Customer Reviews

Movin' on: Living and Traveling Full-Time in a Recreational Vehicle

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book in prep for taking our family of 5 on the road full-time (a subject which this book doesn't cover at all--it is geared almost exclusively to retirees). I found many of the chapters vague and without solid content. In addition, it was not well edited (referred to the computer in their RV as a "PCU") and appears to be a self-published book done on the cheap. But the most aggravating part was the amount of space devoted to their newsletter (which they often printed verbatim at the end of each chapter). Not only were most of these stories irrelevant, they were not interesting for someone doing investigative research (as I was) into full-time RVing. Maybe OK for a retiree with lots of time to read the trying-to-be-pithy stories, but not for someone looking for a concise resource.

This second book by Ron and Barb Hofmeister describes everything one needs to know to make an intelligent decision about the possibility of living full-time in a recreational vehicle. Ron and Barb draw on their 9+ years of full-time RVing to share things they have learned through experience.

One of the great things about the book is that they do not try to provide in-depth information in areas that are obviously a matter of opinoin. They do not tell you what kind of vehicle you should own and how you should pack it.

They do tell you the joys and hardships of a full-time lifestyle. They share their own costs to show what one can expect to pay to enjoy this lifestyle. And they offer glimpses of what the lifestyle has to offer.

This is a "must read" for anyone considering a full-time lifestyle in a recreational vehicle.

Due to an ugly encounter with 2 18-wheelers and 1 car (ours), my husband and I were left with debilitating injuries. After trying the live-aboard lifestyle for 2 years, we found that our disabilities proved too much for the boating lifestyle.
Enter RVing. While we are not "full timers" (I don't want to get disappointed again), the book Movin' On by the Hofmeisters proved insightful and exciting, as travel was our main objective. This book provides not only basics of RVing, but gives fantastic accounts of trips which we would have never dreamed of encountering. I recommend it highly for anyone who may be looking for an easier way to travel, and a first hand account of the out-of-the-way destinations which are sure to excite and make trip planning easier.

I'm not an avid reader, but when I picked up this book I could not put it down. I was drawn in to a virtual reality made possible by the Hofmeister's descriptive prose. I only got through a few pages when I knew I better grab a highlighter. My favorite sections were the sections on finance and mobile office. Ron provides detailed information and a budget providing the high end and low end of some of the most common expenses. In the mobile office chapter, Barb provides information on getting one's mail and making telephone calls. The chapter on working while full-time RVing (called workamping) was also very informative. I found all the information I needed in this book.

My wife and I are in the fourth year of a five year countdown to retirement and fulltiming. I read the Hofmeister's first book and thought it was the best of the several books I had read about the subject. I have to say that Ron and Barb have outdone themselves with their second effort to both educate interested people about the RV fulltime lifestyle and to share their experiences. As I read this book, I almost had the feeling they were 'speaking' to me. It was hard to put the book down. I appreciated their being open with their experiences, some of which were personal. These stories help the reader understand many things about the lifestyle that aren't in other books I have read. The book is well-balanced between lifestyle stories and items that every fulltimer needs to be aware of, such as mail forwarding, medical care, insurance, choosing a state in which to live, and much more. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone who is a fulltimer or thinking about becoming a fulltimer. It made me want to accelerate our plans to join the ranks of fulltimers and enjoy the RV lifestyle.

Ron & Barb Hofmeister have done it again! Written an excellent book for anyone interested in RV-ing. A must read whether you are planning to RV or have been RVing for years. It's also a great gift for non-RV friends and family to help them understand the lifestyle as the book reads like a story. It's not just a list of stuff to do. Get a highlighter out before you read, as the book contains so much information you'll want to keep track of it all. We've been on-the-road full-time for 18 months, without Movin'on, we'd still be in the planning stages. The books terrific!

For us, the dream was there, but so unreachable and scary until we ordered Movin' On. We had dreamed of becoming fulltimers when we retired at the age of 65. After reading this book we will now be retiring next June at the age of 62. There was so much we didn't know about the lifestyle and this book addressed all of our concerns. Barb and Ron wrote this book as if we were sittting in their motorhome and we were just talking about everyday things, which what fulltiming is, an everyday thing. We felt like we had known them as good friends forever even though we had never met, and we can't thank them enough.

While I had expected to spend time finding out about the RV lifestyle from those that had been there, there was very little
in the way of "how to" advice. Travelogs are fine for those
interested in finding places to go which comprises most of
the information in this book. Two pages on finances can hardly
be said to be useful for the "details" needed to take up a life
of full-time RVing. Once equipment technicalities entered the conversation, Ron would be better advised to seek help with the questions almost everyone has about how things operate rather than discuss how mechanically inclined he is not.
I don't know what I was expecting but with all the promotion this book has received, my expectations were higher than learning of relatives, friends, and wildflowers. There are others who full-time RV who have written on the internet with more information in two pages than could be found in several pages of this offering. Sorry, but I'll keep searching for the information that was expected.

Movin' On is not only extremely informative, it's fun to read as a travel book. Whether you're planning on vacationing in an RV or living in one full time, you'll find lots of good solid information about what to take, how to pack and places to see and do. If you don't have an RV but like to do some armchair traveling, this is the book for you. It's well written and before you're finished, you'll feel you personally know Ron and Barb.

As one who has been RV'ing for 31 years, recently retired and starting to near-fulltime travel, Movin' On is a very factual source of information. The real life stories about the good and the bad(a few!)gives you a complete cross section view of the lifestyle. It is a book that you do not want to put down until you are finished and then you will want to reread many sections over and over!