fpmtngal

Good point! I think I have my data issues solved in the short-term, my sister has offered me a couple of drawers. I’m thinking that long term I’ll get larger hard drives and transition the info I have on my current drives to them, so they will take up less space. My files are mostly photos, and I like looking at them. Every so often I’ve used them for something useful (several were used in a book an organization did, but mostly as examples and explanations for others). They aren’t priceless and no one will want to look at them once I’m gone. But they make a great screen saver, a good conversation piece, and most importantly, they make me smile.

I went with a tonneau cover also. I’ve had pickups in the past and always had shells on the bed. I figured out quickly just how much of an issue it was to access things in the front. I got the pickup to get a generator and knew there was no way I could maneuver it around in the bed while bent over because of shell. There are lots of advantages and disadvantages both ways, it depends on each person’s priorities. Love that tonneau cover you got, I seriously considered something similar. You’ll have such a great time with your rig!

Something to take into consideration is how are you going to get the bike in the bed. A friend of mine uses a very cool lift system for his Harley, very convenient but it adds weight.

Looks awesome!

Congrats on the successful delivery and your new home! 700 miles plus pickup in 24 hours? Not so much fun. But now the fun can REALLY start! Glad the delivery went well. Being well informed and having some idea what to look for goes a long way. As you get your house empty you might try some driveway camping, just to get used to everything.

I’m envious! I’m right now sitting in a AAA Club office waiting to get two forms for escrow notarized. Appraiser came by this morning and home inspection is next week. I’m having a tough time focusing on getting anything done, all of a sudden there’s just so much! I wish it were all over and on the road already. Hope all goes well with your delivery. Make sure you inspect everything possible and that you understand all of the functions of the trailer. I once met someone at a campground who couldn’t understand why their grey tank indicator still said full when they pulled the only (and black) handle that was on the trailer. Their dealer did a very poor job of inspecting the trailer to begin with, a worse delivery briefing and the couple didn’t know enough to realize there should have been a grey handle also. Some people recommend videoing the delivery briefing, it’s easy to forget some part of it. Too bad you aren’t in business any more, I had a 1930’s era Contax that didn’t work. I was tempted to try to find an adapter to use the lenses on a modern Pentax Q but decided it wasn’t worth it. Now I’m wondering what to do with the Q camera itself.

Interesting viewpoints, very helpful and is helping me think this through better. I've tabled any printer purchase to later - my printing needs are very minor, such that I had to clean the heads on my inkjet type printer before printing the paperwork on the house offer. I'll skip the printer for now. I should probably explain the swamp cooler comment. I don't need to access my old raw files (old photos) as a rule, but don't want to toss the files out (they've come in handy in the past). So I was planning on leaving the hard drives in storage in the storage unit I'm going to be getting. It will be located in Las Vegas and the units I can afford are ones that are "air-cooled" as in evaporated coolers/swamp coolers. True climate controlled storage in Vegas is very expensive. Should I re-think this? How many 3-1/2 inch plus storage case can fit in a safety deposit box? Or will it? That's an intriguing idea. Thank you for pointing out that buying larger hard drives would mean storing fewer drives - that's very attractive. At the moment all of my back-ups/original files are on bare hard drives (the kind one would find inside computers - no enclosures to break, which I've had happened) and are 1 or 2 TB. So getting 4 or 8 TB drives would save a lot of space. That will also mean doing the transfer, which takes time. I did try to back up the one working hard drive that has an enclosure to one of my bare drives but it was very slow going (original drive is USB while the hard drive dock is USB3/E-SATA but I no longer have a computer with a E-SATA port/card). What RAID device do you use? I have an older LeCie 5 bay Thunderbolt (thunderbolt 1) device, no NAS capability. Last year, before deciding to go full-time, I thought about upgrading to a NAS device to gain the ability to set up a VPN when I'm on the road as well as a little extra speed, but decided it wasn't worth the cost. I can start off buying larger hard drives and backing up what I have on the RAID device onto the larger drive(s). I'm now thinking that it might be worth it to buy a new docking station with USB 3.1, that's faster than the one I have, with 2 slots for drives (mine has one). But now I'm confused about the whole thing, I only have a vague grasp of computer stuff and need to look at the bare drives I have that I would want to put on larger drives. Other option is to get 5 larger drives for the RAID device (though I'll need to research how big a drive it's capable of reading - there's always something isn't there?) and use it to transfer the files. This has got my head spinning, as computer stuff does when I start thinking about changing something.

Neat, hadn’t thought about going with a laser printer, had been thinking in terms of ink jet, since that’s what I’ve had in the past (wanted color before). Like the WiFi direct option, doesn’t need a WiFi router, an advantage. It says compatible with MacOS. Still fairly big at 13” wide (my TT is small for full-timing), but lots to like about it. I’ve added it to my wish list for further research. Any more thoughts or ideas?

My project is the computer and photography stuff. They bring up issues to be solved, and due to the fact someone turned the calendar back to February, I’m dealing with it instead of the under house storage. Ugh! What to do?!!? SoCal should not have an inch of snow on the ground the last full week of May. I was camping 3 days ago so I have 2/3 full fresh water tank and not winterized! The furnace is set for 39, the trailer has heated tanks, it will be fine. Larger and smaller are relative. The larger trailers I was looking at were about the size of the one you have on order, 26-27’ overall (looked at the Lance 2295 and 2375). My trailer is only 21’ overall. I am very, very reluctant to buy anything that big, and the next size up from mine (1985, 1995 if I stay with Lance, which I probably will) don’t really offer much more than I already have when it comes to storage. I don’t care about a walk-around bed, because I’m solo.

Now that I’m going full time (retired and not working at all), I’m trying to figure out data storage in the RV for long-term/permanent living. Also what, if anything, I should do about a printer. My hobby is photography and one of the cameras has large files. I’m Mac based and won’t be changing that (it works well for me). I have way too much data so cloud based storage would be cost-prohibitive, plus I’m not crazy about such things. As a part-timer, I traveled with 2 portable hard drives, one for working files and one for backup. I don’t use the laptop’s hard drive for much beyond programs. When I get home I’ve copied the working files to an older 5 bay RAID device, set up with 2 drives mirrored and the 5th drive by itself, then erased the portable drives to use on the next trip. When the RAID device drives are full, I get new drives and store the full ones in cases. I can use a bare drive docking station to read the older drives if I want to go back to something. That system won’t work now that I’m going full-time. My rig is very small, plus the RAID device looks frail for getting dragged around. So I’m not keeping it and am very open to suggestions for retaining lots of data now that I won’t have the RAID device. I’m going to be getting an air cooled (swamp coolers) storage unit in Vegas for stuff, including my bare drives from the RAID device. I have a docking station that works with bare drives, and can read the drives from the RAID device on it. I am hoping that the swamp coolers will be adequate for storage of the hard drives. I guess I should just stay with the portable drives, buying new ones as they fill up. Maybe once a year or so I can visit Vegas, get a new bare hard drive and copy the full disk to it, leaving it and the full portable drive in storage, erasing the second back-up portable. Are there other schemes that people use while full-timing? I’m interested in what others do, not sure my way will work particularly well. Second question - I rarely have a need to print anything, but it sure is nice to have the printer at the house for those times when I do. The one I have is an Epson scanner/printer with 2 paper drawers. Works great but is way too big for for my small rig. Plus I’m not planning on taking a WiFi router. I think I might forgo the printer completely, I can always use Kinko’s or the like for what little printing needs I have. Does anyone have thoughts about using such places? Or traveling with a small printer (and which one for use with iPhone/iPad/MacBook Pro)?

Congrats on the sale of your house and finding a trailer that will suit your needs. That’s huge! Hope all works out well with your new home and lifestyle. Perhaps our paths will cross somewhere down the road.

Good advice about taking my time. I’m planning on it, in spite of drooling over the new bigger models and some of the very cool new features they are including in them. They didn’t have the model I was considering on the lot anyway, except a used one on consignment, instantly ruled out as it doesn’t have three of the must-haves on my wish list. So while I found the visit useful information, there was no hard sell (it was the same dealer I bought my trailer from over 3 years ago). I’m a seasoned timeshare shopper/owner and quickly caught on to some of the salesperson’s tricks before I bought my current (and first) RV. They can be similar to the tactics used by the timeshare industry. My concern is cargo capacity - not so much space as weight with my current rig. I don’t use the space I have very well and could see myself being way overweight if I were to pack it fully (last time I weighed the rig I was over 500 lbs under GVWR but that was with empty fresh water tank, so I’d be about 100 - 200 lbs under with it full). If I were to do that, I wouldn’t have everything so conveniently placed. I could add a container of paperwork easily enough (one of the main things I might want, though I have a safety deposit box that my sister can access for important originals). Sitting here in the trailer, hanging out with friends this weekend, I’m having trouble coming up with many needs I don’t already have covered that would push me into a bigger trailer. One thing would be off-season clothes but since I’ve already decided I was getting a storage unit where my sister lives for a couple of antiques and some pretty stuff I’m happy to pay storage fees for. I’m planning on keeping off-season clothes there in plastic containers. I’ll be visiting her occasionally so I could change over then. Am I missing something else I haven’t thought about? The other consideration is that if I upgrade to a bigger trailer I could also find myself needing a bigger TV, domino effect. I’m not ready to commit to that just yet either.

I am SO jazzed! Thank you all for your wishes for a quick sale. I got an offer that was close to full price, more than I was expecting, with a 45 day closing. As impatient as I am to get it all done, the 45 day closing allows for some breathing room, in case something unexpected happens. And it gives me the chance to go through what I’m planning on putting into storage a second time, to really consider it all as well as properly pack it. It should be in escrow by the end of the day today! I also spent an informative morning at an RV dealer’s lot, looking at various models of TT. It gave me lots to think about: clarified some things, confused me about other things and left me feeling indecisive about replacing my current (small) RV. I’ve never full-timed before so am only imagining what different needs I might have. How different will it be as a full-timer compared to doing 2-3 month trips or week-day living in the TT for 4 months (both of which I’ve done in my current TT for over 3 years)? I think I really need to find out before paying money based on thoughts/expectations rather than personal experience. I think the profit from the house is burning a whole in my pocket and I shouldn’t spend money I don’t have yet!

I called them recently to ask about registering one of my cars if it were still out of state. My situation will be different than yours as I’m planning on going there to get my drivers license and then register the truck and trailer, while my Jeep will be in Nevada at my sister’s house. They said I could register it and that I could get the inspection done when I brought it into the state. Your situation sounds different in that you would not be there or have a Texas driver’s license, if I understand your situation. It would be worth a call to check before you decide.

Timing does seem to play a big part in selling houses, so the realtors tell me. I could see my realtor’s point about getting the house on the market when I did - mine is the only house in its price-range in my neighborhood, and the weather has finally gotten warm so that works in my favor. I rushed to get it on the market, mostly for my own reasons (get rid of it NOW) but also with timing in mind (houses rarely sell up here in the winter). So I can see your realtor’s point - it’s spring and hopefully people will be wanting to buy so they can get moved in before the end of summer. Good luck with it! I know what you mean about selling stuff, I haven’t really tried. I have a bunch of stuff on consignment at an antiques store but for the most part I’ve donated a lot of stuff (all books, many DVDs, etc.) to a thrift store. My motivation is to get rid of it all, less incentive to get anything for it all. I’ll be donating the rest of the stuff in the house once I either get an offer or am out of the house entirely. I have some really lovely old cut glass that I would really like to find a home for (family stuff). The antiques store says that it’s no longer selling for anything so I think I’ll pack it up and deliver it to a niece of mine in Colorado. She can decide what to do with it as I’m not willing to just donate it to the thrift store for some reason (much of it is beautiful work and I always thought it was pretty). And it would be a good excuse to take a trip to Colorado. At the moment I’m trying to get rid of boxes and boxes of slides that were taken either my my father or me way back in the days of film. My flatbed scanner capable of scanning transparencies is very slow. I’d rather be camping but certainly don’t want to pay storage fees on it all. I was surprised to discover just how much of the containers under the house held pictures! How did you deal with the “gee, this would be useful at some point, think I’ll toss it into the trailer” thoughts while you were going through house stuff? I’m trying not to get too carried away with that, especially since I’m not (at this point) planning on upsizing my RV. Thinking about it but not planning on it.

How are others doing with their houses? Mine has been shown a couple of times but there hasn’t been enough houses for the realtor’s caravan the last 2 weeks. So I’m waiting, impatiently. The funny thing is a friend of mine approached me about buying my trailer! For the past few years I said I would buy something bigger if I were to go full-time, but now that I am doing it, I realize that my current trailer is home and I’m not so sure I want anything bigger. Funny how that works. I sure would like to hear how others are progressing right now.

Oh. Wow. Is that ever an insight for me. It explains a whole lot. For the past 6 years I’ve done a variety of renovation projects at the house, to get it the way I wanted it to be. I’ve done some cool things. I have views that so many envy and that I love. But no matter how much I’ve done to it, no matter how much I love the house and the area, it’s not really home, and I never realized it. I read your words while sitting at the trailer’s dinette. I look around and realize that this relatively small trailer is home to me, not the house. It’s been more of a home since the first month I had it and lived it in during the week the last 4 months I worked (2016). No wonder it only took one letter (a not renewing my homeowners insurance letter) and no communication (both cell and internet were out) to push me into full-timing, it was just an excuse. Thanks very much for those words.

This has been a thought-provoking topic for me. I’ve been interested to read all of the comments about what works and what doesn’t for those responding. I’ve been a part-timer for the past 3+ years. When I bought my TT, I had a vague daydream about full-timing but that’s what it was, not a plan or intention. I didn’t think I would want to be completely rootless, I like traveling with a purpose or a goal. After my first multi-month trip, I found myself bored and all I could think of is my next trip. That feeling has gotten worse as time goes by. This past year I started boondocking, and met a nice guy full-timing in a Sprinter van, and a couple in the same 21’ trailer I have and they were all happy and gracefully living in their small spaces. I also met a guy who had full-timed for a year but decided it wasn’t for him, that he needed/wanted a 4 walled home base so bought a house that he lives in occasionally. A month ago I decided to sell the house and go full-time, at least for a while. I’ll see how I feel about it after 6 months, I’m not sure how I’ll feel about being rootless. Maybe I’ll like it or maybe I’ll buy or rent something outside of California. I’m going into this with a very open mind. I think if I change the way I pace my travels, I won’t get that road-weary feeling I sometimes get when I’m toward the end of a long, event-filled trip. One of the things I love about the RV community I’ve experienced so far is that there’s no one way to do it. I can think of a number of ways one could be considered a full-timer that is not anything like my own short-term plans. Does owning a house make you a part-timer when you only stay there maybe 2 months at the most out of the year, the rest in your RV? As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter at all. I’m excited to be able to spend more time doing what I love doing. The open road is seductive and I have the opportunity to follow it as much as I want. That’s what RVing is about for me, and home-base or not doesn’t change that, it’s just a personal preference and individual circumstance. It’s not important. Or am I missing something?

Good luck both with selling your house and buying a trailer! It was an awesome feeling yesterday when I finished all the paperwork to list the house. I know what you mean about being uncertain about whether you’ll like RVing. I was in the same boat over 3 years ago when I bought my trailer. Only different wrinkle was that I was using some inherited money to buy it and could only buy one once. So I ended up spending more but got it right, love my trailer. I hope you do too.

Hopefully I’ll get an offer right away and won’t have to worry about it. My realtor has my house down for their agent caravan next week while I’m camping. I don’t think she’s planning an open house just yet. I think I’d rather go camping somewhere instead of remembering to wipe down the stainless steel kitchen sink every time I use it. But I’ll see when I get back.

It sounds like the Lance 1685 might be a good fit for you, certainly worth a look. The U shaped dinette is big - the slide with the dinette is 3', it has a permanent regular queen bed (not a short queen) and has heated holding tanks if you get one with the 4 seasons package (an option but most are ordered that way, I think), walk-on roof with the ladder being an option (usually ordered that way also). They can be harder to find away from the west coast as they are made in California. Used ones tend to also be harder to find and sell pretty quickly. Solar or "solar-ready" (pre-wired for solar) is an option. They tend to be popular and a fairly long order time if you don't get one a dealer already has on order (but not yet built). Good luck with your search!

An update: Today I signed the listing paperwork - my house is officially for sale! There's still some things in it, but a whole lot less than there was, and it's in shape to show. I now have an Escapees Texas address, a safety deposit box in Las Vegas but decided to wait until the house goes into escrow or toward the end of May (when my sister gets back from a trip) before actually renting one and moving what stuff I'm going to keep there. It occurred to me today as I was doing the final housekeeping (I hate housekeeping), that I don't think I can manage to keep the house in show condition for very long if I'm living here. Right now it's not a problem - tomorrow I'm going camping and will be gone 10 days. But after that? How do people manage to keep their house up while they are living there? Or do they just move out and go on the road, leaving the house empty while it's on the market? I've been so busy concentrating on getting rid of stuff and fixing what needed to be fixed that I really don't have any plans beyond this upcoming camping trip.

Another brand you might look at is Lance. They make 4 season trailers that are lighter than many and most could be towed with a half-ton. One of the nice things about them is the storage space - they have been making truck campers for 50 years so they are good at maximizing storage in small places. https://www.lancecamper.com/ It would be worth taking a look at them.

Oh, you mean like my sister who called me once saying that she had one-upped me. She was driving between Casper and Laramie after dark and hit two - not one but two - antelope. That was about a year after we hit a bear here in California. My dealer was very good at checking all the systems, but he didn’t re-winterize. It’s not usually a big deal for the majority of his customers here in SoCal so I don’t think he thought of it. I guess I’m lucky I live where it does snow because I discovered the issue right away and could get it fixed within a couple of days. I also got to use the trailer right off, so I put into practice all of the stuff he taught me on the delivery inspection. If it weren’t for the horrendous sales tax here, I’d probably buy from him again if I decide my trailer is too small for full-time living. I’m madly trying to get stuff out of the house, There’s a number of RV items in the house that I don’t leave in the trailer when it’s going to freeze, such as the adjustable water pressure regulator as the gauge is in oil and I froze one once. I also don’t leave the Winegard portable satellite antenna or a couple of other electronic devices as I wonder about the electronics reacting to the cold. Hopefully tonight will be the last of the below 32 nights, that’s the forecast anyway.

Congrats on the new RV! That Class C looks like a very functional floor plan. Are you going to change your domicile or remain a Wyoming citizen? A couple of years ago I was camping in Dubois and kept reading a real estate ad for a couple of acres, spring on the property along with a water tank, power and septic tank. I loved the area and seriously thought about buying it and claiming Wyoming as my primary residence, with the California house as a second (winter) home. But I couldn't make the finances work. I still love Wyoming in the summer though. It's always a good idea to find out where the problems are first, before you are on a long trip. And yes, you WILL have some issues (though my trailer has been more or less trouble-free so far). My first issue was a kink in the fresh water tank drain - my dealer delivered it to me with 2/3 full tank. I couldn't get it emptied before it snowed several days later, so I driveway camped in it. The 4 seasons package worked the way it should, I was comfortable, the tank didn't freeze. Unfortunately, my house wasn't so lucky, the main pipe into the house froze. Still makes me smile. I sent the paperwork in to the Escapees Mail Service yesterday, and talked to my realtor. I'm still aiming to have the house on the market by the end of the month, and think I should be able to make it. While I haven't done anything particularly that's irreversible (other than sell the family silver and give away a ton of junk to a thrift store), I'm committed to getting it done and getting on the road, and to another state. I just feel setting up a Texas address was the proverbial stepping off the cliff - I still haven't burned any bridges yet, I'm committed to being a full-timer.