RVing… Not Just For Rednecks Anymore

Have you seen or heard any of these RV quotes by comedian Jeff Foxworthy? – “If your RV is bigger than your house… you might be a redneck.” – “If you’ve ever taken out a mortgage on an RV… you might be a redneck.” – “If you own a house that is mobile, and 5 cars that are not… you might be a redneck.” Laugh if you will, at the fun poked at us. But I’ll be the first one to tell you – RVing sure has changed! Today, there are over 8 million RV households in the U.S. (not to mention all those Canadian RVers, eh?), and RVers are becoming more and more affluent. In fact, according to the RV Industry Association (RVIA.org), the typical RV owner is age 49, married, owns a home and has an annual household income of $68,000. Read more  Read More →

Nick’s Toolbox

After reading my blog about repairing a broken radiator hose on our MCI bus conversion earlier this week, a soon to be fulltimer e-mailed to ask me what basic tools I carry in our rig to keep us out of trouble. Obviously this is a brand new reader, because anybody who knows much about me at all knows that in my case, the more tools I have available, the greater the opportunity for me to create disaster. For me, less is better. Keep in mind that when we were in the early stages of converting our bus, I set fire to it with sparks from an angle grinder. That I once fried our inverter when I fired up the big air compressor we carry in one of our bays while we were dry camping and overloaded the circuit. And then there was the time I decided to polish our stainless steel with a rotary buffer. The pad flew off and hit me in the mouth, I stumbled backward and tripped over a toolbox, and knocked a nasty hole in my skull on a rock. I think the rock fared even worse. That being said, the only power tool Miss Terry allows me to play with is a small Dremel tool, but she hides all of the cutting wheels and wire brushes that come with it, and only lets me have access to tiny little cotton buffing wheels. As for hand tools, forget it! Saws and screwdrivers have sharp edges, I would probably snap a pair of vise grips on some part of my anatomy that wouldn’t respond well to the sudden intrusion, and I can scrape several layers of skin off my knuckles trying to use the wrong size wrench on... Read more

My Eleven Biggest RV Goofs:

My Eleven Biggest RV Goofs: Our rooftop antenna is up while moving, resulting in damage to the TV antenna. The steps have not been retracted, causing damage when contacted by other objects. Tire pressures were not checked, overloaded and under inflated tires fail. As a “gator” rubber separates from the tire causing major damage to the wheel well and sidewall of our rig. We do not hold the sewer hose in place while dumping, we get gunk all over our shoes, clothing and dumpsite. Anything we dump on the ground well end up in our drinking water. Our lights are not checked on the toad or (anything towed behind our rig) and someone rear-ends us – not enough time for them to stop. We leave our water hose attached and left on while away from our rig – we come back to find the entire rig flooded from a water line break. I forget, as we travel, electrical wiring and pipes may vibrate, chafe or brake or short out. Be careful, when hooking up after a long day, water may leak, things may vibrate loose, and electrical systems may have been damaged. After traveling, open cabinets with caution, stuff may fall out and injure you or damage itself. Check the torque on your wheels lug nuts, wheels do fall off. We lose our sewer hose on the pavement while traveling – the cap fell off of the sewer holder. A damaged awning, unfurling while traveling or during a storm. Happy Camping, Fred... Read more

2009 Stella Award Winner (It isn’t Winnebago)

If you think it’s been a bad year for the RV industry, and especially motorhome manufacturers, this year’s first place Stella Award must have those at Winnebago shaking their heads and asking, “What next”? In case you don’t recognize the Stella Awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck, who spilled hot coffee in her lap after she took the lid off the coffee, placed it between her legs, and drove off. It didn’t occur to her that it might spill and burn her, which it did. The kicker is, of course, that she successfully sued the McDonald’s in New Mexico where she purchased the coffee and won. The annual awards are for the most ridiculous law suits–not for being filed, but for actually being won! This year’s runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mrs. Grazinski purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home and on her first trip home from an Oklahoma U football game, she drove onto the freeway, set the cruise control at 70 mph. Then she calmly left the driver’s seat to go back to the Winnebago’s kitchen to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner’s manual that she couldn’t actually leave the driver’s seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her–are you sitting down–$1,750,000 PLUS a new motor... Read more

Gas-Powered Lazy Boy – Perfect for RV Parks and Shows

Ever wish you had a quick, yet comfortable way to get around an RV Park or RV Show? This gentleman figured it out. Watch the video and smile more…  Read More →

Guy Rules

Okay, fellows, this is for your eyes only. If your beautiful bride spots this we’re both in big trouble. These helpful hints are guaranteed to make things easier as you travel down the highway of life with the girl of your dreams. Strict adherence to these “guy rules” can add years of enjoyment to your leisure time, while ignoring them could make the rest of your days one long journey through a traffic jam in a construction zone. Read more  Read More →

Am I a Full-timer? I think so…

I was in the valley over Easter spending time with family and stayed with them. During my stay I observed some humorous things. It made me think a little and laugh a lot and wondered if after nearly 7 years if I was a seasoned full-timer or what. I found myself at everyone’s house trying to flush their toilet with my foot. I also found myself turning the water off a couple times in the shower while scrubbing down then turning it back on and almost asked my brother how often he dumped his tanks. Little things like that. I watched my sons neighbor who’s a friend of mine mow his lawn and work up a sweat. I myself got tired watching him and have to have something cool to drink with him afterwards. It seemed like a half day event to walk from one end of the house to the other, it was like an adventure walk. I looked around my brother’s house and thought, what in the world would I do with all this stuff!? He had more stuff in his garage than I had in my whole RV! I did get a little choked up seeing my old mower and weed eater, but was glad they were still together. I had raised them their whole life and that was one of the things that really bothered me in leaving on my full-time adventures, splitting the two up and in different homes. Sure glad my brother came to the rescue! One family member told me they sure wished they could do what I was doing, but I told them to forget it as it was cost prohibitive as house movers cost a fortune! I drove by my old house and stopped.... Read more

RV’ing dull? Not with Firedude!

Not if you’re riding with me! What Firedude has an occasional boo boo? I thought a bit of humor was in store for my next blog. Here’s an excerpt from my first book….. Now Firedude being the seasoned expert that I am of course I never make any mistakes. Well until now I just haven’t admitted to any. I figured maybe I had better come clean in hopes of saving you some money, time and the embarrassment! I know many of you thought the Firedude was/is an expert on RV’ing (yeah right), but well I have my moments. I’m trying my best to minimize and eliminate these nowadays. Read more  Read More →

Encounters of a different kind

I found out as a camp host given the fact you’re in the campground all the time versus occasional camping trips you tend to see some “different” things. In this blog I thought I’d offer some of the interesting things I’ve ran across and seen. One is you can meet a wide variety of campers such as Melanie from Las Vegas. She was camping with her “dad” who has had her since a baby. At 33 years old she was the hit of the campground and drew quite a crowd! The kids loved her! While not your typical camper, nonetheless she enjoyed her trip to the beach. Here’s “Mel”… Read more  Read More →

5 Easy Steps to Help Keep RV Dump Stations Open

There is a real concern about what the future holds for RV dump stations. RV dump stations everywhere are closing down operation because of several reasons. Some, but not all of these reasons are the costs and headaches involved to keep them operating and properly maintained, the wrong types of chemical treatments used by RVers, and because of neglect and poor housekeeping by RVers who use these dump stations. Read more  Read More →

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