[A/S] Intro with questions-long

["JILL BILLY" <jillbilly@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello-

I am new to this group (sorry for any cross-posting) and Airstreams.
I am looking for info from experienced travelers to help in our search
for the right trailer. I was directed from another group to this one
from a member who thought this would be a great community to bounce my
concerns and questions off of.

I am Jill, a stay-at-home momma. My husband, Brad, is in the USAF so we
are currently stationed and live on the Air Force Academy just North of
Colorado Springs. We moved to CO last year from TX and have about a year
and a half before we move again. We have no idea where we are headed next,
though we have some places we are hoping for.

We homeschool 3 of our 5 children (2 live with their mom but visit often).
We are very child led or relaxed homeschoolers. I love the freedom
homeschooling offers and am excited to learn more about full timing while
homeschooling. We normally go tent camping for weeks at a time and that
works so well in our homeschool program. We are active in the homeschool
community and in scouts. Hopefully this coming fall we will add sports and
music to our schedule.

Our goal is to find a travel trailer that fits our large family; we also
have 3 70lb dogs that take up a little space :). Once we buy the trailer,
we would pack up our household goods and place them in storage until we
move. Then travel the local area while we are here. We love CO and want
to see as much of it while we can.

We are concerned about storage on the trailer for things we need daily.
We will have a storage site we could get to if/when we needed but that
will be fun trying to get the box that is under everything and in the
back :). We travel a lot now, just got back from a 1 month, 7000 mile
road trip in a Suburban but we have a home base at the end of it.

We are always together; my kids go every where with me and each other.
When we get home, they play together and share many of the same friends
but they are able to find a nook to have some quite time when needed.
When we need some personal space, what to do? Depending on the floor plan
there would only be 1 "room" to escape to. How do you give everyone a
little room to stretch if/when needed?

Also during bad weather how to get the kids some running room. Moving
from a 1200 sq ft home to a small trailer limits the movement the kids/dogs
are use to. We can find things in town on bad days but if we cannot make it
into town for a couple days I would like some ideas for in the trailer.

We entertain a lot now, how do we go about having guest without packing
them into our sardine can :)? We know things will dramatically change
when we go full time but we also like a lot of things in our life now
that we would like to incorporate into full timing.

We have been researching the cost of full timing but we are looking for
an experienced, realistic look at the cost associated with full timing.
We know there are things we have not even thought of to figure into the
budget.

We want an Airstream but we are looking at other companies too. We are
interested in the Airstreams 30' Safari Bunk floor plan with the larger
bunk and sofa combo. Any experience with one? How often do you have to
resurface the Airstream? Many of the Airstreams we have looked at do not
have ovens. How do you bake? We are semi-vegetarian so we cook differently
anyway but still bake. I have never used a convection oven so that is
concerning me. Any opinions about other travel trailers? We are not
interested in slide outs or motor coaches at this time. We have a Suburban
to pull the trailer for now.

Thank you for any advice. We are in the market now and when ever the pieces
fit together, we will be full timing, Thanks again for your time, Jill