What is


jimmy-shelly

New Member
the hardest thing about going fulltime? I'm 44 and wife is 37 and we have two daughters 5 and 8 years old, they cried when we just left after a 14 day stay and we have thought about fulltiming. We are in Alabama. We use the West Point Lake a lot for camping . It is a Corps of Engeneer camp ground and because I am on disablity we get the site of our choice for $11.oo a night.
Also if anyone camps at one of their sites that are 55 and older or on disability you can get the golden access card free and it entitles you to half price
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: What is

I don't know what the 'hardest' thing about going full time is. However, here are some of the things which have cropped up in other threads:

1) What is your state of residence? You want one with no income tax, reasonable RV / vehicle registration, no or very limited requirement for physical residency and easy to do state business with remotely (internet/phone/fax).

2) Medical care? Insurance which covers you whereever you happen to be. Finding/accessing doctors/dentists and other health care professionals. Getting drugs (this may only be a problem for the most controlled ones).

3) With kids, education? You don't want to shift them from school to school, so this probably means homeschooling or staying in one place for quite a while. And how about their social development? I don't care how much you love it or how much they love it, you do not have the right to cripple their future.

4) Which RV? A RV suitable for full-timing is much harder to find than one for a week or 2 per year.

5) What to do with your stuff? In almost every case, you will have much more stuff than should be in a RV. Sell it or otherwise get rid of it? Store it?

Those seem to be the ones most often discussed.
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: What is

Hey jimmy-shelly, welcome to the forum. The hardest part is coming to grips with the fact you have nowhere to go back to. Facing the fact that home is where you are located in your RV is hard to adjust to.. If you plan on staying at a Corps campground you need to make sure you can stay there all year. For us the fun of full time RV'ing is moving around the U.S. If we were to stay in one spot it would be the same as living in a house or other fixed-in-place structure. With small children it would be very hard to move around very often, unless you were well gifted at home schooling.

Make sure you get a strong constructed and well insulated RV if you plan on living in it full time. Some of the manufacturers of lightweight, less expensive RV's will void your warranty if you live in it full time. They know it will not hold up to heavy use.

You will have to sell or store a lot of your material goods that won't fit in the RV while moving around. That sometimes is very difficult for individuals.

For me it took 2 years before I was fully adjusted to not working anymore at the young age of 51. My wife was a house mouse, or domestic goddess depending on what day you asked her and only worked occasionally (very occasionally). She loved full timing from the git-go. It's important for both of you to want to full time. It will never work if only one of the spouses is gung-ho for full timing and the other wants to live in a house and go camping occasionally or for the winter.

You will need to establish a mail forwarding address (friend/relative) or paid service to keep your bills, registration, taxes current. Hope this helps. :)
 

jimmy-shelly

New Member
RE: What is

We already have all but one bill I think bank drafted (mostly utilities ) so that wouldn't be a problem. The Children are my concern. Anyone fulltiming with children?? Most of our other mail goes in the trash anyway lol
 

SnowbirdInFlight

Senior Member
RE: What is



[SIZE= 10pt]Hey Jimmy-Shelly
welcome2-1.gif
to the forum![/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10pt]Home schooling would be great for the kids. As long as you have the right curriculum. Plus I think their social skills would soar what with all the meeting and greeting of new faces all the time. Of course the down side to that is most (but not all) of RVers at this time don't have any young children with them. But, this would only be a problem I would think in the southern states during winter. In the summer they should have lots of children at various campgrounds to interact with.[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10pt]Wish we could have had the means to have full timed when our children were young. I believe it is a great learning experience for them. Just my humble opinion.[/SIZE]

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Kirk

Senior Member
RE: What is



What is the most difficult will depend upon each person. With children it is probably quite different than for those of us who are retired.

As to home schooling and travels with children, I suggest that you visit the site of Escapees RV Club. www.escapees.com
 

Scottiemom

New Member
Re: What is

I understand that your children love camping and getting away for the week, etc. It would be easy to think at first glance, you would be "on vacation" or "camping" all the time. Once you start fulltiming, however, it is a lifestyle and your children may begin to ask, "When are we going to go somewhere or take a vacation?" Especially if you are going to work and stay put for awhile. Sitting in an RV for an extended time will be no different for them than staying in the house. I'm not trying to discourage you at all, just realize that most of us fulltimers are not in "vacation" mode all the time. Think about what you do with them when you do go for two weeks. Are you going to be able to do that all the time, or will you be working part of the time. Then there are the other considerations that have been mentioned. . . insurance being the biggie. I assume you are on Medicare, etc., being disabled. What about your family? Home schooling is an option as has been mentioned. You certainly came to the right place, though, to get information. Good luck!

Dale
 
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