One of the cornerstones of my first year in retirement will be taking the family on a summer-long RV adventure! This is a key objective and illustrates the sense of freedom and new experiences that are possible, as a family, in early retirement.
Our children will be 8, 11 and 13 — this might be the last chance for a trip such as this — or it could be the first of many?! We have rented RVs before yet this is a big jump and an important one.
First things first; we watched RV with Robin Williams! From the moment they named their rig “The Big Rolling Turd” the kids were hooked. They are excited to go and want to help plan the trip.
The first thing was considering what type of RV to get and where to purchase one. We aren’t ready to commit to owning an RV for life. Our intent is to own one for a year, use it on some weekends, some vacations and gear up for our summer adventure. Then, most likely, we will sell it. Thus, we want to get a good value so we are less likely to take a big loss on resale. This pointed us toward private sellers instead of dealers.
Next, we had to think about what TYPE of RV. Class C with a bunk above the driver, Class A with great amenities, or a Fifth Wheel — an amazing living area, at 1/4 the price, but you can’t enjoy the trailer while you drive. This was a tough decision trying to balance cost with FUNctionality! Our son summarized it — “but riding in the RV is half the fun on a long trip.” We decided if we could find a Class A, with bunk beds, at the right price — we would jump in with both feet.
Well, we found an RV — well cared for, well priced, and ready for sale before it had to be put in storage for the winter. We picked up a Georgetown 350TS in Indiana. The whole family flew from Florida to Indiana over Thanksgiving to drive the big rig back down to Florida on our first adventure.
I then sold my Audi, bought a very basic Jeep and continued the preparations for the adventure. If you want to see our aggressive summer itinerary or follow along on our adventure, subscribe at our blog: www.BigRigAdventure.blogspot.com
The original plan was to sell the RV after the summer… but, so far we have been having a lot of fun. Well, retirement is nothing if you can’t be flexible!!!
