RV'g after retirement

Old Jul 27th, 2007, 10:49 AM
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RV'g after retirement

My wife and I plan to retire in 3-4 years. When we do, we want to purchase a 35-37ft 5th wheel and pick-up truck to pull it with. We plan to tour much of America and Canada.
Anyone got one, done that, still doing it? Where have you stayed?
I've gone on RV forums but not much exchange of information there. We want to make sure it's a good idea, before we make the investment.
Healthone
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Old Jul 27th, 2007, 11:48 AM
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My former boss and his wife love it! They started with one you drive, then a 5th wheeler, then back to one you drive and towed a compact car. My parents did this also.

We'd never do it, though. The price of the RV and extra gas would cover a lot of nice rooms and meals.

Highly recommend you rent one and try it out. They're not the most convenient vehicles to drive...and the gas mileage is positively dismal. See how you like living together for a while in that small a space!

Keep searching for a good forum - there must be one or more.
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Old Jul 27th, 2007, 11:52 AM
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The forum at rv.net is very busy.
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Old Jul 27th, 2007, 01:04 PM
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Our friends do it and have gone everywhere in U.S. & Canada. BUT, they say it is NOT an inexpensive way to travel...just a DIFFERENT way. They call it a 'rolling money pit'!!
Have you tried renting a rig to see if you like that way of traveling?
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Old Jul 27th, 2007, 01:39 PM
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I am totally intrigued with doing the same thing you are considering. However, I think the posts above bring up good points - it is not a cheap way to travel and is a lifestyle rather than financial choice.

In addition to renting one and trying it out, I suggest you do some math about cost of ownership and usage costs - gas, insurance, camp site fees - everything. And compare it to other means of travel.

Not that cost should be the only consideration - just one factor to consider.

Things I wonder about (and I am sure there are answers since many people do this). What happens to your mail at home? Do you worry about your house while you are gone and how do you deal with that.
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Old Jul 27th, 2007, 01:43 PM
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We've had RV's of one type or another for over 30 years. Currently we have a 30' 5th wheel and a Ford Diesel P/U. Since retiring about 5 years ago, we spend about 3 to 4 months a year in the RV. For us it is the only way to travel. The expense depends alot on how you travel. Will you be going somewhere and staying for long periods of time or keep moving around. Staying put would of course be cheaper due to the cost of fuel.

It's not cheap with the cost of a 5th wheel and truck anywhere from $60,000 on up. Once the initial investment is made it gets somewhat less expensive. Campsites go from a low of around $12 in a public campground up to a high of $50 and an all service RV park. The average being around $25 a night. Again the cost of fuel depends on how much driving you do. You can do the math, but for us we get about 13 - 14 MPG towing and between 17 - 20 MPG with just the truck. The bigger the RV, the less MPG.

The big advantages IMO is the ability to camp in the wilds and in the city, depending on where you want to go. You save on meals, if you do your own cooking, and staying in the RV is a whole lot less expensive per night vs a hotel.
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Old Jul 27th, 2007, 06:19 PM
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We also have been camping in on kind of RV or another for the last 30 years. We bought a new motorhome last year and a jeep Liberty to tow because we are getting ready to retire this year and want to be able to go for a couple of months at a time in the Spring and Fall.

We've traveled all over the US and Canada and can't wait to do more and not have to rush back. We've even driven to Alaska and back. We just love the open road. We prefer to stay at National Parks or State Parks, but stay at private places onlong interstates.

To all of you that say motels will be cheaper, what about living out of a suitcase for 2 or 3 months and eating out ALL the time. I just can't imagine having to drag a suitcase into a motel every time we wanted to move for 60 days or more. I also like the idea of having MY OWN bed, bed linen and bathroom. We like to stay in National Parks and campsites are usually a lot easier to get then lodging. If you go to tourist places, then lodging is going to cost a lot per night. My favorite example was on a tour of Canyon de Chelly National Monument a guy in our tour asked what the campground cost was. A few of us yelled out it was free. Then we asked how much his room was and it was over $100 per night! Most national park campgrounds are still under $20 per night.

There are several campground membership like Passport America and Camping world has one too. For about $45 per year you can get half off many campground in the US. There are some restrictions, but three nights paid for our membership.

I know it's a big investment to put the money out for the RV, but RV's are pretty good at holding their value. Buying a year or two old will get you the best deal.

Rv.net has been mentioned and they are a very active forum and I'm a member there too. http://www.rv.net/forum/

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Utahtea

As mentioned, you might look into renting one for a week to see how you like it. When we went from the travel trailer to the motorhome, we rented a motorhome for a week, but we knew we would love it.!
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Old Jul 29th, 2007, 02:51 PM
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Thank you all for the input...
We have decided to move up our planned retirement to most likely 2 & 1/2 years insted of 3-4. Reason being we will:
Sell our house in Wisconsin due to it being an unaffordable property tax, sales tax, state income and gas tax hell-hole. That's what we're known as.
The equity from the house will be sufficient to purchase a 5th wheel and P/U, as well as travel money for 4-5 years, afterwhich we will have our SS and retiremenings savings.
As far as liking it, we camp with a pop-up now and thoroughly enjoy it, so our plan is to:
purchase a new or used rig in South Dakota (4% sales tax), establish a mail drop there that can then be forwarded to wherever we are, and in SD you don't have to establish a domicile so no property or state income tax to erode your savings.
Our goal is to RV for the 5-8 years after retirement, following the weather, i.e. warm areas in winter, cool in summer. We will have our Grandsons join us on some of our summer journeys. We will rent a cabin/cottage from time to time so that we won't feel like total nomads. As far as renting one first, there is so much to see in the U.S. that I think it's woth risking that we'll love it and want to stick with it; worst comes to worst, we can always sell it.
What do you think? Plausible? Fun? Your thoughts? Any ideas? Any RV caravans out there to link up with? Any really great trails and campgrounds to stay in? Any places or geographical areas that would be especially nice to rent a cabin or cottage, preferably on or near water?
Thanks again,
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Old Jul 29th, 2007, 03:16 PM
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Hi Healthone,

My main reason to have you rent one first was to see if you liked campging. In your case you are just moving up so renting really won't be necessary.

I don't have any experience with full timing and we have decided we don't want to be nomads full time and will keep our house. We'll probably travel in for a couple of months in the spring and fall.

You should look into the Escapees RV Club. We've talked to many full times who are members. http://www.escapees.com/ Also Good Sam Club might also be helpful.

RV.net has a section on Full Time RVing. http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...s/forum/33.cfm

Utahtea


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Old Jul 29th, 2007, 03:55 PM
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We've owned a boat for a good number of years (Yes, I know it's a hole in the water into which we pour money).

A number of our boating friends have retired early and are now living full time on their boats. Most are good size boats that are 45 ft or larger and our friends have not been leaving their boats. They love it!! No property taxes but marina fees. When you feel a need to take a trip, just head on down the bay and see what lies ahead.

Go for it and enjoy!!
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Old Jul 29th, 2007, 04:02 PM
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OP - I am jealous.
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Old Jul 29th, 2007, 04:15 PM
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Healthone, Great plans you have there. Well thought out. Although I'm not an RVer I was going to mention a couple things.

You have been camping with a pop-up, so pulling a trailer won't be new to you.

However to anyone else reading, this is something you need to learn to do and get used to. I also have a diesel pickup for work and often pull a 28' trailer (not a 5th wheel). You will for sure get yourself into a situation that will require tight manuevering. Just backing a trailer is a lesson in patience and backward thinking.

Also, not sure, but aren't prices for almost new trailers a whole lot less than a new one?
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Old Jul 30th, 2007, 02:55 AM
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Our own experience was simply a summer when we were able to take off. We bought a used camper, kept it for 2 years and sold it for what we had paid. We currently own a 24' (I think!) with a rear bedroom/front kitchen. The configuration of the first camper ended up being a pain plus it had a fold-out couch with a rear bunkroom (our son was a young teen at the time). So it's a good idea to have a rig large enough so the bed is always made up. The suggestion that you get used to maneuvering it is good. Plus keep in mind that in some small campgrounds (the kind we prefer) the large rigs get parking lot type sites in a field (we prefer shady). We spent a month going south down the Smokey Mountains staying as long as we liked in a particular place. On the return trip we only spent one night in most campgrounds. There was only one where it was so awful we were surprised it had such a good rating in the campground guide. The overnighters got parking spots in what essentially was a gravel pit, far too close together. Keep in mind that some campgrounds have a large percentage of seasonals who put up gaudy decorations, etc. After a week at home we headed north to PEI and Nova Scotia. Every campground was quite nice and again we stayed as long as we liked the area. Keep in mind that some state parks do not have full hook-ups so you need to know how to get along on battery power (no microwave, nothing that uses an outlet). We have opted in some campgrounds not to have sewer if we could have a nicer site. My husband is comfortable pulling this size rig with a full size PU that came with a tow package. For living in it more than our current one week camping trips, it would be nice to have the same trailer but with 2 additional feet. That model had a much bigger bathroom and more storage area. It's the cramped bathroom I hate.
That long ago summer was a good test of whether we could lives that way. I was actually surprised that we could get along 24/7 since I tend to want to keep driving and my husband prefers less miles and more time around the campground.
For awhile we subscribed to Workcamper News with thoughts of part-time work around the country. Also subscribed to several trailer magazines which had good articles about travel and vehicle maintenance. Travel around PEI/Nova Scotia included taking the camper on some large and small ferries.
A friend's son and DIL are full-timing it while her son takes long term work assignments around the country. They love having time to explore on days off and between assignments. A niece and her husband (under 30) spent more than 6 months exploring the US before they settled down to new jobs in a new state.
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Old Jul 30th, 2007, 05:20 AM
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My parents have done it for about 5 years, the spend winters in the Southern US and summers in Victoria, BC, they liked it so much they bought a condo on the harbor there. The places they see, people they meet, adventures they have, stories to tell, and the pictures to share of every place they visit in between are amazing.
I cringe when I think of them filling up a tank that holds hundreds of gallons of gas though, you will spend $300+ at the pump. I have also flown out to meet them and toured areas and then flown home from a different airport, if you can afford it, it's a wonderful thing to do.
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