Hey Guys,

In working on an upcoming blog post one of our contacts wanted to include some books for people trying to make that transition from part time to Full Time RVers. There's quite a variance in costs for some of these books. Some are $9. Another one was $49. It got us wondering if any of you referred to a book/e-book before making the FullTime transition yourself? If so which books proved the most helpful? Where do most of them miss the mark? Appreciate any feedback!

P.S We're aware of Technomadias' semi recent e-book release and we intend to include it in this upcoming blog post.

Amanda
RVParking.com

Awww.. thanks Amanda! Appreciate it!  

For us, same as Cherie  - lots of web reading. I made the assumption that all of the fulltimer prep books were written for people not really like us. Most people going into fulltiming are retired and have a different agenda. Us working wanderers have different needs.

I read forums to help with some of the details - insurance, mail, residency, rig choices, etc.  We let all the other stuff fall into place :)



--kev

I will have to agree with everyone above, didn't buy one book but did a ton of research online, especially the different forums.  And now, 5 months out, I am still all over the forums - doing research, asking questions and getting a lot of help.

When we decided to hit the road, we thought it would just be a temporary thing. So we consulted these books, which are more geared toward taking a long sabbatical, but they were also invaluable for planing out financial goals, trip ideas, and managing life on the road:

Live Your Road Trip Dream: Travel for a Year for the Cost of Staying Home

Six Months Off: How to Plan, Negotiate, and Take the Break You Need Without Burning Bridges or Going Broke

Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner

The newest book I would highly recommend is Technomadia's for sure.

Huge fan of ebooks. Have not seen any for RVers that were my style, So I don't have any to refer to you on the subject of getting started RVing. I can point ya to tons of Sci-fi though...My family has gone on RV adventures for ages; So, I avoided many of the basic how-to issues that many face. Other issues like finding my cool mail- forwarding service for instance came from tips from some online PDFs & websites concerning live-aboard sailing.So don't discount the RVs on the water when talking about resources.I have long out-grown start-up novelties like the Good Sam club and such, and yes, much of what's out there on the subject has too much Gerotol in it & not enough Margaritas & Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters.

Hi Amanda,

When I was considering RVing through Europe, as an alternative to living in a suitcase for the year off I was planning, I read "Europe by Van and Motorhome" by David Shore and Patty Campbell; that book alone opened my eyes to all the possibilities of long-term/full-time RVing, and the logistics of making it work either alone or with a partner or family. I ended up RVing for 13 months in Europe (with my two cats) before running out of money and lack of ideas to keep going cut my dreams short. David and Patty really helped me getting started and though their expertise was Europe-based RVing, I think they have their place in this category.

Thanks for all of the replys everyone. We really appreciate all of your input. It's enough to get us rolling off to researching the books that some of you recommended. Especially like Kev's comment "Most people going into fulltiming are retired and have a different agenda. Us working wanderers have different needs.".

I guess the only other question that I might have (for right now) is are there any forums that are lesser known ( i.e not Woodalls, RV.net, Trailer Life, etc.) that you found very helpful?

Amanda
http://www.rvparking.com

I'm not yet an RVer, but I've found a lot of good information at www.ramonacreel.com

One relitivly new forum I'd recomed for those without a high budget is cheaprvlivingforum.com.  Friendly group, many good ideas.  Dominated by those having or wanting homebrew van conversions, but others are welcome.