RV Podcast #319: Are RV Covers Really Necessary?

This week on the RV Podcast, we talk about RV Covers: Are they worth it? Should you have one? What to look for? Our guests are two product managers from Camping World, located in different parts of the country, and they will help us understand what to look for in an RV cover, what kind of RVs need them and what kind don’t. Plus we have lots of RV News this week, along with your RV Lifestyle Questions and another great Of the Beaten Path Report from the wandering Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #319 of The RV Podcast You can listen to the podcast in the player below. And scroll down this page for shownotes and a transcript of the interview, plus links and resources about all the things we talk about. This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer Check out the RV products and accessories we like and use for your next road trip or outdoor adventure…For a 10% discount on purchases over $99, use the discount code RVLIFESTYE10. RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK Fewer snowbirds coming to Florida, and when they arrive, may find new COVID protocols await at the larger RV parks Florida is seeing fewer snowbirds this fall because of COVID-19. Some places estimate the number of snowbirds will be down as much as 20-25 percent, with many would-be deciding to just stay home. Canadian snowbirds can not drive across the U.S. border, causing additional challenges for our RV friends to the north. Snowbirds who do travel south may find that some RV parks and condo associations are asking them to quarantine, or avoid using the facilities for a period of time. And some of the luxurious RV parks are keeping their community room, gyms, and other such sites closed because of COVID according to the story. To see some of our favorite places to camp in Florida, click here. Campgrounds hit by Hurricane Zeta cleaning up, staying open for business Campground owners in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are mostly open after Hurricane Zeta, reporting minimal damage. Hurricane Zeta was a category 2 storm that took at least six lives and caused millions to lose power. At the campgrounds in its path, most were removing downed trees, repairing fencing and buildings, and conducting other clean up efforts. But most did not appear to suffer long-term damage and most were still open to campers. This has been a historic hurricane season for the gulf coast (see story here) with eight named storms hitting in 2020, and the season is still not over. Veterans and Gold Star families will be able to enter national parks for free under new rule Veterans and gold star family members will soon have free access to all national parks. Current active-duty troops and their families can enter the national parks for free. The change, which goes into effect Nov. 11 - Veterans Day - will grant veterans and gold star families this same benefit. Gold Star families are immediate family members of soldiers who died in the line of duty. For veterans, if they are driving into a national park with an admission fee, their vehicle will be free. But if the national park has a per person admission fee, the veteran will be free, but the family members will have to pay. Catch a brown trout, get paid $25 in pilot program in Arizona If you love fishing and are anywhere near Arizona, you may want to head over to the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area later this month and get paid to catch brown trout. The National Park Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department are paying anglers $25 per non-native brown trout they catch in the Colorado River below the Glen Canyon Dam. The pilot program is trying to reduce the number of non-native brown trout in the river, and there is no limit on how many fish an angler may turn in for payment. There are, however, some rules tied to Arizona licensing. For more details click here. Yellowstone to test self-driving shuttle service next summer If you are planning to visit Yellowstone National Park next year, you may be able to hop on an automatic self-driving shuttle. The iconic national park announced last week that it will be piloting a low speed automated shuttle next year to help reduce vehicle traffic on its roads. The shuttle service is expected to run May-August and will potentially serve the campgrounds, visitor centers, and lodges. To see our favorite hike in Yellowstone, click here. This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes, America's #1 e-bike brand, offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping RV PODCAST QUESTION OF THE WEEK This question came in via our RV Podcast Voicemail number 586-372-6990: Hi, good morning. This is Lee Gutierez calling from Phoenix Arizona. I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your podcast and your information that you give on your podcast. I have one question though. I'm an over-the-road driver and I'm getting ready to retire next year. I'm looking at The Wonder versus the Unity. Are there any chances of the Unity having the Ford body style or chassis in the future that you're aware of? I'm absolutely in love with the Wonder. I like the fact of the no slide out and the room that it has. I'm very much interested in corner bed and the front living area. And I just want to say thank you so much for making my Sunday so much better last night. I listened to your podcast as I was coming back in California. As I said, I drive over the road and I really enjoy your sessions. That was all I really wanted to say and just to find out if the chassis from the Ford would be something that they would do in the future for the Unity. Thank you. Have a wonderful day and blessed day. Looking forward to seeing you out here on the road someday. ANSWER: We don't see Leisure Travel Vans ever making the Unity on the Ford Transit Chassis. The Unity is made on the Mercedes Benz Sprinter cutaway chassis and comes in different floor plans, some without a slideout. That said, there are several different floor plans for the Wonder, which is made on the Ford Transit cutaway chassis. It, too, has several different floor plans none of which have floor plans. You can see the details for both models at https://leisuretravelvans.com 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. This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, maker of quality, safe, and reliable lithium batteries that can be installed in just about every RV. Get in touch with Battle Born to find out what lithium batteries and an upgraded energy management system can add to your RV Lifestyle. Check them out at https://rvlifestyle.com/lithium RV PODCAST INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK - RV Covers This week on the RV Podcast, we talk about RV Covers: Are they worth it? Should you have one? What to look for? Our guests are two product managers from Camping World, located in different parts of the country, and they will help us understand what to look for in an RV cover, what kind of RVs need them and what kind don’t. We have a video version of the interview: Here’s the official transcript of the interview about RV Covers: Mike Wendland: Well, we're joined right now by two product specialists from Camping World to help us sort through this whole issue about RV covers. Do we need them? What do you look for? Why we should have one? And lots of questions, and we've been getting them from people for the last month or so, so you can tell it's getting cold. Now joining us from the Camping World, Grand Rapids, Michigan store, Ian Baker. Thank you Ian for being here. Ian Baker: How you doing? Yeah, thanks for having me. Mike Wendland: And from down in North Carolina, Chris Young. Both are product specialists and these guys know what they're talking about. So let's start off. Whichever one wants to go first, but why an RV cover and who should be thinking about one? Ian Baker: Sure. Chris, can I jump on this one real quick? Chris Young: Yeah by all means. Who needs an RV Cover? Ian Baker: So as far as who needs it, Mike, I mean, anyone that's, in my opinion, anyone that's not going to store it inside really should consider a cover. For me a cover, when you're looking at different covers, it does one major thing. It does a lot of things, but one major thing is that it's going to help with preventative maintenance. Anytime you have an RV outside, you have to worry about UV. You have to think about things falling on top of your roof, whether that's pine sap, branches, leaves, bird poop, it can cause more damage than people think if it stays on there. And when you're not storing it and it's sitting outside, all these things that are going to deteriorate your roof, which a lot of people know that your roof tends to be the number one place for leaks. So anything you can do to help protect the roof, protect the sidewalls, the exterior, make sure that the RV stays looking nice for years to come, is definitely going to be an added benefit. Especially when you're looking at trade-in values, that's a huge piece of that. Mike Wendland: Well, Chris, let's go to you about what to look for in a cover. And we have towables and fifth wheels and motor homes and B vans and class As. Any distinctions among all of those? Chris Young: Well, it's funny you mentioned that Mike, there are so many options out there as far as coverage go, which we always kind of default to,