US
Questions
Asked
How
do you stay dry
camped longer in the RV rallies or Festivals, with the holding tanks filling
up?
We learned
one time at a RV Rally to use a sink basin when washing dishes. Then
pouring the dirty water from the basin into the toilet. This helps
prevent the grey tank from filling quicker and puts it in the black
tank instead. Most RV's are built with the same size Black and grey
holding tanks. Where the Black (toilet) tank does not fill as fast. Taking
this dish water and pouring it in the toilet helps even the usage.
This also helps rinse out the black tank more when you dump it.
Cooking
prior too, and planning your meals helps a lot. Using paper plates
instead of dishware can help too. Also cooking on a grill can reduce
clean up of pans or bowls.
We
were talking to someone about carrying a firearm with us in the
motorhome. What do you recommend? I know the laws vary state-to-state,
so maybe having a firearm (never had one by the way) isn't a good
idea? My husband thinks we should, but not if it means
getting pulled over and stuck in jail for 3 days in a small town in
Texas!! Let me know what you think.
To have a
firearm or not, that is the big question.
A firearm will restrict you on traveling into Canada, Alaska (via Canada), or Mexico. You will be arrested trying to cross the border if you are searched. State & National Parks do not allow firearms. So if you camp in these parks, you could get into trouble if for some reason your firearm is used.
I have mixed feeling still as a former police officer. I believe it's nice to have something to protect yourself in case someone is trying to cause you harm. On the other hand, if a untrained person has to shoot the weapon, will they do it, or will it be used against them? Will the person miss and cause injury to another innocent person? Will the gun be found by a intruder and be used against the owner when they walk into the RV? Will the gun be taken by a thief and used to harm another? Or will it be miss fired and cause injury to themselves with it. I have seen and heard about many police officers that have had training, get shot by their own guns by misfires or used against them by another, after it was taken from them.
There are several laws against firearms in the United States. The only weapon that is pretty well accepted in many States is a shotgun. Figure that one out :~).
I
know that Dale works as an ultrasonographer. How does she go
about getting these "traveling jobs?" I don't
understand how employers deal with someone who will only work for a
short period of time, if that is what I am understanding she
does. I am a medical transcriptionist and would like to be able
to do the same thing basically while on the road.
There are
several traveling staffing companies in the USA. Some even offer full
benefits that you receive in a hospital (i.e. Medical & dental
insurance, vacation pay, and 401k's). Along with a lot more pay then
she achieved in a regular position. If you belong to a membership, or
certification for being a medical transcriptionist then you probally
receive a magazine or journal of some sort bi-monthly or less. In the
advertisement area they usually have listed traveling jobs. I did a
search of traveling medical transcriptionist and found the following
link for you:
This is a
travel staff company Like Dale works for, but they handle your
occupation : Welcome
to Medical Staffing Network
Thanks
for all the useful info. I was reading some of your latest
info. What is dry camping?
Dry
camping in simple terms means no hook ups. Dry Camping is where you
do not have hookups for electric, water, and sewage. You park at a
BLM Land (Bureau Land Management), Some State Parks, Walmart parking
lots, and Truck Stops. You only use the water you have on board (in
our case 90 gallons) to shower and use the generator to charge the
batteries for your lights. Some RV's even have Solar panels on the
roof to charge the batteries without using the generator.
We
want full-time Internet.
I would need this for my part-time job I will have as a medical
transcriptionist, plus my husband, and I are big-time Internet
junkies and will have two laptops with us on the road once we get
going. Internet service is important. Your thoughts??
Some campgrounds have WiFi (Wireless High speed) Internet through the campground. Like we have now. Some are free and some charge a daily or monthly fee depending the length of stay. Other campgrounds are still 19th Century and have only separate phone lines for campers to use for email dial up. Or they offer a phone activation at the site by them or a phone company.
Other suggestions are to get T-mobile for the Starbucks and other hot spots in the area. I met a guy that pulled up in front of Starbucks stores in the parking lot and used his laptop with T-Mobil Wireless Internet Access - T-Mobile HotSpots after hours because they sometimes leave it on all 24 hours.
Flying-J truck stops offer WiFi High Speed Information that you can access while on the road in their parking lots and stores.
The
problem is that they are all not compatible yet. They are
trying to be able to link them up all together and charge the
person's main ISP (Internet service provider) as they roam. This will
happen in the years to come as the demand catches on. As a start, I
would ask the campground prior to reservations on what service they provide.
The
satellite Internet can be very costly. Ranging from one dollar a
minute and up. Hooking to your cell phone is a costly way too. The
baud rate is still slow and it keeps dropping meaning one-second on
your cell phone is one minute charged (i.e., Ten (one-second) tries
to get on line is 10 minutes). We did this method at first and
returned it when I received a baud rate of 9000 on a 56000 modem.
I
have read a lot about getting your mail as a full-time RV'er and it
sounds confusing to me, especially if you are going from state to
state (at least at first). What would you recommend?
Our plan at first is to get on the road and learn more as we go,
spend a few months just having fun, sightseeing, deciding if we want
this full time and become workampers, then possibly settle down
somewhere and work part-time or whatever.
We
use a mail service out of our home State of Florida called The Mail
Room. They charge us around $164 (I think, don't hold me to it) a
year for the service and plus postage. We get it sent once a
week to our location through them by priority mail and receive it in
3 days. Except California, I don't know why it takes so long to get
it there. Must be the other Bermuda Triangle. There are several other
services out there and other ways you can get mail. Family can help,
but we made a decision to stop that. It's should not be their
responsibility. And they think its only temporary and you will come
to your senses and move back into a house.
You can notify your mail forwarding service as your on the move to send it to a campground you will be at in the next 3 day when you arrive. Just notify the campground what you are doing and ask permission and their address. Or you can stop and let the mail catch up to you. You can even send it to a general mail delivery in a small post office with one zip code to the town. We get it sent our name and then c/o (care of) campground name and their address. After your name have the mail forwarding service put arriving on XX/XX/XX date so when the campground receives it, and someone is a temporary fill in. They will see your name and date that you are going to arrive with your reservation and hopefully put 2 + 2 together and hold it for you.
I hope my answers help and wish you good luck on your travels.
We
just bought a 5th wheel [10-16-04]. We don't know where to go
first.I loved your site. We live in n.e. Georgia about 90 miles north
of Atlanta and would like to camp near the ocean so husband can
fish.Myrtle Beach,Tybee Island or somewhere like that in the
southeast. Please if you have any recommendations would be ever so
grateful. Do you know of anymore sites like yours I could check out?
I
would suggest four places to definitely see. One location is Crooked
River State Park in your state. If you have time try to get over to
Cumberland Island that have wild horses on the private island off the
coast. Also there is a lot to see on Jekyll Island too. They have
ferries to see these places. Attached under acrobat format are photos
and articles for that area.
The
other three areas are Cape Hatteras (Try to hit during summer
time)Link~>SweetLifeRVing Photos Archive 2002 June Area and
Charleston area (Try to hit during spring time) Link~> (
SweetLifeRVing March 2001 Photo Archive) in North Carolina.
In
Cape Hatteras, you can see Kitty Hawk, Jockey Ridge State Park
(where you can attend hang gliding school for the beginner and
practice off a large sand dune). and the many Light houses. In Avon
there is a Campground that takes Passport membership. Passport
membership is worth getting. You pay very little for membership, but
get a lot of campgrounds for half price. It's well worth the small
membership of 44 dollars each year.
I do not know how the East coast is after all those hurricanes, but it's worth asking the campgrounds or State Parks when you call.
Tybee Island Link~> SweetLifeRVing May 2002 Photo Archive was beautiful also with a light house and downtown Savannah tour. They do get college student breaks in that area. So check with the campground before you reserve it. Tybee Island is impossible to view and enjoy during that time.
If you are taking a computer, invest in Microsoft Street & Trips software. It has all the Woodall's campground listed and State Parks. With their phone numbers and addresses in the search area. You can map how to get to the areas and plug in your speed, gas mileage, break times, and hours you want to travel. It will give you times and destination that you will achieve on a daily basis. It even has GPS capabilities. I don't bother with that. That's what copilots are for. We travel between the hours of 9am to 4pm (one hour for lunch). This does several things. It helps avoid rush hour, gives you a set leisure time to totally travel, and great campground sites without reservations. You then can set up and watch all the idiots driving late to still find a campsite. Have Supper at a reasonable hour. And really enjoy the time at the campground then just using the stop, as sleep only. The rule is 300 miles on express way or 6 hours driving (no more). It does make a difference! If you are planning on trying to camp for free! Then avoid truck stops! They only give you diesel fuel smell all night with the truckers running their engines. Pick Walmart's! I only do Walmart's when I need to get to destinations in a emergency or time schedule. I then ask the manager if it would be okay. Some cities and towns outlaw parking overnight, because the local campgrounds fought about it. Walmart's also have problems. Bad areas of town where you may be approached during the night. And kids playing loud stereos and squealing wheels up to 12 midnight (later in a college town). We have been doing this for almost 5 years and tried it all. You will see that Passport membership will get you campsites for around 10 dollars a night and are located all over the US.
Wilmington area in another beautiful area, but it is a yuppie town. You will see more personalized license plates there then other places. Stop by, but don't make a special trip. I would suggest Cape Fear Custom Coach 910-762-8880 for repairs if you need it in that area. He works on all makes and warranties. A small company, but will go out of his way to help.
If you get up to the North area of the United States. Check out Glen Falls, New York and the thousand Island Area. It will change your mind about New York to ever move there.
As
for Myrtle Beach, Huntington Beach State Park and sculpture park was
the only thing worth seeing there. It is a very seasonal place and
you will see the thousands of RV stored for the snowbirds to come in
the summer. So avoid it during this time.
As
far as other sites, Look under RV on the internet. I would suggest
getting the magazine Country Discoveries. It a whole magazine with
pictures and articles of places people like you and me visit. If you
belong to AAA club. Then get one of their tour books for the area and
check out the Gem areas. Other then that, stop in the town you pass
through or Welcome visitor center and tell them where you are going
to be for a short time and get their suggestions.
As
for fishing. All these areas are great for it. Enjoy and keep in
touch. Maybe we will meet on the road or you can see where we are and
visit as your pacing through. Look up where we are at this link
(SweetLifeRving Where We Are Now). Well, I think I answered some of
your questions. If you have anymore, don't hesitate to email us again.
Enjoy your travels!
Denny
Yeager
How
do you
avoid using a lot of Propane during the winter?
We
made sure are coach had a winter kit included when we purchased
the second one. This includes: dual pane windows, heated holding
tanks, and more insulation. Also we picked a coach where the storage
bins stay stationary when the slide goes out. This avoids the
underside from being exposed to the outside. The space of the storage
keeps the outside air from blowing again the floor inside.
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Others, skirt the whole underside of the coach with insulation fiber board. It cost under 100 dollars, but can save coldness from blowing under the coach. The only draw back to this is having to remove it if you need to move the coach.
How long have you been full timing?
We have been full timing ever since July 2000. Dale's first job started in Palm Beach, Florida where we were originally living at. We then went officially on the road in September.
How
do you manage your travels to locations for work?
We
first get a potential job location from Dale's staffing company she
works for. We then use Microsoft Streets & Trips on our laptop
computer to look up the hospital she was notified about. Streets and
Trips has hospitals and campgrounds for searching in the program. We
then take a 30 mile radius from the hospital to surrounding
campgrounds. The phone numbers are in the program. We call them up
and see if they have availability for the 13 week contract for a
campsite. If there is nothing in the 30 mile area (Call back time)
then we do not even go any farther
on taking the contract.
How
do you know the campgrounds are going to be clean or safe?
Woodall
camping magazine has a rating system of 0 to 5 stars. We try to get
at least a campground that is listed with 3 stars or more. Unless you
are familiar with the campground. It may be a unsafe park. I also ask
the campgrounds three main questions. "Are you located in a
unsafe neighborhood", "Had you had crime in your
campground" (ie: Burglary
or attacks). "Does the managers/owners live on property"
(If they don't want to live on property, there may be a reason).
Nothing is a guarantee,
but it will help stop a lot of problems down the line. If you want
to go one more step farther,
call the police station in the area and ask them.
Why
do you like Traveling in a RV vs Hotel?
Nothing
beats your own bed, sheets, and linens. The hotel are good, but I at
least know who used the bed last. Traveling RV life is a slow pace.
You need to only do 6 to 7 hours max on the road to give time for
getting settled in a campground that night. If you love to drive 8 to
10 hours to get where you want to go, then you will be arriving late
at campgrounds and setting up.
Why
do you stay in Campgrounds every night instead of Walmart parking
lots or rest stops during your traveling time?
SAFETY!!!
We heard of horror stories about getting waken up at night with
knocking at the RV door by strangers trying to rob them. It may be
needed to
use parking lots in a emergency to get rest while you drive straight
through the night to a destination. But limit the time for sleep, not sightseeing.
What
are the hours of travel you drive on the road?
We
drive from 9AM to 3-4PM depending on how long we take for lunch. The
campgrounds are not already filled up by the time we stop. We get
settled after we pick out the best location. Then watch the fun show
of others coming in late and yelling at each other in the dark. I
once seen a person come in at 10PM. Brag about how long he drove and
left the next morning already at 5:30AM. I found his power cord lying
where he left it, plugged into the 30 amp box. He will probably
get to his next location at 10PM and not have anyway to hook up.
What
ways do you communicate to others?
We
use ATT Wireless (One Rate Plan) and still have it. We have seen the
limitations on the calling plans for others and found out that ATT
still beats the other on range of getting a
signal.
We also use AOL / Compuserve Internet
for e-mail,
they have nationwide phone numbers more then other services.
How
long are you planning on doing this?
As
long as we can 15-20 years or until we part this dear earth! The
life style is not for everyone. It is a burden to relocate and find
doctors, vets, post offices, and good grocery stores, but if you can
handle that, then go for the life of RVing. The different areas to
see, parks, points of interest, and your front yard changing every
time is wonderful. You don't mow lawns anymore, shovel snow, and have
permanent nasty neighbors. We have seen more then we have in the past
lifestyle when we would take off time to vacation and travel. The up
side for men is no one can shop, shop, shop. Because there is no
where to put it. Also your spouse can not rearrange the furniture,
because it is bolted down ;~).
Why
did you switch from your Rexhall motorhome to Holiday Rambler?
We
found out that service centers for the Rexhall were limited on the
east coast. We took Holiday Rambler, because Monaco Corporation owns
Holiday Rambler, SMC, Safari and Beaver Motorhome companies. This
gives you more service centers. Also the lay out of the Rexhall was
nice when you park and open it up, but confining when you close up
and travel. You had to try and pass by someone with a foot width from
the L-shape couch the whole way back to the bedroom. The Holiday
Rambler has a lot more room to get around while the slides are
closed. This is important when you stop in rest stops to eat, or a
dog that is as big as our's and doesn't want to get out of the way ;~).
What
should we look for in full timing for a RV?
First
thing is payload weight. Gross vehicle weight (minus) Unloaded
vehicle Weight (minus) Wet Weight subtracted will give you Carrying
Capacity Weight (Payload). This should be 1000 or more per person,
who will be in the motorhome with their contents. Some people do not
know how to get rid of stuff, and it is very necessary in this lifestyle.
Also
winter capability is important. Does it have dual pane windows?
Heated tanks, and more insulation then a weekender coach.
We
are planning to become snowbirds. What do you advise for RVing in?
If
you are going to go to the location and just park it most of the
time? Then I would suggest a 5th Wheel. They are more spacious opened
up and it will be less hard on the engine of a motorhome on long
periods of idle when parked.
What
are the benefits of a motorhome over a towable trailer or fifth-wheel?
The
storage space is lot more in a motorhome with a basement model. We
preferred a motorhome, because we are able to have our dog walk
around while traveling. Instead of breathing down our necks in a
truck. Also it is nice to get up and walk around to use the restroom
or make something to eat when you stop. This is nice when it
is raining out or the area is questionable on safety. I watch towable
people have to get out in the rain to get in their RV's, where we can
pull into a pull-thru and wait out the rain and still be in the RV. I
heard about a couple getting stuck in a 3-4 hour traffic jam due to a
fatality accident. The wife got up and made dinner and they watched
the news on the TV to see what was happening. They then were able to
use the restroom and shower one at a time to be ready for bed while
waiting. After the traffic started moving they pulled in to the next
exit for a campsite and was already for bed. That is the benefits of
a motorhome. A trailer would not give you this convenience.
What
do you suggest for preventive maintenance on a motorhome?
Every
month Denny checks the batteries for fluid (coach and chassis). Runs
the generator for a hour, and starts the engine for a hour. We most
of the time go out every other weekend with the motorhome. So a lot
of the times we run the generator on the trip. Denny also checks the
tire pressures of all the tires before going on a trip. You should
also put the hydraulic jacks up and down once a month if you do not
move it. This will keep the seals of the jacks stay
lubricated. Follow your manuals for other options you added to
your RV for preventive maintenance.
We
like to listen to AM talk radio while we drive. We get very
poor AM reception (lots of whine) with the engine running. Do
you experience similar problems? If so were you able to fix
it? PS We scrapped the cheap Sony radio for a good Kenwood
without improvement.
We
did not experience any interference with our radio on the AM
station. We mostly listen to FM radio and CD's. But you made me
curious, so I tried it on our last trip. It may of been the area also
that gave us good signals for the AM radio.
You
should look into either connecting your power lead to the radio to a
filter that they sell at automotive places and radio shack for radio interference.
Do
you know anything about pulling a fifth wheel? He has a 3/4 ton F250
diesel, power stroke heavy duty truck. Some say it will pull a 35 ft.
and some say you need a bigger one. I plan to sell my van and
purchase a jeep. We may pull it behind, just not sure yet.
You
would have to compare the weight of the trailer to your truck
capacity. Every trailer is different. Some have an aluminum frame
making it lighter and some have wood. A F 350 dully wheel truck would
give you more stability while towing, but I have seen a lot of people
still content with their F 250. Also don't go by the salesman on
towing capacity, inquire with Ford themselves.
Also
I would not count on towing your Jeep behind your fifth wheel. It is
only legal in 32 states and a lot of them have restrictions in
length. Again don't believe salesman on what the amount of vehicle
you can tow and what length. I would advise to contact your local
Highway patrol. In Florida only two vehicles are allowed in
combination when not used for commercial use. I use to issue tickets
on the offense. The best option is to use the truck only or follow
behind if you really can't part with having another vehicle.
Dale and I like each others company too much to follow each other all
the time. It helps keep you in shape for back seat driving ;~).
We
are going to purchase a fifth wheel and plan to start doing the same
thing. Where would I look to see about finances, paying bills,
etc. I am not sure if all these could be paid on line, or if we need
to bank with a bigger, well known bank?
A
fifth wheel is the easy way to go on getting a lot for your money as
a start. My advise to you is to purchase it ASAP before you leave
your present job so you qualify. Otherwise starting a new job and not
having a permanent address may hinder qualifying on a loan. After you
get on the road and prove your earnings & job stability then it
will not be a problem to purchase another motorhome, fifth wheel, or
trailer with your credit.
We
use Bank of America. It is a national bank and has a lot of branches
or ATM's. They offer priority Banking on the phone by touch tone. Or
you can use online. Dale's pay stub is Direct Deposit. The RV
payment, RV Insurance, Life Insurance, and, etc., is all auto draft
out of our checking. I use a bill reminder on my computer to remember
the dates to record into my ledger of my checkbook. Otherwise noting
them on a calendar is just as good.
Mail
forwarding service gets her pay stubs checks one week delayed, so it
is good advice to have direct deposit. Then you can use the telephone
on the day of getting direct deposit with priority banking and find
your deposited amount. You can transfer funds to savings or pay your
Bank of America Visa if you get one all by Pay phone or Cellular.
This way you do not need to be hooked up for online service.
We
have a Check card Visa for most of our spending and use Microsoft
Money software to break down the itemizing for our taxes. Making a
checking account, Cash account and Visa account in the software for
tracking. Otherwise order by phone, Internet or some companies do not
auto bill your checking, so you will need to use a regular visa for
them to direct bill. Our Internet service, calling cards and cellular
phone company will not take a checking card visa, only a regular visa.
All
in all, you can get a lot of this started prior to August. Your
cellular company will not accept your cellular number sometimes as a
contact number after you sell your home. So it's good to give them if
needed a family phone number. Also try to avoid having a family
member do your mail forwarding. The problem with this is several
things: 1) They will take vacations, thus holding your mail too. 2)
They may not feel it is important to send right away. 3) Some items
need to be sent out by going to post office, therefore it
inconvenience them to make a separate trip. 4) They will have access
to your mail and what you receive if you like to keep your affairs or
finances private 5)
It is unfair to put them through the inconvenience of sorting and
sending your mail. The worst you should do is medical insurance and
registering your vehicles and Driver licence at their address 6)
And finally they will always feel it is only temporary, and you will
come to your senses and come back home :~).
All
your friends or family will think your crazy, brave, or envious. We
have all been there. You will find out your true friends after you
get on the road. They will keep in touch. Of the several hundred
fellow workers we had only a few handfuls keep in contact. You will
meet several new friends along the way that will come or go.
Well,
I got to go! I know there is a lot of questions to be answered and
We are most willing to help you make a smooth start into your new
lifestyle. So please feel free to email us anytime.
I
look forward to hearing about your traveling, and maybe sometime you
will be in the same campground. So keep in touch even if you don't
have any questions.
Good
Luck in your future endeavors.