Full Time RVing Info

Several people have asked us about RV full timing, and they are considering the lifestyle for themselves. We’ve had in person conversations, and email exchanges as well. We decided to place some of the information into our blog.

Sandy says: full timing is great, but it is not for everyone. You do a lot of downsizing and suddenly you don't have a permanent house. It was scary at first. I have to admit that once we were rid of all the stuff, the house, and the bills, it was a relief to know I did not have to go to work everyday just to pay for things that were no longer making me happy. I am a lot happier now, and I feel more relaxed than after an hour of yoga.

What's great is that you can enjoy better weather in the winter and still have a cabin (on wheels) by the setting of your choice at any time.

Things I don't like: finding a place and time to do my quilting, but I am working on it! It can feel a little cramped at times, but the great outdoors usually fixes that problem. Hunting for or digging out well-stored items and then wondering what was I thinking when I packed everything. But we have only been doing this for less than 3 months and I hope to get better as we travel around the US.

We decided on our Bluebird partly because it doesn’t have slide-outs, it feels more solid, and our cats would be with us as we travel down the road. The slide-outs have some problems, but a lot of people like them. If a slide-out breaks while out, you don't go anywhere until it is fixed or you figure out how to get it back in. If it is very windy out, the slide-outs may need to be pulled in and traveling they are in, and that makes for a more enclosed area.

My suggestion is to physically get out there and look at different rigs. When you are looking at the rigs, think of how you would live in it. Would you be able to cook in the small kitchen area? What about storage areas? Enough room in the shower? If you decide on slide-outs, can you live in it with the slide-out in because of bad weather/travel? It is just like buying a house just smaller.


Dan says: The best full timers’ link on the internet is Escapees Forums, so research there first. On the forums, the question of 5th wheel versus motor-home versus trailer has been discussed many times. There are all types of “how to” questions/discussions. You can spend days/weeks reading old posts - very informative:
http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php .
People on the forums are very good at answering all questions. Escapees RV Club is designed for full-timers, and is inexpensive, offers a TX address and mail forwarding as well. Escapees has some campgrounds, and options to lease/buy lots as well.

Most people choose TX, FL, or SD for "domicile". All are state income tax free. We chose SD and use http://www.americas-mailbox.com/ in Rapid City as our mail forwarding service - it is our address. We use a Verizon air card for internet connectivity, $60 a month, with a 5 gigabyte per month limit. We connect through a roof cell antenna, amp, wireless modem, laptops, wireless printer - details are elsewhere on our blog. We use Verizon for our cell phones as well.

With 5th wheels, you MUST have a big enough tow vehicle. Pulling power AND stopping power for safety is a must. A Ford F350 dually is marginal at best with a large multi-slide 5th wheel. A 550 class, or Medium Duty Truck (MDT), or Heavy Duty Truck (HDT - think semi) is highly recommended. Once into the 38-40' foot multi slide 3 axle 5th wheels, only a MDT or HDT is safe - read escapees forum website linked above for sections on MDT/HDT.

Once you have a MDT/HDT to safely pull a large 5th wheel, then it becomes your (large) drive around vehicle when you park the 5th wheel. The 5th may get hot or cold while you pull it. When you pull over for a break, you lock the tow vehicle and walk back to the 5th wheel. The upside is more room, and it is more like an apartment on wheels.

When you have a Motor-home (coach), you climate control it while you drive, and can pull a small economy vehicle behind to run around in when parked. On safe wide 4 lane roads, the passenger can walk back to use the restroom, grab a snack etc. When the driver pulls over for a break - he/she can walk back to the rest-room or for a snack in seconds, without leaving the vehicle (think busy rest stop with questionable folks hanging around, or a driving rain).

If you travel with pet(s), they are right with you in coach; usually they are back in the rig with a 5th wheel. With a coach, you may already own a car you can tow behind - links below with info on that.

So you are trying to decide on either a 5th wheel, or a coach, plus a tow truck or tow car, and if you have a budget less than $$ big bucks to get started, as most of us do, you run into these choices:

Choice one is a new/newer, lower cost, but also lower quality rig that really is not designed for full-timing. It WILL begin to fall apart over time - how long do you envision full timing? If you go this route pay the $100 or so to join RV Consumer Group and get their ratings. http://rv.org/

Choice two is an older high end rig designed for longevity, but perhaps needing to be updated for modern technology and to upgrade/replace some aging items like tires, batteries, fridge, hot water heater, etc. I recommend option 2, but saving $10,000 on your allotted budget for upgrades/replacements (perhaps better converter/inverter, solar, GPS, XM radio, tires, batteries, etc). It helps to be mechanically inclined and able to work on 12 volt power systems.

On this second choice we looked at used high end 5th wheels and tow trucks, bus conversions, Country Coach and Newmar motor-homes, and finally Bluebird Coaches. Bluebird Wanderlodges were very expensive when new and were/are high end rigs - see below for some links.

http://www.rvtrader.com/ will give you some ideas on used rigs, and NADA on line has some pricing info. Specific Bluebird info is below in case these coaches interest you. Search for "Bluebird" and also for "Wanderlodge" if you look for NADA pricing, or when searching for rigs for sale.
Good links:

Campground reviews: http://www.rvparkreviews.com/
Passport America 1/2 price camping: http://www.passportamerica.com/

How to:
Poop sheets by Fred http://www.phrannie.org/phredex.html
Tow car wiring for lights: http://www.roadmasterinc.com/pdf/85-1409-E.pdf
Set up for towing car: http://www.blueox.us/ and http://www.towingworld.com/
Modify your car for towing: http://www.remcotowing.com/
What cars can you tow w/o modifying vehicle: http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/output.cfm?ID=213607

NADA Prices: http://www.nadaguides.com/SectionHome.aspx?LI=1-28-0-5000-502-579-50251&l=1&w=25&p=0&f=5602

Sewer hoses: sewer master is superb - tons better than our old hoses - http://www.dmbruss.com/zFullTimeLifeStyle/FTLS_Sewer.htm

Bluebirds are available in several types. Some of the newer Wanderlodges ran almost a million dollars new, and were designed (when maintained correctly) to be million mile rigs. There are superb support owners groups on line to maintain these rigs - a very knowledgeable group you rarely find with other rigs.

Bluebird (BB) links:
I like this one best: http://www.wanderlodgeownersgroup.com/forums/

More BB links:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/BlueBirdBMCowners/
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/WanderlodgeForum/

Some "Birds" for sale are listed here:
http://www.birdconnection.com/

And more for sale here – and a great guy to deal with on consignment coaches, with some really good deals right now. This guy used to own the company producing Dupree sewer dump valves, used on many rigs. He has been around Bluebirds most of his life - one of the top experts in the country: http://www.buybyebluebird.com/ Prices are WAY down from 1 year ago.

To learn about Bluebird models/changes year by year start here 1st: http://www.vintagebirds.com/
See history and at top left of the page click on model changes (Includes model list for each year and a cheat sheet as to what a FC/PT/BMC/SP etc are).

We had an 83 Bluebird Wanderlodge FC35 before this coach. On transmission, 5 speeds are better than 4, and 6 better than 5. I prefer a 4 stroke engine over a 2 stroke. I prefer PTs and BMC over FCs. On FCs, I prefer the 87 - 89 years. The SP is nice.

The PTs with 2 stroke Detroit engines and 4 speeds will be lucky to get 5-6 MPG. BMC/FC/SP will likely get 8 MPG (which is what you see at best on all big motor-homes pulling a tow car). A PT with 5 speeds will do better on MPG than the 4 speed. If you have the bucks, a PT with a Detroit 4 stroke engine and 6 speeds is very nice - and decent mpg for a high end bus based coach.

Our BB BMC is on a Spartan chassis with a Cummins 4 stroke engine and an Allison 6 speed trans with 2 overdrive gears. It is simpler than the Wanderlodges, yet still has great build quality. We plan to keep ours for a very long time.