APRIL 2006 - APRIL 2010

Well we settled into RV resort living quite easily. We have great neighbors that winter here for about 4 -5 months. During the summer its pretty open only about 20 couples left in park. Don't get a west facing lot during the summer in Florida the sun bakes our door side windows like an oven!! Had our awnings break! The large awning & one slide awning broke, but extended warranty to the rescue. Crystal lake RV came to our site and did all the repairs. Mostly quite during our stay here. Took some weekend trips to Griffin State park with some RV friends. And also to Wilderness Resort in Silver springs, and Ocala Resort. Slowly adapting to life in a RV. Have experienced a blowout on trailer tire. Did do some damage to entertainment slide & wheel well. Progressive Insurance absolutley great on repairs & accomadations. Been in the Presidential for 3 years now, have learned I don't like overhead cabinets above island(hit your head a lot), hubby would like a more private bath not open to bedroom, I would like a chair in bedroom for TV watching while hubby watches football.Getting to old to lie on bed for to long to watch TV. We found that the chevy 2500 strains pulling Presidential, hubby opted for new 2008 f350 diesel crew cab 4X4.We decided that it is time for our new RV. Know what we want now that we have lived in this one 3 years. Went to RV show in January 2009 to look at some new layouts, found what we looking for at LazyDays. 2009 Carrige Carri-Lite w/ 30' wall slide and windows in the Living area to enjoy our views. Has seperate bath, king bed, washer/dryer sideXside, fireplace two A/C heatpumps, dishwasher(I hate dishes)all cherry cabinets, and chair in bedroom w/footstool. Got great deal on our trade,(more than we paid for Presidential) and 1/4% less with 7-year warranty. Another bill to pay-off! Only truck & RV bill now other than living expenses.
New plans Son has wife of 2years and a baby on the way. Apartment to small for them, and can't stand to see them pay 8-900.00 for 2 bedroom. Came up with plan to buy property 1-1/4 acre and put new mobile home on it for the kids(They are paying the Mortgage) Will use address as home base. Set-up pad for RV. Nice view of pasture. No more rent. Saving more now!!

BACKROUND 12/2005- 4/2006

We have been discussing our retirement plans. We want to go full time in an RV across the country. We have researched RV's and have decided for our lifestyle we would prefer a fifth wheel. After going to countless RV dealerships and shows we have a good bead on the layout we would like to try. On the advice of another full-timer we decided to buy used until we get into what our actual needs will be on the road. My husband came home one night and said "Why don't we sell the house now and start living in the RV to save more and retire earlier?" After some discussion,(we had to consider our 22 year old son still living at home). Well our son got an apartment, and we put the house up for sale by owner first of January 2006. We started downsizing, giving our son the furniture he needed and some household goods. I started having some yard sales to get rid of the misc. stuff!  At one of the yard sales I had a women interested in the house, she brought back her husband and after some negotiating the house was sold. We now had a closing in early April, so we had to move on buying an RV, and finding a local campground for year round set-up. Luckily a saleswomen we had talked to called in late February with a trade-in that we might be interested in. It turned out to be a 2003 Presidential 4-slide 37' pretty well decked out. When we saw it that afternoon the previous owners were still moving from  this one to their new one. So we got a good walk through, and loved it. We got a great deal and added a few small upgrades and extended warranty. The dealer let us store it on site until we got down towards the closing. After many yard sales and furniture sales we were down to our belongings and household stuff we needed, but also the sentimental THINGS, what to do with this? The Presidential did not have a large basement like the newer models. Luckily we found an RV resort that takes yearly set-ups, with an extra large pad and we were allowed a 6X10 shed. The proceeds from the yard sales paid for the shed and outdoor furniture, etc. that would be more condusive to RV living. So on April 14th 2006 we moved into our RV and settled in at the RV resort (The Good Life RV Resort, Bartow,Fl).