Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?


The Englishman

New Member
My wife and I are about to embark (June 09) on an adventure of a lifetime and live on the land in our newly acquired 5th Wheel. We are gonna drive right into the sun. Frost is going to be a distant memory and snow is only remembered by Christmas cards.

I have read several ideals of RV'ing so I would like to pose my view - Right or wrong this is how we want it to be.

Initially I am an Architectural Technologist and my wife is a banking executive both in our 50's and we own several houses which we are selling right now. Our residence is a substantial home located in the New Forest in Southern England that will be sold and we shall be leaving behind our (grown up) families.

I have a long term visa and some assets which are all being sold off - My wife will come here in '09 with just the clothes on her back and a suitcase. She would have sold off our houses in Europe and I would have sold the homes we are building here in Iowa. I will have nothing but my tools. They are being whittled down to the absolute necessary. I have a truck, a dog and a spirit of optimism.

The net result of our 'sell off' is My wife, my dog and her suitcase.

We are in the throes of buying a 5th Wheel and looking at mules to pull it with. All of our new life will be bought in as we need it.

The 5th wheel will have state of the art electronics for telephone and Internet access as that is important to both of us. The rest is packaged in the 5th Wheel as standard or accessories.

We will visit places we have only dreamt about and smell the air - I may write a book and my wife may start baking fresh bread again. My wife, dog and I will walk in some of the most beautiful countryside on Gods Earth. We will eat Salmon from the northern rivers and sip wine in the deserts of Arizona and may even swim in the Carribbean.

When we tire of the views we will move on elsewhere but not over an arduous protracted period but in a heartbeat. We will go to bed when it gets dark and get up when the sun rises and eat foods from regions where they are grown. We will not ever own a watch or clock again. Cell phones will only have a narrow time slot in our day, anytime beyond that they can swing for it. Email or nothing if they miss that time slot - (my computer will be the only clock we will have),

We will continue working ... well I will, but remotely and we may even Workamp - I like the idea of that.

If we are unfortunate enough to get lousy neighbours we shall crank up the legs and go elsewhere in the flap of a flutterbys wing.

We have had the pressure and the late nights and weekends stuck in an office or on an aeroplane en-route to sort out someone elses problems. Been there seen it and done it - Its our time now.

I want to wake up next to my wife in the morning and spend all of our time doing what we want to do and she too I.

We have caravanned (RV'ed) in Europe for 18 years in a substantially smaller caravan we are acquirng here. A Buccanneer Elan 15 (as in 15 feet shipping length) and an awning took us to the tip of Scotland, the oustrtched arms of Wales and most of England. We also ventured to the Loire Valley in France, Normandy, Brittanny western France, Holland and Spain. We squeezed our life into that tiny van. Most importantly we both adored it and lived it to the max.

We even subtituted our vacation in the Maldives for a fortnight in our caravan and never regretted it. The air and exposure to the outdoors is a jewel we shall never surender.

We have eaten fresh trout from Scottish lochs, Leek soup from Wales and sipped wine in the Loire and we are gonna do the same here. So help me God we are.

Have I misunderstood RV'ing lifestyle? Many authors here have the wildest concerns that are only related to stick home living and I fear I may have missed something here.
 

utmtman

Senior Member
Re: Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?

Stickhome living has nothing to do with full time rving. Those types are partimers. So you are on the right track. My feeling are that if the rv cannot be packed up and moved in one day its not full time rving but just like stickhome living but living in an rv which at one time a long time ago was also called a mobile home if it was put down as more of a permanent feature that could not be moved within that day. But some of the people believe that if they live in an rv whether its tied down permanent or is moving they consider themselves as full timers.
 

TexasClodhopper

Senior Member
Re: Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?

Mister, you give me thoughts of the America I wish I lived in. One from a time long ago that really only exists in my mind. I wish you well and hope to travel along with you and find out if that America truly still exists.
 

The Englishman

New Member
Re: Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?

Hey TexasClodhopper

I have always maintained a saying throughout my life and it goes

"Aim for the sun then if you miss, hitting the moon aint that terrible. "

I guess if you dont aim then you're not going to hit anything.
 

cwishert

Member
Re: Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?

How romantic that sounds! I can only dream of the things you write of! I am truly blessed but will be only able to part time for a long time. I hope you and your wife and your dog enjoy everyday just as you have described above. Keep us updated on your travels. :)
 

elkhartjim

Senior Member
Re: Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?

I like to aim for the moon and if I miss I land among the stars.
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?

Gee, I didn't know I was doing all that till I read this thread. Sounds good. Makes me feel great to know I've been there and done that. :laugh: Sun, moon, stars? Just the good old USA works for me. :) I hit it dead center and have been having fun ever since. :approve:
 

TexasClodhopper

Senior Member
Re: Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?

Oh, sorry Chelse. Didn't mean for you to get caught up in our Texas school's intelligence test! :clown:
 

C Nash

Senior Member
Re: Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?

Well, you forget Tex. I passed all ya'lls intellect test back in Jan and Feb when it was either pay the clodhopper fine for traveling through Texas or graduate from the school of Texas knowhow so I would be able to write all this long sentence Texas style without a period which it probably needs but they didn't teach me anything about periods just how to get across Texas and still have a little money left :laugh:
 

Kirk

Senior Member
Re: Have we misunderstood Full Time Rv'ing?

Englishman,

I don't think that I understand your question? We (Pam & I) have been living in our RV now for almost nine years and we do pretty much what you describe. There are some things that you must do before you get started, like set up an address in the US in order to license, register and insure your RV and tow vehicle. I suggest that you may want to visit:
http://www.adventure.1tree.net/rv-living/lifestyle/the-british-perspective
and read what one of your countrymen who has been doing what you plan for about five years now, just to see what sort of things you will need to deal with.

And welcome to the USA!
 
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