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Old 10-30-2016, 11:11 AM   #1
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Is this plan feasible?

Hello everyone!

I've been lurking on these forums for a short while and figured I'd chime in now

The backstory:

My husband (early 30's) and I (late 20's) currently live in Southern New Jersey and both commute to Pennsylvania for full-time work. We are homeowners to a fixer upper bungalow that is about 75% fixed up. We don't plan on having children but do have 2 fur babies - Boston terriers.

Our original plan:

After quickly realizing how much we dislike commuting,working full time, and trying to afford a house that is just okay, plus trying to find time to work on it...we decided we needed to make a change.

We set our sights on selling our home after we do a little more renovating, moving west, transferring to another location for work, move into an apartment, and buy a small (taxa tigermoth) travel trailer for vacations and also for camping on our way out west...

The updated plan:

Then we started thinking...do we really need the apartment? If we sell our home, move west, and I take the same job just in a different location, we're pretty much in the same rut so...

We could sell our home, buy a 1980-1990 airstream for hopefully in the 20-25k range (feasible?), and take a stab at workamping...

I don't know if this sounds crazy, and there are a ton of variables but I guess I'm just looking for advice. Can this be done? Are we too young to embark on this kind of adventure, especially if we plan on this being a lifetime thing?

I appreciate any and all feedback. You guys and gals are fantastic

-Brittany
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Old 10-30-2016, 11:24 AM   #2
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Anything is possible. You are young enough, and if you are flexible enough then your plan sounds feasible. Be sure to budget for repairs if you plan o getting an older Airstream. Good luck!
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Old 10-30-2016, 11:31 AM   #3
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Welcome to the forums!

There are many forums members who live in their trailers full time and either work remotely, or roam around wroking locally here and there. It is all a matter of getting the stars to align. Don't look at this as a permanent lefestyle change from the start. You may do it for a few months or a few years, and decide to settle down in a stationary residence, or not--it is up to you. You really don't need to look that far ahead.

So good luck!
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Old 10-30-2016, 11:36 AM   #4
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Thank you both for your replies!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Belegedhel View Post
Don't look at this as a permanent lefestyle change from the start. You may do it for a few months or a few years, and decide to settle down in a stationary residence, or not--it is up to you. You really don't need to look that far ahead.
Great point ^ I'm a bit obsessive with my planning so I tend to overdo it lol.
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Old 10-30-2016, 01:00 PM   #5
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Greetings from the Florida Panhandle

Hi Brittany,

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.

Your plan is quite doable. Your main consideration should be whether or not you can be comfortable "living small" on a full time basis. Unfortunately, the only way that you determine this is to try it out.

We have been Airstreaming for over ten years now, and have spent close to 1,800 nights in our Airstreams. This is virtually half of our nights over that period. We have been out as long as 110 days straight. We have never been full timers, but I think that we have sufficient experience to know that we could full time if we ever wanted to.

We run our Internet business out of the Airstream while we are on the road. We receive orders and ship product on a daily basis. As long as we have Internet access, we're good to go.

Good luck in your quest. Please keep us posted on your progress.

If your have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Brian
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Old 10-30-2016, 02:35 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moosetags View Post
Unfortunately, the only way that you determine this is to try it out.
Thanks for your response Brian It is great to hear from someone with so much experience. As you said, I won't truly know how comfortable I'll be with small space living until I try it. We currently live in a home with less than 900 square feet and while that may be a lot compared to an airstream, we probably spend the good majority of that time using less than half of our home. I'm hopeful that we'll fair well with downsizing.

In the meantime, I hope to keep lurking and contributing to the forum as best I can as a total newbie

Thank you all again!
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Old 10-30-2016, 03:43 PM   #7
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"We could sell our home, buy a 1980-1990 airstream for hopefully in the 20-25k range (feasible?), and take a stab at workcamping..."

If you will look in the classified section above you will find several 1990's Airstream's for sale in that range.

I would recommend one built after 1995: they are 6" wider than the older Airstreams (makes a big difference), have very nice 'modern' cabinets compared to the older models, and don't come with the 'premium' price of a 2000's, but still the same construction and livability.

For living full time I would go with the longer one's: 27' or 30'. the shorter ones are great for camping, but the extra room means you can relax more for the long run. Also, think about a long bed pickup with a shell on the back for the added storage space needed for long term living.
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Old 10-30-2016, 08:19 PM   #8
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Thanks for that suggestion! Looking into them now.
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Old 10-30-2016, 09:30 PM   #9
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I disagree

True…there are people that live in RVs . But not in one location. You would need to go way down south for the cold months.

RVs are NOT designed for four seasons. Even if you could heat the trailer and deal with the condensation, the water source coming in will freeze unless you insulate and heat the hose.

You would almost have to stay in a campground, as most municipalities don't allow you to live in an RV.

Read about people that have tried it. VERY few do it for more than one winter.
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Old 10-30-2016, 10:41 PM   #10
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We have camped in the winter months, but you need to plan to stay south of the I-20 corridor. For the most part, if the campgrounds aren't open at a certain time of year, that area is not suitable for winter RVing.

Get on RV Parky or one of the other campground apps, and take a look at areas that would interest you in the colder weather. Check and see if the campgrounds in that area are open all year. If not, you may need to consider locations further south.

Brian
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Old 10-31-2016, 10:04 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mandolindave View Post
RVs are NOT designed for four seasons. Even if you could heat the trailer and deal with the condensation, the water source coming in will freeze unless you insulate and heat the hose.
Hmm definitely something to consider. We would hope to do some traveling in the airstream certainly but I would also like to stay parked for 6 months or so. My ideal plan would be to take the AS out west (Utah, Arizona, Nevada) and work as camp hosts or doing some sort of work at a campground or NP. Then, when that term is up, move on to a new location.

What do you think is the coldest livable temperature in an airstream?

Thanks
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Old 10-31-2016, 10:26 AM   #12
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We have camped in Wyoming in the Fall. We did fine when it dipped into the low 30's at night. We were comfortable with the Airstream's gas furnace. The heat pump does OK down to about 40 degrees. If the temperature was going to remain below freezing most of the night, we would take in the city water hose and operate off of our on-board fresh water supply during the night.

Brian
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Old 10-31-2016, 11:18 AM   #13
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We are almost the same age as you two. We full-time in an Airstream. For us, the toughest part was landing a job that would facilitate our lifestyle. We work remotely and have an amazing full-time job with benefits. That may be more commitment/work than you want, but just know that it can be done.

You can definitely find an airstream in that price range. Two things we've learned:

1) it isn't always cheaper to live in an Airstream. During peak months, we've paid over $1000/mo to stay in parks. Other months we've been boondocking a lot and saved a lot less.

2) workcamping jobs don't pay super well, but it's enough (or close to enough) for most people

3) maybe give workcamping a try before plopping down a ton of money. Our friend Michael from Ditching Suburbia wrote some great articles about when he was workcamping. He hated it. It'll at least give you an idea of some of the pros and cons to workcamping

4) a lot of people like the seasonal work, like the beet harvest and the amazon stocking jobs.

Best of luck to you two. Life's too short not to live your dream. I recommend landing the job first, saving up as much money as you can now (cuz when the income stops in this lifestyle, the bills don't).
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Old 10-31-2016, 12:27 PM   #14
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How much do you pay for...

Hi everyone. I apologize if this question has been asked before but I searched some older posts and couldn't find much.

I know this probably varies widely but I'm just trying to get ballpark figures for the following:
- health insurance for two full-timers, neither of which are eligible for Medicare
- full-timers' auto+RV insurance

I'm thinking of South Dakota for our domicile but if anyone can recommend a state that has cheaper insurance for the above mentioned things, I'm all ears...or eyes if you don't mind stating your monthly or yearly premiums, that would be great.

Thank you!!

---Brittany
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Old 10-31-2016, 12:34 PM   #15
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I think you are correct, in that the answers to those questions would vary tremendously due to age and other factors, and there is a rather broad age range here.

Might call some insurance companies, particularly for vehicle insurance.

Good luck!


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Old 10-31-2016, 12:39 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by explore more View Post
We are almost the same age as you two. We full-time in an Airstream.
Ah, that makes me happy to hear that it can be done! I'm slowly becoming convinced that this dream can become a reality. Thanks for all the helpful information. We've started considering keeping our current jobs after we sell our house, buy the airstream, and live in it for a while locally while we save up some money to support us on our trek in case we can't find jobs right away.

Thanks
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Old 10-31-2016, 12:43 PM   #17
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Ah, calling around is a good idea. I wonder what sort of information they'd need to speculate a price? I tried looking into health insurance plans online but my figures were coming back so inconsistent. One site said $90 a month, the other said $680 monthly!
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Old 10-31-2016, 01:05 PM   #18
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You may simply not be able to get good estimates on insurance at this point in your plan...minus a tow vehicle and a trailer.


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Old 10-31-2016, 01:09 PM   #19
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That sounds like an excellent idea, briggits.

Might call around your area to find out what full time RV sites in a campground would run you per month, and you would probably want full hookups.


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Old 10-31-2016, 01:20 PM   #20
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True, very true. I'm a chronic overplanner lol.
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