on.
We have really considered getting a small bus to pull our trailer. Mainly, because, as an artist, I need shop space to support the lifestyle. In my first experience, I supported myself by selling at the art fairs and some concerts. If you have a unique enough product you can make a living.
Some of the things that got me off the road, tho, were times were changing. In California where I spent a lot of time they started restricting camping in the parks to 30 days in a calendar year. I also found myself being hassled more in some of my "parking spots". In the '90's the economy changed enough that the art shows got to be less profitable and entry fees went up. Now days, the price of gas scares the heck out of me.
But, still with all these negatives, I would love to go back out on the road. I think I would definetly get out of California. I always felt when I fulltimed that when I opened the front door of my home, I was already in someone's vacation spot And who could ask for better than that.
I pull my Casita now with my van and our three month trip to Florida and back proved that we could live quite comfortably in that much room. But the van doesn't get any better gas mileage than a small three window school bus would, so I might as well go for the extra space.
Bob

[Pete Dumbleton]

Consider a Sprinter/Mercedes/Freightliner van with the diesel engine -- Gets diesel mileage in the low 20s and has a tow rating of 5000 lbs -- They've been out in the US long enough that there should be some on the used market.

If your taxes/upkeep/payments on the mountain place aren't too much to bear while on the road, don't mention that you are not there to your InsCo because they tend to dislike unoccupied properties, plus you will still have your personal liability coverage if someone trips and breaks something while in your campsite.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Pete,

You are correct on all counts. I might add that whether it is several months at a time or several days at a time on the road, the same tendency to head back over the most direct route is strong.

We have a mini-farm that was once very productive and we made a good living on. Being away more than just a few days in the summer results in copious amounts of work upon returning. In the winter it is less of an issue. But we love the life style and the activity.

So we live in a balance of each world in succession. Home on the place with all there is to enjoy there, and several 2 - 3 week sabbaticals through the winter months where we live the full-time experience. Perhaps that is using the term too loose, but it works for us.

[Bigfoot Mike]

We recently met a couple that has been fulltiming for 10 years. They bought a Sprinter a couple years ago ago and claim to get a solid 30 mpg diesel with it. They had crossed the country a couple of times and in 2 years had only put 36,000 miles on the van.

We felt their floor plan was way to crowded (They designed their own and had a conversion company build it); but it worked for them.

I think the Sprinter is a good option for some people although they are gutless in the mountains.

[AlBarnes]

We recently met a couple that has been fulltiming for 10 years. They bought a Sprinter a couple years ago ago and claim to get a solid 30 mpg diesel with it. They had crossed the country a couple of times and in 2 years had only put 36,000 miles on the van.

We felt their floor plan was way to crowded (They designed their own and had a conversion company build it); but it worked for them.

I think the Sprinter is a good option for some people although they are gutless in the mountains.

a friend of mine bought a brand new customized sprinter diesel for a heck of a lot of money. It was very nice inside. Would be ideal for stealth camping. Didn't really seem any more spacious than a 13' scamp, but it was a sweet ride.

[Pete Dumbleton]

A lot of Sprinter owners post in the Van Camper Forum of RV.NET. They come badged as Daimler-Benz, Dodge and Freightliner, and have had several different diesels in them. The trailer tow rating is 5,000 lbs. I have seen one shipped over from Germany for use by a German couple with factory four-wheel drive (not available here).