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Roadtrekingmike

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Blog Entries posted by Roadtrekingmike

  1. Roadtrekingmike
    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, the onboard bathroom came in pretty handy, too.
    My dog Tai loved the attention, getting pretty much non stop pets from kids – his favorite type of human.
    Several Moms and Dads from the team also poked their heads inside and were duly impressed. But I think what they liked most about it was they knew where their kids were.
    Me? Hey, kids are my favorite type of humans, too.
    http://vimeo.com/61458975
  2. Roadtrekingmike
    We’re on a we’re-so-tired-of-winter search for spring.
    It has not been easy. It took almost 800 miles, heading straight down I-75 from our Michigan home.
    At the Wal-Mart parking lot where we spent the first night in Findlay, Ohio, we parked next to a pile of snow. The overnight temps were in the upper 20s. This was our first time at a Wal-Mart. Except for a couple of big trucks, we were pretty much alone. It was not particularly scenic and there was lots of traffic noise. “You don’t need an alarm clock to get up when you camp at Wal-Mart,” noted Jennifer as we rolled up the blinds and got ready to take off at daybreak the next morning. Still when you are just stopping to sleep and hitting the road early the next day, it sure beats a $30 campground fee.
    As we set off, I noted there was still some rooftop ice and snow on top of our RV. Winter was still clinging to us. It finally melted shortly after we crossed over into Kentucky.Wal-Mart
    But as we moved south through Tennessee, the mountains were still snow coated. A late winter storm earlier in the week had hit the area with a half-foot of snow. Miniature waterfalls were frozen into long icicles along the sheer rock face where it had been carved off for the road.
    Finally, south of Knoxville, the snow was gone from the ground. But the temperatures were barely above 40.
    In Georgia, by late afternoon, they warmed to the low 50′s.
    And this morning, on a walk around the Red Top Mountain State Park about 45 miles north of Atlanta, we found the first official sign of spring.
    A lone daffodil, poking up between some pine seedlings, a few hundred feet from our camp spot.
    This is a beautiful state park, 12,000 acres that wrap around Lake Allatoona. The camping spots are spacious, shaded by tall pines. The rocky lakeshore is inviting. We’d stay longer is we didn’t have some things scheduled for the next couple of days.
    The Roadtrek eTrek has been plenty warm at night. We can’t believe how well we sleep in it.
    We are now heading to a couple other spots in Georgia, to visit with family and celebrate a son’s birthday. Then, next week, Florida.
    But we are de-winterizing the RV, confident now, we’re headed in the right direction.
    South.
  3. Roadtrekingmike
    A horrific, fiery crash along I-65 in Kentucky that claimed six lives has focused new attention on the need to be able to break through automotive safety glass to rescue people trapped in smashed cars.
    The six people who died were in an SUV from Marion, Wis., traveling north near Glendale. The vehicle caught fire after it was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer.
    Lynn and Roger Brucker, from Dayton, Ohio, were driving home in their Roadtrek van when the crash occurred behind them. They had slowed because of an accident ahead of them.
    You can see a photo of the crash scene and the Brucker’s Roadtrek in this USA Today story, which quoted Lynn. Lynn said her husband looked back and saw a fireball and parts from the crash flying in the air. They grabbed the Roadtrek fire extinguisher and went to the SUV to help those trapped inside. They used up the fire extinguisher and helped others rescue a 12-year-old boy, whom they took back to the Roadtrek for first-aid until he could be transported to a hospital.
    A 12-year-old girl was also rescued, puled out a partially broken window. But an intense blaze prevented the rest of the family from being rescued.
    “My question is this – if we had just had something to get the doors open and break windows if is possible no one would have died,” Lynn wrote on the Yahoo Roadtrek group hours after after the March 2 crash. “We had enough time to have pulled people out if we could have gotten the doors or more windows open.”
    Her posting prompted many to go online and but special tools that will shatter safety glass on trucks, autos and RVs. I’m one of them. I ordered a dozen of them, to give to my kids, their spouses and our grandsons who drive.
    Said one poster replying to Lynn: ”… tempered glass and can be very strong against a broadly dispersed impact … However, a very slight pinpoint strike will cause the entire window to disintegrate into small ‘cubes’ of glass that can be scooped up like the salt that is spread on sidewalks. The easiest tool to buy that will do that is an “automatic center punch” that costs less than $10 at Harbor Freight stores. There are also various “escape tools” that have a slot with a sharp blade to cut safety belts, and a sharp pointed hammer tip to accomplish the glass breakage ..”
    I went to Amazon and bought the ResQMe Car Escape Tool. They cost $9.95, attach to a keyring and offer a spring-loaded head that effortlessly smashes the vehicle’s side windows and a razor sharp blade that can slice through jammed seat belts. These devices used to be offered exclusively to fire, paramedic and police organizations, but are now available to the public.
    Lynn’s harrowing story has convinced me this is one tool I need to carry in all my vehicles.

    ResQMe Car Escape Tool
  4. Roadtrekingmike
    http://youtu.be/5A4VtXUCStA
    The hardest thing about finding a spot to camp in the wintertime in the north is finding an open campground. As we toured Michigan's beautiful snow covered Upper Peninsula in mid-February looking for a place to spend the night, all we found were Wal-Mart and Indian casino parking lots.
    Sorry, but those kind of environments are not our idea of camping. All the regular campgrounds we passed were closed and unplowed. The unplowed part is a big deal. Because on the level ground, snow measured 28 inches.
    So it was with great delight that we discovered that one of Michigan's premiere state parks, the 50,000-acre Tahquamenon Falls State Park between the towns of Paradise and Newberry, was not only open but had a dozen campsites plowed and available. First though, we had to see the falls.
    The Upper Falls, one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi, has a drop of nearly 50 feet, more than 200 feet across and a water flow of more than 50,000 gallons per second. It was spectacular in the winter.
    The slower moving part nearest the bank was frozen. But three-quarters seemed oblivious to the cold -- a few degrees above zero the afternoon we visited. The amber color of the water is caused by tannins leached from the Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock in the swamps drained by the river. Mist coats trees and rocks on the shore. The entire scene is breathtakingly beautiful.
    After a dinner at the excellent restaurant and microbrew at the Upper Falls -- also open all winter and doing a brisk business from snowmobilers -- we made our way to the Lower Falls campground, about four miles to the north.
    While we slept that night the temperature outside dropped to minus four. We were amazed at how warm we were in our Roadtrek eTrek, warmed by a Webasto Dual Top diesel heater. We also plugged in a small ceramic heater to keep the floor warm when we made our way out of bed to use the bathroom. Speaking of which, instead of water, you flush the toilet with antifreeze. The water you need, you just take in plastic bottles.
    The next morning, as a gentle snow fell outside, we felt pretty rugged, spending the night in such cold. Then we looked around. There were other campers in the park. Two of them were in tents. You can meet them in the video above. The park was beautiful. The State DNR keeps about a dozen spots open and plowed.
    While water is turned off at the sites, electricity is available. And a couple of clean pit toilets are also available. Winter camping may not be for everyone. But why not try it? I bet you'll be surprised by how great it is.
    source: www.roadtreking.com
  5. Roadtrekingmike
    We’re just back from a 1,100 mile RV trip that took us across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – in the wintertime.
    We headquartered our trip in Marquette, where we got a chance to take in all the excitement around the annual UP200 dog sled race, one of the nation’s premier such events, a qualifying race for Alaska’s famed Iditarod. I wrote about that the other day.

    We really fell in love with Marquette, a city of about 21,000 in the north central UP, right on the shores of Lake Superior. The town is the home of Northern Michigan University, has a first rate medical center and lots of great restaurants. Marquette also has the most accessible lakefront I’ve sever seen. And all around it are vast stretches of gorgeous wilderness. Everyone in Marquette seemingly loves the winter. They embrace it. Grown men and women wear snow pants and don’t feel the least self conscious. Nor does anyone worry about having hat hair.
    Marquette is an outdoor lover’s paradise.
    And from there, we set off to visit many of the places we reported on last summer. We were really curious about how the summertime beauty would look under a blanket of ice and snow.
    I wanted to see how feasible it was to RV in the wintertime. Turns out, as you can see in the video, it is very feasible. I even ran into another Roadtreking RVer, Gary Hennes, from suburban Minneapolis. He drove up to see the dog sled race in his 2006 Roadtrek RS Adventurous, accompanied by his 14-year-old grandson. Hennes routinely camps in the winter. He says it’s just as much fun as it is during the summertime.
    And we were also very curious to see what it would be like to spend the night in our new Roadtrek eTrek when it was so cold it. We did so, staying at the Tahquamenon Falls State Park, which keeps a handful of camping spots open all year. I’ll share that experience in a a story and video later this week.
  6. Roadtrekingmike
    MARQUETTE, MI – Winter in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is not for warm weather sissies. In the town of Marquette, hard on the shore of Lake Superior, nearly 149 inches of snow falls each winter. That works out to nearly 12 and-a-half feet of snow.

    Up here, from late October to mid April, snowmobiles are seemingly as common as trucks. But all that snow also enables another form of transportation: Dog sleds.
    Each February, Marquette hosts one of the nation's premier dog sled races, the UP200, a challenging 240-mile course that winds its way through cedar and hardwood forests, across half frozen streams, ice covered lakes and rugged wilderness to the tiny town of Grand Marais far to the east, before returning by the same route.
    Thousands come to watch. And the event has become so popular that it has spawned two shorter races at the same time, the Midnight Run, a 15 mile route to a nearby town, and the Jackpine 30, which covers 30 miles.
    This year, the 24th running, drew teams from Maine, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Alaska. The UP200 is a qualifying race for the famed Iditarod in Alaska, the Ironman equivalent of the dog sled racing world.


    But besides the professional mushers, this region of the Upper Peninsula also has plenty of home grown teams. Up here, many year-round folks mush for the sheer love of the sport, and their dogs, which are typically Alaskan or Siberian Huskies or mixes of the two breeds.
    Just outside of Marquette in the town of Qwinn is Snowy Plains Kennel, run by veteran mushers Jim and Jackie Winkowski. The couple owns, trains and runs 28 dogs. Jackie has written a series of children's books on their pack and the sled dog racing culture. They also offer dog sled rides to tourists.
    We met Jackie as she was autographing her books at the Holiday Inn headquarters of the UP200 and she invited us out to her kennel, which mushers call a raœdog yard.
    “They’re like our kids,” she says of her pack. “There’s a bond
    there that’s hard to explain.
    But it’s all built on love. They love us. We love them. And they love to run.”
    Just tending to the pack of sled dogs takes about four hours each day, says Jim. Training, which begins in earnest in the early fall, easily takes another three or four hours on the days they hit the trails. “We love them,” he says. “They are made to run. It’s in their genes. It’s beautiful to see.”
    I told him I’d like to get some video of them in action. He hooked up a team… just like that. I sat in the sled as Jim mushed. It was exhilarating and exciting. I was amazed at how fast the dogs moved. Jim guessed we were doing about 15 miles an hour. The ride was jarring at times. I bounced high enough a couple of times that I thought I’d lose the camera. After our run, I wanted to do it all over again.
    I now understand why people mush.
    Our visit to Snowy Plains Kennel helped us appreciate the UP200 and understand how much the mushers and their dogs are bonded by their love of each other and the trail.
    Earlier that day, I got to meet most of the dogs close up during the vet check, as a team of local veterinarians checked each dog and certified that they were healthy enough to compete.
    Twelve dogs pull each sled during the UP200. The two shorter races have teams of six or eight dogs.
    None of the mushers do it for the money. This year's purse for the UP200 is $28,500, with $7,200 going to the first place team and the rest divided among the field.
    That's not a lot of money when you consider that dog food alone for a competitive team costs about $600 a month. Typically, the teams train four days a week, running 25 to 30 miles each time.
    It takes a special person to race dog sleds. Frank Moe, a former state legislator and well known Minnesota politician and outdoor advocate, was one of this year’s competitors. So was Zoya DeNure, a former international fashion model who now owns Crazy Dog Kennels in Alaska.
    The race is a great one for spectators. There are lots of spots to get close to the dogs. Towns along the route build big bonfires. Local churches bake pies and civic groups and mom and pop restaurants sell hot soup and sandwiches. Downtown Marquette had 8,000 lining the streets for the start of the race. Other towns on the route like Munising, Harvey, Chatham and Grand Marais also draw spectators.
    And it all happens outdoors. This year snow fell pretty much all along the route from the start Friday to the Sunday finish. It was also very cold. Temps dropped to minus five a few hours after the Friday night start.
    But the folks who come up here to watch and participate in dog sled racing aren't wusses.
    Jennifer and I? Well… let’s just say we found the cold and snow to be, ah… very refreshing. We drove our Roadtrek E-Trek and were delighted to be able to retreat to it and its warmth several times during the day as we watched the teams at various locations.
    We’re off over the weekend to follow the teams on the trail and to get more of a feeling for the UP wintertime lifestyle and how RVers can enjoy it.
  7. Roadtrekingmike
    http://youtu.be/tTDWY2plCBs
    It's a long way to Michigan's UP -- 450 miles from my house north of Detroit to Marquette, our destination for the big UP200 dog sled race this weekend. For me, besides the fun of this big event – a qualifier race for Alaska’s famed Idiatrod – it was also a chance to test out the new Roadtrek eTrek in the winter.
    One thing we learned. Plan on extra time at rest stops. Once people see the eTrek, they ask questions. And want a tour. At the Linwood Rest Stop, two brothers, Dave and Jerry Banks, walked all around the eTrek, looking it over. Finally, they knocked on the door and asked for a tour. Jennifer delights in showing it off and was only too happy to oblige.
    As we got back on the road and continued north on I-75, driving conditions began to deteriorate fast. North of Gaylord, a stiff crosswind started buffeting us. But the Mercedes Sprinter-based Roadtrek clung to the road better than my car would have.
    By the time we crossed the Mackinac Bridge, snow fog had set in. The bridge, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, is over five miles long, separating Michigan's Lower Peninsula from the Upper Peninsula (the UP).
    Road conditions went from bad to worse. It's a good thing the speed limit in the UP is 55. In the winter, especially as lake effect snow blows in off Lake Superior, whiteouts can happen fast.
    There was some pretty dicey weather on state Highway 28 and as we rolled into Marquette about 8:30PM, I was glad to call it quits. We headed straight for the headquarters for the race, at the local Holiday Inn.
    We are not spending the night in the RV. Because it is winterized, there's no on board water. That means no showers. And since we have our travel writer hats on this weekend covering the race, we opted to get a room as we need to look sharp.
    Besides, no campgrounds are open up here this time of year and tonight's windchill is minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit.
    Before heading inside to edit ths piece, we took a stroll through the parking lot.
    Mushers had their sled dogs out for dinner and a little exercise. The dogs are all excited and anxious to pull.
    Mushers have come from all over North America to compete under some pretty grueling wilderness conditions. They’ll go 234 miles from Marquette east to Grand Marais and then back. They are pretty much all on their own out there. A couple years back, a musher and his team were lost after plunging through a partially fronzen lake.
    Ten to 14 inches of lake effect snow is predicted for parts of the course this weekend.
    We’ll use the eTrek to follow the course. It will be a warming house for us and a mobile production van as we shoot and edit our stories.
    For tonight, we parked the Roadtrek behind a snowbank , surrounded by sled dogs and snowmobiles. The race starts tomorrow night.
  8. Roadtrekingmike
    Tarry gunk still evident on Gulf beaches
    More than two and a half years after the disastrous Deepwater oil spill by BP, tarry, gunky deposits of what appears to be dried oil are still all too evident on stretches of Northwest Florida gulfshore beaches.
    “This is atrocious,” reports RT Campskunk, a fulltiming RVer in a Roadtrek 190 from St. George Island, Florida. “It’s just a shame. These were the best beaches in the country. I was used to tar on the beaches out in Texas and Louisiana where all the wells are, but this is the first time I have seen it in Florida.”
    Campskunk walked long stretches of the beach around the Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park and found numerous clumps of the stuff. He took lots of photos like this one. That’s a quarter on top of the tarry deposit, to give us an idea of its size.
    You can see lots more of his photos on his Flickr photostream.
    Hurricane Isaac last fall was blamed for fresh oil deposits showing up in Louisiana  But that doesn’t explain the ones Campskunk spotted this week. Some are four inches thick.
    A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of the Interior said in September 2012 that an estimated 1 million gallons of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill were hiding in the underwater sediment off the coast of Louisiana.
    St. George Island is a 22-mile, thin barrier island in Northwest Florida,  just southeast of Panama City near the Panhandle.
    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


    <a href="http://Roadtreking.com/tarry-gunk-still-evident-on-gulf-beaches/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tarry-gunk-still-evident-on-gulf-beaches">Source</a>
  9. Roadtrekingmike
    We're in the midst of prime time for RV shows.
    Starting in January and running until early March, dozens of RV shows are staged in cities across the country. Jennifer and I have attended a slew of them this year as we, along with tens of thousands of other RVers, await warmer weather.
    One thing you can expect to find at just about any RV show – besides motorhomes, travel-trailers, fifth-wheels and lots of salespeople to haggle with -- are exhibitors like campground operators, RV accessory makers and all sorts of other big and little things that enhance the RV experience.
    We put together this little video on some of the fun things we've stumbled across. Most of these clips are from two shows at the big RV Supershow in Tampa, Florida, in January and the Michigan Association from in early February.
    When you can't be out there RVing, attending an RV show just may be the next best thing.
    http://youtu.be/DapwHtEpiBM
  10. Roadtrekingmike
    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 the bed behind the rear doors. Others claim it can be stored inside, in one of the cabinets. As the video shows, it’s a rugged kayak able to hold two people or 500 lbs and yet easy enough to be carried and paddled by one.
    Teri and Ken Jones of California demo it in the above video. A foot pump inflates it.
    The 330 comes with two seats that others have suggested I upgrade for greater comfort.
    Since so many places we go to have nice kayak-friendly waterways nearby, I’m thinking that $319 for the deluxe package with the upgraded seats is not a bad investment.
    I”ll read you comments here before ordering so if anyone has some suggestions or has had experience with them, I’d love to get them!
  11. Roadtrekingmike
    This could be the first Type B motorhome ever Henry Fords 1937 House Car.

    They supposedly only build a handful of these each year. This one is on a 1937 Ford Pickup frame and was found in a private garage in Minnesota in the summer of 2001 with only 19,000 miles on it.
    A collector named Graham Thickins restored it to original and drivable condition.
    Check out this story by Thickins to see lots of photos and get the details but it had an all wood lined interior with a metal skin wrapped around it. The roof is wood framed with heavy, waterproofed canvas, Door frames are solid oak, as are the window frames.
    Heres a pdf of an 1993 story on it.
    Thickins took the photos and has since sold it to another collector.
    It looks really nice, doesnt it?
    Source
  12. Roadtrekingmike
    RV Repair and Maintenance Manual 4th Edition
    The book that has been an RV industry standard for over 15 years. Find out what you need to know about the maintenance of appliances, accessories and procedures in easy-to-understand-and-apply layman’s terms. Whether you’re a seasoned or shade-tree mechanic or you rely on a professional RV service center, knowing how your rig works and how to keep it in tip-top shape gives you the upper hand and many miles of trouble free RV travel. Get yours for $22.72 That’s a 40% savings! Order Today at TrailerLifeDirectory.com!
    Best Price: 22.72 USD at Good Sam Club – Discounts, Products & Services For RVers

    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


    Source
  13. Roadtrekingmike
    There are fulltime RVers and then there is Campskunk.
    Most fulltimers travel in Type A motorhomes or Fifth Wheels. They also tow a car. And though their RVs are as long as many a subdivision house, they are still a rare breed, disposing of only what they can put in storage or pack in their 36, 40 or 43 foot long RV. They’re generally celebrated by the RV community, looked up to and envied for their independence and vagabond freedom.
    But imagine doing it in a 22-foot long Class B campervan. That’s what Campskunk has been doing for the past three years. With wife, Sharon and their Ragdoll cat, “Fiona the Fearless,” they live 24-x-7, 365 days a year in their 2003 Roadtrek Type B motorhome.
    Campskunk, of course, is not his real name. But he’s known to thousands in the RV community by that moniker, which comes from part of the couple’s joint email address that blends the first part of Sharon’s maiden name with his old nickname from the days he held a high profile state government job that had him doing a lot of quality control work that made him more than his share of enemies.
    That was before he retired in 2010, let his hair grow down to his waist, mothballed his sportcoats and literally burned his ties to set off on the road, living life a day at a time in the most beautiful places he could find.
    “I wore a coat and tie everyday,” he says of his former working life. “I was burning yard trash getting ready to leave the house and begin fulltiming in late July 2010, so I just took my ties and draped them over the burning pile, one by one. It was intensely satisfying to leave that part of my life behind.”
    He does keep one tie, one sportcoat and one pair of dress slacks in his RV for funerals, weddings and special occasions. But his typical wear is a T-shirt, jeans or shorts. That’s because he is always somewhere warm. Always. It’s his hard and fast traveling rule.”I consider it operator error if we end up in a place colder than 70 degrees,” he says.

    Full time living in such a small motorhome is not nearly as difficult as it sounds, he says. “It a matter of priorities and planning, Most of us just don’t need all the stuff we have. The more stuff, the less free we are to live the way we want to.”
    Campskunk is a regular on RV forums on Facebook and Yahoo!. He’s well respected as an expert tinkerer, someone who can fix anything, build anything and modify an RV for years of use. His Chevy-based Roadtrek has 120,000 miles. He thinks he can get another ten years of use out of it and hopes to take it to Europe after several more years of traveling across the U.S.
    Money is admittedly tight. He and Sharon meticulously budget.
    “Leaving aside all the regular non-fulltiming-related expenditures like car insurance and health insurance, etc, we originally budgeted $50 a day, or $1500 a month: $500 for fuel, $500 for groceries and spending money, and $500 for lodging/campground fees,” he says. ”Since we started fulltiming, fuel costs have averaged $346 per month and our campground costs have gone down to $1,776 for the last year, or $148 a month.”
    That’s because whenever possible, he chooses to boondock, staying in free or reduced rate non-commercial campgrounds, typically in state and national forests, coastal areas or pubic land.
    “In one memorable month the summer before last, we only spent $600 – camping was free and town was only 5 miles away, so no fuel costs. And there was nothing else to spend money on. We were up at 9,800 feet near Silverton, CO,” he says.

    Campskunk has become amazingly adept at finding spectacular boondocking spots.
    “I Google around,” he says, “The national forest service’s website is very hard to find stuff on, But there’s a book of all the national forest campsites in a book put out by Coleman. Find the ranger station, stop in and talk to them about dispersed camping – that’s the best. I also keep my eyes open when driving, and have literally stumbled into many great places. Know the state laws where you travel – you can park along the pacific coastal highway anywhere There are no local ordinances or signs prohibiting it for 8 hours in California and 12 hours in Oregon. I think you can stay for longer in Washington state – nobody’s ever up there. The best way to find overnight spots when you’re just traveling through and want to overnight near the highway is http://www.overnightrvparking.com/ It costs $25 a year for a subscription but you make your money back the first campground you avoid. It has up-to-date information on 10,000 free or very cheap overnight parking spots nationwide.”
    He’s totally wired with satellite Internet and commercial TV. “Sharon insisted that if we were going to really do this, she’d have her TV,” he says. “I needed the Internet. So we have two dishes.”

    He is solar powered and has a wind turbine that also helped top off the coach batteries in his RV. He did it all himself thanks to skills he honed in the 70′s when he worked as an automotive mechanic befofe heading back to school for the specialized education that got him his government job.
    There are unique challenges to fulltime RV living, he admits.
    “Challenges are anything that you can’t do electronically – get a prescription filled, get your new credit cards when the old ones expire, getting your new insurance cards, etc. We now have east and west coast dentists. The other doctor stuff is harder- we had to go to Mexico once to get one prescription filled when the logistics of getting it filled by regular means failed. There’s no ‘see you in three months’ when you’re a fulltimer. One really annoying thing is going into a different grocery store every week – you never learn where they put things, and the next place is always different.”
    Campskunk turned 60 last fall. He travels about 15,000 miles each year, making non-rushed loops around the country.
    Fulltime RVing is not for everyone, he is quick to point out. But it is doable. His best advice?
    “Just get out there and do it. You’ll get better at it after a year or two. We are still learning as we go. We’re poor but happy.”
    Source
  14. Roadtrekingmike
    John and Terry O’Brien love old travel trailers.
    From their Silver Springs, FL home, the New York transplants did one up in the style of the Fifties a couple of years ago. It was so unique that the Travel Channel saw it at an RV show they were covering, did a feature on it and as a result, John received an offer he couldn’t refuse.
    So when they saw an old beat up old 1987 16-foot Casita travel trailer in a junkyard not long afterwards, they knew it was time for another restoration project.
    The old trailer they sold was was themed for the fifties. It just made sense – since they were married in 1961 – to make this one Sixties-styled.
    The result of their spectacular “Lost in the 60s” restoration.
    I caught up with them at the Florida RV Supershow, where they were showing off their creation as part of a group of restoration and old-RV enthusiasts called the “Tin Can Tourists.”
    They gave me a nifty little tour of their old trailer. I think you’ll agree when you see the video, this one was over the top.
    What’s next? They want to do an old trailer up in a Parrothead/Margarita theme honoring Jimmy Buffett’s contribution to the culture.
    How come they are so good at this? John’s hobby is restoring antique cars. Terry loves decorating.
    If you attend the big RV shows, look for them and the Tin Can Tourist group. You’ll enjoy the visit.
    Source
  15. Roadtrekingmike
    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 doubt about it. Winter RVing in the frozen north can be quite a hassle.
    I suspect lots of RVers are like me. They’d like to use their motorhomes if their units weren’t in danger of freezing up one they put water into it.
    Leisure Travel Vans and Triple E of Canada has an answer for those who want to RV year round. They’ve just introduced the 2013 Regency GT24MB that solves the problem of winter RVing.
    Fully insulated with thermal break walls, enclosed, insulated and heated tanks and dual thermopane windows the unit has a slide, a queen-sized Murphy bed, a 35K propane furnace and a stand up enclosed shower. It is a gas powered Type C built on a F450 Ford chassis and 24 feet long.
    Price for the base Regency GT in the U.S. ranges from $119,763 – $130,193.
    Dean Corrigal, LTV’s spokesman, does a detailed walk around in the video above. If I heard him right, there’s even a solar option.
    Source
  16. Roadtrekingmike
    I am a huge fan of the Webasto Dual Top RHA 100 diesel-powered combined air and water heater for the Roadtrek eTrek and, as an option, on other Roadtrek models.
    In terms of heat, it both heats up the inside of the coach and provides hot domestic water. The entire unit fits under the vehicle chassis, saving precious space inside. A small fuel line runs under the coach from the Mercedes engine up front to the Dual Top, mounted under the rear of the vehicle. Heat is pushed out through two air outlets. In my unit, they are directly beneath the rear sofa. When we make it into a bed, it’s like having heated sheets. The domestic water boiler on the Dual Top is connected directly to the fresh water tank and the hot water faucets. And it is whisper quiet. Though mounted underneath the sleeping area on the underside of the coach, a muffler connects to an outside exhaust pipe and, really, we don’t even hear it.
    Here’s a detailed description from Webasto on how the Dual Top works:
    When the unit is switched on the dosing pump feeds fuel from the vehicle’s fuel tank to the heater. Here the fuel is automatically ignited by means of a glow plug. If combustion does not occur immediately the unit automatically repeats the start-up procedure. In the combustion chamber a flame is lit which heats up the heat exchanger. The unit takes air in from outside of the vehicle for combustion purposes and the combusted exhaust air is discharged back outside. During heating, the integrated fan sucks in the air to be heated through the inlet and feeds it through the unit. As the air flows through the heat exchanger it is heated up and is then distributed through the outlet.
    The connected hot air ducting spreads the air evenly throughout the vehicle interior. Due to the unit’s separation of the combustion cycle from the heating cycle there is no quality impairment of the hot air. A temperature sensor constantly measures the interior temperature and adapts the heating level by automatically adjusting the amount of air passing through the unit. In this way, the temperature selected by the user is rapidly reached and maintained at a constant level. After the unit has been switched off, the combustion process is terminated in a controlled manner. For this purpose the unit briefly goes into re-run mode to cool itself down. It is then immediately ready for restarting.

    I really came to appreciate the Dual Top on my return from sunny Florida to frigid Michigan. On the way back north, we overnighted near Lexington, KY in mid-January. The heater is quiet and kept us toasty warm at 70 degrees despite a plunging temperature outside.
    I got worried the next morning when I saw ice caked on the underside of the heater. Oh oh, I thought.
    Instead of a problem, it was a very cool feature (pun intended) of the heater. It was protecting itself against the cold. The Dual Top is automatically programmed to empty its water supply if the temperature drops lower than 43 degrees Fahrenheit. It does that, by the way, even if it is off. That night in Lexington, it got down to 26.
    I had emptied the water from the fresh water tank and ran the inside faucets dry back in Georgia. But I still needed to get antifreeze into the eTrek. I stopped at one big RV dealer in Ohio and they weren’t very interested in helping as they were unfamiliar with the eTrek.
    So I drove home, where the thermometer dropped to three below zero overnight. I kept the Webasto heater running with forced air all night. The next day, I got it to my local Roadtrek dealer.
    There, sure enough, we found the water pipes frozen. In a heated garage, we waited for them to defrost. I cranked the Webasto up to help further warm the interior and, after a couple hours, we were able to get antifreeze through the system. Fortunately, there were no leaks. If the heater hadn’t kept the inside warm all night long, I’m sure those pipes would have burst.
    As it was, it is a reminder not to take anything for granted with the weather. I should have winterized in Georgia.
    But the incident has made me very appreciative of an excellent heater.
    All said, though, I’d rather be in Florida.
    Source
  17. Roadtrekingmike
    Time to re-winterize
    It got down to 21 degrees as we spent the night in Kentucky on the way back to Michigan from a brief January visit to Florida and some southern states.
    Guess it’s time to find some pink stuff and re-winterize. Sigh.
    That warmer weather down south sure was nice.
    Tai loved being out in the cold night air with the gusto that only a double coated Norwegian Elkhound can exhibit. I had trouble getting him to come inside for the night.
    We slept comfortably in our Roadtrek eTrek, with the amazingly efficient and quiet  Webasto diesel heater keeping the chill away. Since I have most of the water drained, I used the forced air setting instead of hot eater heat.
    We overnighted in the Kentucky Horse Park, where we stayed on the way down.
    We drove a total of 568 miles yesterday. I did 290 of them and I am so excited to report than Jen drove 278 miles.
    She loves driving the eTrek… she even drove through the mountains along the Northern Tennessee, southern Kentucky border… at night.
    Im thinking of stopping at the big Arbogast RV center north of Dayton to get my antifreeze.
    My next trip will be in a couple of weeks to even colder weather – the Michigan UP200 dogsled race in Marquette, MI. So last night was a good shakedown test of how warm we will be.
     
    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


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  18. Roadtrekingmike
    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 I saw the lineup from Pleasure-Way, Leisure Travel Vans, Great West Vans, Airstream and Roadtrek Motorhomes, as well as the new Ocean One model from Type B start-up manufacturer Advanced RV.
    The vans are beautiful, the interiors varied and the colors and  options many.
    Here are a few of the top Type B  trends we identified at the show, as well as some of the things we liked the most:
    Solar – Everyone s jumping on the solar option, as led by Roadtrek and its new eTrek Bigger Refrigerators – The fridges are getting bigger, 7 and 7.5 cubic feet will be common in 2013 Stainless appliances – The galleys are sparkling this year thanks to an abundance if stainless Heated floors – Hydronic heating is offered by several Type B manufacturers, heating the coach interiors, water tans, bathrooms and floors. Keurig coffee makers – This seems to be the choice for Type B coffee-making, typically on a slide out shelf Touch screen control centers – Advanced RV has the Silverlight flat panel touch screen. It’s expensve. But sales and RV industry folks we talked to said other manufacturers will be implementing other versionsof this technology, utilizing iPad and Droid tablets. The video above shows some of our favorites.
     
    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


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  19. Roadtrekingmike
    Great West Vans Revamps 2013 Legend Lineup under New Ownership
    Canadian Type B RV maker Great West Vans was bought out last year by one of their suppliers and the new owner, Dave DeBraga, has big plans for the company’s Legend brand of Mercedes Sprinter models.
    DeBraga, the owner and new President of Great West Vans, was all over the Florida RV Supershow in Tampa in January, meeting customers and sharing his excitement for the luxury Legend series of Sprinters sold by the company, now based in Winnipeg, where DeBraga’s other company, the Sterling Group, is headquartered. That company builds doors, fiberglass components and running boards.
    DeBraga did an extended interview with us, outlining the revamped line of the Legend, Legend SE and Legend EX models, which includ redesigned interiors, new running boards and a streamlined appearance.
    The distinctive sliding slide screen door on GWVans, introduced by the previous owner, Martin H. Guertz, continues to be a hallmark of the line. Guertz sold the company to DeBraga when he retired last spring. DeBraga’s Sterling Group company used to supply Guertz.
    “I’m told some people buy these vans just because of that screen door,” smiled DeBraga. “Out whole emphasis is on technology and quality and those screens definitely qualify for that.” Also new for 2013 is a newly designed rear screen that is more integrated into the back doors.
    DeBraga also showed up a handicap ramp that will easily load wheelchairs into the vans. “There’s a big need for this,” he said. “We’re very proud to be offering this.”
    Great West Vans sell from around $115,000 to $133,000.”We think we’re right there in the sweet spot for Class B Sprinter motorhomes,” he said.
     
    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


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  20. Roadtrekingmike
    Stroller Dogs: RVers love their dogs
    Find a group of RVers and you’ll find dogs.
    And you won’t have to look too hard to find some very pampered pooches.
    Long after many RVers have raised their own families, many are back pushing strollers. This time, instead of their own babies or grandkids, they’re pushing strollers with their new babies – dogs.
    RV shows draw huge crowds. From the inside exhibition space to the outdoor displays, it can get very congested at times and if you are accompanied by a creature with little legs…you need some help.
    Many of the folks I talked to had two dogs. Some three. Several said the main reason they travel in an RV is so they can bring their dogs with them. “Go to an RV show or rally and if there are 100 coaches there, 90 of them have dogs,” said one man I videoed. His wife had a harness around her shoulders and neck that held a dangling dog in a sling like contraption at her waist.
    For their part, the pups sure looked happy. Some had bows on their heads. A miniature poodle wore a Harley Davidson puppy-size T-shirt. Several had fancy collars with lots of doggie bling.
    I started taking stills and video after seeing dozens of stroller-pushing RVers at the Florida RV Supershow in Tampa. The video is above…photos below.
    We RVers sure love our dogs. At the very end of the still photos below is my 70-pound Norwegian Elkhound Tai. We brought him down with us but left him with the grandkids in Georgia while we were visiting the show.
    No way I’m pushing him in a stroller.
    He could pull me. Not a bad idea, come to think of it. He is a sort of sled dog, after all.
    Cats? Didn’t see a one.










    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


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  21. Roadtrekingmike
    With the Mercedes Sprinter chassis still driving the big spike in Type B motorhome sales, RV manufacturers are continuing to innovate in design and options as they get ready for the 2013 RV season.
    At the big Florida RV Supershow in Tampa this January, most of the North America big Type B makers were showing off their new models front and center.
    We thought it would be helpful to take a look at the interiors of the leading Type B Sprinters.
    As you’ll see, despite the same space, there are big differences in how the various manufacturers are appointing and laying out their Sprinter models.
    In this video you’ll see Sprinter models from Pleasure-Way, Leisure Travel Vans, Great West Vans, Roadtrek Motorhomes and Airstream,
    Which features did you like? What do you wish your did see? Post under comments below …
    Source
  22. Roadtrekingmike
    Inside Advanced RV’s new Ocean One Type B Motorhome
    As a sure sign that the RV industry is bouncing back, a small Cleveland-based startup has introduced a high end Mercedes Sprinter motorhome that is targeting the extreme high end of the Type B market. It’s new Ocean One model.
    Set up with all the extras, it will retail for around $155,ooo, easily making it the most expensive Type B I’ve seen.
    Luxury features include a heated floor, heated captain’s chairs, a wine cabinet, lots of fine crafter wood cabinets, a 7.5 cubic foot refrigerator and up to four lithium batteries for extended boondocking camping.
    As such it is positioned closest to Roadtrek’s new eTrek and CS models and Airstream’s Interstate, which have many similar options.
    Most noticeable about the Ocean One is the distinctive panoramic design of the maple cabinets, which sweep around the interior in an unbroken line that is very pleasing to the eye.
    I met Mike Neundorfer, the CEO of Advanced RV and founder of the company, at the huge Florida RV Supershow in Tampa, where the Ocean One was officially introduced.
    Advanced RV says the unit will target only about 5% of the Sprinter RV market. Indeed, his whole company doesn’t expect to sell more than 50 of them a year. They sell direct, through their Advanced RV website. Build time for each unit is between 8- 12 weeks.
    Neundorfer is a businessman and owner of a comany that helps power plants control air pollution. Assisting him and offering insight into the RV business as a consultant is Mike Ellis, a former General Manager of Great West Vans.
    Neundorfer gave me a nice tour of the interior of the Ocean One.
    The video above takes you with me.
    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


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  23. Roadtrekingmike
    The RV promotion industry may argue over bragging rights to what is the biggest show of the year but if you poll both dealers and fans, it becomes pretty clear that in terms of influence, size and excitement, the annual Florida RV Supershow this week at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa is the one that sets the tone for the entire RV year.
    The sponsoring Florida RV Trade Association proudly claim this show is not just the nation’s biggest – it’s the best.
    This is the show in which RV owners and shoppers can get their first look at the entire 2013 lineup from all the RV North American manufacturers. They are all here at this massive indoor and outdoor space, more than 1,100 RVs of every type and size, buffed, shined, decorated and on display for hands-on inspetion. In terms of the latest add-ons, mods and RV accessories, nearly 500 vendors are here also.
    An on-site camping Super Rally is sold out, with hundreds of RVers doing camping right at the show. Local campgrounds – and here in Florida, there’s seemingly one on every corner – are also filling up. New Fifth Wheels, Toy Haulers, Travel Trailers of every size and configuration, pop-ups, Type A, B and C motorhomes and everything in between are here, on display across 16 acres through Sunday. It is so big you really need two days to see it, especially when you throw in the entertainment and seminars. And that’s if you take the trolley that runs on a constant circuit. If you walk it, beter figure on three days.

    Advanced RV Ocean One model

    Roadtrek’s on display at show
    The theme this year is “Now is the Time,” meaning there has never been a better time to buy an RV as the industry has largely recovered from the economic downturn and deals have never been better.
    Today, Tuesday, is Industry Day. We are camping on the grounds and we’re going to try and concentrate mostly on Class B, small motorhomes, and the accessories that go with them. And all the big players are here: Roadtrek, Airstream, Winnebago, Pleasure-Way, Leisure Travel Vans and a newcomer making its debut, Advanced RV, a Type B RV startup based in Cleveland, Ohio that builds several models on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis.
    And it’s clear that the eco-themed Roadtrek eTrek, as well as its new CS camping series model, has struck a nerve with consumers and the other manufacturers as well. The two are displayed side-by-side along with every Roadtrek model around it.

    Leisure Travel Van’s Unity Model
    Both the eTrek with its all electric, solar power emphasis on camping unplugged and replying on a bank of either eight AGM batteries or three lithium batteries for extended power while boondocking out of commercial campgrounds, and the CS (for Camping Series) with its heated floors, extra large 7 cubic foot refrigerator, increased cabinets and inside storage space and the solar option, seemed to be the trendsetters among the other Class B makers.

    Pleasure-Way Type Bs
    Advanced RV’s new Ocean One model, debuting here this week, seems to have picked right up on those Roadtrek innovations, including the heated floors and big fridge. Their Ocean One is extremely luxurious, coming with its own wine cabinet, heated seats, panoramic wood cabinets and a screen sliding door.
    We also got a chance to look up close and wander around inside the new 2013 Unity model by Leisure Travel Vans. This model has a Murphy Bed and slide-out mid van with a self contained shower and bathroom with vanity in the rear.
    Over the next few days, we’ll do detailed videos on several of the new models, interviews and special reports. If there’s anything you’d like me to find here and show you, just leave a comment.
    And if you are visiting the show and would like to see our eTrek, I’d love to meet you and give you a tour. We’re in spot #51.
    Source
  24. Roadtrekingmike
    We were deep in the piney woods of Southwest Georgia, a half mile off a red dirt road, parked in a small clearing not far from our deer blind.
    It was the last weekend of Georgia’s months-long deer season and Matthew, who just took up hunting as any good Southern boy does, had invited me down.

    Since we were heading to the big Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa Jan.16-21, the hunting trip made for a perfect stopover. We were seriously boondocking. There was no power or sewer hookups, no cable TV, no “tinominium” campground that surrounded us with huge Type A motorhomes walling us in from the campsites next door.
    Just us. Me and my 10-year-old grandson, Matthew. in out new eTrek, the all-electric and solar powered new Sprinter campervan from Roadtrek Motorhomes. It was my first real test of the lasting power of the eight AGM batteries and the diesel alternator-generator that is supplemented by a 250 watt solar panel on the rooftop.
    We left Michigan three days before, overnighting in a commercial campground. But I was really anxious to see how the new eTrek performed on its own power system.
    Jennifer stayed back at my son’s house. So did Tai, our Norwegian Elkhound, who, we discovered earlier that day, had a tick affix its hungry little self near his ear. Tai wasn’t happy with the extraction process so we let hm stay with Jennifer. We think he met the tick at a rest area in Jellico, TN, where he visited some woods off a little dog walk to do his business.
    So there we were, Mathew and me in the woods, all camoed up and far from civilization. Coyotes howled at night, close by, too. So cool.
    I thought we’d be using the heater at night. Normally, it dips near freezing at night this time of year down here. Instead, thanks to an unseasonal heat wave that had the daytime temperatures near 80, we fired up the air conditioner.
    The mosquitoes were out already. The snakes were out of their dens, too, making us glad we had knee high boots.
    We didn’t even see a deer, but who cares?
    The eTrek was a luxurious deer camp for us. We had TV, DVD and a refrigerator filled with cold drinks. I was able to fill the water tanks, now that the risk of freezing is over. The eTrek has instant hot water and filtered cold. I was amazed how much I appreciated that, especially since the coffee maker I bought back in Michigan for the eTrek didn’t work. The instant hot made instant coffee. Not my favorite brew, but caffeine nevertheless.
    We had two minor glitches. The center faucet in the kitchen only trickles. I suspect there’s a valve somewhere I need to open. And the inductive stovetop doesn’t heat up. It turns on but when I put a pan on it, no heat develops and it soon turns itself off. I’ll ask the Roadtrek people I meet in Tampa if they have any ideas.
    Everything else worked better that I could ask.

    We ran off batteries for well over 30 hours. Lights, TV, the fridge, the AC during the day. Before we knocked the red dirt off our boots and headed home, the inverter showed I still had 12.7 volts of power.
    The eTrek was parked in my son’s driveway before and after the trip to the woods, I kept the battery on. The fridge ran continuously. There was no discernible battery drain. I think the solar charger really keeps those batteries topped off.
    Besides the impressive power system, I liked the ride in this Roadtrek. Although I had no problems with the ’06 RS-Adventurous I owned, this was the first Sprinter I have driven with dual wheels and I think it adds stability, particularly in crosswinds or when buffeted in the slipstream of a passing eighteen-wheeler. Jennifer drove two stints on the way down and said she, too, found it very easy to handle
    In terms of mileage as compared to my ’06 RS, the eTrek understandably fares not so well. The new eTrek is a six cylinder on a 3500 series frame. The ’06 is five cylinders on a 2500 frame.
    In the ’06, I routinely got between 20 and 21 miles per gallon.
    On the eTrek, my average so far is 17.65 mpg.

    There’s some signage promoting the blog on the back of the Roadtrek. I was surprised to have received two emails from folks who saw it on the drive down. One was interested in getting a Sprinter, the other was from a former Roadtrek owner who thought he’d like to get a new one.
    Monday, we head to Florida and Tampa. We’ll be at the Tampa Fairgrounds for several days, site of the RV SuperShow. Then I’ll be looking for a beach before heading back north to the cold…. although… there’s an invasion of giant Burmese python snakes near the Everglades. There are so many of the huge snakes that the state has declared a special python hunting season with a $1,500 prize for whoever gets the most pythons.
    Some estimate that nearly 150,000 pythons are living in the Florida Everglades. Officials say the Burmese pythons are eating wildlife and with no natural predator, the population is overwhelming. The Everglades have become crowded with the snakes and the pythons have started to move into nearby neighborhoods and campgrounds.
    Doesn’t that sound like a great story?
    I need to figure out how to convince Jennifer of that,
    Meanwhile, when I was at the Roadtrek factory a week ago, we had the eTrek up on a hoist and, in answer to several questions from readers, I shot this very sort video showing where those batteries are stored.
    Source
  25. Roadtrekingmike
    One of the things that so distinguishes an RV is its appearance and especially, the beauty of its paint job. All the manufacturers are working very hard to make their units stand out. To see what goes into painting an RV, we visited the Kitchener, Ontario, Canada factory of Roadtrek Motorhomes, the largest and best-sellingType B motothome manufacturer in North America. There, we are able to follow a unit through the painting process and video it all.
    It begins as the van is bought into the sanding booth right after the roof goes on. There, the seams are all bonded and any imperfections in the fiberglass body are sanded and puttied and meticulously corrected. This preparation work takes two workers up to 16 hours -- such is the insistence on quality.
    Next, the van is primed and masked. This is a two hour process, making sure only what should be painted is painted and providing a dust and dirt-free surface to paint.
    Then it’s time for the paint booth- ergonomically designed and employing the latest wet-on-wet painting technology to provide a baked-on finish just like your car. There are no hurried body-shop finishes here. Three different coats are applied: a sealer, the base coat and then the clear coat which makes the Roadtrek so beautiful. The painting stage takes another three hours.
    Finally, paint dried, it's a rubbed down. The van is cleaned and buffed for an automotive factory quality finish.
    All told, nearly 24 hours have gone into just the painting process of this Roadtrek. It's that attention to detail that many say makes the Roadtreks traveling works of art.
    Source
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