RV Podcast 214: Is your RV overweight?

Is your RV overweight? Are you overweight? In this week’s podcast we talk to our friends James and Stef from The Fit RV about the importance of weighing your RV to make sure it is not overweight, and thus unsafe for the road. Too many RV manufacturers send their RVs out dangerously close to the weight limits, something many RVers are unaware of when they start loading their gear and themselves into it. And it’s too easy for life on the road to cause us to become overweight, too. You’ll find much of interest with his great RVing couple in our interview of the week. Plus, RV Tips from Jennifer, your RV questions, traveling technology tools for the RVer and a great ff the beaten path report from the Burketts… all this coming up in Episode 214 of the RV Podcast. Show Notes for Episode #214 Oct. 17, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE We’re back in our sticks and bricks house in Michigan to catch our breath between trips. It’s been pretty much non-stop travel, from California to Pennsylvania with many stops between since early summer and we have had a ball. But it’s nice to have a little break JENNIFER We just returned from an absolutely fabulous trip to Kansas, specifically the Flying W Ranch, located on 7,000 acres of tallgrass prairie. It was another one of our Roadtreking gatherings – the eighth of the year – and this one was on a working cattle ranch. We had Roadtrekers from all across the country show up. We camped boondock-style right next to a horse corral and we were so busy. We hiked, took a lot of awesome photos, star gazed under that big prairie sky, learned all about the cowboy culture and actually joined in on some of the ranch activities. MIKE The absolute highlight of those activities was the cattledrive. We mounted up on horses and accompanied the real cowboys out onto the pasture for a longhorn cattle drive. It was an unforgettable experience and so much fun. We were right in the middle of the herd and I can’t wait to put together the video of the experience. JENNIFER The other highlight was the tallgrass prairie itself. You know Kansas is a place that most people go through. On their way to or from some other place. But believe us, it very much belongs on your bucket list. When Mike gets the video uploaded to our RV Lifestyle Channel on YouTube you can see for yourself but the prairie is so stunningly beautiful that even my husband’s excellent video skills can’t capture it all. It needs to be seen firsthand. The tall grass prairie used to cover a huge section of North America,170 million acres from Ohio to the Rockies and Mexico to Canada. Today only 4% remains and that’s mostly in the Flinthills region of Kansas where we were. The U.S. Park Service has established the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve there and it’s well worth a visit. MIKE As our gathering broke up Monday, there was a light covering of snow on the ground. The first hard freezes and heavy frosts of the year hit many of the northern and midwestern states this week. Out in Kansas, the cowboys at the ranch told us that they are expecting a much harder than normal winter this year. They said extra thick coats on the horses and cattle are already showing up, which is much earlier than normal. And the Woolly Bear Caterpillars they are seeing are showing much longer black bands than the rust colored bands. The more black showing on the caterpillar, supposedly the more severe the winter will be. The cowboys believe it and say the winter will be tough. JENNIFER Speaking of winter and cold weather, it’s time to make sure your RV is winterized. That means draining your plumbing system and running RV antifreeze through it. We’ll talk more about this in a few minutes in the listener questions segment of the podcast but it’s that time of year again and cold weather is pretty much with us from now on. This part of the program is brought to you by AllStays Pro, the best tool for RVers looking for places to camp; Harvest Hosts, a unique membership service that allows members to stay free overnight in wineries, farms and attractions across North America; and Overnight RV Parking, a subscription service that provides details for over 12,000 free or nearly free RV overnight parking locations. All three services offer greatly discounted rates to listeners of this podcast RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER Bear killed, cubs sent to enclosure after tourists feed them fruit Officials at Grand Teton National Park say tourists who repeated fed fruit to a mother bear and her cubs are responsible for her death. The bear, which already showed boldness toward people, was apparently repeatedly fed fruit from a car in early October. This led the bear to start approaching cars to make contact with people. Park officials feared it was only a matter of time before a person was hurt. So the bears were trapped, and when no zoo or suitable facility could be found to take the mom, she was killed. A facility in Michigan agreed to take the three cubs. The tourists who fed her were found and charged. This sad story is an important reminder that no matter how cute, wildlife needs to be kept wild for their safety, and ours. MIKE Heavy rains cause river to rise two feet in Texas RV park, sweeping campers away - two die and more missing At least two people lost their lives last week when the RV park they were camping in along the South Llano River near Junction, Texas, swelled some two feet after 11.5 inches of rain fell in a few hours, sweeping many RVs away. As of last weekend at least two of the campers died, three more were missing. Many of the survivors had stories of awaking to find their RV full of water. One woman held her dog and clung to a tree for several hours before being rescued by helicopter. JENNIFER Halloween-themed camping experiences drawing families to campgrounds around the country We are now half-way through October and you know what that means: Halloween themed camping is in high gear. From pumpkin carving to costume contests or even trick or treating, more and more campgrounds around the country are drawing families out in droves every October with Halloween-themed camping experiences. Many state and private campgrounds have special events each weekend up through Halloween, Jellystone Campgrounds have pumpkin-related events, many KOA campgrounds have special events and a lot of private campgrounds go all out. If you can find an open spot, book it. You’ll have a ball. MIKE Magazine ranks 10 best National Park spots to see a sunrise or sunset Which is more beautiful, a sunset or a sunrise? A National Geographic article out last week lets you decide as it published its list of the 10 best national parks to watch a sunrise or sunset. And true to that magazine's style, it included breathtaking pictures to accompany each site. For those who love a good sunset - or sunrise - the article is worth a peek, and it might even provide some new places to put on your bucket list. JENNIFER And the Fattest Bear of 2018 is ... a mother named Breadnose! Remember how we told you about Fat Bear week up at Alaska's Katmai National Park & Reserve last week? The social media contest was a March-madness like event where the public voted on which of Katmai's salmon chomping bears gained the most weight before hibernation. Well, after much excitement, the winner is ... a female named 409 Breadnose (click here to see picture). The Katmai bears were feature of our podcast in August. (click here to listen or here to watch a video with a ranger) The Katmai bears are a great example of how our national parks can use the internet to create excitement about wildlife. JENNIFER'S RV TIP OF THE WEEK Whenever we go to an RV Show, as we did earlier this month in California, I meet people who are considering getting a Class B, and inevitably they ask, "How do you live in such a small space?" Now Mike and I are not full-timers, but for the past seven years we have spent the majority of the year on the road, usually staying in our class B Roadtrek. And I have to say, when two people and a 60 pound dog are living any length of time in an RV, I have discovered certain things we can do that really help make our camper van feel more spacious. I thought I would share them with you for this week's Tip of the Week. First, I always try to keep the van clean. There is something about a clean floor, and clean counters, and clean seats that just makes the space feel that much more inviting. Second, is similar to the first, in that I keep clutter to a minimum. That means every time we take something out to use it, when we are done, we put it right back. When we make dinner, we immediately wash the dishes and put them away. We use a computer? When we are done, we immediately put it away. This having a spot for everything, and then putting it in that spot when you are done is so important. Third, Don't bring it unless you are absolutely sure you need it. When we started RVing in our camper van I found I would bring kitchen gadgets, or clothing, or other various items that we just didn't need. Granted some of this knowing what to bring comes with experience, but in general over-packing is one of the biggest ways to make your camper van feel cramped. Fourth, I always make up the bed into a couch each morning. Yes, this does mean we are setting it up and putting it away each day, but the set up and put down really doesn't take that much time, and by converting our bed into a sofa, our living space just feels that much more spacious. Fifth, use space wisely. Make use of all the extra cupboards and hidden drawers. Use it to store as much as you can so you don't have items on your floor space, or even your counter space, because you have a hidden spot where they stay until you need to bring them out to use. My sixth, and final tip is to get outside as often as you can. We all start this lifestyle for adventure,