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Dream work camper job! Drive RV around the USA, drink beer and make $50,000 for 6 months’ work

Russ and Tiña De Maris
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Dream work camper job! Drive RV around the USA, drink beer and make $50,000 for 6 months’ work

By Russ and Tiña De Maris
Do you like beer? Would you mind driving around in a company-provided camper van, visiting national parks, doing a little hiking? Could you stand making $50,000 for six months of this kick-back work? Then Michelob wants you for an RV job. Their successful CEO, or Chief Exploration Officer, will get the money and the job.

Job qualifications

Michelob’s successful candidate is somebody who really loves the outdoors. They’ll need to be good with a still or video camera, and know how to edit their work. And what RV job these days doesn’t require an understanding (and compliance) with safe protocols under COVID-19?

Being physically fit looks to be a necessity. Michelob sees their CEO as somebody who’ll be hiking around a lot. The brewski company wants their explorer to really get a feel for the land and be able to capture those impressions.

Since you’ll be driving that Class B motorhome, you’ll need to have a valid driver’s license. And, yeah, to be able to “reapp” liquid refreshment, courtesy of your employer, you’ll need to be 21. In fact, just to see the details of this offer on the company website, you’ll need to input your birth date.

Oh, the places you’ll go!

Where will you go on your six-month sojourn? Here’s the destination list of national parks at the time the company posted the “job opening”:

  • Yosemite
  • Sequoia
  • Big Bend
  • Saguaro
  • Joshua Tree

Of course, the itinerary is subject to change. After all, there’s no accounting for the driveability (or existence of) any national park in these troubled times. But the list gives you an idea of what the company has in mind.

Bring a friend

Is it the ideal RV job? For some, sure enough. If you’re concerned that you might get a little lonesome on the road for six months among the trees (and cactus), fear not. Michelob says you can bring a traveling companion, be it canine or bi-pedal.

Interested? You’ll need to fill out the application. But hurry! The application date for this RV job closes September 30. Here’s a link to more information and the application.

Related

Do you need full- or part-time employment to make ends meet?

Fake news is bad; fake beer is worse

It’s all about the light: Easy tips for taking better photos

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RVelectricity – Hybrid inverter-powered air conditioner

Mike Sokol
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RVelectricity – Hybrid inverter-powered air conditioner

By Mike Sokol

Dear Readers,

FRANKENSTEIN, 1931, Boris Karloff, Colin Clive and Dwight Frye. (Click to enlarge)

All the pieces of my solar/battery-powered air conditioner experiment are coming together nicely. Here’s the first lab data I gathered last week for proof of concept.

To be clear about how I create demonstrations, many times I’m integrating multiple pieces of gear together in strange ways that have never been tried before, which means I’m the first guy to try that combination.

So I first create a hypothesis on how I think it might work, design a mathematical model predicting the results, then run a test to gather empirical (real world) data. Then I compare the results of this data with my predictive model to see how close the reality is to my prediction.

Is it real, or just my ‘magination?

Sometimes reality agrees with my prediction perfectly, while other times it’s off by an order of magnitude or more. If I do nail the number, that suggests I probably understand what’s happening in the circuit. But if that number is way off, the implication is that I missed something in the calculations and need to rethink my mathematical model. To get in the mood, feel free to listen to “Just My Imagination” from the Temptations by clicking on the picture.

Math (slide) rules!

In this case, the data I’m gathering is matching nicely with my hypothetical model, which means there’s probably no easy (read cheap) way to run a rooftop air conditioner from storage batteries in your RV. But it’s not impossible, and it’s getting closer to affordable.

What’s the experiment?

For Phase I of this experiment I’ve connected a 100 amp-hr Lithium-Iron battery (this one from Briter Products) into a CarGenerator™ SL-2000 Hybrid Inverter, and used it to power my Dometic Penguin II 15kBTU air conditioner. I finally moved it off of my bench to outside on the back deck in order to reduce the noise and wind blast of an air conditioner running for hours next to my ear.

First failure…

However, I quickly found that the SL-2000 Hybrid Inverter was having trouble starting a 15kBTU air conditioner compressor due to the high inrush starting current of 50+ amperes. But luckily I still have my SoftStartRV™ controller at the ready, and quickly connected it back in the circuit using WAGO lever connectors (I love those things). The inrush starting current reduced from 52 amps down to 24 amps, and the 2,000-watt inverter was able to start the 15kBTU air conditioner dozens of times.

I contacted CarGenerator’s tech support about this product, and they noted that the SL-3000 Hybrid Inverter would be a better choice for those wishing to run an air conditioner, but the SoftStartRV controller still might be a good idea simply because it reduces the starting inrush current to less than 50% of a stock starting capacitor.

Measurements…

I used a Southwire True RMS clamp meter to monitor both the current on the 120-volt AC side feeding the air conditioner, as well as the 12-volt DC side feeding the Hybrid Inverter. The Briter Products Ion-Ready battery also has an on-board display showing the voltage, outgoing current and percentage of charge available, so I used that for measurements as well. Since this is a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery it’s safe to discharge it down to 0%, unlike a standard flooded-cell battery that you want to discharge no lower than 50% of capacity.

The numbers…

You can see from the Southwire clamp meter that this air conditioner requires around 13.5 amperes of current at 120 volts AC while the compressor is running, which forces the battery to supply up to 170 amps of current at 11.8 volts DC. That’s a shot of the battery monitor itself.

My prediction was this single 100 amp-hr Lithium battery could power the air conditioner at 100% duty cycle (the compressor running all the time) for around 35 to 40 minutes, and that’s exactly what my initial field data confirmed.

And with a 50% duty cycle of the compressor running 1/2 of the time, and the fan running all of the time, I predicted 60 to 70 minutes of operation from a single battery. And indeed I was able to get 65 minutes of run time while manually cycling the compressor on and off 50% of the time every 5 minutes. Yes, now I have to build a 50% duty cycle thermostat controller so I don’t have to do this by hand. My work is never done…

What does this mean?

My first impressions of this technology are that it holds enormous promise for those of you wishing to boondock but still be able to run an air conditioner at night for sleeping comfort. But the numbers imply that you’ll need one 100 amp-hr lithium battery per hour of air conditioner run time. So two lithium batteries gets you 2 hours, 4 lithium batteries gets you 4 hours, and 8 lithium batteries gets you 8 hours of air conditioning. That’s 800 amp-hrs of current at 12 volts, which works out to 9,600 kWH of stored energy. This number agrees with the amount of battery capacity in the Winnebago Travato’s Volta storage system, which requires the equivalent of eight 100 amp-hr batteries for 8 hours of air conditioning. However, this is still pretty expensive for running an air conditioner overnight.

But wait, there’s more…

What I didn’t already write about is how this hybrid inverter and SoftStartRV combination can allow you to mooch-dock in a driveway powered by a 15-amp outlet by combining (blending) battery power with available shore power. So you can set the maximum current it’s allowed to pull from the shore power outlet to 13 or 14 amperes or thereabouts. at that point the limited shore power should be able to fully power the 14 amp requirements of the air conditioner while it’s running without adding in battery power.

However, if you have the SL-3000 unit you could not only run the air conditioner, but other 120-volt appliances as well. So you can also run your microwave, or hair dryer, and/or entertainment system for a limited time, all from a single 15-amp driveway outlet. Now, when the inverter needs to supply 25 amperes of 120-volt current, it will use 14 amps from the shore power cord, and make up the other 11 amps of 120-volt AC current by pulling 130 amperes from the battery, inverting it to 120-volts AC, and adding them together. A single 100 amp-hr Lithium battery could supply this extra backup power for at least 30 minutes or more. Talk about cool stuff…

Then, once the RV power requirements drop below your selected maximum current shore power settings, the Hybrid Inverter will seamlessly recharge the battery back to full capacity, all without exceeding your top current setting of 14 amperes from shore power.

“Just one more thing…” (yes, from “Columbo”)

My next experiment will demonstrate how I can use my vintage 1,000-watt Honda EX-1000 generator to power a 15kBTU air conditioner, or even utilize a 1,000-watt CarGenerator Inverter to power this all from my Nissan Frontier pickup truck for solar power backup. And this would be great for emergency power when hurricanes or fires leave you without power for weeks. I’ll post the results of these additional experiments in the next few weeks.

Symbiotic buddies….

Yes, I think that the CarGenerator SL-2000 or SL-3000 Hybrid Inverter and SoftStartRV make a great symbiotic team for mooch-docking, even with 1 or 2 lithium batteries. And if you want to go in deep (and have deep pockets as well), then they would work well with 4 or 8 lithium batteries.

Find out more about CarGenerator products HERE.

I’m having too much fun with these experiments, so stay tuned for more in-depth analysis of how you can boondock with limited power.

Let’s play safe out there….

Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 50+ years in the industry. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com. For more info on Mike’s qualifications as an electrical expert, click here.

For information on how to support RVelectricity and No~Shock~Zone articles, seminars and videos, please click the I Like Mike Campaign.

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Meet your fellow RVtravel.com readers, September 26, 2020

Emily Woodbury
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0
Meet your fellow RVtravel.com readers, September 26, 2020

We asked RVtravel.com readers to tell us about themselves. Here are a few responses.

From Marie Dalzell. My husband, Steve, and I live in NH and are new to camping; this is our first season! We decided life is too short to wait to buy a TT; none of us know if we have tomorrow. We both still work so we’re weekend warriors. For us, it’s being together with our two dogs. We mostly hang out together and love meeting new people.

From Troy, Katie and Lucy Wiltshire. I am a retired U.S. Marine helicopter mechanic. My family and I bought a 38’ Thor Challenger Class A motorhome three years ago when I retired, and hit the road full time. We have seen a lot, and more importantly my daughter, who was only two-and-a-half when we started, has experienced and seen more than most people will in their whole life. Now she’s kindergarten age and we are trying to settle in Pensacola, Fl, so she can go to school. We are still living in our motorhome, so we can still leave whenever we want.

We are Brad and Bev Andersen and we are new to RVing. We had just come off a 12-day cruise on March 12, 2020, and found our world had changed. With visiting other countries and cruising removed for the foreseeable future. We decided to go back to camping and after many hours of learning all we could about operating and maintaining an RV, we went out and purchased a 30 ft T.T. We are very much enjoying this lifestyle.

We’re Greg & Kathleen Johnson. We started RV’ing in 2010 after retiring from careers which required us to fly all over the U.S. and we wanted to see our beautiful country from the ground. We traveled in 46 states and 6 Canadian provinces in our 40-foot motorhome in 9 years. Last year we traded the motorhome for a 43-foot 5th wheel and continue to travel with our Golden Doodle “Hooch” [Hey! We just featured Hooch in our RV Daily Tips Newsletter. Check him out!] during the summers and spend 6 months stationary in it in AZ during the winters. We were booked on a 60-day Alaska caravan this past summer, but it was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 situation. Hopefully, it will happen next year. In addition to seeing the country up close and personal, we most enjoy meeting other RVers on the road. We plan on continuing to RV as long as we can. Thanks, Chuck, for your wonderful RVing newsletter!

From Garth and Mary Reid. My husband & I are retired and travel often now in our 34’ Montana fifth wheel. Each Aug. we visit relatives in the Pacific NW to pick blackberries which I make into jam – cases of it – which we donate to raise funds for veterans organizations. We travel with our Dearheart Persians: Davy, Dougal, & Pip.

From Martha and Ben Francis/Goudey. Ben and I sold our home in central Washington October of 2016 and started traveling full time in a 17-foot Casita. The first year we traveled a lot in the west and discovered a beautiful spot in Arizona where we spend winters. Second two years I went through treatment and recovered from cancer, then covid hit, and in April we totaled our truck hauling our trailer and I sprained my foot (that was all). We persevere and spent two wonderful months in NW Washington away from heat and fires this summer and will head back to Arizona in October. The photo is from a sailing trip in the San Juan Islands this summer. We love our cozy little home and each other and God willing have no plans to stop the adventure.

Hi, we’re Rick and Sharon Lincoln, retired and loving it! We’ve been married 45 years, love to travel and have often talked about owning an RV. We finally pulled the trigger about 3 years ago and bought a 34-foot fifth wheel; a few months later we bought our truck! We live in California and definitely love spending a week at the beach as often as we can. We have also taken a couple of longer trips. We made the trip to the National Parks in Utah last year with our travel buddies. Our first trip this year was just about a month ago. We went on a road trip with two of our children and six grandchildren to Yellowstone. While there were many concerns, we were pleasantly surprised at how safe we felt while traveling and visiting Yellowstone. Our grandchildren love camping and love Gram’s fifth wheel! We try to plan trips with them at least a couple times a year. We believe in branching out and traveling as far as we can, seeing the amazing sights in our country, and making the most of our home on wheels. As for me, I spend a lot of time thinking about and looking for the next adventure!

Meet our readers from last week’s issue.

We’ll introduce you to more RVtravel.com readers next week!

* * *
Please tell us about yourself by using the form below. Include a photo, too (of you, but your RV will do).

Boondocking gone wrong: One woman’s experience

Chuck Woodbury
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Boondocking gone wrong: One woman’s experience

We found this post by Suzanne Anthony on her blog “Take To The Highway.” What she wrote echoes what we are hearing so often these days about crowded conditions in RV parks and even boondocking areas.

Suzanne had recently learned about an “idyllic” boondocking spot near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, in the Lincoln National Forest. She was looking for a place to escape the brutal heat of central Texas. She found the coordinates, and then headed off. Here is part of what she wrote about the experience:

I have boondocked in just about every state west of the Mississippi, and I’ve never in my life seen anything like what manifests each Friday evening in the Lincoln National Forest. It’s bad. Really bad. Is this due to COVIDity? Or is this the norm? It’s like a train wreck, hard to look away. And they all have Texas plates when New Mexico has a quarantine mandate for out-of-state visitors.

I stopped by the ranger station to get a map and hiking info. The head ranger was there, so I asked him what was up. He said he had been stationed at this post for 25 years, and had never in his life seen anything like it. Certain areas (hike to the waterfall) had been closed off because they were being completely overrun by campers, and they don’t have the resources during COVID-19 to deal with it.

El Paso is only 108 miles away, he tells me, and they come to escape the heat. Would the last person leaving El Paso please turn out the lights? Oh, wait. No need to turn out the lights, because they brought the lights with them — a construction sized light pole!

Nearly every group has a generator. Why do you need a generator when camping in a tent? And there’s always a car among the group equipped with trunk speakers. . . I guess to drown out the generator noise. Nothing says “a weekend away in a quiet forest” like a giant sub-woofer.

So much for “Leave No Trace.” This bag was left 2 miles up the FS road from the highway.

And of course there are ATVs, UTVs, Polaris RZRs and dirt bikes, all buzzing up and down the forest road until long after dark. But never fear, they are equipped with roll-bar mounted spotlights, neon LED whip antennas and giant flags waving out the back.

WHILE I AM ENRAGED by the mess left behind, I can’t begrudge them for coming. They are all escaping the same triple digit misery I left behind. But what about social distancing? It’s a big forest, yet they congregate in tight-knit groups. I guess their idea of a “quarantine pod” is a little bigger than mine. So what about New Mexico’s quarantine mandate? There is a state law requiring anyone with out-of-state plates to quarantine upon crossing the state line for 14 days or the length of their visit, whichever is shorter. As long as they stay in the forest and don’t go into town, I suppose they consider it a legitimate quarantine.

So why on earth would I stay, one might wonder? Well, this “cloud” in Cloudcroft has a silver lining. Come Sunday afternoon, the place folds up and empties out. I have the place pretty much all to myself, save for two other “regulars.” During the week, there is an average of three rigs, tops, along the entire Forest Service road. I have kind neighbors who have my back, look after the rig while I am hiking, and always ask if I need anything from town.

So why stay with all that mayhem? Because come Sunday afternoon, the place empties out, and I have peace and serenity until the next Friday afternoon.

If you would like to read Suzanne’s blog, which continues beyond what we posted here, you can do so here.

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Alone for a week in a “rainforest.” But all is good

Chuck Woodbury
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Alone for a week in a “rainforest.” But all is good

By Chuck Woodbury

Rain is pounding on the roof of my motorhome. It’s so loud that it would be hard to talk over it. I’ve headed off to the forest for a week, by myself this trip. I do my best thinking (and writing) when I’m alone, and my very best of it when I do it in my RV. It’s been that way for me for 30 years.

My neighbors, all around me.

My neighbors are fir trees, cedar trees, and assorted ferns in every direction. The nearest RV is 100 feet away, but hidden from me by trees and bushes. It’s like I am all alone. It’s so green and lush here I could easily imagine I were in a rainforest. It’s not, but it looks and feels like one today. Drip, drip, drip. . .

My 32-foot motorhome is “my mountain cabin.” I’m not in the mountains, but it feels like it with the tall trees all around. I grew up near Los Angeles, which is a desert. Our family camping trips were often to the mountains, where we camped under pine trees. To this day, anything that resembles a pine tree reminds me of those magical days from my childhood.

It’s too wet to go outdoors, so I have stayed inside all day, writing, Zooming with friends and associates, and savoring the sound of the rain. I love camping on a warm summer day, but I am equally happy on a dark and wet day like today. It’s incredibly cozy in my little portable home. I am content and happy.

OK. It’s 3 p.m., the time of day when I often begin to fade a bit. I think it’s a good time for my afternoon siesta. The pitter patter of rain on the roof will probably knock me out quickly.

I love my little motorhome, and I marvel how happy it can make me, even on a dark, wet, and otherwise miserable day.

Have you ever done any damage to your RV while backing up?

Chuck Woodbury
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Backing up is not always easy with an RV, whether a big ol’ motorhome or a towable rig. How many of us have been entertained in a campground watching a new arrival struggle with backing into a campsite? Anyone who has been an RVer for very long has probably enjoyed this free entertainment.

But, the fact is, backing up does not always result in a good outcome. Many of us have sideswiped a tree or poked a hole in the siding from a tree branch that we somehow didn’t see. Or how about the times we’ve bumped into a tree stump or other object too low to the ground to see in our side mirrors?

So how about you? Have you ever struck something while backing up with your RV that caused damage that needed to be repaired?

Please feel free to leave a comment. And, remember, sometimes the poll loads kinda slow, so hang on. It may take a few moments to show up.

Wheelchair-bound family finds joy in RVing

Nanci Dixon
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Wheelchair-bound family finds joy in RVing

By Nanci Dixon
I met fellow RVers Mark Swanson and his son, Shane, at the campground earlier this week. Both Dad and Shane are wheelchair-bound, but that is not stopping them from being avid RVers. Shane was born with spina bifida and has no use of his legs. Mark grew up camping and wanted to share that with his son. Their family has been camping together since Shane was a baby. They started in a tent and then moved to an ice house trailer. The ice house worked well because it could be lowered directly to the ground, so it allowed easier access for Shane’s wheelchair.

Shane is a paraplegic swimmer and by age twelve had broken five national records. In addition to being a champion swimmer, Shane plays a mean game of sled hockey. He is now 19 and continues to compete across the state and nation. He recently added another seven gold medals in the Junior Nationals. Getting to that level has been a journey. Shane was once hospitalized for 65 days, has had too many surgeries to even count, and continues to work through health problems that would stop most people.

National gold medals
Photo Credit Jason Olson

When COVID-19 hit earlier this year, all meets and events were called off. Mark and Shane found themselves stuck inside with nothing to do. Shane was bored, Mark was bored, and they both were getting a bit depressed. The campgrounds were still closed so even their normal camping season was out of whack.

Newmar wheelchair accesible RV

Then Mark found a handicap accessible 40 ft. Newmar motorhome online. It has a handicap lift and the interior is designed to be wheelchair accessible. It has wide aisles, the cabinets are lower, has hand controls and a handicap accessible bathroom. It was perfect. What does Shane like most? “The lift, absolutely.”

Wheelchair lift

They bought the motorhome in June and have already been camping for almost two months. I asked Shane what he likes best about camping and he said “Everything!” They camp close to home so that Wendy, Mark’s wife and Shane’s mother, can join them when she isn’t working. Their dream is to be able to full-time someday.

Handlebar bike

When not sitting around the campfire, Mark and Shane can be seen biking around the campground on their handcycles (above), stopping to talk and making friends with everyone. Shane is a true champion, in the pool and out.

If you or someone you know is an RVer with a disability, please join, or have them join, our Facebook group, RVing with a disability.

RELATED

Winnebago debuts 2020 wheelchair-ready motorhomes

Does your RV bathroom need an assist device?

Winnebago program to help improve RV access for mobility impaired

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Hey, you ought to write a book

Chris Guld
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By Chris Guld, Geeks on Tour
How many people have told you that you ought to write a book? After all, you have a ton of travel stories to tell, you’ve led an interesting life, and you have lots of expertise in some areas. You could probably write two or three books, right? But, don’t you need a publisher first? There are several reasons you may want to publish a book:

  • To keep your travels and stories for yourself and a few friends and family. For this purpose I recommend creating a blog and then using Blog2Print to make a book from it. I wrote about that a while ago: “Save your blog, print a book.”
  • To establish your expertise in a niche and make your book available to the people interested in that niche. That was my purpose in publishing my book on Google Photos. I can’t imagine the effort it would take to find and convince a publisher to take this on. I just wanted to write it and get it out there.
  • To make your living as a novelist: If you have lots of stories in your head, self-publishing is a way to reach a worldwide audience while keeping complete creative control and maximizing your royalties.

How to self-publish your book

I have now self-published my fourth book, Learn Google Photos. I am no expert on self-publishing but I do know how easy it is and I wanted to pass that along. I use Kindle Direct Publishing for both the printed paperback as well as the Kindle eBook. There is no charge for the publishing process and all you have to do is provide a Word document or .pdf file of your book.

The eBook on Kindle is available for your readers immediately and the printed paperbacks are printed on demand, so there is no up-front charge there either. You set the price for your book and it gets listed on Amazon for people to buy. Amazon then subtracts the cost of printing and shipping and splits the rest with the author, paying royalties of 60%. In the settings for your account, you include your bank account information and the money shows up in your account once a month.

The basic steps to self-publish your book are:

  1. Write
  2. Edit
  3. Design a cover
  4. Publish
  5. Market

When you start writing, you want to be using the right formatting for the end result. I started with the Word template provided by Kindle Direct Publishing. I was able to use the same Word document for submission for the paperback book as well as the Kindle book, but I paid close attention to all the guidelines and tutorials provided by Kindle Direct Publishing. For my book, I used a lot of images and they have special considerations over and above the text formatting. I found this YouTube video that helped a lot because it was so detailed. The same YouTube creator also has a video on formatting chapters and headers as part of her complete playlist of step-by-step tutorials.

A word about editing. You cannot proofread your own book! You simply won’t see the places that you mistakenly wrote their rather than they’re, or or repeated a word. (See?) I had two editor-friends proofread my book for errors. I also hired a professional editor, Beth Anne Carr, to help develop the book as I wrote. For a technical, how-to book like mine I found a developmental editor to be invaluable. I am so close to the material that I sometimes don’t see the forest for the trees. She helped me rearrange my topics and pay more attention to my reader’s perspective.

Your book cover: As my friend Nick Russell says: You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but you’ll sure sell a lot more books with a good cover, and he recommended the artist that he uses. I recommend her as well: Elizabeth Mackey Graphics.

Marketing: “Writing and publishing your book is the easy part,” says Nick Russell, “then you have to market it. You need to market it not once a month or once a week, you need to market it every day.” As a New York Times Best-Selling author with 42 self-published books on Amazon, Nick knows what he’s talking about. You may know Nick from his years as a full-time RVer and publisher of the Gypsy Journal. He still keeps a daily blog and he markets books every day.

Then again, if you’re not trying to make your living at it and you just want to have your book available, you may be satisfied with just getting it up on Amazon and having a link to send to people. There is no minimum sales required to keep your book on Amazon.

You can do it.

The bottom line is that you can do it. If you want to write a book, do it! The publishing process is free and really quite easy. If you want to learn more, check out our YouTube show. It will stream live on Sunday, 9/27/20, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. After that, the same link takes you to the recording. We will discuss our experience with self-publishing as well as interviewing Nick Russell on his experience.

 

Chris Guld is President and Teacher-in-Chief at GeeksOnTour.com. She and her husband, Jim, produce a free weekly YouTube show called What Does This Button Do?  They have been Fulltime RVers, popular seminar presenters at RV Rallies, and regular contributors to RVTravel.com, for many years. 

##RVT967

Campground crowding. Discussion for September 26, 2020

Emily Woodbury
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Campground crowding. Discussion for September 26, 2020

More people than ever are taking up RVing. These newbies have determined that RVing is the safest way to travel in our pandemic times. The result is campground crowding like never before. In this weekly blog, RV Travel readers discuss their experiences. Maybe we can make some sense of this and find ways to work around the problem.

Here are a few observations from our readers.

THIS MIGHT EXPLAIN A LOT…

Last week reader Brenda Mentzer brought up the question: Why do we struggle to find a spot when there are so many empty spots in the campground? Well, Barbara, and others of you wondering, reader Don Boldman might have an answer: “Recently we stayed at Mother Neff State Park in Texas with a couple of friends. We were told by the park rangers that they were blocking seventy-five percent of the sites because of the virus. This was one of the nicest parks we have stayed in and the sites were very large and spaced apart.” Don went on to say that campgrounds shouldn’t have to follow the same rules as restaurants, since everyone is confined to their own space far away from others.

THINGS ARE DIFFERENT IN CANADA, EH?

A reader who goes by the name “Little Leftie” writes, “Living on the East coast of Canada, with the border between our countries closed, we have found that campground reservations are much easier to obtain this year, due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. We, luckily, own our own recreational property and spend a lot of our time there but did do some traveling within our Atlantic bubble. Actually, most campground owners are struggling with a greatly diminished income this year due to no campers from away. And RV sales are also down, according to the reports.” Ah, fascinating! Well, Little Leftie, I think many of us would be up there if we could!

“WITHOUT A DOUBT THERE ARE WAY MORE RVS ON THE ROAD”

Even places that used to be completely empty are filling up. Lisa Trujillo notices a change. She writes, “I’m not your typical RVer, or at least I like to think so. I have a Roadtrek that I use mostly traveling from point A to point B. I stay in hotels or cabins once I’m at my destination. This year my usual overnight RV park stops are full. These are places that were practically empty every time I stopped, for years. Without a doubt there are way more RVs out on the road.”

Make sure you join our Crowded Campgrounds Group on Facebook.

ARE ORGANIZED TOURS THE WAY TO GO?

Caravans or other company-led tours might just be the way to go. Is that something you’d ever consider? Here’s what reader Tim Bock has to say. “We have found many more issues with finding available sites this year. Sometimes the frustrating searches worked out, but often we had to change travel plans because we were unsuccessful. We are planning to take several organized caravans next year to alleviate our frustration and hopefully things may get back to normal after that. We kind of expect the market to be flooded with used RVs sometime in the future.”

OH, NO, THEY DIDN’T…

Wow! Do people really do this? Dick Ross writes, “My biggest complaints this year are reserved but empty campsites and people coming in on Monday or Tuesday to first-come first-serve Forest Service campgrounds, dropping their camper and then leaving until Friday. I stay primarily in FS and BLM campgrounds in the NW and this happens all too often. In forest service campgrounds the rules normally clearly state that the “site must be occupied the first night and not be unoccupied for more than 24 hours during the stay.” This rule is never enforced because the CG hosts have no authority to evict campers. They have to call the FS or BLM. Campground hosts need to be able to enforce the rules or the authorities who can enforce them need to be more available.”

NO, BUT REALLY… CONSIDER FLORIDA

Last week Michelle Everett told you to go to Florida if you want a reservation. Leo Suarez agrees. “I agree with the comment regarding Florida. My wife and I just spent two weeks around the Fort Pierce area. The campground had about 160 sites. There were about 4 campers the whole time we were there. We had the pool to ourselves every single day. Yes, Florida is hot this time of year but pool, beaches, and plenty of golf courses still makes it pleasant.” That sounds pretty nice, Leo! Anyone else care to join?

Read last week’s column on Crowded Campgrounds.

Some questions for you:

• Are you finding more and more campgrounds booked up? Or are you having no problem finding places to stay?

• If campgrounds continue to be crowded and RVing continues to become more popular, will it affect how or when you RV?

• Do you have any tips or secrets you’d like to share about finding campgrounds that aren’t as crowded?

Please use the form below to answer one or more of these questions, or tell us what you’ve experienced with campground crowding in general.

Name
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Say what? New Hummer EV will include “Crab Mode”

James Raia
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Say what? New Hummer EV will include “Crab Mode”

By James Raia
The all-electric Hummer EV will be unveiled October 20 and will include another unique attribute for a vehicle well-known for its uniqueness — Crab Mode.

The feature will allow the Hummer to move across terrain diagonally like a sand-dwelling crustacean. Crab Mode will be enabled by the electric pickup truck’s four-wheel steering capability. Its functionality is “tailor-made for off-roading customers,” the manufacturer said.

The 2022 Hummer EV will include 'Crab Mode.'
The 2022 Hummer EV will include “Crab Mode.”

Planned for a May debut, the anticipated return of the Hummer was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hummer EV has a military pedigree

The odd-looking, testosterone-loaded Hummer was first marketed when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. The brand endured different owners and hiatus production time frames.

GM announced earlier this year it was reviving the Hummer brand for a 1,000-horsepower electric pickup truck.

The Hummer EV SUT will ride on GM’s third-generation EV platform. The company also said that its truck-based models will have an 800-volt architecture with 350-kWh fast-charging capability. That indicates the Hummer could have a driving range of up to 400 miles.

The Hummer pickup truck is scheduled for production in late 2021, with deliveries soon after. It’s predicted to have a towing capacity between 7,500 and 11,000 pounds as well as a payload capacity between 1,500 and 3,500 pounds.

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Pickup trucks with stick shifts? Only Toyota and Jeep models remain

James Raia, a syndicated columnist in Sacramento, California, publishes a free weekly automotive podcast and electronic newsletter. Sign-ups are available on his website, www.theweeklydriver.com. He can be reached via email: james@jamesraia.com.

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A plea to take care of our forests and extinguish campfires

Nanci Dixon
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A plea to take care of our forests and extinguish campfires

By Nanci Dixon
Remember what Smokey Bear always says: “Only you can prevent forest fires!”? It pertains to wildfires, too, particularly when caused by campfires.

Twyla M. posted this in the Free Campgrounds Facebook group and it is worth repeating here: “Please, please take care of our forests!!! I am sharing (this notice) again to make sure this reaches everyone that it can. We need to be good stewards of our lands. Some don’t know, understand, or some may think they are putting them out but don’t go the extra steps to make the fires dead. I am sure this is not just happening in this forest either.”

U.S. Forest Service Notice: Caribou-Targhee National Forest
August 21, 2020

“It comes as no surprise that recreation is exploding on public lands and people are flocking to the outdoors. However, with the unprecedented level of use, various problems are starting to emerge, campgrounds are at capacity, trash continues to accumulate and patience is thinning as boat ramps remain congested and dispersed sites always seem to be full. 

“With the increase in use, fire officials are seeing an increase in abandoned campfires throughout the region. Conditions in the area are dry and a fire may start easily, spread quickly and burn intensely. Everyone is asked to practice heightened fire safety at all times. This week firefighters responded to two small fires caused by abandoned campfires: one in the Jedediah Smith Wilderness, in an area where campfires are prohibited, and another just north of Kilgore.

“Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire personnel have extinguished over 60 unattended or abandoned campfires so far this summer. Abandoned campfires can quickly escalate into wildfires. Where campfires are allowed, it is extremely important that they are completely extinguished and cold to the touch before campers leave their site. Visitors should never leave a fire unattended and can be held liable for suppression costs if their campfire becomes a wildfire. During times of elevated fire danger, a campfire is not encouraged.

“With the devastation of the current fire situation in California, Oregon and spreading to other western states let’s all remember that we can prevent forest fires. Make sure the fire is dead, stir it around and check for embers or smoke. Think it is out? Put your hand on or over it. If warm, it is still possible of igniting and spreading more devastation to our forests, cities and costing lives.”

Campfire safety

Chris Dougherty shared some helpful campfire safety advice with RV Travel:

As you’re enjoying your campfire, remember these safety tips:
• Once you have a strong fire going, add larger pieces of dry wood to keep it burning steadily.
• Keep your fire to a manageable size.
• Make sure children and pets are supervised when near the fire.
• Never leave your campfire unattended.
• Never cut live trees or branches from live trees.

When you’re ready to put out your fire and call it a night, follow these guidelines:
• Allow the wood to burn completely to ash, if possible.
• Pour lots of water on the fire; drown ALL embers, not just the red ones.
• Pour until hissing sound stops.
• Stir the campfire ashes and embers with a shovel.
• Scrape the sticks and logs to remove any embers.
• Stir and make sure everything is wet and cold to the touch.

If you do not have water, use dirt. Mix enough dirt or sand with the embers. Continue adding and stirring until all material is cool. Remember: Do NOT bury the fire as the fire will continue to smolder and could catch roots on fire that will eventually get to the surface and start a wildfire.

REMEMBER: If it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to leave!

Here are some more helpful campfire tips.

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