Is about age

[ms60ocb]

Common statements like; Is the this forum going to the wayside. I'm hanging it up. Moving back to a stick built, suggest we are getting old or physically disabled.

It may be interesting to know what age people planted or intend to plant their feet. My wife and I hope to make the mid 80's before driving a stake in the ground and say this is home.

Presently my wife of nearly 8 years has a summer home which should be sold next summer. We are Winter Texans and until Covid, we liked to see Lake Superior.

With that at 82 years old, we would be Full Timers in a Class A.

Clay & Marcie

 

[Kirk W]

Based on a lot of years of observation, the time is seldom one of age. I have known people of a very wide range in ages who were still on the road and others simply park the RVin a favored location and stop travel but continue to make the RV their home. Some folks move into a park model, which technically is an RV and live out their last years in an RV community. For us, the decision was not one of age but health issues and family circumstances. For one of our most active forum participants(Stanley Miller) that time came at about 65 because he needed to give some grandchildren a stable homelife. Another former fulltimer friend left the road because of financial reversals caused him to stop travel and return to part-time work in his early 60's. We also know a couple who left the road at 82 & 85 because they believed that it was time to stop driving a big rig. I think that the oldest fulltimer I have known was traveling alone in a class A after losing the spouse at the age of 89. That was several years ago and I don't know if they are still traveling. I was fortunate to have worked where I was able to take full retirement with health benefits at the age of 57 and we did just that. We bought our dream RV about a year before that and when the day of eligibility arrived we were gone! Our original goal was to stay fulltime for 15 years but at year 12 my wife needed a complete ankle replacement which kept her off of her feet for nearly 4 months and a full year of recovery so we bought a home in an RV community and returned to seasonal RV travel. At that time I was 69 and Pam was 70. Just a month ago we sold what is most likely our last truck and travel trailer at the ages of 80 & 81. It was not an easy decision, since we bought our first RV in 1973 and had owned some type for all but a couple of very brief periods since then. (We were married for 60 years last December.)

Edited July 26, 2023 by Kirk W
add one more fact

[rickeieio]

First of all, Kirk, let me congratulate you and Pam on 60 years of putting up with each other.  Tomorrow is our 49th anniversary, so I commend you both.

Reading between the lines, it appears Clay asked his question of full timers.  That said, we'll never full time, but since I retired, we've gradually spent more of each year on the road.  Shooting from the hip, I hope to keep going with a big rig until we're 80ish, (10 more years), then downsize as needed.  We've talked about trading to a non-toyhauler trailer, but we enjoy having the motorcycles for exploring.

[Randyretired]

I think health plays a big part of when to give up RVing.  We still spend a lot of time in our RV but health problems have slowed our travel considerably.   We are not full time but we only travel to 2 places now and that may be just one soon.  After that we may stop completely.

[bruce t]

My brain is on the road. My body is on the bed.

We sold our B class 8 months ago and are currently looking at a 4x4 expedition truck and trailer. BUT my health is such that I'm currently to scared to leave home let alone put a deposit down. 

Once your health goes south it's realy realy hard to keep going. I admire those who can keep going. 

[sandsys]

5 hours ago, bruce t said:

My brain is on the road. My body is on the bed.

I so relate to that. I found myself designing another Class B yesterday yet have not driven anything for about 10 years now. Dave is so quick to offer to drive me I don't even know if I still can.

Linda

[rickeieio]

One problem is, we all think we're young, until the day we wake up and realize we're old.

[Randyretired]

That ^

[Dutch_12078]

On 7/26/2023 at 2:13 PM, rickeieio said:

First of all, Kirk, let me congratulate you and Pam on 60 years of putting up with each other.  Tomorrow is our 49th anniversary, so I commend you both.

Not picking on anyone in particular, but when I hear someone say we've "put up with each other" for the length of our marriage, I do get a bit irritated. As my wife and I also approach our 60th anniversary, we look back and appreciate the amount of love, cooperation, and compromise it took to get here, but mostly love. At no time in all those years have we ever felt like we were "putting up" with one another.

That said, CONGRATULATIONS! on your 49th anniversary tomorrow, and may you enjoy many more!

[Dutch_12078]

My wife and I are 78 and 80 respectively, and haven't set any definite date for hanging up the keys yet. We do know it's coming soon though, as our health problems escalate. My wife was hospitalized in Florida last winter for a week due to a respiratory problem related to her ongoing COPD, plus my stroke in April that uncovered previously undetected AFIB, has us both seriously considering our next moves. We do hope to honor the reservations we already have in place both here in upstate NY into the fall and next winter in southern GA and FL into mid-April, but after that all bets are off. My mobility is somewhat limited, but I'm still able to handle the setup and tear down chores when we change parks. Our hang up the keys arrangements are in place, so no worries there.

Each of us has to make these choices based on our own situations, and age is far from only factor, or even the most significant in making our decisions about our future lifestyle.

[rickeieio]

1 hour ago, Dutch_12078 said:

Not picking on anyone in particular, but when I hear someone say we've "put up with each other" for the length of our marriage, I do get a bit irritated.

That's my tongue-in-cheek way of saying, not every moment has been smooth.  We have faults, there have been compromises, and through it all, we remain best friends.

[Dutch_12078]

1 hour ago, rickeieio said:

That's my tongue-in-cheek way of saying, not every moment has been smooth.  We have faults, there have been compromises, and through it all, we remain best friends.

Ok, that sounds better. Thanks!

[sandsys]

4 hours ago, rickeieio said:

That's my tongue-in-cheek way of saying, not every moment has been smooth.  We have faults, there have been compromises, and through it all, we remain best friends.

I think all of us who have been married many years could say that. We're coming up on 57 years and it's not all been ups; we've had our share of downs. But, we have had the best of it and continue to do so. We laugh together every day and what could be better than that?

Linda

[dirtyboots]

How about, you just are driving down the road one day and say - Self, I don't want to do this anymore!  I've spent almost 7 years full time, winters in AZ or NV, traveling spring, summer and fall.  Some times big trips, some times back to the E. Washington, Montana, Idaho areas for a few months.  

For me, the cost of parks and fuel and just everyday stuff like eating has gone through the roof.  I don't really think that's what tipped me over, but might have been part of it.  Never minded, in fact was always glad to be heading North back to trees, clean water, ranches, miles of green grass....maybe it was that flat tire in Lakeview or the broken switch on the hitch in Pahrump.  Could have been the foot of water in Burns...I don't know.  But all that to say I've bought a lot in far NE Washington.  In the process of getting ready for winter.  I've lived up here before but in a great house with wood stoves so I know what the weather can be.  Other folks here survive, so we'll see if I can

Any reason to change directions in your life is OK.  Seems to be that happens and we aren't always ready but, here we go!

Toy hauler is in storage but I'll keep it just in case this doesn't work like it think it should.  That's plan B. Still have Evie the cat, she's almost 6 years old and been to 11 states and 2 Provinces.  Life is good. 

[rpsinc]

On 7/26/2023 at 10:53 AM, Kirk W said:

Based on a lot of years of observation, the time is seldom one of age. I have known people of a very wide range in ages who were still on the road and others simply park the RVin a favored location and stop travel but continue to make the RV their home. Some folks move into a park model, which technically is an RV and live out their last years in an RV community. For us, the decision was not one of age but health issues and family circumstances. For one of our most active forum participants(Stanley Miller) that time came at about 65 because he needed to give some grandchildren a stable homelife. Another former fulltimer friend left the road because of financial reversals caused him to stop travel and return to part-time work in his early 60's. We also know a couple who left the road at 82 & 85 because they believed that it was time to stop driving a big rig. I think that the oldest fulltimer I have known was traveling alone in a class A after losing the spouse at the age of 89. That was several years ago and I don't know if they are still traveling. I was fortunate to have worked where I was able to take full retirement with health benefits at the age of 57 and we did just that. We bought our dream RV about a year before that and when the day of eligibility arrived we were gone! Our original goal was to stay fulltime for 15 years but at year 12 my wife needed a complete ankle replacement which kept her off of her feet for nearly 4 months and a full year of recovery so we bought a home in an RV community and returned to seasonal RV travel. At that time I was 69 and Pam was 70. Just a month ago we sold what is most likely our last truck and travel trailer at the ages of 80 & 81. It was not an easy decision, since we bought our first RV in 1973 and had owned some type for all but a couple of very brief periods since then. (We were married for 60 years last December.)

Thank you for sharing your journey of life.  Congrats on your life and longevity.  I am inspired as I sit here at 65, married for 45 and wondering how to spend some significant time on the road seeing this country before I cant.  

[kb0zke]

Before we started full-timing we did a couple of years of research. Then we bought a "learner" trailer for some real world experience. Then we bought our Foretravel and planned to full-time for five years, then evaluate. That was in 2013. We're now in our Reflection travel trailer and still on the road. How long will we continue on the road? That depends. We're getting to the age where our minds say we're 25, but our backs and knees beg to differ. We're starting to look at what we will do when we need to get off of the road.

Jo Ann and I will celebrate 40 years of marriage this fall. I'm still amazed that she has put up with this opinionated German for this long.