by Tom & Marilyn Clark
Tom retired on July 1, Marilyn quit her job on July 3, and we took off from the Washington DC area the next day, appropriately enough, on Independence Day. Since that time, we've covered 4,532 miles with the trailer (7,309 logged on the truck), visited 12 different states, suffered one fence-attack on the trailer, and have enjoyed every minute of our new lifestyle. We have learned two major lessons since beginning our fulltiming travels: it is a challenge to find modem access, especially during transit from Point A to Point B; and, all plans, no matter how carefully laid, are made in Jell-O. This means that they can and will be changed instantly! In this follow-up article to our series on "Preparing for Fulltiming," we'll tell you what we did right, what we wish we'd done differently, and what we still don't know.
We're glad we...
-- did our research through the RV Consumer Group before purchasing our 5W. While any brand of RV can have lemons, and it seems ALL new rigs have bugs to be worked out, buying a rig from a manufacturer with a reputation for quality is a good first step.
-- added an exhaust brake to the diesel truck. We have used it in the relatively small mountains in western Pennsylvania, and in West Virginia. If we were glad to have it then, we know we'll appreciate it even more when we head out to the Rockies.
-- have a cellular phone for emergencies. Although we haven't had a lonely roadside breakdown or 911-type emergency yet, we are glad we have this service available to us.
-- have a GPS and mapping software for our laptop PC. The mapping software has helped us negotiate our way through the heart of several small towns, allowing us to move into the proper turning lane well before the sometimes inadequate signs let you know it's time to turn! The GPS tracks our progress, so it tells us where we are in relation to the next turn or exit. We love it.
-- skipped the washer/dryer for the rig. We do just fine at the campground laundry, although it does cost us about $20 a month to use the coin-ops.
-- got DSS for TV reception anywhere. Because our home base is Livingston, TX (the boonies) we get both East and West networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) for only $5 extra a month.
-- discovered a windshield rain treatment product that aids visibility even in the hardest downpour. The water beads up and blows off the windshield. Super stuff. We use the off-brand, but the well-known brand is probably just as good.
We wish we'd...
-- kept our card table. We just couldn't think of a place to store it. We are now at a campground where there are no picnic tables, and setting up the BBQ grill is quite a challenge. What we really need is a small, lightweight, collapsible heat-proof table. We are still looking. We just don't like what we've seen in the catalogs.
-- kept a small, cheap phone. When we're on the road, we sometimes find truck stops with just a phone jack at the table. It would be great if we could plug in our little phone just to test the jack to see if it was activated, before unpacking our laptop, plugging in the modem, and dialing up
only to find "no connection/ no carrier." We are scouring flea markets for a phone similar to one we sold at our Estate Sale.
-- had a computer desk built into the rig when we ordered it. RV manufacturers are rountinely doing this now, but not when our rig was built in late '95, and we didn't think of it. Our laptops get pushed around on the kitchen table, and are space hogs. (Yes, 12"x 8" for each PC is a lot of
space on our table!) Some folks take out the sofa and replace it with a computer desk. We love our sofa, and aren't ready to sacrifice it yet.
We are still undecided about...
-- getting solar panels. We are leaning toward installing them when we start traveling the West extensively. There are few opportunities for extended boondocking in the East, so we don't need them yet. We'd like to try camping on BLM land, and in National Forests, so solar would be a definite plus then. We're just not in a hurry to make this investment yet.
-- keeping a big vacuum cleaner. We kept our canister vacuum cleaner with all the attachments, storing it in the rig's basement. It sat there, unused, for over a year. Marilyn took it out for the first time last week, to sell it. We use our little Dirt Devil hand vacuum constantly and find it does a
good job. We just bought a small Steam Vac and tried steam cleaning our carpet. It does a great job too. Of course, our rule is, for whatever new item we buy, we must get rid of something else to make room for it. So the unused canister vac must go. We hope we won't regret this decision.
-- membership campgrounds. It's probably too early to tell if we'll get adequate usage out of all our membership campgrounds to justify their cost. We did not spend much initially to purchase our C2C membership, and our other memberships (CCA, Passport America) have minimal annual dues. However, because we are spending six months in one place this winter, it's a no-brainer to realize that we are getting practically no return on our campground memberships this first year. We'll be traveling more in the next few years, and we'll continue to re-evaluate our memberships. We allowed our RPI membership to expire this fall, because many of their campgrounds were the
same ones as C2C, and we never used RPI in the whole year we owned it.
How we travel - We would like to travel the Blue Highways, alternately called the Red Roads. These are the smaller, more interesting roads on the map. Someone once said, "Thanks to Interstate Highways, it is now possible to travel the entire US from Coast to Coast without seeing anything." We agree, and would add, "...while simultaneously increasing your blood pressure by 50 points." In reality, though, because of events scheduling, we have relied on Interstate highways for much of our travel thus far. When we are trying to get from Point A to Point B in a short period of time, we often spend the night in truck stops (way in the back, out of the way as much as possible), Wal Mart parking lots, Flying J RV parking lots, or in rest areas. We have never had any trouble at any of these overnight locations. RVers frequently argue about using campgrounds vs. "free" spots for overnighting. When all we want to do is park and sleep, we can't justify spending $20 or more on a campground site. When we stay at Wal Mart, we always shop the store (who could resist Wal Mart?) and when at Flying J or other truck stops, we purchase
fuel and eat dinner in the restaurant.
We try to drive 250-300 miles in one day, alternating drivers every 2 hours or so. We get our fuel at truck stops. It's easier to pull in and out, and the diesel fuel is supposed to be "fresher" at a busy stop.
Workamping experiences - During August, Tom worked in the booth at the entrance to a Texas State Park, collecting day-use fees. He soon found out that folks can come up with many creative reasons why they shouldn't have to pay to enter the park. Here are their top 5 reasons:
Marilyn worked in the office, registering campers. The park was full of deer that wandered through the campsites, along with marauding raccoons that frequently stole food right out of campers' coolers during cover of night. We were disappointed if a day went by that we did not get our "deer fix." Armadillos and jackrabbits trundled and hopped their way through the campsites, respectively. Hummingbirds, a rare treat to see for us city folk, were frequent visitors to the feeders. Sandy, another volunteer workcamper, saw two cougars who seemed to be interested in her Chihuahua, Mitzi, during her evening walk through the park. The Park rangers treated the volunteers well, hosting a pancake breakfast for us early in the month and a catfish fry (fresh-caught in the Pedernales River) just before we left. Yum!
At our winter Florida campground, we work three days a week in the camp office, stocking shelves, selling convenience store items, registering campers, etc. Tom also fills propane cylinders for campers, and Marilyn prepares made-to-order subs, hamburgers and cheeseburgers in the deli. It can get quite hectic at times, but it's fun. We are able to visit Marilyn's Mom and sister in Orlando, and Tom's son and our grandson in Tampa. We visit the Webster Flea Market on Mondays, bike the nearby Withlacoochie Rails-to-Trails bike trail, and try to avoid being attacked by the big and hungry skeeters that come with the territory!
We enjoy workamping, and are already making plans to work in 1998. Workamping helps with our budget, which we'll discuss next. After only five and a half months of on-the-road fulltiming, it is difficult to know exactly what to expect, budget-wise. We are tracking all expenditures, and average $2,011 per month. Communications expenses are averaging higher than we had anticipated. This includes internet access, cell phone charges, phone service at campground, long distance calls, and phone messaging service. Campground fees are lower than normal, because we have workamped for four of the five and one-half months we have been on the road.
Our fulltiming adventure is everything we'd hoped for, and more. Every new situation challenges our ingenuity, and we have become masters at "coping." What great fun!
See you on the road...