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Blogs

Roadtreking Blog
 

Photos: What it’s like at a big RV Rally

RV rallys can be small or spectacularly huge. FMA's 88th Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase in Gillette Wyoming, in June 2013 was one of the big ones. There were more than 2,300 coaches, 5,000-plus RVers and several hundred other vendors, dealers and exhibitors. Gillette’s massive 1,100-acre CAM-PLEX exhibition center was jammed with motorhomes literally as far as you could see in any direction. Big rallies like this are not for everyone. Camping spaces are cramped, with rigs parked just a f
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Another reason we RV: The sheer joy of driving

“Not all those who wander are lost,” so wrote J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings. It is so true when it comes to RVing. We love to meander, to take roads less traveled, off the Interstate. But even the Interstates are fun, especially out of urban areas. As Jennifer and I made our way west this week to attend the Family Motor Coach rally in Gillette, Wyo., we realized something about our wanderings: We love to drive. That is so weird for me to write because when I commuted to and from
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

An RV boom town in a Western Boom Town

Gillette, Wyoming, is a certified American boom town. It’s 30,000 residents have grown by a whopping 48% in the past decade as this western city has become the nation’s self-declared “energy capital of America,” thanks to its vast quantities of coal, oil and coal bed methane gas. But today, it just grew by thousands more as 2,500 motorhomes of all shapes and sizes rolled into the sprawling CAM-PLEX exhibition center just east of town. Add another 5,000-plus people to Gillette. Most of those her
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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AndyShane's Blog
 

Manabloc From Heaven Okay, maybe the other place, when careless owners are involved...

I'd noticed that the plumbing manifold had some rusty hardware, and was dripping. Actually, the first impression was that the Aqua Hot on the opposite side of the coach was dripping; but, good detective work and a drop light led me back to the true source: the Manabloc manifold. I'll spare you all the trials of rebuilding the manifold, replacing connectors, etc. and skip to the end: someone had not properly winterized the rig, and there are tiny cracks from freezing in the top of the stack
andyshane

andyshane

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Roadtreking Blog
 

A South Dakota bugout

Last night in Iowa, I was complaining abut the gnats. Tonight in South Dakota, it’s the Frankenbugs. The bugs have only gotten bigger as we’ve moved west Honestly, I dont know what they are. Way bigger than a gnat. Some are beetles, or what we used to call June bugs. But there are so many and they are so big that as we drove down I-90 in South Dakota, they hit the windshield with an intensity that sometimes sounded like hail. Jennifer said it was a bugout. You can see from this photo and t
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

A study in contrast: From the Badlands to the Black Hills

It’s pretty amazing what a few hundred miles can do to the view. That was driven home to us today as we made our way across South Dakota, taking in the vast green prairie and its lush grasslands, the wind-carved canyons, ravines and hoodoos of the Badlands and the rolling thick pine forests of the Black Hills. Our Roadtrek heads across South Dakota, en route to FMCA'S Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase in Gillette, Wyo.I’d send along a video but I’m barely able to get a cell signal from
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

How we Roll in our RV – Budgeting for a long trip and odor control

In this edition of “How We Roll,” Jennifer answers a question about budgeting and how much it costs us to take a typical week to 10-day trip. In these days of $4+ fuel, that’s the killer to any budget that involves mileage. Jennifer shares our actual costs and ways we try to save money. Then I tackle a stinky question ... about odor control and how we’re trying something called the “Geo Method” that mixes water softener and household detergent in a gallon of water that is poured down the toilet
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

An Unusual Journey (Part 2)

In Part 1 I described the first day of a trip from Edinburg, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley to Dakota Ridge RV Park in Golden, Colorado. I spent the first night in Ballinger, Texas. My goal for the second day of the trip was Amarillo. I always prefer to park on the far side of large towns so I don’t have to start out driving through town in busy morning traffic. The weather was mostly cloudy until I got near Amarillo. Being just over a week from my last cataract surgery, I really apprecia
tbutler

tbutler

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Adding Points of Interest to your GPS

RVers love their GPS units. Can you imagine traveling without one? But do you know that many of today’s most popular units can be customized to show the special places you are most interested in? Called POIs – short for Points of Interest – there are so many lists of them available now that downloading them to your GPS unit can make travel much more efficient and convenient. You need to have a stand alone GPS unit that can connect to your computer to be able to download POIs. Tom Tom, Magel
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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"Gramps" Blog
 

Tips and Hints.

Over the last seven years, Diane and I have learned, discovered, or otherwise stumbled upon a few things that have helped us during our adventures on the road. 1. Velcro computer wiring straps (available from Wal-Mart of course) can keep your coach vertical cabinet doors from flying open while going down the road and hitting a pot hole or expansion joint or worst yet….rolling over a speed bump. Just slip one thru the cabinet handles and snick it down. They have saved our dishes more than on
-Gramps-

-Gramps-

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Roadtreking Blog
 

KOA rebranding of campgrounds underway

Kampgrounds Of America’s rebranding of its campgrounds based on their features and amenities has kicked off with the Billings, Montana KOA Campground, which officially becomes the Billings KOA Holiday Campground. The change is the beginning of a new brand structure for the 51-year-old iconic North American camping company. Three new brand segments will better identify the specific offerings of KOA’s 485 campgrounds for the millions of North American camping families that use KOA each year. Ove
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Pet Dangers: Ticks and Snakes

With more and more RVers heading to the great outdoors this time of year, it’s time to sound two warnings. Depending on where you are, it’s now either snake season or tick season. For some parts of the U.S., it’s both. Both creatures post particular problems with pets. And humans, too, if they get bit. And both are very active right now. And RVers, who are out there camping in the woods and wilds and deserts and fields, could very easily come into contact with them. RVers with pets need to be
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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"Gramps" Blog
 

Route 89

It has been a peaceful two weeks since May 22, the day we left our brick house in Portsmouth. Once again we had to take our coach on the road for service before we could actually start our first long trip this year. The coach hasn’t been parked the whole time since our last long venture, which took place last September, I think. We made a fall trip to our spot at Deer Creek Motor Coach resort (the one in Virginia). I left Diane there while I made a trip back home in the car for work-related reas
-Gramps-

-Gramps-

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Tell me where to go: Help plan my RV trip to Wyoming

It’s time to head west to Wyoming and, eventually, Yellowstone National Park. And this year, instead of repeating past routes, I thought it would be fun to get your suggestions, to crowd source our trip by drawing on the collected wisdom of our readers. In other words, tell me where to go. Here are the particulars: ’ll be leaving Kalamazoo, Mich., about 9 AM Friday, June 14. I need to be in Gillette, Wyo., by mid afternoon Monday, June 18, for the annual Family Motor Coach Association Reunion
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

An Unusual Journey (Part 1)

I have driven the motor home without my navigator beside me before but never quite like this trip. There have been a few short trips to repair shops. The only long trip was from St. Louis to Houston. On that trip Louise was following me in the toad as I returned a tow dolly to its maker. On that trip we had radios for communication on the road and we stopped for rest stops, meals and overnights together. On Monday of last week I dropped Louise off at the airport. She was on her way to Den
tbutler

tbutler

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Roadtreking Blog
 

The story of Roadtreking.com: Serendipity RVing

“How’d you end up doing this?” If I could have had a quarter for every time we’ve been asked that about our roadtreking.com RV blog we could buy another motorhome. But since enough people seem to be interested….Here’s how: This Roadtreking RV blog is a dream come true for me. Decades in the making, but now being lived out like one giant movie, seen through the wide expanse of my motorhome’s windshield as North America rolls on by. We can stop anytime, explore anywhere. And we do, sharing it
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

How We Roll in our RV: Cooking on the road and fighting black flies

Two very different questions from readers this week as we continue our “How We Roll in our RV” segment: Jennifer answers a question about cooking while traveling in our eTrek and I assure a reader that the fabled black flies that invade Michigan’s Upper Peninsula every summer should not deter him from traveling to one of the least-visited but most beautiful places in North America. I did a video called “The curse of the U.P: Black flies” last year you may want to check out. Got a question ab
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

New all-season Roadtrek Popular 190 Anniversary Edition Revealed

Roadtrek Motorhomes has released a new all-season, solar-powered 40th Anniversary edition of it’s 190 Popular coach that features a redesigned, higher interior and a stunning Mocha Steel tri-coat paint job that looks like diamonds have been embedded into the finish. Roadtrek President Jim Hammill says the new model, revealed to attendees at the corporate anniversary rally in Branson, MO, continues a trend towards green energy use and extended dry camping through solar power. Pricing information
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Every RVer has a bucket list

We all have places we want to see, to explore and experience. A bucket list. At the 40th Anniversary rally of Roadtrek Motorhomes in Branson, Mo., no matter how experienced a traveler we found, we also found that every traveler still has a bucket list. Just ask the question … what’s on your bucket list? You’ll immediately get an answer. Watch the video below. Is your bucket place dream trip mentioned? http://youtu.be/zGnQS8tUNvg About the Author: Mike Wendland is a veteran journalist who tr
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Making your RV personal

At first glance, the 250-plus Roadtrek Class B motorhomes gathered at the 40th anniversary corporate rally in Branson, MO look alike. But when you start walking among them, you soon realize that these touring coaches are not as alike as you may have first thought. Each Roadtrek is tweaked, modified and personalized. To various degrees, of course. But all have been individualized. Sometimes it’s as simple as a vanity license plate. Maybe some bumper stickers. With others, it’s something more ela
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

I Can See Clearly Now

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind It’s gonna be a bright, bright Sun-Shiny day. Those are some of the lyrics from I Can See Clearly Now, by Johnny Nash. It is one of my all time favorite songs and I've been whistling it a lot lately. What follows is a detailed description of my encounter with a common eye condition, cataracts. If you have cataracts and have had them surgically removed, you know the story.
tbutler

tbutler

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Branson Roadtrek rally celebrates 40 years of adventure

The 40th anniversary Roadtrek corporate rally is going on this week in Branson, MO, with more than 500 Roadtrek owners and 250 coaches gathered for a week’s worth of fun celebrating the four decades the very popular Class B motorhomes have been sold. Attenders from across the US and Canada were greeted with cloudy skies and heavy rain warnings on arrival Monday, but that didn’t deter many from taking advantage of a free Roadtrek wash organized by the company. Check the vanity license plate mes
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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