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Full-Time RVing?

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pepperpod View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pepperpod Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2011 at 10:45am
Larry have you considered living in a mobile home park in your rv?  We spent 2 months in Florida in a friend's park model a couple of years ago.  The people next to us were in a travel trailer and came every year to that park.  They loved it.  They did not have to drive from campground to campground.  I know that it would cost you more since you have the discounts.  I say, if you want to full time, go for it!
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Larry View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Larry Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2011 at 3:09pm

Thank you everyone for the support and positive feedback.Thumbs Up

 

Kenn, I tend to agree with what you have said and I have been looking online at other travel trailers. The longest I have ever continuously camped in my R-Pod 171 has been about 90-days and I was glad to get home to a larger space after that. Yes, the bathroom in the r-pod does not even leave you much room to wipe your butt.

 

Because of my eyesight; I still have some depth perception issues, and so I don’t want too big of a travel trailer; maybe something under 30-feet long or even 25-ft. would work. Hell I crashed my r-pod the day I drove it home from the dealership; pulled into a gas station and crumpled my drivers’ side fender of the pod on a post. If I had a 5th Wheel I probably would wipe out a bunch of parked cars.

 

But I am considering a larger TT than the pod but that also means I will have to upgrade my TV. A park model sounds good as a base but also with the savings from not living in a house, and from hopefully selling my house for a profit, I could occasionally rent a small apartment for a few months every now and then. I’ve really been looking at all of my options for sometime now and I’ve made lots of notes and saved them on my computer about full-time RVing and some of the possibilities.

 

My next door neighbor is a single woman in her 50’s and she is afraid of living alone; her husband died some time ago, and she tells me that it is different for a woman living alone then it is for a man living alone; which I fail to see the difference. I have met and spoke to women online who were full-time RVing alone and enjoying it. One of the things about the full-time lifestyle is having the confidence and emotional comfort to let go of the traditional and embark on and alternative lifestyle regardless if you are a man or a woman. Again, thanks for all of the feedback.

 

Peace and good journey to everyone! Beer

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Abby Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2011 at 4:44pm

I'm about 5 hrs from the mid-east coast.  I'm amazed at the cost of renting condos during the winter.  That would be a great way to get out of the TT for a few months.  (Look at Virginia and Myrtle Beach area) 

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this_is_nascar View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote this_is_nascar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2011 at 7:15am
Originally posted by Larry Larry wrote:

What do you think of living in your RV full-time and traveling here and there?

 

There is a lot of discussion about this over at RV.net and insurance companies do offer “full-timers” insurance for those who live in their RV. Some might think that and R-Pod is too small for full-time living but I have met people who live in their truck camper full-time; lots of truck campers are smaller than and R-Pod.

 

I am retired, considering selling my house and living in and RV; don’t know if it will be the R-Pod I currently have or a medium sized travel trailer which I might buy; I really don’t care for a 5th Wheel or Class A.

 

There is a stigma attached because some people say it is like being homeless but I think that there is a lot of freedom in it. When I was younger I hitch hiked all over the U.S. back in the 1970’s with just a back pack; some friends and I also hitched around Europe, and also back in the 1970’s I traveled and lived in my tricked out Volkswagen Van. But as you get older you start thinking about being stable.

 

One guy I met online was telling me about his parents who were very grumpy and always at each other than they sold their home and went full-timing in a 5th Wheel. He said that their attitudes really changed and they lightened up a great deal; being out in nature all the time, etc. I guess there are lots of pros and cons to such a lifestyle and it all depends on a person’s resources, since of adventure, and tolerance for living in a small place.

 

What do you think?

 

 
 
The concept of full-time RV'ing is fine and I know many people who do it.  My wife and I could do it, but not in an R-Pod for a variety or reasons.  Most of the folks we know that do it only stay at a couple different places a year.  If it were us, I'd want to stay only a couple months at each place, in order to see the whole country.
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote this_is_nascar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2011 at 7:24am
Have you considered a Class-C?  It could be a bit larger than the R-Pod and solve your "needing a larger TV" issue.  You could sell the TV and get a small scooter or something to haul along, so you get go close distances while you're parked.  I guess is really depends on how long you think you'll be at each stop.  If you're staying in the same spot for months at a time, you're probably better off with the TT-TV combo rather than a Class-B or Class-C.
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- 2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD-Off Road

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pmjensen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2011 at 9:37am
Obviously, there are many things to consider.  We moved from a 2100 sq ft townhouse to an under 800 sq ft park model mobile home.  I still have a few years to work,(We moved here for a job I was offered) We live in a park here in So. Texas with great weather, year 'round camping etc.  We take our Pod out about every other weekend. The Rio Grande Valley is one of the cheapest places in the US to live.  Most people think of how hot the summers are. well it doesn't get any hotter than a lot of places up north during the summer.  We just have it for a longer period of time.  Enough of my ramblings.  Good luck with whatever you decide.
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Larry View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Larry Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2011 at 1:51pm

This-is-nascar, thanks for the suggestions. I’ve already made up some tentative year long camping schedules which include about 12 different stops over a 12-month period. I like moving around and seeing the sights. I guess I got it from my days in the army; they would send me one place for a few months and then another place for a year or so and then another place , etc. until I had been pretty much all around the world when I was in the military.

 

The idea of a Class “C” and a scooter is appealing but I’m looking at trading in my Ford Edge and buying and F-150 with a camper shell which would give me some extra storage space in the back of the truck. I agree that the R-Pod is a little small for full-timing but I was just wondering what others here thought about it. I’ve met people who turned their noses up to the idea of full-time RVing with the attitude that it is some kind of hobo lifestyle but obviously that was their issue.

 

Pmjensen, I was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas in San Antonio when I was in the military. I took my U.S. Army Combat Medic training there and I did enjoy that area of the country, but if I remember correctly they did have a mean rainy season and a season where there were some very large bugs, almost like cockroaches, crawling around in the city. Although it may not be that way where you are located, nonetheless, I definitely agree that it is one of the most inexpensive places to live in the U.S.

 

I am aware of Americans who full-time RV in Baja, Mexico which they say is rather peaceful and much better than the border towns. They also tell me that you can live very well on about one thousand dollars a month down there and the views are spectacular on the Baja peninsula. I have been RVing in Canada but have yet to do such in Mexico.

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Val View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Val Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2011 at 10:32pm
I follow these two blogs...especially the "life on the open Road" one.  She has full timed for 10 yrs. and posts great pictures and info.
the volkswagon one is a widower who is travelling solo...you should visit both blogs. They are both very imformative.  
http://www.lifeontheopenroad.blogspot.com
http://www.lifeinavolkswagonbus.blogspot.com

I can't wait to see some of the wonderful places I see on there, but for now I am a caregiver of an ederly parent so these blogs are enjoyable for me. 



good luck....nothing like some adventures.
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Val View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Val Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2011 at 10:43pm
correct address

http://www.lifeinavolkswagenbus.blogspot.com/
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Larry View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Larry Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Nov 2011 at 2:07am

Val, thanks a lot those are great blogs, especially the one “On the Open Road;” she appears to have a real nice medium size rig also and not some big 5th Wheel or Class A; and she lives off the grid with solar heating and free boondock camping. Just goes to show that there are so many ways to do the full-time RVing lifestyle.

 

The Volkswagen one sort of reminds me of the 1970’s when I lived in a Volkswagen Van traveling around the Southwest U.S. My R-Pod 171 is definitely a lot more spacious, and has more amenities than a Volkswagen Bus but most likely does not get as good gas mileage as that VW bus. I have talked to campers who were full-timing in a small truck camper so there are people out there doing it in smaller rigs than the R-Pod.

 

Again thanks; I bookmarked them and will look in occasionally to review their travels. I figure I am about a year or two at the most away from going full-time RVing; the big hold up is selling my house. Like most places where I live in Northern California has a depressed housing market and my equity has bottomed out. My house has been appraised by the county tax assessor for a lot less than what I still owe and so I am hoping in a year or two that will change and I’ll be able to sell my house for a profit and begin a new adventure full-timing.

 

In the mean-time I’ll keep enjoying my R-Pod and reviewing potential future travel trailer online that I might want to purchase for a full-time RVing lifestyle.

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