Fulltimers - Why Do You Do It?

Hi, Ed. We put the house up for sale on the last day of July and had it sold on the tenth of August. We're basing out of the Austin area. We're using one of our daughter's addresses in Pflugerville right now for snail mail. We'll be living on the IH 35 corridor for the falls, winters and springs. Summer,,,,,???? Anywhere but Texas. We'll workamp anywhere......the Ozarks, the Appalachians, the Rockies.....we're planning on staying at Lake Georgetown Corps of Engineer Parks as our home of roosting in the cooler months, and spoking out to where ever we fancy. We still have our 29 foot Jayco TT which we love. Now, the plan is to get something more powerful than my 97 Silverado 1500 half ton to get us up thru the Rockies in something more than first gear. We'd love to get a GMC or Chevrolet Duramax 3/4 ton diesel. Maybe a Ram diesel. We'll see what pops up.

Glad to see you back on! Are you using an aircard or????

Welcome back Grampa Jim glad to see your post

Grampa Jim, I was at the Chevy dealer today, and he said if you want a Diesel, get a 2010 or earlier model while you can. Not sure of the exact details, but basically he said something about the oil being required to run through the braking system on all new diesels. Some type of safety/environmental thing. He said they run great and work like a dozen Budweiser horses, but your oil change will go up from ~$100.00 to over $200.00/change, and it still has to be changed every 7000 miles. Just smething to keep in mind when looking.

Hi, Mike,,,,,I got a 2004 F250 from Hoffpauir in Lampasas two weeks ago. It's a diesel with 73,000 on it. Now Carol and I can cruise up into the Rockies without a problem. Why? Cuz it's there. We're entertaining the thoughts of workamping in Colorado or Oregon next summer....leaning more towards Oregon thanks to Kathy's and Mary's influences. Gorgeous country up there you girls have in you back yards!!! Right now we're roosting at Jim Hogg at Lake Georgetown just north of Austin for the winter......but we won't be here next summer,,,,,I'm looking across the street at the site we were at in August when it got up to 113 degrees. Don't wanna do that again next summer,,,,nope, not at all at all. And other reasons to full time??? No lawn to mow, no taxes, no electric bill, no water bill,,,,,,but Lake Georgetown IS as a matter of fact down 25 feet. Supposed to get rain tomorrow. Yippee!! Attached is a pic of our new toy. I miss my ol black "Rock",,,,,but it was time,,,,,going up into the Rockies in first gear at 15 miles an hour gave me the writing on the wall that I needed.

Sure is a purdy truck!!! I hope it rains for about a week. One day is not going to cut it!!!!

Nice truck Jim. Man, that thing looks brand new. Enjoy it! And can't wait to see pics of your up and coming travels!

Happy you found that truck, Jim!! Are you traveling, workamping or volunteering your way through Oregon? I'd suggest you get your spot lined up by the end of January unless you're gonna be a tourist. The competition for FHU spots is pretty tight.

Hey Jim that is sure a nice looking truck shouldn't have trouble in the mountains with that F250 Power Stroke
I have a little over 250,000 on my 1997 and its still going strong

Hi, Bill and Kathy,,,,,,Carol and I are hoping to get a gig in Oregon or Colorado next spring....ANYWHERE BUT TEXAS AND THAT 113 DEGREE HEAT WE HAD HERE IN AUGUST!!!! I have concerns with my 6.0 liter F250. Some say it's a bad engine and I'm going to be living with repair bills. Too late now to change my mind. My preference was a Chevy or GMC Duramax, or even a Dodge Ram Cummins diesel,,,,,Ford was on the bottom of my wishes. One night I prayed and asked the Lord to send me what I NEED. The next day I was looking around at Hoffpauir in Lampasas, Texas, and I found the truck I now own. I'm going on this being the answer to my prayer. I think our Father in Heaven has a sense of humor,,,,because he gave me my third choice with my apprehensions about this engine. Time will tell if I was listening to the Lord's answer to my prayers properly.

BTW, Mary,,,,we're using a Sprint Hot spot,,,,,4g when available,,,,which it is here in Georgetown. It doesn't work off our phones, but the local towers. Costs about $63/month. We like it a lot. I have an AT&T phone, and Carol has a Verizon....so we pretty well have it covered.

Jim, I think you should put your worries to rest. You never will have enough to cover every possible thing that could go wrong. But with the right connections (and I think you got that) you'll have what you need to deal with anything that comes up. Enjoy the truck.

Jim I don't have any experance with the 6.0 Ford Diesel just hope that it works for you as well as the 7.3 has for me. Don't know just when Ford stopped making the 7.3 maybe in 03 or early o4 sure hated that they don't make it any more as its is a strong motor

Thanks, guys, for the inspiration. Things will be fine,,,,and ya, Kathy,,,,we got that Connection that is so Comforting.

Here's a pic of our first full timer RV Christmas decorations here at Jim Hogg Corps of Engineer Park at Lake Georgetown, Texas. Ain't life grand ?!?!?

Love it!!!

Hi, Ed,,,,,I thought I told you,,,,but we're hanging around the Corps of Engineer Parks on the IH35 corridor between Canyon Lake down near San Antonio up to Lake Benbrook near Ft Worth with about 7 other COE parks in between. We're currently at Jim Hogg in Georgetown, Texas. We might get on as gate attendants for the fall, winter, and spring to earn a little to reimburse the account for the check I recently wrote for our new used F250 diesel that pulls our 29 foot Jayco TT. Late next spring, we're going to get out of Texas heat and maybe get a gig up in Oregon, our most favorite of favorite places in the nation.

WE HAVE RAIN!!! AND I'M NOT LYING....YUP,,,RIGHT HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS. It's comforting being a full timer with rain outside....nowhere to go, cuz we're already home.

We're still having rain,,,,Lake Georgetown was down 26 feet for most of the summer,,,,it's now only 21 feet down. We're having the best of both worlds for our Christmas,,,,,,full timing and being with most of our daughters and grandkids for Christmas Eve. Ain't life grand?!?