There are many women solo RVers out there...full-time, part-time, vacationers. Life is for the living!

I went full-time solo in Oct 2007 at age 60 (thanks to Social Security as a widow). Loved it and only wish I could have done it sooner. I kept an old pair of my husband's construction boots and left them outside my door when parked. Others leave large dog bowls and leashes. LOL!

Just use your common sense...if you feel uncomforable somewhere, leave! Most RVers are wonderful and will help you in any way they can.

There are some great organizations out there for solo RVers. The Escapees have a sub-group called the SOLOS. Wandering Individuals Network is the WINS. Loners on Wheels is LOW. FMCA has a sub-group called SI-Singles.

Welcome!  I am a single mom in the planning stages.   I hope to be traveling with my daughter - who is 9 right now - so I share your concerns about safety.  Her well-being is my number 1 priority, no matter where we live! 

Using common sense is very important, but I must admit that I still worry - not as much about the campgrounds, although the large boots and/or doggie items is a great idea.  One of my greatest worries is "breaking down" on the side of the road somewhere.  Although I can do quite a lot, I can't handle major repairs.   I plan to keep up the maintenance on my rig, sign up with a roadside service provider, keep my cell phone charged in hopes that I have service if anything happens, carry a gun, and hope for the best.   Same things I do now, driving around our area in my car.  Difference is that here, there are people I know that I can call...  "Out there" we will be on our own!

There was a very good discussion on this forum a few months ago about carrying weapons...  some are against it, some for it.  I am very comfortable with firearms, but might not carry one if I wasn't.

I think that fulltiming will be much like living in a S & B as far as safety goes...  we have to stay aware, take precautions, use our common sense, stay positive, try to be a good judge of character, and pray that nothing bad happens.    

Congratulations on your impending lifestyle change.  Look forward to hearing more from you!

Kerri in AL 

With good planning, overnighting in the middle of nowhere shouldn't be necessary. We travel with our family, but only travelled in daylight hours and only got in a bad situation (weather) when we pushed our limit of travelling too long in a day. We plan to stop by 2 or 3 pm and usually make our destination by 4 or 5 pm even with unexpected delays. A good roadside assistance program and perhaps AAA in your case will help alleviate concerns of breakdowns. If travelling in a section of the country where cell phone service is limited or unreliable, a good practice is to call a trusted friend or family member to advise of your route and ETA. Let them know when to expect a call from you and to call assistance for you if you don't check in.

Best wishes in your travel plans!
Linda

I plan on having GoodSam or something similar - roadside assistance - in addition to the roadside assistance I have separately thru another policy. My big dilemma right now is 5th wheel vs. MH. Going out looking this weekend.

While this hint comes from a married guy, it is still something to consider, IF you go with a truck and fifth wheel.

Don't buy a truck based on an option like OnStar.  If you go with the fifth wheel, choose your fifth wheel first and find out what its Gross Vehicular Weight Rating (GVWR) is BEFORE choosing a truck.  You want your truck to be capable of handling the weight.

Along those lines, and this is subjective on my part, I was not able to find a GM or Dodge pickup that would handle the weight that I needed it to handle.  (By "handle", I mean pull it AND be able to stop it.)  Also, you will find that a diesel is more capable than one with a gasoline engine.

Whether you go with a fifth wheel or a motorhome, spend as much time in one that interests you as you can so that you can get a feel for storage space and placement of storage.  Also, is the furniture comfortable?  Could you find it comfortable living in it for an extended period?  You don't want to be unhappy after a purchase to find you overlooked those aspects.

As for the "C" class, I think I have to think that they might be a little "top-heavy" due to the chassis that they are built upon.  Some are probably good, but test drive them for a good number of miles.  Get a feel for how the vehicle handles in corners and curves.  If you can, have someone you know go with you and give you an idea of how it feels in the back.  If possible, test drive on a windy day to see how it handles the wind currents.

Good luck in your searching and researching, and feel free to ask questions.  If you find a brand name you like, see if you can find forums that are more specific to that brand and see what the owners are saying.

Terry

My stix/brix home was broken into 9/30/09 and 11/10/09, so not any safer here, ya know? I am truly not "that" worried about safety. I am a pretty smart woman and really don't plan on going anywhere I shouldn't be. That being said, my stix house was in a VERY good neighborhood...

Anyway - like you said I can switch neighborhoods a lot easier when my home is on wheels.

Terry and Jo - thanks for the insight. I actually rode horses all my life and have some experience hauling the 5th wheel big horse trailer with a dually pickup. It's been years though and it was relatively short trips (from AZ to CA or NM or CO) but with a lot of mountain driving. And the parking at horse shows is wide open so I didn't really have to worry about any tight parking situations when driving that rig.

As for the truck, I have pretty much determined the absolute largest 5th wheel that I would consider and it's weight (unloaded) - and going off that number I think the F350 has the largest towing capacity I can find. The new Dodge Ram 3500 is very close but that means buying a ridiculously expensive truck that will depreciate the 2nd I drive it off the lot vs. buying a used F350 that has what I need.

My general thoughts and research are leading me more towards a Class A or Class C instead of the 5th wheel but after looking around on Saturday I may change my mind.

I'm a fan of motorhomes.  Newmar, Tiffin and Foretravel are well built coaches with good reputations for quality.  Don't know where you are located, but if you are in or close to Texas, check out Motorhomes of Texas.  We lived in Illinois and bought a used Foretravel from that dealer.  Never regretted it.

foxriver - thank you. I am in NC so a bit of a drive to TX to look. :) However, we have a few dealers/outlets here including a Camping World about 45 minutes away - it will at least let me look at different sizes, styles, models, etc. and get a feel for what I want. Once I do that I can drive to actually buy/find the right one if necessary.

ckerr - I hope, sincerely, that we get to share stories around a campfire someday! I, too, have traveled a lot of places (in and out of the US) alone. The caveat with this is the entire your home is your car is your life concept. It's a lot different than checking into a hotel by myself. LOL. Yikes.

But, I am so excited I can barely stand myself. I am already beginning the planning stages - even told the family and one friend. And my boss.

norcal - thank you so much for all that info. I have heard that the rest stops are not good places to be. I guess if I was solo'ing and had to "go" I could stop long enough to run to the bathroom and pull back out. I wouldn't travel alone unless I was in my home area where I know the places to avoid (like coming from or leaving for a trip after coming back to visit friends, etc.)

I'm going RV shopping tomorrow - first, initial pass - to decide on the type of RV. Then I will go from there...

I too am a solo RV'er.  Understand the safety issues.  I never stop in a rest area at night if only one vehicle is in the lot.  I prefer to stay away at night.  I use truckstops and have felt safe.  Just pay attention to where you park and don't let on you are alone.  My RV of choice is a 2010 Wildcat 31TS.  I love it, lots of room, 3 slides and spacious on the inside.  Check out the Forest River Website.  It is the most popular floorplan of the Wildcats.  This will be my first winter in Wichita, Kansas with the rig so we shall see how it goes.

tntlowrider wrote:

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I too am a solo RV'er.  Understand the safety issues.  I never stop in a rest area at night if only one vehicle is in the lot.  I prefer to stay away at night.  I use truckstops and have felt safe.  Just pay attention to where you park and don't let on you are alone.  My RV of choice is a 2010 Wildcat 31TS.  I love it, lots of room, 3 slides and spacious on the inside.  Check out the Forest River Website.  It is the most popular floorplan of the Wildcats.  This will be my first winter in Wichita, Kansas with the rig so we shall see how it goes.

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Hey, is that you Tim? The guy across from us at Sturgis? If so, HELLO!!!

tntlowrider wrote:

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Yes it is, Hi to you all as well.  Hope to see you down the road.  Day I met you I wasn't feeling all that well so ended up chilling around the rig that day.  Got better as time went on.  Rally was good.  Hope you all enjoyed yourselves.

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We did have a blast....hope to do it again in another couple years. Added your blog to my list to read! It was great to meet you, glad you got to feeling better.

 

Thank you everyone. I am in NC but will go check out the RV sites you all mentioned. I'd rather travel and buy from somewhere that comes recommended!

I've been fulltiming solo for over four years. Don't carry around men's boots or a gun. If you use your head, safety shouldn't be an issue. I broke down in the middle of Kansas City last May, and was a nervous wreck, but a wonderful good samaritan came to my aid. How lucky can you get? Hope to see you on the road someday. You can check out my blog if you want further insight into traveling solo. :)

I'm thinking going full time in April 2011. My concerns are socializing. Campgrounds are for families and couples. Most campgrounds are remotely located away from the community (and single people). But I do not want to miss the opportunity to live this lifestyle and see more of the country rather than exist in the status quo. My first post is Introduce yourself. Good luck and be safe but don't let worry deter your adventuresome spirit  

http://www.stungunscheaper.com/_Streetwise_400k_Volt_Stun_Gun_wzzz_Alarm_and_Holster.php?ref=sg5m

I do not yet have an RV, still just a wannabe, but I do travel alone a lot. 

Instead of a gun, I carry one of these--a stun gun.  I prefer it to a taser because I don't have to leave it behind if I use it.  The down side, however, is that it requires direct contact.  So maybe it is wise to have both?? 

Not only do I avoid any legal issues carrying this but I could use it in the the event of an animal attack without risking permanent injury to the animal.  In fact, that is the reason I originally bought the thing!

 

stinnc wrote:

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So I am doing all the research and planning to go full time in July of 2011.  I am a single female (in my very early 40's) and am a bit concerned about the safety issues.  Anyone have tips, concerns, suggestions, advice, stories?

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 Me too! Single female in my late 30's been planning my full-timing for a few years now, and hope to head out August/September 2011.

I too have been wondering about safety issues and such. A friend told me every horror story he had ever heard about single women traveling alone (he's against it, but than again, he's again women doing pretty much anything other than being obedient housewives, so, whatever...) but he was quoting actual news reports and it did worry me.

I've been asking around, mostly online, and I've read several articles written by single women full-timers, and I meet a few through yahoo-groups and talked to them and I'm a lot less worried once I realized that there are actually far more single women full-timers than there are couples, families, or single men full-timers (it's a fact, a case study that some census group did last year, can't remember the web site, I think it was on God Sams or Escapers Club website, not sure.)

Another thing that helps is I was born, raised, and still live in Old Orchard Beach, Maine and if you've ever been here than you know it is 7 miles of bumper to bumper campgrounds and RV parks and has over 30,000 RVers here during the summer months, so I grew up seeing RV folks all around me, and as far as I can tell from 36 years of seeing millions of RV families, they are just good natured regular people. I don't know, but there's something about living in an RV that makes folks more "people friendly". (Has any one else noticed this?) RVers just seem less uptight, more relaxed, less stressed out, less likely to be yelling and fighting, it's almost like RV folks are a whole different race from the non-RV folks. Could it be that the freedom of living in an RV results in a happier less stressful lifestyle, thus happier less stressed out people? I think that is the case. I'm actually more comfortable around RV folks than I am house dwellers, so maybe that has something to do with why I'm drawn to full-timing?

But than again, I've gone through a lot in my life, survived several bizarre events that most people would have gone looney if faced with, and I've bounced back and kept going. I was born a Gypsy... the real deal, we are Scottish Travelers who settled down in the 1970s.. and a lot of "regular" house dwelling people never liked the fact that they had a family of former Gypsies near by. Our house was bunt down by vandals. The flood that destroyed everything we owned was not a natural flood, it was caused by vandals cutting the water main. For years death threats have been taped to our front door. It was house dwellers who felt "superior" than Travelers, who did these things, but only a couple of families, most regular house dwelling folks were nice people, but you can see why I feel safer around RV folks and why I worry about being a single female traveling alone? I've seen what people do to people they don't understand, and people don't understand RV folks. People think RV folks are all Gypsies and I've seen a lot of articles online written by RV folks who say they are not Gypsies and that most RV folks are not Gypsies, but, guess what, some of us ARE Gypsies and for us it IS dangerous out their because of the bad reputation a few bad Gypsies gave to ALL Gypsies!

As others here mentioned, I'm not worried about the campgrounds and RV parks, I've been around those places all my life and I've never had a single bad experience with those places. My worries are what if I have to drive through a big city and need to find a place to park at night? Been there done that, while living in my Volvo, and more than once my Volvo was vandalized. 

And what if I break down? Cities are not exactly RV friendly on a good day, so a break down in the city would be troublesome. I plan to sign up with Good Sam Club, so I'll feel safer about that area at least.

I always freak out a rest areas off of the highway. They always seem to be in the middle of a forest on the side of a mountain, about to drop into a white water river (at least all the ones in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont are like that), and they all look exactly like the rest stops you see in horror movies - you know the type with a serial killer waiting in the bathroom stall carrying and axe... yes, I watch too many slasher films, thank you, and they gave me a irrational phobia of rest stops now... I have to keep telling myself "It was just a movie... it was just a movie...granted it was a really scary movie, and it looks just like this place, but it was still just a movie." :p 

 

 As for your question about 5thwheel vs motorhome... I already wrote my answer for how I decided that here:  http://rv-dreams.activeboard.com/t8046130/traveling-w-cats/

 

EelKat wrote:

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When I first started looking for an rv, I was looking for a travel trailer, something small that I could tow behind my car. I looked at a lot of them, before I realized 2 things: 

1: The size trailer I could tow with my car was going to be 15' or less (under 4k lbs) and after looking inside one that small, there was no way more than 2 cats could live in it, just not enough room. I would have to look for a truck & trailer combo instead. 

2: After looking at truck and longer trailers, including a few 5th wheels, for about 2 years, someone asked me what my living style was going to be and I explained the situation as I just explained it above, and they told me "Oh, full timing with cats. How you gonna put 14 cats in the truck when you drive?"... wait, what? Why am I going to put 14 cats in the truck? They explained to me the laws about NO LIVING BEING can ride in the trailer while it's on the road. Okay. Well, I didn't know that, maybe I should have, but I suppose there are a lot of things I should know and don't, my Autism does make me rather slow to pick up on things. So I had to rethink what I was going to do, and that meant looking into motorhomes instead of trailers.

......

It is precisely because my cats are all feral cats, that I crossed travel trailers and 5th wheels off of my list and started searching for a motorhome instead. I know these cats, and I know there is no way they are going to deal with being crated in a truck every few weeks. They do okay riding in the back seat of a car uncrated, fears of being in a moving vehicle is not a problem for them, they lay on the seat and purr and are oblivious to the fact that the car is moving. Being in a crate in a car, they do not like however.

........

My biggest worry about moving the cats from the trailer to the truck and back again, is not so much the ride itself, as the fact that they (my cats at least) are exceptionally smart when it comes to safe-breaking and getting the latch of the crates unhooked and suddenly I'm spending the next 3 or 4 days hunting down a cat that started running and didn't stop for a mile or two later! Mittens, Bela, Cleo, and Emily all do this. In doors they are fine. In the car they are fine. Outdoors as soon as their feet hit the ground they just start running and don't stop. Pip, Kit, Herbie, and Mowglie also run, but will stop and come back on their own. George and Dog just calmly sit on the ground and never leave my side. The rest run up trees! One cat escaping during transfer would be hellish, and several cats escaping would be a total nightmare. I decided after giving it much thought and knowing how my cats act, that a motorhome will be a safer option than a trailer for me and my cats.

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I wrote a lot more detail on the other thread, but as you can see from the quote here I decided on a motorhome instead of an trailer.

As for the comments about carrying a gun or mens cloths... I'd be more scared of the gun than anything else! And having men's cloths on the line wouldn't really make me feel safer. If it works for you, fine, go with it, but it's not something that'd work for me.

I do plan to get a dog, but I'm planning to get a rescued Greyhound and they are known for being big cowards so I think the dog would be more scared than any intruder would be! LOL!

Over all I think I'll do okay, though, because I'm pretty self sufficient for the most part. I'm a self starter and a survivor and I've survived in situations that are really far out of the norm in the past and so I know I can handle pretty much anything that life throws my way.

You just have to decide that you are going to do this and you are going to face whatever challenges lie ahead of you. Why bother worrying about something that may never happen, right? Plan for the worst, than forget about it and expect the best.

STINNC:    Today is July, 22, 2011 and I am dying of curiousity, did you find the RV of your dreams?  Are you ready to head out to all the roads less traveled or are you already driving down one? 

I am a single "lady" that has been doing "full timer" research for a couple of years now, I own and drive a pampered 2003 1/2 ton Silverado short box with less that 50,000 miles on it, taking that into consideration I would only have to buy my new home to attach to it!  This year they are advertising all over the place for 5ers built for 1/2 ton trucks....  I've also thought about a Roadtrek but they are expensive and tiny...  Any thoughts out there?  MH are too big and I don't like to drive "cars" another plus for the 5th wheel or TT.

 

spice in Iowa!

 

 

New here, enjoyed all the posts, I am/will be a solo RV'r. I've been looking at the floorplans of the C class diesel and think that it should work for me. Anyone with experience with this model?

Single female approaching 60 that would love to start full timing immediately. Mid forties, mid thirties? how on earth do you do it financially? I have to wait for 62 to retire early, with reduced social security (instead of retiring at 66), I am having doubts but am hell bent on doing it.
I can hardly wait. I have begun research and have a hard time not just quitting my job and heading out. Any one have any suggestions or hints, clues on how to go about it earlier or is this a pipe dream?

thanks
Sherri

ahoweth wrote:

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Howard and Linda's postings of their expenses is a good place to start.  Of course your life style may not and probably will not be same as theirs but their expenses are a good place to start. 

Just look at it and figure out what parts of it you would do and which ones you would not.  Then you can work out a proposed budget and you will have a pretty good idea of whether you income will make it possible, and how much you might have to workamp to get it done.

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Good to see you back on the forums, Alan.  Your advice always seems to be valuable and spot on.

Terry

Thank you for the welcome and kind words.  The last 6 months has been a tough time for me.  The sudden passing of my wife of 42 years in July sort of took the wind from my sails for a time.