Hi Everyone,

My name is Henry Sanchez, along with my wife, Ann, we will be fully retiring in about 2-1/2 years.    I'm not waiting till I retire to do all the research I possibly can regarding this life style of RVing around our beautiful country.    Going "full time" is more than likely not going to happen......but we do intend on traveling a good portion of each year, god willing, and keep our "Home Base" here in Sacramento, CA.   Anyway....from what I've been reading so far has been very educational and has most certainly broaden my thought process of all the things I need to think about when it comes to purchasing our Tow Vehicle and 5th Wheel Trailer  (yes......we decided upon a 5th Wheel....which, from what I have been reading, is a smart choice).

I am looking very forward to interacting with a lot of you as I (we) get a FULL PICTURE, financially speaking, of what we're getting into.   Again, from what I have read, it seems like a fun life style.    Better than flying an aircraft, rental hotel/motels, and getting a rental vehicle for our vacationing.    But I sure would enjoy hearing your thoughts and experiences in this area.

All my best,

Henry & Ann Sanchez

Sacramento, CA

Welcome Henry & Ann.  You will find researching to be interesting, daunting, confusing and rewarding. Knowledge is power and diminishes fear as unknowns disappear.

We are still 3 or 4 years away from FTing, but we have already determined a managable budget and that it is very doable taking into consideration what we hope to accomplish and do when we hit the road.  Following the various thread on numerous subjects is expanding our awareness, clearing up doubts and things we were ignorant of.

Barb's point about locking into a 5er mindset as being premature is valid. Examine the lifestyle you envision, weigh the pros and cons of the RV types that will fulfill your aspirations before commiting to one type of RV over another. That being said, I can say that we are leaning strong toward a 5er based on what we have decided so far, but, and this a big BUT, it's not carved in stone...yet. Anything could happen to change your plans and needs between now and then. You may decide not to keep the "home base" in CA, you may decide to go the FTing route. The point is keep an open mind during your reasearch.

Enjoy, a new paradigm is about to unfold in your life.

Brian

Brian,

Thank you for your advice.    Whether it's a hitch trailer or a 5th wheeler..........we like the fact of being able to disconnect the trailer.    As for a mobilehome.......aside from having to deal with two vehicles (if we're towing a smaller one behind like most people do)........if the moblehome's engine breakdown.......then the entire "home" has to be sent to the Mechanic for repair (worse case scenario).    Then......you're stuck without a home while it's being repaired.     You guys are the experts........my ears / eyes are wide open to your comments.     One thing is for certain, but my wife and I enjoy driving and enjoying the sights (whatever those sights may be).    Until we are fully retired.......we are not in a position to FULLY travel throughout the country as the "fully retired" folks are.     We are SO looking forward to that moment.

I have SO MUCH to read and digest regarding our future plans.    Of course........budgeting for this lifestyle will be a major factor.

Thanks again.

Henry Sanchez

Sacramento, CA

Trace,

That's pretty handy to know.     I was figuring around 5K or, hopefully, a little less.   Not including an Emergency Fund.

Thanks.

Henry

Barb,

Thank you for your suggestions.     Again, we have already attended 3 RV shows......jumped into a lot of trailers and mobile homes.    Our Gut Feeling, at this moment, will be hauling a trailer (hitch or 5th wheel).   In looking at a lot of National Parks and State Parks RV campsites........it appears that the "average" maximum allowable length for trailers is approximately 30 feet.    So......we're focusing on see many National Parks and State Parks.    Again, we're just starting this process.

Henry Sanchez

Sacramento, CA

TRACY,

Just read some of your chronicles.    Wow.......you are most certainly opening up my eyes (budget wise)...........so many categories to think of.    I'm afraid that my wife and I will be starting off on the same foot by financing our RV and Tow Vehicle from the outset.    But, it's not the end of the world...........we'll just incorporate it into our BUDGET!

Henry Sanchez

Sacramento, CA

Hi Barb,

Well, again, we were looking a State / National Parks websites.    Only going by what we're reading.    But.....seeing how you guys are the experienced one........I have have to make a mental note of that (regarding the length).   Otherwise, getting a 35 - 37 footer isn't to bad either.    To answer your question.........NOT SURE at this present moment whether we'll go FULL TIME or not.    My wife seems to think that it sounds like fun and and a adventure.    I am of that same mindset.     But being the retired military guy that I am........I sure want to have a good "Game Plan" locked in (to the best of my ability) before we take the first step.     Having said that.........I AM very excited about even thinking in this direction!!!

Henry

Lee and Trace wrote:

---

Welcome Henry. If your looking for some example budgets of what it's costing some newbies, please check out my blog where I post my monthly budgets. I will say we aren't very good at this yet and I am certain over time it will cost less but right now it's running between $3800 - $4200 a month for us.

Trace

camperchronicles.com/budgets/

---

 my emphasis added...

Trace, hopefully, soon enough you'll have that RV payment monkey off your back, that should help a lot. 

Brian

Henry, since you have a fairly long window, you have the benefit of time to work on your side and build a fund dedicated to your rig purchase. Perhaps you can realign some things in your current finances with an eye toward the idea that you can start cutting them now since they may no longer part of a future scenario. Just a thought. 

One other thought, you mentioned the idea that your future "home" could end up in the shop and that caused you some concern. An esteemed RV-Dreams family member with plenty of experience under his belt, Jack Mayer, once similarly advised me to "not let the things that are the 1% issues interfere with the enjoyment of the 99% normal expectations" (this is paraphrased but essential his point). You will probably not be in the shop for inordinate amounts of time, especially if you do the routine maintenance necessary, it should not be something that dominates your thinking. Yes it's there, but don't sweat it.

FWIW, Brian

Brian,

That's SOUND advise Brian.     It's really appreciated.    Our home will be paid off in about 2 years, which will certainly open up fund availability for us.    There are some really nice JAYCO brand trailers out there that we have enjoyed.   I think we have seen 10 different brands.    Keystone "Montana" 5th Wheeler seems to be catching my eye as well.     The shopping & research continues!

Henry

Hey Henry,

Welcome aboard.  As you've already seen, there are lot's of folks out here with great and sound advice.  

I'm not saying you should go that way, but we have a 2013 Montana.  We bought it new 2 years ago and have done some camping in it and have enjoyed it so far.  We've also JUST started full timing.  That being said, they are plenty of units out there that offer so much.  Have to find out what's right for you.  By the way, thank you for your service.

Happy trails!

Henry and Ann,

I can't add much additional advise to what others have suggested. I do want to welcome you to the forum.

I regularly read and participate in five forums. Here at RV Dreams they also have a chat room. Seems like most people log in just after dinner, especially on Friday and Saturday. You can ask them any question you have. What a great bunch of folks. Ask for Dee when you get in the chat room. She will make you feel welcome. Her husband, and hence her also, are retired military.

My wife, Karen, and I plan to go fulltime in about four years if our budget works out. I've discovered we are not unique in that we are going through the same process, in much the same order, as many of the others before us. It is no longer shocking when I read a post from another describing their process or how they made their decision - thinking to myself - Wow I just thought about that also. For example, we started off thinking we would go fulltime in six years. Like others, we moved the date up.

Again, welcome to the forum Top (that's a First Sgt. for none military). I'm hoping to learn from you as well. I've learned from all those that posted before me as I read what they have to say. Thank you to them for taking the time. And Trace is an extraordinary planner. Love her blog.

-- Edited by mds1 on Wednesday 12th of August 2015 04:06:10 AM

Thank you for your very kind words.    My wife and I HAVE walked into a 2015 Montana.    I enjoyed the "attention to detail" within this 5th Wheeler.    It was the very same type of good workmanship as the JAYCO 5th Wheelers we have hopped into.     We did look at a Cougar.....in my view........it was evident, to me anyway, that the workmanship was no where near up to par, as compared to the Montana and JAYCO products.

However, I do have a question for you, how long is YOUR 5th Wheeler?    Although Barbara has made some fine recommendations to me as I begin this process..........I am wondering whether or not, as you were researching and deciding on YOUR 5th Wheeler.......whether or not MAXIMUM Length capacity's (when it comes to driving through National Parks and/or States Parks) was a consideration?    The reason I ask is..........as I was looking at the California State park camping facilities..........the majority of the maximum allowable length's (for the trailer) where 30 feet.     Not sure if I should be concerned if we eventually purchase something a bit longer that that........seeing how we plan on driving throughout the United States and Canada.    How concerned should we be?

Henry

Mark,

I appreciate the Heads Up regarding the Chat Forum.    That's one area that I have not gone into yet.   I don't mind "chatting".....but I am, at this point anyway, reading through the Community Subject and just sitting back and cruising on through it all.    I still have over 2 years to go till my 2nd retirement in my current job.   I retired from The Army in 1998.    So, it's been kind of cool knowing that I will, God Willing, be able to do it again.   Exciting times for my wife and I.

I am looking forward to yacking with you some more when you have the time!

Henry

Henry, if you haven't already, go to Howard and Linda's RV-Dreams.com website and peruse their various research pages on all kinds of stuff, including how they made the decision, and the time leading upto their going full time.

here's a couple to start you off...

http://www.rv-dreams.com/preparation.html

http://www.rv-dreams.com/journal.html ...Scroll down on this one, for an account of the process they went through. An excellent read.

FYI, Brian

Thanks Brian.   I'll do that right now.    Appreciate it.   

Henry Sanchez

Sacramento, CA

Hey Henry,

Sorry for the delay in responding.  My rig is a 3582RL.  Exterior length is 39' 2".  I'd like to say we researched to the nth degree, connected all of the dots, all that good stuff.  Truth is, we went to this 'show' with no intentions of doing anything.  We walked in the unit and, to make a long story short, the wife said "I REALLY like this!", more than once.  I got the hint.  You know the phrase 'happy wife, happy life!'  So, we'll make it work.  Now to be additionally honest, with each new unit we've gotten, we continued to go to shows, sales, dealerships, etc., checking out quality, features and the like, and what we could afford.  This kind of fit the bill for us.  This is the 4th unit since 1999.

As far as length concerns, we're just starting the full time mode and we'll see how things go.  Most Colorado State Parks I believe accommodate larger lengths.  And I've been in Moraine Park in the Rocky Mountain Nation park (near Estes Park), and Blue Mesa, which is near Gunnison CO.  Blue Mesa was wide open and we had zero issues.  Moraine Park is a wooded area, had some larger sites but I don't recall there being that many.  And some of them not so easy to get in to.

But there are a lot of folks on these forums who have been on the road a lot longer and have far more experiences than me.  They should be able to provide some insight.  There have been some forum discussions on this in the past.  You possibly could use the 'Search' feature to check that out.  Hope your research goes well.

Thank you for the reply.     Again, because of my current ignorance regarding this lifestyle, which, by the way, is exciting us more and more,  I always thought that I should concern myself (I mean.....REALLY concern myself) with Length issues (which would include the length of our future Tow Vehicle).     Maybe I'm thinking in the wrong direction?    It's our intention to be on-the-road, at this present moment anyway, at least 9 months out of the year.   Maybe it's wishful thinking.......but that's on my (our) bucket list.

Again.......thank you for your insight.   Things are starting to add up and sending me (us) in the right direction for our future retirement!

Henry Sanchez

Sacramento, CA

Henry,

The great thing about this lifestyle is that how we live it may be different, but the fact we are living it matters.  When we started we never thought about fulltime.  We just knew we wanted to travel some and hotels were not a good option especially since we travel with 4 parrots.  We bought a older Rv to start out and see if we would like it.  We figured if we hate it, we would just sell it.  From that first trip we were hooked.  Again full timing wasnt a thought.  Fast forward 2 years later, numerous visits to dealers, shows, and driving thru RV parks talking to people, we decided it was for us.  We ended up selling our older Class A for a Newer one with slides.  For two years we were part timers.  Last August we went to a RV Dreams Rally (which I would highly recommend) and we have not moved out of the Rv yet.  We have been fulltime for a year now.  

One idea is that if you have not been rving yet, you might want to consider renting one and taking a trip.  A few weeks ago we were visiting with a couple in the Rv park that was doing this.  By renting one, it just reinforced to them that rv-ing was for them.

As far as your concerns if your home was in the shop, we experienced this in June.  We took our Rv to a truck stop for some basic work and they discovered a big crack on the steer tire axles.  We ended up boodocking in their parking lot for 10 days while we waited for the heavy part, and they installed it.  It was much easier and not as bad as I was concerned it would be.  The people were great and they tried to do everything possible to make sure we were comfortable.

We are a big boy Motorhome and tow (86') and it does take a little more planning, but we can always find a park we can fit into.   We do prefer Private parks over State, National and COE parks so I can't be much help with that.  The few we have stayed at has been nice.

Good luck and just remember however you choose to live the life doesn't matter as much as just living the life whether is is part-time, full-time or any-time.

Patti

Patti,

Thank you for your comments and suggestions.    Really appreciate it!

Henry

Sue,

Great suggestions.   Good food for thought.    I don't want to complicate this more than it needs to be...........I just want to have a good mind set as to what we need to be looking for (size-wise) in order to NOT regret getting something large or smaller to accommodate most camping areas (Public or Private).     So much to learn !!

Henry