Last week, a dog died in an overheated RV when the Air Conditioner lost power.
This week in Episode 512 of RV Lifestyle's RV Podcast, we learn about two safety devices every RVer who travels with a pet needs to have.
Plus, how one of our followers saved over $1,000 in their extended RV warranty, the Social Media Buzz of the Week and how we plan and find great campgrounds.
The audio version is available on all the major podcast apps or in the player below:
The Dangers of an Overheated RV
A couple who tragically lost their dog while camping are sharing their story as a warning to others.
Dawn Shover and her husband were camping in Ohio with their dog, Chief. They planned an outing with their grandkids to a fair and left their dog, Chief, in the RV while they were gone.
To keep Chief safe, they bought a new generator and made sure it was full of gas and that everything was good.
But when they returned hours later, to their horror, they discovered the generator had turned off, their RV was easily more than 100 degrees, and their beloved pet was lying listless, barely moving, foaming at the mouth. Then their dog died.
So what happened?
Apparently, the air conditioner was working so hard it blew a fuse, and on that hot summer day, the temperature in their rig RV quickly rose to over 100 degrees, killing their dog.
The couple is sharing their story as a warning to others that a generator powering the air conditioning is not enough.
Such a tragic story, and we also hope their willingness to share their pain helps others and protects pets.
We share two products we think every RVer who travels with a pet should have:
Waggle….which monitors the temperature in your RV when you are away and sends an alert if the temperature exceeds a certain level: https://rvlifestyle.com/waggle
and
SoftStartUp …Which lets air conditioners run with less than a power spike – https://softstartup.com/rvlifestyle
Good Advice: Shop around for the best Extended RV Warranty
We were camping in Maine last week and a woman in a camper down the line from us recognized me and came over to thank me for saving her over a thousand dollars.
“How?” I asked.
She explained that when she bought her RV the dealer tried to talk her into buying an extended warranty from him. She remembered Jen and I talking about Wholesale Warranties and how it finds the best deals for RVers not the expensive ones sold by dealers.
She went to https://rvlifestyle.com/warranty and filled in a form and Wholesale Warranties got her a price that was $1,000 less than the dealer. Now she has peace of mind because RVs break… all the time.
We never recommend buying an extended warranty from a dealer without first shopping around.
And Wholesale Warranties will do that for you… free. Finding the best price for you at the best price, on both new and used RVs.
Check it out at https://rvlifestyle.com/warranty
Social Media Buzz with Wendy Bowyer
In our RVLifestyle Community General Camping Discussion Space, Tricia asked: “Have you had critters steal your belongings? We had a squirrel steal a small bright pink cooking spoon. I searched everywhere, did not find it!”
A couple of people have had things stolen from raccoons. One person was Doreen. She said a few years back, she and her husband were lying in bed in their pop-up when they heard this scrabbling, then a rush of dragging sounds.
They had spent the day canoeing and had piled all the wet gear under the bunks. After a couple of times of this, her hubby got up with a flashlight, and raccoons were dragging off a life jacket! Julie said a couple camping next to them had a bag of bagels stolen by a raccoon.
Suzanne said: “Years ago, when my husband and I were tent camping outside Logan, Utah, the jays would steal anything that was not in containers or bags on the picnic table.”
Also in our RVLifestyle community in the Boondocking space, we asked people to share a tip of something they learned the hard way from a past off-the-grid camping experience. Lots of gems on this thread. Robin's tip was to check your refrigerator and make sure it is on the correct mode for your unit. And for boondocking, most of the time, that should be propane.
Martin's tip was to pay attention to the amount of shade you park under for several days of camping. When you're boondocking, you need to think about cooling down your rig off grid. Finally, there was a great tip to always make certain you know where you are in terms of mile markers and also know where the nearest medical facilities are located.
Then over in the RVLifestyle Facebook Group, Kim wrote: “What in tarnation! No one informed us of all of the containers we have in the RV with us that HATE elevation! …. So many of our condiments, toiletries and tubes have excreted their contents everywhere! …. Newbies be advised, elevation WILL affect your items!”
Now Kim was in Colorado, and it sounded like she traveled from somewhere flat and low to up to 10,000 feet when these issues happened.
More than 300 comments on this thread, and it sounds like many had similar stories. Christina said she had pop cans explode and potato chip bags burst open at high elevations.
Arri had a bottle of mustard explode the first time driving through Colorado, and person after person told stories of bulging pop cans and exploding potato chip bags … so many stories!
The bottom line is this can happen when you buy things at a low elevation and are going to a very high elevation.
Some have avoided the explosions by buying their items at a higher elevation, others suggested making sure sealed liquid containers are opened and some contents removed, and one person even recommended piercing a bag of chips with a pin so the air can escape, then tapping it up or transferring it to a zip lock bag for freshness later.
RV Question of the Week
QUESTION: How do you two plan tour RV travels, choose campgrounds, etc? It seems overwhelming to me. – Denise
ANSWER – Our favorite tool for trip planing and finding campgrounds is RV Trip Wizard.
It's part of the RV Life Pro Suite of Tools and it's what we just used to plan our epic trip to and from the Canadian Maritimes.
I set a departure location and a destination. It then finds and highlights the best route on a map.
I tell it how many miles I want to drive a day, and it draws circles that show me where I should stop.
Then I ask it to show campgrounds along my route. I can see photos, read reviews and even go to the campground website to reserve a site.
RV Life Pro currently costs $65 per year if you purchase the annual membership. The annual membership also comes with a 7-day free trial.
If you add the coupon code: RVLIFESTYLE you will get 25% off the price! (Note that discount codes must be entered on a computer – if you try to sign up with the mobile app, there is no place to put the coupon code.)
Use this link for a discount: https://rvlifestyle.com/RVlifePro
Feedback from a Campground Worker
Via social media, we received this post about bad reviews of campgrounds. We think it is well worth passing along. It's from an employee of a campground named Christina, and she has a very interesting perspective:
I work in a campground office this summer. It has opened my eyes. A lot of campers do expect a LOT and have unrealistic expectations.
Read below for some scenarios…
- I've had campers call or come in expecting us to serve as concierge. I can give you the names of some restaurants or attractions..maybe a whale watch company, but no, I don't know all the pricing and current schedules, and no, I can't set that up for you. People will also call us and ask for all the info for the national park nearby rather than calling the park.
- Camper calls and tell us they just got their trailer and when they arrive they need us to show them how to operate everything. No, we can not do that.
- “Oh I don't have a pull thru site? Well I don't know how to back my camper in. Can you do it?” No, we can not.
- “What do you mean I can't leave my dog alone tied to a tree while I'm out sightseeing for 5 hours??”
- “I don't like my site. I want to move”. I'm sorry we're full and can't move you.
- “I decided I'm leaving today because it's supposed to rain. I want a refund for the rest of my stay.” Sorry no refunds for that.
- Some guests think it's not an inconvenience when they're in their site 30 minutes to 2 hours after check out time. And act like we are unreasonable trying to get them out when really they're inconveniencing the camper due to come in after them.
“I've watched all of those turn into bad reviews full of lies and colorful fake versions of what actually happened. They're mad and want to make us look bad. They strategically leave out what they want to leave out. I've stayed at plenty of campgrounds that had bad reviews and had a great time.”
***Team RV Lifestyle here: You MIGHT notice in our newly updated ebooks that we address this Review issue right in the first few pages. We generally say, “We chose campgrounds based on the most recent reviews and our personal experiences, not just star rating which can be deceiving in this area. Keep in mind that since reviews are very fluid, we highly recommend reading the most recent reviews before booking. Please also note that the prices and availability we list are also subject to change!“
Here's Our Newest Updated Bundle:
Check out this Southwest Adventure Guide Bundle (Arizona, Utah, & Colorado)
When Jennifer and I travel to the southwest, we are continually amazed at the majesty and beauty this country has to offer. And it's really hard to stay in just one state! So we created this Bundle for you in case you like to travel as we do.
We put together our Southern Utah Guide, Colorado Guide, and our NEW Arizona Guide into this 3-State Bundle at a very reduced price!
Each of these RV travel guides is a seven-day guided exploration of some amazing places to explore in these states. And each stop is a curated view of the best things that we’ve enjoyed on these trips and want you to experience.
All together these guides are over 200 pages of content!
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