RE: Fulltiming and giftgiving
We cut way down on the gift giving. We (and almost all of our friends) don't need anything, so it is telephone calls, cards, and letters. For my mother and sister - gift cards to Lowes or Home Depot for spring when the urge to work in the garden (ugh!) strikes them. For DD and SIL - cash is king. And they all know what to get us - Starbucks gift cards to keep us in Lattes until spring.
Barb
RE: Full Time Info
Best help in the world will be found on the Escapees forum. The organization was started by fulltimers.
One thing you need to be cognizant about is the need for health care - - usually adjunct faculty don't qualify for retirement benefits that includes health care.
Another possibility for work would be adjunct positions at community colleges in the southern tier of states during the winter.
Barb
RE: Whats with the Weather in the RGV??????
Okay, I just figured it out... You're refering to the "Rio Grand Valley". Another place I've never been to and probly will never go... Do they have "Maple" trees there or is it just rocks?
It's grapefruit trees - - you know the big red ones that you prize in the winter. In the RGV you get to pick them off the trees all over the place.
Barb
RE: Tow Bar & The Toad
We don't put locks in place of the pins connecting the tow bars to the car - - you want to be able to unhook quickly should the need arise. We can do it in less than 4 minutes to separate and move the two vehicles to safe places.
Barb
I've heard this argument against locks many times. Even with the locks in place, and even with some fumbling to get the key in the slot, it doesn't take me anywhere near 4 minutes to unhitch. And if it was some sort of an emergency, and I had to get them apart fast, I know I could do it even faster (by not worrying about dropping pins, or dragging cables.)
In reality, the locks add about 10 or 20 seconds to routine operations.
That was under 4 minutes from the time we left the coach, got to the car, got them separated, and the two moved safely to opposites sides of the road. And if it had been a fire we could have done it even faster. I have just never understood why you would need to lock at that point - the pins will not get loose if they are installed correctly. And we always check during the walk around if we have stopped before we get underway again. We don't travel with the car locked - if you can run down the road, jump in the car, unhitch it, etc. while we are underway, more power to you. But if we stop and leave to go shopping or something, then we take the key out of the ignition, etc., and lock up.
Barb
RE: Tow Bar & The Toad
We don't put locks in place of the pins connecting the tow bars to the car - - you want to be able to unhook quickly should the need arise. We can do it in less than 4 minutes to separate and move the two vehicles to safe places.
Barb
RE: Annual Maintenance Cost
True, if you are lucky for 6 years you have cash in the bank, but otherwise, at 15,000 miles per year, the OP should expect to make at least one tire repair or maintenance run to the tire shop. A maintenance run to the tire shop for remove, inspect, balance and rotate will cost you that much, and usually in a place you didn't anticipate. :) ;)
We put on about that many miles per year - after almost 50K miles, we had a crack on the sidewall of one of the steering tires. We replaced both steer tires, had the drive tires checked and they are still doing fine. We will be replacing those next year. Don't see how you can say that every year you are going to have problems with at least one tire? Or are we and our friends just lucky and everyone else has at least one tire problem per year even with new tires?
Barb
RE: WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL MOTOR HOME / RV CAMP GROUND.......
Something to think about, if there is a view of a natural area, etc., have 5ers and trailers on one side where they back in for their view and on the other side have MHs pull in for their view. Brick Plantation RV park in Americus GA has a pond with the 5ers and MHs on opposite sides so everyone has a view - - really a nice concept.
I agree with whomever said if you are going to have a park catering to overnighters, go for clean, secure, and reasonably priced - - we don't need much when just going from point A to point B. Even with destination resorts, a lot of what is offered isn't something we want. I do like it when there is at least an attempt made to provide some visual screening of the sewer outlet next door. I like places that have sites that are 30 ft wide and 60 ft deep for destination areas, if cell phone coverage in the area is good then WiFi doesn't matter.
Barb
RE: am i being too picky ?
One who ownes an RV does not need another hobby.
Truer words were never spoken, a friend of mine who was an old time RV owner told me two things that I believe are true.
1. The two happiest days in RV ownership are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.
2. For every hour of pleasure and use you get from your RV you spend one hour of prep or maintenance.
:B
Hmmmm. Since we live in ours 24/7 something is wrong with item #2 since we don't spend 24/7 hours in prep or maintenance. Maybe the problem is that people don't use their rigs ENOUGH.
Barb
RE: Tell Me We Did the Right Thing
Welcome to our world. We have been fulltiming and for 3 1/2 years and love it. Only regret was that we had to wait as long as we did. If you haven't already found it, go over to www.escapees.com and check our their forum - the group is set up for fulltimers, lots of great information and help there.
You will find several people who will try to say you're crazy - just smile at them and ignore them.
Barb
RE: What would you do?
You asked "What would you do"
I would offer my shoulder and any support I could, but in truth there is nothing that you can do for them without risking your financial stability. They are involved in a legal battle and once that begins there is nothing to do but wait for the decision.
We've have a strict policy of not lending to relatives - - gifts of money is fine, but we expect nothing in return. It is harder with your children, but even there you have to draw the line.
Barb
RE: Large motorhome question
I do a great deal of traveling (most years; a total of 4 to 5 months),I stay at C.O.E. campgrounds, State parks, national parks, forest service parks, county and city parks.
I see very few of the 37 to 40 foot DP that are refered to in these posts.
I travel in a 34 footer and find that I have a hard time getting into some of these campgrounds.
Question?
where do you folks stay that have these large 40 foot motorhomes?
We're sitting in a COE park right now - at 38 ft we are one of the shorter DPs around - several 40+ ft tag axles. COE parks are almost always easy for larger RVs. Also have stayed at several state, county, and city parks without a problem. National Parks and Forest Service parks can be a problem as most have not be upgraded in years and years.
BTW - I had to grin when you mentioned 4-5 months has a great deal of traveling. We're fulltimers :B
Barb
RE: Get rid of the tips!
Tips? Until you menntioned it, I had totally ignored
Interesting that the two responses are:
1. I didn't notice them
2. I noticed them and hate them
I also had them mess up my presentation and navigation and didn't like them because of that. To my read they are a lose/lose and if they stay I'd say someone is missing the boat on net marketing.
BTW - if any of them were actually interesting tips I might click on a link... but so far - nada.
I'm with you. They totally mess up the formatting in some of the screens - I use Safari and this was probably done for IE, which I refuse to use. Second, it is the same set of stupid tips - - why do I have to see the same time for every thread in the Fulltimers forum - it is bad enough the first time I hit that section, but over and over and over. Same with Class A. And the fact that almost all of the tips have a click to purchase something is a definite turnoff. Besides, the best tips are from those who are posting, not some idiot who writes these things and really doesn't understand RVing.
Barb
RE: Kitty litter - clay vs. clumping
Try SWHEAT litter - made from wheat, it clumps well, and doesn't track as much. We have been using it for a year now (Petsmart and PetCo) and really like the stuff. Since we are fulltimers, we really need a litter that works well and this one does. Whole heartedly recommend it.
Barb
RE: Progressive Fulltimers Insurance catch
As far as anybody legally is concerned, you live where you get your mail. Apparently that is how you define residency. Don't tell them you're living elsewhere and it won't be an issue.
Until your trailer burns down in Arizona and it turns out you have been living there for a year...and Progressive turns down your claim.
If you were in Arizona for a whole year, then you definately weren't fulltiming, you were sitting in a spot that was in another state - what did you expect? I'm surprised that the Arizona state revenue department didn't start looking for you if you stayed that long.
Barb
RE: am i being too picky ?
i have a 2003 fleetwood discovery.
bought it a year ago, and it still had that 'new car smell'.
it only had 4000 miles on it.
i've since learned that sitting around is not a good thing for an RV,
BUT.....i've had A LOT of issues with this thing and i don't think they're related to the fact that it wasn't used much.
if i bought a new car and it had this many problems i don't think the manufacturer would be in business very long.
did i get a lemon, or is there ALWAYS something popping up with these things? i'm convinced that this thing came out of the factory with many of these issues.
What problems are you having that you don't think are related to just sitting around and not being used? I would assume that you got it at a great price - if so then expect you are going to have to spend some money on it.
Barb
RE: Annual Maintenance Cost
Whatever you come up with, add at least $500/yr. for tire replacement.
:h
I think that is a reasonable budgeting amount to put aside in a separate account - so that when times comes to replace those 6 (8) tires you have the funds available.
Barb
RE: are ALL RVs crossing in to the us searched?
When we entered Canada a year ago we were following our friends with Florida plates - a few questions and they were in. Us - well we have Texas plates and everyone KNOWS that Texans have guns! So the questions started, do we have guns, what type of ammunition did we carry, etc. Must have been about a dozen different ways of asking the same thing. Then the questions about root crops - I assured her that we had cooked up and ate all of the potatoes the night before as we had been warned not to have them onboard. Then came the question about money "Are you carrying more than $10K in cash" to which my DH answers "Don't I wish" and my heart sank. We got a steely reply of "I'll take that as a NO" and I looked over and saw that the inspection site at this particular crossing only had room for one rig, there was a trailer with a flat tire in there, and it appeared that she was alone and the line behind us was really backed up. We were finally waved through and on our way. She never asked about pets - both cats were sleeping and couldn't be seen.
Coming back into the US - yup we were again asked about guns! Just not as many questions and when the money question came up, DH answered a quick NO. Of course the officer had asked us to shut of the diesel as we pulled up so we could save some of that EXPENSIVE Canadian fuel with a smile on his face. They did a quick walk around with the mirrors and welcomed us home - - again they didn't ask about pets. We had the paperwork for the cats, but they slept through everything, unlike a lot of dogs who would have been bounding up in the windows to see what was going on.
Now we both have gray hair and fit the profile of retirees - that probably helps if you fit into one of their slots of people who would be going across the border.
Barb
RE: Annual Maintenance Cost
Geez guys, now I fell like when the guys at Cummins see me driving in, their saying. Here comes Pops, Cha-Ching….LOL
This is my post within this thread, regarding to my actual service cost for my 97‘ AC Eagle at Rockey Mountain Cummins in Avondale, AZ in November of 2008;
This does not include the Allison service, since Rocky Mountain does not service Allison’s.
That said, in the spirit of this thread regarding to the actual service costs, I recently had my rig (97’ American Eagle 40’ DP) serviced at Cummins Rockey Mountain in Phoenix/Avondale, AZ. as follows;
ISC Model Engine Service
Complete 21 point inspection (Spartan Authorized Chassis Service)
New Belt $731.97
Level 2 Onan Genset Service (1,844 hours; valve check/coolant flush/oild change/and something else, I forgot what it was...LOL) $591.83
Total $1,323.80
Hope this helps?
Pops
Coach Care in Phoenix is EXPENSIVE compared to other Coach Cares in the country and SLOW. Same service in most other places is at least 1 hour less in time (and $$$) - - I guess they figure that is what the market will bear.
I noticed that several people keep adding in REPAIR costs into annual maintenance. The two are separate - - in fact we keep to separate accounts and add to them each month so that when we do have to have maintenance done (we're fulltimers so no place to do it ourselves) or repairs, the funds are already there.
Barb
RE: Considering the RV Full Time Lifestyle
Generally we find that those who move frequently - every few weeks or less - seem to have MHs while people who stay for months at a time have 5ers. BUT, everyone is different. We live the motorhome because we have a small, fuel efficient car for running around - we're avid geocachers and a big truck wouldn't be as easy to use for what we want to do. In addition, we love not having to move our cat into another vehicle, we just start the motor and she is on the coach, curled up for a nap while we move. One word of caution, if you are thinking about a Class A MH, don't drive a diesel pusher unless you are willing to buy one - - the test drive will ruin you for gas coaches - and there are several nice gas coaches, but the ride of a DP.....ahhhhhh
Barb
RE: Fulltiming and State Farm auto insurance
Let me clarify something. I have my motorhome insured with National Interstate, which does do fulltimers. My question is about insurance for my toad. I have used State Farm for 30 years, but will change if I need to. But the question is just for the car. So does State Farm not insure an auto for a fulltimer?
Why not get a quote from National Interstate for the car - we have them both covered by them, easier for us when everything is together.
Barb
