How do you stay in touch?

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 some of us, becoming full-time RVers means being away from children and grandkids. For others, it means we can see them more often than we would have had we stayed put. Whichever the case, staying in touch helps keep the relationship vital between visits. How do you stay in touch and keep a meaningful relationship going? Here are some ideas. Please feel free to add yours in the comment section. Cell phones: It’s pretty hard to remember (or imagine) the ‘90s when we had to find pay phones to make phone calls and check messages. Though there are areas where you have no signal, friends and family plans and free weekend minutes make it pretty easy to stay in touch by phone. Some couples have cells with two different companies to increase the chances of at least one having a good signal. E-mail: Aircards, satellite Internet and WiFi make it more easy to maintain regular e-mail contact. A Web-based e-mail like Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail means you can also check e-mail if you have to use a computer in a library or Internet café. It’s also easy to send digital... Read more

Eleven tips for planning for a road trip

Not all RVers travel full time. If you are not a full-time RVer and plan to be gone for a significant amount of time, how do you make sure you bring everything you need? Here are eleven tips: 1. Create a list. As the trip approaches, anytime you think of something you want to take, write it down. You could have either different lists or have separate categories for personal items for each of you and one for the RV. Also have a things to do list. When it is time to start packing, transfer your list to a computer and print it out to make a checklist. Take the list along on your trip and add to it if you find you have forgotten anything so you can improve your checklist for the next trip. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Do you budget?

Do you track your spending and use a budget? Whether preparing to RV or already traveling on the road, a budget is a useful tool. Before RVing Can you afford to full-time RV or even snowbird? Completing an RVing budget, while not exact, will help you make realistic choices. If you do not have an RV yet, you can get a rough estimate of fuel by using 6 mpg for motorhomes; up to 10 for a diesel motor. The main insurance companies that provide insurance for full-time RVers will give you instant quotes or an overnight quote at their Web site to use as a ballpark figure. And you can use camping directories to get a rough idea of campground costs. It seems like campgrounds are charging an average of $25-30 a night, though you can certainly pay more. You can also use discount and membership camping to decrease your costs. (Click here for links to the insurance companies and a budget worksheet.) The domicile you choose will also impact your budget. Your domicile is your tax home. If you travel full-time, you can choose a domicile more to your advantage. Taxes, insurance and vehicle registration can vary immensely from state to state so this is an important decision. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Young Fulltime RVers - Too much “together” time?

Hello campers, Fulltime RVers live in small spaces and are together a lot. How best to cope? Video host Evanne Schmarder shares a few of her tips and tricks on this topic in this episode of Young Full-time RVers. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

What’s your theme?

Having an interest or theme when you travel can add a dimension to your travels. It helps plot your journey as you find nearby or yet unseen places in your area of interest. Here are some ideas: Independent bookstores: We don’t go out of our way (except for a special few like Powell’s) but George and I do enjoy browsing local, independent bookstores. They often pick interesting books for their shelves, not just the mass media popularity winners, and often independent bookstores feature local authors. Baseball stadiums: One couple we met had a goal of watching a baseball game in every stadium. Nascar aficionado: Watching races at each track is another possible goal. State capitols: Janet and Barry’s goal was to visit every state capitol in the lower 48. History themes: Chuck and Ginny followed the Oregon Trail, the path of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Little House on the Prairie sites, and others. Bead stores and more: Beaders and quilters love to see the selections available in shops wherever they travel. Donna sells her beadwork, but can easily spend the profits in one visit to an interesting bead store. Fishing: Often Workampers pick their spots by the fishing available nearby. They may even get the use of a boat on off-hours. Other RVers enjoy fly fishing or lake fishing too. Rails to Trails: Bikers often seek out Rails to Trails paths. You can find locations throughout the U.S. Geocaching: Caches range from easy to hard to find. You can add geocaching... Read more

Campground etiquette & pet peeves

Highways, the Good Sam magazine, recently had an article about campground etiquette. Have you experienced behavior in campgrounds that does not take into consideration courtesy and common sense? Here are guidelines to keep neighbors happy and have a more enjoyable experience: Privacy Use roads and walkways rather than cut through another camper’s site.             Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Making your RV your home

RVs are pretty much built with cookie cutter molds - all come out looking much the same. With the exception of those custom builders, they are like subdivision houses. You may have a choice of a couple of floor plans and a couple of colors, but not much else. In fact, manufacturers discourage changes. When George and I were trying to find an RV sized between his 33′ New Horizon 5th wheel and my Lance camper, we finally zeroed in on the Safari Trek. However, it would need modifications to work for us. Safari charged $750 as a re-engineering fee, and that was not including any parts or labor. That was just to interrupt the assembly line. Needless to say, we decided against that and kept the New Horizon. With an existing rig there are many ways RVers make it a home. Add or change furniture - typically remove couch and dinette and replace with recliners, real table Convert an area to an office or work area Take out or recover valances with own material. Put up new window treatments Add throw rugs, pillows, bed coverings Put up personal photos or paintings Replace knobs on cabinets and drawers Change faucets Repaint the exterior with different colors or design or add a rear mural Replace carpet with vinyl or wooden floors Exchange the mattress for a more comfortable one Make rig more handicapped-accessible Some go to more extreme measures like painting or modifying the walls. One RVer even gave the walls a stucco effect. RV door modified for lift In our original RV, a ‘98... Read more

RV fire- do you know what to do?

Around the time Tony posted Firedude’s RV Fire Safety, I was also working on an article, “Are You Fire-Safe on the Road?“. I interviewed Mac McCoy, better known as Mac the Fire Guy, as well as got an idea or two from Tony. RV fire in a campground As I wrote in the article, once George and I could not open the door to the 5th wheel. We have two windows that open as emergency exits. The one in the bedroom is a LONG drop to the ground. The one at the other end, behind our love seat recliner, is still a long drop but not so far. I first started out headfirst but realized I’d land on my arms and head- not a good plan. Trying to maneuver myself out with the love seat moving and not wanting to scrape myself to pieces on the metal frame took time - even with George’s help - but I finally got out with just a scrape on my arm. I wondered if George could have fit. Fortunately there was no fire. A fire is not the time to be wondering where the escape route is, how to open it, and how you’ll get out. Ladies, do you know how to get out of your rig on your own? Do you know how to operate your fire extinguisher and which types of fire(s) it should be used on? Do you ever clean your detectors? Inspect your extinguishers? Do you have a plan for getting out? Unless you can answer all these questions “Yes,” you are not prepared. Another thing my editor added is, “Do you know your location when parked and driving?” They had a fire and Megan... Read more

RV Cooking Show - RV Pots & Pans & Warm Tortellini Salad

Spring is in the air and if you are like many campers across the country you are preparing for a fabulous camping season. That means opening up and airing out the camper, giving it a good spring cleaning (check out my green cleaning recipes), and stocking it with everything you’ll need for an easy RV getaway. This includes the kitchen and so many RV Cooking Show viewers have emailed me asking what pots and pans I bring along on my adventures. Aiming to please, I’m delighted to present RV Pots & Pans & Warm Tortellini Salad (didn’t think we’d get away without eating, did you?).   In this episode I’ll share with you what I carry along, what I could do without, and what I wish I had. Take a look and feel free to print out our Pots & Pans Checklist, add to it and make it your own. After we review the essentials I’ll show you how to prepare a simple and delicious pasta salad that takes advantage of beautiful spring asparagus and is tasty warm or cold. View and/or share the printer-friendly recipe and checklist What do you stock your RV kitchen with that I didn’t mention? Leave a comment below so we can all benefit from your experience. Stay tuned, next up on the RV Cooking Show we examine what’s in our pantry… now get ready to camp! Evanne Tell a Friend Read More →

Trip Notes

By Lynn Difley We just got back from a family shared vacation in Hawaii, a celebration of the end of a long, difficult two years, and the beginning of a new page in all our lives. It is the first vacation I can remember that was not in our beloved RV and that pointed up some of the good and bad to be found in our wonderful home on wheels lifestyle. My own bed. This was a big deal for me, bigger than I thought. When I was younger, I could sleep any time, any place. I could and frequently did, flop down on the floor with a blow up mattress and I was good for 7-8 hours of sleep. I found out those days are gone. Another bed is just not your own bed. Whether you like it hard or soft, double wide or a single, flannel sheets or percale, piles of blankets or a duvet, a pile of pillows or one small neck ring, even the familiar lumps of your own sleeping platform welcomes and encourages total relaxation and rejuvenating rest in a way an unfamiliar bed does not. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

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