Some Thoughts on Exiting the Full-time RV Life

Anyone who has gone full-time as an RVer can relate to the large amount of effort it took to make the dramatic transition. Downsizing, living in cramped quarters, and always being on the road can have a big impact mentally and emotionally.  Similarly, making the decision to reverse course and rejoin the more traditional community has some challenges too.

I’ve thought about this topic awhile.  In fact a day may not go by before my thoughts return to the RV life and I relive some of those great memories.
That said, I know some friends who are thinking about making the same decision and I wanted to share some thoughts from our experience.

We were on the road for almost 10 years and sold the Roadrunner 15 months ago.  This is from our perspective so it may or may not apply.  My hope is that it might useful in some way.

Here goes:

1. Becoming full-timers takes longer than making the big change to get off the road.  It takes a lot to put yourself into a viable position to live on the road and go full-time.  For us it was a two year effort.  Others have done it more quickly.  It really depends on your circumstances and personal risk tolerance.
2. Reversing that situation is easier but can be no less risky or scary.  But it doesn’t have to be. With a right amount of consideration and forethought, it can be done well with little pain.
3. In our case, we found that once you say it out loud and discuss it, everything changes.  It becomes inevitable, sooner than later.  Up until that time, it was a “someday” thing but not an item that we concerned ourself with much.
4. Transiting off the road my be more pleasant if you had a good full-time experience.  We found it easy to cherish those times.  Likewise, we were and are hopeful as the next chapter continues to unfold it can be equally as good.
5. I find that our circumstances may be different and I have always thought it is OK to “feel sad’ about leaving the road.  Really -- we gave some of the best years of our life to a great experience, and it is normal to have feelings about changing things.
6. I think it helps to sollidify thinking as to why we make the big change.  Once we determined the “why” -- it was easy to come back to that when I had misgivings or other thoughts.  Remember the “why" you are doing this despite the mixed emotions.  There may be times when the transition 
7. It’s ok to have changing goals after you become part-timers or no-timers.  We thought we’d be getting a smaller RV.  Then we spent that portion of our budget on a truck and still have no RV.  And we are OK with that, though we loved every minute of life on the road.
8. I know of friends who found it helped to write out pros and cons of a decision to leave the road.  It may clarify things for you.  
9. Make the change with minimum financial impact if you can.  A series of costly financial moves at this stage of your life is not helpful.
10. Don’t be surprised if others “don’t get it”.  Despite your enthusiasm for RVing, some folks just do not understand.  And they don’t understand why you ever did that in the first place.  But that’s OK.  
11. Be flexible.  Be patient with your new circumstances. Once you are settled back into a more “traditional lifestyle” there may be those days when it is not going so great and you wish you were still RVing.  
12. Make sure this is what you really want to do, so you don’t have regrets. Leaving the full-time lifestyle and going traditional is not irreversible, but I’m thinking from what we have seen it is improbable.
13. We intended to have an RV parked nearby at a storage lot or in the backyard and have it ready to go for many short 4-6 week trips.  But that hasn’t happened yet.  For us at the moment it is not feasible.  But we are OK with that.
14. Manage your expectations.  Just as RVing is not a panacea, going back to traditional living isn’t either.  It will have challenges and setbacks.  
15. You can't move if you don’t like your neighbors like you could in your RV, unless you are renting.  Hopefully you will be able to get into a great neighborhood or situation suits you.
16. Whatever cash you set aside for the transition will go fast.  Other priorities may pop up that you didn’t plan for.  Some are knowns but there are the many unknowns.  Be thrifty if you can so you have more options.
17. Set up a way to remember your wonderful times.  Photos, a blog, emails, are all ways to remember the great (and not so great) times you had on that very unique time of your life.  Review them like an old scrapbook. 
18. You may want to keep in touch with your some of your RV friends.  It is a wonderful way to remember and connect with that important part of your life.
19. Key in on the things that you deal with as full-timers that are an undertone of stress.  If you leave the road, you are free from those pressures.  It could be little things that you didn’t realize but definitely create some element of burden for you:  Major RV breakdowns, places to get a camping spot during the busy season (or COVID-19 lately), doing your laundry at a laundromat every week, or being apart from family.
20. Maybe you don’t have to get rid of your RV or you can downsize and still get out and camp from time to time.  That seems like the best of both worlds.  Become a half-timer, some-timer or when-ever-you-can RVer can be a great option if your situation allows it. 

Having said all this - life after RVing can be just as exciting, just as fun, just as rewarding.  Only different.  It doesn’t have to be the same to be good.  Or great.

It can be another exciting time in your life.  And why not?  You made a big change to go full-time, and you can be happy and successful in the next chapter of your life. After you think about it and develop your plan,  Go for it! and God Bless You!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Florida Plans for the Winter!

Its hard to believe that we've been here for almost three months.  We leave in a little less than a week to spend the 2018/2019 season in Florida.  It's getting a little harder to leave these little ones (and the big ones)

Daughter Kelly, Jon, and the boys

En route we are planning stops in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama.  After the snow bird season, we'll come back to Virginia Beach.

If our travels and schedule line up with yours, we'd love to see you!

Here is our current itinerary:
November

• 17-18, Cross Country RV Park, Denver, NC
• 19-23, Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground (private), Maynardville,  RN
• 24-30, Red Bay RV Campground, Red Bay, AL

December

• 1-5, Blue Angel MWR CG, Pensacola NAS, FL
• 6-7, TBD
• 8-16, Ft DeSoto State Park, Tierra Verde, FL
• 17, Miccosukee Casino, Miami, FL
• 18-31, NAS Sigsbee, Key West, FL

January

• 2, Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanner, Vero Beach, FL
• 13-31, Racoon Creek Recreation Area CG, MacDill AFB, Tampa, F

February

• 1-28, Pelican Roost CG, Mayport NAS, Jacksonville, FL

March

• 1-2, Pelican Roost CG, Mayport NAS, Jacksonville, FL
• 3-16, Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanner, North Fort Myers, FL
• 17, TBD
• 18-20, Deaton Campground, Red Bay, AL
• 21-24, Maynardville, TN
• 27-31, TBD

April

• 1-30 Virginia Beach

Crossing Paths With the Roadrunner

How does one do that?  Why would one want to do that?  We all have our ways and our reasons...

For a family, friends and acquaintances, I have listed one of my infrequent "Roadrunner Travel Schedule Updates".  Here's where we think we may be during the next few months.  If you are nearby or plan to be near us, it would be fun to catch up with you and say "Hi!":

Here our schedule as we know it:

January

• Jan 11 - 14: Agave Gulch FamCamp, Davis - Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ
• Jan 15 - 17: Catalina State Park, Oro Valley north of Tucson
• Jan 18 - 22: Outside Our Bubble group, Plomosa Rd, BLM spaces north of Quartzsite, AZ
• Jan 23 - 27: Yucaipa Regional CG, Redlands, CA
• Jan 28 - 31:  TBD

February

• Feb 1 - 12: Catalina State Park, Oro Valley north of Tucson
• Feb 13 - 28:  TBD

March

• Mar 1-31:  Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort, Casa Grande, AZ

April 

• Apr 1 - 2:  TBD
• Apr 3-17: - Kirtland AFB FamCamp, Albuquerque, NM
• Apr 18: - Sayre City Campground, Sayre OK
• Apr 19 - Oklahoma City OK
• Apr -  Downtown RV Park, Red Bay, AL
• Apr -  Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground (Private), Maynardville, TN

May

• May 1-31: Ocean Pines CG, Virginia Beach, VA
• Jun 1-30: Ocean Pines CG, Virginia Beach, VA

June

• PA, NY and the Northeast?

Thanks for stopping by today for the latest update on our Roadrunner Travels!

Roadrunner Financials - Aug 2014

Roadrunner Recap
We spent the month of August in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

We started out the month in the Washington DC area at Fort Meade, MD.  We stayed at the Army Travel Camp there while visiting Adam and Melissa, then left toward the middle of the month to see friends Mike and Sue in Lancaster County, PA.  We stayed at the Beacon Hill Camping campground. Next, we made our way back down the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, first spending a few days at Assateague State Park - MD, then on to Kiptopeke State Park - VA where we finished up the month.

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
We were under budget in most areas and got our averages down to where we like them.  Our year fiscal year starts in June, so for June - August, we are averaging a little over $300 Under Budget.

For August, we are under for:

• Diesel
• RV and Car Maintenance (thank goodness...)
• Groceries (which means we didn't do a lot of entertaining)
• Misc spending
• and 1 Time Costs

We like months where we are $1,241 under budget!

Biggest Expenses
Our biggest expenses this month were for campgrounds.  I upped our budget from under $25 to a little over $28 and we actually spent on average $31.54/day.  This is to be expected since it is high season for campers and we stayed in some State Parks (which are normally a little higher than what we pay at commercial or military parks if we have the choice.)

Large One Time Cost Item
None this month.

Monthly Average

We pay our car insurance quarterly so that will change next month.  Most of our other monthly expenses look pretty good.

That's a snapshot of how we're feeling about the cost of things on this Full-Time Journey.  We are in month 63 of doing it.

Hopefully, some of the thoughts and figures are of some interest/value/curiosity.  If you'd like a blank spreadsheet of what I use I'd be glad to send you it at no charge to do with what you wish.  

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

After 5 Years, A Recap and Tinkering on the Budget

After 5 years of living on the road, our average monthly cost has been:

These things have a notion of taking on a life of their own.  I use this to let me see if I am generally on the mark and to see if something is getting away from us.  I have declined to show what our income is but this level of spending is something that we can sustain.

Since we don't see any drastic changes coming in Year 6, we will continue on with this.

Year 5 "Budget"

I say 'budget' because my spreadsheet is really a planning tool and not something that we in a legalistic way.  Sometimes, we spend more than we have in the budget.  But we usually catch up over the course of the 12 months.

New Budget for Year 6

On Year 5, I decided to see if we could cut back a little bit and it didn't happen.  Barring some major repair in Year 6, I thing we will be able to live comfortably with the $4100.  Our first 5 years have averaged out over that amount by $150 or so a month but I am OK with that.

I post this mainly for my own check point.  And at some time, I think I may publish an ebook of our travels for each year and I want this entry to tell that part of the story a little more clearly.

Travel Schedules?

One of the first questions I get when I talk with friends and family is, "Where are you??".

Over the years I have debated on how best to let folks know where we are and where we will be in the coming months.

How do you keep your friends and family informed of your location and upcoming plans?

I also have trouble remembering which week we were where and next month where will be... so we'll try this.

Google Calendars and been around for years.  I have used them a here and there, but never really was consistent with it.  Friends (husband and wife team in the real estate business) with four kids have relied on Google Calendars to keep appointments for years.  But for some reason, I never really embraced it.

But I think using this may be the answer.  I fiddled with it for a few days came up with something.  I have more tweaking to do, but here it is.

Roadrunner Travel Calendar

I added a new 'Page' which has our travel schedule embedded into it.  I created a Google Calendar and then looked up on-line how to embed it into a blog.  I did a cut and paste of the code, saved it and there it is.

Anytime you wonder where we are (or have been), you should be go to the 'Travel Calendar' page and see.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  And thanks for following and thanks for those comments!  We love them!  Until next time...

Moving On From Port Hueneme

We have been in Port Hueneme for two weeks and we'll be heading down to the Riverside area later this morning.

We've liked it here in this area for a lot of reasons.

• The campground is a good one.
• Can't beat the weather.  Fall is coming and it has been very pleasant with no rain
• Our internet and phone service have been good
• We are near to shopping and places to see, things to do
• Part of the 'getting settled in' task at each place is figuring out where the grocery store is and what is noteworthy in the area
• We've seen and gotten to know some of the area: 
• Places of Interest, Museums and historic places:  Ronald Reagan Library, port and beach at Port Hueneme, Mission at Santa Barbara
• We visited a couple of swap meets
• Golf and some good practice
• Feel like we have gotten some things done:  
• Planning for the holidays and winter and spring:  where we will be and reservations at campgrounds for the next couple of months
• Riverside, CA area (San Bernardino, Redlands)
• Seal Beach (LA area)
• San Diego
• Quartzite, AZ
• Albuquerque, NM
• Fort Worth, TX
• Red Bay, AL
• Maynardville, TN
• Got caught up on our 'hang out time' and recharged our 'batteries 
• Don't feel like we are rushed at the moment
• In between my 'work for pay' P/T job at the moment but getting ready to gear up for it in the next few days
• Phone session with my brother going through a thought provoking book, sending questions back and forth and then discussing them
• Cleaned out some long neglected drawers and cupboards
• Pam repaired the kitchen drawer that was separated
• I cleaned out a couple of bins and drawers where I have accumulated a lot of junk
• All caught up on the wash/laundry since it is free here
• Lots of reading and goal setting:  Steinbeck's East of Eden and my ThinkTQ stuff
• Regular bike riding and/or trips to the fitness center
• Made progress on a couple of online courses (primarily since I found a Starbucks with good internet-I'd rather use there's than my mine)
• Made two trips to the Apple store to figure out some things on iCloud, IOS 7 and 'synching'

This morning the plan is to depart the campground sometime after 8:00 and go fill up the Roadrunner at the gas station on base.  We've already done a site survey to see if we can get the motor home into the pumps.  It will be a tight squeeze.  The height should be fine, clearance is 13'6" and our height is 12'6".  (Do you know what height your RV is?)

Next we will go south to the Riverside area and be there a few weeks before we head down to the San Diego area for Thanksgiving.

Hope you are having a good week.

Thats all from this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles - thanks for joining us!

A Day in the Life - Port Hueneme, CA

I thought I'd try to describe what our days are like here in Port Hueneme.  Over the last four years, we know that many of our friends and family kinda know what we do, but not really most of the time.  I'd say we are not too much different in what we do compared to our other RVing friends, but I'd say there are a fair amount of our family and friends who really could not describe a typical day in our life.

A lot depends on whether or not we are in an area with friends or family.  Here in Port Hueneme, that is not the case.  We are don't really know anyone.  Although we did meet John and Pat who are the new campground hosts.  And we met Randy when he joined us on a few holes on the back nine last Friday.  But other than that, we are here on our own.

So no family and/or friends with us.

Another consideration is whether or not we are here because we wanted to see a specific place.  Like the beach, or a museum or a Presidential Library.  And yes, we picked this area because we wanted to see the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library which is about 30 miles away from our campground in Port Hueneme.

Here's a list of what we (I) did yesterday:

Got up about 4:05.  I am an early riser.  I usually get up between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.  The last few weeks, rising time has been closer to 4:00 a.m.

I usually fix some coffee (and use my new coffee cup warmer which we got at Fry's Electronics last week) and do some reading, reflecting and planning my day.

Then about 5:15, it was off to the gym.  The gym on base is fairly small, but has all the equipment one needs to get the job done.  I worked on stretching, used a 'foam roll' and did a lot of ab exercises.  In the last couple of weeks, I have come to appreciate the foam roll.  It is my personal version of a massager.  I put it under my legs, side etc and use the weight of my body and roll on it slowly.  This basically sets me free ~ like mucho pain and agony!  Pain as in no-gain-no-pain, not injury-myself pain.  Almost like massaging the lactic acid out of my muscles.  Or something like that.  It definitely rubs the soreness out and after a couple of days, I feel like it really helps.

Another thing I have been working on is leg lifts and core exercises.  My lower back is not the strongest and as long as I take it slow, I figure it has to help in the long run.  My theory is that my sore lower back is due to weak abs and core muscles.

After the gym, it was over to Starbucks about 6:15.  I decided a few weeks ago that I want to make some progress in a couple of online courses that I have signed up for.  One is Photography and another is learning more about Google Analytics.  So yesterday I used the ATT network at Starbucks and went through another 50 minute module.

I got back to the campground about 7:35.  Pam was up and had cooked some sausage and eggs for breakfast.  We watched some news and I answered email.

About 8:30, we discussed our planning again for the winter stops in the coming months.  We know we would like to be in the San Diego area for Thanksgiving and Christmas and in Quartzite Arizona for the yearly January RV boondocking (dry camping extravaganza).   Then in the Spring, we want to be in the Mesa/Scottsdale area for Major League Baseball Spring Training.

For our time in Southern California, we have decided on March AFB FamCamp - Riverside, Seal Beach (Sea Breeze Military Campground) - Long Beach area and Admiral Baker (Navy Campground) - San Diego.

After our time in Southern California, head over to Quartzite, Arizona.  We need to find the group of Tiffin Owners and hang out with them like we did four years ago.  After that, we will head back to familiar surroundings in Tucson at Davis-Monthan AFB for the month of February.  We can't make reservations there, so we will just so up, spend some time in overflow and make our way into full hookups.

In March, we want to see if we like the large RV 'snowbird' type of parks in Mesa.  We reviewed about a dozen parks and read comments before we finally made reservations at Mesa Regal RV Resort.  We also made reservations at the Catalina State Park north of Tucson (Oro Valley) for the first couple of weeks in April.  All that research, calling places and scheduling took a little while before we pulled the trigger.

Around 11:00, I went over to the Port Hueneme Post Office to see if I had a package.  No dice.  I ordered some items from SMI (our auxiliary braking system) and had it sent it to General Delivery.  I will have to go back in a couple of days.

While I was doing that, Pam took off on a bike ride.  The base has some nice low traffic roads not far from the campground over by the golf course and she took out over there.  She was back by the time I returned from the Post Office.

About 11:45 ish, we had lunch at the RV.  And then about 12:30, we drove out Simi Valley to see the Ronald Reagan Library and museum.  What a great place that is! (More about that on another post.)

We got back about 4:30 p.m. and vegged out for a while.  We watched some TV and read (East of Eden) before I put some fish on the grill and had dinner about 5:30.

We had a quiet evening and watched Monday Night Football which was a real snoozer for the most part.  Pam went to bed about 9:00 pm or so.  I read some more and then woke up in the chair before I also went to bed and called it a night shortly after 9:30.

That was our Monday in Port Hueneme Navy Campground!  Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles today.  Until next time...

Roadrunner Reflections: It Became Real 4 Years Ago

I was talking with Pam yesterday and it was exactly four years ago that we put our 'bricks and sticks' house on the market.  After about three years of planning and dreaming and answering every "What if…" question we could think of -- we put the house on the market.

Now four years later, we are completely glad we did it.  We have no regrets, no misgivings, no 'we shoulda, coulda, woulda…" moments.  This lifestyle is for us.  It works for us.  And we are completely grateful.  We are thankful.  We love doing this.  We love this kind of life.  We look forward to what next week, next month, next year brings.

It seems like it has been longer since the ball got rolling but it has only been four years.  Hopefully there will be 14 more or 24 whatever.  For us, for right now --- this is what we are glad to be doing and we can't think of anything else that fits.

Four years ago, we had plans:  when we sell the house, then we can quit work, buy a motor home, become residents of South Dakota, etc etc.  To our surprise, our house sold in four days.  We got a contract on April 18 and finished negotiations the next day.

We thought, wow!  This is really going to happen!  Being project manager, I put those skills to work, as in  the 'Project Execution' Phase…

It seemed like a whirl wind.  We contacted the motor home seller, picked a date a week after the house closed in May and set up the purchase date.  We made reservations for Sioux Falls, SD and flew there.  We spent three days there, became residents, then went back to Fairfax VA to finish off our downsizing.

Meanwhile, I let folks know at work that I was going to 'retire' and go to 'Part Time On Call' status which is working for the company with an hourly wage but no benefits.  (Which has worked out great!)

Also, Adam was living downtown in Washington DC and Kelly was finishing up her Masters degree at VCU in Richmond the first part of May.  Then Kelly and Pam drove a U-Haul to Texas where Kelly was moving to live and work.

It was busy times and exciting times for us!

Looking back and remembering all the planning and scheduling and research and budgeting we did to move to Fulltimer status RVers ~ It was one of the most satisfying 'projects' I (we) have managed.  It was not without its share of surprises (what project doesn't have those) and challenges.  But the transition went pretty well.

So as I look back a few years ago, I am excited about where we have been and what the future holds.

Another 'Melancholy Moment' from the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks for joining us and being a part of our journey with us...

Travel Planning

Today's episode comes to you from the great McDonald's restaurant in Sebring, FL.  Have you noticed the upgrades going on in McDonald's  lately.  The layout is becoming more like a Starbucks seating arrangement with lots of outlets and places to sit and connect to the rest of the internet world.  I like it.

We leave this morning for Lake Louisa State Park.  I don't know if my mifi will be able to get a decent signal so I thought I'd better take a few moments and write from here.  I came into to some online work early and now this.

We are thinking about where we want to be next summer and fall and winter and it looks like we will be out West.  A question we get often is, "How long to you stay in one place?"  I always say, "It depends."  It depends on where we need to be and what we'd like to do.

As we plan for the summer and fall, we have a few considerations.  We know we'll be in the following places and then we 'fill in the blanks':

- Orlando area this weekend:  My brother flies in for a conference and we'll get to at least spend an evening with him.
- The Masters in April.  More on that but yeah - no kidding - a lifetime dream about to happen.
- Virginia Beach/Washington DC - looks like we'll get to see our kids the end of April and early May.
- Tuscaloosa, AL - We are signed up for some Disaster Relief work in May
- Wisconsin - We intend to be there in June/July
- San Jose, California - Nephew's wedding in September
- Arizona for the late fall and winter

So we are working with those dates and places.  We also know we have to renew our driver's licenses in November in South Dakota and re register the Roadrunner and our car.  Or we can become Texas residents.  We don't have to have the RV in South Dakota to renew, so we could fly there for a weekend and get it done.

So basically the big question we are solving is whether or not we want to become Texans.  I like Texas and have no problem there.  I want to know if we would save money doing it.  If not, how much more would it cost to do that?

In order to answer those questions, I need to do some research and spend some time talking to insurance people and checking out some things.  I will be doing that in the next few weeks when I have a better internet connection.

But we love planning and figuring out who we can see and where we can stay and how many Habitat builds we can work in the schedule.  So more to follow on that.

That's all for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks for joining us and thanks for those comments!

Great Days in Virginia Beach

Like most of the rest of the country, it has been hot here.  But I like hot, so it has been great.  I love warm weather.  Like yesterday - it was upper 90's when I went for a bike ride.  I use the mobile app:  MapMyRide on my iPhone to log my 'workout'.

Here is the route I took from our campground near the Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana.  I rode down to Virginia Beach and along the boardwalk.  I love Virginia Beach!

It has one of the best beaches any where.  Even in the middle of the week it was busy.  From 1st Street to 40th Street, it seems like there was a lot going on and a lot of folks on the beach.

For as long as the eye could see, there were beach chairs and umbrellas and people enjoying the great morning weather.

Our days are busy and I thought I'd give a recap for those of you that wonder, "What do those guys do with their time?"  Here is a rundown on my day:

I got up the usual time:  about 5:15 AM.  I do some reading and mulling over things during my 'quiet time'.  Early morning is the best part of the day for me - with a good cup of coffee, some morning solitude and a bit of a clear head, I like to think about things and plan my day.

Pam gets up a little after 7:00 AM and most days Kelly gives me a quick call on the way to work.  So we can check in and see how she's doing.  With the wedding a little over two weeks, things are moving right along.  She is a planner and a detail person, so it pretty much under control at this point.

The last week of the month, I begin getting ready for my online work by sending my accounts an email and giving them a 'heads up' that the Monthly Report is coming due.  I create folders, download report templates and basically get set up for about 40 hours of online on the 1st.

I also spent time contacting the Medical Group, our two doctors, and the lab that all have sent medical bills for two office visits and some lab blood work done six weeks ago.  Our mail service is in Sioux Falls, SD and we only get delivery of our mail every four weeks.  So bill payment for our doctors visits lag a bit.  Other items on our Visa, MasterCard, AT&T phone bill, Verizon mifi -- I pay online so we keep up on it with no problem.

After that, it was time for a bike ride.  While Pam was doing some wash, I went for the bike ride down to Virginia Beach.  By the time I got back it was lunch time.  I drank a couple of Gatorades and ate lunch.  Next it was time to get a haircut so I spent about 30 minutes getting out the clippers and giving my self a buzz.  Then I took a shower.

In the after noon, I answered some emails and had an issue with my computer access.  I need to make some updates on my work paperwork and went over to the Rec Center at the Navy Annex to use their computer.  I was partially successful and will need to work it some more.

By that time, it was almost time to head over to Kelly's for dinner with her.  Pam took some food and we actually went over to Jon's place.  She is moving some things from her place to his before the wedding.  He is out of town for a few days.  While Pam fixed dinner, Kelly and I fiddled with their bikes, went down to the beach to see a house one of their friend just bought.

Then we had dinner together and hung out a little while before returning to the Roadrunner.  I did some reading while Pam watched a baseball game.  I fell asleep for a few minutes and decided it was time to hit the hay sometime after 10:30 PM.

So - there is a rundown on a 'typical' day in the life of a full-time RVer.  I say "typical" because I am not sure there is any such thing…  We are here for another month or so and expect to be here at the same campground, so that part will be the same.  The rest of our time here promises to be more exciting and eventful as we get ready for the wedding in a couple of weeks.

That is all for now - Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

Biggest Expense Items in Year 1-

I want to document some of the things that cost a lot of money so I can compare them to spending in year 2 and see if my new estimates are reasonable.  Since we did not retire in an independently wealthy status, this analysis gives us more piece of mind as we try to anticipate what may be some larger expenses in year two.

It is a bit long, but here it is month by month beginning in May, the month we moved out of our house and into the Roadrunner:

May 2009: (before we actually started full-timing but in preparation for it)
- $1197 (Blue Ox base plate tow package  and rear hitch for the Honda)
- $377 (one time cost of Autonet Mobile Internet router)
- $1500 (seven year warranty for new Honda)
- $103.42 (folding BBQ grill for Roadrunner)

June 2009:
- $176.00 (Folding ladder, camping tables)

July 2009:
- $94.79 (household items for Adam's new place after he moved to Michigan)
- $258.47 (RV maintenance including windshield wipers, a/c and electrical troubleshooting)

August 2009:
- $129.39 (RV maintenance; DVD and keyless door repair)
- $117.98 (check out air bag inflate issue at Freightliner repair shop)
- $280.87 (Canon camera replacement)
- $119.50 (Ferry ride and tickets to Mackinaw Island)
- $229.06 (Electrical issue with kitchen plug repaired)

September 2009:
- $478 (registration for car and RV in South Dakota)

October 2009:
- $735 (Pressure Pro Tire Pressure Monitoring System)
- $276 (RV maintenance incl. generator maintenance, chassis lube, air cleaner)

November 2009:
- $397.50 (Generator lube and maintenance)
- $103.64 (Fuel pump repair)
- $108.24 (Air Compressor)
- $128.28 (hard drive crash repair and data recovery)
- $100.00 (teeth cleaned in Mexico)
- $149.80 (prescriptions filled in Mexico) [better prices at WalMart]
- $371.08 (RV maintenance)

December 2009:
- $157.87 (RV Freightliner yearly maintenance at Bay Diesel)
- $350.00 (couch removed and custom credenza for the Roadrunner)
- $518.94 (recliner for the Roadrunner)
- $1009.03 (Red Bay factory work incl. bodywork, awning repair, keyless door entry, towable tail lights repair)
- 134.44 (light socket replacement in Honda brake light)

January 2010:
- $119.88 (external hard drive)
- $87.72 (wood, hinges and supplies for custom computer table for Roadrunner)
- $763.15 (RV upgrades: SeeLevel Gauge, BR ceiling fan, kitchen counter light)

February 2010:
- $118.90 (External hard drive for Apple)
- $90.83 (small upright vacuum for Roadrunner)

March 2010:
- $455.80 (H&R Block income tax prep)
- $300.00 (Pam medical in Galveston)
- $1050.90 (Airline tickets Adam & Meghan's wedding)
- $122.34 (car rental and airport parking)
- $1065.00 (Blue Ox Patriot braking system; bought it in Jan, finally shipped in March)

April 2010:
- $679.55 (new tires for Honda)
- $134.61 (4" drop down hitch for towing car)
- $89.95 (Honda wheel alignment and cable feed through firewall for Blue Ox Patriot aux braking system)

May 2010:
- $212.41 (Pathfinder maintenance)


This may not be all of the medical bills yet, but I have listed the doctor's visits and ones I have seen so far.  There are more and I will update my notes when I get them.

Not sure I have any monumental conclusions to offer, but I wanted to highlight some things that are going to be useful both to us and maybe some of you that are thinking about the cost of full-timing for the first year.

I have previously posted our expenses vs budget items for Year 1; this is a look at some of the unanticipated costs.  Hopefully you find it interesting and / or useful!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Keep those comments and Followers coming!!

Beautiful Monday

First, Welcome to new 'Followers' to the Roadrunner Chronicles:

N&J

Jessica

and our new friends

John and Judy 

who sold their house a few days ago and will be full-timing in the not-to-distant future. Congrats!

Thanks to all for joining us on our adventures!  Looking forward to your comments and hearing from you!

Yesterday started off with a beautiful sunrise.  I was up early (4:30 ish) after our first comfortable night back in the Roadrunner.  I guess while we were gone, there has been some nasty weather here in the campground.  But yesterday was a beautiful morning to get some coffee and hang out by the lake before everyone got up.

Shortly after breakfast I headed out for a brisk 45 minute walk around the campground.  We have some good walking roads around the area and very little traffic.

After that, I concentrated on some computer work.  I am finishing up expenses for the month of May and taking a look at the how we did on the budget for our first full year of full-timing.  I will be publishing that soon and redoing the budget.  It needs some tweaking to be a little more realistic.

Yesterday I was reading one of the blogs I follow, and saw that John and Sandy did a better job of setting up there budget and it needs no adjustments.  Check it out:  Mothership RV - Our Travel Adventures  In fact they came in at a whooping $743 under budget last month.

In addition to reading my favorite blogs, I made a few calls to see about next year's TV service and internet service.  We cancelled a portion of our Direct TV movie options and saved ourselves $36/month.  Then I called Autonet Mobile and asked if we save money by paying our $29/month all at once.  Nope on that, but good to know there is no price change this year.  I also asked them about a booster antenna and will likely get one in the next few weeks.  My bandwidth is fine now but can anyone have too much bandwidth?

After lunch we went to a followup appointment with my cardiologist.  I had a very good report on the angiogram from 3 weeks ago.  She had one more EKG done and it looks like the other two I have recently done ~ abnormal EKG.  But the angiogram is more conclusive and she was not concerned.

My goal is to get with the exercise and aerobic activities so I can lower the bad and increase the good cholesterol in a couple of months.  I have heard that before, so it is time to get with it.  That way I can stay off more meds.

One of the neat things since our stay here at Haas Lake has been Pam's flower box garden.  She wanted to grow some basil and yesterday it was ready to harvest.

She cut some, washed it and put it in a blender with some olive oil so we could have pesto pasta.  It smelled great and tasted even better!

I think a baseball game was on last night but don't remember it.  I dozed off before I got up and went to bed.

That was our beautiful Monday.

Glad you joined us on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Only 90 more to go...who will be the next one to 'Follow'?  Let's keep it going...and thanks!

Roadrunner Reflections - First Year Do Overs

First - let me say 'Thank You' and Welcome to our newest Follower:

Melanie Ditmars

Glad you're following and we appreciate you signing up!

Over the past year of the Roadrunner era, we have learned a lot.  And we keep learning.  I am not one to wring my hands and live in the past about what 'woulda, shoulda, coulda' happened.  We try to conduct our due diligence, think about it, talk about it and then 'pull the trigger' ~ do it!  As with most things in life sometimes it doesn't quite work out the way you thought it would...

Roadrunner Resets:  Do Overs....If I had it to do over I'd:

1. Get an Apple computer and shelve my Dell PC.  Apple is more convenient, less hassle.  I use the computer every day.  With my PC I had to worry about a lot of anit-virus stuff and the darn thing crashed at a couple of inconvenient times.  So far the MacBook has been great.

2. Get a laptop that is not so big.  My Dell PC has a 17" screen and takes up a lot of room.  A 14" screen is fine.  I thought I wanted a big, powerful laptop but the smaller computer works fine and is similar in size to the size I starred into at work for years.  I like the smaller one.  (Can you say iPad?)

3.  Keep my toolbelt.  Can't believe I got rid of that because I thought we wouldn't have enough room.  I threw away. Wow - that was one I wish I'd kept!  It takes a couple of years to break one in right but what are you going to do? Get another one and keep it!

4.  Keep our plastic folding saw horses.  We gave those away also, but we could have room for them and they would be handy to have.  With our NOMADS work, we have used a lot of Joe's tools and sawhorses.  He tows his truck behind his motor home and we aren't going to be doing that.  Those plastic saw horses would have come in handy more time than I can count.

5.  Spend a little more time and due diligence setting up our budget.  I totally missed the food cost with zero money set aside for eating out.  We are about $370 a month (on average) OVER on food.  Eating out is a big chunk of our expenditures.  We are about $400 OVER on RV Maintenance per month.  On a conservative note, we are about $500 UNDER on diesel fuel.  Totals:  $4300/month which about $1000 over budget.

6.  I would have signed up for the local county school system bus driver training course.  Our neighbor Debbie has worked there for years and she suggested (on the day we pulled the Roadrunner up in front of our house to load the last of our belongings into it) that idea.  It would have been nice to have thought about doing that about a year before we started full-timing.  Another option would have been to set aside about $700 and take an RV driving course.

7.  Once we bought the MacBook, I should have signed up for the training.  For $100 I could have gone in and taken a lot of classes and gotten some 1 on 1 help.  Instead I have to settle for the free ones.  You can't beat the Apple Store Genius Bar!

8.  Kept more appliances.  Yes!  We got rid of our electric skillet, big (12 cup) coffee pot, blender, and vacuum cleaner.  Now we have new ones and we have found places to put them all!  But who knew?  When you look at your 2200 sq ft sticks and bricks house and then walk through a 400 sq foot RV, you know most things are not going to fit.  As far as all that 'stuff' we got rid of--we not missing anything :)

That's all I can think of ~ I am sure there will be more.  We are excited about this lifestyle and this time of year.  It is summer in Michigan.  Yesterday Pam put away the ceramic heater and pulled out the fan!

And it was a beautiful day.  I polished 1/2 of the Roadrunner,

watched a neighbor and his grandson catch a fish in the lake,

mowed the lawn (which I love),

we had Rod over for flank steak on the grill

followed by time around the campfire as we watched more neighbors go by for an evening cruise on their pontoon boat.

It was a fun  81 degree day!

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!  And thanks too for all those wonderful comments!  Keep them coming!

Foggy NOMADS Day

It was a very foggy day in Galveston yesterday, but it was warm.  Pam and I joined our NOMADS team at the same project house we have been working on the past few days.  It was overcast most of the morning with some light drizzle for a few minutes.  But not enough to interrupt us building the steps to the back entrance to the laundry room.

Dale and I figured and finessed (with some help from Joe and Pam) the new steps with the angle cuts and measurements and got them done.  We were shooting to be done by 1:00 but it was closer to 2:00 when we finished.
Before:

During:

We were pretty happy with how they turned out.

The team finished the kitchen with two coats of paint and installed the last of the ceiling tile in the dining room:

Joe wanted us to meet him at the house where Tom and Dotty were working.

Then, we followed Joe over to the new house the four of us will be working on.  It is a beautiful two story house about two blocks from the Galveston Seawall.  It is beautiful and will be in better shape after we finish our work there.  We met the owner, did a site survey and got to work.

While Pam and Dotty used the staple gun to begin installing Tyvek sheets to the area between the studs, Tom and I measured the entire floor and figure how much sheet rock Joe will be ordering when that begins next week.

Meghan Update:  This week she is 'off' the chemotherapy so she gets a chance to recover.  She is in good spirits and planning a July wedding...

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - January 2010

It has been a long while since I posted our expenses.  I am almost caught up now and I have tweaked the format a little.  We have been on the road as full-timers for eight months.  

I can see pretty clearly where I underestimated our costs for a lot of items and where we did well.   

I hope this provides some utility and spurs some discussion among our readers out there.  I would love to get some input and/or questions on how you all hold your expenses down.

During the the first few days of January 2010, we were in Redlands, California seeing Bob and Soo, our good friends from years ago.  Then we stayed at the USMC Base at Twentynine Palms, California.  We wanted to see what it was like out there and got to meet up with new friends Rollie and Gina.  Next we had a great experience 'boondocking' (aka dry camping, dry docking-- camping with out any hookups) in Quartzsite, Arizona for over two weeks with a group of fellow Tiffin owners.  

After Quartzsite, we moved on to Yuma, Arizona where we experienced casino RV camping for the first time and visited the border town of Algodones, Mexico.   The last 10 days or so we have been here at Agave Gulch FAMCAMP at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.

With that little bit of background for the month, here are our expenses for January 2010:

Good news are areas where we are under budget- 

Diesel fuel - $575 under budget.  We stayed at didn't travel very far this month.

Campground - $400 below for the month with our $25/night budget.

Medical & dental - $97 under what we planned on.

Biggest expenses for the month - 

Two big areas I did not have a budget for when I started this:  Computer accessories and Eating Out.  Those two 'unplanned' areas totaled almost $285.  

Large 'One Time Cost Item(s)' - 

The $1828 accounted for two items:  

- $1065 for work on the coach (installation of SeeLevel Gauges, additional light under the kitchen cupboard to match the one over the sink, and ceiling fan in the bedroom).

- $763 to purchase a Blue Ox 'Patriot' tow vehicle auxiliary braking system.  We should have gotten this when we purchased the Allegro Bus and Honda CRV and started out full-timing in May 2009 .  Many states including California require this.

Monthly average since we started tracking in June 2009 - 

Bottom line is that we are AVERAGING OVER $1124 each month from June 2009 through January 2010.  Yikes!  

My goal continues to be learning how to live at $2500 - $3000 per month.  I will have to increase my budget for food and eating out and I think the large one time costs will be a lot less.  

Plus --- this lifestyle takes a lot of discipline and we are 'growing' into it.  We are learning we love to boondock and we will be volunteering more the next few months.  That should bring those averages down some.  

Hope some of this has been helpful.  I will be completing Aug - Dec in the next few days and will make them available to you.

We love hearing from you and appreciate you viewing this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.  

RV Computer Desk Table, Golf, GoodByes

I love it when a plan comes together! It just did with our new computer table.

Yesterday we picked it up from Mr. Bob and brought it back to the Roadrunner.

After months of planning and preparation, it fits perfectly and works great. Bob did a terrific job. When we first approached him, I was not exactly sure what I wanted but we were able to talk and figure it out and it is great!

Early yesterday morning, we drove from Twentynine Palms to Redlands in time to make it to Trinity Evangelical Free

Church with Soo, Hillary, Katieanne and Ryan.

Then we went over to Bob & Soo's to change, grab a sandwich, see the computer table

and load up our clubs to go play golf. The last coat was drying in the sun.

Next, we went over to Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club. It was a beautiful day at the course and we all had fun.

We each even hit a couple of good shots!

You have heard of synchronized swimming? This is synchronized tee shots.

Sort of. :)

We spent the whole afternoon on the golf course while Soo, Hillary, and Katieanne went to a wedding shower.

We played golf until almost dark, then met Soo, Katieanne, and Hillary at Jose's for dinner.

Then we went back to their place for a bit and loaded up the computer table.

We said our good byes and made the 90 minute trip back to Twentynine Palms. They have been really great over the last couple of weeks and have made us feel especially welcome. It has been neat to see them and their kids and everything!

Bob was only in the coach a couple of times and was able to make a great match on staining it. The maple plywood was coated with cherry stain and it is a very close match to the cherry wood on the inside of the Roadrunner.

Both sides of the computer table drop down for easy storage.

Or I can put one side down, one side up and use it for a computer table.

It fits well into the corner office area.

And Pam can have her kitchen dining table back.

It looks a little empty at the moment but that can change quickly.

Our we can have a second dining table and / or a game table.

I like the height and the shelf for the printer,

and drawer.

It is not real big and massive like some two drawer filing cabinets I have seen. It already has a lot of utility and flexibility.

So there it is -- our latest furniture acquisition. And we are very very pleased! Thank you Mr. Bob!

Our week is off to a great start and I hope yours is too! Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Hitches, Load Management and Fire Safety @ Escapees RV Boot Camp

We started out the day with a big breakfast in the Escapees Activities Center where RV Bootcamp is held. We sat one table over from the Program Director Mark Nemeth. In a addition to being very knowledgeable on a lot of subjects he is a very personable guy.

Mark started the Day off talking about different aspects of hitches and for travel trailers, 5th wheels and motor homes.

After Mark's seminar, he introduced Neil Kelander who spoke on RV Load and Weight Management. Neil has been RVing for over 35 years and worked in the tire industry for over 30.

He offered the following statistics:

• RVs are the only vehicles on the road operating at 100% capacity 100% of the time
• There are 30+ million RVers worldwide
• There are 8.2+ million RVs registered in the USA
• There are 1.3 million RVers who are full-timers

He also said the #1 problem with RVs today is overloading. He strongly recommended we get our RVs weighed by a place that can weigh each wheel separately.

In the afternoon we had a Fire Safety seminar by Mac McCoy.

He had a mix of information, stories, a few RV fire videos and an outside demonstration using some extinguishers. My takeaways from his presentation were:

-We need to do our own fire escape exercise (as in climb through the window). When we have an emergency is no time to figure things out. We may have 20 seconds to get out so we need to be start and train for that possibility.

- The other one was that we need to look at our fire extinguisher and see how to operate it.

After a dinner of hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, beans and cookies,

we had the Bootcamp staff tell a little bit about their story. Each husband and wife team told: how long they have been full-timing, what they like the most, like the least an what they plan to do after full-timing.It was another good day and we learned a lot. We are looking forward to seeing some of the local area around Livingston Texas after the Bootcamp ends at noon.

That's it for today's Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for viewing!

Escapees RV Bootcamp

We checked in at the Escapees Rainbow's End RV Park Thursday evening and found our site. We went for a walk, had dinner and had a pretty quite evening.

Friday morning I was in the middle of giving myself a haircut when a fellow 2007 Allegro Bus owner (named Randy) came over and we chatted. He has had his Bus for 7 weeks and is enjoying it. We invited him into the Roadrunner for a few minutes and we compared notes.

Randy bought his off the lot in Fort Worth at Vogt's RV Center. It was fun to hear his story. He is a CPA and still working. He and his wife Karen are also here for the Escapees RV Bootcamp.

Wow - I think the motorhome prices are finally starting to come down. Now appears to be a great time to buy a new motorhome. The prices are significantly different than we were ready to purchase at the beginning of the summer. I would be glad to share more on that and what we paid if you'd like to contact me.

We had time before the Bootcamp for a tour of the Escapees CARE Center.

Escapees CARE (Continuing Assistance for Retired Escapees) Center the only place of its kind for older RVers. Folks continue to live in their RV's and come over to the Center for meals, recreation and all sorts of activities. It is an adult day care center with two registered nurses and a full volunteer staff (5 to 7 couples) to serve the 37 residents.

After lunch, we went over to the Activities Center for the start of the BootCamp and

an optional seminar "RV Basic System Elective Course for New RVers". We were impressed from the start! Mark Nemeth, the Bootcamp Program Director and Escapees Technical Advisor has a great approach to instruction. He calls it "hosted videos'.

He shows a short video clip on three or four subjects, then pauses it and opens it up for questions. He follows this approach throughout his presentation and I found it to be very effective. Some of the subjects he covered in his three "RV Systems" presentations included:

• Electrical (Batteries, AC/DC Power, Inverters, Solar)
• Tanks (Water, Grey, Black) & Hookups, Dumping, Sanitation Tips
• Plumbing (How it all gets filled, maintained and drained)
• Site setup, teardown, checklists
• Heating/Air conditioning/Refrigerator/Propane
• RV Gadgets

The last session of the day was RV Driving Tips and Techniques by Dennis

Hill.

He gave some great information and some humorous stories. In addition to the presentation, he is at the rally and takes students on a personal 4-hr driving lesson. Those that have taken the $300 course said it was well worth it.

We have been to three types of these type of instructional events now and some of this is starting to make sense! There is a lot more to learn so I'm sure we'll do more. If you have never been to an RV bootcamp or rally to get some info on these type of subject, I highly recommend it.

After dinner, there was a campfire but we opted for a short evening and went back to the Roadrunner. It was a good day with a lot of good information.

Thanks once again for join us on our adventures and the Roadrunner Chronicles. If it has been a while since you have left a comment, or have never done so, those are great.