Volume 2. Issue 46
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.
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This newsletter is sponsored by our friends at Wholesale Warranties.
Page Contents
Quote of the day
“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” ―
We published this article about a year ago, but recently had a reader write in and ask us where to find it. It’s such a wonderful, thorough resource that we thought we’d share it again. Bookmarking it is a great way to find it to reference again later. Happy 2023 trip planning!
The Best RV Trip Planner Apps and Tools
By Nanci Dixon
RV trip planners can save money, save time and take the stress out of RV trip planning. Campgrounds are crowded, more people are traveling by RV and looking for places to stay and go. Trip planning apps and websites not only help find that elusive campsite, but they can also provide a safe, obstacle-free route, calculate miles, costs, and suggest travel adventures.
RV Trip Planner: What is it?
An RV trip planner can plan the trip and the RV route by plugging in a starting point and the ending point. Good planners will then help determine the distance between those two points, the number of days it will take in an RV using RV driving distances, campsites along the way, and points of interest. Most route planners allow the user to determine comfortable driving distance, put in height, weight, and length of RV and intended travel stops. It takes a lot of the hassle out of deciding the best routes whether a short trip or a three-month epic journey.
Features
Some of these articles are from past issues of RVtravel.com and have been updated for this newsletter.
Time to downsize? Here’s how to find a smaller RV that works best for you
Have you worked your way up to having “too much RV”? Is it a struggle to find parking, storage, or campsites with large enough spaces? Has keeping that 40+ foot diesel pusher in showroom condition become a full-time job? Perhaps it’s time to downsize your RV. Here is a lot of great advice from Randall Brink from his own experience when downsizing.
A Scream-ing lesson in Norway: Don’t be afraid to explore; you never know what you’ll find
Chris Epting and his son visited Oslo, Norway, on their way to explore around an Arctic archipelago. He especially wanted to see the most famous local painting: Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Chris and his son then spent quite a busy and sometimes frustrating day tracking down the location which inspired Munch to paint this picture after sensing “an infinite scream passing through nature.” Read the thought-provoking lesson Chris learned during their adventure, here.
Hilarious safety tips for driving in the snow
Winter driving is no easy task. It can be tiring having to concentrate so hard on slick, icy roads, especially for long amounts of time and especially if it’s snowing out. No thank you! We recently saw this meme online and laughed out loud. These are, without a doubt, the best safety tips for driving in the snow that we’ve ever seen. We think you’ll agree.
Reader poll
Quick tip
Hook up an extra hose for convenience and safety
Reader Jim Schrankel offers this suggestion when making camp: “I put a splitter on the hose bib and add a 50-foot hose and sprayer. This is not only handy for hosing down the dirt, etc. — it’s also my insurance against a fire, not only for my rig, but the ones adjacent to me. I leave it turned on to ensure it’s ready at a second’s notice.” Thanks, Jim!
Video: Take a look inside these 10 luxurious celebrity motorhomes
Sandi Sturm reports: “When I was a kid in the ’60s and ’70s, I knew of musicians that traveled from gig to gig in their fancy buses, and I always wondered what they looked like inside. This was before the internet and YouTube, of course, so my knowledge was limited to what I saw in magazines. … But today, celebrities spend upwards of $1 million, or more, on their home away from home.” Check out some of them here.
The top 5 regrets people had as they were dying. What can we learn from these?
By Nanci Dixon
As some of you may know, my father is dying (he has since passed). He is 98 and had been hoping to reach 99, even inviting the hospice nurse and caregivers to his birthday party. Our birthdays are on the same day, March 4th, and he may not make it that long. … I recently read the top five regrets of the dying that Bonnie Ware, an Australian hospice nurse, learned from her patients. Here they are.
My pet is old. What do I do if they die while RVing?
Dear Dr. Karel,
As a person who travels with a very senior cat, 19+ years old, do you have any thoughts if they die “on the road”? I know that the sad moment will come and I’m not really ready. Maybe a contributor has thoughts along these lines. I’m pretty sure that this sad event has happened to others reading this newsletter. —Tom P.
Read Dr. Karel’s compassionate advice.
Your assignment
What advice would you give an aspiring full-time RVer?
From the editors: We asked our readers this question. Here is one response:
“For the ladies: Bring 4 pairs of shoes (i.e.: flip flops, sneakers, sandals, hiking boots). I also have 1 pair of dressy shoes but I’ve only worn them once in 10 years of full-timing. Clothes: 2 pairs of jeans, 2 sweatshirts, 1 very warm coat, 1 light coat. I really like t-shirts so I have a dozen of those. Enough bras and panties for 10 days and 4 nightgowns (2 for summer and 2 for winter weather). Keep your makeup in a pencil bag and keep tubs for toiletries. Pack 2 bath towels, 2 beach towels, 4 hand towels and washcloths. You really don’t need a lot of linens. Pop-up hamper kept in the closet for dirty clothes. Pots and pans (I have 2 of each). And dishes, 4 of each (plates, cups, bowls). Really just downsized everything that was in my sticks and bricks house. So far so good. Wish they would make a place for brooms, mops and vacuums in the RVs but no such luck. Relax and enjoy the ride!” —Cheryl Robinson
Don’t forget to read today’s RV Daily Tips Newsletter!
Featured recipe
Lasagna With Zucchini
by Terri Opgenorth from Lake Mills, WI
Substituting zucchini strips for pasta is a delicious low-carb option for lasagna. It’s so robust and delicious you don’t even miss the noodles. This easy lasagna recipe is hearty and cheesy with just a hint of spice thanks to the red pepper flakes. Even if you’re not low carb, give this recipe a try. It’s super tasty.
Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury
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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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Dear doctor karel. Don’t even go there until you have lost a pet while on the road and RVing far away from home. It happened to me and what I am going to tell you is this. Establish a vet first and foremost. Period. At the beginning of May 2022 I had my Teddy checked out and I asked our vet if I should take him and he said yes. He should be fine but get a vet established so if anything happens you will be prepared. I wasn’t. I saw the vet place less then a mile from the campgrounds. Teddy seemed stressed at first but I thought it was getting use to being there. Has happened before. But this time was completely different. Within a week of being there Teddy took a turn for the worse. It was memorial day weekend. He just got worse and worse. On memorial day I took him to animal emergency because my 30 years of experience wasn’t working. He died in my arms of kidney failure. Maybe if I took him in that Friday he might still be here. But he wasn’t. He did not spend the summer like I wished.
In my final response? I am still blaming myself but if you are worried about your pet? Get established with a vet if you are going to be long term. And keep medical records with you if they need them. Good luck and god bless.
The person that suggested the things to bring as a full time rver, is crazy unless you’re in a 15’TT! If thats all the clothes and shoes I’d have to choose from, I’d be in a depression! The dishes are not doable either! We downsized a lot, but 2 towels? Plan on going to the laundromat a lot unless you have a washer and dryer. And if your rv is that big, you can bring more stuff!
I am not in a big RV like you are, but I also would completely rewrite that list. I think everyone has to suit their own preferences. Maybe a newbie should pack what they THINK will work, then go on a 2-week shakedown cruise and make changes accordingly.
Any new information concerning RV trip planner apps and tools?
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