Karsty

I've been using the ALLSTAYS app for a couple of years now. I've used it dozens of times and it is usually up to date with the most recent information. PLUS you can update the information to them to report any problems or changes in situations. I am now using the ALLSTAYS Camping & RV app. It cost me $9.99 I believe but it lists all the Walmart's, Home Depots, Lowe's, Cracker Barrels, Flying J's, Travel America, Pilot, Love and campgrounds and state and federal parts and a whole host of other places and information. I use the ALLSTAYS app almost exclusively for my travel needs.

During a recent trip to the New England States I had occasion to stop at several Walmart locations in several states. No problems ... but a couple of concerns. I saw several folks "setting up camp" with slides out and awnings deployed. I do understand that some folks need their slides out to access their bedrooms ... no problems as far as I'm concerned. Also one trailer was sitting solitary without the tow vehicle while the occupants left, apparently for a day of sightseeing. At another location two five wheel rigs pulled up side by side for the night. Slides out and one unit with its' awning out for both to use. Between the two of them they took up no less than 20 parking spots. This particular location has signs posted NO TRUCK OR RV OVERNIGHT PARKING. I did stop in and spoke to the manager. He indicated that he didn't mind but were starting to discourage it ... hence the signs. He claimed that last year one RVer had dumped his black and grey tanks in the lot resulting in Walmart receiving a fine. This particular area is also host to a large fishing derby every year and this had presented major problems for the Walmart Store with several dozens of campers literally setting up camp with lawn chairs and BBQ. I can see us loosing this location very soon. I decided to move on and not add to the problem. Across the road was a Mercedes dealer with a row of brand new Mercedes Sprinters ... I tucked my Winnebago ERA right next to them and was totally inconspicuous. As the previous posters stated ... Walmart is NOT a campground. Be courteous and for goodness sakes use some common sense.

Very cool ... definitely added to my list of places to visit. I haven't been very far west yet ... but that is soon to be remedied.

Hi BangersMash ... The B-10 Rally information is located at: http://b-rally.org/index.htm It sounds like a great group of folks. I am also looking at another B Group called: BEE Social Group. I found them on their Facebook Page. They just had a rally in Texas last week and are planning their next one for September in Kansas. I'm planning tentatively to attend that one as well. Several of the members belong to both groups. Whenever you plan to be in the Niagara area just give me a shout ... be glad to meet you and compare and share some notes on the joys and challenges of B RVing.

I'm finding that Florida and California are not RV friendly in terms of overnight parking in Walmart locations. Fortunately I belong to BOONDOCKERS WELCOME and there are a few members in both Florida and California that make it possible to find extra places to park overnight. Because I have a Class B RV ... i am generally able to find a place to park for the night. You can tuck yourself in quite nicely amongst the cars and trucks of a car dealership overnight. I have never not found a place to stay and have been been asked to move on ...

I'd be interested to know/see what you did with the Fly Nets on your doors. Can you provide more details and perhaps post some pictures. Thanks

"BangersMash" ... what area are you referring to? I am attending a Class B Rally in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan May 16-19. There are about 40 Class B owners with over 60 people attending last time I looked. I am in the Niagara Falls, Ontario area ... where are you coming from?? Do you plan on coming through or near Niagara Falls? If so ... and I am around I would be more than happy to meet you. For that matter you would be more than welcome to park here for a few days if you needed to. I am planing an Alaska Road Trip as well with plans to go to the North West Territories and Western Canada as well. Tentatively planned for 2015 however. Enjoy your travels.

CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Air Pressure. It is a machine that is used by people that have Sleep Apnea. It helps with breathing at night by blowing air through the nostrils and keeping your breathing passages open. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_airway_pressure

I Hi Smokey2 ... I use the CPAP as well and I boondock ALL the time. I've never been to a campground. After some research I found that my CPAP unit can use a 12 V adaptor cord and I plug it directly into the 12 v receptacle at the back of my unit. I've never had a problem. I also watch the TV for several hours and on occasion will use the furnace which has the 12V fan at night as well. I've run the CPAP all night ... in some cases as much as 8-9 hours and never ran into a problem. Hope this helps. Karsty

This is so much information all over the place regarding CLASS B RV's that it is hard to find things. What needs to happen is for the CLASS B owners to have a separate heading under MOTORHOMES subheading. Right now is is CLASS B, CLASS C and SUPER C ... whatever a SUPER C is. Michael Canode ... are you still involved with this?? Maybe this can be done to bring all CLASS B discussions under one subheading (thread) under MOTORHOMES and create a separate subheading for the CLASS C's. Just my 2¢.

I belong to several different FORUMS and try to get involved as much as possible. With so many FORUMS it is difficult to get involved in some discussions because I am only interested in the CLASS B as well. The Roadtrek Chapters seem to be exclusive to the Roadtrek owners so that leaves me out to some extent ... I have found a CLASS B only FORUM that is fairly active. PM me if you'd like more information on them. There is also a CLASS B discussion thread located on another FORUM and this group also has an annual Class B Rally. This year it is being hosted in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I have registered for this event and will be discussing with them the possibility of forming a CLASS B RV CLUB. If you would like more information on them, again please PM me. Class B RV's are becoming more popular as older RVers decide to downsize and others realize the convenience of travelling in a small RV, particularly with the higher costs of fuel. I would love to form a CLASS B Chapter here as well. But so far I haven't received much feed back from other Class B owners. There are so many chapters with so many different interests. "Rolacoy" ... you mentioned that you like to boondock or dry camp a lot. I am in the same situation. In fact, I have NOT camped in a campground once in the 1 1/2 years that I have been travelling in my RV. I have joined a site called BOONDOCKERS WELCOME. Member can offer FREE parking for a night or two to other members on their property. I've used this service several time now and it is great. There are over 700 locations around North America right now. Here is a link to their web site: http://www.boondockerswelcome.com SAFE AND HAPPY TRAVELS

Thanks "wolfe10" for the information. I'm doing more research and making more inquiries as I go along. What I'm looking for is to form a like minded group of Class B owners from ALL areas. There seemed to be some interest in other FORUMS I've read as well as some posts I seen in other threads in this FORUM. Thanks for the information however.

Here is my first and current RV. I have no plans to change anytime soon although I have since found other Class B units that I like better. Oh well ... live and learn.

I have the Winnebago ERA on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis. It is 24 feet long. I have traveled in it for as much as 4 weeks at a time. I have plans to do 3-4 month trips in the coming years. My biggest advantage is that I travel alone. So I have no problem with water/holding tanks etc. In fact, I have NEVER stayed at a campground while travelling. I will on occasion stop at Flying J or similar facility to get a "real" shower. On a long trip I might even stop at a motel once a week just to get rid of the travel dust ... so to speak. The rest of the time I boondock and have had not problem at all. I've never had a problem parking ... my unit does take up 1 1/2 spaces in some parking lots. But if I can back in over a grass area or medium I'm good as gold. I can travel anywhere and everywhere without having to tow another vehicle. The fuel mileage has been remarkable ... 18-22 MPG depending on the roads I travel. I generally travel the back roads at slower speeds and might not get as good mileage as someone on the Interstate traveling at a constant speeds. Anything is possible if you plan and prepare for your trips.

OK ... where are all the Class B RV owners?? I have noticed on several FORUMS the desire to create a CLASS B RV CLUB of some kind. I have not been able to find any such club in Canada or the United States. Yes, there is a Roadtrek club but they seem to be exclusive to the Roadtrek RV's only. So ... maybe it's time to create our own club ... opened to ALL Class B Owners. I have had this on my mind for some time now. In fact, I went so far as to purchase the domain name for a club called the CAN-AM CLASS B RV CLUB. It would represent members from both Canada and the United States. An international club. Depending on membership we could eventually look at having Chapters in various locations. North, South, East & West. Just floating some ideas. There is an informal group of CLass B owners on RV.NET that have attended a Class B only rally for the past nine years. I registered for this rally this year and thought I would discuss the idea with them about starting an official club of Class B RV owners. Anyone that might be interested in attending this rally can check it out at: http://www.military-...0/B-10_MI.html# I would point out that the RV.NET group is exclusively Class B members only. They have excluded the B+ class as they felt they were not a true Class B. Something to discuss further I suppose. I'd love to hear from other like minded Class B owners. Comments. ideas and suggestions would be welcome. Karsty (The Wandering Viking)

As a result of "harrysusa" post in another FORUM and "Bebfrench" post ... I'm thinking that maybe we can start our own CLASS B club. I have had this on my mind for some time now and have in fact purchased a domain name called: CAN-AM CLASS B RV CLUB. It's just a name right at the moment but since we have Class B owners from both Canada and the US it might be something worth following up on. Any other thoughts would be appreciated. I also noticed that there is an informal group of Class B owners from RV.NET that have been hosting a Class B RV Rally for the past 9 years. Their 10th is scheduled for May 16-19 this year in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I'm going and though that I would run it by the members there as well. Information on their rally is located at: http://www.military-rving.us/B-10/B-10_MI.html# I think it would be nice to be able to travel with and meet other Class B owners. Although i know we are welcome to other rallies and events ... I don't have a whole lot in common with a 40 foot Class A. If anyone would like to contact me please feel free to do so at: kaskeland@icloud.com We can certainly talk about it and go from there. Nothing ventured ... nothing gained.

You raise a very interesting, if not controversial topic. As a retired police officer from Canada travelling in the US often ... iF it were legal for me to carry a firearm I would probably do so. BUT IT ISN'T. As far as I know there is no legal way that I can carry a firearm (handgun) in any of the 50 states. So I don't. I have thought about the shotgun route ... but as you mentioned, I have a Class B and room is limited and I am still not sure how legal it would be for me to carry a shotgun ... after all just how much hunting can one really do? Since I do travel extensively in the US I just make sure that I am aware of my surrounding ... hopefully 35 years experience as a PO give me a little experience in that regard. I can't say that I have every experienced a situation where I wished I had a firearm ... hopefully never will. While travelling in Canada ... I have no concerns whatsoever and never carry a firearm while travelling in Canada. I do have plans in the next year of so of going to Alaska which will include going to the Northwest Territories and the Yukon ... debating about whether I should take one then just for the wild animals ... not really sure it is needed even in those circumstances. The debate continues ....

I've been following you around from several FORUMS and BLOGS ,,, you and Jennifer seem to be popping up all over. I like all your videos ... this one is another keeper. I have been using Verizon myself for a couple of years but found it getting too expensive for my needs. I am going to try another provider that lets you pay as you go with no contract and no monthly fee. Just buy a block of data and when that is gone buy another. I'll see how that works. I do agree that I never had any issue with Verizon and there were very few locations that I didn't have internet. Who knows ... I may have to return to them. I love the eBags idea. I'll have to check that out as well. I have the ERA and it is similarly room/storage challenged ... although I travel alone so I have just that little bit of extra room you don't have. Keep up the great work and reporting. Most helpful ... Karsty (The Wandering Viking)

Like most of the previous posters I have stayed at numerous Walmart parking lots since I started RVing. In my case I am not a destination type person. In other words I don't spend time in a campground sitting in front of a campfire toasting marshmallows ... not that there is anything wrong with that. Just not my thing. I am a traveller. I travel around North America with a view to exploring and seeing as much of the sights I can and meeting people wherever I travel. So ... Walmart has been handy for me. I have stayed in church parking lots, car dealerships or any other place that looked suitable to me. I generally ask when possible. I always abide by the "RVers' Neighbour Policy". I use several apps by ALL-STAYS to help find suitable locations to park, including Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Flying J/Pilot, Loves, T/A ... and numerous other locations. I also belong to BOONDOCKERS WELCOME. It is a site that has over 700 members now where a member can park at another members property for free overnight ... or longer with permission. I have used this resource several time now and it is a wonderful way to travel and meet new people. Happy and Safe travels ...

This has been an ongoing problem for me since purchasing my RV back in November 2011. (2012 Winnebago ERA on the Mercedes Sprinter 3500 chassis with dual rear tires). I was a first time owner so I didn't have a clue. First problem was finding the darn valve for what I thought was the inside rear dual. Turns out it was the OUTSIDE rear valve that I couldn't see. The dealer was no help whatsoever. Finally went to a tire store and they showed me and told me that they were generally located at 180º opposite to the inside valve stem. OK ... found it!! Next problem ... how the heck to reach it. Even with the wheel covers off (simulators) I still couldn't reach in through the tiny hole and check the pressure or add air. This was getting ridiculous!!! Finally ... the Mercedes Dealer where I went for my first service added extensions on all six (6) wheels so I could at least check and add air without removing the wheel covers. I eventually added a set of DORAN 360RV TPMS as well. Love the tire pressure monitoring system until I woke one morning with one tire down to 55 pounds from 70. No idea what the problem was ... added air and keep losing as I drove. OK ... the bottom line for me. The valve extensions had come loose resulting in a leak. So now ... a year and half after purchasing my RV I have a bit of a handle on the situation. I still wasn't happy with all the valve extension so I ordered a set of all metal tire valves from Tire Man in California. He assures me that I won't need valve extensions and that I can still screw on my TPMS sensors and that I can check and add air without removing the wheel covers. Time will tell. I still have to get them installed and my inclination is to wait until I need a new set of tire before I have them installed ... unless I have a problem in the meantime. This has been one of the most frustrating issues for me. I can sure understand the frustration that a new owner will have with these. It's beyond me why the manufactures make it so difficult for the ordinary Joe to check tires. The dealer was pitiful when it can to the demo when I bought it and any warranty service I've had since. I don't go back there any more. Since this is my first post since joining this FORUM ... I will get about setting up my signature and anything else I can. I will note that there are getting to be too many RV types FORUMS out there, Trying to keep up is becoming a challenge. Regards Karsty (The Wandering Viking)