OK, I'm just jumping in here to introduce ourselves, in the middle of our getting-ready adventures. We are Wayne and Deanna Curtis, have been married 28 years, raised 5 daughters, and owned lots of rvs over time. We have made the decision, with the help of your WONDERFUL COMMUNITY of folks who have shared their experience, to be Static Full Timers. At least I think we have the lingo correct on that one! Wayne will continue to work, and we aren't leaving our area, except for trips (which I am happy I won't have to pack for anymore!!). We are in the process of moving into our new home on wheels, and will list the house pretty soon. Going through all the stuff and figuring out who can use what. That's our intro. A little more in our bio. Thank you so much, everyone, for being there and sharing your experiences and questions/answers which we are learning so much from. Hopefully we can contribute from our years of rving and help someone too.
Trabuco said
05:29 AM Nov 17, 2012
Welcome Wayne Deanna!
Sounds like you have the lingo down. Congrats on the new rig as well!
Terry and Jo said
05:40 AM Nov 17, 2012
Welcome Wayne and Deanna,
As another "static" full-timer, I can tell you that you will be "charged" for some time to this lifestyle. Jo and I have been living in our fifth wheel for about a year and a half, parked in a small mobile home park, and enjoying that we don't have a lot of yard work and, as Jo says, not a lot of cleaning because of owning a home.
The biggest thing to remember is HOLDING TANKS. I was shaving the other morning when my wife, Jo, mentioned that the kitchen sink was holding water. Yep.....I forgot to keep an eye on the tank. No issues though as there was not a lot of water there.
Feel free to ask questions and make comments. Since you've been RV'ing for some time, I'm sure you will be able to answer the questions of others. Glad to have you as part of the family.
Terry
Wayne and Deanna said
07:50 AM Nov 17, 2012
Thank you so much for the welcoming words!
:)
Wayne and Deanna said
07:51 AM Nov 17, 2012
Thank you for the encouragement, Terry. Can't have too many reminders about those holding tanks. :)
GENECOP said
04:09 PM Nov 17, 2012
Welcome to the Forum.....
Lucky Mike said
05:00 PM Nov 17, 2012
Welcome to the family!!!...........hope to hear alot from you,the journey has begun!!!!
Wayne and Deanna said
06:48 AM Nov 18, 2012
Thank you all. We cannot wait to meet some of you in person. Until then, so glad to know you. :)
rclvnv said
12:12 AM Nov 19, 2012
Hi and welcome. We are static for 8 months of the year mobile for 4. We, like Terry & Jo have been been fulltiming about a year and a half. We are in a large very well-run park, but are in a section basically for what they call extended stay. Since we will retire in June,but will always want to spend part of the year here, we are able to reserve our space ahead of time for the months we want to be here,well ahead , as we have done the past two summers,it works well for us. We too, love the freedom of having sold the house. I truly believe static or mobile, this lifestyle adds to the quality of life. Since we are in an area where people are always in & out, we get to meet people from everywhere, including europeans who come to see the west and rent RV's to do so. Almost like travel without moving. Very enjoyable.
Like many here, this site and the great folks who participate were a driving force behind or decision to fully embrace the lifestyle. Although we had been RV'ers most of our lives, and we knew we liked the idea, doing it,as you know, if quite a different matter. I wish you the best.
Terry's comment about the holding tanks is right on, but rather ironic. Three days ago, the park was working on the water system,and notified everyone that the water would be off for two hours. I have no idea how I came to leave the bathroom sink faucet on, but since the water was off when we left that morning, I wasn't aware of it. Our grey tank was closed,as is our habit and of course when they turned the water back on the tank filled and overflowed from the shower. We got a lot of water in the storage compartments of our rig, as well as the underbelly, we guess that the water ran a couple of hours before our neighbor across the way saw water coming from the underbelly,and shut off the water. Luckilly, the damage was minimal, and two quickly drilled 2" holes in the underbelly cover drained the water quickly, and heaters in the underbelly and in the bath solved the problem.Minor carpet damage in the bedroom, but I imagine we'd have had a disaster if my neighbor hadn't acted when he did. RV people truly are the best. Just a few weeks before that,the same guy had a terrible time replacing a roof vent on his rig, and much as I hate heights on windy days, I climbed up there and helped him get it done. Never considered not doing so, just like he never considered not shutting off my water, and helping us deal with the mess, when we returned. Just another reason why the RV lifestyle is so awesome.
Best,
Richard
PIEERE said
12:57 AM Nov 19, 2012
Welcome to all! Hope you enjoy this life-style as much as I have. Lived in an RV since 1994 with a brother until 1998, then purchased my own in 1999 and started my journey in 2001. Even with a few setbacks and problems it is going to be very difficult leaving this lifestyle should that time come. There are so many people doing the same and are willing to help; remember my parents describing how people helped one another in their generation.
Wayne and Deanna said
03:01 AM Nov 19, 2012
Thanks for your kind words. Yes, this is exciting and scary and challenging. Spent good part of last night on here, reviewing many posts on the emotional aspects of this life change.
Appreciate everyone's candid sharing. This week will be more talking to the kids about what they can use, and more moving into our new home. Let the sorting begin. Want to be done with this part when we list the house. Onward...
Wayne and Deanna said
06:16 PM Nov 28, 2012
Hi, friends! I am posting an update on our progress. We have been living in our 5th wheel now for a week. Last Wednesday I just decided that we had done as much mental moving in as we could, and it was time to put things away and begin the adventure. I think it was an emotional move too; disconnecting from the Big House, and bonding with our new HOME. We are still on our driveway...house not up for sale yet. We are feeling very spoiled, though, that we have the freedom to move things just a few steps from the house...and put them back if they don't work in here. We feel like we are assembling a very large jigsaw puzzle. Fun, frustrating, exhausting. But mostly fun. We are sleeping better now, and not waking up trying to imagine how this will work for us.
The grown kids and other family members and friends are being told and adjusting, and we are figuring out who can use what, and planning toward yard sale #1 when weather and time allow.
We are learning how to best live and move and have our being in this new space. :) And, we are finding ourselves becoming neat freaks and putting things back in their designated spots to keep our new home pleasant and ourselves in better spirits. :)
Wayne had an awfully lot of fun over the 4 days off from work for Thanksgiving. He totally organized the storage space, with, again, so much help from our new community of friends here who shared ideas. Thank you! I'm pretty sure he should post pictures eventually. It's looking real put together down there!
OK, well, I'm back to humming These are a Few of My Favorite Things...
Best wishes to all of you this wonderful holiday season!
Deanna
bigboomer said
09:31 PM Nov 28, 2012
Congrats Wayne and Deanna on your new adventure! We are newbies as well with just under 4 months now and loving it! We are "static" or "fixed based" FT'ers right now while I still work FT but can honestly say that it has been one of the best moves we have ever made. Just the release of the stress of having to care for a large home and yard, yet have the comfort of being able to move in a heart beat if necessary or want to! We have decorated the interior already for the holiday's (first year in 26 years without a full blown tree) but we made it special nonetheless (we strung lighted pine garland over the sides and tops of each slide and hung our former tree ornaments on the garland (pics to follow).
Wishing you continued great luck and happiness in your new lifestyle and have a very Happy Holiday Season.
Les
Wayne and Deanna said
10:32 PM Nov 28, 2012
Richard (& Ginny!)
Thank you so much for the encouragement as we work our way through this process. Can't tell you how much it means that you shared this fairly recent experience that you have been through, and how you are doing now.
Love the idea of the Christmas ornaments on the garland. Wonderful idea, which we may have to put to good use very soon.
Your truck is awesome, and, IS THAT YOUR ANSWER TO A STORAGE UNIT? Very cool.
We will look forward to the Christmas ornament pics!
Deanna (& Wayne)
bigboomer said
04:45 PM Nov 29, 2012
Thanks Deanna. The box on the back of the truck houses our motorcycles and my tool cabinets and other "essential" workshop type tools, etc. So far it has been a blast, especially trying to figure out how to "Christmas" the joint up, but Sue is well on here way (this is her big time of the year and lives for the festivities). She is now looking for a workamping position at one of the local campgrounds for next season while I continue to work FT.
Wayne and Deanna said
05:06 PM Nov 29, 2012
Les and Sue,
Ah, yes, Wayne said that nice box would be for the motorcycles. Very good!
Merry Christmas, and I am looking forward to hearing more about how Sue gets creative with festivities this year, and finding work as well.
Enjoy your dream!
Wayne and Deanna said
10:48 PM Jan 6, 2013
Happy New Year update...almost 2 months since we joined this group now. We have learned so much, and continue to learn as we go. We just had yard sale #2, hoping to list the house 2/1. Have continued living in the 5er since we committed to doing so day before Thanksgiving. It is our cozy, new home. We cannot wait to be done with the cleanout and sale of the Big House. Storage unit in place for what we cannot part with yet. What a process. What a wild emotional ride, at times. We are growing closer than ever as a couple, as we work through this huge change. God is faithful. Thank you for all the help and encouragement, everyone!
Best of everything in the New Year to y'all!
Deanna
bigboomer said
11:19 PM Jan 6, 2013
Deanna,
Your almost there!!! We are now 5 months into our "new" life and we are so loving it! The holidays were so stress free. A lot of our friends and family have seen the change in us and after bouncing off the walls during our home sale and eventual move they see how relaxed we are and are now starting to see the light!
Even my skeptical SOL is now warming up to our "crazy" plan that she did not think we thought out!
We wish for your continued success as you move towards your goals! You are doing the right thing!
Les and Sue
JayKim-no regrets said
12:16 AM Jan 7, 2013
Hi Wayne and Deanna :)
We too are Static Fulltimers, we bought our 'new home' in August last year and moved onto the Family Campground on the base where Jay still works fulltime. I remember how hard it was for us to 'downsize' everything we had collected over our 25 year marriage, we had two huge yard sales and still ended up with a garage full that we gave to goodwill. We also have a storeage unit with all the things our Son is going to put into a house sometime this year, he is getting out of the Navy in the Summer and moving from Hawaii back to the mainland US. I think both of us were physically and emotionally drained during the whole process!
Fast forward almost 6 months and we are both happier than ever! We have loved every minute of our 'new life'. We took our first trip in the RV over Thanks Giving to Patrick AFB in Florida and we had a blast!! Jay keeps saying that he is going to love being a "mobile" fulltimer, we are just waiting to pay off the last bit of debt before we are outta here!! Hopefuly toward the end of this year. We are in a great spot here on the base, Jay is home for lunch every day and the other RVers that live here or just visit have been great neighbors! We decided to get to know everyone that was here for Christmas, so we printed out invites to a "Marshmallow roast" on Christmas eve, it was so much fun and now we feel like we are a big family!
We are not financially sound enough to be able to live this life without having some extra income, but we are looking forward to the Work Camping experience, or volunteering for a site at the national parks etc. There are lots of opportunities to earn a little extra when we need it.
Congrats to you both for taking the chance and living 'your' life! It's just going to keep getting better from here! Welcome to the forum!
Good Luck and huggs Kim x
Wayne and Deanna said
12:22 AM Jan 7, 2013
Thank you, Les and Sue! 5 months out. Congratulations! Sounds marvelous! :) and we are so encouraged by your words, first because your interior is so like ours (as noted in wonderful Christmas pics), and because this is so recent for you, and fresh in your minds.
Forward march, as we like to say here. Thanks, again...
Deanna (and The Captain)
Wayne and Deanna said
12:30 AM Jan 7, 2013
Jay and Kim, what a wonderful setup you have going for you! Thank you for the encouragement. We are so busy getting ready to be less busy, but when we do check in and hear from those of you who have made it through....we are energized. Thanks for taking the time to post your kind words. Hope we meet one day.
Deanna
KellyVA said
09:04 AM Jan 16, 2013
Hi Wayne and Deanna, (and all others on this forum)
I'm just loving reading all of the stories here, sure makes me feel good to know others are going through their years of belongings and getting down to the bare bones! We will be here through the summer months then head out in October. Hubby retires in May so he will be available to help with the garage sales, trips to the storage unit and trips to the Goodwill. :)
The excitement is starting to outweigh the fear but this forum and stories like yours and the others here are really helping!!
Kelly & Jay
Wayne and Deanna said
01:39 PM Jan 16, 2013
Kelly & Jay, best of luck to you on your dream! These are hectic days now, but all steps forward help. And your taking time to say that those of us who share are fueling your dream made my day. More packing today. Onward march! Deanna
bigboomer said
02:16 PM Jan 16, 2013
Good Luck Kelly and Jay, your adventures await you! I remember that Alka-Seltzer commercial where at the end they say "Oh what a relief it is"....well that is how we felt once the house was sold and all of our "stuff" was relieved of our grasp! It was hard letting go of some of the things but in the end as Sue says "it is like reading a book, you read a chapter and move on!". This is the attitude we have taken too and subscribe now every day to! No looking back and no wanting to go back!
We wish you a stress free road to your goals!
Les and Sue
Wayne and Deanna said
02:29 PM Jan 16, 2013
Kelly & Jay, best of luck to you on your dream! These are hectic days now, but all steps forward help. And your taking time to say that those of us who share are fueling your dream made my day. More packing today. Onward march! Deanna
Wayne and Deanna said
08:20 PM Feb 17, 2013
Happy belated Valentine's Day, friends!
Time for another update: House is on the market for about a week now. Things in storage, mostly. Now, the waiting game. Don't think we like waiting very much. :)
But 3 months now in our new home, and keep tweaking things and it feels very homey. It will be good to be living amongst other rvers and not on our driveway, like fish out of water. :( Still, we would do it this way again in a nanosecond. It has made the transition so much easier for us, and for our whole family.
Have a great weekend, everyone. :)
bigboomer said
12:58 AM Feb 18, 2013
Wayne and Deanna....it's only a matter of time...time to put the St. Joseph upside down in the front yard!
Wayne and Deanna said
01:27 AM Feb 18, 2013
Ha, ha, just looked that up and it seems popular! Thanks for the love...
OK, I'm just jumping in here to introduce ourselves, in the middle of our getting-ready adventures. We are Wayne and Deanna Curtis, have been married 28 years, raised 5 daughters, and owned lots of rvs over time. We have made the decision, with the help of your WONDERFUL COMMUNITY of folks who have shared their experience, to be Static Full Timers. At least I think we have the lingo correct on that one! Wayne will continue to work, and we aren't leaving our area, except for trips (which I am happy I won't have to pack for anymore!!). We are in the process of moving into our new home on wheels, and will list the house pretty soon. Going through all the stuff and figuring out who can use what. That's our intro. A little more in our bio. Thank you so much, everyone, for being there and sharing your experiences and questions/answers which we are learning so much from. Hopefully we can contribute from our years of rving and help someone too.
Sounds like you have the lingo down. Congrats on the new rig as well!
Welcome Wayne and Deanna,
As another "static" full-timer, I can tell you that you will be "charged" for some time to this lifestyle. Jo and I have been living in our fifth wheel for about a year and a half, parked in a small mobile home park, and enjoying that we don't have a lot of yard work and, as Jo says, not a lot of cleaning because of owning a home.
The biggest thing to remember is HOLDING TANKS. I was shaving the other morning when my wife, Jo, mentioned that the kitchen sink was holding water. Yep.....I forgot to keep an eye on the tank. No issues though as there was not a lot of water there.
Feel free to ask questions and make comments. Since you've been RV'ing for some time, I'm sure you will be able to answer the questions of others. Glad to have you as part of the family.
Terry
Thank you so much for the welcoming words!
:)
Thank you for the encouragement, Terry. Can't have too many reminders about those holding tanks. :)
Hi and welcome. We are static for 8 months of the year mobile for 4. We, like Terry & Jo have been been fulltiming about a year and a half. We are in a large very well-run park, but are in a section basically for what they call extended stay. Since we will retire in June,but will always want to spend part of the year here, we are able to reserve our space ahead of time for the months we want to be here,well ahead , as we have done the past two summers,it works well for us. We too, love the freedom of having sold the house. I truly believe static or mobile, this lifestyle adds to the quality of life. Since we are in an area where people are always in & out, we get to meet people from everywhere, including europeans who come to see the west and rent RV's to do so. Almost like travel without moving. Very enjoyable.
Like many here, this site and the great folks who participate were a driving force behind or decision to fully embrace the lifestyle. Although we had been RV'ers most of our lives, and we knew we liked the idea, doing it,as you know, if quite a different matter. I wish you the best.
Terry's comment about the holding tanks is right on, but rather ironic. Three days ago, the park was working on the water system,and notified everyone that the water would be off for two hours. I have no idea how I came to leave the bathroom sink faucet on, but since the water was off when we left that morning, I wasn't aware of it. Our grey tank was closed,as is our habit and of course when they turned the water back on the tank filled and overflowed from the shower. We got a lot of water in the storage compartments of our rig, as well as the underbelly, we guess that the water ran a couple of hours before our neighbor across the way saw water coming from the underbelly,and shut off the water. Luckilly, the damage was minimal, and two quickly drilled 2" holes in the underbelly cover drained the water quickly, and heaters in the underbelly and in the bath solved the problem.Minor carpet damage in the bedroom, but I imagine we'd have had a disaster if my neighbor hadn't acted when he did. RV people truly are the best. Just a few weeks before that,the same guy had a terrible time replacing a roof vent on his rig, and much as I hate heights on windy days, I climbed up there and helped him get it done. Never considered not doing so, just like he never considered not shutting off my water, and helping us deal with the mess, when we returned. Just another reason why the RV lifestyle is so awesome.
Best,
Richard
Appreciate everyone's candid sharing. This week will be more talking to the kids about what they can use, and more moving into our new home. Let the sorting begin. Want to be done with this part when we list the house. Onward...
Hi, friends! I am posting an update on our progress. We have been living in our 5th wheel now for a week. Last Wednesday I just decided that we had done as much mental moving in as we could, and it was time to put things away and begin the adventure. I think it was an emotional move too; disconnecting from the Big House, and bonding with our new HOME. We are still on our driveway...house not up for sale yet. We are feeling very spoiled, though, that we have the freedom to move things just a few steps from the house...and put them back if they don't work in here. We feel like we are assembling a very large jigsaw puzzle. Fun, frustrating, exhausting. But mostly fun. We are sleeping better now, and not waking up trying to imagine how this will work for us.
The grown kids and other family members and friends are being told and adjusting, and we are figuring out who can use what, and planning toward yard sale #1 when weather and time allow.
We are learning how to best live and move and have our being in this new space. :) And, we are finding ourselves becoming neat freaks and putting things back in their designated spots to keep our new home pleasant and ourselves in better spirits. :)
Wayne had an awfully lot of fun over the 4 days off from work for Thanksgiving. He totally organized the storage space, with, again, so much help from our new community of friends here who shared ideas. Thank you! I'm pretty sure he should post pictures eventually. It's looking real put together down there!
OK, well, I'm back to humming These are a Few of My Favorite Things...
Best wishes to all of you this wonderful holiday season!
Deanna
Congrats Wayne and Deanna on your new adventure! We are newbies as well with just under 4 months now and loving it! We are "static" or "fixed based" FT'ers right now while I still work FT but can honestly say that it has been one of the best moves we have ever made. Just the release of the stress of having to care for a large home and yard, yet have the comfort of being able to move in a heart beat if necessary or want to! We have decorated the interior already for the holiday's (first year in 26 years without a full blown tree) but we made it special nonetheless (we strung lighted pine garland over the sides and tops of each slide and hung our former tree ornaments on the garland (pics to follow).
Wishing you continued great luck and happiness in your new lifestyle and have a very Happy Holiday Season.
Les
Richard (& Ginny!)
Thank you so much for the encouragement as we work our way through this process. Can't tell you how much it means that you shared this fairly recent experience that you have been through, and how you are doing now.
Love the idea of the Christmas ornaments on the garland. Wonderful idea, which we may have to put to good use very soon.
Your truck is awesome, and, IS THAT YOUR ANSWER TO A STORAGE UNIT? Very cool.
We will look forward to the Christmas ornament pics!
Deanna (& Wayne)
Thanks Deanna. The box on the back of the truck houses our motorcycles and my tool cabinets and other "essential" workshop type tools, etc. So far it has been a blast, especially trying to figure out how to "Christmas" the joint up, but Sue is well on here way (this is her big time of the year and lives for the festivities). She is now looking for a workamping position at one of the local campgrounds for next season while I continue to work FT.
Ah, yes, Wayne said that nice box would be for the motorcycles. Very good!
Merry Christmas, and I am looking forward to hearing more about how Sue gets creative with festivities this year, and finding work as well.
Enjoy your dream!
Best of everything in the New Year to y'all!
Deanna
Deanna,
Your almost there!!! We are now 5 months into our "new" life and we are so loving it! The holidays were so stress free. A lot of our friends and family have seen the change in us and after bouncing off the walls during our home sale and eventual move they see how relaxed we are and are now starting to see the light!
Even my skeptical SOL is now warming up to our "crazy" plan that she did not think we thought out!
We wish for your continued success as you move towards your goals! You are doing the right thing!
Les and Sue
We too are Static Fulltimers, we bought our 'new home' in August last year and moved onto the Family Campground on the base where Jay still works fulltime. I remember how hard it was for us to 'downsize' everything we had collected over our 25 year marriage, we had two huge yard sales and still ended up with a garage full that we gave to goodwill. We also have a storeage unit with all the things our Son is going to put into a house sometime this year, he is getting out of the Navy in the Summer and moving from Hawaii back to the mainland US. I think both of us were physically and emotionally drained during the whole process!
Fast forward almost 6 months and we are both happier than ever! We have loved every minute of our 'new life'. We took our first trip in the RV over Thanks Giving to Patrick AFB in Florida and we had a blast!! Jay keeps saying that he is going to love being a "mobile" fulltimer, we are just waiting to pay off the last bit of debt before we are outta here!! Hopefuly toward the end of this year. We are in a great spot here on the base, Jay is home for lunch every day and the other RVers that live here or just visit have been great neighbors! We decided to get to know everyone that was here for Christmas, so we printed out invites to a "Marshmallow roast" on Christmas eve, it was so much fun and now we feel like we are a big family!
We are not financially sound enough to be able to live this life without having some extra income, but we are looking forward to the Work Camping experience, or volunteering for a site at the national parks etc. There are lots of opportunities to earn a little extra when we need it.
Congrats to you both for taking the chance and living 'your' life! It's just going to keep getting better from here! Welcome to the forum!
Good Luck and huggs
Kim x
Forward march, as we like to say here. Thanks, again...
Deanna (and The Captain)
Deanna
I'm just loving reading all of the stories here, sure makes me feel good to know others are going through their years of belongings and getting down to the bare bones! We will be here through the summer months then head out in October. Hubby retires in May so he will be available to help with the garage sales, trips to the storage unit and trips to the Goodwill. :)
The excitement is starting to outweigh the fear but this forum and stories like yours and the others here are really helping!!
Kelly & Jay
Deanna
Good Luck Kelly and Jay, your adventures await you! I remember that Alka-Seltzer commercial where at the end they say "Oh what a relief it is"....well that is how we felt once the house was sold and all of our "stuff" was relieved of our grasp! It was hard letting go of some of the things but in the end as Sue says "it is like reading a book, you read a chapter and move on!". This is the attitude we have taken too and subscribe now every day to! No looking back and no wanting to go back!
We wish you a stress free road to your goals!
Les and Sue
Deanna
Time for another update: House is on the market for about a week now. Things in storage, mostly. Now, the waiting game. Don't think we like waiting very much. :)
But 3 months now in our new home, and keep tweaking things and it feels very homey. It will be good to be living amongst other rvers and not on our driveway, like fish out of water. :( Still, we would do it this way again in a nanosecond. It has made the transition so much easier for us, and for our whole family.
Have a great weekend, everyone. :)