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captn_rob

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Hi there! New here so I thought I would introduce myself.

 

My wife and I aren't completely new to RV's - we had a large popup about 8 years ago - but we do still have a lot to learn before we take the full time plunge in the spring. We are both 40-somethings. 2 of our 3 kids are grown but the youngest is only 6. I am a software engineer working on being able to work remotely. We are currently renting and had talked about buying land here in Montana to build a small cabin but all of our family is back east (originally from Maine) and I can't bring myself to set down roots so far away. In fact, the whole idea of locking myself into ONE location just seems WRONG now. We've moved twice in the past 5 years and are sick of the packing/unpacking and paying moving expenses. When I broached the possibility of living in an RV permanently, my wife LOVED the idea - surprisingly! Now we are making concrete plans and have selected the 5th wheel and floorplan that we want. Since this will be our permanent home and we will have to take out a sizable loan we intend to get what we want/need right away. With the 6 year old (who we intend to homeschool once we hit the road) one of our requirements is to have an extra bedroom (which will double as my office when working from home).

 

We have already done quite a lot of research but we are still open to any advice.

 

Thanks,

 

Rob

 

 

 

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Where will you work when the child is sick? Where will the child play while you work? What will you do when you are in the zone when the child's bedtime comes? Sharing that space sounds awkward to me.

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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hey rob, welcome to site. IT guy here. webmaster, ect..

Now this is just my opinion, full timing is great idea. except that the youngster might get the short end of the stick. as for the home schooling. there lot of pros/cons on that. i lived in rv for 18 months. loved it. but lots of times wanted a home/house. i have friends that are full timing, wife wants house. but my opinion is that if your over 60 probably a great thing to do. as most ppl in rv parks are around that age group. but not many little one's so you child may not get to have many friends. an as you remember when you were little all friends ya met in school ect... children need a social enviorment to learn experiences, inter-action ect.

get a home when school lets out, go live in an rv during that off season. after 1 or 2 yrs you,wife will get a more (we can do this and/or maybe full timing isnt good at moment). this way both get accomplished . child gets friends, you/wife get to experience what it's going to be like. win-win

 

ps. originally from rhode island. in fla now.

2000 Itasca Horizon DP (Got Total During Irma). 

Vice President of Charlotte County Defenders LE MC

http://charlotte.defenderslemc.com/

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Didn't come here for folks to tell me why NOT to do this. The decision is already made. Came here for advice on how to overcome some of the unique challenges involved.

 

Respect your opinions but disagree. Kids are flexible and he will adapt. The benefits of living a nomadic life and being exposed to so many different adventures and learning opportunities will more than outweigh any perceived negatives.

 

We have thought this through extensively. If we thought it would not be a good lifestyle for him then we would reconsider but we have already considered your arguments.

 

I know there are full - timers out there with kids because I have seen their blogs. How do they do it? Did I come to the wrong place for advice?

 

wildmandmc - What service is that uniform from in your picture? I am a USMC veteran myself...
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Welcome to the forums, captn-rob! It is always good to have new members join us here and it is particularly so to have another member of the "still working" group which is a growing part of the community and which was the group which founded the Escapees. Over the years we have become mostly a retired group and I find it refreshing to have folks such as yourself joining us here. Thank you for becoming a part of this group!

 

As to advice, the very most important part is already done in my view as that is making this a decision and not just an idea. While there are things that I might suggest you consider if you were still in the considering stage, I'll point my thoughts to succeeding in the change now that your choice has been made. Because I didn't go on the road with children, my advice along that line is somewhat limited but we did do a lot of RV travel with our kids so I'm not totally without experience in this. You will need to make some accommodations for your child to have social contacts and growth, but there are others out there who are successful in this and you can be also. While these forums are great for RV related assistance, there are better places for the family issues and one that fascinates me is Families on the Road since this was something that we have long admired but had a career that prevented it. Being late to the scene of family RV life, I am probably not the best judge of which sites are best but another that I suggest looking at is RVing with Kids. There are several others so do some exploring and see what you find to be helpful. There are also some members here that have traveled with children or who still do so and hopefully will join in to assist. As a side note, the primary admin of the forums is the youngest member of the founding family, Travis Carr and he and wife Melanie, along with son Gabe are fulltimers and work from the road so you are in the right place. In addition, you will probably find more helpful information for working folks at the Escapee site that is more aimed at your peers which is X-scapers and is a parallel site to the main Escapee website.

 

With the limited information that you have provided to us at this point my advice would be to study the weight ratings and limits of the truck that you plan to use to tow the RV as you also study the RV choices. As it is frequently said on these forums, "you really can't have too much truck." It might be helpful to you in the early stages to take a few minutes and read this page that explains the commonly used weight terms and limits. You should also take some time and understand the issue of where you choose as your domicile, or the place where your legal address will be.

 

This is probably more than enough for now so please do join in to become a frequent participant in the forums and share or ask questions as often as you with and in any of the forums that you find to be of interest. Welcome!

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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Thank you Kirk for the excellent welcome :-)

 

Thanks for the links. I've been reading the Families On The Road site some already but the other is new to me.

We came here from the XCapers site and also have been getting some great info from the TechNomadia site.

 

Already know the weight limits of my truck and have selected our desired 5th wheel accordingly and have plans to upgrade to a bigger diesel model within a year or two. Until we upgrade we will have to manage weights closely. I drove trucks in the Marines so have a pretty good handle on that aspect.

 

as far as domicile is concerned we will keep our permanent address here in Montana for as long as we can. As long as our legal address is here we keep our residency. Maybe eventually we may change to SD or we may settle in for long enough to re-establish residency back home in Maine (yeah I know Maine is a high tax state but it's still what I consider "HOME" even after 5 years).

 

The 5th wheel we have selected is the Durango 1500 by K-Z D292BHT floorplan. It is lighter than others in the same size range and it is fully ready for 4-season use (with the optional double pane windows and extra insulation package) which is a priority for us.

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From the Families On The Road site:

 

Children are amazingly adaptable and can thrive in a variety of circumstances, as long as they are cared for and loved. As another full-timing mom mentioned to me recently, parental attitude is all important. If you approach your lifestyle with enthusiasm and a sense of adventure, your children will too.

Over the years I have met a number of full-timing families and seen mostly positive results. These children are usually happy, outgoing, adventurous, interested in everything - and possess a knack for making 'instant friends', as my husband and I term it.

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It does seem that you are well on the way to a successful change in lifestyle. I am excited for you as one can only do anything the first time, once. We still look fondly upon our memories of the first few weeks of our fulltimer period and miss the days on the road. Many years ago I was given some very good advice about life attitudes that I will share with you. "Always look forward to what is new, making each move a movement to new experiences, and never of moving away from the past. The difference is one of attitudes as looking back aids in feeling regret while looking forward brings excitement and enthusiasm!" :D

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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Didn't come here for folks to tell me why NOT to do this. The decision is already made. Came here for advice on how to overcome some of the unique challenges involved.

 

Respect your opinions but disagree. Kids are flexible and he will adapt. The benefits of living a nomadic life and being exposed to so many different adventures and learning opportunities will more than outweigh any perceived negatives.

 

We have thought this through extensively. If we thought it would not be a good lifestyle for him then we would reconsider but we have already considered your arguments.

 

I know there are full - timers out there with kids because I have seen their blogs. How do they do it? Did I come to the wrong place for advice?

 

wildmandmc - What service is that uniform from in your picture? I am a USMC veteran myself...

 

 

 

 

Good for you!! I wish we had done the same thing with our kids. Could not agree more about the great experiences your kids will experience while on the road...this is a great site and most of the time the folks are very very helpful with any problems you might have. Good luck and keep us up-dated on your experiences!




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It does seem that you are well on the way to a successful change in lifestyle. I am excited for you as one can only do anything the first time, once. We still look fondly upon our memories of the first few weeks of our fulltimer period and miss the days on the road. Many years ago I was given some very good advice about life attitudes that I will share with you. "Always look forward to what is new, making each move a movement to new experiences, and never of moving away from the past. The difference is one of attitudes as looking back aids in feeling regret while looking forward brings excitement and enthusiasm!" :D

 

Love that quote! Describes my philosophy on life very well! I'm all about living life. Grew up on the coast of Maine and was a lobster fisherman for 14 years. 4 years in the Marines, 8 years racing dogsleds, winter camping and trekking, even been lead singer in a few bands. The nomadic lifestyle appeals to me personally and even my "reformed city girl" wife views our life together as a series of adventures. this is just the latest :-)

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Good for you!! I wish we had done the same thing with our kids. Could not agree more about the great experiences your kids will experience while on the road...this is a great site and most of the time the folks are very very helpful with any problems you might have. Good luck and keep us up-dated on your experiences!

 

Thanks!

:)

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Love that quote! Describes my philosophy on life very well! I'm all about living life. Grew up on the coast of Maine and was a lobster fisherman for 14 years. 4 years in the Marines, 8 years racing dogsleds, winter camping and trekking, even been lead singer in a few bands. The nomadic lifestyle appeals to me personally and even my "reformed city girl" wife views our life together as a series of adventures. this is just the latest :-)

I'm sure you will be quite successful at this, too. I loved traveling with our daughter when she was young--seeing the world through her eyes was wonderful! I remember visiting a science museum when she was a young teen and they had chairs facing each other with a two way mirror in between. By adjusting the mirror you could make both faces visible at the same time. Yes, she has her Dad's eyes. We had quite an audience comparing their features by the time they felt done doing that. In fact some of those people then followed us around watching us play and explore--they said they had more fun watching us be creative with the museum's equipment. :)

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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