Planning on being an "extended timer", full timer?...who knows?
pheasantplucker said
10:42 PM Apr 8, 2013
Hi everyone, this looks like a great group and a good place to learn more about the rv lifestyle in general.
My soon to be wife (63, retires next march) and myself (64, retired military) plan to spend a major part of our time traveling and seeing the usa.
I'm an artist and have done art fairs, festivals full time since 1997, we plan to schedule the festivals to help help pay the way for our sightseeing and camping.
Currently we will be homebased out of northern Utah and go out for three or four weeks at a time, most of the year and plan to snowbird for three or four months every winter in Arizona, New Mexico or south Texas every winter.
I've been searching many of the rv blogs and websites trying to educate myself and this looks like a great forum, I look forward to participating!
Lucky Mike said
10:50 PM Apr 8, 2013
Welcome to the forum Joe!!!!!
Terry and Jo said
12:58 AM Apr 9, 2013
Welcome, Joe.
Since you've not mentioned whether you already had an RV, you do have a good source here for information for just about any type of RV. The folks who participate here are very knowledgeable, helpful, friendly, and encouraging. So, feel free to ask questions as we all tend to learn from each other. Also, the only "dumb" questions are the ones that don't get asked and the individual finds out after much trouble or expense that they should have asked the one thought to be dumb.
Glad to have you as part of the "family."
Terry
rkm said
02:53 AM Apr 11, 2013
I wil also welcome you to the forum, we are new to this forum also and have found it very helpful and the folks seem friendly.
Good luck with the art sales and enjoy the travels and folks you meet. Hope to meet you sometime, somewhere.
rkm
pheasantplucker said
11:58 PM Apr 11, 2013
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome, I'm sure I will learn a lot here, I already have just looking through the forum. Terry in answer to your question, we are part way there, we have a 2013 31 foot Dutchman travel trailer and I'm negotiating as we speak on a 2007 dodge 3500 drw. I pulled a 16 foot Casita to shows for a few years with a 2001 cummins (overkill) and thats about the extent of my experience. I know towing a 31 foot trailer will be a whole different ballgame.
PIEERE said
01:18 AM Apr 12, 2013
Welcome to the friendliest RV forum on the internet!! Just remembering that you have 31' back there; the rest isn't so bad. It's easier to back up longer trailers than shorter.
We put one trailer down on its side and it was terrifying. When we replaced the trailer, we replaced the hitch. Originally had a Blue Ox that was well rated but the Hensley handled so much differently! You can buy used, reconditioned from them and they give full warranty.
Sherry
Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Thursday 25th of April 2013 03:53:32 PM
pheasantplucker said
10:45 PM Apr 24, 2013
Ok, got the tow vehicle, a 2007 dodge cummins 5.9 drw 3500, it looks like its up to the job, 58,000 miles. The next item is a good equalizer hitch, any observations?, I see a lot of used ones for sale and will probably go that way. Any info is appreciated.
pheasantplucker said
10:47 PM Apr 24, 2013
Thanks Pieere, I hope its easier to back then the Casita was, any quick moves and you were jacknived!
NWescapee said
09:01 PM Apr 25, 2013
Joe - welcome to the forum. My husband is an artist, so like you, the art fairs tend to help us set our travel schedule. We're very close to getting our house on the market and will not have a home base, got tired of not being at home to do anything other than home maint, yard care, etc. before heading out the door again. Plus we were wasting way too much money on utilities, mortgage and taxes for a place we didn't have time to keep up with, so we'll full time for a few years until we decide where we want to live when we grow up:)
pheasantplucker said
10:27 PM Apr 25, 2013
Thanks for the feedback Sherry, I'll check the hensley hitch out.
pheasantplucker said
10:34 PM Apr 25, 2013
Hi Ruth
Thanks for the reply, we may have done some of the same events together, do you stay in the west primarily?
The art show circuit seems to be a great fit for full/part time rv'ers since it envolves travel and is a great way to make money on the road.
I'll never say never to becoming a full timer, it will take some time out on the road to determine how we adapt.
Good luck in your travels!
NWescapee said
07:09 PM Apr 26, 2013
Hi Joe - At least through October of 2013 we are staying West, WA/ID/OR/CA for our art shows, considering AZ in November/December but have not yet applied to shows there. Our house is going on the market sometime in May so we're waiting to see how quickly it sells, that will help us determine how far afield we can travel. I would love to be able to participate in some spring shows next year in TX and OK, give us a chance to combine shows with family visits and then get out of TX before summer hits. I think our 2014 show schedule will be considerably different than the past several years and I'm looking forward trying out some different shows.
WebbOrlando said
09:50 PM Apr 28, 2013
Hello and welcome! I noticed you are retired military. My husband Jim is retired Air Force and has been fulltime retired for a couple of years. We bought a class A motorhome last fall and had a Coleman popup before that. We truly love the lifestyle and have just decided to rent out our paid-for home this fall and hit the road even if it is just over to MacDill AFB in Tampa. The reason I'm writing is to ask if you fly military space-A in your travels? We went to Hawaii last spring and Germany this spring and hope to do more in the future. I just found this forum myself and will continue reading to glean what we can. Enjoy.
pheasantplucker said
03:47 PM May 20, 2013
Sorry for the slow reply Webb, No I have not flown space A for quite a few years, but I think I may look into it in the near future, I have a reunion in Oberammergau Germany next year and it could save a lot i'm sure. I was stationed at McDill back in the 1980's, enjoyed the area. we took our initial trip towing our 31 foot pull trailer up to Rexburg, Idaho a couple of weeks ago, all went well, the truck never dropped out of overdrive. We plan to take a few more shorter trips this summer to get used to how everything operates and see what we need before doing longer trips next spring. Good luck in your travels!
pheasantplucker said
03:56 PM May 20, 2013
Ruth, great looking rig in your profile pic, I recognize those mountains (Timpanogas) in the background, where is the campground?, Spanish fork or Springville Utah maybe?
Hi everyone, this looks like a great group and a good place to learn more about the rv lifestyle in general.
My soon to be wife (63, retires next march) and myself (64, retired military) plan to spend a major part of our time traveling and seeing the usa.
I'm an artist and have done art fairs, festivals full time since 1997, we plan to schedule the festivals to help help pay the way for our sightseeing and camping.
Currently we will be homebased out of northern Utah and go out for three or four weeks at a time, most of the year and plan to snowbird for three or four months every winter in Arizona, New Mexico or south Texas every winter.
I've been searching many of the rv blogs and websites trying to educate myself and this looks like a great forum, I look forward to participating!
Welcome, Joe.
Since you've not mentioned whether you already had an RV, you do have a good source here for information for just about any type of RV. The folks who participate here are very knowledgeable, helpful, friendly, and encouraging. So, feel free to ask questions as we all tend to learn from each other. Also, the only "dumb" questions are the ones that don't get asked and the individual finds out after much trouble or expense that they should have asked the one thought to be dumb.
Glad to have you as part of the "family."
Terry
I wil also welcome you to the forum, we are new to this forum also and have found it very helpful and the folks seem friendly.
Good luck with the art sales and enjoy the travels and folks you meet. Hope to meet you sometime, somewhere.
rkm
Terry in answer to your question, we are part way there, we have a 2013 31 foot Dutchman travel trailer and I'm negotiating as we speak on a 2007 dodge 3500 drw. I pulled a 16 foot Casita to shows for a few years with a 2001 cummins (overkill) and thats about the extent of my experience. I know towing a 31 foot trailer will be a whole different ballgame.
Joe, we highly recommend the Hensley Hitch. Go to their website and watch the videos.
http://hensleymfg.com/?gclid=CObDtq3U5LYCFWQ6QgodtVoA-w
We put one trailer down on its side and it was terrifying. When we replaced the trailer, we replaced the hitch. Originally had a Blue Ox that was well rated but the Hensley handled so much differently! You can buy used, reconditioned from them and they give full warranty.
Sherry
Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Thursday 25th of April 2013 03:53:32 PM
The next item is a good equalizer hitch, any observations?, I see a lot of used ones for sale and will probably go that way. Any info is appreciated.
Thanks for the feedback Sherry, I'll check the hensley hitch out.
Hi Ruth
Thanks for the reply, we may have done some of the same events together, do you stay in the west primarily?
The art show circuit seems to be a great fit for full/part time rv'ers since it envolves travel and is a great way to make money on the road.
I'll never say never to becoming a full timer, it will take some time out on the road to determine how we adapt.
Good luck in your travels!
Hello and welcome! I noticed you are retired military. My husband Jim is retired Air Force and has been fulltime retired for a couple of years. We bought a class A motorhome last fall and had a Coleman popup before that. We truly love the lifestyle and have just decided to rent out our paid-for home this fall and hit the road even if it is just over to MacDill AFB in Tampa. The reason I'm writing is to ask if you fly military space-A in your travels? We went to Hawaii last spring and Germany this spring and hope to do more in the future. I just found this forum myself and will continue reading to glean what we can. Enjoy.
we took our initial trip towing our 31 foot pull trailer up to Rexburg, Idaho a couple of weeks ago, all went well, the truck never dropped out of overdrive. We plan to take a few more shorter trips this summer to get used to how everything operates and see what we need before doing longer trips next spring.
Good luck in your travels!
Ruth, great looking rig in your profile pic, I recognize those mountains (Timpanogas) in the background, where is the campground?, Spanish fork or Springville Utah maybe?