Full-timers, can you share your loadout?

[Acheron2010]

As I contemplate full-timing in a future AS Globetrotter, I wonder how to go from the house to the trailer.
Can you describe your loadout? What is in the trailer, what is in the tow vehicle? Do you supplement with a seasonal visit to a storage facility?
Thanks.

[J. Morgan]

The secret is to bring only what you will actually use regularly, generally leaving the stuff you want to have on hand “just in case” will do the trick.

If you bring something and don’t use it in a reasonable time get rid of it.

People tend to keep things at home that they never lay eyes on for 30 years, that wont work well in an Airstream.

[halfloaf]

I'm new rv AND new full time (just over a month), but I don't have anything in storage that I think I'm going to want for my house (my "rig", whatever, my Airstream + tow vehicle, where I live). All I have in storage are files and keepsakes and such that I don't need with me but can't or won't get rid of.

[n2916s]

Well...

Started out carrying way too much (we "half-time"). For example, full set of pots and pans. Now we carry a 6 quart stock pot with lid. A 2 quart saucepan/lid, a 12" non-stick sauté pan. Silicon cake pan. We meal plan pretty well and we do use disposable aluminum baking/roasting pans on occasion. Three good knives -- chef's, serrated, filet.

Dishes for four -- all good quality plasticware. Ditto for drinking glasses, coffee mugs. Silverware for four as well.

Basic tools, including sae and metric sockets, a torque wrench, riveter, screwdrivers...

We do carry a lot of clothes as we summer in Wyoming where you can get all four seasons in a given week...

With few exceptions, we have surrendered our books, replacing them with digital versions.

I think J. Morgan has offered sage advice. If you haven't needed something in months, probably ought to let it go and not load it in your trailer.

[kendrick.l.j]

Hi Archeron, Welcome to the forum. Answer to you question depends on how and where you will be full-timing and allowed payload for your trailer and tow vehicle. Do you plan to go way south in the Winter and then way north in the Summer? Then you won’t need to bring coats. How often do you want to have to go back to your storage unit? Are you planning on go back monthly to change out stuff or just twice a year? While you are full timing are you going to want to bring bikes? Kayaks? Remember your payload. Do you plan to boondock? Might need a generator which adds weight therefore decreases available payload for other things. You will need tools, how much tools depends on how handy you are. When things break do you plan to go back to the dealer or fix it yourself?
Payload and space will dictate what can go in the Airstream and TV over what you would like to bring. You will learn quickly to only bring the things you must have.

[m.hony]

Not quite full time, but...
What's in the truck bed?
wheel chocks
jack foot
bottle jack
jack stands
emergency triangles
lawn chairs
fire wood
inflatable boat
tools
Things that won't be hurt by the weather-
Even though I have a tonneau cover, it isn't water tight.

[sburrw]

We have large plastic containers in the back seat of the truck that have specific uses: one for hiking stuff, one for bike stuff, one for cold weather clothes, etc. The bed of the truck is for things that don't matter if they get wet (even though it's covered) or dusty: generator, chairs, water and fuel containers, etc.
Take only what you really need, inside the Airstream.

[369goose]

You will almost certainly need much less than you think you will. Approximately every 6 months or so unpack or donate the items you haven't needed. Pack lightly and have a good credit card handy. Anything you didn't pack but need can be picked up along the way.

[Acheron2010]

Thanks to all thus far. I understand the concept of just bring what you need, and all that. I'm really looking for more detail.
When I lived on a sailboat, I had nesting pots, a pressure cooker, french press, a couple of bread pans, mixing bowls, knives, spatulas, etc.
I yearned for a slow cooker, toaster, a mixer. Do you find these things necessary enough to bring along, and have room? What else in modern conveniences are "necessary?" Foodsaver? Blender? what else?
A good set of tools, sure. A tool for every fastener. A torque wrench. Power drill, yes. Wheel chocks, levelers, hoses, gloves, flashlights.
Do you also bring saws? A vise? Soldering iron? Propane torch? Air compressor? What shore power converters do you bring? Regular 120V extension cord? why? Did you put a sliding shelf in the back of your pickup? Tonneau cover or camper shell? Why?
Thanks again.

[m.hony]

We do carry a slow cooker in one of the drawers under the dinette.
We also carry an electric griddle in the storage under the bed.

[forfulltimin]

We were in a 34ft Classic with a 1 ton long bed Ford 350 dually crew cab.

No storage, no house, no pad, no homebase. All we owned we carried with us.

Truck bed was the garage and cellar cum workshop. Had generator, air compressor, ladder, chairs, levelers, golf clubs and too many tools.

Inside we carried winter and summer clothes and shoes, one good outfit for special events, good rain and bad weather gear too, a few good pots and pans, good dishes for four and real glasses because we like them.

A CB radio in the truck and the RV ( one with a good weather warning system) For awhile we had a ham radio too.

A small charcoal grill, binoculars, bear spray, NO weapons, passports, copies of medical records, a fire proof box for documents, cell phones.

Everyone is right ...you do what works , discard the unused, thrift shops for seasonal decorations, always flexible, always adapting.

Enjoy.

[kendrick.l.j]

By all means bring the blender, how else are you going to make Margarita’s? I rarely cook inside, try to make as such as I can in the grill, a small Weber grill is great, easy to move around etc.. I never plan more than a few days of food, staple like pasta and such yes, but rarely stock up on things, there just is not room. Yes, to the air compressor. Checking tire pressure every trip is great but you may need to add air. It is much easy to carry that with you than find a working air compressor at a gas station some where while towing. No toaster, no mixers, some do bring portable ice machine (Margarita). Other tools, include cordless drill, torque wrench, hammer, saw, rivet and rivet gun, screw driver set, replacement pins and bolt and of course Duct Tape and grease gun. Credit card with zero balance for emergencies.
Folding chairs, tools box goes on the bed. Anything have to do with breaking camp or setting up goes in the RAM boxes. Only thing inside the cab is people and dogs. Dogs get priority.

[FreshAirStmr]

You'll get different answers to your questions as much depends on individual preferences and your style of camping, for example, whether you intend to keep baking (mixing bowls, baking pans), whether you intend to boondock a lot, and how much in real nature will you be (and therefore needing saws and axes and shovels and such).

Here's my book on the subject:

We've been full-timing for almost 2 years. Haven't needed a saw or ax yet, and maybe have used our short shovel once. I can tell you that before leaving, we bought almost everything we thought we'd need. We haven't needed everything we bought, and we have needed things we didn't think of. We would have been better off it we had bought only the essentials (hoses, chocks, levelers, some tools) and bought everything else along the way. With 2-day Amazon Prime and Walmart and Ace Hardware stores in every little town, you can get almost anything anywhere.

We have about 6 boxes stored in my MIL and SIL's garages. No other storage. We kept no furniture. Had an estate sale company sell everything else and did a lot of Craigslist selling ourselves.

The truck bed has a roof-high topper. We don't have a bedslide. Although it would be handy, I think it would reduce what we could put in the bed. However, if you need anything out of the truck that's not within arm's reach, you're going to have to climb in, which for my 5'7" husband on our 2500 HD Silverado, requires a portable step and some crawling around on hands and knees once he's inside.

Here's what we keep in the bed: a collapsible ladder (to reach roof, which we have needed), a small stepladder to reach the awning latch and for washing the AS, portable step (to climb into the back of truck), BBQ & small propane bottles, propane firepit, toolbag, small bin for hitching up items & lubes, 2000-watt Honda generator that we have never used, large tire compressor which we have never used, a small tire air compressor that we do use, a rolling suitcase and travel bag for plane trips that are filled with out-of-season clothes, big plastic bin with odds & ends, everyday supplies that can't fit all at once into the Airstream such as water bottles, TP, paper towels.

In the truck bed we also keep the 50-amp electrical cable & surge protector, fresh water hose, wheel chocks, and stabilizer pads when we're moving between sites. We used to keep these items in the rear exterior bin, but this way when we're stationary and those items are in use, we have the extra space in the truck bed for grocery runs, etc. To make room for these items, we moved the camp chairs and camp table to the rear exterior bin, which means even if someone is off driving the truck, the other person can get out a camp chair.

In the truck cab rear seating area, we keep our Brompton folding bikes, helmets, camera tripod, hiking shoes, shopping bags, Yeti cooler.

As to the items you list:

nesting pots -- yes, plus a 10" cast iron pan. We use them.

pressure cooker -- we brought one with us, but eventually gave it away. In our AS model, there just wasn't a good place to store it, plus I felt with all the steam, it was more for outside cooking and we just ended up never using it

french press -- replaced our FPs with an Aeropress (much easier cleanup than a conventional FP); use an electric kettle to heat the water

couple of bread pans -- no

mixing bowls -- brought them, haven't used them except for popcorn; turns out we don't bake in the Airstream

knives, spatulas -- yes, yes

slow cooker -- didn't bring one, but after giving up on the Instant Pot, we bought a little rectangular West Bend slow cooker in a little carry case. Use it a lot

toaster -- gave up toast when we moved into the Airstream as much for reducing carbs as for lack of a place to store the thing, but there's no real reason not to have one if you love toast

mixer -- brought one, haven't used it

blender -- bought a Bullet, haven't ever used it because we don't really have ice for smoothies. Like toast, we gave up ice once we moved into the Airstream

foodsaver - no, we don't cook in bulk

torque wrench - absolutely

power drill -- we brought one, have never used it; DH prefers raising the weight distribution bars by manually cranking them up and our stabilizers are electric

wheel chocks, levelers, hoses, gloves, flashlights -- yes to all. Headlamp and at least two flashlights.

Do you also bring saws? A vise? Soldering iron? Propane torch? -- no to all

Air compressor -- the little one we already had for topping up tire air pressure is all we've ever needed. We got a big one for inflating an entire tire, but have never needed it, and probably never will. We'd call AAA or Coachnet first.

What shore power converters do you bring? 30-50 dogbone is all we've ever needed

Regular 120V extension cord? why? -- absolutely. Always for little things, never essential, but has often come in handy

Some items I'm very glad I did buy:

Dyson cordless stick vacuum, Dyson hot/cool heater/fan, Progressive Industries 50-amp surge protector, 3" Temperpedic mattress toppers, electric mattress pad, propane firepit, slow cooker, LectroFan white noise machine, hot water bottle, Anderson levelers

a Canon Pixma portable printer and a Fujisu Scansnap document scanner. Within the first six months of setting off, I used both of these items a lot when we had so much paperwork to send back and forth and have notarized etc. Now that's all done, I use them much less frequently but am still grateful I can print and scan in the comfort and convenience of my own home. Both are quite compact and dependable. I only wish I had bought the scanner in the months leading up to our departure as I could have been scanning all of our files before we left. As it was, we departed with a very large filebox of folders filled with paperwork in the bed of the truck and it took me months on the road to finally scan it and dispose of it. Now, having the scanner means we can keep ourselves almost entirely paperless except for one plastic 5" wide filebox for paper we need to keep.

Joanne

[Mike1997]

There is lots of good advice in this thread. I am going on 14 months of full timing and working from my Airstream. This summer started with the work-camper routine and got hooked up with a campground management company while sites in Michigan and Florida.

Start out with what you think you will need, then reassess every 6 months. I put stuff in storage initially then shipped more to it twice. Clothes and kitchen stuff was where I had to reduce. Also cut my DVD library in half.

Having a good internet connection is VERY important and well worth anything extra you might spend in that area.

[halfloaf]

Very similar to the above. I have a 25 foot 15 amp 12 gauge cord (had to look carefully, a lot of industrial extension cords are only 14 gauge) and a 30 to 15 amp connector for driveway surfing. Also the one RV park I arrived at and had oversold and said well we can give you a 15 amp connection (grrrr). But also can use the extension cord to reach the picnic table.

Like most people I started with more than I need and have spent this first month shedding cr*p. I'm only in a Sport 16- I had kept my full set of pots and pans in a container in my Expedition. Quickly realized I would never use them since they weren't accessible. I have one frying pan and the pot in my Instant Pot can also be used as a normal pot. I have an electric single-serving water boiler (a bit of a princess item, but I like it better for tea than the microwave), but I want to get a small saucepan for when electricity isn't convenient. So I'll basically have 3 cooking containers when I'm set.

I have the aformentioned Instant Pot - I don't have an oven and using pot-in-pot an Instant Pot works as an oven. And I have an induction hot plate - I only use my gas range when electricity is unavailable. The induction hot plate can be used on top of my gas range or outside, as can the Instant Pot.

I think people in larger units keep a set of 4 place settings but I'm in 16 feet... I keep 2. And I threw away that flatware drawer insert - can fit a lot more in that drawer loose.

I bought an immersion mixer, but I haven't used it yet. We'll see if I come up for a use for it or if it gets voted off the island. I hadn't used my kitchen mixer in years, so I don't know what use I thought I was suddenly going to find for a mixer. (I do actually - right before I left I had started making my own mayonnaise, supposedly I was going to keep doing that...)

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

The secret is to bring only what you will actually use regularly, generally leaving the stuff you want to have on hand “just in case” will do the trick.

If you bring something and don’t use it in a reasonable time get rid of it.

People tend to keep things at home that they never lay eyes on for 30 years, that wont work well in an Airstream.

Let this be the guide.

Might take awhile to find out . . . but it won’t take a year.

[Rocinante]

Now that we are full time, we're constantly re-downsizing. Every time we find something we haven't touched in the last couple of weeks, we ask ourselves if we can give it away, recycle it, or toss it. Every time we buy something new, we force ourselves to find something else we can get rid of. We don't "stock up" when we go to the grocery store - no room! When we went to Costco today, we came away with a full tank of gas, one jar of pesto, and one small round of Kirkland-brand brie cheese. It's not often we see someone leave a Costco with only two items, but now that person is us!

[truxpin]

What a treat to read this thread. While we don't travel much, (both still working, but love Full Timing) It's reassuring to know we're doing it "right".

Living in a mostly stationary Airstream makes it easy to compile too much "stuff". We're fortunate to have a 10'X12" storage on our site, that makes it easy to rotate things in/out of the Airstream as needed. But, when we do get the chance to venture out for vacation we travel pretty light. Mostly the interior of the Airstream stays the same & we pack the truck bed with the required "travel gear". (Weber grill, patio furniture, tool box, etc....)

[kb0zke]

When we were getting ready to go full-time we had the luxury of being able to park our coach literally right outside the front door of our house. First we moved things into the coach that we knew we would need. After a bit we started sleeping in the coach, then eating there, and finally cooking there. As we discovered something that was needed, but still in the house, it was easy to run in and get it.

As we prepared for the auction, we put into the coach everything that we thought we would want to have with us on the road. The rest was offered to our kids. What they didn't want (most of it) went on the auction.

Since then we have gotten rid of quite a bit of what we originally took with us, and added other things. For example, we sold most of my tools. Who needs a circular saw, three drills, etc? Then I joined Laborers For Christ, and I'm now buying those tools I let go because we have to have our own tools.

We originally decided on the motor home because I didn't want to have all of that "stuff" in the bed of the pickup. Now we have our MH for sale, to be replaced with an Airstream and a truck with all of that stuff in the bed. Why? I'm tired of "Yes, I have that tool - back at the campground."

Take what you are pretty sure you will need. As you settle into full-timing you will learn what you really need and what you can live without. Buy those things you need and get rid of the ones you don't need.

[Mike1997]

July is the anniversary of my second year full timing.

Like others I started out with more than what's needed and tend to pick up even more stuff along the way.

The best habit I picked up was one suggested by other Airstream owners from this forum. Every six months but no longer than once per year, empty out all storage compartments/closets to clean and reorganize.

Doing that will not only allow you to see what your carrying around, but also expose potential problems. Having stayed in Florida for most of my time, ants are an issue and I found several large ant colonies in two exterior storage areas. I also found my front compartment, under the windshield, to be leaking and causing the bottom to rust. That compartment on the diesel models like mine is not meant to be water proof so it made me change everything to plastic or at least be placed in a small plastic tub with lid.

Inside, clothes and shoes were a problem so its a time to sort thru what you have or have not worn since the last clean out. This is also a good time to rotate the mattress and send the comforter off to dry cleaners.

Books and magazines are another issue and they are heavy in mass. Once read, if I still want to keep them, they get boxed up and sent to my storage in CO. Same thing goes for trinkets or souvinors picked up along the way. I keep all issues of The Blue Beret and found its good to recycle them by passing to other Airstream owners who are not in the WBCC. Almost none of them are aware of the Airstream only parks around the country.

Currently it is time to evaluate what appliances I need or can get rid of. Electric meat carver went to storage, washer/dryer might get replaced with a small cooler/freezer. Stopped using metal forks and spoons and replaced with plastic. That cut down on items needing to be washed in kitchen sink.

Overall, each person has a different way of daily life and its just good to take time and see what you need or do not need. Living in a small space is great and it forces you to be organized and makes it easy to keep things tidy.

Happy July 4th Holiday!!!