Maintenance and Repairs

[LaMonte Monnell]

I seem to always have something to repair or replace on my coach. I guess that must be the norm for having a Motorhome.

I have looked and looked at newer ones, but then I think of all the modifications, repairs and items we replaced and can't see giving up on it.

I guess the biggest concern we have is that we are going full time in 2018 and selling our home. But if issues become too overwhelming I guess buying while traveling won't be a huge issue.

But we may have to trade to exchange for another coach to simplify the process! Home maintenance plus RV maintenance is getting to be to much on me with my medical issues and have to stop one or the other, and we decided to stay with the RV.

[Joel Ashley]

We know the feeling.  The expense of maintaining a home while you're on the road and not using it can be debilitating.  My problem is I was raised on a farm and enjoy gardening as much as I do traveling in the RV, and generally feel more secure with a home base. 

The wife enjoys it too, but complains it gets harder as we age and would just as soon go full time.  But then at 78 (as of the 21st), and with fibromyalgia, she finds climbing RV stairs more difficult each year;  that results in my disembarking the coach at parks and roadsides to explore most sights along a route by myself - that wasn't the case a few years ago.

I think we just have too much stuff to not have a stick house anyway, and daughters and grown grandkids that wouldn't know where to go if our home wasn't there for them on occasion.  And at least if we went full time our 37' coach wouldn't be big enough, so like you surmise, we'd have to trade up.

Joel

[Peter and Connie Bradish]

We all go thru this discussion about coach & home base or full timing.
I think each of us has a different answer as each of our situations is different.
We have lots of stuff and want to keep our stuff so having a home base was always something we wanted.
At first we kept our home on 2.3 acres but it became too much work for us as well as we were worried about security.
So we downsized into an RV home in a gated RV community. We can keep the RV in the RV port of our home. We can keep our stuff in the house portion of the house. Our maintenance fee includes lawn maintenance. We can leave our house with a local watching the house. There is 24 hour security at the entrance of our community. We can eventually hang up our keys and stay right here with friends we have made. The RV community has lots of active seniors, activities and services.
We feel like for us our solution has been to enjoy the coach 6 to 8 months a year and spend the winter in our RV house. We are fortunate to be able to afford both and not have to choose between RVing and a house.
So our recommendation to people who want both an RV and a house is to look for an RV community where RVers congregate. There are many local services for seniors, you have many friends and can live in the community after you no longer RV. What we like about RVers is that they are so alive, active and friendly. They understand our lifestyle and continue to be active, positive, vitally alive people after they no longer RV..