New to the forum and to HDTs. My wife and I had decided to go fulltime in a Class A upon retirement in just a few years. Plans were laid and we had chosen the size and options we wanted. We were going to retire early. Well the economy caused significant changes in our plans. After more than 35 years of continuous employment I found myself without. After a few months of looking without success I decided to become a truck driver.
After learning about HDTs we have decided that the most prudent action is to purchase a tractor for use in my job for the next three to five years and then convert it to the motivation portion of our retirement home. DW is very satisfied with this decision because the HDT provides the safest method for traveling. I shyed away from fifth wheels because I didn't want to be stuck driving the tow vehicle to the grocery store. But after learning about using is as an overnighter, and the fuel mileage being better than a DP, and driving one, and the list goes on... This has turned out to be the only way to fly... errrr well you know what I mean.
The straw that broke the camels back was the cost. Our retirement home will cost much less than the DP making the transistion possible at an earlier date. This makes me a happy boy. I can plan to have my PhD in beer and fishing (I am a strong believer in lifelong learning) a wee bit sooner than our other solution.
Besides, I've read a lot of your posts so I feel like I know some of you. Owning an HDT associates us with a more exclusive group of people than those other more routine RVs (read: people as crazy as we are).
I am looking forward to shopping, purchasing, modifying, and owning the entire rig and using all of your knowledge to make the trek!
Mark & Jackie