Toyhome fulltimers club

[stamar]

Hey I know a lot of people here have been full time rvers and that's cool and all.

But I want to know who's a full time rver right now.

As of Monday I'm a full time rver living out of my rv and bmw starting in beaverton oregon.

I've been dreaming about it for a long time in fact really its a very prepared project.

I use the 15 24 hour fitness in the portland area for showers.

Who else is part of this club? Id like to share insights into full time rv life with a toyhome with the real hardcore rv nerds.

[stamar]

The fiirst thing id like to address is that there's some stigma involved.

Especially people obsessed with their house would like to call an rver homeless.

The reality is that people without rvs often pay rent.

The ones that dot often work half of their lives for a mortgage and waste their lives in a place they don't want to be doing something they don't want to do.

All for the dream of not paying rent.

Housing sucks. There has been a big housing drop, there's likely to be another as a house is essentially made of timber mud and glass. Worth about 2000 mostly for the electric wiring its the most over valued commodity in the world.

And there's a huge industry from birth to tell you you can't live without it

Sorry for the rant. Anyhow for me its paradise. At first I still have a car, so I have an advtage in transportation but a big disadvantage in not being able to take off yet

[Odyssey4x4]

I'm in your club Stamar! I've been living full-time in my RV for a little over 5 months now up in Alaska, and it's been awesome! The true reality of living hard is about to kick in though, as the winter is well on its way. There is snow creeping 1/2 way down the mountains already, and the temperature is already dipping to right around freezing at night-time. I've been using my wood stove every night already to stay warm, and MAN that stove keeps it nice & cozy in my home, with no insulation to boot. I typically go through my 6 gallon propane cylinder every 3 weeks (this includes the refrigerator running 24/7 for the past 5 months, running the oven & cooking range, and taking the occasional hot shower. I typically dump the tanks once every three weeks as well.

I just finished rerouting my plumbing so I can still use my sink and toilet in the winter. I simply winterized the water heater tank and lines with RV antifreeze, then I put a 5 gallon bucket under the sink to catch all the sink water, and just dump it out at an RV sanitation dump wheneve it gets full. I put heat tape and a 12 volt heat pad on the black water tank and toilet plumbing, and hooked the waterpump up to a container of RV antifreeze, so the toilet flushes antifreeze and keeps the tank from freezing.

I still need to cut styrofoam insulation for the windows, but that's about it! I'm excited and ready to start skiing, snowmachining, and speed flyin' this winter! I'll start keeping up with the challenges of Alaskan winter full-timing on my blog once the snow hits the ground in the city. Might drive down to the lower 48 next summer to check out Burning Man too. Who knows, I love that little Toy home!

Timmy

www.timmystoyota.blogspot.com

[toyboxII]

Hi Stamar--sounds like you are letting others and their opinions stigmatize you with their opinions. We have been full-timers for the past 17 years and over that time we have owned seven different rigs, three of which were Toyhomes. Our present full-time rig is a '92 Itasca Spirit with the Toyota V-6. There are many challenges living in an RV for the winter, but they can be easily solved. Please feel free to email me at chartrue2@aol.com with any questions I might be able to answer for you. Good luck in your endeavor and welcome to the full-time community.

[stamar]

I am not the type to be worried about peoples opinions

But many people are. I think of a renter as truly homeless, sort of a peasant living on the lords land.

And the homeowner for the most part, secure, but just someone with a huge investment that pays off nothing. Sell that heap of junk and see the world, don't just hang out in it

and die.

However I must say I don't want to beat anyones head over it. I have never had those values I've always thought renting a place was terrible.

My toyhome is so much cheaper and I wake up in a different beautiful spot.

[ILIA]

I'm turning 30 in a few weeks and have been full-timing on and off for the last 3 years and love it! Life is great! Nothing like driving off at a seconds notice and not worrying that you left something behind. I've woken up on isolated beaches with epic surf, beautiful mountain peaks with fresh powder, a minute walk from an archaeological dig I was working on, wide open untouched desert, and many other types of pristine landscapes. One of the few things I know I'll never regret is minimizing, packing everything up, and heading west in my toy home.

[stamar]

I'm utilizing 24 hour fitness.

I use their all super sport membership, basically all of their clubs especially the fancy ones for 45 a month.

But a way better deal is they have a costco membership which allows you to go to sport level clubs and below, basically about 2/3 of them.

The clubs rank from a few that are almost worthless and don't even have showers. Up to ginormous ones that are like resorts.

Most have jacuzzi pool basketball etc.

Anyhow the costco membership is less than 15 a month and there's around 400 primarily in the west coast nevada arizona texas.

Always having what becomes a luxury bathroom, and lounge makes a huge difference.

[stamar]

Someone who lives out of hotels motels and cruise ships is definitely homeless.

Rich maybe.

Someone who sleeps in the toyhome and rents a place could be a full timer. But I would say that's more like... a frequent timer.

Someone who rents rv space for a toyhome is a fulltimer but, I'm never doing that that defeats the purpose to me

Owning your own home and not needing to pay for anything.

Ya what is a home? I consider someone with a teepee to have a home but someone who waits in line everyday at a shelter to be homeless. Although they get a night of housing.

Just someone who owns no place to live and sleep. Literally has to pay someone else to rent theirs, someone who doesn't have a home.

[stamar]

That's a weird thought. The money just goes from their hands to someone wealthy. I guess jf it leaves their hands it contributes to the wealthy and some goes to taxes.

I'm more focused on contributing my money to things that help me specifically.

This country is mine, and I'm definitely not freeloading by staying it it. Really. Really weird thoughts karin, I don't think I want to hear any more of your thoughts if you don't mind.

Because that's not really what I'm interested in debating.

I own all the land I stay on, its mine. The concept of having to pay someone to sleep, to eat is slavery. It would not matter how much I made if the land owners just made it cost more to live here.

the landlords often try to make it hard to avoid paying them by influencing local laws.

The majority of american rental properties would be totally illegal in. Europe, there's literally one in seven houses in the us vacant to raise the price, and one in five is paid for by our taxes through hud, once again to create a false inflated pprice.

But I always stay where I'm welcome or on land I own. Never had a problem in many years, from big cities to small. Defintely looking to live on my land for free and its paradise.

People wasting money on rent are always going to be jealous I guess. I haven't paid rent in years I think 5.

People living full time in rvs are in general living the dream. If you had to also rent a space for the rv that'd be a waste. But maybe some people do.

If you're stuck in an area long enough there's probably vacant property someone might pay you to park it on

That's a different subject completely but it never takes me more than a few hours scouting of any new town to find a safe and legal place to park my rig for at least a few days, usually weeks.

Some people have trouble with that and I might benefit a lot of people if I write down the easiest spots in general american life.

I've. Stayed in camper vans everywhere from new york to san francisco

Which were the least friendly places

To burning man to the rural south. National parks rural to suburbs. I chose portland to full time in my toyhome because its so easy but where I am now I. Arcata isn't tough.

[stamar]

If you think you need to pay somebody, anybody, to sleep in your rv if you're tired that's sad.

I am sad. You can sleep in your rv wherever you want. If you get a ticket there are legal defense funds you can mail it to in california that will fight it for you fo free, they have never lost a case.

A camping ticket is unconstitutional

Id like to hook up with people who already are full time rvers who have more experience with camping mostly for free already like have responded.

People who rent places for their rvs will probably change their mind slowly I guess.

[Odyssey4x4]

Well, I can honestly say that I've never paid for a single night of camping with my Toy home. There is ALWAYS somewhere to sleep for free, you just have to keep your common sense about you, respect property owners and businesses, and keep your home moving around so you don't piss anyone off. After all, you're supposed to be living "life on the road" anyway, right? Most large businesses don't mind parking overnight, or at least won't mess with you unless you push your luck. There are always backroads, sidestreets, parks, forest service roads, rest stops, etc. I've parked downtown a lot in many cities because parking downtown in between the hours of 6pm and 8am is typically free and legal.

But then again, I've always been one to not pay for camping, even when I was tenting. I think I've paid for camping a total of 3 times my entire life, and the only reason was to meet other whitewater kayakers at the camp ground in New Zealand and snag a hot shower & free breakfast:^) Just wanted to put the vibe out there that free camping in your Toy home is most definitely feasible, and I haven't been bothered a single time over the last 5 months, not one time. Good luck everyone!

Timmy

www.timmystoyota.blogspot.com

[84TOYRV]

I spent Feb down in Phoenix area. Found out that the Walmarts, in that area, frown on a RV spending the night in their lot. I found other places, including a church property, that I could stay once in a while. They were just like family to me. The rest areas were nice. Course you can just park in the desert, but being a gal alone, I'd rather have people around. It's great to escape a MN winter and return with a nice tan.

[stamar]

About 80 percent of places you can park a car that don't have a sign or meter are good.

I have to be honest, people who run into problems with the police and parking their rv normally have some sort of learning disability. Or, have special needs where they can't move a car very often specifically they are alcoholics and drunk every day....

Or basically they are in a space where advice doesn't help. Anyone else will figure it out shortly.

A good place is a yuppy apartment building, but just pick a middle class neighborhood and park anywhere is fine.

Super markets and walmarts, whether they allow it or not, kmart etc is fine for a night or two.

You don't want to be in a place where there are lots of rvs. You see that's where the cops go, they have had complaints there so if they're bored they might bang on the door.

You are under the guise of a camper tourist or an extra vehicle. Most businesses love to see you for a few days. On the other hand if you look for a place to hide you bring attention to yourself.

I think that's all the info you need. With a heavy emphasis on you will figure it out quickly unless you have a learning disability

[stamar]

I have an example of someone I knew for years and years in arcata. First with an rv, and then later he lived in his car.

He would park his rv behind safeway, eventuallty the cops came.

Basically not bothering anyone but became notiicable by the manager of either the supermarket or the lot. Moved it a short distance away, and then the cops in the follow up also woke him up.

So in his mind you can't park an rv in arcata. Yet there's at least 50 there and some barely move.

I parked my truck with cabover on the same block for 9 months and occasionally crashed in it, not so much as a chalk line.

The key is to just have a sense of what looks out of place or not. Definitely no permanent long term stays on private property without contacting the owner are going to end right.

Finding the perfect spot off the path in suburbia where no one would bother you for months takes some snooping, but look at it this way during the winter tons of rvs sit for months. Find the right spot without a snooper.

[stamar]

I bring up this person because I could tell him I've never had a problem in many years but the truth is, he's right. No matter where he goes in an rv lifestyle he will run into problems because. His level of awareness is not up to the task and I would say It is not something he could learn.

His rv situation needs to be in regular minivans that can blend into traffic.

[straygoose]

Hey stamar, I'm in! I've been doing fulltiming for over a year now and I love it. Screw what the Norms think. I make better money than most of them, and I save more than most of them, so I figure I'm the winner. Plus, home is where I want to be, not where conventional thinking says I should be. Summers working on the East Coast, and winters on the Gulf Coast of South Texas, laying on the beach, playing golf, and going to happy hour. Beats hell out of having a real job.

Even the law can't really mess with you, as a MH is considered a residence and as such, they can't just bull their way inside to see what you are doing. Actually, in one town I work in up East, the local cops all know me and where I work, so they make it a point to check on my vehicle late at night when I'm sleeping. Got my own security force! Just obey the local laws and park legally and you'll be fine.

I have been spending my summers on the road for several years now, first in a Class B, and now in a Toyota Gran Ville. I finally started fullt-iming it last winterafter getting a divorce and selling the house. Getting divorced was no fun, but there's nothing I can do about that now, so I'm making the best of things.

Also, get the All-Stays app on your smart phone. It will tell you where all the free parking, WalMarts, cheap campgrounds, rest stops, and dump stations are all over the country. They have a web site too, but nothing like being able to bring it up on the phone while you are sitting in traffic. It may be the best $4.99 I have spent since I became "homeless." Well, that and maybe the $19.95 a month I pay Planet Fitness for their Black Card membership. Good little gyms in every major city with showers, and $20 a month . Some even have hydro massage machines and barber/stylist shops which are free for Black Card members It is the cheapest membership rate of any gym, by far. No contract either, just a recurring monthly debit. It's so cheap I even keep it running during the winter when I'm nowhere near one.

Which reminds me...

For those of you who don't want the hassle of a cell phone contract, Virgin Mobile has the best deal going. $40 a month ($44 with tax) and you get 1200 minutes, unlimited data and texting. An Android phone will cost you around $200, but it's still worth it. For those of you who are tech savvy, you can root the phone and turn it into a wi-fi hot spot, and get rid of that stupid air card or dongle. So long as you have 3G you get the google machine on the interwebs. Granted, their customer service is in New Delhi, but whatever. They buy their broadband from Sprint, so you got coverage pretty much everywhere there is anything more than a county road.

I've figured out more than a few ways to cut corners. It can be done and you can live well if you pay attention, take care of your rig, and do things right.

I have a bunch of info on this stuff for people that are interested. Just need to organize my thoughts in a coherent format. If you work on the road and live full-time or mostly full-time there are certain advantages available to you depending on where you live and where you work.

All things considered, i wish I would have done this right out of college, thirty-some years ago. I could have probably retired several years ago. Instead I wasted a ton of money keeping up with the Joneses.

PM me with questions and I'll answer them as I can.

Goose

[fred heath]

I found parking in strip malls that have some type of bar or pub in them works great.

Be sure to use one that's well lit. And if the law should bother you, just say you had a some drinks and didn't want to drive. I've used this many times and never been hassled.

[stamar]

Im on month number two of parking exclusively at 24 hour fitness. Im even worse than the average rver in that I have two cars.

All I can say is to have a nose for abusers who like to sit on something until its ruined. For instance I go to three different clubs around beaverton. One is near my job its my least favorite but it makes a short commute.

One is in the middle and honestly, its prime rv life its in the same parking lot as a library with free wifi and it even has open access ac plugs. Its in the middle of a huge park with a lake and geese and walking trails, and theres everything youd need really.

So much so that sometimes rvers just seem to stay there and if theres too many it creates a spectacle. There seems to be one truck with a camper I ALWAYS see there so Ive stopped camping there because I dont want to be part of a crowd.

and the third is really near nothing at all convenient for me, but its in an area where long term parking is totally cool on the street, and the club itself is nice. So I go to it for variety in the routine so Im not an eyesore at my favorite spot.

so thats the main point to overcome, Some people are actually looking for rvs to park next to because to them it must be cool. My sense is totally the opposite, do not hang out with a gang of rvs in a parking lot somewhere that is what the cops are looking for.

I dont need a website I park anywhere I know what is cool. Some people do I hear you.

With just that thought in mind I feel I can go for years. The 24 hour in tualatin actually has a few giant class As that frequent their parking lot.

again I can say that some people cannot figure this out, there are some rvers who are constantly in conflict with the police. particularly in larger class c rigs that they would really prefer to never move.

[stamar]

as far as gym memberships the costco 24 hour fitness membership is only 15 dollar a month.

If youre on the west coast or texas theres nothing like 24 hour fitness as far as members and the quality of the gym.

I pay 45 a month to use all their gyms, some are resort quality. Theyre also open 24 hours, I also park there and sleep there for as long as a week regularly.

Theres nothing out there like that. planet fitness has maybe 12 gyms on the west coast it wouldnt be worth 20$ to me. but on the other hand 24 hour fitness is pretty concentrater to the west coast, nevada and texas so other than that its not common.

theres 15 around portland they are all awesome. its crazy that I have 3 just in my little area theres one about every 5 miles.

there are a lot of single spot gyms for 10$ a month around portland that are just machines and a shower that could be functional. Theres also day places for the homeless( disease)

or just getting a free scholarship at the ymca or a community pool if you are settled into one area.

however between 24 hour fitness, and getting a free pass to la fitness and golds gym theres a shower pretty much everywhere remotely urban.

I would not even pay for a gym that wasnt open 24 hours it just seems like a waste to me. having to rush to get there by 9 pm or commute there before work or whatever. Just not worth the money.

[straygoose]

Yep, but I do have a PF about 20 miles from where I winter, and they are all over the East Coast, where I'm at during the summer. 24 hour Fitness I've heard of, but never seen, so it must be out west, where I don't go often, except for Denver. And every PF I go to is 24/7, even though it's not very likely I will ever be in one much past 9p, or before 6a.

[stamar]

they are around colorado also.

there are 400 in the us its the 2nd largest chain in the us.

they are on the east coast but not in fequency. like theres 4 around new york one in dc 6 in florida etc.

but they are super common around la with maybe 80 of them, san fran with about 30, and then seattle and portland both have 15.

vegas, texas and colorado all have a lot.

the largest chain in the country if you could join just one is golds gym. they vary in size from huge to next to nothing, and some are open 24 hours.

its very easy to get a pass to any one, I think its a week pass at golds.com

[stamar]

there is a universal truck stop shower membership you can buy also.

[straygoose]

there is a universal truck stop shower membership you can buy also.

That's a new one...link?

I should pay closer attention to the trucker sites. They aren't very useful to me, but nice to have anyway. And since I work in the East, 24hr fitness won't work either.

[stamar]

no i dont have a link but i have heard of it.

[straygoose]

Hmmm...I'll have to look into it when I have time, but I have spent enough time in truck stops that I would probably have heard about it already.

Are you sure you aren't confusing this with the customer loyalty cards that companies like Pilot and Loves are handing to truckers and RVers alike? Those really aren't any good for anything more than a nominal gas discount ($.02/gal.) and free/cheap coffee. I think if you use diesel you get a bigger discount, but other than that, its just another piece of plastic to carry around.

[stamar]

Ya I do not hang out at truck stops.

But pilot was where I saw it advertised. You can buy just a pilot shhower thing but they show one that's universal.

[stamar]

There's a planet fitness in portland. The size of planet fitness compared to 24 hour fitness is like 711 to walmart. But it is 24 hours.

24 hour fitness come in different sizes but in portland all 15 are huge. All have pools jacuzzis sauna steam most have basketball courts and raquetball.

A few 24 hour fitness don't have parking but most have a huge lot.

Always voted the best gym in america.

[Nam]

What an interesting read...I do respect all your opinion and rather not getting into it. I've just learned a lot from reading this thread. I've know to pay for as much as $50/night going camping...and when I can't reserve a campsite, the trip has to be cancelled...too bad. But I am now thinking about it...I could just park in a lot of places for free...and not getting in trouble.

For one, I can't be fulltime Rver...at least for 2-3 more decades...I wish I knew this concept while going to college...it would save me over $10K a year...

I also work for a utility company that spans across 2/3 of central and northern California so parking on over 2000 company properties would not be a problem either...

Exciting concept but with wife and young kid...I don't have a choice at the moment...

Keep it coming guys...good stuff

Last but not least...I tend to think whatever people say about you is none of your business...so if they have energy to waste...let's it be and rest assures it has nothing to do with you

[straygoose]

What an interesting read...I do respect all your opinion and rather not getting into it. I've just learned a lot from reading this thread. I've know to pay for as much as $50/night going camping...and when I can't reserve a campsite, the trip has to be cancelled...too bad. But I am now thinking about it...I could just park in a lot of places for free...and not getting in trouble.

For one, I can't be fulltime Rver...at least for 2-3 more decades...I wish I knew this concept while going to college...it would save me over $10K a year...

I also work for a utility company that spans across 2/3 of central and northern California so parking on over 2000 company properties would not be a problem either...

Exciting concept but with wife and young kid...I don't have a choice at the moment...

Keep it coming guys...good stuff

Last but not least...I tend to think whatever people say about you is none of your business...so if they have energy to waste...let's it be and rest assures it has nothing to do with you

Well for me its a matter of being practical. The main reason I own a MH is because I use it to live in and work out of for approximately 8 months of the year. I live in South TX but work mostly in the Northeast, or what the locals call the "Mid-Atlantic." I also spend a month working in Florida every spring.

I used to work across three time zones. Back in those days, it was simple to book a flight, rental car, and hotel on line, and as long as you did it far enough in advance, it was cheeeeeeeep. I didn't worry too much about expenses back then because the cost of booking on the web was so low. As an example, back in 2007 I could fly from Denver to Baltimore for $99 or less, one way. Baltimore to Ft. Lauderdale for as litle as $49. Ft. Laud to Denver for like $89, and a lot of times for as little as $49. Very rarely can you find a deal like that now. I used to be able to rent an economy car for as little as $50/week, and sometimes even cheaper, with no mileage restrictions. That's gone too. Hotel rooms were expensive, but what I would do is get a premium room for the first couple of days I was in a new town, then use my off time to scout around for mom-and-pop places that were willing to give me a deal if I paid in cash. They usualy weren't too hard to find.

Motel owners love it when you hand them cash. It's very easy for them to keep off the books. So if you hand them a bunch of cash and a list of dates you need the room, they are more than happy to give you a break on prices, plus book the room weeks/months in advance, which is something indy motels rarely, if ever, do.

So anyway, once prices started driving my costs up, I decided to experiment with a small Class B that I would just keep up in the Northeast, while limiting my trips out west and down south. I have four cities I can work in up there, so theoretically I could do all my business up there and not have to do any long-distance travelling, except when I traveled up north to start the year, back home to end the year, or whenever I needed to fly home for a few days. I fiugured it would be a three month experiment. The little class B that I orignally bought finally expired last month, some 4 years and over a 100K miles later. That is how I came to be the owner of this '87 Toyota Gran Ville.

I needed a new horse, since the last one got shot out from under me on I-68 near in Western MD.

BTW, that's the toughest interstate I have ever driven in terms of grade. There may be roads with worse grades, but I have never seen so many steep grades, just one after another. It killed a Ford 351W truck engine, which I did not think was possible. Stay away from it, unless you have power to spare, which does not exactly describe the average Toyota MH.

I've learned a lot these past few years. I know for a fact that I can travel the country, never have a problem finding a place to spend the night/nights, and never really pay for much more than groceries, and gas and maintenance on my MH. I still like to stop in at state or county campgrounds from time to time, but I don't realy need to if they aren't available or convenient.

And I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $80, $90, $100 or more a night in some of these chain campground/resorts. If I need to do that I'll go stay at the Motel 6 for the night.

[stamar]

People stuck paying rent are always going to be jealous and think of a reason it can't be done.

People waste a huge percentage of their life paying for time in the mud little boxes they just can't. Believe there's another way.

Renters are the first people who will bother you and call the cops on an rver too. In general you'll find conflict mostly based on jealousy.

Now kids is a adifferent discussion. I personally wish I had been raised in an rv situation as opposed to starting life with a huge bill to cover and no skills to cover it. I don't think of it as a gift my mother gave to me, to be dependent on expensive housing.

[straygoose]

Interesting point. I kind of agree with you that the renters are really the homeless ones, but that society at large doesn't look at it that way.

[stamar]

As far as cell phones I have a way better sollution than virgin.

The problem with virgin and sprint, and boost all sprint companies is they make you pay a lot for a crappy phone.

You cannot flash another phone to work on any of their networks. You must buy a new one from them.

And you have problems ever using their phones on other networks often too,

I use cricket. 50 a month minus 15 from oregons cell phone assistance is 35 a month for unlimted text internet and talk.

Plus I can use any verizon phone, like I use a droid 2 I got a year ago for 60 bucks, but I can use any cdma phone for sale on craigslist stolen or not. The newest galaxy 3 or whatever. Flash it to cricket they don't care. Roaming is on the sprint network also so its largely the same coverage as virgin, which is pretty crappy considering.

3g only.

Now a solution that has some 4g on the tmobile network that you can bring your own gsm phone is a new company called soldevei 50 for unlimited everything.

And I have heard they don't charge for tethering or using your phone as an internet portal. So all things considered they may end up being the best solution.

[Nam]

I agree not only on the renter but people who pay huge mortgage interest for nearly the rest of their lives...the banks actually own the properties...until they pay off...

Well being a suffering immigrant in the late 90s, I was taught to "live within my mean" concept and steer clear of renting as early as possible from my parents. So as of this year, I've reached my goal of living mortgage free...and retirement worry-free...but that's another story.

Being somewhat mechanical-inclined, I've always wanted to own an older Toyota truck preferably 4WD...but work and family would keep me away from going 4Wheelling...so what's the alternative?

After a cross country trip from Florida to California in May of '09, I've decided that there are much more out there for me to explore and enjoy...an RV would fit this interest best. So opsite to a 4WD toyota truck, I got a Toy home instead.

My wife's ultimate goal would be owning a 40+ units apartment...I am not a big fan of this but she said I will have a garage for all my toys and we may have our own house in that apprt...who knows until them, I may join this group to be a fulltimer...

Or running my own consultant firm providing services to utilities companies accross the states...and to say on hotel and plane tickets cost...they what you said here makes perfect sense

Happy Rv'ing!

[Totem]

hmmmm maybe you should convince her to buy a campground instead; you could host toy ins for us.

[straygoose]

As far as cell phones I have a way better sollution than virgin.

The problem with virgin and sprint, and boost all sprint companies is they make you pay a lot for a crappy phone.

You cannot flash another phone to work on any of their networks. You must buy a new one from them.

And you have problems ever using their phones on other networks often too,

I use cricket. 50 a month minus 15 from oregons cell phone assistance is 35 a month for unlimted text internet and talk.

Plus I can use any verizon phone, like I use a droid 2 I got a year ago for 60 bucks, but I can use any cdma phone for sale on craigslist stolen or not. The newest galaxy 3 or whatever. Flash it to cricket they don't care. Roaming is on the sprint network also so its largely the same coverage as virgin, which is pretty crappy considering.

Ps...I have no idea what the Oregon cell phone assistance thing is, and anyway, I haven't been in OR in about 30 years, so I doubt I qualify.

3g only.

Now a solution that has some 4g on the tmobile network that you can bring your own gsm phone is a new company called soldevei 50 for unlimited everything.

And I have heard they don't charge for tethering or using your phone as an internet portal. So all things considered they may end up being the best solution.

Cricket is fine and they are nationwide. But there are drawbacks. And they make you over pay for phones too, so that's a wash.

I don't have the numbers at hand, but I did research this earlier in the year, and the best deal, dollar for dollar was Virgin. First the phone isn't perfect, but it is an LG on the Android platform, so it can still do a lot of things. The only downside I have found is that the internal memory sucks. I fixed that problem by rooting the phone, getting rid of the bloatware, and forcing everything I could onto the MicroSD card.

I got one of the first LGs they had last year, and when I downloaded an app to turn the phone into a wifi hotspot, I had no problems. Subsequent updates to the phone's software blocked that ability. Again, rooting the phone solved that problem.

I have had as many as two laptops and a tablet logged onto my signal at the same time. It wasn't very fast, but on the other hand we were all on line and taking care of business.

Now, it is true that Virgin throttles your broadband after you have downloaded 2.5g in a month. But, 2.5g of data is a lot of bytes. You would have to download a fair amount of junk (YouTube vids, music, porn, whatever) to get to 2.5g. I am not a huge video watcher, but I have gone over the limit two or three times. First, it seemed like they took several days before they finally got around to throttling your account, and Second, it really didn't slow anything down, unless you went right back to downloading large amounts of data. Getting to your email, banking, cloud-based databanks, etc. was not affected in any significant way.

There was another company that was very competitive with VM. That was MetroPCS, who are also on the Sprint network. One nice thing about MPCS is that it is on in 4G wherever you can get it, as opposed to VM's 3G, which means data download speeds are a lot faster. Also, they didn't throttle your broadband until you hit 3.5g for the month, IIRC. Plus, and I don't know if this is the norm, but the store I inquired at was willing to root the phone right on the spot so that I could download the wifi app without it being blocked.

The downside is that if you live in an area where MPCS doesn't do business, or you want an area code whre they don't do business, they can't do it. I found this out when I was attempting to change over from VM to MPCS during the summer. I liked the idea of having 4G, plus the extra gig of "fast" data, even if it was going to be, I think, about $15 a month more, which was not a big deal to me. I tried to port my South Texas number to their system and found out that, even though MPCS is based in Ft. Worth TX, they didn't have any outlets in South TX. Very odd, but oh well. I didn't want to go through the hassle of changing a number I have had since I moved to TX seven years ago, so it was no dice.

So I stick with VM. It ain't perfect, to be sure, but it does work. and it's only about $44 a month, taxes included, for 1200 minutes, unlimited texting, and the aforementioned data. Considering that when I had my Blackberry on Sprint I was paying around $175 a month for the same service, I can't really complain. But once MPCS moves into So. TX I am definitely going to look back into porting over to them.

BTW, I am sitting in a parking lot right now, wishing the rain would stop so I could do some work on the outside of my Toy. In the meantime, I am on line through my phone's hotspot. No nead to go to McDeaths, the coffee shop, library or anywhere else.

I love the 21st century.

ps...A quick search on Goog showed nothing for a soldevei 50 cell plan or company. Also, I have no idea what the OR cell phone assistance plan is, but I think I like it.