The Sauntering Sampsons

A Year Since My Last Post?

2011-10-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

So okay, we thought that we would be on the road by now! Many things have happened, or not happened, to prolong this agonizing wait to become road warriors- the housing market certainly not the least of the issues.

But now we are (finally) fully retired, so we can concentrate on the things we need to do to get the house ready to sell. We've resigned ourselves to the fact that we're going to lose money, and all we're hopeful for is that we can recover enough of our equity to cover a big chunk of the 5th wheel and truck. Since we're located in western North Carolina, quite close to Asheville, we're planning on marketing the house as a fully furnished second home in one of the most beautiful areas of the country.

Kate has been following all the blogs as well as conducting many hours of research during this past year. We've pretty much settled on the new rigs from Redwood as our first choice. Their 36RL looks like a perfect setup for us. We've visited Southern RV in Jonesboro, GA, our closest dealership, and have been very impressed with the Redwood line, and the very knowledgeable staff at Southern RV.

One of our customers at my last place of employment is a diesel mechanic working on 18 wheelers. I asked him what truck he would recommend for our situation and his response was to get a 2003 or 2004 one ton Dodge. His words were "you just can't kill them." They can be repaired almost anywhere, and they run forever. So it looks like we're pretty well set as far as nailing down our gear.

That's the news from the Sauntering Sampsons. Hope all of you are doing well. We'll see you on the road soon!

Time For Some Honesty

2010-09-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

Tommy and absolutely love the picture of us in Seattle that he posted on our blog today. It was taken quite some time ago ( it's scary that we can't remember what year), probably in the mid 90's. Here comes the honesty.........since that time we have both gained a few pounds...even some more honesty....about 20 pounds each. Oh how I wish I still had that great neck and chin!!!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend. Hopefully you are not on the East Coast with Hurricane Earl chasing your ankles.

Now The Pressure's On

2010-09-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Wow! I'm amazed at how quickly our list of followers is growing. Welcome to you all- Pidge, The Freely Living Life gang, John Souva Jr, Karen, John and Judy, Laurie and Odel, Rick and Paulette, Kenny and Angela, the Bayfield Bunch, and Bill. You do realize that this is really putting the pressure on us to keep this going :). That's a good thing, because I've been known to procrastinate on occasion (pretty much any occasion, like Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday...)

Thanks for the suggestion to list our house here in the blog. We're not quite ready for prime time yet, it's that procrastination thing again, but we will get the info here as soon as we get the garage cleaned out. We hadn't thought about full-timers wanting to settle down again and give up the life on the road. That's some kind of sacrilege, isn't it? Don't they have to go into the Witness Protection Program?

We've been doing all kinds of research on trucks and fifth wheels- on the web, reading blogs, visiting dealers, and asking experienced RV'ers. Here's where we are at this point. We're looking at a Ford Lariat 350 Crew Cab Diesel pulling a Carriage Cameo 37 RESLS. This package is expensive, but we think that getting this setup, rather than something smaller with plans to upgrade in the future, is better for us. We won't have any more money coming in than we do right now, unless we win the lottery (rumor has it that this prospect is unlikely), so we figure we better get a system that will suit us for the long haul (pun intended).

We've gone back and forth between a coach and toad and the 5th wheel option. Our decision goes this way: only one engine to worry about, service for that engine is easier to find, service on the truck should be less expensive than service on coach engine, and more storage space available. I'm pretty handy, both mechanically and electrically, so I'm confident that I can handle most maintenance on the rig.

We also plan to boondock when we can, so we will outfit the rig with solar panels, robust batteries, and a small generator.

So that's the story so far. Your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated.

I've Got To Get My Two Cents In Too

2010-08-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hi.....this is Kate, the person who will be in charge of the GPS and deciding where to stop for food when we get on the road. My husband, I call him Tommy, will be the main blog writer. He is a fantastic wordsmith, and I can most times barely put three words together. But I do have a lot to say about pretty much everything, so I'll be posting a blog on regular basis too. I trust Tommy to write about not only the facts of our adventures, but also the emotions related to our adventures. He is a man who is (most of the time) in touch with his emotions. If he doesn't, then I'll step up to the plate.

Thanks to all of the folks that have joined us already. We certainly do very much appreciate your desire to follow us. I follow many blogs, and I'll be posting them soon. I have learned so very much from you folks and can't wait to meet you at some point.

In The Beginning...

2010-08-29T18:03:00.001-07:00

We are dreamers, my wife Kate and me. Not so much long term planners, but dreamers for sure. Our latest dream is to sell most of our earthly goods, pack what's left into our (not yet purchased) diesel truck and (also not yet purchased) 5th wheel RV and, along with our dog and cat, set off across this beautiful North American continent to see what we can see.

We don't want to set too many conditions on this plan, lest we condition ourselves out of ever getting started, but the housing market isn't doing us any favors at the present time. We need to get most of the equity out of our "sticks and bricks" to fund our expedition. Our house is located in an "over 55" manufactured home community near Asheville, North Carolina, and we're hoping to sell it essentially fully furnished as a second home to someone looking for a nice place in the mountains.

In the meantime, we are reading lots and lots of blogs written by full-timers and others on the road, living vicariously through them, jotting down places we have to visit, and tips we have to remember, in hopes of avoiding at least some of the pitfalls and misfortunes befalling those who have gone before us.

So, to those bloggers who occasionally feel tired of blogging, please remember a lot of us out here hang on your every word, enjoying your journeys, your tips, your ups and downs, and getting to know you. Most of all, we look forward to pulling up along side of you at one of those wonderful places you talk about, most hopefully in the very near future.