Full timing until one Dies question

[rebecca62]

My question is this. Do many plan  when going into full time to do it until they pass away,selling all etc.
I believeit wise and we shall put money away monthly for a new rv when old is just too old as well as funds for break downs, But do most go into this with the plan of never going back to sticks and bricks?,Have you any thing i can read on this mattter love to have it passed on to me, thank you
P.s for us we are selling  all and going for it. We dont know,none do what tomorrow will hold,just taking one day at a time

[junglejim0745]

I think the answer to your question is a varied as the RV's you see rolling down the road. I have RV'ed in some form since the early 1960's and have no plans to quit until they shovel dirt in my face.

We went full timing in 2005 and sold off everything except our family heirlooms and other hard to replace items we wanted to keep just in case we HAD to go back to bricks n sticks life. We were at a point in our lives that we were tired of paying all the high taxes with them getting higher each year, and really having nothing to show for all that money we were shelling out to the government. We streamlined our lifestyle by taking residence in a state that has no state income tax, no personal property tax and we can do everything on line such as drivers license, vehicle license, paying bills, etc. etc.

We never planned to be without a sticks n bricks for the rest of our lives, but we did want to find a place we could own one without it breaking the bank tax and up keep wise. I have always loved the SW desert areas, and I was fairly sure my DW would also. We knew whether we full timed for one year or twenty years we would not want to use the furniture we had in our pre full timing home and furniture is just like food, you can always buy more.

After five years on the road we found a house in SE Arizona which just happened to be a foreclosed HUD home, made a ridiculously low offer on it and had that offer accepted within 24 hours of making it. We were back in the bricks n sticks business. I built a 30 ft by 40 ft garage/shop on the property, added front and back covered porches to the house, replaced all the appliances, bought new furniture, put up a fence and good lockable gates, made friends with the neighbors around us and we are now ready to hit the road again, probably for 7 to 9 months per year with the desert home for a home base and a place to come back to in winter time rather than pay the super high RV parks rates in most southern locations. No reason to store our RV because I built an RV hookup on the acre of ground that came with the house, and that is where the RV resides when we are not on the road.

We now have the best of both worlds, we still consider ourselves full time RV'ers but we have the winter home to come stay in any time we feel like some time off the road. Our neighbors watch the place for us, and call us should anything happen we need to know about, nothing will freeze up if we decide to leave for a while in the winter, no pipes to drain, etc. One neighbor takes care of our lot which is covered with gravel, when we are gone by coming over and using my equipment to spray for any weeds and grass that are poking their ugly little heads through the gravel. For that I pay him 50 bucks every time he sprays the lot and I provide all the equipment to make it easy to do. He just mixes up some spray in the tank that is in the back of our Utility vehicle and drives around leisurely spraying all the vegetation we do not want. Everything we plant has to be self sufficient in the desert such as cactus, trees, shrubs, etc. so no watering to worry about. The neighbor that takes care of our lot has five children and can always use a bit of extra money, so it works out great for us and them.

Nothing is impossible in RVing, whether full timing or part timing, the only limitations are those we put on ourselves. All that being said, we bought our winter home, a 2296 square foot manufactured home on an approved foundation, four bedroom, three bath, living room and family room sitting on one acre of land for 57 grand. After building the garage, porches, fences, putting down the gravel, buying all new appliances, converting the house to all electric by throwing out the gas water heater and furnace and putting in a new electric water heater and heat pump, we have according to the current appraisal value of our place in the neighborhood of 130 grand of equity in it. We recently refinanced it to get those figures and to lower our payments from 310 per month to 240 per month on it by getting a much lower interest rate than when we bought it.

Don't sell any idea short and take advantage of what is out there regardless of whether you are full or part time RVing.

Happy RVing.  

[rebecca62]

Thanks for repying
I agree we limit selves only.Well we just yesterday bought a  1998 class a 32 foot Rv.we are heading to vancouver island hopefully soon.right now selling house and selling off our things. what a task oh boy.We were going to buy another house but decied why why do this,there is no ties,have a steady income coming in and well we choose full time rvingAnyway thank you for your insite.

[luckyd]

Going full time for an American is 100% easier than for a Canadian.
We are only allowed out of country for 180 days in a calendar year.
This is why we have "snowbirds".  Your six months are Jan. Feb. March
Oct. Nov. Dec.  Most campgrounds do not open until into April and that depends on the
weather.  The cost of travelling in Canada through the summer is very high, so
most full timers stay in one park until it is time to head south.
Depending again on weather. the winter on the east coast makes it
difficult for westerners to see the south-east and that is why Florida is the place
for eastern Canadians and Arizona for the west.

Being an American enables you to see your country at different times of the year
without penalties, as I believe, you are allowed free travel all year.  We not only
cannot be out of country for a limited time but also out of province for a limited time.
This all includes the loss of our medical insurance.

Maybe there will come a day when the border and all the regulations will be easier
for RVing. 

[flannan75]

We never planned to be without a sticks n bricks for the rest of our lives, but we did want to find a place we could own one without it breaking the bank tax and up keep wise. I have always loved the SW desert areas, and I was fairly sure my DW would also. We knew whether we full timed for one year or twenty years we would not want to use the furniture we had in our pre full timing home and furniture is just like food, you can always buy more.
 

I agree Furniture's are one of the most important things that completes a house. So it is better to include the furniture's when you moved in to a new home so you won't buy a new one. And if the house needs more furniture then you can buy additional furniture's.

[alex feldmen]

This is wonderful,

[Wannacamp72]

This is actually an interesting question. I had spoke to my wife about this subject just a couple of weeks ago and we had decided that this was it. We were gonna drive that dually and 5th wheel until the wheels fell off and then just put 'em back on and keep going. If one of us dies cremeate them and keep on going until A) you physically cannot drive or B) you forget how to drive. Either way one of us is cruising this nation. In the end and all funny business aside, each of us knows like we know, that our time together was far more fulfilling than the  "nOrMaL" 9-5 life. The adventures, the quality of the time, it's all better living like this. The dry camping struggles add meaning to my life and to hers. Naturally it would stink going it alone...but that's why you get a dog!