We made the decision to go fulltime more than a year ago. We will have to downsize, no matter what, when we retire, and being fixed in place somewhere does not appeal to us... and we won't be able to afford both maintaining a stix-n-brix and travel too.
Anyway, this past weekend we finally managed to nail down our choice of a fifth-wheel brand and model. We took a trip to a dealer in Florida, 300 miles from here, to finally see in person what looked on paper like what we wanted, and much to our delight we were not disappointed! So, check off that box on the decision tree. Mind you, we're not buying the trailer yet... First we want to locate and purchase the truck. On that, we've decided we want a used HDT to be converted for towing a fifth-wheel, much like what Jack Mayer has. Once that's done, we'll be getting the rig, which will then be set up in the driveway to be lived in while we empty out the house to ready it and put it on the market. Oh yea, did mention I have to figure out where in this process I want to retire too? Once I pull the trigger on that, we will be on a reduced income, so everything will have to be nearly ready before I can do that.
We are starting to get excited though because finally we can see things starting to take shape instead of just dreaming about it. The adventure is beginning...!
Dennie and Dottie Beaman said
09:20 AM Jun 2, 2008
And that brand and model would be??
Tim & Robyn said
09:50 AM Jun 2, 2008
Oh yea... NuWa 37CKRD CE.....
wmalefyt said
10:52 AM Jun 2, 2008
Tim & Robyn wrote:
Oh yea... NuWa 37CKRD CE.....
Congratulations! You picked the best in my opinion! After lots research we have decided on NuWa also, but probably a Discover America model in a shorter length. Since your CKRD has a GVWR of 19,000 lbs I can see why you want an HDT!
By the way, if your dealer has this on the lot you might want to find a way to buy it now. NuWa has announced a couple of recent prices increases and more may be coming. They are getting hit hard with price increases from their vendors due to the increased cost of fuel. You should be able to drive a hard bargain as most dealers must be having a hard time selling any RV's these days.
Have fun and we hope to see you down the road sometime.
foxriverguy said
11:58 AM Jun 2, 2008
Tim & Robyn,
Congratulations. the next 12 months will be BUSY!!!
I hope you feel comfortable in sharing the negotiation process and final price. I've seen a lot of anecdotal evidence that RV prices are dropping, but not too many actual case histories.
Have fun. We'll be on the road a few months after you. Please leave the light on for us.
Tim & Robyn said
12:59 PM Jun 2, 2008
Hi Bill,
NuWa has a DA with the same floorplan as the 37CKRD CE.... the 360RSB. That's what we went to see at the dealer in Ocala to make sure the floorplan would work for us. They also had a Champagne Edition, although a different model, and we wanted to crawl through that one to see the differences between that line and the DA line. There's no doubt the DA would be easier on the pocketbook, but the clincher for us is the NCC - we want at least 4000# and only the CE line offers that.
My wife has an aunt who has been fulltiming for years in a Hitchhiker that is now almost 20 years old... we've never seen that one, as she's in an SKP coop in Arizona, and we don't want to blow the budget traveling all over the place just to look at units... that's why we spent so much time researching, researching, reading owner forums, etc.
We don't think we'll have too much problem selling our house here in Columbus, GA... there is a big expansion taking place at Ft. Benning with base closures elsewhere resulting from BRAC (base realignment and closure), plus the armor school is being moved here from Ft. Knox in Ky. However, we also need to sell my mother's house in Pembroke Pines FL... that might not be so easy, unless we let it go way below market value (whatever that is this half hour). And timing it to get it all to happen in relatively short order won't be easy either because we can't control when the houses sell, unless we really lowball them (which won't make the neighbors happy). But we are determined to do whatever we must to make it happen... once we set things in motion it's got to move because we can't carry any financing debt for very long... If we have to we'll even raid the retirement kitty and pay it back when everything else is sold.... just don't want to have to deal with the taxes - that would wipe out any discounts we might get on the purchases, not to mention lost earnings during that interval...
The hard part for us now is to remain patient... so close, and yet so far... sheesh...
Henri and Carole said
02:25 PM Jun 2, 2008
Tim & Robyn
Congrats on your good news!! Finding the right 5vr makes this dream that much closer!
We've found our CE, too, and hope to get it next week ~ still have to put the house on the market so we're jumping in with all 4 feet!
DH wants to know if you've looked at the 450s or MDTs. We were going to get the truck once we decided on the rig, but a deal came at up we have to take so, cart before the horse at this point.
We're excited for you!!
Carole & Henri
Going full timing sooner than we thought!!
Tim & Robyn said
02:53 PM Jun 2, 2008
Yea, we've thought about the 450s-550s, and MDTs, but from what I've been able to gather a used HDT and conversion would still be cheaper... It all depends of course on what the costs come out to be, but what we have in mind is something like a used Volvo 610, with a bed conversion to tow a fifth wheel, and a platform added between the cab and the tow hitch to haul around a Smart Car for running around places when we're set up in a campsite somewhere. At current prices we could do a trade straight up and get money back on a Smart Car (we're driving a Honda Civic hybrid with less than 7,000 miles on it, and it's paid for). I've seen pictures on the internet in various forums of setups like this... Don't know what it would cost yet, but we're going to find out.
Here's a picture of what a setup like this looks like:
We don't want to drive two vehicles or double tow...
Sandra said
05:22 PM Jun 2, 2008
That's such a good idea. Just love the little Smartcars!
Good luck on selling the houses and hopefully we'll see you on the road!
petitetot said
07:27 PM Jun 2, 2008
Congratulations, that's great news. Wishing you a lot a great days with your new rig. This is the beginning of a new life.
Speedhitch said
08:13 PM Jun 2, 2008
Tim and Robyn...great news...your about to free yourself and we are all excited for you. Houses are a pain!! We have ours up for sale now and so far it has been 4 months with no contracts...oh well we don't have payments and we are still some time off from my retirement. I hope that all your dreams come true and you are out there when we hit the road. Keep us all up to date on all the latest!!
Joe and Sherri
pierreandcolleen said
09:29 AM Jun 3, 2008
Tim & Robyn,
We are so happy and excited for you. Congratulations!!!!
-Colleen
blijil said
06:52 AM Jun 4, 2008
Research, research, research, a man on a mission. Boy can I relate. Studied the issues and forums for years, made the decisions, practiced retirement, practiced rving, and finally we are full time. Enjoy all of the process, we did and haven't regretted a decision yet. Larry
We made the decision to go fulltime more than a year ago. We will have to downsize, no matter what, when we retire, and being fixed in place somewhere does not appeal to us... and we won't be able to afford both maintaining a stix-n-brix and travel too.
Anyway, this past weekend we finally managed to nail down our choice of a fifth-wheel brand and model. We took a trip to a dealer in Florida, 300 miles from here, to finally see in person what looked on paper like what we wanted, and much to our delight we were not disappointed! So, check off that box on the decision tree. Mind you, we're not buying the trailer yet... First we want to locate and purchase the truck. On that, we've decided we want a used HDT to be converted for towing a fifth-wheel, much like what Jack Mayer has. Once that's done, we'll be getting the rig, which will then be set up in the driveway to be lived in while we empty out the house to ready it and put it on the market. Oh yea, did mention I have to figure out where in this process I want to retire too? Once I pull the trigger on that, we will be on a reduced income, so everything will have to be nearly ready before I can do that.
We are starting to get excited though because finally we can see things starting to take shape instead of just dreaming about it. The adventure is beginning...!
By the way, if your dealer has this on the lot you might want to find a way to buy it now. NuWa has announced a couple of recent prices increases and more may be coming. They are getting hit hard with price increases from their vendors due to the increased cost of fuel. You should be able to drive a hard bargain as most dealers must be having a hard time selling any RV's these days.
Have fun and we hope to see you down the road sometime.
Congratulations. the next 12 months will be BUSY!!!
I hope you feel comfortable in sharing the negotiation process and final price. I've seen a lot of anecdotal evidence that RV prices are dropping, but not too many actual case histories.
Have fun. We'll be on the road a few months after you. Please leave the light on for us.
Hi Bill,
NuWa has a DA with the same floorplan as the 37CKRD CE.... the 360RSB. That's what we went to see at the dealer in Ocala to make sure the floorplan would work for us. They also had a Champagne Edition, although a different model, and we wanted to crawl through that one to see the differences between that line and the DA line. There's no doubt the DA would be easier on the pocketbook, but the clincher for us is the NCC - we want at least 4000# and only the CE line offers that.
My wife has an aunt who has been fulltiming for years in a Hitchhiker that is now almost 20 years old... we've never seen that one, as she's in an SKP coop in Arizona, and we don't want to blow the budget traveling all over the place just to look at units... that's why we spent so much time researching, researching, reading owner forums, etc.
We don't think we'll have too much problem selling our house here in Columbus, GA... there is a big expansion taking place at Ft. Benning with base closures elsewhere resulting from BRAC (base realignment and closure), plus the armor school is being moved here from Ft. Knox in Ky. However, we also need to sell my mother's house in Pembroke Pines FL... that might not be so easy, unless we let it go way below market value (whatever that is this half hour). And timing it to get it all to happen in relatively short order won't be easy either because we can't control when the houses sell, unless we really lowball them (which won't make the neighbors happy). But we are determined to do whatever we must to make it happen... once we set things in motion it's got to move because we can't carry any financing debt for very long... If we have to we'll even raid the retirement kitty and pay it back when everything else is sold.... just don't want to have to deal with the taxes - that would wipe out any discounts we might get on the purchases, not to mention lost earnings during that interval...
The hard part for us now is to remain patient... so close, and yet so far... sheesh...
Here's a picture of what a setup like this looks like:
http://bp1.blogger.com/_XtPKY0BOat0/Rol4W_kDxyI/AAAAAAAAAzA/8yMrJtJEzPA/s1600-h/Toterman+(2).jpg
We don't want to drive two vehicles or double tow...
We are so happy and excited for you. Congratulations!!!!
-Colleen
Larry