What We Need in an RV

1st off, I find it very peculiar that you use the word "an" before "RV".  The 'R' is not a vowel so why use "an"?  Strange, but I digress...

So here are the things we have to have in a Travel Trailer(TT).

1. 2 SLIDE OUTS ( part that extends out farther for additional room):  A slide in the living area and one in the master bedroom area that slides out the side NOT the end of the TT.  This is referred to as an east-west bedroom.  Why do we need that particular slide?  So we can fit Little Miss's play yard at the foot of the bed to sleep.  There simple is not enough room otherwise. 
   
   
   
2.  FULL SIZE FRIDGE: A lot of TT come with very small refrigerators that barely hold a days worth of foodstuffs.  I would really rather not shop every single day. I hate shopping once a week as is.
3. BUNKHOUSE:  At first we thought we had to have quad bunks but then we saw some TT that had 2 bunks on one side of the room and then a dinette table on the other that folded down to a full bed. The kids really liked that and the boys said they would share a bed, which they often end up doing anyhow.
   
   
   
4. 34ft + : For a family of 7 we really need a TT that is 34 feet long or more.  We do need a little room to breathe.
5. UNDER 10,500 GVWR: " the maximum operating weight/mass of a vehicle as specified by the manufacturer^[1] including the vehicle's chassis, body, engine, engine fluids, fuel, accessories, driver, passengers and cargo." wikipedia.   So in other words, how heavy it can be and still tow it with our vehicle!
6. REAL DOORS:  This may sound strange but so many RV's have accordion doors or just curtains.  That just won't do with a sleeping baby or a sleeping special needs child.  In both cases, once they are awake, they are awake.  We need REAL doors to keep as much noise out as possible during nap and bedtimes!
7. AWNING: This is really pretty standard but you come across some older ones that don't have them.  It's just the awning for the outside to give some shade.
8. LESS THAN 15K:  That's our budget.  We would love it to be 20k, but since we will be paying for it out of pocket, there is just no way besides an act of God( a girl can pray!) that we will get enough out of our house to afford that.

WISH LIST

1. OUTSIDE KITCHEN:  Man I would love this one but have yet to find a TT that fits our above need that has one.  The whole side flips up on the outside and has a small fridge, sink and grill that you can use when you are at a campsite.   

    2. BANQUETTE SEATING: Instead of just having a booth dinette which can get a little cramped, it would be ideal to have banquette seating.  But most of the TT we have looked at have a couple stools at a little kitchen peninsula so we can make do with a booth.

     3.OUTSIDE ACCESS TO BATHROOM: Some TT have a door in the bathroom to the outside.  That way when you are at your campsite and everyone is outside most of the time, kids don't have to traipse through the TT to go to the bathroom.  There is an access door from the outside straight to the loo!  Genius.  But potentially embarrassing if you are using it and a kid opens it from the outside and the whole RV park sees you on the pot...

    

There are some other things we have been mindful of too.  Like, 'Is the location of the toilet going to be close enough to Little Miss to wake her up?'  Having those real doors will help with noise but we have seen some layouts that would have Little Miss up with every slamming of the toilet lid.  Ok most lids are plastic in an RV, but knowing Princess, she would find a way to slam it.

We tend to like the Innsbruck model a lot and have a found a few of those.  One is a 2007 and one is a 2000.  The 2000 needs updating of course but is half the price of the 2007 with the same floor plan. But the sellers have mentioned the WD word. *mouthing the words WATER DAMAGE*

~Insert psycho shower music~

It is supposedly just a little on the corner of the living area slide but anyone who knows anything about RV's knows that water damage can cost way more to repair that what the whole RV is worth.  So we'll see.

We have lowered the price on our home about 7k once we decided we could go for an older TT model( as long as it's been maintained well) and just spruce it up inside.  We have had a surge in interest since we dropped the price the other week so that is good.  Still no shows though.  That is so incredibly rude.

Because of so many people who have come down with this rudeness plague, we have adopted a new strategy: If someone calls or stops by to schedule a showing we do it immediately.  That can be hard with 5 kids who are home all day with you but we just have made a very conscious effort to keep the house very tidy. 

 So far that strategy has paid off.  We had some very interested people stop by today.  I just asked that they give up 15 minutes to straighten up. In other words- run around like a chicken with our heads cut off chucking things in cabinets and under beds while I tug my lounge pants off with one hand and apply mascara with the other one.  

Even if the people today who came through don't pan out, it sure did my soul good.  It is easy to become discouraged in the times when God is silent( seems silent).  With lots of no shows, it just felt good to have someone come through and to express interest.  I feel like we are on the right track and it reminds me at how quickly our house could sell, even when it feels like it will never happen. It just takes one buyer to show up.

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; 

wait for the Lord!

                                                                                                Psalm 27:14

Many Blessings,

The Mama

Isn't it Expensive to RV?

Maybe it's the gas prices that make people ask this question or assume this.  And I get that.  With the size of our family and our pocket book, we already drive a gas guzzler because we need a big vehicle.  So perhaps for us an RV really doesn't make much of a difference when it comes to the price of a barrel of oil.  On a total side note, when I started driving gas was only .89-.99 a gallon, do you remember that??  My kids gasp at that.  Just astonishing and baffling to me.  But I digress...

So let's get down to the nitty gritty. This is based on our personal expenses:

Living in a House Expenses:               Living in an RV Expenses:
House Payment(with taxes): 1200.00      $595 ( campground fees average)
Electric: $120                                   $0 ( Included in campground fees)
Water:  $100                                   $0 (Included in campground fees)
Car Payment: $0(own our car)              $0 (own our car and will own RV)
Gas: $320                                       $600(1,885 miles a month)
Heat: $56                                        $25 (propane)
Auto Ins.: $25                                   $50(car and RV)
Groceries: $400                                 $400
Eating Out: $0                                  $100
Family Activities: $0                           $100(museums and such)
Tolls: $0                                          $10
Cell Phone $15                                   $15
Home Phone/Internet: $85                     $0(use free wi-fi)
Mortgage Ins: $35                              $0
Cable/Sat. :$0                                   $0 ( get it free at some camps)
Tithe:$250                                        $0*                                                              
Personal Loan: $100                           $100_________
TOTALS:     $2706.00                      $1995.00

That is $23,940 a year to live in an RV and travel across the country.  It cuts down our expenses by about 1/3.  As far as tithing-  since we will not be drawing an income while we are out on the road we will have nothing to tithe.  If for some reason we do make money by some means we will be giving 10% of that.

Here is a great site that further explains some of the breakdowns and costs of RV living.  I used some of their real life budget #'s for my RV column.  I have researched lots of other sites too who RV full time.

When it comes to campground fees, the average is $30-$40 a night.  That is full hook-ups usually.  You can totally control that campground fee category by choosing which places you park at( some are as low as $10 a night but no hook ups), if you boondock, use public land, etc.  Boondocking is simply parking your RV somewhere for free-a family/friends driveway, a wal-mart parking lot(this is legal), etc.  There is a lot of public land out west that you can pick any piece of land and drive out to it and stay for free.  Some areas have dump stations around but sometimes not.  I am really looking forward to using public land(ie-beautiful scenic spots)!

And the longer you stay at a place, the less you pay typically.  Not unlike some hotels.

Now let's talk gas prices-I think people envision us driving around constantly or for very long distances at a time.  But that's not our plan.

We will likely be staying in one place for a week or more at a time, depending on what all there is to do in the area or who we are visiting or how much we like the place.  We will be pulling a travel trailer, so not quite as bad on gas as a regular motorhome.  We figured 11 miles per gallon compared to 8-10 with a motorhome. Now we get maybe 14 mpg.

 I would dare to guess that most people in the U.S. have around a 30 minute commute one way to work each day.  So that is 1 hour of just commuting a day, or 5 hours total a week. That's just one working parent obviously.  Now add in anywhere else you go and you have 7-10 hours a week of driving time.

We will be traveling no more than a few hours to each destination typically.  Then whatever driving we have to see local sites.  And we will be staying in one place for a week or more.  So we could very feasibly have less drive time than you a week!  Given a budget of $150 a week, that would be about 470 miles a week based on $3.50 a gallon( we use fuel points a lot too for .10-.20 off per gallon).

Not to mention, if gas prices go up higher or something, we will just stay put longer, less traveling.  So we can control this cost to an extent since we make our own agenda.

I leave you with this video that shows just what we are trading in and what we are gaining from living full time in an RV:

Many Blessings,

The Mama

It's Official

The sign is  in our yard. 

We have spent the last 3 weeks working on our house-All.Day.Long. 

We had our 1st open house yesterday and have a very interested family who is planning on talking with a bank about getting financing.  They are 1st time home buyers so it would work out great since they are currently renting.

But we also have 2 other families who I have been messaging with and they are equally as interested and have scheduled showing or this week.  So we'll see what happens.

We officially put the sign out July 1st.  We felt strongly that God wanted us to do it precisely then.  I have no idea why.  But we have learned to not ask questions just to obey.  ;)

During that 1st week of not a lot of interest in the house I had many doubts and panic moments.  We had really put ourselves out there with this RV thing.  What if our house didn't sell?  We would look like idiots.

We had also decided to step out in faith when we fixed up several things in the house that were not cheap.  Those bills would be coming due soon and how we would we pay for those?  We had planned on using the profit on the house.  

I have learned that those quiet moments are when satan loves to sneak those doubts in.  It is so hard to be still and wait.

But then I realized 2 things:

#1 These are exactly the moments God loves!  When we have put ourselves out there so far in the name of God that we will look like utter fools if he doesn't come through.  It is those opportunities that God can be lifted up and glorified because we are no longer relying on ourselves but clearly on him.  And everyone knows it.  

#2  So what if our house doesn't sell immediately?  Does that really change our plans?  NO.  We would just have to find temporary work for my husband while we wait so we can pay for our current home.  But we would still leave after we sold our home.

We have also been praying about our financial situations.  We have been doing fine so far.  We had  a little money in savings and some checks that were still coming in from my husbands previous job and a bit coming in weekly from unemployment. But those are running out.  Quickly.

My husband was till being considered for a police position till the end of June when he officially heard that they were pursuing another candidate, which we had heard rumors of anyhow.  But we were still waiting to hear for sure about that opening and that sufficed unemployment.

So now we were left trying to figure out what God wanted us to do.  Does God want  us to have total faith that our house will sell quickly and therefore not get a temporary job right now?  And what will that do for unemployment? Or should we try to find something, which is what our humanly nature is screaming at us?

("HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PAY THESE BILLS CRAZY PEOPLE?!")

And if the Hubby should get a job for now, what type of job?  We don't want to have him enter into anything that would leave his employers hanging when we picked up and left.

Then yesterday my Hubby and I both had the same thought cross our minds and it was that it was time to find something.  It was just clear as day suddenly to the both of us and we were both thinking of the same type of job.  

So that is where we are at- still trusting and praying and listening. 

Oh and our family and friends have gotten over the shock I think.  I wouldn't say they are embracing this change in events, but they are moving to the path of acceptance.  We can't ask for more than that.

Thank you for all the continued prayers!  Keep them coming!  

Many Blessings,

The Mama

Big Changes are Coming for our Family

Wow, so much has happened in the past couple months.  My husband unexpectedly lost his job, he started pursuing police work more seriously, his former employer started some mud slinging and my husband was asked to resign his police position.  Crazy stuff.  But it gets crazier...

Right before the whole resigning as a police officer thing, God started whispering something to us.  But it seemed just absolutely ridiculous and I know I certainly did not see anyway possible it could even happen.

But funny how God works that way.  Because everything started falling into place.  Even though it was not at all what we wanted.  Notice that little word in there- 'we'.   What our little peon earthly brains wanted.  Sigh.  When will I ever learn.

We have been called by God to do some crazy things in life.  Like adopting a special needs daughter from 1/2 way around the world or adding a 5th child that we just KNEW would cause our adopted daughter to act out and it would be an awful mess.  But it wasn't an awful mess- it was one of the best things that could have ever happened to Princess.  We would have never guessed.

We would have missed out on SOOO many blessings in life had we relied only on ourselves and what we wanted and what we 'knew'.  I am sure there are some things we did miss out on before we started our closer walk with Christ.

But God has called us to do something even bigger this time.  Bigger as in more bizarre.  And something that affects more people in our lives.  Which makes it twice as hard to be obedient.

So here it is:

God has called us to sell our house 
and pretty much everything in it
( or give it away), 
buy a RV and spend about a year traveling the country.

 Did I mention there are SEVEN people in our family? 

There is definitely a freedom in just selling everything and hitting the road, but there is also the emotional stress of leaving loved ones behind.  We have shed many, many tears over that part.

And then we actually had to TELL our families about this ridiculous plan. I just wanted to hold up a sign that said,"Don't blame me, blame God!"

But as hard as it is to upset your family, it would be even worse to upset God.  We can only pray that God provides peace and understanding to our family in the weeks and months to come.

I pray that eventually they will see what an amazing opportunity this is and be happy for us. Also that they would be proud that we so boldly followed God's leading. That may be asking a lot, but a girl can pray.

Well that's enough for now.  In future posts I will be writing about what RVing full time involves, where we are in the process and everything else that goes with such a radical concept.

I leave you with a passage from the bible that kept coming to mind during all this.  I never want to be the person who hangs my head and turns around when Jesus asks me to follow because I am afraid of what I have to give up...

 Matthew 19: 17-22 

Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

 Jesus said, “Why do you question me about what’s good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.”

The man asked, “What in particular?”

Jesus said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself.”

 The young man said, “I’ve done all that. What’s left?”

 “If you want to give it all you’ve got,” Jesus replied, “go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.”

That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go.

Many Blessings,

The Mama