Volume 2. Issue 38
Welcome to the Full-Time RVer Newsletter, published every other Wednesday 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.
Please consider signing up for other newsletters from RVtravel.com. Easy unsubscribe if you don’t like what you see.
This newsletter is sponsored by our friends at Wholesale Warranties.
Page Contents
Quote of the day
“Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” ―
Telltale signs full-time RVing is not for you
By Liz Wilcox
How do you know if full-time RVing is not for you? Well, here are a few examples…
• You think pulling the tanks is an event at the Strongman Competition.
Pulling the tanks, or the literal pulling of a lever to release the poo and dirty dish water to the great sewage beyond, is an all-too-real fact of RV life. The only strong muscle you need to get this dirty job done? The iron stomach.
• You really don’t know why all campgrounds have to be surrounded by some type of nature.
Umm, because you’re camping, no?
Sure, glamping looks AMAZING on Pinterest, but you can’t park your renovated ’65 canned ham in a swanky luxury apartment. Unless you want to keep it in your backyard as a conversation piece, it’s gonna get a little dirty. Even the beach has sand and seagull droppings, ya feel me?
• You believe life should be predictable and creativity is for starving artists.
Would people think you had died if you didn’t show up to work on time? Do dreams whittle like daffodils in the desert sun when you enter the room? If you answered yes to these two questions, you might want to cancel your plans to visit the RV dealership this weekend.
• The only adventure you crave is the value menu at Taco Bell.
Not saying that’s not an adventure. I’m just saying it’s probably not enough to leave home for the open road.
Continue reading (you’ll laugh)
Did you miss last weekend’s RV Travel Newsletters?
If so, here is some of what you missed…
- Bighorn National Forest asks community for help with dispersed camping squatters (142 comments since Sunday)
- Truck and RV catalytic converter theft prevention
- RV boo-boos—Overfill your fresh water tank?
- RV Manufacturer Warranty, Part 2: RV repair shop owner explains, “Why I refuse to honor your warranty!”
Features
Some of these articles are from past issues of RVtravel.com and have been updated for this newsletter.
Rock strike! Who’s responsible for your broken windshield?
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
You’re happily motoring down the road in your RV. Ahead of you is a dump truck with a load of gravel. Suddenly, that awful thing happens! A chunk of gravel smacks your windshield, and a spidery pattern creeps across your view. Who’s responsible for that broken windshield? Find out here.
A sobering metaphor, a sweet story, and a vision of the time we have left
By Nanci Dixon
Today, a post that I wrote on Facebook five years ago came up. It tears at my heartstrings and it still holds true. This was the post: “I watched a video the other day where they used a tape measure to encourage people to follow their dreams. Using a life expectancy chart he pulled the tape out to his current age in inches, marking the place with his forefinger and thumb. He then pulled the tape measure out to his life expectancy and marked that number. Holding the tape measure up he highlighted the long time he has lived and the little time left. I pulled out a tape measure and did the same. While sobering, the moral of following your dreams in the time left rang loud and clear. We will follow our dreams.” Continue reading this heartfelt essay. We can relate; we bet you can too.
Pinterest may be your gateway to building your own RV (or fixing the one you have)
By Mike Gast
When you need to figure out how to do something with your RV, buy something you think you can’t live without, or just want to research something online … where do you go? If you’re like most (especially you fellows out there), you head straight for a Google search or go to YouTube to search for answers. But there’s another option … Pinterest. Start with a horse trailer, end up with a first-class RV! I bring up Pinterest because I’ve seen a lot of discussion of late on RVtravel.com and other sites about folks disgusted with the build quality of their RVs. Read more for some great tips.
Reader poll
Quick tip
Make daily tire pressure reading easier
With the daily variation in ambient temperature and the long-term slow loss of pressure all tires experience, it’s important to check your tire pressure every travel day. However, this isn’t a fun activity. Get dressed, find the gauge, go out and get down on your knees (maybe in the rain), etc. This can become a chore. You can save yourself this minor aggravation by simply turning on your Tire Pressure Monitor System monitor first thing. You can do this even while in your jammies. After you have your morning coffee, simply review the pressure for all your tires from the comfort of the RV. Many TPMS monitors have a “morning re-set” feature that displays 0 psi until each tire sensor has sent a new pressure reading, so as soon as you have a reading, you know that is your current pressure and not the reading from yesterday. — Tip from Tire Engineer Roger Marble, RVTireSafety.net
Absolutely DO NOT try to squeeze a 40-foot motorhome into a tent site!
Do not do this! Absolutely do not squeeze a 40-foot motorhome into a tent site. In all fairness (to me), the website didn’t say that Site 74 was a tent site or that b-i-g RVs were not allowed. It was the last 40-foot site at a state park with two days available. It did mention low branches, but how low could they be? Well, they were LOW and very close together. Read more of Nanci Dixon’s “adventure.” We bet you’ll learn from it, like she did.
Everything you need to know about RV insurance – You may not be in good hands
By Dave Solberg
It’s something we don’t like talking about and hope we never need – insurance for our RV. It may sound simple: Just call your home or auto coverage company and tell them what you bought and they should be able to put together a policy, right? It’s not that easy, and if you don’t get a policy designed for your type of RVing, you will pay too much and probably not have the coverage you need. Learn all about RV insurance 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:
“If you are not a ‘handy’ person, I would advise against purchasing a larger RV. In general, the larger the RV, the more maintenance and repairs will be required. If you’re considering a used RV, have it inspected before you buy it, just as you would any used vehicle.” —Johnny Sharpe
You didn’t miss this morning’s RV Daily Tips newsletter, did you? You don’t want to miss it! Read it here.
Featured recipe
Jim’s Peanut Butter Chicken
by Myra Wynne from Kingston, TN
We love dinner recipes that are super easy to prepare and pack a punch of great flavors. This chicken recipe is one of them! The sauce is sweet, spicy, and peanut buttery. Each ingredient complements the other. The flavors remind us of a few Thai dishes we’ve tried. Serve over a bed of warm rice and you have a delicious meal.
Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury
CONTACT US
Editorial (all but news): editor@rvtravel.com
Editorial (news): chuck@rvtravel.com
Advertising: Advertising@rvtravel.com
Help desk: Contact us.
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.
RVtravel.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Regardless of this potential revenue, unless stated otherwise, we only recommend products or services we believe provide value to our readers.
Mail us at 9792 Edmonds Way, #265, Edmonds, WA 98020.
This newsletter is copyright 2022 by RV Travel LLC.
I found a seasonal site up in Maine and stayed from end of May to mid September. Need a bigger trailer but still I loved it. And plan to do it again next year. Right now I am waiting for my seasonal house and then snow bird to and from Maine next year. Otherwise PT RV and love it.
I answered no to the poll re having been FT for the last 12 months. I was full-time for 12 years and decided that, at age 80, it was time for a settled lifestyle.