Slides, Solar and Snakes: Our Podcast Topics of the Week

This week on Episode 536 of the RV Podcast:

• RV Slides: A Top Expert shares what can go wrong with them and  how to maintain them
• The Trump Tariff Threats against Canada are Disrupting the RV Business Big Time
• Want to run your RV and AC all night long off solar and lithium batteries? You better count the cost first
• And in Mike and Jen’s Storytime, the time a live rattlesnake dropped on Mike’s foot.
• All this plus the RV News of the Week and your questions coming up in Episode #536 of the RV Podcast

You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below.

If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can listen to us through your favorite podcast app or the player below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:24 — 24.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | Podchaser | TuneIn | RSS

RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK – Slides

In our RV Conversation of the Week, we sit down with a Master RV Technician to discuss the intricacies of slide-out technology in today’s recreational vehicles. These expandable rooms have transformed the industry by creating dramatically more living space while maintaining the same exterior footprint, allowing manufacturers to offer spacious interiors that were previously impossible in traditional designs.

Despite their popularity, however,  RV slides remain a source of confusion for many owners. Our guest is Master RV Technician Bart Taylor of Keystone RV, who will help us understand the mechanical systems behind these innovative features, address common operational mistakes, and share essential maintenance tips to prevent costly repairs. 

Whether you're a seasoned RVer or considering your first purchase, this conversation provides valuable insights into maximizing the benefits of slide technology while avoiding potential pitfalls.

Catch it in either player above.

SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ – Wendy Bowyer

Wendy Bowyer reports on the hot issues most talked about this past week on social media and our RV Lifestyle Community group.

In our private RVLifestyle Community, we are just having a blast coming online together every Thursday night for our virtual campfire. Lots of conversations and great sharing going on, and I love seeing all the connections!

But the big buzz this week in our private Community is we opened registration for our fall 2025 rally in the Texas Hill Country – we are so excited! We are camping in Fredericksburg, a cute town with German roots in a simply beautiful corner of Texas. We are going to have a great time this October exploring the area, enjoying some Texas BBQ, going to a dance hall to do a little Texas two-stepping – can't wait.

Then over at our RVLifestyle Facebook Group, Donna shared a picture recently of the entire space she has for clothes in her RV and asked for ideas on how to make the space work better. She said she was tired of emptying it out to find something like a pair of undies and to be honest, she had very little space.

Picture the bed of a rig, then over to one side is a cupboard that stretches from the ceiling to the bed opening as a short hanging closet – and that is ALL the space Donna had. (Not much space at all!)

Thankfully many in the community had ideas for her!

Angie recommended hanging organizers – like one you may use for shoes, then instead of shoes fill it with clothing.

But overall there were two suggestions that came up the most. One was to get packing cubes. Many, like Connie, said they have these storage zipper packing cubes and used them to stay organized. Connie has one for bathing suits, one for socks and undies, one for T-Shirts, one for Pajamas, etc., and it did a great job keeping things organized, making the best use of little space.

The other recommendation that came up a lot was to build shelves and ditch the hangers. You can pack more in when you have shelves, many said, and it is easier to stay organized. Good luck, Connie!

Also in our Facebook Group, one popular post was from Ed who decided to repaint the decals on his Keystone Sprinter, and boy did he do a nice job! Ed took a picture of the before and after and gave some tips, sharing all he discovered in his research. His tips included cleaning the decals really well, using a fine sandpaper on the decals themselves, tape the edges of the lines so you have clearly defined edges, and then paint with a high quality paint. Sounds like it took him three coats to cover the decals well but boy, did it ever look nice!

And the Facebook Group agreed!

Hundreds of comments and shares, and overall, everyone thought Ed did a great job and made his trailer look brand new. Thanks for sharing, Ed!

A special Invitation…

We have an invitation for you: An invitation to Have Fun, Make Friends, and Find Adventure by joining us at RVCommunity.com, our private online community created exclusively for RV enthusiasts, away from the noise and nastiness of public social media.

We truly believe the journey is always better together!

And at RVCommunity.com you’re connecting with RVers who share your passions—from boondocking under the stars to swapping campfire recipes, capturing stunning landscapes through your camera lens, or even traveling with your four-legged co-pilots. With over two dozen special interest RV groups, there’s a space for everyone. Best of all? No ads. No distractions. Just real conversations and genuine friendships.

But that’s not all! Join us at three exclusive rallies every year, held in breathtaking locations across North America. Share stories, learn from experienced travelers, and create unforgettable memories—because RVing is about the people you meet along the way.

Plus, you’ll get direct access and coaching from us—with regular livestreams, instant chat, and meetups, both regional and national. Here, you’re not just joining a community—you’re becoming part of an RV family.

Come check us out at RVCommunity.com for more information. 

We’re all about three things. Having Fun. Making Friends and Finding Adventure. That's how we live every day in the RV Lifestyle Community because life's greatest moments happen when you dare to explore. 

RV NEWS OF THE WEEK

Staffing for the national parks has changed again after much backlash. The Trump administration is now keeping 50 of the 1,000 full-time jobs slotted for cuts and increasing the number of seasonal hires to 7,700 – up 2,700 from what was planned and higher than the three-year average of 6,350 seasonal workers. 

Before the announcement of more national park seasonal worker hires, many national parks were telling news agencies to expect massive reductions in services this summer. It was not clear this weekend if things like halting campground reservations at Yosemite National Park or canceling tours at Carlsbad Caverns National Park are still planned.

Some RV dealers in Canada are canceling their American-made RV orders out of concern no one will buy them if the 25% tariff goes through. A Canadian television station interviewed RV dealers at an Ontario RV Show and showcased many dealers saying they have done this. With 12% of US-made RVs shipped to Canada, it is something the industry is carefully watching.

An Oregon pickup truck driver towing a Fifth-Wheel was ticketed for driving with his slides out. A Sheriff Deputy almost got in an accident trying to avoid the extended slides. It was not clear from the news article why the driver was going down the road like that.

Camping World Holdings, Inc., has closed on purchasing yet another dealer – 

Lazydays in Surprise, AZ. The owner of Camping World announced this is the first of several new purchases he anticipates announcing in upcoming weeks.

RV QUESTION OF THE WEEK – SOLAR

QUESTION: We're trying to figure out how much we need to invest in solar power and lithium batteries so we can run our RV through the night without being plugged into electricity. How much power do the standard appliances and things like a CPAP machine and AC draw and what do I need? – Brad

ANSWER: I’ll try and answer this Brad, without being too technical. I calculated the standard appliances like a fridge, lights, TV, and so on, including air conditioning and your CPAP machine.

Now RV appliances vary widely in power consumption depending on size, efficiency, and usage time. Your CPAP, for example, needs 30-60 watts per hour. If you have a humidifier, that jumps to 90-100 watts per hour, or over a typical 8 hour night, 720-800 watt hours.

So you see, details do make a difference.

RV AC units are power-hungry, with consumption tied to their cooling capacity (measured in BTUs). A standard 13,500 BTU rooftop unit, common in most RVs, typically draws 1,350 watts an hour on average.

I included a TV set going for a few hours, the fridge – on all the time, some lights, some chargers for your cell phone, and maybe a fan.

OK, so what do you need to operate all that all night?

For lithium batteries, you need to convert watt-hours to amp-hours, as amp-hours are what lithium batteries are measured in.

For a full night with the AC going, you’d need around 1,000-1,200 Ah of 12V lithium battery capacity to be able to handle all the power draw of the items we’ve been talking about. Without AC, 600-700 Ah might suffice. A workable setup would be 4x 280 Ah 12V batteries (1,120 Ah total), which could handle the full load.

Now, when it comes to solar panels, here’s how – when you do the math – you realize solar is overhyped. Yes, solar panels can help recharge your batteries during the day. But you really need a lot of them to do the job. Most RVs don't have enough roof space.

If you want enough wattage from solar to replace the night’s usage of the AC and all those appliances, adjusted for sunlight hours and efficiency losses due to weather, and the sun’s angle, etc.. You can assume maybe 5 peak sun hours per day.

Ready for a shock? For solar to charge up your batteries during a sunny day, you would need 3-4 kW of solar. That would be ten 400W panels. You need a big RV roof to have room enough for that.  If you did not run the AC, then you’d need just under 2 KW of solar panels, or about four 400W panels.  

Ready for a bigger shock? Here are the costs:

• A 280 Ah 12V LiFePO4 battery costs $800-$1,000. For 1,120 Ah (4 batteries): $3,200-$4,000.
• Solar Panels: 400W panels are ~$200-$300 each. For 3,500W (9 panels): $1,800-$2,700.
•  Inverter: A 3,000W pure sine wave inverter (to handle AC startup surge) is $1,000-$1,500.
• Charge Controller: A 100A MPPT controller for 3,500W solar at 12V is $300-$500.
•  Wiring/Mounts/Misc: ~$500-$1,000.

Full setup with AC: $6,800-$9,700.

Without AC (700 Ah, 2 kW solar): $3,800-$5,500.

There are lots of variables, as I said earlier, but this is an expensive proposition, no way around it.

I haven't even mentioned installation costs. 

MIKE & JEN’S STORYTIME – SNAKES

Michigan has just one venomous snake – the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake. It’s not a particularly aggressive snake, and its population has been declining to where the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed it as a threatened species.

But there are some hotspots where there are healthy populations of the snake and I was out in one of them at a big metropark north of Detroit, accompanying a researcher from Purdue University. The previous year he had tagged a bunch of the snakes with some sort of radio chip, and, with a little hand-held directional antenna, he was locating them to see how they had grown and moved around.

We found seven of them that day, as I recall, and with the last one, a stout and healthy female about two feet long, he had snatched it from its hiding place and put it in a white bag to weigh.

When he finished, with me standing next to him, videoing the procedure, he used a tong-like device to get the snake out of the bag so he could place it back in its hiding spot.

But he dropped it.

Right on my foot.

Don't move, said the researcher.

I stood still. The snake did, too, lying right on top of my right hiking shoe.

Well, that is embarrassing, said the researcher.

I thought terrifying was a better word.

The snake didn’t seem perturbed. It wasn’t rattling.

Sweat started to pop out on my brow.

Maybe 30 seconds went by. Then, the snake slowly slithered off and made its way back into the brush.

Were you rolling video during that, the researcher asked. I wasn't, I said. I was too afraid to move with the camera.

That’s good. He said because they don't always rattle before they bite.

Get the Home Study Course today and worry about the road, not the repairs!
Every time you move your RV it's like driving through a hurricane during an earthquake. Parts break and many items need to be maintained, this program will show you how you can save time and money by gaining the confidence to take on the majority of the issues you’ll come across. Don’t get caught with your RV in the shop! Learn how you can maintain and repair your RV at your own pace and at the most convenient time for you! This course is produced by the National RV Training Academy.