Class of 2013 is awful quiet

[pintada]

New carpet was installed in the house yesterday. There are only a couple of minor things yet to do. It will go on the market in a week or two. Although I'm six months behind schedule, I'm so happy to be at this stage. Serious looking for an RV has commenced. I can retire and hit the road when the house sells and an RV is found. Wish me luck class.

[TimButterfield]

We have completed our two week test of living and working in the 5er, have placed it in storage, and have returned to the house in Illinois. As the test was a resounding success, the house in Illinois is no longer home. Our home is now in storage in TX. It just felt so wrong leaving it there and driving away from it. Perhaps that will provide some additional motivation to get the house on the market as soon as possible.

 

We spent the two weeks at the Northshore RV park in Onalaska, TX, backed up to the shore of Lake Livingston. I did have an issue with internet access. In just two weeks of three work days each, I went through 75% of my 4GB AT&T data plan, even at the slow 3G speeds. I have a Verizon hotspot with the 20GB data plan, but was unable to use either it or the park wifi. Both were way too slow. I found out why when I got the 'Coverage' iPhone app. Apparently, the Lake Livingston area is in a 4G dead spot for both Verizon and AT&T. I'll need to manage this for working while full-timing. I did some speed tests in the 4G LTE areas in Lufkin, Port Arthur, and Beaumont while checking out some other RV parks. Within those areas, the cellular data speeds were much faster than the DSL I first used when working remotely. So, I will be reviewing the Verizon LTE hotspot map and making sure we stay within that coverage area while I'm working.

 

The only real issue happened at the end, when I tried to leave the 5er at the storage lot. The front electric landing gear had stop working. It had worked fine when hitching, but I had to manually crank it to unhitch. Was that a sign? Since I had already unplugged shore power when I hitched, I must have raised the fiver to hitch level and raise the landing gear on battery power. After putting it in storage, I realized I had also left the refrigerator on A/C and still turned on. The truck has a 180 amp alternator and it was hooked up for about forty five minutes, but that may not have been enough. Perhaps I just drained the battery too much to use the landing gear motor again on the battery. I guess I'll find out the next time I plug in the 50 amp cord. If that doesn't work, I'll need to get it repaired.

 

We really loved the time spent in the 5er and getting familiar with it and look forward to starting to live in it full-time.

 

Tim

[roadhousecharley]

Looks like things are happening for all of us. I interview our first realtor candidate tomorrow.

 

Good luck everybody!

[WillDecker]

Looks like things are happening for all of us. I interview our first realtor candidate tomorrow.

 

Good luck everybody!

 

It's starting to sound serious for you guys. Hope you get a good realtor and all goes as planned, Will

[roadhousecharley]

It's starting to sound serious for you guys. Hope you get a good realtor and all goes as planned, Will

 

 

Thanks! I'll keep you (& everyone else) posted.

[saltytuna1]

Sounds like a few more homes are ready for the market. I hope that everyone enjoys the same success that we did in selling their homes. Escrow is set to close on ours Jan. 31st, our space has been reserved at the park for Feb. 1st. living there until DW retires after the school year in June, then onto the open road.

 

Steve

[pipam]

I am still working on it , I have had three garage sales , getting ready to rent out the house , am planning on being out by the end of Feb 2013 if not sooner

 

Pam

[TXiceman]

I gave the notice at work that I was out of there on 15 July 2013...I'll be 66. Busily cleanig out closets at home getting the house ready to go on the market. We need to interview a couple of real estate agents and then start the garage sales. The hard part will be going through the shop and figuring out which tools I will keep on the rig and how much I can "loan" to my son-in-law. Also have to find homes for most of the fire arms and still have them available if I get a chance to go hunting.

 

I still need to make a couple of mods to the trailer, but that won't be much to do there. Sure hope the house sells pretty fast. If ti does, we will move to the trailer and park it locally until July.

 

Ken

[roadhousecharley]

We're interviewing realtors now. Got a LOT of work to do to the house. I'd like to be out of the house with it empty when it's listed and that's driving a very aggressive schedule. I'm thinking house empty and us living in the RV in the driveway in early May 2013.

 

May all our houses sell fast for top dollar. LOL!

[bjarm]

After eight years of planning, saving, working, downsizing, and getting our rig set up, we finally did it. It took a year and a half for the house to sell. We kept dropping the price until we started getting lots of showings. Then the place sold in just a few weeks. We finished moving out of the house and into our Teton fiver on Jan. 4. Moved to the RV park on Jan 5th. Escrow closed on the 7th. Whew!

 

We have to stay here and work until the fall when we are both eligible for SS. Then we hit the road! The first trip is planned and funded. We're going to the HDT rally in Oct. then the Tetoners rally in Nov. We're going to spend December near the kids. Then we head down to NM for the rest of the winter. We can't wait! Every day when we get up to single digit temperatures we just remind ourselves that we won't ever have to do it again.

 

We're looking forward to meeting lots of great new friends on the road. Free at last!

[Jim & Alice]

Well, my wife and I left Michigan this past Thursday... and three "Pilot/Flying J's ", and one "Walmart Parking Lot" later we are comfortably settled in a small rural RV Park (FHU) outside of Texarkana TX... heading eventually for Congress, AZ - the RV Bootcamp. We will rest here for a few days, visiting family & old home, and then head West thru Texas, New Mexico, and into Arizona.

 

The weather coming down thru Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas was terrible. Winds, driving rains, and cold weather. Great way to learn how to drive a a 36' RV! Plus, we're learning our new home as we go... making mistakes, fixing mistakes, taking joy in the successes. We are enjoying ourselves. An interesting & humorous observation... before we even got out of our home town, the electric steps failed and would not close up. A quick stop by our home RV dealership, no quick fix... so wired them closed and bought a small step ladder. It works. Now if I can figure out the darn plumbing system...

 

I would make this early observation: We had our Honda CR-V fitted with a US Gear Unified Tow Brake system. Smartest thing we ever did. Driving the MH fully loaded before hooking up the Honda, I could tell the difference in braking (degraded) due to increased weight. After hooking up the Honda, the extra braking was clearly evident - better than before the MH was loaded, I would say. Loved it. And the Blue Ox tow bar (Aladdin) & base plate work as advertised. A lot of money... but have proven to be well worth it.

 

Good Lord willing, we will see some of you good folks in Congress, AZ at the Boot Camp.

 

Semper Fi !

Jim

[Zulu]

House goes up for sale January 31st. Still many things to pitch . . . yahoo!

[laudette]

Well - It looks like our house had finally sold. After many, many bumps in the road over 15 months, we finally have a closing date of next tuesday, January 28th that we think will stick. we sure hope so, as we are living in a house that is pretty much empty, except for a futon, a TV and a card table! Gave, sold or tossed everything else over the last 6 - 12 months and had a final yard sale 2 weeks ago. Surprisingly, people came to the house in the dead of winter (held it indoors) - guess they had alot of withdrawal from no yard sales for so long- they were desperate to buy! Now we have to wrap up our Jobs, go visit the adult kids (both in school in their 20's) one last time, hang around for out Patriots Superbowl and then get ready to hit the road. First stop will be visiting Mom in Florida, then on to Livingston TX to see our new home town, register the camper, licenses, etc. Applied for a National Park Volunteer position in Canyonlands Natl Park in Utah for March - May. Hope we get it. Best of luck to all on your journey to freedom this year!

 

We're interviewing realtors now. Got a LOT of work to do to the house. I'd like to be out of the house with it empty when it's listed and that's driving a very aggressive schedule. I'm thinking house empty and us living in the RV in the driveway in early May 2013.

 

May all our houses sell fast for top dollar. LOL!

[roadhousecharley]

We're all making progress!

[roadhousecharley]

We're all making progress!

[Jim & Alice]

... Still many things to pitch . . . yahoo!

 

Boy, do we know that feeling. Didn't want to take the time to do lengthy Craigs lists... or certainly not yard sales in January... in Michigan. Our daughter and son-in-law are house setting with an eye toward (someday) buying the house from us. They now have a "double-dose" of furniture... and have to turn sideways to go down the main hall. We did give away a beautiful solid-oak computer desk with hutch and printer stand. Cost us quite a bit 20 years ago... but in early November we advertised on Craigs List, absolutely NO takers. Ended up giving it away to some good friends.

 

Oh well, at least we no longer have grass to mow or leaves to rake... Yippee!

Jim

[dbdtimes2]

Boy, do we know that feeling. Didn't want to take the time to do lengthy Craigs lists... or certainly not yard sales in January... in Michigan. Our daughter and son-in-law are house setting with an eye toward (someday) buying the house from us. They now have a "double-dose" of furniture... and have to turn sideways to go down the main hall. We did give away a beautiful solid-oak computer desk with hutch and printer stand. Cost us quite a bit 20 years ago... but in early November we advertised on Craigs List, absolutely NO takers. Ended up giving it away to some good friends.

 

Oh well, at least we no longer have grass to mow or leaves to rake... Yippee!

Jim

 

Been thinning the household stuff also, been doing E-Bay and CL, live in Michigan too...but i hate setting up for a yard sale!..(even when its nice out)..Almost as much as i hate Winter! We plan to be residing 100% in your new home with rubber foundation by August 2013.

If we had more than 2 kids all our "stuff" would be gone by now. We cant wait to get going.

 

Dave N Dayna

[GR "Scott" Cundiff]

Been thinning the household stuff also, been doing E-Bay and CL, live in Michigan too...but i hate setting up for a yard sale!..(even when its nice out)..Almost as much as i hate Winter! We plan to be residing 100% in your new home with rubber foundation by August 2013.

If we had more than 2 kids all our "stuff" would be gone by now. We cant wait to get going.

 

Dave N Dayna

 

Folks we're in the same place you are. Just came in from spending a couple of hours working through the garage, sorting, wondering "why in the world we kept that," and deciding what goes in the sale and what goes in the trash. If I could snap my fingers and skip past this part I'd gladly give up any potential income from the garage sale.

[TimButterfield]

Folks we're in the same place you are. Just came in from spending a couple of hours working through the garage, sorting, wondering "why in the world we kept that," and deciding what goes in the sale and what goes in the trash. If I could snap my fingers and skip past this part I'd gladly give up any potential income from the garage sale.

Same here. Things are departing through eBay, Craigslist, Goodwill, the library, and friends. Our S&B was the first house we owned and we lived there for 14 years. I wish I could just leave it all behind and skip this part.

 

Tim

[sdeasy]

We finally, after nine months, have a contract. Inspection was last Friday and I believe it went well but won't know until we get the formal report. Closing is on March 22 which gives us time to plan our move to the RV. We have already made numerous trips to the county dump, have stuff staged in the garage and decided what we will keep and want goes to our son. Instead of a garage sale, we are having an estate sale company handle everything. Plan to be moved into the RV the week before the sale which will be the weekend before closing. Still don't know if I will have room for my all of sewing stuff but we shall see. I want to get all the stuff I don't need for any thing I'm working on right now, into the RV in February. That should tell me if I will have enough room for the remainder.

Some of you may remember that our house was filmed for HGTV'S "House Hunters" program. Still don't know when it will be shown. But I do know it did not contribute to finding our buyer. Also, the whole thing is fake. Our house was chosen to contrast with what the couple had already purchased. Oh, well.

Plan is to work from RV until June or so. Need to pay off all bills and have a bigger cushion before we hit the road. Do plan on being at SKP Acre Rally in April. It would be nice to meet any of the others from "our class".

[Jim & Alice]

Hehe, I hate to admit it... but we brought our clutter problem along with us. As we shifted possessions from house to motorhome... we observed "when it doubt it goes with us".

 

Well,,, 1,000 miles later, visiting family in Texas... we find that our motorhome is now 'cluttered'. Can't find things... Yikes! As we prepare to leave tomorrow for RV Boot Camp, I can't help but hope that perhaps we can run into someone holding a Yard Sale... and make a 'contribution', rather than a 'withdrawal'!

 

Hehe, oh well. Things are going well for a couple of 'newbies'. Looking forward to getting to Congress, AZ, and the boot camp.

Jim

[palamine]

Hehe, I hate to admit it... but we brought our clutter problem along with us. As we shifted possessions from house to motorhome... we observed "when it doubt it goes with us".

 

Well,,, 1,000 miles later, visiting family in Texas... we find that our motorhome is now 'cluttered'. Can't find things... Yikes! As we prepare to leave tomorrow for RV Boot Camp, I can't help but hope that perhaps we can run into someone holding a Yard Sale... and make a 'contribution', rather than a 'withdrawal'!

 

Hehe, oh well. Things are going well for a couple of 'newbies'. Looking forward to getting to Congress, AZ, and the boot camp.

Jim

 

Hi there,

 

I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but "when in doubt, throw it out" rhymes much better.

 

I was, and still am, a clean freak and after 3 1/2 years full-timing, I still find little things to toss. You will find what you need and what you don't. A cheesecake pan was the last victim.

 

Enjoy Boot Camp.

[roadhousecharley]

Hi there,

 

I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but "when in doubt, throw it out" rhymes much better.

 

I was, and still am, a clean freak and after 3 1/2 years full-timing, I still find little things to toss. You will find what you need and what you don't. A cheesecake pan was the last victim.

 

Enjoy Boot Camp.

 

 

Not the cheesecake pan! LOL!

[GR "Scott" Cundiff]

Well tomorrow and Saturday are the days of our big yard sale. I hope people are happy to get the stuff we are happy to get rid of.

[Jim & Alice]

I was, and still am, a clean freak and after 3 1/2 years full-timing, I still find little things to toss. You will find what you need and what you don't. A cheesecake pan was the last victim.

 

What? Are you kidding? As genuine children of Depression era parents... we were taught to never throw anything away. Fold up the wax paper and save it to use again... Same with tin foil.... keep them left overs, never throw away a spare bolt or nut. Re-sole them shoes...

 

Hehe, obviously, old habits ARE hard to discard. We lived for 30 years in our house... built it to begin with... raised our family there. The things we 'were in doubt about' were more likely to be sentimental or emotional items... excepting my wife's "chickens" (items & art, NOT real ones) or Texas "stuff"' which I had absolutely NO sentiment about. I lost some of those discussions...

 

Our maiden voyage is going quite well, and we are sorting things out. Lessons learned are adding up. Crushed ice DOES clean out a clogged black holding tank. And we are getting organized. And really looking forward to the boot camp!

 

Semper Fi !

Jim