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Roadtrekingmike

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  1. Roadtrekingmike
    Please do not call it a rally. There was no itinerary. No organized programs. And no nametags.
    We all made our own reservations and the only coordinated planning was letting the word out on our Roadtreking Facebook Group that a bunch of us were going to meet on a particular weekend at a particular campground in Michigan.
    It was more fun than any of us expected and a great example that great RVing times can be spontaneous and as easy as just showing up and getting together.
    In all 10 coaches pulled into the Addison Oaks Campground in Oakland County, Michigan. We had 20 people show up, from Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, New York and Ontario, Canada.
    Many of us knew each other from either Facebook or the Roadtrek rally in May in Branson, MO.
    So in that sense, this gathering was more of a reunion than a rally. Maybe a better word is rendezvous. Whatever it was, it was very good.
    We mostly just chilled, forming a huge circle of chairs in the shade of a willow tree. On Saturday afternoon, a half dozen or so headed into nearby Rochester, MI to take advantage of a Farmer’s Market and a gourmet food shop. We all brought our own food, but shared a dish at dinnertime.
    At a time when there is so much polarization in our culture, our group was warm, welcoming and harmonious, despite the fact that we are all over the place politically. Some were conservative, others liberal. Some were religious or spiritual, others agnostic. Those differences were not important. What bound us together was our love for travel, particularly travel in small motorhomes.
    One couple was on their very first camping trip in their new motorhome. Another couple had covered over 20,000 miles in their Roadtrek Class B coach just since January.
    We laughed a lot and shared stories of our adventures and just hung out together. One of our friends, Lisa Gruner from Huntsville, AL, was recovering from a knee replacement surgery. So since she couldn’t be physically in our circle, we Skyped her from our circle of chairs.
    But what amazed me the most was what we learned about each other when we visited around the campfire. In our midst were nature photographers, boaters, a model train hobbyist, a couple of golfers, a knitter, a basket weaver, a fitness fanatic, Scuba divers, cyclists, fishing lure makers, a family liaison volunteer for a U.S. Marine battalion in Afghanistan, a master gardener, a beekeeper and a very busy community volunteer.
    And that’s what hit me about this group: Though we ranged in age from the mid-50s to near 70, some were retired, others still working, everyone was extremely active and connected. And that’s why we all chose our Class B small motorhomes. Because we like to be on the move and on the go once we get wherever we’re going, hiking, kayaking, exploring.
    Except for this weekend. This weekend was a time to enjoy each other’s company.
    I came away with three takeaways from this weekend.
    1 – RV gatherings need not be complicated. Just announce a time and place and people will come. You can send emails, post to Facebook or pick up the phone and call people but that’s about as organized as you have to be. I’d say 20 people is about as big as you want. Any larger and it will be hard to get to know everyone.
    2 – Social media is great. But nothing is as fulfilling as connecting with people as real face time. There is something very satisfying about getting to know someone shoulder to shoulder.
    3 – We are all much too busy. Even when we RV, we spend a lot of time rushing from place to place, sight to sight, campsite to campsite. Sometimes, it’s very good to just stop, sit and chat for a spell.
    That’s what 20 of us did this weekend. I didn’t know everyone when we first met Friday night. But when we all returned to our homes Sunday, we left as very special friends.
    I’m betting there will be a reunion of our reunion.
  2. Roadtrekingmike
    If you thought you saw Devils Tower in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, you haven’t seen Devils Tower.
    It’s much more impressive, even without the Hollywood special effects aliens.
    We made our way to the Devils Tower National Monument from Gillette, WY, about 55 miles away. It’s a great drive through lush and wide open Wyoming rangeland and prairie. There are two RV parks there, one from the National Parks Service, one from KOA. Both offer spectacular views of Devils Tower.
    But we drove up to the visitor’s center, parked our Roadtrek in a regular spot and spent a great afternoon. There is parking for larger RVs but it can be very tight and the area for big rigs often fills up.
    Devils Tower is a monolith of rock that protrudes 1,200 feet above the the Belle Fourche River, standing all by itself, like a lone sentinel over the surrounding grassland. You start to see it from about 10 miles away and, at first, it doesn’t look that impressive.
    Until you get up close to it.
    There is something mystical about it, spiritual even. Indeed, the site is considered sacred to the Lakota and other tribes that have a connection to the area. Prayer cloths, prayer bundles and ribbons are found throughout the area, attached to ponderosa pines
    by native Americans.
    So many people just look at this monument from a distance, driving by. If you come here, don’t do that. Hike the tower. There are several trails you can take but we opted for the 1.3 mile route that circles the tower. It goes up and down a lot and can be quite strenuous for those not used to exercise but there are lots of benches and places to sit and if you want to really experience the tower, you need to do this.
    Take your time. Listen to the silence on the north side, away from the visitors center and the lone road leading to the tower. Smell the pines. See the wild flowers. Look carefully at the tower. If you look close enough, you’ll see moving specks on the tower. Those are rock climbers. Bring along a pair of binoculars. They will fascinate you. Hundreds of parallel cracks make the tower one of the finest traditional crack climbing areas in North America.
    The tower was America’s first national monument, designated by President Theodore Roosevelt under the 1906 Antiquities Act. Allow at least three hours to experience it.
    No one knows for sure why its called Devils Tower. Some Indians called it Mato Tipila, meaning Bear Lodge. Other American Indian names include Bear’s Tipi, Home of the Bear, Tree Rock and Great Gray Horn. In 1875, on an expedition led by Col. Dodge, it is believed his interpreter misinterpreted the name to mean Bad God’s Tower, later shortened to Devils Tower.
    The Lakota have a legend on how it came to be:


    “One day, an Indian tribe was camped beside the river and seven small girls were playing at a distance. The region had a large bear population and a bear began to chase the girls. They ran back toward their village, but the bear was about to catch them. The girls jumped upon a rock about three feet high and began to pray to the rock, “Rock, take pity on us; Rock, save us.” The rock heard the pleas of the young girls and began to elongate itself upwards, pushing them higher and higher out of reach of the bear. The bear clawed and jumped at the sides of the rock, and broke its claws and fell to the ground. The bear continued to jump at the rock until the girls were pushed up into the sky, where they are to this day in a group of seven little stars (the Pleiades). The marks of the bear claws are there yet. As one looks upon the tower and contemplates its uniqueness, it isn’t hard to imagine this legend as fact.” – from the Crook County, WY Pomotion board On the way out, check out the prairie dogs. Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), to be precise. They once ranged the Great Plains from southern Saskatchewan to northern Mexico. Now, only in a few concntrated areas.
    Originally named “petits chiens,” or “little dogs,” by early French explorers, these highly social animals are not really dogs, but rodents. They are members of the Sciuridae or squirrel family, closely related to ground squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks and marmots. There are five different species of prairie dogs, but only the black-tailed prairie dog inhabits Devils Tower National Monument. They’re curious and will chatter warnings to you if you get to close. But they are fun to watch and are natural posers for your photos.
  3. Roadtrekingmike
    I think I have become a big fan of winter RVing.
    And dog sled races.
    Last year, we reported on the Michigan UP 200 dog sled race. Our friend and fellow Roadtreker Gary Hennes met us up there and told us about the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth, which is the longest such sled dog race in the Lower 48 states.
    And so we went this year. We boondocked overnight in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere and I volunteered and worked on the communications team, using my amateur radio gear in the Roadtrek to help keep track of the mushers and get them any help they needed.

    The above video tells the story. It was a ball.
    But I will concede, the return home from the John Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon in northern Minnesota was a long, tough drive. Once we thawed the Roadtrek out from the -55F/-68C wind chill temps after a tow to a service garage in Ironwood yesterday morning, we made our way back through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to our suburban Detroit home – a trip of more than 700 miles.
    At the Mackinac Bridge, we suddenly found ourselves in marginal weather conditions. Blowing lake effect snow made restricted traffic to 20 miles an hour. We tucked in behind two snow plows and made our way slowly across the five-mile span, buffeted all the time by a howling northwest wind.
    Once we got in the Lower Peninsula, we thought the lake effect snow would end. It didn’t. It followed us all the way to Bay City, about 250 miles south. Even though we were less than 85 miles from home, I was beat and we pulled into a rest area about half past midnight and we slept till sunup.
    I should have slept some more when I got home but I was so excited about the video we shot of the Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon that I spend the day editing it.
    I can’t think of another adventure in our Roadtrek that we enjoyed more.
    Minnesota is a gorgeous state in the winter, especially the northern shore of Lake Superior that the dog sled race followed. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be in the summer. We will be back.
    Up above is the video. You can also see how well we fared in our RV. As we’ve been saying all along, winter camping is great!

    Howling winds buffeted us as we crossed the Mackinac Bridge behind two snowplows.

    That’s me with one of the musher teams passing my checkpoint. I was on the team using amateur radio to provide communications for the mushers and race officials.
  4. Roadtrekingmike
    Another reason to RV: It saves money
    I knew RVing made a lot of sense for us as we travel about North America. It gives us freedom, mobility and we get to bring most of the comforts...
    Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome


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  5. Roadtrekingmike
    “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 my job in Detroit from my suburban home for more than 30 years, I hated driving.
    But in our Roadtrek eTrek touring coach, I love to drive.
    So does Jennifer.
    We’ve tried to explain it to people. Their eyes sort of glaze over.
    So, we figured, maybe if we took them along, virtually, maybe they’d understand.
    So we made this little video that shows just why we love to drive our RV.
    http://youtu.be/k_mk96WXI8U
  6. Roadtrekingmike
    Anticipation, they say, is half the fun.
    I think there’s a point there. Thinking, planning, dreaming and looking forward to the next trip is indeed pretty exciting.
    And as Jennifer and I look at the calendar, we have a lot of miles we’ll be traveling in some pretty diverse places.
    Here’s what’s on our Roadtreking road map for the next month:
    Northern Minnesota – A Jan. 23-29th winter camping trip to Duluth, MN via Michigan’s UP from, and then north to the Canadian border as we do reporting for the annual 400-mile Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon. It’s going to be cold and snowy. Already they have three-foot-plus on the ground up there. But who says you can’t camp in the winter?

    Punxsutawney, Pa. – From Jan.28-Feb 2, our Roadtrek eTrek will take us to Gobbler’s Nob in the tiny town of Punxsutawney,PA to witness if Phil the Groundhog sees his shadow on Feb. 2 and whether we will have six more weeks of winter. This is an elaborate event and I’ve always wanted to see this, ever since I saw the Bill Murray movie. So this year, we’ll be there.

    West Virgiania and Ohio – From Feb 3-5, we have stories to do about technology and the Internet in West Virginia and southwest Ohio. I’ll let you know the specifics later but we’re taking the Roadtrek. Then it’s back home for a few days

    Mississippi – We’ll be in Gautier, MS Feb. 21-24 enjoying SMOKIN’ ON THE BAYOU, a special pre-Mardi Gras Roadtreking event organized by Paul Konowalchuk Pogorzelski, who promises some great Bar-B-Que with a group of other Roadtrekers, They tell me the whole region down there in bayou country celebrates Mardi Gras from late Feb through the official March 4 big day in New Orleans and Pogo has a bunch of activities planned. You can find him on our Facebook group if you want details.

    Florida or Texas – As Bob Seger sings in Roll Me Away, after Pogo’s gathering , Jennifer and I could go east (to the Florida sun) or west (towards the Texas Hill Country). It’s all up to us to decide. We haven’t figured out which way or for how long we’ll go…. only that we’ll go.

  7. Roadtrekingmike
    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 silence comes with a view.
    Up above, as soon as you walked away from the fire and got your night eyes focused, a gazillion stars speckled the ink black sky.
    That’s the first big perk of boondocking, or being totally self-contained with no commercial power or water or sewer or any other service. Some people prefer to call it “dry camping” or “independent camping.” Other terms are “primitive camping” or “dispersed camping.”
    Whatever, we were loving it.
    No one else was around. Probably for miles.
    Tai, our Norwegian Elkhoud, ran free, though not very far from our motorhome. I swear he smiled the whole weekend, blissfully exhausted from leash-free hikes and the new scents of deer trails and the deep woods.
    We slept with the blinds up and the windows open with complete privacy.
    In our all electric Roadtrek eTrek, with solar power and a diesel heater connected to the engine, we can go that way for days. In fact, the limiting factor for us out there is how much food we can bring. More often than not, we need to resupply about every three days. Because we have eight house batteries, 250 watts of solar power, a diesel generator that charges the batteries on a half hour or so by just running the engine, a refrigerator, heater, microwave/convection oven, air conditioner and inductive stove that are powered by a 5,000-watt inverter, our eTrek is made for boondocking like that.
    But most all Class B motorhomes can boondock, some for a night or so, others a couple days.
    But where?
    I use the Internet and apps to help me find new places to boondock.
    For starters, check out the app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices by AllStays (www.allstays.com). They list more than 22,000 commercial campgrounds, state and national parks and boondocking spots, everything from KOAs and Walmarts to state and federal forests, military and BLM land. This is my favorite app and website, offering the most detailed information of any app I’ve yet found on places to stay.
    There are other resources.
    Free Campgrounds for RVs (http://www.freecampgrounds.com) has a big database, sorted by state, of state, federal and county land open to camping, most without hookups or services.
    For boondocking and camping information about National Forests, check out the very useful U.S. National Forest Campground Guide (http://www.forestcamping.com). Much of the research was done by Fred and Suzi Dow, a couple of avid RVers who have spent the last 17 years visiting 155 national forests, 20 national grasslands, 1 national tallgrass prairie and 2,383 developed campgrounds.
    I also like the Free Campsites website (http://freecampsites.net). There’s an interactive map as well as comments and reviews of boondocking spots.
    You can also check the site http://boondocking.org. It’s a database of free boondocking spots based on GPS coordinates. Enter in your location’s latitude and longitude and it will tell you whether the closest boondocking spot may be.
    Those are some of my favorite boondocking resources. How about you? Share your suggestions under comments.

    Boondocking in our eTrek the middle of the Michigan woods in Ogemaw County.
  8. Roadtrekingmike
    Apps for on the road RV travel
    The RV season is in full swing now with folks traveling to rallies, vacations and long weekend getaways. To help make those trips more fun and travel more convenient, I thought I’d share three more fun apps and web tools that I’ve been having fun with lately. This report was put together for my other [...]
    Roadtreking | A journalist's RV travels across North America - Traveling North America in search of interesting people and places


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  9. Roadtrekingmike
    At FMCA's Family Reunion in Redmond last week, I presented a seminar called Apps for the Open Road in which I share some of my favorite apps and online resources for RVers.
    Now we RVers all have our favorite technology devices, with Android and Apple smartphones and tablets accounting for the vast majority. Most apps now come in versions for different platforms. Most, but not all.
    I am a pretty diehard Apple fan. Though I’ve used Android gizmos, I keep coming back to Apple, especially the iPhone. So, that said, let me share my list. If you are an Android or Windows or Blackberry user, these may or may not apply.
    These days, with solid Internet connectivity available almost everywhere, I admit almost with no shame that probably my best most used iPhone feature is Siri, Apple’s famous voice recognition tool that tells you pretty much what you want to know.
    In Redmond, for example, I can say “find me a Laudromat” and, in maybe two seconds, Siri says “I’ve found seven Laundromats” in my vicinity. We need to stock up on food so I say “find me a supermarket.” Siri returns two of them. It will even give me turn-by turn-voice directions to them via Google Maps, which shows my position and vectors me in to my destination perfectly.
    But I also use apps and online sources while traveling. Here are my favorites:

    We had a big crowd at the FMCA Family Reunion, with lots of questions.
    Aroundme.com – This app is all about providing local info. Whatever you’re looking for -grocery stores, banks, hospitals, gas stations, movie theaters. This is really handy when you travel, but surprisingly useful locally, where I always seem to find cool things nearby that I didn’t know about. It’s free for Apple, Android and Windows devices and smartphones.
    RoadNinja.com – Always on the interstate? Love road trips? This is the must-have app for you. You can discover new places, map out your trip, share your encounters, and save money along the way with special promotions. I use it to find diesel stations on the interstate.
    AllStays.com – The number one camping app for iPhone, iPods, iPads and Android. From resorts to hike-in spots. Amenities, maps, truck stops, rest areas, Wal-mart and casino parking, low clearance alerts, RV dealers, sporting goods stores and much more. Two modes: one uses GPS and maps that you can filter. One is an offline manual lookup mode for when you don’t have service.
    TripIt - The TripIt trip planner keeps all of your travel plans in one spot. Create a master travel itinerary, and access your itinerary planner online or on your mobile decice. Simply forward confirmation emails to TripIt and it will will automatically build an itinerary for your trip that you can access anytime, either online or from a mobile device.
    Evernote – The Evernote family of products help you remember and act upon ideas, projects and experiences across all the computers, phones and tablets you use. With Evernote, your notes, web clips, files, and images are available whenever you need them on every device and computer you use.
    Trip Journal – Trip Journal is the #1 Google Awarded Travel Application with the best trip tracking, recording, documenting and sharing features currently available for iPhone, Android, Symbian and Facebook. The app received a $100,000 prize from Google for innovative concept and design. Trip Journal allows you to document vacation experiences and share them with your friends and family. Impress everybody with real time updates from the visited destinations and let people see proof of your latest adventures, as your journey unfolds.
    Dropbox – Put your stuff in Dropbox and get to it from your computers, phones, or tablets. Edit docs, automatically add photos, and show off videos from anywhere. Share photos with friends. Work with your friends and family like you’re using a single computer. Everything’s automatically private, so you control who sees what.
    Field Trip – This is a guide to the cool, hidden, and unique things in the world around you is now on the iPhone. Field Trip runs in the background on your phone. When you get close to something interesting, it will notify you and if you have a headset or bluetooth connected, it can even read the info to you.
    Where To? – Where to? makes it incredibly easy to locate the closest steakhouse, bank branch, billiard club or anything else you may be looking for, at the drop of a hat! Finally you can find local businesses without any typing, using a slick, intuitive user experience.
    Roadside America – This iPhone app was created by America’s foremost experts in roadside attractions and oddities. It’s packed with easy-to-use, in-depth info and maps for the nation’s funniest and weirdest must-sees — over 9,500 eye-popping places when you unlock the entire USA and Canada. When you purchase the app for $2.99, the Roadside America App lets you choose one of seven US/Canada regions to unlock.
    Besides those 10, there are some other apps I use a lot.
    Jennifer and I really enjoy our national parks. The hands down best app for them come from a company called Chimani. They have awesome apps for all the National Parks Whether it’s backcountry hiking in the Grand Tetons, rock climbing in Yosemite, or bicycling the carriage roads of Acadia – these apps are made from personal experience.by seasoned travelers and explorers. They are like travel guides, but you’ll find a lot more than that. Information like sunrise/set data for a year, tidal data for a year, ranger-led events for the entire season, and much more. The apps also feature an audio tour and dozens of photos by professional photographers.
    Then there are weather apps. Everyone has their favorite and there are a gazillion to choose from. But we all are concerned about dangerous weather and apps can really help keep you informed, especially as you are on the move.
    First, you may not know it but most phones today automatically receive emergency weather alerts. Check your phone’s settings and notifications and you’ll see where to set them. It gets emergency alerts, but has to be turned on. Check with your carrier for specifics but when activated, you’ll get warnings automatically as the are issued. The system also sends out Amber alerts and, in dire emergencies, presidential warnings
    If you want more weather information besides alerts, think about an app. I really like the Tornado Warning App from the American Red Cross. It’s free, works on Apple and Android devices and tracks a tornado as it approaches with step-by-step advice about what to do before the storm hits. A siren warning is built into the app and goes off when officials issue a tornado warning in your area. There’s also a customizable notification system to let friends and family know when the user is safe via social media, text, and e-mail.
    My favorite weather app is My Radar. It’s a free app for all the major mobile platforms. It displays animated weather radar around your current location, allowing you to quickly see what weather is coming your way. For $3.99 you can include weather warnings and alerts, complete with push notifications, to warn you of severe weather in your area.
    Finally, many of you know that Jennifer and I love to boondock, away from commercial campgrounds. We love the website Boondockers Welcome. The site lets you connect with other RVers who have a location for you to dry camp for the night; it might be in their driveway or a field on their farm. The view may be of amber waves of grain or of the McDonald’s parking lot… but it will be a free place to park where you don’t have to worry about idling truck engines, security, or that dreaded knock on the window at 2 a.m.
    Through a special arrangement with the site, if you enter the special code ROADTREKINGDISC you will get 20% off the membership fee. Ths is a great deal and a great service that can save lots of money as you travel.
    So there you go. Those are some of the apps and websites we shared with the FMCA audience in Redmond.
    Feel free to add your favorite RV apps under comments.
  10. Roadtrekingmike
    Apps to help you find fall colors
    The annual fall foliage show is now underway as trees across North America begin turning color. I have some online resources available that can make your fall color RV travels...
    Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome


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  11. Roadtrekingmike
    One of the biggest challenges for couples and families these days is staying connected…and keeping busy and often confusing schedules coordinated. When you throw in an RV and lots of traveling, life can really get complicated.
    That’s where smartphone technology can really help. I have some great apps I juts shared with my NBC-TV audience this week that will help you stay in touch with your spouse and other family members and bring some organization to those busy schedules.
    One of the handiest apps I’ve found for couples is Twyxt. This app started out as a lovey-dovey, touchy-feely app to send sweet nothings to each other during the day. But it now has so many added features that it is downright useable. It shares calendars and to-do lists and photos, memos and notes and even a private messaging system as well. If one person updates, the other person’s Twyzt screen is also updated. It’s free, for the iPhone and Android devices.
    Android and iPhone users looking to stay connected to family members will want to try the Life 360 app. It bills itself as a Family Locator App… and more. It shows on a map where other family members are at any given time. This is great for RVers. You can connect with each other by private text messaging and keep other family members up to date on your plans or share your schedule.
    iPhone, iPad and Android users will appreciate the Cozi Family Organizer. It sets up and shares a family calendar, sends out reminders, has a family shopping list, a to-do list and even a family journal. It’s very easy to work…and it’s free.
    So there you go.

  12. Roadtrekingmike
    The temperature outside my Roadtrek in the driveway of our Michigan home was 34 degrees this morning.
    That’s the coldest yet this season and a reminder that soon, there will be no putting off the fact that it needs to be winterized.
    We still have a couple of long weekend trips planned and I am hoping that I can do them without pushing antifreeze down all the pipes. It’s funny, really, because even when the RV is winterized, there’s no reason I can’t use it. You just carry drinking water and use antifreeze to flush the toilet. No big deal.
    But still, winterizing means winter and winter means cold and, well, the fact of the matter is this has been such a great season for our RV that I hate to see it end. November and December are the times we use it the least.
    It won’t be long till the first of the snowbirds head south. These are usually Class A owners and they tend to sit in one spot all season long. We’re not like that with our Class B. And since we tend to move around a lot, it’s hard to get reservations n Florida. Impossible, really. So I don’t think we’ll even try Florida this year.
    Instead, we’re looking at a trip after the New Year, over towards the Texas Hill Country and the southwest.
    But this relatively inactive time after the first hard freeze settles in until the holidays are over always leaves me a little sad. I hate to see a good thing end… even if it’s temporary.
    Guess the best cure for the off season blues is to plan the next season.
    How about you? What are your plans for the next couple of months?
  13. Roadtrekingmike
    We’ve been in Redmond, Ore., most of the week attending the Family Motor Coach Association 90th Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase (a rally). The aerial photo above, taken by the FMCA, shows the 1,500 coaches parked here at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center.
    There’s about 3,000 people here and, like all such big gatherings, there are lots of folks to visit with, motorhomes to tour, evening entertainment programs and vendors to haggle with.
    We spent a great night socializing with the Roadtrek International (RTI) FMCA chapter members, hanging out and sharing the fun things we do with our Roadtreks.I liked what John Macinnis from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada said: “We can do so many things and go so many places with our Roadtreks. This is all about sharing our travel experiences with the perfect touring vehicle.”
    So we did just that. It rained. So two Roadtreks parked side by side, front to back and extended their awnings. About 20 of us congregated under the rain protection, sharing the places we’ve been and the adventures we have had. And the adventures we plan to have.
    FMCA National President Charlie Adcock stopped by. He’s a huge supporter of RTI. “If it wasn’ t for Roadtrek International, the FMCA would not be what it is today,” he told me. The Roadtrek International chapter is the third largest chapter of the 80,000 member FMCA.

    FMCA National President Charlie Adcock says Roadtrek members constitute the third largest chapter of the 80,000 member group.
    My favorite vendor was Bike Friday, maker of the hand-built and customized folding bike you see me riding in the photo above. Bike Friday is an Oregon company and I was amazed at how well the small-wheeled bikes performed. They were fast, nimble and very comfortable. Both Jennifer and I bought one. From our Roadtrek Facebook Group, Jim Langely, a fellow Roadtrek owner and one of the top experts on cycling and all things that have to do with bicycles (see his books) gave me a thumbs up on the brand.
    I’ve been looking for a way to add more exercise to our traveling and these bikes, which fold up so compactly, will get me moving. I’ve been trying to figure out for some time how we could take our bikes and once I saw how these fit so well in our StowAway2 cargo box, it was a no-brainer.
    I rode it all around the campground last night. I can’t wait til I get it out in the boondocks.

    Jennifer and I each got a Bike Friday.

    My new Bike Friday

    Mine and Jennifer’s new Bike Fridays in our StowAway cargo box.
    The expo of RV related accessories, services and parts is always a big draw. I bought yet another supposedly kinkless water hose and some Velcro strips to keep it neatly and tightly wound. We’ll see. I am vowing to wind this new one correctly, the same way, every time.
    Roadtrek is here, showing off the entire line. The local dealer is Guaranty RV Supercenters from Junction City, OR and I got a chance to visit with Sales Rep Matt Elliott. He says the Pacific Northwest and the whole west coast is a strong area for Class Bs thanks to the abundance of awesome places to camp, from Pacific shorelines to mountain boondocking. Roadtrek’s sales manager and VP Paul Cassidy is also here, along with Dawn and Alex from the Kitchener team. They stopped by to chat with some of the Roadtrek owners after the motorhome showcase displays closed for the night.
    I looked but if there were other small motorhomes on display at the show here, they were hidden among the Class A skyscrapers.
    Besides the new motorhomes and the vendor display there are seminars throughout the day, dozens of them on every possible topic of interest to RVers, from traveling to Alaska, to how to do basic repairs ,to technology for travelers ,to the pros and cons of fulltiming. I taught two seminars this week, one on smartphone apps for the open road and and one on the history of the Oregon Trail.
    Jennifer and I met lots of folks interested in our Roadtreking experiences over the past couple of years. We did a lot of explaining how the two of us and our dog, Tai, manage to live in a 24 foot van.
    I like to send them to this story about our top 10 rules for getting along in a motothome.
    Rallies like this are a great time to connect with the larger RVing community, be they in Class A , C or B motorhomes. It reminds me if the pioneer mountain men who spent most of the year in the wilds, trapping and hunting and alone in the wilderness. Once a year, they’d gather for a reunion and gathering.
    While they preferred solitude and independence most of the time, connecting with their extended community from time to time was always a highlight of the year for them. So it is for Jennifer and I and the FMCA reunions like this one.
    We’re leaving here for Glacier National Park. Back to the wilds. But we’re refreshed and energized by the camaraderie we just experienced.
  14. Roadtrekingmike
    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, with more than 42,000 miles under our tires and extended trips for weeks at a time over the past year and a half, we know the answer: It is!
    But more than that, we’ve realized we are living out a major trend in RVing, a boom in class B RV sales that seems to be turning around an industry hard hit by the economic doldrums that had put many a dealer on the edge of bankruptcy.
    The RV business is once again healthy, and leading the resurgence are Class B RVs.
    Monthly sales figures for Class B’s confirm what we’ve concluded from our own experience, interviews with dealers we have met at various RV shows around the country and the many other Class B owners we’ve met in our travels this past year.
    The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association deftly tiptoes around the size distinctions of motorhomes, simply noting that “Class A motorhomes are generally the largest; Class B motorhomes or van campers are the smallest and Class C motorhomes generally fall in between.”
    Search around a little more, though, and you’ll find more info that indicate Class As usually range in weight from 15,000 to 30,000 pounds and stretch from 30 to 40 feet in length. Class Bs are often referred to as van conversions, weigh 6,000 to 11,000 pounds and are 17 to 24 feet in length. Class Cs are scaled down versions of an A, weigh 11,000 to 15,000 pounds and go 22 or so feet to 31 feet in length.
    Class Bs are typically on a Chevrolet, Ford or the Sprinter van body, modified and converted into a motorhome.
    When it comes to Class B motorhome manufacturers, there’s the Big Six. And it’s dominated by Canadian companies.
    Four are in Canada -Roadtrek, in Kitchener, ON; Pleasure Way, in Saskatchtoon, SK; Leisure Travel Vans in Winkler, Manitoba; and Great West Vans in Saint Andrews, Manitoba.
    Two are in the U.S. – Winnebago, marketing its Class B under the Era brand in Forest City, IA, and Thor Industries’ Avenue and Interstate models, in Jackson Center, OH which the company says are inspired by its Airstream brand.
    A new Class B manufacturer – Advanced RV - located near Cleveland – opened shop earlier this year, building luxury motorhomes on the Sprinter platform by direct factory order, with no dealer network.
    The boom in Class B sales can be attributed to two trends.
    Baby Boomer Retirees – Each day in America, 10,000 Baby Boomers reach Social Security age. Sociologists tell us this generation of retirees is the most healthy, active, affluent and adventurous of any other group that came before. Many, retiring early because of buy-outs or being forced out during the economic downturn, have made calculated decisions to seize the opportunity to see the country. Others have planned for this moment for years. But new retirees are choosing Class B’s because of their easy mobility and the convenience of also being able to use them as second vehicles.
    Downsizers – There is also a sizeable contingent of new Class B owners who are downsizing from a Class A or C. These are typically veteran RVers who have been on the road for several years. Some are fulltimers who have found an area of the country to purchase a home and settle, but still want to be able to travel in comfort. Others want to be more flexible in the places they go and are downsizing as part of a transition to simplify their lives or are tired of towing a second vehicle or being relegated to pull through spots and full service campgrounds.
    Jennifer and I are in the first category. Granted, we don’t know anything different. We’ve never tried a Class A. And sometimes it does feel cramped in our Roadtrek, especially when our 70-pound Norwegian Elkhound, Tai, is traveling with us. But we’ve adjusted to the tight spaces we absolutely love the mobility our Class B provides, from pulling into regular parking spaces to being able to boondock and stay deep in state and national forests, totally self contained in true wilderness.
    Darlene, a reader of this blog, has owned a Class B 2004 Roadtrek 190 Popular since 2010 and has taken trips as long as five weeks in it.
    “We have purposely bought small RV’s to force ourselves to be outdoors,” she says. “You can never feel closed in being outdoors. The whole idea of taking a trip is to be enjoying and appreciating the great outdoors.”
    John and Sally Hearne from Pittsboro, NC are typical of many downsizers. I met them at the FMCA’s 87th annual reunion in Indianapolis last year and shared a seminar stage with them about downsizing from an A to a B.
    They started RVing in 2005 with a 32-ft., gas-powered Class A motor home and traveled across country. They did all the bucket list spots – the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and fell in love with the RV lifestyle. In 2010, they traded in their 32-ft. gas model for a 40-ft., four-slide diesel pusher, complete with a washer and dryer, residential refrigerator, and central vacuum system.
    For five months, they traveled the country with gusto in their big rig, towing a car behind them. But then, some discontent entered the picture.
    “We found that traveling in a large coach requires that you do most of your traveling on major highways and Interstates,” said Sally. “Therefore, we didn’t get to travel on the back country roads that we love to tour.”
    The more they traveled, the more the allure of that 40-foot motorhome began to wear off.
    “We could only use fueling stations that could accommodate our size and length. There was no impromptu stopping along the way. I would see a roadside stand with fresh produce that I would love to buy. But, there was nowhere to put our big rig. We couldn’t just pull off the road anywhere. I saw shops in small towns that begged to be explored. Nope, we couldn’t do that. There was nowhere nearby to park. By the time we could find a campground that could accommodate our coach, unhook the tow car, and drive back to the produce stand or small town shop, we would be miles away from the place of interest. So, I just had to forget about it. “
    In July 2011, they sold the 40-foot Class A and bought a Roadtrek 210 Popular.
    “The space is a miniature of the Class A, but it has all we need,” Salley explains. “There is inside storage for clothes, food, etc., and outside storage for some essentials. Since it is so easy to stop anywhere we want, we do not have to stock a large amount of food. We love being able to drive anywhere we want to go in town or out of town.”
    The Hearnes experience has been echoed by many.
    Ron Woodward, a retired engineer from Minnesota, told me about the same thing. He previously owned a Class A. Last year he downsized to a Class B from Pleasure-Way. “We didn’t like the big campgrounds and our dependency on hookups,” he said. “Now, we can go anywhere. We love boondocking in the state forests. Just us and nature.”
    With fall rapidly approaching and colder temperatures on the way, the great Snow Bird migration to warmer regions will soon begin.
    We’re hoping to become a part of it this year, taking long trips to Florida, the Gulf States, the Texas Hill Country, Arizona and the Southwest.
    We won’t be gone the entire season but rather will return to our Michigan home for grandkid fixes, planning three and four week forays on each leg.
    But we’ll do so confident of our Class B RV and excited about the adventure that awaits as we go Roadtreking across North America.
    Hope to see you out there…on the open road.
  15. 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
  16. Roadtrekingmike
    We were on I-69 a few miles north of I-94 in Michigan, headed off for a 10 day swing through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. We came close to ending it on our first day.
    Bang!
    Like a small explosion, a tire on a huge semi-tractor rig blew, just as we were about to pass it. Instinctively, I braked and swerved left onto the shoulder, just as a huge chunk of tire came careening into my lane, right about where the windshield would have been if I hadn’t hit the brakes.
    In my rear view mirror I saw other tire parts behind me.
    It was a narrow miss.
    Jennifer and I breathed deeply, thanked God for sparing us and realized how bad it could have been.
    All the rest of the drive down south, we both started paying attention to the huge chunks of hard rubber that are strewn all over our highways.
    As I type this, I’m at a picnic table at our campsite for the night along I65 north of Nashville. I just finished Googling the problem and found that debris littering the highways and interstates of North America causes over 25,000 accidents and at least 100 deaths each year in the United States and Canada. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that blown tire pieces are the number one road debris.
    The tire safety experts say this is the worst time of year, when high temperatures cause the most stress on tires. As we’ve been driving the past two days, the temps have been in the upper eighties and low nineties and seemingly every mile of toad has shredded remnants of 18 wheeler truck tires on the highway — called “gators” in the trucking industry.
    The origin of gators is in dispute, especially the idea that most gators come from capped or retreaded tires. Retreading is a process that saves money by shaving down old tires to their casing and attaching and bonding a new exterior.
    “On these extremely hot days, the adhesive that holds these treads together gets hot enough that they lose adhesiveness,” said David Decker, director of operators at Western Truck School in West Sacramento, CA, in an article I found in the Merced Sun Star newspaper.
    It’s easy to see why retreads are in use. New truck tires cost $600 or so. Retreads $200.
    Despite the critics, a 2008 study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that showed retreaded tires were no more likely to blow out than new tires.
    But with such much debris on our roads, somebody needs to be working hard to curtail the problem. If that’s happening, it isn’t evident on the roadways.
    I have a great deal of respect for professional truck drivers. I know the vast majority of them take good care of their rigs and would never cut corners by using inferior or dangerous tires.
    Accidents do happen. Truck tires do blow. But they blow a lot. Just look at the debris.
    I think we need to make reducing those blowouts a top highway safety priority. The problem is serious and it is costing lives.
    Meantime, be careful out there and stay alert.
  17. Roadtrekingmike
    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 message – says it all, doesn’t it?
    Roadtrek President Jim Hammill, Sales Director Paul Cassidy and Chief Engineer Jeff Stride were all on hand, making the long trip to Branson from company headquarters in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
    Chris Deakens, Roadtrek’s tech support guru, answered questions and scheduled on-site technician visits for those who want some tweaking and easy repairs while in Branson.
    Every Roadrek model is parked here, with the oldest (a 1985) to the newest (a new CS Adventurous that just rolled off the assembly line late last week).
    There is food, with big communal breakfasts and dinners. There’s nightly entertainment at the campground, as well as a trip to one of the big shows this resort community n the Ozarks is famous for.
    For most though, visiting and hanging out seems to top the agenda.
    The ABC campground we’re staying at is very hilly. Most of us are doubled up with two to a site but since the sites are all pull-through, no one is complaining.
    The oldest Roadtrek we’ve seen so far … a 1985 model!
    Jennifer and I have been meeting people and giving tours of the eTrek. It’s been fun to put real in-person faces with the names we’ve been visiting with for months on our Facebook group. It’s hard to overstate how tight the Facebook Roadtreking friends have become. People keep using the word family to describe it and, indeed, watching us all hug and greet each other, you’d see why we feel that way.
    We also got a chance to visit with many members of the FMCA’s Roadtrek International Chapter, which wrapped up its 40th anniversary rally just as the corporate rally bagan. Many of the chapter members stayed over for the corporate gathering.
    Frances Griffin, the chapter president, told me about a song called “Three Little Windows” that was written by Roadtrek owner Mark Sickman. Mark took photos from his travels across the country and accompanied it with an original song named after the three up-top windows that are distinctive to each Roadtrek. You can see and hear his slideshow and music at http://threelittlewindows.com
    There was lots of excitement Monday night when a severe thunderstorm swept through the park. Thunder boomed and lighting crackled all around as wind flung driving rain that was horizontal at times. Several roadtrekers retreated to the basement of the campground office until it passed. But pass it did and the worst was but a memory by bedtime.
  18. Roadtrekingmike
    Ever wondered how Campskunk got his name?
    Or how it is possible for he and his wife and their cat to life full-time in a 20-foot camper van?
    Then click on the Campskunk interview below. It's the latest in our series of live chats via Google Hangouts. We chat for an extended period about full-timing, life on the road and how to manage grocery shopping, doctor and dentist appointments and bill paying without a permanent address.
    I also ask Campskunk why he chose a Roadtrek for his home.

    I’ll be doing these videos from the road myself, and also interviewing some of our regular Roadtreking Reporters as well as other interesting people who can enlighten and entertain us about life on the road.
    It’s all done through Google + and it’s Hangout service. To be alerted to them and follow them, get a Google + account and add me to your circles. The account I use is ocsmike@gmail.com.
  20. Roadtrekingmike
    I confess to being a bit of a snob about the east. My journalist days often took me up and down the eastern seaboard, mostly to big cities where crime, decay, overcrowded neighborhoods and a general malaise of discontent seemed to be the chief characteristic of the people and places.
    Such is the danger of journalism. Seeing bad news makes you skeptical. Seeing too much bad news makes you a cynic. And being cynical is not a good way to live.
    So it’s good to visit the east now in an RV, where we have time to see the land and marvel at how wrong I was.
    It’s drop-dead gorgeous and, even on the turnpikes and interstates, the route we took to Cape Cod revealed wide open spaces, beautiful rolling hills and mountains and little towns and villages peppered with antique shops, the pleasant lines of New England architecture and history everywhere. We need to come back and spend more time.
    But our destination was the Cape and here we are, attending the FMCA Roadtreking International Region 2 rally held at the Sweetwater Forest Campground in Brewster, MA. There are over 100 Roadtrekers here for this event and getting to meet many for the first time has been a joy.
    The campground is huge, with private full hookup flat spots nested in trees amidst a hilly forest.
    We arrived Sunday afternoon.
    “I look so forward to just hanging around the camping spot, just sitting and relaxing,” I told Jennifer as we pulled in.
    She was silent for a second.
    “I don’t think so,” she finally replied. “After you drive me half way across the continent to a place surrounded by what are supposed to be the most beautiful beaches in the world, I don’t think ‘just sitting around’ is going to be on your agenda.”
    Okay then.
    So bright and early the next morning, we made our way to the Atlantic shore.
    The Cape Cod National Seashore was our destination, 40 miles of pristine sandy beach, marshes, ponds, and bicycle trails along the Atlantic-facing eastern shore of Cape Cod. We drove the whole seashore, stretching from Chatham to Provincetown, At numerous places we pulled off, and walked portions of the beach, touring an old Life Saving Station at the tip of Cape Cod, and taking in both National Parks Service Vistor Centers. There’s plenty out here for history buffs, too, with sites associated with the Pilgrims, Marconi’s first transatlantic wireless station and numerous lighthouses.
    Shipwreck lore abounds on the cape. So many ships have piled up on the hidden sand bars off the coast between Chatham and Provincetown that those 40 miles of sea have been called an “ocean graveyard.” Indeed, between Truro and Wellfleet alone, there have been more than 1,000 wrecks. In the early 1800s, there was an average of two wrecks every month during the winter. The loss of life seemed especially sad when a sailor managed to get ashore on a winter night only to freeze to death after he got there. In 1797, the Massachusetts Humane Society started putting up huts along the most dangerous sections of the Massachusetts coast in the hope that stranded sailors would find them and take shelter. It was not, however, until 1872, that a really efficient lifesaving service was put into operation by the United States government. Stations were erected every five miles on the beach.
    On November 11, 1620, the Pilgrims got their first look at the New World when they saw Cape Cod. In Provincetown, there’s a huge monument commemorating the Mayflower Pilgrims’ first landing in the New World in Provincetown. Here the Pilgrims spent five weeks exploring the tip of Cape Cod, before they sailed on to Plymouth. They also drew up and signed the Mayflower Compact, which established the rule of law for the new land.
    In the waters within sight of shores you can often spot whales, pretty much every season of the year. Three different species are prevalent. Signs warn swimmers and waders that Great White Sharks are also plentiful in the water, coming to feed on the seals. The signs suggest people not swim with seals present. Good advice..
    We drove over to the Nauset Light at low tide and spent a delightful couple of hours watching seals bob in the surf. They seemed to be watching us as curiously as we watched them.
    If that red and white lighthouse looks familiar, that’s the one you see on the familiar Cape Cod potato chip bags sold nationwide..
    Growing lush and wild are Cape Cod beach roses in beautiful and fragrant whites and reds. Back off the beach a bit, rhododendrons grow as high as house rooftops. Cranberry bogs can be found in Brewster.
    The cape also the place that, next to Walden Pond, most captivated Henry David Thoreau. I love this description of the place: “The restless ocean may at any moment cast up a whale or a wrecked vessel at your feet. All the reporters in the world, the most rapid stenographers, could not report the news it brings.” That’s from his book on Cape Cod, published in 1850′s.
    I thought of Thoreau as I stood ankle deep in the frigid waters of the Atlantic (it won’t warm up for another month yet), gazing out to the east and remembering my favorite quote from the naturalist/philsopher/poet/historian. Of these waters and this very shoreline where I was standing he wrote: “A man may stand there and put all America behind him.”
    I turned around, looking west at rolling grass covered and flower studded sand dunes. Beyond them, it’s 3,000 miles to the Pacific, where in a few months our Roadtreking travels will also take us, God willing. What a vast country this is, hemmed in and surrounded by these great oceans.
    Our visit to the cape couldn’t have come at a better time. The beaches in early June were all but deserted during the week. School out here doesn’t get out for summer for another 10 days. After that, the place fills up with vacationers from Boston and New York, the roads are congested, beach access fees are charged.
    But this week, in early June, it was very much like the place Thoreau gushed over.
    One warning: Ticks. This is a particularly bad year for them on the Cape, and, indeed, throughout the eastern seaboard. We picked two of them off Tai after a five minute walk. The photo is one of them that was crawling on me, and I didn’t even stray off the beach path.
    In Provincetown, we stopped for lunch and had the best lobster rolls we ever had.e worse, too, since it was the first time we ate the iconic Cape Cod fare. Alas, the second description seemed to apply the closest as Jennifer and I both got sick within an hour after eating the rolls. Fortunately, we were better by the time we returned to the campground and joined other Roadtrek International campers for dinner.
    That evening, Jennifer and I spoke to the group, showing “The Making of a Roadtrek” movie we recently finished and then sharing our experiences in over 60,000 miles of Roadtreking over the past two years.
    The Cape, our new RTI friends and delightful weather made the trip east a time of relaxation and fun.
    We’ll be back. Now it’s off to discover the rest of the country.
    Come back tomorrow to learn about our next adventure, a 3,500 mile tour of the Great Lakes shoreline.
  21. Roadtrekingmike
    As spring and warm weather approaches, this is again the time for a semiannual spike in carbon monoxide deaths and propane issues for RVers.
    This week at a KOA in Nashville, a couple was found dead in their RV by relatives who drove to the campground after not being able to reach them for several days. Carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause, said authorities, caused by a their propane burner.
    In Washington State the week before, a propane tank explosion inside an RV east of Lacey sent a couple who lived there to an area hospital with burns. The woman suffered second- and third-degree burns in the explosion. The man suffered minor burns. Fire officials said investigation indicated a leak in the propane tank that caused it to explode.
    And at a Walmart parking lot in Sikeston, Mo., a couple of weeks ago,there was a propane explosion inside a motorhome while people were inside the RV. The explosion blew out the side of the vehicle. One of the occupants told officers he was trying to light the stove to provide some heat because the inside of the RV was cold when the explosion occurred. They escaped with minor injuries but their motorhome was destroyed.
    These three recent incidents underscore the need to make sure your RV has a working carbon monoxide alarm and that you have inspected your propane tanks and plumbing.
    The propane system on an RV provides heat and hot water, power for the stove and refrigerator, and fuel for barbecue grills or other small appliances. There are two basic types of propane containers and systems: Department of Transportation (DOT) cylinders and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) tanks. Travel trailers, folding camping trailers, and fifth-wheel units use two movable DOT cylinders, which are positioned vertically upright and mounted to the outside front or back of the RV. Motor homes use a single, permanently installed ASME tank, positioned horizontally, and located underneath the cabin, near the entryway. Regardless of container type, all refilling repair, or replacement must be done by certified service technicians.
    While you may do touchups to your RV from time to time, do not paint propane cylinders, valves, or mounting hardware. This may mask important service issues, affect valves, or result in system failure.
    Make sure your system is inspected at least annually by a certified service technician. They are trained to detect incorrect tank pressure, leaks, or other potential hazards, and address them properly. Do not connect your propane piping to another gas source or attempt to repair any propane-related component yourself.
    AmeriGas, a leading propane supplier, and the Propane Education and Research Council has issued some safety guidelines for RVers.
    Most RV refrigerators can keep food/beverages cold during several hours of travel without a power source. They strongly recommend that propane systems be turned off while driving. Other safety tips while traveling:
    Shut off propane supply valves, pilot lights, ignitors, and appliances, and have everybody exit the vehicle during refueling.
    Do not use range burners for heat, or any appliances for means other than their intended use.
    Extinguish all smoking materials any time you are near tanks, filling stations, or other equipment where gasoline or propane may be present.
    Turn off propane supply valves before entering tunnels or enclosed areas. Be sure to follow any postings around restricted areas, such as military bases.

    At the Campground:
    Open a window and turn on your exhaust fan when using your stove.
    Portable fuel-burning equipment including wood, charcoal, and propane grills and stoves should not be used inside the RV or near the entryway. The use of this equipment inside an RV can cause fires or carbon monoxide poisoning.
    Keep your vehicle a safe distance away from any heat source, such as grills or fire pits. Keep propane tanks and cylinders at least 10 feet away from heat sources.
    Any time you use portable propane appliances, such as generators or heaters, it’s important to provide for ventilation. Follow all appliance manufacturer safety instructions.

    If You Smell Gas:
    It is not “normal” for propane systems to leak. If you detect a leak—or sense a propane odor(rotten egg smell) — have it checked out immediately.
    Immediately put out all smoking materials, pilot lights, and other open flames. Do not operate lights, appliances, or cell phones. Flames or sparks from these sources can trigger an explosion or fire.
    If you are able to, safely turn off the gas supply valve on your cylinder or container.
    Open all doors and other ventilating openings.
    Immediately leave the area and call 911 or the local fire department.
    Before you restart or use any of your propane appliances, have a qualified service technician inspect your entire system.

  22. Roadtrekingmike
    It was 3 AM and we were deep in the woods, camped on a friend’s 200 acres of fenced and posted private property off an obscure fire trail more than two miles from the nearest paved road.
    I jolted awake. I heard a vehicle with a slightly knocking engine. bumping and scraping on the underbrush of the trail. Then I saw its headlights, slowly making its way down the trail towards us.
    Jennifer was still asleep. So was my Norweigian Elkhound, Tai. Fine watchdog he was.
    There was no reason for the other vehicle to be out there. In fact, whoever was in that vehicle was breaking the law as the property was clearly marked with “No trespassing” signs.
    What do I do? We were extremely vulnerable out there. My cell phone coverage was iffy, at best.
    I wished I had a gun.
    Think I’m paranoid? Maybe. That’s what decades of being an investigative reporter does for you. For many years, I carried a handgun pretty much everywhere I went. I worked the drug beat in the city of Detroit for many years. Twice, having a gun kept bad guys from getting to me.
    But whwn I switched to the technology beat years ago, I let my concealed carry permit expired.
    But that tense early morning in the Michigan woods this past summer got me thinking about weapons and RVing. As that incident turned out, the vehicle never made it to our spot. It eventually turned around and left. But burglars who break into summer cottages, meth addicts, marijuana growers and all sorts of other unsavory characters are just as prevalent in rural areas of the U.S. as are the bad guys who endanger urban areas.
    The whole subject of carrying a gun in an RV is a hot topic among RVers. Some of the experts I talked to say think that well over half of them do. In Canada, it’s different. Canada has very strict gun laws and few people even own, let alone carry, handguns.
    On my http://facebook.com/roadtreking page, I posed the issue to the 1,800 folks who “like” our page there and got some opinions on both sides.
    Said a Kiki: “I carry a firearm in my camper, since I am a woman who camps in remote areas alone. I have a license to carry, but only 29 states reciprocate my license. I try to avoid driving through states where legal issues could occur, but if I can’t, then I ship my gun ahead to a UPS office.”
    A reader named David wrote:
    “Used to have a Class A and missed a turn in Greensboro, NC and had to turn around in a gasoline/fast shop station. Before I could get out of there I was stopped twice by people wanting money. Because it was a Class A they thought I had money. Too bad, because of the Class A I didn’t have any money!! I will not let my wife be harmed because of a bunch of bleeding hearts!! And that’s all I have to say!!!!!”
    Jude, a Canadian, offered:
    “I’ve never been pro firearm and 40 years of living in Canada has reinforced that. However, I lived alone very far out in the country at one point where cougars and bears roam and I must admit I really understood why country folk at least want a shotgun handy. My RV is currently parked for the winter but if I do extensive traveling alone I will probably get a big dog. Legal in all states and Canada and keeps your feet warm at night to boot."
    But the fact is, in the U.S. bringing a handgun in an RV for protection is a lot more common than most people think. Most RVers don’t talk about it because the legality of doing so is dependent on where you are. Some states allow it, some recognize another state’s carry permit, some don’t. As armed RVers travel from state to state, you can be sure, though, that at some point in their journeys they are violating some state’s gun laws.
    Shotguns and rifles are a different matter in most states and usually acceptable. For Big Type A motorhomes and fifth wheels, a shotgun may be the best choice. For Type Bs, there’s often not enough storage room for a long gun.
    Is bringing a gun along a good idea? A lot of RVers believe it is better to have a firearm and not need it than to need a firearm and not have one. A lot of others think it’s not necessary or too dangerous.
    The website handgunlaw.us offers an excellent guide to the various laws. Same with the usacarry.com site. Perhaps the best resourse is put out by the National Rifle Association, the Traveler’s Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States.
    If guns are not your thing, there are other ways to protect yourself.
    Many RVers say a big, or at least a mean-sounding dog is a good deterrent. My Tai obviously isn’t the watchdog type, but others have had more success. One woman RVer I know has a tape recorder she brings along that has a recording of a mean dog barking. If she hears someone outside her RV at night, she hits play and turns up the volume. Others say the only self defense item they have is a can of bear spray or wasp spray.
    Carrying guns in RVs is a very controversial subject. But my research has convinced me it is done a lot, especially by fulltimers and those who like to boondock.
  23. Roadtrekingmike
    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 near his Minneapolis home, from a competitor of the folks who made the demonstration video below.

    He got his from a local outfitter near his Minneapolis home, from a competitor of the folks who made the demonstration video above.
    Gary’s rack is from Yakima but the Thule Hullavator works with it just fine, he reports. He has it all mounted on his 2006 Roadtrek RS Adventurous, starting just ahead of the roof vent and continuing back a little past the front edge of air conditioner.
    On it, he carries a Current Designs 14′ Kestrel kayak and sometimes, in a separate rack on the other side, a We-no-nah 16 1/2 foot kevlar Advantage canoe.
    I’m sure Gary will watch the comments here and be glad to answer any more questions. The photos are of his setup. The video demonstrates how it all works.
  24. Roadtrekingmike
    Charging your Electronics in your Camper
    When we first started traveling in our camper van it seemed like we always juggled to keep our electronic devices charged. It was easier if we were plugged into shore...
    Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome


    Source
  25. Roadtrekingmike
    I’m about to check off a couple more items from our RV travel bucket list, trips that will take us coast to coast on a summer travel schedule that will have us going from Cape Cod to the Oregon coast, with numerous stops and detours along the way.
    The Cape Cod trip is from June 8-11th as we attend a sold-out Roadtrek International chapter rally of the Family Motorcoach Association that will be held in Brewster, MA. Jennifer and I will meet and visit with over 100 other Roadtrek owners, sharing highlights from our 60,000 miles of Roadtreking travel over the past two years. After a quick look around the Cape, we’ll turn around and get ready to begin the first of our bucket list tours.
    Starting June 12, we’ll be doing a 3,500 mile stretch that has captured my imagination for a long time: The Great Lakes shoreline.
    I have wanted to do this route on a bicycle for a long time. But since I don’t have two to three months to devote to that particular means of travel, I’ll do it in our Roadtrek Etrek, documenting the interesting places and people that are found on the shoreline for this blog and for the Verizon Wireless folks, who have been running many of my reports regularly for the past few months on one of their websites. Verizon likes my on-the-road reports because of the way our Roadtreking life is shared through technology and the ability to report our travel adventures while we are out there, using 4g LTE Internet connectivity and a hist of apps and tech tools that keep us connected. In other words, I’m a geek.
    The Roadtrek Etrek fits right in with all that, of course, what with its solar power and all electric features that let us go days on end off the commercial power grid, totally self-contained and as connected to and surrounded by all the amenities and conveniences we have at home – even though we may be in a remote forest off a tree-canopied two track
    We’ll travel the shoreline as it winds up and around parts of six states, starting in the Lake Erie wetlands near the Pennsylvania/New York border and all the way around, to the Lake Huron “Sunrise Side,” on up to the rock shores of Lake Superior into Northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota and down along past the spectacular sand dunes along Lake Michigan on through Chicago and up to Milwaukee where we’ll end the tour after a spectacular 4th of July Fireworks display.
    Even with nearly a month to cover it all, we’ll have to hurry. But it’s one of those bucket list things that is made for a Roadtreking adventure. I have a list of places and stories I may check out but, except for the Milwaukee fireworks, Jennifer and I are intentionally keeping our schedule fluid. There will be some things that we will stumble upon and the last thing we want is to be locked into a schedule and have to miss something cool because we “have” to be somewhere else.
    What’s the second bucket list tour?
    This one starts in mid July and will have us retracing large parts of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the route taken by the Oregon Trail pioneers, starting in Pittsburgh and ending at the mouth of the Columbia River on Oregon’s Pacific Coast. And yes, Pittsburgh was the real starting pont. It is from there, on Aug. 31, 1803, on the Ohio River, that Meriwether Lewis first set off with his Corps of Disovery, joining up with William Clark on the Missisippi River before making their way to St. Louis and the Missouri River – America’s great river to the West.
    There will be a slight detour to the Hill Country of Nebraska. Out there, where the Oregon Trail became America’s first interstate highway, they sell a T-Shirt that says “The Original RV.” It depicts a covered wagon. Almost half a million people made their way along that trail from 1836-1869. There are spots along it today where you can still see the ruts from their wagons.
    Along the Snake River in Nebraska, we’ll attend the Nebraska Star Party July 27-August 1. This area is one of the best places in the Lower 48 to see the night sky with no light pollution. Every year, hundreds of stargazers gather here to marvel at the night sky. Many camp in the middle of a field, boondocking with no lights or electric so their telescopes and cameras have nothing interfering with the starlight. Again, a perfect spot for out Etrek.
    As we rejoin and go back and forth between the Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail routes, we’ll report for the blog on the amazing history of what they saw and experienced every day, showing what it is like today and and how their discoveries and pioneering shaped a nation. We’ll stop for several days at the Family Motorcoach Association’s Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase in Redmond, Ore., Aug. 13 to 16. More than 2,500 motorcoach owners are expected to be in attendance. Jennifer and I will do two seminars there, before heading for the coast, where Lewis and Clark stopped before they turned around and headed back.
    From there, we’ll slowly make our way back to Michigan, visiting Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park.
    In all, these two big trips. along with some fun stops along the way, will have us traveling about 8,000 miles though early September.
    Unless we find something else…. which, given our track record, is probably going to happen.
    See why we love this Roadtreking life?

    Lewis and Claks navigated the Ohi, Missisiipi, Missour and Columbia Rivers before heading off by horseback.
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