Young Fulltime RVers – Keep or sell the house??

Dreams, goal setting, and action plans play a starring role at the turn of the year. You may be considering the full time RV lifestyle. Good for you! If you are a home owner that’s a piece of the puzzle that must be in place before you hit the road. In this short Young Fulltime RVer video I’ll share with you a few questions to ask yourself when pondering this issue.  Happy New Year everyone! Be safe and dream big!! Evanne www.RVCookingShow.com PS – Explore the Young Fulltime RVer page for more fulltime insight.  Read More →

Diesel Pushers Owners. What The Manuals Don’t Tell You.

Operation manuals are a great help in getting the most out of a product.  By studying these one can learn how to properly use the product without exceeding its specifications and causing damage.  However, there are things that are not necessarily covered and are either common sense, assumed knowledge or just plain missed.        So, let’s look at a modern class A diesel pusher.  It has air suspension and air brakes.  In most cases the manuals do not state the following.   Air Brakes: Do not exert hard pressure on the brake pedal while the park brake is applied.  Doing so may multiply the power of both the park brake spring and the air brake chamber which could cause damage to the mechanical portion of the “S” cam assembly.  Light to moderate pressure only is required while disengaging the park brake. Airing Up:  This is when you air up to ride height from a height lower than that used for travel.  Do not drive the vehicle until the suspension is fully inflated and at ride height.  This can generally be confirmed by in-dash indicators, if so equipped, or the sound of the compressor unloading.  This requirement is to avoid two possible issues.  The first is the possibility of contacting the fender with the front tires if steered to either side.  The second issue is the acute angle that the drive shaft U joints are at when aired down.  High torque at this steep angle may cause premature U joint failure.  Moving a short distance relatively straight under... Read more

Wind Cave National Park

For generations, Indians told stories about a mysterious hole in the sacred Black Hills that blows wind. They believed that this was where humans first emerged from the underworld where they lived before the creation of the world. Tipi rings near the cave’s natural entrance indicate that they knew the place we now call Wind Cave long before the first Europeans arrived. Read more  Read More →

Technology Top 5 for 2009

by Chris Guld, www.GeeksOnTour.com Jim and I are always learning about new technology – it’s what we’ve done since the early 80s – and there is plenty to keep us occupied.  But, 2009 has been remarkable when it comes to the proliferation of useful technology tools. There’s something qualitatively different this year about technology and gadgets.  People are actually *using* them.  You don’t have to be a geek to want this stuff.  Not all my top 5 are brand new this year, but this is the year they’ve gone mainstream.  Everyone I know had at least one technology item on their holiday gift list this year.  You should also know that this is my personal list – I use a laptop computer a *lot* and  I don’t listen to very much music, otherwise I’m sure some of the fantastic new music players would be on my list.  Every item shown below we have purchased and are currently using.  If you are interested in buying one yourself, the links provided will take you to Amazon.  They have good prices and good service, and, these links will tell them that you heard about it from Geeks on Tour – maybe we’ll get enough credit to buy our next toy (a USB Video Camera)! Ok, here they are – in reverse order: #5: USB External Hard Drives I put this in last place only because they aren’t sexy.  But, OMG are they useful.  They’ve gone mainstream this year because the capacity has grown and the price has dropped. ... Read more

RV Weekly Round-Up (Dec. 19-25, 2009)

Happy Holidays (and Merry Christmas)! I hope everyone has a nice time visiting with friends and family. Check out these highlights of RV-related news, events and video from this past week. 1. Energy saving tips for the boondocker: Until you become a dedicated boondocker and install a sustainable energy source (like solar panels, a wind generator, or a fusion nuclear generator), follow Bob Difley’s tips below to reduce your electrical usage and the amount of time you need to run your noisy generator to recharge your batteries. 2. RV Water & Waste Issues: Fred Brandeberry shares some simple tips on how to reduce your family’s risk of illness from e-coli, germs and bacteria contamination when handling the sewer and water hoses. 3. Why Filter your RV Drinking Water?: When you travel in your RV and stop at different destinations on a regular basis you don’t know anything about the quality of the water you are using or drinking. It seems like every day you hear more and more about what is in the water we drink and how it can impact our health. In this article, Mark Polk shares his family’s experience using the Metal Trap Ultra Dual filtration system by Hydropure Technologies. 4. NASCAR sets up camp at RV resorts: USA Today reports NASCAR has announced plans to partner with Morgan RV Resorts to establish a network of NASCAR-branded campgrounds that will have 30-by-30-foot big screens to broadcast the races, plus interviews and behind-the-scenes doings not available... Read more

RV Trivia Challenge 8, How Well Do You Know RVing?

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season. I thought this may be a good time to sharpen those RV skills, in as much as you have time digesting that turkey dinner. Read more  Read More →

Computing in the Clouds is Good for RVers

by Chris Guld, www.GeeksonTour.com Have you heard of ‘Cloud Computing’?’  It means using applications on the web rather than on your computer.  Blogging is one example, it’s all web-based, any computer will do.  As long as you can connect to the Internet (the ‘cloud’) you can use the blogging applications.  And, there are more web-based applications every day.  Now, you can even create spreadsheets and letters in the Clouds with Google Docs. Read more  Read More →

Why Filter your RV Drinking Water?

 Over the years I have written numerous articles about water filtration, water quality and sanitizing your RV water system. There are lots of reasons to be concerned about the water we drink, especially when it comes to RV’s. When you travel in your RV and stop at different destinations on a regular basis you don’t know anything about the quality of the water you are using or drinking. It seems like every day you hear more and more about what is in the water we drink and how it can impact our health. I have always been an advocate for filtering the water in our RV and I am always on the lookout for the best possible method for filtering water.   Read more  Read More →

Energy saving tips for the boondocker

By Bob Difley Until you become a dedicated boondocker and install a sustainable energy source, like solar panels, a wind generator, or a fusion nuclear generator, follow the tips below to reduce your electrical usage–and the amount of time you need to run your noisy generator to recharge your batteries. Turn off all appliances, lights, radio, TV, and anything else that requires electricity when not in use. Don’t leave your porch light on (a particular annoyance to me when I am not so fortunate to be able to camp away from neighbors, and he/she leaves the light on, ruining my night vision for seeing night critters and star gazing). Coordinate your generator running time with the use of power-hungry appliances. For instance, schedule your showers, water heater, use of microwave, coffee grinder, and dishwashing all within a short period of time when you can run your generator to power them, rather than pull juice out of your batteries. This also charges you batteries at the same time. Time your day to match the sun, rising when it does and going to bed with it also. This cuts your light usage down considerably. If you read in bed, try using small rechargeable battery powered reading lights. You can recharge the batteries when you hook up next time and you won’t run down your house batteries with your RV’s lights. And you will probably disturb your mate less. Monitor your house batteries charge with a voltage meter so you don’t run them down too low, which can damage... Read more

RV Water & Waste Issues

WATER AND WASTE ISSUES: Please follow these instructions; You or your loved ones could become ill from miss-handling of the sewer and water hoses. Reduce the threats from e-coli, germs and bacteria when handling the sewer hose by following these tips: SEWER HOSE USE: Throw-away Gloves should be worn while handling the sewer hose and its fittings. Remove the gloves, without touching the outside of them and properly dispose of them before starting other chores. Tanks should be drained, in this method; Black Water (toilet), then Gray Water (sink water). Additional flushing of your sewer hose can be done by opening faucets in the RV and/or stepping down on your stool valves. WATER HOSE: Before we hook up the Water Hose, we should use a spray bottle to disinfect the area. The threat of cross-contamination from improper sewer hose use may be eliminated by following these safety tips. Beware, as past campers, using the site may have washed their sewer hose at the faucet, causing contamination. A backflow preventor may be installed on your campground faucet. Your RV fluids cannot contaminate the campground water system when the campground water pressure is lost, or is lower than your tank pressures. PORTABLE DRAINAGE TANKS are used to transfer waste from your RV tanks to the nearest sewer drain. Be sure and follow good practices while using these tanks. Do not spill the contents on the ground. Be sure and open the vent on the tank before filling, and close it while transporting. DISINFECT... Read more

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