Downsizing

Rantoul, IL.

64 deg. overcast, SSW wind @ 13 mph.

Forecast = Today: Partly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 84°F. South wind 13 to 19 MPH, gusting to 28 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 65%. Precipitation amounts up to one quarter inch possible.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with isolated storms. Lows around 68°F. South southwest wind to 16 MPH, gusting to 23 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%.

Some of the folks that Jim and Linda know, have asked them what it's like to move from a 45' diesel pusher to a 27' class B motorhome?

Well, it's kind of like when they first went full-timing, selling their house and moving all of your belongings into a RV. Only this time, they didn't have to give away all of the "stuff" that they had in the 45' MH, they just put whatever didn't fit in the 27' MH into the double wide down in Florida.

I think one of the biggest challenges of downsizing RVs has been the reduced space to move around, without being in each other's way. For instance. If Linda is doing anything in the kitchen, whether it be washing dishes or cooking, she has to move before Jim can get to the bathroom or the bedroom, or even get to the refrigerator, for that matter.

Another thing that has changed is the fact that they no longer have all their "stuff" with them. Just the other day, Jim needed to change a fitting on one of the water hoses, but because of outside storage limitations, that container where the replacement fittings are in, is back at the house. So, Jim had to buy a fitting at the store.

Food storage is another big issue. There are fewer cabinets in this RV than in any RV that we've had since we went full-timing almost 12 years ago. That means more trips to the grocery store and buying smaller quantities of food and supplies, like paper products and even snacks. This refrigerator is also smaller than any we've had in the last 6 years or so, and that means less space for meat, frozen vegetables and ice cream.

Also, there's no ice maker in this refrigerator, which is a big minus for Linda. (She likes ice in anything she drinks except coffee). : )

And, of course, everything else is smaller too. Like the bathroom, bedroom and closets.

Oh, and Linda really misses her washer/dryer. : (

But, before you start thinking that Jim and Linda are unhappy with Bobbie T., I want to assure you that they are not!

There are many good things about a smaller RV, such as ease of getting into and out of small campgrounds, not worrying if a CG is going to have a large enough site,  less steps to get into and out of the RV, ease of driving through congested areas, handles twisty/turny 2 lane roads better that a large RV, and has much less area to clean, both inside and out.

As far as the lack of storage space, I'm sure that once we get back to Florida, Jim and Linda will make changes of what to bring along on our next trip. There are items that they brought along this time that were not needed, so they can be left at the house and other items brought instead.

It's just going to take some time to figure it all out.

Oh, and one more thing. When we first went full-timing, we traveled mostly on 2 lane roads, avoiding the Interstate highways as much as possible. We stayed in State Parks, COE parks, municipal parks and little "mom and pop" type parks. Through the years, mostly because of purchasing larger and larger RVs, we have not been able to comfortably do that any longer.  Both Jim and Linda have missed that type of travel and those type campgrounds and want to get back to that style of traveling again.

Already, when we came from Florida to Virginia this time, we stayed off of the Interstates as much as possible. And, every trip plan that Jim has been working on since we got Bobbie T. has been made utilizing as many non-Interstate highways as possible.

He's even been fooling around with a trip plan for another trip back out to Oregon, that by my estimation, would be on about 90% U.S. and State highways. ; )

If Jim and Linda would not have bought the double wide down in Florida, I think that they would have kept Ermys for at least another year or 2, but then, I'm sure they would have traded him off for something smaller. (Something around 35'). Emrys was just too large for the type of campgrounds and travel that they like.

They would not have gone as small as Bobbie T's 27' though. Both of them agree that for them, she is just  too small to live in full-time.

Did you know that on this date in 1955 - "Billboard" reported that "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" was the most popular song in the U.S?

Woof!!!