I saw my first rv odd couple video last week, and I haven't gone a day without watching. John and Mercedes are hilarious. They are extremely intelligent, articulate and so informative. My husband and myself also greatly appreciate the fact that they are believers. We dont see enough good, honest, God-fearing people. We love your positivity! Please keep doing what you're doing. We love the show! God bless you both . (And Sage and Skippy).
What a kind message that made us both smile Erika💚💚💚 Welcome to the RV Odd Squad! We look forward to getting to know you 😀 God Bless you & yours as well.
John ; Mercedes, this PROCESS...is EXACTLY what our channel is about: moving from our stix n brix to nomad...and all the pieces to that pie! Learning more is always important. Blessings and safe travels. LUCRETIA
EXCELLENT video John and Mercedes! I can’t thank you two enough for your willingness to be so helpful to those of us thinking about embarking on this lifestyle! My wife and I spent a couple of years shopping for our RV and bought it early this year, and now are taking our time buying the truck to pull it... we’re fortunate enough to have family members that own trucks big enough and are kind enough to let us use them! It’s nerve-wracking and FUN planning all this out and I’ve greatly appreciated your videos and have learned a great deal from the both of you over the last several months- We’re on a “practice” vacation as I watch this video and I can’t wait to share it with my wife tomorrow! Thank you again and God bless you both- safe travels!!! Chris
Thank you for the kind message :) We are Blessed with a new purpose to help those coming behind us. We love helping and are so grateful for the RV Odd Squad 💚 God Bless you as well😀
I've been watching your videos. THANK YOU. While I haven't bought an RV or pick-up yet, I just called to check on my insurance rates. I've been with Farmers for 28 years, and they've evidently been putting it to me. Went from $675 every six months down to $310. You guys are great!
As we found out: Test your RV Air Conditioner when it's in the 90's. Otherwise you maybe living in a constant sweat. The best advise you both gave was to test, test, test before you drive away. Great video.
Your videos just keep getting better, raising the bar for other channels. You’ve made videos on so many topics! As you broadly run through topics, it really does help when you display the link(s) back to past video(s) for more detail. Consider offering a “Soup-Starter” checklist by phase that could be used along with the big flipchart. I happen to be enjoying Phase 1. I use Apple Notes on my iPad (1 Note per major topic w/ bold title. In each note I post links of all related youtubes along with my thoughts, action plans, and deadlines. This is especially useful for listing all the subjects to learn about like, deciding on which type of RV, how to shop, plan to maintain/fix-it, tools, accessories, legal/paperwork, campground planning, priority sites & events). When normalcy resumes, I can’t wait to attend RV Shows & Rallies. Your channel offers such a superb resource! Thanks to you, and the other Top 20 YT Channels (like Robin) on RVs & the RV lifestyle, I’m loving Phase 1. I’m reading the books too, on kindle unlimited. You guys may want to consider recording your own book on Audible (great for commuters & daily walkers). I haven’t been able to get my wife into RVs as Mercedes yet. So we’re taking it slowly. It’d be helpful to video Mercedes doing some of the “guy stuff” to further empower women and build self-reliance & confidence. Help discard old-school thinking and remind us men can enjoy doing “women’s work” and vice-versa. John, I’m sure you do your share of housework. Keep up the outstanding content you both are doing. We need your advice, energy/inspiration, knowledge and ever-increasing wisdom. Always positive, yet authentic. P.S. I couldn’t stand the thought of having to view commercials on youtube while doing RV research on youtube. So the monthly fee for youtube Red is a bargain.
Thank you for taking the time to share Jeff 👍😊 Great suggestions! We are a Team out here😊. We both contribute. RV’ing has been great for our marriage and Family💚. Thank you
We are doing a phased approach because of our jobs and where are kids are in their life. We researched what we wanted and knew it would be a fifth wheel. Several years ago we got the truck. Last week we got the RV. Now we do little trips over the next few years. I retire in 5-7 years and that becomes the PT RVing.
We are in the dream phase. Loved this video. You really break it down on how to plan. I should be sleeping but instead, I watch your videos at night and take notes. I already have a binder with dividers on what I have learned from you. Thank you so much!
Wow!, great stuff as always. Having spent 22yrs as a "grunt" and 22yrs as a truck driver I think I'll easily transition into what most people consider a vagabond lifestyle and "limited space". My trouble will be in completely changing my economic model. I remained laser focused for years as to getting the kids off on their own, paying off the house and building a nest egg for retirement. Having done that, doing a "180" (walking away from paid off sticks n' bricks) is HARD. Sometimes I feel like a five year old having to give up my security blanket. Love your channel and can't wait for your next video! Stay happy, stay safe and Bless you all. 😉
We're passing into stage 4. Been at this 15 months. Downsized our belongings over 12 months, sold our house in early April, bought a 5th wheel travel trailer and heavy duty (semi) truck. Remodeling of the trailer is nearly complete and the truck is in the frame shop being lengthened to carry our Jeep and pull our 5th wheel trailer. Can't wait for our first extended trip to the beach here in Northern California. It's been a wild and long ride, but we're nearly on our way!
Great advice! I’m a long time camping and camper person. My wife came on board to full time over 2 years ago. We have a bunk house and our kids are are all grown up. So I’m modified it for couples use. Been living Irving in it pretty much full time for 3 months now in our driveway. We are good with close quarters living. We are not selling our house but giving it to the kids who will not sell it as it is a family thing. So we have that safety net and always have a pad with full hookups to return to. My job already is telework so just need internet to work. We boon dock for a week at a time and love it! We also glamp lol. Both are good. Can’t wait to hit the road and travel across this country and see all the things it has to offer. Money is not an issue as I am still working. Just making sure the rv is all in good working order and don’t like those crappy surprises. I’m pretty handy with auto repair and rv repair. There is very little I can’t do in repairs myself with the proper tools. I hope everything turns out great for your family and you can get back on the road
I love you guys. You’re real and honest and up front. These days with the pandemic you’re keeping us focused on our dream in a realistic way and you validate the dream and show the path. Thank you!!! God bless! Stay safe!
As a Weekend Warrior who dreams of going RV full time in the future this video was soooo helpful! 👍👍👍 I am in the dreaming phase.... and I can only imagine how the action steps can be scary. 🥺 But, I cant wait for phase three and hitting the road! 🥳 You guys rock! ❤️
As usual, a really comprehensive and valuable overview! I'd like to add one more option for folks that have owned their home for @20+ years. Don't sell it, rent it out using a property management company and retain your growing equity. We consulted a local realtor, ran the numbers and found that we would be in a comfortable positive cash flow position. The rent would cover all expenses (mortgage, insurance, taxes, utilities, the realtor's 7% fee and a percentage held out for a maintenance/repairs fund) and give us @$500 a month spendable income. The management company provides well screened tenants, makes all the payment for you (mortgage, taxes, insurance and the utilities). They also take care of necessary maintenance (with your verbal consent for each project) from the maintenance/repairs fund. Then they direct deposit the the remainder into your bank account! This is an option to take a look at, especially for retired folks as it keeps your home and it's equity (which could be ten's if not hundreds of thousands of dollars) in your hands as a mega safety net. Happy Trails Odd Squad, Andy & Kim P.S. We chose not to do this after all because we are "long timers" (2 months out - 1 month home) not "full timers". P.P.S. If this looks workable for you, be sure to consult with your tax accountant.
This is a good plan not just for full time rving but for part time weekend warriors. We didn't do the research well enough and bought two TT's before purchasing the 5th wheel we now have. We also started with a Ford Explorer and traded twice and ended up with a F-250 King Ranch Diesel. Now we are in a permanent spot 44 miles from home and have a Ford Escape,just the way we started 15 years ago. We also owe more than we should because we did not follow the plan which you are laying out. Good plan hopefully many will follow.
Omg!!! You two are so amazing!!! My husband and I were going to Get into the RV lifestyle back when we retired back in 2012, but decided not too... For the past 3 years, off and on we have been contemplating on RVing full time.... doing our research and watching UA-cam videos etc... Today 7/27/2020 we came across “your UA-cam” videos and we were very impressed with the videos we’ve watched so far!!! We believe this is a God send!!! Thank you for all the thorough information on RVing!!!
Welcome to the RV Odd Squad Marisol 😀 Always happy to help where we can :) Go slow and have a good budget & Plan👍 God Bless you both and let us know how it goes....
RV Odd Couple we definitely will! We have been empty nesters for a while now and we come from a law enforcement family. We definitely liked your video on safety... we will keep in touch!!
Great video with such an abundance of practical and realistic information!! I just love how candid you both are. I love all the laughs too by-the-way...I find myself chuckling right along with you~Thank you!!
Watching you guys from the start. We have been planning for 2 yrs..Thanks for the videos, giving us hope and how to’s! 🤗❤️👏👍 we have recently bought our RV (3rd one, wasn’t able to go before had to sell them, but this one, no turning back) we are in the 1-1/2 stage.. going through all our stuff, separated it by ..going to goodwill, what to sell, give to our children, what to goes to the RV, and what’s going into the storage (which we will go through again months from now) so still packing it all up. Getting house ready, to put on the market!! We are closer than we have ever been, had lots of hurdles and still need to sell our sticks and bricks house. Much emotions right now.. Looking forward to the next phase and moving on..😀
You two are so wonderful together. I've come to know I can always rely on you to give a concise, understandable explanation of what to expect when making the plunge into Full-Time RV life. I have come to love you all so much. Thank you for your caring about the RV community. bill in Florida
Thank You so much Mercedes & John, for the video! This has helped Denise and myself greatly!!! This helps us make some important decisions. We are brand new to this and I have binge watched all your videos!!!
I think one of the biggest things to do is to put down what your current budget is, and figure that your new budget may be bigger. Unless you spend the next year getting rid of "stuff". And as an experienced RVer, and talking to a lot of experienced RVers that can be so true. Ok, of you are going try to keep the house, those expenses do not go away, and if you have had a house for 20 years, the cost of 5th wheel, big truck, and the insurance and up keep of those can double or triple the cost of that 20 year old mortgage. Besides that we have not even considered where you stay and fuel. Just ask any full timer just what park rent cost them a month. Now then, you have to pay off all CC dept or that is a huge hindrance. Not only that, never put anything on a CC you can not pay off by end of month because if you need a large repair, you may need a large CC. And how much stuff are you paying on right now? That needs to be zero or you will be budgeting for that and not using it. Bottom line is to even consider the budget, you have to start with owing nothing, and then start with supporting that RV, truck, and rent. After that you can figure out the rest.
I am between phase 1 and 2. I follow your channel but I want a class A to travel due to safety of being alone. I still see value in your advice and have learned so much! I hope Sage is doing well and as always I wish you all the best! Hope to meet 1 day on the road!
Interesting video content. En route home from The Keys, I met a couple...80 and 81 yrs young....18 months into RVing in a high end Class A DP on a Walmart lot in Murfreesboro, TN . After being taken hostage while they shared all their rig features and plans....they were the kids in a candy store, I asked "Any regrets about your RV experience?" They responded, "We wish we had done this 10 years ago." I'm at their "ten years ago". Wandered around last Fall on several road trips for 6,000 miles looking at RVs between St. Louis, Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Mobile, New Orleans, Orlando, Tampa, and back the hard way. Determined which coach.....specific model and options (Cl A DP tag 43ft Bath-1/2)...I want. Identified cash for the rig and incidentals idling in the bank; spare Jeep rigged to tow. Won't sell either home......too many toys to tow/load. Retired 15 years, great health, technical/business/entrepreneur/planning/risk background, but, I'm alone (widower 20 yrs), and not sure about hitting the road by myself (but, then, I'm alone at home, and have traveled the US alone on my Harley), changing world paradigm, finding RV site every night, where to go/see/do, managing financial arrangements/mail/bills/domicile, other obligations, et el, et el. Just a big paradigm shift for an old guy. :) :) WY, ID, MT have been calling my name for years......waited too long to make the permanent jump.....but loitering for several months is appealing. My son says, "Pull the trigger." :) :) But, he just moved back to St. Louis at 43 to retire, after being essentially out of my life for 25 years. How many years remaining to reconnect?? Seems foolish to do this alone, and foolish not to do it. Money a replenishable resource; heartbeats not. Finger poised to "hit the button." :) :) :)
Hello! Video came at a good time!! We currently just sold our house at the height of the market!! We are going to save all the money from our house and full time in our RV. We have had it for a few years and have been in it for 3 weeks at a time. We are not first timers so the excitement is real! We plan to head from Ca - NC for a few months. We are loving downsizing to just the rv and a storage! Excited to hit the road again this year!
We have acquired our new to us RV since we last spoke, ty Jesus! His name is George after my late father. He is a 38’ Georgetown XL 360 DS. We postponed the hubby’s retirement due to COVID so we are taking our time and doing lots of upgrades and preventative maintenance. We are on vacation in him in now testing the A/C units out in 93 degree temperatures with the Midwest humidity! So far so good, I already cleaned the coils so I hoped they would work well. Put on Snap Pads before this trip, changed the air filter, the previous owner had him serviced right before we got to Michigan to pick him up in May, so we are good there. I had the chassis lubed and did the CHF on him, put on new Michelin’s and had the front end aligned. I will be putting on our new Tireminder TPMS that arrived right before we left out, so things are happening. I’m kinda glad that our plans got slowed down a bit, it is already proving to be less stressful having more time to get everything done, just like you said. We sold 6 of our rental properties and we still have our primary residence to sell but we won’t do that until Lloyd puts his retirement paperwork back in for processing. Once we do that again he will be done working within 6-8 weeks so things will need to get somewhat back to normal before we take that step again. We are figuring everything will suddenly get better after the election is over, unless of course, Trump wins again, then we’ll have four more years of the Democrats trying to get him out of office again 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ Love the new shirts, we ordered a few but the one John had on in this video wasn’t available...do you know why that is??? Thanks! Marsha
Congratulations on the new Rig you two 👍😊💚 Go slow and ease in.... here is the link to those shirts. You have multiple options. So look at the ordering process closely. Thank you for all of your support. rvlifereimagined.com/index.php/product/rv-odd-squad-patriotic-shirt/
Hello from Okinawa, Japan! We are moving back to the USA in 39 days to start our full time Rv adventures. Our phases are all mixed up according to your plan because we haven’t been able to do any walk throughs yet. We are 99% sure of what we want from watching UA-cam, but have to set foot in one 1st. We don’t get our truck until November so we will be AirBnB hopping until then. We think we will have to order the RV we want. Ginger is praying through it.
Can you do a video on the best office equipment for RV living? ¿?Printer size, brand?¿ and stuff? I would greatly appreciate it, we're about to start the full time RV living. This channel has helped me so much, I had so much anxiety that was making me procrastinate and now my life dream will finally come to be. Thank you for all your efforts putting this all together for everyone on UA-cam
HI YOU TWO! Thanks so much for this video....I am learning from you now TOO! Mercedes, you and I are a lot a like..... write it down, everything. Plan, plan, plan. You guys are so sensible now and THEN too. I’ll bet the downsizing was a lot easier with the earliest start date, setting a realistic budget, and having all your medical taken care of before the end when you might be scrambling. MERCEDES!...I love, love, love your new glasses! Meant to tell you that before. They’re very similar to mine. I hope Sage continues to do VERY well in her treatment. She seems to be talking-up a storm now! Our daughter didn’t talk at all until about two years old, (instead of one), and suddenly surprised me with “mommy, turn around and look at me!” ...she hasn’t stopped talking since! (She’s almost 37, and can wear-out your brain completely with non-stop jabber! Stay safe and continue-on with these terrific videos! Love you all, Virginia 💕
You are the one person that we want to meet the most Virginia. Thank you for your gift last night💚💚💚 We don't have the words for how much we appreciate having you with us.
We just went full time, never planned on doing this but with 4 dogs it would be hard to show the house before we had something new and we just never moved out of the RV. When Covid hit and both of us Working From Home, we figured...why not lol. We are loving it but can see how it would not be for everybody
LOVE the new look! Wonderful video. We have had 3 RVS in our 36 HONEYMOON LOL. We are looking to be part time, keeping the sticks and bricks. We still want to be out traveling for 2-3 months take a break then travel again. Putting everything down on paper is the way to go. THANKS AGAIN SAFE TRAVELS
To me, one of the very first things a homeowner should do is contact a Realtor to do a market analysis on their home. This gives them a good idea how much cash they'll realize from the sale, and thus how much they can spend on an RV. No sense dreaming about what type of RV until one knows their budget.
Great video. Let me say a word about tow vehicles. Once you know what sort of rv you want. In my case a travel trailer. So now you know what kind of pickup, or tow vehicle you need. Here is what I found. 1 ton and 1 ton dually they can be quit inflexable on the prices. If your shopping at that level, they know you need it. 1/2 ton are oftenm overly equipped on the lot. Thus driving their price far to high. Ther deals seem to be with the 3/4 ton pickup. You can usually find them willing to work with you on the price. In 2019, I got a leftover 2018 Ram 2500 for$ 35,500 all expenses included. Deals are out there, but patience is required.
“Planning” is so important now. I’m constantly seeing comments on channels by people saying they’re going to be house free and on the road full time in weeks or a month or two. Hopefully they are paying attention to all those who have been on the road full time for years. Those that are now putting down some type of physical roots because of what’s happening in the world. Full time living on the road is changing. While it still can be done, I don’t know if it will ever be the same. I’m hearing from friends that with the unprecedented sales of RV’s now, campgrounds and RV Parks that are open are being packed by those who live nearby. It has made their travel more challenging just to find a place with full hookups. Go figure ...
Great video. Thanks you guys. We have been passively planning to go full time for over a year but even though this was originally his idea and I thought this was what my husband wanted I just can't get him to do any of the work with me or even watch videos. He has even told me lately several times that he is sick of hearing about my plans regarding the RV. So the value of your video was immeasurable for me but not in the way I might have hoped. If there is anything I have learned at my age it is that I have so much more to learn. Love you guys. Thanks so much. :'(
Great video! I’m in the planning/research stage. Thinking that I’ll be more of a “most timer” than a full timer. I can’t imagine staying away from my daughter and grandsons more than a couple of months at a time. Even that will be hard as I care for them full time now (until at least next June).
I had my camper that I used for church campouts, there came a point where I realized using my mothers as a sticks and bricks was no longer feasible. At that point I used my moms address as my home domicile and moved the camper to a local county campground.
We have been in phase 1 for nearly 4 years. It is good to know it’s not too late! Sometimes I get discouraged. Although we did get our F350 in June which was a big first step for us - and now we are hoping to launch in the next year.
@@RVOddCouple Well I just bought my huge sticky pads -so it's on! :) LOL We have chosen our rig - and are getting our credit positioned to purchase it - seems we don't have enough open credit to finance! Maybe we shouldn't have paid cash for our truck!
I started my journey on 6/26/20 and have had an amazing time so far , from Ohio to Florida and now off to SC . Love the new shirts I have just ordered 1 in each color lol . Stay well and travel safe .
I think there is a phase between dreaming and action. This would be analysis and practicality phase. Which type of RV is best for you and your partner>. ie motorhome, 5th wheel, etc etc
I really enjoy watching your channel ❤️ I watch a few other RV channels that focus on the places they visit, but I like your channel for the wealth of information you guys provide. We bought our RV last year and a Ford Expedition which can pull 9,000 lbs but when we weighed it at the CAT scale we were 40 lbs overweight. I was so nervous! This year we traded the Expedition for a Ford F250 Superduty. Long story short we took a huge loss on the Expedtion but I now have piece of mind. Wish I had done more research b4 I jumped in with both feet.
I am still in the dreaming stage This was a great help I have started selling and cleaning out things I had already decided to tage things keep and get rid Your idea is better with the paper I have given myself a year and if RVING is not for me at the least I will be able to move to a smaller place
Another great video 😃 My husband and I are in phase 2. We have the truck and 5th-wheel and are 2 years out from our go date. However, after 31 years and 2 kids we have accumulated a great deal "stuff." What is presently freaking me out is getting rid of our stuff. Not just regular items, but things with sentimental value or that we have fond memories of. I've been trying the Marie Kondo approach of keeping items that inspire joy, but a lot of things give me joy! Plus, I know 90% of the time I get rid of stuff, I need it a week later. How did you all or any of the other viewers deal with that? Totally perplexed in Texas 😦
Good morning guys. Great video as usual and many great tips for us newbies and others still in the dreaming stage. I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer and I pray Sage is progressing at her own pace and I hope you both are seeing life through her eyes and enjoying every minute. Special children give us so much. God bless. Cheers!!!
Good morning our Friend💚 Sage is doing amazingly well. We have assembled a great Team at Johns Hopkins Children's 😀 and her progress is a miracle. Sage is the most cuddly, loving, & beautiful little girl. We are so Blessed F&T. Cheers and God Bless you as well
I have 3 years for my dreaming phase. Funny, I have been doing exactly what you are saying, but instead of paper, it's on my computer. I have been jotting down tons of notes I am learning from you and other channels. Liz Amazing's for one, which I discovered before yours. Money isn't my issue. I could retire early right now. But my wife is greedier than I am, so I told her I will work 3 more years and that is that. I am 51. I don't want to work my whole life. I won't be able to go full time RVing, but maybe something like half time.
Invest in a disinterested rv inspector before signing for that new/used rv. This will help find a lot issues before you hit the road. The dealer/seller will have to fix identified items or you can walk away.
Hi y’all are so awesome! We are new subscribers here. Jim and Marianne we just bought an RV and going to plan on moving in it full time! We are living in! We are in the phase of selling mostly everything. We are in the holy shit it’s really happening phase but at most excited but a little scared at the same time. Y’all are really helping us with your videos thank you so much for them👍☺️
"Action Items: Learn Algebra" LOL!!!!!!! As a seasoned (12 yrs and counting) homeschooling mom I regularly complain to my husband that it's NOT FAIR! I have my high school diploma AND a college degree, but now I have to do algebra SIX more times. I hated algebra the FIRST time. So, I found a math curriculum that is online, videos do the teaching, and the program does the grading. :D
We remember all of these phases lol we never thought about it in that sense. We forgot that Mercedes was a therapist; she nailed the phases! We’re just as happy as we were during the dream phase though! Great video😁😁
Jumped in head first been out here doing this jan 19th 2019 still here anyway love your input sometimes wishing I would have done some research lol but really wouldn't change anything about my life as I have it now
Thanks for this vid. My husband and I have just moved into Phase 2. Just bought a diesel truck that will tow the 42 ft 5th wheel we r planing on buying in Nov. So excited and scared 😆!!!
Hi John Mercedes, A lot of very valuable wise helpful information to be aware of and to plan ahead! Thank you so much for making this video! Have a great day! God bless you +
COVID-19 has killed my first year of retirement plans!! I even went back to work, since every trip we planned had been canceled, up to, and including our September Bristol trip! So bummed..
Can you please explain why places in Florida won’t take an RV older than 10 years it’s so frustrating I wish you would’ve talked about that in your videos I’m here in Florida I watched all your videos and you forgot this one main thing I got turned down because I have a 2012 RV so disappointed even though it looks like brand new
We bought our Motorhome and are vacationing til retirement in 4 years. This way we know how to RV and have some experience. I do believe we will always have a home, maybe just a smaller than the current. But once we are retired, I will not work ( as in UA-cam channel) . I love RVing. 💓 thanks for your valuable info, as always!
She has such a great head of hair....haha.....John's pretty cool too, he's smart and a techie type of fella.I don't even own an RV and got hooked on you guys videos.Both have Great personalities and very well spoken,Mercedes is just a lot easier on the eyes :) Keep up the great vids guys....Two thumbs up!!
We just brought a Chevy Duramax diesel 3500 with an 8 foot box crew cab next comes a 30ish ft rv then we’re going to keep our home base just to have someplace to come back to we can not see into the future so we feel safer getting into it this way. Just 2 old people 60ish 😉
What an excellent video with lots of great information! The other thing doing this will expose is the “health” of your relationship. How well do you talk/work things out. That’s an important thing to know PRIOR to pulling the trigger and buying an RV. One question: I’ve been trying to figure out why you’re the “Odd couple”. There’s got to be a reason behind that moniker. If you don’t want to say what that is, I understand and respect that. Just curious. Love your videos!!🚋❤️
Great video guys! I love it, John; "Vomit it out!" I also agree with the honesty about ideas and exceptions with the partner. I think the downsizing should be like ripping off a bandage -quick and painful but you forget about it really soon. Don't take time to think about it too much or it will fester. I think this year we will be taking out a map of Canada ;).
LOVE this video. Just an FYI, all the links you put up about the other videos in this video link back to this one. I found this out when I opened up new tabs for each link (didn't want to miss anything) and I had 5 tabs of this video! LOL. It's easy enough to track them down, but figured I'd let you know that your links aren't working as intended.
Our leave date has change because of the shutdowns. It’s hard to finish projects to get house on market without the stuff. Living in very rural Colorado is tough. I would like to know from full time RVers is how all the shutdowns and mandatory rules changed their experience. Should we just sell and buy a place in another location we like and wait this all out? Love the shirts! Thanks! Linda
Not a great time for phase 2 or 3 right now Hector. Lots of uncertainty! Thank you for always contributing and reaching out to us. We really enjoy your comments. Stay safe
Thanks for another great video! I was wondering if you could please do a video about all the apps that are available to help navigate parking overnight (Walmart, Cracker Barrel), camp sites, rest stops, or anything else that you've found helpful while traveling. The Allstays app was recommended to me by a friend but when I was in the app store, I realized there are so many apps like Allstay that I didn't know which ones are worth using and which ones to stay away from. I was wondering what you use, what you use it for, and what you like best for help getting you around the country while staying safe, finding easy access to parks and overnight parking, etc. I would love your input about these types of apps so I thought it might make a good video for everyone to learn from. Thanks!!!
Hi guy’s love your channel. I’m an long haul trucker. Been driving for 27 years and own my own last 23 years. I’m about to be 61 years old and retiring in a couple of years. I love what I do but obviously don’t get to enjoy our beautiful country and would easily transition into full time. My question is to buy a 5th wheel or motor coach? I’ve gone to a few RV shows but what’s your opinion? Thanks Fred
Hi Fred 😊. Really personal preference. We thought we wanted a Class A bit then fell in love with the 5th wheel. Do you want to pull a car or pull your home?
Thank you for responding. Got me looking at it a bit different. 5th wheel makes the most sense for me. I’m not 100% sure but my guess that a Pickup would also less mechanical issues than a coach. Like I said I really enjoy your channel and your also very in-depth which I believe helps more people. There’s some good RV channels out there but yours is the best.
Another great video with really useful content. While watching I realized how much fun it will be to answer the question, "so where do you live?" My answer will sound kinda like, "Oh, I basically live wherever I want to, I'm homeless", then watch their facial expressions, lol. Best wishes!
OK I am somewhere Between Phase 1 and phase 3. I plan on hitting the road full time and living off my UA-cam income when my channel starts rolling in the dough. Have the truck and Toy hauler just need income when I am on the road.
I liked to see your "Mind Map" ! When I was working as a course developer for Bell Communications Research (New "Bell Labs") in the 1980s, they had me attend a training course titled "High Powered Mind Mapping". It was very similar to your mind map that you describe. I found it to be immensely effective in gathering concepts, data, ideas and goals. When dealing with large, complex concepts and projects, linear thinking just doesn't work well. Before then I was mostly a linear thinker. I found Mind Mapping to be extremely useful thru my life. I too used Mind Mapping when planning and moving to fulltime RVing. You are the first people I have heard recommend that concept in decades.
I really enjoy your videos I see on UA-cam four more new on UA-cam do what you two doing I love your videos betterGod bless y’all and your little angel
GET Your RV Odd Squad Shirts here: bit.ly/RVOddSquadShirts
Send us a picture with you in your new shirt for a future video. Thank you as always
Still waiting on our shirts! Cannot wait to get them.
I saw my first rv odd couple video last week, and I haven't gone a day without watching. John and Mercedes are hilarious. They are extremely intelligent, articulate and so informative. My husband and myself also greatly appreciate the fact that they are believers. We dont see enough good, honest, God-fearing people. We love your positivity! Please keep doing what you're doing. We love the show! God bless you both . (And Sage and Skippy).
What a kind message that made us both smile Erika💚💚💚 Welcome to the RV Odd Squad! We look forward to getting to know you 😀 God Bless you & yours as well.
John ; Mercedes, this PROCESS...is EXACTLY what our channel is about: moving from our stix n brix to nomad...and all the pieces to that pie! Learning more is always important. Blessings and safe travels. LUCRETIA
EXCELLENT video John and Mercedes! I can’t thank you two enough for your willingness to be so helpful to those of us thinking about embarking on this lifestyle! My wife and I spent a couple of years shopping for our RV and bought it early this year, and now are taking our time buying the truck to pull it... we’re fortunate enough to have family members that own trucks big enough and are kind enough to let us use them! It’s nerve-wracking and FUN planning all this out and I’ve greatly appreciated your videos and have learned a great deal from the both of you over the last several months- We’re on a “practice” vacation as I watch this video and I can’t wait to share it with my wife tomorrow! Thank you again and God bless you both- safe travels!!! Chris
Thank you for the kind message :) We are Blessed with a new purpose to help those coming behind us. We love helping and are so grateful for the RV Odd Squad 💚 God Bless you as well😀
I almost didn't watch this because John was not wearing his iconic blue shirt. He gets a pass, I love your new shirts!
Lol 😂 Thank you Fizz💚
I've been watching your videos. THANK YOU. While I haven't bought an RV or pick-up yet, I just called to check on my insurance rates. I've been with Farmers for 28 years, and they've evidently been putting it to me. Went from $675 every six months down to $310. You guys are great!
Ouch! Happy that we could help Matt👍😊.
As we found out: Test your RV Air Conditioner when it's in the 90's. Otherwise you maybe living in a constant sweat. The best advise you both gave was to test, test, test before you drive away. Great video.
Hey Scotty 😀
Your videos just keep getting better, raising the bar for other channels. You’ve made videos on so many topics! As you broadly run through topics, it really does help when you display the link(s) back to past video(s) for more detail. Consider offering a “Soup-Starter” checklist by phase that could be used along with the big flipchart. I happen to be enjoying Phase 1. I use Apple Notes on my iPad (1 Note per major topic w/ bold title. In each note I post links of all related youtubes along with my thoughts, action plans, and deadlines. This is especially useful for listing all the subjects to learn about like, deciding on which type of RV, how to shop, plan to maintain/fix-it, tools, accessories, legal/paperwork, campground planning, priority sites & events). When normalcy resumes, I can’t wait to attend RV Shows & Rallies. Your channel offers such a superb resource! Thanks to you, and the other Top 20 YT Channels (like Robin) on RVs & the RV lifestyle, I’m loving Phase 1. I’m reading the books too, on kindle unlimited. You guys may want to consider recording your own book on Audible (great for commuters & daily walkers). I haven’t been able to get my wife into RVs as Mercedes yet. So we’re taking it slowly. It’d be helpful to video Mercedes doing some of the “guy stuff” to further empower women and build self-reliance & confidence. Help discard old-school thinking and remind us men can enjoy doing “women’s work” and vice-versa. John, I’m sure you do your share of housework. Keep up the outstanding content you both are doing. We need your advice, energy/inspiration, knowledge and ever-increasing wisdom. Always positive, yet authentic.
P.S. I couldn’t stand the thought of having to view commercials on youtube while doing RV research on youtube. So the monthly fee for youtube Red is a bargain.
Thank you for taking the time to share Jeff 👍😊 Great suggestions! We are a Team out here😊. We both contribute. RV’ing has been great for our marriage and Family💚. Thank you
We are doing a phased approach because of our jobs and where are kids are in their life. We researched what we wanted and knew it would be a fifth wheel. Several years ago we got the truck. Last week we got the RV. Now we do little trips over the next few years. I retire in 5-7 years and that becomes the PT RVing.
Congratulations Tom! Let us know how it goes 👍😊
We are in the dream phase. Loved this video. You really break it down on how to plan. I should be sleeping but instead, I watch your videos at night and take notes. I already have a binder with dividers on what I have learned from you. Thank you so much!
You are so very welcome Marla💚 Always happy to help where we can. Thank you for your support 😊
Wow!, great stuff as always. Having spent 22yrs as a "grunt" and 22yrs as a truck driver I think I'll easily transition into what most people consider a vagabond lifestyle and "limited space". My trouble will be in completely changing my economic model. I remained laser focused for years as to getting the kids off on their own, paying off the house and building a nest egg for retirement. Having done that, doing a "180" (walking away from paid off sticks n' bricks) is HARD. Sometimes I feel like a five year old having to give up my security blanket. Love your channel and can't wait for your next video! Stay happy, stay safe and Bless you all. 😉
We are excited to watch you make that move Kratz👍😊 God Bless you as well💚
We're passing into stage 4. Been at this 15 months. Downsized our belongings over 12 months, sold our house in early April, bought a 5th wheel travel trailer and heavy duty (semi) truck. Remodeling of the trailer is nearly complete and the truck is in the frame shop being lengthened to carry our Jeep and pull our 5th wheel trailer. Can't wait for our first extended trip to the beach here in Northern California. It's been a wild and long ride, but we're nearly on our way!
Hang in there Marty and keep us up to date. Thank you and stay safe 👍😊
Great advice! I’m a long time camping and camper person. My wife came on board to full time over 2 years ago. We have a bunk house and our kids are are all grown up. So I’m modified it for couples use. Been living Irving in it pretty much full time for 3 months now in our driveway. We are good with close quarters living. We are not selling our house but giving it to the kids who will not sell it as it is a family thing. So we have that safety net and always have a pad with full hookups to return to. My job already is telework so just need internet to work. We boon dock for a week at a time and love it! We also glamp lol. Both are good. Can’t wait to hit the road and travel across this country and see all the things it has to offer. Money is not an issue as I am still working. Just making sure the rv is all in good working order and don’t like those crappy surprises. I’m pretty handy with auto repair and rv repair. There is very little I can’t do in repairs myself with the proper tools. I hope everything turns out great for your family and you can get back on the road
Good stuff! You guys sound like your doing great👍😊. Hope that we get to meet you both out here. Thank you
I love you guys. You’re real and honest and up front. These days with the pandemic you’re keeping us focused on our dream in a realistic way and you validate the dream and show the path. Thank you!!! God bless! Stay safe!
Always happy to help Marianne💚 God Bless you and stay safe😊
As a Weekend Warrior who dreams of going RV full time in the future this video was soooo helpful! 👍👍👍 I am in the dreaming phase.... and I can only imagine how the action steps can be scary. 🥺 But, I cant wait for phase three and hitting the road! 🥳 You guys rock! ❤️
Glad it was helpful Randi! We love helping where we can 💚👍😀
As usual, a really comprehensive and valuable overview!
I'd like to add one more option for folks that have owned their home for @20+ years. Don't sell it, rent it out using a property management company and retain your growing equity.
We consulted a local realtor, ran the numbers and found that we would be in a comfortable positive cash flow position. The rent would cover all expenses (mortgage, insurance, taxes, utilities, the realtor's 7% fee and a percentage held out for a maintenance/repairs fund) and give us @$500 a month spendable income.
The management company provides well screened tenants, makes all the payment for you (mortgage, taxes, insurance and the utilities). They also take care of necessary maintenance (with your verbal consent for each project) from the maintenance/repairs fund. Then they direct deposit the the remainder into your bank account!
This is an option to take a look at, especially for retired folks as it keeps your home and it's equity (which could be ten's if not hundreds of thousands of dollars) in your hands as a mega safety net.
Happy Trails Odd Squad,
Andy & Kim
P.S. We chose not to do this after all because we are "long timers" (2 months out - 1 month home) not "full timers".
P.P.S. If this looks workable for you, be sure to consult with your tax accountant.
Looks like a really well thought out plan. Happy it works for you!
Thank you for taking the time to share this Chimp👍😊. Excellent plan and good tips and advice!
Hey Jim😊
This is a good plan not just for full time rving but for part time weekend warriors. We didn't do the research well enough and bought two TT's before purchasing the 5th wheel we now have. We also started with a Ford Explorer and traded twice and ended up with a F-250 King Ranch Diesel. Now we are in a permanent spot 44 miles from home and have a Ford Escape,just the way we started 15 years ago. We also owe more than we should because we did not follow the plan which you are laying out. Good plan hopefully many will follow.
Always happy to help where we can Wayne :) Thank you
Omg!!! You two are so amazing!!! My husband and I were going to Get into the RV lifestyle back when we retired back in 2012, but decided not too... For the past 3 years, off and on we have been contemplating on RVing full time.... doing our research and watching UA-cam videos etc... Today 7/27/2020 we came across “your UA-cam” videos and we were very impressed with the videos we’ve watched so far!!! We believe this is a God send!!! Thank you for all the thorough information on RVing!!!
Welcome to the RV Odd Squad Marisol 😀 Always happy to help where we can :) Go slow and have a good budget & Plan👍 God Bless you both and let us know how it goes....
RV Odd Couple we definitely will! We have been empty nesters for a while now and we come from a law enforcement family. We definitely liked your video on safety... we will keep in touch!!
Amen!! God Bless you all too!!!
Get yourself the chart pads with the sticky strip. It's like a giant post-it. Its life changing.
I think that’s what we have Mandy 👍😊. We love ours
Great video with such an abundance of practical and realistic information!! I just love how candid you both are. I love all the laughs too by-the-way...I find myself chuckling right along with you~Thank you!!
Our pleasure Madonna 😀
Watching you guys from the start. We have been planning for 2 yrs..Thanks for the videos, giving us hope and how to’s! 🤗❤️👏👍 we have recently bought our RV (3rd one, wasn’t able to go before had to sell them, but this one, no turning back) we are in the 1-1/2 stage.. going through all our stuff, separated it by ..going to goodwill, what to sell, give to our children, what to goes to the RV, and what’s going into the storage (which we will go through again months from now) so still packing it all up. Getting house ready, to put on the market!! We are closer than we have ever been, had lots of hurdles and still need to sell our sticks and bricks house. Much emotions right now.. Looking forward to the next phase and moving on..😀
Sounds about right where we were C. S. Very emotional😀😂👍 Hang in there 💚💚💚
Invaluable information in this video. Really well worth watching! Thanks guys. You guys make a great team.
Thank you Richard 💚💚💚
You two are so wonderful together. I've come to know I can always rely on you to give a concise, understandable explanation of what to expect when making the plunge into Full-Time RV life. I have come to love you all so much. Thank you for your caring about the RV community. bill in Florida
Hi Bill💚💚💚. Thank you for the kind words! We are always happy to help as much as we can 😊👍. Take care and stay safe Bill
Thank You so much Mercedes & John, for the video! This has helped Denise and myself greatly!!! This helps us make some important decisions. We are brand new to this and I have binge watched all your videos!!!
Thank you Steve & Denise 💚💚💚 Always happy to help & Thank you for your support :)
I think one of the biggest things to do is to put down what your current budget is, and figure that your new budget may be bigger. Unless you spend the next year getting rid of "stuff". And as an experienced RVer, and talking to a lot of experienced RVers that can be so true.
Ok, of you are going try to keep the house, those expenses do not go away, and if you have had a house for 20 years, the cost of 5th wheel, big truck, and the insurance and up keep of those can double or triple the cost of that 20 year old mortgage. Besides that we have not even considered where you stay and fuel. Just ask any full timer just what park rent cost them a month. Now then, you have to pay off all CC dept or that is a huge hindrance. Not only that, never put anything on a CC you can not pay off by end of month because if you need a large repair, you may need a large CC. And how much stuff are you paying on right now? That needs to be zero or you will be budgeting for that and not using it.
Bottom line is to even consider the budget, you have to start with owing nothing, and then start with supporting that RV, truck, and rent. After that you can figure out the rest.
Thank you for taking the time to share this Jimbo! Excellent points! Thank you as always👍💚😊
I am between phase 1 and 2. I follow your channel but I want a class A to travel due to safety of being alone. I still see value in your advice and have learned so much!
I hope Sage is doing well and as always I wish you all the best! Hope to meet 1 day on the road!
Good choice Michelle 😊👍. Sage is doing fantastic 💚. Thank you and let us know how the adventures unfold...
Interesting video content. En route home from The Keys, I met a couple...80 and 81 yrs young....18 months into RVing in a high end Class A DP on a Walmart lot in Murfreesboro, TN . After being taken hostage while they shared all their rig features and plans....they were the kids in a candy store, I asked "Any regrets about your RV experience?" They responded, "We wish we had done this 10 years ago." I'm at their "ten years ago". Wandered around last Fall on several road trips for 6,000 miles looking at RVs between St. Louis, Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Mobile, New Orleans, Orlando, Tampa, and back the hard way. Determined which coach.....specific model and options (Cl A DP tag 43ft Bath-1/2)...I want. Identified cash for the rig and incidentals idling in the bank; spare Jeep rigged to tow. Won't sell either home......too many toys to tow/load. Retired 15 years, great health, technical/business/entrepreneur/planning/risk background, but, I'm alone (widower 20 yrs), and not sure about hitting the road by myself (but, then, I'm alone at home, and have traveled the US alone on my Harley), changing world paradigm, finding RV site every night, where to go/see/do, managing financial arrangements/mail/bills/domicile, other obligations, et el, et el. Just a big paradigm shift for an old guy. :) :) WY, ID, MT have been calling my name for years......waited too long to make the permanent jump.....but loitering for several months is appealing. My son says, "Pull the trigger." :) :) But, he just moved back to St. Louis at 43 to retire, after being essentially out of my life for 25 years. How many years remaining to reconnect?? Seems foolish to do this alone, and foolish not to do it. Money a replenishable resource; heartbeats not. Finger poised to "hit the button." :) :) :)
Life is so short! Trust your gut and get to those places that are calling 😊 Would love to bump into that old couple💚. Thank you and stay safe
Hello! Video came at a good time!! We currently just sold our house at the height of the market!! We are going to save all the money from our house and full time in our RV. We have had it for a few years and have been in it for 3 weeks at a time. We are not first timers so the excitement is real! We plan to head from Ca - NC for a few months. We are loving downsizing to just the rv and a storage! Excited to hit the road again this year!
Always happy to help 👍😊. Let us know how it unfolds
We have acquired our new to us RV since we last spoke, ty Jesus! His name is George after my late father. He is a 38’ Georgetown XL 360 DS. We postponed the hubby’s retirement due to COVID so we are taking our time and doing lots of upgrades and preventative maintenance. We are on vacation in him in now testing the A/C units out in 93 degree temperatures with the Midwest humidity! So far so good, I already cleaned the coils so I hoped they would work well. Put on Snap Pads before this trip, changed the air filter, the previous owner had him serviced right before we got to Michigan to pick him up in May, so we are good there. I had the chassis lubed and did the CHF on him, put on new Michelin’s and had the front end aligned. I will be putting on our new Tireminder TPMS that arrived right before we left out, so things are happening. I’m kinda glad that our plans got slowed down a bit, it is already proving to be less stressful having more time to get everything done, just like you said. We sold 6 of our rental properties and we still have our primary residence to sell but we won’t do that until Lloyd puts his retirement paperwork back in for processing. Once we do that again he will be done working within 6-8 weeks so things will need to get somewhat back to normal before we take that step again. We are figuring everything will suddenly get better after the election is over, unless of course, Trump wins again, then we’ll have four more years of the Democrats trying to get him out of office again 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ Love the new shirts, we ordered a few but the one John had on in this video wasn’t available...do you know why that is??? Thanks! Marsha
Congratulations on the new Rig you two 👍😊💚 Go slow and ease in.... here is the link to those shirts. You have multiple options. So look at the ordering process closely. Thank you for all of your support.
rvlifereimagined.com/index.php/product/rv-odd-squad-patriotic-shirt/
Hello from Okinawa, Japan! We are moving back to the USA in 39 days to start our full time Rv adventures. Our phases are all mixed up according to your plan because we haven’t been able to do any walk throughs yet. We are 99% sure of what we want from watching UA-cam, but have to set foot in one 1st. We don’t get our truck until November so we will be AirBnB hopping until then. We think we will have to order the RV we want. Ginger is praying through it.
Awesome! Let us know when your back👍😊 We’re adding you to our Prayers💚🙏 be patient
Can you do a video on the best office equipment for RV living? ¿?Printer size, brand?¿ and stuff? I would greatly appreciate it, we're about to start the full time RV living. This channel has helped me so much, I had so much anxiety that was making me procrastinate and now my life dream will finally come to be. Thank you for all your efforts putting this all together for everyone on UA-cam
Happy to help Gillian :) Great video idea! Thank you
HI YOU TWO! Thanks so much for this video....I am learning from you now TOO! Mercedes, you and I are a lot a like..... write it down, everything. Plan, plan, plan. You guys are so sensible now and THEN too. I’ll bet the downsizing was a lot easier with the earliest start date, setting a realistic budget, and having all your medical taken care of before the end when you might be scrambling. MERCEDES!...I love, love, love your new glasses! Meant to tell you that before. They’re very similar to mine. I hope Sage continues to do VERY well in her treatment. She seems to be talking-up a storm now! Our daughter didn’t talk at all until about two years old, (instead of one), and suddenly surprised me with “mommy, turn around and look at me!” ...she hasn’t stopped talking since! (She’s almost 37, and can wear-out your brain completely with non-stop jabber! Stay safe and continue-on with these terrific videos! Love you all, Virginia 💕
You are the one person that we want to meet the most Virginia. Thank you for your gift last night💚💚💚 We don't have the words for how much we appreciate having you with us.
RV Odd Couple that is SOOOOO sweet! Thank you! 🥰
We just went full time, never planned on doing this but with 4 dogs it would be hard to show the house before we had something new and we just never moved out of the RV. When Covid hit and both of us Working From Home, we figured...why not lol. We are loving it but can see how it would not be for everybody
Glad you guys are safe :) Have fun
LOVE the new look! Wonderful video. We have had 3 RVS in our 36 HONEYMOON LOL. We are looking to be part time, keeping the sticks and bricks. We still want to be out traveling for 2-3 months take a break then travel again. Putting everything down on paper is the way to go. THANKS AGAIN SAFE TRAVELS
Thank you Ron :) Safe travels,,,
To me, one of the very first things a homeowner should do is contact a Realtor to do a market analysis on their home. This gives them a good idea how much cash they'll realize from the sale, and thus how much they can spend on an RV. No sense dreaming about what type of RV until one knows their budget.
That’s a great point! Thank you👍😊
Great video. Let me say a word about tow vehicles. Once you know what sort of rv you want. In my case a travel trailer. So now you know what kind of pickup, or tow vehicle you need. Here is what I found. 1 ton and 1 ton dually they can be quit inflexable on the prices. If your shopping at that level, they know you need it. 1/2 ton are oftenm overly equipped on the lot. Thus driving their price far to high. Ther deals seem to be with the 3/4 ton pickup. You can usually find them willing to work with you on the price. In 2019, I got a leftover 2018 Ram 2500 for$ 35,500 all expenses included. Deals are out there, but patience is required.
Awesome info Ken! Great price on a 2018 Ram. Prices on 3500's are ridiculous but like you said, sometimes needed. Thank you as always😀👍
“Planning” is so important now. I’m constantly seeing comments on channels by people saying they’re going to be house free and on the road full time in weeks or a month or two.
Hopefully they are paying attention to all those who have been on the road full time for years. Those that are now putting down some type of physical roots because of what’s happening in the world. Full time living on the road is changing. While it still can be done, I don’t know if it will ever be the same.
I’m hearing from friends that with the unprecedented sales of RV’s now, campgrounds and RV Parks that are open are being packed by those who live nearby. It has made their travel more challenging just to find a place with full hookups. Go figure ...
So important Arthur and we couldn’t agree more on the changing environment .Strange times....
.
This advice is very well received. Thank you again, you guys are amazing! Stay blessed.
You are very welcome :)
Having a launch date is so important to stay focused and not let your dream slip away by other distractions!
So true! Lots of distractions 🙏
WOW!! This is so helpful guys!!! You guys knocked it out of the park with this Video!! Bob
Always happy to help Bob. Strange times...thank you as always for your support👍😊
Thanks for all the info. I just bought a transformer for my RV and used your code. Again thanks, hope all is going well.
Awesome! Thank you Serbert!👍😀 Much appreciated
Great video. Thanks you guys. We have been passively planning to go full time for over a year but even though this was originally his idea and I thought this was what my husband wanted I just can't get him to do any of the work with me or even watch videos. He has even told me lately several times that he is sick of hearing about my plans regarding the RV. So the value of your video was immeasurable for me but not in the way I might have hoped. If there is anything I have learned at my age it is that I have so much more to learn. Love you guys. Thanks so much. :'(
Always happy to help our Friends Jeanette💚💚💚
Great video! I’m in the planning/research stage. Thinking that I’ll be more of a “most timer” than a full timer. I can’t imagine staying away from my daughter and grandsons more than a couple of months at a time. Even that will be hard as I care for them full time now (until at least next June).
Excellent! Sounds like you already know what’s going to work best for you 👍😊. Enjoy the second half💚
I had my camper that I used for church campouts, there came a point where I realized using my mothers as a sticks and bricks was no longer feasible. At that point I used my moms address as my home domicile and moved the camper to a local county campground.
Awesome James! Stay safe😊
We have been in phase 1 for nearly 4 years. It is good to know it’s not too late! Sometimes I get discouraged. Although we did get our F350 in June which was a big first step for us - and now we are hoping to launch in the next year.
Probably a Blessing in disguise Julie. Bad time to be buying an RV and entering the lifestyle. Be patient and have a solid plan :)
@@RVOddCouple Well I just bought my huge sticky pads -so it's on! :) LOL We have chosen our rig - and are getting our credit positioned to purchase it - seems we don't have enough open credit to finance! Maybe we shouldn't have paid cash for our truck!
Always amazed at the quality and amount of useful information you give to the RV world.
We help where we can Marty! Thank you as always 👍😊🙏
This is a great video! My husband and I are renting our first RV in October. It is a baby step. Pretty excited about it.
Congratulations Victoria👍😊 Please let us know how it goes
Good solid no nonsense video on how to get started ... well done guys 🇦🇺
Happy to help 👍😊. Here is the playlist of Buying. Let us know if you have questions: thank you ua-cam.com/play/PLWSab86V6iInJIAlEMIPQ6GwNJ3KlZi_Q.html
I started my journey on 6/26/20 and have had an amazing time so far , from Ohio to Florida and now off to SC . Love the new shirts I have just ordered 1 in each color lol . Stay well and travel safe .
Hi Amy💚 Thank you for ordering our new shirts. We love them 👍💚 Please send us a picture when you receive it 😊
I think there is a phase between dreaming and action. This would be analysis and practicality phase. Which type of RV is best for you and your partner>. ie motorhome, 5th wheel, etc etc
Yes 👍😊
I really enjoy watching your channel ❤️ I watch a few other RV channels that focus on the places they visit, but I like your channel for the wealth of information you guys provide. We bought our RV last year and a Ford Expedition which can pull 9,000 lbs but when we weighed it at the CAT scale we were 40 lbs overweight. I was so nervous! This year we traded the Expedition for a Ford F250 Superduty. Long story short we took a huge loss on the Expedtion but I now have piece of mind. Wish I had done more research b4 I jumped in with both feet.
We love helping as many as we can :) Peace of mind is priceless and removes 80% of the stress while pulling. Thank you and congrats on the new truck💚
I am still in the dreaming stage
This was a great help
I have started selling and cleaning out things
I had already decided to tage things keep and get rid
Your idea is better with the paper
I have given myself a year and if RVING is not for me at the least I will be able to move to a smaller place
Wonderful! Always good to think it through and have a solid plan and realistic budget for comfort
Another great video 😃 My husband and I are in phase 2. We have the truck and 5th-wheel and are 2 years out from our go date. However, after 31 years and 2 kids we have accumulated a great deal "stuff." What is presently freaking me out is getting rid of our stuff. Not just regular items, but things with sentimental value or that we have fond memories of. I've been trying the Marie Kondo approach of keeping items that inspire joy, but a lot of things give me joy! Plus, I know 90% of the time I get rid of stuff, I need it a week later. How did you all or any of the other viewers deal with that? Totally perplexed in Texas 😦
Isn't that always seem to be the case :) You'll forget about most of the stuff you save :)
We're in stage 3 (Oh my goodness, what have we done?!?! 😬 And wow! 😀) We found this very helpful and encouraging. Thank you!
You are so welcome! What a ride....Huh :)
Good morning guys. Great video as usual and many great tips for us newbies and others still in the dreaming stage. I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer and I pray Sage is progressing at her own pace and I hope you both are seeing life through her eyes and enjoying every minute. Special children give us so much. God bless. Cheers!!!
Good morning our Friend💚 Sage is doing amazingly well. We have assembled a great Team at Johns Hopkins Children's 😀 and her progress is a miracle. Sage is the most cuddly, loving, & beautiful little girl. We are so Blessed F&T. Cheers and God Bless you as well
I have 3 years for my dreaming phase. Funny, I have been doing exactly what you are saying, but instead of paper, it's on my computer. I have been jotting down tons of notes I am learning from you and other channels. Liz Amazing's for one, which I discovered before yours. Money isn't my issue. I could retire early right now. But my wife is greedier than I am, so I told her I will work 3 more years and that is that. I am 51. I don't want to work my whole life. I won't be able to go full time RVing, but maybe something like half time.
Thank you for this video! We are right in the middle of this process now and this video is so helpful in this stressful time.
Glad it was helpful Lance & Jenny! Strange times for sure...God Bless us all💚
Invest in a disinterested rv inspector before signing for that new/used rv. This will help find a lot issues before you hit the road. The dealer/seller will have to fix identified items or you can walk away.
Great advice!
Hi y’all are so awesome! We are new subscribers here. Jim and Marianne we just bought an RV and going to plan on moving in it full time! We are living in! We are in the phase of selling mostly everything. We are in the holy shit it’s really happening phase but at most excited but a little scared at the same time. Y’all are really helping us with your videos thank you so much for them👍☺️
Welcome to the RV Odd Squad Cali :) You'll do great but let us know...
Praying all the way through it. That is good advice.
Always 🙏💚
Really very helpful. I'm in the dreaming stage but getting closer to ramping it up... Happy travels, you two!
Happy travels Tim 👍💚😊. Stay safe and we didn’t use the “N” word (Newbie) in this one.
@@RVOddCouple, LOL!! I totally enjoy you guys. I'm wishing you all the best.
"Action Items: Learn Algebra" LOL!!!!!!! As a seasoned (12 yrs and counting) homeschooling mom I regularly complain to my husband that it's NOT FAIR! I have my high school diploma AND a college degree, but now I have to do algebra SIX more times. I hated algebra the FIRST time. So, I found a math curriculum that is online, videos do the teaching, and the program does the grading. :D
Hi Stephanie💚 Lol.... Thank you
We remember all of these phases lol we never thought about it in that sense. We forgot that Mercedes was a therapist; she nailed the phases! We’re just as happy as we were during the dream phase though! Great video😁😁
LOL...We love the RV life as well :) Thank you
Good morning John and Mercedes 🙃🤗😀😅😅😅 thank you for sharing this ❤ 😊 😀 ☺
Good morning Michael & Bella 💚😊
Jumped in head first been out here doing this jan 19th 2019 still here anyway love your input sometimes wishing I would have done some research lol but really wouldn't change anything about my life as I have it now
We love the life as well David. We are so Blessed👍💚😊. Stay safe and keep on keeping on....
Have you done a video on dealing with flat tires that need changed, physical and financial requirements
No but that's an interesting idea. Thank you!
As always guys, Great ideas!!! Thanks a bunch👍🏼
Always welcome Lisa💚
Thanks for this vid. My husband and I have just moved into Phase 2. Just bought a diesel truck that will tow the 42 ft 5th wheel we r planing on buying in Nov. So excited and scared 😆!!!
Excited and scared sounds about right :) Enjoy and plan....
Hi John Mercedes,
A lot of very valuable wise helpful information to be aware of and to plan ahead!
Thank you so much for making this video!
Have a great day!
God bless you +
Always happy to help John👍😊. God Bless you as well💚
COVID-19 has killed my first year of retirement plans!! I even went back to work, since every trip we planned had been canceled, up to, and including our September Bristol trip! So bummed..
Can you please explain why places in Florida won’t take an RV older than 10 years it’s so frustrating I wish you would’ve talked about that in your videos I’m here in Florida I watched all your videos and you forgot this one main thing I got turned down because I have a 2012 RV so disappointed even though it looks like brand new
We have heard this but never seen this?
We bought our Motorhome and are vacationing til retirement in 4 years. This way we know how to RV and have some experience. I do believe we will always have a home, maybe just a smaller than the current. But once we are retired, I will not work ( as in UA-cam channel) . I love RVing. 💓 thanks for your valuable info, as always!
Always happy to help Vera💚 Thank you
Hi Guy. Have you ever read "Managing Your Escape" by Katy Burke? It's is about sailing but a lot of it applies. Keep the videos coming!
We'll check it out! Thank you
She has such a great head of hair....haha.....John's pretty cool too, he's smart and a techie type of fella.I don't even own an RV and got hooked on you guys videos.Both have Great personalities and very well spoken,Mercedes is just a lot easier on the eyes :) Keep up the great vids guys....Two thumbs up!!
Thank you :) I'm a very lucky Guy
We just brought a Chevy Duramax diesel 3500 with an 8 foot box crew cab next comes a 30ish ft rv then we’re going to keep our home base just to have someplace to come back to we can not see into the future so we feel safer getting into it this way. Just 2 old people 60ish 😉
Congratulations Howard 😀👍
Just curious how full time RV'ers like yourselves plan to arrange for your child's schooling? "Home" schooling???
What an excellent video with lots of great information! The other thing doing this will expose is the “health” of your relationship. How well do you talk/work things out. That’s an important thing to know PRIOR to pulling the trigger and buying an RV. One question: I’ve been trying to figure out why you’re the “Odd couple”. There’s got to be a reason behind that moniker. If you don’t want to say what that is, I understand and respect that. Just curious. Love your videos!!🚋❤️
We are working on a video Lori💚.
RV Odd Couple
Great! Can’t wait to see it!!
"UA-cam and chill". LOVE IT!
😀👍💚
Great video guys! I love it, John; "Vomit it out!" I also agree with the honesty about ideas and exceptions with the partner. I think the downsizing should be like ripping off a bandage -quick and painful but you forget about it really soon. Don't take time to think about it too much or it will fester. I think this year we will be taking out a map of Canada ;).
Thank you! We are hoping to be taking the map of Canada out in the next couple of years :)
LOVE this video. Just an FYI, all the links you put up about the other videos in this video link back to this one. I found this out when I opened up new tabs for each link (didn't want to miss anything) and I had 5 tabs of this video! LOL. It's easy enough to track them down, but figured I'd let you know that your links aren't working as intended.
Thank you for watching and letting us know
“Vomit [your brain] on paper.” In John’s case, that should take a 3x5 card. On one side. 24 point font. 😉
And sooo :)
Our leave date has change because of the shutdowns. It’s hard to finish projects to get house on market without the stuff. Living in very rural Colorado is tough.
I would like to know from full time RVers is how all the shutdowns and mandatory rules changed their experience. Should we just sell and buy a place in another location we like and wait this all out?
Love the shirts!
Thanks! Linda
Hi Linds💚. Working on a video for this😊 if things get worse we will be heading towards CO and Family. Stay safe. Love how the shirts came out 👍😊
Great video guys!! I think I will make my wife watch it..... we've been in the planning for few years now and I think is time to pull the plug.
Not a great time for phase 2 or 3 right now Hector. Lots of uncertainty! Thank you for always contributing and reaching out to us. We really enjoy your comments. Stay safe
Great information guys....off the subject..but Mersedes I love your glasses...where and what kind are they.....my bad...
Thank you Paula💚 Got them at America’s Best 😊👍
New shirt ordered and on the way! Great video guys!
Awesome Jason! Thank you for the support. Email us a pic when you get it👍😊
Thanks for another great video! I was wondering if you could please do a video about all the apps that are available to help navigate parking overnight (Walmart, Cracker Barrel), camp sites, rest stops, or anything else that you've found helpful while traveling. The Allstays app was recommended to me by a friend but when I was in the app store, I realized there are so many apps like Allstay that I didn't know which ones are worth using and which ones to stay away from. I was wondering what you use, what you use it for, and what you like best for help getting you around the country while staying safe, finding easy access to parks and overnight parking, etc. I would love your input about these types of apps so I thought it might make a good video for everyone to learn from. Thanks!!!
Great idea for a video Russ 😀👍
Hi guy’s love your channel. I’m an long haul trucker. Been driving for 27 years and own my own last 23 years. I’m about to be 61 years old and retiring in a couple of years. I love what I do but obviously don’t get to enjoy our beautiful country and would easily transition into full time. My question is to buy a 5th wheel or motor coach? I’ve gone to a few RV shows but what’s your opinion? Thanks Fred
Hi Fred 😊. Really personal preference. We thought we wanted a Class A bit then fell in love with the 5th wheel. Do you want to pull a car or pull your home?
Thank you for responding. Got me looking at it a bit different. 5th wheel makes the most sense for me. I’m not 100% sure but my guess that a Pickup would also less mechanical issues than a coach. Like I said I really enjoy your channel and your also very in-depth which I believe helps more people. There’s some good RV channels out there but yours is the best.
Excellent video Mercedes & John!
Thank you 👍😊
Another great video with really useful content. While watching I realized how much fun it will be to answer the question, "so where do you live?" My answer will sound kinda like, "Oh, I basically live wherever I want to, I'm homeless", then watch their facial expressions, lol. Best wishes!
Great question! And Answer 👍😀😂 Best wishes
I wish you guys put this video out a year ago. After 12 months I’m still freaking out.
OK I am somewhere Between Phase 1 and phase 3. I plan on hitting the road full time and living off my UA-cam income when my channel starts rolling in the dough. Have the truck and Toy hauler just need income when I am on the road.
I liked to see your "Mind Map" ! When I was working as a course developer for Bell Communications Research (New "Bell Labs") in the 1980s, they had me attend a training course titled "High Powered Mind Mapping". It was very similar to your mind map that you describe. I found it to be immensely effective in gathering concepts, data, ideas and goals. When dealing with large, complex concepts and projects, linear thinking just doesn't work well. Before then I was mostly a linear thinker. I found Mind Mapping to be extremely useful thru my life.
I too used Mind Mapping when planning and moving to fulltime RVing. You are the first people I have heard recommend that concept in decades.
Mind mapping is powerful! We also make vision boards 👍😊
Hey Guys,
Hope all is going well . I liked the video. I have 11/2 years until I retire then we will start with some long trips
Hey you two :) All is going well here. You'll be retired before you know it. stay safe & God Bless💚
Well gee, I am looking at a class C... but I don't want to stop watching you guys!! LOL Okay, I will watch you AND someone in a class C!! ;-)
Hi Colleen 💚 Check out “Im not lost I’m RV’ing”. Thank you for the support 😊
OMG you changed your shirt. good Job. By the way good viddieoo (I Know). Lots of great information.
Lol... Thank you Audrey👍😊
How do you not need a permanent address? Don't you have to claim a state of residence for taxes?
Yes, it’s called your Domicile State. We made a video 👍😊
Not homeless, but mobile. Heavy on the prayer!!
Thx for another great video!
You are very welcome Jud👍😊 Thank you
Great advice my friends, hey we’re digging those shirts. Can we order some from your website? Love you guys
Hey Joe💚 Love our new shirts! You can grab them on the website (Merch Tab)
Stay safe and keep in touch 👍😊. Love you Guys
Great job, as always!!
Thank you😀
I really enjoy your videos I see on UA-cam four more new on UA-cam do what you two doing I love your videos betterGod bless y’all and your little angel
Thank you Diana 💚 God Bless you as well