coachmac9

nana25k, that's pretty much what we are wanting to do...we enjoy being set up more than we do traveling and that amount of time allows for a lot of exploring and by then we would be ready to move on.

Definitely not the best bet for us. The physical part is not a problem, we just prefer to be outside as much as possible. We both have had to work inside most of our working lives and now that we have an option we will choose to be outside and meeting people. We "gate guarded" last summer which was a great deal "money wise" and loved being outdoors and seeing a totally different type of work. We definitely plan on doing it again along with camp hosting at a national park. Just love the freedom of being outside.

Well, here goes my version of "full timing"...kinda sorta...we decided several years ago (10 to be exact but who's counting!!) that we would go full time when our nest was empty and our youngest was on his feet and gainfully employed. My wife and I both teach and I coach and as a coach, we have moved often for promotions and better jobs so we were already getting into the gypsy mode while we were working. Three years ago we began seriously looking for our full-time ride and found it about a year and a half ago. Three years ago we also decided to move into a very small RV (old 28 or 30 foot Winny) down in south Tx to not only save on rent but also to see if we could live in a very, very small space (only the two of us now) and it went extremely well. Then we found our "new to us" 37' Discovery Diesel Pusher it felt like we were living in a penthouse...lots of room compared to the minny Winny!!!! We secured a Camp Host position last year and also taught school. The rangers let us work our hours when we got home and on the weekends and it worked fantastic. We absolutely loved the Camp host set-up and will probably do it again. This past summer we worked a gate guarding job out in far west Tx and actually lived in Carlsbad NM. Again, we loved the getting paid part of this job and loved having four days off to explore new territory. We considered doing this through the winter but my DW talked me into teaching one more year so here we are...now living on the shore of a beautiful lake about 5 miles from my teaching/coaching job and making plans for next June!!!! Can't wait for the next adventure!!!

Keep working on her, maybe she will come around!! Many moons ago when we were raising our kids we would take our 2- week "vacation" away from the salt mines and began talking to folks that had retired and were full timing and that really helped convince her that it was possible. The relaxation and freedom of going where we wanted when we wanted and most importantly When we wanted seemed like a dream come true. She was like your wife at first but slowly she came around and when the nest was empty (two years ago) we got a chance to "camp host" at a state park while we were still working at our full time jobs and that sealed the deal!! She absolutely loves it. There is absolutely nothing like it...just can't wait to hit the road and change the scenery!!! I still want to work part time to supplement the retirement income and stay in shape. Although if we can find the right camp host position that pays I think that fits us better than this but that's the great part of this lifestyle...it's OUR choice now!!!! Good luck to you, hope you are sucessful in changing your wife's miind!!!

Been keeping up with this thread and very interested in the electrical side of the job...I have ten years experience in reading, changing out electric meters and would love to do that again as a "traveler"!! Is that an option now or is it just the gas line service that is available? Thanks again for all your up-dates and information for everybody! Have a blessed day!

Along those same lines...one of the features of the Wal-Mart Ap for your phone is a "savings catcher". All you have to do is scan your receipt and the app will do the rest. It compares competitors prices and if they find a cheaper one you get a credit which you can get put on a Wal-Mart card or use for another purchase. We started doing it in January and have accumulated about 60 dollars so far. Not a lot but every penny counts!!

Thanks Stanley but I am one of those poor souls that still have to go to work and usually when I get off the practice field in the afternoon the office is closed. I was hoping I could straighten it out over the computer...i'm not in any hurry as I spend most of my time in the forums anyway but I would like to look over the new job board and check out the home page.

Thanks for the reply Travis...I am an active Escapees member so I went to the main Escapees site and set up the account. It instructed me to put in my membership number which I did and was instructed to check my e-mail for an automated response so that I could "activate" it...i clicked on the link and got this error message: Warning Registration failed: Verification code not found. It DID log me in because my name is on the top right corner and also shows that I can "log out"...if that makes any sense at all...its like I am logged in but without full access...I'm stumped!!! I also need to re-new my membership and was going to do it on-line but couldn't access it till this is straightened out. Thanks again.

I tried to log in to the job board using the same info that I log in to the forums and it would not accept it. I went back to the forums and logged out and back in just to make sure I was using the correct info and it worked fine (for the forums) but still wouldn't work for the job board.

Second the convection oven...my wife had never used one and we were hesitant at first but once she got used to it, no problem at all. It and a good crock pot has served us well.

Sounds like a great project...wish I had the skills, time and shop facilities to do the same thing!!! We haven't been RV'ing as long as most on here so my input is minimal, at best...I would like to see pics when you strip it down inside and as you re-construct...please think about doing a blog with pics and solutions to problems you fix along the way...it might help some of us that are severely lacking in those types of skills!!!