I Started Looking at Smaller Class C & B+

Yes, I moved my search away from Class A's to the Class C 27-31' and even some 27' Class B+ .... I LOVED them!!  I could see me getting away to locations that a Class A may not get. The main thing was, the repair cost. Class A diesel repair compared to a Ford engine Class C or B+ (with sides).

Sure I have the 3 hounds....but I tried a little trick in my house. I measured the living space of a Class B, put the hounds in that area and took a look at what I might be looking at. In a way, I think I could do it....reason is???

If I am parked somewhere out in the boondocks, BLM, Federal Parks or Corp of Civil Engineering land ... I am going to be OUTSIDE!!  Even if Im in a chair looking at the sights, reading or napping. ..... outside!!  I just need somewhere to fix my meals, sleep and watch games on the tv. I can do all of that inside a Class C or B+ and 3 lazy hounds.

What do they do now when I watch games ... they sleep.

I know the tanks are smaller, could decrease the number of days I am out but are larger tanks and more storage space a good reason to spend more for a larger Class A???

I am traveling light ... seriously.  When I was working at home a few years ago, I lived in a pair of jeans in the winter, shorts and tshirts in the summer.

I really like those Dynamax's.  I also like the Jayco Melbourne, like John's.  I can almost see a Lazy Daze, with half of the back room my computer desk and the other side the bed.

Blast away with comments ... I know ... always back and forth

A Crazy Day ... House Repairs

Saturday started out normal. Sunny and 84 degrees at 8am, waiting for the grass to dry so I can mow the yard. Cup of coffee and reading blogs. Just sent an email to my dad and a few minutes later, I lose power here at the house and as the overprice iMac plus the 27" monitor try to reboot there is a loud explosion outside at the transformer. It was nothing like I have heard before, even in the worst storms.

I go outside to make sure nothing has blown into the transformer, even though it's a perfect weather morning. Then look up on the roof where the main power goes into the fuse box, looks good there.

I check out my fusebox expecting some breakers to be popped ... and not a one ...not one. I called a couple of neighbors and a landscaping business nearby on the owner's cell phone.  Power completely out.  About the time I start to walk back inside, the transformer has a huge explosion!

Power is out for almost 4 hours and kicks back on just as the outside temps had hit 97 degrees. Yes, it was hot inside, outside etc.

In the meantime inside I smell a "slight' aroma of that infamous electrical burn smell. Even though the power is off, both surge protectors where the computer is  .... no lights, completely off.  I check my living room, one surge protector mounted into the socket is fried and "brown explosion" marks are on the wall.

Remaining calm and already in my mind thinking my HD large tv is history as well as the overpriced Mac's. Not being an electrician, I start my process of elimination. 2 fans plugged into different outlets are running so I'll plug my computer in that one directly to see if my worst fears are real or not, or will the overpriced Mac bootup????

Plug it into the wall outlet that I know is working .... computer boots up!  Shut that down and plug in my overpriced large Mac Monitor ... looks good. Both surge protectors are FRIED. (must have been that burnt smell).

On to the living room. One wall outlet is fried. I look at the other outlet with the wall mounted surge protector that I had my DVD player and PS3 plugged into due to the length of the cord. Due to those lengths, I had to plug my Directv DVD, my large TV into the fried outlet. Using an extension cord to reach the good outlet, I plug both tv and the DVR directly into the good outlet, both turn on. DVD says "starting up will take a few minutes".  I figure incorrectly that if I have a screen then both the tv and DVR are good....Call the tech help at Directv (she was great), we determine that the receiver is fried and she is sending out a replacement. We tried connecting to the tv with new HDMI cables, then the component and video cables ... no good.

An interesting thing that makes me think my tv is wasted. Maybe a reader with more electrical experience can enlighten me.

Each time I moved the component cables (red,blue,green) and the video cables to a different port (AV1 or AV2), the port it was plugged into would disappear from my tv source input list. Same thing happened when I tried 4 different HDMI ports...whatever port the cable was plugged into, that port would disappear from the list.

So, I head to Walmart for 2 new surge protectors, have my computer, ipad dock, modem, printer and desk light all working normal with the new surge protector.

I'll spend the rest of the night trying to find out if I can plug and play a DVD player and PS3 into the tv, one that is not getting a tv reception signal from the DVR, or will I need some sort of antenna signal to get the DVD player or the PS3 to play.

As for RV's ... It was a week of reading about a lot of problems with what some people had. A few LARGE repair bills ... much like my day today!!!

The yard was mowed but I kept thinking as I mowed, that I am so tired of house and yard upkeep. After some of the bill totals I read about, I am not so sure my house repair bills will be a lot lower than RV repairs.

There always seems to be some doubt in back of my mind about RVing.....and those HUGE repair costs is what keeps me wondering about the future. I have cashed saved for house emergencies but the more I save the tighter I get in spending it.

One Less Obligation

For those of you that have been reading my blog for a few months, you may have remembered that I spoke recently of being chosen for an accounting position different than the one I presently hold.  It was a potential new project, with more responsibility, thus higher pay and a longer obligation. Even though the job has not been given to my company yet, I let my future project manager know on Thursday that I had changed my mind and would not be accepting the new position.

This does a couple of things. It does not lock me into working for another 3 years and I can actually leave within 30 days after my house sells.

I feel that is just one more thing checked off the list that gets me closer to full-timing sooner.

Of course I have spent the time since my last post here, reading new blogs, new RV information, reading some of my old boondocking information and looking a RVs for sale.

I am also pretty sure I am going to buy a Class A. With the hounds I don't have much choice in that matter .... We need the room. There will be those times where due to weather or other unexpected things, where you will be inside longer than a normal day. It's those days the extra room and storage will work better than a Class C. Plus, the more I look at the Class A, the more I like them. Now if I were traveling solo, I would probably lean more to a Class C than I do now.

I have been surprised that I have found so many Class A's in good condition and within the price range where I can pay cash. Which leads to the discussion, is it really worth buying more RV for more money when I would need to finance some of the sales price, thus adding a monthly expense of RV payment. Then leave a home that is paid for, with no mortgage payment. Sure, I can write off the interest of the RV loan but is that really a good enough reason?

All I know is, like some of my readers have commented here and through emails, when the time is right everything will come together and it will happen. In the meantime all I can do is keep preparing to leave and keep checking off things on my "to do" list.

The Snowball is Starting to Pick Up Speed

Amazing how after a period of time of indecision, things start falling into place or different bits of information are found and different opportunities / ideas start revealing themselves.

In the past couple of days I have been able to release some things mentally that have been holding me up/back from rv'ing full time. It's been only 9 months since I read about the guy on Yahoo business page living in a Chinook. Then finding more and more blogs to follow and finding out just how many people of all ages are living full time on the road. Thus this urge to RV fulltime for the first time in my life practically took over my life in October 2011 and I was spending every waking moment to learn how and what it took to RV full time.

I tried a couple of times to "push it away" by ignoring my feelings, justifying how I liked my job, house and soon to be mortgage free. Then trying to not even think about it....but after a few weeks the feeling of RVing would come back and I'd start reading my blog list, looking at RV's etc and the urge was just as strong as it was in October 2011 when it was an obsession.

Now that I have "cleared" those mental blocks I have had, that prevented me of moving forward I can feel a ton of action by me is right around the corner. I have a few thing I want to do before I put my house on the market, nothing that 2 or 3 weekends won't take care of. I've been downsizing a little here and there and there is note much left to do in that department.

I have decided I am going to buy an older RV for cash, one that is top of the line for the features yet within my budget and cut my expenses bare (have already did that in my current living situation). I know what type of boondocking I want to do and which RV will be too big and which rv will be the right vehicle.

So that search for the right rv is on 100% right now.

The house will be painted inside and a couple minor wood repairs will be fixed, so the For Sale sign will be in the front yard within the next 4 weeks if not sooner.

I will give my 2-3 week notice at the time my house sells. (I think it will sell quick).  If there is a longer time to sell, like I said before I will leave and rent the place out  while its sitting for sale. I do have a person wanting to rent it by September if it doesn't sell.

This blog post really got me thinking hard this morning after spending most of the week at work thinking and wondering about the same stuff.

I'm outta here!!