RV Consumer Magazine February 2012

The February issue of RV Consumer Magazine was just released by RV Education 101. In this issue we discuss RVing with pets, aftermarket RV products, RV owner maintenance mishaps, snowbirds and much more. All of this great RV information is just a click away.

If you haven’t heard of the magazine it is a digital magazine, in a flip-book style format, delivered online by subscription. It is free of charge and your e-mail address will never be sold or used for anything other than delivering our RV e-newsletter and RV Consumer e-Magazine.

For up to the minute RV news and information take a minute to subscribe and start receiving these information packed e-publications right now. Both “RV University this Week” e-newsletter and “RV Consumer e-Magazine” are loaded with useful RV information and knowledge on RV products, RV how-to topics, RV reviews, RV destinations, RV videos and other general RV information. Our goal is to be your premier provider for RV information and assistance through various RV educational outlets.

If you are experience trouble with the CAPCHA code (prevents SPAM) while signing up for the newsletter please send an e-mail to Dawn with Newsletter sign-up in the subject line and we will get you signed up for the magazine: dawn@rveducation101.com

Happy RV Learning.

Mark Polk

RV Education 101

RV University

Vintage Airstream Business Expands

Vintage Airstream trailers will always have a place in Rory Burmeister’s heart and in his business.

But after three years of restoring retro travel trailers, Burmeister was inspired to do more than bring these travel icons back to life, The Missoulian recently reported.

“We are taking what we have learned from that process and we are building our own trailers, taking what we know works from the Airstream and changing what doesn’t,” said Burmeister, owner of Mintage Airstreams, an East Missoula, Montana, company that restores vintage travel trailers. “Beginning in August, we will begin building vintage-looking trailers that have a modern twist.”

Partnering with CTA, a Montana-based architectural and engineering firm, Mintage Airstreams will begin producing a high-end vintage-looking trailer, and also the Mintage “Canned Ham,” a smaller travel trailer whose name is inspired by its shape, and the Mintage “Teardrop,” a petite travel trailer light enough to be hauled behind a Subaru.

“CTA is helping us design our own high-end trailer that is Airstream traileresque—something that is our own shell and is built from scratch in our shop,” Burmeister explained. “There isn’t anyone doing deluxe high-end traveler trailers like we envision, so we believe we will really fill a niche.

“What will make ours over the top is the attention to detail—everything from having fireplaces in these trailers to custom-made materials,” he said. “Every detail will be perfection.”

Such luxury accommodations come with a high-end price tag, starting somewhere around $60,000, Burmeister said. But Mintage is also catering to more modest budgets.

That’s where the “Canned Ham” and the “Teardrop” come in. The Canned Ham, which is 12 feet long and 8 feet wide, has a bathroom, a kitchen, can sleep four people, and can be pulled by a small SUV, will sell for $18,000 to $20,000. The Teardrop, which is a much smaller design that is more nimble for backroads, will sell for around $5,000.

Burmeister started his restoration business out of his two-car garage just as the national economy began to tank in late 2008 and early 2009. Worried that he would have a difficult future as a homebuilder, Burmeister turned his hobby into full-time work.

As word spread about his skill, Burmeister soon found he had more travel trailer work than time to finish it all, so he hired several of his friends to help him grow the business.

Mintage now has its own expansive shop and sales lot in East Missoula. The restoration and fabrication company now has eight employees, and could likely hire on more people in the coming year.

“My dream is to have this place be like an old-fashioned American business where the guys who work here make decent wages, have pensions, and get paid vacations so they can spend time with their families,” he said. “We do things old school around here, and that’s for a reason.”

It’s his own way to bring back blue collar work and pride in American craftsmanship.

“The idea is hand-make everything,” he said, “to have a man use his hands to build what we make and not to have a machine do the work.”

In and around creating their own line of travel trailers, Mintage Airstreams will continue with their bread and butter work—restoring and renovating Airstream trailers and other classic trailers built before 1970.

The East Missoula lot is filled with many such wheeled homes in all stages of repair, including Burmeister’s pride and joy, a 1947 trailer designed and built by Curtis Wright, the guy responsible for initially inspiring the Airstreams.

Although in need of intensive repair, the rare travel trailer has its old bones and shape of its former glory. Burmeister said he can’t wait to get his hands on it.

“It’s only one of seven left that was made by Curtis Wright,” he said. “So we are really excited about it. Supposedly it can be traced back to Howard Hughes’ girlfriend.”

Details

Mintage Airstreams

Mintage is dedicated to restoring classic Airstreams. From the initial design to the finished product, each custom-made Airstream is designed to accommodate the uniqueness of each customer’s personal preferences. For every detail, from the wire to the woodwork, they provide craftsmanship, function and quality above any modern travel trailer on the road.

Worth Pondering…
Shoot for the moon, Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.

—Les Brown

You May Also Like

• Teardrop Revival
• Best of the Road
• Most Dangerous Places in the U.S. for Shark Attacks
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• How to Locate a Dump Station?

If you enjoy these articles and want to read more on RV travels and lifestyle, visit my website: Vogel Talks RVing.

Go RVing: The key to helping Mother Earth and finding happiness

By Bob Difley

“You really do have to wonder whether a few years from now we’ll look back at the first decade of the 21st century — when food prices spiked, energy prices soared, world population surged, tornados plowed through cities, floods and droughts set records, populations were displaced and governments were threatened by the confluence of it all,” writes Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, “and ask ourselves: What were we thinking? How did we not panic when the evidence was so obvious that we’d crossed some growth/climate/natural resource/population redlines all at once?”

Paul Gilding, an Australian environmentalist/entrepreneur, tries to answer that question in his book, “The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World.” He points out this dilemma: “We’re currently caught in two loops: One is that more population growth and more global warming together are pushing up food prices; rising food prices cause political instability in the Middle East, which leads to higher oil prices, which leads to higher food prices, which leads to more instability. At the same time, improved productivity means fewer people are needed in every factory to produce more stuff. So if we want to have more jobs, we need more factories. More factories making more stuff make more global warming, and that is where the two loops meet.”

But do not despair, for there is a solution, according to China’s environment minister, Zhou Shengxian, who said recently, that we will realize that the consumer-driven growth model is broken and we have to move to a more happiness-driven growth model, based on people working less and owning less (my emphasis).

“How many people,” Gilding asks, “lie on their death bed and say, ‘I wish I had worked harder or built more shareholder value,’ and how many say, ‘I wish I had gone to more ballgames, read more books to my kids, taken more walks?’ To do that, you need a growth model based on giving people more time to enjoy life, but with less stuff.”

And that’s where I come in with my solution. It is as simple as it sounds, GO RVing. Adopting the RV lifestyle,we are doing our job in saving the earth simply by taking “more time to enjoy life.” Our RVs use fewer and lower quantities of natural resources to live in. But, even though we use a low mileage vehicle to live this lifestyle, we tend to drive shorter distances and stay in one place longer to explore rather than drive great distances everyday (except when you first purchase your wonderful new home-on-wheels and want to see it all NOW).

And we RVers also tend to pick fewer energy consuming activities, like hiking, bicycling, sight seeing, kayaking, and bird and wildlife watching than those who use airlines, hotels, theme parks, and cruises. The RV Lifestyle also forces us to use “less stuff” and that reduces waste, reduces energy used to make things that we would otherwise buy, and reduces our use of the resources needed to make that stuff.

So the bottom line is . . . by RVing you are actually helping out Mother Earth, and contributing to your “happiness” quotient. And that is a winning combination.  Happy travels.

Check out my website for more RVing tips and destinations and my ebooks, BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands (now available in a Kindle version), Snowbird Guide to Boondocking in the Southwestern Deserts, and 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang out of your RV Lifestyle Dollar.

Mark’s RV Garage Episode #4 Released

RV Education 101 releases Episode #4 of the brand new Internet based RV How-To series titled “Mark’s RV Garage.” The new episode is available for viewing at www.rvconsumer.com and on You Tube

On this episode of Mark’s RV Garage:

* The vintage trailer project is taken apart down to the bare studs. 

* Rescuing Roxie, watch the story of a dog Mark & his family rescued last year.

* Discover an easy installation for your RV that keeps the dirt at the door.  

* Find out what you can do to win a free copy of Microsoft Streets and Trips.

* Discover what www.rv4thecause.org is all about and how you can register for some free information packed webinars.    

If you missed previous episodes of Mark’s RV Garage they are archived at www.rvconsumer.com for easy retreival and viewing

Episode # 5 will be available for viewing on 4 April 2011.

Happy RV Learning,

Mark Polk

www.rvconsumer.com

Christmas gift ideas for the RVer in your life

It’s that time of year again. The Christmas countdown has begun!

While the holidays bring with it lots of love, time spent with family and friends, good food, and more, it can also bring stress. Trying to find that perfect gift for someone can get frustrating.

But if you’re still looking for stocking stuffers and gifts for the RVer in your life, you are in luck! With the big day quickly approaching, many of us are. Here are a few last minute gift ideas.

To keep this manageable, it’s been parted out into four posts—each with five items.  These are in no particular order, with no favoritism or affiliation to the actual products or vendors.  So, without further ado:

Books on RVing
Peggi Macdonald, a Canadian RV lifestyle consultant, along with her husband John, has lived full-time on the road for 25+ years—“and is still enjoying this incredible lifestyle”. To state that they have ‘been there, done that’ in most situations is an understatement. Her print- and e-books offer mega tips and hints to simplify RV travels. Peggi’s RV Living in the 21st Century, the Essential Reference Guide For All RVers, features tips on ‘How to RV?’ and is loaded with information from buying your first RV to going away for short or extended getaways as well as information for fulltimers. Peggi also has 3 e-books available for purchase: RV Packing Tips, RV Life Lessons Plus Easy Living Hints, and RV Travel to Canada.

For details, click here.

Passport America
Passport America, a family-run business, is the “original” 50% Discount Camping Club. They invented the concept in 1992 and have continued to improve upon it. 1637 participating campgrounds across the Canada, United States, and Mexico currently participate in the Passport America Program. Membership includes RV America magazine which is published 3 times a year.

If you are currently a Passport America member you can purchase a gift membership for the regular rate ($44.00) minus your $10.00 referral commission.

You will receive three extra months ($11 .00 value) free to your current membership with a new ID card. For details, click here.

Amazon Kindle eBook Reader
The Kindle eBook Reader from Amazon is great for RVers. Any RVing bookworm will love it. They’re lightweight and can carry hundreds of digital books. Books are usually delivered to the Kindle wirelessly in about a minute and cost less than $10, sometimes free. Canadian and American newspapers can be delivered automatically and wirelessly to your Kindle first thing in the morning. All Kindle newspaper subscriptions start with a 14-day free trial. Magazine subscriptions are also available. For details, click here.

You can also upload your own content on your Kindle.

There's no better time of year to discover Zion--one of the exceptionally gorgeous and mind-boggling natural wonders of America. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Coil’n'Wrap
Coil’n'Wrap carries numerous products required by RVers—many would make great Christmas gift for your favorite RVer —even if that’s you! Here are a few gift-giving ideas from Coil’n'Wrap that would please the RVer on your list: Coiling products, hook and loop fasteners, cords, cables, fuse box, LED bulbs, awning products, bug removers, heated lawn chairs, lawn chair cushions. Check their web site for additional ideas. While there sign up for Coil’n'Wrap newsletters.

Gift cards and gift certificates
Gift cards and gift certificates make great gifts for RVers. They don’t take up any storage space (always at a premium) and can be redeemed for all kinds of handy things. Some RV favorites are Amazon.com gift certificates; Wal-Mart, Costco, Best Buy, LL Bean, and Camping World gift cards; and gift card from any chain restaurant including Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, Applebees, and TGI Fridays.

To read Part 2, click here.

To read Part 3, click here.

The final five ideas for stocking stuffers and gifts for the RVer in your life will be posted tomorrow (Sunday).

Worth Pondering…

I have a list of folks I know, all entered in my computer,

And once a year about this time, I go and take a look.

And that is when I realize that these names are a part

Not of the computer they’re entered in, but of my very heart.

For every name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime

And in that meeting they’re become the rhythm of the rhyme.

And while it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim,

I really feel I am composed of each remembered name.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also wish to read

‘Tis the season for Christmas lights, Part 2

A snowbird checklist: Winterizing your home

Quartzsite 2011 RV show dates announced

Steep Cliffs and Towering Spires: Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

If you enjoy these articles and want to read more on RV travels and lifestyle, visit my website: Vogel Talks RVing.

An RV that is Home, Office, *and* School

In this video, we introduce you to some other ‘Geeks’ – Phil and Tracey May from TechnoRV.com.  In addition to living on the road and selling cool geek toys at RV rallies, the teenage members of the family, Ally and Josh, are able to manage their schooling by using the Internet and being home-schooled.  Watch the video below and enjoy meeting Phil, Tracey, Ally, Josh, and Murphy!

Friends, not grandkids, key to happy retirement – or not?

Lizard feet – is that you?

The RV Daily Report had an intriguing article: “Avoid lizard feet- they’re a common problem for RVers.” Lizard feet? According to Judy Jackson of the Edmonton Journal, her feet were like leather on the bottom from going barefoot and wearing flip flops so much of the time. This can cause your feet to get dry, cracked with possibly bleeding, calluses, and blisters from getting dusty, dirty and dry, getting wet, drying, getting wet again, and losing natural moisturizing oils.

How about you? Do you have “lizard feet?” Many RVers take off their shoes when they enter their RV to keep it cleaner. For a short trip to the pool, office or laundromat, sandals, flip flops or clogs are certainly easier. Though I rarely wore shoes as a kid growing up, now I don’t do too well on dirt and rocks. My feet, though, probably tend towards lizard.

So what’s a gal to do? (or a guy?) According to the article – moisturize. Choose a foot cream or lotion that has a high percentage of urea. Other oils are good too. Putting a lotion or oil on before bedtime and then wearing white cotton socks at night will help your feet absorb the oil and keep them soft. After soaking her feet for an hour and one-half, the pedicurist then got out the razor. Oh my! For the rest of the gruesome story, see the article at the Edmonton Journal. I think I’ll keep my lizard feet, though perhaps soak them once in a while. How about you?! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

The economic advantage to the RV Lifestyle

By Bob Difley

When it comes to financing our passions, we RVers are among some of the luckiest people on earth. Compare our RV lifestyle with the way most of the rest of the country lives. When you live in a house, you can pretty much predict what your monthly expenses will be. Mortgage, car payments, club dues, gasoline for the commute, food, etc. They don’t change much. But when times get tough–like now and for the past couple years–how do you pare expenses to compensate for a drop in wages, maybe a loss of a job, and falling stock prices slicing away at investments?

Now consider the advantages of the RVer. About the only static major expense is the payment on your rig, which if you were lucky enough to start fulltiming, you sold your big house and bought your dream rig for cash. Now when times get tough, you can easily–and instantly–make adjustments to your “out go” to keep finances in check until the inevitable turn around.

For instance, look at the following ways to trim your RV Lifestyle expenses. You may find that some are much easier to do than others, and may actually free up some “play” money even when there is no financial crunch to deal with–and maybe even be more enjoyable.

• Move from pricey full service RV resorts to “back to nature” primitive forest service or BLM campsites for several days a month. Two nights at a forest service campground at $10/night could save $30/night or $240/month.
• Try boondocking–rent free–a few days a month to save campground fees. Two days of boondocking a week could save as much as $40/night, or $320/month. Boondock even more and you could save a bundle–and maybe even like the open space more than crowded resorts.
• Reduce your fuel bills by staying longer where you are. Explore the area more fully by walking, riding bikes, or driving your mileage-friendly toad–before moving on.
• Get better mileage when you do move on by driving at 55 mph instead of 70 and traveling shorter distances. You’ll see more and arrive at your next campsite more relaxed.
• Cook in rather than eating out. You can prepare more healthy dishes, just the way you like them, and save money over expensive restaurants.
• Find out where and when the local farmers markets are and shop for the freshest, healthiest, and best tasting food you can buy–and at direct-from-farmer-to-you prices.
• When you do eat out, look for small ethnic restaurants and mom & pop eateries on side streets, instead of those in the high rent–and high price–district like those in tourist areas and along major highways.
• Choose campgrounds and national and state parks away from urban areas with natural–and free–attractions like hiking trails, scenic drives, and fishing lakes.

No other style of living can offer so many choices, whether you need to hunker down for a bit, or you feel flush and decide to stay at the best RV golf resort and drink champagne every afternoon at cocktail hour. With RVing, the choice is yours.

These and many more ideas for saving money can be found in my newest eBook, 111Ways to Get the Biggest Bang for Your RV Lifestyle Buck.

Boondocking Podcast with Brian Brawdy & Bob Difley

by Brian Brawdy

In my opening 18 months as an RVer, I have learned that the attraction, at least for me, is one of self reliance and nomadism. The places that I have explored and the people I have encountered have only reinforced the sense of independence one cultivates while bringing the far away to their own front door.

Early on I began to feel, not that I was learning this philosophy, but that I was remembering it. That adventure and exploration are latent in the human being. Today it is my great pleasure to share with you an hour long podcast with author and fellow RVer Bob Difley.

Read more

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