Going to start full time RVing

[sholl3]

My husband and I have decided we want to get an RV and start living in it full time.  Because of my husband's job we move every few months, so this would make things a lot easier than trying to find a place that does short term leases, moving in, getting everything unpacked and settled, then a couple of months later having to pack it all up again and frantically clean, then move to a new area and start all over again.  We have decided to get a 5th wheel because I want it pretty much as big as I can get it.  We have looked at several and have decided that the ones we like best of the ones that have a small second bedroom in the middle and a loft above the room.  We have two children, a 3 year old little boy and a 1 year old little girl, so the little boy will sleep in the loft and the little girl will sleep in the room, with the fold down bed in the being turned into kind of a crib with railings.  The room will be a play room for the kids.  Does anyone have any advice?  We're a little scared because this will be a huge lifestyle change, but we are also really excited.

[Kirk W]

First of all, welcome to the Escapee forums! We are here to help and support you as others did for us when we were finding our ways. I will offer several suggestions that should be helpful to you and also suggest some additional sources of information.

If you have no prior knowledge of RVs I think that you will find it helpful to join the RV Consumer Group which is a non-profit organization that is working to educate RV buyers and to help you choose the RV that will best suit you and your needs. I was a member for some time but am not today but I feel that the things I learned from them have saved me far more than the $85 a membership will cost. While there probably is no completely unbiased information source, they come as close to that as any organization that I know of. There is no perfect RV but there is a wide range of quality and price and it is pretty safe to assume that the least expensive will not be of the same quality as the most expensive. As you search for the right RV, visit as many different dealers as possible or better yet, go to the biggest RV show that you can find and look through as many as you can. When you shop go through the motions of doing the things that you do every day in order to get a feel for how it will be to live in that RV. Try out things like pretending to shower and even use of the commode. Pretend to fix a meal while the family is there doing the sort of things they will do when you actually live there. 

Consider how you will receive your mail and get your driver's license, vehicle registration, insurance and other things that require an address in the state issuing them. I suggest that you spend some time on the Escapee website domicile pages to learn more about the issues and some solutions.  There are many more things to consider and I would encourage you to return as often as you have questions to seek our help and also come back even if all really need is an ear to listen and someone to lend moral support. Some other places you can find information that I think will probably be helpful are the X-scapers Facebook which is the site for members of Escapees who are still working and many also have children. Most of us here are retired so may not have much to add about your family issues, but we have a vast amount of RV knowledge and experience which we are anxious to share with you and others like you. In addition, I suggest you visit the site Families on the Road and Ditching Suburbia which are both family helpful sites. I am sure that there are other good sites but these are the two that I know most about. 

[rynosback]

Congratulations on your decision.  I think it is a great one over trying to find furnished short term rentals every coiple of months.  You will be amazed on how much stuff you really do not need.  What ever 5th wheel you are looking at, join a forum specific to that make and ask questions about the rig.  Better to get some incite on the likes and dislikes from others that are living in what you are thinking of buying. With as big of a rig that you will be wanting, I would atleast have a 3500/350 DRW diesel truck at a minamum.

Best of luck and enjoy the journey/adventure.

[sandsys]

The first thought that comes to my mind is to be sure there is a bathtub so you don't have to bathe kids in a shower. 

Linda Sand

[Twotoes]

You may look at 5th wheel toy haulers. The garage area of most newer ones have drop down beds where the kids can sleep at night and in the daytime and it can be a play room. Many have a half bath back there as well. And the ramps convert to a screened patio. 

[Jaydrvr]

If your budget allows, you might consider a custom built unit, such as New Horizons or Spacecraft. That would allow you to design the perfect space for your family. They're not inexpensive, but I imagine temporary housing isn't either. Jay

[sholl3]

Thanks for all the advice!

The RV consumer group looks like it has a lot of information.  As soon as my husband gets home I will talk to him about joining it.  I will also look at those other sites you suggested that might be more geared towards families. I have also heard that there are places you can join that will give you discounts at RV parks.

We have been to two different RV dealers, but one of them was huge.  At the smaller one we looked through every 5th wheel they had.  At the bigger one I think that would be pretty much impossible, but we looked through a lot in a few different brands.  Going through the motions of our daily lives is a good idea.  I made a list of things to consider in an RV, such as is there room on the counters to store my instapot since I use it almost every day, and would my kids have room in their space to hang clothes so their church clothes do not get wrinkles but they also do not have to take up the limited space in my closet.  Going through the motions of our daily lives though would be a good idea.  The huge dealership has an open house this weekend so maybe we will try that.

I have looked into domiciles and we are thinking about doing Idaho.  My in-laws live there so we could use their address.  That is also where my husband and I met and lived the first year of our marriage, so we have ties to there.  Plus my driver's license is actually still from there.  Does anyone know about Idaho as a domicile?

We don't know yet exactly what make of RV we want.  When we went on Saturday we were just trying to figure out if we even thought we could live like this and trying to figure out what floor plan might work best for us.  That was as far as we got before the kids got grumpy.

The less stuff is definitely appealing.  I never thought I would do this because I am not a minimalist.  I like stuff and I like space.  But I have decided that I am so tired of cleaning and caring for the stuff and space.  I have so much trouble keeping it all up.  I tend to be able to do one area well, but then when I try to go to other areas I fall behind in the original area.  I think less space and stuff will definitely help.  

We most definitely need a bath tub.  That is one of my must haves.  I did consider putting in a tub is the place we got only had a shower, but the sales person said that any renovations we do, even if it is just something simple like putting in a tub, automatically lowers the value by like half.  Is this true or is that just something that that particular dealership felt?

We looked at some toy haulers.  I liked them but my husband hated them.  We also don't do fourwheeling or dirt biking or anything like that.

I would love to custom design our place, but when you say it is not inexpensive how much do you mean?  We do have a bit to spend, and my husband would rather have something that I love right off the bat rather than something that I would want to make changes to, but we do also need to keep the costs within reason.

[Kirk W]

2 minutes ago, sholl3 said:

I have also heard that there are places you can join that will give you discounts at RV parks.

There are 2 very good ones. Passport America and Happy Campers

7 minutes ago, sholl3 said:

I have looked into domiciles and we are thinking about doing Idaho. 

Our first married home was in Blackfoot. While Idaho could work for you as long as your in-laws don't get tired of serving as your mail service, it also has a state income tax which Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington & Wyoming do not. The three most popular states for fulltimer domicile are TX, FL, and SD because they share 3 features that few others have all 3 of. They have no state income tax, they do not require that you be physically in that state for any period of time (except SD requires 1 night), they all accept the use of a mail forwarding service as your legal address for all purposes, and they all have reasonable other fees. If you will need to buy a health insurance policy for the family, be sure to consider that as the cost and availability vary from state to state and you will need one that will provide care anywhere you may travel.

19 minutes ago, sholl3 said:

Is this true or is that just something that that particular dealership felt?

I don't know that his amount is accurate but it sure would impact things since many do not want one. Custom RVs are significantly more costly but it is impossible to say how much without knowing just how much you would customize. I suggest that you contact New Horizon RV and discuss what you would want with them and get real numbers.

[LindaH]

13 minutes ago, sholl3 said:

I have looked into domiciles and we are thinking about doing Idaho.  My in-laws live there so we could use their address.  That is also where my husband and I met and lived the first year of our marriage, so we have ties to there.  Plus my driver's license is actually still from there.  Does anyone know about Idaho as a domicile?

As long as you have your in-laws address to use, that would work since I don't think Idaho will accept a mail-forwarding address for such things as driver's licenses, vehicle registration, etc.  As you are aware, Idaho does have an income tax unlike Florida, South Dakota, and Texas, all states popular with fulltimers to use as domicile.

Do you have health insurance through your husband's work, or will you have to buy insurance on your own?  If the latter, make sure you can get the insurance you need in Idaho.  Idaho did not expand Medicaid when the ACA was first put into law.  There was some talk of doing so, but I don't know where that went. 

If you haven't already done so, set up all your bills so that they can be paid online (or auto deducted from a checking account) and go paperless.  That will save a lot of mail your in-laws will have to handle for you and save on postage when they gather up your mail to send it to you.

21 minutes ago, sholl3 said:

  We most definitely need a bath tub.  That is one of my must haves.  I did consider putting in a tub is the place we got only had a shower, but the sales person said that any renovations we do, even if it is just something simple like putting in a tub, automatically lowers the value by like half.  Is this true or is that just something that that particular dealership felt?

I doubt very much installing a tub in place of the shower would reduce the value by half.  However, trying to do the work would, I think, be very difficult since RVs are not constructed the same way a house is.  It may not be impossible, but may be a lot more work than you want.

 

25 minutes ago, sholl3 said:

 We looked at some toy haulers.  I liked them but my husband hated them.  We also don't do fourwheeling or dirt biking or anything like that.

You don't have to do fourwheeling or dirt biking in order to have a toy hauler.  The space, as mentioned, can be used as the kids' play area and sleeping area. 

 

26 minutes ago, sholl3 said:

I would love to custom design our place, but when you say it is not inexpensive how much do you mean?  We do have a bit to spend, and my husband would rather have something that I love right off the bat rather than something that I would want to make changes to, but we do also need to keep the costs within reason.

A New Horizon in the size you need would cost well over $100,000, probably closer to $200,000.  They are not inexpensive, but you would be able to get exactly what you want and they are extremely well made.

[Jaydrvr]

1 hour ago, sholl3 said:

Thanks for all the advice!

The RV consumer group looks like it has a lot of information.  As soon as my husband gets home I will talk to him about joining it.  I will also look at those other sites you suggested that might be more geared towards families. I have also heard that there are places you can join that will give you discounts at RV parks.

We have been to two different RV dealers, but one of them was huge.  At the smaller one we looked through every 5th wheel they had.  At the bigger one I think that would be pretty much impossible, but we looked through a lot in a few different brands.  Going through the motions of our daily lives is a good idea.  I made a list of things to consider in an RV, such as is there room on the counters to store my instapot since I use it almost every day, and would my kids have room in their space to hang clothes so their church clothes do not get wrinkles but they also do not have to take up the limited space in my closet.  Going through the motions of our daily lives though would be a good idea.  The huge dealership has an open house this weekend so maybe we will try that.

I have looked into domiciles and we are thinking about doing Idaho.  My in-laws live there so we could use their address.  That is also where my husband and I met and lived the first year of our marriage, so we have ties to there.  Plus my driver's license is actually still from there.  Does anyone know about Idaho as a domicile?

We don't know yet exactly what make of RV we want.  When we went on Saturday we were just trying to figure out if we even thought we could live like this and trying to figure out what floor plan might work best for us.  That was as far as we got before the kids got grumpy.

The less stuff is definitely appealing.  I never thought I would do this because I am not a minimalist.  I like stuff and I like space.  But I have decided that I am so tired of cleaning and caring for the stuff and space.  I have so much trouble keeping it all up.  I tend to be able to do one area well, but then when I try to go to other areas I fall behind in the original area.  I think less space and stuff will definitely help.  

We most definitely need a bath tub.  That is one of my must haves.  I did consider putting in a tub is the place we got only had a shower, but the sales person said that any renovations we do, even if it is just something simple like putting in a tub, automatically lowers the value by like half.  Is this true or is that just something that that particular dealership felt?

We looked at some toy haulers.  I liked them but my husband hated them.  We also don't do fourwheeling or dirt biking or anything like that.

I would love to custom design our place, but when you say it is not inexpensive how much do you mean?  We do have a bit to spend, and my husband would rather have something that I love right off the bat rather than something that I would want to make changes to, but we do also need to keep the costs within reason.

A New Horizons will typically be in the range of $150k to $225k, depending on the level of finish, like granite countertops and hardwood floors, etc. You can save by spec'ing more basic materials, but the infrastructure will still be the same very high quality. You'll also need a substantial tow vehicle, as they're quite heavy. Jay

[sholl3]

I'll talk to my husband about our domicile again.  We live close enough to Texas that we could make an easy day trip to get driver's licenses and register our vehicles and all that stuff.  I've also heard they have good homeschool laws.  We get health insurance through my husband's job, so that is not an issue.  All of our bills are online, and all but one comes out automatically, and that one won't be a problem once we move because it is our water bill.  We do get some physical mail from places I thought were paperless, so I will go back and make sure we won't be getting mail from them.

I think a custom RV is more than we have the money for right now.  It would be nice, but I don't think it will be happening.  I did send an email to space craft to make sure of this.

I'm pretty handy and really enjoy projects, so I could do simple things, but I am also aware of the limits of my ability and would not try to do anything too difficult.  If we needed to we would hire a professional.  Also, the small lot we went to did not have any RVs that we liked with tubs, but the big one did, so we would probably just get one that already had a tub.  The tub was what I mentioned to the sales person but there would be other things that I would want to do like painting.  We just wanted to know if renovating really does drastically reduce the value so we could make an informed decision if we decide to do anything.

[2gypsies]

18 hours ago, sholl3 said:

 We have decided to get a 5th wheel because I want it pretty much as big as I can get it.  We have looked at several and have decided that the ones we like best of the ones that have a small second bedroom in the middle and a loft above the room. 

What was the name of the 5th wheel that has a floorplan like you want?  It sounds perfect for you but I've never heard of one like it.

Friends had a toy hauler that stored their motorcycle.  However, when the bike was out they made the room into a very nice den.  They unrolled carpeting and hung a drape across the ugly rear door.  They had a desk in there along with two comfy chairs.  When you walked in you'd never know it was a toy hauler.  You might want to reconsider and turn the room into the children's room.  You could make it very cute.

You stated you want a RV as big as you can.  Keep in mind that they are extremely heavy and will require a very large heavy duty truck.  Would you be willing to drive that around shopping, etc.?

I would think a bathtub would be hard to find nowadays.  If you do find a RV with one, it's not going to cut the resale in half like the dealer stated but it will lower it.

This site might help to answer some questions as to what kind of RVs those with families have.: 

http://www.fulltimefamilies.com/

You have a lot of decisions to make.  Best of luck!

[2gypsies]

RE: the 5th wheel you liked..... the 'loft' confused me.  Are you talking about bunks?  That would work and there are plenty of RVs out there that have them.  For the little one you could build in or have it done after market - slats like a crib and add a lockable slated door.  The older child could sleep above.

[sholl3]

This is similar to the ones we looked at, but I don't think it is the same brand.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2018-Forest-River-WILDWOOD-HERITAGE-GLEN-LTZ-370BL-5006155602

(am I allowed to paste images into my posts?  If not I will remove it.)  In the room the ceiling is shorter, and if you look in the hall it says there is a ladder.  The ladder leads to a loft above the room that has a bed and a little bit of storage.

We think this will work well for us because sometimes our 3 year old just needs to get away from the 1 year old and this would give him his own space where he could play with his cars and stuff.  We would of course have to make it safe for him and our little girl and I would have to carefully supervise him going up and down the ladder until he was really good at it, but I think it would be good.  This also comes with a tub.

[2gypsies]

That is a perfect design!

[sholl3]

So the one that I posted on here is similar to ones that we looked at on Saturday but it is not the same one.  I actually found one at a random dealer because I didn't want to post a link to the dealer near us and have our actual location on here.  But when I started looking at the one I posted I realized that I like it more than any of the others that we looked at.  I did a search and there is one for sale within half an hour of us that we can go look at!

I talked to my mom about this and she thinks it is a great idea but recommends that we rent an RV for a few days first to see if we like it.  Would that actually be helpful or would those couple of days be kind of like a honeymoon period where we wouldn't really see all the problems with it?  Also, would it be helpful even if the one we are renting isn't exactly the same as the one we would be buying?

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, sholl3 said:

We live close enough to Texas that we could make an easy day trip to get driver's licenses and register our vehicles and all that stuff.  I've also heard they have good homeschool laws.

The laws regarding homeschooling are one more reason that TX is so popular. We have two friends that homeschooled their children while domiciled in TX by way of Escapees. 

5 minutes ago, sholl3 said:

I didn't want to post a link to the dealer near us and have our actual location on here. 

May I ask what the concern with that may be? Many of us do share our locations and I'm not sure what sort of problem such could create. We don't post an address or exact location but city & state is quite commonly done here. 

7 minutes ago, sholl3 said:

Would that actually be helpful or would those couple of days be kind of like a honeymoon period

A couple of days would probably not tell you much but a week or two would. We often suggest a rental period as a trial but rentals are not inexpensive and large fifth wheels as rentals are rare.

[sandsys]

Renting any type of RV helps you learn about the lifestyle: managing water and electricity, oddly flushed toilets, dump and fill processes, meal prep in limited space, etc.

I do agree that the floor plan looks like one that would work well for you but I wonder how much truck you would need to stop that one when going down a hill.

Also realize that "custom king bed" means not normal dimensions so off the shelf bedding may not work well.

But I do like the floor plan for your family.

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

If you want more information about that trailer, visit the Forest River website as it lists more information. They don't list the GVWR for the trailer but it looks like it is going to be more than 15,000# so you will need a lot of truck and you should think diesel. 

[2gypsies]

Renting for a few days or even a week or two at the $$$ they charge wouldn't be worth it.  Your circumstances (2 small children) would make you go nutty is a small rental.  It wouldn't be a good indication.  Yes, if you just want to see how to fill it with water and dump the tanks then, by all means, spend the money to rent.  However, you can find a lot of good information on 'how tos' on YouTube.  It's not hard to do. Just watch the YouTubes.  Years ago there were no YouTubes and people didn't go out and rent. They just 'did'.

[kb0zke]

Again, renting is a good way to test the waters, but it can get pretty expensive. My suggestion would be to rent for a week and not go too far away. That trip is going to tell you several things: do we think we can make this work, what do we need that this doesn't have, and what does this have that we don't need? While you are looking at rental services, go to every dealership and show you can. Look at EVERYTHING they have, no matter the price or condition. You are looking at floor plans. It sounds like you have done some of this, but keep looking. You may find something better, or at least just as good. Once you get to that point, you can start looking at USED coaches. Why used? Price. A used trailer will cost less than a new one, and when you trade it in you will get a greater percentage of your purchase price back. Few people buy the right coach the first time, and more than a few have traded within a year. Once you know that this lifestyle will actually work for you AND you have the financial resources to buy a new coach AND you know exactly what you want, you can consider a new coach. The exception would be if you happen to find a left-over coach that still has the new factory warranty but never sold before the newer ones came out. That may be a good deal.

If you already have a truck, you can go to the dealer and find out what weight it can handle. That will tell you what you can look at. Look only at the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for the trailer. Assume that is what you will be hauling, and assume that 25% of that will be the pin weight. If you don't already have the truck, pick the heaviest trailer that suits you and use that weight when buying the truck. Remember that you, the kids, the dog, the beer, etc. all adds up to weight.

[sholl3]

Not posting our exact location is probably more just me being a little paranoid.  I had an online stalker several years ago and it scared me so now I am a little more careful with putting personal information online.  After having someone find me online the idea of having it happen again makes me really anxious.

As far as the truck we are going to get that after we get the RV.  We did do a little bit of research into trucks when we were deciding if we wanted a 5th wheel or just a trailer.  I research stuff like towing capacity, diesel, truck bed length, dual rear wheels, and how much it might cost to get the kind of truck that we would need.  I only did a little bit of research, though, just enough to decide that a 5th wheel was what we wanted and that we were ok getting the kind of truck we would need.  We are also taking into account that we will soon have a truck payment when we are looking at how much we can afford on the RV.  We are focusing on the RV right now though.  I have also looked into paying people to move our RV for us and that is probably what we will do for the first little bit until we get a truck.  We would want to get one within like 6 months of getting the RV, and we would probably only move once in that time frame, so that would work for us.

The bedding doesn't bother me much.  We can try to order something online, and if that doesn't work as a worst case scenario I do love to sew.

I have found 5th wheel rentals that are similar to what we would want to buy, but it would be at least a thousand a week, and that is a huge chunk of money when we are still having to pay rent and planning on making a large purchase soon.  We could do it, but it would make everything else tight.  Buying a used one that we could trade in is a good idea.  We could do like a 6 month trial run.  The payments would also be a bit less so we could save up some more money.  

I am just so tired of all of the moving.  In the 4 1/2 years my husband and I have been married we have moved 7 times.  All the packing, cleaning, unpacking, organizing, getting new driver's license and license plates, changing our address with everything, and all of that stuff takes a toll after a while.  I often start packing before I am even done unpacking.  Last time we moved My husband was given a week and a half notice.  I ended up staying by myself for 3 weeks with a 9 month old and a 3 year old pack and clean by myself.  We also had to pay significant fees because we were getting out of our lease early because we moved sooner than we had been expecting.  I know the RV will come with challenges and sacrifices, but I think it will be well worth it.  I also remember a time when I was young when we crammed 6 kids into a small 3 bedroom trailer because that was all we could find (my dad did the same work as my husband, so I moved a lot growing up as well but it didn't bother me as much because I was not responsible for it).  I actually loved it.  The trailer was small, but it was on land so we were always outside.  There were woods behind the trailer and a field in front and every day we went out and explored.  It was amazing.  I know it won't be the same in an RV park, but if we are at camp grounds with hiking trails, or the one we are thinking about moving to as soon as we get our RV has a lake with lots of space to play.  I like the idea of my kids spending more time outside.  And sometimes my husband has weeks in between jobs where he is not working.  During those times we can just go where ever we want and be free.  

[hemsteadc]

I don't envy you.. this sounds like a hard existence.  A 5er may work out, or it may drive you nuts with 4 people in it.  I have a 34' and sometimes it feels too small for 2 people.  That said, I think your ideas are good ones, as long as you can afford it and live with it.

What would  be a better solution is for your husband to find a more stable job.  I'm sure you've thought of that.

[sandsys]

I wonder if you can find a farm or something where you can park the 5er and live in it. I know such things happen in the midwest but I don't know about other places.

Linda

[remoandiris]

Not to poo-poo your tub idea, I'm sure you have your reasons it is a must have, but an RV water heater capacity is only about 10 gallons.  If you burn propane to heat the water, it will heat quickly.  Just wanted to make sure you were aware of that size limitation.

That may not be an issue for you.  Will depend on how you use the tub.  Perhaps someone on here who uses their tub a lot and can state if their water heater keeps up with the demand.