Jinx & Wayne

We have been full time and retired for the last two years. We were wintering in Florida when this appeared on the horizon. We are COVID-19 at risk. Given the lack of any reliable information about where it is and the fact that it is spread by asymptomatic people, we decided to stay put until a reliable vaccine is available. That looks like late next winter at the very earliest. We are in a pretty large FHU site in a park in rural Florida. We were the last people into the park, at least until fall. The off season population is pretty low. Golf courses are still open here so I am playing and walking the course as much as possible. Jinx is sewing and golfing. With luck we will travel in 2021.

We can argue about whether there is a realist in Washington or a Pollyanna who ignored the problem until the cows come home. What is the point of that argument? Those things already happened. It is a waste of time in the context of what to do now. That issue will be resolved in November. Right now we have to figure out how to reopen the economy without killing a couple of hundred thousand people. I don't think we can say with any confidence that any part of the country is without the virus. There isn't enough testing. It has been spreading out from major airline hubs and along major transportation routes. It is likely everywhere, we just don't know. We need to know if we are gong to get the country rolling again. This is like fighting a battle without even a map or a view of the battlefield. The economy needs to reopen but we need to be very vigilant and shut down outbreaks early. That means we need reliable information about where people are getting sick.. Kinsa thermometer data seems to be providing realtime intelligence about where the virus is emerging by identifying who has a fever and where. I ordered a Kinsa thermometer this week and will start participating. What we do know is that younger people die from it at a lower rate. They are also the ones who do most of the work of the country. The vulnerable people need to continue to hide from the wolves. That means I will hide out until there is a vaccine. BTW, for the folks whose happy hour is okay because the people are like family, you might explain that the greatest transmission of the virus is among families.

We had plans to travel west and then return to Florida via the northern tier and down the east coast. Late in February we concluded the COVID-19 was going to be a widespread problem and bought a lot of supplies. We are both in vulnerable categories. The problem wasn't going to go away For us that means laying low for 12-18 months until an effective vaccine is available. In early March we located a park here in Florida that is reasonably close to medical, supplies and outdoor activities. We moved in 4/1 and are in a 14 day quarantine per park rules. The park has since closed to new people. Golf, fishing and bike riding are still on the menu, so long as we are careful. I am surprised to see people who are obviously over 65 ignoring social distancing on the mistaken assumption that their friends could not possibly carry the virus. The major planning effort right now is where to go if a hurricane looks like it will roll through. Some days I feel like the wolves are watching from just beyond the firelight. It is going to be a long haul.

We are members of 2019 despite actually going full time in 2018. We planned on 2019 but moved it up. We have been on the road for a year now and it seems a progress report is in order. Jinx and I left Maine last September. We'd been living in the 5er since May 2018, but still locally. We had to wind up the business before we left. We left on a Friday planning to stop a Cabelas and leave early the next day to avoid Boston traffic. When we stopped the brake actuator for the electic over hydraulic disc brakes on the trailer did not. First lesson. Get Escapees roadside assistance rather than Good Sam. GS told us we would have to wait until Monday before they could do anything. Escapees would have towed us to a campground and then to a repair facility on Monday. Five days later we were back on the road. We worked out way south to Florida and stayed at a few different places. We volunteer at golf tournaments so we moved around a bit. Didn't see a snowflake all winter except on TV. We established domicile in Bushnell, FL at the Escapees park. Escapees mail service is fantastic. Spring found us working our way up through the midwest to Wisconsin and Michigan. Our pace of travel has slowed. We go no more than 250-300 miles per travel day and generally stay at least a week after a day of travel. It took six weeks to get to Wisconsin. The ferry across Lake Michigan was great. The weather was fabulous and the golf was fun, if trying at times. We worked the Thornberry LPGA Classic in Oneida WI. At that point we decided to stay on the road for the foreseeable future. Since we have an older rig (2006 Carriage) we decided to upgrade. We didn't like any of the new 5ers so decided to have a major overhaul - suspension, appliances, flooring, entertainment center, lights, furniture and a bit more. We went to Elkhart for the work and dropped our rig off 7/15 with a planned completion date of 8/16. Second lesson. Get completion dates in writing and try to get some sort of penalty clause for late work. They didn't finish until 9/6! For the planned time we spent a month in a cabin on a lake in Michigan. For the unplanned time we lived in a motel with the soul of a new urinal. We had an Amish refrigerator upgrade as a separate (and prompt) shop in Shipshewana, IN. Now it keeps ice cream firm!! This fall found us in upstate NY, PA and currently MD. Heading to NC tomorrow and then a few weeks in SC. Florida again this winter. Then eastern Rockies and western Midwest in 2020 followed by a winter in AZ or TX and exploring the far west in 2021. Safe travels. Wayne & Jinx Foote 194 Rainbow Dr., #9445 Livingston, TX 77399-1094 wfoote@me.com 207-944-9336

How about a motion detector triggering a recording of a dog barking?

As I mentioned before Jinx and I made a sudden move to full time earlier than planned. We stopped taking new business in January 2018, moved into the RV in May 2018 but stayed in the area until September 2018, when we finished all of the leftover business. The house sold in August and we got rid of everything that doesn't fit in the RV. We went on the road the end of September, spending five weeks driving down the east coast. We got the Bushnell, FL, at the end of October and established Florida domicile. We followed the club's instructions and it went flawlessly. We spent the first part of November in Naples where we volunteered at the LPGA Championship tournament. We then spent December through February in Davenport, FL. Come March we moved to Palm Harbor, this time to volunteer at the Valspar PGA Tournament. We left in mid-May, 2019. We've adjusted our travel speed. When we first started RVing we would travel 300-400 miles per day, sometimes two days in a row. I think that was a factor of having a work mindset with the need to be certain places at certain times. We now travel no more than 250 miles in a day and stay at least a week after that travel day. Much more relaxing. We are slowly making our way to Wisconsin to work another golf tournament, visit Jinx's family and have the grandkids up for a couple of weeks. We will be at Mammoth Cave National Park in a couple of weeks. leaving Chattanooga tomorrow. We plan to come back to Florida for 2019-20 winter by way of UP Michigan, Canada above the Great Lakes, Niagara Falls, grandkids in MD, and foliage in the Smokeys. No major problems. We have an older RV so things wear out. We budgeted for that when we bought it. The major issue I faced was recognizing I was retired and living on the road instead of being on vacation. There are big differences between the two. When I worked and went on vacation, I often did things that are unhealthy in the long run. Traveling, as noted above, is another difference. It has been a year of slowing life down and developing new habits. I am no longer self-conscious about working out on the mat in front of the RV, regardless of who is around. I play golf a couple of times a week. We visit things we want to see in mid-week instead of on the weekends - less crowded. We hope all is well with you. Jinx and Wayne

I have a Transfer Flow TRAX3. It is a 50 gal tank that fits below tonneau level. No problems with it. There is a monitor that mounts on the dash showing both the TF tank and the onboard tank levels.

I am not sure that boycotting the company and putting numerous employees, and their families out of work and in financial jeopardy is a proportionate response. The employees were likely hard at work at the time of the incident. Their spouses and children did not deface the arch. The real culprits here are the two Andersen parents. Nothing is going to undo the harm. Limiting retribution to the people who actually deserve it is important. Conviction, fines and community service ought to get the point across to them and others.

We bought an older RV. We got a 2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ. They were top of the line when new and this one was lightly used. I upgraded to disc brakes, 17.5 inch wheels and 8000 lb wet hub axles. Trailer is 8 feet wide with four slides. I think the crew cab has a 48 gal tank. We have 3.55. It seems to be plenty of power. We bought a Hensley Trailer saver BD3 Air ride hitch. 3,500 pin and 18,000 load. I chose that one because it comes apart into two sections of about 80# each so I can remove it easily when not in use. Wayne

Mark, We did our truck research in 2016, and ordered a 2017 F350 Lariat supercab diesel dually long bed that was delivered in Jan 2017. I cannot say much about comparisons to Dodge or Chevy/GMC. I haven't driven any of those but for a couple of test drives. I can go over some of the stuff I learned along the way. You probably know most of it. I also want to disclose that we are relatively new to RVing. I've only driven a few thousand miles. First and foremost, look at what you will be towing. What is the weight? What is the pin weight loaded? You need to know what you will be towing to get the right truck for the job. I subscribe to the theory that more truck is better than not enough truck. There is more to truck capacity than towing capacity. What is the net payload of the truck? Remember that net payload is the total payload less the truck and everything in it, including people, dog, fuel and snacks. I wanted an auxiliary tank because the F350 only has a 34 gallon fuel tank. At 10.5 MPG when towing I would be stopping for fuel too often without the auxiliary tank. So that added 500+lbs. What are the axle weight ratings, particularly the rear axle? Will you be under the maximum with a fully loaded truck when you have the RV (fully loaded) and hooked up? My experience is that truck and RV salespeople don't know or don't care about these things. When we went looking for an RV we really liked a 37-foot fiver with a GVWR or 16,830 lbs. The truck salesman at the first Ford dealership we visited to said a diesel F250 would be just fine because the fiver trailer weight would be under 17,400 lbs fiver towing maximum. Then I looked at the net payload. Under 3,200 lbs in the short cab short bed model. Much less in supercab long bed. With a loaded pin weight of right around 3000 lbs, we were going to have to stay home and let the truck take the RV by itself. We changed dealerships. The next one told us the F350 SRW would do the job. He was sort of right. The payload was sufficient if I didn't want the auxiliary tank and put us both on a diet. The rear axle was marginal. So we got the dually. We also got the 37 foot fiver. Things about the F350. The blind spot and approaching traffic warnings are great, but they do not operate with a fifth wheel. I'm not sure if they work with a TT. The computerized bar code trailer system only works with TT's, not fivers. The tow/haul computer system is wonderful. We drove moderate mountains last year (Blue Ridge and Shenandoah) and both up and down grade driving was a snap. Plenty of power and the exhaust and transmission brakes worked fine and were well integrated. The controls are pretty handy for the most part. Like any vehicle you have to get used to where they are and how they work. We bought luxury interior because we will be spending a lot of time in the cab. The ten-way seats are great. The seat heater is great. The seat cooler makes us both feel like we wet our pants. Maybe it will be better in the desert. Watch out for the automatic tire pressure monitoring. Three of the valves/caps tended to leak. I replaced one set (under warranty) but one of the six is still leaking. I will get that fixed before we start full timing. The dually is a big truck. We had to widen the garage to use it regularly. Normal width garage doors have about 4.5 inches of clearance on either side. But I would not trade the dually for SRW. Stability wise it is wonderful. I like knowing I have double the traction for towing and braking, and some handling insurance in the event of a blowout. We bought the long bed because we wanted the full agility of being able to turn the fiver to 90+ degrees without hitting the cab. I really appreciated that in RV driving school where I discovered I could make a U-turn with my 54-foot rig on a two-lane road. We bought the supercab instead of the crew cab to save length with the long bed. For an auxiliary tank I added a 50 gal Transfer Flow. It works flawlessly except the installer forgot to tighten a clamp and the first fill put diesel all over the ground. There is an internal monitor for both tanks on the dash and the fuel transfer works automatically. Transfer Flow is a pump tank rather than gravity feed. I added a BakFlip MAX4 tonneau. Having the locking bed is a great help when not towing. If I had it to do over again I would look for one that can be driven halfway open rather than having to have it either fully closed or fully open. That would give me a little more covered area when towing. When not towing I got about another 1 mpg with the tonneau. That won't pay for it in most cases. For us the covered/locked bed is worth it. We can haul groceries in the rain with the dog in the back seat. Raven is a good girl but a bag of groceries with carrots sticking out might be too much to resist. RV driving school is well worth the money. Jinx discovered she can back it up, drive in and out of store and fast food parking lots (not the drive through), and drive just fine on the highway. Although i still do most of the driving it is great that there is someone when I am tired or don't feel like it. We plan to take the school again this fall when we start out. We also got a good discount on the insurance because of the school. Our instructor was Charlie McLeod in SC. Tells how your shopping goes.

Skeet, Thank you. I know what you mean about work on the house; today I paint and clean. I guess technically we are 2018, but in reality our full freedom date is 1/1/19. That's when we are tumbleweeds. Before that is the process of getting there. How are the plans for the Class A purchase coming along? Jinx and I debated Class A/5th wheel for a long time. While we settled on a fiver for now, that may change over time. Why are you choosing a Class A?

We are joining the Class of '19. Originally we were going to partly retire and not RV full time until 2021. Last month we decided to go now. For years we have run a law office. I practice law and Jinx does everything else. We stopped taking new cases and are finishing the existing cases. We expect to have them all done by August 31, 2019. The house is on the market. We have a 2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ and a 2017 F350 diesel dually. Starting in May we will move into the RV at a site on a pond nearby. Around October 1 or before we will start moving south. We will stop to see the grandkids in MD and then on to FL to establish domicile. In January we will go to the Rio Grande Valley to stay until spring. Then we are off touring western North America. November 2019 should find us in FL again. Tentatively, we are touring eastern NA in 2020. Our RV experience is limited. We took one three weeks trip last year. We completed the RV driving school. We spent weekends and vacation in it from May to October. For hobbies I hunt birds (with Raven the Lab) and play golf. Jinx plays golf and quilts. Raven does not play golf. This is our last Maine winter!