They’ve been RVing for nine years and full-timing for three. I asked Dale what influenced their decision to go full time and he said that they both liked traveling and wanted to retire early. They also wanted to do it while they were still healthy enough to enjoy the experience. He’s got a pacemaker and the health issue was particularly important to Lisa because both her mom and dad died in their 60’s.
They started full-timing when he was 54 and she was 45. I asked how he went about preparing to make the leap. Dale told me that Lisa wasn’t too keen on the idea at first so he started planning how they could do it. He read books and internet articles and every time they went camping he would find the full-time RVers and “pick their brains.” She went along with him when he did this and began to warm up to the idea.
They decided they would try it and if either one didn’t like it they would stop. Dale says when people would ask her about it at first she would say “We’ll try it for 10 years…” but she doesn’t say that anymore, now she just says she’ a “full-timer” and loves the lifestyle. They sold their house and divided up their stuff between two daughters. Lisa gets to see some of her “former” stuff from time to time when they visit with them. She says the full-time lifestyle taught her to be satisfied with less and to focus on more important things in life instead of the accumulation of more stuff. They full time in this nice New Horizon 5er. 
Their favorite travel destination is Cody, Wyoming at Buffalo Bill State Park. Her least favorite part about full time RVing is the lack of a bathtub and having to use a laundry. They solve the bathtub issue by checking into a nice hotel a couple times a year. Their preferred camping style is boondocking and they travel with their two dogs Micah (top) and Mocha (bottom). 
If you’re thinking about becoming a full-time RVer you should know that there are thousands of us out here from all walks of life in all kinds of RV rigs. Talk to us next time you go camping or just come to an RV park or campground where we hang out and we’ll tell you everything we know about the lifestyle good and bad. Living the dream - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing
10 comments:
Here! Here! DH and I completely recommend fulltiming. We hit the road last year thinking we'd only do it for a year, and now we don't want to stop for the forseeable future.
Is that a veggie oil tank I see in the back of the RAM? I would love hear more about their experience with it.
Cheers to all of the adventurous fulltimers out there!
Going fulltime April 2008.
My parnter and I haven't made the leap yet, but we are going to at the end of April 2008. She (my partner) lives in Virginia, and I live in Delaware. We meet on the internet in a chat room 5 years ago. After a couple of years I mentioned to her about buying a motorhome and going fulltime, she was all for it, no questions. So we can't wait until the end of April 2008, and hitting the road.
We are planning to go full timing soon! The one barrier we are having trouble finding a solution to is health insurance. How do you all handle that without a "real" job and before medicare?
When the house sold in 5 weeks, we became "sudden fulltimers". Since January we have been full timing in our Bounder Diesel 39Z. We have already seen more and experienced more than we thought possible.
We will do it as long as it is fun!
www.littleRVadventures.com
Anonymous said...
"We are planning to go full timing soon! The one barrier we are having trouble finding a solution to is health insurance. How do you all handle that without a "real" job and before medicare?"
I was already buying my own coverage in NJ (one of the few states that does not cherry pick). We maintain that coverage and visit NJ for our annual appointments.
I think that health insurance will play a big part in which state you decide to maintain your residency. Check out state by state at http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net/
George and Josie
Rexhall Aerbus
We started full timing almost a year ago. Were long timers before the house sold, so is not much different except now, we do not need to check on the house!
Full time in a 5th wheel. Have our own washer and dryer and dishwasher.
Really love this life style. We travel during the summer and sit for 5 months in AZ. Have made so many friends!
Will continue to do this as long as our health last.
House is on the market and we are in the process of purging our belongings. We have been rving for 10 years and can't wait to get on the road fulltime. Looking forward to meeting some of you on the road.
My husband and I are in a little different situation. We both still work full-time. We've had a travel trailer for the last 17 years and used it on weekends and summers. We moved out to California in 2006 for employment. We live in one of the most expensive areas of California. And so buying a house was out of the question. Because we live in a college town, renting is by the room not by the house. We knew we couldn't live full-time in our 26 foot travel trailer which had no slides. So we decided to buy a bigger trailer. That also required a bigger tow vehicle. We did a lot of research to find the model of travel trailer we wanted. It's hard to find a travel trailer with as much room as a 5th wheel. But we managed to find one that met our needs. We bought a 2007 Keystone Mountaineer 32FLD. Our next big issue is to find places where we can stay long periods that are still within a half-hour commute of our work. Most places will only let you stay 6 months. We alternate between two cities, Morro Bay and Grover Beach. So far since we started this in Dec. 2007 we've been able to have a place each month. Some places will only let us stay 3 months. Some are more expensive. We're on a list for a perm. space in one of the parks. And if we're still doing this when we turn 55, we may buy a space in a 55 & up park. During the holidays and summer breaks, we take the trailer on the road to visit both our grown children. This summer we have a 2 month trip planned. Then when we get back, we've got a spot for 6 months. You have to make your reservations a year in advance for some places. We keep a storage locker with things we don't want to part with. We really have enjoyed this lifestyle. We are very happy with our trailer. Though we do plan on moving up to a bigger motorhome in the next couple of years. Neither one of us would go back to a house at this point.
we have been full time for 8 years and love it we hope to stay full time untill we can't travel any more
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