ToddF

Sounds good to me. (Turned 59 on Oct 10). 358 days until I can sign for Medicare Advantage. (Maybe)🤯

It's hard to overstate the benefits of a bigger rig, especially if you like to set up for 2-3 weeks in a great location. Class Cs are less expensive (generally) then a lot of the Class Bs and As. For me, it's the perfect middle road. And I tow an inexpensive 2002 Honda CRV which gets use everyday. Maintenance is the biggest headache in this Rving lifestyle. It's hard to plan for and frustrating and potentially expensive. You have to be prepared for it or it has the potential to ruin your plans. With a current rent budget of $3,500, you should be able to do pretty much anything and come in way under that figure on a monthly basis.

I think this forum is more active than we realize...over 600 views of this thread. Escapees has helped me so much with this forum, the parks, and the magazine, I would be lost without you guys. The RV Life forums (irv2 and Winnie) are very active too. I don't do any social media. Have recently added the "reader comments" of my newspapers to the list of social media that I won't participate in. Studies have shown that overdosing in social media can have very negative psychological consequences. When I read the comments in various stories on my newspapers, there is too much hate and division. I have "opted" out. I don't care if you're a Republican, Democrat, or something else. Won't let politics get in the way of friendships. Thank goodness for these forums! And I didn't mean to spew negativity when I started this thread, it probably came across that way. For the record, I see all campers as members of my "clan". Fulltimers and weekenders alike, but, please, turn off the music and go to bed after 11:00 PM.

"You're a go". Hope you join us here and keep us posted as you move into life on the road.

Let's face it...many of us have too much time on our hands. 😊 A guy with a wife and 2 kids and a FT job, isn't going to have time to hang out here. I hope we somehow find an equilibrium with all the new folks buying RVs and camping. We try to book Sun-Thurs trips when camping around homebase in Minnesota. It's still busy, but not at 100% like on the weekends. The rest of our travels are after Labor Day thru Dec 31 - non-peak in most areas.

https://rvbusiness.com/woodbury-consequences-of-rvings-unprecedented-surge/ I'd be very concerned if I was a fulltimer without a guaranteed place to park. With the extreme heat waves, hoards of snowbirds, fires out west, and armies of bloggers blogging about "their unique lifestyle", not good for hard core boondockers either. All the escspee parks are full with multi-year waiting lists. Hang onto your S + B if you still have one. (It's value has soared in the past 5 years in many parts of the country.)

I don't think OP has to worry about freezing temps in the Houston area. On that rare occasion when there is a freeze warning, simply disconnect water and sewer hose until it passes. Summer heat is the big challenge and that may be why so many install RV covered ports at Katy Lake and other parks. Houston, TX Weather averages Overview Graphs MonthHigh / Low(°F)Rain January60° / 45°7 days February64° / 48°5 days March70° / 55°5 days April76° / 61°4 days May83° / 68°6 days June88° / 74°6 days July91° / 76°7 days August91° / 76°7 days September86° / 71°7 days October79° / 63°5 days November70° / 54°6 days December63° / 48°6 days

We're pre-retirees (59/61) and watching expenses closely as we prepare for retirement. It's very helpful when other RVers share expense info...helps us validate our own figures which of course will vary from anyone else but still give us an idea of what costs to expect. Not planning to go fulltime. The major items I've noticed recently are as follows: The pandemic forced us to eat "at home" 100% of the time with some take out orders. Costs for food have dropped dramatically since we are no longer paying $30-$50 for a meal plus tax and tip. When things return to normal, I plan to limit eating out to once a week. I really don't miss the whole process of looking for good restaurants (at least half are mediocre), driving to them, waiting for a table, getting food that isn't exactly what I want, etc etc. Also, I quit drinking 3 years ago, and while I don't miss it, a big part of dining out was often the wine and cocktails which of course add to the cost. We also eat much less now that we are seniors. Big restaurant meals often left us feeling bloated and frankly, sick. Health insurance is the other biggie, discussed extensively in another thread. Medicare, whether it be at 65 or 60, will make that part of the budget much more predictable and affordable. We've built up separate HSAs so we'll have funds for all the things we know won't be covered. This might save us money on expensive supplements since we would have funds on hand for possible expenses, many of which wouldn't be covered by supplements anyway. (Dental, glasses, alternative therapies etc). Since we upgraded to the Thousand Trails Elite membership, our camping fees have dropped dramatically. (It was $6,000 to acquire a "used" membership, pay the transfer and cancellation fees associated with switching from the zone pass). On this 3 1/2 month trip, over 100 nights will be in TT parks at no out of pocket cost. The annual membership fees for the Thousand Trails Elite program are about $625 (ours included Florida sales tax because the original membership was sold in Florida) plus the $299 for the Trails Collection. I budget $115 per month for these 2 items plus the fees for Escapees, KOA, Passport America, and Good Sam. I look at the $6,000 as a good investment and plan to pass it down to a family member when the time comes. In 2012, we bought a used 1999 Lazy Daze Motorhome and got heavily involved in the Lazy Daze owners group (online). Because so many Lazy Dazer's are full timers, I sort of leaned in that direction (in theory). After 7 years of camping part-time, going FT is not in the cards. Instead, I sold my 2nd home which paid off a mortgage and raised some cash for the Thousand Trails membership and the rest added to savings. I will never own 2 homes again! I is more than enough! It's a long story about how it evolved, but suffice it to say, property ownership is overrated in my estimation. If Home #1 wasn't such a good deal, I'd look more at fulltiming as it really appeals to me (in theory). Home #1 is paid for and runs about $850 a month for everything including Association fees (no lawn or snow work on my end), property taxes, insurance, utilities, culligan service, security monitoring, internet, and $100 for a personal maintenance fund. We are blessed with low property taxes ($2,000 per year) for a 1800 SF townhome with an attached 2 car garage. I know a lot of full timers SELL their home to get away from much higher taxes and other expenses. Makes a lot of sense to me.

RV Parks often have a few "for sale" signs sprinkled throughout the park. You have nothing to lose by looking. A used unit may already be "set up", a process I suspect can get very expensive when moving a unit into a park. Katy Lake isn't going to be cheap ("heads up") but would be an awesome place to live.

I really appreciate your posting of your budget and also the extensive review of Thousand Trails parks. We traveled on a Thousand Trails zone pass for 3 seasons (not full-timers) before buying an Elite membership last Fall.

Try Katy Lake RV park, very nice. Might have something for sale. (They have covered sites available).

The Post Office was a "life saver" for my business when the pandemic hit. While a lot of business is conducted online, many clients still want their tax return on paper and don't like secure portals etc. So after I closed my office to "foot traffic" on March 12th, I was going to the Post Office everyday and dropping the day's work inside the post office (we have had people stealing mail from outside boxes). Bought stamps online so I wouldn't have to stand in line. Covid has increased my reliance on the US Postal service. But don't need Saturday delivery.

I realize the mail would back up over the weekend, but everything I read says first class mail is down dramatically from years past. Look at any mail carrier's vehicle and what you will see is overflowing amazon packages. So why isn't this dramatic increase in packages creating enough revenue to bring the PO into the black? There are no easy answers but for us RVers, the Post Office is a pivotal link in our existences as we travel across this great country.

I voted via absentee (Minnesota). The local post office (Ocean View NJ) was happy to receive my ballot sent general delivery which I received in a timely manner. After mailing back my ballot to Minnesota, I verified it online at the Minnesota Secretary of State's site confirming that they had received it. Everything timely. In my 30+ of years as a tax preparer and exchanging mail with clients all over the U.S.A., I honestly can't think of a single instance of a piece of mail getting lost. There have been a few odd delays when a piece of mail seems to get mis-routed, but it eventually shows up. More often than not, delivery is within a few days of dispatch. I'm in favor of dropping Saturday delivery if that will help the Post Office streamline it's operations and make things more efficient. Hat's off to the U.S. Postal Service and Minnesota Secretary of State for having such a neat system where I could go online and verify receipt of my ballot securely in less than 1 minute. For Goodness sake, why can't the entire country get their act together when it comes to our democratic process of "one citizen, one vote"? People should not have to stand for hours in the hot sun to vote!

Here's another suggestion in the area (Gulf Shores/Foley Alabama). http://www.southwindrvpark.info/ $250 Month! + Elec (Might be for "seniors only").

Gulf Shores State Park in Gulf Shores Alabama will be more $ than you indicate you want to pay, but would be my top choice. The bike trails and beach are fantastic. Could day trip easily there from Rainbow Plantation. It's about a 30 minute drive. Admission for the day is $1 per car.

This article was published in Forbes Magazine in August 2020 regarding Biden's proposal to lower the Medicare age to 60: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2020/08/13/how-kamala-harris-boosts-bidens-medicare-at-60-plan/#26dd071a6a26 Presumably there would be a premium for Part B just like there is now for those 65+. (Maybe the premium would be higher?) I think that this could potentially ease the health insurance conundrum those of us in our late 50's or early 60's face as we try to transition into retirement. The big problem with the current choices (as pointed out in the article) are COST and complexity. When I look at ACA options on the exchange in Minnesota, the premiums are high. The deductibles are high ($6,000 per person). Out of network (RVer) no or low benefits. Generic drugs only on many plans. Have to enroll every year (not automatic renewal). I don't know what the Republican plan is. The Republicans are in court (Nov 2020 case is set) trying to completely eliminate ACA. Then what? If you could solve the health insurance problem, many other problems would go away. Or at least take a step in the right direction and work toward a better system for everyone.

Why not put wheels on it so you don't have to disconnect it when you move?

For anyone looking for summer options, I would encourage you to look at Minnesota and Wisconsin as possibilities. Lots of camping options...everything from KOA with FHU to remote US Forest Service campgrounds up in the Superior National Forest. And unlike places like California, you can park almost anywhere when you need a night or two in between developed campgrounds. (Walmart, city streets, parks, etc). We didn't allow Covid to alter our camping trips and made short trips to Iowa, Duluth, MN, Sturgeon Bay WI, and Whitewater State Park (MN). We camp Sun-Fri as weekends are definitely busier and we just go home and park the RV when not in use. The trip to Sturgeon Bay included weekends and we planned ahead and made reservations at Lake Wissota SP for 2 nights, camped for free at the casino in Green Bay, Wi before heading up to Tranquil Timbers (Thousand Trails) in Sturgeon Bay. It was our first trip to Door County and very much enjoyed it. Lots of weekenders, so the weekends are busy and Mon-Thurs a slower pace sometimes. If you're on a Thousand Trails membership, MN doesn't have any parks but Wisconsin has 6 including the Trails Collection parks., The Northern part of MN/WI has vast wilderness with lots of camping options, 13,000 lakes in MN, and of course "The Big Lake" which is always awe inspiring.

Good story! https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-some-older-americans-are-monetizing-their-vanlife

KOA went up $3. (From 30 to 33) Thousand Trails is assessing some contracts a $65 assessment on their current dues. Progressive just renewed our RV insurance - up almost 20%. ($797 annual for a '17 Minnie Cl C) Annual indoor RV storage (33' rig) stayed the same at $950 for the year. Gas has remained below my target of $2.50. My largest camping expense has dropped significantly since I upgraded my TT membership to an Elite contract. (Yes, I did have to shell out $6,000 to do so). I can camp for "free" now in almost 190 locations. Annual dues are about $600+299 for the Trails Collection. All in all, this $10 increase isn't going to upset the apple cart.

My advice is to find indoor storage and use that location as a "base" for trips to the US. Depending on size of rig etc, there are a few options in Minnesota which is a good central location with a major international airport in the Twin Cities. I personally would hate to keep my rig outside when I'm not using it. And as I stated earlier, renting it out is a terrible idea. Sounds good in theory, but the reality of the situation is that it would be a nightmare.

RVs are complex and fragile. It will rapidly depreciate if you rent it out. People pile into these things with their kids/grandkids and pets. It will be trashed. not a good idea.

It's part of RV Life. Just renewed..have been satisfied with it.

Learn about wheelbase ratios. Mine (2017 Minnie Winnie) is 56% and handles like a dream. I drive long distances without tiring. I also have rear airbags which add to the smooth ride. I forget that I am driving a 14,500 lb motorhome. Buying an "A" by itself won't guarantee a smooth riding rig. I've driven rough riders, it was a very bad experience. My 27' Lazy Daze also handled great, although it was a '99 and no rear air bags and suspension was probably shot as the ride in the back was a bit rough when taking naps on the road.