Discover A Touch Of Old Holland At Windmill Island

You can experience a little bit of Old World Europe in southwest Michigan with a visit to Windmill Island! Here you can tour a magnificent 240 year old working Dutch windmill, enjoy the beauty of over 150,000 tulips in bloom in the spring, tour an exact replica of a 14th century wayside inn, browse through a large selection of souvenirs, and even buy yourself a pair of wooden shoes! Read more  Read More →

Is 43 Volts From the Converter Really Too Much?

Larry D. asked a question about charging voltage that has been asked a lot. His question: Brad, a battery charger question please. I have a Magnetek 7200 Charger/Converter in our 1993 Winnebago. Have you ever heard of the charging voltage increasing to 16.8 volts as the battery approaches full charge? I am not sure if this is normal or not or if the regulator is the problem? I have just replaced two size 27 old batteries that gassed and boiled out (which almost overcame me with H2S as I slept). I replaced it with one group 29 battery that also gassed and boiled on the first cycle. Brad: OK Larry, there is more to your question that I will address in a minute but lets take this part first. The problem is not the battery. The problem is in your charging device. All chargers are supposed to have a voltage high end limiting device in them to control the battery charge. In a 12 volt system that limit is usually around the 14.4 volt range. However my solar system will charge to 15.3 volts and then top off there. 16.8 volts is way too high and the charger needs service or replacement. Now to the second part of your question. Larry D. With no battery connected and the Converter/Charger on I turned on my radio. It commenced to crackle and then smoke came out of it. Would you believe that when I measured the voltage it was 43 volts? Brad: First of all a unit should never be run with the battery disconnected. The battery acts as an absorber for the current that the unit will put out. The... Read more

Mackinac Island

As they traveled along the northernmost region of Michigan, travelers Mike and Roxanne visited one of the highlights of the area, Mackinac Island; detailing their tour of the area in their journal, Mike and Roxanne Travel East. The island north of the tip of the mitten which is Michigan is accessible only by ferry.  Because of this limited access, very few vehicles are seen on this island.  Instead, people get around the quaint town by bicycle or horse and carriage rides.  Bicycles are rented by the thousands, charged at an hourly, daily or weekly rate depending on the visitor’s needs.  All varieties of bikes are available; standard, 3 or 7 speed, tandems and more.  The horse and carriage rides are extremely popular and very fitting for the charming village; some of the carriages are quite large, holding groups up to 50 people. One of the highlights of visiting the island is touring Fort Mackinac.  Standing here on the island since the late 1700’s, tourists can either take a guided or self-guided tour of the buildings.  A reenactment is performed of an actual court martial that proves to be quite interesting and entertaining. Many shops dot the hilly island; candy merchants are very well attended where visitors can view fudge being made, and sample the many varieties that are available for purchase. Arch Rock is an interesting sight on the island, as well; towering over the water line at 146 feet, and as wide as 50 feet across.  The rock arches due to the effects of... Read more

Floridians Win Keystone Outback in Sweepstakes

Nancy Heckert of Panama City, Fla., has won a new Keystone Outback travel trailer valued at more than $26,000, the management of Keystone RV Co. announced Thursday (August 27). The Outback, the second of four grand prizes Keystone will award during its year-long Live Your Dreams promotion, was chosen to be given away to a winner chosen at random from more than 85,000 sweepstakes entries. The Heckerts — Nancy, husband Clay and 11-year-old son PJ — currently enjoy camping in a folding camping trailer, reports Nancy, who grew up in a family of RV enthusiasts. But that’s about to change. “The evening I first learned we had won the Outback I couldn’t sleep I was so excited,” says Nancy Heckert. “Winning this new Outback could not have come at a better time. We have wanted to move up from a tent camper but weren’t quite ready. PJ’s more excited than any of us and can’t wait to see his new Outback travel trailer.” The positive publicity generated by the Live Your Dreams national promotion, a marketing program supported by the web platforms of Ventura, Calif.-based Affinity Media, is driving increased traffic to Keystone’s website and helping to put more consumers in touch with Keystone travel trailers and fifth-wheels, the Goshen, Ind.-based Thor subsidiary reports. “Literally tens of thousands of interested consumers have visited the Keystone website due to the exposure this sweepstakes has generated,” says Keystone Executive Vice President Bob Martin.... Read more

2009 Airstream 23 Flying Cloud

2009 Airstream 23 Flying Cloud Previously $69,107 – Now $57,443 23 ft. travel trailer with booth dinette, flat screen TV, oven, 3-burner range, rear kitchen, front queen bed, privacy curtains and more! Offered from ExploreUSA RV Supercenter in Mesquite, TX. Learn more about this 2009 Airstream 23 Flying Cloud! As featured on  Read More →

Presidential Museums and Blogs

by Chris Guld of Geeks on Tour: If you are interested in American history, as we are, you will love visiting Presidential Libraries/Museums. We make a point of visiting them whenever one is nearby. In our 6 years of RV Travel we have visited 11 Presidential Museums. Reagan’s museum wow’ed us with the actual Air Force One airplane and a panoramic view of the California hills. We saw the humble beginnings of Herbert Hoover in West Branch, Iowa: And got close and personal with the Lincoln’s in Springfield, Illinois. We can relive any of these visits because the stories and photos are all on our Blog. Without the blog, I have no way of telling you when we visited any of these places! With the Blog, I can give you dates, maps, photos, and links to more information about the places we’ve visited. Sometimes I spend several hours revisiting some part of our travels and being reminded just how special this fulltime RVing lifestyle is. I would keep the blog just for myself, even if no one else ever looked at it. But, it is also a wonderful way to share our travels with family and friends. They never need to wonder about where we are or what we’re doing. Since we post to the blog several times a week, they actually know much more about our life than when we lived around the corner. But, how do you find our blog posts just about Presidential Museums? After all, we’ve been keeping this blog since April of 2003. We have over 1,200 post pages. I make sure to apply... Read more

2005 Forest River SIERRA SPORT 37SP

2005 Forest River SIERRA SPORT 37SP Previously $26,995 – Now $24,995 37FT GARAGE MODEL TOY HAULER, FIBERGLASS SIDING, DOUBLE HYDRAULIC SLIDE OUTS, FRONT PRIVATE WALK AROUND QUEEN BED, SOFA/SLEEPER, DINETTE/SLEEPER, IN GARAGE PULL DOWN QUEEN BED, AND MORE! Offered from Major RV & Auto Sales in Hesperia, CA. Learn more about this 2005 Forest River SIERRA SPORT 37SP! As featured on  Read More →

There Is Magic In This Shower Head

So how do you really like showering in your RV?  Even when using a city water connection without a regulator, a shower can still result in a less than a “pressure-packed” experience. Low water pressure from the shower head is most often caused by the poor design used by most RV manufacturers, save for the high end luxury models. For some reason, they all come with this tiny little hole inside the shower head which is supposed to help save you some water. Well, they definitely do but as a consequence, you can barely rinse the soap out of your hair! You could try and modify the standard shower head to remove the restriction and that can help. But there is another way to magically increase the output pressure of your shower head. Replace it with an Oxygenics Body Spa shower wand. The shower head uses a venturi effect to raise the pressure output  and provide you with a much nicer showering experience. This mod is so easy that you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Just unscrew the standard shower head and screw the magic one on. The output is also adjustable, providing a low pressure trickle to a full blown high pressure spray. At the base of the wand is a circular adjuster you simply twist. The only drawback of this mod is that you lose the ability to completely shut off the water supply. The standard shower head allows you to almost stop the water flow using a valve on the back of the head. This feature doesn’t exist on the magic wand. So you might... Read more

Corn Palace, South Dakota

When travelers Bill and Debbie visited the one and only Corn Palace in South Dakota, they documented their amazement and wonder of this unique showplace in their travel diary, Bill & Debbie’s USA Trip. The story of the Corn Palace preceded Bill and Debbie’s visit by a little over 100 years.  Famous explorers Lewis and Clark traveled through the area in 1805, and expressed their belief that the wind swept desert area was good for nothing except buffalo roaming.  Some 80 years later, residents of Mitchell, South Dakota who knew this assessment to be untrue wanted to demonstrate how wonderful the area was in which to live.  The rich soil found here proved to be the ideal condition for growing corn and other grains, and to prove their point as well as to encourage outsiders to move to the area, an organization called the Corn Belt Real Estate Association decided to do something unheard of; construct a building that would illustrate the crops that would thrive in South Dakota.  Thus was the humble beginning of the Corn Palace. The original Palace was a wooden structure that measured 100 x 66; built in 1892.  An astronomical cost for the day, this building had a price tag of $2,976.48.  The building was elaborately decorated with the available grains and grasses that were locally grown, and visitors were intrigued.  Such popularity was gleaned in this unusual tribute to natural resources that it soon became necessary to construct a larger structure.  In 1905,... Read more

2006 National RV Tradewinds 40C

2006 National RV Tradewinds 40C Previously $169,500 – Now $159,500 40 FT. COACH SLEEPS 4. FEATURES SATELLITE RADIO, SURROUND SOUND, 2 TV’S, CERAMIC TILE FLOOR, ULTRA LEATHER CAB SEATS W/POWER, WASHER/DRYER, LIVING ROOM AND BEDROOM WINDOW AWNINGS, DUAL PANE WINDOWS, AND MORE! Offered from Ronnie Bock’s Kerrville R.V. in Kerrville, TX. Learn more about this 2006 National RV Tradewinds 40C! As featured on  Read More →

Next Page »