Nightmare!

You pray relentlessly to be spared of a highway disaster and when it happens, you still pray and give thanks for it could have been much worse. For that we are thankful.

62 MPH cruising along the right lane of I-40 eastbound for Wilmington, NC when the BIG  BANG happened, front driver's side blowout, the worst case scenario as at that speed and our weight, you are going to be pulled immediately left with almost no steering ability. Off to the left we went, down into the wide median and slowly, by this point, into the dividing median cables, where all the damage began as the metal pylons planted themselves into our truck's body.

If you look in front of the tire about ten feet, you will see the pylons are only about 3 feet out of the ground, but the damage is at 4 feet high in the truck. The tow driver reasons we were getting ready to FLIP when we were impaled back up right. It would have given a new meaning to Flip-Flop Vector.

 

 

Forty-five minutes later, NC State Patrol arrives taking another 45 minutes to write his report. Another one hour later, it takes 2 tow trucks to yank us out and tow us 35 miles into Wilmington where the truck and RV rig are now resting comfortably in a tow yard. My underwear are still not resting comfortably.

Our 2 RV batteries went flying out of the 5th wheeler's compartment so that eliminated any possibility of having the unit towed to a campground on a Sunday. Disarray inside the rig, as well. We will of course want full safety check on the rig's axle, braking and frame before using it to reside in. We will know more on truck when adjuster meets with us tomorrow. Not an insurance pro, but guessing $5,000-7,500 range and several weeks.

In the interim, sitting in a Wilmington hotel sans a car which we will try to solve tomorrow. Fortunately, we are surrounded by numerous eateries and a Walmart.

Oh, and the salt in the wound, officer gave me a ticket for an unsafe tire explaining "if you would have gone off on the right shoulder into the grass, you would have been fine as you wouldn't have caused any damage to State property (wire divider) and no ticket would have been issued, but we need to be able to tie your insurance company into it. Oh, and sir, I don't believe it is even considered a moving violation". WHATTTT??? I am moving and get a non-moving ticket? I only get it cause it was my front left tire and not my front right tire? I am sure if I would have gone right he would have written me for "Sod Disruption", or something. Maybe it was cause I was wearing my "In Texas, We Dont Call 911" shirt with a pistol on it. Oh, and my court date is January 9th, how is that for court efficiency in N.C. Watch for my photo on America's Most Wanted in February.

Apple/Appalachian/DC + Random Acts of RV'ing, V 19.0

I was thinking about starting a blog about travel sights that we go to---anyone seen something like that before? Bwahaha. So, before we get to the good stuff (Random Acts), we did enjoy NYC, DC (with our oldest), Philly and a 6 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail above Harper's Ferry, W. VA---all in the past 2 weeks! I don't need no stinkin' budget!

  

 

Philly cheesesteak, gyro platter and pastrami sammich with garlic fries--at this rate, in a month, I am going to have more Chins than the Chinese phone book.

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OK, enough with tourist-palooza. Let's get to the material you come here for---useless info on our RV experience. Teri even quipped this week "If you think about it, your blog is "meaningless". Before you want to send funds to get me a mobile, grief counselor, she is right. Instead of Flip Flop Vector, maybe a name update to Seinfeld Goes Camping. Now, just to figure out a way to make Jerry's kind of money.

Don't you wonder how folks with this mindset approach an RV dealership--"Yeah, hello, I am looking to see if you have--uhh,uhh--like a pup tent that has wheels on your lot--you know, like a Camper Starter Kit".

I have an idea, let's go down to the cemetery and get those 1,000 pound head stones, throw some wood on top, and call it a picnic table! Then, let's put it so far forward on the site the RV awning can't cover it while it is raining. QUACK!

Really--that sign inside the campground's Men's bathroom? I wandered out to the fenced in dog run area expecting to see a sign that said "Men, please use urinal in men's restroom rather than the fire hydrant".

What is up with RV parks and their trending eco-friendly toilet paper? Uhhh---it is not finger friendly, if you know what I mean. Like much of the "green" movement, there are unintended consequences when I am having a movement. In this case, the easily degradable paper causes one to have to consume more water than usual to clean their hands--aren't they the same group that wants to save on water usage?

What Teri sees as a campin' breakfast meat.

What Teri's husband sees.

                                   I had no idea Home Depot sold firewood.

Getting off one of our DC subway stops. Shouldn't the sign just say "Stairs"?

Price gouging at our NJ campground laundromat. At that rate, I thought they might spray some white paint in my undies--you know, to freshen 'em up a lil bit after using the eco-toilet paper?

Really, at a campground? "Sir, we do apologize that our Wi-Fi is phenomenally intermittent, but hey, have you tried out that batting cage yet?" Oh, you bet they charged for it--what were you thinking-- "Buy one load of clothes washing, hit 5 balls free"?


There you go folks. In 1 minute's reading time, I took you from tourist-palooza to poop-palooza. Hope you enjoyed. These weary travelers are glad to be done with hills and chills, now resting comfortably in the temperate, coastal climate of the Carolinas.

Day  193, the journey continues---in small increments.

The Reveal of the ReDo

Finally. Well, almost done. Estimated 30 hours of sweat equity invested over a period of about 2 months, but well worth it we do believe.

Decisions: I decided on bedroom decor (Yawn theme) to offset Teri's desire for color and eclecticism (Retro Ice Cream Parlor theme). Balance. We removed all of the side pieces (vertical valances for the lack of a better word from this virgin RV remodeler) to open up the window look more. We had quality enough fabric just to wrap the horizontal valances rather than remove just in case the next owner had a yearning to return the rig to the hideous original scheme.

Teamwork:Teri decides, we execute. Teri removes paint stains from my clothes. Teri sews, I watch. I subtract expenditures from budget. Real simple.

The budget: less than $250, majority paint and fabric.

Presuming you know anything about RV upholstery and design, I do not feel I need to label the pictures Before and After. If you cant figure out which is which, you have not been an inside an RV from year periods 1990-2008.

GLAD it's over.

It will eventually be for sale. We however will  not take it back to the Quaalude generation motif, you can do that yourself if interested.

As for other updates, we have been busier than a 1 toothed man at a corn cob eating contest.  Teri has filled in nicely as a co-blogger apprentice with our stays in Philly, the Big Apple and the District of Calamity with her writings here. Glad to be leaving the traffic rat race. Seriously, these 3 metropolis need to come up with a new traffic violation--Driving While Emotionally Impaired. It is like they have a remote sensing device that activates their car horn within 1/2 second of a light turning green if their car has yet to move. Chill people.

Moving forward. The second half of this journey, now that we are 3/4 of the way around the USA, will be about "no obligations". Other than our boys possibly joining us at Christmas time, we have no set plans. Even for the holidays, we won't know where we will be at until about 2 weeks prior, so be it. Since we have journeyed over the Cascades, the Whites, the Greens, the Rockies, the Poconos, etc--we will now become more Intercoastal in nature, or what I call my wife when she gets cranky--"beachy". We hope to be staring at the Atlantic Ocean in less than a week.

Thanks for following along. If you have any questions regarding the makeover, give us a ring. Day 191, the journey continues out of the mega-expensive Northeast. Forever.

Loving It? Leaving It? 6 Months on the Road.

You know what this full-timing RV lifestyle reminds me of---close your eyes and envision the tranquil, breezy and temperate Bahamas---now open your eyes and watch for 3 months of hurricane warnings, cat-eating sized cockroaches and  $2,000 monthly rent for a studio apartment.

We just past the sixth month on this "up to 12 months" journey and wanted to weigh-in with some honest feedback. It seems to us the overwhelming full-timing RV blogging world finds the lifestyle bordering on Utopic. A post often along these lines--"Gertrude and I (Walter) lounged back in our leather recliners sharing a glass of fine French wine with our two AKC award winning Pomeranians fast asleep in our laps as we discussed how to invest our lottery winnings while viewing the seagulls outside of our Prevost coach scooping up their meal as the sunset disappeared along the Oregon coast".

Contrast that with our RV experience-- "Honey, did you see how far that flipping Iowa windstorm blew our Target camping chairs, looks like we will be relegated to the butt splinters of the forty year old campground picnic table since we didn't budget for replacements. Hey, while you are outside picking up the awning pieces, can you get your squeegee and clean off the bird poop drizzling down the dinette table windows and, before you come back in, kick off your shoes so you don't bring in the poop from the neighbors loose mutt that visited our 10 square feet of campground grass. Love you David, well, sometimes".

First, the many beauties of this lifestyle.

• The lifestyle will bankrupt the alarm clock industry. 
• Neighbors are very nice, but if needed, disposable. 
• The view is what you select. 
• Pool chemicals and cleaning is paid by someone else.
• You can travel toward weather forecasts. 
• I don't have to watch another Texas garden die of rain starvation.
• You get to see many of God's creations and scenic beauty. 
• You are envied by those leashed to cubicles. 
• It can be a less expensive lifestyle than sticks and bricks--REALLY.
• Someone else is mowing my lot. 
• Being in our early 50's in the full-time RV world,, we are seen as the "youth movement".
• No separation anxiety being away from grand-kids, probably cause we have none.
• The mail never has a utility bill awaiting me. 
• With an awning, I always have shade. 
• It's easier to hide from the IRS. 
• You can't overfill your car garage when you don't have one.
• Moving frequently wreaks havoc on the Repo guys trying to find me. 
• Almost every campground store freezer has Snicker ice cream bars. 
• The campground owner has yet to bill me for property taxes.
• "Wow, Dave's put on weight" is something I never hear since no one knows me. 

So, where does Shangri-la filled with Skittles-pooping Unicorns and fairy dust end? Let me tell you about RV'ing and the life we left. We sold 2.4 acres and 1,847 square feet of living outside of Austin, Tx. for 250 square feet. The differences:

• Oh my porcelain throne, you have left me for a potty designed by Ken and Barbie.
• There should be a warning sign of "butt-chafing zone" when in the RV kitchen.
• I didn't routinely discover loose screws on my brick-n-mortar home. 
• I no longer have the trustworthy, affordable lineup of mechanics, plumbers and electricians to solve a quirk at your beckon call.
• How does one head to the library while the other goes to the hardware store when you have one vehicle.
• The RV manufacturers should rename the Queen sized bed the red-headed, step-Princess and include some Doan's pills with every purchase.
• I love washing my vehicles, RV parks do not.
• A week's worth of groceries does not fit in the refrigerator
• My sticks-n-bricks home did not shake when my wife got up to use the restroom.
• No longer afforded the excitement of seeing the UPS truck in our driveway.
•  I didn't have to sign on to the Internet 10x a day at the homestead.
• Not one time did I have to go up on my country bungalow and scrub the roof with some warm water mixed with a little Spic-N-Span.
• The "Deposit" column on my bank account ledger has had no entries in ten months.
• I never once suffered the consequence of failing to lower my brick home's TV antenna.
• I walked around my Texas abode and never did have to kick a single tire.
• Dishwasher, soaking tub and washing machine--where art thou?
• When you didn't want to see the other, I used to be able to go to a different room and not be seen. 
• Passing gas in an RV becomes scientific having to measure pressure, winds aloft and proximity to victim. 
• When I needed a home repair, I didn't have to hitch it up and take it somewhere now rendering myself homeless.
• In our foundation built home, when having an amorous moment, I was never worried about it escaping from the chocks and killing a boy scout group tenting down the hill.

Those are the realities--confinement, fewer modern day amenities,  inconsistent technology, unpredictable sleep patterns, set-up/tear down, income limitations and equipment breakdowns resulting in an emotional breakdown.

This lifestyle, although often envied, is not for all. It is similar to any other journey we embark on filled with twists and turns, highs and lows. With her permission, here are a few excerpts from just a few weeks ago where Teri was sharing her thoughts on the moment in an email I opened up one morning as I had my first cup of coffee—G U L P! 

• ·         I'm thinking I'm more of a tourist than a traveler...
• ·         I enjoy our vacations but "today" I'm weary of the traveling...
• ·         I cannot figure out if I'm missing home/Texas/sticks and bricks/familiarity.
• ·         It came to my mind that maybe I'm just missing a little independence.

·          

You know the pop hit song currently getting a ton of air time- “Call Me --Maybe?”---yeah, this was more like “Call Me-- Long Distance” . 

Being married for a quarter century, I immediately go into diagnosis mode. In our relationship, the difficult moments are USUALLY born out of one of two causes: 1) Bad sleep over continuous days 2) Illness. In this case, the sleep gremlin had arrived. We are back to enjoying full-timing it on the road and living one day at a time, as we all should, regardless of locale or circumstances.

So, with 6 months left to go and 8,500 miles behind us, what do we see on the RV horizon? While I think the frequent traveling aspect will be no more, after finishing our first one month stay at a single location, it was refreshing to arrive into a new area with a different back yard. So, clearly some mixed feelings. Park it? Move it two-four times a year? Vacation only in it? Sell it? The crystal ball is opaque.

There is a strong possibility we will settle again in the Hill Country of Texas from where this journey commenced. There just has been too many comments such as “a Torchy’s taco sure sounds good”, “don’t you miss our chickens?”, “some Salt Lick BBQ sounds delish”,“be awesome to catch a Longhorns game today”, etc. to believe otherwise.

Regardless of the option, we will remain minimalists by today’s standards so an RV, cabin or small sticks-N-bricks would suffice, although if you were a betting reader, I would put money on a solution that does not involve a rubber foundation, but does involve a high quality King sized bed. If not, at least a spare bedroom for a chiropractor.

Other than that, it is just like Walt and Gerty on the beach.

Giving Up The RV Lifestyle!

Oh, sorry, did you think we were done-done? Bwahaha.

One of our commitments to each other when we began the full-time RV experience was to have "no regrets". Well, when you are two hours away from New York City, why not go spend the weekend, sans 5th wheeler, in The City. So we will.

We were blessed to have been there in the Summer of 2000 with our boys 12 and 9 at that time. Central Park and a Broadway Show were 2 experiences we did not partake in that trip, so we hope to check those off the list, along with possibly stopping by the 9/11 memorial--and yes, we went up in the Twin Towers on our prior visit. :(

Not only is today our official 6 month anniRVersary of this lifestyle, we celebrate our 20,000th page view since launching the travel blog! Why you visit, I have no idea, but we appreciate ya nonetheless.

OK, so to celebrate our big day and since I feel a tad guilty about our deceptive post title, here is my make up to you--a $10 gift card for the person who first answers the following question correctly: Which two amenities are we most looking forward to at the Hotel that we have not had an opportunity to do since calling our RV our home?

Rules: 

• Must identify both correctly, we will not reply and say "You have 1 right".
• Anyone can win, you don't have to be a Blog follower, yada-yada.
• Answer must be in the Comment section so it is public and date/time recorded.
• You can comment as Anonymous, just leave email info in comment in case you win.
• You can opt for something other than Fivebucks coffee, presuming easy to get.
• The answer is Rated G, remember, family blog and all that.
• Family members ineligible.

I am not positive on Wi-Fi accessibility, so we may not check in frequently. Besides, we need to enjoy those 2 amenities!

UPDATE: We have a winner----- D E B B I E.....and here are the amenities:

 KING size bed for the king and queen!

and the first bath tub we have seen in 6 months!

6 Mo. Budget Eval of Full-timing RV

Time for a 6 month fiscal check-up. We wrote about our first quarter here, but to simplify and prevent you from getting blog-auseated from switching back and forth from links, I will include snapshot of 1st quarter budget below, restate our background and clarify the line items.

Background: early 50s, 12 mo. adventure being paid by accumulated savings (not retirement), 2002 Ford diesel truck and 2008 Jayco fiver paid off after selling sticks/bricks, no income on the road, 8,500 miles, 37 campgrounds and 22 states so far, hailing from Austin, TX. Also, because they can impact the budget, we are non-medicated folks, non-drinkers, non-smokers and no medical marijuana card. At RV parties, people come up to us inquiring whether they can pull the portable defibrillators off the wall and practice on us. I tell them there is a shuffle board court available, they should go outside and play.

1st column indicates target amount. April/May/June+1st Qtr Averages (click to enlarge)

July/Aug/Sept+1st 6 Mo. Averages

Clarifications:

1) Aetna and Samaritan line items are our health care providers. Samaritan is a group of Christians sharing costs and what I participate in, read more here if you are looking a non-insurance, non-red tape option. Oh, Teri is a Christian, just opted for conventional. (Making sure you didn't think I was married to a lady of the Taliban).

2) Cell phone- Wife has I/phone with data plan, I have a My phone--suitable for My intelligence.

3) Entertainment- Mostly attributed to eating out expenses. I could have labeled it "gluttony".

4) Health- Anything we buy in the aspirin aisle of a grocery store.

5) Incidentals- "Catch all" category--LP refills, propane canisters, postage, gifts, etc.

6) RV Parks- We do conventional parks and have the usual memberships. Very little boondocking and no state/national parks. Just how we rolled the first 6 months, no offense to you folks in search of freebie and discounted land options.

7) Truck/RV maintenance- Money to fix broken crap.

8) Truck/RV insurance??-- It was paid annually to save few green smackers, so you could add $67 per mo. to a line item and to the monthly totals. For us, out of sight, out of mind.

9) Mail forwarding??-- $10 mo., paid also in full, so something to add back in.

10) Clothing??-- 0. We wear it, just don't buy it. If we had to, Incidentals would be the column.

Summary Points:

• Essentially, we set out on this journey with a $3,000 per month cap. We are in at $2,504. Will we adjust downward? NO. We have been blessed not needing to dip into the RV/Truck Maintenance line item. (hat tip Jesus and thanks to our previous owners Ed and Christine). Also, Rv.net and IRV2.com a wealth of info!
• We have spent all of Sept in NY and PA where RV'ers will learn they have spent all of their "RV Parks" line item. Next month, Joisy and D.C., where I am sure red budget ink will be splattered. How do you offset--travel fewer miles to reduce the Diesel bill, which you learned if you read our 1st Quarter post.
• We exceeded tolls 2nd quarter--did I mention we were in the Northeast where they have never met a toll or a tax they didn't like? This will even out Q3.
• We spent 10% less Q2 vs Q1 attributed to driving less and longer stays at campgrounds. No choice, diesel prices averaging $4.39 per gal--did I mention we were in the Northeast?

Financial conclusions after 6 months:

• To stay in under or at budget, stay away from CA., OR., NY and PA. They have the trifecta budget killers- 1) RV park cost 2) Diesel 3) Tolls. BUT, the trade off, they are beautiful states. 
• 5 of 6 months under budget. The one month over included 4 tires for the fiver and oil/fuel/air filter routine maintenance on the truck.
• The cheapest rate is always the monthly: Bristol, IN. where we spent a month in Amish land was $450.
• The budget has worked well--do we wish we had more in the Entertainment column, of course. But we certainly aren't feeling depressed or deprived. 
• It wouldn't be a terrible idea just to park the "RV/Truck Maint" line item into a lump sum savings account and just pull from it when needed. 
• You could combine Campgrounds+Diesel and have one whopper number--travel less where camping is more expensive to stay within your goal. 
• For the curious and for comparison, our sticks and bricks home (paid off/3br,2ba,2.3 acres) budget in Jan '12--expenses: $2,012. So yes, RV'ing has been about 20% more expensive. BUT, as mentioned earlier, when we parked for a month which most resembles traditional living, we came in at $1,963.
• This is the free on-line budget site we use. Easy to maneuver around. I need easy.
• Give thanks--always--for good health. I hate to see what a Northeastern doc's billing rates are.

Again, we are budget nudists-- nothing to hide. We know there are many inquisitive about the lifestyle costs, so we hope this info has been helpful. If you have any questions, fire away.

In terms of the overall experience of full-timing beyond the numbers during our first half-year, a post is forthcoming in a few days. You might be surprised.

Day 177, the journey continue$.