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  1. #1
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    Considering going full time for a bit

    Hi all we have a small camper (17MKE) which is not great for this, however we are going to be moving back east over the next couple of months (2700 miles) and I'm weighing our options for post house sale.


    1) Sell the camper, travel potentially a bit faster but more expensive in hotel rooms.
    2) Keep the camper, full time cross country traveling mostly on weekends (working during the week seems like it would be exhausting to travel evenings and set camp every day). It's a small camper, it's OK as a mobile hotel room but not 'roomy'.
    3) Upgrade the camper, lose a bit of money on the trade up, be more comfortable in some respects but lose all the 'nice' upgrades we did to our current camper. Market seems very pricy so we'll get decent trade-in but probably have to pay through the nose for a slightly larger trailer. Still capped with my 1500 so can't go 'comfy' big but maybe 22MLE/22RBE.

    Plan would be to drive south and head east to hang out in FL until we get a mild weather weekend to head to New England over a couple of months and visit family in the way through.

    Any thoughts on how to plan or other considerations?

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    What I am reading into your post is that you can work remotely, but you need to be available during business hours Monday through Friday. You also have three or more months to get where you are going.

    First thing to realize is that your camper is not too small to live in Full-Time. My best friend is planning on going Full-Time in a 17 foot Escape (fiberglass Travel Trailer). If you and your Family are comfortable in your current trailer for a long weekend, there is no reason you wouldn't be comfortable for three months while you meander up the East Coast.

    The key to living in a small camper is to not live in the camper, but to live in the outdoors. Cook mostly outdoors, setup a nice sitting area under your awning and have an outside eating area, use the camper primarily for sleeping.

    While I don't know your exact situation, I could imagine while you are stuck at the camper working all day, your family is out exploring the area you are camping in. In the evening, after you are finished with work, you can join your family for some more exploring and/or dinner out on the town.

    You could be stationary during the week and travel on the weekends. You could easily plan your Travel Days to be 200 miles or less so that you are not exhausted by the drive. This would allow you plenty of time to setup the camper and also take a day off before you have to start your next work week.

    For a little bit of math: 2,700 miles, divided by 200 miles per travel day, means it will take you only 14 weeks to get to your destination, that's 3 1/2 months, but who cares you will have a very memorable trip with your Family.

    As far as other considerations go: if you will be visiting Family along the way, make sure you are all setup for some quality "Moochdocking" (long extension cord and water hose).

    You might also want to have a WiFi hotspot from two, or even all 3 carriers to enhance your chances of being connected while you are on the road.
    Last edited by SolarPoweredRV; 01-04-2021 at 10:26 PM.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  3. #3
    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
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    A couple of years ago we wanted to tour the Maritimes as our summer trip. So we rented a Jayco 17' hybrid for 4 weeks. We ended up extended the rental for a total of 6 weeks. It was just DW and I and we were in a different place every 1 to 2 days with only one 3 day stop. With my job, I'm always working. During that trip I would work 2 to 3 hrs a day (on vacation). Getting internet is a challenge at some places. I thought we would be cram but it actually wasn't that bad. We are all different but in your rig I think its doable for 3 months. The 22mle will give you a fix walk around bed, more storage and a little more room but its not much much more then your current rig. Keep in mind that you will loose payload as the tongue weight is a little heavier which could mean a little less stuff in the truck.

    Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk
    Steph & Lise
    2019 F150 Lariat 2.7 EB
    2020 Imagine XLS 22MLE

  4. #4
    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ynot4me2 View Post
    A couple of years ago we wanted to tour the Maritimes as our summer trip. So we rented a Jayco 17' hybrid for 4 weeks. We ended up extended the rental for a total of 6 weeks. It was just DW and I and we were in a different place every 1 to 2 days with only one 3 day stop. With my job, I'm always working. During that trip I would work 2 to 3 hrs a day (on vacation). Getting internet is a challenge at some places. I thought we would be cram but it actually wasn't that bad. We are all different but in your rig I think its doable for 3 months. The 22mle will give you a fix walk around bed, more storage and a little more room but its not much much more then your current rig. Keep in mind that you will loose payload as the tongue weight is a little heavier which could mean a little less stuff in the truck.

    Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk
    I forgot to say that its that trip that got us hooked to RVing. [emoji3]

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    Steph & Lise
    2019 F150 Lariat 2.7 EB
    2020 Imagine XLS 22MLE

  5. #5
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    Thanks to both of you for the thoughtful responses. The 17' we currently have works but I'm just worried about working (only one 'table' in the entire trailer and its attached to the sofa). I'm thinking of buying a 4g hotspot to cover the wifi gaps. It's a bit concerning just to not have an actual non-rolling 'home' to go back to, which I suppose most people experience to some degree going full time in a trailer. Since we'd be shipping almost all of our household items, not too worried about storage or payload (other than stuff we need to live). It seems like it could be a fun 'vacation', but then there are so many things that can go wrong on the road when you're over-extending past your comfort point.

  6. #6
    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
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    Get ear plugs for when DW snores. Lol
    I was often sitting at the picnic under the awning working on the laptop.
    You can maybe use one of those lap cushion laptop things. Lol I forget what their called. My kids use them

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    Steph & Lise
    2019 F150 Lariat 2.7 EB
    2020 Imagine XLS 22MLE

  7. #7
    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
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    https://www.amazon.ca/Lap-Desk-Lapto...60858290&psc=1
    Something like this

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    Steph & Lise
    2019 F150 Lariat 2.7 EB
    2020 Imagine XLS 22MLE

  8. #8
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FlakKnight View Post

    when you're over-extending past your comfort point.
    That is when you GROW !!!!!
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

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