If your lifestyle says to hang out at home, stay inside in rain, heat, cold and storms then you need a bigger RV. If you are "outdoorsy" and live to hike, walk, sit outside under the awning, take the toad or TV and explore, then your space becomes the limits of your vision.

Many folks travel and live in hotel/motel rooms that are much smaller than our RVs. Sure they have stixs n brix to come home to, but that is their lifetsyle on the road, making ends meet.

What difference if you spend six months on airliners and motels of your life, every year, just because you have a big place to come home to?

You still had to live half your life with minimal stuff. Do we pack power tools and back up gensets for a biz trip or vacation or the minimum?

Stuff seems to be the thing. And wanting to have tools, hobby items, fully equipped kitchens, and nice stuff is fine! I am all for it. If that is what makes ya happy.

In the last few years of fulltiming with a 35-6 foot fiver, my basement got kinda empty.

Now we came off the road for another dream, granted. We did the RV one. Family and kids/grandkids prevailed, and what we want to do now. But to be honest, as has been said here before, if I were "gawd forbid" single, I could live in the traveling bedroom only, small, and have the whole great outdoors for my living room.

And be happy with only a few hand tools, five changes of jeans and shirts, seven changes of underwear, one big frying pan, one big stew pot, and simplicity since I have the great outdoors for my living space. OH! And a good cofeepot!

Nothing wrong with wanting the city life, 20 changes of clothes, heavy stuff in any eventuality, big rigs like I had, all the electronics and conveniences.

I had the money to maintain them, and it was worth it to me to make my significant harassment happy. And it is worth it to me to come off the road and build a house that meets my needs/desire to be off the grid, a project I am behind on not for lack of funding.

Living the lifestyle we've become accustomed to is a good thing, and has nothing to do with budget.

It has to do with choices. Choices we made all through our lives. Choices we make today.

Lest anybody think I propose all downsize beyond an RV in the larger sizes, I mean nothing of the sort.

Just be honest with yourself and don't answer the questions I think you need to ask yourselves here.

My post is not an attack, not a validation of one view over another.

But for me, I came into this world with nothing but the skin on my back, and I will leave the same way.

I am back to work because that floats my boat and many are trying to get out of that rut.

But for me, at 56, I need to make things happen simply because I can, and that has nothing to do with earnings or living space. But that is just for me, not anyone else.

I have to do what I do, that is what makes me tick. I had to acknowledge that and come off the road to do it.

Fortunately it dovetailed with my SH's wishes to nest and decorate again.

We are happy campers.

DO not downsize and make a decision you can't live with like a smoker who says they will be able to afford a new bill if they quit, make the decision, go into debt and then find they cannot quit.

Every lifestyle decision is that addictive. Need to be looked up to, great, I have no problem with that. Need the latest rig? NO problem. Need to be the mimimalist (yes there are some bragging rights there too) because no one can comprehend that you can do so well with so little? Great!

But only each can choose for themselves, and those choices need to be their's, not Escapees, me, their parents values, their children's or their spouse's if different unelss it makes no difference.

Pick what YOU want not another, and live your life, every day. It does not depend on things or size, unless you want it to. Nor budget because as long as there is breath, that can also be overcome.

Have fun, do what YOU want, not what is expected of you, only what you expect out of life.

We have good friends, Dave & Leslie, that Full Time in a 13’ Scamp. They are very happy and content.

Here is their website: (They don’t keep the website up very much)

http://dnl.fgrv.net/pages/homepage.html

quote:

Originally posted by LindaH:
We had a young couple park next to us at the free city park in Pioche, NV, this spring who were fulltiming in a Casita. There are people who fulltime in truck campers, so, yes, fulltiming in a smaller rig CAN be done.

Yes, my wife and I also full-timed in an 8 1/2 foot truck camper with no shower and a porta-potti back in 1993-1994. So I know it can be done, The only thing with the pickup camper we missed were some comfortable seeting and the bathroom. The Casita's are a big step up from the beat up old camper we had back then.
Songwriter

Hey folks, thanks for all the valuable feedback. I have sent for a brochure on the Casita, so I guess I have a bit more thinking and research to do. But it does present an interesting option for full-timing, and economical travel. We too love to sit out at campfires, to explore and can survive in a relatively small space together for longish periods of time. Again, thanks to all.
See ya down the road!
Songwriter

I will be fulltiming in a small travel trailer like yourself, and i find i have plenty of room for me as a solo. I am the outdoor type and spend a lot of time outside, but if stuck inside due to inclement weather, i find that it is way big enough for me to kickback on the sofa and watch the boob tube, or surf the internet on my laptop, cook in the kitchen.. etc.

heah Songwriter!!! We'll be in Ontario this August, around the 15th to the 30th. First north on Toronto and then near Trenton, on the Lake. If you live nearby you can see our Casita.

Well, that's us. Two people, two cats and one Casita. Of course it is not easy and we don't have much stuff. We weigh our Casita and Astro van often because we seem to put on weight easily

We do have a 12x10 screen house which more than doubles our square footage. Here is an old article (with some mistakes)

http://www.rv.org/p17756.pdf

We became Escapees and read as much aswe could before we started. We lived in a NYC apartment, had always slept in a full bed, had a very small kitchen, etc. We had the Astro so we bought a trailer we could tow.

Joe and Melanie

Songwriter you should review the Casita club site for your quetions. Also check the for sale as you may find what you want in your area.

www.casitaclub.com

quote:

Originally posted by Joseph and Melanie:
heah Songwriter!!! We'll be in Ontario this August, around the 15th to the 30th. First north on Toronto and then near Trenton, on the Lake. If you live nearby you can see our Casita.

Well, that's us. Two people, two cats and one Casita. Of course it is not easy and we don't have much stuff. We weigh our Casita and Astro van often because we seem to put on weight easily

We do have a 12x10 screen house which more than doubles our square footage. Here is an old article (with some mistakes)

http://www.rv.org/p17756.pdf

We became Escapees and read as much aswe could before we started. We lived in a NYC apartment, had always slept in a full bed, had a very small kitchen, etc. We had the Astro so we bought a trailer we could tow.

Joe and Melanie

Hi Joe and Melanie. Thanks for the encouragement! When will you be in Trenton in August and perhaps my wife and I could touch base with you and if you're ok with it we could see your Casita? We live in Cornwall, about a 3 1/2 hour drive to Trenton. If you'd like you can email me at: lcromie@cogeco.ca I look forward to hearing from you and happy travels as you enjoy full-timing.
Songwriter

I don't own one but find Casita and also Scamp, a similar trailer built by an older manufacturer, interesting. If fuel prices continue to climb I might look seriously at both.

Casita does not use a national dealer network but the company is very friendly and willing to allow tours of their assembly plant. I toured their plant several years ago just out of curiosity. An interested potential buyer can contact Casita via their website and someone will provide contact info for a Casita owner in your area who is willing to show you their unit and discuss it with you.

I agree with everyone here. It can be done.
Check your relationship and how well you get along in tight quarters.
Check your stuff, basics only, then go have fun. We have been doing the last 6 years in a 28 foot Class C, no slide outs, 3 dogs, two are large dogs, one at 128 pounds, so it can be done.
The fact that I am still alive is testimony to that .

The only problem I see with the egg campers for me is the lack of what I consider adequate shower facilities. Other than that preference they have sufficient space for an Old Fat Man who travels very light.