Not us…we never RVed and only camped when our son was in the Cub and then Boy Scouts. We decided we might like the life so we rented a Class C for a month and toured around VA and MD…decided we liked it so we came home, put the house on the market, and ordered our New Horizons 5ver.

 

I was born to parents who were brought up camping and I've camped all my life.  We brought our kids up camping too.  Now that they are all on their own, we are heading out full time next summer.  We can't wait.  We don't care if we ever own a sticks and bricks again.  We've always been an adventurous bunch.

 

Debbie

downtheroadwithsteveanddebbie.blogspot.com

 

In our case we've been planning going fulltiming more than 10 years ago. We were expecting going at our retirement in 2018 but year will be 2015 or sooner. We don't own an RV yet because we will purchase our rig when time to leave will arrive. I meet my wife on a campground way way back in time..... We will buy a class A, but for now we are still camping in a tent or in a cabin, we both ride a motorcycle and I've a small trailer that carry all the stuff, when we travel we have everything beside the luxure and the comfort. Still the important for us is to ride our motorcycle and play outside. We've been saying that, one day we will still ride the bikes but no more tent sleeping!!!!!!. I don't mind too much but my wife is looking forward to sleep in a real bed after a motorcycle ride and have her comfort, we don't have 20 years anymore, so sometime it's rough to wake up in the morning but that's another story............

The main reason for us to go straight fulltimer is simple we love outdoor, we like to travel and we won't need the big house and the cars. Hit the road when we want and where we want for the time we want. RV is like a motorcycle both have one common factor "Freedom". We don't need to try or to rent one, we were meant for this lifestyle it was only a matter of time and it is coming soon.

Jean

Many years of tent camping, then I met my now husband, we went to a wine festival and tent camped - and that was the last time for tents. Once we got the Class C, we started talking seriously about fulltiming.

Then we found the RV Dreamers - and we are in full and focused pursuit of fulltiming!

We camped for years with our parents when we were kids (both me and my wife) my parents had a couple of Pop-Up Campers when I was a kid (a JC Higgens & a Nimrod), wife's parents had a Truck Camper when she was a kid.

When we got married we camped all over the country in Pop Up (a Lark & a Palomino) and then in Travel Trailers(a Sunline, a Nomad & a Sunnybrook) when our daughter was growing up.

After our Daughter was grown and did not go with us as much, we got our 1st 5th Wheel (28 Foot Jayco) and used it for vacations and weekends for years.
We did some extended trips in it to "Test" the fulltime lifestyle and loved it.

We sold our smaller 5th Wheel and bought our current 5th Wheel, sold the house and went fulltime, we will be fulltime 2 years tomorrow on November 8, 2013

We married in 1983 and started tent camping right off. Shortly there after, I bought a truck camper and the adventure began. We always talked about going full time when we were camping and now we are making it happen. We plan to list the house in early Jan and hit the road, hopefully by March ------ We can't wait.

I will say that this forum gave us the knowledge and courage to leave the sticks and bricks and grab a hold of our dream. Thank you once again Howard, Linda and all the posters on this forum.

Red

Way to go Dogfolks!!

My wife & our 2 children tent camp from may to september for 8 years. When school let out for the summer, we would leave the house & move to a campground & stay at the campground all summer. I would go back an forth to work from the campground. Then when school started we would move back to the house. Then highschool started. That is another story in it self

I hate to admit it, but I've had a lot of practice buying rv's too. We're on #10, but that's over 28yrs.

First - Dog Folks - you sound like a very sweet and loving hubby!  What a great story!  Love it!

Bill camped a bit as a child with Boy Scouts and also with his one Uncle, all tents.  I didn't camp out at all as a child.  

When our kids were still very small, like 2 and 3 1/2 a friend of my bro-in-law was selling a small travel trailer, a 22' Citation.  Somehow Bill found out about it and brought me to see it.  He wanted to buy it to take the kids camping.  Keep in mind, we didn't own anything that could tow it at this point, and I was a bit skeptical.  Well, he talked me into it and thankfully the guy selling it didn't mind holding onto it until we could find a truck or van to pull it around.  We ended up getting a Dodge Ram van to tow it - HUGE compared to my Toyota Corolla that got traded in!  We took the kids a lot, for weekends, extended weekends, week long trips up until they got older (early teens) and didn't really want to (nor had time to) go anymore.  My son (who is an Eagle Scout) and hubby went tent camping a lot with Boy Scouts over the years, while my daughter and I would have 'girls time'.  We finally ended up selling the trailer after owning it for 12 years or so.  Lots of happy memories!   Took it all over!  

So, fast forward to 2009.  Both kids are in college.  Hubby was out of work (plant closing) and had lots of time on his hands.  So, he spent a lot of time on Craigslist.  He found our current Class C and got this idea that we could take a big trip out west with it (we had always talked about doing that, but never got there)  So, we bought it.  We took it out west for about a month in April/May of 2010.  We didn't want to come home!  But, life calls and home we went.  

Since then, hubby is back at work and after 2 years, the job will never be what he was told it would be.  The kids are moved out and doing their own things.  We have taken other trips, to FL with the kids before they moved out, down the shore, to Finger Lakes in NY, Outbanks, NC, etc. and each time we go out it is harder to come home, esp. b/c the kids aren't here and the house is HUGE now (we literally live 90% of the time in less than half of it!) So, we (mostly ME) started to brainstorm about how to get him out of this job he hates and travel like we love to do - and then I found this website!  The rest is history - we are in full swing planning, budgeting, purging the house, looking at trucks and 5th wheels, going to spring rally!  We are sold on this lifestyle hook, line and sinker!  Can't wait!  

Having said all that - I am not 100% sure we will do it forever.  I might need (at some point) a place to call home - a place where we can have the kids and (someday) the grandkids come visit and stay.  Someplace to have them for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We'll see. Hubby isn't opposed to that, but wants us both to stay open-minded, so we are on the same page!  That's a good start, right?

So, to ditto what El Rojo said, thanks to Howard and Linda for this website and all others who post on the forum!  You have all been a HUGE HELP to me!

Kelly

We both camped when we were kids and off and on as young adults, mostly tent camping and when my boys were all small our family fulltimed,traveling for work to various locations in the western US....

Just didn't know 22 years ago that I would ever want to fulltime again!

Fast forward 20 years and a new life together we have spent most summer weekends the past 2 years either off road tent camping or backpacking into the beautiful Rockies here in Colorado. After a few of those trips we would come home and swear we were getting a pop-up. But in June this year DH had an ephinany that it was finally time to live the dream and we were going fulltime! I can't believe based on my experience in a previous life I was actually excited to live this dream with him!
4 months later the Rig is bought, the storage and apartment cleaned out and we are ready to go any day now.

We've made the decisions to full time earlier this year, however we're not quite there yet....but getting closer!! Up until the point of Hershey RV show a couple of months ago, we had never been in an RV before although each of us has done some random camping throughout the years, but never together. We do have a sailboat so are familar with smaller spaces...and honestly, the RV's we're looking at seem quite roomy in comparision so we think we'll be okay. Original plan was to sail, but after lots of conversations, think we are going to go "all in" on the RV route for now. Currently looking for our new home and once we find it, we'll finalize our timeline.

Camped with my folks since I was old enough to walk. Hunted every hunt you can think of. Married my gal 41 yrs ago and we backpacked and slept on the ground in blankets because we couldn't afford sleeping bags and such. Graduated to tents, business took off and we got a pop up. Been in everything from PU's, TT's, MH's, & FW's. Hauled our 3 kids all over the US on vacations and hunting trips. (they all RV with their families). 4 1/2 yrs ago my wife's appendix broke and they pronounced her dead in the ER. Miraculously she fought her way back to life to continue sharing our lives together. She has neurological problems now but is able to enjoy life for the most part. I sold our houses and land and toys and hit the road to see what's out there. One can work themselves to death and miss what God has made for us to enjoy. I am lucky that I can run my business from the road. 4 years now full timing and enjoying every day!

DebbieM wrote:

---

Wow, what a story.  So happy for your continued lives together!  We never know how much time we have here, so what a blessing to spend it together the way that you want!  We are looking forward to that.

--Debbie

downtheroadwithsteveanddebbie.blogspot.com

 

---

 Ditto on what Debbie said.

 

 

We primitive camped on our honeymoon 35 years ago. It was fun but i knew there had to be a better solution. After raising children we delved into the rv life. Hybrid bobcat 16ft replaced the camping out-fitted azteck. I looked at several fifth wheels one week and bought a 1979 Jaco designer. After several years and trips from Yellowstone to Maine can we say hooked ....I downsized for a few years to a Roadtrek...since i never was comfortable backing the fifth-wheel alone. The traveling really began,sometimes with husband and sometimes alone visiting family and friends. Still have the RT and would love to tow it behind our Bluebird class A. House sold and closed.....storage unit filling up.....goodbyes being said......We head out full-timing in two weeks.

Hope to see and meet you all as we see the USA

Jo Ann's family camped, but mine didn't. Somehow, though, I got interested while in junior high. I read The Ford Guide to Camping on Wheels and Wally Byam's Trailer Travel Here and Abroad so many times the library wondered about me. Thirty years ago Jo Ann and I got married, and the next summer we took a church group of high school students on a canoe trip. That was my first time ever sleeping in a tent. Over the years we tent camped some (including one time with a 1-year-old while Jo Ann was six months pregnant with the twin girls - and no bathroom open at night), moved to an elderly Minnie Winnie, back to tents (this time with cots) a small travel trailer and now the Foretravel.

Both Jo Ann and I had thought about full-timing, but in 25 years of marriage neither of us mentioned it to the other, nor did we mention that we liked Airstreams. About four years ago, though, we started talking about what retirement would be like, and one of us mentioned the idea of full-timing. That led to a three-year-long research project that culminated in the purchase of our Foretravel. We've got a few months of work to do on it, and the place will go up for sale in February.