What to consider future full timing

macgyver1 · 10-31-2012, 07:01 PM

The wife and I are going to go full time in about 2 years. We have worked hard to get to this point. Every thing is paid in full and a solid amount in the bank now. We have been looking at about every thing we can think of and would like to avoid any pit falls that would be obvious to others that have been there/done that. Hind site is always 20-20.

Festus2 · 10-31-2012, 07:22 PM

macgyver1 -
Have you tried a Google search? I just did and found dozens of sites when I typed in: RV fulltiming. Seems like there is a lot of helpful information already out there for those that are considering doing this. Good luck in your search.

geo · 11-01-2012, 05:27 AM

Macgyver1 -

One item to seriously consider is "domicile". That is, carefully consider where your "home" will be for tax purposes, voting, vehicle registration, drivers license, etc. Really, the list does go on! You might consider joining the RV club, "Escapees". You have probably seen their logo - a house in a red wagon.

The Escapees have just about all the information you need to consider as a full-timer. They also have a mail forwarding service that is outstanding. You might also, for your full-timing adventure, consider Texas as a domicile. Texas does not have a state income tax. Texas state operating funds come primarily from real estate taxes and petroleum related taxes. So if you don't buy land in Texas, it's very low cost to live here.

The Escapees website also has a Forum, much of it dedicated to full-timers. Similar to this Forum, you can view and read the posts without being a member. Check it out.

What you do not want to do is to co-mingle or confuse your domicile. Don't have your banking in Illinois, your drivers license in Oklahoma, register and license the RV in Montana, and then buy that great lake-view lot in Tennessee. That will cause you all sorts of tax and legal problems!

Disclaimer: Yes, I am an Escapees member and do reside in Texas. I do plan to keep Texas as my domicile. Therefore, these views and opinions are biased.

Ron

Little Guy · 11-01-2012, 12:31 PM

Ron,
Thanks for posting that great info. The DW and I are considering full timing and will look into the Escapees club in Texas.

mikell · 11-03-2012, 08:59 AM

In some states like Michigan you will be concidered homeless with all the bennifits if you want them

SAD · 11-03-2012, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikell

In some states like Michigan you will be concidered homeless with all the bennifits if you want them

Like handouts at intersections?

antiqfreq · 11-04-2012, 06:47 AM

We fulltimed for just over a year and we kept Florida as our domicile.

I know a few fulltimers who do use Texas (Escapees) as their home base for tax purposes.

Also consider the insurance on your RV - make sure your insurance is for fulltiming. This gives you all the protection as regular home insurance does.

Medical insurance can be a concern for some - for us we worked out though.
If you are Medicare make sure your secondary covers you on ALL states.

Other than that all I can add is it cost us more than we thought it would but we had the extra funds to make sure we could do all we wanted to for the time we were out. If we wanted to keep fulltiming we would have ended up camphosting for extra income.

Hope this helped!

Jo

smiller · 11-04-2012, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antiqfreq

Other than that all I can add is it cost us more than we thought it would but we had the extra funds to make sure we could do all we wanted to for the time we were out. If we wanted to keep fulltiming we would have ended up camphosting for extra income.

Curious about this comment... we are fulltiming and even staying at nicer campgrounds our cost per month is much less than what it would cost to rent a decent place or the cost of owning a home and all the attendant expenses. When we finally settle down I expect we'll be spending more than we are now, not less. Unless you mean that you are also maintaining a home while fulltiming, which is a different story.

reubenray · 11-04-2012, 12:05 PM

We have also been thinking about selling the S&B and start full-timing. We would also sell our truck and fifth wheel and get a motorhome. Our biggest concern is what to do when we cannot drive anymore. We have no kids nor close relatives.

antiqfreq · 11-05-2012, 08:31 AM

For us we were maintaining 2 other vehicles besides what we traveled with.
We also had property in GA where we ended up settling down at that had to be maintained.

Also, we are not Medicare age and health insurance cost quite a bit out of pocket and us not working anymore. We had to have the insurance.

Also we went where we wanted, stayed where we wanted, ate where we wanted and did what we wanted - we didn't scrimp - as we knew our fulltiming was going to be for a limited time and then back to a S&B home as my mom needed fulltime caregiving and the DH was gonna have to get a job.

So you can definitely do it on less than we did - but we wanted to do it all and have it all - and for over a year we felt lucky that we could.

Jo

crash · 01-07-2013, 11:57 AM

All great post.The wife will retire from the army in alittle over 2 years and we are in our mid 40s.We will sell our house and our two rental houses I will leave my jod w/ perdue farms and we will travel the US and have a great time for 2 years or so ,and then settle down somewhere WARM.Hope to see some of you all out on the open road.

**JRTJH** · 01-07-2013, 12:10 PM

There's something to be said about "retiring early" My dad used to say that we all should "retire at 21 and start work at 60" His reasoning was that we'd have a better time enjoying retirement while our health was good and a much more focused workforce to boot.....

diugo · 05-20-2013, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

There's something to be said about "retiring early" My dad used to say that we all should "retire at 21 and start work at 60" His reasoning was that we'd have a better time enjoying retirement while our health was good and a much more focused workforce to boot.....

I agree, except for the "start work at 60" part! I retired at 37 and became a fulltime RVer at 39. That was over eleven years ago. Smartest decision of my life.

diugo · 05-20-2013, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reubenray

Our biggest concern is what to do when we cannot drive anymore. We have no kids nor close relatives.

The aforementioned Escapees RV organization has that covered with their Escapees Care program. Check out http://www.escapeescare.org

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