KAPLODS ~ recently, we were forced into a quick move (our apartment complex was closed down) and had 2 months to pack and 1.5 weeks to move 16+ years of accumulated 'STUFF'. As we packed, we sorted, tossed, and donated; yes, we sold some stuff too (esp Dh). Then we finally found a smaller place, and as we unpacked, we started the process again; only this time we are being 'ruthless' about it, and you will have to be too, I'm sure.
My rule is this ... if I have not used this item in the last 3 MONTHS or won't use it for the next 3 months, then out it goes! If we can't sell it or give it away, it goes to GOODWILL! You will feel good about helping so many other people get a good deal too.
DH and I used to travel a lot when we were younger; when we got married, we had a yard sale and packed the rest in one trailer. Later, we settled in a place, and spent the next 16+ years accumulating way too much 'stuff'. We now realize that it is all only stuff, and having fun and enjoying your life is the most important thing of all.
I agree with other posters, you can do this in 2 months, but go ahead and take 3 or 4 or more; I definitely think you can do this by spring. We started in September and we are almost done, and it's November and we haven't been doing it every day. Just be sure to label those boxes or containers well, so they don't get mixed up.
Here's another tip: just take enuff of everything like as if you were going on a camping trip ... a few of each thing, or no more than a week's worth ie 4 plates, four each of utensils, enuff clothing for a week for each person, and so forth; a few favorite books or a few hobby things; a 'FEW' is key here, I think.
Hope some of this helps you a bit; and best wishes. I would love to do exactly what you are planning, if my health could stand it. I find the cold, damp air here hard on my body too. So far, I have been travelling via the internet ~ lol! Rosebud
Last edited by Justwant2Bhealthy; 11-21-2008 at 11:55 PM.
Colleen~this is the information I got from my mother-in-law:
They bought their membership in Western Horizon Resorts in 2004 for $4000. The yearly dues are $515. The membership gives them access to
ROD (Resorts of Distinction) (free stays per night)
NCCA ($6 per night stays)
Western Horizon ($3 per night stays)
AOR ($6 per night stays)
and one other
She says there are many kinds of memberships. One includes Thousand Trails and Coast to Coast and RPI. (I'd suggest Googling some of these names to see what is available now).
It's kind of cryptic--I apologize. Sometimes when she's explaining it to me I get this glazed look on my face with all the ROD, AOR, RPI, etc. And this was straight from her email to me!
The one thing that might be a deterrent would be that they limit your stays to 2 weeks per resort per stay. This means you HAVE to move at least every 2 weeks. While traveling, it isn't an issue, but if you want to stay in a particular area for longer you have to move to a different resort. Here in the desert there is only one resort with two others about 75 miles away in opposite directions. Obviously that wasn't a good choice for my in-laws so we ended up buying a lot at Outdoor Resorts and they live there each winter and then use the membership while traveling.
Also keep in mind that with the horrible economy, fewer people are traveling so some of these smaller resorts are having problems. My MIL said that none of the resorts she stayed at last summer were full which is the opposite of the past years. But, it means that there are some deals to be had on a used motor home! My in-laws bought theirs used. It was 1 year old and had many upgrades. The elderly couple who had it only took it on a couple of trips before the wife died and the husband didn't want to travel alone.
Thanks Allison - no it was plenty of information to get me started. Which why I agree with Ufi that March makes the most sense. My husband and I are both crazy enough to learn by the seat of our pants - but I like to be better prepared than that.
This may end up being the biggest mistake of our lives, but if we don't try it soon, there will only be more reasons not to later on.
With gas prices dropping, and it being a wonderful time to buy an RV (both seasonally and in view of the overall economy - it truly is an ideal time to get a great barbain), it does seem that there will not be a better time to do this.
We're going to have to experiement to see how often we have to and want to move. Most of the inexpensive spots, it seems, do require you to move frequently, so we're really going to need either a discount membership or a guide of the free/cheap spots (there are guidebooks and magazines that list these, so we'll no doubt buy one to keep in the RV), and have to pick our destinations carefully. Moving every two weeks wouldn't be a terrible pain, if another spot was within an hour of travel, but neither of us do well on long car trips (but a lot of that is having to sit in the same position for hours. With the RV, we can stop at rest stops and move around in or outside the RV (rest stops also have stay limits, often two hours or less, so you don't really stay there - besides they have such a dangerous reputation in many states at night, but it definitely would be a way to make this doable).
That is what is surprising me the most - I was sure our health issues would prevent us from doing this, but the more I read on disabled RV full-timers, the more I realize that RVing may actually be easier on our bodies than apartment life. I was shocked at how many people were able to do this, even with severe disabilities and pain and health issues.
Learning what adaptations we're going to have to make is probably the biggest obstacle. We plan on keeping our current doctors, because we really like them a lot. Since we have med reviews every three months, we'll have to find ways to get those done on the road and sent to our doctor - or if we establish a predictable yearly travel pattern, we will find doctors in those areas. We may even establish dual residency like snowbirds do.
When we first started looking into this, we thought well maybe we'll not be able to travel the way most people do - and then as I learn I've found there doesn't seem to be one way of doing this, but dozens and dozens. Some people travel with families and work on the road (I can't imagine being on the road full time with kids or working the types of jobs that require or allow that much travel). Some folks are constantly on the move. Others move only every three to six months. Some people do all of their RV maintanance. Others barter with other RVers for the services they need. Some travel alone, others travel with, or hook up with members of groups they've joined (tons of them at yahoo).
Oddly enough what inspired our decision is watching a real estate show (you know where they follow a person's house hunt). The show followed a young woman looking for a condo in Hong Kong. Her budget was approximately the equivalent of about $400, 000. So what does nearly half a million dollars buy you in Hong Kong - a shoebox. She ended up with a 400 square feet efficiency, and she was going on and on about all the "space" the condo had. The kitchen was smaller than your average walk-in closet. The stove and oven were smaller than the average RV kitchen (she raved that it had an oven- woohoo she could bake). Like many RV's the stove top and sinks had removeable countertops to maximize work space. The shower has a water heater that must be heated up before the shower. So you have to plan your shower 20 minutes ahead of time and you've got ten minutes to take your shower. And the living room was also the bedroom. The patio was maybe 4 to 5 foot by 15 foot, and she was excited that she was going to be able to have parties and have a garden.
It really redefined for us the amount of living space, and modern conveniences people really need. Now we're not going to be able to live in a 5th wheel where the bed is above the driver's seat or in the fold-out couch, but in a bus style motorhome where the bedroom has a closing door and there's floor space around both sides of the bed, and there are lazy boys in the living room, and some have kitchens with more counterspace than we have in our current kitchen and just as much floor space.
The biggest difference is going to be in not having any more belongings than we actually need. There's not going to be space for any extra stuff, so we've got to make sure that we have a place for everything and everything is in it's place when it's not being used. Clutter just has to be something we just don't allow. I'll also have to get rid of most of my fun kitchen and craft gadgets - the ones I use less than twice a year. If I don't use it at least twice a week now, it's going. So the toaster will go with us, the blender probably not.
We've done a lot of RVing. We've gone on 3 1/2 week trips and traveled just under 3000 miles in that time. We've parked our RV in a campground 75 miles from home and used it as a weekend vacation home 3 weekends out of 4. We've done our camping with 2 kids. We've traveled quite a bit of the US and all but one Canadian Province that touches the US. (Did I mention our starting point is halfway down Florida?)
When we bought our first camper, we were already familiar with tent camping. We bought a used pop-up and used it over 30 nights the first year. Then we upgrade to a HI-Lo and then a 31 foot fifth wheel. Acquaintances bought a pricey new pop-up, went on a two week trip and never camped again.
So one recommendation is that if you haven't camped, before you make a big investment and discover it isn't what you expected, try it first. Borrow a camper, rent a camper. Learn how things about campers work. Go to an RV show, attend classes about RVing and full timing.
Are you used to spending all your time together? It's difficult to not be on top of each other in a small space. Do you enjoy spending time outside? Yes, the space inside an RV is well organized, but the great outdoors can become extended living space.
Make sure you are both comfortable driving a class A vehicle (bus style). Find out whether a special driver's license will be required. Even though it probably isn't required, consider taking a driver's course for a large rig - even a class for driving a semi. Learn how to back this type of large vehicle into a camp site. Some locations will have sites designed for you to pull through so you never have to back up. But somewhere you'll have to back it up and turn into a tight space.
Drive through local campgrounds. Tell them you'd like to take a look at their campground - that you're looking at local campgrounds for a possible future visit. They'll almost always hand you a map of the campground and invite you to take a look around. Find out about availability of connections or wireless for internet connections, TV access and how you're charged for these things.
Consider that if you're full-timing, you'll often be buying smaller sizes of items and paying higher per unit prices. If you currently stock up on cases of items at Sam's, Costco, or BJ's, that won't be practical. You'll be trying to keep the weight of what you're carrying down.
If you think you'll be in two locations - each for half of the year, the last comment isn't so relevant.
Find out what the GCW (Gross carrying weight - weight of the empty vehicle plus driver) and the GVWR (Gross Vehicle weight rating- the maximum recommended weight for a vehicle, including: the weight of the vehicle itself, fuel and other fluids, passengers, and all cargo) is for the type of vehicles you're looking at. You should be able to find this online. The difference between these two numbers is the maximum weight you can plan to carry - this includes gasoline or diesel, and you the passenger as well as water in the holding tank, clothing, bedding, food, tv, pots & pans, etc. Start thinking about things you want to take with you in terms of how much of that difference in weight (Payload) it will use up.
Friends of ours who hadn't camped before, full-timed for two years - traveling all over the US. Then they discovered a part of the country they really loved and bought a home there. So also, full-timing doesn't have to be forever.
We don't currently own an RV. We sold ours as part of a vehicle purchase that included a trip to Europe. The youngest is currently in HS and we wouldn't be using an RV right now as much as we would want if we owned one. However, after a few more European trips, I'm sure we'll buy another RV and travel again after retirement.
I'm sure you'll enjoy it tremendously. And you'll enjoy living without being held back by belongings. Think about storing things from your families with sentimental value.
Feel free to PM me if I can answer anything about RVing. You sound like you're already tuned into some online communities that can help.
