Full Timers

[bop11]

I see that our little club is almost 200 members strong. I was just wondering how many are fulltimers or extended timers?
My DW and I are dreaming that some day we might be able to join the ranks of roving Rvr's on a full time basis. (5 years, but who's counting)
Would really like to here from you guys about things like how the Cardinal is holding up to daily use. How often you move. Are you working along the way? Ect.
Also are there some of you out there with the same dream as my wife and I.
Bill and Penny

[CritterRenter]

I am going to retire early in 2 years, and plan to travel and work part time to supplement income. I am living in my Bird now. I got the Bird late April, and had one big trip, about 4300 miles. I'm more than happy with the 5ver, and tow truck, most everything in the Bird stayed in place. I can't say much about durability with only 5 months of use, but I can say I am more than comfortable.
The only issue I have is the Washer / Dryer drains to the black holding tank. Most drain to the grey tank. Had to do some sealing between the washer drain, and the 5ver drain.
All in all, I think I did well, and plan to see the US of A in style with my new Cardinal.

[bbgun]

We are looking at 5-6 years for retirement. Alot will depend on the next contract this spring for my dh. We plan on leaving WA state in Nov and heading south for the winter months. We like the summers here in WA.
I have an aunt that lives in Northern Arkansas (Holiday Island) it is near Branson and we are planning on visiting her as well. Until then.....we will just take our mini trips.

[cherry capital cardinals]

We have been full timers for 2.5 years in our red bird. It has held up well. Most of the problems that we had had we have cause. When bring the slide in we have got things on the floor that have got caught and pull the trim from the slide off. The only thing that we have found that would be a problem with the design is the floor in the bathroom. Because a floor joist around the drain for the shower was cut to make room for it, the floor in the bathroom gives when walking there. We fix the problem by bracing it in the basement. Otherwise we like the layout and the comfort of our red bird.

Cherry Capital Cardinals

[CritterRenter]

North for summer and south for winter, sounds like my plan. Maybe I'll catch you during the summer, I want to see the Oregon, Washington area.
I hope to get in one more good trip before the end of the year, but not as long as the last one. I need more than 3 weeks for that kind of distance. If I can't get another vacation, I'll still make a short trip or 2.

[woodlandrjs]

We have between 1 and 3 years to go. The 1 year if the economy stays good or gets better... but thats doubtfull.
Will be 66 in 3 years... man! its been quite a ride so far.
We think we want to winter in Mexico and travel in the summer... following the sun. Thats as long as they continue to like us south-of-the-boarder.
We think we want to work-camp since we want to stay busy.
Bob and Linda :)

[campswithcritters]

No immediate retirement plans, but trying to enter full-timing anyway. As far as miles, ours is nearing 24K and just over 1 year since purchasing new. The bird has really held up well over those miles and hoping to get many more on it

[Traveler II]

We retired 10 years ago and about 2 years before that we bought a gas motor home. Liked the idea but it didn’t have the ride or power we felt we needed. Our last unit was a 40 Diesel HM and we full timed in it for 3 years and loved it. We bought a small house close to where our family lives in MN and we were only using the rig 3-4 months a year. We decided that with the cost of the rig and the amount of time we were using it to buy a fiver.

Our Bird has a lot of room and would have worked great for us full timing. The quality is not as good, but for the price it’s great. The big difference for us is the ride in the pick-up. A diesel pusher has a far better ride, but you pay big bucks for that. We’re still 3-4 months a year out with the fiver and we enjoy it. I would not have any problem of going back full timing in our Cardinal.

[bop11]

Traveller II,
I see in your sig. that you have air suspension on your 30TS. Did you have this added after you bought it or was it factory installed?
I'M also curious as to what the automatic leveling system is?
Bill

[Traveler II]

Hi Bill--again

We had it factory installed and also the Trail Air.
We've had some problems with the leveling system, the compressor stopped working last winter and we had to wait to we got back to MN to get it fixed at the dealer. At first we also had problems hooking up. We ride a bit higher than I would like. I wish I had put a system on that we could just add air. But after saying that it does improve the ride in the truck.

Wish we could stay round the UP longer so we could meet you this week-end.

Jim

[PhL0aTeR]

We have been full timing since oct of 07 with no stick and brick house. We are not "traditional" full timers, as we dont move often, so far we have only been to 3 different places, and right now we are on some relatives land. She works full time as a dog groomer, which she can usually find anywhere, if not, she does her own thing by posting around the campground or on craigslist. My income comes mostly from rental properties and i also have another gig that breaks up the monotony, and that is a contract transportation provider.

So far so good, aside from a lot of little things breaking or going wrong, i havent had anything major go wrong with it. We bought it used before we started this adventure, but it looked and smelled brand new.

[pattyrn5]

We have been full timing for 5 years. I was a traveling nurse until recently and we crossed the country several times. We love it. Had to stop to be with family for the winter but we will be back on the road soon. We moved every 3-6 months. The Cardinal holds up well no condensation. We like the floor plan and it travels well.

[rlhedlund]

Short-timer. Waiting to be semi-retired. Hurry up economy.

[Traveler II]

Well the market up today, not sure about tomorrow, hope it does get better we're in our retirement and need things to look more positive. Not only for us but for all of us.

[snoking]

We are in our second snowbird winter with our Bird. In the summer we leave it at a Private RV Resort North of Seattle. So we spend more than a half year in it. Works out great. I would try full timing, but DW would not. So we keep our home 70 miles North of Seattle and visit the trailer for a few days at a time during the late spring through later fall. Then it is back to 4 months at this RV Resort in Gold Canyon, Az.

Chris