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  1. #1
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    Smile Full time Newbie should I take the plunge?

    Hello !
    My boyfriend and I are looking to finally full time in a 2970 RL after spending 2 years on the road full timing in hotels. We have a new opportunity to be mostly full time in the Houston Texas area with the other time traveling. What are the best tips to start and things to look out for i have been researching address change and how to manage the lifestyle. Do you think the imagines are a quality brand and will hold up to the heat and weather? I’m also concerned about having to leave it for sometimes a week or more with food, bugs and security? I would love any tips and ideas you have.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Long Hauler D2Reid's Avatar
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    Welcome to the life. RV's stand up to the elements fairly well. Around Houston in the summer you will have difficulty with heat, so be sure you have good sound electrical connections and purchase an Electrical Management System that will monitor for brown outs, a condition when the electrical current drops below 110v, this can cause damage to your air conditioning system.

    We live in ours full time and have only left it for a week a couple of times. We leave the refrigerator set on electric and leave the food in it. Should there be an epic fail it costs us about $200 to toss all of the condiments and sauces we keep and replace them. It's a lifestyle thing. Mostly when we are gone that long the refrig is pretty much empty anyway. Ditto the freezer.

    We shut the water off and turn off the water heater when gone.

    Bugs and critters, there are literally thousands of ideas on how to do this. We recently heard that if you leave rope lights on under your rig at night you will not get mice, I put the lights out, now it will a matter of time before this theory is proven or not. Bug, make sure no tree/bush branches touch your RV, keep the grass trimmed low around it. Some folks put stuff around the jacks and tires to prevent bugs from entering, if you google it plan on spending an afternoon reading or watching u-tube.

    Security, location location location. There are many places we have stayed that I have left the RV unlocked without a worry, some places we have stayed where I lock every lock each time I open the door. RV's are pretty easy to break into, and they are mobile so the whole thing can be stolen, it's not easy but it can be done. So only you can evaluate your risk and need based on where you are at. When I visit my family in Houston I lock everything tight all the time.

    Domicile is the term you are looking for when talking about your home address. We domicile out of Florida through a service called St. Brendans Isle. They started their business for boat owners and expanded it out to RV owners to sail their land yachts around without having a sticks and bricks address. Texas is another good state to domicile in, the Escapee's up in Livingston, TX do an excellent job with this. South Dakota is another popular state. You have lots of reading material available on this subject as well.

    RV maintenance is going to be your biggest surprise. As well as these things are built they are never perfect. Put about $200 a month in the savings account for RV repairs. You may not need to spend that much every month, but some of the repairs get pretty pricey. It's a hidden cost of RVing that some folks don't plan for.

    Otherwise I hope you enjoy your new lifestyle as much as we do. It's not for everyone, but it suits us well.
    Dallas
    2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
    2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750

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