Full-Timing? Continued

DeBary, FL

56 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 72F. Breezy. Winds from the NNW at 15 to 20 mph shifting to the West in the afternoon.


Welcome back!


Have you been thinking about yesterday's blog? Good!!!! That was one of the main reasons I wrote it.

If your a seasoned Full-Timer, (more than a couple years), you probably have come across most of the people I talked about. You've also pretty much learned the ropes and have decided if it's the lifestyle you want to live for a long time.

If you're new to full-timing, or in the planning stages, no matter how much you think you know about the lifestyle, you still have a lot to learn!!  Here are a few things you will learn.

Full-Timing is not for everyone!!

Many people must have a place to come back to that they call home. Some can't be away from family for long periods of time and some find out that it's just not for them.

Full-Timing is not like being on vacation 365 days a year!!

If you try to travel and sight-see like you did when you were on vacation, you will definitely "burn out"!! You will also wear out that RV, dashing from one place to another, and burn a whole lot of fuel and spend a bunch of money in the process. It takes awhile to get used to the slower pace of full-timing and some people never manage to slow down. Jim had a lot of problems keeping his speed down when traveling, so he finally set the cruise control for 5 mph under the speed limit and forced himself to keep his foot off of the accelerator.

RVs don't last forever!!

Even though you take very good care of your RV, doing all the maintenance required, keeping it clean and keeping it in good working order, it will finally wear out. RVs are very durable, but they really take a beating on some of our Nations roads. Appliances start to fail, (some of them are very expensive) awnings wear out, furnace heat exchangers crack and sometime or other, you will have a water leak that does some damage. In  the end, you will consider buying a different RV.

You will break down on the road!!

You may full-time for many years without serious problems, but sooner or later, you will need that roadside assistance you've been paying for all those years.

You will have an accident!!

Yep, no matter how careful you are, you will have an accident. It may not be your fault, but the odds are that  sometime, your RV will get damaged.

More than likely, you will not full-time forever.

I don't remember where I read it and I don't have any figures to back it up, but at one time I read that most people who go full-timing will go back to living in a stix and brix house within 4 years. Jim says that he believes that is the case because most of the full-timers he and Linda have met throughout the years have gone back to having a house as their main residence.

Now, I'm not telling you this to discourage you from going full-timing. Full-Timing can be one of the most wonderful lifestyles that you could ever imagine!!!!

First of all, there's the freedom!!!

Once you get rid of all that excess "stuff" and move into your RV, there is a great feeling of a huge load being lifted off of your shoulders. It may take awhile, but eventually you'll realize that you're not accountable to anyone but yourself. You can go where you want, when you want, you don't have to be on any kind of schedule if you don't want to be, and, if you so choose, you don't even have to tell anyone where your are!!

If you take your time, you'll see some of the most amazing sights. The beautiful rocky shores of the NE, the "keys" of Florida, the white sands of the gulf, the Smoky and Rocky mountains, the deserts in the SW, the Pacific Ocean coastline and the forests of the NW. And, if your real adventurous, the indescribable sights of Alaska!!

All of the National Parks are worth visiting. Death Valley, Yosemite, Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, Arches, The Great Smoky Mountain or the Rocky Mountain National Parks, just to name a few that come to mind.

You can follow US 1 from Canada to Florida, the Mighty Mississippi from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, US 50 from the the East Coast to the West Coast, or just wander wherever the road your on takes you.  

 Or, you can just find a CG or RV Park that you like and stay there as long as you want. ; )

If you pick your Campgrounds carefully and don't have any major breakdowns, you can Full-Time for less money that it would cost you to live in a stix and brix home. Even with the high price of gas and diesel you can still travel a lot and maintain a budget.

So, is Full-Timing right for you??? Only you can determine that, and you may not know until you've actually tried it. If you're traveling with someone else, both of you have to really want to do it.

You have to really "like" the person that your living with. Many times you will be with them in your RV 24/7 for long periods of time. If you don't get along now, it won't change when you hit the road!!

Everything will not be "peaches and cream"!!! There will be problems and you can't run away from any problems you had when living in a house. They will follow you.

If Full Timing is something you really think you would like to do, go for it!!!! If you don't, you'll always have regrets and wonder what you've missed. Full-timing is not permanent, you can go back.

I guess the main reason that I'm telling you this is because throughout the years, both Jim and Linda have met folks who are planning on going full-time but have no idea what they're getting into. They think their RV will go on forever without problems, they don't seem to realize that every day is not exciting and many days will be spent just sitting in an RV Park or Campground and just doing normal day to day things. And, even though your house will have wheels, you can't always be where the weather is perfect.

Did you know that there is no evidence that turkey was eaten at the first Thanksgiving, a three-day meal shared between the pilgrims and Wamponoag tribe in 1621? It is more likely that they ate venison and a lot of seafood.