I hope to be a full timer this fall, or at the latest next spring. Winter in FL (or similar) would be nice, too From those who already enjoy this lifestyle can you tell me how you deal with residency? Are the various "clubs" like PA or Escapees worth the dollars spent? Any, and I mean "any" advice will be appreciated.
Some people use SD and others use TX. There was an article recently in one of the camping magazines that discussed it. They discussed the many things to consider; income tax, personal property tax, vehicle insurance, registration/fees/inspection, medical insurance, voting and more.
As far as the "clubs" to get reduced cg rates, you need to belong to a couple of them if you like to travel around. If not, you're stuck with the cg in your package. We have coast to coast for the fixed $10/night and use camp club USA to get reduced rates. We are looking at others. We met a Canadian couple who camp free or spend $10/night for 6 months in the states. They belong to 4 clubs. Costly up front but is paying off in its 5th year.
Location: We're fulltimers and have never been physically to our address in Madison SD! Will get there probably when we renew our DL. Try to stay not too warm or cold. Usually go to Mexico in the winter which we love. Will gladly answer ?s about full timing or Mexico.
Cardinal Owners: Have a 2008 35 SB. Had ordered exactly what we wanted and then had to cancel since they changed floorplans. Wanted the W/D in the bathroom, not bedroom. Have some problems, but we love the layout. Have made many modifications including larger windows in small S/O, furniture, cabinet work, 46" TV.
This is our experience based on 18 yearsof fulltiming. We are Escapees(SKPs) and have been since we started. We were extremely please with their mail forwarding service and the fact that TX had no state income tax. Long story short when we bought the Bird, we were going to have to pay a hefty sales tax to register it in TX. Checked out SD which doesn't have state income tax either and found that we only had to pay a one time 3% excise tax--much less than the sales tax in TX. Bonus was that our truck insurance was basically halved; paying the amount we paid in excise tax over three yrs.
also there is no vehicle inspection and license fees are slightly less and you can get your driver's license in any county in SD unlike TX where you have to go to your county of residence. We are happy with our mail forwarding service and voting is easy. We feel more involved in SD since their population is so small.
We encourage everyone to become a SKP member. Vist their web site www.escapees.com Most importantly they are strong voice in the RV world from the RVers point of view. They have annual education programs--Escapades and one can learn a lot. I always refer to them as a "Blue collar" RV club. they have a limited park system.
BillMoRex&Princess
Fulltiming since 8/93
2008 35 SB/ 2006 Chev Duramax
From those who already enjoy this lifestyle can you tell me how you deal with residency? Are the various "clubs" like PA or Escapees worth the dollars spent? Any, and I mean "any" advice will be appreciated.
