DOVER, Fla. -- Michael Dautel's life was a model of success. He was married, held a $200,000-a-year job with a fiber optics company and owned a four-bedroom home in a pricey Atlanta suburb. There was just one problem. He hated it. "I was living in an airplane and hotels," said Dautel, 58. "I decided I'd had enough of that rat race." So when his fourth marriage ended in divorce in 1999, Dautel put all his furniture into storage. He bought a

30-foot trailer and hit the road.

Nine years later, he's still on the road.

"My family wanted to have me committed, because they knew what I walked away from," said Dautel, who for the past several months has parked his newer, 40-foot fifth-wheel at Tampa East RV Resort. "The funniest thing was, I didn't miss a bit of it."

Dautel is part of a nomadic class of "full-timers," as insiders call people who live exclusively in their recreational vehicles and travel trailers. About 1-million Americans fall into that category, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.

They might winter in Florida or Arizona, then head to Maine or the West Coast. The lifestyle, which Dautel calls "the last friendly refuge," appeals to several generations, from the elderly to aging hippies to newly retired yuppies looking for more.

A recent trend backed by KOA and other RV parks encourages RV dwellers to work off all or part of lot rentals by doing seasonal work at RV parks or theme parks.

Dautel's wandering days are far from over. He wants to head out west again. Maybe take in the Washington coast, the mountains of Oregon or the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. He enjoys the ever-present freedom of the road, an option that stay-at-home, suburban types — most of us — only dream about.

"When you can change your environment with the twist of a key, there is absolutely not a reason to ever be stressed again," he said.

SOURCE: St. Petersburg Times