The RV and camping lifestyle sure brings families together and creates some great memories and an enduring love for the outdoors. To explore some of the ramifications of that, Jennifer and I introduce you to our three grown kids – Wendy, Scott and Jeff, who share what camping and RVing has done for our family and now theirs.

Plus we have lots of great reader tips and suggestions, an awesome tech app that lets you stream video on your devices without gobbling up data, and a coast to coast backroads route perfect for RVers.

Scroll down for show note details and resources and click the player below to start listening. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast.

[spp-player]

Show Notes for Episode #95 July 6, 2016 of Roadtreking - The RV Lifestyle Podcast:

JENNIFER'S TIP OF THE WEEK - Cleaning Aluminum Wheels

Sharon Burgess and her cleaning kit

One of the great things about the RV lifestyle is all the friendly advice and tips you can get from the folks you meet along the road. It seems everybody has a tip, something special that they do that makes things easier or more efficient. So it was at a campground in South Carolina the other day when we came upon RVer Sharon Burgess cleaning the aluminum wheels on her RV. We dug out the recorder and asked her to share it with us [spp-timestamp time="6:30"]

The tip of the week is brought to you by Good Sam, the world's most popular RV organization, now celebrating its 50th year.

LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK:

Don and Cheryl pass along a suggestion on how not to get lost, or at leas be found when you need to be, using something called the Spot GPS system [spp-timestamp time="11:20"]

Steve Dodd shares a story about some people he met from Australia who bought an RV in the states so, every time them come here, they have an RV waiting for them. [spp-timestamp time="16:09"]

Listener Jean has a great suggestion on how to really connect with the local community – by visiting the local library. You will be amazed at all the things you can learn about there to enhance your RV travels. [spp-timestamp time="20:30"]

Sponsoring this part of the podcast is Van City RV in St. Louis, and their Partner Dealerships Creston RV in Kalispell, Montana, and Wagon Trail RV in Las Vegas. Bringing You the largest Inventory of class B’s from three locations.

RV BASIC TRAINING

Here are my five suggestions on how to make sure your RV has a good mechanic. [spp-timestamp time="25:40"]

Search for shops that are certified to do repairs on your engine and/or chassis. Check the manufacturer’s website, look for local dealers and ask the service manager what certifications and specialties their techs have. Check review websites.

Ask your RV dealer for recommendations on where to have the vehicle’s engine serviced. They should be able to steer you to the place they use. Try to meet the tech who will be working on your vehicle personally. Ask questions. Most like sharing knowledge and since you are going to be building a long term relationship, familiarty brings respect.

Make sure you have your vehicle maintained and serviced as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Tell them where your next trip will be, what the terrain and dust conditions will be like. They’ll know what to inspect for and may have some great suggestions on how to operate your RV in those areas.

Call for an appointment instead of just showing up and demanding service. In an emergency, of course, a reputable place will gladly check things out. But even then, try to call ahead of time and give them as much advance notice so they know what’s coming in.

Keep all your documents and service records. A good shop, of course, will have them on their computer. But if you find you need service on the road, being able to show vehicle records will help avoid unnecessary repairs and save time with a new mechanic or service center.

This part of the podcast is brought to you by Campers Inn,