Another full timing thread

[Branderson]

Well, I'm feeling deflated.

I'm still a newb but I've expressed before that wife and I are exploring the idea of full timing in the future.  We just got back from a weeks vacation at myrtle beach and I'm starting to question if full timing is for us.

The first issue is driving.  From where I live, it's about 460 miles each way.  I figured okay, let's break that up into two days.  I went about 350 miles before we stopped.  I was drained.  Had two areas that went down to one lane b/c of construction and Columbia SC is a bitch to drive thru.  I'm starting to think that I don't want to drive over 300 miles a day.  The other stressful part is worrying about everyone around me especially in front of me.  I'm so heavy, I'm paranoid I won't have enough room to break in time.  Hills are a pain in the @$# too but I try to gain speed prior so it's not as bad but I still need more experience in that b/c sometimes it caught me by surprise.  18 wheelers aren't too bad except for at one point, he started to cross into my lane and I shifted right and there was a car there.  That got my heart rate up. 

Issues - I didn't have any issues going there except the campground was really tight but I got in.  The only real stress as you may know was the cpl weeks leading up to the vacation where I had the house battery issues.  If you read my blank tank issue the other day, that wasn't a big issue, in fact you guys would probably laugh at that being an issue but I guess the stressor is when something is wrong and being ignorant of what the problem is.  Although I learned. 

Pets - We have two pets.  My lab which is a great dog but medium size and sheds 365.  her dog is a small dog but terrible traveler.  He whines whenever we are not at top speed on the highway.  And he's old and stinks (some skin issue) anyway, I'm thinking if we full time, we need a short haired, that can travel and keep the count to one dog.  (although I'm confident her little dog will never die)

Room - I've said before that I just can't see us being able to full time without slides.  If it was just me, that would be one thing but it's just tight.  I think I want to take out a small counter table top to give us more floor room and I want to take a trip without the dogs to see the difference.  Either way, I'm 90% sure that we will upgrade to slides in the future.


So to sum it up, I feel that with having a job and deadlines, it made traveling any significant amount of distance harder on me.  I don't know how Scott does it especially with significant mechanical issues.  I'm curious on everyone's thought about distance travelled a day/trip etc

Maybe I'm just burned out b/c I spent a week with 12 of the wife's family members and I need a vacation from my vacation but I'm really questioning myself now.  I told her if we were to do the vacation there again, we would just drive and rent a house there.  I could see if we were both fully retired and just took however long we wanted to get there. 

I was told that owning a bus is a hobby and not for the feint of heart but I could use some advice and or if anyone questioned themselves at times? 

[eagle19952]

Spend your career in the oilfields living in a 88 - 120 sq feet and a coach becomes a palace.
 

[Geoff]

I love driving my bus, but it does wear me out more than driving a car, simply because the bus is 102" wide and I have to concentrate more to keep it in my lane.  And then my wife won't drive it so 400-500 miles is all I drive for the day.  We have 3 dogs and three dog crates.  Sometimes 1 or 2 stay in the crate, but they get taken for a walk at almost every stop.  Camping is comfortable.  All in all I like taking my bus.

[TomC]

My bus is a lot more work to drive than my big Kenworth truck. I could drive my Kenworth all day into the night and not be beat up by constantly concentrating on keeping the bus in the lane (like Geoff).
Take a look at some of the truck conversions with slides. Good Luck, TomC

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

I no longer drive 700 miles per day like I did when I was much younger.  I try to keep it around 300 miles per day now so I am as refreshed and rested for most of the day.  When I travel more than 300 miles per day, I get tired and cranky.  I usually plan my trips with plenty of extra time and I also stop at most rest areas and get out and walk around.  I try to find a good place to park at least an hour or two before sunset so I am not having to drive at night anymore.  I am not a big fan of campgrounds along the way because they take extra time to get in and out of and get hooked up. I can sleep just as well in a Rest Area, Truck Stop, or at an interstate exit so in a way, that is less stressful too.  I also try to fuel up once per day so I am not worried about where my next tank of fuel is.  I have also discovered that you pretty much have to get into Truck Stops and Rest Areas by about 4:00 in some parts of the country to get a choice spot now that they are starting to better track truckers time behind the wheel. 

[windtrader]

Being a noobie (one year this month) too, here are my experiences. Miles driven in a day is all dependent on one's ability and comfort with driving these huge buses. Over the past year, it feels like about 300 freeway miles is the most for trip planning. Naturally, highway and secondary roads lower that number. Feeling stressed out should be expected for a couple reasons. Driving the bus after some layoff creates extra stress due to lack of recent experience and memories about longer stopping, following distances, huge turning radius, etc.

Only time will tell about dogs adjusting to travel. Maybe if the yapper don't stop, put the thing in a crate in the back of the bus with the door shut. Same thing with the shedder. At least most of the noise and hair is contained and more easily cleaned.

What we did for the first year was keep the bus at a nearby park for a couple weeks at a time. Being less than an hour away made it very easy to go and stay for a day or a few days at a time. That gave us plenty of experience learning all about the bus. We also took a lot of short and medium distance trips to get used to those extended times on the freeway.

We are planning some longer trips this summer and plan a shakedown cruise of a couple days just to make sure everything is ship shape.

Lastly, we have thoughts about longer term short "full timing" too. Before committing to an expensive coach, we decided to get an older conversion to experiment with owning and using an "RV". If we really love it and find our coach does not meet our needs, we can upgrade and minimize the loss on this first one.

Anyway, a few thoughts. Hang in there. Take some short weekend trips to get more time under your seat. Enjoy.

[eagle19952]

4-6 hours. sometimes less.
miles ? i don't drive for miles. it's hours.
and yes, i enjoy the heck out of driving it.

[windtrader]

Hours vs miles.

The best gauge is amount of comfort and tiredness. 4 hours on a two lane winding road is a lot more tiring than 4 hours down an interstate.

[Branderson]

Thanks for the replies so far.  It seems like around 300 is the general number.  To Geoff and Gary, you are a machine driving 500 - 700 miles a day!   

I forgot to mention the looking for a campground during the trip.  We talked about using a rest stop on the way back but ended up calling a place and they were full and then went to a low cost minimal campground.  Turns out they were back in only and didn't have sewer hook ups (which turned out to be a problem for me).  The next day leaving, I was going to find the dump station and hooked up the toad.  There was no way I could make the turn so I just left.

I don't necessarily mind stopping at a campground but I find that looking the day off is unneeded stress and the unknown of the campground is also added pressure.  I think from now on if I don't do the research and reservations prior to the day of, it's going to be rest stop breaks.  (I forgot to mention that I almost got turned away from the campground on the way to the beach. I was super hot but that's another story)

Windtrader, I like your advice too.  We have a 3 campgrounds near us that we like which are maybe 2hrs away which we like to do 3 day weekends.  I really think the core of my stress was having to be back home b/c of work.  Maybe I just need to win the lotto!! ha

Does everyone that uses GPS which show the estimated time to arrive add about 2 hrs to get real time? 

[DoubleEagle]

Well, all of this discussion explains why driving a truck for ten hours a day, day after day, gets tired after a few years. Driving a coach is so much nicer, except for the glass sun-house in the front, and the fact that the fuel fill-ups go on my credit card instead of the company's. It also seems that for some reason, after 50+ years of driving, we lose our zip somewhat, to go 700 miles in one shot.

[PP]

We've been living in our coach for @10 years now and I love driving it and living in it. My wife loves me so she puts up with it  If I have to drive any distance at all I would much rather it be in the bus and not the toad. Any trip under 200 miles feels disappointing when we reach our destination. The bus is so much more comfortable than anything I've ever driven. It is a bummer that the fuel goes on the personal card, but hey, you can't take it with you. (Sorry kids). We have been fortunate in that all our mechanical issues seem to crop up while we're parked. And on a side note, we always use the GPS to plan our route so that we don't end up in front of low overpass or other non-bus friendly situation.
Will

[Branderson]

We've been living in our coach for @10 years now and I love driving it and living in it. My wife loves me so she puts up with it  If I have to drive any distance at all I would much rather it be in the bus and not the toad. Any trip under 200 miles feels disappointing when we reach our destination. The bus is so much more comfortable than anything I've ever driven. It is a bummer that the fuel goes on the personal card, but hey, you can't take it with you. (Sorry kids). We have been fortunate in that all our mechanical issues seem to crop up while we're parked. And on a side note, we always use the GPS to plan our route so that we don't end up in front of low overpass or other non-bus friendly situation.
Will

What year is your prevost?

[Jim Eh.]

I am not yet finished my bus. But I had a 5th wheel before and loved to drive all day. Always have. When I was in  my 20s I would drive for 3 hours just for a cup of coffee. I still love driving. That is the adventurous part. Seeing new countryside is like a drug. I really get a charge out of finding a new road or visiting a new (to me) small town.

The whole reason for the bus is so I take my kitchen with us. There are some sections in Canada that when you really need it you could not find a restaurant of a fast food joint if your life depended on it. My wife is diabetic so in reality, her life does depend on a scheduled meal.

Now a days I will not be driving no 14 hours I'm sure but if I am not tired I would just drive. To me the trip IS the drive. The destination is just an interruption of my driving. And since I would have no reason to get anywhere on a tight schedule I believe I would enjoy it that much more.

I guess I would just make everyday a Sunday drive day. If I absolutely, positively have to get there and at a particular time, then there are other modes of transport that would be more suitable.

My point of view is if driving within your designated space and heavy traffic is a worry, take the secondary roads. Just enjoy the drive.

[Branderson]

Im not sure of the traffic and hills in canada but i can assure you it will not be like driving a 5th wheel. I like tour attitude though. I hope your build goes well.

[chessie4905]

The guys that live and drive out west or western Canada have it a lot easier. Traffic on east coast sucks anymore.  I81 and I95 are really bad. So many trucks and impatient 4 wheelers passing on either side and not providing sufficient clearance before pulling in. Then there are all the construction zones....
Break up your driving periods with more rest stops. Take a couple of power naps. Have wife take dogs on an hour break while you nap.😀