New Fulltimer!

[VintageGreg]

Hello,

I just took possession of a 1994 Dutchmen Classic 26 foot trailer today! Bought it from the original owner, the trailer is immaculate and very clean! Very well kept and all service records, even the factory recommended services were done to the recommendations on the dot!. The owners are impeccable about their property, their house is simple but beautiful! Even their car and truck are very clean and waxed. I like to purchase used things that costs a lot of money like the trailer from folks who take care of their things.

The trailer has the forward kitchen, has a newer $4k Honda 4010 generator, new tires, and a new awning. They only used it for 3-4 weeks a year (1 week for hunting, the rest to go see their 85 year old parents who have been fulltiming around the country for 25 years and still do!). They upgraded to a new 36 footer, hence why they put the '94 Dutchmen up for sale. The lady said she likes the old trailer better than the new one. They are sad to see it go, but they know I will be taking very good care of it, as I'm an impeccable person myself.

Today I also rented a lot in Golden, CO for a month and I will be living in it full time very soon. Possibly this weekend! As soon as I can pack up small stuff, I can get moved, but need to sell/give away some furniture and a apartments worth of things I won't be able to take with me. I still have this month left here at the old place. I may just rent a uHaul and put stuff in storage for now. I'm going from about 550 SqFt to about 200 SqFt. I don't have much stuff for a single guy, just the big things like furniture concern me. The 37" flat screen TV I will probably mount on a corner wall above the very "tiny" entertainment center which is big enough for maybe a 20" old boob tube TV and stands maybe a foot and a half tall. I think they make flat screen wall mounts that swivel and can be moved side to side...I can use the teeny entertainment center for the DVD player. Other than that, it's just small stuff I have and I can get creative and organized. The leather couch and 2 Lazy Boy chairs I will probably give them to my sister so her and her hubby have a place to sit in their kids playroom. My Queen bed, I dunno what to do with that! I just bought it 2 years ago and it's comfy! Probably storage until I can do some modifications to the bedroom in the RV, which is currently set up for a twin bed on each side, but the bath is in the very back of the trailer. There's still a queen size sleeper sofa in the living room, I'd rather keep that as strictly a sofa, unless guests stay the night.

Even though I have been studying and thinking about fulltiming for a little over a year now, I still have a lot to learn about RVing and full timing. I'm more of a hands on learner, and experiencing it with my new rig is how I will learn. I read a lot about the subject every night after work, but each situation is unique- as unique as the rig type (for make/model) and their owners! Everybody has their way of doing things. I noticed today the trailer hookups are 45 amps for the power inverter, most places are either 30 amp or 50 amp. I'm very mechanically inclined, can fix pretty much anything, but electrical is my weakest point! Park I'm renting a monthly lot at is 50 amp, hope I can still hookup and not fry anything. I do have two Monster brand surge protector outlet strips for things like the TV/DVD, and my laptop.

On the humor side, I sure hope I don't have any sewer hook up issues! I would be mortified (and more likely to mess up!) if folks got their lawn chairs out to watch me hook it all up wrong and wait for the ultimate disaster! Like in the Robin William's movie RV! Hehe!

I'm a very mechanically inclined kinda guy. I'm only 33 years old, and I've been craving a simple lifestyle for years. Not married, no kids. Just me and the poochie, who's my "kid." Rent for an apartment just keeps going up and up around the Denver area, it's ridiculous, plus leases I'm not a fan of. I'd rather be free as a bird from any kind of contracts and live the simple lifestyle. I love the fact that lot rentals are month to month, and I can simply hook up, lower the jacks, and leave as I wish and go where I want to! A bonus too is that I work for a national company, so transferring is easy for me when a promotion should occur. I originally wanted to go with a used Class A gas MH for about $20k, but I decided its best to start with a trailer, see how it works out with the $5,500 trailer I just got,, and go from there. I can always upgrade if I need to. Plus a Class A needs to be driven regularly to keep the maintenance/repair costs down, right now a trailer makes sense to me as I will only be moving it short distances as I see to fit my needs.

Thankfully, the really nice folks I purchased the RV from have been RV'ers their whole lives and are more than happy to spend a day this weekend and show me how to hook it up and go through everything! They bought this unit new, and they've been RVing since they were little kids. They are in their 50's, between the two of them, that's about 100 years experience, I like that! They are even willing to tow it to my new site! This friendliness makes me anxious to become a full timer! I love the fact that RVers are much more friendlier neighbors than a typical apartment or stick house dweller.

I'm very excited to starting this new lifestyle! Meet some new folks and friends! If you're in Golden, CO, we should meet up sometime!

Greg

[missbrandie]

Good for you going full time! My husband and I are doing the same next month. We are both retired and still young enough to get out there and tour the country so we are going for it! Wintering in Florida and then heading west. We have a 37 foot Class A so it is like having a house on wheels. We love living in our RV. Being on your own with the pooch it should be a good solution for the rising cost of housing. Good luck! Eileen