We've Been Hit by an Unexpected Curveball | Full Time RV Life

We've Been Hit by an Unexpected Curveball | Full Time RV Life

Sometimes you get hit by an unexpected curveball... some challenge that pops up out of nowhere and jolts you back into reality.

This week, we're Wingin' It about an unexpected challenge that has popped up for us this week.

As full-time RVers for almost 6 years, we've gotten used to being flexible, adapting to change and having our plans in pencil. But we never saw this one coming!

🤠 Thanks For Watching!

We are Tom and Stacie Langland, known for 10 years as RV Texas Y'all.

We are Native Texans and Full-Time RVers who are all about exploring the Great State of Texas and America one campground at a time. We're on a mission to experience life, not just live it and we're bringing you along for the fun.

In 2018, we sold our house, our business and gave away just about everything we own to hit the road and see America. Our home is a 33' motorhome named Freedom. We installed an extreme solar and lithium battery setup so now we can camp just about anywhere with our dog (Star) and our cat (Astro).

Every day is a new adventure, so join us as we RV America Y'all.

Safe Travels and Happy Camping!

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👋 Find Us Across the Internet!

[jonwigby]

Just do a mail forwarding, no rush to change everything else. Your already registered to vote, just keep using old address until changed later. No issue really and you can most of it online including car license, driver license, and then insurance.

[SusanDGElf]

Every company is going electronic, so you should be able to use the Livington address as an "apartment"number and not a regular "PO BOX. Is that what Escapees is suggesting?
Since we work out of our home but wish to have our privacy, we rented a commercial PO Box in a small satellite mail outlet (like Post Boxes Plus, etc.) but to be able to receive ALL mail and shipping (FedEx and UPS don't deliver to PO Boxes), the address is listed as (example) "12345 N. Elm, #105-154, City, State, Zipcode." The #105 designates the building number at the strip mall where it's located, and the "154" is the actual "mail box" that is designated for OUR business alone within the postal outlet. In 18yrs and several changes in ownership, we've never had issues with mail arriving there. If needed, the shipper will package and forward mail to our private residence, but we generally don't need that since we pick things up every couple of weeks.

[FredFolkerts]

Be careful. As a Floridian, car insurance rates have gotten out of control, which means you can expect to pay significantly more for RV and toad insurance as well. This has been one of the biggest challenges since Hurricane Ian. Make sure to get a quote beforehand to understand the new costs.

[BenNstyle]

This is a very interesting topic. Please keep us posted on the outcome. Seems like if it’s the USPS requiring this change, it has me wondering if this new rule applies to all businesses offering domiciled mailing services.

[ouradventuresinsweetpea]

With regards to health insurance, we talked about this a little when we did the podcast with you. We aren't on Medicare yet and have a plan purchased on the ACA healthcare exchange. Florida has tons of plans to choose from and, depending on your income level, there may be subsidies available to you to help offset the cost. With our BCBS PPO plan, we can get any kind of care anywhere in the US. Other plans you might not be able to do that so choose carefully. Before I retired, I went on the exchange and did some research to find out what the various plans cost, what the benefits were, and what the subsidy might be. You can do this without actually applying for a plan. Lastly, you might want to time the domicile change to Florida with the end of the year, as that could complicate your current insurance situation. I know, it's more research to do! You know how to reach us if you want to discuss further! Good Luck!

[susanstevens]

As a current Florida resident, and an Escapee for many years, I have had to have two addresses. For my regular mail its Livingston, for official mail such as my drivers license address, plates, tags, it has to be listed as Bushnell, FL. I also have my absentee ballot listed with Bushnell, and IRS etc. This is a FL rule and Escapees helped me navigate through it. My absentee ballot will go to Bushnell then it will be sent to TX then finally to me. Weird but that’s FL. Expensive auto insurance because of hurricanes and other storms. Hope this info helps!

[rollinwiththedavises]

We changed from having a PO Box to having a mailbox at home about a year ago. Just a head's up, since the address change has already been made, expect your address to automatically be updated on credit cards and other personal business items. I was totally surprised by how many things automatically updated. It actually felt a little intrusive and was a real eye opener. One big question is how would your mail be handled at the RV park if you change to a FL address? Good luck with your decision and the process.

[HetteshWorld]

Guys We just received that email. Luckily we are on our way to Livingston in the next week or so. This was already a planned trip .Barb sent them an email to try and request when this is taking place. We know somebody probably knew this way in advance and could have given us some notice. It was probably due to the recent sale.

[sparkleandspurs]

Marc & I are both born and bred Texans so we hear ya. We travel full time but similarly have a physical address in AZ at a 55+ resort where we pay taxes similar to what you guys do in FL. We domicile in Sioux Falls, SD which has worked out ok so far, BUT ...recently were told that in the county of Minnehaha which includes Sioux Falls that they are not allowing folks with the PMB address to vote! I'm looking into it, but we may have to domicile in a different county in SD if that's true. If your plans are to keep the FL property for 5-10 years, it seems it would be a good solution to go ahead and domicile there. But yea, need to research the insurance part of living in Florida. If you aren't too far away from Medicare age, I'd lean toward Florida domicile. Or, if you have a relative in TX that could receive your mail till you are Medicare eligible, that might work too? We did that for a few years, our daughter got our mail in TX, would send pics, I'd tell her to keep or toss and then she would forward any important stuff every other week wherever we happened to be to receive it. You can set pretty much everything up online or email these days which is also what we've done. I'm sure you and Tom have already done that.

[terryhansen]

We are Wyomingites and we use RV Mail Service out of Montana, they have an office in Sheridan Wyoming and they do exactly what you’re being moved to. Everyone has the same street address but has a Suite #. We also have a deeded rv lot in Wyoming with a personal address PO Box, that we pay taxes on but we can’t expect the local post office to handle our mail like a mail service company does. It’s a pain to go through the change but regardless which way you decide to go you’re going to have to change everything. I feel you’re pain, but it’s rv life dang it. We don’t pay state taxes and property taxes are cheap also

[jdroberts]

We have been full time for 2 years. We use My RV mail out of Crestview FL and they have been outstanding. We registered our vehicles and registered to vote there also. The Florida DMV there is amazing and they were very helpful. We have had no issues thus far. Good luck

[RichardGrant-zz]

If you’re paying property taxes in Florida then maybe you should domicile there. We will always remember your channel as “RV Texas Y’all”.

[cross]

That's some good information for folks!!! Thanks!!

[debfry]

We are full-time RV travelers (we met you in Scott's Bluff NE) for 3 years and we use America's Mailbox in SD. We liked it because we could change everything, within a couple of days. This brings me to the question: How long does it take in Texas to change over everything; do you have to be there to get it all done? Waiting period? If you domiciled in FL, how would you manage your mail? We do not have vehicle inspections in SD. No state tax either. Is it possible to interrupt your travels, leave your RV at one of your reservations, fly to TX to do the necessary paperwork if it can happen in a few days, and then fly back? Big hassle no matter what, but hopefully because you are already registered as TX residents, it could be less complicated?

[annamaybeekman]

SO GOOD TO SEE YOU TWO. LOVE YOU ANNAMAY

[timw]

Good luck on deciding what to do to resolve your issue. Hope you can report back that it turned into a blessing.

[bryanspayde]

I don’t know about tx .. but in Florida it’s a no fault state for vehicle insurance.. if dude runs a stop sign hits your rv in the side . Your insurance has to pay for your repairs.

[hossman]

You might want to check Texas Home Base in Wichita Falls, Tx .We have been full time for 8 years and no issues. They are very service oriented and react to any need or request. Highly recommend.

[wsgriffi]

We have been full time since 2020 and also purchased an RV lot in FL. We changed from a domicile address to the RV lot address. I would recommend doing one more time to your FL address. Biggest issue for us is the increase in insurance. As far as medical insurance we are on my retiree high deductible plan so no idea about the ACA costs in FL. Good luck.

[kathyvossler]

The postal service told us a couple years ago that we had to move our mailbox from one driveway to another as we live on a corner with a through driveway. Where it was previously was on a very large heavy post dug way way down to make it steady and now it’s on a flimsy plastic post not very far down in the ground due to where exactly they wanted it. Yes they were so anal about location that they told us exactly where to place the new post. Where it was previously had been there for over 30 years. The local postmaster said she had zero say and that we had to follow the letter or be denied our mail. We live out in the country so daily drive to town wasn’t an economical option.