President’s Day Sale – Woodall’s Campground Directory at 60% Off!

Save over 60% this weekend only on Woodall’s special 75th edition of the North American Campground Directory. Get your copy at the unbelievably low, low price of just $10 (plus shipping and handling). Spring is approaching quickly, so don’t miss this presidential opportunity to save BIG and start planning your next RVing adventure. Sale begins today and runs through midnight, February 21. Click here to find out more about this great President’s Club Sale!  Read More →

What’s in your toolkit?

By Bob Difley From many years of RVing I have discovered that if you don’t follow the rule “if you bring something aboard, something has to leave” then soonor later you will either be way overloaded or will be looking for a new –and larger–rig. Your RV, if you hadn’t noticed lately, is limited in carrying and storage capacity. You have to make decisions of what you will carry and what you will eliminate when something new comes aboard. And when you will get rid of something if you haven’t used it in a while–like a year or more. Which brings me to my “things that I have had for more than a year but which will NOT go” list. I know that someday I will need these “things” when boondocking, which will justify the time I have carried them, mostly unused, hidden deep in a locker somewhere. Folding shovel. Folds into a compact shape. Can also be used as a hammer, pick, scoop, scraper, and along with a bucket often required by the forest service (FS) during dry seasons if you are boondocking and plan to build a campfire. Available at my Amazon aStore and at outdoor and Army surplus stores. Bucket, plastic or canvas collapsible. Also required by FS (see above), for putting out campfires. Myriad other uses: carrying water, collecting kindling, as a step stool (not canvas one), emptying a bucket of gray water–never black water–to dump on a thirsty plant when you accidentally fill your holding tank and are... Read more

Safe 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. Traveling in an RV means you camp at different destinations and don’t really 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.  At one of the RV conventions I attended I had the opportunity to talk to Jerry Rademan, president and chemist behind the Metal Trap Ultra Dual filtration system, by Hydropure Technologies. Jerry has a true passion for clean drinking water and water purification. He explained to me that the Metal Trap Ultra Dual System is the only filter system commercially available that will eliminate or significantly reduce all contaminants in one single system. He said, “The people at Hydro Pure Technologies are dedicated to our families and to our customers. We think there is no other food source that impacts the health aspect of our lives as clean drinking water! It is our goal to provide the best quality water that is available commercially.” Then Jerry challenged me. He said he would send me a Metal Trap Ultra filter system and let me be the judge. Shortly... Read more

Barbecue Capital of Texas: Lockhart

Lockhart, the seat of Caldwell County, is located 28 miles southeast of Austin on U.S. Highway 183. This small Texas town exudes a rustic, slow-paced charm arising from its Western heritage, rooted in cattle and cotton. Beautiful Caldwell County Courthouse in Lockhart. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Here, on the rolling prairie, freight trains whistle and roll through midtown, church bells peal, and neighbors greet one another with a wave and hello from columned verandas of early 20th-century homes. Lockhart is blessed with small-town hospitality. The town also benefits from being historically located on three trails—El Camino Real, the Chisholm Trail, and the Texas Independence Trail. Lockhart derives its name from Missourian Byrd Lockhart, a surveyor for Green DeWitt’s colony. In 1830, Lockhart received four leagues of land on Plum Creek, which skirts the northeastern edge of town, for opening a road from Bexar (San Antonio) to Gonzales. Lockhart is the Barbecue Capital of Texas. Out-of-towners and locals flock to four smoked-meat emporiums—Black’s Barbecue, Chisholm Trail Barbecue, Kreuz Market, and Smitty’s Market. Several tons of barbecued beef, pork, chicken, and smoked sausage are served each day. It is estimated that over 5,000 people visit these establishments on a weekly basis—that’s roughly 250,000 people a year who eat BBQ in Lockhart. The town has long been known for barbecue. It all started in the late 1800s when cowboys herded cattle north along... Read more

RVSEF announces RV education conference

By Bob Difley The RV Safety and Education Foundation (RVSEF) is again sponsoring its RV Lifestyle, Education & Safety Conference May 6 -8, 2011 at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The conference, designed for first timers to fulltimers, will be a positive, networking opportunity with industry experts in classroom, roundtable, and one-one-one settings. Participants can choose from a variety of seminars including safety courses, lifestyle courses, and technical courses. The RV Doctor, Gary Bunzer (photo), is returning as one of the core instructors and a RV driver training program has been added. This behind–the–wheel program includes classroom, hands-on backing, and road driving skills in your RV. Instruction is tailored to your needs from newbie to experienced RV operators, and includes motorized as well as towable RV’s. Space in this program and the ‘RV Lifestyle, Education & Safety Conference’ is limited and on a first come first serve basis. Register now 321-453-7673 or for more information visit RVSEF @ www.rvsafety.com. Registration Fee: $225.00 per participant and limited dry-camping is available.  Read More →

The Zen of Boondocking II: Boondocking vs. dry-camping

By Bob Difley The activity we RVers refer to as boondocking is made pleasurable by a combination of learned skills, adjusted or changed habits, a desire to stay out in the wilderness as long as comfortably possible, and a curiosity about out-of-the-way places, nature, wildlife, and what is around the next bend. But not all boondockers match this profile. Some of the differences can be attributed to the semantics of the words “boondocking” and “dry-camping.” They are the same in that both refer to camping without any hook-ups–water, electricity, or sewage. With even one of these appendages, we would have partial hook-ups. But the difference is in where we do it. Dry-camping can be at an RV rally, Wal-mart parking lot, highway rest stop, or a primitive campground where there are no hook-ups. True boondocking is camping away from civilization, out in the boonies, where no camping amenities exist. The word “boondock” comes from the Tagalog “bundok” meaning “mountain.” Answers.com gives the definition “rural country; the backwoods” while MSN Encarta also includes “place remote from civilization.” A reader suggests that the word boondocking has become synonymous with dry-camping and there should be a new term “wilderness camping” for camping in the boonies. Whatever you want to call camping without hookups, where you do it and why is the driving force for practicing boondocking skills. For instance if your style... Read more

THE E-POSTCARD TEXT RECIPE

 By Monique & Barry Zander, the Never-Bored RVers  Among the numerous requests for the reverse side of our e-Postcard were a few requests for information, primarily about how to enter text in the writing section on “the back.”  I’ll get to it in a moment …  … but first, to those asking where the photo was taken of Monique and me that appeared in yesterday’s blog.  It was taken by our daughter-in-law, Debbie, an excellent photographer, at Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana.  It was shortly before granddaughter Amy slipped off a rock into the glacial water.  Monique has her cap and hiking stick in her hand; I have my “Gilligan” hat.  The number of responses in the Comments Section in the original article and in e-mails taking us up on the offer to send the format of the e-Postcard reverse side has been overwhelming.  We certainly appreciate your interest.   And now, as promised, instructions on putting text on the e-Postcard: I use Photoshop to create the e-Postcards.  If you use a different program (like iPhoto or Corel) and know how to accomplish the same task, I’m sure readers would appreciate your instructions in the Comments Section below. I write out wording for the e-Postcard in Word, spell-check it, and save it with an appropriate title (i.e., Avalanche Lake).  Then I Select All (either Control A or under “Edit”) and copy. (Right-Click Copy or Control C or under edit, “Copy”). In our original article about the e-Postcards,... Read more

Freedom, Travel, and the Good Life: New RV Magazine to launch March 1

Today’s fifth wheel trailers are truly a home away from home with large kitchens and even larger living areas. The units range in size up to 40 feet and are able to carry motorcycles, ATVs, and other small vehicles while still having adequate space for the family to camp in style and comfort. A press release earlier this week announced the launch of a new magazine for RVers. To be launched March 1, Fifth Wheel Magazine will focus on keeping fifth wheel and toy hauler owners up-to-date with the latest industry trends and new products and accessories that are making fifth wheeling easier and safer. Fifth Wheel Magazine will review current and new models, provide product information, photographic and video factory tours, fifth wheel safety and general tips and advice from industry experts. In addition to industry news, Fifth Wheel Magazine provides product tips, safety information, and expertise from professionals in the industry. This information will assist current and prospective RVers in making informed buying decisions and staying current with the latest trends and innovations in the industry. Fifth wheel interior. Photo courtesy Fifth Wheel Magazine A stated goal of the new Fifth Wheel Magazine is to bridge the gap between the manufacturers and fifth wheel and toy hauler owners and new buyers. By keeping up-to-date with what the manufacturers are doing and how they are working on new designs and features, the magazine intends to keep fifth wheel owners and buyers informed... Read more

BORING? NO WAY!

 By Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVer  It’s Monique’s turn to comment on yesterday’s rv.net blog.  “Since there have been so many responses stating that the blog is not boring, I must clarify the statement in the previous blog. “Barry’s blogs are not boring.  On the contrary, I find them well written, entertaining and educational.  I appreciate his talent as so many readers do.  I am a creative person, but I’m not at all into computers.  Technology is not my thing.  I don’t even know how to type! “So proofreading Barry’s writing (I proofread every posting) about the process of formatting the e-Postcard, I found the technical how-to boring –  for me.  “Barry knew I would. “Barry writes in his wonderful intimate way, and I am his Number 1 fan.  We are a team when it comes to ideas.  “When I came up with the concept of the e-Postcard and how the finished product should look, Barry embraced it wholeheartedly.  I had no doubt that he could figure out how to do it, and, of course, he did. “Barry always welcomes my suggestions, additions or subtractions.  He asks me to proofread every article (he jokingly calls me ‘his cruel editor’).  By my own choosing, I don’t want to be involved with computers, and it’s okay with Barry.  He’d rather I spend my time cooking gourmet meals anyway. “Just as Barry and I are never bored, I do not find Barry’s blogs boring.” Monique In our next posting, we will address a few questions... Read more

Wish You Were Here

 By Monique & Barry Zander, the Never-Bored RVers  You’re probably wondering how we can afford the costs involved in staying on the road year-in and year-out.  The answer:  “e-Postcards.”  Sounds like cyberspace talk, right?   Don’t feel too threatened by the term “e-Postcard.”  Monique not only came up with the idea, she coined the name. The Zander e-Postcards are our way of keeping in touch with friends and family, without expecting them to spend their valuable time reading about our adventures.  I “attach” them to e-mails, with no text or little text in the e-mail itself.  More on that below. Before explaining more about them, let’s take a look at a few recent e-Postcards (you may recognize some of the photos from our recent RV.net blogs).     There are three tough parts involved in this:   1)  Most important, we don’t necessarily send the best picture from a photographic sense or the one we like the best.  It’s all about sending a picture our readers will find interesting.   2)  The next tough part is keeping the postcard’s text to about five sentences.  It’s what is known as “a quick read.”  Our recipients aren’t afraid to open the mailing, because they know it’s going to be brief. And 3), it requires some photo editing and preparation.  If you’re not adept at that, this may be your impetus to learn. BY WAY OF EXPLANATION: 1)  When we were in Quartzsite two weeks ago, I took hundreds of pictures, recording crowd... Read more

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