How Not To Start Fulltiming!

This is going to be kind of a readers digest version of the last 4 years to catch you up to where we are now. I want to tell you how we got started fulltiming without the "safety net" that some others are fortunate enough to have.

First the Idea
We have always wanted to travel in some kind of an RV. Jim wanted to fish in all the places he had seen on the weekend fishing shows. I was showing Akitas at the time and thought that attending dog shows in each state while Jim was fishing would be heaven on earth! The only problem was that we didn't have the money for an RV and didn't know of anyway to fulltime other than camphosting which we thought only gave you a free campsite. Our dream was always just that, a dream with no chance of reality or so we thought.

On a late spring day, we were driving around the Colorado Rockies with our oldest son Jon and his wife Cari, when we started talking (yet again) about our dream of traveling someday when we had the money. Right in the middle of my sentence Jon blurted out, "Mom, I don't mean to be rude, but you're never going to have that kind of money so if you really want to do it, then find another way!". Ok. I'm always up for a challenge! So I started looking for information.

I searched the internet for information on traveling in an RV and discovered the word "Fulltiming". Searching that word was how we found Escapees. That was a gold letter day! I joined the discussion forum and read every single entry. I was up that first night until 3am. I'd drag Jim into our home office and read him entry after entry and true to form he kept saying that there was no way we could do this unless I figured out a plan that I could prove would work. By the way, he said we'd never make it to Hawaii either and so far, we've been twice, but that's another story!

Through Escapees I discovered Workamper News, now I was on a roll. Thank you everyone, you answered all my questions and then some which convinced me that we could do this.

Then The Plan
Jim always says no unless there is a plan that I can prove to him will work so that's what I had to figure out. It was just after 9/11 so contracts for drafting were way down so Jim and I were working at other types of jobs. I was at Lowes and he was working at Dillards selling shoes. I showed him the costs of living in our rental at $1200p/m plus all the other costs of living in a home versus moving into a hotel. With the savings from just that, plus both of us getting second jobs and saving I thought that we could move into an RV. He was willing to try but not entirely convinced.

First we had to get rid of alot of stuff, you know the kind I'm talking of, the boxes in the basement full of things we can't do without but don't remember. That kind. What was so hard for Jim was having to empty the double garage which was so full of tools and fishing things there wasn't any room for a car!

We both sorted through our respective areas deciding what to keep, what went to the kids, what went into the garage sale and what to throw away. My daughter-in-laws came over and picked out what they wanted then we divided up the family photos which the boys would not help with, they said it was like I was dead but still here and it "creeped" them out. The sentimental things that I could not part with were divided into 3 small boxes taped up well and labeled. I asked each son to carry one box with them wherever they went until I got rid of it or died. They agreed.

We had two garage sales in July and Jim cut his tools and fishing stuff in half four different times. He was traumatized! Once all was said and done, what was left went into storage and we moved into a nearby Super8. Mind you, at that point we didn't have an RV in sight since we didn't have any money!

Jon found a 26' Winnebago for sale for $3000 and the sellers agreed to take payments. I have to tell you about these people because we found them to be very...interesting. They were a very large, happy biker couple. Bikers are fine, but these two looked and talked like they were right out of an old biker movie. They were friendly and very nice with two teenagers plus an Irish Setter that road in the sidecar. They had let the teens put any stickers they wanted on the back of the Winnie and let me tell you, how they kept from getting shot because of some of those stickers I don't know! Everything in it was going to have to be replaced. Remember, at this time we had no idea what it took to fulltime or what to expect. The Winnie had bunks and we thought it wouldn't be an issue to fold out the bed at night. Crazy! what were we thinking!! Anyway, whenever we went over to make a payment they would pour coffee and talk about fights they had had where the wife had shot the husband because he wouldn't listen to her. I'm not kidding, they laughed about it. I won't take any more space here telling you some of the other things they talked about, I just knew I needed to double my payments!

Anyway, while living at the hotel Jim and I each got a second job working at a Christmas kiosk in the mall so now we were both working everyday at two jobs. Tiring, yes, but it was the plan and we were working the plan.

We arrived at the bikers house one evening in January '03 to make the final payment. Yea! We got our keys, went out to the mh, started it up...and it didn't move, not one inch. The transmission was shot. Great. To their credit, the sellers said they would put a rebuilt tranny in it, so back to the hotel we went. By the end of February the tranny was still not in for a variety of reasons. We had a deadline of March to be out of the hotel before summer rates started so we needed the mh. Jim finally quit his job at Dillards to help put in the tranny and managed to get it done in just 3 days. He started it up and it drove 6 feet and died. The carburater was no good and the sellers were not willing to replace it. Jim called a mobile mechanic and started to work.

While Jim worked on the Winnie, my daughter-in-law Cari and I went to a nearby RV dealership "just to look". I found a 33' 1985 Champion motorhome parked right in front of the office that had just been detailed and looked beautiful. Remember when I said that Jim always says no? Well, when I told him I was going to go look he told me not to waste my time since we didn't have enough money and knowone would sells us anything. Ok, so on with my story.

The Champion was $11000 (which we did not have), they would not take payments but they would take the Winnie in trade. They even gave me $4000 in trade (we only paid $3000) sight unseen. I went into great detail about the condition of it though because I didnt' want to take a chance the deal would go bad. We signed the papers and off Cari and I went to tell Jim what I had just bought. Oh, the motorhome wouldn't start when we turned the key but the sales agent said they would fix it and since it was so pretty (especially in comparison to the Winnie) I bought it anyway. When I told Jim he almost had a stroke! We went right back to the dealer so he could see it and he agreed that it looked great but kept asking how we were going to pay for it. I didn't know. On the drive home while the three of us were discussing it the phone rang. Jim answered and after listening for a minute he pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the car. It was his brother in Washington state who had called to tell Jim that he was sending him $9000 from his fathers estate (who had passed away the previous year). His brother had not told anyone that he was working on it because it was something to do with a house that was sold and he wasn't sure it would work out. Now we had the money thanks to Jims' Dad.

In March we picked up the Champion and moved into it. We started our first workamping job at the Best Western Weston Inn in West Yellowstone, MT on May 21, 2003. We have been back there to work the Weston 3 times until it was sold early this year.

Was This The Best Way?
No, probably not but it was the only way for us to start living our dream. I'm sure some of my family would rather I didn't share so much detail but it was the only way I could prove that if you want something badly enough there is a way. Maybe not the best way but a way nevertheless. As I tell my kids; Make a plan and work your plan, if things change make a new plan and work that one. Just make one!

As for Jim, he thinks it was all his idea...ahh, husbands! But I'm always up for a challenge and afterall, he's worth it.

Today
We are now in Reedsport Oregon where Jim is doing drafting in a new field, boat building. I will continue from this point on but will probably go back in time again to tell you about a job that we did in 2005 which was quite a challenge also.

Thanks for listening, Travel safe!