This is the very beginning/thinking/dreaming about it stage, would love to hear how folks actually got from here to being on the raod full time!
Thanks so much!
Warmly,
Cheryl
Gary said
11:14 AM May 17, 2012
Cheryl,
Like you, we are in the planning stage, just a little farther down the road.
The key is to plan and plan and plan for what you will need in an RV. Take the time to go to an RV Show or a Dealer or 5 and sit in a few of them for a while. Move around like you own the joint. Figure out where things would go, how you'd configure it. Then go to the next one and do the same. By doing that, you'll have a better idea of what you would need to be on the road full time.
Once you get that part sorted out and have a good idea of what size/weight the RV will be then, if it's a towable, look for the right truck to tow it. Don't look at just barely covering the weights (GVW, GCVW, Payload, Towing) but exceeding them by at least 10-15% (more being better). This way you ensure that you have enough vehicle to not only tow it but SAFELY STOP IT!
We are still at least 5 years away from our exit of the work life. We aren't going to full time but will be part timing. Out for however long it takes us to see what we want to see, home to take a break and reconfigure for our next adventure then back out again. We've considered fifth wheels and an Airstream to do this. No final decision has been made yet but that decision will be made before we get the new truck. Always have to make sure that the truck exceeds the job!
Good Luck and Happy Planning!
Cindy T said
02:27 PM May 17, 2012
You might want to click on the "List All Users" button on this website. It will give you a list of the RV Dreams users. From there, you can click on a user & see if theyhave a blog, which many do. Reading the blogs will give you lots of info about FTers & their stories of how they became FTers.
Cindy T
Terry and Jo said
06:08 PM May 17, 2012
Cheryl,
Following up on Cindy's comment, I took the liberty on our blog to look up the relevant posts that I wrote about our process. I've sent links to those posts to you in a private message.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them here. A lot of folks are ready and willing to help people with answers and suggestions. Think of all of those responses as being attempts to be helpful to you, even if those responses may run counter to what you would like.
Terry
Technomadia said
07:48 PM May 17, 2012
The About Us Page on our blog pretty much tells our story and progression. You can find it by clicking on the our blog link the signature below.
- Cherie
laurly said
05:23 PM May 18, 2012
Ditto on the blog, a lot of people share their journeys openly. We researched full-timing for the last 3 years or so. First it was going to be a MH and toad, now we're in a fifth-wheel. We're are living in it on our flooded-out property (whole other story!) and are awaiting our FEMA buyout, then we're setting 'sail'!
cherab831 said
03:08 PM May 19, 2012
Love your blog!!!! So inspiring!!
Speedhitch said
06:53 PM May 19, 2012
We are in our 13th RV. We have full timed for the last 4 years...I think we are just about to decide if this is what we need...Not sure...maybe you should check back next year and see what we have decided. And then again you might want to give us a little more time to work up a list...I don't know.
Maybe this will answer your question...
heyduke said
02:37 PM May 27, 2012
Cheryl you can always go way back to the beginning of our blog as we wrote about our process of going fulltime without any prior RV experience before...
Jo And Craig said
01:52 AM May 28, 2012
Laura and George, we are full-timing wannabes and I have been researching like crazy. We saw a 5er we liked (Forest River Columbus F320RS) at a show and absolutely fell in love with it. Then, the more I thought about it, the more I thought a toyhauler would offer more versatility. We looked at some toyhaulers yesterday and now the interior living space seems so much smaller, and the garage looked smaller than I had remembered at the show. To get a garage big enough, the coach would end up being 100' long, so that might not be such a good idea. Yesterday, we also fell in love with the Class A Winngebago Adventurer. Although it is AWESOME, when I realized how small the tanks are, we would meet ourselves coming and going to the dump. So, we are now back to thinking about the Forest River 5er again. I really do believe I could live in it. Just like someone said before, there are only certain rooms we really use in our S&B, but in a 5er we would use all the rooms. It is very spaceous and very nicely appointed, which is important to me if I'm going to live in it!! So, I'm just curious... why are you going back to considering a 5er. Would love to hear your thoughts.
This is the very beginning/thinking/dreaming about it stage, would love to hear how folks actually got from here to being on the raod full time!
Thanks so much!
Warmly,
Cheryl
Like you, we are in the planning stage, just a little farther down the road.
The key is to plan and plan and plan for what you will need in an RV. Take the time to go to an RV Show or a Dealer or 5 and sit in a few of them for a while. Move around like you own the joint. Figure out where things would go, how you'd configure it. Then go to the next one and do the same. By doing that, you'll have a better idea of what you would need to be on the road full time.
Once you get that part sorted out and have a good idea of what size/weight the RV will be then, if it's a towable, look for the right truck to tow it. Don't look at just barely covering the weights (GVW, GCVW, Payload, Towing) but exceeding them by at least 10-15% (more being better). This way you ensure that you have enough vehicle to not only tow it but SAFELY STOP IT!
We are still at least 5 years away from our exit of the work life. We aren't going to full time but will be part timing. Out for however long it takes us to see what we want to see, home to take a break and reconfigure for our next adventure then back out again. We've considered fifth wheels and an Airstream to do this. No final decision has been made yet but that decision will be made before we get the new truck. Always have to make sure that the truck exceeds the job!
Good Luck and Happy Planning!
You might want to click on the "List All Users" button on this website. It will give you a list of the RV Dreams users. From there, you can click on a user & see if theyhave a blog, which many do. Reading the blogs will give you lots of info about FTers & their stories of how they became FTers.
Cindy T
Cheryl,
Following up on Cindy's comment, I took the liberty on our blog to look up the relevant posts that I wrote about our process. I've sent links to those posts to you in a private message.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them here. A lot of folks are ready and willing to help people with answers and suggestions. Think of all of those responses as being attempts to be helpful to you, even if those responses may run counter to what you would like.
Terry
- Cherie
We researched full-timing for the last 3 years or so. First it was going to be a MH and toad, now we're in a fifth-wheel. We're are living in it on our flooded-out property (whole other story!) and are awaiting our FEMA buyout, then we're setting 'sail'!
Love your blog!!!! So inspiring!!
Maybe this will answer your question...
Laura and George, we are full-timing wannabes and I have been researching like crazy. We saw a 5er we liked (Forest River Columbus F320RS) at a show and absolutely fell in love with it. Then, the more I thought about it, the more I thought a toyhauler would offer more versatility. We looked at some toyhaulers yesterday and now the interior living space seems so much smaller, and the garage looked smaller than I had remembered at the show. To get a garage big enough, the coach would end up being 100' long, so that might not be such a good idea. Yesterday, we also fell in love with the Class A Winngebago Adventurer. Although it is AWESOME, when I realized how small the tanks are, we would meet ourselves coming and going to the dump. So, we are now back to thinking about the Forest River 5er again. I really do believe I could live in it. Just like someone said before, there are only certain rooms we really use in our S&B, but in a 5er we would use all the rooms. It is very spaceous and very nicely appointed, which is important to me if I'm going to live in it!! So, I'm just curious... why are you going back to considering a 5er. Would love to hear your thoughts.