TherapyBound

I'm pretty new here too, so I'm not sure if this is okay or not (if not, please remove, moderators), but since you specifically asked about books, we've found Marc and Julie Bennett's book, Living the RV Life, to be incredibly helpful when it comes to making the transition from a house to full-timing in an RV. They explain things in such a way that I come away from it feeling confident I can handle the basics, and some of the not-so-basics. I'm a huge fan of forums too (this one is particularly friendly), and the book makes a great starting point from which to form some questions and then get real-life opinions and experiences on the forum. The two together have really helped me a lot.

What a good idea, Barbaraok! We're always interested in hearing about ways to meet our neighbors and share some social time. Probably looking forward to the Happy Hour part of RVing more than we should be.

Do people really carry jars of revenge Vaseline with them?

I can easily see making this mistake as a newbie. A kind word from a neighbor could put it right. It sounds like you were angry with them for several reasons (parking "wrong", "yappy" dog, not liking your friend's smoke). I wonder if a friendly word about parking etiquette would have gone a long way? At least that way, if they refused to back in, you'd know they were jerks and not just new people overwhelmed by the whole thing. If they were new at it, they may have appreciated the insight.

That's good advice, SnowGypsy and sandysys. My grandmother had Corelle for years, and it just wouldn't die. Probably still as good as new to this day. If we go that route I'll look for an older set. Really finding there are so many things we're having to weigh up (literally, in some cases). Is it better to buy a newer (but used) rig and hope most of the bugs have been worked out, but not have much money left over to do upgrades, or get a much older rig (better built than the newer ones) and put in a bunch of upgrades. We know there is no one answer to that, but it does seem like so many decisions we're making are like one giant balancing act. Fun, and frustrating. (See? More balancing just in that one comment!)

Might go with Corelle or Corelle-style dishes to save a little weight for something else. Or maybe not. But maybe. Save a couple of pounds in weight and put them toward solar or save a few dollars and put them toward solar? This is what my brain does when I try to think about the million decisions around transitioning out of a house and into an RV. Usually around 2am.

Back to your corners, people! You're actually on the same side, so thank you both for your thoughtful replies. I am now weighing up whether I want to bring along 4 of each of my regular dishes and put the money toward something else (like solar), or purchase the Corelle, which is lighter than my dishes. I hadn't thought of that until this conversation. It must be funny to see what newbies have to work through as they're planning something this monumental, when they really have little or no clue what the day-to-day living is like. Wonderful to have such a patient resource as this to ask questions and set one's mind at ease.

Okay, we all know Corelle is glass that's bouncable and relatively unbreakable. That's good enough. Two rights make a right, in this case. Friends again?

Terrific! Regular dishes and glassware it is! I'm hoping to take things we already use every day and save on buying anything specifically for a motorhome. I'd rather put the extra money into my various savings envelopes for a washer/dryer, solar panels, lithium ion batteries and new tires. 😉

Indeed! Our feelings exactly. 😄 We do have some plastic wine glasses we use on the pool deck, but I prefer glass if at all possible (meaning, when it's safe). I think hubby would prefer glass for the occasional bourbon, too. Perhaps we need a combination; two glass, two plastic, and see how it goes. I'm not a fan of buying any more plastic than we already have. Good to know about the dishes, too. Will leave the good china at the sticks and bricks and take a few of our everyday with us. I have nothing at all against Corell, but would prefer not to buy something I don't really need. Now...about that hand-blown martini glass....!

We're beginning the process of downsizing our possessions toward an intended year or two on the road full-time in a Class A gasser, and as I'm thinking about what to keep and what to sell or donate, I'm finding I don't really want to let go of my regular dishes and certain glassware/bar ware in favor of plastic or non-breakables. If we have to get a set of, say, Corelle dishes, so be it, but I wondered how many full-timers use non-Corelle type dishes. I assume we'd have to put some sort of buffer between them when we travel, and maybe have a padded case for the stemware, but is it do-able? With normal use, and a few protections, how breakable are breakables when you're in transit, also assuming you could be on dirt roads now and again?

Alice, I probably shouldn't chime in, as we haven't purchased our motorhome yet, but I think your decision is a smart one. I've been wanting to do this for more than a decade, but the time was never really right. Now, the time is more right, and even at that we're taking 2 years to organize everything so we can hit the road with as few worries as possible--and no regrets. Your time will come, if you want it to. And when it does, it will feel right.

We don't think we'll ever be able to retire, but happily our career isn't the worst one in the world. We're looking forward to being outdoors a lot more, and doing more than walking the dog. It's a fantastic feeling when you're eager to wake up because the day will bring something new and exciting!

We're 56 and 59, so we do pay attention to our health in ways we didn't when we were younger, but we wonder if the lifestyle will actually improve our health (not that either of us are in terrible shape). As it is right now, we spend 12 hours a day at our computers. sometimes more, 7 days a week. This lifestyle change would mean being up and out a lot more than we are right now, and we think that's probably a good thing!

If you wait until noon or after to arrive the wait to get in will be less daunting than they are between 9am and 11:30am. Maybe figure on 5 minutes max to get through security. Could be much less. To be honest, I'd aim for closer to noon than 2pm. The parks are big, and there is a LOT to do, much of it designed to slow you down and tempt you away from the attractions. That's a good thing; there are so many wonderful details worth slowing down to enjoy. With the luxury of 4 days you should still be able to see most of it. Weekdays will be better than weekends. SO glad to hear you're not going during the Star Wars madness. It'll be jaw-dropping! We'll be there for it, but we're suckers for punishment and we know Disney so well we're fine with just concentrating on Galaxy's Edge. Not a happy plan for new visitors, though! Enjoy!

We're in Orlando, and from the way things are going we might have oceanfront property in another 10 years. I do think we will have bugged out before then. Summers are brutal, and this spring has been a catastrophe for my sinuses. But we love it, and will probably live here for at least a few years once we're done traveling. IF we're done traveling...!

When are you going? The huge US travel trade show will descend on the area on June 1 until June 6, and Disneyland will be hosting the opening night party. That means huge crowds, but they'll already be huge due to the May 30 opening of Galaxy's Edge. Hopefully you're going before May 30. There will be a lot of media in town starting May 27, for a big preview of Galaxy's Edge. That may mean an early closing of the park. It will certainly mean a lot more guests (in this case, media) in the park. If you're going for Galaxy's Edge, Disneyland will require reservations (free) to get into the land. At this point they're all sold out. If none of those dates apply to you, you're in for a wonderful vacation! If you're visiting after May 30 (and especially after June 6), the big attractions that don't have Star Wars attached to them will have somewhat shorter waits, as everyone clamors to get into Galaxy's Edge. That's in your favor. But bring your patience along, and do make sure to allow extra time just getting to the parks, and into them. Have you been before? Do you have a rough plan sketched out? Are you ready to ditch the plan and allow for some flexibility as you tour? It's a magical time, and a surprisingly emotional time if you're a big Disney fan. Nothing quite like walking where Walt walked.

Thank you so much for all the replies! They're incredibly useful, and definitely give me something to think about, and a direction to take. I do have antiques, but expect to keep them as they've been in the family for generations and I quite like them. But we have a 5 bedroom home right now, and will downsize to 3 bedrooms, so a lot of our modern furniture has to go. We live in a gated community and the gates will only be open all day on our neighborhood garage sale days, so it's just a two-day chance to get rid of a lot of stuff. Having done garage sales for decades, I know we'll have a lot left at the end of the second day, so I'd rather sell the "good stuff" first, and have garage sale stuff I don't mind donating if it comes to that. The reason we're buying a smaller home is, it will remain a base in Florida for our work, allow us more freedom for tax purposes due to 100% of our travel being work-related, and one of our sons will live in it while he finishes at university and gets himself set up to get his own place. Because the 1-2 years will all be work-related, we do want a base to return to when we're done. If we decide to keep going, we'll just keep going. If not, we'll return to Florida and either pick up there, or sell the house and move elsewhere. We love living in Florida, so it's likely we'd stay, but again, we're open to whatever the future brings in terms of a home. It's all still in the planning stages, though somewhat advanced planning stages, and your replies have helped a lot!

We've set a date (May 27, 2021) to begin our 1-2 year journey, which will give us time to transition our business to working on the road, sell our home, and purchase a smaller home. In the meantime, we're starting to clear out 20 years of accumulated goods. The prospect of getting rid of a LOT doesn't bother me (I quite like the idea, and will put proceeds towards solar, washer/dryer, etc), but I'm a bit overwhelmed thinking about all the ways to go about it. Our subdivision has a yearly yard sale each autumn (it's Florida; too hot in spring or summer), so we'll take advantage of that, but I'd like to get rid of as many higher-quality items as possible before we do a yard sale. There are limited consignment shop options near me, though there are some, and we'll look at doing that. I'm also thinking about Ebay or similar, but it's been years since I've sold anything on Ebay so I'm not certain about the best way to do so, especially when it comes to big items. We also have a lot of valuable collectibles we're ready to let go of. How did you deal with your initial downsizing of goods? Were some options more successful than others? I could sure use some insight!

Brilliant! Thank you! We want to be as prepared as we can be.

We've been doing research for about a year now, and have finally set a date to begin year or two on the road. We have a business that will take time to transition, and a home to sell, so we're looking at 2021 for our start date. Between now and then we'd like to talk to a tax attorney as part of our preparation, but we aren't really sure how to find one that has experience with RV-ers. We'll still own a home, and the motorhome will take the place of hotels as we work around the country. It will all be work-related, and we may not return to our house for the duration of the year or two (or may return only once or twice for a very short time). How does one go about finding an attorney that specializes in--or at least has experience with--tax implications of this sort of thing?

Thank you for the link, SnowGypsy. They do have ours, and at a reasonable-ish price. Good point, LindaH. The Canadian Imports site does say you'll have to prove where the dog food was made, so the original bag will matter. We do usually dump it in an air-tight container (Florida's humidity spoils everything). Feeling confident this will be relatively easy. Thanks for all the insights. On to the next nagging question..........!

Since we can take a fair bit over the border I'll just pick it up as needed at PetSmart or a vet's. A bag is only 27lbs (my error, obviously, on the 2lb thing. I was doing ten different things at once and only put 1kg into the conversion instead of 20. Total idiot moment).

It's great to hear this won't be an issue, as other posts have led me to believe. One less thing to think about as I'm working my way through the thousands of little questions we probably all have or had when we're just learning about the lifestyle. I can't say I'm worried about it, I'm just working through all the issues relevant to us that I keep seeing on various forums, blogs, etc, and that was one of them. I wouldn't have given it a second thought if our dog didn't need a specific food that may or may not pose some problems when it comes to getting it. I cleaned up enough dog barf trying to find something she could eat when we rescued her, so this is one of those non-negotiables each of us probably has as we're figuring out how to hit the road for an extended period and emerge from it happy. Thank you for your comments. Learning about real-life experience is priceless.

Sorry to inconvenience you. Just trying to do the right thing, and sometimes it's confusing for newbies. Sometimes you don't know what's important and what isn't until you start talking to people who've done it. Then, I guess, you have to wade through what to believe and what not to believe. I'm new at this, I want to avoid issues when possible, so I asked. My bad!