Finding the Right Place

We are preparing for our 6 week sojourn, and thankfully, all the important stops are reserved. I've always had difficulty finding campgrounds either along the way, or in particular places, even though I have several printed catalogs of campgrounds, and numerous online listings.

But today, I tried a web service that I hadn't seen previously. Before, I send you there, I want to preface with a bit of explanation about the evolution of today's internet, because recent changes in the way web sites are built have been instrumental in making this new campsite finder possible.

If you use any of the "web 2.0" sites like Google Maps, Facebook, Youtube, Flickr, Digg, or Skype (there are hundreds more), then you understand how these sites seem not only more fluid, but also very feature rich. Part of the reason for this is the ability these sites provide to software developers to combine the best parts of the sites with the best parts of other sites, and then with software they develop on their own. These so-called "Mashups" become something that the developers of the original applications likely never imagined.


Such is the case with RV Park Finder. This site uses Google Maps combined with a database of RV Parks, and some custom software that lets you select a state, that then displays the state map along with pointers to every listed park. Like many park lists, you can add your own, and comment on ones you know about. Unlike most others, there is no advertising on the site.

It works for the US and Canada (only), but in my limited experience so far, this is the most direct way to locate parks in North America. I was able to discover lots of parks I wasn't able to find in other lists, and booked 3 of them today.

Making Hitching Up Easier

We are prepping for our cross-country trip this year. We will cover a little more than 6,000 miles, pulling our 32' TT with a Ford E-350 Extended van. The only real issue I had (other than paying for gas) was the wobbly nature of my 50'+ combination.

I've had a Reese dual-cam setup for a couple years, and it has done a decent job, but I decided to bite the bullet in advance of this trip, and get a Hensley Arrow hitch, and completely eliminate the sway factor. Fortunately, I found a used hitch on eBay, and was able to set it up without much difficulty.






I was warned, in advance that connecting up to the hitch was one of the (if the only) problem with using the Hensley. This trip will include unhooking/hooking almost every night, I knew I needed a reliable way to get the job done.

Since I had already installed a backup cam on the van, I decided to reposition the camera portion, to use it to ease the daily chore of hitching up.

I mounted the camera portion of the backup cam to the bumper, directly above the hitch mount, and angled down a bit. The wireless viewer is mounted on the dash. The camera instructions suggest connecting the power to the backup lights, but I connected the camera to the tail lights so it comes on whenever the van's lights are on.

Here is a video of the backup process, as seen through the viewer on my dash. I was taking the video with one hand, while backing up, which accounts for the sloppy camera work. However, at no time was I actually watching the back end of the van, nor did I have any help.

¿Tengo Internet?

¿Tengo Internet?

Such a question, phrased in Spanish, would inquire as to the availability of an internet connection. In the Ameicano vernacular, TengoInternet now refers to a growing company that provides internet wifi services to RV parks across the US.

It didn't exactly start out with a boom. In 2002 when TengoInternet founder Eric Stumberg tried hawking wifi services to RV park owners, many found him plumb loco. "It was a very hard sell at the time," he says. "Most of the owners were independent operators. They weren't technically savvy themselves, and they viewed WiFi as a technology versus an amenity. A lot of them were concerned about its obsolescence."

My how the tide has turned. Today Strumberg's company has servers in 300 RV parks, and the money is flowing in: Nearly two and a half million dollars in 2007. What makes the market go? It's those young dollar-bearing folks. Baby boomers are making the RV market grow, and Gen-Xers are seen by many in the industry as a growing salvation. Boomers and Xers have a perfect addiction to the internet, and TengoInternet sees itself as the supplier.

Users typically purchase airtime at a participating RV park. However, visitors to the TengoInternet site can also purchase time online. Rates? They start at $4.95 per day up to $29.95 per month of service. Yep, you can find wifi service free in some cafes--but it won't take long to drink up that much in lattes. For a map of enabled RV parks, visit here.

For more on the rise of TengoInternet, visit bizjournals.