[lbrachfe]

Full timing a total of 9 years with a year break in a home. Couldn't wait to get back to a coach soon after we left..... Now we have a driveway with a 602 sq ft mini house, a 21' pool, 8 person spa and all are 5' from my Newell.. Best of all worlds...

[whatsnewell]

After taking numerous trips in our class C in the early 2000's, some as long as 3 weeks, we decided we wanted to work toward fulltiming when we retired.  Of course 'when' is always the $64,000 question.  We knew we wanted something much bigger than the class C (26') and we began to look for our 'next' motorhome in 2007.  In the interim we began talking about how it would work, what our travel style would be.  We spent countless hours sitting outside by our outdoor fireplace discussing it all.  I began reading the blogs of people who lived full time in RV's of all types and descriptions (Tioga and George, RVdreamsjournal, Technomadia, Malimish, Man in the Maze [formerly Airstream Life], WheelingIt, etc) to get a sense of their separate experiences, and what worked for them.

When we began our search for a larger RV we had decided we wanted a 36-38' Class A diesel pusher.  We went to RV shows, looked at a lot of Class A's that were in the 8-10 year old range, and our budget.......we wanted to pay cash....we did not want to be paying on a large loan for years.  We found that virtually all of the coaches in this age range were beginning to look threadbare after just 8-10 years of part time use, which was discouraging.  We wanted to live full time in whatever we bought, and not have to be refurbishing the interior every few years.  One day in February of 2008 I came across a 1982 Newell - 36' on Craigslist of all places.  I had never heard of Newell before, but was totally intrigued and captivated by the look of the Newell Classic.  It was down in the Palm Springs, CA area......we lived about an hour away.  It happened we were going to a wedding in that area the next weekend, so Elaine and I decided we would call the gentleman advertising the Newell and take a look at it while we were in area.  I was a little off put by it's age......26 years at the time........some of these old motorhomes can become money pits.

Well, we arrived at the storage facility where Fred was keeping his 1982 Newell (by the way, up until 2006 the coach had been kept in a climate controlled barn when not in use).  Elaine walked up the steps into the coach first, and before I managed to get to the top of the stairs following her, she was sold......seriously.  I was playing catch up from that point on.  I knew nothing about Detroit Diesel Series 92 two stroke engines.......I knew nothing about diesels period.  We spent close to 2 hours looking into every nook and cranny of the Newell, and then a couple of days after that learning everything about Newells.  I joined the original Newell Classic website and introduced myself.  I received almost immediate responses from Richard, Michael, Tom and several others.  Suddenly I felt like I wasn't all alone if I bought this 26 year old coach.  Well, the rest is history.....by March 1st the 1982 Newell was ours.  

Originally we thought the 1982 Newell would be an interim coach, but the more we got to know 'her' the more settled we became on her becoming our full time home on the road.......we originally planned to retire at the traditional age of 65 and a few months, but after attending a few unexpected funerals of contemporaries we decided to retire at 62, whether, or not we were totally prepared financially and just make it work.

I never doubted we would make the transition with ease, but Elaine was concerned about a lot of things, including living with me 24/7 in what amounts to about 220 square feet.  In December of 2010, a little over a year before we would retire, I suggested to Elaine that we lease out our home, and move into the Newell in a local Riverside County RV park (Rancho Jurupa Regional Park....about 13 miles from our home) for a year before she retired, so she could see if it would work for her.  She agreed, and by February 1, 2011 we had tenants, and a one year lease signed, and had moved out of our home, and into the Newell.  To keep costs down we became volunteers at the park cleaning their 6 park model cabins once a week.  In exchange we lived rent free for 12 months.....we spent about 10-12 hours combined per week cleaning the cabins, and it worked out quite well.

Within 6 months Elaine told me she would see herself living full time with me in the small space that was 1/10th the size of our 'sticks and bricks' home.  As of today, January 1st, we have been living in our Newell for 47 months, and have been traveling full time for the past 35 months.  

Since we bought the Newel (it had 103,000 miles on the Detroit Diesel 6V92) we have put on 47,000 miles.  The only major mechanical issues have been replacing the gear driven water pump on the 6V92, which I did myself, replacing the front and rear air ride valves which I did with the help of Tom at his home in Arizona, replacing the cruise control, and just regular maintenance stuff life replacing tires that have aged out, changing oil, and filters.  Otherwise it has not been a money pit at all.  We have found we live quite well on the road on way less money.....we have no utilities, no car payments, no motorhome payment, no mortgage payment (the lease covers that), etc.

We love the life style and being able to change our view on a regular basis without going through escrow.  After almost 3 years on the road we cannot see and end point at this time.  We are both in good health with no on going medical issues.....no medications, etc.  We are so glad we hit the road early.......you do not know when your number is going to be up, so don't put it off too long.  We have barely scratched the surface "seeing everything".  We have met some amazing people along the way, and have developed this sort of mobile community of people we see a few times a year as we all criss cross the USA.  Our purchase of our 1982 Newell came with something we did not anticipate, or expect.....a whole new circle of amazing people who have become very good friends.  We have attended 3 Newell mini rallies organized by the good people of this website.  

In short, you do not have to spend 300-400,000 dollars to enjoy this life style.  We paid $39,000 for our coach.....we own it.....no payments.  While we always enjoy the much larger 46 foot Newells with their slides, we love our small space.  Of course, over the 6 years we have owned our Newell we have made some changes to the interior layout that better suit our life style, which has made it even more comfortable.

[77newell]

I'm pretty sure that Alie and I will never full time. This is due to our need for regular friends and our limited skills at forming new friendships quickly. On the road this can make our social interactions largely between the two of us and that has its limits. I would not be surprised if career military couples have either self -selected to be good at dealing with the temporary friendships or have learned some skills that we have so far missed.

Another aspect to consider is to think of life as an ongoing experiment. All you have to decide is to try full timing, it is not necessary to consider the decision to full time irreversible. You decide to try it, you see how it works, you adjust based upon what you've learned and decide what to try next; more full timing or some other arrangement. We not only learn about the world from our experiences, we also learn about ourselves.

If the idea of full timing piques your interest, you've done the research and talked the experts (those that are doing it) and are still intrigued then the big question is what is stopping you. Just like with marriage, the only way to know that it will last is to have one that lasts. And just like marriage, full timing will be filled with surprises. Not all of them are pleasant, but you are still married.

You know, sometimes us guys just think way too much. The future contains a vast array of influential unknowables, all we can do is decide to place reasonable bets of our time and resources we are comfortable with and then go live it to see how it pays off.

[encantotom]

Darlene and I have had 4 coaches, two of which have been newells. in our 90 we spent 2 months living in it while on sabbatical. we enjoyed it but knew we were going home. our 02 we went on a 4 1/2 month trip soon after i retired in 2013. we loved our time gone. we told ourselves that we could do it for longer. we are the opposite of alie and jon and we tend to make friends easily wherever we go. it is just part of who we are.

all of that said, we will likely never fulltime. we have too much stuff that we like to be around. we are also very involved in our church and have responsibilities that have us needing to be local for some time. when things settle down in our recently retired lives, who knows, we may go for months at a time again.

one night we were sitting in the 02 when we had been gone for several months and talking and told ourselves that we could do it for extended periods of time.

we will see what the future brings.

tom

[nuevomex]

We are among those who have "been there, done that" but our full-timing was only 9 months. We loved it and ended up wanting a home base other than an address for mail. So, we designed, purchased and located a manufactured home, 1000 square feet, 2 br, 2 bath, covered deck and plopped it down in Santa Fe where we lived for about 20 years. it's turn key and we simply lock it and leave whenever the spirit moves us which it tends to do often. Cost was reasonable, under $60K. Like many fellow gurus, we enjoy the freedom, independence, traveling life-style for all the obvious reasons of going wherever we want, staying however long or briefly we want, meeting some wonderful people, etc. I can still work part time regardless where we are so that's a plus too.

Larry, we have seen Forest and Cindy's coach. It's a beauty and well cared for. There are, of course, others on the market too.
We wanted to get ours from Newell as it came with a two year warranty. Motorhomes of Texas usually have a few for sale and California Coach does too but theirs tend to be more high-end. We would trade ours for a 40' to facilitate getting into a lot more places as our 47' is simply too big to fit some of the places we like to go, Mexico for example. If you have questions, this is a great bunch of folks who have the answers.

[Chester Stone]

You are all making some good points for consideration. I am not as quick as Tom and Darlene at making friends, more like Jon, but it is easier when my travel companion Jan is with me. As a widower when traveling alone away from my close friends here in Mexico, there could be benefits from staying in some of the RV resorts where there are planned activities and socials where a single can join in. By the same token, I have an excellent place here in Mexico to park my coach beside my bodega (barn) during the winter months. I am just thinking and planning out loud, and opinions expressed in this thread are helpful.

[Tammy Hopkins]

My wife and I have been to this same rodeo several times. There are a couple considerations not yet mentioned. Unless you have spent extended time in a motorhome it is hard to judge the extent to which you will enjoy the experience. There are people that find it to be the best experience ever and there are those that end up hating it, and sometimes each other. While you both can imagine what the experience will be like, there is considerable research that clearly demonstrates that our imaginations are faulty in critical ways. I would suggest reading the book "Stumbling on Happiness". It will help you avoid unnecessary surprises.

If motorhome experience is limited but strongly aspired to it may be wise to ensure as much as possible that you purchase a coach that you are confident you can sell without undue distress. Two reasons for this; you may find that this isn't for you, or based on increased experience you are clearer about what is needed in order for you and your spouse to have a pleasant experience.

Finally, financial institutions are reluctant to loan on older coaches so you may need more cash. The coach I own now was previously sold but the deal fell through due to inability to obtain financing, even with good credit, on a 93 coach.

[Tammy Hopkins]

Thank you so much for the information a lot to think about. I'm going to read the book stumbling on happiness. I would hate for our dream to turn into a nightmare. Although we have been arguing for years on vacation and to the desert for weeks at a time. And we work together play together live together and have had a wonderful relationship for 28 years. But I also know that we have other rooms to go in when the grouches set in. I love to hear other people's experiences thanks much enjoy your travels!

---

My wife and I have been to this same rodeo several times. There are a couple considerations not yet mentioned. Unless you have spent extended time in a motorhome it is hard to judge the extent to which you will enjoy the experience. There are people that find it to be the best experience ever and there are those that end up hating it, and sometimes each other. While you both can imagine what the experience will be like, there is considerable research that clearly demonstrates that our imaginations are faulty in critical ways. I would suggest reading the book "Stumbling on Happiness". It will help you avoid unnecessary surprises.

If motorhome experience is limited but strongly aspired to it may be wise to ensure as much as possible that you purchase a coach that you are confident you can sell without undue distress. Two reasons for this; you may find that this isn't for you, or based on increased experience you are clearer about what is needed in order for you and your spouse to have a pleasant experience.

Finally, financial institutions are reluctant to loan on older coaches so you may need more cash. The coach I own now was previously sold but the deal fell through due to inability to obtain financing, even with good credit, on a 93 coach.

[folivier]

One solution that worked for us for those times when we needed to be apart is my DW would spend the day out shopping. That gave us both a needed break.

[whatsnewell]

My experience has been if you have a good relationship it will get better fulltiming, and if you have a rocky one it will get worse. That's my 2 cents and I'm sticking to it.