Spring is flying by

Alright, back to our regularly scheduled blog.  Thank you for indulging me on the last two posts.  We have had alot of questions on how we would support ourselves financially as we venture into full time rv'ing and I thought it was a good time to share some of the ways we will make it happen.  More to come on workamping as we get into our first workamping job, coming in July.

Can you believe it is already March?  We have been busy getting the house ready to sell next month.  We painted and put new flooring in a bathroom, started to declutter and stage but still have alot more of the packing away and organizing to go!  Alot of discussion about getting rid of everything.  We have had family come through and pick what they would like and now we are looking at options of getting rid of the rest.  We are leaning more towards having an estate sale company come in and take care of all the "stuff".  With loading the RV, selling the house, moving and getting the boys settled, Rick still working full time and Brady graduating, I am thinking it might be a bit more than we can manage to have a couple rummage sales to try and get rid of everything.  Having a company come in and take care of it sounds great!  Although, they charge a hefty price, I am leaning more to it being money well spent.  Perhaps a combination of both.  

We have also been looking at some things that we still need to purchase.  These are requiring a good bit of research since they are more expensive purchases.  A tire pressure monitoring system(TPMS) is a must.  One of the worst nightmares of an RV'er is to have a blow out going down the road while you are pulling your house.  We already have a TPMS on the dually F350 truck and could expand that system to include the trailer monitoring.  Definitely a strong option.  We are also then looking at stand alone systems and have done a good bit of research and scoured the full time blogs and Facebook groups for tried and true recommendations.  One of the contenders is the TireMinder Smart TPMS system which works with your smartphone.  This would mean we would not have to have another monitor in the truck and could monitor it off of our cellphone.  This system has repeatedly been recommended by current RV'ers as very dependable and easy to use.  We could hook both the truck and RV up to it or even just the RV and save some money. Still doing a bit of research here but we really want to have this in place before we start our camping in April.

Another item we are wanting to get is a backup camera.  Even the best of the best RV drivers wouldn't mind having this helpful tool.  Rick and I have had many a "friendly discussion" while trying to back up the camper.  Now imagine backing up a 42 ft RV into a tight spot.  We have a backup camera in the truck and I have one in my Explorer and I rely on that regularly.  We have friends who have one and love it.  In fact, they have one with an observation camera and love that they can see traffic behind them on the road while they are traveling as well.  I think this would come in very handy to ensure we have plenty of room to make lane changes and the like since it will require a bit more planning than with just a truck.  Again, after a good bit of research, the Furrion Wireless Observation System is the front runner for an observation camera.  We already have a Furrion adapter installed on the back of the RV , so it makes sense.  

The other big ticket item we are looking at is a tool box for the back of the truck.  If we can put the tools in the back of the truck, it will take precious weight out of the RV that we can use for our household items.  Not like we are bringing everything and the kitchen sink, but it is amazing how everything adds up quickly on weight and we only have a certain amount that we are rated for.  In the future, we are looking at perhaps upgrading axles or making modifications that will allow us to carry a bit more as we can then add solar too.  BUT that is a big investment and we need to get out on the road first before we even think about that.  This toolbox will need to be one that is low clearance as we have a trifold bed tonneau cover.  The other factor is that it will need to fit behind the fifth wheel hitch in the bed.  There are ones like this that fit in the back of the bed by the wheel well and then there are ones like these that sit behind the cab.  We still need to do some more research on this before we pull the trigger.  We also need to take some time to pull all the tools together that we will be taking so we can make sure whatever we choose will be able to hold everything. 

As we are working on things at the homestead, Burlington RV is busy working on our new home while it is being stored there.  They are working off our list from the PDI walk thru in the fall, changing out some shades, adding a battery and a Maxx Air cover.  It was a slow start and some miscommunication, but they now have their master tech assigned to our RV and we are getting weekly updates on progress.  The great thing about having the master tech on the job is that he has seen it all and is lending his critical eye and has come up with a couple other items he feels need to be addressed.  They have been working with Grand Design and things are moving along.  In less than a month we go to pick it up.

As we wait, we have been trying to think of names for the truck and RV.  I guess Rick doesn't like me referring to the RV as Big Pig anymore.  Some RV'ers have such great names for their rigs and we are just not coming up with something that we feel fits.  Hey, if you think of something, let us know!  Until then, Big Pig it is!!