Lovin Life Fulltiming

[Steven@147]

Since we went fulltime July 2020 it never ceases to amaze us the places we can go and the diversity of the areas we can visit. Just a few days ago we were in Northern Indiana freezing our butts off visiting family. Now running around in T-shirts and enjoying the warm weather on Galveston Island.

One thing we read about from full timers was remain flexible, and I can tell you we second that advice. We have learned a lot about ourselves and what we can tolerate, our rig, and how much it changes in different climates. The longest distance we traveled on one leg was just about 350 miles. Costs differences for items like groceries, propane, diesel, camping etc. We have learned a lot since july.

Our trip took us down through Indy, west on I 70, south down I57 and laid over in Marion Ill. Rain storms all the way. Then down I55 to I40 west and laid over a second night in Hazan Ark, just outside of Little Rock, again rain storms all the way and high winds. We laid over an extra day in Hazan Ark to let rain storms and close to freezing temps pass. From Little Rock then down I30 to Texarkana then down highway 59 to Livingston Texas at Lake Livingston. Nice sunny 60 * weather for most of the stay in Livingston. Visited Escappes and got our mail and some packages. Left Livingston a day early because rain storms and high winds were forecasted for our original travel day. Oh, we stopped long enough in Livingston to get the RV safety inspected on our route to Galveston Island RV Resort ahead of the storms and high winds. Got to Galveston in 70* weather and sunny.

Boy we were spending 2.79 / gallon for Diesel up north and filled up in Livingston for 1.99 / gallon. The truck in the real cold weather (20-30) used a lot of DEF. Propane in Indiana cost $30 to fill a 30 pound tank, in Livingston Texas at tractor supply it was $14. As soon as we hit warmer weather in Texas the truck DEF usage went way down. If fact the last time we filled the DEF tank was in Hazan Ak, now in Galveston the DEF gauge hasn't moved, its still full.

No major problems with the rig although we had to replace the converter and then before we left Indiana we had to cut the lock off the king pin, it was frozen.

We continue to learn and explore and enjoy our fulltiming freedom. Covid has not been a problem, we wear our masks, wash our hands, use hand sanitizer and maintain our distances. Life is still good!

[bhop56]

Since we went fulltime July 2020 it never ceases to amaze us the places we can go and the diversity of the areas we can visit. Just a few days ago we were in Northern Indiana freezing our butts off visiting family. Now running around in T-shirts and enjoying the warm weather on Galveston Island.

One thing we read about from full timers was remain flexible, and I can tell you we second that advice. We have learned a lot about ourselves and what we can tolerate, our rig, and how much it changes in different climates. The longest distance we traveled on one leg was just about 350 miles. Costs differences for items like groceries, propane, diesel, camping etc. We have learned a lot since july.

Our trip took us down through Indy, west on I 70, south down I57 and laid over in Marion Ill. Rain storms all the way. Then down I55 to I40 west and laid over a second night in Hazan Ark, just outside of Little Rock, again rain storms all the way and high winds. We laid over an extra day in Hazan Ark to let rain storms and close to freezing temps pass. From Little Rock then down I30 to Texarkana then down highway 59 to Livingston Texas at Lake Livingston. Nice sunny 60 * weather for most of the stay in Livingston. Visited Escappes and got our mail and some packages. Left Livingston a day early because rain storms and high winds were forecasted for our original travel day. Oh, we stopped long enough in Livingston to get the RV safety inspected on our route to Galveston Island RV Resort ahead of the storms and high winds. Got to Galveston in 70* weather and sunny.

Boy we were spending 2.79 / gallon for Diesel up north and filled up in Livingston for 1.99 / gallon. The truck in the real cold weather (20-30) used a lot of DEF. Propane in Indiana cost $30 to fill a 30 pound tank, in Livingston Texas at tractor supply it was $14. As soon as we hit warmer weather in Texas the truck DEF usage went way down. If fact the last time we filled the DEF tank was in Hazan Ak, now in Galveston the DEF gauge hasn't moved, its still full.

No major problems with the rig although we had to replace the converter and then before we left Indiana we had to cut the lock off the king pin, it was frozen.

We continue to learn and explore and enjoy our fulltiming freedom. Covid has not been a problem, we wear our masks, wash our hands, use hand sanitizer and maintain our distances. Life is still good!

I hear you. Been FT 1 year and still provides the thrill and rewards. Challenges yes but the sites seen, people met, being able to choose weather, etc is pretty cool. Just got back from a southwest trip last year, headed to northwest trip this year. Left cold, gray, rainy Nashville a couple weeks ago, now in Florida with nice weather. Safe travels to you and yours.

[Steven@147]

Thanks, safe travel to you and yours. Glad we got to Galveston early and settled in. I did not want to drive through Houston in bad weather. A huge storm hit last night as forecast, it was worse up in Livingston where we were, however a Tornado was reported in League City just over the bridge from Galveston, we monitor weather radio and cell phone apps. Wife and I took cover in the truck, at least it has airbags, didn't have time to walk or run upto the main office building. Everything good, no damage from hail or winds. Just another day in the fulltiming lifestyle.

One other thing that happened on our trip out of the ordinary. In the cold weather I had added air to the RV tires bringing them up to 105# psi. When we hit Houston the temp rose to 71* and the RV TPMS alarmed on a couple of the tires because the air pressure rose to 126#. Quickly assessed the situation and knew what was happening, no panic, just kept an eye on the tires and kept the speed to 65 or below. Its the first time the RV TPMS has ever alarmed in over 4000 miles. Yeah need to reset the limits or just let some air out of the tires. You know when you are getting experienced traveling and fulltimg when you quickly assess a situation and calmly address it.

[bhop56]

Thanks, safe travel to you and yours. Glad we got to Galveston early and settled in. I did not want to drive through Houston in bad weather. A huge storm hit last night as forecast, it was worse up in Livingston where we were, however a Tornado was reported in League City just over the bridge from Galveston, we monitor weather radio and cell phone apps. Wife and I took cover in the truck, at least it has airbags, didn't have time to walk or run upto the main office building. Everything good, no damage from hail or winds. Just another day in the fulltiming lifestyle.

One other thing that happened on our trip out of the ordinary. In the cold weather I had added air to the RV tires bringing them up to 105# psi. When we hit Houston the temp rose to 71* and the RV TPMS alarmed on a couple of the tires because the air pressure rose to 126#. Quickly assessed the situation and knew what was happening, no panic, just kept an eye on the tires and kept the speed to 65 or below. Its the first time the RV TPMS has ever alarmed in over 4000 miles. Yeah need to reset the limits or just let some air out of the tires. You know when you are getting experienced traveling and fulltimg when you quickly assess a situation and calmly address it.

You got it. Everyday I learn more and more about full time RV living. DW and I will be FT for at least 1 more year possibly two more. The front you mentioned above is on us now in Panama City Fl. Heavy rain and some weather alerts issued (mainly for offshore right now). But it is WARM! I have the TST TPMS. The only time my alarm has gone off is on cold days when I turn it on just to do a "spot check" while in camp. Fortunately no alerts while rolling. What I do in cold weather in prep to hit the road is check the tires visually as I tighten the lug nuts. Check with my air manual gauge if needed. When rolling down the road, the tires quickly go up 6, 7, 8 or 10 psi (due to road friction heat) even in cold weather and that usually puts them above 110 psi and at a safe range above 110 psi. If I'm moving from real high altitude to much lower altitude and to hot climate temps, then I keep a close watch on the TST data.

[el Rojo]

Great news Steven! Glad you're enjoying full timing.

Red

[Sportsdad60]

Great post. Thanks for sharing. I recently paid $1.85 for diesel here in Texas, filled the truck up upon arrival on Dec 6th and still have a half tank of fuel since we rarely use the truck when stakes are in the ground. Not sure about def, our 2000 7.3L doesn't use it.

We were planning to full time back in April 2019. We ended up as campground hosts on Flathead lake until June 2019, then paid cash for our current home on Flathead Lake MT, a dream home for us as we were freshly retired in our 50s.

So, we still had the desire and dream to FT and now we FT 5 months out of the year in warmer climates, so I guess you can say we are part time full timers.

[el Rojo]

Great post. Thanks for sharing. I recently paid $1.85 for diesel here in Texas, filled the truck up upon arrival on Dec 6th and still have a half tank of fuel since we rarely use the truck when stakes are in the ground. Not sure about def, our 2000 7.3L doesn't use it.

We were planning to full time back in April 2019. We ended up as campground hosts on Flathead lake until June 2019, then paid cash for our current home on Flathead Lake MT, a dream home for us as we were freshly retired in our 50s.

So, we still had the desire and dream to FT and now we FT 5 months out of the year in warmer climates, so I guess you can say we are part time full timers.

Do you have any pictures of Flathead Lake area? If so and you wish to share you might want to start another thread.

Red

[Steven@147]

To update further, I don't know someone may get some good out of our experiences, fulltiming is a full life change. We bought our rig two years ago and got used to it but have only been fulltiming since July 2020. Seems we learn something new every week. In our research we read several blogs and internet posting of people enjoying the life style. We have good friends Stacey and Tom of RV Texas Y'all and they fulltime in a motorhome. They have been very helpful.
Once you have gotten through the selection of your rig, motorhome, TT or 5th wheel, then decide how you want, and can afford to live fulltime and where you want to go.

One of the things we read about from others was tracking and maintaining costs and a budget, other fulltimes thought this was important. So many people they said go into it only to find out they can not afford to stay fulltime. So we put together a simple spreadsheet to track costs and expenses. Broke them down by categories,
Aug -Dec-2020 Calculated as averaged per month and average per day
RV Site and Electric $627.29 / Mo - $20.50 / Day
RV Expenses - Loan, Repair and Maint, Insurance, Propane, License Plates $920.97 / Mo - $30.10 / Day
Club Expenses - Good Sam, KOA, GD Forum, Trip Wizard, Escapees and mail forwarding 34.1 / Mo - $1.12 / Day
Truck Expenses - Diesel fuel, Insurance, License Plates, Repair and Maint $614 / Mo - 16.51 / Day (traveled 3000 miles in this time frame)
Health Care
Communications - Cell Phones, Visable Internet, Netflix, Amazon Prime $193.46 / Mo - $6.32 / Day
Food and Entertainment - Grocery, Entertainment, Dining Out $1192.02 / Mo - $38.92 / Mo (includes Misc & Laundry expenses)

Broken out separately - Misc Expenses - Misc, $ 1441.43 / Mo - $9.42 / Day includes Propane sniffer, Vet bills, Lowe's, RV Smart Weigh, Generator purchase
Laundry $184.50 / Month - $1.20 / Day. Thats doing laundry every week to 10 days.

Health care can be the single biggest cost hurdle in fulltiming, retired if you are under 65. It can also be the single biggest PITA to sift through all the BS. This varies widely throughout the States. This year through the exchange Tami and I have a policy through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas where we get enough subsidy that our costs are $0 per month for an 80/20 HMO plan and we are in pretty good health with no major problems. You have to really watch your income level and estimate it correctly for the coming year. We got to keep our GP doctor we have had for years. This July I have to move over to Medicare.

Other examples, so far Aug-Dec last year we averaged $20.50 per night and this was staying in private, state and resort type campgrounds. Right now we are staying at the Galveston RV Resort and got a special for $699 per month free electric power for Jan-March 6th. We can play pickleball, horse shoes, ping pong etc and a nice laundry.
As far as unforeseen expenses we had to replace a propane regulator and power converter in the RV and we have to get a new windshield for our truck (rock hit then crack). Fuel cost goes up and down depending on how often we move and how far we go. So far we have over 4000 miles on the rv.
But we still can live comfortably within our base income.
Food grocery and dining out are bigger expenses. We have been pretty good so the other day we went to the Pier 21 Wharf in Galveston, dinner cost $86 and change with some great wine! Great seafood, great atmosphere setting at a gulf view window. We spent 1.5 hours eating dinner and enjoying a night out.

Just some of the tings we have experienced so far. Lovin the Life!

Find something to do. First if you fulltime as a couple, you have to like each other to spend so much time in a more confining place. On bad weather days we have gotten pretty good at crosswords, playing dominos, card and board games or just reading a good book. On good days we take a lot of walks, go picnicking, take in the sites of where we are, look for senior rates and free things to do.
We share in the chores like doing the laundry, washing the dishes. Some RVers volunteer at campgrounds to keep busy, we haven't done that yet. We have a maintenance list of things to regularly look after on the RV. Every day we pick something on the list and get it done. Some nice sunny days we just sit in our lawn chairs at our site and talk to eachother. Then sometimes we plan and cook a good dinner using our MGM smoker grill, this keep the dining out costs down.

[el Rojo]

I didn't see a line item for beer LOL!

[Steven@147]

I didn't see a line item for beer LOL!

Well we did stop by Spec's Liquor to replenish our Captain Morgan and Disaronno. lol!