A few days I wrote about our plans to sell our house and move into an RV. We got lots of support here on the blog and on Facebook–thank you so much for that!
We also a got a few questions (and invite more–it makes us think!).
What about the dogs?
We live with about 170 pounds of fur and enthusiasm wrapped up in two packages: a nine-year-old Malamute and a seven-year-old black lab. They will definitely add some challenges to the trip, but they are going with us. It’s a family trip and they are part of the family.
Sweet, sweet Rigby
Fun-loving Diesel
What type of rig are you thinking about?
I use the term “RV” (much to the consternation of some of the more specific-speaking members of our household) because it’s easy. We would love to get an RV, convert it to veggie oil and tow a small truck, but that might be out of our price range.
Another option is to sell our Tundra, buy a diesel pick-up and convert it to veggie oil. Then we could tow a 5th wheel or a trailer.
The 5th wheel option is H’s pick since it is easier to tow and has a smaller footprint than a same-sized trailer. But, we can’t put a shell on the back of a truck with a 5th wheel.
A trailer makes more sense to me. It will be more of a pain than a 5th wheel, but we have to think about the dogs. When the rig is parked at some lovely campsite and we want to drive to the trailhead or into town, we need a space for the dogs. Since Rigby is a boy princess, he can’t travel in an open truck bed. What if it’s raining? What if he smells carcass and jumps out? And Diesel doesn’t love the cold, he needs protection, too.
Plus, you know there are going to be times when I am going insane from being in a RV/5th wheel/trailer with four males. Or four anyones. Some are going to need to be banished to the truck. Whether those are human or canine, they might appreciate the cover of a truck shell.
Where will you go?
We don’t really know. Depending on when we actually leave, we may drive north as far as the season allows, explore western Canada and then drive down the Pacific coast to winter somewhere warm. Or maybe we’ll go somewhere else. There are a million places we want to see, but we also want to spend quality time in those places.
We’ll also need to do some boondocking–setting up camp without hook-ups. It’s cheaper that way. That will determine where we go, too.
Mostly, we want to leave our route wide open right now and see what happens, but I imagine we’ll stay in the west for the first year.
What about your stuff?
I don’t think we own as much stuff as the average American family, but we do have way more than we need. We’ve been in a simplification process for awhile. It’s not easy with two kids.
We’ve been selling a giving away things we don’t need or want anymore and we will continue to do that. We’ll also get a storage unit for the things we want to keep. If we are still traveling after a year, we’ll probably reevaluate the items in storage.
Fortunately, the kids have grown out of all the baby stuff and most of the things we own are kind of junky anyway. Like the sweet couch I rescued from the dump. We aren’t getting rid of everything, but we should be able to whittle it down to a reasonable level.
What if the house doesn’t sell in this tough market?
It will. Do you want to buy it?
Ooh, Ooh, I want to play the question game!
Have you all heard of the American the Beautiful Dreamer pass?
For 80 dollars you are then given free access to all National Parks, National Forests, Historical Sites and Monuments. It also covers our regional “NW Forest Pass” so I wouldn’t doubt it works for other regional passes as well. It is good for an entire year.
It is good for 2 adults and all kinds under 16 I think. You can also take 3 guest adults with you for free. We loved it.
Granola Girl– We have that pass, too. We love it and use it often (mostly for Yellowstone, since it is down the road, but other places, too). My FIL gets it for us each year for Christmas–isn’t that an awesome gift? I know we’ll get a lot of use out of it when we are traveling. I forgot about that pesky NW Forest Pass (I got a couple tickets when I lived in Oregon…). Glad it covers that, too!