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  1. #1
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    First step to full timing -done.

    We pulled the trigger on one of the first steps to going full time. Bought a 2017 Ford F350 Dually Diesel. Next continue with the down sizing and getting house ready to sell. Looking to get a Solitude 310GK eventually.

  2. #2
    Long Hauler
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    Hardest thing is getting did of 40 years of "stuff." I am moving a daughter after 2/1/2 years and I am overwhelmed. I would hate to liquidate my assets.

  3. #3
    Big Traveler arhayes's Avatar
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    Unless you're different than we were with our parent's "stuff" when they downsized to a smaller home, or our kids were when we downsized and went FT, you'll find that a lot of the stuff you've accumulated has little value to you or family. Once we saw that the kids or extended family weren't wanting much, those "treasures" became much less important to us and were easy to sell. Seeing some younger homeowner get excited over tools I'd owned and used for 45 years made me feel good. And, we were lucky since we'd move to different cities many times over the years so had no real ties to one place. I can see if we'd lived in the same town for most of our lives that becoming full-timers would be an emotional challenge. For us it was just one more change of location and we love it.


    Alan
    Alan and Kathleen
    2015 Momentum 380TH (RVD2)
    2014 Ford F350 Dually (Stormtrooper)
    2012 Honda Goldwing Navi/ABS (Land Speeder)

  4. #4
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
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    You'll find many threads about "the purge" over on RV-Dreams.com or the Escapees' forums. It seems to be one of the biggest emotional hurdles that people working toward full-timing have to overcome. In our case, the house sold out from under us (2 weeks rather than the 4 - 5 months average market time in the area) and we had very little time to clear things out and transition to the rig. I like to tell one story about an experience that illustrates what Alan and Kathleen have said above:

    Laura and I were both working out packing and clearing things out - making decisions on which pile (give to kids, garage sale, donate, etc.) things should go in. I walked back through the house from the garage and found Laura sitting cross-legged on the living room floor with a small box on her lap quietly weeping. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Michael gave this to me" (Michael being her son). The box contained some sort of nick-nack and it's noteworthy that the item was in a box... where it had been in a closet for the five years since we had moved into that house. I told her I understood and that these decisions were sometimes hard and we both continued working.

    A couple of months after we had hit the road, Laura asked if I remembered the incident when she was crying on the living room floor. I said, "Yes. Why?" She then asked if I could remember what it was she was crying over.

    Prior to my first wife's death, I had digitized about 7,000 photographs from all sides of the family and, since that time, had converted to digital. As a result, all of the family photo albums are with us on our laptops (and backed up to multiple media sources). Our hard-copy library is now in the form of our Kindles and it's astounding how few clothes we really like to wear and use... even four seasons' worth. We carried around both guitars for a while and put one of them back in our climate controlled storage unit after about six months. Life is now much simpler and more enjoyable. What has really added value for both of us are the opportunities to spend much more time with our aging mothers, grandkids and siblings than we were ever able to do anchored down to a foundation home. The icing on the cake is being able to see this beautiful country!

    Hang in there and revel in the liberating experience of "The Purge."

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  5. #5
    Site Sponsor Cate&Rob's Avatar
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    The part of downsizing/purging that I can't figure out how to get past is my workshop. I have spent a lifetime accumulating every tool to have at my fingertips for just about any project that I encounter. If I need something that can't be bought, I just make one. How do you guys get past this part of downsizing ?

    (another) Rob
    Cate & Rob
    2015 Reflection 303RLS

  6. #6
    Long Hauler D2Reid's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cate&Rob View Post
    How do you guys get past this part of downsizing ?(another) Rob
    Downsizing the tools was tough. Like you I had spent a lifetime collecting tools. I had two full tall chests of tools, and then there were the power tools neatly organized on the wall. Sigh!

    A lot of my tools were one time purchase/use. That special bent wrench to adjust the rotary cap on a 78 Dodge Pickup, the wheel puller I used on my Vega. So those were pretty easy to part with. We did garage sales every other week from October until February. My best customer was my neighbor. All the tools he had borrowed over the years he purchased. Didn't take long before his garage started looking like mine. He even purchased one of the tall tool chests to put them in.

    I then asked myself a hard question: What am I really going to fix? Getting older, when I messed up an anti-lock brake job I pretty much stopped trying to do auto repairs. House and plumbing tools weren't as needed, but I kept some basics, pipe wrench, pipe pliers, PVC cutter. I kept full set of screwdrivers, pliers, standard wrenches and sockets, metric wrenches and sockets, 3 hammers, breaker bar, torque wrench. Multimeter for sure.


    Ok, I still have too many tools. A sold the chain saw after lugging it around for 5 years and only used it twice, both times was while hosting at different state park. I originally sold my skil saws, but later bought one. I kept my little orbital sander but sold the rest.

    It's not easy to purge. Two things helped a lot. The first was a book we read "How to declutter your house". The basic principle is if you haven't used it in a year you don't need it, unless it holds great sentimental value.

    I spent a lot of time with my Grandfather who was a young man during the depression. He taught me to keep everything, you never know when you might need it.The second thing was my dad telling me that it is ok if I throw stuff away. My wife really liked that one, she accused me of being a hoarder. Contrary to the rumor, there were no snakes living in the old lumber pile.


    We advertised the furniture too early, it sold fast. I brought the kitchen table from the RV into the house. We lived like we did when we first married for most of January.

    If you think I had fun with my tools and scraps you should have seen my wife. Jello molds made her cry. Kids used to love those things. They were all grown and gone, but still. Every nook and cranny in the kitchen was filled. No way to get all of that into an RV. Thousands of little decisions, bring the iron? Yes/no, ok the traveling iron... on and on it goes.

    Just about the time you think you have it all sorted out go weight the trailer. Then start again to get it down to it's traveling weight.

    I meet many people that are not successful with this. They either still have the sticks and bricks, or they have a storage unit they haven't seen in two or three years. My favorite is "my utility trailer that's parked at my cousins place".

    It's an emotional time. Good luck!
    Dallas
    2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
    2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750

  7. #7
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    Downsizing

    Downsizing!!!!

    It will be one of hardest things to do!!!
    When we made the decision 2 years ago... I measured out in our living room and kitchen, put blue masking tape on the floor to represent the corners and walls of the Reflection 5th wheel, then told my wife (and myself) we need to fit anything we need or want inside these blue lines!!! The wife just stared at these for days!!
    We then started in our so-called hobby rooms setting aside what to be sold and/or given to the kids.... well the kids came over and said "what are we gonna do with this junk?" after some tears from my wife that stuff ended up in the Estate sale pile!

    I am a Ham Radio operator and had thousands of dollars(what I thought) of radio gear, kept a couple radios for the truck and sold the rest on ebay! Then I also am a electronic junky and had about 15 Drones and parts... sold all of those on ebay except 1! Once my office/hobby shack was completly cleaned out, we use it as the staging area for my wife to sell her stuff and house hold items!

    As for those nik naks, kids hand prints, macaroni mother day cards, tin can that says "happy Father's Day"... since the kids did not want them... my Wife took pictures of them, cause when comes down to it... it is just a memory, been sitting in a box the past 15 years!! So now she has digital version of it!!
    All of those photo albums, the same, all of them have been scanned and put on a portable hard drive then cloned times 5, and we sent those to the kids. Those they wanted!! Today's kids are in a digital world, they love sharing those pics on social media!!

    As for the Garage and tools!! It took me 3 passes to finally get rid of all the junk and tools in the garage. I first cleaned off a work bench on one side of garage... I then started going through the tools and stuff, I would pick up an item and say "do I really need this?" if yes then put it over on the other bench.... WELL that didn't workout so well!!!! The other bench ended up looking like where I started at!!! I too had a neighbor who wanted most of it, other stuff is going to the garage sale... the rest I just backed in a HUGE dumpster!!!
    This is the way I look at it... once we become full timers if I need a tool to do things on the road, then I will go buy it and decide do I really need it, want it, and use it? Where do I store it? I think a Ryobi battery powered tool set would be just enough and easy to store!! Small tool box of wrenches, sockets, screw drivers, allen wrenches and such!

    The rest of the house furniture and appliances will be easy to sell, we are both on our second marriage, so there is no sentimental value to the house, we got this house after our kids were grown and moved out of their child hood homes! So this part will be easy!

    Downsizing is VERY HARD, it is a mind set! Reality is when we pass from this world the stuff you left behind in a storage shed, a trailer in your cousin's driveway, the kids will just laugh at you for keeping the junk back up a HUGE dumpster and throw it away!! That is what I did when my mother and father passed on... sold the big dollar items and threw out the rest that none of the other family members wanted.

  8. #8
    Site Team WhittleBurner's Avatar
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    Do I see a 375RES in some people's future. Or would that just prolonging the inevitable.
    Marcy & Gary
    2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
    2022 GMC 3500 Denali Duramax Longbed SRW
    2015 GMC Denali 3500 - Retired
    2003 F350 - retired
    Michigan
    We're in trouble now, the dog are bloggin'!
    https://3dogsandatrailer.wordpress.com/


  9. #9
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cate&Rob View Post
    The part of downsizing/purging that I can't figure out how to get past is my workshop. I have spent a lifetime accumulating every tool to have at my fingertips for just about any project that I encounter. If I need something that can't be bought, I just make one. How do you guys get past this part of downsizing ?

    (another) Rob
    As a full-timer, I no longer have a place to do the things I used to (make furniture, house projects, maintenance and repair on the vehicles, etc.), so I had no use for the tools I used to do those things. They are now in the hands of my step-son or others who have the time, place, and energy to carry on the work.

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  10. #10
    Site Sponsor
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    We went from acreage and a 5k square foot shop down to what would fit in the trailer and a 10x20 storage unit for what we weren't willing to part with...I think i miss my tractor and attachments the most...the bucket was handy for loading/unloading the hitch, all 205# of it. Don't miss mowing though
    Steve & Diane -
    Home is where we park it now.
    Furry Kid; Springer Spaniel
    2017 Solitude 310GK
    2015 Ram 3500/DRW/4x4/6.7TD/AISN/4.10/4 Door-Long Bed
    B&W Companion in Factory Pucks

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