Skip to Content

Episode 102: The Roadtreking RV Guide to Fun Fall Events

| Updated Aug 24, 2016

In this episode we talk about fall fun and RV travel… plus we discuss seat belt laws and sleeping in the back of a motorhome while driving, choosing the right vehicle to tow a travel trailer. There’s lots of tips, interesting RV news and a fun off the beaten path report.

Click the player below to listen now or scroll down through the shownotes details and resources. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast.

[spp-player]

In this episode, we talk about our fall schedule and some fall activities that our readers can participate in. [spp-timestamp time=”5:56″]

They include:

Or check out this full list of the Best Fall Festivals

And here is a list of three of the big events Mike and Jennifer will be attending this fall.

This part of the podcast brought to you by RadPower Bikes (www.RadPowerBikes.com_… an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes.

JENNIFER'S TIP OF THE WEEK

Shari has a tip about Getting rid of sand and dust… and a question, too, about sleeping in the back of a motorhome while moving. [spp-timestamp time=”20:20″]

There’s lots of controversy about the issue of walking around in a moving motothome.

As to legality, as far as we could find out, in most states, you can. Kids have to be buckled in the regular seats. Always. So do the front seat driver and passenger.

In a motorhome, though, even the seat-belt law becomes very questionable. Most states only require those in the front seats, the driving area, to wear seatbelts. Those in the living area are free to roam or sit without belts. Therefore, it would be legal to sleep in the back bed while driving.

Trailers are different. Most states only allow passengers in a trailer when it is a 5th wheel and there is a communication system to the driver.

It basically comes down to a risk management decision

We do. We also have belts back there. Think of a tour bus or an airplane. Each of these vehicles permit you to move about when safe. There is always that risk that something could happen. Many of the long haul trucks with sleepers you see on the highway have the other driver sleeping in the bunk.

The tip of the week is brought to you by Good Sam, the world's most popular RV organization, now celebrating its 50th year.

LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

Chuck asks about choosing the proper tow vehicle for his new travel trailer that has a unit base weight of 5,600 pounds, a gross vehicle weight rating of 7,600 pounds and a tongue weight of 775 pounds. [spp-timestamp time=”29:19″]

We towed a 21 foot trailer with our Roadtrek, which was on a diesel Sprinter 3500 chassis. It was rated to tow at 7,500 and the Ultra lite we towed near 5,000 pounds with passengers and weight… it handled it fine

The number of actual vehicles you may need to sort through is limited by the weight of the trailer you wish to tow. If all you plan to pull is a 3,000 to 4,000 pound popup camper, you have dozens of possibilities. If the trailer weighs 4,000 to 9,000 pounds, choices become fewer – usually full size trucks, vans or SUVs. And when contemplating 9,000 to 20,000 pounds or more, you are far more likely to become a customer of the American Big Three – Ford, Chevy/GMC or Dodge, although Toyota or Nissan have full-size trucks suitable for the lower end of this scale.

You also want to use a weight distributing hitch with sway control. You will also need a brake controller.

I personally would not recommend using any 1/2 ton to pull that kind of weight. Step up to a 3/4 ton.

Here are some of the resources we referenced:

Sponsoring this part of the podcast is Van City RV in St. Louis, and their Partner Dealerships Creston RV in Kalispell, Montana, and Wagon Trail RV in Las Vegas. Bringing You the largest Inventory of class B’s from three locations.

RV BASIC TRAINING

This week, we talk about using the awnings and getting shade for your RV. [spp-timestamp time=”40:05″] The helpful info we report comes from our own Roadtreking Reporters, Roger and Lynn Brucker. Here’s a link to their entire report.

This part of the podcast is brought to you by Campers Inn, the nation’s largest family-operated RV dealership with 15 locations on the East Coast 

RV NEWS OF THE WEEK: 

Two stories for you this week: [spp-timestamp time=”47:22″]

Unprecedented Fish Kill Shuts Down Yellowstone River in Montana

Terrible Hammock Accident Injures Two on Isle Royale National Park

This portion of the podcast is brought to you by Alde  the only name in heat that you need to know for your RV

TRAVELING TECH TIP:

Verizon's Steve Van Dinter reports: [spp-timestamp time=”55:19″]

With summer coming quickly to a close, we all focus our attention a bit more on being productive.

Smartphones are an indispensable part of the workforce, and now there’s a smartphone that fits perfectly for that business person or college student on the go.

Fresh from Samsung it’s the Galaxy Note 7. It improves upon the already impressive design and specs of the Galaxy S7 edge and adds Samsung’s signature S pen – now upgraded – and comes water resistant like the phone as well as with a smaller, more pressure-sensitive tip to allow for more precise note taking and drawing.

Security is also enhanced on the Galaxy Note 7…in addition to an impressive fingerprint reader, you can also use your eyes to unlock your phone – yes it has a built in iris scanner!

You also get an amazing 12 megapixel rapid firing camera, 64 gb of memory and built in wireless charger.

Couple that with America’s best network – Verizon – and you’ve got a winning combination!

This podcast is brought to you by Verizon, which operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with more than 112 million retail connections nationwide.

OFF THE BEATEN PATH REPORT

Listener Lyle Phillips tells us about a nostalgic place in the northeast Georgia mountains – the Tiger Drive In Theater, in Tiger, GA, where RVs are most welcome. [spp-timestamp time=”1:00:41″]

This part of the podcast is brought to you by AllStays – the Internets #1 RV and camping app since 2010

Please Subscribe and Give Us a Rating and Review!

Many listeners are asking how they can subscribe, review and rate the Roadtreking Podcast on iTunes. With a new podcast like this, those reviews and ratings are really important to be able to show well in the iTunes listings. So if you can, I’d sure appreciate it if you’d subscribe and leave me your review.

Here’s how:

How to subscribe, rate and review a podcast

First, open up the iTunes app on your computer or mobile device. Click on Podcasts up on the top
> From the iTunes Podcasts page, use the “Search Store” field up at the top right corner of the page. Type in Mike Wendland or Roadtreking RV Podcast.
> Click on the logo image of the Roadtreking RV Podcast on the search return page
> From there (see photo above), you can…

1) Subscribe

2) Choose and Click on a star (1-5) that reflects your rating. Five stars means you really like it, one star not so much.

3) Leave a written review.

Thanks to all for the kind reviews we’ve received so far. That got us noticed by Apple/iTunes as “New and Noteworthy.” I appreciate every review!

And remember, you can appear in future episodes. Ask a question or voice your comments about RV topics by clicking the Leave Voicemail tab on the right side of this page here at Roadtreking.com. You can then use the microphone on your computer to record your words.

Mike Wendland

Published on 2016-08-24

Mike Wendland is a multiple Emmy-award-winning Journalist, Podcaster, YouTuber, and Blogger, who has traveled with his wife, Jennifer, all over North America in an RV, sharing adventures and reviewing RV, Camping, Outdoor, Travel and Tech Gear for the past 12 years. They are leading industry experts in RV living and have written 18 travel books.

Comments are closed.

Back to top
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Email