We are Dave & Sher, currently living in NJ. We just listed our house for sale yesterday and plan to begin full timing as soon as the house sells. We have picked out the 5th wheel (Open Range 345rls) and yet to decide on which 1 ton pickup to buy. We'll make a decision on that after we test drive the big 3 manufacturers and see our preference and what's available. Our current plan is to wait until after settlement on the house and pay cash (thanks Howard & Linda for openly sharing your finances & explaining the benefits of debt free living), but it sure would be convenient to have the rig in the driveway now and load at our leisure.
We just wanted to say "Hi" and thank you all for 2 things we noticed while lurking and learning over the last several months:
1. So much great information on this forum with sincere opinions offered to help, not necessarily change minds.
2. You all really are kind to others in your responses and it's very noticeable.
Hopefully we'll see many of you when we begin our travels, but I'm sure we'll have questions before we hit the road
mylittledogs said
03:05 AM May 9, 2014
Welcome, and good luck on your home sale. We have ours on the market to. Justing waiting to sell the house & then hit the road to see this great country.
Kenny & frances
Camper Chronicles said
03:32 AM May 9, 2014
Welcome to my fellow Open Range owner. That model was absolutely Lee's favorite...we went back and forth for days until I wore him down and we got the 386FLR. We just took our first trip with the open range and the quality of the build so far is outstanding. The only issues we have had have been on after market products (ie: fantastic fan and washer/dryer combo). WE are putting the house on the market as well...target date next week...cross your fingers...welcome to the forum!!! If you haven't seen them check out the threads on the Graduating Class of 2014...cool subgroup of folks all going live this year.
BiggarView said
05:12 AM May 9, 2014
Welcome Dave & Cher. Like you, we lurked on here a while in search of info and watching how folks on here behaved and supported each other. We liked what we found. I have every confidence you will too!! We are still years away from going FT, with much to learn but no doubts that when we do start we will have gained so much we'll spend a lot of time paying it forward and backwack to a very friendly group.
TRAILERKING said
05:21 AM May 9, 2014
Welcome aboard Dave & Cher
Camper Chronicles said
05:27 AM May 9, 2014
Dave Sher wrote:
2. You all really are kind to others in your responses and it's very noticeable.
That is exactly why I love this group of people..and btw when you get to meet some of them in person they will blow you away. When trying to describe what this group of people means to me to close friends and family I have settled on "in aggregate they are the nicest people I have ever met in my life." That is definitely a testimony to the example set by Howard and Linda dn the work Terry and Jo do every day watching the forums.
Trace
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Friday 9th of May 2014 05:28:14 AM
Lucky Mike said
05:49 AM May 9, 2014
Welcome Dave & Sher!!!!!!................hopefully it goes quickly!!!
cherylbrv said
06:34 AM May 9, 2014
Welcome to the "Class of 2014"! May the mojo continue.
Where in NJ are you? I'm also in NJ (Fanwood). Have been planning for this dream for the past 3 years; finally put the house on the market March 27th and signed a contract on April 1st, which was 1 of 4 offers we had since then.
Currently we're playing the waiting game -- waiting for the buyers mortgage commitment to arrive. Hope to be closing and on the road June 5th. We have a used DRV + Ford F550 combo in mind which is down in FL but can't buy it until closing (need the cash!)
Good luck!
Dave Sher said
06:37 AM May 9, 2014
Thanks for the welcome, all. Not to single anyone out, because y'all are great. But to get a welcome from Luck Mike, who I feel like I know from all the help I've read him giving to others… can I say awed by RV Rock Star?
Lee & Trace, we've been following your blog along with quite a few others we found here on RV Dreams. Very helpful (& entertaining!). Yours really interested us, of course, because of the Open Range. We weren't real sure about them for full timing because it doesn't seem many do. But we looked at many RV shows and seemed to be drawn to them for various reasons. Hey, it's gotta be better than a tent for full timing, right?
DenJen12 said
07:19 AM May 9, 2014
Welcome to the forum! Great bunch of people on here with lots of help! Also, welcome to the world of Fulltiming...in the near future
My husband and I have been doing it for 1 1/2yrs and just recently traded our 2013 Bighorn Silverado for a 2015 Open Range 3X, and let me tell you....AMAZING!!! It's like living in a luxury S&B!!! We had never really looked at an Open Range until an RV show in OKC in March, and we loved them....but of course the 3X won out over the others. They seem to be built really well. I love the residential cabinetry and amenities (fridge, convection micro, kitchen sink/faucet, wood blinds....wow, I could go on and on) and all the ROOM!! They are wonderful units and hope you enjoy yours as much as we have so far.
Also, good luck on the pickup search. We are Ford people (picking up our new '14 F350 tomorrow), but there are plenty of people on here that can give you the pro's and con's of each as far as towing, etc. Don't forget to pick out the right hitch for your rig!
Good luck and maybe we'll see ya out there on the road sometime!! If you get a chance, check out the Open Range owners forum as well for more rig specific questions.... www.openrangeowners.com
Technomadia said
07:36 AM May 9, 2014
Welcome.. you've certainly found what we consider to be the friendliest spot on the inter webs for around this subject!
Glad to have you here!
- Cherie
Camper Chronicles said
07:46 AM May 9, 2014
Dave Sher wrote:
Thanks for the welcome, all. Not to single anyone out, because y'all are great. But to get a welcome from Luck Mike, who I feel like I know from all the help I've read him giving to others… can I say awed by RV Rock Star?
Lee & Trace, we've been following your blog along with quite a few others we found here on RV Dreams. Very helpful (& entertaining!). Yours really interested us, of course, because of the Open Range. We weren't real sure about them for full timing because it doesn't seem many do. But we looked at many RV shows and seemed to be drawn to them for various reasons. Hey, it's gotta be better than a tent for full timing, right?
That's so nice. Thanks for reading my blog :) What I tell everyone about the Open Range is so far I absolutely love it. There are these little touches that are special...like we just discovered there is a "porch light" under the stairs that you can turn on at night and when coming back to the camper you can easily see the stairs. Really special. All that being said...we will see how it holds up after a year on the road. But if we have to tighten every screw every three months so be it. I also felt a lot better once we got weighed by Howard and Linda and had so much extra capacity. Thanks agin for the kind words...I have never blogged in my life before this and appreciate the feedback. :)
Trace
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Friday 9th of May 2014 07:51:42 AM
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Friday 9th of May 2014 07:52:04 AM
jrzygrl64 said
08:43 AM May 9, 2014
Welcome!
I am also (originally) from NJ. We are currently (hopefully not for long) in PA and our house has been for sale for about a month. Hoping for the right buyers to walk through the door like TODAY! (that would be hard b/c there aren't any showings scheduled - :( )
Good luck!
Kelly
Dave Sher said
09:12 AM May 9, 2014
Fellow NewJerseyans (Cheryl & Kelly, in particular);
We are in Port Elizabeth, Cumberland County - close to the Cape May Co. line & about 20 miles west of Ocean City. We both grew up in more suburban Camden Co. (I know, I know) and have lived in the sticks of rural Cumberland County for about 12 years. We will kind of miss it here because it's very private (5 wooded acres adjacent to 4000 acres of Nature Conservancy land) and peaceful. But, after traveling for 4 weeks to California and back last year in the A-frame popup we fell in love with so many other parts of the country that we realized we need to spend some time exploring this country.
DenJen, thanks for the words on Open Range. Encouraging to hear how pleased you are with it. We'll be joining the Open Range Forum, thanks. I've had a couple Ford trucks & been very happy with them, but I'm open to switch brands, too. I'll know better after we test drive (& Sher tells me what we are getting, hahahaha).
Terry and Jo said
06:24 PM May 9, 2014
Lee and Trace wrote:
That is exactly why I love this group of people..and btw when you get to meet some of them in person they will blow you away. When trying to describe what this group of people means to me to close friends and family I have settled on "in aggregate they are the nicest people I have ever met in my life." That is definitely a testimony to the example set by Howard and Linda dn the work Terry and Jo do every day watching the forums.
Trace
Thanks for the compliment, but don't forget that Gene (Genecop) is also a moderator and keeps an eye on the forums as well.
Terry
Terry and Jo said
06:27 PM May 9, 2014
Dave and Sher,
I'll add my welcome to you as well. There have been a number of folks that have complimented the participants here, and that is for good reason. They have a vast amount of knowledge and they are always willing to share that knowledge. When asking questions, don't ever think that a question you have may be a "dumb" one. The only dumb questions are the ones that DON'T get asked and one then makes an expensive or time consuming mistake.
Glad to have you as part of the family.
Terry
WestWardHo said
08:46 AM May 10, 2014
Dave and Sher,
Welcome! So glad you found this forum. Really, truly sign up for the fall Rally in Goshen, you'll learn so much and make great friends! The Rallys sell out early and you won't regret it.
Sherry
Dave Sher said
08:45 PM May 10, 2014
Sherry,
We just signed up for the Goshen Rally. We're not sure we'll have our full timing rig by then, but we plan to go and learn (& make great friends). Thanks for the advice :)
el Rojo and Pam said
06:38 AM May 11, 2014
Howdy...Howdy! One more big welcome from Texas! Glad to have to with us. You will learn a lot at the fall rally and make some life long friends.
Red
Jo and Ben said
06:40 PM May 11, 2014
Welcome Dave & Sher! You've come to the best forum on the web. You will love the rally!
LandL Partners said
09:41 PM May 11, 2014
Hello from Virginia. We look forward to seeing you in at the rally!
cheryls-other-half said
05:31 PM May 19, 2014
So, what size Pickup?
Cheryl (my other half)--[See her remarks above...] has been working on the planning for over 3 years, and what I've figured out is that doing this full time means a BIGGER truck.
Looks like we'll have a Ford F-550.
(not small by ANY means of the imagination!)
cheers.
DebbieM said
06:34 PM May 19, 2014
Welcome, you're gonna love it! We'll see you at the Fall Rally too!
We are Dave & Sher, currently living in NJ. We just listed our house for sale yesterday and plan to begin full timing as soon as the house sells. We have picked out the 5th wheel (Open Range 345rls) and yet to decide on which 1 ton pickup to buy. We'll make a decision on that after we test drive the big 3 manufacturers and see our preference and what's available. Our current plan is to wait until after settlement on the house and pay cash (thanks Howard & Linda for openly sharing your finances & explaining the benefits of debt free living), but it sure would be convenient to have the rig in the driveway now and load at our leisure.
We just wanted to say "Hi" and thank you all for 2 things we noticed while lurking and learning over the last several months:
1. So much great information on this forum with sincere opinions offered to help, not necessarily change minds.
2. You all really are kind to others in your responses and it's very noticeable.
Hopefully we'll see many of you when we begin our travels, but I'm sure we'll have questions before we hit the road
Kenny & frances
Welcome Dave & Cher. Like you, we lurked on here a while in search of info and watching how folks on here behaved and supported each other. We liked what we found. I have every confidence you will too
!! We are still years away from going FT, with much to learn but no doubts that when we do start we will have gained so much we'll spend a lot of time paying it forward and backwack to a very friendly group.
Welcome aboard Dave & Cher
That is exactly why I love this group of people..and btw when you get to meet some of them in person they will blow you away. When trying to describe what this group of people means to me to close friends and family I have settled on "in aggregate they are the nicest people I have ever met in my life." That is definitely a testimony to the example set by Howard and Linda dn the work Terry and Jo do every day watching the forums.
Trace
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Friday 9th of May 2014 05:28:14 AM
Where in NJ are you? I'm also in NJ (Fanwood). Have been planning for this dream for the past 3 years; finally put the house on the market March 27th and signed a contract on April 1st, which was 1 of 4 offers we had since then.
Currently we're playing the waiting game -- waiting for the buyers mortgage commitment to arrive. Hope to be closing and on the road June 5th. We have a used DRV + Ford F550 combo in mind which is down in FL but can't buy it until closing (need the cash!)
Good luck!
Lee & Trace, we've been following your blog along with quite a few others we found here on RV Dreams. Very helpful (& entertaining!). Yours really interested us, of course, because of the Open Range. We weren't real sure about them for full timing because it doesn't seem many do. But we looked at many RV shows and seemed to be drawn to them for various reasons. Hey, it's gotta be better than a tent for full timing, right?
My husband and I have been doing it for 1 1/2yrs and just recently traded our 2013 Bighorn Silverado for a 2015 Open Range 3X, and let me tell you....AMAZING!!! It's like living in a luxury S&B!!! We had never really looked at an Open Range until an RV show in OKC in March, and we loved them....but of course the 3X won out over the others. They seem to be built really well. I love the residential cabinetry and amenities (fridge, convection micro, kitchen sink/faucet, wood blinds....wow, I could go on and on) and all the ROOM!! They are wonderful units and hope you enjoy yours as much as we have so far.
Also, good luck on the pickup search. We are Ford people (picking up our new '14 F350 tomorrow), but there are plenty of people on here that can give you the pro's and con's of each as far as towing, etc. Don't forget to pick out the right hitch for your rig!
Good luck and maybe we'll see ya out there on the road sometime!! If you get a chance, check out the Open Range owners forum as well for more rig specific questions.... www.openrangeowners.com
Glad to have you here!
- Cherie
That's so nice. Thanks for reading my blog :) What I tell everyone about the Open Range is so far I absolutely love it. There are these little touches that are special...like we just discovered there is a "porch light" under the stairs that you can turn on at night and when coming back to the camper you can easily see the stairs. Really special. All that being said...we will see how it holds up after a year on the road. But if we have to tighten every screw every three months so be it. I also felt a lot better once we got weighed by Howard and Linda and had so much extra capacity. Thanks agin for the kind words...I have never blogged in my life before this and appreciate the feedback. :)
Trace
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Friday 9th of May 2014 07:51:42 AM
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Friday 9th of May 2014 07:52:04 AM
I am also (originally) from NJ. We are currently (hopefully not for long) in PA and our house has been for sale for about a month. Hoping for the right buyers to walk through the door like TODAY! (that would be hard b/c there aren't any showings scheduled - :( )
Good luck!
Kelly
We are in Port Elizabeth, Cumberland County - close to the Cape May Co. line & about 20 miles west of Ocean City. We both grew up in more suburban Camden Co. (I know, I know) and have lived in the sticks of rural Cumberland County for about 12 years. We will kind of miss it here because it's very private (5 wooded acres adjacent to 4000 acres of Nature Conservancy land) and peaceful. But, after traveling for 4 weeks to California and back last year in the A-frame popup we fell in love with so many other parts of the country that we realized we need to spend some time exploring this country.
DenJen, thanks for the words on Open Range. Encouraging to hear how pleased you are with it. We'll be joining the Open Range Forum, thanks. I've had a couple Ford trucks & been very happy with them, but I'm open to switch brands, too. I'll know better after we test drive (& Sher tells me what we are getting, hahahaha).
That is exactly why I love this group of people..and btw when you get to meet some of them in person they will blow you away. When trying to describe what this group of people means to me to close friends and family I have settled on "in aggregate they are the nicest people I have ever met in my life." That is definitely a testimony to the example set by Howard and Linda dn the work Terry and Jo do every day watching the forums.
Trace
Thanks for the compliment, but don't forget that Gene (Genecop) is also a moderator and keeps an eye on the forums as well.
Terry
Dave and Sher,
I'll add my welcome to you as well. There have been a number of folks that have complimented the participants here, and that is for good reason. They have a vast amount of knowledge and they are always willing to share that knowledge. When asking questions, don't ever think that a question you have may be a "dumb" one. The only dumb questions are the ones that DON'T get asked and one then makes an expensive or time consuming mistake.
Glad to have you as part of the family.
Terry
Welcome! So glad you found this forum. Really, truly sign up for the fall Rally in Goshen, you'll learn so much and make great friends! The Rallys sell out early and you won't regret it.
Sherry
We just signed up for the Goshen Rally. We're not sure we'll have our full timing rig by then, but we plan to go and learn (& make great friends). Thanks for the advice :)
Red
So, what size Pickup?
Cheryl (my other half)--[See her remarks above...] has been working on the planning for over 3 years, and what I've figured out is that doing this full time means a BIGGER truck.
Looks like we'll have a Ford F-550.
(not small by ANY means of the imagination!)
cheers.
Welcome, you're gonna love it! We'll see you at the Fall Rally too!