Class A's Back in Thoughts

A few weeks ago I started thinking of Class A's and started looking at those again. That was my original RV when I started thinking on what to do. Last summer and fall I took 2 trips to large RV lots just to look at different models to get a feel for what I liked.

I remember and noted in my iPhone notes, that the Class A felt much bigger inside and I liked that. It felt comfortable. Since I am traveling with not only 3 dogs but 1 of those being fairly large (bloodhound), I feel that would be the best option. I could still boondock where I wanted, would have more storage, larger tanks and a larger area to install solar panels. Also I would have more room for the comforts of my life and some addictions ie: large mac monitor, large tv screen for ballgame viewing and room for the hounds to lay on the floor, their normal position most of their days.

I could then possibly tow a 4x4 vehicle and then do some tent camping away from the Class A, which would be my "base camp"....a little backwards from my thinking of driving a 4x4 vehicle and towing a small trailer to get further off the grid.

It may have been watching WheelingIt for the past year and seeing the places they boondock, workcamp etc ... living in a 40'er and towing a 4x4 vehicle.

Yes, if maintenance is needed, I may not be able to stay in the rv while work is being done but many that I read about are able to stay in the lot in their rv. Gas mileage....if I am not towing anything will get about the same mpg as I would if I were driving a SUV towing a trailer and would have less power. Maintenance costs might be higher, but I have some friends that have had zero to little repair work done. Upkeep would be handled by my savings.

Thinking about the Class A option makes me feel better about making a change. It helps to know I would have enough space for me and the hounds, have the ability to stay off the grid a little longer than a small trailer due to the size of tanks and having more than enough storage even if I travel light.

The prices are low right now from what I have seen. I have never stopped looking at Class A's and C's.  I am thinking somewhere between the 32'-35' range in length.

Sitting here in my spare room that has desks, computers, bicycle on a stand, a large inside dog kennel and is not much smaller than the living space of a 17' Casita I keep feeling I need/want something bigger.

I finally feel like I am getting somewhere in the decision making process.

Oh ... the new job?  I can see myself workcamping as an option by next spring or summer....more than staying and working. My days will be nothing more than one meeting after another .... doesn't excite me.

Back to cleaning out more of my stuff, list things on eBay, Craig's List and donate a lot of it to the local goodwill in this small town.

Snow is still around outside but at least today the vision of full-timing is much much clearer.

Class A it will be.

Will 2013 Bring Changes?

Happy New Year to my followers and the other people that read this blog. I hope that 2013 will be a good year for all of you.

I looked at my post from last January and also the last two posts I had in December 2011. It was quite a surprise actually....and sad in a way.  The weather was the same and my thoughts were so similar to what I have now that I could have cut and pasted those posts for today.

To me that is a sad, depressing find.

I spend a year researching different RVs or trailer combos, read blogs from other fulltimers daily, get great advice by email .... then a year later I don't feel any different????  Really?? I guess in a way that shouldn't be surprising. I at times have felt like I have been in a major rut and I think seeing the blog posts from a year ago being so similar to what I was going to write today, confirms my feelings over this past year.

I think later today around the 2 football games I am going to watch, I will pull an old book from the shelf and re-read some different chapters explaining the "Stuck" phenomenon. The book is called Stuck -- Why We Can't (or Won't) Move On by Anneli Rufus....along with a nice fresh cup of Seattle's Best Coffee. Maybe there will be an answer in there somewhere.

Don't take all of this post wrong.  I haven't fallen off the deep edge. I have made attempts to look at 3 different 16'-18' Casita and Escape trailers, all with negative results. The one I liked the best, had all the mods I wanted, sold 2 days before I could make the trip to see it. The 2nd choice, I have not heard from the owner via forum reply, email reply and a phone message. The last one was just in what I considered bad shape. I got bad vibes as soon as I was walking towards it, but the price was right ... I guess for a reason.

Since they seem to hold their resale value, I may just buy a new Casita or Escape if I decide to go that direction.

"You mean the direction may be changing AGAIN??" ... you ask.

Yep, after 14 months I still can't make up my mind what I want to travel in.  I am just as confused about a RV/Trailer as I have always been.  Maybe that book today will help me sort that out.

Last week after reading Wheelingit, a blog I read daily ... I thought the room for me and the hounds, the floor plan and the ability to boondock on the desert floor is the best option. I was told early in my research, that the floorplan was the most important when buying an RV.  So I started looking at Class A's that were 32' - 35'.

Shoeless Joe is another blogger I read daily, with his 31' Jayco Class C. That set up would also give me plenty of room for my big bloodhound, ability to tow if needed and could get to a few more spots than the Class A could. He sent me a picture of his living room set up so we could match "sports addiction" ideas that would be nice in an RV.

Then there is the all-time favorite Casita boondocker - RVsue - with her two small dogs, great mods and how to do them along with all of her traveling information...so valuable to me.  We are similar because of the reasons to full-time, enjoying being off the grid and away from people. I'll remind you that even where I live now, at times I don't leave my house from the time I get home on Friday until I leave for work on Monday morning.

So those are the three lifestyles I have been looking at for the past 14 months, along with many others that I love to read about. Everyone in different situations, different phases of their RVing and different rigs. All great blogs and a great source of information.

So will 2013 be a year of making the change?

It might very well happen.  As I mentioned in December, due to a change in policy, I will be moving to a different position tomorrow January 2.  This takes me away from an accounting field that I enjoy more than anything even though the job was a PIA at times, like all jobs really. The important thing that might make me change my plan fairly quick and hit the road ... I am not excited nor motivated about this new job ... at all ... nada, no zip, a bad feeling that I am trying to be positive about.  It will be in an area of project management support instead of "crunching numbers and counting beans". There are just a few aspects of the job that I am not thrilled about.

So 2013 may be bring big changes and a lot more blog posts if things start heading in the direction of hitting the road.  When I am not thrilled about things are the times I make major changes ... I've seen it happen before.

So stay tuned.

Thanks for reading, comments are welcomed and be safe!

Maybe the Time has Arrived

I've read in past blogs that for some RVer's, unexpected events took place that led them in the direction of fulltiming in an RV. For me the unexpected event may be taking place. I mentioned a few posts ago about the changes at my job. Well this week with each meeting things changed and as usual everyone has to have "their" meeting about the situation. It's actually fun to watch these people "tap dance" and each with a different spin on whats happening.

Abruptly my contract will come to a halt December 31, instead of April 2014. I can keep the same job and just switch to the company that has taken over the contract for my job. It's a company I don't like and they would pay me less for doing the same work, the same stress, the same daily bs.

Or I could stay with my current company, as they try to place me and another person they just hired 3 months ago in a different positions outside of finance. Problem is, finances/money/numbers are my thing ... not PowerPoint slides, boring meetings, written reports, etc. I love working with spreadsheets and analyzing budgets / expenditures.

So you see I am kinda between a rock and a hard place. OR I may be in a very very good place because it might just be the situation to move me in finding a trailer sooner and hit the road.

To keep the job I like ... I have to work for a company after December 31 that I don't like.

To work with a company I like ... I may have to go to a job that I don't like, also by December 31.

Have I confused you?

I noticed yesterday the house down the highway a 1/2 mile finally sold after being on the market for only about 6 months. The house was in terrible shape and the asking price was higher than what I would have asked for mine. So I am kicking myself for not making a decision last summer of putting my house on the market. I couldn't make up my mind on whether to keep it or not and it may have cost me a sale.

Now with my current job situation the thought of selling is a little more stronger and I actually see being on the road a much better option, than staying here and working in a situation I don't like but would only do for a paycheck every 2 weeks after December 31.

Maybe this recent job situation is what I needed to kick me in the ass and get me moving in the direction of pulling up stakes while the weather is still good and getting out of here before the weather gets cold and snowy. Whats the worst thing could happen? I could find out I don't like living fulltime on the road and I need a house so I would end up in the western USA where I want to stay anyway and either buy or rent a place out in the boonies somewhere in a small town.

All this I have thought about for over a year but it looks like "an unexpected event" has had to happen to move me into action.

Sebastian

This link hit home tonight while I was reading it. I've had a couple of friends tell me a lot of the same things. It was written a few years ago but still states the same thoughts I've had for over a year now.

The post here hits home: It sounds loud and clear!

No Progress

Just like before ... a burst of "I'm going to clean, downsize and sell", then back to the normal routine of work, watch ballgames, sleep, eat, work, watch ballgames, sleep, eat. Anyone else go through the up and down roller coaster when they were trying to decide what to do? I warned you that I had a college football and basketball addiction.

Email traffic is leaning towards "always have a base camp" and I see that more and more from the blogs I follow. That doesn't mean my base camp has to be in my current location. There is one thing I have noticed in my search of small houses in off the grid towns in the west ... much more expensive for what I live in now. I could buy at lower prices and then spend to upgrade to livable conditions. While I would be fixing up a new SB, that would also take time away from traveling. These locations that I am looking at are small towns in the SW, near larger towns such as the location I live in now ... only difference is the weather of course.

I was never much of a pack rat anyway, but I have still downsized a lot and am basically living in this house with the bare necessities.

It's too long of a story to go into but I found this past week, as of the end of December due to reorganization, my current job will change. My job is not going away, but due to approved changes, for me to continue to have "access" to the financial system that I currently have in performing my job I would have to change to the company that has that contract. I am not going to do that since I work for a great company and they have slotted me for a different position in the same department.

When I heard the news last week of the December 31 deadline, I thought for a short time it might be the right time to pack up and leave and get a taste of living on the road in the SW for the winter. I found out that I like my house, the land that I live on, a structured environment, with the ability to get away when I want even if it is just for the day. Also I have to admit, my hounds have a great routine and a great field to roam in.

So like a friend told me after my last post, "things can always change" ... it might have changed back to my normal routine this past week.

On the subject of downsizing I have a funny story just as an example on why it is so hard for the American public to resist the continuous buying.  Besides all of the junk email, TV ads and a few regular mail of coupons to save ... I bought 2 (TWO) things yesterday at 2 different stores. I bought a pair of shoes at Dick's Sporting Goods and a DVD recorder at Best Buy. For that I was handed the following by the cashier:

Dick Sporting Goods - a receipt that was 17" long!!!!  $10 off on my next purchase for filling out a survey. "Special" Holiday Financing offer.  They were shocked when I said I would use my debit card to pay.

Best Buy - a receipt that was 14" long!!!  For ONE item.  Same type of offers, surveys and a threat never to lose this receipt if my "disposable" DVD recorder were to stop working and I would want to return it. They seem to only last around 6 months anyway, thus the name "disposable".

Sorry the blog is boring, so up and down and no travel decisions but I'll take it one day at a time and see how it goes.

Boondocking and Isolation

Those two words in the title never seem to leave my thoughts and today came back into the mental scene like a high speed storm. Sell everything, hit the road and figure things out on the way.

How's that for a wide range of thinking?

I have 4 days off from work after tomorrow, the 21st, and plenty of time to shampoo my carpets, wash down the walls, a thorough cleaning, more downsizing and put that brand new "for sale" sign in the front yard. Yes, I know it's the holidays, I know its winter and maybe it will not sell during this time ... but at least it's a start and if I were to get lucky with a sale, then I hit the road.

I am not sure of the reason for the sudden change in thinking.

My favorite college basketball team is #1 until they get beat and they will get beat eventually ... maybe tonight. Yet, I know I can watch them anywhere in the USA with my Directv dish and transfer my service.

All I thought about today during a slow day of work ... was boondocking and sitting somewhere with warm weather, a slight breeze, sun and 3 hounds napping outside on a rug.

So we will see. I think I am going to be very productive these next 4 days and that will get me back in forward motion of clearing my house out, selling it and hitting the road.

What if it doesn't sell?  After a period of time where I give it a chance to sell, I'll buy a trailer, head west and see what the future brings.

RVsue's story has always been very interesting as well as her current blog posts. When I read last year, the reason she decided to sell out and hit the road I could see we had similar reasons.

Stay tuned.