Planning to RV full-time this spring

[Sarah in SC]

Your vet should be able to come up with some good ideas on acclimating the kitties. My sister just drove from SC to Vermont with her six cats, small dog, and three children in a Suburban. Frankly, if that can be done, anything is possible.

Since they are indoor cats, they will probably view the RV like mine do--as a great place to find cool hidey-holes and places to perch. The key will be to find/create a perfect space for their litter boxes that is out of traffic but convenient. I would put a coach that offers some nice little closet you could outfit with a cat door at the top of my shopping list if I were you.

We plan to use our old coach as an evacuation pod should a hurricane threaten. I just hope our numbers are lower then than now, with 6 dogs and 6 cats. And heaven help us if the sheep is still alive then!

I am so excited for you--the kitties will adapt and probably love it. Be sure you get them microchipped and have several collars for each one made that include cell numbers and your status as RVers. Keep some good clear pictures handy as well, just in case the unimaginable happens and they get away from you at a campground somewhere.

[audreyh1]

One more fulltimer tip. This might be unique! We stumbled across it ourselves and now we swear by it.

When Amazon offered it's new "Prime" membership a couple of years ago, we decided to go for the free trial. For a flat annual fee of $79, you (and anyone else in your household) pays NO SHIPPING for 2-day shipping all year, no minimum orders.

Anything marked "Amazon Prime" provides this benefit - it covers anything Amazon sells plus several other companies for whom Amazon does the order fulfillment.

And anything you order to send to someone else is covered too - great for gifts, etc.

And Amazon is not just for books. We buy appliances, software, computer stuff, non-perishable groceries, kitchen utensils, other household items, etc. It's amazing what they carry, and a lot of it qualifies.

So, as you can imagine, for fulltimers moving around quite a bit, the ability to order something and get it 2 days later is pretty handy! $3.99 per item to upgrade to overnight, so if you really need something fast and you are strapped, it can be a good solution.

And Amazon has also been offering 4-for-3 deals and other discounts on lots of items. We take advantage of that quite often.

Amazon is also very flexible about where they ship. They are super easy to deal with in terms of returns or other problems. You can order pretty late in the day and still something will ship that day - they let you know how many hours you have left. They are really good about expediting shipment.

I think the only complaint I have is that sometimes Amazon does not do a good job on the packaging, so we are pretty careful about ordering sensitive electronics from Amazon unless we know the manufacturer itself has super robust packaging.

So it's been super useful to us. Once our coffee maker went out. It's not something easy to find and we were too far from a town with big enough stores to carry a good selection of appliances. Ordered and had new coffeemaker in 2 days - no problem. This is a typical story for us.

Just wanted to pass that along. It might come in handy. Ordering stuff on the road can be quite tricky, especially from vendors who only ship inexpensively via UPS/Fedex ground and others who get very strict about shipping to a place that appears to be a campground or some type of "resort".

Audrey

[Gone4Good]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 So, as you can imagine, for fulltimers moving around quite a bit, the ability to order something and get it 2 days later is pretty handy! $3.99 per item to upgrade to overnight, so if you really need something fast and you are strapped, it can be a good solution.

Interesting. I kind of thought my days of ordering from Amazon were over. I didn't realize you could have stuff shipped to campgrounds.

Good tip.

[audreyh1]

Companies vary widely with where they will ship if it's different from your billing address. Amazon is the most flexible we have ever dealt with. I probably have 25+ addresses saved in my on-line Amazon address book.

Ordering stuff does actually become more important when living on the road because you will find yourself in areas where you can't buy what you want, or you don't have the time to go find it. At least that seems to happen to us often. We have traded out the convenience of urban living for the peace, quiet and beauty of being in the country most of the time. Fortunately Fedex and UPS go almost anywhere.

Another reason why we love our larger refrigerator/freezer - stock up with decent groceries when we are near an urban area, then live off it for several weeks when we are out in the beautiful boonies. We often stay places where it is 20 miles or more to get to a decent grocery store.

Audrey

[Gone4Good]

Thanks again Audrey. And keep the tips coming. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting my arms around this, which probably just means I'm missing something.

[REWahoo]

If you knew everything you needed to know the entire experience would be boring...

[Bram]

DH & I have been "semi" full-timing for the past 6 years in a 38' travel trailer pulled with a heavy duty truck. I am retired, dh still working. We had our old kitty with us for the first 4 years (had to have her euthanized 2 yrs ago @ age 15). Sometimes we had her crated & with us in the truck & sometimes we kept her crated in the travel trailer. Either way, whenever we stopped for a meal or an extended rest we would turn her loose in the tt to eat/drink/potty/roam. I won't say she liked traveling, but she did fine & was none the worse for wear. I tell you this so you won't discount the other RV type options simply because of your cats.

And a tip: if you have slide outs, be sure your cats are crated before sliding in or out. I've read where people have had tragic results because of their pets being in unexpected places.

[Kronk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bram DH & I have been "semi" full-timing for the past 6 years in a 38' travel trailer pulled with a heavy duty truck.

Gotta say, I think that's the coolest setup going. Not that I have ever been RV'ing in my life, but just the HDT thing seems like fun. And even topping the straight HDT/5th wheel setup are those that carry a Smart car on the bed of the HDT.

[Bram]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronk Gotta say, I think that's the coolest setup going. Not that I have ever been RV'ing in my life, but just the HDT thing seems like fun. And even topping the straight HDT/5th wheel setup are those that carry a Smart car on the bed of the HDT.

Actually our HDT has a "box" on the back & that's where our 4x4 suv & dh's Harley are stored for travel, then the tt is hitched to it. Our total length is 84' (or so, whatever is legal length?,,, I'm not sure). Needless to say, *I* don't drive it!

[REWahoo]

84 feet!!! Wow, that is some train you're pulling down the road. I thought my 62' motor home and toad were pretty long, but you guys are getting to the point you can turn in a circle and check your own brake lights...

[HFWR]

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Originally Posted by REWahoo I thought my 62" motor home and toad...

Quote:

Numbers is hard...

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

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Originally Posted by REWahoo I thought my 62" motor home and toad...

Cozy. With slides or withoiut?

[REWahoo]

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Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa Cozy. With slides or withoiut?

The toad is actually a tree frog...

[BunsGettingFirm]

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Originally Posted by . . . Yrs to Go Interesting. I kind of thought my days of ordering from Amazon were over. I didn't realize you could have stuff shipped to campgrounds. Good tip.

Amazon kicks ass. Just ordered the following items in the last week in two separate orders: a car charger for my phone, an Emmanuel Ungaro shirt, a Salsa video recommended by Haha and a Merengue video just for kicks. I can't imagine the hassle of having to find all of these items in meat space.

[NW-Bound]

I am still reading up on RVs and blogs of full-time RV'ers.

I cannot see myself becoming a nomad. However, I can see that it is difficult to travel light when you become a full-timer. Even the largest RV cannot hold the contents of an ordinary small home. For treks of 1 to 2 months, it is easier to travel in a smaller arrangement that allows you to stay in more places than just RV campgrounds. If Steinbeck were to do his Travels with Charley today, he would have more comfortable vehicle choices than he had.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo 84 feet!!! Wow, that is some train you're pulling down the road. I thought my 62' motor home and toad were pretty long, but you guys are getting to the point you can turn in a circle and check your own brake lights...

Oh man! My motorhome plus tow is only 53ft long!

Audrey

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I cannot see myself becoming a nomad. However, I can see that it is difficult to travel light when you become a full-timer. Even the largest RV cannot hold the contents of an ordinary small home. For treks of 1 to 2 months, it is easier to travel in a smaller arrangement that allows you to stay in more places than just RV campgrounds. If Steinbeck were to do his Travels with Charley today, he would have more comfortable vehicle choices than he had.

The only reason we are in a diesel motorhome monster is because we are fulltimers and need all the storage for all-weather/all-season living. Otherwise I think we would have worked really hard to keep it 28 feet or less for the ability to stay in far more cramped spaces. As it is we are on the "shortest possible" for us at just under 37 feet. Still, we are able to fit motorhome and tow (parked sideways) in a 50 foot back-in space and that means we still fit a lot of places.

Nope - can't carry the contents of a small home. Still need to cut way back, double/triple duties for most things, minimum clothes, books, cut way back on kitchen stuff, etc. I think of us as living in a small efficiency apartment, but I guess it's smaller than that. Maybe a college dorm room.....

Except we do have a basement!

I've noticed that plenty of the bigger rigs pull their "garage" behind them - you know, a tall enclosed 25+ ft trailer.

Audrey

[Gone4Good]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound However, I can see that it is difficult to travel light when you become a full-timer. Even the largest RV cannot hold the contents of an ordinary small home.

Storage space will be a challenge, but I think it will be OK. We've learned to travel essentially indefinitely with just the contents of our carry on luggage. I'm assuming our rig will allow us a few more things than that.

[IndependentlyPoor]

My SO just sent me this photo of his idea of the perfect RV. Maybe it should be called a Class G.

[heyduke]

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Originally Posted by audreyh1 Now, one question is - why do you want to get rid of/move out of your current abode? For John and I, we had been planning to move out of Austin (lovely city, but we really didn't want to live in a city anymore) for a long time, but we couldn't figure out where, and didn't want to interrupt our heavy traveling schedule to set up a new permanent abode somewhere else. So the fulltimer thing solved that problem neatly. But we run into lots of couples who have a home somewhere but still go on extended 6 month RVing trips. They feel like they have the best of both worlds. They do! They also have the expenses of both worlds, but obviously they can afford it. Many of these folks live somewhere they really love, or have a beautiful home they adore, or live near valued family and like to be there for many months a year as well. Audrey

Okay, here is the situation my DW and I will retire in very early 2012 and we had been studying places we wanted to move to as well. And then all of the sudden I say to her last week what about not having a house and RV'ing it for several years to get a lot of quality traveling in while investigating places to live at the same time. .. and she says Great Idea! so now I am also investigating this life style. We too currently live in Texas at the other schools location but are ready to move on...