RV Navigator

Our Western National Parks RV caravan concluded after 31 days and 1600 miles. It was an adventure so we spend much of this episode sharing the details of the trip. This journey was title Western Grand Circle because we visited several iconic national parks and scenic attractions during month of travel. Traveling in a caravan means that all of the details are planned by the caravan company. We drive between locations and the camping spot is waiting at a full service campground. This plus many additional side trips, make traveling easy. It followed the typical RV caravan flow so if you are thinking of joining a caravan, then you should take a listen. This includes our unclose encounter with a wolf that decided to disable our car. How you ask - well you'll have to listen.

After over a year of being stationary, we finally are ready to cruise again in July. We’ll be traveling to Malta (off the coast of Italy, but an independent country) for a round trip sail aboard the Viking Venus doing a Croatian itinerary for 11 days. This is the first sailing of this itinerary so we are a bit apprehensive about all of the arrangements. We are Covid free and ready to travel again, so we’ll head out mid month for 2 weeks.

I am please to report that we have recovered some lost episodes from the early days of the podcast. It was fun to listen to many outdated topics and remember what RVing was like in the days of our 5th wheel.

Plus we found the lost episodes from 2008 on Martha's laptop. What's new in streaming services, surge pricing at campgrounds, new websites and much more in this episode.

I have transitioned to a mirrorless SLR (its predecessor was purchased during the missing episodes above) from my Canon system. This new Olympus micro 4/3rds camera is much more capable and much lighter/smaller than the Canon system.

Will campgrounds go to surge pricing for campsite - many think so. How your streaming going - we chat about the latest in streaming services and some you don’t want. These and many more topics are part of the RV Navigator for July.

Our world is opening up after 15 months of living under Covid restrictions, the summer seems to be back to pre-covid levels of activity. This is a very good sign for our future travels both by RV and overseas trips.

Along with a birthday this month (turned 75), Ken found that he had to renew/upgrade his driving license and take a driving test. Many states, including IL, have an RV driving test. Links on the website provide info about such states, but after some miscommunications, he passed the driving test in the MH so we're good for four more years of MH travel.

Also this month, we purchased new ebikes that more easily fit our traveling lifestyle. These are full folding bikes with 20 inch tires. Although our old bikes folded in half, they were still too big to manage on day trips. The new bikes fit into storage bins which can be lifted into the hatch back of either of our cars. A great option and one that will keep both the car and bike from damage.

Are you thinking of becoming a full time RVer. We share the 5 misconceptions of full-timing. Finally, we look at electric RVs and their potential. Are electric tow vehicles a viable option and will they become the norm in the future?

Back to IL and normal travel is our mantra this month. We left FL to head north and a more typical summer experience after 6 months being stationary. The trip home involved our annual stop in Gaffney, SC for a motorhome check up. This year due to the age of the MH, we had all of the fluids replaced - expensive, but necessary. We try to keep our Dutch Star in good condition so that we are not left on the side of the highway while on a trip. We also stopped Brunswick GA for a short side trip to Jekyll Island. The June calendar photo was taken on Driftwood Beach on the island. We’ll be in IL until August when we head West for the fall.

We share ideas about RV buying, tank management, campgrounds, boondocking and many other current topics. How about a Rv bidet? I have never thought about such a thing, but they are for sale - the Butt Buddy. Who remembers the Jetsons animated tv series from the 60s? They predicted many of our tech advances that we use today. Fifty or 30 amp that is the question. How much can your relay on 50 to run your coach? Kitchen ideas, water hoses and much more are discussed in this episode.

We traveled from East to West to East across Florida this month. Although, traveling coast to coast is only a 3 hr drive in this part of the country, it still is a different world from our home base. This month we had the Diamond Shield removed from the MH and it looks great. Diamond Shield is one of those options that sound good, but don't work as designed. After 10 years of exposure to the elements, the front of our MH was looking bad due to deterioration of the product that is supposed to protect it. Fortunately, the original paint underweight was in great condition so now we are back to looking smart in the front.

We now stayed in many FL state parks with great success. Unlike other states, their policies are MH friendly and the camping spots are very nice. We've now stayed within a short distance of the ocean on both coasts and in the middle with great success. Reservations are necessary, but we've been able to reserve spots about 6 weeks out, in most cases.

We also share some ideas about the future of working on the road in an RV plus lots of interesting stories of life on the road. The end of the month finds us in Jupiter FL. From here we head back to our winter headquarters in Titusville. Next month we'll be at home in IL for the summer months.

As the pandemic roars on, we look down the road to when it is history - exactly when we don't know but we can see the end (we think). We've gotten our first shot so we hope to be able to travel this year but have no solid plans until 2022. We are focused on our RV and living our stationary life in FL.

There is lots of news in the RV world to share like the new adventure RVs that are popping up everywhere. What happened at the Tampa RV SuperShow? What is Diamond Shield? What is your states license plate motto? What's new with Swamp buggy tours?

All of these important questions are discussed in this episode of the RV Navigator. Be sure to visit our episode website at RVNavigator.com.