RV Podcast #186: What can happen when mice invade and infest an RV

In this week’s episode, a cautionary tale about what can happen when you buy a used RV that’s been sitting in one place for a long time from a dealer who seems to be less than thorough in quality control. But more than that, it’s a nightmare true story about the hidden damage that can be done to an RV by mice and what questions you should ask when buying a used RV to make sure it doesn’t happen to you. Plus, an off the beaten path report, your RV questions, RV news and tips you can use. All this coming up in this episode of the RV Podcast. Click the player below to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details. 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 #186 April 4, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK [spp-timestamp time="2:00"] It’s April already and springtime is slowly making its way north to those still in the unseasonable cold Midwest and northern states. We’re finishing up a nearly three month trip that has us coming to you this week from Florida. We just had a long aster weekend visit fom two of our three adult children, their spouses and five of our eight grandkids. It was great family time here on the Emerald Coast hanging out at the beach and enjoying the sunshine. We will hit the Road Thursday of this week and make our way back to check up on our sticks and bricks home in Michigan. But it will be a very brief visit of about three days because next week, we will head to Phoenix, Arizona, here we will be putting on a couple of seminars and hanging out at the Super B RV Show being held April 12-15 at the University of Phoenix Stadium. We’ve been reporting a lot on past podcasts about a proposal by the government to dramatically increase entry fees to National Parks. Well this week we can report that Interior Department officials are backing away from that after receiving more than 100,000 public comments from Americans nearly unanimously opposed to the idea. In October, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposed to increase peak-season entrance fees at 17 parks from $25 to $70 — the largest hike since World War II. Joshua Tree National Park in California, where the peak season starts in January, would have been the first to charge the higher rate, followed by a dozen other parks where visitation peaks in May and June. The cost of riding a motorcycle into the parks would have risen to $50, and walking or biking in would have cost $30. But as temperatures climb and parks prepare for another season of potentially record-breaking visitation, Interior and National Park Service officials are rethinking the plan based on public comments that inundated the NPS website over an abbreviated 30-day period. An Interior official familiar with the changes now being discussed told the Washington Post that some type of increase remains almost certain but that the dramatic hike is being reconsidered for fear that it would cause visitation to plunge, reducing sorely needed revenue at top destinations such as Yosemite in California, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Zion and Bryce Canyon in Utah, and Yellowstone in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming Here's something else that has been making the news and RV related social media. It has to do with a 63 year old San Diego woman who was missing over the Easter weekend. Elizabeth Bax was on her way to the Seattke area to visit relatives for the holiday but never showed up. We’re happy to say she was fund and rescued near Hirz Bay, a campground off of Lake Shasta in California, which has 6,200 miles of rivers and streams. Her sister says she thinks Bax ran out of gas in her Winnebago Class C RV and her cell phone was dead. Bax was found dehydrated but stable and was airlifted to a local hospital. Her dog Walter is also being treated. Here’s some other things happening this week that we think will be of interest to RVers… Pain at the pump – Gas Prices on the Rise I saw a story this morning that fuel prices nationwide have been creeping up in recent days by about a penny a gallon and that we are now paying the highest for fuel for this time of the year since 2014. That’s according to the Automobile Club of America. Gas companies are changing over to a different summer blend. To do so, some refineries shut down, leading to the classic market principal of supply and demand. A tighter supply means they can demand more for your fuel. Demand is up as people are driving more, and crude oil prices are up $15 per barrel compared to this time last year. Every time crude oil prices rise a dollar, consumers will pay roughly 2.4 cents more per gallon, says the auto club. This week, the average price for gas is $2.67 a gallon. Diesel is near $3 a gallon in many parts of the country. Sleepy black bear at Glacier National Park drawing viewers by the thousands In need of something sure to make you smile? You aren't alone. People have been clicking a webcam of a black bear emerging from hibernation at Glacier National Park by the thousands. The bear is inside a hollowed out cottonwood tree, yawning, and trying to decide whether to wake up and get out. Hey Thief: Smile, You're On Camera! RV Dealer Searching for Man Captured on Camera Speaking of hidden cameras, a Michigan RV Dealer is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man, captured on camera, stealing a $40,000 camping trailer from its lot. It happened in Coldwater, MI at the Haylett Auto & RV Supercenter. The 35-foot travel trailer was found nearby at a Walmart, stripped. The man apparently used his pick up truck to haul the trailer out of the RV lot, all of which was captured on video. This portion of the Podcast is brought to you by Campers Inn, the RVer’s trusted resource for over 50 years, the nation’s largest family-operated RV dealership with 19 locations and growing JENNIFER'S TIP OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="13:35"] This week, we are introduced to a microfiber cloth by our friend Patti Burkett, who says it has all sorts of uses around the RV, not the least of which is removing condensation from glass surfaces. Patti uses Norwex cloths available in Amazon. You can get a large pack of them in assorted sizes and colors for about $41. The microfiber cloths are antibacterial and have all sorts of uses. And be sure to send me your tips and suggestions for the RV lifestyle. You can use the “Leave Voicemail” link at Roadtreking.com. Just click it and then use the built-in microphone on your computer or mobile devise to record a message to me. You can do it over as many times as you want, until you are satisfied. And then you just click a button and it comes right to my email inbox. I love hearing from you! Jennifer's tip of the week 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 [spp-timestamp time="18:44"] Newbie question. If I park my RV at home and it has a 30amp cord, how do I plug it in to a cord from my house??? Alan We are looking for a place that will avoid large crowds, Spring Break and hurricane season. We've narrowed the search to northern FL and have found a few locations the Destin/Miramar area. That is the good news. The bad news so far is that none of the places we have found allow dogs on the beach. Our question to you is this...how have you been able to spend time in FL with your dogs at the beach? And, if so, where have you been able to stay? - Carol I have a 26 ft class c and thinking about going smaller. The problem the class Bs do not have jacks. Appreciate your thoughts since you go to a lot of places – Hayden My wife and I are considering Rad Power Bikes RadCity bikes for our RV travels but am concerned about how all those electric components will fare after continued exposure to the elements (particularly water, road salts and grime) while being transported on the hitch mounted carrier. How do you plan to mitigate the effects of those damaging elements when the weather gets foul while you are driving between camp spots? Tom Sponsoring this part of the podcast is Van City RV Bringing You the largest Inventory of class B’ RVs with locations St. Louis, Missouri; Las Vegas, Nevada; Kalispell, Montana and now… Colorado Springs, Colorado.. INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="30:15"] In our interview of the week segment for this episode we introduce you to our friend Ginny Evans. Ginny is a solo RVer with a lot of experience. But that experience was no match for the nightmare situation she encountered when she bought a used RV half way across the country…only to find that instead if the great bargain she thought she was getting, she instead was buying an RV that had been inFested by mice who did a tremendous amount of damage that you would not believe. This is Ginny's van. The mouse damage was all inside. This is a cautionary tale about what can happen when you buy a used RV that’s been sitting in one place for a long time from a dealer who seems to be less than thorough in quality control. But more than that, it’s a nightmare true story about the hidden damage that can be done to an RV by mice and what questions you should ask when buying a used RV to make sure it doesn’t happen to you. The interview of the week is brought to you by SunshinestateRVs.com, where every new or used Roadtrek motorhome is delivered to the customer free, anywhere in the country TRAVELING TECH TIP: It’s Baseball time again! [spp-timestamp time="52:26"] By Steve Van Dinter Verizon Wireless Steve Van Dinter Despite the late season blast of winter weather, spring baseball season is upon us! Today I wanted to talk about the tech you can have on hand to take your game to the next level. For instance, with the new Samsung Galaxy S9+,