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Basics for upcoming full timing


Bestoma

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Hi all, this is my first time using this forum so please forgive any tiring, repetitive questions until I get familiar with this site!!  We are retiring in a year or so and have purchased our truck and 5th wheel last summer.  We put it in a local campground and live in it on the weekends as we are both still employed.  It has been good practice to learn all about the rig and the truck.  This summer we plan to pull it on a few trips to get that part of it down...breaking it down, towing, setting it back up.  We plan to sell our home and live in the unit and travel until we don't want to anymore.  My first questions are these:  what do you all do about medical care, ongoing meds, banking, etc. while on full-timing?  The other questions are what apps are good for gas stations that accomodate the height of our rig (our truck is diesel), are there any apps for bridge heights, and is AAA helpful for trip planning with rv-ing?  Thanks for any help!  Oma and Opa

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Welcome to a grand adventure and the forum. 

Easy stuff first - for trip planning we flip a coin and head out.  Generally have a destination in mind and we just sort of wander to get there.  The journey is the fun part and we follow the 2-2-2 plan as we travel.  We only travel 200 miles a day, try to be in a park by 2:00 pm or so, and stay 2 or more days.   I use Allstays Camp and RV app for my iPhone and look at the general area we are going to.  Also use Passport America site to see if there are any PPA parks (50% off nightly site fees) as that makes a big difference while traveling.   We use Gas Buddy app and look for truck stops as we have a motorhome pulling a car and tend to use truck pumps whenever possible.   We try to use Flying J whenever possible as they usually have separate area for RVs.

Banking - start moving everything so that you are online.  No paper statements, etc.   We use BOA because they are in almost every state, but in reality you can use anyone who has a good online interface.   We have reoccurring monthly charges on one credit card and then pay it off every month.  

We use Express Scripts for our maintenance meds (part of our insurance requirements) and our physician writes our Rx for 90 day supply with 3 refills (a years worth).   For short term meds (or those requiring refrigeration) we use Walgreens.   Others use Wal-Mart/CVS - just make it a national chain.

For physicians, when we started out, we kept our internist and made a yearly loop so that we saw him each fall.  A week of poke and prodding (for us and our cats) and we were off for the next year.   Unfortunately, after 10 yrs, we can't do it in a week anymore, so we found a new internist in the area where we spend the winter (Arizona) and we now have all of our medical/dental done while we bask in the warmth of the AZ sun.     But we are now on Medicare, so for us, this is not a problem.  If you aren't on medicare (or won't be by the time you hit the road) then you are going to need to do a lot of reading/researching/planning.

Keep researching, trying things out on your rig (for example, do one weekend without plugging in and see how long you can go just on batteries) and asking questions.   And remember - you are going to take too much with you - so when you have everything whittled down - cut it by 1/2!:D

Barb

 

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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Welcome to the Escapee forums! I would encourage you to consider joining this great organization as you progress so check out the benefits of the club soon. I also encourage you to read at least one book on the RV lifestyle which can probably be found at your local library, or you can find a good assortment of them on Amazon if you wish to purchase. I believe that you will find a great deal of valuable information ins these books and it gives you a good base for what questions you need to consider. There is very litte which has only one possible solution.

4 hours ago, Bestoma said:

 My first questions are these:  what do you all do about medical care, ongoing meds, banking, etc. while on full-timing?  

In our 12 years of full-time RV living, we found that for most immediate medical needs, the commonly found emergency physician services serve very well. Be sure that you have with you a current list of all meds you use and the dosages of each. For continuing medical issues you will usually need to have an ongoing relationship with a physician or specialist. Like Barb, we found that it was good to return to that same doctor at least annually, and also like Barb we found mail order pharmacies to be a good way to get medications, although some travelers use pharmacy chains. Banking can be done pretty much anywhere with the current electronic communications network, but I do prefer to have my bank, doctors, vehicle registrations, insurance, and most other things in the location where I choose to claim as my domicile, since that makes it less probable to ever be questioned. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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We did much like Barb. We circled back to our internists once a year. We did our prescriptions through Walmart although they did not always do that well. We bank at USAA in San Antonio even though we have never been there; we do photo deposits and cash withdrawals when buying groceries at Walmart. We also mostly used Flying J for diesel until they started putting too much bio in their diesel for my Sprinter. By then I was in a Class B so using regular stations worked. I mostly used Holiday in the Midwest and Valero in the south after that. Do pick stations by highways so as to get regular turnover of fuel. Never tried AAA for trip planning since planning is part of the fun for me. I did buy a GPS that let me enter height and weight of vehicle so it wouldn't route me down roads I couldn't take--which mostly worked. The exception being an access road to a neighborhood that had put an arch over their entry. No way Garmin would have known about that arch.

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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Relating to Kirk's answer. I did successfully use urgent care centers along the way. Most meds come with a small paper that describes the medicine and dosage and list the prescribing doctor's name. I keep the current ones in my purse so I can always show medical personnel what prescriptions I take. That way I don't have to worry about the holes in my memory. :)

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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Great advice already from folks that have wayyyyy more knowledge about RV'ing that me so I will just welcome you with a big hello and congrats on finding the best place to get just about any type of information you will need...the one thing that I would add is the main thing I did and that was to spend hours reading all the different forums and topics on this board...and don't get overwhelmed by information overload, it will all make sense sooner or later!!! 




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I may of missed it but you will need a mail service for your mail. We use Escapees and all we have is praise for  them. A mail service is your new address for all your mail. The service holds your mail and, at your direction, forwards to a location you designate.  Mail services give you  a street address for your mail as many businesses will not send to a PO box. You will find as you automate everything to be automatically deducted you get less and less mail but you will always have some.

You don't need a trip planner like AAA. You are in a rv and can go where you please. We belong to AAA just so we can have paper maps. As much as our GPS and cell phones are used today I believe in paper backup as the electronics don't work all the time.

We try to use only 1 credit card and pay it off each month automatically(and have a second in reserve). You will need to remember to notify your credit card companies that you are traveling(this can be done online) and update it every few months. You need to eliminate all monthly bills that you need to write a check for. Also you need a robust cell phone service so that you have as much coverage in the US as possible. If you don't have a GPS it is time to get one. We have a Garmin RV760 and it warns of bridge heights on the major roads. There is also a data base you can load on your GPS for low bridges.

Start following threads on this forum, especially the travel/internet ones so you have a feel as to what our life is like.

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@Kirk Wood, @Barbaraok, @sandsys, @coachmac9, @SWharton

 

Thank you all so much!  I'm touched by your kindness and willingness to help.  You have been most helpful in the information you supplied.  I need to work on that information, then no worries, I'll be back with more questions!  The only additional tag on I have is regarding medications...it seems that a national chain will accept our doctor's prescription? I wasn't aware that they could prescribe across state lines.....(we also have ExpressScripts, by the way, if that matters). Thanks again, Bestoma

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I've been fulltiming for 5 years, and started out using Express Scripts, but did not like having them forwarded, so I started using Walgreens, which works better.  CMS and Wal-Mart are also nation-wide.  I get a year's prescriptions and fill them all over the place.  And yes, my doctor can call in prescriptions all over the country, which I also did not know, but she has done so.  I use a lot of urgent care facilities when I am sick, and have pretty good care with them.

One important thing is to take copies of medical records with you and display a summary you can put together in a prominent place in your RV.  The summary is for EMS people, should you ever need them.  Mostly they will look on or in your refrigerator for a red packet you can get from a pharmacy.

The medical records are so an urgent care or emergency room doctor does not have to be constantly repeating tests.  You need a summary of your last annual checkup, results of last blood tests, immunization records, and information about past surgeries or any continuing medical conditions.  For example, I have an occasional weird heartbeat that I was told I probably I have had since I was a child.  When I new doctor does an electrocardiogram, sometimes they panic and orders a bunch of other tests.  So I carry a copy of my most recent stress test, showing I passed with flying colors. Saves me a lot of pokes and prodding.  Last summer I passed a kidney stone and the emergency room doctor was kind enough to send me off with a CD containing the CAT scan results showing I had three more of the little stones sitting there in case I had more trouble down the highway.  Very handy to have.

If your doctor and affiliated hospital puts records online, you can copy them to a flash drive, or even better, print them all out. 

FInally, there are some GPS systems made especially for RVs, such as the Rand McNally I have, where you enter your RVs height, weight, length, etc. and it keeps you away from low bridges.  It will not save you from gas stations, however, so you just have to look for height signs.  Low roofs over gas pumps are common in eastern states, but not so much in the west. 

And since you are "Bestoma" I am assuming you are a grandma, right?

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We've used Express Scripts for 16 yrs - 5 of which was before we went fulltiming.  We had no choice, that's what our insurance (paid for my our employers) dictated, so we use them.  The one thing we DON'T do is use the auto-filling of scripts.   We do a temporary address for the winter, and then during the summer just have our meds sent to Livingston and they come in the next mail.  Since we get 90 days at a time, that means, at most, 2 shipments during the 6 months we are traveling to Livingston - so it is just easier and we can time it with a 2-week stay in a specific area.  Escapees notify us by email when the Rxs arrive in Livingston, so it is really easy to get everyone in one shipment. 

The only routine maintenance that we use Walgreens for is the Lantus pens since they need to be refrigerated.  And it is real easy to order on line and designate a Walgreens near us as the pickup point.

Barb

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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Express Scripts can handle your Lantus pens also. They have a subsidiary called Accredo for "specialty drugs". Anything refrigerated is overnighted to you. You have full control over when/where it is delivered. I have been using them for over a decade and never a problem. Even when I place an order early, explain that I am a full timer and need to have the med delivered at a specific time due to traveling they are able to accommodate.

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Like Barb, we used Espress Scripts for many years, at first by choice and later the insurance plan required it. We now have insurance from Humana and they have their own mail-order pharmacy which seems to work just as well. There are several such services and most of them work pretty much the same way and serve fulltimers quite well. With our current coverage, we can get immediate prescriptions filled at either Walmart or CVS. We have been at the Escapade site for the past two weeks and Pam had one prescription that had not been renewed as intended so her TX doctor just faxed it to a nearby Tucson Walmart pharmacy and we picked it up the next day. Express Scripts worked pretty much the same way for us. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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Here's my 2 cents on what's worked for us for the past 10 years on the road:

what do you all do about medical care, ongoing meds:    We are on Medicare and BCBS from a previous employer when we retired.  We choose a PPO plan giving us access to in plan doctors and hospitals across the USA.  All we do us use their online account to find one.  We still have a son in MI we visit in the summer so we access our long time doctors, if needed, then.  My wife had a hip replaced in AL and one in MI, no problems.  For medications across the country we use Walmart.

banking:     we have no bank.  We use Fidelity for our IRAs/financial accounts and move money as needed to their taxable checking account.  We write perhaps a half dozen checks a year.  We use Wal-Mart and grocery stores to get cash back with a debit card.  We charge everything and pay it off monthly with auto payments from the checking account.  99% of what we do is electronic, especially bills and statements.  We have Verizon hotspots on our smart phones for secure internet access.

good for gas stations that accommodate the height of our rig:   we don't go to fuel stations with the fifth wheel.  I have an auxiliary 70 gallon diesel tank/toolbox combo in the truck bed.  I can pump diesel into the main tank as needed and tow 3 days without refueling if desired.  A 50 gallon tank would have been sufficient.   We have a auto leveling Big Foot system on the fifth wheel making it easy to hook/unhook and set up so we usually separate the rig every night when in travel mode.  We'll go explore or out to eat and get diesel as needed. 

 are there any apps for bridge heights:    We use a Garmin 760RV GPS and program it with our rigs height and specs.  We don't trust any GPS for directions so also use a Rand McNally Motor Carriers' Road Atlas.  It has all the truckers roads in the US highlighted.  It also has a list of low clearance's in each state.  Get the expensive laminated and spiral bound edition as it will last MUCH longer that the inexpensive paper edition.  We use to use MapQuest but haven't yet become accustomed to the version.  We have never used AAA, we enjoy travel planning, sites to see, roads to take and picking camp grounds.  We travel lots of back roads to see the county.

Get either Good Sam Emergency Road Service or CoachNet.  Get the best RV tires you can, we have Goodyear H rated G114 tires.  Have a good suspension system on the RV as the US roads are not kind to RVs, we have a MOR/ryde IS system.  We enjoy watching TV so have an automatic rooftop dish, I wouldn't have the patience (or desire to store) a manual system.  If you expect to be in treed sites don't get the rooftop.  If you don't boondock get a residential fridge when the RV fridge dies.  We learned the expensive way (and exciting way!) when we started as this is our first RV and we went from a house t full timing in 3 months.  We learned a lot from experience.  Also, attend an Escapee Boot Camp to learn more about RVs, the lifestyle, and make some new RV friends.  We have more and better friends now that when we have a ticks and bricks.  An extended service contract was of no use to us.  We found we didn't use a a campground membership like we thought so lost $$$ on that.  Passport America and Escapees and Good Sam camping discounts work well when in travel mode.  Have a repair and upgrade fund for the fifth wheel, you'll use it.  ENJOY the adventure!!!!!!      Greg         

 

  

 

Greg & Judy Bahnmiller
Class of 2007
2014 F350
2007 HitchHiker Champagne

Both sold 2/19, settled in Foley, AL after 12 years on the road

http://bahnmilleradventure.blogspot.com/

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With a year to plan and prepare, you should have no issues.  Start moving to electronic banking and recordkeeping now.  Look at every piece of mail you currently receive and look for alternatives.  Getting mail forwarded can be a pain if you travel a lot.  Pick a mail forwarding service and start to use it months in advance.  Don't put any faith in the mail forwarding from the USPS.  Weeks after I sold the house and had requested mail forwarding the post office was still delivering mail to my old address.  I visited the PO twice and still had stray first class mail that was delivered to my old address.

Think about the credit cards you use.  You might want to get a couple of extra cards.  I had all sorts of issues while on the road including a strip that stopped working, a card that expired, another card that was put on hold due to "security" concerns.  I also found I needed to have two bank accounts.  Chase Bank has few offices in the western US.  I opened a small Wells Fargo account.  That makes it easy to get cash, resolve banking issues and I can easily transfer funds electronically between the banks. 

As mentioned above, Walgreens works well for meds.  You can easily transfer a new or refill prescription.  If you take prescription drugs on a regular basis, I suggest doing some hoarding.  It can be very difficult to have your prescription run out while traveling in northern Canada.  I take statins and am about a year ahead on my prescriptions.  My wife always seems to be running out of her thyroid or other essential items. 

I doubt you will find any issue with service stations.  Even in residential areas almost every station will accommodate a full sized rig.

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Quote from above:

"One important thing is to take copies of medical records with you and display a summary you can put together in a prominent place in your RV.  The summary is for EMS people, should you ever need them.  Mostly they will look on or in your refrigerator for a red packet you can get from a pharmacy."

I've been wearing a Road ID for years.  Because I live alone I was worried that if something happened when I was out, no one would know my cats were home alone, with no one knowing they needed food and care.  It has my name on it with information about how to call or contact Road ID to get records, contact info, and anything else you want to make available.  I have a note about my cats and ask to please call my petsitter.  It's a small fee to RoadID to maintain the records and provide the service.

www.roadid.com

I took a Law & Medicine course once and we had a coroner as a guest speaker.  He said that proportionally more women go unidentified because they get separated from their purses that have their IDs.  As long as my arm doesn't get severed, I always have an ID on me because of Road ID.  

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We made up a form that we filled out and kept in the glove compartment of our car. It had emergency contact numbers and a few medical notations. We kept it current by noting where the motorhome was parked in case one of us had the car in town for errands, etc. and had an accident or whatever, then the motorhome could be found. We did this because we boondocked a lot. We used GPS coordinates to locate the motorhome.  Sometimes we were also out of cell range so whoever was back at the motorhome couldn't be reached except for someone driving to it.  Luckily, this form was never used but it gave us peace of mind.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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Just to add a few points- with a truck and 5th wheel, you won't usually need to fill up while towing.  Over the years we have had enough issues that we avoid it if at all possible.  Since we, like Barbara, try to stick to the 2-2-2 rule, its not that difficult. 

I also have an ipad, and anytime we DO have to fuel up while towing, I use google maps to thoroughly investigate our options before hand.

Allstays is an incredibly  good app and I wouldn't be without it.

We gave up AAA when they told us they wouldnt tow our truck because its too big (AAA has different rules in different areas)

Dentists: although not mentioned, bring a thumb drive to any dentist appointments. I ask that they copy all x-rays to my thumb drive so I will have them down the road and won't have to pay for them again.  If they won't put them on a flash drive (some offices are nervous about viruses) have them email them to you.

Sue and Paul- fulltimed 2009 -2015 with Dozer, our Gray Tuxedo cat

 2012 DRV Mobile Suites 36TKSB4 pulled by a 2020 F350 Platinum

Our "vacation home" : 2018 Arctic Fox 1150 truck camper

RIP Dozey

http://soos-ontheroad.blogspot.com/

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11 hours ago, soos said:

Just to add a few points- with a truck and 5th wheel, you won't usually need to fill up while towing.  Over the years we have had enough issues that we avoid it if at all possible.  Since we, like Barbara, try to stick to the 2-2-2 rule, its not that difficult. 

I also have an ipad, and anytime we DO have to fuel up while towing, I use google maps to thoroughly investigate our options before hand.

Allstays is an incredibly  good app and I wouldn't be without it.

We gave up AAA when they told us they wouldnt tow our truck because its too big (AAA has different rules in different areas)

Dentists: although not mentioned, bring a thumb drive to any dentist appointments. I ask that they copy all x-rays to my thumb drive so I will have them down the road and won't have to pay for them again.  If they won't put them on a flash drive (some offices are nervous about viruses) have them email them to you.

+1 on Allstays 

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