Saturday, November 21, 2015

We’ve created a couple of Monsters!


This is my first week here at the Marina in Lehi (Barb’s 6th) and as much as I enjoyed the last month or so hunting and farming, it is good to be home!

The first order of business was for Barb to show me the camper that she bought for our Alaska trip and I must say she did a great job! It checks all the boxes we were looking for. Next order of business was to have the mounting system installed on the truck so we could haul the camper. If you recall, the previous owner said that his father-in-law, Mark, would install the mounts. A welder by trade, Mark had installed several mounting systems for campers in the past. What we liked about the way he did it was that he used a receiver hitch system that is totally hidden when not in use and easy to install when you want to use it.
There is a mount under each corner of the bed

He used 2" square tubing and welded receivers in place

You just pull the pin and remove when not it use
Next order of business was to continue “Operation Declutter”. You see, last fall we had left a number of totes and other things “we could not live without” at Forrest’s house with the intention of going through them again when we got back. Most of the totes contains clothing; sweaters, t-shirts, socks and all of our cold weather clothing. Before I got back, Barb had already gotten rid of two totes of her work clothes that she sent to a friend.  Now we went through the remaining totes separating everything into three piles; keep, sell, donate. When we were done we had 4 garbage bags of donate, one tote of sell and only a ½ tote of keep. I would call that a huge success! While we were at it we tore through our dresser drawers and closets and got rid of some things that we have not touched while we have been on the road. Two things continue to amaze me; how much stuff you think you need and how little you really need when it really comes down to it.
We got rid of all this stuff!

We organized the belly as well and moved some stuff to the camper
 
We have also been busy spending time with the kids and grandchildren, my how a few months changes things! Kendall (19 months) is walking, running, and climbing like crazy. She talks up a storm but we have no clue what she is saying. Dylan is quite the video gamer and Lily kicks our butts on Wii bowling. You may think that they were the monsters I was referring to in the post title…..not so. The monsters we have created are our own children and their spouses!  Over the past several months both of them have been researching and are in the process of taking steps into becoming fulltime RV’ers themselves! While neither of them have plans to become permanent fulltimers (yet), they both would like to sell/rent their homes and travel for a few years to not only see the country but to also see where they would like to plant more permanent roots. Right now they are both thinking Oregon, Wyoming or Montana however Jessica and Shane have the wildcard state of Pennsylvania.

Both families have been busy downsizing, paying off debt and saving as much as possible. Both have recently bought trucks and travel trailers in anticipation of their own adventures! It is interesting to see them and listen to them talk about their plans. Both seem very grounded and realistic when it comes to expectations; needing to work, home schooling and finances. It will be interesting to see if these dreams come to fruition……we shall have to wait and see!
Jessica and Shane's new rig a 2010 32' Open Range
Lily with Forrest and Somer's 2013 29' Dutchman
 

15 comments:

  1. We went fulltiming with space, but every year I am able to still get rid of more items (clothing). It is, as you said, amazing how little we really need. Good job cleaning out:)

    How totally cool that your children want to try fulltiming! They seem to be doing it the right way. I hope all goes well with their plans:)

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    1. Would you believe I found three more totes when I went above his garage yesterday? We thought we were doing so well! Barb quickly went through them and donated about 90% of it.

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  2. That is so cool about your kids! A huge undertaking on their parts, as work and kids of their own definitely throws more variables into the mix. Very fun!

    Mark did a nice job on the install. Those receivers should be rock solid!

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    1. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. As a parent, you want your kids to be happy and succeed.

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  3. That's awesome.... I can see some family boondocking in the near future. Circle the wagons!
    Ingrid@ LiveLaughRV.net

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    1. That's funny, I have never really thought of us all traveling together. Interesting, exciting and terrifying all at the same time!

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  4. Very nice setup for mounting the camper, clean and easy to use. I can see some fantastic family times in your future when you circle the wagons and just enjoy the time with monsters big and small!

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    1. I had never heard of this type of mounting system until this install and really like it. The ones we have had in the past are very intrusive and unsightly. I think we will like this one.

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  5. Really looking forward to reading about your Alaska trip and the planning for it. Truck camper makes a lot of sense. Expect to learn a lot from you guys that's usable should we someday find ourselves planning for the same trip.

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    1. Thanks Mark, we plan on thoroughly detailing this adventure!

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  6. That is fantastic. I really love that you inspired you kids in such a way. If nothing else being debt free is awesome in and of itself!!

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    1. Each of them are taken a test run this weekend to see how it goes. It is supposed to be cold so it will be interesting!

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  7. I like the tie down install for the truck camper. Really a good idea. It is funny what you said about your kids. Our daughter just got hired out in Yellowstone also. We found a small trailer for her here in KY and will deliver it to her in January. She wants to see how it goes for her. Plus we will be close working also.

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    1. How cool is that?!?! You guys should have a fun summer out there. Looking forward to your next post to hear all about it!

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  8. That's a great tie down install. You guys are planning your Alaska trip the right way by taking a camper instead of your home like we did. Very cool that your kids want to follow in your foot steps.
    Happy Thanksgiving!

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