full timing

Question to anyone enjoying their Heartland full time: How many started out planning to full time indefinitely and did that influence your decision which unit to buy? Did any have a back up plan? What has influenced you to continue or discontinue your adventure?

We purchased our Big Horn after an extensive search and four factory tours. We wanted a quality unit for full time living and travel. This was done when we decided to full time as long as health would allow and so far, so good. No regrets; lovin' every minute which will be three years in November. Back up plan? We'll do what we need to do if conditions change. No way to predict conditions, so what/where is not logical for us until then. We've always loved moving around to new places and we'll keep at it forever - that's the plan.

Hi MLP! My husband and I are full-timers since September 2012 while he is still working part-time. We had been planning for two years before that date to go full-time and spent that time looking at units that fit our needs and wants. Definitely finding a unit that is Four Seasons was important. We plan on being on the road as long as we are able but we do have a plan if and when it is necessary for us to quit traveling in our rig. I'm sure others will chime in and tell you their experiences.

We have been fulltime for nine years...started with the intention of doing this indefinitely. However, we started in an SOB TT that didn't take long to figure out was not gonna hold up. Bought a new SOB fiver that unfortunately lasted only 10 months due to numerous serious problems, then saw a new friend's 2006 Bighorn and realized that was what we needed...that was in 2007. Bought a brand new 2008 Bighorn and full timed in it for six years...now have a 2013 Landmark and could not be happier!

We continue our lifestyle as living on the road always takes us to a new adventure and we have no desire to own a house again. Our exit plan is an RV lot we own outright in the RGV...we will park ourselves there when we cannot handle the rig any longer...which will not be for many, many years....

We are fulltimers for about 2 months-jump in the water is fine. I have a backup plan if needed. My DW and I like the lifestyle but I am sure it is not for everyone. I know I don't miss cutting grass and will definitely not miss the snow!! You will never know if it right for you unless you try it. We bought a slightly used unit. We were thinking about a new one and found the used one. We felt this floor plan was good for us and it is very comfortable. Everyone has there own needs-Heartland makes many floor plans. Good luck with whatever you decide.

We started out 4 years ago thinking we'd take some long summer (6 weeks traveling) and winter trips (6 week extended ski trip) with shorter trips in the Spring and Fall. That quickly turned into spending half time in the RV. The next step was to start spending pretty much the entire summer in Colorado mountains. It was a small jump to fulltime when we sold our house last June. We may buy/build another home in Texas and go back to 1/2 time in the RV, but who knows?

We've been full timing it since Jan 14 and Rving for 8 years. As mentioned in an earlier post, a full timers package/well insulated RV will make your life a LOT more comfortable and our Landmark is one of a few RVs on the market that are better insulated than most. Being slightly mechanically inclined will also help because all RVs will have some problems and living in one full time will only highlight those issues so having the ability to fix them yourself or having a reliable mobile tech will also make life easier. You don't want to always haul your RV to a repair shop for repairs since it's your only home. That said, we know we may some day reach an age where RV life may not be possible. We went RVing full time because we wanted to sell the house and move and since we had the RV, it seemed like an easy, logical alternative.

We've been traveling for years but always traveled by car and stayed in motels, or if the places we visited were nice, we stayed in our tents. We were always looking at those nice RVs and thought seriously about one for several years, but just never talked ourselves into taking the leap. After two years of serious review of just about every RV available, we decided to purchase a Heartland product based upon what we read on all the various forums, what we heard from many owners of the different brands, and what we liked in the floor plan offerings. We purchased a 2013 Landmark Key Largo because the floor plan fit our needs and we were impressed with the warranty. Our original plan was to just travel several months out of each year and head back to our farm in between trips as we tired of the road. Well, the funny thing is, we never got tired of traveling. So, we finally sold the farm, all the tractors and equipment, all the cattle, the home furnishings, and everything else except our family heirlooms and we are having a ball traveling the country. We have met many wonderful people, stayed in some beautiful places, and seen things we never even thought about. The Key Largo has never let us down nor have we felt confined or tired of the surroundings. Whenever someone comes up to us and asks where we live, I just point to the Landmark and tell them "right over there". We haven't had a single regret about our lifestyle change, other than we wished we would have done this much earlier in life. We don't have a back up plan other than moving to a newer unit after a few years. The new technologies and offerings coming down the road would be hard to pass up.

MLP said:

Question to anyone enjoying their Heartland full time: How many started out planning to full time indefinitely and did that influence your decision which unit to buy? Did any have a back up plan? What has influenced you to continue or discontinue your adventure?

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We started rving in 1979 with a home built class B mh. Through the years we moved to a class C, small class A, then four more progressively bigger class As. We started fulltime in Nov 2000 with no plans. When we stopped roaming in 2005 and just went four places each year, we switched to a big Newmar fifth wheel (20,000# gvwr). It was totaled by a bus on I-70 west of St Louis in Nov 2011. The Landmark was the closest suitable replacement we could find, so we moved into it. We're now considering something more sturdy again. The Big Horn or Landmark are fairly typical in their price range, but we want something on a more substantial frame and running gear and have the truck to handle it. If you look at New Hoizons, Spacecraft or even Excel you will see the difference; however, they are also much more expensive.

Thank you to everyone that responded. My DW and I are going to pull the trigger soon on a new unit and this helps with that nervous feeling of the unknown.

We are on our 5th year full timing in our Landmark.We escape the long eastern Canada winters by traveling to Florida.If we already lived in the south we may not of full timed.Enjoying the lifestyle even though its expensive but then RVing is not a money making venture.We will fulltime until we want a change.