Using an Apple iPad 4 as a Camera

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our E-mail Digest or RSS Feed. We will then send you the stories that are posted each day in an e-mail digest. We use a service called Feedburner for delivery of these emails. You will receive an e-mail from Feedburner after you subscribe and you must click on that email to activate your subscription. Thanks for visiting and enjoy all the information! RV.Net Blog AdminFor many of us, our favorite souvenirs from RV travel, shows, and events are the photographs we bring home. Over the years doing the Long Long Honeymoon website, I’ve used a lot of cameras – from burly $10,000 professional rigs to rinky dink $100 point-and-shoot models. Since many people ask me for camera recommendations, I thought it would be helpful to put together a series discussing my favorite (and/or recommended) cameras. My first camera recommendation is a surprising one, even to me: the Apple iPad (4th Generation). I have a basic 16GB iPad 4th Generation with wifi only. It’s the cheapest “new edition” of the iPad. This model is equipped with two cameras: a 5-megapixel camera on the back, and a 1.2MP camera on the front. Both of these cameras were upgraded from the 3rd Generation version. I must admit that the first time I saw someone using an iPad to take photos, I thought they were crazy. Yes, it does look a little strange to be holding a tablet aloft at eye level, composing a photograph. So why am I recommending using an iPad... Read more

PRODUCT REVIEW: Trailer Aid Tire Changing Ramp

Over the years, we’ve purchased many RV products. Some are more useful than others. The Trailer Aid Tire Changing Ramp has proven its worth on more than one occasion. You can see it in action in our new video. The only thing really predictable about tire trouble is that you will eventually experience it. You don’t know exactly when or where it will happen. But someday you will be stuck on the side of the road with a flat or blown tire. It happens to all of us. It’s a guaranteed event. It happens to all of us. If you are towing a trailer and it happens, you’ll be glad you own a Trailer Aid Ramp. This ramp is specially designed to aid tire changes on travel trailers. Trailer Aid allows you to jack up your trailer without using a jack. After loosening the lug nuts on the failed tire, you simply pull your trailer onto the ramp with the good tire. The failed tire is lifted clear of the road, allowing for an easy tire change. Flapping bits of steel belted radial are not kind to your trailer. When tire professionals are working on our rig, we insist they use our Trailer Aid instead of a jack. Not only is the Trailer Aid ramp easier than using a jack, there’s less chance of damage to your rig. It’s simply a safer method of lifting the trailer. (Sometimes travel trailer axles and undercarriage can be damaged if improperly jacked.) It's simple, easy, and effective. When you need it, you'll be thrilled you have it. The Trailer Aid Tandem Tire... Read more

SOME THOUGHTS ON CARAVANS … AND A CORRECTION AND SUGGESTION

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers I’ll devote this edition of the blog to a question from a reader and my response to her.  As you know if you’ve been following this series, we are a little over a week away from hooking up with a caravan for a 48-day trip into the Maritime Provinces on the east coast of Canada. Following is the question and my answer: From Lois Thurston, I was sitting here thinking if I want to do an Alaska cruise when I saw your post that you took a caravan tour to Alaska and I thought thats how I want to see Alaska, so thank you!  I have been doing a little research but do you have any advice on picking the right company to use? Thanks for your blogs I really enjoy them and also learn from them. Barry’s Response In answer to your question about choosing a caravan company, I have two quick suggestions — 1) pick a company that has lots of caravans to different places, and 2) ask the company about the wagonmaster’s style. 1)  I don’t know of any caravan companies that have gone out of business, but I think a well-established company is probably safer.  Among other things, the campground owners and others they deal with are more likely to court their business and try hard to keep them happy.  Ask for catalogs from each of the companies, which can be found by an internet search. 2) We had no desire to sign up with a caravan company until I happened to meet a wagonmaster for one of the big companies and set... Read more

FROM MOUNTAIN HIGH TO SEA LEVEL

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers We summited Mt. Washington, an important mountain near Gorham, New Hampshire.  In addition to being the highest peak east of the Rockies and the very first tourist attraction in America, Mt. Washington is also known for having recorded the highest wind speed of any place in the world – 231 mph, which blew by in April 1934. As regular readers of our articles know, we don’t try to tell you all the statistics and details about everything we see, preferring to whet your appetite to see for yourselves.  But there are a few things about our Mt. Washington visit that you might find interesting. First, at the start (mountaineers might call it “base camp”), they warn you that it’s not for the faint of heart.  The 8-mile narrow road with no rails overlooks gorges, and cars heading downhill are required to stop to allow the upward bound to pass by without losing momentum. There are four traditional alternative ways to reach the top.  1) climb on foot four or five hours along one of the steep trails; 2) take the stage coach van to the top; 3) hop aboard the cog railway; or 4) drive your own vehicle (no RVs allowed for obvious reasons) at your own pace.  Those who pay the toll to drive, as we did, get an enjoyable CD that guides them along, plus gives history and tales of the mountain for the motorists’ listening pleasure.  In addition to factual and safety information, the narrator speaks about those who have... Read more

THEY GOT YOU COVERED IN VERMONT

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Covered bridges of all sizes and vintages cross rivers in Vermont and into New Hampshire. Why? Most likely so that horses crossing the bridges wouldn't be frightened by rushing water. Or to prolong the life of the bridge. Or to make crossing easier in the winter. First it was the deserts of the Southwest, then battlefields in the South, then lighthouses along the Atlantic coast.  Once we hit Vermont, we were seeing covered bridges everywhere.  There are over a 100 in the state, according to brochures, and while many of them are inconveniently placed off larger roads or where there is no nearby parking, we were still able to walk across and photograph about 15 of them. The word “quaint” applies to so many towns we’ve visited while in New England that I’ll ask that you just assume everything is quaint – Main Streets, churches with their narrow steeples, shops, even people. Our last article left off while we were staying along the Massachusetts coast. Before updating you on our travels since, I want to mention a problem with seeing the lighthouses.  There’s plenty of space for RVs to park, but Cape Cod’s beaches are charging $20 a day on weekends to use state parking areas, $15 on weekdays).  Luckily there are National Park lighthouses, which charge less and accept the Passport America for half-price admission. We departed Salisbury State Park Reservation following the advice of our GPS to find... Read more

Do you own a WEATHER RADIO?

Do you own a weather radio? It’s that time of year again, when our news is dominated by reports of severe weather nationwide. In recent years, we’ve seen heavy springtime tornado and flood activity. Sometimes the impact upon RV campers is heartbreaking. As much as we love RV camping, we all know that RVs do not offer safe shelter from severe weather. In fact, RVs are just as vulnerable to severe weather as any other vehicle. A powerful tornado can lift the largest Class A motorhome like a child’s toy. Even some thunderstorms possess straight-line winds between 100 and 150 MPH, winds that topple trees and carry dangerous flying debris. VIDEO: PROGRAMMING A MIDLAND WR300 WEATHER RADIO Tornadoes, floods, thunderstorms and lightning are not to be taken lightly. Each of these weather conditions can create life threatening situations. On our own website, Long Long Honeymoon, we have a Severe Weather Survival page with a list of Ten Tips for Surviving Severe Weather – plus a couple of instructional videos (one of which you seen here). It’s crucial that you stay informed of changing weather developments while you are RV camping. That’s why we own a MIDLAND WR300 Weather Radio. We bought it after experiencing severe weather in Michigan while camping in our Airstream. Overall, we have been happy with the WR300. It has never failed to grab our attention when severe weather is approaching. This sucker gets LOUD! The WR300 offers AM/FM functionality along... Read more

YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT RECENT BLOGS

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Readers have responded to my recent blogs with information that I think you’ll find interesting. John Kyler asked, “What reference material did you use to locate your campgrounds?  It sounds like a little nerve-wracking, but enjoyable trip.” BARRY’S RESPONSE: The way I select campgrounds is by turning where Monique says to turn.  After we agree where we want to be and what we want to see, such as Washington, D.C., as the planner and navigator, she puts her heart and soul into routing us, She takes her time pouring over maps, travel guides and articles torn from RV magazines, researched further on the Internet.  Once she has the route carved in stone and we actually hitch up, we use her routing as a basis, but go wherever our wanderlust directs us. Freedom is Wonderful, which brings us to an important message:  This is the Memorial Day Weekend, a time when we honor our nation’s servicemen and women who have given their all to keep America free, whose service to our country has preserved our access to a free press; preserved our right to worship in the way we want or not to worship at all; to be entitled to fairness before the law; to learn and discover; to travel where we want in the RV best suited for our lifestyle.  Like I said, Freedom is Wonderful.  To those who have died over the centuries for our liberty, we give our deepest thanks. Now, to resume our travel planning.  We try not to make reservations,... Read more

A FIVE-PART BLOG

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers YORK AND THE HOGS — As today’s title suggests, there are five parts to today’s blog, beginning with our discovering an interesting area to visit when you’re traveling in the Northeast.  The place is York County, Pennsylvania, between Harrisburg and Baltimore.  It proudly calls itself Another "Hog" owner arrives at the factory. No photos are allowed in the production plant. “The Factory Tour Capital of the World.” Before going further about all that’s available in that area, I’ll start out by saying that the only tour we took was the Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory.   Realize that technology is not high in Monique’s sphere of interests and I’ve never longed to straddle a “Hog,” but whattaplace! The robots that paint and form parts are magnificent.  The workforce’s devotion to producing a precision product is inspirational.  Everything on every motorcycle that goes through the stations is checked and rechecked all along the assembly lines. Most of the process is done by men and women because almost every bike is different. Large and small, various colors and models, some with ultimate accessories, others lean and mean – robots can’t be programmed to cope with the variety.  [And unlike Ozzie Nelson when the Nelsons went through the U.S. Mint in the 1960s, I didn’t ask for a free sample.] When we were staying near York, we carefully chose which factories to tour... Read more

Winnebago Picks A Winning GPS Solution

A look of what’s new, from Lug_Nut. Winnebago has announced it will be offering the Rand McNally GPS in the dash of selected 2014 models. Two screen sizes will be used with the largest being a huge 10.4”. This will give Winnebago the edge of offering the largest in-dash GPS in the RV market today. While there are many, many makes of GPS systems used in vehicles today, the Rand McNally is perhaps the only unit that was built with the RV market and application in mind. The internal user selected mode, can be configured to the real world size and weight of the specific vehicle it is installed in. Additionally tows, be it trailer or flat tow, can be added or removed at any time. How does the Rand McNally stack up against the others? Well, first of all, none are without fault. There are no makes that I’m aware of that are 100% consistently accurate. Small error can happen from time to time. Some of these errors may be due to RF signal propagation as well as possible internal processing logistic issues. But, in general, most receivers deliver fairly accurate data regardless. I believe the Rand McNally’s operation is above average, especially for large vehicles, or vehicle combinations, like found in the RV application. I have four GPS systems currently. One in my current motor home, 2007, updated in 2011, one in my Escalade 2006, updated in 2012, one in my Jaguar 2013 and my stand-alone Rand McNally. All are touch screen units. Generally, in an automobile application,... Read more

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT!

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers I was a newspaper editor and reporter back in the days when newspapers were the primary source of news.  Decades later, ink still flows through my veins.  In other words, even today I gravitate toward the news.  I All the Pulitzer Prize winning photos on display -- a time for reflection mention this because I put the new Newseum in Washington, D.C. at the top of my list of museums in our Capital City. The Newseum houses an incredible collection of things that matter to us all.  It’s about things so many of us have personally experienced (depending on age) so it’s filled with information we can identify with, and then gives us a different perspective on what we read or saw on television. In the FBI Section -- The shoes of the Shoebomber Matter of fact, it explains how television vaulted into first place as a reliable source of news when President John Kennedy was assassinated, as shown in an incredible series of temporary dynamic exhibitions.  It explains the importance of Edward R. Murrow.  The relationship between the media and the FBI sustained my attention. The most emotional experience was looking at the Pulitzer Prize winning photos through the years.  Almost every one of the more than 80 pictures made me think, reflect, evaluate, understand. Woven throughout the five stories of galleries are movies and other active visuals that take the viewer through the history of journalism from before the writing... Read more

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