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.They'll slide down to Palm Springs and settle in with the other aging, retro gays & be happy there
Palm Springs would be perfect for them! We were there for two weeks last winter! -
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Thanks! It’s been a fun detour from the standard rat race. But unlike Jen, I feel compelled to go back to work. I fully accept that I’m not SAHM material. So I am excited to settle down again. Because of my husbands job, we can still take extended vacations even once our daughter is in school. We haven’t seen much of California and plan to do an Alaska trip in the fifth wheel once she’s a bit older!We bought it used, it was about 10 months old and we paid $75k, it retails for around $125k. The truck on the other hand was $88k but we got it for $78k because it was at the end of the model year.
We are fully equipped with a generator and massive batteries, propane/electric fridge/freezer, so we can go about 10 days in the middle of nowhere without full hookups. But my husband needs internet to work, we have a pretty complex system with two cellular cards and a router, it runs is about $275 a month just for internet, but we have to have it.
We often overnight in parking lots (museums, fairgrounds, wineries, farms) or places without hookups, when we are trying to get from point A to point B and want to stop driving for the day. When we first started, we moved every week or less. Some weeks, we moved 3 times in a week! We are now back in Oregon, where we are from, and are staying for 3 months while we house/land hunt. It’s much more affordable to stay in one spot for a month but we get bored. We will be headed to the Gulf Coast of Texas to “winter” and then will be making our way back in the Spring to resume the house hunt.
I really enjoy that you have shared snippets of your full timing adventure.
May I suggest that tonight you leave the comfort of your fifth-wheel, scatter some crumbs throughout your truck, and curl up on the floor to ‘sleep’.
If you aren’t doing this magical, magical thing, I don’t know what you are doing with your life.
Chin dancing under the glow of moon optional.
Our truck is a disaster, sort of looks like we live in it… oh wait, it pulls our home! It’s like a messy garage. I do escape to the truck sometimes to enjoy my solitude alone (like Jen?)
This was a simple but “magical” place. This was Mother’s Day morning, we were drinking coffee with a herd of bison just below us, our rig was parked here on this lawn at a museum in Utah. Definitely a memory I will treasure.SPOILER (click to view)
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.This is what we have! We have added a washer/dryer and also a dishwasher. We are in the process of making some more extreme modifications to suit our needs and my design aesthetic. But we’ve had it for almost 2 years now and love it!
www.granddesignrv.com/showroom/202...oorplans/377mbs
We pull it with a Ram 3500 diesel dually that we purchased new last year. It’s a pretty big rig but our truck handles it well.
Even I could camp in that, and that’s saying a lot . It’s beautiful!
Eventually we will just use it for camping and for guest accommodations. But it is totally livable, there are certain annoyances that come with living in a tiny space, but it is very comfortable.
We are lucky we are able to live in it while we try to find our next house. We need at least 4 acres to either build or buy an existing house. If we didn’t have the fifth wheel, we would be rushed and not as able to be picky. We want to raise our daughter with horses and teach her the responsibility that comes form animal husbandry. (We have one horse that lives at my sisters house while we travel) -
.This is what we have! We have added a washer/dryer and also a dishwasher. We are in the process of making some more extreme modifications to suit our needs and my design aesthetic. But we’ve had it for almost 2 years now and love it!
www.granddesignrv.com/showroom/202...oorplans/377mbs
We pull it with a Ram 3500 diesel dually that we purchased new last year. It’s a pretty big rig but our truck handles it well.
Jesus Christ those things now have kitchen islands !! I’m curious you said you live there full-time. But other people out there that buy these things just for fun and use these rarely? I’m not gonna ask how much yours cost but I know these things can cost about the same as a small home. I’m also curious do you have to have full hook up to take full advantage of everything? Or could you go for a week in the middle of nowhere and still be able to use everything? I’m also curious do you guys usually stay put for a longer period of time at certain campgrounds? It’s really crazy how luxurious these things have become
We bought it used, it was about 10 months old and we paid $75k, it retails for around $125k. The truck on the other hand was $88k but we got it for $78k because it was at the end of the model year.
We are fully equipped with a generator and massive batteries, propane/electric fridge/freezer, so we can go about 10 days in the middle of nowhere without full hookups. But my husband needs internet to work, we have a pretty complex system with two cellular cards and a router, it runs is about $275 a month just for internet, but we have to have it.
We often overnight in parking lots (museums, fairgrounds, wineries, farms) or places without hookups, when we are trying to get from point A to point B and want to stop driving for the day. When we first started, we moved every week or less. Some weeks, we moved 3 times in a week! We are now back in Oregon, where we are from, and are staying for 3 months while we house/land hunt. It’s much more affordable to stay in one spot for a month but we get bored. We will be headed to the Gulf Coast of Texas to “winter” and then will be making our way back in the Spring to resume the house hunt. -
.Friends of ours just upgraded from a pulled camper to a Class C Rv
they go to nearby state parks with their kids & grands
I LOVE looking at Floorplans
My Dad has a Class A Motorhome and has had several. But since we have a toddler, we felt safer with her in a rear facing car seat in the truck as opposed to trying to install a car seat in a non-dot approved seat somewhere in a motorhome. We love our setup but many families do smaller motorhomes too.This is what we have! We have added a washer/dryer and also a dishwasher. We are in the process of making some more extreme modifications to suit our needs and my design aesthetic. But we’ve had it for almost 2 years now and love it!
www.granddesignrv.com/showroom/202...oorplans/377mbs
We pull it with a Ram 3500 diesel dually that we purchased new last year. It’s a pretty big rig but our truck handles it well.
Wow!! Thank you for sharing!!
It’s funny, we looked at smaller trailers, motorhomes etc. but then landed on this one because it has so much room to spread out and my husband has his own workspace, daughter has the loft for all her toys, etc. When we bought it, we thought it’d be a year or so, like between houses, but then the housing market went crazy! We enjoy traveling but would like a home base. We have a good budget for our next house, there just isn’t anything on the market and we had land that fell through. So we may live in this thing for more like 3-4 years ultimately! Glad we went bigger! -
.We don’t live in a van, but we live in a 42’ luxury fifth wheel full time. We sold our house over a year ago. My husband is a software engineer, so regular 9-5 and I’m a SAHM to a 2.5 year old and puppy. We explore on the weekends and he sometimes takes a few vacation days here and there. We’re not 1% like Jen, but we live debt free and are certainly in the top 10% of income earners in the USA. We do this by choice and it’s very expensive, more than we paid for our mortgage in a high cost of living area. We plan to buy or build a house by the time our daughter reaches kindergarten.
Of course I don't expect you to share your exact vehicle, but could you post a link to the website where you purchased or something comparable? I'd love to see the layout!
This is what we have! We have added a washer/dryer and also a dishwasher. We are in the process of making some more extreme modifications to suit our needs and my design aesthetic. But we’ve had it for almost 2 years now and love it!
https://www.granddesignrv.com/showroom/202...oorplans/377mbs
We pull it with a Ram 3500 diesel dually that we purchased new last year. It’s a pretty big rig but our truck handles it well. -
.I don’t follow YouTube van lifers - what are their typical backgrounds? Similar to Jen with $$ to burn? Regular jobs during the majority of the year with van life vacations/PTO?
Are any other van lifers recently divorced with joint custody of small children? I cannot imagine taking a vacation (journey) like that solo without my kids.
We don’t live in a van, but we live in a 42’ luxury fifth wheel full time. We sold our house over a year ago. My husband is a software engineer, so regular 9-5 and I’m a SAHM to a 2.5 year old and puppy. We explore on the weekends and he sometimes takes a few vacation days here and there. We’re not 1% like Jen, but we live debt free and are certainly in the top 10% of income earners in the USA. We do this by choice and it’s very expensive, more than we paid for our mortgage in a high cost of living area. We plan to buy or build a house by the time our daughter reaches kindergarten. -
.(IMG:https://upload.forumfree.net/i/fc11436319/...9FF54E321E.jpeg)We have Beddys because RV mattresses are a pain in the ass to make! (Beddys are high end zip around bedding) I used to be a top sheet fan when we had a house. Mr. Seemingly Sweet thinks that I’m a bed hog who selfishly steals all the covers, the zipped edges help keep the comforter/sheet combo in place 😆 But I think we might try the German way and buy two duvets to use as well, that sounds nice!
So Beddys I kind a like a premium sleeping bag? I would go nuts because I stick my feet out at the end. I always feel sorry for a hotel room staff because I am that guest that just rips those sheets out at the bottom. They basically have to remake the bed from the start. But yes try two duvet thing. You can still cuddle. If you have a king bed get a full And you can overlap at the top and can I have one big blanket and if anyone wants to break free they can. LOL. I would think that the US twin size would almost be too small for me as I like to gather and burrito myself in, sans feet.
Yes, sort of! Except the bottom part goes over the mattress. Then the top part zips around the 3 sides. It’s split in the middle with separate zippers, I like to be zipped in but he likes a foot out, so he basically unzips the whole thing to sleep! We downsized from a King to a Queen when we moved into the RV and I think we both wish we had a king. Our room is big enough so we might make the switch since it seems that the kind of house/property we want is a unicorn and we will be looking to buy for literally years at this point! -
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We have Beddys because RV mattresses are a pain in the ass to make! (Beddys are high end zip around bedding) I used to be a top sheet fan when we had a house. Mr. Seemingly Sweet thinks that I’m a bed hog who selfishly steals all the covers, the zipped edges help keep the comforter/sheet combo in place 😆 But I think we might try the German way and buy two duvets to use as well, that sounds nice! -
.lurker1991 dont agree with your hiking analsis
I think SINGLE hikers(male or female) in some area IS dangerous mainly because there is NO CELL phone coverage to ask for help
we remarked an older man ( and we are older) hiking on Perdenales Falls in Texas by himself-there are holes and drop offs everywhen -you could easily slip and not be able to call for help
we have been on many many hikes in not remote areas with path drop offs
We were bike riding in a great State park near us and after going past a woman camping in er car , i said "gosh-that woman must be living in her car"-=that is what i think when seeing campers with only a car and not a van or tent-that they are homeless
We have stayed at lots of KOAs and they have awesome little cabins. I see people renting those and bringing their own gear. We don’t see a ton of car campers, mostly cars/suvs in the tent sites but also with tents! I also would think someone was homeless if they were sleeping in their car without one of those attachable car/tent things. Does anyone know what influencers she is following to prompt this car sleeping? I’m perplexed and we live in campgrounds pretty much full time. -
.I can never say “is your pizza yummy” without laughing. Thanks, Don!
I said that to my 2.5 year old the other day and immediately cringed.
Also, when we were at Yellowstone, I caught myself saying “look at all the colors…” Suzanne has ruined that for me now too. -
.Jackson, Wyoming... about 3 or 4 years ago
(IMG:https://upload.forumfree.net/i/fc10873748/IMG_4441.jpg)
We were in Jackson a couple months ago, it is magical! We also rode the Gondola up to see the Grand Tetons! I would definitely like to go back. -
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Grand Prismatic trail, Yellowstone National Park, I took this from the boardwalk trail last month. It was “magical” 
Jen please drive up to Mackinac Island and bike around the island
you can also walk some trails and admire the lake
since it's quite a drive for you to drive the entire length of Michigan split it into 2 days. you can spend the night in the crusty Chrysler and explore an area midway between. thank me later
What month is the best to visit here? I’m planning next Winter/Spring right now. We will be on the Gulf Coast (Texas) then Tennessee, trying to decide if it’s worth it to stop anywhere in the Midwest before heading back to the PNW. -
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I think it’s been mentioned before, but what if it was explicitly written in the divorce settlement that she would get access to the log prison for a set amount of time? I could see the two weeks with kids and Jen there, then Jen leaves and Don/Tens come for two weeks and fly the kids home. Even for the Rosses, it would just be too weird to have the whole fam jam together there at once, now that Don has a new family of his own. Edit to add: maybe it was written in due to the age of the children, they were so young when they filed for divorce. A whole month away from Mommy for a 2 year old would be pretty devastating. Maybe this was a compromise and will only go on until Dawny reaches a certain age? -
.Maybe she is going camping out there again. I could see her saying "I can't bear to be away from my babies...my heart hurts...I will go camping so that I can see them, if I need to." I still do not think that she will be staying at the house with them. I just don't.
My theory is the Jan took up Van Life because there's no way she can afford her former lifestyle with Don. She's relatively comfortable, yes but she'd run through her savings like water if she tried to keep up with Old Jen. As a Van Lifer she can afford the Louis Vuitton equivalents of coolers, poop shovels, and generators.
Vanlife and RV travel like portrayed by the popular influencers is extremely expensive. Jen could easily spend as much as she used to at the container store, etc. if she took to it as a full time thing. Her wimpy powerbank isn’t a generator, our generator runs on propane and was $6000. But we RV travel full time right now, by choice, not necessity.
Votes taken by SeeminglySweetLikeJen |