Congratulations and good luck. We all look forward to your progress reports.

Isn't it a GREAT feeling? Congratulations!

Congratulations! I can relate to waiting. We're right behind you leaving on the 21st. However, the days now are 48 hours long each. Maybe we'll see you out there somewhere.

Judy

Congratulations! I remember what a good but slightly terrifying feeling it was to finally push off on the adventure. Happy Trails!!

thanks for all the support and we are going to need it all...

You are going to be doing the Happy Dance!   Free at last!   It's an incredible feeling, isn't it?  Dreams do come true!

Congrats!  Wish I was ready to go!

HeyDuke, we are GREEN with envy that you are so close to full timing!  We have about a year to go and SO much to do!  Hope we see you guys at a rally or down the road somewhere.

Congrats. wishing you all the best! If you get into the Pa. area email and say HI!

Best Wishes--keep the dream in front of you and enjoy-

Heyduke, dreamers, and Karen and Al;

Congratulations and happy travels.

We have been living full-time in our coach for about 9 months now, but will not hit the road as traveling fulltimers until June 2011. Still got some real estate to take care of and then DW will be quitting her job.

I hope to see all of you on the road sometime soon.

Drive safely and enjoy the scenery!

I wish you congratulations and happy trails as well, even though I'm a newbie at this forum and haven't had a chance to catch up on all your postings yet. I'm at the middle stages now; completed all the research (we know the truck & 5th wheel models we want and the state to register in) and now am just waiting until all the repairs are done on the house so I can put it up for sale (needed in order to buy the RV); also downsizing possessions.

As exciting (and I imagine scary) as this experience is, do you ever find yourself getting cold feet and questioning your decision? My husband and I have been talking about doing this when we retire for the past 25 years, but now that the time is just about at hand and the excitement of the research is over and we're down to the nitty gritty of actually taking action, I start to question if this is the right choice. Of course, I come back to this forum (and a few other resources) and it reminds me that yes, this is what we both want to do.

Travel Bug wrote:

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Hi,

We noticed you didn't get a chance to take your rig out for a trial run before you took off on the road. We are about to do the same thing. Any advice for us? We've never driven a 5er before. Our first destination is ten hours away. We plan to spend the night somewhere about halfway to our destination. When we stop for one night, is it usual to put out the slides or try to sleep on the bed without opening the slides?

We are really green!

Thank you for any help, suggestions, advice, etc., you can give.

 

http://travelbug-susan.blogspot.com/

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 Susan,

If you have some friends or acquaintenances at work or church or other places you socialize or work that have a fifth wheel, see if they can get with you to help with hook-ups and towing tips.

Whether that is an option or not, see if there is a large empty parking lot of a church or shopping center where you can practice driving the rig.  Get something like traffic cones to place in the empty parking lot and practice driving around them in different configurations and setting some up to simulate an RV site to back into.  Practice backing straight in first and then try backing in from both driver side and passenger side directions.

If necessary, buy some walkie-talkies that both of you can use to communicate with each other while backing.  When backing, the driver will find it easier to place his/her hand at the bottom of the steering wheel for backing up.  When you do it that way, whichever way your hand moves will be the direction that the rear of the trailer will turn.

If no friends can help, check with people in a local RV park and see if anyone can give you tips and assistance.

Do not be overwhelmed with pulling a fifthwheel, but remember to allow plenty of room when making turns at intersections.  When turning left, don't be afraid to move slightly into an outside lane to prevent the trailer rear end from impacting a car at the intersection.  When turning right, stay as far left in your lane approaching the intersection and swing as wide as you need.  If you aren't turning onto a 2 lane road, you may need to go forward slightly more before turning right into the lane.

Good luck with it all and have confidence.  Once you have gained experience, always remember to respect the vehicle you are driving and stay slightly "afraid" of the thing,  If you become too overconfident, that is when you will have accidents.

Terry

Great advice Gene!

Welcome to the life, heyduke!

well Susan I am a big believer of just jumping in with both feet...

advice - it really is easier than you think... you are real real big so don't worry too much as others tend to get out of your way ;) ... trust your mirrors and cameras .... always, always, always have your partner get out to assist in anything you feel concerned about (tight turns, backing up, getting into a gas station) ... only refuel in the truckers lanes at truck stops till you are more comfortable with tighter turns and places ...

email me if you need to chat or need more tips heyduke50 @ inorbit.com

One of the best places to practice maneuvering a rig is in the parking lot of a football field for a high school or college. In the middle of the week there is usually no traffic that you need to worry about.