The Thing About Motor Homes

I just keep thinking that, as much as a 5th wheel toy hauler such as I just posted (which is as near to perfection as I've ever found at this point!) would be totally perfect for us, a motor home is so much more practical. Yes, I know I've posted about this before...I just keep going around and around in my head about it all though!

If we get a Class C with an overhead bunk in front, I've got a ready-made "shelf", complete with windows, for bird cages. They feel really tight, though, unless they have a slide...and for the amount of space, it seems that Class A's of similar age and mileage may be the better value. The thing with Class A's, however, unless they are a bunk model which are rare, is that there is no space for cages! The only options would be to alter something else. We could keep the dinette area folded down, as if for a bed, cover it all with something to protect it, and put cages there. Or the same for a couch, especially a jack-knife type. Building a simple platform over the upholstery so it is stable wouldn't be much trouble at all.

From a financial point of view, these would make the most sense, since we already have a car to use as a toad. We could spend more on the rig itself, and buy newer/better...

This one, for example, would work well since there are already 3 seats (Pete and I would only use 2, after all), we wouldn't need the couch and could either remove it or build something over it for cages. There is a little counter space too...although not too crazy about the side-by-side fridge but not a deal breaker. And we'd still have the dinette for the bed, or extra surface area to use when I'm cooking and baking...

This coach, on the other hand, has a little more counter space, and I'd probably want to keep the sofa and use the dinette area for my parrots. Folded down, it would have plenty of space for cages, as I could stack the smaller bird cages...

Here, I'd use the open jack knife sofa I'd think...and I like the kitchen real well in this model...

I probably won't stop changing my mind about all this until we have the $ in our hand, find the rolling home we want, and pay for it! So be prepared for more posts like this one :).

THIS One Ticks All The Boxes!

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2008-Keystone-Sydney-31KWF-99313590

Hopefully the listing isn't gone by the time you read this.

IF I could get used to the idea of moving - traveling - with my birds in a 5th wheel, AND if I thought we'd be able to afford both a 5th wheel AND a new truck, THIS is what I would buy!

Already has bunks (ie, shelves) for bird cages in the garage, plus a window for light for them.

Has the side ramp which is ideal to convert to a small patio; the outside action happens on the passenger side of these when parked, not in the rear. I would also have a pull-down screen installed so that it would be open during the day when we're parked, for fresh air and natural light for my parrots to enjoy. It would be easy to take one (or more) of them outside (caged of course) with me as well!

Inside the "people part" of the unit is still everything I would want for our own living space. The kitchen is perfectly adequate, it still has a full bedroom (many of these have a double bed walled in on 2 sides), and it even has a small outside spot for cooking on hot days when we don't want to heat up the rig! And the heated enclosed underbelly is ideal since we will be spending at least part of the winters here in Michigan.

Yes, IF all of the issues (price/truck/birds remaining in the vehicle when it's moving) were resolvable, this would be the perfect fit for us, and I could definitely see us living here full-time!

Dreaming vs DREAMING!

I have been dreaming about full-timing for a long time now. But now I'm DREAMING about it! All of the dreams I have while sleeping - all of the ones I remember anyway - take place in an RV, a campground, an RV park, or someplace similar.

Someone asked in the Fulltime RVing Facebook group which RV magazines people read. My first thought was, "When would I find time to read a magazine???" :) Thing is, I'm never up-to-date reading all of the blogs and websites and forum posts to which I subscribe, or watching the videos (online or recorded on my DVR), let alone have time for magazines. Makes me wonder, though, what I might be missing?

I already wrote that I'm immersed. Maybe that's why, in my dreams while I sleep, I'm already living the fulltime lifestyle!

Meanwhile, what have I done to get ready for this venture so far this week? My goal is, of course, to do one thing every day, and accomplish one thing every week in preparation. (To "do" one thing is a little thing, ie throw come across something that won't be going, and put it in the "garage sale" pile. To "accomplish" one thing is more major, such as actually sell something, or go through a closet or cupboard and pull out 90% of what's in there that won't be going, or whatever.) It is time to start some posting of these tasks I think, if I'm going to share the whole Planning for Our Future experience.

So as we pray about this, and as God's leading is so clear that He is filling our hearts and minds with it, I will continue to ask God to make clear His timing. If this is going to happen sooner rather than later, then show me the way, and make it possible. If He will open the doors next year (as I sense in my spirit), then God grant me patience and the will to do the things I need to be doing now!

In the meantime though, heavenly Father, thank you for the DREAMS!

Funny How Our Entire Life Perspective Has Changed...

I have written before about how I am so immersed in everything-RVing; I read dozens of blogs every day, belong to multiple Facebook groups, follow podcasters, watch dozens of YouTube videos, and visit a ton of RV dealer sites on a regular basis. All of these things only serve to make me want it to happen NOW! Of course, that is impossible, but it all is good impetus, that's for sure!

Everything I do throughout the day, it seems, is done with my "RV mindset". When I am cleaning and notice something on a shelf or in a drawer that I haven't used in months (or years!), I just throw it out. When I look in my closet, I mentally shrink it down to RV-size and see only the clothes I wear most often in that mental image. As I'm washing dishes I wonder why I have to many place settings? and every time I open the post'n'pans cupboard, I realize I only use a very few of them regularly and wonder why I have so many? It's like I'm downgrading already, in my mind, so when the time comes I will just have to DO what I've already THOUGHT.

Then again, sometimes I wonder, "Why wait?" Why, indeed...

And speaking of FB groups: I think I will be limiting my subscriptions to a lot of them. Has anyone else noticed that it's the same people in every one of them, repeating (pasting?) the same things to them all? And my particular pet peeve, using one group to advertise about another...not once in a while, but over and over again. So before I get really irritated at the waste of my time - which is precious BTW - I'll just pick my 3 favorites and leave the rest.

And speaking of blogs: I LOVE these blogs! I can't wait to go to bed every night just so I can read them on my Droid! Thing is, most of the time I fall asleep, having had a very busy day, before I am able to catch up on that day's new posts! Right now I'm almost 3 weeks behind on my reading :(.

It's just time. Or lack thereof. So I'm thinking that rather than ponder all of the stuff I won't be taking with me, I will start getting rid of it now. Stuff takes ownership of a person (hence my fascination with the Tiny House movement for the last few years!), and that which owns us takes up our TIME! I'm ready. I'm beyond ready. Let's GO already! :)

A Change of Plans

As I may (or may not) have mentioned, Pete works full-time, and my job is seasonal (April-Oct). During the lean winter months we cut our spending down to bare bones, turn off our satellite TV, don't do any traveling or eating out, and just basically pare down our expenses to the minimum.

When I am also working, we usually do a little more of the things we enjoy, as well as accomplishing something for either ourselves or the house or whatever with the extra income. And this year we were planning to accomplish some savings for our future house-on-wheels. But we've changed our plans.

Instead, we are going to put some money into fixing up the house in preparation for listing it in the spring.

Pete will become eligible for an early retirement when he turns 62 in December. As of now, I plan to keep working even after we move. With technology as it is, location isn't the issue as long as I have a fairly quiet environment with minimal interruptions, and an excellent reliable internet connection during business hours - and I can make that happen no matter whether I'm living in a house or a smaller dwelling on wheels. We will most likely stay in this area most of the time for a while anyway, as I am my mother's guardian and she resides in this town, and we help my daughter with her son as much as we can, and I'm not so sure I can tear myself away from my church family yet. But at least we will be freer to take more trips more often when we want to.

Anyway, this house - actually a mobile home in a nice neighborhood, permanently attached to a foundation, on a private lot - is in pretty good shape but if I want to get a decent price for it I want it to be in GREAT shape. So with my income this year we will do some painting, replace some carpet and flooring, do a few small repairs, get new curtains (I think my parrots would have preferred lace over the windows, and have been working at making that happen! For this reason I never buy expensive window treatments.), divest ourselves of as many of our belongings as possible, and so forth.

We live in a darling neighborhood on a hill that, from the road at least, has a nice little view of Houghton Lake. We're really close to lots of attractions and parks, and this area has year-round appeal as well as being gorgeous all year. We don't have a mortgage or credit card debt, so whatever we receive for our home is what we will have to spend to get started on our new life.

And there's the rub. The housing market is terribly slow, as everyone knows. In our area sometimes houses take years to sell. And we don't have good comparables in our neighborhood, since the last 2 sales - one directly across the street and one next door - both sold for less than half what I paid for this house in 2006! Granted, they were both "fixer-uppers" but still...I know I will have to take a loss when I sell. The question will be how much of a loss I will have to take.

This is why I want to make our house as attractive as possible before listing it. By putting some work (and money) into it now, I will hopefully come out better afterward, and THAT is when we will need the cash, when we make our big move into our new lifestyle.

A Nice Older MH, and Pets

Isn't this one a beauty? Only thing: we'd have to tear out either the couch or the dinette and stack cages there. Stacked isn't ideal. And they build the furniture around "stuff" - storage, wiring, whatever - so removing it completely isn't always possible, or is difficult. Hubby asked me one day, "Have you ever thought of how easy this would all be if we didn't have all these pets?" While I can't imagine giving up a single one of my beloved critters, yeah, now I am thinking of it. Not an option. Maybe by the time we get our next coach, the animal population will have dwindled a bit, naturally, though...once I get past the grief with each one, I think things may be easier. WOW, and lookie HERE! The couch would have to go... Really, we'll have to have a bunkhouse or a toy hauler, and a Class A or Class C. But I like looking at them all.

It seems that class A bunkhouse MHs are few and far between...but when I saw this one I thought how well it would work for us! While I'm still pretty enamored with toy haulers, I could definitely imagine us in something like this. Bunks would of course hold bird cages. I even like the colors in this one, and it is absolutely my favorite outside decoration/paint job/whatever you call it that I've seen out of hundreds of videos and pics and up close and personal units. If not a toy hauler, then this layout would probably the best in a MH.

Anyway, here is the video:

(I like TT's and 5th wheels also, and some are very livable for us all...but I just can't get beyond the idea of having to move all my critters into small travel cages and up into my tow vehicle every time we move. That would SO limit us in our stops along the way also, you just can't leave caged up parrots and dogs and cat in a truck while you go off sight-seeing on foot. Plus I want to have access to all of my pets while on the road...and not have to store all the small travel cages while camped...just makes better sense to have a MH with bunks or with a garage.)