full time rving questions

[KarenS]

I have a question hope someone can help. I hope to retire soon and go full time. I need info on how to do this, example mail, What do you do with all your stuff that you can not fit in rv? I have lots of questions are there any sources that are available to answer all these questions. thanks in advance for all advice. KarenS

[snowball]

have not used it but think of a question and put it in the search part of the forum...you might already find the questions answered...
but that said
If you are going to full time and don't not have a stick house you will need to decide what state you want to be a residence of
South Dakota is the one that we choose they don't have state income taxes the license plates are less than what we had in the state
we lived in and they didn't have inspections on your vehicle and there were various mail forwarding that made this adventure so much easier
we went through a company in Madison SD Terri is the owner and the mind isn't pulling up the name
as to what do you do with your stuff
several choices either give to family friends or charity
can't do that?? storage units work
I know that others will come on and add to what I've mentioned its always good to ask specific questions
and welcome to the forum
sheila

[KarenS]

Thanks Sheila that was very helpful, just getting some ideas, still have my house and heck I may just rent it out so I have a place to camp when I come this way. Thanks again.

[Dawn309]

Karen, I gave away or sold everything I was not taking in my rig when I started full timing in August. I use Escapees RV Club for my mail service. They are based in TX and being from TX already, it was an easy transition for me. There is no income tax in TX also. I think most people use a mail service in SD, TX and also FL, from what I understand. Because I sold our farm, I don't really have a home base. I guess the closest thing I have is the Escapees RV park in Livingston, TX.

[chalet05]

Karen, I got rid of the majority of my things, but photo albums, Christmas decor, etc. went into storage. I am gradually getting my daughters to take things and, after 5 years, I am learning I can get rid of things I couldn't before.

I am fortunate to have a daughter who gets my mail. I don't get much that I 'need', but she keeps an eye out if I tell her. I usually pick my mail up once a year.

I know several people who use South Dakota as residence and mail.

[JudyJB]

As a start you might want to get all bills like insurance set up for automatic online payment. Ditto for deposits like SS.

My son gets and screens my mail then takes a photo with his phone and sends it to me via a text message.

I put my furniture into storage in case I need it if I have medical problems or an accident. .

[Bethers]

I started out with a storage unit. Since then I've cleared it out and if something can't come with me,I don't need it. It was very freeing. I started out using a friends for my address and mail. I have since switched to a mailing service in South Dakota. It worked out better for me and my family and friends. I get very, very little snail mail. Almost everything is done online now.

[MsBHaven]

We used Alternative Resources in Sioux Falls SD for mail forwarding and it worked fine..SD has low sales tax which was good for us when we bought our RV. Also, if called for Jury Duty you just send back a note explaining you are a FT RVer and they excuse you. We sold our house since we had no plan to return to that area. Sold or gave away everything except a few boxes that relatives kept for us. Never had any regrets. Have not missed the house or our stuff.

One wonderful place to find answers is this Forum.

[Bethers]

Oh, and with my service in SD, it's easy to change vehicles. I purchased my car from FL. I was in Alabama. My service handled it all in sd and FedExed my plates and paperwork to me. There's no income tax in sd, and as just said, low vehicle taxes, so works great for me. I use Americas Mailbox in Box Elder. Would recommend them or Alternative Resources for anyone looking for using SD.

[JudyJB]

Medical things: I don't know how much you are planning to be on the road, but you might want to consider insurance and where you want to get medical care. I chose to keep seeing my same doctors for routine things, and have been making every six months appointments. However, I was careful to choose a Medicare plan that enables me to use doctors and medical facilities all over the country equally.

Do know, however, that your legal residence can affect insurance rates. Mine actually went down when I "moved" from Michigan to my son's house in Ohio.

There are a LOT of things to think about to make all of this work--banking, insurance, medical stuff, where you will keep your records and valuables, etc. The good news is that if you don't get it all right the first time, you can fix things later. Just think about how much fun and rewarding your new life will be!

[retiredhappy]

I did everything on my computer. Get all my statements via email and pay all bills online. You can do this with a "billpay" thru your bank or actually go to the company's website and pay on their site. Any payments that were exactly the same every month, I set up on auto pay. The main thing to remember when you do this is to be sure to deduct these auto or online payments from your checkbook every month. I did have to use my daughter's address for my Texas car registration cause they won't send to a PO box and Texas requires a yearly vehicle inspection but I was usually home for the winter anyway.

[JudyJB]

A lot of what you take and what you don't take will depend on whether you have someone who can find things for you out of storage if you need them. My kids are not willing to handle that sort of thing for me.

I do travel with a hanging folder bin in one of my storage compartments. I have hanging folders for things like insurance policies and investment information in case I need to refer to things while I am on the road. It seems I am always needing a policy number or something similar. A few months after I had bought my motorhome, my credit union where I had borrowed the money to buy it wanted my original title. Thankfully, I had it with me and could send it to them. I had almost put it in the safety deposit box where I keep some precious and irreplaceable family documents and good jewelry. Whew!

I did leave my son with some bank-by-mail deposit slips, and that worked well since I had some refund checks arrive and am routinely getting some back wages from a past employer that almost went bankrupt without paying me. (She pays me monthly per an agreement with the state wage and hour division.)

[KarenS]

OMG, you ladies make it sound so wonderful, and easy, and I suppose if I was not working it would be easier, but hopefully soon, had someone look at my house on sat, so you never know but I am getting prepared for the just in case thing.I really really appreciate all of you responding and giving me awesome ideas, and I have already started thinking about what can go and what stays. and even when shopping for stuff thinking it must fit in rv. You ladies are awesome. Thank you Karen

[BirdbyBird]

OMG, you ladies make it sound so wonderful, and easy.... You ladies are awesome.

Gosh,.... you have heard about the one they call Mitch, right?

[KarenS]

No tell me about Mitch. I need to know all. KarenS