Steve & Doris Buy an RV

In early 2018, we planned that when my paychecks from Deep Space Industries ended (at the conclusion of all of the NASA contracts), hoped to be years in the future, that we'd give up a fixed home and retire to full-time RVing.

In April, 2018, we saw a 2003 Tiffin Allegro Bus at a dealer's lot in The Great Outdoors RV & Golf Resort in Titusville, Florida, that we couldn't pass up. It was in great shape, and had a great price, so we bought it two months earlier than we planned.

This deal was good enough that we planned to give up the apartment and live in the RV even if Steve's NASA contracts got extended for a year or three. But DSI decided the time was right to close the Orlando Lab (the building was sold, and the new owner wanted it for themselves, so we'd have to move into a new location even if we won additional NASA contracts), so we planned to hit the road on July 1, 2018. It seemed like a sign that both the DSI lease and our apartment lease ended on 30-JUN-2018.

Back to the purchase: with the help, encouragement, and advice from our good friends Fred and Leigh Brown (who had been full-time RVing for several years), we bought this 40' motorcoach and began the process of moving into it, having it parked in the Lake Whipporwill KOA several miles southeast of the Orlando Airport and only 8 miles from the DSI Lab.

This KOA was a great location, a half-mile south of I-417 on Narcoossee Rd., convenient to DSI and a lot of shops and restaurants. Our site was facing the lake from about 20' on the western shore, with a great view of the 355 acre lake, and the sunrise or rocket launches visible to the east.


Of course, the hard part was yet to come!