So....been stalking on this site for over a month now after I was lucky enough to find it after some random searches on the web. We long have talked about "cashing out" and hitting the road, but didn't think it was possible until reading about many of the stories out there. Thanks to eveyone for sharing and being so transparent; it helped us to really seethat our dream could be a reality. So....after talking about this non-stop for about 6 weeks, we decided that we should probably at least go look at an RV to see if we could actually "live" on it!! Luckily there is an RV dealer close to us, so we spent most of Saturday looking at RV's. The good new is, we actually believe we can can it home! Now the question is, which one/what kind? We have time to figure that out and thankfully, we live close to Hershey, so we'll be spending the weekend at the RV show in September learning everything we possibly can. Also signed up the RV-Dreams Spring rally as we are putting milestones out there to keep the dream alive. And...if all goes well, we'll be seeing you on the road in 15!! Thanks to everyone for sharing; we've found it extremely helpful so far!!
WestWardHo said
04:08 PM Jul 22, 2013
Welcome! If I can make a small suggestion, keep going to shows and dealers, your want list
evolves the more you see. It will be budget dependent of course but the more you see, talk,
listen, and read you will narrow the choices of what's right for you. Many suggest going to
RV parks near you and talking to owners of different kinds of rigs. Most will be very glad to share their experiences and preferences.
Looking forward to meeting you at the Rally.
Sherry
Ckerr said
05:38 PM Jul 22, 2013
Welcome! I can't make the Rally as much as I would love to meet everyone in person.
However, I will be at the RV show in Hershey. Stop by our booth and say Hi! I would love to hear what you think of the RV's you see. We'll be on the mezzanine level from what I understand.
D and M said
10:02 PM Jul 22, 2013
Welcome Greg and Cori,
This is a great group with lots of experience to help you along the way. We'll be at the Spring Rally as well and look forward to meeting you.
Lucky Mike said
11:57 PM Jul 22, 2013
Welcome to the forum!!!!
scrappy said
02:40 AM Jul 23, 2013
Rv shopping. The more you look, the more you learn!! We looked at SO MANY that it got to the point where we didn't even need to go in to see that it didn't have what we wanted!
You will quickly develop an opinion on the items you really want. When we started, we were clueless and loved them ALL!!!
Then, suddenly.....................
We wanted a table and chairs, not a booth.
A fireplace.
A bathroom that was all in one room, not the shower and sink in the bedroom and the commode in a separate area.
Leather recliners.
Wed always find one that had three of the four "musts"......and would continue on. Then one day, we found the one. We knew, that was it.
You will too. You'll just know.
Happy shopping!!
Terry and Jo said
12:51 AM Jul 24, 2013
Greg and Cori,
Welcome to one of the friendliest RV forums around. The folks here are eager and willing to help.
You are wise to look at the RV shows, but also spend more time at the dealerships. When at shows, there are constant interruptions when one is trying to visit with a dealer or manufacturer representative. On a dealer's lot, one generally has more time to look and see how one would accomplish common ordinary chores and functions. Stand in the shower...is it too small or too narrow? Look at the storage size and location in the kitchen....is it convenient and large enough? Sit down in the living room and see how easy it will be to see the TV.
If you like looking out at scenery, where would you want windows to be? Is there enough storage in the bedroom and closet areas?
A lot of times, one doesn't really get to see all that because of the number of people walking through at RV shows. However, if you are trying to narrow things down, the RV shows are better for seeing different types of RV's, different brands of RV's, and seeing what one offers that others don't have.
When looking, keep in mind that the frame, suspension, axles, tires and wheels serve as the very foundation of the rig. If you are considering full-time RV'ing, make sure that the "foundation" is solid enough. Once you start to narrow down to certain brands/models, check to see if you can find an owner's association or forum where you can read more about owner's experiences and ask questions. Even though you may see a lot of circumstances where folks are looking for a solution for a problem, don't necessarily think that the brand/model isn't any good. You can always ask participants there if they would buy the same brand/model again if they were to buy again.
Good luck with the research and planning.
Terry
sgfgrover15 said
02:23 PM Jul 24, 2013
You sound like you are on the same track as us. We will be at the Hershey too and then going down to the rally. It is very exciting......Good luck, I have no advice since we are still wannabe's.....and very overwhelmed.
EBendana said
01:27 AM Jul 25, 2013
Welcome....we will also start full or part timing in late 2014 or 2015....another good show is the super show in Tampa Florida, normally the third weekend in January...so many RVs! We are on our 8th one....! Sounds crazy, but its a long story....finally figured out what was important to us....we decided we did not want a rubber roof....too much work to keep clean and maintain, so it limited us to brands of RVS when we got our final one. Also even though slide outs are so comfortable, we did not want one because we have had them leak, not retract, and when closed hard to navigate inside, so we opted for a no slide out option....also, we wanted two separate sleeping private areas since hubby snores, and we had done wifey sleeping on LR couch way too much....anyway, our needs were OUR needs, and our rig while we love it, would most likely not be right for someone else! I wish we had really thought thru what we needed first, rather than our trial and error (and expensive) way of buying and trading RV's, but that was our learning curve.
What we ended up with was a 2012 Dodge 2500 Diesel 4x4 manual shift truck with standard cab, pulling a 2013 Forest River Work n Play 34.5 Toyhauler 5th wheel with a Gooseneck hitch, a 45 gallon transfer tank and tool box mounted in truck, with a 2008 HD Heritage Softail Motorcycle......The other thing we did, was we are buying a 1.5 acre RV lot in a gated community, so that when we spread our wings we still will have some footprint in the real estate market and a "home base" that is maintenance free....our development is called Ridgebrook of Blue Ridge, lot #27!
An questions, shoot me a private message at EBendana@yahoo.com
The Restless Youngs said
12:07 AM Jul 26, 2013
Thanks everyone for your notes and insight!!
For those going to the Hershey show -- maybe we should plan a meet up at the Hershey show with all the confused newbees!?!?!!
jayc said
11:44 AM Jul 31, 2013
I wish we were able to make the Hershey show again this year. It's a great show with most manufacturers being represented. The Heartland Owners Club has a booth set up and the last time we were there, a couple of years ago, we had a great time. We saw old friends there, including attending the RV Dreams rally, and met lots of new friends, some that we still keep in touch with.
Grams said
10:46 PM Jul 31, 2013
Welcome! We just purchased our RV 2 months ago after looking for over a year. Each time we looked, i wanted a bigger unit! We ended up with a 42'. Now I wish we had one smaller! Pulling and backing are real situations to consider, Along with size restrictions at parks should be considered too.
NWescapee said
05:48 AM Aug 1, 2013
Warning!! Attending an RV Dreams Rally tends to accelerate one's plans to FT. Just saying!!
WestWardHo said
03:37 AM Aug 2, 2013
We're with the NWescapees.....less than a year after attending a Rally we were sold and gone!
Sherry
The Restless Youngs said
09:20 PM Aug 2, 2013
I appreciate the warning about attending a rally!! I can only hope it speeds up the process!! In the meantime, I keep plugging away with research....looking for our new home and trying to figure out all of the stuff in between. I even visited an RV park yesterday!! Just little things to keep the dream alive and one step closer to reality.
DawnsTinyHouse said
01:40 AM Aug 3, 2013
BySeaAndLand, Welcome! I am a Newbie, still in the research phase, and I plan to be on the road full time in about a year. As a single woman going solo, I need as much help as I can get to make SMART decisions based on experienced advice instead of a salesman's pitch. I have found everyone here to be generous with their advice and open with their dreams. When I first thought about doing this, I had no idea it was a "movement". I thought it was just me! Little did I realize that I would find so many like-minded people ready to share the life. Welcome!
So....been stalking on this site for over a month now after I was lucky enough to find it after some random searches on the web. We long have talked about "cashing out" and hitting the road, but didn't think it was possible until reading about many of the stories out there. Thanks to eveyone for sharing and being so transparent; it helped us to really seethat our dream could be a reality. So....after talking about this non-stop for about 6 weeks, we decided that we should probably at least go look at an RV to see if we could actually "live" on it!! Luckily there is an RV dealer close to us, so we spent most of Saturday looking at RV's. The good new is, we actually believe we can can it home! Now the question is, which one/what kind? We have time to figure that out and thankfully, we live close to Hershey, so we'll be spending the weekend at the RV show in September learning everything we possibly can. Also signed up the RV-Dreams Spring rally as we are putting milestones out there to keep the dream alive. And...if all goes well, we'll be seeing you on the road in 15!! Thanks to everyone for sharing; we've found it extremely helpful so far!!
evolves the more you see. It will be budget dependent of course but the more you see, talk,
listen, and read you will narrow the choices of what's right for you. Many suggest going to
RV parks near you and talking to owners of different kinds of rigs. Most will be very glad to share their experiences and preferences.
Looking forward to meeting you at the Rally.
Sherry
However, I will be at the RV show in Hershey. Stop by our booth and say Hi! I would love to hear what you think of the RV's you see. We'll be on the mezzanine level from what I understand.
This is a great group with lots of experience to help you along the way. We'll be at the Spring Rally as well and look forward to meeting you.
Rv shopping. The more you look, the more you learn!! We looked at SO MANY that it got to the point where we didn't even need to go in to see that it didn't have what we wanted!
You will quickly develop an opinion on the items you really want. When we started, we were clueless and loved them ALL!!!
Then, suddenly.....................
We wanted a table and chairs, not a booth.
A fireplace.
A bathroom that was all in one room, not the shower and sink in the bedroom and the commode in a separate area.
Leather recliners.
Wed always find one that had three of the four "musts"......and would continue on. Then one day, we found the one. We knew, that was it.
You will too. You'll just know.
Happy shopping!!
Greg and Cori,
Welcome to one of the friendliest RV forums around. The folks here are eager and willing to help.
You are wise to look at the RV shows, but also spend more time at the dealerships. When at shows, there are constant interruptions when one is trying to visit with a dealer or manufacturer representative. On a dealer's lot, one generally has more time to look and see how one would accomplish common ordinary chores and functions. Stand in the shower...is it too small or too narrow? Look at the storage size and location in the kitchen....is it convenient and large enough? Sit down in the living room and see how easy it will be to see the TV.
If you like looking out at scenery, where would you want windows to be? Is there enough storage in the bedroom and closet areas?
A lot of times, one doesn't really get to see all that because of the number of people walking through at RV shows. However, if you are trying to narrow things down, the RV shows are better for seeing different types of RV's, different brands of RV's, and seeing what one offers that others don't have.
When looking, keep in mind that the frame, suspension, axles, tires and wheels serve as the very foundation of the rig. If you are considering full-time RV'ing, make sure that the "foundation" is solid enough. Once you start to narrow down to certain brands/models, check to see if you can find an owner's association or forum where you can read more about owner's experiences and ask questions. Even though you may see a lot of circumstances where folks are looking for a solution for a problem, don't necessarily think that the brand/model isn't any good. You can always ask participants there if they would buy the same brand/model again if they were to buy again.
Good luck with the research and planning.
Terry
Welcome....we will also start full or part timing in late 2014 or 2015....another good show is the super show in Tampa Florida, normally the third weekend in January...so many RVs! We are on our 8th one....! Sounds crazy, but its a long story....finally figured out what was important to us....we decided we did not want a rubber roof....too much work to keep clean and maintain, so it limited us to brands of RVS when we got our final one. Also even though slide outs are so comfortable, we did not want one because we have had them leak, not retract, and when closed hard to navigate inside, so we opted for a no slide out option....also, we wanted two separate sleeping private areas since hubby snores, and we had done wifey sleeping on LR couch way too much....anyway, our needs were OUR needs, and our rig while we love it, would most likely not be right for someone else! I wish we had really thought thru what we needed first, rather than our trial and error (and expensive) way of buying and trading RV's, but that was our learning curve.
What we ended up with was a 2012 Dodge 2500 Diesel 4x4 manual shift truck with standard cab, pulling a 2013 Forest River Work n Play 34.5 Toyhauler 5th wheel with a Gooseneck hitch, a 45 gallon transfer tank and tool box mounted in truck, with a 2008 HD Heritage Softail Motorcycle......The other thing we did, was we are buying a 1.5 acre RV lot in a gated community, so that when we spread our wings we still will have some footprint in the real estate market and a "home base" that is maintenance free....our development is called Ridgebrook of Blue Ridge, lot #27!
An questions, shoot me a private message at EBendana@yahoo.com
For those going to the Hershey show -- maybe we should plan a meet up at the Hershey show with all the confused newbees!?!?!!
Sherry