Best of full timing tips. - Montana Owners Club

RCMP03 · 07-12-2011, 04:40 PM

OK, it official, we will be fulltiming as of August 1st, what's your best advise?

RCMP03 · 07-12-2011, 04:42 PM

That should be advice, getting old perhaps?

Mrs. CountryGuy · 07-12-2011, 05:52 PM

Don't hurry, no need for vacation mode. Weekly and monthly rates might be your newest bestest friend.

Be safe, be careful, have a great time!

adelmoll · 07-13-2011, 03:30 AM

Agree with Carol... Slow down.. It gets old really quick if you have to hitch up every day so stay awhile and see the areas around you on day trips in the truck. We like about 200 mile trips and then several days parked..If we are just staying overnight, we just stay hooked up and walk where we are going. Usually, that is just around the campground.

Helen

DonandJudy_12 · 07-13-2011, 04:48 AM

Take it easy- There is so much to see and do in our great country- You can not possibly see and do it all so take it slow and easy- One day at a time- We have stopped at a new campground after towing for only an hour because of some attraction or view- Have visited some areas more than once and will again if the opportunity arises- We've been "On the road again" for 11 plus years and still have places to go and see- Welcome to the brotherhood!!!! Don

exav8tr · 07-13-2011, 04:55 AM

Don't push it, stop and smell the roses. 200-300 miles a day was our max. Always have an alternate plan also. We usually liked Sundays as our travel day as not much traffic. Get yourself a Truckers Atlas so you can determine which roads to travel. Watch your heights when travelling back roads. Take lots of pictures and try and keep a journal of where you have been, it helps after a while to look back and see where you have been. Most of all, enjoy our great country......

pbahlin · 07-13-2011, 07:07 AM

This is an amazing country and the diversity is unbelievable every time I think what we are seeing has to be the best , the next stop is gorgeous as well....

Heed the advice to relax and remember you are not on vacation...we went full time a year ago and it took me about six months to stop getting up at 5 am and to lose my watch!!!!! LOL

Betty

stiles watson · 07-13-2011, 07:49 AM

Adopt the 250-300 and 3:00 PM rule. That's drive no more than 250-300 miles or stop at 3:00 PM which ever comes first. It Gives you time to set up the rig and tour a bit before evening sets in. We add to that by adopting the "never more than two towing days in a row" rule. Keeping fresh and rested is important to safe travel and good decision making.

RCMP03 · 07-14-2011, 02:45 AM

Great advice, I do have work commitments for a few more years so traveling will be limited, seems to be a consensus about taking it easy?

stiles watson · 07-14-2011, 04:58 AM

"Taking it slow and easy" is a learning curve after being controlled by the calendar and clock for most of your life. I am not talking about being lazy. It is just realizing that those constraints don't apply any more. I am so busy being retired, I don't know how I had time to work.

An additional thought, after 5 years of Full timing, we still use check lists. At first, we used them to remember what to do. Now we just do our routine and check the lists to be sure we didn't overlook something, like bringing down the antenna, etc.

I try to avoid being in a rush when getting ready to leave. I do some of the breaking camp things the evening before traveling the next day. I empty the tanks and stow the waste discharge hoses. I crank down the antenna on going to bed. Sometimes I disconnect the water and run off the fresh water tank the next morning. Just little things to simplify hooking up and leaving. If all you have to do is pull in the slides, hook up the truck, and disconnect the electricity, getting away is fairly quick.

Art-n-Marge · 07-14-2011, 08:23 AM

I've been retired for 5 years but in a stickhouse. While not a full time RVer much of this advice still applies. I don't use my watch much unless I have to visit others who aren't retired and rely on time commitments.

The only thing you might want to consider is a "day clock" because both me and DW lose track of what day it is:

http://dayclocks.com/

sreigle · 07-17-2011, 11:40 AM

As others noted, take it slow. At first you'll think spending several days in one area is "slow." After awhile it will be a week, then two weeks, then a month, maybe even longer in some places. You'll find out you enjoy exploring the area you are in, doing your outings during the week and letting the tourists have it on the weekends. Driving/towing slower and doing fewer miles in a day. Take US and state highways as much as you can. Much more enjoyable and relaxing. We tend to pull out of a park about 9 to 10 am and stop for the day between 1 and 3 with a stop for lunch in some scenic pullout or roadside park, or even a small town's city park.

There are many here with more experience at this than our 8+ years but I'm sure each and every one of us are willing to answer any questions or concerns you have. Either click the email link above one of our posts or post in MOC. There are as many different "fulltiming styles" as there are fulltimers and we're all willing to help.

One other thing... when we first started fulltiming, every park we stopped in had to be a very nice park if at all possible. Since then we've discovered that when we're enroute somewhere and just stopping overnight, we often get set up, have dinner, watch tv, go to bed, get up the next day and head out. Maybe we don't even unhitch. So why do we need to pay for a park with a lot of amenities we won't use? And why do we care if it's a "beautiful" park? If it's clean and safe and the power and water are good, we're good for an overnight stay. For longer stays we revert to wanting something nicer.

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