Zulu

So you're in poor health now? Still working?

The $65K was just used as the limit for subsidies to exemplify what someone might end up paying. That's it. My post was an example of what I thought might happen to anyone, not you per se. The best laid plans of mice and men . . . Planning is great. We did it too (even virtual RVing). But things happen that you just didn't foresee . . . that's why I included the real possibility that decent health care for those under 65 may not be available soon. Finally, getting ill before retirement can be a whole lot different than getting ill after retirement. Despite all the planning we did, my wife still got ovarian cancer after retiring. As you know, that puts a major crimp on things.

Good for you, but from what I've seen most RV retirees didn't have this option. For the benefit of others, let's SWAG a current retirement scenario for you & spouse, but without that great university health plan. Now you have to purchase your own health insurance. So, you're 61 and 62 today and you have to buy your own health insurance. Some assumptions: You'll go with an ACA plan. The ACA will still be available in its current form until you go on Medicare. Health care costs will only go up 6% a year. FL will still have nationwide health plans until you go on Medicare. You now domicile in FL, not TX, because you want a nationwide health plan. Your MAGI is $65k (or greater). I used www.healthsherpa.com and found the least expensive FL BCBS EPO plan for a 61 and 62-year-old: $1319 month or $15,828 year. Over 4 years @ 6% increase, that's about $69000 in just premiums, but to be fair let's figure for at least one of those years you had a pay a OOP max of $7350. So, conservatively, that's $76,500 over 4 years. However, if you earned less and had a subsidy, this could be considerably less. On the other hand, imagine the 20-state lawsuit against the ACA successfully repeals Obamacare or the ACA is no longer able to sell heath insurance for pre-existing conditions. Now we're back to the old days -- you get cancer at 62, and your health insurance is cancelled at 63.

This is my Apples vs Oranges pitch . . . What if you were retiring now at 62/61, but without that employer health coverage? Would you still retire?

Who are you trying to convince? It sounds like yourself. You also sound angry at those who decide to retire later. First, both my wife and I did retire before 65 -- she at 62, me at 63. Would we do it again? Probably not in the current health insurance environment. We both retired when the ACA (ie, Obamacare) was new and relatively affordable. Today it's a very different story -- and, sorry, health ministries aren't for us. Yes, as you age your chances of dying increase, but so do your chances of getting ill or getting a debilitating (but not fatal) chronic disease. You're going to need decent, affordable health care that covers pre-existing conditions. Currently, that's Medicare. And for that you have to wait until you're 65. Finally, I think you also need to factor in Quality of Life in your retirement plans. Being alive is great, but in your later years if retiring early means forever stuck in one AZ campground using Hamburger Helper four days a week . . .

Will you be under 65 when you retire?

Sounds like a project. The two places I know of are: Crazy Horse Campground (Lake Havasu, AZ) -- I know SuddenLink cable and Internet is available for all the park models, but I don't know about regular campsites. Highlands RV Park (Bishop, CA) -- Again, SuddenLink available at all sites. I don't know the minimum required stay to get a cable modem, but judging from the local SuddenLink office, I'd say 15 minutes would be enough (they're very good folks). Also, the introductory SuddenLink rate is $45/month (including a twin-frequency cable modem). BTW, Highlands recently upgraded their WiFi system. Here are two speed tests: 4 PM TEST: 10 PM TEST:

I use SuddenLink park cable Internet in AZ (100-unit campground) and CA (600-unit campground). Here are a couple of current speed tests:

Not really. This is what I mean by comparing Apples & Oranges. First, thanks for mentioning that you get a free apartment & electric. Not everyone is so candid. Since you have to pay for lodging on the road, you're not really living on less than $2K a month. How much would apartment & electric cost? Your story reminds me of some of the under 65 health insurance threads. Some under 65 folks would swear that health care costs were no big deal. When pressed, some admitted that they had access to low-cost health plans through their former job, the military, or they were just very young. For example, in 2017, Becky of Interstellar Orchard fame, who is 32, paid $18/month for an ACA health plan (thanks to a subsidy).

So, bottom line, he has no health insurance, which IMHO is nuts even if he is as he claims "young and healthy".

There's no mention of "health insurance" in his "budget". Judging from this statement of his "I am young and healthy so I am working as a campground host in some beautiful places," I'll guess he has no medical insurance.

Your question -- "Can I full time on $XX,XXX?" -- comes up on RV forums fairly often. Many people will say "Go for it!", "Wish I were you", etc. I suggest you ignore these. Many times they aren't full timers and really don't know the costs involved. Apple & Oranges. When someone says "I'm doing it", try to find out more about their particular situation. Everyone IS different. For example, Becky of Interstellar Orchard fame is a full timer, but I also believe she is a 20-something -- very different than a 60+ guy. Try to find people who share their budgets -- recent budgets by the way. This will give you much better insights. Finally, I think you may be able to do it, but you may be one breakdown (mechanically and health-wise) away from staying in one place. Take Barb's suggestion, try living on $2K now.

x2 . . . www.bedinabox.com . . . PacBed Lite (9" foam) or PacBed Original (11" foam).

As part of the Patriot Act (which, by the way, is very much alive), you should be able to specify a "next of kin" or a "contact individual" (see p. 480, bottom right column in Anti-Money Laundering Programs). If your broker hesitates or doesn't know, ask to speak with someone in the Compliance Department.

Equifax execs sold stock before hack was exposed

I went with a 120V unit because there were more choices . . . smaller chamber size, greater flow rates, and most important, a control module that tells you how the unit is working.

I think that "Austin City Limits" campground is the Pecan Grove RV Park where we stayed this March for Austin's SXSW @ $100 per night. I don't think we'll make it a yearly destination, but Pecan Grove is THE campground for walking Austin.

I rue the day in 2012 when I removed all our original 7 string shades and installed MCD manual day/night shades. At the time just one of my 7 original string shades wasn't working. So this means my original string shades had lasted 11 years. On the other hand, of the 7 MCD shades I installed, one shade has to be held down with a clamp, one won't go up at all, and another has to be prodded to open. I have adjusted the MCDs per MCD instructions, but to no avail. The MCDs just keep failing. Here's a thread on IRV2 of folks having problems with MCD power shades.

Both myself and Mark Bruss have had experience with what I have termed Crazy Ivan Winegard Travler for Hopper 3 modifed Travlers. Anyone else experience this?

There have been a number of posts about using ZEP on www.rv.net. However, not so much here. As you can see from the previous post, it's an involved process. Some folks swear by the results, but others don't. IMO, I'd only use it on an RV whose paint has oxidized. I'd never put ZEP on a "typical" RV.

I'm hoping the DPH42 switch comes first. IMHO, it's the better solution as the switch allows you to use the conventional DPP LNBFs (as opposed to the new "hybrid" LNBFs) + you'll be able to network two Hopper 3s on one dish:

Older Birdogs may not be a good idea for the new DISH Hybrid LNBFs used in Hopper 3 installs. I asked Birdog tech support about using older BirDog meters and received this response: Can all versions of the Birdog be configured to acquire sats using DISH's Hybrid LNBFs? Essentially yes, but as more and more DishNetwork services are moving over to TurboCode (for HD) I would consider the Birdog Ultra. Not exactly a glowing endorsement of their older meters. So, for the money, I'd opt for a SuperBuddy over a Birdog.

A good deal. Nice meter, isn't it? I think it's the only meter that you can use with the VLA: Seriously, it's a good time to pick up a used Super Buddy or Super Buddy 29 as it's now discontinued. The new meter is the very expensive modular XR-3.

Where did you buy it?

16 tuners rocks, doesn't it? Remember to disconnect Hopper from Travler during sat acquisition. Otherwise you will probably see the Travler's blue screen of death: