Count on it: Your RV WILL need major repairs

For most, an RV is the second biggest purchase they will ever make, next to their sticks and bricks house. So having a warranty to cover major repairs is an important consideration when purchasing an RV. But what happens when the manufacturer’s warranty runs out, or, worse yet, as happened to one major RV manufacturer this year, the company suddenly goes bankrupt and shuts down. What then? In this week’s podcast, we’ll talk about purchasing an extended warranty for your RV to provide peace of mind and Independent coverage regardless of when the manufacturer’s warranty or the warranties on major appliances expires. We’ll talk about how much an extended warranty costs, what it covers, what it doesn’t and whether it makes sense for you. That’s coming up in our interview of the week. But also this week, RV news of the week, lots of listener questions and a fascinating off the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride… Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #241 May 8,2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE We are very excited to announce the release of the latest in our Seven Day Adventure Guides for RVers... this one for Colorado. We know many of you are planning your summer travels and we wanted to get this one out to provide a handy resource for RVing across one of the most spectacular places on earth. You can learn more about this special ebook and be among the first to get it at https://rvlfestyle.com/colorado Here's a link to a promotional video we did about it - https://youtu.be/N3dZT3KtyLo JENNIFER We’re getting ready to hit the road, heading this week to Holland, Michigan, where the community holds a huge festival every spring celebrating Tulip Time. There are parades, concerts, wooden shoe dancing demonstrations and lots of cultural activities by the descendants of the Dutch immigrants who settled this Western Michigan town on the shores of Lake Michigan. But the main focus of the festival are the flowers. Holland boasts over 5 million tulips, all bursting forth in a dazzling display of color, pretty much peaking right now. Tulips are located in City parks, at public attractions, and along City streets. It’s quite the sight and we’ll be camping there Thursday through Sunday and, naturally, we’ll have a video. We can’t wait to head out. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Canada says you can smoke pot at campsites, while Florida sells booze in some state parks Things change and may never be quite the same in some campgrounds. Let’s start Up North: With recreational marijuana use now legal throughout Canada, Parks Canada is working to get the word out this camping season that smoking marijuana is now perfectly fine at campsites. But smoking at beaches, trails and other common areas it is not. We have no comment. Now let’s go down south, to Florida. There, the state is now selling beer and wine in 32 of its 175 state parks in an attempt to raise more money to pay for the parks. “I think it’s a sign of the times,” said Don Philpott, secretary of the Wekiva Wilderness Trust and former executive director of the Florida State Parks Foundation. “We are not unique in Florida. I visit parks all over the country, and increasingly alcohol is being permitted.” Florida officials say rangers have recently been trained to spot tipsy visitors. Anyone caught drunk will be asked to leave the park. Again, we have no comment. We’re just reporting the news here. JENNIFER Authorities are searching for the owner of an off leash dog which killed endangered seal in a California national seashore People sometimes complain about strict laws that require dogs to always be on a leash in national and state parks and often limit the areas they can visit. Most pet owners are responsible. But there are those who are not and a case in point happened in California last week that demonstrated just why those restrictions are needed. Authorities say an off leash dog in California's Point Reyes National Seashore killed a Guadalupe fur seal and now authorities are searching for the dog's owner. The seal pup had come to shore when it was attacked and killed by the dog which illegally was running off leash. MIKE Popular Alaska campground closed until mid-June to fix damage caused by last November's earthquake If you're heading to Alaska this summer, the popular Eagle River Campground near Anchorage is closed after the thaw revealed serious road damage from last fall’s 7.1 earthquake. At the time, the road was snow covered. But as they were getting it ready for the spring camping season and the snow melted, they spotted major cracks in a road caused safety concerns and the campground is now expected to open by mid-June. It’s one of Alaska’s most popular campgrounds and lots of folks are having to find other places to go, especially as the Memorial Day long weekend approaches. JENNIFER Bears in the hot tub at Great Smoky Mountains NP You have to love this story. A Tennessee couple vacationing in the Great Smoky Mountains last week was shocked to find a bear relaxing in their hot tub. It was a bear cub and he was visiting the deck of their cabin with his Mom and a brother cub. The three were sniffing around the deck, came upon the hot tub and one of the cubs hopped into the bubbling hot tub and even closed its eyes in relaxation. After a minute or two, he climbed out and the three bears went on their merry way. The photos the couple took went viral. Click the headline above to see them. This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK My wife and I are in the process of looking at Class B and C Motor homes. We had considered Class A but it's not in the budget! Kinda hard finding something that offers enough room for the 3 of us. Happy Trails ? John and Rita Lacher, and our 4-year-old German Shepherd Dog, Duke, from Chico CA I am sure my wife and I are a pretty common situation... our child is close to graduating college,... we are starting to think about retirement...We have been dreaming a long time, researching a long time... and thought we had settled on buying an Airstream and Tow Vehicle...But, then my wife found your review of the Leisure Van product... now you have us all messed up! ? Thinking maybe the B+ would be enough...I like not having to buy a truck to tow the trailer.... but, I love the look and feel of the Airstream Classic! Do you have any experience with people towing a "get around" vehicle with the Class B+...Is that even possible? With the travel trailer option... I like the idea of setting up ... and then being able to use the truck to get around. Can the B+ tow a small trailer... maybe something with some scooters... or a small vehicle... like one of those 3 wheeled things. Drew, Williamsport, PA We have heard you talk about using Rover.com and Wag.com and services like that to find pet sitters for Bo when you travel. We were planning to do the same thing on our RV travels this summer but then we heard about the story from CBS News that reported on how there have been dogs dying and bad treatment by some of the pet sitters. Has this caused you to think again about using he service? -Melanie, Smyrna, TN Do you have a question you’d like us to answer, or a comment on the things we’re discussing? If so, we invite you to leave us that question or comment on the special voicemail number we have for the podcast – it’s 586-372-6990. If you are driving and can’t write it down right now, just go to the RV Lifestyle travel blog at rvlifestyle.com and scroll down the page. You’ll see that number prominently posted on the blog. RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK Recreational vehicles are complex machines with many parts, and high repair costs can be an unfortunate twist in your RV journey. An RV Extended Warranty can help to erase those undesirable, and unexpected costs. The truth is, RV’s have a very high chance of breakdown, as you’ll learn in this interview, and there’s no more stressful situation than having your vacation or road trip interrupted by mechanical repairs. Staci Ritchie-Roman of Wholesale Warranties Our guest this week is Staci Ritchie-Roman of Wholesale Warranties, a San Diego based company that works as a broker to find the right extended warranty coverage for your RV, from the right company… for the right length of time. There’s no one size for all when it comes to selecting an extended warranty and Staci joins us now to help us learn more about just what’s involved with an extended warranty. To get a special quote on what an extended warranty would cost you and what it would cover and for how long, go to https://rvlifestyle.com/warranty Here’s a transcript of our interview with Staci: Mike: Well to find out just what is involved in getting an extended warranty and who it's for, we're joined now by Staci Ritchie Roman. She's with Wholesale Warranties and Staci, thank you for making some time for us on the podcast this week. Staci: Absolutely. We're super excited to be here and I appreciate you having me on. Mike: As I mentioned in the intro, there's a lot of people now wondering about warranty and coverage and let's start broad here. Different manufacturers have different warranties on their products. Different years, some for just a year or two, some for longer periods of time. Where do you guys with an extended warranty, where do you fit in in terms of the RV consumer? When should they be considering an extended warranty? Staci: There's a lot of different ways to look at it. Our products are available to motor homes that are 20 model years old and newer or towable RVs that 15 model years old and newer.