Government Diesel Emissions Standards & RV’s

I just returned from the Pennsylvania trade/public RV show and while looking at a new motorhome on a Freightliner Custom Chassis I noticed what looked to be a small fuel tank located under one of the outside storage compartment doors. The cap on the tank had the letters (DEF) which I later discovered stands for Diesel Exhaust Fluid.  I had no idea what Diesel Exhaust Fluid was, so I headed over to the Freightliner display to find out. The Freightliner representative was extremely knowledgeable and helpful in explaining what DEF was, and after returning home I decided to research it a bit further. Read more  Read More →

On the Cow-Dung Trail

 By The Never-Bored RVers   Now that we’re slowly working our way down to the deserts of the Southwest, memories from an unplanned deviation on a hike outside of Kingman, Arizona, have come flashing back into our conscious.  It was our exploration of the Monolith Gardens Trails.  A beautiful day in the desert:  the rocks and vegetation sparkling under a temperate sun, with the landscape showing enough variety to stop us in our tracks often to just soak up all the formations.  Wildlife was there in the form of a quartet of steers that seemed to know where we were heading so they could surprise us as we rounded boulders along our fine-sand path.    The vegetation was often thorny, sometimes exploding with bright desert blooms, but oftentimes it fell into the category of “Sagga-boosh,” which is the term we learned from Monique’s fun-loving brother Philippe, who lives in France, and who joined us with his wife for a month on our travels the previous autumn.  “Sagga-boosh” was his pronunciation of “sagebrush,” which we adopted for our own.  We walked the interweaving trails for hours until eventually Monique agreed to follow my suggestion of “taking the shortcut” over a steep, talus-strewn hill to get back to our truck.  It was getting late, and by my estimation, we were an hour away from our truck if we proceeded on the trail, or just across the towering rise if we dared to climb it.  Agreeing to my plan was not a good decision on Monique’s... Read more

Midwest Casino Tour 2010 Is Underway!

After sitting in one spot (Las Vegas) from May through August we spent the first 2 weeks of September at The Ranch in Lakewood, NM.  Now we’re on the road again traveling through the Midwest and visiting casinos along the way.  We don’t have a specific route planned, but we hope to stop at 6 to 8 casinos including several that are new to us.  Our primary criteria is that they be RV friendly, either with an RV park or allowing overnight dry parking. First stop Harrah’s, Kansas City, MO We’ve been to this Harrah’s before and wanted to visit again.  When we pulled in last night after a 700 mile day it was a welcome sight!  Read more  Read More →

Daily RV Deal: 2010 Keystone Sprinter

2010 Keystone Sprinter Previously $34,060 – Now $23,995 29 ft. Keystone Sprinter fifth wheel capable of sleeping 5! Features include full bath, work station, kitchen sink with over head cabinets and much more. Offered by Cooper’s RV Center in Murrysville, PA . Email seller for details on this 2010 Keystone Sprinter! Find more great RVs on  Read More →

Minnesota state park wins national contest

When Coca-Cola encouraged American families to be active outdoors this summer, LivePositively, and vote for their favorite park, millions responded. The “America Is Your Park” campaign ignited a fierce competition online, across the airwaves, and in newspapers across the country. Bear Head Lake at sunrise. Photo courtesy emily.net Over 5.7 million votes were cast during this unique online campaign that resulted in a state park in far northeastern Minnesota, Bear Head Lake, emerge as “America’s Favorite Park” thanks to more than 1.6 million votes. In addition, Bear Head Lake State Park was awarded a $100,000 recreation grant made possible by Coca-Cola’s Live Positively initiative. “It’s clear that our nation’s parks hold a special place in the hearts of Americans. This outpouring of support shows the power we each have to change our communities with the click of a button,” said Celeste Bottorff, Vice President of Living Well, Coca-Cola North America. Through its partnership with the National Park Foundation and the National Park Service, and in collaboration with America’s State Parks, America’s State Parks Foundation teamed up with Coca-Cola to donate more than $500,000 in grants to national, state, and local parks across the country for new activity equipment such as bikes and kayaks, and the restoration and construction of activity areas. Chartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity... Read more

Motorola Droid: Verizon Data Roaming

by Chris Guld We use our Droid cell phones for Internet browsing, email, Facebook, Google Earth, and many other data applications.  We *Love* it!  So we were quite distressed this summer when, in Bowling Green Kentucky, they did not work.  Voice service was fine, but there was simply NO data service.    Kentucky is not a Verizon State We called Verizon and were told, very apologetically that, indeed there was no data service in Bowling Green, Kentucky (and much of Kentucky.)  Luckily there was Wi-Fi in the RV park where we stayed.  From Bowling Green, we went on to Cave City and had the same experience.  In conversations we heard that “Kentucky is not a Verizon state!” But wait!  We met people who had Verizon data cards and they were online just fine.  What the …? We soon moved on from southern Kentucky, and our data service returned to normal thru most of our travels this summer, but that discrepancy kept haunting me.  If data cards could get service, there’s *got* to be a setting somewhere on the Droid to allow access to data service. Data Roaming Setting worked in Washington The next time we experienced the lack of 3G connection was in Mary Hill, Washington.  I talked to someone else in the campground who was using a Verizon Mi-Fi very happily, yet I had no Internet connection on my Droid.  I hunted thru all the settings until I happened upon the ‘Data Roaming’ setting.  Oh – that sounds promising! Turning it on produced a scary “You may... Read more

Daily RV Deal: 2010 Open Range Residential

2010 Open Range Residential Previously $55,195 – Now $49,632 39 ft. 2010 Open Range Residential fifth wheel capable of sleeping 4! Features include island counter top, recliners, fireplace, and more. Offer by Terry Vaughn RV’s in Spring, TX. Email seller for details on this 2010 Open Range Residential! Find more great RVs on  Read More →

Approaching the final lap in our search for the perfect DP

Number 3 Forest River Charleston 410FS       I am as surprised as many of you are that the Charleston finished this high on the list.  I still have misgivings, but I have no place to go, it is my rating system that gave this result.  The fact that the Charleston finished this high is because of an interesting combination of features and options that fit right into the list I prepared before doing the review.  I did make one exception in my list, that is the higher rating for a 5 slide floorplan.  I have been in this motorhome at a couple of shows and really like the 3 zone layout Forest River talks about.  I guess my excuse here is that in this case, more is better.  The “living room” up front makes really good use of the space occupied by the driver and passenger seats which have a good view of the TV in that area.  The kitchen is large, but isolated from the living room.  The dinette is on the passenger side, and there is a TV in the dinette area as well.  Both TVs are viewable even with the slide in.  This is a great arrangement when Linda and I want to watch different shows on TV.  This floorplan also features a side aisle type bathroom.  Some of the other features the netted the Charleston a high rating include 4 point hydraulic leveling, standard queen bed with king option, a very nice water system control panel in the basement, optional basement entertainment center, side hinge basement doors, bottom mounted wipers, and a manual awning.   There are... Read more

The Next Generation In GPS Navigation Plus

A look at the cutting edge, from Lug_Nut.   Many RV owners consider the addition of adding a GPS navigation system to their existing coach.  Most choose the portable type mounted on a holder attached to the top of the dash or windshield.  These offer the advantage of portability which allows them to be used also in the towed vehicle.  However, one of the biggest drawbacks is the somewhat small screen. Then there are people that like the look and feel of the in-dash type.  Screen sizes on these are normally about 7” diagonally and many offer touch screen control.  The in-dash units contain a combination of features.  They are the AM/FM radio, Sat radio, CD player, back up camera capability and of course satellite GPS navigator all in one.  The cost of these before installation can be $600 to $1500 or more. Okay, that has been the choices that we have had in the past.  But, things are changing.  No longer are we going to be confined to using the same looking and functioning GPS navigation equipment that has been unchanged for years.    Well, for those that want to bring their motor home or tow vehicle into the next generation of the electronic future, consider this.  An Apple iPad can deliver more information on one big screen as well as offering the ability to be interactive.  The huge 9.7” touch controlled screen can deliver a high definition GPS navigation including voice guidance.  It can replace the need for your radio and provide iTunes and more.  It’s... Read more

Daily RV Deal: 2008 Newmar Dutch Star

2008 Newmar Dutch Star Previously $332,608 – Now $244,500 42 ft. 2008 Newmar Dutch Star RV capable of sleeping 4! Features include Ginger Maple glazed hardwood cabinetry, KVH satellite dish, 8.0 kW Onan Quiet Diesel generator and much more. Offer by Independence RV in Winter Garden, FL. Email seller for details on this 2008 Newmar Dutch Star Find more great RVs on  Read More →

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