The New Survival of the Snowbirds

By Chuck Woodbury
editor, Beginners Guide to RVing

This was the very first book I read when I began researching full-time RVing and it really inspired me. It's written by Joe and Kay Peterson, the founders of the Escapees, the most popular RV club devoted to fulltime RVing.

Most of us believe that a house with a permanent foundation is essential. In fact, owning such a house has always been the "American Dream."

Nowadays, though, there is another dream, and more and more people share it every day — the dream of fulltime RVing, sometimes called the life of the RV Snowbird.

But how can it be done? For countless RVers, what makes such a life possible is BOONDOCKING. Through boondocking, it's possible to live comfortably yet rent-free, 365 days a year in an RV. Many full-timers only use boondocking part of the time, but whether it's done full- or part-time, boondocking is a part of virtually every RVer's life on the road. This book is considered to be the bible on the subject.

While many RVers boondock to save money, others do it for the freedom it offers.

And who are RV snowbirds? "They are not 'homeless' people," write the authors. "They are, in fact, the ultimate homemakers who make every place they go home. The majority of full-time RVers are retired couples. But there are also families traveling with children. And there are single people, too — many of them women who travel

Contents
1. The Gilded Cage
2. Escpaing the Cage
3. Testing Your Wings
4. Protecting Your Nest
5. Winter Nesting Grounds
6. Where Do All The Snowbirds Go?
7. Servants of Free Flight
8. The Dry Water Hole
9. When the Sun Goes Down
10. Capturing the Sun
11. Making a Snug Nest
12. The Flight For Survival
13. When the Nest Egg is Gone
14. Out On A Limb
15. In-flight Communications
16. Nature's Booby Traps
17. Broken Wings
18. Getting Shot Down

alone."

Authors Joe and Kay Peterson sold their four-bedroom house and moved into an RV home on wheels when they were 43 years old. For the next 15 years they worked in the south in the winter and north in the summer. In 1985 they set up a home base in Texas so they could devote more time to their Escapee Club, which they had founded seven years earlier. Now in their 70s, the Peterson's continue to travel and to spread the word about the exciting world of boondocking and fulltime RV travel.

In "The New Survival of the Snowbirds" they reveal all the tricks of the trade for anyone who dreams about a ful-time life on the road or who is already doing it but could benefit from the wealth of advice and information the Peterson's share in this now classic (but updated) book.

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