anyone out there rving on retirement pay only?

My retired Army dh really wants to retire from his second career job at 58, sell the house, and take off in an RV. We will only have his retired pay to live on for 4 years until we are 62. Just wondering if there are any others out there actually doing this on retirement pay only. I know we will have to be very frugal, but our truck & rig will be paid for, at least. Just looking for reassurance... anyone? :huh:

It can be done.... We've been full-timing for almost 8 yrs. on his Army retirement, small PA pension and my small VA Comp., less than $3,000/mo. But we don't own a sticks & bricks house, no property, and have nothing in a storage lot. Planning is the key....such as where do you want to go and how long you would like or can afford to stay. We camp hosted for 5 winters (6 months at a time.)and traveled the other 6 months. We try to stay in 1 place any where between 2 wks. to 1 month. With your truck & rig paid for will help alot....The best thing to do is alot of research & planning. There are alot of blogs out there of full-timers who retire early and full-timing forums. And ask questions...

BTW....our SS kicks in this month...it will help with the gas on our trip west this summer...

It "can" be done. But there's other factors to consider. Amount of retirement, rig (vehicles) paid off, and your comfort level of living.

We've been on the road for almost 8 years and don't have a "sticks and bricks" house or storage. But we do make payments on our RV. I'm retired E-7 after 20, and couldn't live off that pension. So we knew from the beginning that we would need to work seasonal jobs. We actually enjoy working during the summer. It's a great experience, we get to really know a specific area, meet great people, and have fun.

Traveling fulltime in an RV, there's TWO expenses that are controllable: fuel and camping expenses. Usually, these are also the highest expenses. Resist the urge to constantly be moving. Stop in an area and stay a week or a month or more. This will save on the fuel. In addition, you might be able to get weekly or monthly rates on camping. Your RV is "self contained", so don't be afraid to dry-camp (or boondock). There's a ton of wonderful places where you can boondock for free.

Before we started on the road, I was concerned about finances. When we started, I kept good financial records of our expenses and have made them available to others. Although I haven't updated them in a few years, you can see ( click here ) what our monthly and yearly expenses were from 2005 - 2008.

Hope you have a smooth transition to this wonderful lifestyle!

We were full time for 7 yrs with a 40' class A & making payments - no stick house or storage. O-6 retirement & SS for both & never went into savings except for buying the 2nd RV. Been to every state , Alaska, & Altantic Provinces. Join "SMART" - Military Travel Club. For the last 3 yrs we spend the winter months (Nov. to Apr.) in our Casita in Mission. TX & travel the rest of the yr. Great life!

We "escaped" from winter in Maine and dtove all the way to Key West in 91. We planned on a short vacation. We felt we had landed in paradise so we stayed a while, met some rv park owners that wi ter who invited us to Jackson Hole to work at their KOA for the summer. We got a free site and paid hourly for working at the KOA. We met nice people and had a great time. Not all places are nice to work at, but that is one way to do it! I recommend it as long as you can be easygoing and are willing to work.

We do it on retirment pay (E-7 and E-6). The biggest problem is the price of gas. It can add up really quickly. Planning where you want to be and how long you will want to stay will be the best way to go.