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  • Please note, Blogs are intended for stories about your RV travels.  Please post technical questions/comments in the forums located at:

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Blogs

Travels with the FMCA Prez
 

Flooded Motorhome

Have you ever seen a flooded motorhome? It is not a pretty picture. While preparing to leave Cincinnati, I decided to dump the holding tanks and flush the black water tank. I turned on the water and told Gloria to remind me about the water. Then, I decided we needed to visit a motorhome that just came in to the FMCA Roundbottom campground. While we were enjoying our visit with the Griffiths, the water at our motorhome kept running. Pat and Debbie Branigan came in to the campground to park, an
AmerEagle07

AmerEagle07

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Everywhere America
 

Press one for English

I work as a trainer in the Automotive Industry. Dealers that are either under-performing or simply want to up their game utilize us for training. Whether training on basic sales process or coaching an entire management staff, we are known for "getting it done." I will share with you that 90% of what we teach revolves around customer service skills. Which leads me to my latest adventure......Satellite TV in the RV. Don used Direct TV. Not having utilized satellite before, and Don being gr
Jaimepoulin1

Jaimepoulin1

0
Travels with the FMCA Prez
 

Traveling with the Prez

After we left Cincinnati our trip was uneventful untill we ran into more water. This time it wasn't coming from the shower drain but from the sky. It started out as a few drops, only to get heavier and heavier until we could not see the 18-wheeler in front of us. It rained on us all the way to Millersburg, Ohio. The rain and wind was causing the leaves to fall like snowflakes and it was beautiful. The colors in this part of Ohio were further along than around Cincinnati. By the time we get to Y
AmerEagle07

AmerEagle07

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Apps and Websites to Help You Find the Perfect Boondocking Spot

Ah ... the Sound of Silence. There really is a sound to it, you know. On a boondocking trip deep in the Michigan woods in Ogemaw County, we heard it good. There was the crackle of our campfire. A hoot of a distant owl. The yips of a pack of coyotes somewhere far to the west. The gurgle of the Rifle River moving over a stretch of rocks just downstream from where we were camped. The whooshing sound of wind whipping through a stand of pine. And on that clear night, the sound of boondocking silen
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

1
Travels with the FMCA Prez
 

It is October

It is now October and Fall is in the air. The landscape is changing to varying shades of red, yellow, orange and brown.There is a nip in the air that only occurs at this time of year. Motorhomes are traveling from North to South before the first signs of winter arrive. While we have been at FMCA's Roundbottom Campground in Cincinnati, the campsites have filled up every night. Since being elected national president of FMCA, we have been from Massachusetts to Oregon and states in between. We a
AmerEagle07

AmerEagle07

0
Everywhere America
 

What does this do?

Most of the time, I am just plain confused. Between being confused and trying to make certain that Michelle doesn't know how confused I am, I am pretty busy. I guess the thing that first confused me was how many sets of keys there are to our Coach. When we passed papers I asked Don for the spares and he told me they were already on board. 5 sets. Why there are 5 complete sets is kind of confusing in itself. If I manage to misplace 4 sets of keys I probably should not be driving a 40' coach a
Jaimepoulin1

Jaimepoulin1

3
Roadtreking Blog
 

RV Vacations Ruined as National Parks Shut Down

The budgeting mess and political wrangling in Congress over Obamacare has ruined the vacation plans of tens of thousands of RVers who had planned to camp in a national park this week. The closure of the national parks is also hitting hard the bordering communities whose economic livelihood is closely tied to a steady stream of national park visitors. At midnight, all activities at the parks, except for necessary emergency services, were immediately suspended and the parks closed indefinitely.
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

2
Roadtreking Blog
 

Copper Harbor, Mich. – the End of the Road

Everyone knows we Michganders love to represent our state by showing our hand. Here, try it. Take your left hand and extend it, palm facing out. That’s the Lower Peninsula, the familiar Michigan mitt. Okay, now turn your extended left hand to the left, and bring your handdown to the right so the fingers are pointing horizontally to the right. That’s the Upper Peninsula. Now bring up your right hand, palm facing you, thumb to the right. Put the left hand at the top of the right and…voila… a ma
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Everywhere America
 

I'm not a mechanic, you want me to what?

To be clear, I cannot saw a straight board, hang a picture that doesn't wind up crooked, assemble a grill so that it looks anything like the "picture", and at 49 years old I still don't know what a mitre saw does. I am pretty handy with a cordless screwdriver as long as I don't have to actually use it and I own a pretty awesome looking array of tools. But I really couldn't tell you what half of them do. I am excited to use a couple of them but also afraid that I might have to. Don Hill thin
Jaimepoulin1

Jaimepoulin1

2
Roadtreking Blog
 

Here Comes Cold Weather: I Don’t Want to Stop Roadtreking for the Season!

I love fall. The blue skies are more blue, the air smells clean and crisp and has no more of the sweltering heaviness of summer. But it also makes me a little sad because, living in a northern climate like Ido, the approaching cold weather means it’s time to curtail my travel. It means long stretches of RVing inactivity. Of watching snow accumulate on top of the Roadtrek. Of having to winterize it. Of sneaking out there, turning on the heat, and sitting in it, remembering the places we’ve v
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Roadtreking and the Interesting People You Meet

The RV life is so much fun because you don’t know what adventure is around the next bend. But the people you meet along the way are equally enjoyable. I don’t think Jennifer and I have yet to return from a Roadtreking trip without making some new friends. On our most recent trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, we met interesting people at each stop. Up at the Historic Fort Wilkins State Park in Copper Harbor Michigan, we found ourselves sharing a campground with husband and wife Roadtrekers Dav
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Michigan’s UP in the Fall and Twelvemile Beach

This is the time to “come up to da UP,” as the Yoopers like to say. The flies and mosquitoes are gone, so are the crowds and the whole peninsula is bursting with bright yellows and reds as the annual fall foliage change explodes the hardwoods into jaw-dropping displays. And the sunsets are to die for. This year, the color change is later than normal. We came up last Thursday and it was just starting. As we head back downstate today five days later, it’s clear that its moving fast now. This com
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Everywhere America
 

Look how far we've come, and we haven't even left yet.....

I have an appointment to have the Wrangler fitted for a proportional braking system on Wednesday. We have been using Mountain Road RV in Sabattus, Maine for servicing at the recommendation of the prior owner of our Coach.... Proud owners since July 31st of this lovely "floats on air" home on wheels that we bought, this 40' land yacht that I test drove for about a half hour before we blindly decided to dive in, feet first because our arms were flailing, to this world of full time life in a mot
Jaimepoulin1

Jaimepoulin1

5
Roadtreking Blog
 

Our RV Life: Discovering the Beauty Beneath the Blur

All my life as a journalist- for more than three decades – I’ve been on deadline. The presses would roll, the red light on the studio camera would blink on and, that was it. I had to be ready. Done. No more time. So the clock ruled my days. I was single-mindedly focused on finishing, getting to press time or air time. Then, I could breathe a little… and get ready for the next day. It was a wild, crazy, fun, frustrating and high-adrenaline occupation and I wouldn’t have traded it for the worl
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Meet Deby Dixon: Living the Dream as Yellowstone’s Storyteller

Yellowstone National Park is a captivating place. It grabs the soul and pulls us back year after year. At the top of every RVers bucket list, it is a place so majestic, so wild and big that it calls us to return, to explore, to get to know the diversity of its land and animals over and over again. Some RVers make annual pilgrimages. Some volunteer as workers or hire on as temporary employees at the various concessions and park businesses. Anything to spend as much time there as possible. A few
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Carrying a kayak on a Roadtrek

I love kayaking. Except for occasional rental places I find in our travels, though, it’s pretty hard to do while Roadtreking. I’ve been tempted to get an inflatable kayak but, well, I want a real one, with a composite body. The problem, though, is how do I carry it? My friend Gary Hennes from Minnesota has solved that problem with a roof mount and a Hullavator mechanism that effortlessly lifts the kayak up to the roof of his 2006 Roadtrek RS-Adventurous. He got his from a local outfitter nea
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Gadget preview: My new Go Pro Hero 3 Black Edition camera

I use a lot of cameras while we travel North America in our Roadtrek RV. One of my favorites is the GoPro Hero, a very tiny high def camera that I can mount to the side of my vehicle, wear on a bike hemet or attach to just about anything. The folks who make the camera just released some free editing software called GoPro Studio. I couldn’t resist downloading it last night and throwing in a few of our driving shots from this summer. The music comes with the template you download, so no complaint
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

2
Roadtreking Blog
 

Behind the Class B RV sales boom

When we first started out 18 months ago, I have to admit, I had my doubts about a life of RVing in a Class B motorhome, sometimes referred to as Type B to do away with all the negative stereotypes that come with the word “Class.” Anyway, I was sure it would be fine for weekend getaways but as the this blog took off and it became apparent that we were going to be traveling a lot more than I first planned, we secretly wondered whether the 23-foot Roadtrek we travel in would be big enough. Now, w
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

1
"Gramps" Blog
 

A Few More Tips and Hints

1. I leave a baseball cap on the dash whenever I am driving the coach. I don’t wear it all the time but it sure comes in handy when the sun is low and shines thru the gap in our double automatic windshield shades. 2. While we are on the subject of windshields. I replaced my stock Monaco wiper arms with ones with standard sized J-Hooks. I purchased them from Diesel Equipment Corp in Greensboro NC. Now I can use any length frameless replacement blade, easily purchased from an auto parts store or
-Gramps-

-Gramps-

6
"Gramps" Blog
 

Here Be Dragons!

It is commonly believed that early geographers used this phrase to mark the uncharted areas of their maps. They had not explored these areas and therefore assumed them to be dangerous. The actual wording was Hc Svnt Dracones. The mapmakers would put images of sea monsters on the edges of the map because it was the best way to say there is bad stuff “out there”. This past August 2nd I turned sixty years of age. I am now entering into uncharted territory. It is for me anyway. Others have been th
-Gramps-

-Gramps-

2
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

The Fun Never Ends!

We stayed with friends in Yankton, South Dakota last week. It was a nice long weekend visit. I played golf twice while Louise got her quota of card games. We shared plans and updated each other on family matters. As we left, we had a two travel days planned on our way to the Denver area where we are now. As we pulled away we began talking about the possibilities. I asked if Louise would enjoy a drive along the South Dakota border and what roads were there for us to travel? She looked at t
tbutler

tbutler

1
Roadtreking Blog
 

How We Roll in our RV: Keeping it clean

In the latest edition of How We Roll in our RV, Jennifer and I answer a question from Sarah in Omaha, NE about how we clean it, inside and outside. Jennifer says she uses Clorox Wips inside, along with wood and leather cleaner. But has us both excited is this mazing KAYWOS (Klean Anything Without Streaking) cloth … It is great at removing bugs, road gunk, bird droppings, dirt and grime from the exterir of our RV. In fact, without soap or water, we in essence cleaned the whole RV with the cloth
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Top 5 RV Joys

On this Labor Day weekend, we’re in Southwest Georgia, after driving down from Michigan last week with some fun stops along the way. We plan to take our time going home, too, enjoying the freedom that our little Roadtrek eTrek RV gives us. After almost two years of this lifestyle, Jen and I are finding ourselves on the road more and more. We were at our Michigan sticks and bricks home for less than a week all August. We just turned 30,000 miles on the new eTrek we picked up in December! When w
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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