ready to go full nomadic

[TheElephant]

My family and I have been living in a RV full time for 5 years on the east coast (PA). For the last year and a half we have been living at different locations every 2 weeks. The purpose was to connect with churches, ministries, and people who share the desire to help people better themselves and to get familiar with the nomadic lifestyle. We welcome any positive, up building, and helpful advice or tips. We started with a 27' Coachmen Leprechaun class c that we outgrew after 2 years. We then upgraded to a 33' Damon Daybreak 3130 class a. We have outgrown it and need to upgrade after 3 years. The problem we are seeing is that RVs are not built for full time living. Both of ours showed wear rather quickly and needed constant repair. We have been wanting to build a skoolie but do not have the place or money to do so yet. Are skoolies that much better? I know we can get creative with building it but is it all that it's cracked up to be? My family consists of me, Anthony, my wife Dawn and our daughters Gabi-6 and Eliza-2. Our desire is to help as many people as we can through life coaching and mentoring. Also to volunteer at many different organizations, churches, ministries, and groups to help others get ahead in life. Here we go. Godspeed.

 

[bullfrog]

Motorhomes and built out school buses that are well maintained mechanically generally work really well in situations where they are driven far enough to use a tank gas every two weeks. Most RV's require a lot of maintenance compared to a house as they shake themselves apart going down the road and use low quality products made for limited vacation type use. What problems have you encountered? More information is needed. Miles cost money not only for fuel but wear and tear maintenance. How many miles on average are you traveling every two weeks and how many miles per year total? How many miles were on the motorhomes, what was the age of the motorhome and their condition when you got them? How much money did you spend per mile on each of them? How much money do you have to spend on the purchase of a new mode of transportation and how much per mile can your buget stand? How much room do you need? A 33' motorhome is a lot of space but you stated you have grown out of it so how much more will you need? Many of us have a lot of experience with all sorts of vehicles and RV's and know costs and problems/solutions but without an idea of your situation such as experience, needs,wants and money available to solve needs,wants and what skills you have we can only answer specific questions or take a shot in the dark as to what works for us and hope it works for you. Are you a master craftsman? If not your build may not produce something that satisfies your needs or wants and always just be another unfinished project.

 

[travelaround]

Hi there, welcome to the forum. I would like to know more about your help with ministries as I'm hoping to do something similar as I travel around the country. So far I've just identified a few charities I want to volunteer for. My travel plans include sight-seeing, writing about what I see, making YouTube videos, and charity work when possible or when needed.

My daughter moved into a skoolie earlier this year and likes it a lot. School buses are well-built as they were intended to transport children. They are fixing it up as they go. I'm sure you've seen videos on YouTube of beautiful school bus conversions, so I don't know what else you'd like to know. Buses can be purchased from government auction websites but the quality of the bus varies so choose carefully.

I researched every possibility I could come across as I chose my travel vehicle. Right now I'm set on buying a late model Ford high-roof van - but there's only one of me... no family to take with me. I decided against the skoolie because I'm an old woman with no mechanical skills and I'm hoping and praying for something that works well for a long time.

 

[RoamerRV428]

It is a hard call on this one in that a build from scratch is a lot of work and you need to be one who can do it
Kids getting older you would want bunk beds I would think. Their personal space because changing dinette etc to sleeping arrangement etc is a pain when you full time to some, well to us it was, lol, so at least you can make the build what you want it to be. But then again there are tons of floorplans that give bunks and more storage. And remember, going full nomadic you actually do want to 'less is more' when out there on the road even.
So mechanically, stability and all that between skoolie and a quality motorhome? Not that much in a way to me. Both are wonderful ways to live. Both can have great floorplans. You would have to build black/grey tanks, plumbing etc in your skookie if you want plumbing situation etc. A lot of work. I don't know, you best build NOW before going nomadic Once out on that road nothing is easier without having a base camp to get this big build handled.
Best of luck to you and let us know how you guys roll on this Sounds like you are living a great adventure!

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Anthony and Dawn to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you. I moved your thread to the "Newcomers corner". highdesertranger

 

[TheElephant]

Right now I am not sure as to how much we can spend. Several factors are coming into play. Long story. How many miles per bi weekly move? From 1 or 2 to an hours drive, roughly 30 miles. Problems encountered include latches and hinges coming apart, trans failure, screwed up wiring from previous owner, rough jerking in steering column when accelerating the class a, basement doors falling apart and so much more. The class c was an '89. Well worn but serviceable. It was near the end of its life with only 25,000 miles on it. When we were done with it a mechanic in our area wanted it to fix up so we gifted it to him. He is still doing road trips with his family. Our class a is a '96 with around 35,000 miles.
We are developing our ministry so everything we do is purposeful. We have invested 7 years, around $20,000, and any rep we had to do this. Going full nomad is an eventuality, it will happen as far as I can see. This was the intent for point one. I can get into that another time. We trained to do counseling with a ministry as well as learning from several sources. We do not focus on trying to convert people. Rather we focus on taking believers deeper. Taking responsibility for their own problems, learning to understand human behavior, and so much more. We also help people work through past abuse. Rescued people rescue people and hurt people hurt people. We are still learning all we can and know we are not perfect.
Travelaround, we are open to helping whoever we can. Christians as a whole have a bad rep for pushing their beliefs and "bible thumping". It is unfortunately well deserved. A large part of our effort is to help people as the Bible commands but to do it with NO STRINGS ATTACHED! I am not trying to "yell" but emphasis the point. I spent too many years as a bitter young man trying to destroy what angered me. I know now that the system needs to be rebuilt. Culture has become more important than the Word. I do not mean to be "preachy" and apologize if I offended anyone. My extended family are almost all still in buggies (old order mennonite). My wife's extended family are almost all very conservative mennonite. So much to say we have lost most family because we do not fit into the pre made mold of the culture in northern Lancaster county. But we see it as a badge of honor of sorts. Anyway I am here to learn what I can and get to know people. If any more info is desired I can give an email address.

 

[TheElephant]

I got to look in a skoolie today. Built by several guys fresh out of high school. Not sure if I am going to buy it or not. Awesome talking with them and getting to know them and their build. Very excited.

 

[travelaround]

... we are open to helping whoever we can ...

Yes... that's what I want to do ... really, just looking for volunteer work, as I've been a Christian only 5 years and don't feel qualified to have a ministry. Also, I won't want to volunteer full time but am more likely to travel from place to place. Right now I'm considering helping with Samaritan's Purse disaster relief efforts (only in the USA) and a charity called Feed My Starving Children where I can help pack food ... I did that already once and it was only a two hour shift and that worked well for me.

 

[Seminole Wind]

a skoolie or any rv is only as good as the build, commercial or private does not matter. if it is a slapped together conversion or a mass produced recreation unit it is unlikely to stand up to the rigors of continued heavy.

not that you can afford one, but you may want to look into and see the differences compared to say tour buses for performers. those rigs, while pricey must function day in and day out getting performers where they need to be. there may be something you can incorporate into a build of your own.

 

[TheElephant]

Seminole Wind,
  Are you saying that there are better built rvs? Can you tell me what manufacturer? I do not disbelieve you but am very curious which ones are better built. Our experience so far only covers coachmen and damon.

  Thank you all for your input.

 

[Cammalu]

I have a very well built 2002 Dynamax carrigo. A few years back they sold out to Fleetwood so the quality may have gone way down. Bornfree is another good brand and there is Lance and Bigfoot also. Newell is supposed to be a good brand.

I love my Dynamax. I have solid oak cabinets, one slide out. A large area for kitchen counter space a a couple of large closets.