[drpsrn]

We have a 30' 5th wheel that we traveled to WY and CO in. Just make sure that your RV is an all season if you travel to colder states. If you have a choice get the larger hot water heater and couch long enough for you to stretch out on. We have really enjoyed ours and it pulls and sets up easy. Though we have no problem pulling ours, it could be pulled with a lighter truck. Best of luck to everyone traveling.

[spring001]

I am a single woman who wants to travel nurse when I get my kid off to college...I wonder if there are many single women travelers out there who live in there campers while travel nursing. I have read the posts and lots seem to be couples...I am curious about the size campers women travelers usually live in, how much trouble to set up long term camp, what are the advantages and what are the disadvantages? I cannot imagine packing up all my junk everytime I go to a new assignment, I think I would rather pack up my junk and haul it to my next parking place! Thanks for any info I get back!

[Jade005]

Originally Posted by trvlnRN

I've lived full time in my RV for 1 1/2 years. Have to say "I LOVE IT!" I'm working as a traveling hemodialysis RN. I have a 40 foot 2001 Safari Panther 455 (2 slides) diesel pusher motorhome. So I'm not really "rough-n-it". I tow my Honda Civic behind. This is truely a home on wheels...My laundry is running in my washer as I write. This is my third RV...all diesel pushers....but that is what my husband and I wanted because we "get up and go" often....a weekend here and a weekend there. Like to explore different areas. The higher price of gas doesn't really concern me because my agency pays my mileage from one place to another with no travel caps....this pays for my gas. And if gas gets too expensive I can also use biodiesel...which we have looked into and have found that Catepillar says it is OK to use in our engine and OK to use for our heater (we have a hydrohot system that provides us with instant UNLIMITED hotwater....and heats the coach beautifully...and I've camped very comfortably in zero degree weather). Tommorrow I'm finishing up my assignment on the West Coast....and I'm traveling all the way to the East Coast for my next assignment. The fun part is that I'm taking a month to get there. The added bonus of using an RV for your home is that the housing stipend puts more money (tax free) in your pocket. And our repairs and any other expenses....tax write off. Those are too biggies you're missing out on if you go the apartment route. Tomorrow it will take me about 1/2 hour to disconnect and get on the road....it usually takes us only 15 minutes to set up. Motorhomes have less set up requirements than a fifthwheel or a trailer but also require more maintence. Full time RVing is a different lifestyle that works well for some but not for others. I have stayed at some beautiful campgrounds. Right now...I'm in a beautiful campground in Washington....I'm completely emmerced in the forest....no one near me....so peaceful and quiet. I've really enjoyed staying here for the past three months....but now it's time for a new adventure. The best advice I can give someone thinking about buying a trailer or motorhome....is "do your homework" ie....get a good deal on the purchase because these all do depreciate. And make sure what you are looking at will suit your needs. What kind of climates will you be traveling too? Does it have enough insulation....or air conditioners? Is it big enough....or will I feel crowed, etc. Do you have pets? Climate is a big factor that I didn't think about until I had an RV. I have two big air conditioners on my rig....yet still wouldn't even consider taking a summer contract in a desert area. I've been in Phoenix in 110 degree weather and with both my a/c's on it was still about 80 degrees in the coach. I can see why the high end coaches have three a/c's and are well insulated. Anyway....hope this helps. Be happy to answer anymore questions about RV's. Have lots of experience and am an RV enthusiest.....just love being on the road....can't wait to get out there again next week. Guess I'm a gypsy at heart.

After my heart I am a droolin. I grew up with a dad who was a Union Traveler (electrician).We moved very frequently! I hated it as a kid but miss the lifestyle desperately as an adult. I have one kid left in the nest and once he is in College I am hittin the road! I keep my Dream RV on the fridge(picture)! I can't wait!

[rn_imw]

The flip side of having the really big RV's is to have a really small one like I do. I have a 21 foot'er and it does everything I need it to. Depending on the work parking spaces and so on, it gets good enough gas mileage I can easily use it as my "main" vehicle also so don't really need a new one.....Of course, if I want to keep it someplace as my house and not use it as a vehicle, I can have the Nursing Agency rent me a car as part of my contract. I really like it because it doesn't cost much more than a regular small truck to drive around and drives about the same. Sadly, though, I am also limited on how much I can do with it as my back was injured. Still, I have my "dreams" of "travel nursing" again......So, we will see. Best to all, rn_imw

[wets]

my wife and i plan to do this in 5 years or so. have travelled a lot and want more. rv`s are cool

[debizrn]

hi understand your concern... I bought a travel trailer and take that with me to my assignments. Your housing subsidy easily pays the space and trailer note... and you have all the pleasures of home with you... plus you meet a great amount of people in rv parks..... best of luck Debi

[RNERHOUSESUPOR]

This isn't about an RV today. Yesterday was my last fulltime shift at the hospital I have worked at for the past 3 years. Monday the 27th I start my first travel assignment as an OR nurse. I'm looking forward to the new challenges. I chose to take the housing subsidy and found a roommate from the local newspaper in the area I will be travelling to. It seemes like it will be alittle easier with the packing and unpacking but I haven't loaded up the truck yet and who knows, if there is room I may take the kitchen sink. I'd like to thank everyone who has read and replied to this post. It has helped make the decisions I have made easier. It's probably time to take it off the sticky list though unless someone else has a reason to keep it at the top of the list. Thanks again.

[jacdwi]

trvlnRN, you are livin' our dream. My wife and I are planning to travel as soon as I get out of school in two years. I'm working at vanderbilt medical center as a trama tech. in the ER while im in school and my wife has been a nurse for 15 years. I use to drive a truck over the road but got tired of it, so figured I would change careers. We have a good amount of property in Franklin Tn that we plan to sell. Property values have ski rocketed so we will make enough on the sale to buy a very nice class A and have plenty of money left over. The way I see it, Two nurses traveling together in an RV can see the country in comfort and style, make BIG BANK, and in just a few years we can retire.

[Ruby Vee]

Anybody tried traveling in a boat?

When the child finishes college (in 2014) we're planning to sell the house and move aboard the boat. (We have a 37 foot ketch-rigged sailboat.) We can take coastal travel assignments from Maine to Florida, then take 6 months off to go through the Panama canal and up the west coast. By then, I should be old enough to retire and we can circumnavigate. Not quite as much mobility as an RV, but I'd rather be floating.

[skysix]

trvlnRN:
Do you boondock on assignments or pay a RV park? or just use campsites with limited facilities/power (semi-dry I guess). Have been following Odyssey's blog (Our Odyssey) and although they can boondock for up to 2 weeks they seem to stay at RV parks more often than I thought they would...

I spent 4 months in the fall (45 to 5 degrees or so) in Whitehorse "semi-dry" using hospital power at nominal fee, then another 4 in Yellowknife (Canadian arctic) with temps below -40 in a 25' travel trailer in a gravel pit on the edge of town (was easiest way to let my Huskies run around...they hated being tied to the trailer in Whitehorse and I had 2 spend 1.5 hours a day on excercising them...)

Discovered that propane freezes - so had to put electric battery warming blankets on the propane tanks and run the generator fairly often. Ended up building a 2" think blue high density styrofoam box with duct tape that covered the generator (1' clearance everywhere), and another for the propane, then ducted the exhaust heat 3' from one box to the other entering at the top and venting around the base (placed on a forklift pallet so leaking propane if any would excape...)

Trailer had standard 1980's furnace but had the skin removed and another 1" of foam isulation placed all around, 2" under, all the pink fiberglass replaced and thickened, and a 6" double roof (fiberglass filled) added. Then all vents and chimney were raised 12" so any snow that fell could stay on top and not melt / add to the roof insulation. Was quite comfortable, although there was a definite stratification of air temp inside that required a couple of vertical fans at the roof to stir up the air inside...

The next 16 months were in Edmonton in a farmers field as security for his cows - Huskies learned the hard way not to try to herd a bull (got her bell rung twice!) also boondocking, but only down to -30 so all OK. Still had to run the generator for 8 hours once every 3 days to recharge the batteries.

SO...my question is what do you see as the +/- of solar or wind power for RV's? I am still strying to calculate the breakpoint of temperature-vs-propane/gas used to see when it makes sense to pay commercial RV long-term rates - but at least in Canada they can be 4-6 month minimums not year long contracts... Have seen up to 1600W in solar and many 400w wind generators on other rigs, even a Scottish 1500W wind turbine (very cool) on collapsible/guyed masts that only take 15-30 min to set up...