- This week on the RV podcast, what you
- Need to know for safe drinking water while camping.
- The latest on the RV Camping event of the year,
Monday's Total Eclipse of the Sun,
- How that Collapsed bridge in Baltimore will alter travel
routes for RVs this summer.
- All this plus the RV News of the week.
And your questions coming up in episode 4 91
of the RV podcast.
- Hello everybody, I'm Mike Wendling,
and this is my lifelong traveling companion
and my bride Jennifer.
- Hello, Mr. Mike. And, um, just like that, it's April
and Mike and I hope that you had a great
Easter in the spring.
Weather keeps improving and we're still down in Florida.
Wrapping up a three month stay in the Sunshine State
that has been interspersed with lots of traveling
and video projects.
And we'll probably start the Long Trek North later this week
with a adopt at, uh, loblolly Ridge,
our RV property in Tennessee
to hitch up our Montana fifth wheel
and bring it up to our Michigan property.
So we're closer to our planned summer trips
- And we have a bunch of them planned.
If you're curious about our day-to-Day activities,
we are regularly sharing what we're doing through updates
and photos on our very fast growing RV lifestyle community.
And you can find that@community.rvlifestyle.com.
This past week, uh, I dunno if you heard, there was
yet another controversy involving Facebook,
that saw Facebook being accused
of revealing the private messages sent by its members
to one of its big advertisers.
And it comes after lots
of controversy involving Facebook's data collection
policies, as well as censorship issues,
and the way it only shows some posts to a fraction
of a Facebook group's membership.
- And over the weekend,
we even saw some Facebook members complaining
that their Easter posts were removed by Facebook with,
with no explanation.
- And that is why we started our RV lifestyle community.
It is completely separate from Facebook
and it now has 10,000 members.
If you haven't become a part of it,
we we really invite you to join us.
It's, uh, community dot rv lifestyle.com.
You'll find it's warm, it's welcoming, it's very friendly
with, uh, uh, some 20 different special interest spaces
that are devoted to various aspects of the RV lifestyle.
So, uh, join it up, uh, community dot rv lifestyle.com.
When we come back, the social media buzz, stay with us.
The one thing that can ruin a perfect RV trip
is a bad mattress.
And believe us, we know over the years we've tried many
and we have found them all wanting until now.
- Now we sleep on the RV mattress by Brooklyn Bedding.
Quite simply, it's the best we've ever slept on.
- We chose a queen size aurora luxe medium firm mattress
that arrived tightly rolled in a box.
All we did was put it on the bed, unroll it,
and wait for it to recover.
From the compression that we put on the sheets
and the bed covers and found, we slept so well
that we ordered another one for our home.
- That's how comfortable it is.
Our sleep is now so luxurious
and deep that we can't imagine using a different mattress.
- Shipping is free. If you're disappointed
with the current mattress in your rv, you owe it
to yourselves to try the RV mattress by Brooklyn Bedding.
- Brooklyn Bedding sends out all
of their RV mattresses from their own factory in Arizona.
This means they're able
to use premium materials at a reasonable price for you.
With no middleman bringing up the cost.
- Don't miss out on the best sleep of your life.
Visit rv mattress.com/rv lifestyle.
Welcome back time now for the social media Buzz
- And Wendy Boyer reports on the hot issues most talked
about this past week on social media
and on our RV Lifestyle Community Group.
- Hi, everybody. Over in our RV lifestyle solo travel space.
Tina recently wrote that she's going on her first solo trip.
She gave a little background on herself.
She used to be a camper an rvr years ago with her husband
and kids, but now, um, her kids are grown and she
and her husband are divorced.
She recently retired
and she just has a travel bug and wants to go.
So she's planned this epic cross country trip
to the Grand Canyon, pulling her a, um, her Aline popup.
And when she told her mom about her plans,
her mom was starting to say it wasn't safe.
And so she started to get nervous.
And so she asked our community just for some encouragement
and some safety tips along the way.
And it was so great to see everyone rally
around her telling her she could do it,
and also offering some pointers.
Um, for instance, Lois, she said, you know, for
that first trip especially,
make sure you only stay in campgrounds
that have really good reviews from real people.
Um, just the importance
of knowing you're in a safe, good place.
Um, Bob, he said,
to make sure you don't make yourself a target.
You know, don't wear expensive clothes or jewelry, um,
and to just maybe take a class in how to use mace
so you have that little bit of knowledge if you need it.
Give yourself confidence.
And many, many women said, listen to your intuition.
Don't be afraid to leave day or night.
But overall, people told her, just go for it.
And every time you do it again, it's gonna get easier
and you're just gonna have the time of your life.
Um, also in our community, in the mods
and DYI tweak space,
everyone was sharing their favorite modifications.
And this is a post you need to check out for some ideas.
Um, a small sampling.
Uh, Tanya said she got a Bluetooth leveler.
Sounds like it was really, really helpful, Steve.
He changed those blinds in his RV from the string ones,
you know, that come with it to blackout blinds
or blackout curtains, and it sounds like
that made a huge difference.
And Don, he suggested getting a portable fire pit
with a propane tabletop heater.
Um, but again, many, many ideas in there,
and that's just a small sampling.
And then meanwhile, over in our RV lifestyle Facebook group,
one post that got people talking was from Martha.
Martha said, or she asked,
how do people keep their house safe when you're gone on a
long RV trip?
Sounds like she and her husband are getting ready to go out
for maybe their first super long RV trip
and they don't have family in their area.
And while they live in a sounds like a nice neighborhood,
low crime area, she's still worried about just safety
and leaving her home that long.
And so there were some great ideas in this, uh, post Judith,
she suggested setting timers for her lights
and maybe a radio also maybe getting one of those cameras
that will alert you if there's anything
going outside your house.
Brian, he said, if you have some good neighbors,
tell 'em you're gonna be gone.
Ask 'em to check on your house.
Maybe they can park their cars in your
driveway, get your mail.
Kind of make it look like you're still there.
Uh, Ashley, she was one of many
who suggested getting a house sitter that
that might be an option for a few months.
But overall, probably the most common suggestion was,
at least for a little bit, consider investing in a monitored
alarm system for your house.
So, again, some good ideas there to a very good question.
And that's it for me this week.
I'm Wendy Boyer, and I will see you next time in the RV
lifestyle community or Facebook group,
- We've, uh, wrestled with the whole issue of
what do you do about your house when you're traveling And,
uh, it's tough, good neighbors
or relatives who can empty your mailbox, uh,
and do so every day.
That is really a big help.
You can, uh, have the post office, uh, hold your mail for,
I think it's a month, a month, but
after that, um, they just are gonna deliver it.
So you have to have 'em deliver it someplace.
So, um, that's always a good thing.
You can find that on the post office website.
But, uh, and then a lot of people have mail, uh,
forwarding services
and, uh, we have one, um,
that you can find in our
partnersPage@rvlifestyle.com slash partners.
Uh, and then, and those mail forwarding services,
basically you have all your mail sent to them, uh,
they scan it, uh, and then you can access it
and look at a digital issue
of whatever it is, a picture of it.
And, uh, they can mail it to you if you need it physically,
or they can shred it or they can open it
and send you, uh, all sorts of information on it
so you don't have to worry about your mail piling up.
- And it absolutely amazes me all the information
that people share.
Some things are so simple and you haven't thought of it,
but that groups really serves a purpose.
- Yep. Uh, our army lifestyle community
is, is the place to go.
And we still have our Facebook group, obviously
'cause it's got, it's pushing 400,000 members now.
But, uh, with all those members, you know, posts get buried
and you can't find stuff.
And there's a lot of nastiness.
And that's why we started the, the for the hardcore RVs
who really wanna connect and be friendly and have fun
and kinda like have a big virtual campground.
That's why we started, uh, the, um,
the community dot rv lifestyle.com.
Alright, when we come back the interview of the week,
and we're gonna talk about getting the most important part
of your rv ready for the new camping season.
And that is, uh, your, um, filtration system
for your drinking water.
Stay with us. Jennifer
and I bought some land near Nashville, Tennessee.
A while back. We got tired of crowded expensive campgrounds
and worrying about reservations.
Tennessee is a gorgeous state with friendly people,
and it has been such a pleasure coming up on April 13th,
the same developer has some new property near us, close
to the Natchez Trace and Buffalo River called the reserve.
At High Forest, big properties, five to 41 acres.
You can build a house, a cabin or rv.
Year round prices start at only $89,900.
Your property, your way 100% ownership.
The scenery in this part of Tennessee is breathtaking
and the property is gorgeous.
Garden landscape, bring your pets, build what you want.
There's high speed fiber optic internet,
and it is so private, a great place
to make your home base ready whenever you want it.
They're selling these on April 13th by appointment.
Five to 41 acre properties from $89,900.
There's even great financing.
Check out the site and a video tour@rvlands.net.
That's RV lands.net.
Welcome back time now for the RV interview of the week.
- And for many RVs spring means one thing.
The summer camping season is almost here,
but just as important
as choosing this year's adventures is making sure
your rig is ready to go.
And a key part of that preparation is
maintaining your RV's water filtration system.
- Now this is important stuff.
If you haven't already done this to your RV
for this new season, listen up.
And, uh, in the show notes for this episode, I'll put links
to the, the stuff, the products that we use
to keep our water safe and, and, uh, tasting good.
Well, to help us learn everything that an RV
or should know about getting your rigs water filtration
system ready for the camping season.
Uh, we are going to interview Noah Cronin.
He's the marketing manager at camco.
- And with a name like Noah, he's gotta understand water.
- That is very good. That is very good.
Well, KACO's, uh, made in the USA products and, uh, for RVs,
and a big part of it is water filtration.
And Noah Noah is gonna help you,
Noah, all about it.
Let's start with springtime, uh,
getting our RVs ready to go.
And we're obviously talking about our water system now.
What's the first thing we should do?
- Yeah, thanks Mike. Um, glad to be on here.
Uh, whenever it comes to springtime, getting excited
to go camping, the first thing that I like to do is
to make sure that I have a brand new water filter.
Um, water filtration is extremely important.
Um, if you are at the campsite
and you don't know what kind of water quality
that the campsite has, um,
having a water filter can be very beneficial
and it can really elevate your camping experience.
- Let's, uh, talk a little bit about the quality
of the water that is at campgrounds.
Uh, mm-Hmm. a lot of people.
Uh, I I, I'm amazed when I go to a campground
and I see so many of 'em just hooked up with a hose directly
to the spigot and, uh, I think that they don't realize
what is coming out of that spigot in many cases.
Talk about that for us a little bit
so we can understand one, why we need a water filter.
- Yeah. So there's, um, well,
the thing is you don't really always
know what's in the water.
Um, and I think that's, that's the danger,
or a scary part of it is, um,
when you don't know what's in the water, it's better
to have some sort of filtration that way you can, um,
know what's being filtered out of the water.
So this water filter in particular,
it's, it's made right here.
Um, in North Carolina, it's where I'm at.
I can walk and go watch 'em being made.
It's, it's a wonderful, um, experience.
It's a, it's a patented water filter.
Um, we have a six step filtration process
that has a premium carbon activated,
um, additive in it.
And it protects against the, uh, bad tastes, the odors,
the chlorine, uh, the heavy metals, uh,
that can be in the water.
And that that's really what the water filter is for.
It also has a, a superior KDF additive
and that protects against bacteria growth,
uh, fungus and mold growth.
So that's really what you wanna look for in a, in a filter
to make sure that those heavy metals, those things
that potentially could be in your water at the campground
are filtered out of the water for whenever you can drink it.
Um, you don't have to bring as many water bottles.
Uh, same thing for showering and doing dishes,
but you don't have those, uh, heavy metals
and chemicals
that could potentially be in your water if you
don't have any control over it.
- Now you mentioned KDF.
What, what, what is a KDF? What, what's that?
- KDF is a, um, it is a granular, um,
additive that we put in these water filters.
Um, and what that use is,
or the purpose of that is to protect against that fungus
and that mold and bacteria growth.
Um, it helps reduce that.
Uh, anytime you have water just sitting, uh,
especially in storage, uh, same thing when,
when you get your RV out of storage,
you wanna flush your systems
and, um, make sure that it doesn't have that,
that bad taste in the odor.
Uh, but that additive KDF is to help prevent
that bacteria growth, uh,
whenever you've already run water through
it and it's just sitting.
- Is is that one of the reasons we should replace
it every season?
Because while it's sitting idle for, you know,
several months or several weeks, whatever,
people are using it in stories that bacteria could grow
because of, you know, the filters are damp.
Is that, is that one of the reasons we should replace it?
- Yeah, absolutely. Um, there's,
there's quite a few reasons.
And one, it all depends on how much you use it,
which I think is, is, um, a question we get often is how,
how often should I replace my water filter?
And I recommend three months.
Um, but it does depend on how much you use your filter,
how much water you run through it,
and also depends on, uh, the quality
of the water that you run through it.
'cause different areas around the country
have different quality water.
And what happens is the water comes into contact with that,
that, uh, the granular that's inside of this,
the KDF and the carbon.
And over time that water, um, uses up the,
um, ingredients that are inside the filter.
So what happens is
after a few months, you'll start to smell the bad odors
and taste the bad tastes again.
And that's how you really know you need a new filter.
- Okay. So about every three months
and at the beginning of every camping season. Um,
- Yes, definitely.
- And that's of course, obviously one part
of really three different parts that I,
I wanna touch on here.
The other two parts yeah.
Have to do with, um, the water pressure
that comes out of a campground.
Uh, talk about that a little bit.
Um, I think a lot of people just assume
because there's a spigot there that it's safe.
And I always recommend a water pressure regulator,
but you could explain
what a water pressure regulator
does probably better than I can.
- So tell us. Yeah, well, I dunno about that, but yeah.
Um, it, I also recommend a water regulator,
a water pressure regulator.
Uh, it's the same thing with,
you can't control what's in your water.
You also can't control the pressure of your water, uh,
when you go to the campground.
So RV pipes are not the same
as the pipes that you have at home.
Um, many of them aren't rated for more than 40 to 50 PSI,
some are, but, uh, for the most part, you wanna stay in
that 40 to 50 PSI.
And, um, there's a, a variety of different filters.
I brought some with me. So we have, um, different kinds.
This is one that people really love.
It's basic, it's a, it's a brass water filter.
We have a stainless steel one too.
Um, this one actually is 50 to 60 PSI.
So if you like a little bit higher pressure
and you know that your RV can handle
it, that's a good option.
Um, but I always recommend I brought this one.
Um, this is an adjustable one, so you can, uh,
it has a gauge on it and you can adjust
what you want your water pressure to be,
but it's extremely important that you have that
because if you don't, um, water pressure can,
uh, well, when there's bursts, it can, uh, cause a,
a burst in your pipe or it could cause leaks in your rv.
So you'll, um,
open up the door and there'll be water on the floor.
I've heard that story a few times.
It's actually happened to, um, an RV that we've had here.
So, um, it's very important
that you have a water pressure regulator just to, to have
that safety, um, uh, to protect against your hose
and your filter as well.
So all around, there's multiple reasons
to have a water pressure regulator.
- I was at a campground just this week actually,
and I was, I was, uh, just about ready to hook this up
and I turned on, I always turn on the spigot
and let it run for about 20 seconds just in case there's
anything that, that got in that pipe.
And I was just blown away at how much pressure there was.
I who would've had no idea,
but it was way over, I'm sure, 50 50 pounds.
And so I, I am so glad I I did that first and saw it.
So we got a water pressure regulator we recommend
that goes on the s spago.
And then we have the, the,
the filter which goes at the other end
of the water pressure regulator.
Yeah. What about the hose?
Um, yeah, I, there's all sorts of hoses out there.
I've always thought that it's wise to replace your hose
as well at the start of every season.
Uh, talk about choosing the right, uh,
hose for your water system. Yeah,
- Well, I, I definitely have an opinion on the hoses
and I understand where you're at with the regulator.
One of my favorite things to do is to hook it up
to the spigot and then you can really see like
what the PSI is.
So you'll see if it's like some campgrounds,
campgrounds I've seen have a hundred PSI.
And so, you know, if that's going into your
rv, that's a huge risk.
Um, but all that aside, like you said,
you have your regulator that hooks up
to the spigot on this end.
Um, then the next thing is this flexible hose protector.
Um, this is, this can be a weak point
of strain when it's hooked up directly to the regulator.
So then you wanna hook up your flexible hose protector to
what we have is called a pre-filter.
The sediment pre-filter filters out all of the, the large,
if there's any sand or dirt
or anything that's, um, coming out of this spigot
before it gets to your filter.
Um, you wanna go ahead and hook that up.
And then, like you said, it goes through your filter.
And then my, uh, what I recommend is
what we have is called our EVO flex
hose, so you can see it there.
Um, this is, that's what
- I have.
Yeah, that's what I use. This is,
- That's excellent.
Uh, this is the best hose, hands down that I've ever used.
Um, I have four or I have a home.
I have 200 feet worth at least I give them as gifts
to my parents, to my friends.
Uh, they're, it's a wonderful hose to have.
It's flexible, there's no memory.
But, um, that's my personal recommendation.
Uh, but whenever you're looking for a water hose
for your rv, the number one thing to look for is
to make sure that it's drinking water safe.
Uh, and you can find that on the packaging.
So here's the packaging for our EVO flex hose,
and you'll see it right here.
Um, drinking water safe lead free, BPA free, phthalate free.
Um, that's, that's the main thing to look
for in a water hose
whenever you're looking to, to purchase one.
And like you said, um, I know, I know quite a few people
that purchased one at the beginning of every season.
You can, you can go a little bit longer,
but again, that does depend on how much you use it
and it also depends on how you store it.
Um, I, I have a friend that
uses a blowout plug every time he is done camping
and he flushes out all the water out of the hose
to make sure there's no water sitting in there
before he, uh, stores it.
So, depends on usage and storage.
Uh, but yeah, I think that every season
or every other season would be a good idea to replace your,
your RV water hose as well.
- One of the things that I like about
that hose you just showed is that it doesn't kink
and it's the only one I have found that doesn't kink A lot
of 'em say kink free.
They all kink. That one doesn't.
And it, like I say, it doesn't have a memory, so I'm able
to wind, wind it up and it stays, uh, fairly well coiled.
Exactly. Um, I didn't think about using a little, uh,
you know, um, a blower to kind of blow out that, uh,
that water in it as you store it.
Uh, I tend to, yeah, uh, grind it up
and just let it all come out the hose and, and put it away.
But we camp a lot so it doesn't sit in there long.
Alright, so those are the three things that we recommend
that everybody get a new water
filter at the start of every season.
- Absolutely. - Replace it about every three months,
a water pressure regulator
and, uh, I think the one that you showed,
'cause it actually shows you how much pressure there is.
Um, and that, yeah.
Now that's made out of brass, I think, isn't it?
- Yeah, this is brass. That's right.
- And why is that? Because I've seen water filter pressures,
regulators that are out of plastic,
but why would, is bla, is brass better
because it's heavier or what?
- It is a more durable, uh, regulator.
We do have a plastic one, like I mentioned.
Um, it, it, this is a very entry level regulator.
It all depends on how much you can't, A lot
of people prefer the brass.
Um, it is lead free, like I mentioned before.
So you wanna make sure that, um, the materials
that you're using are also safe.
Um, or I guess, like I said, lead free.
There is this stainless steel one as well.
Uh, there's different options
and it's, it's personal preference
and also just what, what you prefer as an RV or,
- Yeah, it's, it's, it's really a must have thing
and then we get into the hose and, uh, uh, keeping it good.
Is it one little silly little question that I noticed.
When you are hooking up your hose to your RV
and you've got some left, is it good to coil it
or is it good to stretch it all out?
Do you have any recommendations along that line?
- Yeah, um, we actually, CAMCO has a,
what we call water hose basket,
and it is okay to coil it up.
Um, like you mentioned, sometimes you have 20 feet, 30 feet
of hose left over depending on
how long of a water hose you have.
Um, I wouldn't recommend like tightly winding it, uh,
but you can quill it around a circle and,
and we generally do that because,
and we put that kind of underwear it hooks up
to the RV at Yeah.
That way you don't have 50 foot of hose just, you know, all
- Every, everywhere.
Yeah. And it, it looks neat.
And, and I know though the opposite is not, is true with,
uh, the electrical power cord
that they say you should not coil
because too much heat builds up in the coil,
but that's a in the cord, but that's another story.
Water hose. It's okay to coil it.
Well, knowing you've been a big help,
it's a new camping season.
Uh, I am, uh, a user, a happy user of, uh, your, your,
uh, water filter, your hose and that water filter.
And as we, uh, see everybody getting underway for, uh,
the spring and the new season of camping, uh,
those are three things that should be on everybody's list.
Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast this week.
Yes. You put link by the way in our description below
to all these products
and, uh, people can, uh,
can learn more about 'em from there.
Again. Thanks so much. That's
- Right.
Thank you too. Happy camping.
- Now, if you go to rv lifestyle.com/podcast,
look in the show notes for this episode
and we will put our Amazon affiliate links
for the products we recommend, uh,
including the water filter,
which is the CAMCO taste Pure filter.
Uh, the water hose that, uh,
I'm using this year now is the camco Evil Flex water hose.
What I like about it is it doesn't kink up like other, uh,
hoses that we have used.
And, uh, we use, uh,
the CAMCO adjustable brass water pressure regulator.
What I like about that is it's got a gauge right on it
and, uh, you can see what the pressure is
and you can actually adjust how much comes
through your, your hose.
Um, and again, I said at the beginning
that CAMCO products are all made in the US
and, um, we, um, are big, um, big, uh, fans of the company.
We thank no offer coming on
and helping us all know one more about this.
I'm never gonna quit saying that.
I thought that's pretty funny.
Alright, when we come back,
we've got the RV News of the week.
You know what, Mike, that's not funny. Stop it.
- Okay. - We just heard about a land offering out west
for RVers in Arizona.
They're selling five acre RV ranches,
starting at only $49,900.
The company offering it is affiliated
with the people Jennifer
and I bought our Tennessee property from.
They do a great job. It looks amazing.
It is at high elevation, so you'll get cooler temperatures,
big mountain views, juniper trees, and green grasses.
And it is near everything.
The Grand Canyon Lake Havasu, Kingman,
Flagstaff, and Sedona.
It's a perfect place to have a home base
to explore the west, and it is right off Famous Route 66.
It's called Greenwood Ranches.
And this is the second and final section of the community.
They're selling it off this April.
We met the sales manager, really nice guy.
He bought a property for his RV
and he's building a container home on it.
Check out their website for a video tour
and showing availability.
It's pretty incredible.
Visit the website to get details
and set up a showing Arizona RV land.net.
That's Arizona RV land.net.
Well, welcome back everybody.
Time now for the RV News of the week.
- And many RVs are preparing
for what's becoming the RV event of the year.
The solar eclipse are, are you traveling this weekend
to a campground to watch the Monday,
April 8th solar eclipse?
If yes, you're not alone out there by any means.
The eclipse is quickly becoming the event not to miss.
For many RVs, our RV lifestyle community
and our RV lifestyle Facebook group are full
of folks taking pictures of themselves, hitting the road
and sharing their plans
to catch the eclipse at a campground.
And many campgrounds, state parks
and universities in the path
of the total eclipse are planning special events.
Stores, farmers
and residents are change, are charging for people
to park on their property.
And some communities are expecting so many tourists,
officials are issuing warnings for locals to stop up,
stock up on groceries and fill their tanks
because of massive crowds.
And most of the US will see the eclipse,
but the path of totality
where the moon will completely block out the sun
is 115 mile wide region that stretches from
southern Texas in a northeast line up
through Northern Maine.
- Now, it's really interesting.
I I read, I think one of the, the hottest areas in the whole
continent for it is Niagara Falls.
Ooh. And, uh, in Niagara Falls, Ontario,
which is the bigger tourist area,
has declared a state of emergency.
Oh. And, uh, that's, uh, they're expecting so many people.
Uh, they've also, uh, in many of these places, they've, uh,
beef, beef beefed up, uh, the cell phone towers
because they expect the cell phone systems to be overrun.
And, um, it's so many people are gathering along
that 115 wild stretch
that goes up across the continent. It's gonna be pretty neat.
- I am really happy that local officials in a lot
of communities are telling people to stock up on food
and gas because, uh, you run out, you know,
it seems like grocery stores have like, just enough.
If you ever go in there on Monday morning
and the shells are bare, you know,
the local people really do need to get what they need
before the locusts come in.
- . Well, they're gonna be,
uh, they're gonna be out there.
So, um, if you're doing it, uh, go on our RV lifestyle, uh,
community, community to an RV lifestyle com.
Post your pictures if you can get a cell phone signal,
if not, do it when you get outta the area and you can, uh,
and we'll, uh, we'll all celebrate it together.
Um, if you're heading over to California's, uh, fort
or national monuments, a really neat place, by the way.
Uh, you should know that the Bureau
of Land Management has an important message.
Don't go off designated hiking paths.
You might get blown up ,
seriously if you go off trail, they're saying that you may,
uh, step on dangerous artillery projectiles,
uh, rockets, hand grenades, practice line,
lambed mines, uh, bombs, all sorts of demolition material.
Um, the fort or National Monument is a former US Army base
and it's located in Monterey, California,
uh, Monterey County.
And it was created as a park in 2012.
Um, recently though, uh, people have been just setting off
and making illegal trails
and, uh, they've been discovered rest of, uh,
the Barlow Canyon Road, if you know the, uh,
the monument area there.
And they're issuing this warning
because it is very dangerous.
And the park has 86 miles of trails
and it's managed by both the Bureau of Land Management
and the us uh, army.
Beautiful location, no camping, but be careful there.
It reminds me when we went boondocking on, uh,
the bombing range at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
And, uh, every place you go there, there's signs that,
you know, be careful if you see any of this stuff, you have
to watch a video before you get a camping permit there
that shows you what you do if you come across an empty,
an unexploded bomb, which they find with regularity.
Eggland's is huge stretch, uh, in the panhandle of Florida
and they have several, uh,
campgrounds where you can boondock.
But, uh, that is a bit disconcerting, isn't it?
To, yeah, to be in a bombing range,
- Right.
People have to follow the rules
and for some people that's harder than other people. All
- Right, continuing on.
- Okay, continuing on.
In case you haven't heard about Baltimore's Francis
Scott Key Bridge collapsing last week
after a container ship crashed into it.
We wanna share, we wanna share it here
because this is going
to affect RV travel plans For a long time,
the bridge collapsed
after a huge ship loaded
with 4,700 containers crashed into it in the middle
of the night after the pilot lost control of steering,
killing, and injuring construction workers
who were doing routine road repair on it.
RVs who have propane tanks that hold 10 pounds
or more are prohibited from using the alternative
suggestions at Fort McHenry Tunnel.
That's on I 95
or the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel I 8 95.
Instead, our viewers will need to use the western section
of I 6 95 around the tunnels.
We're hearing this bridge will likely take years to rebuild.
- What a mess. Mm-Hmm, . It's crazy.
All right, let's end this. On a positive note,
this is something that everybody should see.
Once, uh, hundreds of thousands, millions
of sand healed cranes
have descended on the Platte River in Nebraska,
and this is part of their annual migration.
And the pictures that we've seen shared on social
media are stunning.
Uh, the ro the Rose, uh, ROWE,
the Rose Sanctuary near Gibbon Nebraska is a very popular
viewing spot for the crane season.
And it runs, uh, right through this week.
Uh, it's really worth seeing millions, uh,
of these spectacular birds, uh, pass
through on their summer migration.
That's right. They're heading up to their summer, uh,
hanging out grounds.
Uh, and a lot of r viewers come to the area
to watch the crane migration.
It's one of the bucket list items that, uh, you, uh,
you really should put on yours.
So check it out, uh, on the show notes for this episode, uh,
at rv lifestyle.com/podcast, we will put a link to the, uh,
row sanctuaries live crane cam.
So if you can't get there, go over to our show notes, find
that link, and, uh, you'll be able to see
what it, uh, looks like.
Alright, your questions coming up
after this When we're asked,
what's the most important modification we made to our rv?
It's an easy answer. Battle borne batteries.
Battle borne batteries are quality, safe, reliable lithium
batteries that allow us
to stay out there off the grid longer.
Lithium batteries charge faster.
They charge fuller,
they're longer lasting, they're maintenance free.
And battle borne batteries are protected
by a 10 year guarantee.
Now in our case, they just dropped into the existing a GM
batteries that we have, and they'll probably be the
same on your rig too.
Battle borne battery experts can get those in your rig just
like they did with ours.
They can also match you up with the right cabling,
the inverter, the charger, the solar controller, everything.
Jennifer and I swear by our battleborn batteries,
they allow us to boondock off the grid.
Check 'em out. Go to rv lifestyle.com/lithium
rv lifestyle.com/lithium.
Alright, time now for the RV questions the weekend.
We love getting your questions.
We love getting your comments.
If you have the, a question about the RV lifestyle
or a comment on anything we talked about today,
just send 'em to us at our personal email address,
which is Mike and jen@rvlifestyle.com. You got a question?
- We do. We've been snowbirds down here in Florida all
season, and I swear the main slide out
of our fifth wheel is sagging.
What can I do about that? And that's from Everett.
- Well, Everett, that's a pretty, um, common, uh, complaint
that many long-term campers have about their slide outs.
And the fact is that
that extra strain is placed on your slide out mechanism
whenever those slide outs are extended
for prolonged periods of time.
Uh, like when you're snowbirding there for a couple
of months, uh, there is a way to relieve that strain
and you may wanna invest in a couple of, uh, support braces.
Uh, CAMCO makes one called the easy lift slide out support,
and they, uh, will prevent
that strain from letting your slide sag a little bit
and it provides additional support, um, so that, you know,
it's a little, even a little bit more stable.
Uh, they're adjustable so you can fit any height you want
and I think they're like 75 bucks for a pair of 'em.
Um, because of that sag.
We always recommend that if you're gonna store your rv, do
so with the slides in
and, uh, even in particularly in the wintertime when there
could be snow on the top
of them if you're in the northern climate.
Uh, and then if not, if you're just gonna be staying in it
for more than a month, uh, we'd also suggest, uh,
using those support, uh, braces as well.
Uh, they're a good investment
to protect your very major investment, which is your rv.
And when you think about it, you know,
you're in those slide outs that's pretty heavy,
particularly the long ones.
And when you, you add more weight in it when you sit
and it's eventually gonna sag
and usually, you know, you just push this button
and it'll all come in just fine.
Usually, but sometimes, particularly if you've had that RV
for a while, uh, it can, um, uh, damage your, your mechanism
and you might have to call a technician then.
So, uh, those support, uh, braces just a good investment.
Alright, I hope you enjoy this podcast
and you know, we don't urge people enough
'cause we don't like to beg,
but if you do follow this podcast
and you like it, would you give us a, a good review, uh, on,
uh, your whatever platform you listen to it, uh, iTunes, uh,
apple Podcasts, uh, uh, we would really appreciate that.
Tell others about it
and uh, that way more people will find the
RV podcast every week.
Send us your questions, Mike and jen@rvlifestyle.com.
Happy trails.