Transition to full time living for Active duty military

[strass1210]

Hello Heartland Cyclone Community,

I will be returning from an overseas duty station in about a year. I am planning on transitioning to living full time in an RV since I move so often and most military bases have great RV parks located on post or very close. I have done a ton of research online and narrowed my favorite floor plans to the Cyclone 4200 and the Road Warrior 427. I really love the front porch feature and need at least 1.5 baths with a tub for my daughter (3 years old) when she comes to visit. I have a HD dyna wide glide that I can't part with so the toy hauler is my preferred option.

Few questions for the experts:
1. Please share your thoughts most important things that people with no RV experience overlook when getting into a full time situation.
2. Looking for a 1 to 2 year old used rig preferably with a truck included in a package. What are the best internet sites(RVtrader.com, etc) or dealerships that have these types of packages?
3. Thoughts on residential appliances vs. RV specific appliances?
4. Any advice that experienced full timers can provide to a newbie is much appreciated.

Thanks!
-John
Perspective Owner

 

[jimtoo]

Hi strass1210,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed. I'm sure you will get some good info soon from our other members.

Also thank you for your service for our country.

Enjoy the forum and hope to see you in a Heartland unit.

Jim M

 

[danemayer]

Hi John,

With respect to you and your family living full time in the RV, getting the rig serviced can be challenging. Most RV dealers expect owners to drop the RV in their lot and come back to pick it up at an indeterminate future date. So to the extent that you're handy, you'll want to fix as much as you can yourself when things go wrong. You should try to get recommendations on mobile servicers for when you need help.

It's important to budget for service and repairs, on both the trailer and the truck. We budget $1000/year. Sometimes we spend it. Sometimes we don't. Last year we had to replace the Power Converter and the Washing Machine. We went over budget.

In the RV industry, 2nd owners generally have no warranty coverage unless you purchase an after-market service contract - sometimes called extended warranties. If you go that route, before buying, read the document that spells out exactly what is covered, and what is excluded. Many, if not most service plans are primarily aimed at appliance failures. Many other things are excluded. Plans vary a lot, so you'll have to read the fine print.

You'll probably find that a large residential refrigerator, which may be in many of the trailers you look at, will suit your family better than a smaller traditional RV gas absorption refrigerator. But if you plan on boondocking, power for the residential refrigerator may be a problem, so a gas absorption unit that runs on 12V DC plus propane may be a better choice there.

Hope this helps.

 

[strass1210]

Jim/Dan,

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate you both taking the time to reply!

-John

 

[Fox]

While I respect your choice of life-styles ... we never felt the allure of wondering around.

This is my (highly biased) opinion: when I retired (USA, 1990) we wanted a place to establish roots; one with a home base that allowed my bride to work towards a retirement system and the ability to watch our kids grow up in a real home (with permanent friends) - all within the same school system.

Our kids are now grown, self supporting, and have their own kids; and my bride now has her retirement to add to mine. Happy with our choices.

Best of luck to you/ yours!

- - - Updated - - -

Now hitting closer to your quest, your search is (apparently) still a year out. Things change and whats available/ desirable today may not come to play next year. Don't rush things.
What's Most Important is to match your tow vehicle (specifically its available PAYLOAD) to the load you'll be pulling (or vice-versa); think of them as a closed system.

Go Army!

 

[mlpeloquin]

One more thing to add. Getting work done at a great deal of RV dealers can be problematic. Their first priority is the sale department and prepping new RV's. If you want prompt service, you need to find a good independent RV repair business. Another rout is to call on a mobile RV repair. There is the added cost of the service call, but you do not have to move out.

 

[MTPockets]

This was on the Heartland site today:

https://heartlandowners.org/showthr...Key-Largo-and-2014-Dodge-Ram-Laramie-3500-DRW

 

[Boatman]

Thanks for your service. A couple of things you might consider. As a retired US Army member, we also travel considerable and stay in many military RV parks of all services. Most Military have a 2 week limit and then you are required to depart for a few days, then you may return. This could vary by location and vacancies. AAFES has an excellent publication that lists all Military camps in great detail. We have found this book to be invaluable and its updated yearly. There are also many web sites showing Military sites, google will show you many of them. Good look on your future RVing.