Our Maiden Voyage
01-26-2015
So far we have touched briefly on the various aspects of becoming a full time RVer. I think this is a good place to start going into a little more detail around the process but first let’s get you caught up on our current journey.
Today Vicki and I are in Astor, Florida just outside the Ocala National forest. We will be here for the next two weeks putting together a guest guide for Parramore’s Fantastic Fish Camp. If you are unfamiliar with a Guest Guide it’s basically the Resort Map that you receive upon your arrival into the park. This is our main source of income and I have to say it’s absolutely the greatest way of making a living on the road! Vicki and I became full time RVers because we wanted the opportunity to explore the countryside and not stay in one place for an extended period of time.
Basically we stay in a campground for 2 weeks working with the management team developing the layout of the park, if we have already done the guest guide the previous year then it’s more of just developing it more with local businesses. In addition to the design and layout of the Park (Which is what Vicki focuses on) I go out and work with local business to participate in the guest guide this helps the guest to locate various businesses such as Veterinary services, RV Service, local restaurants and attractions. It’s a real win win for both the businesses as well as the campground / resort. We will get more into the work camp aspect in some later entries but for now this gives you an idea of how we support ourselves on the road. Now back to our maiden voyage.
The Trip from HELL!
When we decided to go on the road and take this journey we made one big mistake and that was we did not plan far enough ahead. You see living on the road you basically have to plan 6 months out at the minimum as far as finding work. What we did is we took our first work camp job with Hart-T-Tree Farms selling Christmas trees in South Florida, (WHICH WE LOVE DOING!!) and from there we would “Figure it out” That was our first mistake!
During the previous 6 months before going on the road we stayed at a campground in Colonial Beach Virginia and during this time we spent most of the time fixing up our rig and getting it “ROAD WORTHY” or at least we thought it was. The first day on the road was uneventful we made good time and went from Colonial Beach Virginia to South of the Border where we spent the night. We were full of excitement as we had officially started our new life and journey.
The next morning we had thoughts of grandeur. We would be in Florida before night fall, WOW were we mistaken! We pulled out of Pedro’s Truck stop around 9:00am and started heading south we were about 30 miles from the North Carolina border when we heard a loud pop and then the temperature gauge quickly rose. We got off the highway as quickly as possible and pulled into a parking lot. Steam was pouring out of the engine compartment, I popped the hood and realized that I had thrown the Alternator Belt. We did not have a tow vehicle at this time which in itself created problems.
In asking around I found out that the nearest auto part store was 20 miles away. The gentleman that told me about the auto parts store was gracious enough to give me a ride to get a belt. Now one issue I had is that going into an auto parts store and asking for an alternator belt for a 91 Fleetwood Bounder is no help what so ever. I knew it was a Ford 460 motor so when asking for an alternator belt for that particular motor he handed me a serpentine belt. My particular motor did not have a serpentine belt. The gentleman that gave me a ride was friends with the store owner and he gave me about 10 belts figuring one of them would fix us up and his friend could bring the others back at a later time. It took a little trial and error but after a bit was able to get a belt and put it on so back on the road we would go.
I put the RV in gear and the parking brake would not release. We spent the next 2 hours in the parking lot trying to figure out why so I called a friend back in Virginia who explained to me that there was a Hydraulic brake on the back of the transmission, if I pull the pin on the actuator it should release, we would not have a parking brake but we could get back on the road. So that is what we did, however within 5 minutes of being on the road the RV was beginning to overheat again.
So we pulled off the road and decided to go into a Walmart parking lot. We parked in the back of the parking lot and I placed it in park, guess what we began to roll, remember I pulled the parking break pin, NO PARKING BREAK. We had a couple of blocks in the side compartment so while I pressed the brake pedal Vicki chocked the wheels. We went in and decided to purchase actual wheel chocks and we picked up some antifreeze (Thinking I just did not top off the radiator enough). Filled the radiator up and on the road we went again.
About 10 miles down the road we were overheating again! WHAT THE HELL? We got off the road at the next exit and there was a large dirt lot just at the exit. It was getting late, getting dark so we decided to park there for the night across the street was an O’Reilly’s Auto parts so I figured I could look at it in the morning and take a closer look and figure out what was going on. We will have to pick this up next week as there is a lot of good information that I want to pass along to you about what happened next and how to avoid some of the pit falls. I will let you know now that this is JUST THE BEGIING of the TRIP FROM HELL!
About the Bloggers: Matt and Vicki Hulbert are full time RVers who decided to begin a life on the road and enjoy the Rving lifestyle while still in their mid-40’s. With no real savings, no retirement to speak of and only a dream they took the plunge into this way of life.They like to consider their selves “21st Century Gypsies”, they figure it out as they go. It has not always been an easy road but they are living proof that with a dream, good work ethic and a little luck you too can achieve this wonderful lifestyle. Follow the adventures of Matt, Vicki and their 3 Pugs, see where their adventure takes them next. If you are one of those individuals or couples that are sitting there right now saying “one day” then maybe Matt and Vicki can help you find out that “ONE DAY” is TODAY and you too can start living the dream!
Today Vicki and I are in Astor, Florida just outside the Ocala National forest. We will be here for the next two weeks putting together a guest guide for Parramore’s Fantastic Fish Camp. If you are unfamiliar with a Guest Guide it’s basically the Resort Map that you receive upon your arrival into the park. This is our main source of income and I have to say it’s absolutely the greatest way of making a living on the road! Vicki and I became full time RVers because we wanted the opportunity to explore the countryside and not stay in one place for an extended period of time.
Basically we stay in a campground for 2 weeks working with the management team developing the layout of the park, if we have already done the guest guide the previous year then it’s more of just developing it more with local businesses. In addition to the design and layout of the Park (Which is what Vicki focuses on) I go out and work with local business to participate in the guest guide this helps the guest to locate various businesses such as Veterinary services, RV Service, local restaurants and attractions. It’s a real win win for both the businesses as well as the campground / resort. We will get more into the work camp aspect in some later entries but for now this gives you an idea of how we support ourselves on the road. Now back to our maiden voyage.
The Trip from HELL!
When we decided to go on the road and take this journey we made one big mistake and that was we did not plan far enough ahead. You see living on the road you basically have to plan 6 months out at the minimum as far as finding work. What we did is we took our first work camp job with Hart-T-Tree Farms selling Christmas trees in South Florida, (WHICH WE LOVE DOING!!) and from there we would “Figure it out” That was our first mistake!
During the previous 6 months before going on the road we stayed at a campground in Colonial Beach Virginia and during this time we spent most of the time fixing up our rig and getting it “ROAD WORTHY” or at least we thought it was. The first day on the road was uneventful we made good time and went from Colonial Beach Virginia to South of the Border where we spent the night. We were full of excitement as we had officially started our new life and journey.
The next morning we had thoughts of grandeur. We would be in Florida before night fall, WOW were we mistaken! We pulled out of Pedro’s Truck stop around 9:00am and started heading south we were about 30 miles from the North Carolina border when we heard a loud pop and then the temperature gauge quickly rose. We got off the highway as quickly as possible and pulled into a parking lot. Steam was pouring out of the engine compartment, I popped the hood and realized that I had thrown the Alternator Belt. We did not have a tow vehicle at this time which in itself created problems.
In asking around I found out that the nearest auto part store was 20 miles away. The gentleman that told me about the auto parts store was gracious enough to give me a ride to get a belt. Now one issue I had is that going into an auto parts store and asking for an alternator belt for a 91 Fleetwood Bounder is no help what so ever. I knew it was a Ford 460 motor so when asking for an alternator belt for that particular motor he handed me a serpentine belt. My particular motor did not have a serpentine belt. The gentleman that gave me a ride was friends with the store owner and he gave me about 10 belts figuring one of them would fix us up and his friend could bring the others back at a later time. It took a little trial and error but after a bit was able to get a belt and put it on so back on the road we would go.
I put the RV in gear and the parking brake would not release. We spent the next 2 hours in the parking lot trying to figure out why so I called a friend back in Virginia who explained to me that there was a Hydraulic brake on the back of the transmission, if I pull the pin on the actuator it should release, we would not have a parking brake but we could get back on the road. So that is what we did, however within 5 minutes of being on the road the RV was beginning to overheat again.
So we pulled off the road and decided to go into a Walmart parking lot. We parked in the back of the parking lot and I placed it in park, guess what we began to roll, remember I pulled the parking break pin, NO PARKING BREAK. We had a couple of blocks in the side compartment so while I pressed the brake pedal Vicki chocked the wheels. We went in and decided to purchase actual wheel chocks and we picked up some antifreeze (Thinking I just did not top off the radiator enough). Filled the radiator up and on the road we went again.
About 10 miles down the road we were overheating again! WHAT THE HELL? We got off the road at the next exit and there was a large dirt lot just at the exit. It was getting late, getting dark so we decided to park there for the night across the street was an O’Reilly’s Auto parts so I figured I could look at it in the morning and take a closer look and figure out what was going on. We will have to pick this up next week as there is a lot of good information that I want to pass along to you about what happened next and how to avoid some of the pit falls. I will let you know now that this is JUST THE BEGIING of the TRIP FROM HELL!
About the Bloggers: Matt and Vicki Hulbert are full time RVers who decided to begin a life on the road and enjoy the Rving lifestyle while still in their mid-40’s. With no real savings, no retirement to speak of and only a dream they took the plunge into this way of life.They like to consider their selves “21st Century Gypsies”, they figure it out as they go. It has not always been an easy road but they are living proof that with a dream, good work ethic and a little luck you too can achieve this wonderful lifestyle. Follow the adventures of Matt, Vicki and their 3 Pugs, see where their adventure takes them next. If you are one of those individuals or couples that are sitting there right now saying “one day” then maybe Matt and Vicki can help you find out that “ONE DAY” is TODAY and you too can start living the dream!
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