RV Camping at a Truck Stop

0:00 - This week on the RV podcast, - The chain of love's travel centers are opening up more and more of its truck stops for dedicated RV camping. Not just overnighting, but multiple stays, multiple night stays. If that's what you want. Now, we'll share the details of that in our interview of the week coming up. - And what's up with this? Cracker Barrel is closing some of its restaurants where RVs like to overnight - And just where can you get the oil changed on your Class C motor homes? Our RV community weighs in with some practical suggestions - And answering One of our questions of the week will tell you just how strong the wind has to be to flip an rv.

0:45 - All this bless the RV news of the week and much more coming up in episode 4 94 of the RV Podcast. Hello everybody. I'm Mike Lan in. This is my lifelong traveling companion and my bride Jennifer. And, um, how are you? - I am doing fantastic. How could I be doing anything other than fantastic when it is such a beautiful day? - It is a beautiful day and we have been so enjoying watching springtime come to, uh, hero Lake, which is the lake and the back of our, uh, 10 acres of Michigan property.

1:37 We have really enjoyed it, but there is a lot of drama there. Oh, - There's a lot of violence that goes on out there in nature. - Yeah, we watched, uh, with Joy a uh, a couple of Sandhill cranes that made a nest there. And then, um, they were on it for like better part of a week. And then one night we were woken up, I don't know, two or three in the morning with this ruckus going on from the Sandhill cranes. And we think a coyote got into their nest. - Could have been a raccoon, could have been a number of things, but there was a lot of noise coming from the pond - Then. They're not nesting anymore. We still see them. They're still landing. And then, uh, we got really excited the other day.

2:19 I think, uh, two, three days ago we saw the first of the geese guzzling, uh, three of them swimming around with their parents. But they seemed to have disappeared too. We have a lot of Canadian Canada geese on our property, but, uh, I don't know what happened to these little chicks, these little goslings. I hope there's fuzzballs are still there. - People are gonna think we're crazy that we like Canadian geese, but they're not walking all over our yard. No doing what geese do because Bo won't have them walk on our yard. They - Are out in the pond or the lake and having fun. But, uh, we're we're thinking that maybe a big snapping turtle got 'em. 'cause there are a number of those out there. - So we get so excited by life and birth and .

3:04 Then the reality, I guess - Of nature can be really cool. That comes - . - Yeah. Um, let's see what else is, oh, the other big part of it is, and, and actually we owe this to one of our followers here on, uh, YouTube and our podcasts and, uh, our community. Uh, he's a physician and uh, he sent me a really nice note 'cause he's heard me talk before. I'm trying to get back into, into good shape and it's been a long winter and like bear, I, I didn't, unlike a bear, I didn't lose all my weight in hibernation this winter. And he recommended a book he actually recommended, um, the book, um, undo it by, uh, Dean Ornish and, uh, his wife Anne.

3:48 And it's, uh, it's a pretty good book. Talks about changing lifestyles and de-stressing and all that sort of stuff. But it also, the biggest lifestyle change is diet. And, um, presents a pretty compelling argument for a plant-based diet. And we've never tried that before and it's going to be a challenge. Now, look, when I'm talking diets, everybody's got their own favorite, so don't send me your notes that you how to eat carnivore or paleo or Mediterranean because you - Know, we - Keto books on all that stuff. I got books on all of 'em. So, uh, - I gotta tell you, my favorite was Dr. Jason with 500 calories a day. Yeah, .

4:29 I was measuring out . - We did that for a while. How long did I last on that? - Oh, you lost a whole bunch of weight till - I about collapsed . - And then as soon as you went off it, it all came back on. Yeah, and then we tried it again, but not as wholeheartedly. So, um, I serve some kind of metal for all the different diets. I - Have tried them awful. - I have had to prepare food and shop for and carry - Them. This would be challenging. And I'm convinced that the evidence, I've read a ton, a ton more of literature. I've read literature on all of them 'cause I've tried all of them. So, but it's like religion don't or politics don't try and convince me that yours is the best. But, um, for us, we're gonna try this.

5:09 And I think we're on day two now. That's gonna be a challenge. I think, you know, I think once you got into it and learned how to, how to cook more plant-based meals, it would be easier. But, uh, in the book they give you a bunch of recipes, they give you a bunch of prepared things you can get to try it for a couple weeks. So we're gonna try that. But anyway, wish us luck. You are doing Wish Me luck. - You are doing much better on it than I am. And my incentive is I would like to lose some weight. 'cause it seems the older you get, the more pounds that you put on. And I'm not happy with what I'm weighing. But, um, the doctor scared me when he said he wanted me to go on a statin and I'm just like, I don't wanna go on a statin. - Yeah, I don't want to go to a statin either. So. Yep.

5:51 Alright. Oh, enough of that. Enough of that. The other thing we're doing is, uh, we just had a great time with the recent series we did on Class B RVs and the response was great. We're over 125,000 views of those, uh, reviews so far. So we've heard you, many of you have been writing us and, and emailing and messaging us on the community saying, um, do some Class Cs do some class? A's some of you said we should do some truck campers. Um, we, so we're gonna, we're checking with it. The problem is, frankly, is our loyalty is to you. So when we see these things, we're not gonna gloss over the stuff that's wrong with them.

6:35 And there are a lot of dealers and there's a lot of manufacturers who expect it to be all, you know, um, all positive. And, you know, we're trying to tell it like it really is. So there's, um, there's some reluctance to that and whether this works out or not, we, we, we will, we'll figure out a way to try and incorporate some of those into our, uh, I suppose we could rent them, but that'd get pretty costly. That - Would get very - Costly. Uh, but we'll see. They, they, you know, just like Nick over in, uh, sunshine State RV's down in Florida was happy to let us borrow some of his Class Bs. We'll find somebody who will let us test out some. The question - Is, would Nick let us borrow him again? - , don't say it.

7:16 Alright, we're gonna take a quick break and when we come back, we've got the social media buzz of the week. So stay with us. The one thing that can ruin a perfect RV trip is a bad mattress. And believe us, we know over the years we've tried many and we have found them all wanting until now. - Now we sleep on the RV mattress by Brooklyn Bedding. Quite simply, it's the best we've ever slept - On. We chose a queen size aurora luxe medium firm mattress that arrived tightly rolled in a box. All we did was put it on the bed, unroll it, and wait for it to recover from the compression. Then we put on the sheets and the bed covers and found we slept so well that we ordered another one for our home.

8:01 - That's how comfortable it is. Our sleep is now so luxurious and deep that we can't imagine using a different mattress. - Shipping is free. If you're disappointed with the current mattress in your rv, you owe it to yourselves to try the RV mattress by Brooklyn Bedding. - Brooklyn Bedding sends out all of their RV mattresses from their own factory in Arizona. This means they're able to use premium materials at a reasonable price for you. With no middleman bringing up the cost. - Make sure to check out their Black Friday sale at the end of this month. It'll be their biggest deal of the year. Don't miss out on the best sleep of your life.

8:42 Visit rv mattress.com/rv lifestyle. We just heard about a land offering out west for RVs in Arizona. They're selling five acre RV ranches, starting at only $49,900. The company offering it is affiliated with the people Jennifer and I bought our Tennessee property from. They do a great job. It looks amazing. It is at high elevation, so you get cooler temperatures, big mountain views, juniper trees, and green grasses. And it is near everything. The Grand Canyon Lake Havasu, Kingman, Flagstaff, and Sedona. It's a perfect place to have a home base to explore the west.

9:25 And it is right off Famous Route 66. It's called Greenwood Ranches. And this is the second and final section of the community. We met the sales manager, really nice guy. He bought a property for his RV and he's building a container home on it. Check out their website for a video tour and showing availability. It's pretty incredible. Visit the website to get details and set up a showing Arizona rv land.net. That's Arizona RV land.net. Well, welcome back everybody time now for the social media buzz. And we always say, if you really wanna know what's happening in the RV world, listen to real RVs and you find them on our RV lifestyle, uh, community at, uh, community dot rv lifestyle.com.

10:13 Also, our Facebook group, which is pushing 400,000 members now. Uh, and that is where you find the best tips, the best information. And, uh, our Wendy Boyer keeps track of all of that. - And Wendy is going to become an expert. . I mean, it's gonna be pretty soon. Ask Wendy. Ask - Wendy. Yeah. Ask, ask Wendy anything. All right, here's Wendy with this week's social media buzz. - Hi everybody. Over in our RV lifestyle community general discussion space, there was a recent post from Russell. He asked, where can I get an oil change for a gas class C? He said he was new to having a Class C.

10:54 He had always had a fifth wheel before he was traveling, not at home, so he couldn't do it himself. In fact, he was in Houston. He said he had, it's on a Ford E four 50 chassis, but the Ford dealers wouldn't do the oil change for him. And he just wondered if anyone in the group had a suggestion. Well, Bob and Roxy, they suggested he look for a semi repair shop that does oil changes or try a place like a Flying J. And then Mark and Brenda, they also suggested a semi repair shop and they actually looked one up near Houston, went on the webpage to see if it does oil changes, got the phone number and gave it through the group to Russell. And I just love that 'cause that just above and beyond kindness is something I'm seeing over and over again in our new community.

11:38 Um, and I hope that helped Russell. That was just so kind to do all that legwork. Um, also in our RV lifestyle community, I'd like to tell you about a post from Julie. This one appeared in our plumbing space. She said she has a 2023 Imagine with a Dometic 300 series toilet. And when they depressed, the foot pedal a little bit to flush this tiny amount of water appears on their floor. So she took it to the RV service department at the dealer. And apparently the tech worked on it, couldn't get it to duplicate at all, but of course the second they got out there and home and tried it, the water was there. So the problem was not gone. So she just asked if anyone had any thoughts, what it might be.

12:21 Well, Rita and Jeff, they said that their valve used to drip like this and they couldn't figure it out. So they kept a small cloth under it to catch water. And that worked pretty well. Um, but then it turned out they had to replace the base for another reason. And when that replacement happened and a new valve came into place, it didn't drip anymore. And same with Brendan Mark. They said they had to get another foot pedal part, and when they replace that, the drip went away. So hopefully those, uh, tips can help Julie. And then meanwhile over in our RV lifestyle Facebook group, I have to tell you about this post, it just went wild. Um, it was a post from Matthew and it said the usual progression of camping year five is our actual current setup.

13:05 And so this progression showed different pictures for each year you camp. So year one was a tent in the woods, real rustic with a picnic table. Year two was a pop-up. Year three was a travel trailer. Year four was a fifth wheel with a pickup truck. And year five was a semi with a cabin trailer and a toy hauler. Um, people just love this progression picture and description. And uh, lots of people had to say, I'm in year two. I'm in year four. You know, skipped year three or, you know, it just went on and on. It was really fun to read. And then several people were inspired and started cheering their own posts of their progression.

13:45 Um, what many were like Heidi's. And she showed a picture of her and her husband in a tent that was year one, and then in a popup, and then in a travel trailer, and then in a looked like newer and nicer travel trailer. Um, and so it was again, just, um, inspiring all types of people to reminisce and, uh, made me wonder what is your progression? Um, but that's it for me this week. I am Wendy Boyer and I'll see you either in our RV lifestyle community or Facebook group. - Well, after listening to all that, that fun question of, uh, documenting, going from a one to a five, going larger with your rigs all the time, it made me think of us.

14:27 'cause we started out with a small travel trailer. You started out with tents, . Oh, well, yeah. But a small travel trailer that was with one child. And then we had a lapse where we had two more kids. So we had three kids and a dog. And then we went to the popup, went to a popup, and then the kids to a tent. 'cause the kids left. Kids didn't wanna camp. So we went to a tent and then we went to, uh, class B's and then B Pluses, and then Class - C's and now Fifth Wheels. And who knows what's next. - So I think it's common. Yeah. You know, we're not the only people that bounce around from one size to another size. And it's, uh, was just fun to hear the different people say how they this one, that one and this one. Yeah. - I think most our, - Yeah, we change.

15:09 - All right. When we come back, we're gonna talk about a great place to stay. And there's more and more places like this all around The country loves travel centers. Yeah, it's a truck stop. But, uh, they are increasingly adding campgrounds, uh, full hookup camp sites and places where you can do more than overnight. You can actually camp there for as long as I think two weeks or longer. Uh, you'll hear all the details coming up in the interview of the week. Jennifer and I bought some land near Nashville, Tennessee a while back. We got tired, crowded, expensive campgrounds and worrying about reservations. Tennessee is a gorgeous state with friendly people and it has been such a pleasure.

15:49 The same developer has some new property near us, close to the Natchez Trace and Buffalo River called the Reserve At High Forest. Big properties, five to 41 acres. You can build a house, a cabin or rv. Year round prices start at only $89,900. Your property, your way 100% ownership. The scenery in this part of Tennessee is breathtaking and the property is gorgeous. Garden landscape. Bring your pets, build what you want. There's high speed fiber optic internet and it is so private. A great place to make your home base ready whenever you want it.

16:32 Five to 41 acre properties from $89,900. There's even great financing. Check out the site and a video tour@rvlands.net. That's RV lands.net. Welcome back time now for the RV interview of the week. - And I just can't wait to share this information with everybody 'cause this is exciting. - Many RVs need a place to stop on a long road trip, and you don't wanna pay stiff campground fees. You know, they're approaching 70 bucks a night at many of them now or more when all you're seeking is a place to lay your heads. Uh, sometimes, you know, you can boondock in places like a Walmart or a Cracker Barrel, but sometimes there are safety issues or you want some amenities like electricity. So what do you do?

17:21 - Well, increasingly, uh, loves travel trailers. Sp uh, spots are, uh, making campsites - Now. A lot of people associate loves as a place to stop for fuel and food. And increasingly it is. But it's also a place now to camp with all of the amenities and more. Uh, I think you're gonna be amazed at, uh, how love has become so, uh, in love with the RV community. And here to tell us about is our guest, Jim Wheeler. He's the director of hospitality and RV operations for Loves Travel Centers. Well, Jim, it is great to have you on the program. I, uh, have, uh, watched with, uh, great interest as, uh, loves, which is our favorite fuel stop anyway, for our Big fifth Wheel has, uh, embraced the RV lifestyle.

18:09 Tell me how many love centers now, do you have that cater, uh, to RVs? - Yes, uh, uh, you know, right now the, our Love's locations, we have, we have 640 locations nationwide in about 43, 44 states now, as far as the RVs go, uh, we actually opened today our number 58, our 58th location in Gulfport, Mississippi. Um, and then we, we have, uh, we're in about 23 states with our, uh, RV stops. And by the end of the, this year, we'll, we'll go over, uh, 30 states. So yeah, - 30, 36 states.

18:50 Uh, how, how many total sites do you see in your plans that you'll have in a, within the end of the year? - Yeah, it's, so going from 58 today, we, we should have at least 90 open, um, by the end of this year. So wrap. - So will that continue? Will that continue next year? Do you see? - You know, I, I think so. I think it will, you know, so really this year we, we started the year with about 50 locations and, uh, we'll open around 40 and I think we have another 40 potentially to open next year as well as we, you know, look at those, those, uh, uh, how many travel stops we have out there. So, - Well, when you're driving down the, uh, freeway, is there a way for people to know, besides going to your website, and we'll put a link to that in the description, but is there a way for them they see those loves billboards up on the road all the time?

19:43 That's how I plan my fuel stops. And is there a way to know from, from those, how do you know whether they're it has RV facilities? - Yeah. Great. Great question. And, uh, so now really what I wanna encourage everyone to do is to go to the app store and download the Loves Connect app. And that's gonna do a few things for you. One, it's gonna provide you a 10 cent discount on fuel, whether that's gas or deal diesel fuel. Um, and then what you'll also find on there, right on that first page, it'll have an RV icon at the bottom of it. And if you push that IRV icon, it will show you all the locations.

20:25 It'll show you a map so you can get a sense of where you're at and maybe where the closest one might be. Uh, but here's really, I think one of the unique things about our locations in that app is you can go ahead and reserve the location right online. So you can go on there, you can make the reservation when you arrive to the location, then what, it'll send you an email and a text message after you reserve it. And once you arrive, you reply to that. And then what it will do is it will turn on all the utilities for you at your particular site so you don't have to go inside the store. Of course, we always love you to go inside and, and, uh, uh, take advantage of what we have to offer in there, but you can go right on in.

21:11 And if it's one of our larger locations with the gate, it'll text and email you the gate code. It'll text and email you the restroom code so you can use the shower, um, or the laundry facility as well. We have at our larger locations. Um, and, uh, it also will always send you a wifi password. So that can all happen right there from that, uh, loves Connect app. - Would you describe, um, what's included in these spots? Uh, what kind of amenities will people have as they pull in? - Yeah. Um, and so we look at it, uh, we have two different types of, of locations, uh, what we call our hookups, which are smaller locations that are really right off the travel stops there.

21:58 Um, and you know, today we have, um, 30 44 of those open. So we have 44 of the hookups open. Um, and then we have, uh, uh, 14 of the larger locations open. Um, we call those stops. So if you kind of look at 'em and, and whenever you go on the app, it'll tell you everything that's included. But, you know, we're always gonna have 30 50 amp power. Um, you know, typically almost all of them will have, uh, potable water at each, uh, uh, uh, space. Um, and then, you know, most of 'em will still have like individual RV dumps at, at each space.

22:38 Um, of course we'll have the wifi now. Um, if we don't have an a dump right there at that space, then we have a communal dump. And the price you pay, uh, it's for overnight, it will give you the combination code on how you can u utilize the, the communal dump at that location. - Well, you thought that out. That is about as convenient as possible. I wish campgrounds were that, uh, that easy to navigate. Yeah. Um, how much of these spots typically cost, uh, per night? Does it vary, uh, between locations? - You know, it can vary. I would say most of them are right around the mid $40 range.

23:21 Um, is what it costs, uh, to, to stay with us now. Um, you know, a lot of our smaller hookup locations are mostly back ends, but we do have some of those with pull throughs in our larger locations will always have pull through, um, spaces. So pull throughs will cost a little bit more money, uh, than the backend, uh, spaces out there. And, and yeah, it can, you know, depending on demand and, and, uh, at, at individual locations and, uh, you know, uh, timing that then prices can, can go up. It'll, it'll slightly increase a little bit as the occupancy gets fuller. - Um, how hard is it to get these spots?

24:02 Uh, do they typically sell out every night or is it word - Spread enough? You know, I'll tell you, there are, our hookup locations are, are very popular. Uh, all, all in all, you know, we're still, we're still growing with it. I think this last week we ran up over 50%, but a number of locations filled up. You know, we had some boost a little bit too from the eclipse. We had some locations that, uh, were, were in line with that and we did see a little extra occupancy at some, some locations there. But yeah, they can, a lot of 'em will fill up, you know, and, and Florida was really popular here over the winter time and we had two locations. We're adding more, but those ones stay pretty full.

24:43 - How do you, uh, choose a location? Do you kinda look at where our veers are going in particular? - Yeah, we, we do, we try to look at a, a, a, a number of different things. Um, you know, one, and, and look, we're, we're on the highway, right? All of our travel stops, so we're always gonna put these in the next to a travel stop, um, uh, where we have an existing one. So, you know, it is, um, what we find at the smaller locations, those hookups, you know, they get, which we haven't really found a bad spot yet, if, you know, if you've got 10 or less spaces, um, uh, right off there. Because what we find those really work well for is that traveler that is heading to a destination and they wanna stop.

25:30 A lot of 'em are coming in later in the evening. They leave early in the morning. Um, and, uh, you know, they, they find, you know, that, that's where I think that is just, we hear a lot of that convenience factor right off the highway. Usually we built these, uh, trout where it's easier for an RV to maneuver within our locations. And, uh, you know, the safety aspect of it too, we hear, - Yeah. Is is it true that love's travel centers are, uh, developing, uh, or have plans to like do a full campground? Uh, we heard, for example, something on the way to Yellowstone. Is that all? - Yeah, so those would be one of our larger, we actually that, that hard in Montana is the location that's opening at, at the end of April here in a couple of weeks we open Harden and, uh, it has 82 spaces, you know, it'll be gated, so it will have a, uh, a building with an office, uh, restroom, uh, uh, showers, laundry.

26:30 And then what it also has is it has, um, a recreational area. We'll have a combination pickleball, basketball court, um, you know, all these, we have mostly pull through spaces, every picnic tables at every space. Um, uh, there, uh, we also have a communal, uh, fire pit, uh, there of course we have a dog park. Uh, you know, and that's one thing we have it all, you know, with the travel stops at all the locations, but have a dedicated dog park there. Um, you know, we'll set up corn bowl, uh, uh, uh, cornhole boards and, uh, we, we'll do communal, uh, pavilions. And so, you know, with those communal pavilions, we'll put in some gas grills too. That lets, um, - Can you, can you make a reservation for more than one night at any of these? Yeah, - No, absolutely.

27:18 Really all of them. You can. And we do have discounts for weekly rates. Um, and we'll do, at our larger facilities, we'll do some 28 day stay discounts. We don't really, at any one time, you can't book more than 28 days at a time at a location. Uh, but yeah, we, we'll, we'll offer, um, uh, some weekly and, and, uh, yeah. And, and the larger ones, we'll even have some 28 day stay. - Now of course these are going to get more and more popular as words spread. So I kind of almost hate to run this interview Jim , because it's really, but um, right now it sounds that you can almost get same day residency or same day occupancy as you're driving down the road.

28:04 But, uh, how far in advance can you book these things, - If you We'll, to the planner? We'll, yeah, we'll let you book up to a year in advance. Oh, really? Uh, so yeah, you can go out there and, and yeah, and we do encourage, you know, when you can, but that, you're right, most people, we get, uh, a lot of this is day of people are traveling again, they, you know, and that's what's convenient how however far I can get on my destination, you know, where's the closest loves here and, you know, plant planted out that way. So how - Did, how did you guys get the ideas for this? When did it all, when did all this start? You know, uh, you've always been friendly to RVs. I mean, it really is a must up I think. - Yeah, it is. You know, really it started just, it was about, we're hitting three years now and that first year, by the end of 21, we had five locations open.

28:49 But is really why this came about for us is, you know, the really, the RV customer is a hu has always been a big customer for love's. When you really look at what we have, you know, the fuel, the propane, you know, we put in all the dog park loca there, but you've got the restaurants, you've got the store, we have laundry facilities in most of our loves. We have showers if somebody doesn't, you know, so even our smaller hookup location that don't have everything I talked about in Harden, they have that if you wanted to shower, there's that ability to do that. Or, uh, you know, laundry facilities if you wanna get some laundry done.

29:30 So I think what we just said is, Hey, this is an important customer of ours. How do we, um, you know, better embrace the, the RV community. - Let's double back for a second and talk about that travel app, which is available, uh, from the, uh, app stores. Did I hear you right that there's a 10 cent fuel discount? - That's correct. 10 cents off of gas or diesel. - Now does that apply to like, I have a fifth wheel and the only place I can really fill up at most, most of the loves is, um, you know, with the big trucks, uh, does it apply there as well? - Yeah, thanks for asking that because no, unfortunately that is on right now.

30:12 It's only on the gas side of the business there. So we do need to work on that. Um, and I think those are things we're trying to look and, and in general, maybe there's other, you know, offerings that, uh, we, we could reach out. Uh, you know, I'll, I'll tell you. Um, so we just did a deal with Blue Compass. Um, and so what that's - An RV uh, business. It's a big, it's a national chain that sells RVs. Yeah, - Yeah. Right. And so we've teamed up with them and, uh, so they have their Blue Compass app that, you know, connects with our travel stops. And so when somebody buys a new RV for the first year, they get their app free and with their app, what you can get, uh, is you, there's a little more, you get a 13 instead of a 10 cent gas and you get a 20 cents off of diesel, but you also get 50 cents off of propane.

31:09 And if you're not staying at one of our RV parks, but you're just wanna come and use our, uh, our dump station, uh, then it will give you that for half price. And so, you know, we're kind of looking at some other things we could potentially do down the road, but, you know, that's it is we got the technology and that's all just automated from an your phone, just like our fuel discount today. Well, - What a great, uh, addition to, uh, the travel agendas for RVs. Uh, I'm so excited to hear this and we're looking forward to trying one out, Jim. We will send everybody to the app store and look for the Loves Travel Centers app. And, uh, Jim, I'll, I'll be camping in one in the next, uh, month or so as we, uh, set off for our spring and summer travel.

31:54 So thanks for being a guest on the podcast. - Great. Thank thanks for having me today. I really appreciate it. - That is pretty exciting. And, uh, I mean, some of those sites, the one by Yellowstone is amazing. Whoa. - Maybe we can go there sometime, - I think. Yeah. Uh, and uh, uh, they, as you heard, uh, as you heard 'em say, they're gonna be doing more of 'em. So, um, it's a great alternative. - I think that's just awesome that they're doing this 'cause there's money to be made in, uh, campsites. So there it is. Why not? - Alright, when we come back the RV News of the week when we're asked what's the most important modification we made to our rv, it's an easy answer.

32:35 Battle borne batteries. Battle borne batteries are quality, safe, reliable lithium batteries that allow us to stay out there off the grid longer. Lithium batteries charge faster. They charge fuller, they're longer lasting, they're maintenance free. And battle borne batteries are protected by a 10 year guarantee. Now in our case, they just dropped into the existing a GM batteries that we have and they'll probably be the same on your rig too. Battle borne battery experts can get those in your rig just like they did with ours. They can also match you up with the right cabling, the inverter, the charger, the solar controller, everything.

33:17 Jennifer and I swear by our battle borne batteries, they allow us to boondock off the grid. Check 'em out, go to rv lifestyle.com/lithium rv lifestyle.com/lithium. Welcome back everybody. Time now for the RV News of the week. - Now Cracker Barrel has closed four location and they report revenue decline. And, uh, this is leading some RVs to urge the community to eat more often at the chain. - I think that's a great piece of advice. We are big fans of Cracker Barrels. Um, but yeah, the, the reason why is, um, they've heard reports that the, uh, southern home cooking chain is closing four stores now and they're experiencing some declines in guests.

34:06 Uh, they're closing two stores in California and Sacramento and Santa Maria and one in Oregon. And that means now in Oregon there the chain will have no stores in Oregon. 'cause they closed three there last year. They're also closing one store in Columbia, South Carolina. - No, South Carolina kind of surprises me. Yeah, I would think they would eat Southern cooking there. Yeah. So, uh, that one surprises me. - Cracker Barrel has closed 10 locations in the fiscal years, 2023 and 24, but they still have 658 stores remaining. Uh, and they lost I think not quite 2% of revenue, um, you know, last, uh, year compared to the prior year.

34:47 But, you know, it sounds that the company's has a plan and, uh, you know, like everybody else, inflation is, is killing them. But our views are paying attention 'cause they are really nice places to stay. I like Cracker Roast because I wake up in the morning and I know I have bacon. I can smell it waiting for me. Right, sun. Yeah, - That's true. So they're launching a loyalty program. I wonder what that's gonna be like. And they're improving its marketing and focusing on guest experience. So they're they're aware they're working on it. - Yep. And, and most Cracker Barrel restaurants allow RVs to overnight in their parking lot. And the only places you can't is, you know, in communities that prohibit such things.

35:28 And uh, so when you can't, it's not a Cracker Barrel decision. It's usually because of local ordinances. And I don't wanna get going on that. But a reason there is a lot of those local ordinances is same ones that places where you can't stay in Walmart. 'cause Walmart welcomes our viewers, but the community, uh, the local legislatures or the councils or the county commissions were pressured by campground owners. And there's all this model legislation that the Campground Association pushed through on a lot of these smaller communities to make it so you can't overnight they want you to go spend that, uh, 70 bucks in a campground or something. But, so anyway, but most Cracker Barrels and I could get going on that all day.

36:09 , most cracker barrels and most Walmarts, uh, will let you stay for free. Always check with the manager. - And I think something else that's entered into the picture is, um, homeless population. Yeah, - Yeah. - You know, that kind of people - Go camping in ratty cars and that's, that's a problem all over the country. Yeah. Anyway, if you're in Rve and if you do, uh, overnight at the chain, uh, the expect expectation is that you'll grab breakfast, uh, in the morning or dinner the night before. And that sounds like a, a great deal. Uh, we love staying at Cracker Barrel. - We do. It's a fun place to stay. - Yep. Uh, so keep it up. Cracker Barrel. We, we love you guys, . We really do. Uh, alright, the next story.

36:50 Uh, and this is interesting, for those of you who might be visiting the, uh, black Canyon of the Gunnison or Black Canyon of the Gunnison, uh, out in Colorado, the, um, bridge over the Blue Mesa reservoir has closed because a steel beam is cracked. And if you plan a camping trip this summer to Colorado, make sure your route is, uh, not affected by this, this bridge over the Blue Mesa reservoirs on, uh, S 50. And what they found it - Big cracked. I would, yeah, it was a three to a four inch crack along a steel beam that was discovered on the bridge, uh, that connects the gunna sun to Mount - Rose. Yeah. And, um, there's an alternative route, but - A 300 mile detour, - A 300 mile detour, and that is likely to take you six or seven hours to drive.

37:41 Um, so people planning to visit Black Canyon and the Gunnison National Park, which is a really spectacular national park, we loved camping there. Mm-Hmm. , uh, and, um, uh, you're gonna have to, um, that's the road you take to get in there. Colorado Department of Translation said they found that crack, um, on the Steel Bridge inspection is that the, um, federal Highway Administration requires. And they don't know how long it's gonna take to fix it. So, um, we do have a Colorado Adventure Guide that we should tell you, uh, full of suggestions on what to see in Colorado and, uh, what to do, where to camp. And we'll put a link in the show notes, um, where you can read, you can find that in all of our other travel books.

38:22 - And, uh, this is a fun story. Jellystone Campgrounds Plan, special Mother's Day's activities. Yeah. - I love Jellystone Horse. We went to one, uh, at the end of the, at the end of last camping season in the fall and had a ball. It's a great family place. Well, now they're talking about Mother's Day. Yeah. - So they, uh, checkout, they've got all different things planned at different campgrounds. So, uh, it's gonna be fun. I - I I like it. It's kind of like what the camping industry did with Halloween, uh, a few years ago. Somebody says, you know, let's really stress camp Halloween. And it's now turned into like all of October. Every weekend is booked with all these campgrounds that have Halloween events. Well, they're looking for other holidays they can do.

39:04 And so they're picking Mother's Day and you know, they're gonna pick Father's Day. Well, I would - Hope so. Yeah. - So Mother's Day is Sunday, May 12th, and, uh, activities I'm sure vary by - Location. Oh yeah. The different campgrounds, you know, like some locations they receive, uh, free mo, uh, color changing, Jellystone Park, mom cup, , and they've got everything from dress like a mom contest, , special crafts, tea and cookies, scavenger - Hunts. How do you dress just like a - Mom guess. I guess you'd both mother and - Daughter look alike or - These days, who knows? . Oh yeah, alike. Who knows? But, um, dressed like a mom.

39:45 - Tea and cookies. - Tea and cookies. - Scavenger hunts, - Massages. That sounds like hay rides, parades. And you know, they'll be creative. There'll be all kinds of things happening at the Jellystone campgrounds. - Well, good for you, Jellystone for having some fun. Uh, and one last story. We talked about this earlier on, um, the La Chargers of course have a new coach and, uh, Jim Harborough, uh, when, when he first got the job, he said that he wanted to take his RV out to California and actually live in his rv. And along with his offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, uh, who's another big RV or so, they have spent the last couple of months living full-time RV life in the Huntington Beach at a great little campground there.

40:27 And, uh, we had hoped to actually go out and visit them out there. But, uh, the team realized that there's a lot of RVs who would be interested. So they did a video, uh, where Harbo and Roman talk up, you know, the RV life. They give a tour of their rigs and, uh, even settle their campgrounds at the end of the day in a lawn chair enjoying a beer like most campers. Uh, Harbaugh by the way, makes - 16 million a year, - 16 million - Million a year. - And uh, that's pretty amazing. Uh, he was, he says he was inspired to, uh, spend more time in his RV by the old TV show Rockford Files. And he has a quantum Thor, class C, and he is, uh, in that RV park, uh, across the street from the Pacific Ocean. I - Mean, does it get any better than that across the street from the Pacific Ocean?

41:20 And boy, your RV is so much better. All of us out there with our RVs know it's so much better than a hotel room. - And that's what Harborough says. And uh, he even talks about emptying the black tank. So we will put a link to that video. Uh, and it also has a tour. Uh, Roman, his offensive coordinator has a 2019 Numar Ventana Class A and, uh, he's got the American flag flying on the back with the Chargers flag just below it. And he also says the RV life beats any hotel. So it was a great video and uh, football fans will like it, but our viewers will get a kick out it too. $16 million a year and he's chosen to live in a Class C RV for the past two months.

42:02 - Well, when the family comes, he, he'll probably be moving on. - Yep. They're there, I think right now. And so he's uh, he's probably gonna have to put that RV in storage. So, alright, when we come back, we've got a couple of great RV questions of the week that you'll wanna catch. So stay with us. Are you ready to embark on an unforgettable adventure in your rv? Our RV lifestyle travel guide eBooks are your ultimate companions for exploring North America's most breathtaking destinations. They'll help you hit the road with confidence and make the most out of your RVing experience. We're Mike and Jennifer Wendling and we are passionate explorers and the authors of an entire library of RV travel guide eBooks.

42:46 We have meticulously put together detailed travel maps showing you the best routes where to stay, what hidden gems to discover along the way from the majestic Yellowstone National Park to the vibrant colors of Colorado, the awe inspiring beauty of Utah, the enchanting deserts of Arizona, the tranquil Great Lakes region, the pristine wilderness of the Adirondacks. We've even done a captivating three part guide to RV Travel and camping in Florida. No matter where your wanderlust takes you, we've got you covered. Our curated list of must see attractions ensures that you won't miss out on any unforgettable experiences.

43:33 You wanna witness the eruption of Old Faithful. We've got you covered. Craving an epic road trip through breathtaking landscapes. We've got the perfect route for you dreaming of beachside, camping under the stars. We know the best spots with our eBooks available for instant download@rvlifestyle.com slash books. You can have the knowledge you need right at your fingertips. Head over to rv lifestyle.com/books and start exploring the wonders of North America today. Unforgettable adventures are waiting. Welcome back time now for the RV Questions of the week.

44:15 And we love to get your questions. We love to get your comments. You can always reach us at Mike and jen@rvlifestyle.com. You got your first question? - First question. I just got a weather alert about a red flag warning for the area we're traveling to. We're in Texas, far from the coast, aren't red flag warnings about riptides and dangerous water conditions? - And that's from Marsha. And yes, Marsha, you're thinking about the red flags that lifeguards fly at the beach. And I I I think we can see the confusion there, um, because the red flag in the beach means don't go in the water, but there is a red flag warning that comes from the weather service and it's completely different.

44:58 What it means when you hear that is that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or they will shortly, uh, the combination of strong winds, um, low relative humidity, warm temperatures contribute to extreme fire behavior. So when you hear that red flag warning you're in means you should be careful. - Yeah. Extremely careful with any activity that could potentially lead to a wildfire camping outdoors. You know, you got your grills, you've got the smoky materials, chainsaws and all terrain vehicles all have the potential to throw a spark and ignite a dangerous and destructive fire.

45:39 So you've gotta be extra careful. Yeah. - So that, speaking of high winds, uh, something that happens a lot in the early spring, uh, that leads us to our second question. This week - We've been told to expect a lot of heavy winds near Armillo, Texas where we are headed for a few days to tour the Palo Duro Canyon. A fellow RV said we should probably pull in the slides from our grand design fifth wheel when we're going hiking for the day and away from the campsite. What's your advice? And that's from Keith. - Boy, we, we remember Amarillo, the, the locals say that it's blowing dirt , which it does. It's known for almost always being windy.

46:23 And I I remember one night we were in, um, a class B at the time and we were really tossed around. - Yeah. We kept thinking, should we get up and go to the cement restrooms? I mean, do we stay in this RV or do we get up and go someplace? I mean, we were rocking like, and, - And and I, yeah, I I was really convinced that, you know, we missed a, a tornado warning or something. But no, it was just normal weather. And uh, when we, uh, when we got up, uh, the locals just kinda laughed this and said, you should see it when it was really windy. But yeah, - They weren't concerned at all that, yeah. Considered us outsiders, which we were. - But there is some wisdom in pulling in the slides when there are really high winds and you, you're not around.

47:07 And by high winds, I mean 40 miles above or more for, you know, extended periods of time. Not just a gust, but extended periods of time. Now that wouldn't flip your rv, but it can add a lot of stress to the slide mechanisms if they're being buffeted around a lot. Um, particularly the cables, they could fray a little bit. Uh, and by the way, I googled what it would take to flip an RV and I came up with an answer that refers to a study called, um, wind Speeds Required to Upset Vehicles. And it's by, uh, a couple of researchers from Kent State University and they had a study and it said that you would need hurricane force winds in excess of 91 miles per hour to flip even the least stable rv.

47:58 So I don't think you have to worry about it flipping. Uh, I'm sure there's always exceptions to that, you know, wind funnels and all sorts of stuff. But, uh, but a good idea to bring in your slides - And it goes without saying awnings . - Oh yeah. Don't ever leave your awnings up. I would not e even if you're in the rv, it's a nice day with nice night when you go to bed, pull in your awnings, uh, you don't know. 'cause wind can come up like that and we hear all these stories of shredded RVs - And when you go for a hike, - You know, even for a little while. - Yeah. 'cause you don't know the local terrain, you know the winds and everything. It is just take care of your awning 'cause it's such a hassle to fix 'em. - Alright, that's the podcast for this week.

48:39 Um, thank you guys so much Rash. We love getting your questions, your comments. Again, our personal email address is Mike and jen@uhrvlifestyle.com. - Happy trails.