fulltiming September 26, 2009, 08:23:49 am Yahoo Message Number: 106095Hi folks - We don't own a LD (yet!) but when we do purchase one, we intend to go fulltiming with it. I'm on some other fulltiming forums and I am getting messages from various people basically saying things along the lines of are you sure you want to fulltime in a LD? They are instilling a lot of doubt in my mind but we have set our minds to doing this. I figured I should go straight to the folks who OWN LD's - how many of you are fulltimers? What size/model is your rig? Are any of you traveling with dogs? My partner and I are going to travel with our two mid sized dogs. We know it's going to be a tight fit but we are out doorsy folks and our dogs are going to get plenty of exercise. We also know there will be times when it rains and rains and have been warned we'll go out of our minds. So we walk in the rain! I would love to hear from folks - whether it's posted or private emails. Last question I have is related to vacuums - what vacuum is recommended in a RV for dog hair? In our house we have a powerful one that we love but it's too heavy and big to lug in a future LD.Thanks - Kari
Re: fulltiming Reply #1 – September 26, 2009, 10:12:12 am Yahoo Message Number: 106098Hi Kari, I presently do not own an LD (that's my retirement plan), but do full time in an SOB (some other brand), also Class C, 29' long. I do live with my dogs in the SOB - I've managed to get it comfy enough (it's not a stick and brick by any stretch), and love it...I doubt I will own another house.I have Papillons and one elderly cat in my SOB - since I'm still working, I live on a friend's property, commute to the workplace, and when I teach classes, the m/h goes to work with me (1) so I can have lunch and dinner with the dogs and walk them, and dump the tanks. I watch her place and take care of her dogs when she is gone and her hubby works long hours and goes hunting. There's a sloping field I can run the dogs (those with good recalls - otherwise they're on a long line) and play ball with them.Everyone rides in crates; I removed half the dinette and moved the remaining seat lengthwise along the wall. It faces the sofa. The open space is crate space. I put the flat panel tv on the cabinet diagonally across from the sofa, but can be turned to the overhead bed if desired.It works pretty well for my needs. But I'm looking forward to retirement with an LD, and seeing the countryside when that happens!Cheers, and good luck!Helen
Re: fulltiming Reply #2 – September 26, 2009, 12:39:15 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106105"...I'm on some other fulltiming forums and I am getting messages from various people basically saying things along the lines of are you sure you want to fulltime in a LD? They are instilling a lot of doubt in my mind but we have set our minds to doing this..."Thanks - Kari Kari, just what reasons are these folks giving for not fulltiming in an LD?Chris
Re: fulltiming Reply #4 – September 26, 2009, 02:27:15 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106111Hi Kari, Great question! My wife and I have been fulltiming for over two years now in a Midbath (MB) LD and love it. We purposely have no pets and visit the kids and grandkids about twice a year. I think you need to ask yourself what your travel plans and lifestyle would be. We prefer state, national parks, and national forest campsites around water (rivers, lakes and ocean). Consequently we chose the LD MB for the size and flexibility in small parks, especially in areas of New England. We carry two kayaks and a small canoe on top, and two bicycles in the rear. We love an active lifestyle with hiking, biking, kayaking, and fishing as our main outdoor activities. I do spend about two-three hours a day on the internet for various reasons so the separation of back and front has been a real plus. We store our stuff up in the cab area, and sleep on one of the couches that pulls out to make a double bed. The first two years we used our bicycles as our tow vehicles and local buses for urban areas when exploring around the USA. Now that we are back in our home state of Oregon, we are slowing down our stays from one to four weeks in each place and enjoying the whole experience much more. Added a new Subaru Forester for a support vehicle in July and really, really love the lifestyle. The car has added so much more flexibility. The size of the LD (1998 MB at 26.5 feet) has not been a problem. If my wife wants to sleep early than I just open the bathroom door to section off the living space. We use the dinette as our office and eating area, although we are going to add a drop down table to the rear so we can each work on our own computers at the same time. Not sure how all of this would work with two dogs, although it seems that 90% of RVers have a dog. We have a Teddy Bear in the back to make up for the lack of pets. So...in summary, I believe lifestyle choices are key to your question. And...nothing is forever. If the first RV doesn'r work for you, just sell it and move on to another. I heard that the average Class A RV owner owns seven different RV's in his/her lifetime. We have found flexibility to be the key behavior to live such a krazy "out-of-the box" lifestyle (maybe I should say "in-the box"). Best of good fortune to you in achieving your RV dreams.David
fulltiming Reply #5 – September 26, 2009, 07:55:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106124Last question I have is related to vacuums - what vacuum is recommended in a RV for dog hair? In our house we have a powerful one that we love but it's too heavy and big to lug in a future LD.Thanks – Kari>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hi Kari! By all means two of you can full time in an LD. I have been using mine by myself but last week we were finally able to get a sitter for my mother and DH got to come along for the first time. We will be losing our retired show champions by attrition but right now we proved that we can travel with 5 ½ dogs and we all fit in nicely. I recently removed the carpet in the living room of our RB and it was the best thing I could have done with having dogs. I had vinyl installed that looks like wood. Now to keep dog hair and dirt picked up, all I need is to use the wisk broom on the couch and sweep the floor. It is 100% better for me than when the carpet was there. Also, now I have tons more space where I had stored the small vacuum in the closet and the whole cleaning process takes a fraction of time it used to. You can see my new flooring in the Dog Daze file in the photo section for an idea.Judy Wms.Blue ‘07 RB “Dog Daze”White ’09 Scion “Puppy Daze”And all the fur kids[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
fulltiming Reply #6 – September 26, 2009, 08:25:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106125QuoteRV for dog hair? Here are the two Consumer Reports top rated small vacs. for pet hair removal:Dirt Devil Kone M0213[ ] (J-code only) $45+-Black & Decker Pivot PHV1800 $60 +-Ed
Re: fulltiming Reply #7 – September 26, 2009, 10:14:22 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106127"how many of you are fulltimers?" Go to http://vote.sparklit.com/popup_poll/1092821> and look at our usage poll. Of the 258 respondees (a tiny fraction of LD owners), there are 31 fulltimers. If you include those who make trips of four months or longer, that number doubles to 63. My impression is that at least half of fulltimers in LDs are couples, and at least half travel with a dog or dogs.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: fulltiming Reply #8 – September 27, 2009, 08:12:09 am Yahoo Message Number: 106135Quote Kari, just what reasons are these folks giving for not fulltiming in an LD?Chris I've been 'told' 26.5 is just not big enough for us and our dogs. It's going to be tight, I know that. We decided the overhead cab is going to be our 'dog free' space. Someone did point out to us, in the middle of the night will we be able to walk around with the critters sleeping in an unknown spot - very good point (thank you) and we'll have to assess that as we hit the road. Here's another question for y'all - Originally we liked the 23' but quickly realized that will be impossible so we bumped our plan to the 26.5 (We are leaning towards the MB). If I have my facts right, the 26.5 is on a bigger chassis than the 23' and that creates a substantial difference in the CCC. Is the 30' on a bigger chassis than the 26.5'? Or is it the same chassis? I wonder if it is the same chassis then the CCC is not going to increase as much as one might be led to think...? Or am way off base on that theory? We were also told LD's do not have a lot of 'basement' space - however this was compared to class A's which clearly have more under storage space. I found that statement to be comparing apples to oranges. Thanks to everyone who has been replying both on the boards and in email.Kari
Re: fulltiming Reply #9 – September 27, 2009, 09:57:53 am Yahoo Message Number: 106136I forgot to address the vacuum question: I have a Dirt Devil Dynamite, bagless upright. It's lightweight, the handle collapses into the base. It works great for picking up dog hair. What I wish this model had, was a hose extension for getting into corners. I have a small Shop Vac for that.Cheers,Helen
Re: fulltiming Reply #10 – September 27, 2009, 10:00:32 am Yahoo Message Number: 106137QuoteI've been 'told' 26.5 is just not big enough for us and our dogs. It's going to be tight, I know that. We decided the overhead cab is going to be our 'dog free' space. Someone did point out to us, in the middle of the night will we be able to walk around with the critters sleeping in an unknown spot - very good point (thank you) and we'll have to assess that as we hit the road. Turn on the night light before you go to bed.QuoteHere's another question for y'all - Originally we liked the 23' but quickly realized that will be impossible so we bumped our plan to the 26.5 (We are leaning towards the MB). If I have my facts right, the 26.5 is on a bigger chassis than the 23' and that creates a substantial difference in the CCC. Is the 30' on a bigger chassis than the 26.5'? Or is it the same chassis? I wonder if it is the same chassis then the CCC is not going to increase as much as one might be led to think...? Or am way off base on that theory? The LD company website clearly lists CCC's. If I recall aright the MB had more CCC that a 30 footer LD.QuoteWe were also told LD's do not have a lot of 'basement' space - however this was compared to class A's which clearly have more under storage space. We had a 2003 MB. We were within weight allowed, and what we had in it did a surprisingly good job of filling up the 36ft Foretravel diesel-pusher we bought. (We recently stopped full-timing, sold the Foretravel and bought a RB.)Of course, our 36ft Foretravel with front entry had more, and more flexible, floor space, than a 27footer Class C, but it had only one bay for under storage. This was a slide-out cargo tray about 5ft wide the width of the coach. Our 1997 RB has a LOT of under storage in several locations. The Foretravel under storage volume probably exceeds that of our RB, but we've been living in our RB for almost two months now, are not missing anything important, and have not filled up the RB, even with a large iMac, two laptops, a printer, a Cradlepoint wireless router, signal amplifier for the air card in the router, two iPhones, a Sirius desktop amplifier, a good-sized coffee grinder, plus a few non-electronic optional items like clothes... ) Before we had ever heard of LDs we went to a RV show in 2003 and got the idea of full-timing in an RV from a couple who were full-timing in a 24ft Trek. They told us, "Remember, you're just buying your first RV." We pooh-poohed that thought after we fixed on a LD and its quality. We are now on our third RV..... My point is you might want to seriously consider a used LD. Our 1997 RB cost us $17K and has many options such as jacks, a 1300 watt inverter that powers all outlets, four solar panels, etc. If you are concerned about space, and are already planning on sleeping over the cab, then I think you should seriously a RB because its sight-line openness is reminiscent of a Class A. A RB has a huge bathroom (that even includes a refrigerator )best, paul
Re: fulltiming Reply #11 – September 27, 2009, 10:32:15 am Yahoo Message Number: 106139---Quote I've been 'told' 26.5 is just not big enough for us and our dogs. We have been fulltiming in a 26.5 RB for over 8 years now, loving every minute.Bill and Sharon
Re: fulltiming Reply #12 – September 27, 2009, 10:37:05 am Yahoo Message Number: 106140Paul, For the safety of the dogs they should ride in kennels in the LD and sleep in them. I show dogs and travel alot with them. Crates can easily fit in most models. In case of wreck or fire they need to be confined and easily gotten to to take out. In a wreck loose they could escape and run off from fear. Darlene-- AlaDar Beagles www.aladarbeagles.com[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: fulltiming Reply #13 – September 27, 2009, 10:39:44 am Yahoo Message Number: 106141QuoteMy point is you might want to seriously consider a used LD. Our 1997 RB cost us $17K and has many options such as jacks, a 1300 watt inverter that powers all outlets, four solar panels, etc. I forgot the 5800 Btu radiant propane heater (we might not have much use for it in El Centro, CA - 111 degrees expected today, only 68 at 7.30a ), PLUS a swamp cooler, which IS well-suited for El Centro.All in all, now that we have a RB we wonder what we were thinking when we went for a MB.best, paul
fulltiming Reply #14 – September 27, 2009, 10:50:29 am Yahoo Message Number: 106142Welcome, Kari. I have been fulltiming in my 27' Midbath model for 11 months now. I find it very comfortable, and I don't get cabin fever. Then again, it is just me and I do not have a dog. More people plus pets would mean, to me, that I needed more room else I would feel a bit cramped. Ken F., currently in the rain in Franconia Notch, NH
Re: fulltiming Reply #15 – September 27, 2009, 11:08:47 am Yahoo Message Number: 106143Turn on the night light before you go to bed so you can see the crates and not stub your toe on them as you stumble around )best, paul PS> We ain't got no dogs. I've been tempted to get one but my bride of 50 years tells me she would leave if I got one...It didn't take me a nanosecond to conclude my current status was a MUCH better deal..."Thriving not surviving" - Paul Schaye (at 2008 NYC Marathon) - See our website a www. LazyDazers.com
Re: fulltiming Reply #16 – September 27, 2009, 12:11:55 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106149Quote from: greystreak32""...Is the 30' on a bigger chassis than the 26.5'? Or is it the same chassis? I wonder if it is the same chassis then the CCC is not going to increase as much as one might be led to think...? Or am way off base on that theory?..."Kari Kari, I believe the 31' uses the same chassis as the 27" except the 31' is lengthened by a extra section of frame being welded and sectioned into the chassis.As for CCC, check the LD Website for specs.Chris
Re: fulltiming Reply #17 – September 27, 2009, 02:26:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106150At 05:11 AM 9/27/2009, you wrote:QuoteSomeone did point out to us, in the middle of the night will we be able to walk around with the critters sleeping in an unknown spot - very good point (thank you) and we'll have to assess that as we hit the road. There's a "night light" feature--or there used to be--that provides a small light at ground level near the entry door that gives enough shine to help you spot a dog or kitty...and also to get to the bathroom safely. Since we have solar panels, I use regular nightlights from the house in a couple of spots to guide us safely to the bathroom at 3 AM. Another option is the overhead cooktop light in the kitchen, which is remarkably useless for actually lighting up the cooktop, but just about perfect as a nightlight. We have a rear kitchen model, though, so the light does not intrude on the sleeping area but just gives a nice glow around the kitchen and bath.Sonsie
Re: fulltiming Reply #18 – September 27, 2009, 11:19:07 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106156Excellent advice from Joan, as usual... but I have a quibble with this comment: "Second, getting in and out of the overcab bed in any of the model configurations requires going up and down the ladder." Just about everyone I know who has a midbath uses the forward dinette bench; it's very easy to climb into and out of the overcab bed that way. I've never used the ladder to access the bed (which is a good thing, because as Joan said, the rungs are very uncomfortable for bare feet). I have used the ladder for outside work, like waxing the upper portions of the coach. I put a balled-up sock over each post to prevent scratching when I lean it against the coach. :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: fulltiming Reply #19 – September 28, 2009, 08:54:33 am Yahoo Message Number: 106158"Andy" wrote: Just about everyone I know who has a midbath uses the forward dinette bench; it's very easy to climb into and out of the overcab bed that way. --- Yes, that's true. However, I wonder how this route would work for a short person; wouldn't it be difficult to "get a leg up" from the MB bench seat back into the overcab bed? And, how much additional wear does the seat back endure from being used as a step? Just asking....Joan(Leaving for OR and WA)
Re: fulltiming Reply #20 – September 28, 2009, 12:42:55 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106159QuoteYes, that's true. However, I wonder how this route would work for a short person; wouldn't it be difficult to "get a leg up" from the MB bench seat back into the overcab bed? And, how much additional wear does the seat back endure from being used as a step? Just asking....Joan Not a problem for my 6 and 3 yr. old Grandkids. Only time will tell on additional wear. Have a safe trip.Joe Hamm
Re: fulltiming Reply #21 – September 28, 2009, 05:48:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106166"I wonder how this route would work for a short person; wouldn't it be difficult to 'get a leg up' from the MB bench seat back into the overcab bed?" Well, my cat Alix doesn't seem to have a problem with it, and she's a lot shorter than I am. ;-) (I'm 5'8".) Maybe somebody else can chime in here with their experiences."how much additional wear does the seat back endure from being used as a step?" I've been doing it every night--several times a night, in fact--for more than three years and I can't see any wear. But again, perhaps someone with longer-term experience can chime in.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: fulltiming Reply #22 – September 28, 2009, 06:15:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106167This whole thread on full-timing has been very interesting reading. I think it takes a certain mind-set, and a highly organized person or couple to really full-time in a Class-C motorhome. Full-time to me means that you don't also own a house somewhere. The LD is it. When we move, we typically take the entire moving van with around 30,000 pounds of furniture and stuff. I'm not sure a 45-foot Prevost bus with four slides would be big enough for everything we would want to take with us. :-)Dick (Admitted packrats)
Re: fulltiming (overcab climbs) Reply #23 – September 28, 2009, 06:37:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106168Quote"I wonder how this route would work for a short person; wouldn't it be difficult to 'get a leg up' from the MB bench seat back into the overcab bed?" Well folks, Andy said to chime in...so here is my take on it. I stand 5' 4" tall and have back troubles. There is no way this lady can climb into overcab in any manner.I tried the ladder when we were looking at the LDs and found myself having difficulty standing on the steps. (no cloth or whatever to soften step) I tried using the corner of the couch to climb up in there; no dice. Count me one of the few that couldn't get in that overcab. Besides, my siamese cat would have a royal fit if I stepped into her private space. She lives for the windows in the overcab to watch all the comings and goings.Donna 26.5' RB Vaughn, WA
Re: fulltiming Reply #24 – September 28, 2009, 06:41:36 pm Yahoo Message Number: 106169To the admitted packrats of the LD or non-LD family,Soon my hubby and I will be adopting just that lifestyle of fulltiming, once he retires. I have been exploring all my belongings which are considerable (think 101 boxes of moving boxes and a huge moving van to move them).I need suggestions and input on how to wire it down to LD 26.5' living. What do you cut and where do you put your mementoes/memories/ memoirs? For the admitted packrats, a listen in to the suggestions that I know will pour forth.Donna 26.5' RB Vaughn, WA
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