Begining To RV Full Time

[Guest]

Hello, everyone!

 

Me and my husband are in the beginning process of trying to start full time RVing. So far we have only done research, trying to figure out the steps we need to take before starting and also saving.

 

Anyone full time and would like to share your story?

 

Thank you!

[galladanb]

Hello! Just joined this morning... (10/15/16)
We have been lurking as outsiders looking in for ever!!! We are getting the bug really bad.
Currently we do NOT have a motor-home, but have been looked at several.
Our biggest hurdle to date has been financing, and where to park the darn thing.
Our city does not allow us to park at our home for more than 24 hours, so "Load and GO!"

So we are seeking info in here! Good luck and perhaps share a campsite soon!

[tbutler]

Surprised you haven't gotten more responses to this query.  Use the search box at the top of the FMCA page, not your browser page, put in "full time" and you should get a large number of discussions. There is also a major topic on full timing here in the FMCA forum.  There are 619 postings in that section.  All these are good resources for anyone interested in full timing.

I would also invite you to visit the meet-a-member section of this web site.  There are some introductions there that include information about how people got into the full timer life style.  I love to write and our information is pretty detailed, take a look here.  I also blog here on the web site.  My stories of our travels can give you an idea of some of the things that are possible when you cut yourself loose from the sticks and bricks home and join those of us who live on wheels.

[BillAdams]

How soon do you plan to full-time?  Do you plan to actually move on a regular basis or would you like to go N. for the Summer and S. for the Winter?  Will this be true full-time where you sell the house and everything you own goes in the RV?  Please tell us more about your hopes and dreams.

[wildebill308]

On 10/15/2016 at 9:20 AM, galladanb said:

Hello! Just joined this morning... (10/15/16)
We have been lurking as outsiders looking in for ever!!! We are getting the bug really bad.
Currently we do NOT have a motor-home, but have been looked at several.
Our biggest hurdle to date has been financing, and where to park the darn thing.
Our city does not allow us to park at our home for more than 24 hours, so "Load and GO!"

So we are seeking info in here! Good luck and perhaps share a campsite soon!

Welcome to FMCA and the forum. I will offer some observations and advice to both you and spikesfam. I personally don't full time. I do tend to take extended trips and know many who do full time. First I would highly recommend you go read everything The butlers posted and linked to. They do full time so I would defer to their personal  experience.

Figure out what your budget is and what you can spend monthly. Start looking at used coaches, places like PPL  http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/ ,have a good selection and you can see the floor plan you can look and see what coaches have sold for in the past. Here are a couple of other places to look. 

http://motorhomesoftexas.com/,

http://www.mhsrv.com/

http://www.rvtrader.com/

Go to a couple of RV shows/dealers and look at floor plan and find the one that works for you. Sit in the coach take your time get a feel of how it is laid out and how well does it suit you. I am not advocating buying new but it is a good way to see many floor plans and experience them so when you see a floor plan diagram you will have a reference.

Always look at a coach with the slides in at some point as you want to be able to move about, go to the bathroom, get to the refrigerator with the slides in. If you can't move on in your search. 

galladanb, Look for a storage place, covered would be nice or possibly a campground that has storage, most have a lower rate for storage. It would be a good idea to have that lined out before you buy. 

Plan now to have a Towd. 4 down is the best way to tow, but if you can't you can use a dolly. I don't like a trailer as they are to hard to move by yourself if you need to. Yes there are people who don't have a towed but you give up 65-70% of your experience and ability to explore and add a huge hassle factor. If you want to go to the store you have to unhook everything and store it and re set up when you get back. Plus parking is never going to be easey. 

Financing anything 10 years old or older is probably not going to happen. I missed several great rigs because no one would finance them when I was looking.

One thing to do is if you are going full time (selling the house) you need an exit strategy. Some day, hopefully not for a long time you will need to leave the full time life stile. The time to start planning for that time is now.

Thats a long enough list for now if you have any questions please ask.

Bill

[manholt]

Bill, well said.  I would also add, send a PM to Bill Adams, he also is a full timer and has lots of experience.  I guess the biggest question is age and do you own your house or are you renting?  Then, do you plan to work or are you retired?

As for a coach?  You have said nothing about what your looking at or for, new or used...run across too many over the years, that I have presumed was looking for a used cookie cuter and then been told, no we want a Custom Coach.  Works in reverse also!

Good luck

Carl 

[BillAdams]

No need to send a PM (prefer you don't) about questions everyone has answers to.  Post any questions.  I will be along.

[manholt]

[galladanb]

To the original poster, "Sorry to have stolen your post!" I did not have that in mind when I posted my comment. I new in here, SORRY!

Thank you to all the responders, your comments are well constructed and thoughtful!

Sandy and I will be looking for a used (For budget issues) Allegro Bay 32BA. That length and floor plan make sense to us...
I think my first DIY Mod will be to remove the bed and cabinets and build a platform for a king size.
I plan to trim about four inches in length so there wont be any closure issues. We are looking at a 3 layer memory foam
that comes all compressed in a bag...

I'm also thinking we could get a dolly and haul our current 2011 Honda Accord behind. I am concerned that the weight may be a factor.
The Accord would complicate 4 down towing, I hear... DO-able, but complicated... Any thought here?

I think there are lots of questions I will be seeking advice on soon, (and I will ask them in the proper places) but, for now, I felt this might be a good start...

[wildebill308]

Dan'l, What year range are you looking at? One of the first things you might do is go to PPL and download the booklet 8 mistakes to avoid when buying a motorhome.

Most coaches come with a queen or short queen bed. Simple way I used to add some length is to stuff a couple pillows between the mattress and the wall. Or just buy a coach with a king size bed.

Bill

[homefreefmca]

There is no one best RV. When we looked at going full time, some of the items we looked for were :

Liveability - did we like the coach layout, /enough storage -his (mostly outside)  & hers ( food,fridge,etc.) . enough closet and drawer space for up to 4 seasons worth Does it have the amenities you want,e.g. TV's in & outside,bed wide & long enough (are you 5 feet or 6'6" tall).  

Maintenance of RV - how easy is the coach to repair. Does the manufacturer know where some of their equipment is installed ( we had a motorhome - were looking for a fuse to replace so our slide would work - the company "help" desk person said it could be in number of places - depending on what day it was built. I hope that is no longer a problem.)

Warranty. What is the manufacturers reputation regarding warranty and customer service. This is only a small list. I am sure there are others out there who have even more ideas. In the end it all depends on what YOU want to do.

Oh yes, SET a budget on how much you can afford. I unfortunately have met some fellow RV'ers who had a great coach but were unable to fully enjoy it due to financial concerns.. Hope this helps.