Checklist: Our Full-Time RVing Plans

[GR8SKP]

Hi!

 

We are looking for advice and guidance as to where to begin and how to prioritize our preparations for transitioning to the lifestyle of early retirement and full-time RVing. We are very excited about our plans, but the more we study this concept the more overwhelmed and apprehensive we feel and would very much appreciate your comments and suggestions based on your experiences. Following is our current status and our objectives:

• My name is Randy and I am 62 years old (8/23/54) and just retired from my full time job.
• My wife, Diane is 63 years old (8/21/53) and retired from her home daycare business as of July, 2013 for medical reasons, most of which she has been successfully treated.
• We have a 9-year old healthy Norwegian Elkhound and are temporarily taking care of our son’s two Siamese cats.
• We live in Sterling, VA and own our home, with approximately $175K in equity based on recent comps.
• We plan on selling our home early next spring in 2017 along with most all of our possessions, most of which are worth very little with the exception of a few antiques.
• We have completed significant home improvements and expect very few additional expenses in preparation for listing our home.
• The housing market is very good in our area and we have already made preliminary arrangements with a Real Estate agent; however we are considering selling our home ourselves as we have done in the past.
• I plan on paying for COBRA for our medical, dental and vision health insurance for the full 18 months or as long as we can afford to, which will cost an estimated $1,700 a month.
• I own a part-time photography wholesale business that brings in an annual income of $10K – $15K, which I plan on selling (if possible) when we sell our home in early spring, 2017.
• With the exception of our mortgage and remaining car loan balance of $5,000, we are essentially free of debt.
• Other income sources include an IRA and Annuity the total of which is approximately $1M; both are managed by a financial advisory firm.
• We plan on delaying receiving Social Security benefits for as long as possible.
• We recently updated our wills, living wills, general powers of attorney and other legal documents.
• Our plan is to drive across the country in our 2011 Subaru Outback towing a new 5′ x 8′ Haulmark enclosed cargo trailer with our final destination being Seattle, Washington.
• We are considering joining the Escapees RV Club and stopping in Livingston, TX to make arrangements for a permanent mailing address and mail forwarding.
• We are purchasing a used 2001 Class A Fleetwood Bounder, Model 32-H, mileage 42,069 from Diane’s mother for $20,000, for which we have a purchase agreement with a $2,000 down payment, contingent on passing a pre-delivery inspection.
• Once we have made all necessary repairs to the RV, we plan on living in it full time and traveling back and forth to the homes of our surviving parents who live at opposite ends of Seattle, and to assist them with downsizing their possessions, home maintenance and medical needs.
• Time permitting, we plan on exploring the greater Pacific Northwest in our RV in search for a final retirement location, and/or continue RVing for as long as we are able and are enjoying this lifestyle.

Again, your thoughts are most appreciated.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Randy and Diane

[2gypsies]

Welcome! You have thought out your beginning carefully and best of luck to you following your initial plans.

 

First, join Escapees and get involved with it by trying to attend an Escapade (rally), Boot Camp, and using their parks from time to time. There's one in Chimacum, WA.

 

I don't know medical insurance costs or what it takes to domicile in Washington but you might check them out to see if you can save on medical. Since you're spending a lot of time with parents in Washington, check if you can use their address as your domicile. Do they have property you could stay at when visiting them? You could then have your mail delivered to their house.

 

Hopefully, someone familiar with Washington's rules will chime in. Good luck!

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We are happy to have you as part of our group and are always happy to help.

 

My first suggestion is that you need to read a book or two on the subject of living in your RV. I suggest that you get some from either Amazon if you wish to buy them or from your local library if you prefer to check some out. There is a lot to think about before you do this and books are the best place to start. I also suggest that you may need more information on the subject of domicile and think that this article will be helpful to you. If you expect to be in the Seattle area most of the time you could be required to register your vehicles there and to get your driver's license there by the laws of Washington. There is a great deal to consider and you would be well served to do this reading first, then return to the forums as you have more specific questions and we can be much more helpful.

[sandsys]

I highly recommend you join Escapees and set up your mail SOON. You want that firmly in place before you sell your house. Three months lead time is close to the minimum to be sure everything transfers.

 

Linda Sand

[GR8SKP]

Thank you so much for your responses and suggestions. We will educate ourselves about the domicile and registration laws in Washington State. This life change is rather daunting and knowing that there is support by experienced full-time RVers like you all is a huge relief. We will definitely be joining Escapees! Thanks again and we will be reporting back to you soon!

 

Randy and Diane

[Barbaraok]

Just a couple of thoughts. If you are delaying taking SS and instead pulling money from IRAs, I would suggest you reverse that. Leave the IRAs alone and let them grow, and use SS now. You can name children as beneficary for IRAs, not SS. Our IRAs have gained every single year with the exception of the year the market went south, recovered nicely and continue to grow, we have more than enough income from SS & our pension, so we just take our RMD (required minimum distribution) each year and let the funds continue to grow.

 

RV parks are few and far between around Seattle and EXPENSIVE. We spend several weeks each summer and it is getting harder and harder to find a place. We like Lake Pleasant in Bothell, but is expensive. We use Lakeview Park in Everett - tight getting in, but once there, is fine for visiting, easy access to freeways, etc. There really isn't anything on the southside of Seattle that I would consider staying at.

 

Barb

[sandsys]

There really isn't anything on the southside of Seattle that I would consider staying at.

 

 

 

Which does not mean you should not investigate them. We all have different tastes and I think Barb would be appalled at some of the places we have stayed.

 

Linda Sand

[Sculptor]

I would like to thank you Randy for such a concise listing of the pertinent facts affecting your decision as of now. I am considering making this move in the near future also. We are 59 and 57. Some items on your list are not the same for us obviously, but having yours and other posts here to consider, helps us all who have not taken the plunge yet.

Welcome to the group!

 

Now I know I need to purchase more "easy pick" retirement plans.....

[Kirk W]

..... We will definitely be joining Escapees! Thanks again and we will be reporting back to you soon!

You haven't mentioned any timeline but if you should be planning to pass that way after the first of 2017, you may want to also plan to stop in at Escapade in Tucson next march. That is the national rally for Escapees RV Club and you could attend a lot of informative seminars and get to know a few of us there. Since you won't have the RV yet there are plenty of motels in that area and there are always those who stay nearby and walk in.

[GR8SKP]

Just a couple of thoughts. If you are delaying taking SS and instead pulling money from IRAs, I would suggest you reverse that. Leave the IRAs alone and let them grow, and use SS now. You can name children as beneficary for IRAs, not SS. Our IRAs have gained every single year with the exception of the year the market went south, recovered nicely and continue to grow, we have more than enough income from SS & our pension, so we just take our RMD (required minimum distribution) each year and let the funds continue to grow.

 

RV parks are few and far between around Seattle and EXPENSIVE. We spend several weeks each summer and it is getting harder and harder to find a place. We like Lake Pleasant in Bothell, but is expensive. We use Lakeview Park in Everett - tight getting in, but once there, is fine for visiting, easy access to freeways, etc. There really isn't anything on the southside of Seattle that I would consider staying at.

 

Barb

 

Hi Barb! Thank you for your comments. We have given a lot of thought as to whether or not to delay SSI. You must have exceptional IRA investments. Good for you! By delaying our claim for SSI benefits (at our age), we get an 8% credit for each year from full retirement age to age 70! (see quote below). My 401K and IRA investments have not seen an 8% increase in years, and in fact, they continue to decrease even though my retirement funds are now being managed by the #1 and #2 financial advisers in the country! This situation worries me more than anything else. From: http://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T051-C000-S004-delaying-social-security-boosts-the-value-of-colas.html

 

You probably already know that you'll take a permanent cut if you claim benefits before your full retirement age (66 if you're born between 1943 and 1954). And you'll get an 8% credit for each year you delay from full retirement age to age 70. That means someone due a full benefit of $2,000 will get $1,500 if she claims at 62 and $2,640 if she holds off until 70.

 

From the SSA: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v74n4/v74n4p21.html

 

Regarding RV parks in Washington State, both our families were weekend and holiday RV'ers for years and they know the best places to stay, and they are abundant. Also, my father lives in a retirement community in Anacortes where there is an RV hookup inside of a fenced-in concrete pad that costs just $10 a day for friends and family. Not a pretty place, but a short walk to my dad's condo and a short drive to the many attractions around the greater San Juan Islands. My mother-in-law, from whom we are purchasing the 2001 Fleetwood Bounder has a waterfront home on a lake in Yelm with a view of Mt. Rainier, and a custom garage built for the RV! So you see, we have an ideal situation for getting started with full-time RV'ing. That said, our trips will primarily be limited from the south to the north ends of Seattle for some time.

 

I still am confused over the domicile laws in Washington state for full-time RV'ing, and whether or not it would be best to choose South Dakota or Texas instead.

 

Thanks again to all for your comments!

 

Randy

[Barbaraok]

Anacortes is not Seattle. Lots of nice places to stay in Skagit Valley. And lots of places like Yelm, which is south of Tacoma. Neither is on either the north side or south side of Seattle. Neither of those places would be considered to be in the "Seattle" area, which is what I thought you were talking about in your op.

 

We haven't necessarily made more than 8% every year, but often close. However, we also don't pay income tax on ALL of the SS funds, while we would have to if we were withdrawing funds from the IRA. I also may have a higher risk tolerance than some people, so some of our funds are more aggressive than a lot of retirees might feel comfortable with - more upside, but also more downside. Which means I do have to do some work watching how the market is behaving and moving into safer funds when necessary. So we leave the IRAs to make more money year after year and do just fine on our other investments.

 

Barb

 

Not sure what the domicile question is about Washington state. We didn't 'move' back when we started fulltiming because there wasn't a mail forwarding company that specialized in RVs like Escapees and the fact that at the time to register our motorhome was going to cost us an arm and a leg.

[GR8SKP]

Thank you for the clarification! The Puget Sound region more accurately describes the area where we may be establishing our domicile.

 

I checked the counties in Washington State that do not require emissions tests and the good news is that both Thurston County (Yelm, WA) and Skagit County (Anacortes, WA) are exempt!

 

We have a copy of the Vehicle Registration Certificate for the RV we are purchasing, and the total fees are $116.75. Is this considered to be high? Are there additional fees pertaining to the purchase and registration of a used RV? Also, the registration expires on 02/04/2017, which is a couple of months before we will be coming to Yelm to complete the transaction. I suppose it is best that we pay for the renewal by the current owner. Following is the breakdown:

 

Filing: $3.00

Service fee: $5.00

Gwt/Veh wt: $75.00

Other: $33.75

 

Thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge with future RV newbies like us!

[rpsinc]

• I own a part-time photography wholesale business that brings in an annual income of $10K – $15K, which I plan on selling (if possible) when we sell our home in early spring, 2017.

This item caught my attention. With the amount of gross income you are bringing in for this business, I suggest you consider continuing with this business. Other than real estate, there are no other opportunities like a small business that can provide you with the benefits of writing off some of your expenses and be able to use that income as a chance to continue the business. I have been self-employed for better than 30 years but have had stints of W2 employment along the way. Just 1 thing I would put out there for you is this, health care. Self-employment can provide you with some income that can delay your distribution from investments but also allow you to capitalize on the Health Reform Act since you are not 65 and eligible for Medicare. We get a nearly $900/month credit on our health insurance and are enrolled with a meager income. Using our business to write off expenses for things like travel, cell phones, internet service, vehicle maintenance, in whole or in part, which Uncle Sam will share the cost of by having those expenses become expenses on the gross to the business rather than expenses to the net as in W2 type earnings. It may allow you to extend the effective life of your investment dollars. There are MANY fulltime RVers that have small businesses for some of these benefits, and since you already have it and are working it, it could be a good benefit.

Thats got to be an increased value of 15%-35% depending on income tax status.

BTW-Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to learn from each other.

As to vehicle registration costs, consider the sales tax that some states charge upon transfer of ownership. Where we are its 8% of the purchase price, so on $20K it would be $1600, some states dont charge on private party sales. Some like SD, which you should look at for domicile, has no state income tax and VERY reasonable vehicle registration and insurance costs.

See americas mailbox.

 

[Barbaraok]

Randy, when we were looking at 'moving' to Washington again it was 2006 and the laws were much different then, it would have been several thousands of dollars to register our MH in Washington. And since we were going to fulltime we really weren't going to be anywhere for extended lengths of time. One of our requirements was a good mail service company and we got that in Escapees because we didn't want to rely on family to have to take care of mail for us. Plus, all of our relatives live in the Seattle area and so the extra for emission testing, tag costs, etc. Texas was just a much better option for us even if I will always think of the PNW as home. BTW - I grew up in Skagit County. My father's family was one of the first ones on the Skagit River. You'll love the area around LaConnor in the spring when all of the bulb farms are rainbows of flowers. Tulip Festival is big business.

[Kirk W]

I still am confused over the domicile laws in Washington state for full-time RV'ing, and whether or not it would be best to choose South Dakota or Texas instead.

The state of WA is not likely to look kindly on your TX license plates if they happen to notice them on an RV that is kept in the state all of the time. I have never seen state laws that do not require that vehicles that are kept there be licensed and insured there. I have not heard of WA doing so, but several states have even brought fraud charges against residents who keep vehicles registered in another state. Since WA has no income tax and reasonable licensing fees, I wonder why you would try to use TX for domicile when you actually reside in WA? It would make far more sense to use somewhere near where you will actually be. UPS and several others have mail box services so it should not be difficult to get a place for mail. You will probably also want to bank where you live and all of the other associated things which contribute to the legal determination of domicile.

 

An Escapee membership could still be very useful as they are much more than just a mail service & address. There is even an Escapee RV community across the sound in Chimacum.

[Vladimir]

Washington residency is 90 days. Well, that is for a fishing and hunting license.

 

Is there anything else that is important for residency??

 

Will the Outback tow that trailer?? You might want to check weights.

 

Are you at all familiar with the Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana?? Or is your experience only western Washington??

[GR8SKP]

• I own a part-time photography wholesale business that brings in an annual income of $10K – $15K, which I plan on selling (if possible) when we sell our home in early spring, 2017.

This item caught my attention. With the amount of gross income you are bringing in for this business, I suggest you consider continuing with this business. Other than real estate, there are no other opportunities like a small business that can provide you with the benefits of writing off some of your expenses and be able to use that income as a chance to continue the business. I have been self-employed for better than 30 years but have had stints of W2 employment along the way. Just 1 thing I would put out there for you is this, health care. Self-employment can provide you with some income that can delay your distribution from investments but also allow you to capitalize on the Health Reform Act since you are not 65 and eligible for Medicare. We get a nearly $900/month credit on our health insurance and are enrolled with a meager income. Using our business to write off expenses for things like travel, cell phones, internet service, vehicle maintenance, in whole or in part, which Uncle Sam will share the cost of by having those expenses become expenses on the gross to the business rather than expenses to the net as in W2 type earnings. It may allow you to extend the effective life of your investment dollars. There are MANY fulltime RVers that have small businesses for some of these benefits, and since you already have it and are working it, it could be a good benefit.

Thats got to be an increased value of 15%-35% depending on income tax status.

 

Hello rpsinc (your name?)!

 

First, Diane and I wish you and everyone in this Forum a very Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Diane and I will be celebrating this day by ourselves, once again, preparing a simple TG meal, the main course being game hens, which has become a tradition of ours. Both of our extended families live in the Puget Sound Region where we grew up and met each other as High School students participating with our respective marching bands in Victoria, BC at the Queen Victoria Day Parade. But that's a different story. Anyway, as much as we love VA, it is too expensive and too lonesome for us to retire here. Although we prefer the sunshine and four distinct seasons, we absolutely hate the summer humidity! It is time for us to go back home and into the dreary weather.

 

Thank you for your sage reasoning for keeping my wholesale photography business. I especially want to learn more about the health insurance credits!

 

Diane and I have brainstormed over ideas on how we could possibly run my wholesale photography business while RV'ing full time, but keep coming up short. I need at least 100 square feet for my computer, printer, mounting table and for storing supplies and raw materials, which includes boxes of mats and foam core boards. I order my raw materiel's from several companies located throughout the U.S., so I need a physical location for receiving UPS deliveries. I would have to abandon selling frames, unless I can arrange for drop-shipping from the manufacturers. Then, I need to ship my final products to my customers: two retail stores located in the Pentagon. Currently, I deliver my products myself. So you see, the logistics for making this work are complicated. Still, there might be a way. Perhaps I could rent a space in a family member's residence? But by doing this, we would sacrifice the freedom of full time RV'ing. Maybe my 5x8 trailer is large enough to hold my raw materials and I could set up a temporary workspace in our RV for printing and assembling the products? But, I would constantly be battling with dust and wear and tear on computer and printer from road vibrations. So, that's why selling my wholesale business, if I can find a buyer, seems the best option. That said, I would not be closing my business: Randall Wingett Photography, LLC. Beginning last March, I have been earning ad revenue from my YouTube videos, which average $362 a month. I have over 11K subscribers and I am looking for ideas on how I can retain my viewership while increasing this revenue. Perhaps documenting our foibles and successes as new full time RV'ers, or simply sharing our travels, camping and hiking experiences would draw an audience? There are already a gazillion YouTube videos on full time RV'ing, but I would approach it differently. Your thoughts?

 

BTW, if you are curious about my YouTube channel, Google "Randall Wingett." I posted this video yesterday:

 

Riverbend Park Fall Walk: https://youtu.be/VpQT_VTo0_U

[vt3fan]

Congratulations on your decision, I am sure that you will not regret it. My wife and I found the following website and articles very helpful. They cover just about everything that going full time involves.

 

http://www.technomadia.com/excuses/

[GR "Scott" Cundiff]

 

We have given a lot of thought as to whether or not to delay SSI.

 

 

Randy, if it encourages you any, the SS route you are planning is similar to the one we are on as well, and for the same reasons.

 

One difference is that my wife started her SS as early as possible and I'm delaying mine per this article (and many others): http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-married-couples-can-max-out-their-social-security/

 

In our case I am able to file for spousal benefits at full retirement age while leaving my SS growing. That capability is going away now.

[jacks]

Hi All,

It sounds like Randy is all set and has and is thinking things through, a good plan!

I'm 62 as well but single and my potential plan is a little precarious I fear.

1) My small residential architectural business got hammered by the housing crash in 2009.

2) my IRA got wiped out in the tech stock bubble in 2000 and I didn't restart it.

3) another bad stock market investment 2 years ago hurt me bad as well.

4) I have my house finally ready to put on the market. It should sell for 490,000 and have a line of credit that have been spending the

last 6-7 years but I will have 220,000 equity when it sells and another 15,000 equity in my pick-up(2013 GMC 1500)

5) I have been without health insurance for the last 12 years and will start Medicare at 65-66 years old.

6) my family history is. Father died at 48 and grandfathers at 60, I don't think I will live past 75 and don't want to:)

7) I also like the bounder coach as Randy does but am undecided about buying and older Rv or a 2013-2014 and putting 20-30% down.

8) my first social security check of $1630 arrives in February.

9) I plan on taking $1000-1500 per month out of the 220,000 savings. So a budget of $2630-3130/month

Probably not a secure retirement/lifestyle but could be done or could be tough. Retirement is like a box of chocolates:)

Any comments welcomed.

[Kirk W]

9) I plan on taking $1000-1500 per month out of the 220,000 savings. So a budget of $2630-3130/month

Probably not a secure retirement/lifestyle but could be done or could be tough. Retirement is like a box of chocolates:)

Its really easy for us to site at the computer and analyze the plans of someone else and the tell them how good/bad those plans are, but reality is that we can only share what we know or have experienced and even with our best intentions, you must sift through to figure out what is best for you. With that caveat I will offer some thoughts.

 

As you plan, give some thought to what happens once you have a need to stop traveling in the RV. RV's are not wheelchair or walker accessible and so if you should need to use one the RV won't be a great place to be. When eventually age issues begin to play a part in life, stairs can sometimes be a problem as well so an alternative home at some point can be important. Medicare is a major help once you reach that age but it isn't without cost and it has deductibles and copay's if you don't have a supplemental insurance policy. The premiums are going to be something over $100/month but will likely be different from now when you get to that age.

 

Don't settle on just one brand of RV at this point since there are motorhomes of much higher quality than the Bounder, although many different brands can be and are being used fulltime. Gasoline powered coaches cost much less to buy and also less to maintain but they are not able to serve for as many miles, and often have more limited storage.

 

Budgets are pretty personal in nature and a great deal of this will depend upon how many miles you choose to travel as well as the sort of places that you wish to stay. Many of us here have worked as "live on" volunteers for parks, wildlife refuges, and other places and as such received an RV site with utilities in return for 2/4 days of service per week. It can be a very fulfilling way to live and travel and lowers the cost of RVing a great deal. You may want to consider that.

 

Keep in mind that your withdrawal rate from your house proceeds will only last 11-16 years unless invested in some way to cause growth. Certificates of deposit don't allow for monthly withdrawals so you may need to give thought to where the funds will be placed. With no growth factor you will only be 73-78 years old when that money runs out. There was a poll on these forums on participant's budgets that is still available.

Father died at 48 and grandfathers at 60, I don't think I will live past 75 and don't want to:

I hear what you are saying but caution you that the age you plan to depart will arrive more quickly than you expect and as one who is presently 74, I am in no hurry to stop RV travels or life. Life expectancy can be a fickle thing and while your family may not be long lived, the expected term of life does tend to increase as time passes so you will most likely live at least somewhat longer than your predecessors. I'm not sure just where I fall in the age spectrum of these forums, but am pretty sure that I'm not the oldest.

[jacks]

Thanks Kirk . I'm not Iocked into the bounder or a gas coach. Those 10 year old diesels look great but might have a tough time financing one that is older than 8 years.

Thanks.

[Nomad Hiker]

• We have completed significant home improvements and expect very few additional expenses in preparation for listing our home.
• We recently updated our wills, living wills, general powers of attorney and other legal documents.

Ok, first, I'm a NEWBIE, actually, not even a Newbie...a Gonna-be in April. I was a realtor a few years back. One thing you may want to consider in selling your house is to go ahead and get a home inspection done. Ask around about inspectors because there are definitely good and bad ones. Now, when you do that, you open yourself up to finding things and you will have to disclose those things when selling your house(so you may not want to do that); however, it takes the element of surprise out. We did a home inspection, fixed the things we felt were necessary. We made the inspection report part of the documents for the buyer and had all offers made with the report in mind. We were clear that we had pretty much repaired all we planned to as some of the stuff was cosmetic etc. Of course, the buyers still have the right to get their own inspection. On another note, we are in CA, and had 100 people at our first open house and 10 offers in 2 days...so again, not knowing the market where you are, all I've said has to be weighed against your market.

 

Next, we did speak with one attorney here in CA about a trust(we thought about getting that done) and she advised us to get our trust set up in our domicile state. In our discussion, she also relayed a story about another client of her's who was planning to keep their house here and rent it out, claim South Dakota as state of residence, and live in there RV in CA about 1/2 year and travel otherwise. She said she had told them they could not legally claim another state for the "perks" when they really had no intentions of permanently cutting ties with their current state of residence. Perhaps it would be beneficial just to run your plans by an attorney. Most will talk to you once for free. We never had planned to stay in CA and were just here due to job transfer, no family, sold the house etc.

 

Best of luck to you!

[Barbaraok]

 

6) my family history is. Father died at 48 and grandfathers at 60, I don't think I will live past 75 and don't want to:)

 

Jack, what did they die of - that's important to know and whether or not it was life style related. Both Dave's father and grandfather died of coronaries at about 60 - both smoked heavily. Dave is 72, never smoked, and while he did inherit the coronary artery disease problems, knowing that he has had good medical care, takes his meds, tries to exercise and watch his diet. Same for his two younger brother. They are all past 60, so have outlived their fathers, all inherited the coronary artery disease problems, but all actively work to take care of themselvs.

 

It is also important to note that the current life expectancy for someone who has reach 65 (ie, you made it that far) is another 19 years. So don't sell yourself short!

[Catharine]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We are happy to have you as part of our group and are always happy to help.

 

If you expect to be in the Seattle area most of the time you could be required to register your vehicles there and to get your driver's license there by the laws of Washington.

 

I have no idea what Washington requires on this. What I have seen many times on these forums, however, is that vehicles are usually registered where garaged. So I just wanted to bring up this point.

 

I happened to come across reciprocity laws for registering vehicles in Texas. As far as I can see, legal residents of many other states can store or keep vehicles in Texas as long as the owner does not work or do business in Texas (and has not made it his or her domicile.)

 

We are in Iowa, for instance, and that is the reciprocity agreement with Iowa, as given above. I am just wondering how common this is, not having looked at other states. In other words, as far as I can see, keeping your vehicles in a state may not require you to register them there as I had thought. Perhaps there is something I do not know about this, but the reciprocity agreements for Texas make no mention of any time limits for having a vehicle in the state, except with respect to working or doing business.