1 00:00:00,100 --> 00:00:04,370 Welcome to the RV Podcast, episode 4 35. 2 00:00:04,370 --> 00:00:08,730 This week we talk about a trend of turning RV 3 00:00:08,730 --> 00:00:11,570 campgrounds into RV communities. 4 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:24,010 Well, hello everybody. I'm Mike Winland, 5 00:00:24,010 --> 00:00:28,530 and this is my lifelong traveling companion and my bride Jennifer. 6 00:00:29,110 --> 00:00:32,650 And this is episode 4 35 of the RV podcast. And, uh, 7 00:00:32,650 --> 00:00:37,450 we've got a lot of RV news and tips and all sorts of stuff, but, uh, 8 00:00:37,450 --> 00:00:40,090 we're gonna talk, uh, in a minute or so in our interview, 9 00:00:40,290 --> 00:00:44,730 the week segment about this trend we're seeing about how, uh, 10 00:00:45,010 --> 00:00:49,610 RV resorts and parks are turning into RV communities. What's behind that? 11 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:54,610 I think you'll find that pretty interesting. But, um, a week of travel for us. 12 00:00:54,790 --> 00:00:59,050 Yes, we're gonna take our Class C motor home and go camping it for a few days. 13 00:00:59,050 --> 00:01:03,570 We're gonna go to the western side of the state where we purchased our 10 acres, 14 00:01:04,110 --> 00:01:06,610 and it'll give us a great chance to explore. 15 00:01:06,670 --> 00:01:10,130 And Beau is going to have a blast exploring his land. 16 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,890 I think. So Beau is, uh, a dog born to wander. 17 00:01:15,450 --> 00:01:16,010 that. 18 00:01:16,010 --> 00:01:19,050 He is. But one of the things that's neat is when he wanders, 19 00:01:19,060 --> 00:01:24,010 he wanders least free, uh, with this spot, uh, satellite color. 20 00:01:24,030 --> 00:01:27,690 And there's one more week that you can still get a chance to win. One of these. 21 00:01:27,690 --> 00:01:32,530 It sets up, I think, what they call a geo fence , uh, which is, 22 00:01:32,580 --> 00:01:35,610 uh, connected with a satellite. This connects with a satellite. 23 00:01:35,610 --> 00:01:39,450 I'll even work through a tree canopy. And, uh, with an app, 24 00:01:39,450 --> 00:01:44,170 we are able to draw a, uh, sort of a map of a, 25 00:01:44,180 --> 00:01:47,410 of and a boundary. And if he goes outside of that area, 26 00:01:47,860 --> 00:01:50,210 he gets a little correction, a little vibration, 27 00:01:50,230 --> 00:01:53,130 and it really has given us peace of mind. Anyway, 28 00:01:53,130 --> 00:01:56,650 we're giving an away last chance to win, and you can do it free. 29 00:01:56,650 --> 00:02:00,810 It's absolutely free to win. Just go to rv lifestyle.com/sweepstakes. 30 00:02:01,620 --> 00:02:02,000 So, 31 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,930 I guess since I told about one of our RVs that we're gonna use to go camping, 32 00:02:05,930 --> 00:02:07,570 I should mention our fifth wheel, 33 00:02:07,850 --> 00:02:11,490 which is on our Tennessee property near Lynden, Tennessee. 34 00:02:11,490 --> 00:02:12,850 We've got five acres there. 35 00:02:13,150 --> 00:02:16,690 And the fifth wheel is just enjoying not being in winter weather. 36 00:02:17,090 --> 00:02:21,770 , we call it. Uh, our property down there, LA Lali Ridge, it's at the, 37 00:02:22,130 --> 00:02:26,170 actually at the Woodlands at Buffalo River. And, uh, 38 00:02:26,170 --> 00:02:28,050 their commercials coming right up. I should tell you, 39 00:02:28,050 --> 00:02:31,490 their next sale is coming up fairly soon. 40 00:02:31,490 --> 00:02:36,130 It's March 11th at the Woodlands of, uh, at Buffalo River. 41 00:02:36,130 --> 00:02:38,970 We get down there, usually it's been lately, 42 00:02:38,970 --> 00:02:41,490 it's about every month or month and a half or so. Mm-hmm. . 43 00:02:41,490 --> 00:02:42,530 And we're looking forward to going down. 44 00:02:42,770 --> 00:02:46,170 And especially since spring is just around the corner for us. 45 00:02:46,190 --> 00:02:50,810 And it's gonna come a little earlier down in Tennessee. What about mid-March? 46 00:02:50,810 --> 00:02:54,730 Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, for their March sale, March 11th at the Woodlands, 47 00:02:54,730 --> 00:02:57,330 they'll probably have some pretty good weather. And, uh, 48 00:02:57,330 --> 00:03:01,040 that's when we wanna get down there. We get our first taste of spring and, uh, 49 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,160 we'll enjoy it. All right, we'll be right back. 50 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,040 The interview of the week coming up after this, 51 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:09,200 tired of overcrowded campgrounds and competing for reservations, 52 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:13,960 paying high fees for sites while ownership is an emerging trend in 53 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,080 RVing that might be right for you. It was for Jen and Meat. 54 00:03:17,650 --> 00:03:19,920 We bought some land just west of Nashville, 55 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,240 Tennessee in an incredible collection of mountaintop RV properties called the 56 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:25,800 Woodlands at Buffalo River. 57 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:30,880 These are five to 62 acre properties that allow RVs year round, 58 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,360 starting at $79,900. And we loved it. 59 00:03:34,420 --> 00:03:39,080 The scenery is breathtaking and you can own it outright. It's not a timeshare, 60 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:43,720 it's your property your way. You can landscape garden, bring your pets, 61 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,960 build what you want to. There's high speed internet and it's so private. 62 00:03:48,230 --> 00:03:50,360 It's a great place to make your home base. 63 00:03:50,410 --> 00:03:54,560 No more calling around for reservations. Ready whenever you want. 64 00:03:54,740 --> 00:03:57,920 And they're selling these properties. Buy appointment, 65 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,160 five to 62 acres, $79,900. 66 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:07,200 Financing big discounts available on multi lot packages for information, 67 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:11,720 visit my rv land.com, my rv land.com. 68 00:04:12,020 --> 00:04:13,200 All right, welcome back everybody. 69 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,320 Time now for the RV Lifestyle interview of the week. And, uh, this week, uh, 70 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:21,760 we're gonna talk to the owner of a RV community 71 00:04:21,910 --> 00:04:26,880 that we chanced upon as we were down headed down into Florida in January. 72 00:04:27,690 --> 00:04:31,960 Uh, it's called the Ocala North, uh, RV Resort. 73 00:04:32,420 --> 00:04:36,880 And we were very impressed with this. So one thing, it was, it was fairly new. 74 00:04:36,980 --> 00:04:41,680 All the sites were big. There were a lot of pull through sites there, I. 75 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:42,500 Believe. 200. 76 00:04:42,500 --> 00:04:45,960 200. And, um, and there was room to get in, 77 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,000 which is unusual to find in Florida. It was in a, um, 78 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,480 in a really nice area in the middle of horse country they call it up there. 79 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:57,240 That's between Ocala and Gainesville. And, um, as we got talking with the owner, 80 00:04:57,570 --> 00:05:01,400 he told us about another place that he's about to open next year. 81 00:05:01,540 --> 00:05:04,280 And since then we have heard, uh, 82 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:09,160 this is kind of a trend from RV campground to RV resort now 83 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:13,480 to RV community. And we thought that, um, we actually, 84 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,600 you were the ones who found, found Sean and brought him over and, uh, 85 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:17,800 thought it'd make a good interview. I. 86 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,320 Thought he'd make an excellent interview cuz number one, 87 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:21,840 it really encourages me. 88 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:25,000 And I know it encourages you when you hear about new parks being built, 89 00:05:25,060 --> 00:05:27,920 and especially by somebody who already has a park, 90 00:05:28,180 --> 00:05:31,280 cuz they know what they could do better and what people want. 91 00:05:31,570 --> 00:05:35,000 So we're gonna show you a little bit of what that place is like and, uh, 92 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,960 give you an idea of this trend that's dropping up around the country from RV 93 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,280 campgrounds to RV communities. 94 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:46,840 Our guest is Sean Sims from Ocala North RV Resort. 95 00:05:47,070 --> 00:05:51,320 I think that the change has been in the making for 10 years, 96 00:05:51,900 --> 00:05:56,560 but when Covid hit and everybody went to working at home and remote working, 97 00:05:57,270 --> 00:06:02,000 that everything that was important now to the community 98 00:06:02,470 --> 00:06:05,920 hadn't been created. I e uh, the bathrooms, 99 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,960 private bathrooms and showering facilities in the, in the RVs, in, in, 100 00:06:10,050 --> 00:06:12,320 in the community. The RV always has it. 101 00:06:12,460 --> 00:06:16,400 But what we found with our business model is that we give you private showers, 102 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,000 walk into your own bathrooms. So, 103 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,400 so when you go into our bathhouses back in the old days, 104 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,520 you should walk into a bathroom and you could stand there with 10 people, 105 00:06:23,740 --> 00:06:27,800 not at our communities. You walk into the bathroom, you have your own bathroom, 106 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,800 you go into and close the door and it's all your shower, walk in showers, 107 00:06:31,110 --> 00:06:35,240 full tile to wall to ceiling tile, um, just absolutely great experience. 108 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:39,000 You can have your privacy shave, do whatever you need to do. Take your time. Um, 109 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,120 and then the second thing that we found that was super, 110 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:45,680 super important is the internet. Because everybody now is remote working. 111 00:06:45,930 --> 00:06:49,440 So they're doing their zoom, they're doing their, uh, email, 112 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,000 checking their emails. So what we did was we bring, 113 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,320 we brought fiber in to the community and we spent a lot, 114 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,480 we spent a lot of time and we focused on that. 115 00:06:57,540 --> 00:07:00,440 And then we also catered to the client. We brought back customer service. 116 00:07:00,620 --> 00:07:03,200 You know, we are open seven days a week. Um, 117 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:06,160 all the communities we have are essentially located in Florida, close to 75. 118 00:07:06,250 --> 00:07:08,560 So people can come in, work for a month or two, 119 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:10,480 enjoy beautiful weather in Florida. 120 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,080 There's no better weather than Florida weather. So they come here easy in, 121 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:18,720 easy out, long pull throughs. And that's just the secret. That's the, 122 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,440 that's a recipe for success right there. 123 00:07:20,610 --> 00:07:25,280 So upping the quality of the stay. Now this, uh, 124 00:07:25,580 --> 00:07:27,880 how many sites here in Ocala North? 125 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:32,200 Ocala North RV Resort has, uh, 3 85. And of the 3 85, 126 00:07:32,290 --> 00:07:36,280 we have 200 pull throughs and they're 80, 90 feet long. So you can, 127 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:40,560 you can stay attached, you can be pulling, you can be pulling a trailer, 128 00:07:40,580 --> 00:07:45,320 you can be pulling a class a pull in an Escalade and leave it all attached. 129 00:07:45,930 --> 00:07:50,360 Um, and then pull out the next day, hang out a day or two or, or say six months. 130 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:50,680 It's up. 131 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,400 To you. But you've also, you've put in a big dog park. How big are, 132 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:54,640 how important are dog parks? An hour? 133 00:07:55,050 --> 00:07:57,440 So that's funny you should say that. Um, we, 134 00:07:57,930 --> 00:08:01,920 we have a half acre dog park now that was super popular, 135 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,680 like lines of people wanting to get in the mornings cuz it's so big. 136 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:05,640 You just let your dogs go. 137 00:08:06,110 --> 00:08:10,080 That I sprinkled five more locations in the community where you can let your 138 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:14,440 dogs go. So there's actually six locations now. You can, uh, 139 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,760 have your own private area and you could go to multiple parks spots in the park 140 00:08:17,850 --> 00:08:21,080 to, if some people are in one, one area, you can go to another, 141 00:08:21,100 --> 00:08:22,800 you can get in the shade if you wanna be in the shade, 142 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,880 if you wanna be in the sun. So there's six different locations total, uh, 143 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:29,080 for the dogs. And you guys can just do what you want there. 144 00:08:29,500 --> 00:08:34,240 And, and, uh, how many of these sites these days were in Florida? So, uh, 145 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:35,560 seasonable sites are a big deal. 146 00:08:35,560 --> 00:08:38,360 How many of of your sites do you think are seasonal over here? Well. 147 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,520 That, that's actually a great problem that we have. 148 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,160 And that's funny you asked that and bring that up. Before, 149 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:49,800 when I first got into industry, it was predominantly snowbirds. 150 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:51,960 Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania. 151 00:08:52,350 --> 00:08:54,040 They would be coming down here in the winter. 152 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:56,000 They would be doing either four to six months. 153 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,480 They would monopolize the community, you'd be happy, it'd be great, 154 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:00,200 but they would leave. 155 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,240 And then all of a sudden you didn't have nothing to do the rest of the year. 156 00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:05,080 But now since Covid, um, 157 00:09:05,340 --> 00:09:09,480 and the facil the infrastructure in the communities as far as the internet, 158 00:09:10,130 --> 00:09:11,520 um, especially the internet, 159 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,880 bringing in the really good internet is a big deal because people can be 160 00:09:14,950 --> 00:09:19,760 remotely working. Engineers, people that work in healthcare, coding nurses, 161 00:09:20,150 --> 00:09:24,480 they, they're looking for all this, this stuff in the community now. And we, 162 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:25,560 we give that to 'em. 163 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:29,920 So that brings in a lot of people that will stay here for eight, nine months, 164 00:09:29,990 --> 00:09:33,160 even year to year now. And we're having a problem where we, 165 00:09:33,450 --> 00:09:35,080 as quick as we build them, 166 00:09:35,330 --> 00:09:40,200 they're filling up and now we're staying full through the summer because we have 167 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,760 traveling nurses, engineers, uh, healthcare, uh, bridge workers, 168 00:09:44,790 --> 00:09:48,720 road construction companies that guys are guys and girls are have, 169 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,480 they're good paying jobs or staying in the communities because of the apartments 170 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:53,240 don't allow short-term leases. 171 00:09:53,370 --> 00:09:58,240 So a couple of, couple of changes then since Covid, uh, one, 172 00:09:58,490 --> 00:10:00,560 uh, people have become more demanding. 173 00:10:01,150 --> 00:10:02,120 A hundred percent. 174 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:02,960 They expect. 175 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,480 Customer service the internet seven days a. 176 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,160 Week. You know, so many times you go into a park, they're closed Yes. 177 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,040 Or they call and they don't answer the phone. Yes. 178 00:10:11,290 --> 00:10:15,720 Or you go in and the bathhouse is filthy. Yes. Or it's sturdy. Yes. Uh, 179 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,480 and then you try the internet and it's a shared wifi connection that they get. 180 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,720 Yes. Yes. Uh, do you still do overnights at all? 181 00:10:23,290 --> 00:10:24,880 We do, absolutely. 182 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:28,360 We'll do 20 to 30 overnights a day every single day throughout the winter. 183 00:10:28,500 --> 00:10:31,280 Now, you know, there's a whole lot of people who, uh, 184 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:33,800 wanna get in this lifestyle year after year after year. 185 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:36,680 They wanna get in the lifestyle and they wonder, they go, 186 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:41,240 is it economically feasible for me to be a seasonal 187 00:10:41,470 --> 00:10:44,800 renter? Now, I, I don't know what your seasonal rates are, 188 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:47,240 but it's a beautiful facility you have here. 189 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:49,440 What does the cost for a seasonal South south? 190 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:53,160 Well, like anything in life, it's like going to Disney World, right? 191 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,480 If you go to Disney World and you spend three days there, 192 00:10:56,670 --> 00:10:59,760 it's gonna be a little bit more expensive if you buy a year pass. 193 00:11:00,290 --> 00:11:04,560 So if you stay here year round, I think it's like five 50 a month. 194 00:11:04,910 --> 00:11:05,590 Really. 195 00:11:05,590 --> 00:11:10,000 Year round. Now, if you wanna come here in the middle of January, 196 00:11:11,070 --> 00:11:13,080 then it's gonna be a lot more expensive. 197 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:17,120 It's gonna be probably double that just for one month to stay here for a month. 198 00:11:17,180 --> 00:11:22,120 But that's still cheaper than really a home in many places in the country if 199 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:23,160 you're renting a home. Oh. 200 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:27,720 Absolutely. The great thing about the modern RV is that there's so much luxury. 201 00:11:27,910 --> 00:11:31,640 Some of 'em have side by side refrigerators in them, you know, 202 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:35,160 six and four and six burner stove inside their walk-in showers. 203 00:11:35,300 --> 00:11:39,760 And that really what changed our industry when they came out with the 40 204 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:44,320 footers, the 45 footers, the with, they have toy haulers that are, 205 00:11:44,390 --> 00:11:46,880 that are, um, you can sit on the back of your coach. 206 00:11:47,050 --> 00:11:48,840 We have a patio on here. Patio, yeah. 207 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,160 Yeah. There, there's so much great luxuries. 208 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,720 And that's why I encourage everybody to come out to, to the big show, 209 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:57,040 the big shows, whatever town you're in, you're in Indiana, Kentucky, New York, 210 00:11:57,470 --> 00:12:00,480 California, Texas. Go to the big super show, 211 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,160 RV shows and just walk some of these units and you'll be so amazed. 212 00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:07,680 And they're affordable. You know, you can get into something for 80, 213 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:12,480 $90,000 I believe. Um, you know, we have a little bit of inflation right now, 214 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:14,520 but with a little bit of inflation, 215 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,960 the economy will slow just a little bit and maybe some of the prices may come 216 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:19,760 down a little bit and you're getting the benefit of that. 217 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:21,480 So that could work out to your advantage. 218 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,560 Well you got a great facility here. You're building a new one. Yep. Next year. 219 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:26,560 A second one down here in the same area. 220 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:29,640 Yep. We're building, going right down the street three miles at, uh, 221 00:12:29,790 --> 00:12:33,800 it's gonna be on uh, orange Lake. It's Orange Lake RV Resort. 222 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:36,800 It's gonna be approximately 500, uh, sites. 223 00:12:36,910 --> 00:12:39,880 It's gonna have 11,000 square foot clubhouse. 224 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:42,800 It's gonna have four independent bathhouses. 225 00:12:43,070 --> 00:12:46,720 It's gonna be state of the art. Everything's gonna be brand new, 226 00:12:46,950 --> 00:12:51,320 it's gonna be gorgeous. And you guys should check us out@orangelake.com or, 227 00:12:51,890 --> 00:12:56,120 or Orange Lake on Facebook or follow me or follow the. 228 00:12:56,160 --> 00:13:00,520 We'll, we'll be here next year. We'll give it a, a quick try. Yeah. And, uh, we, 229 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:00,680 we. 230 00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:02,200 And it's on the lake now. It's on the, 231 00:13:02,270 --> 00:13:05,840 I think Orange Lake is the top five biggest lakes in Florida. 232 00:13:06,250 --> 00:13:07,920 It is absolutely amazing. 233 00:13:08,010 --> 00:13:10,520 So there's gonna be all kinds of water stuff to do there. 234 00:13:10,550 --> 00:13:13,480 Just another experience to Rvn. So it could be, 235 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:18,480 it would be just another twist to it, another another feature of amenities. 236 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:20,560 You can't just get anywhere because of the lake's gonna be there. 237 00:13:20,650 --> 00:13:25,240 Awesome. Alright. Hey Sean, thanks for taking time to talk to us about, uh, 238 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,800 the RV park industry and the new emphasis on quality. 239 00:13:29,210 --> 00:13:31,560 Quality. Yes. Thanks, Sean. Over now. 240 00:13:31,870 --> 00:13:36,200 Well, we thanks Sean for that, uh, interesting interview and, uh, the, 241 00:13:36,220 --> 00:13:40,120 the tour of, uh, the, uh, Ocala North RV resort. 242 00:13:40,380 --> 00:13:43,280 And we look forward to seeing the new one that he's gonna be building that on 243 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,800 that lake coming up. Um, you know, next year. 244 00:13:46,070 --> 00:13:48,440 I, I plan on going there on our way to Tampa. 245 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,080 Next year. Yeah. The time we go back doing from the Tampa show. 246 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:52,020 RV show. 247 00:13:52,020 --> 00:13:56,600 But what I was amazed at is how inexpensive, uh, seasonal lots are down there. 248 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:57,130 If you, 249 00:13:57,130 --> 00:14:01,040 or even if you went year round and many people do and they just keep their RVs 250 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:05,880 in that warm weather rather than having to, to winterize them. Uh, anyway. Well, 251 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,200 we come back. New travel tech. Stay with us. 252 00:14:08,820 --> 00:14:12,920 The one thing that can ruin a perfect RV trip is a bad mattress. 253 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:13,920 And believe us, 254 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:18,440 we know over the years we've tried many and found them all 255 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:20,400 wanting until now. 256 00:14:20,980 --> 00:14:24,960 Now we sleep on the RV mattress by Brooklyn Bedding. 257 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:27,880 Quite simply, it's the best we've ever slept on. 258 00:14:28,010 --> 00:14:32,120 We chose a queen size aurora luxe medium firm mattress. 259 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:34,520 And it arrived tightly rolled in a box. 260 00:14:35,100 --> 00:14:40,080 All we did is put it on the bed and roll it and wait for it to recover from 261 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:40,640 the compression. 262 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,360 Oh, does this ever feel comfy? It's so cushiony. 263 00:14:44,550 --> 00:14:48,800 Then we put on the sheets and the bed covers and we found ourselves ready to 264 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:50,960 order another one for our home. 265 00:14:51,750 --> 00:14:53,680 That's how comfortable it is. 266 00:14:54,030 --> 00:14:57,880 That first night's sleep was luxurious and deep, 267 00:14:57,880 --> 00:14:59,480 and it's been like that ever since. 268 00:14:59,660 --> 00:15:04,360 The RV Mattress by Brooklyn Bedding comes with a 120 night sleep 269 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:06,640 trial and a 10 year warranty. 270 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,960 Shipping is free if you're disappointed with the current mattress in your rv. 271 00:15:12,380 --> 00:15:17,120 You owe it to yourself to try the RV mattress by Brooklyn Bedding. 272 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:21,560 Something else that's very important is that Brooklyn Bedding 273 00:15:21,740 --> 00:15:26,280 manufactures all their RV mattresses in their own factory in 274 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:27,113 Arizona. 275 00:15:27,190 --> 00:15:32,000 This means they're able to use premium materials at a reasonable price 276 00:15:32,100 --> 00:15:35,280 for you, with no middleman bringing up the costs. 277 00:15:35,380 --> 00:15:39,680 And right now, if you visit rv mattress.com/rv lifestyle, 278 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:44,200 you'll get 20% off your mattress with the Code RV Lifestyle. 279 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:44,880 Again, 280 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:49,680 use the promo code RV lifestyle for 20% off the cost of the RV mattress 281 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:51,040 by Brooklyn Bedding. 282 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:56,200 We're sure you'll be as thrilled with your RV mattress by Brooklyn Bedding 283 00:15:56,410 --> 00:15:57,680 as we are with ours. 284 00:15:58,010 --> 00:16:01,840 It really is the most comfortable mattress we've ever slept on. 285 00:16:03,180 --> 00:16:06,360 Now it's time for the new travel tech segment of our podcast. 286 00:16:06,540 --> 00:16:11,320 And this is drawn from the pages of new travel tech.com that is, 287 00:16:11,490 --> 00:16:13,360 uh, our sister blog. 288 00:16:13,780 --> 00:16:18,600 And it celebrates the many ways that technology enhances the travel experience. 289 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:23,560 And it's brought to you by Nomad Internet Nomad Internet is now the exclusive 290 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,520 internet provider for us as we are on the road and traveling. 291 00:16:27,740 --> 00:16:31,440 And we have been very impressed with Nomad interview internet. 292 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:35,640 We've been trying it for several months now. Um, it is UNT throttled. 293 00:16:35,810 --> 00:16:39,760 It is unlimited data. Uh, it is high speed. 294 00:16:40,010 --> 00:16:43,960 It works on that new C-band system that, um, uh, 295 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,560 Verizon and uh, uh, I think at and t's trying to make it come up. 296 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:52,480 But this is on the Verizon system are with Nomad interview internet. And it, 297 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:54,360 uh, it has really been, uh, neat. 298 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:59,120 And one of the things that they just came out with that I wanna show you is, uh, 299 00:16:59,370 --> 00:17:04,120 is this, this is the air travel bag and it's pretty cool. 300 00:17:04,250 --> 00:17:06,800 It comes with, uh, 301 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:11,680 let's see if I can pull it outta here and show you. It comes with a, um, 302 00:17:11,830 --> 00:17:16,800 a battery that will power the Nomad Air modem 303 00:17:17,180 --> 00:17:21,880 for a week. And that is pretty amazing. This is the battery. Isn't that cool? 304 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,440 See that thing that will go for a week? 305 00:17:24,900 --> 00:17:29,080 And this is the modem that we use right here, the Nomad Air. 306 00:17:29,540 --> 00:17:33,720 And, uh, it's really neat. So you, uh, particularly for Boone Dockers, uh, 307 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,640 if you don't have, uh, commercial power or you're trying to conserve power, 308 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,800 this little bag, it's not very big. Very easy handle. Anyway, 309 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,040 we're big fans of the Nomad Inter internet and you can, uh, 310 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:49,800 learn more about it at rv lifestyle.com/nomad rv 311 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:51,520 lifestyle.com/nomad. 312 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:52,320 I've gotta say, 313 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:56,120 I really appreciate that bag to keep it safe because it seems like so many 314 00:17:56,120 --> 00:17:58,640 things that are delicate that you really wanna take good care of, 315 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:00,520 you don't have a good container for them. 316 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,480 So to get something that's fairly expensive mm-hmm. 317 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,640 and to have a bag for it, good idea. 318 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:10,000 Anyway, that's what we use for our internet, uh, nomad internet. Uh, 319 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,200 and you can again, learn more to score their website. Alright, 320 00:18:13,490 --> 00:18:14,960 so what are we gonna talk about this week? 321 00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:16,640 We're gonna talk about a weather. 322 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:18,360 App. Yes, we indeed are. 323 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:23,200 Now we know that there are a gazillion weather apps out there, 324 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:24,960 and probably between the two of us, 325 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:29,840 we have a dozen of them on our smartphones and our, 326 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:31,040 uh, tablets. But the, 327 00:18:31,140 --> 00:18:35,000 the one that we have been using now for several years and that we wanna share 328 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:39,000 now cause it just gets better and better. It's called Weather Bug. 329 00:18:39,530 --> 00:18:41,960 So if you wanna know everything about the weather, 330 00:18:42,130 --> 00:18:43,720 weather bug is what you need to. 331 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:45,720 Get. It's our main go-to weather app, 332 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,520 and then we'll kind of mess around with some of the others. 333 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:52,440 But what I like about it is when you launch a weather bug, uh, 334 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,480 it immediately displays the local weather, 335 00:18:55,800 --> 00:19:00,120 including the temperature and the dew point and humidity, 336 00:19:00,250 --> 00:19:03,680 sunrise, sunset, uh, wind pressure, 337 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:08,320 any active weather alerts for your area. And what what's neat about that is, um, 338 00:19:08,390 --> 00:19:11,440 oftentimes we'll be driving along and we'll say, oh gosh, 339 00:19:11,460 --> 00:19:13,760 are we gonna get there before dark? We're gonna get, so we, 340 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:15,480 we like to set up camp before dark and it'll, 341 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:16,960 we always can find the local sunset. 342 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,280 And that's how Handy to know that's one of the things that we like about it. 343 00:19:20,620 --> 00:19:23,760 And also the toolbar that's at the bottom. 344 00:19:23,940 --> 00:19:27,240 Yes. Uh, there's a toolbar at the bottom. There's one, uh, 345 00:19:27,590 --> 00:19:30,280 a couple of menu bars. But what is, 346 00:19:30,790 --> 00:19:34,560 I think the best feature for us is when you're traveling, 347 00:19:34,930 --> 00:19:38,600 it always updates your current weather. Uh, 348 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,240 and so wherever you happen to be, right, then that's the weather you're seeing. 349 00:19:42,510 --> 00:19:47,200 That toolbar, uh, is, uh, along the bottom is for radar and stuff, 350 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:48,600 but there's also one on the top, 351 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:53,800 which lets you switch from the current forecast to a, a more detailed, 352 00:19:53,890 --> 00:19:54,723 uh, forecast. 353 00:19:54,820 --> 00:19:56,760 And for anybody with allergies, 354 00:19:56,790 --> 00:20:00,400 it's nice to have their app that lets you know what the pollen count is. 355 00:20:00,620 --> 00:20:04,800 Yes. Uh, WeatherBug works on both iOS and on Android. 356 00:20:05,330 --> 00:20:10,040 It also works on your laptop or your tablet as well. Uh, and, uh, 357 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:14,240 we think it's just a great app to have, uh, give it a try. Um, 358 00:20:14,310 --> 00:20:18,480 that's our, probably our go-to one. So see it if you want to check. 359 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,560 It out. So don't forget weatherbug.com. 360 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:26,520 That's where you can find it. All right. Thanks to, uh, new travel tech.com. Uh, 361 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:30,640 our sister blog that keeps track all things technology and, uh, 362 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:35,440 weatherbug.com. That's our, uh, new travel tech, uh, tip of the tip of the week. 363 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,960 We'll be back with the news of the week after this. When we're in a road trip, 364 00:20:40,050 --> 00:20:45,000 we always seem to find a way to stop at a Camping World Center. 365 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:49,560 There are over 225 Camping World locations across the country, 366 00:20:49,700 --> 00:20:54,520 and there's always one close by when we need parts and accessories for our rv or 367 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,280 just wanna shop. In fact, uh, we have so much fun with, uh, 368 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,280 camping World and as we talk about it as one of our sponsors, 369 00:21:01,430 --> 00:21:06,360 they have agreed to offer a 10% discount if you use 370 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:08,680 the coupon code RV Lifestyle 10. 371 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,880 When you buy $99 or more in merchandise, 372 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,720 you'll find everything you want from outdoor furniture and appliances. 373 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,800 The ones you see us use in our videos and we talk about here in the podcast, 374 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,640 RV extras that include everything from camping chairs to fire pits, 375 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:28,160 electrical accessories, must have gadgets. Check them all out. And again, 376 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:32,680 don't forget, use the coupon code RV Lifestyle 10 when you visit camping 377 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:34,120 world.com. 378 00:21:35,450 --> 00:21:40,310 One of the most exciting developments for RVs is happening out west in Arizona. 379 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:45,390 Western land in ranches is selling five acre high elevation ranches. 380 00:21:45,580 --> 00:21:48,350 Just off the famous route 66, 381 00:21:48,450 --> 00:21:52,190 the birthplace of the American Road trip prices started only 382 00:21:52,190 --> 00:21:55,910 $39,900. And these are beautiful, 383 00:21:56,020 --> 00:22:00,510 secluded tracks of land surrounded by majestic mountain ranges with 384 00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:05,550 sweeping valley views. The high elevation is a unique microclimate as well, 385 00:22:05,550 --> 00:22:09,430 giving you cooler temperatures, green grasses and tree cover, 386 00:22:09,430 --> 00:22:11,430 making it unique for desert property. 387 00:22:11,450 --> 00:22:15,950 The community is in the center of it all close to the best of the West Grand 388 00:22:15,950 --> 00:22:20,190 Canyon, Las Vegas, lake Havasu, lake Mead Lake Mojave, 389 00:22:20,370 --> 00:22:24,590 the Colorado River, Flagstaff, Sedona, and Historic Williams. 390 00:22:24,590 --> 00:22:28,270 If you're tired of crowded RV parks and paying high fees for sites, 391 00:22:28,580 --> 00:22:30,830 well ownership might be right for you. 392 00:22:30,830 --> 00:22:35,230 This incredible collection of mountaintop properties called Greenwood 393 00:22:35,230 --> 00:22:38,550 Ranches hit the market and it's selling out fast. 394 00:22:38,630 --> 00:22:42,750 There is no hoa. You can build a house, a cabin out buildings, 395 00:22:42,750 --> 00:22:47,510 or just rv, it's your property your way. 100% ownership. 396 00:22:47,590 --> 00:22:52,190 Visit the website to get details and set up a showing Arizona rv 397 00:22:52,190 --> 00:22:56,350 land.net. That's Arizona rv land.net. 398 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:01,670 Welcome back. And now it's time for the news of the week. And Mike, you got. 399 00:23:01,670 --> 00:23:05,190 The first story. Well, this is a, a topic that we have been talking about a lot, 400 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,110 uh, over the last couple of years. 401 00:23:07,110 --> 00:23:10,790 And this is a problem that really started with Covid and the big, uh, 402 00:23:10,790 --> 00:23:15,790 rush to get campsite. And that's no shows at, uh, state parks, actually, 403 00:23:15,790 --> 00:23:19,830 all of them like that. And what happens is, is, um, selfish, 404 00:23:20,170 --> 00:23:25,070 can I say that Selfish people book a site and they might go to book two 405 00:23:25,070 --> 00:23:27,950 or three different sites so they can be sure they have a place to go that 406 00:23:27,950 --> 00:23:28,270 weekend, 407 00:23:28,270 --> 00:23:32,870 or they'll book a week when only they need two days and then they don't show up 408 00:23:33,130 --> 00:23:35,590 and therefore other people can't use those sites. 409 00:23:35,850 --> 00:23:39,030 And we have been complaining about that as you have been complaining about that 410 00:23:39,030 --> 00:23:43,510 for a long time. So now, uh, the news of the week is, uh, in California, 411 00:23:44,140 --> 00:23:48,080 a state assemblywoman has had enough of this also, 412 00:23:48,140 --> 00:23:52,400 and she has introduced a bill and that bill would penalize 413 00:23:52,530 --> 00:23:56,560 campers who make a reservation at a state owned campground. 414 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:58,120 And then they don't ever show up. 415 00:23:58,180 --> 00:24:01,320 And the goal is to make it easier to get a camping spot, 416 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,640 but providing a reason for people to cancel their reservation if they can no 417 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:08,800 longer use it. Uh, it frees up the camping spot. 418 00:24:09,210 --> 00:24:13,120 So it's a matter of getting part of your refund back or absolutely zero your 419 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:17,680 refund back. And if you cancel numerous times, you're not gonna be able to book. 420 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:18,210 Yeah. 421 00:24:18,210 --> 00:24:22,800 So this is gonna apply to 15,000 individual campsite if it passes in the 422 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:27,760 California State Park system. And, uh, we're, we're hoping that this, uh, 423 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:31,960 this really helps, uh, this and other people will, will pick up on this. Uh, 424 00:24:32,250 --> 00:24:35,920 campers would get more of the reservation if they canceled seven days in 425 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,000 advance. And like Jen says, uh, 426 00:24:38,100 --> 00:24:42,440 you lose more and more the closer it is to cancellation date. I think that's a, 427 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:43,320 that's a pretty good. 428 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:44,520 Bill. Sounds like logical thing to. 429 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,880 Do. Yeah. Maybe that'll solve some of the problem. All right. 430 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:48,240 What do you got? 431 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,960 So we've got another California story because of all the rain that they've had 432 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:53,840 out in California, 433 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:58,560 all the drought that they've had now they have rain and there's all those seeds 434 00:24:58,630 --> 00:25:02,680 from flowers, there's, uh, super bloom going on out there. 435 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:07,600 All those seeds that were laying dormant and now the rain has come and 436 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:12,560 it's supposed to be like overnight Absolutely beautiful with the yellows and the 437 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:13,880 purples and the white flowers. 438 00:25:14,180 --> 00:25:16,680 And, and when are they, we're gonna put a, 439 00:25:16,710 --> 00:25:20,760 a link in the description of the show notes@rvlifestyle.com. 440 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:24,240 It'll kind of give you their projected timeline, but coming right up. 441 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,920 They're expecting this, you know, very soon in California, so pretty cool, um, 442 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:33,880 federal officials have closed. You're gonna find this interesting, uh, 443 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:38,320 the Giah wilderness, uh, for the next week or so for, uh, 444 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:42,640 to visitors because they're going to begin a controlled hunt 445 00:25:43,380 --> 00:25:47,920 for feral cows. , you heard that right? 446 00:25:48,510 --> 00:25:53,480 Cows. The Giah Wind wilderness out there in New Mexico is home to feral 447 00:25:53,590 --> 00:25:54,080 cows, 448 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:58,760 which apparently became rather aggressive this past year to human visitors. 449 00:25:58,760 --> 00:25:59,320 And they've, 450 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:03,680 they said they've harmed the environment by grazing year round and trampling 451 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:08,200 down stream banks and that's caused erosion and other issues. Uh, 452 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,360 they say there's about 150 of these wild feral cows. 453 00:26:12,470 --> 00:26:14,880 That doesn't sound like that many need to do all this damage. 454 00:26:14,990 --> 00:26:18,800 Yeah. So they're gonna kill 'em. They're gonna shoot 'em out. Uh, 455 00:26:18,870 --> 00:26:21,560 gunmen sounds really barbaric. 456 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:26,160 Gunmen in helicopters will shoot them dead between Thursday 457 00:26:26,460 --> 00:26:29,240 and Sunday of this week, uh, 458 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,480 leaving their bodies out there to decompose. Uh. 459 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,720 I don't understand that part. I I guess it's too hard to harvest. 460 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:37,160 Them. Oh, they're heavy. They're big. 461 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,520 I guess they'll leave their remains out there unless they're near water or 462 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:45,080 hiking trails or sensitive spots. But, uh, 463 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:49,840 obviously there are some people in the New Mexico legislator legislature 464 00:26:50,140 --> 00:26:53,600 who are opposed to this, a cattleman association against it. 465 00:26:53,790 --> 00:26:55,960 Some environmentalists are against this, 466 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,440 and I imagine some RVers after hearing this story, 467 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:00,880 will probably be against it. But, uh, 468 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:05,200 that's what federal officials are gonna be doing this week and why part of the 469 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:08,840 giah winded wilderness in New Mexico is closed. 470 00:27:09,570 --> 00:27:13,440 In a lot of states they hand out permits and people get a license, 471 00:27:13,590 --> 00:27:15,640 like for deer hunting and things. If you need. 472 00:27:15,710 --> 00:27:18,880 This just sounds like a lot of expense flying around helicopters, 473 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:20,000 taking out cows. 474 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,160 Leaving dead cows lying around out there. 475 00:27:22,690 --> 00:27:25,560 Oh no, I don't understand. I don't have all the information. I'm sure. 476 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,520 We're talking with the federal government, you know, never understand what. 477 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:33,200 They do. . Okay. Mardi Gras just around the corner. And so, 478 00:27:33,330 --> 00:27:36,200 uh, in fact, February 21st, isn't. 479 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,160 It? Yeah. Was this week? Is this week. Mardi Gras week is this week. 480 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:42,200 Yeah. And so many our veers in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, 481 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:44,720 who really take Mardi gra very seriously, 482 00:27:45,150 --> 00:27:48,520 this means just one thing they take off, or rv, I mean, 483 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:53,320 the weather's nice and Mardi Gras, who can, who could not go camping. So, uh, 484 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:57,840 many, uh, cities near the Gulf like Lafayette and Louisiana and Mobile, 485 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:02,720 Alabama have large numbers of little RV villages that spring up along 486 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,920 the, the routes for parades. Yeah. And under Bridges. 487 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,800 Yeah. We've seen this ourselves. We did a video, uh, 488 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,360 a couple years ago about Mardi Gras around the Gulf Coast, 489 00:28:11,380 --> 00:28:13,400 and most people think it's all in New Orleans. 490 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:17,480 New Orleans is just the raunchiest one . Uh, it is the Rowdiest one. 491 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:21,960 Mardi Gras events generally are pretty family friendly and the, 492 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:26,720 there's parades actually started few weeks ago in all these communities along 493 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:30,400 the South, south Gulf coast there. And it's been fun to, uh, 494 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:33,080 it's really fun to watch 'em. We put a video link, 495 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,720 we'll put it in the show notes of what, what it was like with us. But in Mobile, 496 00:28:36,770 --> 00:28:40,720 Alabama, uh, for like over two decades now, 497 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,800 people have been setting up what they call RV City underneath a freeway 498 00:28:45,610 --> 00:28:48,840 as the town has prayed after parade, these different civic clubs, 499 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:53,800 all sponsored parades, uh, and you need to get a spot ahead of time. 500 00:28:54,530 --> 00:28:59,480 Uh, there's 118 spots out there. Uh, we'll put links to all this and, 501 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,720 uh, you'll see. But it's a lot of fun if we've never been to Mardi Gras, 502 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,880 not New Orleans, but along the, uh, the coast there, um, check it out. 503 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,680 It is pretty much a, a fun thing. All right, last story. 504 00:29:10,830 --> 00:29:15,280 This is kind of a weird story and I hope this is not a trend. Um, 505 00:29:15,650 --> 00:29:19,680 campers in Texas told us about this and they're pretty sad to learn that the 506 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:23,880 state is losing Fairfield Lake State Park at the end of February 507 00:29:24,970 --> 00:29:26,120 because, uh, 508 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:31,000 the landowner sold the property to a private developer who has plans to build 509 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,200 a gated multi-million dollar housing community. 510 00:29:34,700 --> 00:29:36,920 You can't compete with that kind of money for buying. 511 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,080 The land. No. For about 50 years, 512 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:42,920 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has operated the state park and they 513 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:46,840 leased it from a company called Vista Corporation, Vistra, 514 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:51,200 which operated a coal plant there previously. And, uh, 515 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:55,760 the state invested 70 million over the years. Uh, 516 00:29:55,760 --> 00:30:00,160 they tried to buy it, but, uh, Vista Corporation, uh, 517 00:30:00,230 --> 00:30:04,000 they went for the big bucks, uh, parks located about, uh, 518 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,360 95 miles south of Dallas. So a lot of Dallas people really liked it. 519 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:09,080 It was very popular. Fishing and camping. 520 00:30:09,660 --> 00:30:13,400 Had 83,000 visitors last year and now that's all gone. 521 00:30:13,830 --> 00:30:18,520 2,700 people already reserved camping spots 522 00:30:18,540 --> 00:30:23,160 for this year, but that corporation, because they took it away from the state, 523 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,200 has canceled them. Um, 524 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,480 Texas has like 14 other parks on state. 525 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:28,680 Land. 526 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:32,560 I mean that is so sad to hear and I betcha all that money that was put into that 527 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:32,840 land, 528 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:37,680 they probably did a lot to clean it up after what it was originally used for 529 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:38,200 the coal. 530 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,920 Yeah, I said state land, say they have 14 other spots on lease land. So yeah. 531 00:30:43,050 --> 00:30:43,400 Uh, 532 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:47,360 hopefully the people they lease it to don't change their mind like Vistra and 533 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:51,080 sell out for the big bucks, but that's a trend I hope doesn't continue. 534 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,400 But money wins, doesn't it? Always. Alright, 535 00:30:54,770 --> 00:30:59,160 we come back RV questions of the week. So please stay with us when we're asked. 536 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,680 What's the most important modification we made to our rv? 537 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,000 It's an easy answer. Battleborn batteries. 538 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,520 Battle born batteries are quality, safe, 539 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:13,560 reliable lithium batteries that allow us to stay out there 540 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:18,440 off the grid longer. Lithium batteries charge faster, they charge fuller, 541 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:19,520 they're longer lasting, 542 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:24,480 they're maintenance free and born batteries are protected by a 10 543 00:31:24,590 --> 00:31:27,360 year guarantee. Now in our case, 544 00:31:27,470 --> 00:31:32,360 they just dropped into the existing AGM batteries that we have and 545 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:34,360 they'll probably be the same on your rig too. 546 00:31:34,470 --> 00:31:39,360 Battle borne battery experts can get those in your rig just like they did with 547 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,760 ours. They can also match you up with the right cabling, the inverter, 548 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:45,080 the charger, the solar controller, everything. 549 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:48,840 Jennifer and I swear by our battle born batteries, 550 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,840 they allow us to boondock off the grid. Check them out, 551 00:31:52,970 --> 00:31:56,560 go to rv lifestyle.com/lithium rv 552 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:58,680 lifestyle.com/lithium. 553 00:31:59,260 --> 00:32:01,720 Now it's time for the RV questions of the week. 554 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:05,120 And here is the first one from Gary. And his question is, 555 00:32:05,170 --> 00:32:10,000 is it true that older RVs older than 10 years 556 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,640 old, you can't park at a lot of the uh, parks? 557 00:32:14,620 --> 00:32:17,480 Yes. Um, technically that is true, 558 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:22,600 although in our experience it's not very often enforced unless the 559 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,600 RV is in, you know, poor condition and has a lot of, you know, 560 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:31,080 obvious defects and looks to kind of be on its last legs. Um, 561 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:35,440 parks have that rule because they then have, they can say, well, that's right, 562 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:36,360 and the rules, uh, 563 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:40,800 they can exclude rigs that in their mind it would reflect poorly 564 00:32:41,090 --> 00:32:45,800 on the appearance of the park. And, uh, we've heard of some, uh, 565 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,800 who would require would-be renters who have something older than 10 years to 566 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:54,120 send in a photo of their RV so they can check it out. Um, 567 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:58,760 there are some RV parks that don't allow any Class Bs, 568 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:03,560 no matter how new it is or how old it is. Uh, no camper vans, class Bs, 569 00:33:04,130 --> 00:33:08,880 um, others are for class A motor coaches only. So, 570 00:33:08,940 --> 00:33:13,080 you know, generally speaking, I think though, uh, at most campgrounds, 571 00:33:13,210 --> 00:33:17,960 if your RV is well maintained, if it's clean, good mechanical condition, 572 00:33:18,340 --> 00:33:22,560 you know, I think you'll be fine. But, um, they do have that rule and, 573 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:25,160 and sometimes they do enforce it. Uh, 574 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:28,480 fortunately I think that's a minority of cases, but they do have that. 575 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,120 Rule and I can see why they do. 576 00:33:30,150 --> 00:33:33,560 Yeah, I mean I, you know, there are some out, you know, every, 577 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:36,480 you gotta have a rule for the exceptions, right? Yes. So, and, 578 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:38,360 and it's usually an exception. I. 579 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:42,840 Mean, we have seen RVs out there with wood boarding up windows and, you. 580 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:43,280 Know, oh my. 581 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:44,760 Gosh, with looked in pretty rough shape. 582 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,760 With the body tied together with duct tape and, you know, that's what they, 583 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:49,480 they're trying to. 584 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:50,840 Avoid some. That's what they're, yeah. 585 00:33:50,970 --> 00:33:55,320 So if, if you don't do that, you should be okay. All right. Here's one that, uh, 586 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,440 is for you Jennifer, and it's from Megan. And Megan says, 587 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,920 what do you use for a vacuum cleaner in your rv? 588 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:05,640 It always looks so clean and sparkling in your videos and I've heard you talk 589 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:08,080 about vacuuming it before and after your trips. 590 00:34:08,350 --> 00:34:08,840 Well, 591 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:12,120 I used to use just a plain old whisk broom and then decided that was much too 592 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:17,120 much labor and I got a little shark, uh, vacuum that I love. 593 00:34:17,190 --> 00:34:22,000 It's easy to detach if I wanna use it as a hand vacuum or attach the 594 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:26,680 bottom so that I can do carpet. And, uh, I use that thing all the time. 595 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:28,720 It picks up sand easily. In fact, 596 00:34:28,720 --> 00:34:33,040 I like it so much that we bought a second one because we have one in the fifth 597 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:35,320 wheel and one in our other and the. 598 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:36,720 Motor home. Yeah. And I think the thing that, 599 00:34:36,720 --> 00:34:39,960 and we use it sometimes as the clear clean out our truck or our vehicles Yeah. 600 00:34:40,240 --> 00:34:43,080 Really picks up bow hair very well too. Mm-hmm. , 601 00:34:43,260 --> 00:34:46,600 the actual model number we have, it's a cordless one. Um, 602 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:50,600 they have make a whole bunch of different models and I think ours costs like 130 603 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:51,280 bucks or so, 604 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:55,920 but it's the Shark IX 1 41 Pet 605 00:34:56,070 --> 00:34:59,680 cordless Shark vacuum, that's the Amazon name. 606 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:03,200 And we'll put a Amazon affiliate link, uh, uh, 607 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:05,080 in the show notes if you want to see the one we. 608 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:08,160 Have. And for those of you who don't read, uh, 609 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:11,520 the manual that comes with it real well when, if you buy that, 610 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:15,360 there's a couple little filters that you have to take out regularly and rinse 611 00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:17,400 out and wash and that way it'll work. 612 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,880 Otherwise it'll get clogged up with dust and you won't like it at all. You, 613 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:21,400 you don't like. 614 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:23,320 This vacuum. It's really easy cuz uh, 615 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:27,200 all the stuff kind of goes into this dust bowl and then you just put that over, 616 00:35:27,300 --> 00:35:28,200 you know, some, 617 00:35:28,350 --> 00:35:31,560 a garbage bag or something and you just lift it and it just empties right out. 618 00:35:31,740 --> 00:35:33,480 But you do wanna check. 619 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:33,760 Those. 620 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,640 Filters. I clean the filters as in any vacuum. Let's see. 621 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,000 Shark IX 1 41 again, 622 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:43,280 we'll put a link@rvlifestyle.com in the show notes for you so you can find that. 623 00:35:43,460 --> 00:35:45,640 All right, that's the podcast for this week. 624 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:49,960 If you have a comment or if you have a question, we would love to hear from you. 625 00:35:50,180 --> 00:35:54,440 Our private email is Mike and jen@rvlifestyle.com. 626 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:55,400 Happy. 627 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:55,920 Trails.