I'm Fine, Thanks

For the past year Barb and I have been planning our escape from this rat race lifestyle. We've looked at to many RV's to count, we've worked out a budget at least four or five times. I've researched working on the road and where to stay and paying less by staying longer in one place. I think this is going to work. This is doable, it really is.

Then that little devil that sits up on your shoulder and tries to get you in trouble by whispering things in your ear. You know what he says. This is life get use to it, You need more stuff, you can't just up and sell everything you own that's crazy. You are the sensible one. So why do I listen to this little guy? Because what he says makes a lot of sense.

But at the same time he's also a little full of himself. The truth is I'm tired of doing what's right or the norm. I'm ready to live life as I see fit. I downloaded a great movie called “I'm Fine, Thanks” it was put together by a guy that went to cinematography school. He had spent his life doing what was expected of him. You know getting a job, wife, children, house, more stuff. But he wasn't happy. He never made a movie. Like a lot of us “Life got very Ho Hum”.

So he set out to make a movie. With the help of four friends they set out across the country to interview people that had the same attitude, “THIS IS LIFE, THIS IS WHAT WE DO”. What started out without a lot of direction turned into one of those Ah Ha moments. He found a bunch of people that had no direction in their life and then they found the courage to take a stand from Ho Hum and turn their lives around. They had found their direction in life. I've recently found myself second guessing our decision to join the full time RV'ing lifestyle.

You know, is this the right choice for me, Can I really make this plan a reality? Since watching this movie I've come to the conclusion I've got to power through my doubt's and fears and just do this. I keep hearing this quote from the movie “If you're going to do something, Now's the chance, You don't have forever”

I saw a thread on one of my facebook groups this past Tuesday. The question that was posted was Am I making a mistake by going Full time. The question got 39 responses (all positive) and it sank in finally. This is MY choice to do and if I fail at least I tried.

In closing, I only have this left to say.

It's Only When You Start Making Choices For Yourself, That You Can Live Your Own Dream Instead Of The American Dream Which Is Somebody Else's Dream.

My reasons

People are stilling asking me if I've lost my mind. I ask them why they think I'm losing my mind. Well you're selling everything you own and moving into a recreational vehicle and traveling the country. Where will you live? Where will you work? Is your wife OK with this?

Well, let me attempt to explain some of this to you. We will live wherever we park the RV. There's a saying in the RV world, it says “Home is where you park it”. It's as simple as that. Work, well there are all kinds of places that hire full time RV folks. So we will look for these places wherever they might be. And YES Barb is very OK with this.

The two main reasons for this change in lifestyle is I'm tired of the BRAINLESS WONDERS in Washington. (see my post of Oct. 6^th.) The other reason is easy to explain but I think Charlie Daniels can explain it better. Please watch the video and I think you will understand my Why.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxi7bL53eqg&feature=player_detailpage
 I want to see all of this.

Get your money up front

Garage sales

This past weekend we had another garage sale. Yes it was very profitable. But I also learned some lessons that I feel I need to pass on to other Dreamers like myself. First of all get plenty of rest the night before. I don't mean stay up till midnight the night before because you think I'm off tomorrow I'll just be sitting in a lawn chair collecting money. No it does NOT work that way.

First off you have to get your signs out. I don't recommend putting them out the night before because you won't know if some mean person comes along and takes them down. (FYI) two weeks ago after sitting for what seemed like a couple of hours, a lady stopped and said I didn’t know you were having a sale today. I looked at Barb and said I think I'll go check our signs. Sure enough, our sign at the end of the street was on the ground. I put it back up and we were in business again.

So yes you need to get up early in the morning. I'm saying no later than 6am if your sale is going to start at 8am. You need time to put your treasures out so people can rummage through them and say that's it. No really you do need set up time and remember just because you advertise a 8am start time the hard core yard saler's(is that a word) will be there early. Please tell me you already have everything priced, if not then you better set that alarm for 5am. Buy plenty of little stickers you can price things with or a better plan is to group things together that you are willing to sell all at the same price. I have boxes that I write on saying everything in this box 25 cents or all DVD's $1.00. Big items all get a price sign so there is no mistake what the price is.

Its a good idea to talk to your better half before hand on any item that you are not willing to negotiate on, that way both of you can show a united front and people can't play the mom against dad game. Well they will try but they soon learn the two of you communicate and back down or pay the price you want. On most other things it's not a bad idea to negotiate, I mean the plan is to get rid of all your stuff. Of course you want to make as much money as possible.

The last thing I want to pass on to you is this. GET YOUR MONEY UP FRONT. I sold a couch and love seat, or I should say I agreed to sell a couch and love seat. They needed to go to the bank and get some cash but first wanted to move the couch out of the house. PROBLEM, the man damaged the side of the couch getting it out the door so now he didn't want it, the wife felt bad but the husband said it wasn't his fault. She ended up giving us $60.00 for the damage and they drove off. Lesson Learned.

So if you are interested I have a $450.00 leather couch and love seat for sale. Only $350.00. Slightly damaged...

Shopping for a RV

   So today we went RV shopping. Well not really shopping to buy but shopping for the things we would need, things we would like to have, and things we definitely did not want. When you do this I suggest you take a note pad and pen and a camera to record things that are important to you. You are going to want to act like you already live in the RV that you are in at the time.

   Sit at the table or dining booth to see how easy it is to get in and out. Are the chairs or cushions comfortable? How about the recliners? Leather or fabric, rocker or swivel or both. Can the television be seen by sitting on the couch and recliners? Look at the overhead lighting, is there enough? Are they in the right places. I hate trying to read a book without enough light to see.

   Are you a gourmet chef? How's the layout? Can you reach all of the cabinets and refrigerator? Is there sufficient storage for food items? Do you even have a pantry? One of our primary concerns. Now take a look in the bathroom. Step in to the shower, act like you are taking a shower. Do you have to duck your head when stepping in? Do you bump your elbows? Is the sink even big enough to spit into?

   Next comes the bedroom. Don't think because you only spend time sleeping in there it's not important. You still need some storage space. I feel at a minimum you need a dresser, end table, and at least one wardrobe. Just about every RV we've looked at so far has a hookup for a washer and dryer in the closet. I believe that's a lot of wasted space. Some people wouldn’t think of going on the road without a washer and dryer. Personal preference is all I can say about that. One thing that really bugs me is having to do the sideways shuffle to get into bed. That's when you need to turn sideways to walk around the bed. That's bad, but try to make a bed when can't even get to the head of the bed.

   Don't forget about storage. If you are going to become fulltimers you'll need extra storage space. Make sure when you're looking at RV's you look for all the storage areas available. Starting in the living room make sure the couch is a hide-a-bed and also has a drawer under it. The entertainment area should have lots of cabinets around the television, some units even come with a pull out desk which has some storage. Above the couch and recliners should be a set of cabinets to hold all kinds of stuff.

   Kitchens can be awfully small and that goes for storage also. Hopefully the kitchen will have a set of drawers at least and one large drawer for pots and pans. You'll need a pantry, got to keep your canned goods somewhere. One with slide out racks are the best. Most RV's have a two bowl sink at least with a cover to increase counter space which is always in short supply in any RV.

   Don't forget outside storage. If you are looking at a Class A motorhome than basement storage should not be a problem for you. Class C's can be a whole different story. Very little storage at all. Most 5^th. Wheels will have one large basement storage compartment that can be gotten into from both sides. One other area you should consider for storage is your tow vehicle or a towed vehicle. Both of these have storage space that can be used when you are pulling the vehicle or in the back seat of your tow vehicle. The longer you travel the more storage solutions you will be able to find.

BRAINLESS WONDERS

When I decided to start a blog I told myself my comments will always be about the RV lifestyle. I guess you could say this has something to do with RV'ing but really its more about the brainless wonders running this country into the ground up in Washington. My parents always taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.

Well you can only bite your tongue for so long before your tongue starts to bleed. I figure you already know what this is going to be about and I promise to keep it as short as possible. Let me get the RV'ing part in first. There are millions of people out there living fulltime in their RV's and staying at national parks and national monuments all across the country. Now when the government shut down they are told sorry folks you have 24 hours to pack up and leave. No mention was made about getting a refund for the time the campers had already paid to camp there, guess they were just SOL. And what about all of the workampers working in the national parks? I guess they became some of the thousands of furloughed government workers.

Now I don't care if you are a democrat, republican, or a independent. If you are in Washington and claim to be working to end this mess do us all a favor and just fix it. We don't need a bunch of brainless wonders ( yes I'm going to keep calling them that) adding to the problem. IF YOU AREN'T PART OF THE SOLUTION, THAN YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

Stop being part of the problem and fix the problem. It seems like you brainless wonders are only concerned with whats best for you. Well screw your heads on straight and remember why you went to Washington in the first place. Learn to work together as a team (for the good of the country). Did any of you ever hear of the book titled “All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten” well maybe all of you need to go back to school and read it. And while I'm on my soapbox, Why is it OK for you brainless wonders to continue to draw a paycheck while over 800,000 other government workers aren’t drawing theirs. Its called a show of good faith, maybe the general public won't believe you but it might be a start. Although I think it would be a false start. Sorry I quit believing anything you BRAINLESS WONDERS say anytime your lips are moving.

It seems that everybody up there thinks, if you won't play by my rules I'll just take my ball and go home. Sorry brainless wonders it might be that way on the playground but it doesn't work that way in the big leagues. And you are in the big leagues. START ACTING LIKE YOU ARE A BIG LEAGUER. If not you might be sent down to the minor league before long. You know in the business world if you don't perform and make money for the company (aka USA) there's a good chance you will get fired. I'm sure most of you know with the way the economy is right now there are plenty of qualified applicants out there who would love to take your place and your salary that won't stop coming. I'm going to stop now mainly because I'm getting a headache just thinking about all of you BRAINLESS WONDERS.

Sorry folks I just had to add this.

The House of Representatives passed a bill Saturday that would grant federal employees retroactive pay for the time they were out of work during the government shutdown. Can you say paid vacation. Well here's your Show of Good Faith. Now don't we all feel much better about the BRAINLESS WONDERS running this country into the ground. Makes me proud to be an American.

I'M DONE

Searching for answers

You've decided that the RV lifestyle is the right move for you. But now you have 1000's of questions, Right? Where do you turn for answers? Well the answers are closer than you think. Thanks to the internet there's very little you can't find answers to. You just need to look. Social Media has made looking for information so easy. Are you a member on Facebook? If so just type in RV in your search bar and you'll find all kinds of RV'ing groups to join and you can pick the brains of all members in that group. Here's just a sample of groups on Facebook.

Rving on a budget, Workampers, RV Blogs, Workamping for Fulltimers, RV Dreamers,

Full Time RV ing, Rvers over 50. And that's just Facebook. How about LinkedIn, there's a RV group there also. Don't forget Yahoo. I'm sure you can find a bunch of groups on Yahoo.

How about just doing a Goggle search. Think you might find some answers there. Type these into your search and see what comes up. 

Workamper News, Escapee's, Gateguards.org, iRV2, Trailer Life Magazine, Hitch up and Go, RVThereYet Blog Network, Cranky Ape, Everything About Rving, New Rver-Beginners Guide to Rving. Again this is just a small sample of what's out there.

And don't forget about Blogs. Everybody traveling in their RV and those still dreaming about the lifestyle and trying to figure out how to do it has a blog. And of course you are reading my blog, Thank you by the way.  Good Luck and Happy Searching.