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RT55 Where to Go, What to Do and How to Enjoy Your RV

| Updated Sep 30, 2015

It doesn't matter where you go, what you do, or how you enjoy your RV – just as long as you're out there making memories and living the RVing dream.

And that's what this episode of the Roadtreking RV Lifestyle podcast is all about – from Jennifer's Tip of the Week about finding fun festivals around North America and equipping your RV with the right gear to a great group of friends we met RVing in Florida (that's them in the above photo), including someone who comes to the U.S. from England every year just to RV.

Also in this episode, we help you pick the right inverter for your rig along with more RV tips, an off the beaten path suggestion near Yellowstone National Park, the Thingamajig of the Week, an RV Calendar filling up with RV shows, and more.

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Show Notes for Episode #55 Sept. 30, 2015 of Roadtreking – The RV Lifestyle Podcast:

First Things First: Greetings from…the Wendlands!

Mike and Jennifer Wendland kick off the show from home this week talking about how their grandson is collecting postcards postmarked from all 50 states. They also discuss the Roadtreking Facebook group. [spp-timestamp time=”3:05″]

Jennifer's Tip of the Week: How to Find the Best Festivals While RVing

Jennifer's Tip of the Week for episode 55 is all about serendipity travel – the Wendlands' tactic of stopping and exploring whenever they find something that appears interesting or fun. For example, when they visited the Popcorn Capital of the U.S. in Nebraska. You can read about it here: https://rvlifestyle.com/roadtreking-across-america-popcorn-days-in-nebraska [spp-timestamp time=”6:15″]

And last weekend it was the Peanut Festival in Plains, Georgia: https://rvlifestyle.com/a-peanut-festival-and-a-president-in-plains-ga/

How do they find such fun things? Several resources, including:

  • Music Festivals Junkies: This website lists all the music festivals around the country – http://www.musicfestivaljunkies.com/festival-guide/us-festivals/
  • Do an Internet search on the area you are visiting, looking for events or festivals in whatever town you are near.
  • “Amazing Festivals – Hundreds of Hometown Festivals,” by Donald Vaughan and Eric Peterson. This books lists hundreds of hometown festivals across North America (http://amzn.to/1PLk1CQ) We just ordered a copy for our RV. It costs only $7 on Amazon

Listener Question: How Big of an Inverter Do I Need for My RV?

A listener named Liz asks about how big of an inverter she needs on her 28-foot RV to run her microwave, TV, and coffee pot. An inverter converts the battery power (12 Volt DC) into power that works with our electronics (110 Volt AC power). Mike offers some suggestions and a link to a helpful do it yourself RV resource on how to choose the one best her needs – http://www.doityourselfrv.com/rv-inverter-how-to-best-option/ [spp-timestamp time=”11:37″]

Listener Question: How Do I Prep My RV Wheels for Winter?

Roadtreking Listener Mike asks about whether he needs four-wheel drive on his RV or chains on his tires for winter RVing in the snow. Mike and Jennifer share their experience in driving in snow. Here’s a report and video on winter RVing in the snow, including shots of driving in a white out https://rvlifestyle.com/rving-in-the-wintertime/ [spp-timestamp time=”17:30″]

Listener Question: Should We Use Asphalt or Concrete Under Our RV?

And by email, reader Lauren wants to know if she should use asphalt or concrete to extend her driveway and on which she intends to park her new Roadtrek. Mike and Jennifer share their experience of adding an asphalt extension to their driveway three years ago. [spp-timestamp time=”21:12″]

Sponsoring this part of the podcast is Van City RV in St. Louis, Missouri 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 – all three have a great fly and drive program. That means they'll pick you up from the airport and will reimburse you $500 toward your airfare. Then, your RV will be fully prepared for travel, complete with full tanks of fuel and propane. Dan the Van Man offers up the late specials for us.

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RV News of the Week: RV Dealer Bust, Elkhart RV Open House, Outdoor Culture, RV App

California RV Dealer Charged with Grand Theft: The owner of McMahon's RV based in Orange County faces 14 counts of grand theft. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”24:52″]

Elkhart RV Open House Recap; Bad Behavior: RV Daily Report has a recap of the Elkhart RV Dealer Open House that includes some editorial about some attendees reportedly behaving badly. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”28:55″]

Report: Outdoor Culture Exploding: A new report says the outdoor culture is becoming extremely popular, especially in the last year. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”33:34″]

New RV Education App: RV Education 101 has released a new video app for iOS and Android. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”35:35″]

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

The Alde hydronic system brings many features and benefits not found with any other product.

  1. Silent Radiant Heat – providing a warm even natural heated interior. Great for pets. (And Humans)
  2. Increased Interior Space by combining two systems in one.
  3. Efficiency. The whole system draws less than 1 amp on 12V DC and will extend the life of your propane roughly 40 percent over forced air.
  4. Heating on Electric or Gas.
  5. Multiple Options and Amenities: Towel Warmers, Floor Heat, Tank Heating, 4 Season Camping, Engine Heat, Driver Comfort,
  6. Modern Programable Color Touch Screen Thermostat and Interface
  7. Minimal Side-Wall Penetration. Small combined intake and exhaust eliminate big cut outs and sidewall congestion.

Thingamajig of the Week: Bluetooth Stereo Headsets

Paul Ulreich, Verizon's Uber User, joins the show to talk about some cool Bluetooth stereo headsets. [spp-timestamp time=”38:45″]

Ulreich mentions the following headsets:

This podcast is brought to you by Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network. 

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Verizon has been a long-time supporter of domestic violence awareness through its HopeLine from Verizon program. 

Domestic violence is a national problem that impacts our communities, neighbors, coworkers, friends and family members. Verizon believes its network and technologies – and the community at large – can be part of the solution.

HopeLine provides ways for individuals to take action against domestic violence by donating no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories in any condition from any service provider. Verizon turns these resources into support for domestic violence organizations and programs nationwide. Simply drop off any unused device, battery, charger or accessory in any condition, from any wireless carrier, in a HopeLine box at any Verizon retail location. 

Verizon’s goal is to collect 1 million phones by the end of 2015. Do your part and bring a no-longer-used device to a Verizon store during October. 

Together, we can prevent, educate and empower. Visit http://www.verizon.com/about/responsibility/hopeline for more information. 

Visit Roadtreking.com/vzw for stories about how technology can enhance and improve your life.

RV Calendar: RV Shows in Colorado, Florida, California

Upcoming events from the Roadtreking RV Calendar: [spp-timestamp time=”43:42″]

  • The Great American RV Show, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Oct. 1-3 (Read more)
  • St. Johns Fall RV Show, Elkton, Florida, Oct. 8-11 (Read more)
  • 63rd Annual California RV Show, Pomona, California, Oct. 9-18 (Read more)

Off the Beaten Path: Near Yellowstone National Park

This week we have a great report from Roadtreking Listeners Bob and Jennifer about sights near Yellowstone National Park including Earthquake Lake and Hebgen Lake in southwestern Montana (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”47:00″]

Interview: Mark Scotney – RV from Cambridge, England

Ed from Pennsylvania and Mark Scotney from England in front of their motorhomes at Camp Gulf in Destin, FL
Ed Conway from Pennsylvania and Mark Scotney from England in front of their motorhomes at Camp Gulf in Destin, FL

In this week's Roadtreking Interview segment, Mike talks with Mark Scotney, an RVer from Cambridge, England who travels back and forth across the Atlantic, making friends and living the American Dream. Mark bought an RV that he keeps in the U.S. and shares how this lifestyle leads to amazing freedoms that make his family stronger. We also meet Mark’s friend, Ed Conway from Pennsylvania. [spp-timestamp time=”53:07″]

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 2015-09-30

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.

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