Volume 2. Issue 11
Welcome to the Full-Time RVer Newsletter, published every other Wednesday (usually) by RVtravel.com. Here you’ll find helpful RV-related and full-time RV living tips from the pros, travel advice, and anything else of interest to full-timers or those who aspire to be. Thanks for joining us. We appreciate you. Please tell your friends about us.
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Quote of the day
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” ―
Telling family and friends your decision to go full-time isn’t easy, but it’s worth it
How did you tell your friends and family that you were going to become a full-time RVer? What words did you use? What response did you get? Sometimes it takes guts to reveal your dream to anyone else. Well-meaning, usually positive and supportive loved ones will sometimes trounce on them in an attempt to keep you “safe.”
Here’s how I made my own announcement and some of the questions and comments I got…
(After you read this, scroll down to take today’s poll on the subject.)
Did you miss last weekend’s RV Travel Newsletters?
If so, here is some of what you missed…
• 50 business owners file complaint against Camping World’s Lemonis over treatment on “The Profit”
• Good news! DEF head alternatives are coming
• RV Gadget: Testing the GasStop gas safety device
• Phantom Reservations II: Are extended booking windows making it worse?
PLUS: Our latest RV Travel Podcast, hosted by Scott Linden.
This episode:
RV travelers’ bane: phantom reservations and “no vacancy” outrage! In this episode, we take on technological hurdles to getting a campground reservation. RV Travel.com senior writer Mike Gast outlines the evils of “bots” and automated reservation-stealers and offers a few workarounds.
A cozy gift for your favorite RVer!
These adorable trailer-themed slippers are just what your favorite RVer needs to get them through the winter months. They’re ultra-soft, warm, and comfortable and have nonslip soles so you won’t slip and slide across your RV’s floors. They come in two sizes S/M and L/XL so every foot will be happy! Check ’em out here.
Features
Some of these articles are from past issues of RVtravel.com and have been updated for this newsletter.
7 tips for keeping a happy marriage while RVing
Imagine that you and your partner just got married. You dated for three years, got married, and have now decided to buy an RV and travel the country. Wonderful, right? Absolutely! Until you’re three months in and 300 square feet suddenly seems small… very small. Do most marriages survive RV living? Well, of course, it depends on the couple. But once couples learn how to maneuver around the small space, and the country, together, married RV life is a wonderful life! Here are seven things to do for a happy marriage in an RV.
Want to camp for free? All it takes is a little work…
Ready for your next RV adventure but worried about finding a campsite among the crowd? Are campsite costs going up? Like to work with people and stay active? Consider an amazing Volunteer.gov job. Read about the fun and amazing opportunities here.
True or false? Popular vehicle myths explained
True or false: You should always warm your car up before driving on a cold day. The answer is false. Although the majority of the driving population may consider this to be true, it can actually cause damage to vehicles if done continuously. There are a number of automotive beliefs drivers encounter on a daily basis that may or may not be accurate. To shed some light on this topic, the service specialists at Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge provide their car-care expertise to confirm and debunk eight common automotive beliefs here.
Reader poll
When you told your friends and/or family you were going full-time, how did they react?
Answer here and see how others responded.
Quick tip
Don’t become an insurance claims statistic
There are lots of folks driving RVs and towing trailers these days. MBA insurance, a leading RV rental insurance company, says the five most common insurance claims for RVs include hitting concrete islands at gas pumps, hitting obstacles when making right turns, hitting overhead obstructions, backing the RV into something, and side swipe damage to the RV. Watch out, and don’t become a statistic. —Mark Polk, RV Education 101®
[Almost] Every website we love
Every day in our RV Daily Tips Newsletter we feature a Website of the Day. Some are about travel, some about food, some RV maintenance or DIY projects, others humor, others about apps and useful gadgets or photography… the list goes on. Here are some of those websites (and we’ll continue adding to this list), organized by category. Happy browsing!
App Review: Great resource about U.S. Public Lands
If you’re looking to stay in places without paying site fees, get out your solar system and fill your fresh tanks and download US Public Lands. This map app from our friends at Technomadia shows you the boundaries of Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, National Monuments, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Tennessee Valley Authority, Department of Defense and other federal public lands. Continue reading and download here.
Give winter RV camping a try!
With the pandemic many RVers have resigned themselves to winterizing their RV and staying home this winter rather than going south. While going south may not be in the cards for you this winter, you can still spend some quality time enjoying your RV via winter RV camping. Learn some great tips from veteran boondocker Dave Helgeson here.
Your assignment
What advice would give an aspiring full-time RVer?
From the editors: We asked our readers this question. Here is one response:
“Research. Use YouTube to hear how others full-time. Go to RV shows and look at different RVs. Once you think you know what type and size you want, rent. When you rent, don’t treat it as a vacation but instead do day-to-day activities. We were going to get a 34-foot gas Class A and renting showed we needed a 38-foot diesel to be comfortable. Been full-time traveling for three years and are really happy with our choice.” —Rosita Parker
Monocular telescope connects to phone, wow!
This is one of the neatest gadgets we’ve seen in a while! This waterproof monocular telescope connects right to your phone, so you can take photos of that bird waaaaaaay over there. You can now photograph anything up to 10x closer than before. Great for birdwatching, concerts or any sporting event. We already bought one! Learn more or order.
Featured recipe
Grilled Coconut Chicken
by Ashley Muller from Chandler, AZ
This is a fantastic way to up the flavor in chicken breasts. The coconut milk marinade makes the chicken moist and flavorful. Once grilled, the chicken is so tender you can cut it with a fork. You taste hints of the nutmeg and cardamom from the marinade. We love the crunch from the toasted coconut in each bite. It’s sweet, salty, and savory. Yum!
We like the sound of this! Get the recipe.
RVtravel.com Staff
Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. Editor: Emily Woodbury. Associate editor: Diane McGovern. Senior editors: Russ and Tiña De Maris. Senior writers: Nanci Dixon, Tony Barthel, Mike Gast. Contributors: Mike Sokol, Gail Marsh, Roger Marble, Dave Solberg, Dave Helgeson, Janet Groene, Julianne Crane, Chris Guld, Machelle James, James Raia, Kate Doherty, J.R. Montigel, Clint Norrell, Darian Armer and Chris Epting. Podcast host and producer: Scott Linden. Special projects director: Jessica Sarvis. Moderators: Gary Gilmore, Linda Brady. Financial affairs director: Gail Meyring. IT wrangler: Kim Christiansen.
Honorary Correspondents: Loyal readers who regularly email us leads about news stories and other information and resources that aid our own news-gathering efforts.
Tom and Lois Speirs • Mike Sherman • George Bliss • Steve Barnes + others who we will add later.
Everything in this newsletter is true to the best of our knowledge. But we occasionally get something wrong. We’re just human! So don’t go spending $10,000 on something we said was good simply because we said so, or fixing something according to what we suggested (check with your own technician first). Maybe we made a mistake. Tips and/or comments in this newsletter are those of the authors and may not reflect the views of RVtravel.com or this newsletter.
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Thai cooking does a lot with coconut milk. We love the curries that we experiment with. So if you love cooking with coconut milk? Try a good curry dish and make sure the red green and yellow curry spice you are using is authentic. We tried one that was O so good and with my electric skillet it can be a one skillet meal.
I’m hoping to see here more input from full timers sharing everything from tricks to helpful tips to almost did away with my spouse or significant other. How to cope and what stress factors can be eased. That’s the stuff I would find extremely helpful to is about to kumpnon board.