In 2005, give or take a year, Arleen and I were driving along the autobahn in Germany or Switzerland and trying to figure out what we wanted to do when we grew up. “Growing up” for us meant life after the military when we’d both retire the summer of 2011. As soon as “full-time RVing” was said out loud, we knew that was it.
Right away we began to learn as much as we could about the full-time RVer lifestyle. We read every book we could get our hands on and we spent many many hours researching online. Our rapidly expanding knowledge confirmed that our plan was doable and our excitement grew.
Next we mapped out a plan. We determined the necessary steps, a rough timeline, and set goals. Some steps like saving money and furthering our knowledge were implemented immediately. Other goals like choosing a truck and trailer and deciding what our “residence” would be, would take more study and could wait awhile.
We moved back to the U.S. in 2007. That summer we ramped up our trailer research. We went to dealerships and RV shows. After checking out hundreds of motorhomes, 5th-wheel trailers, and travel trailers, we got a good idea of what would work best for us: a travel trailer. A primary reason is that it would allow us to use the bed of our truck to store our toys (fishing gear, bikes, ski gear, kayak gear, etc). Because we would be living in our trailer year round, we needed a real “4-season” trailer. This led us to two brands: Komfort and Arctic Fox. By 2009, we determined the Arctic Fox 29V was a good fit.
Roughly 300 square feet of living space!
We also ramped up our research on tow vehicles. We needed something reliable with a high tow rating. We chose the Dodge Ram with the Cummins Diesel.
During this time we also determined that we would declare South Dakota our new residency. A mail forwarding service in Rapid City called “America’s Mail Box” has been helping full-time RVers for years and they would gladly help us too.
By summer 2010, we were a year away from our retirement. Now it was time for serious action. We started going through all of our possessions and scaling back. We tackled a room each weekend. Items would either be donated, given to friends, taken to a thrift shop on consignment, or disposed of. After the house sells in 2011 a few things will go in a small storage unit, but everything else must go!
In late September 2010, we went to Rapid City to get our new truck and establish our new residency. Getting our truck, getting our South Dakota driver’s licenses, registering our truck, and driving away with sparkling new South Dakota license plates went smoothly. After five years, we finally made tangible steps to accomplish our goal. We were ecstatic!
In late October 2010, we ordered the trailer and told the dealer we would pick it up in April. They would wait until January or February to build it.
Now it is April 2011. The house is on the market and the trailer awaits. We will pick it up on April 20th! If things go as planned, we will be on the road by July.
This blog will capture our adventures and memories. And we want to share those with you!
Shawn and Arleen
