I quess this is a question for the fulltimers. What do you wish you would have bought for fulltiming while you still had a job? It will be easier for us to buy before we leave our jobs. Howard and Linda bought a second car after being on the road. We have started buying things now a little at a time. I know I will install a solar system before we hit the rode.
Thanks , James
Lucky Mike said
03:33 AM Mar 9, 2013
good Question........I think mine was good phone and internet.....I prefer good communications a must ,all my banking , medical,movie's and entertainment are geared thru the internet and phone.
solar and generator are a must for off grid stays .....and in my book pay back fast if you boondock alot!!!
Raytronx said
05:26 PM Mar 9, 2013
Equip the RV with high quality roof vent fans the ones that have multiple speeds, reversible flow and quiet.
Workinrvers said
12:37 AM Mar 10, 2013
I would like to have had a nicer quality grill for cooking outside. One thing we did while still getting a decent paycheck was to buy the Passport America Gold Lifetime Membership. They don't advertise it but if you ask they do (or at least did) offer one. I know $40 or so per year is not that big of deal for the annual membership but at least I don't have to suffer through any price increases or have to remember when to re-up.
bjoyce said
12:41 AM Mar 10, 2013
I guess I would flip this over and recommend downsizing now so you have more money when you go on the road.
Racerguy said
01:24 AM Mar 10, 2013
What Bill said.
krackle12 said
01:43 AM Mar 10, 2013
Im with Lucky Mike. Get all the telecommunications stuff ahead of time. WifiRanger, Cell Signal Booster, MIFI Hotspots, etc. They are pricey and cause a ton of frustration to get installed and configured on the road. Not to mention they arent cheap!
Hdrider said
02:30 AM Mar 10, 2013
I can tell you what we bought within the first couple months of being on the road that I wish we would have bought before.
#1 solar
#2 new batteries (I knew we needed them)
#3 and really good mattress
#4 we got rid of our PITA original blinds and went with MCD
#5 replaced bulbs with LED
Racerguy said
03:15 AM Mar 10, 2013
Some items depend how far out you are from going on the road.Don't buy things that will be outdated/used up before you even get on the road.Communication equipment would be the last thing I would buy before going on the road.Technology moves so fast you don't want a modem or other equipment that is outdated and having to be upgraded even before you get to use them.Now getting a comfortable mattress for the bed will be the best money spent and will be there for years to come.
bjoyce said
03:55 AM Mar 10, 2013
I probably should say more. Notice we have been on the road as full timers for over 9 years and started with a motorhome and car we already owned and had used. We have been through a lot of stuff, are on our second motorhome, second tow car, second solar setup, even our second Sleep Number mattress. We have worn out and replaced appliances, computers, cell phones, RV gadgets, etc. Most people full time 3 years or less, it is a fact.
I am about 80% sure we would have spent the money badly if we tried to anticipate what we would need before we went full time. We had already been part timers for a while and had taken one to two month trips, so we had more clue than many. But it was not enough, we found the reality of full timing was somewhat different than we anticipated. The worse thing you can do is spend all your money up front, on your RV, truck, appliances, etc. In six months, if you figured out it was a mistake, you will need to have the resources to make changes. You might want to change the type or model of RV, it happens all the time. You might find you want to boondock more, or less. You might find that no matter how much you thought you would love full timing, it isn't working out. You might find it is working out, but your dreams are not matching reality, in a good or bad way. The east coast might call you much more than you expected, the west coast might call you more than you expected, Mexico might call you, cities, country, a job at a national park might grab you. So you would have to make changes. I recommend being prepared to make changes instead of trying to anticipate them. It certainly is true of us.
Side note: If you have a way to watch an hour and a half Youtube video look for the video Technomadia put up on March 7, 2013 - http://www.technomadia.com/chatnotes/ . I know Cherie of Technomadia pops on this forum and would normally put a link up herself. But she hasn't yet and I started watching this and ended up viewing the whole thing on my unlimited Verizon smartphone since I liked it. It is fun and covers a lot about the realities of full timing.
James and Cindy said
03:59 AM Mar 10, 2013
Thanks for the good ideas. I wasn't sure if the exhaust fans were worth the extra money thanks for that information. I have seen the MCD blinds and they are on our list. Solar, sat. dish, and communication will be done just before we leave to start fulltiming. I would like to pay for lifetime memberships also. I will look at Passport America. Are there any others worth joining? Bill we already are living debt free and hope to work about 3 months a year after we hit the road. We want to trade 4 weeks vacation for 9 months.
James
Technomadia said
06:06 PM Mar 10, 2013
bjoyce wrote:
Side note: If you have a way to watch an hour and a half Youtube video look for the video Technomadia put up on March 7, 2013 - http://www.technomadia.com/chatnotes/ . I know Cherie of Technomadia pops on this forum and would normally put a link up herself. But she hasn't yet and I started watching this and ended up viewing the whole thing on my unlimited Verizon smartphone since I liked it. It is fun and covers a lot about the realities of full timing.
*blush* - Thank you :) We had a great time doing the video chat, and glad that others are enjoying it.
To James and Cindy - I definitely concur with the advice given regards to technology. Hold off as long as possible so you can get the 'best of the best' at the time. This is the sort of stuff that can quickly become obsolete.
For membership camping clubs, aside from Passport America, get out there traveling before pre-committing yourself to any of them. See how your reality works itself out and if you find yourself naturally gravitating to the membership campground parks enough to utilize a lifetime membership.
For us, life on the road is just that... life. There's only so much you can pre-anticipate that you'll desire once you're out there. Who knows what you'll discover, how you'll change and how you'll adapt. And after your first convergence with fellow RVers, you're going to be introduced to all sorts of nifty gizmos they utilize and be creating quite the shopping list :)
- Cherie
phyllen said
12:58 AM Mar 11, 2013
Our rig is a 2009 model that only had one air conditioner. We found that we really needed a second A/C. Unit was wired for it and we had it installed last summer. Sure is nice. Also, as others have said - a decent mattress!
James and Cindy said
02:04 AM Mar 12, 2013
Thanks again for all the info. Bill, I watched Cherie and Chris's video. Good info there. We don't really need to downsize because we never upsized. We are in the same house we bought as a starter home years ago. Same 9 year old fifthwheel we bought new. Bassboat just turned 20 years old. I am in a new one ton truck, 6 months old. Last truck was 10 years old. We are not the type that has to change every few years to something new. We don't like debt. When we go on vacation we never want to head home. We have researched for 10 years been to 2 RvDream rallys. We camp at the local State Park and go to work from there. We are not planning on workcamping for a paying job. We want to volunteer at national parks for a site so we can sightsee on our days off. I have decided to keep my camp on Toledo Bend where we will spend our winter months and be able to fish. Cindy will contract nurse at the local hospital and I will work for a friend. This should suppliment our savings so we won't touch our retirement accounts.
James
MarkS said
03:05 PM Mar 12, 2013
Every one of the answers on here is priceless but I think Cherie captured the essence. You just don't know what you will want or how you will adapt. I am spending all I can afford buying savings. I figure the more I can have in savings the better I can fund the things that are important to me once I know what they are. Some things like solar are a no brainier and they are less likely to become obsolete. Anyone who has lived with a menopausal wife doesn't need to be told of the value of AC#2. But, for the most part I think it is best to be funded in a way to make many of these purchases after you have figured out what you need. As was said in the video, workamping is not likely to fund a purchase but it might save you enough over a three month period to help. I believe workamping should be used to fight boredom more than anything.
I quess this is a question for the fulltimers. What do you wish you would have bought for fulltiming while you still had a job? It will be easier for us to buy before we leave our jobs. Howard and Linda bought a second car after being on the road. We have started buying things now a little at a time. I know I will install a solar system before we hit the rode.
Thanks , James
solar and generator are a must for off grid stays .....and in my book pay back fast if you boondock alot!!!
One thing we did while still getting a decent paycheck was to buy the Passport America Gold Lifetime Membership. They don't advertise it but if you ask they do (or at least did) offer one. I know $40 or so per year is not that big of deal for the annual membership but at least I don't have to suffer through any price increases or have to remember when to re-up.
I can tell you what we bought within the first couple months of being on the road that I wish we would have bought before.
#1 solar
#2 new batteries (I knew we needed them)
#3 and really good mattress
#4 we got rid of our PITA original blinds and went with MCD
#5 replaced bulbs with LED
I probably should say more. Notice we have been on the road as full timers for over 9 years and started with a motorhome and car we already owned and had used. We have been through a lot of stuff, are on our second motorhome, second tow car, second solar setup, even our second Sleep Number mattress. We have worn out and replaced appliances, computers, cell phones, RV gadgets, etc. Most people full time 3 years or less, it is a fact.
I am about 80% sure we would have spent the money badly if we tried to anticipate what we would need before we went full time. We had already been part timers for a while and had taken one to two month trips, so we had more clue than many. But it was not enough, we found the reality of full timing was somewhat different than we anticipated. The worse thing you can do is spend all your money up front, on your RV, truck, appliances, etc. In six months, if you figured out it was a mistake, you will need to have the resources to make changes. You might want to change the type or model of RV, it happens all the time. You might find you want to boondock more, or less. You might find that no matter how much you thought you would love full timing, it isn't working out. You might find it is working out, but your dreams are not matching reality, in a good or bad way. The east coast might call you much more than you expected, the west coast might call you more than you expected, Mexico might call you, cities, country, a job at a national park might grab you. So you would have to make changes. I recommend being prepared to make changes instead of trying to anticipate them. It certainly is true of us.
Side note: If you have a way to watch an hour and a half Youtube video look for the video Technomadia put up on March 7, 2013 - http://www.technomadia.com/chatnotes/ . I know Cherie of Technomadia pops on this forum and would normally put a link up herself. But she hasn't yet and I started watching this and ended up viewing the whole thing on my unlimited Verizon smartphone since I liked it. It is fun and covers a lot about the realities of full timing.
Thanks for the good ideas. I wasn't sure if the exhaust fans were worth the extra money thanks for that information. I have seen the MCD blinds and they are on our list. Solar, sat. dish, and communication will be done just before we leave to start fulltiming. I would like to pay for lifetime memberships also. I will look at Passport America. Are there any others worth joining? Bill we already are living debt free and hope to work about 3 months a year after we hit the road. We want to trade 4 weeks vacation for 9 months.
James
*blush* - Thank you :) We had a great time doing the video chat, and glad that others are enjoying it.
To James and Cindy - I definitely concur with the advice given regards to technology. Hold off as long as possible so you can get the 'best of the best' at the time. This is the sort of stuff that can quickly become obsolete.
For membership camping clubs, aside from Passport America, get out there traveling before pre-committing yourself to any of them. See how your reality works itself out and if you find yourself naturally gravitating to the membership campground parks enough to utilize a lifetime membership.
For us, life on the road is just that... life. There's only so much you can pre-anticipate that you'll desire once you're out there. Who knows what you'll discover, how you'll change and how you'll adapt. And after your first convergence with fellow RVers, you're going to be introduced to all sorts of nifty gizmos they utilize and be creating quite the shopping list :)
- Cherie
Thanks again for all the info. Bill, I watched Cherie and Chris's video. Good info there. We don't really need to downsize because we never upsized. We are in the same house we bought as a starter home years ago. Same 9 year old fifthwheel we bought new. Bassboat just turned 20 years old. I am in a new one ton truck, 6 months old. Last truck was 10 years old. We are not the type that has to change every few years to something new. We don't like debt. When we go on vacation we never want to head home. We have researched for 10 years been to 2 RvDream rallys. We camp at the local State Park and go to work from there. We are not planning on workcamping for a paying job. We want to volunteer at national parks for a site so we can sightsee on our days off. I have decided to keep my camp on Toledo Bend where we will spend our winter months and be able to fish. Cindy will contract nurse at the local hospital and I will work for a friend. This should suppliment our savings so we won't touch our retirement accounts.
James