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4th anniversary of fulltiming

ependydad
Explorer
Explorer
Yesterday marked 4 years on the road. I remember most of that day vividly- the movers came 2 days prior and took away all of our stuff. We were left with cleanup in the house to get ready for the renters and mashing too much **** into the camper- so much got donated along the way. We still left that evening with piles of "stuff" for my in-laws to deal with (some to take to their house, some to go to the dump).

We were exhausted. Physically and emotionally. We were a little terrified to be leaving our house of 12 years. We had so many memories wrapped in that house- it was a bit of a new beginning after my daughter's sickness, we took my son home to there, and we had made so many friends.



In 4 years, we've had about 35,000 towing miles and have criss-crossed the country twice. We have been to 31 states. And I think we've stayed at 187 "stays" (campgrounds, RV parks, parking lots, and moochdockings). Plus, we've flown back to our hometown a few times now for special family events.



My son was 3 years old when we launched and just turned 7. He's lived over half of his life in the RV.

My daughter was 11 when we launched and defined our "now or never". It still makes sense and I'm glad we took off when we did.

Other than totally upheaving our lives, homeschooling was the scariest part.

What we didn't know is that finding a tribe/community was going to be so important. Before we found Fulltime Families, we were lost for the first 3 months. We've made such amazing friendships through the life of our travels.

Here we are this year (back at Easter):



Here we are when we took off:



So, raise a glass of your finest and cheer us on for many more years (or not- whatever may come!).
2017 Spartan 1245 by Prime Time
2018 Ram 3500 Crew Cab DRW w/ 4.10 gears and 8' bed
FW Hitch: TrailerSaver TS3
Learn to RV- learn about RVing - Towing Planner Calculators - Family Fulltiming FB page
8 REPLIES 8

ependydad
Explorer
Explorer
Bill.Satellite wrote:
Lwiddis wrote:
โ€œhomeschooling was the scariest part.โ€

The correctness of the decision to full time with minor children will probably be at college admission/SAT/ACT time. I wish the kids well.


"In general" home schooled kids do much better and have higher College acceptance rates than those in Public Schools.
Enjoy your travels.


I think both sides make good points. There are definitely a lot of misconceptions about homeschooling and there are people who are "homeschooling" but are fairly negligent about schooling. In our travels, we've seen both sides. From kids who were college ready at 16 to illiterate at 12.

We are very intentional with it once we found our groove. I do not foresee my daughter (15) having issues. Nor do I imagine my son will, but he's only 7 now. Recalling where my public schooled daughter was at that age, he seems age appropriate.

We were also recently talking to a college admissions person- he did say that her alternative lifestyle will make her stand out a bit from the crowd.

Only time will tell, of course.
2017 Spartan 1245 by Prime Time
2018 Ram 3500 Crew Cab DRW w/ 4.10 gears and 8' bed
FW Hitch: TrailerSaver TS3
Learn to RV- learn about RVing - Towing Planner Calculators - Family Fulltiming FB page

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Explorer II
Lwiddis wrote:
โ€œhomeschooling was the scariest part.โ€

The correctness of the decision to full time with minor children will probably be at college admission/SAT/ACT time. I wish the kids well.


"In general" home schooled kids do much better and have higher College acceptance rates than those in Public Schools.
Enjoy your travels.
What I post is my 2 cents and nothing more. Please don't read anything into my post that's not there. If you disagree, that's OK.
Can't we all just get along?

ependydad
Explorer
Explorer
jimx200 wrote:
My only question is which RV I want to go with: Class C, pickup cab over camper, or 18-20' pull trailer. Yes, all have their likes/dislikes and know there is no one perfect rig, but I would like to hear your pro's/con's.

Best of luck to you and your family!


I personally am not great at backing up. My wife is excellent at it and "drives by voice" telling me where the back of the trailer needs to go. So if I was going alone, I'd almost definitely have a motorhome.

Other than that, we picked each rig now by establishing lists:
- must haves
- nice to haves
- must *not* haves

And then shopped based on those lists. First rig was good for 6 years and we're a little more than a year into the second one. So far so good.
2017 Spartan 1245 by Prime Time
2018 Ram 3500 Crew Cab DRW w/ 4.10 gears and 8' bed
FW Hitch: TrailerSaver TS3
Learn to RV- learn about RVing - Towing Planner Calculators - Family Fulltiming FB page

jimx200
Explorer
Explorer
Congratulations!! And a BIG plus for homeschooling as these kids will get a education and CRITICAL thinking they would never get in any public school.

I'm in Sacramento, in my 60's and sick of all the problems we have here in California. My plan is to sell my house this Fall, buy a new/newer RV (have a older Class C and selling it) and spend my winters in Baja (possibly mainland) and summers along the N. California coast and/or Oregon coast.

My only question is which RV I want to go with: Class C, pickup cab over camper, or 18-20' pull trailer. Yes, all have their likes/dislikes and know there is no one perfect rig, but I would like to hear your pro's/con's.

Best of luck to you and your family!

mleekamp
Explorer
Explorer
Nice. I figured your work had something in that line. Programming, not stripping!

We spent about 3 weeks a year on trips....its tiring to "drive hard" to get out west or south or where ever, then drive home. Would like to do more leisurely trips and spend more time.

Someday.

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
โ€œhomeschooling was the scariest part.โ€

The correctness of the decision to full time with minor children will probably be at college admission/SAT/ACT time. I wish the kids well.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

ependydad
Explorer
Explorer
I kid, I kid. I'm a programmer. I work a normal 9-5, M-F job for a big company. I worked from remotely from the office for 5 years prior to us going fulltime.

I initially approached work with what I thought we were doing- going on a 1 year trip. I asked to work 4 x 10 hour days so that I'd have a mid-week day for camper moves. They agreed to all of it and even after I stayed on the road, let me continue with my 4x10 hour days.
2017 Spartan 1245 by Prime Time
2018 Ram 3500 Crew Cab DRW w/ 4.10 gears and 8' bed
FW Hitch: TrailerSaver TS3
Learn to RV- learn about RVing - Towing Planner Calculators - Family Fulltiming FB page

mleekamp
Explorer
Explorer
Wow. I don't like to use the word jealous, but it fits here. I've wanted to FT for years, homeschool the girls, all that. But my work requires I actually be here. What, may I ask, did you do for income?