Most overlooked aspects, common mistakes, problems encountered in full timing?

[Alexandra]

My fiance and I are hopefully about to start full timing and were curious what the most overlooked aspects of full time AS life are. What are the most common mistakes and problems people have? What is the best way to prepare for the change? What are we going to forget about?

[cwf]

Good luck!

There are several good, detailed threads on here about "fulltiming"... No one has taken the "details" and itemized that I know about.

There is a couple who post to "longlonghoneymoon.com"
They are funny, real and honest.

Others are all over the place.. But they travel in Airstream..

[kb0zke]

We started full-timing about 18 months ago, although not in an Airstream. We've found that some of our assumptions turned out to not be correct. Change happens, and we have to be prepared for it.

Do your research BEFORE you pick a coach. Remember that you will always have something towing something else on travel days (unless you choose a motor home and drive a car separately). A MH will use a lot of fuel, but only when you are traveling from one campground to another. It can tow a fuel-efficient vehicle. A MH doesn't like sitting still, though, so if you are planning on staying in one place for several months at a time a MH isn't a good choice.

A towable (Airstream or fifth wheel) requires a truck for the tow vehicle, which will be your daily driver. Yes, some of the smaller Airstreams can be towed with an SUV, but those are probably too small for full-timing.

You may well start your full-time journey with your coach almost at gross weight, but after a few months on the road you may well be overloaded. Relentlessly purge your stuff. If you haven't used it in a year you may not need it. Exceptions are emergency equipment, which you hope you NEVER need.

[TG Twinkie]

My advice would be to locate an RV park that has rental units. If possible rent a unit for a couple of months or more to see if you can handle the close quarters together.
If you can't find a rental RV. Try locating the smallest studio apartment you can find to test your true ability to live together in a small space.
Keep in mind that the facilities (toilet, shower etc) and appliances are not the same in an RV as those in a home or apartment. Storage space is limited as well.
Good Luck!

[dkottum]

We travel about six months a year, so are not full timers. We have known many who do.

I think the most common complaint is that it cost much more to travel and maintain their RV than they had expected. Especially the motorhomes, especially diesel pushers.

Some have gone into it full tilt, sold the home place and bought a very expensive unit to learn they can't fund the whole endeavor as time goes on. They hadn't planned how it might end.

Some have hit the road in a jalopy that can hardly make it to the next site without breaking down. Simplicity matters and basic travel trailers towed by basic trucks are as reliable as you can get.

Leave plenty of room in your budget for the unexpected, have a general travel plan to see and do the things you really love.

[Alexandra]

Originally Posted by kb0zke

You may well start your full-time journey with your coach almost at gross weight, but after a few months on the road you may well be overloaded. Relentlessly purge your stuff. If you haven't used it in a year you may not need it. Exceptions are emergency equipment, which you hope you NEVER need.

Thanks for all of your advice! I'm pretty good at keeping only what I need, I think.. Only bringing a box of art supplies/personal things, and my clothes... Hope not to get overloaded, but having a minimalist mindset should help! Just want to be in the outdoors and relax! Get away from the suburbs

[Alexandra]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

My advice would be to locate an RV park that has rental units. If possible rent a unit for a couple of months or more to see if you can handle the close quarters together.
If you can't find a rental RV. Try locating the smallest studio apartment you can find to test your true ability to live together in a small space.
Keep in mind that the facilities (toilet, shower etc) and appliances are not the same in an RV as those in a home or apartment. Storage space is limited as well.
Good Luck!

That's great advice, thank you! If we had more time on our hands then we would surely do it. Grew up in England with a bedroom that can fit inside the avg American closet.. hehe, I prefer smaller spaces. I'm looking forward to the change in daily activities and think it should be an adventure... better do it while we're young! Thanks!

[westcoastas]

Our AS salesman steered us to a used 28-footer - a nine-year old trailer but bigger than a newer, smaller trailer. I think getting the biggest trailer you can afford helps in the long run, allowing for personal space. I think our length is in the sweet spot - not too big, not too small, easier to park in campgrounds and boondocking spots on BLM roads. I believe your adjustment will be successful because of your past with tiny space living; there is a kind of satisfaction in smaller spaces in that one knows everything has its place. Life is less cluttered, both literally and figuratively.

Oh, and don't forget getting the box set of Downton Abbey.

[BoldAdventure]

Don't over-romanticize it. In the past year I've seen about 10 different young couples get this idea and quit half way in. Set realistic expectations. Have an income. Have fun. Don't rush.

For overlooked stuff... Plan accordingly and you can join the "Problems I don't have club"

Join instagram to meet fellow full-timers.

[Tincampers]

We full time in a 25' rear bedroom model and pull with a Chevy 2500 diesel. We've been off the road for the holidays but will head back out next week. Keep the clutter to a minimum, give each other space, be self sufficient with your power and water and waste, don't be in a hurry to get from one spot to the next. Have fun and enjoy each other.

[TwoSporks]

We are part-time full-timers. We still have a house but during our first year on the road in our Airstream (2015), we were traveling for about seven months of the year. It went more smoothly than we expected. Here are a few things to think about based on our experience:

- Move as much of your life online as possible if you have not already done so (financial services, important files in Dropbox, etc).

- Since you say your fiancé, I am assuming that you might be young and will be working from the road. If that assumption is correct, know that it will take some time to figure out your pace of travel and how to balance everything. We have slowed down a lot from our previous style of travel (like staying places for a few weeks, for example) and this has taken some adjustment and we still do not have it quite right. It is hard to work and travel at the same time and not feel busy all the time. All of the temptations right outside your doorstep also make it difficult to focus on work some days.

- If you need cell phone service and data to work, expect it to cost a lot and be a source of some frustration. We need good data service for my husband’s VPN connection and have had to leave a few places because of overly generous reports of cell service quality in campground reviews. We have started figuring out a back-up plan before going to a place that we expect might not have great service (like where is the nearest town with a library, etc) so that we are not in a bind. A booster makes a huge difference and is worth the investment.

- If you are going to be boondocking, figure out your power needs well in advance and decide on a generator and/or solar set-up. Get it working well before you depart, especially if you are going to depend on power to work during the days.

- Expect glitches. While this kind of travel is wonderful, it is not always easy. Things sometimes do not go as planned and having that expectation will make it easier. Like an o-ring on our sink sprayer failed, making the sink unusable because of the leak and the closest place to buy the part is a 5-hour round trip drive away. So I am washing dishes in our shower for the next week. Knowing that this kind of thing just happens makes it less of a big deal than if you expect everything to be fun and awesome all the time.

-Everything takes way longer than I expected. Driving takes a long time. Hitching takes a long time. I spend more time cleaning our Airstream than I do our house. I do not get nearly as much done while traveling in terms of work, projects, and life because of all the additional time that comes along with traveling (not including the fun stuff like sightseeing, hiking, etc).

Good luck!

[Alexandra]

Originally Posted by westcoastas

Our AS salesman steered us to a used 28-footer - a nine-year old trailer but bigger than a newer, smaller trailer. I think getting the biggest trailer you can afford helps in the long run, allowing for personal space. I think our length is in the sweet spot - not too big, not too small, easier to park in campgrounds and boondocking spots on BLM roads. I believe your adjustment will be successful because of your past with tiny space living; there is a kind of satisfaction in smaller spaces in that one knows everything has its place. Life is less cluttered, both literally and figuratively.

Oh, and don't forget getting the box set of Downton Abbey.

We feel the 27-footers are a good size for us, after sitting down in each size of them. That was our reasoning with the size too! And yes, the less clutter, the better. Looking forward to getting rid of everything I don't need. Thanks for your advice!

[3wd67rg]

Originally Posted by kb0zke

We started full-timing about 18 months ago, although not in an Airstream. We've found that some of our assumptions turned out to not be correct. Change happens, and we have to be prepared for it.

Do your research BEFORE you pick a coach. Remember that you will always have something towing something else on travel days (unless you choose a motor home and drive a car separately). A MH will use a lot of fuel, but only when you are traveling from one campground to another. It can tow a fuel-efficient vehicle. A MH doesn't like sitting still, though, so if you are planning on staying in one place for several months at a time a MH isn't a good choice.

A towable (Airstream or fifth wheel) requires a truck for the tow vehicle, which will be your daily driver. Yes, some of the smaller Airstreams can be towed with an SUV, but those are probably too small for full-timing.

You may well start your full-time journey with your coach almost at gross weight, but after a few months on the road you may well be overloaded. Relentlessly purge your stuff. If you haven't used it in a year you may not need it. Exceptions are emergency equipment, which you hope you NEVER need.

Really? Please explain how the motorhome expresses it's displeasure, we would certainly want to be aware.

[Alexandra]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

Don't over-romanticize it. In the past year I've seen about 10 different young couples get this idea and quit half way in. Set realistic expectations. Have an income. Have fun. Don't rush.

For overlooked stuff... Plan accordingly and you can join the "Problems I don't have club"

Join instagram to meet fellow full-timers.

I'm sure it's not a fit for a lot of young people - being younger, you have the tendency to test out all of your options, and once something doesn't work out, you move on to the next thing. When you're in that state of being, life is a fling. One of the main reasons we decided on this is because we can work from anywhere (as long as we have internet) and we are tired of rushing around. Every time we've gone on a trip, we wish we could stay and explore for a long period of time instead of just a week - a couple weeks simply isn't enough time to do anything. Fiance's father was a full timer and he thought we should give it a go. Plus, once we purchase land, we'll need one to live in while we build a home, so we might as well go for it anyways. What sort of expectations would you suggest?

That's a good idea - didn't think about finding people that way - are there a lot on there?

Thank you!

[Alexandra]

Originally Posted by TwoSporks

- If you need cell phone service and data to work, expect it to cost a lot and be a source of some frustration. We need good data service for my husband’s VPN connection and have had to leave a few places because of overly generous reports of cell service quality in campground reviews. We have started figuring out a back-up plan before going to a place that we expect might not have great service (like where is the nearest town with a library, etc) so that we are not in a bind. A booster makes a huge difference and is worth the investment.

- If you are going to be boondocking, figure out your power needs well in advance and decide on a generator and/or solar set-up. Get it working well before you depart, especially if you are going to depend on power to work during the days.

Good luck!

This point that you made is my main concern. Just curious, what is your configuration like? Do you have satellite installed on your AS? What would you suggest? The price doesn't matter much for us. I use Project Fi for my cellphone service (Google's new network, piggy backs off of sprint and t-mobile's networks, as well as wifi) and seem to get service in areas I never got before - hopefully it won't be a huge problem for me. I don't use a lot of data with my work - just emailing, researching things, occasionally editing web pages. And yes, back up plans are life saving, limiting your options usually is not very smart

Any tips on planning out your journey? Thank you!

[HCR]

Can you stand one another for 24 hours a day over many days of travel, and or bad weather which keeps you inside? If not, no matter how romantic full timing sounds, such constant companionship can kill a relationship. The voice of experience. BTW, I've full timed coming up on 16 years.

[Air83]

Alexandra,
We have a large group of AS here in The Woodlands, Tx. We meet twice a week and eat out together. IM me and I will give you the information. Tonight we will be at Mel's in Tomball.
Ginger

[Alexandra]

Originally Posted by HCR

Can you stand one another for 24 hours a day over many days of travel, and or bad weather which keeps you inside? If not, no matter how romantic full timing sounds, such constant companionship can kill a relationship. The voice of experience. BTW, I've full timed coming up on 16 years.

Yes, having a companion is so very different from just having a relationship. But thankfully, we are companions and already spend every day with each other, know each others habits, preferences, annoyances, all that good stuff. That's a lot of experience! If you have any tips on planning out your travels, that could come in a lot of handy for us. Thank you sir.

['55 Airlight]

Originally Posted by westcoastas

Oh, and don't forget... the box set of Downton Abbey.

Be certain to remember the great observation by G.K. Chesterton "“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”

And my recommendation for a boxed set of DVDs (all three seasons) is the terrific Danish television political drama "Børgen." My wife and I are on the road for three months a year in our 15' riveted aluminum airframe trailer -- yes, it has a commode -- with a drawerful of Blue-ray and DVD disks.

Michael

[spclkaz]

Do an Internet search for the blogs of RVer's who have come before you... many post their lessons learned... subscribe to the ESCAPEEs magazine (for RVers and others fulltiming or not... talk to EVERYONE you meet along the way... the majority of RVers are very friendly and more than willing to tell you their stories... as well as the hard and easy lessons learned along the way... above all, take it easy... and remember, just like with a sticks and bricks place... STUFF HAPPENS... just laugh and roll with it... be patient... enjoy both the sunrises and the sunsets... life is too short to worry about it all... just go with the flow... and be happy...