Tag Archives: RV Information

A New Full Time in an RV Website is on the Way

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As many of you know this blog is in support of my book website, www.fulltimeinanrv.com where I have my book for sale. The site has been doing excellent as far as hits and time on site are concerned, but my conversions have been dismal to say the least. I get about 25 % of all the searches for Full Time RV and I get an average time on site of close to 2 minutes. Many internet marketers would kill to get that type of figures.

But I am a writer and not a marketer so the number of sales that I have been getting are no where near in line with the number of visitors I am getting. So I have handed over the website to my son in law who has a lot more expertise in this area than I do.

It is sales that allow me to go on and provide the book and the material in this blog.

I have been told by a number of readers that my book material is excellent, about the only complaint I have had is that my grammar could be a bit better. Well that part is at the bottom of the list for me since I am more of a technical type person. I prefer to give good information, and worry about grammar second. But with that being said I will have others go over the book and ensure that how I say it is going to be as good as what I am saying.

I also hope to have print on demand books available soon. If you really want a printed copy of the book, a file will be forwarded to a print on demand facility near where you live, and you will get a printed book in the mail.

It is actually quite easy to buy the PDF from me  and then forward that to a print on demand facility of your own choosing to get the same results.

Keep an eye on the Full Time in an RV site, and you should be seeing big changes in the next couple of months.

I also hope to have an affiliate system set up on the new site, allowing you to sell my books at a handsome profit. You may be a much better marketer than I am, and have much better results.

Enjoy

Escaping to Mexico in Your RV

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As I was sitting here starting to type this post, a couple walked by in front of my bungalow in La Cruz Mexico. He was wearing shorts, and she was wearing a bikini. I myself am wearing shorts.

Yesterday I talked to a friend in San Francisco, and she told me that they were preparing for a week of storms and rain. Other people have told us about cold temperatures in the Southern USA and Florida.

All this tells me that there will be a lot of people wanting to get their RV some place warm.

If you are a full time RV’er then now is the ideal time to come to Mexico. Many of the RV parks are almost empty this year. The US dollar is at about 13 Pesos. And with the lack of tourists due to the so called recession, there are deals to be had everywhere.

If you are new at this you really do not have to worry. You can cross the border at Nogales and within about 4 hours be ensconced in an RV park in San Carlos. This is the Mexican RV gateway. Here you will find other RV’ers that are either just learning, or experienced Full Time RV’ers that will help you to learn the ropes.

The highway from the border to San Carlos is in excellent shape, with the only hitch being that you have to drive through Hermosillo. But the roads through the city are in great shape and are easily traversed with an RV. About the only thing to be aware of is that you know the names of the upcoming cities so that you will able to recognize the direction signs. There are 2 places in Hermosillo where you have to turn left, so it is prudent to try and stay in the left lane whenever possible.

There is a Costco store in Hermosillo, so if you need a place to stock up on food and liquor you can do it here. There are directions on the Costco website to get to the store.

As you travel south from San Carlos there will be a few more towns that you have to go through, but most of them are easy to navigate. As before just be aware of the names of the town further down the road. This would be exactly the same as driving into San Francisco from the north, and know that you have to watch for signs to Los Angeles and San Diego. Having a good map book like the Guia Roji (Red Guide) available from Amazon is a good idea.

Tolls and Gasoline are both paid cash in Mexico. For the tolls it is a good idea to have money ready, it does not have to be exact change, but you do not want to be sitting there holding up a line of other vehicles. The toll amounts are always marked just before the toll booths, so you know how much you will have to have ready.

Gasoline is always full serve. When buying gas, get out of the rig and watch what is happening at the pump. This is one area in Mexico where you will still find petty theft. Count your money into the attendants hand so they cannot claim that you short changed them. It is also common to tip the attendants. I usually tip 10 pesos (about 80 cents) For a large RV you may want to tip some more.

If you go into any of the large Mexican grocery stores you will find kids and disabled people bagging your groceries. These people are not paid. They are also usually tipped. The going rate is about 1 peso (8 cents) per bag.

Bartering is not commonly found anymore, except for in the village markets and tourist markets. But so many tourists have been paying whatever the vendor asks the first time around that the prices in tourist markets have gone through the roof. A short while ago a vendor tried to sell me 8 blown glass drinking glasses for $100 US. I found them later in the Wal Mart down the street for about $2. US each or a total of $16 dollars. Much later on yet we found a Mexican Restaurant Supply wholesaler who agreed to sell to us. We ended up buying a large box full of the same type of blown glass for about $40 US. So unless you really want to practice your bargaining, stay out of the tourist markets, and buy where the locals shop.

Most of these things are a learning experience. But the other experienced RV’ers that you meet will usually gladly take you by the hand and show you how it is done. They will show you where the American style stores are if you are uncomfortable with the Mexican markets. They will give you directions and suggestions. And in many cases you can find someone to buddy with who is going in the same direction as you.

So take the plunge, Turn south at Tuscon and find the jewel that many other RV’ers have already found.

Loving the Full Time RV Lifestyle

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As this thread about what kind of rig do I need continues, I will give you a bit of our own story. When we bought our rig, slide-outs where almost unheard of. So we ended up buying a standard 36 ft gas powered Class A motor home. There were diesel units available but we could not find anything that we liked the inside of. It’s true that the diesel may have more power, and get you to that next location quicker, it is not the diesel that makes your life more comfortable when you get there.

We bought our rig because of how it was laid out inside, and how it looked. We wanted to be comfortable. We wanted to be able to sit and look at the scenery from inside our rig without having to strain to look out a window. We wanted room for our stuff, especially my tools. And one really important thing was the fact that my wife and I like to sit in bed in the morning, have a cup or two of coffee, and plan our days. We call these times our directors meetings. Now the reason I bring this up is the fact that for us it is great to be able to sit in bed and look out a window at the scenery. In our rig we can do this. Especially when we were parked on the beaches in Mexico, we just loved this time of the day.

So if you are going to get into the Full Time RV Lifestyle then you will really want to think this through. Will the rig allow you to do things that you really like to do. As I said in other articles the RV is your new home, you have to look for a new home, not an RV when you are making your choice.

Salesmen will tell you all the features and benefits of a particular RV, don’t let yourself be pushed into an emotional buying decision. Put yourself in the same position you would be if you are buying a brick and mortar house. What would you be looking for, look for the same things in the RV.

Remember flash and polish does not a comfortable house make. It is amazing but you will find that if you ask the salesman to leave for an hour or so, and then just spend some time in the rig imagining yourself doing some of the things that you do everyday, you will quickly see if the particular RV that you are looking at will work for you. Give yourself time to get by the emotion, and think practical. You can reform an emotional attachment to the outcome once the decision has been made.

Many people have made emotional buying decisions in regard to RV’s since it was a totally new field to them. They would not have done the same thing with a house since they have been around houses all their life, they know what they are looking for. Just keep this in mind when you are looking for that perfect RV.

Our RV When We First Bought It

Our RV When We First Bought It

The picture on the right shows what our RV looked like on the day that we bought it. Today it would seem outdated, but it has been a very comfortable home for us for over 10 years. We bought this unit for only $30,000 so our home expenses have basically worked out to $3,000 per year. To me this is an extremely economical price for a comfortable home that I can take with me anywhere.

RV Hookups at a Friends or Families Home.

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In a previous post I alluded to the fact that one can add hookups at a friends or families home with not to much difficulty. In most cases if all you need is 15 amp power and water, most homes already have these installed outside. You may just have to run an extension cord or extra hose to get to the existing installation. You can also dump gray water by bucketing a few bucket fulls into a toilet or laundry room sink.

A set up like this is great if you are only staying at a friends, or relatives place for a few days or so and then moving on.

But in some cases you will want to do extended RV stays, or make regular returns to particular friends or family with your RV. Especially in such cases where you have to stay to help care for a loved one. In this case it may be a good idea to put in some hook ups. You may have to look into the legal side of this if you want to get really fancy, but there are ways around some of those things also.

If you are going to wire in an outlet for the RV it is prudent to get the proper permit, and have a certified electrician do this. You may not always be able to get a permit to install an outlet for an RV, in that case get a permit to put in an outlet for an Air compressor, a welder, a canning stove, or what have you. Some of these type of outlets will be 220 volt outlets, but if they are at least 30 amps, you can get the electrician to make you an adapter plug that will only supply 110 volts from the jack, but still have 30 amps available. 220 volt outlets are just 2 opposing 11o volt outlets, so the adapter that the electrician will make you will just leave one of the 110 volt circuits disconnected. You will not be able to inadvertently plug your RV plug into these 220 volt outlets since they are a different pin configuration. While the electrician is there, he should also be able to put in a cable vision, and possibly a telephone outlet for you.

Unless the water tap is a long ways away, it is usually not a great problem to run a water hose. But if this is a problem, it should be no real problem to get a permit to put in an extra tap. It is usually also a good idea to get a reputable plumbing company put in the water connection. The reason I mention permits, electricians and plumbers is the fact that you do not want to do anything to compromise your friends or relatives home insurance in case something did happen. You may have the skills to do these jobs yourself, but just for this reason, it is best to contract it out. In most cases it should not be a very expensive proposition.

The sewer connection I will leave for another post. As I mentioned in an earlier post there are ways to do this that do not involve digging in a large 3 or 4 inch sewer pipe. But more on that later.

I personally have put in hookups in two sites. One on a friends farm, and the other at a small restaurant on a beach in Mexico. It is not hard to do or get done. And when you are not there, your friends can use the hookups for their own RV or to have other RV’ing friends visit them.

Contact the Full Time RV Author

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Against my better judgment, I am putting this post up here. I am going to give you my cell phone number, and encourage you to call me with calls about Full Time RV’ing. I have lots of free incoming minutes, and if you use something like Skype or Vonage, the call should cost you very little also.

The reason I am doing this is that I would like to make my postings reflect genuine Full Time RV’ing questions, especially on the technical side of things. I have lots of material for posts, but I believe more people will be interested if I am doing posts on material that is relevant to them.

So here goes. My phone number is 604 454 4143. Since I still have a full time job, it is best to call me after 6 pm pacific or 9pm eastern time. You can also post questions at info@fulltimeinanrv.com or fulltimeinanrv@imanse.ca  if you prefer that to making a phone call. Any response from either email address will come from fulltimeinanrv@imanse.ca

If you do hit my voice mail, leave me a message, and I will either post an article or get back to you using Skype. The number in your call display will either be a very strange number, or local number to you.

So go ahead call, or send me your Full Timing questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

Outline of an RV park.

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One of the things I get asked about a lot is RV parks. People mainly ask what they are like, and how much do they cost. Well RV parks are much like neighborhoods in any city, they vary a lot. You can find great ones, and you can find dumps. Unfortunately just like the poor neighborhoods, dumpy RV parks are the ones that seem to make it into the news. If a person only used this as a reference they would get a very bad taste in regard to RV parks in a very big hurry. But someone who is a full time RV’er gets the chance to talk to other full time RV’ers, and find out where the really great parks are. Such is the case of the park where we are staying. Our RV park is kept spotless, there are people there all the time who trade labor for RV spots. We have a beautiful swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, fire pit, and there are regular parties and music events. There is also a large meeting room with a TV and stereo system. In the meeting room there is a free book exchange.

To take a look at the RV park click here. Pacific Border RV Park or you can take a virtual tour by clicking on Virtual Tour Underneath the viewing area you can select photos, panorama or theater. When either is selected, you can see different photos and panoramas by clicking on the icons that you will see when you move your cursor to the top of the viewing area.

This park has free high speed WiFi internet that is accessible to all the sites. Laundry is only $1 was and dry. There is free cable TV. And all the sites are wired for Telephone if you want to put in a temporary phone line or ADSL.

All this costs about $600 a month, or $7200 per year. One of the fellows I work with pays over $5000 just in taxes on his house on a small acerage. Then he still has to pay all the utilities and his mortgage.

I have a lot more freedom than he does, since I can just unplug and move when the mood strikes me. If I want to go to Mexico for the winter to get away from the cold, I can. He is tied to his house, and has to get someone to take care of things when he takes a two week vacation.

As far as the RV park goes, the pictures and tour say it all, what else can I say. We have been here off and on for about 2 years, and we love it.

RV Forum with lots of Full Time RV Posts

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I have just come across one of the best RV forums that I have seen yet. This forum seems to be quite active, with a lot of people posting, and answering posts. This would be a great place to either share information, or look for information. The forum is called the RV-Dreams Forum

There seems to be a lot of information for the Full Time RV’er there. Posts from people who are living the RV lifestyle, and others that are curious about Full Time RV living.

This forum also allows commercial interests for those readers that have RV related blogs and websites. There is also a section for other websites and blogs.