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Journalist Mike Wendland Travels North America in a Class B Motorhome

Entries in this blog

 

Perfect RV take-along: An inflatable kayak

http://youtu.be/ikwYoAmuQQk I love kayaking. But with a Class B campervan-style RV, there just isn’t enough storage room to take one along. At least that’s what I thought until I discovered the Sea Eagle inflatable Kayak. Facebook friends on our Roadtreking page alerted me to it and I’m planning to order one before spring. The one I’m looking at is the SeaEagle 330. It weighs just 26 lbs. and packs down small enough to fit in the “basement” of my Roadtrek Sprinter van, the storage space under

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Our top five RV frustrations

Not all is always good about RVing. Here are our top five RV frustrations: 1) Deplorable campground conditions – This, we believe, is one of the biggest scandals of the RV world. There are many campgrounds that could more accurately be described as overcrowded slums. What amazes me is that they have good reviews in the big publications, which tells me that either the reviews are phony, the publication doesn’t physically inspect the campgrounds or they are so out of date they are worthless. Jus

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

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

 

Our Roadtreking RV Burglarized in Illinois

Seven minutes is all it took for our RV to be burglarized, to lose $12,000 and counting worth of equipment – just about everything of value inside the motorhome except the dog. Yes, just seven minutes. That’s all it took for the bad guys to come into our space, take our stuff. We know it was only seven minutes, too, from our dash cam recording most of it. But as Jennifer points out, what they physically took are only things. The stuff is just that – stuff. And, yes, it isn’t fun, but it is

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Our Most-asked Roadtreking Question

I love getting reader mail and I do my best to answer them. But lately, as a new RV season gets underway and lots of people are thinking about purchasing a motorhome and more new people are discovering this blog, the questions are somewhat the same. So I thought I’d share here the answer to the one question we get asked the most. Q: What would you and your wife do differently in buying an RV now that you've been doing this for a while? A: The short answer is … nothing. We now have about 60,000

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Our Most-Asked Roadtreking Question

I love getting reader mail and I do my best to answer them. But lately, as the fall RV RV shows start getting underway and lots of people are thinking about purchasing a motorhome and more new people are discovering this blog, the questions are somewhat the same. So I thought I’d share here the answer to the one question we get asked the most. Q: WHAT WOULD YOU AND YOUR WIFE DO DIFFERENTLY IN BUYING AN RV NOW THAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A WHILE? A: The short answer is…nothing. We now have

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Our most-asked Roadtreking Question

Our most-asked Roadtreking Question I love getting reader mail and I do my best to answer them. But lately, as the fall RV RV shows start getting underway and lots of people are thinking... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Our Love Affair with Mackinac Island

For the better part of four decades, there is one place that has lured Jennifer and me back again and again, multiple times each year: Mackinac Island, located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. It’s a place where motor vehicles are prohibited and where RVs must be left on the mainland at the passenger ferry docks. On the island, the only transportation available is by walking, riding bicycles or by horse. Just 3.8 squar

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Our love affair with Mackinac Island

Our love affair with Mackinac Island For the better part of four decades, there is one place that has lured Jennifer and me back again and again, multiple times each year: Mackinac Island, located in Lake... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Our favorite features on 2013 model Type B motorhomes

Our favorite features on 2013 model Type B motorhomes We spent most of the past week touring the 2013 edition of the Florida RV Supershow, arguably the nation’s biggest and best RV shows. Some 1,100 RVs spread out over 16 acres were on display this year from just about every RV manufacturer in North America. Since we concentrate our coverage on small motorhomes and Type B coaches in particular, we had lots of time to inspect the 2013 models from the leading Type B manufacturers. Jennifer and

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Our 2014 Roadtreking Goals

Happy New Year! Like many we’ve been reflecting a lot on the places we’ve been and the people we met in 2013. We’ve even drawn up a tentative travel schedule of our planned travel destinations for the new year. But I’ve also come up with some new goals, above and beyond the specifics of where and when we’ll go. I call it my Roadtreking self improvement list. Here are the things I want to learn or do better with in 2014: 1) Stop, look and listen more – Last year was a crazy year, travel wise

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Okeechobee – A Texas Cow Town in the Middle of Florida

I didn’t know what to expect when I pulled into Okeechobee, Fla., but I can defiately say that I didn’t expect it to remind me of West Texas, right down to the city calling itself ”Cow Town.” But this is a western style town in the middle of the sunshine state, it’s dry and windy and surrounded by wide open spaces and lots and lots of cows. Rodeos are a big deal here and the name of the best local restaurant tells you what the local culture revolves around. It’s simply called “The Cowboy.” In

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Off The Beaten Path: Meat Cove

Off The Beaten Path: Meat Cove “Don’t miss Meat Cove!†It was a beautiful fall day on Prince Edward Island. We were talking to a couple who were full-timers in their Roadtrek. We were headed to... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Of Rainy Days and Meandering

“Not all those who wander are lost." -- J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings. We love that quote because we love to meander, to take roads less traveled, off the Interstate. And as we are starting our Great Lakes Shoreline Tour that will take us 3,500 miles across eight states along the shorelines of all five Great Lakes, we are reminded again about the absolute joy of slow exploration. We’ve tried to explain it to non-RV people. Their eyes sort of glaze over. But you understand, don’t

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

New eco-friendly, all electric eTrek Class B Motorhome now available

Roadtrek Motorhome’s new e-Trek is now showing up in dealer showrooms across North America and I just may be the very first consumer to take possession. Or so Chad Neff of American RV in Grand Rapids told me as he handed over the keys to Jennifer and I. Tai, our Norwegian Elkhound, had already ensconced himself inside. My trek for the eTrek began in September when I went to the Roadtrek factory in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada to do a video news story on the new model, built on the Mercedes Spr

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

New Class C motorhome insulated for all season use

The bitter cold of the north keeps many RVers from using their motorhomes all year round. For many, their coaches sit in driveways, winterized and waiting for the thaw. I plan on taking my Class B to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in mid-February. I’ll probably go alone as my wife doesn’t like the idea of having to forgo showers while using it in the winter. While you can use it in the winter, you have to carry bottled water. And if you use the toilet, you have to”chase” it with antifreeze. No dou

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

New Apps that RVers Will Enjoy

Apps. There are so many apps that empower our smartphones and tablets to do new and creative things that it’s almost impossible to keep up with them. This week, I have three new apps that you may have missed that you will surely want to add to your RVing collection. The coolest photo enhancing app I’ve seen in a long time is Instagram’s new Hyperlapse, a very nifty little download that lets you create very smooth and fun time lapse videos. It takes a clip you shot on your iPhone, stabilizes it

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

New Apps that RVers Will Enjoy

New Apps that RVers Will Enjoy Apps. There are so many apps that empower our smartphones and tablets to do new and creative things that it’s almost impossible to keep up with them.  This week, I... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

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

 

National Parks: A Photographer’s Dream

I’ve spent much of the past two months using my spare time to study photography, though online courses, books and some classroom work. I also, gulp, bought a professional grade camera and have been learning its ins and out, too. All this in preparation for our RV visits to various National Parks across the country. This year, I’m going to concentrate even more out there on photography, spurred on by the annual photo contest sponsored by the National Park Foundation. The photo accompanying this

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

National Bison Range: Perfect for a Class B RV Visit

The story of the American bison is one of the most sad and captivating episodes in U.S. history. Once thought to be limitless in number – an estimated 50 million ranged across North America before European settlement – they were hunted to near extinction in the late 1800’s. Greed by hunters and a calculated political effort to eliminate the food and main staple of the American Indian tribes were the reasons. From 50 million, the senseless slaughter left about 100 animals in the wild in the late

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

National Bison Range is perfect for a Class B RV visit

National Bison Range is perfect for a Class B RV visit The story of the American bison is one of the most sad and captivating episodes in U.S. history. Once thought to be limitless in number – an estimated 50 million... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

Naples and Southwest Florida: Where it’s Always Warmer

Naples, Florida is the crown jewel of Southwest Florida, a west gulf coast town known for upscale dining and shopping, designer golf courses, awesome boating and fishing and the best weather in a state that is built around tourism and sunny skies. It’s always 10 to 20 degrees warmer here than most other places in the Sunshine State. Our destination for this trip was the Naples Motorcoach Resort on U.S. 41 just east of Collier Boulevard. Highway 41, also known as the Tamiami Trail, leads to the

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

My RV is hangout heaven for soccer kids

We spent much of the weekend in Georgia at a soccer tournament one of my grandsons was playing in and found yet another use for our Roadtrek eTrek – as a place for the younger brothers and their friends to hang out in. It wasn’t planned. They just sort of took it over once they discovered how much fun it was. And between games, I became babysitter-in-chief. We went through four bags of popcorn. Pretty much a case of bottled water. We charged iPods and iPads and watched TV and the DVD. Oh yeah

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

 

My RV Has Turned Into an Igloo

This is only temporary. That’s what I keep telling myself when I look out in in my snowy Michigan driveway and instead of seeing our Roadtrek eTrek out there, we only see an igloo. Look for yourself at the accompanying photos, below. We got our first big snow over the weekend and while it indeed is looking a lot like Christmas, it just seems, well, wrong, to see the RV covered under all that white stuff. I snowblowed the driveway and then took some photos before I removed as much of the snow

Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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