Thursday, June 9, 2011

The first hundred days of Fulltiming…

Tybee Island

So here we are 100 days into our fulltiming experience and what have discovered? What have we learned? (Photos are from our day trip over to Tybee Island and Savannah Georgia)

art @ Tybee IslandWhat we learned:

  1. It is easier to live in a small efficiency apartment than you think
  2. Driving a motorhome is not as difficult as you might think
  3. When trucks pass a motorhome there isn’t much room left on the road
  4. Setting up and taking down at a campground is not the most enjoyable part of RV’ing
  5. Camping in the woods is really nice except during severe storms ;(
  6. Staying within your budget is –let’s just say – Very challenging!
  7. RV’ers can be some of the friendliest people you meet
  8. Some RV’ers can be a little too friendly :)
  9. Cooking in an RV is fun but it too can be a bit challenging at times
  10. Baking bread in an RV creates such wonderful aromas
  11. Morning coffee is still the best part of the day store @ Tybee Island
  12. RV repairs are more expensive than I planned – even though I had a budget line for them
  13. It takes about 3 months to learn all about your motorhome
  14. There are a lot of first expensive items needed to fulltime in an RV
  15. Campgrounds are more expensive than the bloggers lead you to believe
  16. Even a strong type A personality can chill and relax in retirement
  17. Even a meticulous near OCD person can chill and relax in a motorhome
  18. We work really well as a team in this lifestyle to keep things orderly and functional
  19. Without really loving and truly understanding your partner this lifestyle is not going to work
  20. We really love this lifestyle and plan to do this for some time to come

Savannah Beach @ Tybee Island      Savannah Beach @ Tybee Island

What we have bought since we started fulltiming:

  1. Coleman RoadTrip Classic Grill – the Blue one
  2. A deluxe reversible patio mat
  3. GE dual burner hot plate
  4. A Walmart dish strainer that is flat and sits in the bottom of the sink
  5. A Lowes closet organizer
  6. A Lasko portable fan
  7. A snap repair kit to fix the windshield sun screenSavannah

What we still need to purchase – soon:

  1. Brake Buddy independent breaking system
  2. Progressive Industries EMS
  3. SeeLevel external tank monitor

Hopefully this will give some insight to those thinking of living in an RV full time. We have learned a lot and have so much more to learn –I am sure of that!  A few other thoughts about this are:

  • Everything you read on the internet about RV is not always true – Do your research thoroughly!
  • RV’ers in your campsite that have done this for a long time should be “interrogated” about their successes and failures as many will freely share their experiences – Learn from them!

So yes, this lifestyle is a bit more costly than I\we originally thought so workcamping in a few choice places is likely in our futures. The good news is that is not so much that we can’t do it.  But what I have learned most in the first 100 days is that each day comes and goes and what we choose to do each day is entirely up to us…

Coincidentally our 100 day anniversary fell on my birthday… Life is Grand!

Savannah Statue at a park off of Drayton street                Savannah architectural detail

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18 comments:

  1. Paul and MaryJune 9, 2011 at 4:38 PM

    Happy Birthday and Congratulations! Great list! And, about those campground prices? We tell it like it is! (Our current spot is $1200 a month!) You're right....if you want to stay in a decent spot, parks don't come cheap. Best wishes for many more happy and fun-filled days!!

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  2. Kevin ReadJune 9, 2011 at 5:06 PM

    Yes, Happy Birthday and Congratulations! Nice list, especially true is #19.

    You need to get set up for boondocking to cut down on the campground costs...some of the best places we have stayed have been totally free. Wait until you see where we are now...what a beautiful spot!

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  3. MerikayJune 9, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    Thanks for good input. And Happy Birthday.

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  4. Kenny And Angela's AdventureJune 9, 2011 at 6:40 PM

    Happy Birthday!!!! And what a good blog for us Thanks..

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  5. Four Windows with a ViewJune 9, 2011 at 8:03 PM

    I bet those 100 days went by fast. It seems like you took off just yesterday. Great list.

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  6. ain't for city galsJune 9, 2011 at 9:16 PM

    I LOVE this post...and you are right there is nothing better than morning coffee...except evening scotch! Looking forward to reading your past and future post and will follow as soon as blogger starts showing your follower thingy again...seem like it is out again tonight.

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  7. Barbara and RonJune 10, 2011 at 12:02 AM

    Wow! Hard to believe that it's been 100 days already. Interesting thought list. About the camping fees - first, you're in the East. Not as easy to find free public land or government run campgrounds (national park, national forest, BLM, corps of engineers. And of course it depends on what you want. On our trip east, we stayed at a lot of faternal lodges. We belong to the Elks, Moose, and Eagles. Some of them even offer electric. But most are not too scenic. There's a trade off. Congrats on the first 100!

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  8. Barbara and RonJune 10, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    Oh, and if you want to find if there are any federal campgrounds, you can check recreation.gov - actually the reservation site, but I use it to research.

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  9. BarbJune 10, 2011 at 2:18 AM

    I love this post - just starting out, I'm taking note. I think you are right that it's more expensive than I thought it would be - but setting things up so that we're comfortable is a one-time expense. Hopefully I'll be able to control the $ more as things get comfortable.
    You should try campground costs in California! I'm definitely going to be doing as much Wal-Mart and government campgrounds (like Barbara and Ron listed above) as I can. :)

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  10. owensontheroadJune 10, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    I'm glad you are making us future ft'rs lists. Very helpful :) Happy birthday!!

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  11. MyTinyTropicalGardenJune 10, 2011 at 7:07 AM

    We have been fulltiming for almost a year now, and living on the road since 2006. (We sold our homes last year).
    We have found that if there is an area we want to stay in again, we do some homework and find an acceptable place to stay at for the next time.
    When we stayed in Florida this last winter, we looked around and found a beautiful spot on Lake George for $300 a month plus electricity.
    If you set up and then do some hunting, you too can find some bargains out there!
    Congrats on making it so far, and yes, the most important thing about fulltiming is getting along with your partner, if you couldn't stand each other before, you sure won't on the road!
    Full Time Road Warriors

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  12. ErinJune 10, 2011 at 8:49 AM

    Congratulations on the milestone. Posts like these help those of us who are still in the getting-ready stage of this lifestyle.

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  13. AnonymousJune 10, 2011 at 1:04 PM

    Fun to hear your 1st 100 day round-up! On the budget I have to say that, for us at least, it got better with time. The more travel we do, the more we find ways to save, especially on camping fees & gas. Our budget was slighly higher than expected the first year, but has come down dramatically this year.
    Nina

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  14. AnonymousJune 10, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    I'm completely onboard with many of these, PARTICULARLY your observation about cooking / baking aromas in the rig. They last for hours and are so amazing.

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  15. Donna KJune 10, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    Happy Birthday. That was a great post. I agree about coffee in the morning being the best part of the day!!

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  16. our awesome travelsJune 11, 2011 at 7:01 AM

    Good list.
    Like Kevin and Ruth said, get set up for boondocking, we are too, plus we stay in membership campgrounds and have saved over $15,000. in the last 6 years compared to $35.00 a night camping. Just keep enjoying the lifestyle isn't it amazing.

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  17. UnknownJune 12, 2011 at 12:37 PM

    Two celebrations in a day.We have been FT for a little over a year and we would agree with most of your observations. It does get even easier as time goes by. The packing up and setting seems like a snap now so that may get better for you. Even with all the surprises we love this lifestyle and it sounds like you do too! :)

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  18. Pam and NormJune 13, 2011 at 2:50 PM

    I was soooo glad to read #16 & 17. Gives me hope!

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