Wife and I are going to move into our Montana 2980 rl in August. We think it has the necessities for full timing. Have some concerns going from 2500 sq ft home to a 5er that is not much bigger than our current living room. Selling everything but family heirlooms, and planning 2 to 5 years in 5er! Any suggestions?
I think that once you start selling or giving away your "stuff" you'll be amazed at how little you actually need. Start in one room at a time. Separate things according to "keep/store", take along, sell, donate, toss. Then go to the next room. Come back to the first room and go through each pile again. Your original sorting may change. Then dispose of it accordingly. It really will go along fast and you'll feel a huge weight lifted. After 16 years of full-timing we still "sort" occasionally. It's amazing what you can do without and you'll soon become a minimalist! It's a relaxing, easy lifestyle. Also, unless absolutely necessary, don't be locked into a plan of when to quit. Just go with the flow. Do some volunteering at national or state parks. You'll love it. Don't rush into traveling fast to see things. Take your time and enjoy each area of the country. Try wintering in different areas. You'll soon find a place that fits just you. Travel the secondary roads, not interstates. You'll see more. Best of luck to you and have fun in the planning stages!
Extremely Happy Full-Timers for 16 years
.... now trying to adjust to 3-season traveling - and it isn't easy!
2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star Diesel Pusher
2004 Jeep Liberty
OH DO I EVER!!!!
If at all possible, put the 5er in the driveway and choose what you want in it, groceries, pots and pans, clothes, bedding, linen, toiletries, and all the rest. Then whatever won't fit, get rid of it. With two of you it's gonna be a compromise on clothes.
While you have the bucks, new tires truck and trailer. New batteries and any thing else that may need replacing in the next couple of years. Don't forget bearings and brakes. If your water heater has one, replace the anode rod.
The more you can do before you leave, the easier the transition to the full time lifestyle will be.
Dave C.
2005 Silverado 2500 CC
Duramax 6.6 3.73 V-2
2003 Wildcat 27RL
B&W with Companion
Prodigy
I would consider purchasing a modest home as a "base" for your fulltiming. Lots of people do that with small homes in rural areas they can park their rigs next to. The real estate prices are low right now. Since you are looking at a 2-5 year time frame I think a modest house would be a smart investment. I just bought a townhome in Tucson in the low 100's with RV parking. I am not a full timer but I have seen lots of fulltimers that actually have a "base" or a plan in place for when they quit.
Yep, we are now moving from a 2600 sqft home with a 40x50 shop on 5 acres into a 40ft mh. We are also setting up a 5 acre piece of land with power, water and sewer to use as a base. I know we won't be on the road forever and its a good time to buy land. Could be wrong but it seems right for us anyway.
Dave & Diane and Jack (Our Golden)
2007 Tiffin Phaeton 40QSH
2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon
i agree with the idea of putting everything you think you want in the 5th wheel first and stay in it for a while in the driveway if you can. if you forget something, it will still be in the house, not packed away or gone, and you won't have an unrealistic amount of things set aside to go in it if you put things where they belong. you'll also still have access to tools if you want to make any modifications.
have FUN!
sue
Sue soos-ontheroad.blogspot.com
Fulltiming since 2009
2012 Mobile Suites 36 TKSB4 pulled by a
2011 Ford F450
Keith M wrote: I would consider purchasing a modest home as a "base" for your fulltiming. Lots of people do that with small homes in rural areas they can park their rigs next to. The real estate prices are low right now. Since you are looking at a 2-5 year time frame I think a modest house would be a smart investment. I just bought a townhome in Tucson in the low 100's with RV parking. I am not a full timer but I have seen lots of fulltimers that actually have a "base" or a plan in place for when they quit.
Granted, this might be a good idea, but it is NOT FULLTIMING. Neither is renting/borrowing storage space!
Did that 8 years (almost 9) ago and never looked back! Do have a homebase, a site (owned) in a RV Resort. Come and go as we want. We lived in our house for 22 years, so you know what we had to deal with to go to a 31' Montana fifth-wheel! Good Luck and stay out there as long as you can and love doing it!
Have one huge garage sale, then donate everything else to charity. We gave the heirlooms and antiques to family members. We put the rest of our photos etc in 5 plastic storage bins and put them in our daughter's garage. Remember weight in the 5er is an issue. For each item, ask if you really need and will use it. If you haven't used it in 6 months you probably won't need it. If you have a choice, choose your most lightweight items (plastic vs glass or metal). Take only what you will need for 4 people (plates, cups, etc). Anything else you can get as you need it. Plastic storage bins and organization items help. Use your vertical space by adding shelf expanders and hanging closet organizers. Under the kitchen and bathroom sinks we use plastic bins to organize things so they don't tip over. We found lots of things at the dollar store. We only kept enought linens for the beds we have and only kept 5 towels. I bought thinner towels so they dry faster. We got rid of most of our clothes except jeans, tee shirts, sneakers, sandals. Store easier and don't wrinkle. We kept about a weeks worth of clothes for each of us. We just do laundry more often. For awhile we kept one dressy outfit but never wore them, so we ditched them too! We go thru every item in our RV every 6 months and continue to pitch things we find we don't need. If we buy something new we get rid of something. You will find that you will need a lot less of everything. Get mail forwarding service and eliminate junk mail, magazines and catalogs. If you don't have one yet, get a Kindle rather than take books with you. We are not sorry that we didn't buy a stick house for home base. When we're at our "home base" for doctor appts, we stay at a family member's home or in a nearby RV park. With a stick house comes responsibility and worry. We don't miss any of that. When the times comes to slow down we might consider buying a home but for now, we can't imagine owning one. Everybody is different. You will know if or when the time comes to buy again. I agree with LadyRVer - stay out there as long as you can. There will be time for rocking on the porch later on!!
Lonny & Diane
2004 Country Coach Allure 33' "Big Blue"
Towing 2008 Chev Colorado 4x4
Semper Fi
In 2003 we sold our house of 32 years. We rented a small storage space and saved things we thought we would need if we got into another house. I loved full-timing but after about 3 years we wanted to be by our grandkids and family in Minnesota. We bought a small house on a lake and moved back by them. First, the things we kept didn't work in the new house, two, the kids in 2010 moved out of state, 3 I miss full-timing.
2011 Cameo 34SB3
2008 Chevy D/A, Smartair Air Springs, Trailer Saver BD3 Air Hitch, Mor/Ryde pin box, IS Suspension, Disk Brakes
Nights Camped in 2011 - 165
Nights Camped in 2012 - 142
Nights Camped in 2013 - 101
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