Need honest opinions, please (long intro)

[Foiled Again]

LOADS of good advice here. Especially about getting a USED 34 footer. Generally they're bought by well to do seniors... who then age out of travelling. A few beauty marks just mean YOU won't get that sick feeling with the first little ding.

Work camping, or working part time as a nurse are both excellent ideas for your husband. And LIVING IN the Airstream before you go on the road - priceless. Many stay at home dads amaze me by their dedication and patience... but... what seems to be a great idea can turn into unending misery really fast. Most "mommies" really benefit from having a day or two of adult contact now and then. Dads might find one night of working in a nursing home

1. inspiration and refreshment for another day with rugrats
2. a way to keep credentials and skills current so that being a house husband remains a choice!

Do read a lot here, and do searches on frame damage, floor rot, etc. Also look for one that's lived in a dry climate, AND try to meet some local Airstreamers who'll show you what to look for when inspecting a used trailer. Good maintenance records are one positive indicator.

I have a diesel 2500 HD Silverado and I really like it. However, for your family - consider a gasser. Price difference new or used is significant. Diesel fuel shouldn't be higher priced than gas but it is. The "money saving" part about owning a diesel may not even exist any longer.. or might only kick in after 350,000 miles. If you cut the cost of your tow vehicle by $10K... that'll pay for a lot of camping... and the gas engines are much more refined and strong than they were!

Happy trails, Paula

[AdamFL]

We are working the same plan. BUT, buying everything in cash and having a big box of cash to last a year, while working some remote jobs. Pulling off a nomadic life on payments seems a little daunting to me. We re mid 30s and worse case could sell our already depreciated truck and trailer and go back to it. YMMV.

[TeamC]

Originally Posted by eljay

Welcome to the forums and the great advice that is shared!

What type of nursing background and credentials does your husband have?

Thank you for the warm welcome

My husband has a wide variety of experience. He's worked in a NICU for a couple of years, worked home healthcare for peds, and currently he's working at the VA Hospital and has worked float pool there so he's gotten experience in every dept there.

[TeamC]

Originally Posted by AdamFL

We are working the same plan. BUT, buying everything in cash and having a big box of cash to last a year, while working some remote jobs. Pulling off a nomadic life on payments seems a little daunting to me. We re mid 30s and worse case could sell our already depreciated truck and trailer and go back to it. YMMV.

Agreed this is the much more prefer route

[blmitch5]

Welcome and what a fantastic idea! I'd say go for it but I think a gently used Airstream would be the way to go. They drop a lot the first couple of years but then level off. Our little Bambi is selling for more than what we paid for it 2 years ago! Just take your time and look at several models to get the feel of the layout and space. They feel pretty roomy for a weekend but when your going to live in it you want a a lot of space. 28-32 should work well for you. I am very envious of your plan! We're planning for the retirement stage of our lives (43 and 40) and want to retire in 10 years and hit the road! My other half is not excited about full timing but I've got 10 years to sell the idea! read the forums and you will have a lot of great information! Go for it and a blog would be a great hobby for your husband.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by TeamC

Thank you for the warm welcome

My husband has a wide variety of experience. He's worked in a NICU for a couple of years, worked home healthcare for peds, and currently he's working at the VA Hospital and has worked float pool there so he's gotten experience in every dept there.

So he is RN? BSN?

Those are some great experiences and will lend themselves well to temp or telecommuting.

[mandolindave]

BUT
#1 I wouldn't try to do it in a cold climate ( read up on winter camping )

#2 You'll need an emergency fund ( read about repairs )

#3 Do you have friends or relatives that could accommodate a trailer

#4 Are the dogs well behaved and mellow

#5 Learn about what states are good to use as a residence ( mail, drivers licenses taxes etc )

#6 An expert fulltimer, single guy spent over 20K a year on the road

My advice....read read read...make your own educated decision

[FreshAir]

Several years ago a family of 5 joined us at one of our NorCal rallies. I believe there was 1 teen and 2 pre teens in this family. They towed their 27' Airstream with I think a Tundra. The father is a writer and mom a former teacher who was/is home schooling their children. They had been at that time been full timing already 2-3 years. They planned their travels throughout the US focusing upon historical and senic sights plus visiting various well known museums and cultural centers. When we were talking with them our rally was near the early route of early pioneers. They were a delightful family. So if you can support your dream financially and are happy with this life style do go for it. One thing to consider is the your child will not have regular playmates and long time friends. The children in the family I discribed seemed quite adjusted and had no problem making friends with the kids in our group.
Neil.

[megandrudy]

I wrote a blah, blah, blah response.....and thought about it.

Girl, just do it. If it doesn't work out, you can say you tried it. If you don't do it, you will always wonder, "what if?" It's so sad to have regrets......

[rodsterinfl]

I know financially it is not the smart thing to do since in 2 years we will be 100% debt free if we do not do this. But the emotional side of me is telling me it's worth it.

This is your practical side speaking out. I do NOT agree with the go for it advice in your case. You say you will be debt free in two years, OK and then in 2016 your son will be in Kindergarten- that is three years. I would say that you should revisit your plan in two years saving all the while. This year is covered as you said, "we have our rented home until the end of this year," so consider that too.

You should not go in further debt before other debt is resolved.

Buying Used:

The truck and trailer used (just guessing) will cost an estimated 20-30K for the truck and around $20-38K for the trailer. (I looked up seven year old models of both online) on top of that, you will be buying into used so upfront servicing and repairs will be required before doing travel. I know that this is all fabricated on age but not pricing. You are looking at about $60K for a seven year old setup, or more. You can beat it going older but then your potential for repair goes up too.

You are sacrificing an income and going to increased debt. Just wait so that you can do this in the near future. Also, what about home schooling kindergarten? That would extend your time beyond three years and what a classroom he would have! It is just that your description of "hard budgeting" and one job and heavier debt sound too out of place to be jumping into something so soon. You can do this trailer truck thing- soon. Emotions can get the best of you and if they control you, they can even get you in trouble. Just keep telecommuting and keep him nursing and rake that dough in for your rig of the future!

[NJtoNC]

Also check out malimish.com for a family of five that frequently spends months travelling in their Airstream.

while reading the first post i was going to suggest the OP contact kyle. Kyle, we saw you pulling out of the campground in bahia honda in December; we wanted to stay in our airstream in they keys for dec but the campground were too expensive. we rented a house for less!

Theres another family who was on the road who we ran into at the AS CG in VA. they had a baby while full timing and had a dog and i don't recall their names. He worked remotely in IT. Anyone remember?

DON'T rely on your credit cards for your adventure. Consider it an emergency fund, maybe... But i wouldn't go broke for this. But a used, but less-than 5 yrs old tow vehicle and a used airstream, do work camping or stay with other airstreams as much as possible (you can stay on our farm if you want! we have a post somewhere on this)

[tuffr2]

Two thoughts from another non risk taker.

1. At your age you should be focused on career 401k's and two incomes. What don't you like about where you are now? Use the computer to research what you think will be a better place. Use Places Rated Almanac. How far away do you want to get from parents? No trailer, no getting rid of your stuff, just one move.
Living in a travel trailer in your 30's has loser written all over it.

2. Ok - put your stuff in storage or ask your parents to keep it at their place.
Try it and get it out of your system. It just might work out ok.

[bike_addict]

I'm 34, married with a young son and one on the way. My wife and I are so engrained in our careers that we could never do this. But there's not a single time that I'm putting the AS in storage on a Sunday that I don't look at it and wish I could just hook up and go and wonder how long we can make it on our savings.

It would be one heck of an adventure. Even at 34 there's quite a few possible adventures I look back and wish I'd done. I really should have ridden the Great Divide.

But only you can make the call on whether to do it or not. Good luck if you do. You only live once, you can always hang it up and pull the trailer back home and laugh about the crazy idea you once had.

[rodsterinfl]

More thought. I did not say to give up on such a cool idea forever. Just prepare for it more financially.

[TeamC]

This idea is still fresh and new, so it's really the adrenaline doing all the thinking for me on what "can be" Thankfully, our lease forces us to wait and give us time to research, plan and save money. This forum is great - I've been perusing other pages and what a plethora of helpful information. This seems like a great group of people with a common bond. Thanks for welcoming me (and my family) into the community while we explore this opportunity. Keep the advice and opinions coming - I'll be reading them all!

[OilnH2o]

Put "Coolworks" on your radar screen. Summer Jobs and Seasonal Jobs in Great Places | CoolWorks.com

It's a job site that focuses on summer and seasonal work in the national parks, state parks, dude ranches, short term stuff in resorts, even some in the cruise industry, and has a "job map" on their home page. And, it's more than just "house-keepers" - and they likely have short-term medical stuff - although something like that might be 3 months in a national park. But, places like Yellowstone (see Delaware North Parks and Resorts at Yellowstone on the Coolworks website) use people who can bring their own housing with them.

Just another "arrow" for your quiver in this research phase!

(Although, you may find that "perfect place" to live after all this is either north, south or east of Post Falls by less than a hundred miles! We who have been to them other places live in these parts for a reason, you know!)

[Road Geezer]

My wife of 47 years and I have traveled quite a bit during our marriage, balancing demanding careers with our desire to explore. Looking back, our fondest memories almost all involve family travel with our children and the excitement of "experiencing difference." Now we're both retired and are planning to use our first RV ever--our Airstream--for extended travel to see North America.

Nothing is irreversible. If you get into your adventure and find it doesn't suit you, you can always make real-time changes and adjust. I'd suggest a few extended trial runs before you commit to full timing.

Net, net. Do It!

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by NJtoNC

while reading the first post i was going to suggest the OP contact kyle. Kyle, we saw you pulling out of the campground in bahia honda in December;

Actually.... I think that was the other Kyle that fulltimes.. Kyle from Whereiskylenow.com....

[kidsgone]

TeamC,
Are you targeting certain states you may be interested in living full time in one day? If so, what states? Or are you looking at the experience of going where the wind takes you so to speak? I ask this, because in all our travels, we have experienced places that have absolutely no wifi capability. I'm sure that you would travel with your own wifi, as we do, but you will get into alot of areas, for your business purpose,that may pose a problem. I'm sure you have already thought of those things tho.
I'm like most of the writers on this thread...go for it! But also, get your truck/AS soon so you can use it on weekends! Take your time to look too. This must be exciting!

[Flying Gypsies]

Originally Posted by rodsterinfl

This is your practical side speaking out. I do NOT agree with the go for it advice in your case. You say you will be debt free in two years, OK and then in 2016 your son will be in Kindergarten- that is three years. I would say that you should revisit your plan in two years saving all the while. This year is covered as you said, "we have our rented home until the end of this year," so consider that too.

You should not go in further debt before other debt is resolved.

Buying Used:

The truck and trailer used (just guessing) will cost an estimated 20-30K for the truck and around $20-38K for the trailer. (I looked up seven year old models of both online) on top of that, you will be buying into used so upfront servicing and repairs will be required before doing travel. I know that this is all fabricated on age but not pricing. You are looking at about $60K for a seven year old setup, or more. You can beat it going older but then your potential for repair goes up too.

You are sacrificing an income and going to increased debt. Just wait so that you can do this in the near future. Also, what about home schooling kindergarten? That would extend your time beyond three years and what a classroom he would have! It is just that your description of "hard budgeting" and one job and heavier debt sound too out of place to be jumping into something so soon. You can do this trailer truck thing- soon. Emotions can get the best of you and if they control you, they can even get you in trouble. Just keep telecommuting and keep him nursing and rake that dough in for your rig of the future!

Afraid I have to agree even though at your age, we were building a boat in the VI, on a shoestring budget, and living the adventure you crave but on the water. However, we didn't have careers and we really didn't know any other life. 2 years to debt free is something that cannot be ignored and I have to say, that at your age, it is a thing to be greatly admired. I suspect you do not have many friends in the same boat in this world of instant gratification. My recommendation would be to LIVE on one income for a year, saving it all, to see what you need to do to make it work. Remember to factor in the inevitable increase in fuel for this adventure. And don't worry about the timeline for kindergarten- In my day, kindergarten was optional and with good parenting, it can be for you. Socialization is important of course, and this can be had through play groups. Kids are flexible- they can bend with the wind.