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Blogs

Travels with the FMCA Prez
 

Thanksgiving Week

Well, let's try this again. Third time ought to be a charm. I am not good at this sort of thing and I waste so much time when I need to be doing something else. I have so much to be thankful for this year. I campaigned for President of FMCA and thanks to all of you I was elected. I am thankful for all the new friends I have and all the people I have met at rallies all over this nation. I am thankful for a family that loves and supports me and friends that give me advice and support. We have in
AmerEagle07

AmerEagle07

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Tis the Season Again – Be Careful Out There

It’s been a long and busy week with two big road trips this past week – one in the Roadtrek eTrek to Kitchener, Ontario, and a visit to the Roadtrek factory for some video work, the other to Pittsburgh, Pa., on another video project. While the Kitchener trip was blessed with great weather, the Pittsburgh trip led to some very white knuckle driving on the way back home when we unexpectedly encountered near white-out conditions from Lake Erie effect snow squalls just est of Cleveland. It was a g
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Adjusting the Cabinet Latches and Hinges on a Roadtrek

One of the most discussed how-to threads on the blog and our Facebook Group has to do with the latches and hinges used on the cabinets on new Roadtrek Sprinter models like the RS Adventurous, the eTrek and the CS Adventurous. The same push button latches are on some of the recent Chevy-based models like the 40th Anniversary Special. They are sold by a Montreal-based speciality hardware import firm called Richelieu. The issue is, depending on a lot of load and environmental factors, the latches
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

How We Roll in our RV: Removing Pet Hair

Yesterday it was bad pet breath, today, readers want to know how we remove pet hair from our RV. Jennifer and I share how we clean p after our Norwegian Elkhound, Tai. It's not rocket science. The Halo Leather seats of our eTrek help. We throw a cover over them, then shake the hair out each day. As for the throw runs and the rest of the interior of the Roadtrek eTrek we travel in, Jen uses a collapsible broom, an old fashioned whisk brook and sometimes, good old duct tape. One thing we p
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Solving the Problem of Bad Doggie Breath in the RV

We love to take our Norwegian Elkhound, Tai, with us when we go Roadtreking. Except for one thing. His breath. It stinks. Literally. In the confined space of an RV, dog breath can get pretty disgusting. We’ve tried chicken-flavored dog toothpaste and brushing his teeth. It works a little. But chicken flavored dog breath is almost as bad as regular dog breath. So it was with great interest that we just discovered something called Orapup – a dog breath brush. It comes with a couple bott
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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GrampaDennis' Blog
 

Winter Storage

Today, I parked our "Cottage on Wheels" in its winter storage spot. It will be dry and out of the weather - see photo. A former lumber yard in our area has converted some of their buildings to storage, and advertised locally this fall. After confirming that they could accommodate a 32' Class A, and that it could be parked such that we could take it out for a planned winter excursion (more on this below), we sent a deposit. We also checked with others who store a MH, and found that the price
GrampaDennis

GrampaDennis

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Total Off-grid Solar-powered RV

I came across this interesting You Tube video from a guy who calls himself “Master Luke.” It shows a 24-foot cargo trailer that he made into a totally solar-powered RV. The entire roof of the trailer is covered with solar panels - 3,130 watts worth of them. The Roadtrek eTrek we drive has a 5,000-watt inverter, a diesel generator and about 250 watts of solar power. But I reckon that we can get more practical RVing use out of our rig than he can with his. That diesel generator charges those ba
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

A Crock-Pot Cooker for Our RV: Recipes Wanted!

It’s hard to believe how much a $16 purchase at Walmart can brighten your day. Such it was the other day when we spotted a pile of Crock-Pots on sale. It was exactly what we needed. Small, round and just the right size to fit in the sink of our Roadtrek eTrek RV. The sink? Exactly. That way, as we travel across the country during the day, the slow cooking crock pot can prepare our evening meals. By the time we reach our destination, a hot, sumptuous dinner is ready. Let’s face it, one of the b
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

4
Travels with the FMCA Prez
 

Football Season

I've been home two weeks and have accomplished a lot. The hay is in the barn, the yard and pasture is mowed for the winter, and I have learned to sleep until 7 a.m. For years I have been an early, early riser. I guess that was left over from my years in the Air Force and being a workaholic. If I couldn't watch the sun come up, something was wrong. Maybe I have finally retired from working, except for FMCA. This past Thursday I took Denise, my daughter, and Megan, my granddaughter, to the final
AmerEagle07

AmerEagle07

2
Roadtreking Blog
 

Do RVs Dream?

It sits out there in the driveway with the season’s first snow flurries dusting its windshield as the last of the leaves fall from the trees. Inside the RV, there’s the faint but sweet smell of the antifreeze I ran through the plumbing last week. The doors to the refrigerator and the freezer are open to air out. The food and coffee in the storage cupboards are emptied. Only a Roadtreking sweatshirt and a Family Motorcoach Association nylon jacket hang in the once crowded wardrobe. My wide brim
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Winterizing an RV: The Easy Way

I know we’ve talked a lot about winterizing over the past few weeks. But here’s one more report, this one documenting my do-it-yourself winterizing of my Roadtrek eTrek. For the past two years, I’ve paid over $100 to have it winterized by RV service dealers. From the blog and our Facebook page, readers have told me that it’s no big deal and it it is something that even an unhandy handyman like me can do. So this year, I decided to see take their advice and do my own winterizing. I’ve rea
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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FMCA Memories
 

Those Crazy Guenthers

Sometime in the early 1970s, my parents returned from Colorado to the East Coast to visit with family and to take care of unfinished business after our nine-month trip. Once we got there, my Aunt Cindy asked us to transport two horses to a show. So, my dad picked up a two-horse trailer. At the last minute, Aunt Cindy also asked us if we could pick up a pony they had just purchased in Chintogue at “Pony Penning Day.” My dad looked at the trailer and looked at the space in the front where tack a
aztec7fan

aztec7fan

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Roadtreking Blog
 

How We Roll in Our RV: Air Conditioning and Unattended Pets

It can heat up very fast inside an RV and in this edition of How We Roll in our RV, Jennifer and I answer a question from a reader named Danielle who asks: “I’m thinking about taking my freelance writing business on the road in a small motorhome, and I have a question. I’ll be bringing my dog with me and I’m concerned about leaving her in the RV while running errands. Can a dog overheat in a motorhome as they can in a car? Can the A/C run off the battery while sitting in a parking lot, or would
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Apps to Stay in Touch with Family Members

One of the biggest challenges for couples and families these days is staying connected…and keeping busy and often confusing schedules coordinated. When you throw in an RV and lots of traveling, life can really get complicated. That’s where smartphone technology can really help. I have some great apps I juts shared with my NBC-TV audience this week that will help you stay in touch with your spouse and other family members and bring some organization to those busy schedules. One of the handiest
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Men Don’t Talk in a Duck Blind

I didn’t think I’d make it down the narrow, twisting and very bumpy forest two-track that led to my current camping spot in the middle of a marsh on the edge of Rush Lake, a compact little frown-shaped lake a mile or so south of Lake Huron at the tip of the Michigan thumb. I’m surrounded by state land and cattails, a half dozen yards from where my buddy Jay launched our duck boat. Jay and I have been coming up here to hunt ducks and geese for years. Usually, we stay in a motel in Caseville, th
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

How We Roll in Our RV – Bedding Storage

One of the most asked questions Jennifer and I receive from readers deals with how we sleep in our Roadtrek eTrek Class B motorthome. Our answer is … great! Seriously, we both agree we sleep better in the Roadtrek than we do in our king-sized Sleep Number bed at home. And that has to do with that we sleep on and in while camping out in the Roadtrek. In this edition of How We Roll in our RV, we answer two reader questions about where we store our bedding. We make the eTrek sofa up into a
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Planning for the Next RV Year

Jennifer and I went to the local office supply store over the weekend and picked up a new planning calendar for 2014. It’s one of those big, poster-sized ones with the entire year laid out in neat little blocks for each day of each month. It’s erasable – a good thing with our propensity for last minute trips and change of plans – and right now, it’s blank. But we’re about to start filling it in. We’ve gone through and listed all the places we want to go, the things we want to see, the people we
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

1
Everywhere America
 

Meet Sadie, Our new Bus Dog!

Almost since the day we left Maine, Michelle and I have been thinking about getting a dog......We had a beautiful guy that we fostered a little over three years ago. His name was Sparky and he was 8 or 9 when we got him. We had gone down to the local SPCA to get a puppy, and while we were touring the kennels, we happened to see him. He was very forlorn, just lying quietly in his cage in the midst of all the chaos. We kept coming back to him and finally our guide told us his story. They were not
Jaimepoulin1

Jaimepoulin1

0
Travels with the FMCA Prez
 

Is It Over?

Gloria had her surgery and the doctor said that it went as expected. Now it is a waiting game to see how much vision she will have after recovery. Recovery takes some time and we are both impatient for her vision to return to normal. She looks like she has been hit in the eye. The white is red and looks very angry and her eyelid and cheek are bruised. I promise I did not hit her. Being a nurse has not been bad. I pass through the house and ask what I can do to help her but it is time to
AmerEagle07

AmerEagle07

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Questions About Winterizing an RV

We’ve been talking all week about winterizing our RVs. Yes, the time has come .... Those living in the northern states and those who live where the temperatures drop below freezing, can’t put it off much longer. But people still have a lot of questions and as we wrap up our winterizing series, Jennifer and I answer some reader questions about topics that haven’t yet been addressed. In this edition of How We Roll in our RV, we talk about the need to re-winterize when folks head south and then
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Weather Apps for RVers

No matter what kind of RV we have, one thing that we are all interested in is the weather. Nothing affects traveling more. Across North America, the cold weather is coming fast and that means snow and ice and dicey weather conditions. Thanks to apps, tablets and the Web, you never again need to wonder what its going to be like out there. I’m always installing and uninstalling weather apps. I’ve tried dozens of them and I’m sure I’ll try dozens more in the months ahead. But for now, here’s a rou
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

5
Travels with the FMCA Prez
 

Fall is in the Air

Fall is in the air in Arkansas. We finally arrived home yesterday after two months of traveling and going to rallies and meetings. It rained this morning (which is not unusual for us) and was a dreary day. The colors are beautiful and the coolness in the air tells me we will not have any more hot weather this year. We had a week of meetings for the newly elected AVPs so that they could learn all the things they should know about FMCA as AVPs. The second week of meetings were for FMCA business a
AmerEagle07

AmerEagle07

1
Roadtreking Blog
 

Taxes and Fees for RVs Can Be Very Confusing

One of the most confusing aspects of buying an RV is the vast differences paid in sales tax and various licensing fees. And many states do what is called “double dipping,” charging full sales tax when you buy the vehicle, and then again charging you tax on the full purchase price of a new one when you you trade it in, ignoring the trade-in price. It doesn’t take a genius to know that it is patently unfair. In Michigan at least, that double dip tax is about to go away. State lawmakers are gett
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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