| Author | Message | ||
| Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj)
Rating: N/A |
Was sitting in the dining room watching the snow come down doing the basic $spreadsheets$ for the tax man when I realized the following... Spending three (3) years full time in the semi-converted coach has resulted in a direct savings of over $10,000 as compared to living in the... ...townhouse in town with its related huge energy comsumption. Not bragging... (the bus gets pretty cold in the winter and hot in the summer)... ...but was wondering if anyone else has done the math and found like me that not only is living in a coach fun, it is very energy efficient. This came to mind as I was sipping my early a.m. coffee. The apartment furnace was running, the refrigator was running, the stove was on... ...the hot water heater was cycling and I had three (3) huge lights turned on too. Sosss then I pulled the $numbers$ for living in town... ...in the apartment vs. living in the woods under the trees in the Crown bus. Did NOT know it was sooss much different til everything was added in. Anyway...just wondering if we all know that, in addition to having a ball living in a coach, we are also saving the world by using less?  | ||
| jimmci9 #2 Rating: N/A |
i'm not saving the world by full-timing, but it's definitely about $1k cheaper each month... i own property... an acre at a residential airpark... and a condo in corpus christi... the acre is definitely going up in value.. and the condo is paying its own way... if i didn't live in the motorhome, i'd live on my boat... don't intend to ever go back to a house.... 'till its the 'ol-folks-home | ||
| James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A |
There probably is something to what u say, however, how many people want to live full time in less than 300 sq. ft.? If it suits the individual lifestyle I imagine it could be done at considerable savings. I personally could not do without the space my house affords and my shop full of tools and junk. Additionally, most rv settings crowd u into VERY close quarters. I would think that some elbow room is preferable to saving money. From what I have read, most people who go full-timing start to develop regrets within the 1st 2-3 yrs. but have generally gotten themselves into a financial situation from which they can't extract themselves. I like my bus, but I also get tired of it after 7-8 wks.living on-board, even when I'm moving every 3-4 days. | ||
| FAST FRED Rating: N/A |
I have lived full time on a variety of sail boats for almost 23 years maintaining a full time job at the same time. The "savings " are meaningless as the work involved is considerable (unlike a house). The reason for any alternate living style is simply the Advantages out way the Disadvantages. Now that I'm living in a house , the main advantage seems to be how easy living is. Gone are sunrises & sunsets on the water , healing and bouncing when its blowing 40 in the bay, the crunch of fresh snow in the dock and moonrise most nights , thru the cabin ports. Saving some currency isn't why folks live in 300sq ft, the lifestyle IS. IF its "Your Way " you will be happy and love it, If it doesn't work , it just doesn't work. FAST FRED | ||
| Don/TX
Rating: N/A |
I noticed to my surprise some years ago that the total costs of going south for the winter in the bus, and living in it for the winters was not only a very pleasant experience, but that I was actually saving money doing it! I also noticed that when I returned to the "board box" in the spring, I just hated to move back out of the bus. One of the advantages not mentioned so far, is the friends we made living in an RV park with similar lifestyle neighbors, not the drab bedroom community stay-at-home people so common in permanent neighborhoods, who were running in some rat race that I did not care to join nor even understood. I guess I am saying if you have not tried it, don't knock it, you may enjoy it. | ||
| John that newguy Rating: N/A |
Amen, Don! Our friends full-timed for over ten years before moving back into their home. They loved the lifestyle, but expenses were adding up too fast and started to outweigh the rent they were taking in from their home. RVs and conversions need work, just like a house. Double so, since you have both a "house" and the vehicle as it's real estate, to maintain. Prior to actually doing the "full-time" thing, we tried living in our RV in the safety of our own driveway. After an initial 6 month period and being driven into our home by the winter cold, we tried it again the following spring for a nine month period. The RV was our sole vehicle and home for 9 months. Oh yeah, we did use the house for showers, etc just as one would if at a campground from time to time. If you want to see how it feels to live in tight quarters with your spouse, I'd advise trying it in your own driveway. It's hell having to walk to wherever she's driven off to, the first time she throws you out. We had sold out home in Massachusetts and full-timed for about two years, but a combination of a deteriorating RV and health issues initiated a (temporary) move out of the RV and into an inexpensive double-wide. We plan to get back out there, but not without having a house to go back to, if and when it's needed. Full-timing usually means you have no home, other than the RV. It's a scary way to go if you've never tried it. Things you're accustomed to having... like mail delivery and your freedom to do what you want on your on property, are gone. You're at the mercy of others and not quite as "free" as you thought. You can't simply shut your door to the world, since you're just a guest, in the middle of it. Expenses? Most fairly decent parks we've found, charge between $250-400 per month for rent. Rent usually includes water, sewer, electric and cable tv. While 8 or 9 bucks a day isn't too bad, spending over 15 per day, will be. You still have other living expenses to deal with, just like "home". It adds up fast, but there's some sort of relaxing feeling to just pay one bill for all those utilities. Like Fred and Don mentioned, there's a sense of freedom with the thought you can roll away whenever you feel like, without having to pack up all your belongings to do so. The downside, is that you have all those "most precious" belongings with you and at greater peril, than they would be in the safety of a house. There is always a worry, that a major breakdown or accident can leave your "home" and all your precious belongings it contains, aside the road in an unfamiliar and possibly very unsafe area. It can make you wonder if your newfound "freedom" is all it's cracked up to be. There's an added traumatic effect, if you or your spouse is taken ill or needing hospitalization, with the worry of having to leave your "home" in an area of unknown safety while health matters are attended to. Leaving pets behind, alone in the hot sun or ice cold with only the RV provisions to keep them safe, adds to the burden of worries. If a person is trying to decide to full-time or not, no amount of descriptive reflections of others are going to be of as great value as going out and trying it for a year or two. Secure your home or rent it out to defray your expenses and hit the road. You'll find out just how good your marriage is within the first 6 months. After that.......... Your wife might find that living alone, might not be so bad either... (har) | ||
| Marc Bourget Rating: N/A |
I was priviledged to have access to the Conrad's Conversion Library during Bussin'2005. Recovering from bronchitis, few had to suffer the burden of listening to me (between coughing!) and I spend the evenings reading Two books on full timing opened by investigating the mental approach to the change in lifestyle. I posed many questions to the attendees on this point as well. Good observations above. They don't cover the full range of points to ponder and issues to deal with. For accuracy, the energy costs may be down but I don't think they're less - on a sq. ft. basis that is. Dry camping electricity and heating costs are generally more expensive on a BTU basis, lending emphasis on insulation practices. Both books had budget "worksheets" that were an eye opener to me, the uninitiated (to the expense, anyway!) No, "har" to the change in personal relationships, it's a significant factor and JTNG's driveway "preview" is a good idea! Immature bullies are immature bullies and wives, apparrently, are not immune from their behavior patterns (or vice versa, too!) Onward and Upward | ||
| Don/TX
Rating: N/A |
All more good stuff there Marc. I felt I had an enormous advantage over the "average" person about to escape. I am retired Army, so a "home base" was not something that was ingrained into my ideas. Always a bit of an adventurer, this was just another one. I had also been a roving road cop, and a trucker guy as well. My wife, her dog, and I had spent months together in the confines of a Kenworth cab and sleeper, sort of a full time primer for what was to come also. Heck, that bus is huge compared to a sleeper cab. |