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Old 10-24-2018, 06:17 AM   #1
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Tips Please

What are some tips for Full time RV living?
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Old 10-24-2018, 06:55 AM   #2
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Welcome Michael, tell us something about yourself.
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Old 10-24-2018, 08:48 AM   #3
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Watch your humidity levels, especially in the winter, to prevent mold growth. Primary condensation control is your windows and vents. Open your upper cabinets at night or install vents to help mitigate condensation in those enclosed spaces.

Another tip: Everything has a place, and keep it in its place.

Another: Weigh your rig. And measure your tongue weight. Don’t guess.

Another: You can camp for free on the side of California Highways eg Hwy 1, as long as its not posted otherwise. There are a lot of beautiful scenic pullouts in NorCal along 1.
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Old 10-24-2018, 09:06 AM   #4
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Thank you Jim. I am a traveler junkie about to hit the road anytime soon.
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Old 10-24-2018, 09:07 AM   #5
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Thank you @sclifrickson.
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Old 10-26-2018, 07:10 PM   #6
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Full timing thoughts

We sold our home and full-timed in our bus conversion for several years before building our current home in New Mexico. One of the bigger challenges was to figure out what files, paperwork to bring along and how to handle bill paying, license plate renewals, driver's licenses, voting, dental and medical and the like. It is easier now with more choices for automated bill paying and paperless billing alternatives. Mail service still remains a issue for things like voter registration, tax statements and so forth but there are multiple sources for mail fowarding. If you full time, you will need to be honest with your insurance company and your insurance premiums will go up. Despite the hassles, our full timing years were some of the best. We are quarter-timers now and that is pretty fun also. Enjoy!
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Old 10-26-2018, 07:38 PM   #7
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Physical Residence Address

Forgot to mention, as a full-timer, you will also have to face the issue of always needing a physical address for passport, driver's license, voting and other matters. You need a plan for that and consider taxation when deciding where that should be.
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Old 10-26-2018, 08:06 PM   #8
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If you haven't already, check out the fulltiming folder over on the FiberglassRV forum:
Fulltiming in a Molded Fiberglass Trailer - Fiberglass RV
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Old 10-27-2018, 11:14 AM   #9
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While not full timing, I travel for 8-9 months at a time. Some rambling suggestions -

If you keep a permanent address (home) get Informed Delivery from the Post Office. They email you a photo of the mail that will appear in your mailbox each morning. Useful for surprise bills, jury summons, etc. Of course you can't see inside the envelope, but it is still useful.

If you have prescriptions, be sure you & your doctor have a procedure to get refills on the road. Until we settled this, I had often spend a day or two longer than I wanted, waiting for a phoned in refill. While there are some advantages to going with a pharmacy that is a national chain, that does not solve all the refill problems since you need the current pharmacy to transfer a refill from the last pharmacy, even if it is the same chain. Time zones, pharmacy hours, etc can make this a pain.

For your comfort, pay attention to altitude, particularly out west. Changing a couple 1000' can make a big difference in comfort. I can't tell you how many times I've gone from 80°F afternoon days to 30°F nights and snow just climbing a few 1000'. Many of the campground apps give altitude information that is worth paying attention to. You can use this to your advantage during the summers by heading for altitude for cooler temperatures even in what are considered warm parts of the country.

Think about how you plan to entertain yourself. While traveling to new places is exciting, eventually you are going to have to deal with the fact that you are no longer with your usual friends, your usual haunts, etc, particularly if you travel solo. For some it will be TV, although there are many parts of the country where only satellite is available, for some reading - I go through 3-4 books per week. While you will meet new people, most campgrounds are friendly places, etc, eventually you are going to have time on your hands - be prepared for it.

A pet is a difficult decision. I know there are many that couldn't conceive of traveling without at least one, but do remember that most national parks do not allow pets on trails, and leaving one in the trailer while hiking, etc is not practical.

When I first started roaming (around 2011) with a trailer, I rarely had a problem finding a campsite without making reservations. Unfortunately, each year since then it has become a bit more difficult. The more popular the location, the more difficult. In the past, once school opened, the campgrounds cleared. This is no longer true. As long as you are willing to put up with longer searches for sites, stopping earlier in the day, dry camping, etc it is still possible to travel without reservations, but it is getting more difficult. The industry sold 700,000 RVs last year - most of them are competing with you for a place to stay for the night!
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Old 10-27-2018, 06:26 PM   #10
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Thanks for the tips! I will begin full timing in December so will be following this post and others to learn as much as I can.

Yeah, the one thing I have found out is that planning ahead has become almost mandatory. Of course, I've done none of that so my first few months will likely be a bit stressful trying to find places to stay. But, I will figure it out!

Planning to make the rally in Quartzsite and maybe spend more time there for the winter months while I plan where to go and what to see.
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