Strict New Dog Reentry Rules from Canada Could Ruin Summer Camping Trips

0:00 - This week on the RV podcast, - If you take your dog camping in Canada or Mexico this summer, there are a bunch of very strict, complicated and expensive new requirements that you have to meet when it's time to bring your pet back home. - There's a new scam going around reported by many RVs. They get an email telling them they have to pay a $50 late fee for missing a road toll. If you get that email, don't click on it. - And in our Mike and Jen story time at the end of the podcast, we're going to share how a simple tape measure is a great illustration to jumpstart your RV lifestyle plans, - All this plus the RV News of the week and your RV questions coming up in episode 4 98 of the RV Lifestyle.

1:10 - Hello everybody, I'm Mike Lan and this is my lifelong traveling companion and my bride Jennifer. Hello my dear. - Hello Michael. - I wanna remind you, you can watch the video version of the podcast on our RV lifestyle YouTube channel, and of course, the audio version is available on all of your favorite podcast apps. Uh, it didn't take long. Uh, our fall gathering that we announced last week, uh, our gathering at the Gulf down in Florida this October has sold out. It literally took three days and we now have a waiting list. And if you wanna get on that waiting list, uh, we'll put a link in the show notes at uh, rv lifestyle.com/podcast.

1:54 Uh, for those of watching on YouTube, we'll put it in the description as well below. And, um, we can't wait for it. We're just a couple weeks away from another gathering. - Yes, we are. We're just, uh, three weeks away from our summer gathering and Groove Meetup in Ship Indiana in June. And a highlight for that gathering will be an Amish dinner followed by a show from the Temptations. - Yep. Uh, this week, uh, Jen and I were on the road. Uh, we're in the southwest. Uh, we have planned to hit all the major attractions. Las Vegas, Eva, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, the Colorado River Grand Canyon. And I hope we can catch some great desert sunsets.

2:35 It's a very quick whirlwind trip and we'll update our social media channels, uh, uh, with highlights all week long. And eventually we'll have a video coming up in just a couple of weeks. You - Are a sunset guy, but I guess that's easier than being a sunrise. - You know, somebody told me, another influencer told me that he's always putting sunrise pictures up on, on, uh, the website, uh, the, their, uh, YouTube channel. He says they're really sunset, not sunrise. He says, you can't tell the difference unless you know the area. But we do like sunsets. I love the way they just paint that desert. And they sunrises are pretty spectacular too. So anyway, we're looking forward to that and we'll have more.

3:17 Just a quick reminder, if you have a comment, anything you hear in the podcast today, or a question that you'd like us to address in future podcasts, send us an email. You can reach us at Mike and jen@rvlifestyle.com. - When we come back, we're gonna talk about the social media buzz and get some good RV tips. - After countless nights on the road, we have finally found the ultimate comfort solution for our home, away from home, our RV mattress from rv mattress.com/rv lifestyle. Now let me tell you, this is a game changer. Everybody knows that the stock mattresses that come in an RV are not great.

3:57 And whether you are a weekend warrior or a full-timer, you deserve better sleep. RV mattress.com has 22 plus size options, five height options, and three firmness options. So you are bound to find something that fits. Jennifer and I got the signature hybrid mattress in Queen with the cooling cover and we love it. It truly has us sleeping just as good in the RV as our house. In fact, so good. We actually got another RV mattress for our sticks and bricks house. Now, swapping out the uncomfortable old stock mattress for our new RV mattress was easy. It's shipped from Arizona for free in a box.

4:39 We brought it into the RV and never looked back. This RV mattress is plush comfort. The best sleep we've ever had in an RV every night feels like a luxury retreat. And we highly recommend upgrading your mattress@rvmattress.com. Trust us, you will not regret it. And if you use the promo code RV lifestyle, you'll get a really nice discount. Again, go to rv mattress.com/rv lifestyle. - Welcome back. And now it's time for the social media buzz part of this program. And so we're gonna check with Wendy Boyer and hear what she's got to tell us this week.

5:19 - Hi everybody. Over in our RV lifestyle community general discussion space, we had a recent post from Bud and Sue warning about a scam. In this scam, you get a text from SunPass that says You owe money for tolls. And to avoid paying a $50 late fee, you need to go to this website and pay immediately. It's very official looking. Um, but of course, fake and SunPass is a toll road reading system that's real common. In case you don't know, it's on the east coast, south, southeast, that area most likely. And so Bud and Sue just wanted people to be aware, and many thank them for this. In fact, Sharon, she said she had just received such a text, um, saying she owed money on tolls only.

6:02 It wasn't from SunPass, it was from a different toll company. And she knew it was fake 'cause she hadn't been anywhere. But then Joe, he shared that you need to still check with your toll pass provider. And he shared a story out in New York where thieves were making fake license plates and using those on their cars or vehicles and going through those automatic readers to scam on a paying. Um, so I did a little digging and SunPass did indeed have this problem. And they issued a statement that they would never text people saying that they owed money immediately. So it was just a great warning from Bud and Sue to, um, check with your provider and be aware of this. So thanks for sharing that.

6:42 Also, in our RV lifestyle community, in the traveling with pet space, we had a great post from Tina and she asked if anyone put a dog on board sticker on their RV before going on a trip. 'cause she was going on one where they were gonna probably need to leave their pooch for an hour or two here and there. And just wondered how other people handled this. Um, another good discussion. We had one couple who got a PET on board tag and they put it in the window of the rig and also on the window in the door of the rig. And they got this from my pet dmv.com. So it was kind of like a state license and it just provided some information should that be necessary. And then someone else shared that Waggle also has a play card that you can put in the window of your rig.

7:26 And of course, waggle is a pet monitoring system that monitors the temperature inside your RV when you need to leave your pet for a couple hours here and there. So some good advice there as well. And then over in our RV lifestyle Facebook group, we had a question from Brenda and she wrote, what do you all do with towels after you shower in your small bathroom? The towel hooks just make the towel in the way. And Brenda was wondering, what do you do? How do you handle this? So lots of suggestions. One commonly shared was to get those quick dry towels, not the regular ones you use at home, but these quick dry because they are a quick dry and they take up less space.

8:06 Um, several recommended command hooks. Many also recommended getting those tension shower rods that you can hang in your shower. And then when you're not showering, you can put your towels over it and they're in the shower out of the way. There was an interesting one from one person, it was a towel ladder and she put it behind her toilet flush against the wall. And then it was like, picture a ladder. And she put her towels on there and it looked like it was out of the way. And neat. And then, uh, robin, she had a door towel rack and she hung it outside her shower door and she had a picture and again, looked really efficient horizontal lines with the towel on it, flush against the shower door out of the way. And it looked like it worked really well.

8:47 So more than 330 comments on that one. And lots of good ideas. So that's it for me this week. I'm Wendy Boyer and I'll see you over in the RV lifestyle community or Facebook group. - All right, thanks Wendy. Um, what we do when we take a shower, we always, uh, run the fan in the bathroom to kind of suck out all that humidity. Uh, and that helps, um, just, you know, that humidity can really add up, especially in the summertime. But how do we keep, what do we do with that towel? - Okay, but you might get rid of that humidity, but what do you do with that wet towel? I think that's a topic that challenges all of us. - I just throw it over the shower, top of the shower, - Right? But we, um, try to find towels that dry quickly that are of a fabric that it doesn't take forever.

9:32 And you don't need the world's biggest towel to, uh, dry yourself off with either. But towels really are like, what do you do with these? 'cause you don't want mold and you gotta dry 'em out. Yeah. - Alright, well, hey, when we come back our conversation of the week, and we're gonna focus in on, uh, the CDC. The CDC has come up with some new laws and regulations, extremely strict ones about what you do when you come back from Canada or Mexico. If you've traveled with your pet, this is a big story that is going to have repercussions throughout the RV camping community, especially those who like to go to Canada or Mexico on trips and bring their pets with them because you, you may not be able to get 'em back into the country if you don't follow these new strict rules.

10:20 We're gonna tell you all about that in our conversation of the week. Coming right up. 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'll 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.

11:00 It's a perfect place to have a home base to explore the west. 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. Welcome back everybody. Time now for our conversation of the week. And as we have said in our opening, uh, segment there, that CDC has issued new rules for people traveling internationally with their dogs.

11:50 Now it applies to anybody who goes out of the country, but for our RV lifestyle community, this really applies to people who, uh, go to Canada, uh, or Mexico, which many of you do over the summer. Now these rules take effect August 1st, and they're really going to have an impact on travel plans for RVs. So pay attention to all of this stuff. - Lots of veers camp with their dogs and it has always been pretty easy to take them to Canada or Mexico and then get back into our country. But, uh, not anymore. - So starting August 1st, get this, no dogs under six months of age can enter the us.

12:31 So if you have a puppy under six months, don't leave the country because you can't get him back until he's over six months. And then all dogs entering, this is a big one, must be microchipped with a verification number from a vet. They have to be healthy, obviously, and have rabies documentation with that microchip number on it. Then you have to submit a form just before reentry, like two or three days before you come back into the country. That includes a picture of your dog. And there are many other details. - When I saw all this, I uh, could think of how much this is going to affect our veers going to Mexico and Canada with their dogs.

13:18 - Yeah. Uh, so many now we've gone back and forth, uh, to Canada with Bo many, many times. Uh, and frankly, we have never been asked going in or coming back about anything. The only conversation we've had with people is a cute dog. And then - What kind of dog is he? - What kind of dog is he? And then when he was a young pup, you know, he was over six months, but, uh, you had fun coming across the border. And when - I came back into the states, they wanted me to roll down the window. The person wanted to see what Bo looked like. And I said, I hope he doesn't jump out the window because he is young enough. Yeah, he's very enthusiastic. , you know, I don't know if he'll jump out the window and run away.

13:58 - Enthusiastic is a good word for, for Bo - When he was young, he was full of a lot of enthusiasm - And he didn't laugh. The, the, the guys coming back into this country, uh, we've always found that they're much more welcoming in Canada, even to strangers and, uh, people who live in other countries. But when you come back into the us even if you're a US citizen, not so much. They're all business. And so, um, they're expected to start enforcing this after, uh, August 1st. So, um, you're gonna have, uh, to really jump through some hoops now. Uh, the trip we're about to do in Canada is how we learned about this.

14:38 We are going to tour the Canadian Maritimes, uh, in July and August. So we will actually be in Canada with Bo. He travels with us when this takes effect. Now we heard about it from our friends at Fantasy rv, the wagon master, the guy who's kind of our main guide on this trip that we're doing. Contacted us all and let us know about this. And um, for us it means we have to really scramble because we've got a pretty full schedule that's keeping us very busy between now and then. And somehow in there we've gotta get all these forms filled out. We've gotta get bull microchip. - It sounds like there's about a million dogs that are brought into the US every year.

15:19 Many from rescue groups and overseas breeders. And these groups are sometimes in locations where rabies and other diseases are more common. - Now let's talk about this for a minute. 'cause I mean, they have a point about bringing dogs back from far away. And there are a lot of dog rescue groups all over the world that save animals overseas and they give them homes and, and that is great. But some of these dogs are ill when they bring 'em in. They're sick when they're rescued. And the CDC is rightly concerned about this. Um, so I think that this is probably where it all comes from, but still, uh, Canada and Mexico are, are a little different.

16:00 - Now. These rules take effect August 1st and that's not very far away. And uh, let's let everybody know what they are. - Alright, so here they are and we will put links in our social media, uh, pages and, uh, in the description below. But starting August 1st, all dogs brought into the us. Even if you were only been in Canada for a couple of days or a couple of months, whatever it is, or Mexico, you bring a dog back, even if it's your dog and he lives with you in the US all dogs must be at least six months of age at the time of entry or return to the us. So that's why we say do not, uh, bring a puppy over and then come back before it's, uh, six months old.

16:44 Now, all dogs also have to have an implanted international organization for standardization. It's referred to as ISO Yes, the ISO compatible microchip. - And this microchip number must be documented on all required forms and in all accompanying veterinarian records. And dogs have to appear healthy upon arrival. Dogs may not enter the United States if they are carrying a disease contagious to people and isolation of the dog veterinary examinations and additional testing at the importer's expense. - That would be you - Yeah.

17:24 May be required to determine if a dog has a con uh, contagious disease and prevent spread if the dog does not appear healthy upon arrival. - Now, dog owners who's more of these regulations dog owners, must have a CDC dog import form receipt. This form should be filled out online, ideally two to 10 days before you come back into the United States. However, they tell us that it can also be completed right before travel, even if you're in line at the border crossing and you have internet access. I don't know how that would work. Uh, I can just see it. You know, you're, you lose a connection before you get up and then it's a mess.

18:05 Um, if the information on the form changes, say you filled it out two or three days before you're gonna return and the information somehow changes, you gotta submit a new form and you gotta indicate that you're making changes to an existing form. All information, including the port of entry where the dog is arriving, that your border crossing must be correct at the time of arrival. So if you're coming back into the states and you're not sure whether you're gonna come across the say, um, the, the, the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron, Michigan, or up at Saul Saint Marie, you better not fill out your form until you know exactly which one you're going to come through. And that's the one you have to come through.

18:46 Uh, this is an important form. Uh, you gotta upload. Get this a clear photograph of the dog. Yeah, - Well, yeah. Showing its face and its body. And dogs that will be less than one year of age at the time of arrival should have the photo, the photograph taken within 10 days before arriving. - Uh, also some even more here. You must have additional documentation. And that varies depending on, um, where the dog has been in the six months before entering or returning to the United States. And what they're looking at here is to make sure you haven't been in a high risk country for rabies, because high risk countries for rabies have greater requirements than low risk countries.

19:32 Uh, and also regulations vary based on whether the current rabies vaccine was administered in the US or whether it was administered elsewhere. So in our case, uh, Bo has not been microchipped. We, we have to go get a microchip for Bo and microchips cost about 50 bucks. They're about the size of a grain of sand. And, uh, they embed it and it's not painful or anything. And it's a good idea. I'm happy to microchip 'em. This is really important. After you get your dog microchip, then have that microchip number on all the official rabies vaccines and other records. We're gonna talk to our vet about it. It'd be hard to figure it all out, except that there's a lot of, it doesn't seem to make sense. Okay?

20:16 - And so people who maybe never microchip their, uh, dogs are going to have to get on this right away. And it's going to take time to get this done. And all the records updated. - Now, CDC has, uh, a checklist on their website on what to do 60 days before your trip, um, 30 days before your trip, and then two to 10 days before you return to us. And we'll link to it. It just goes on and on and on. Uh, we'll link to it and we encourage you to go look at that and also talk to your vet about this. I just see a lot of bureaucracy the government. Um, and, you know, a lot of stress, uh, you're following all the rules.

20:58 Is your dog gonna be allowed to go through the border? What do you do if you're declined? And that should be simple, but the government's involved, it's not. Uh, and so it, it's hard to know the exact, uh, the exact, uh, effect this is gonna be other than it's gonna throw a lot of confusion. - I mean, I think there's a difference between people rescuing dogs, large groups of dogs from who knows where. And your personal pet - That has been with, for you for years. - Years is a law that's just coming into effect August 1st. There should be a six month grace period or something to kind of help people adjust to all of this. Yeah. - It's, it's stuff. We're, we're less than 60 days out now, uh, from our trip to, uh, Canada.

21:42 And as I said, we're leaving in July, but we'll be in Canada on August 1st when this takes effect. So, uh, a lot of people just don't know what to make of it. - I know what to make of it. - Yeah. Seem too . Um, - I mean, I mean, - I, I mean I kind of feel for Canada 'cause they're dependent on a lot of our RV tourism over there. And during the pandemic, a lot of RVs just stopped going to Canada 'cause they had such strict, uh, um, enforcement on their end. They had all these testing requirements that a lot of people just said, I'm not gonna deal with it. Uh, or that'd have to isolate their, you know, they'd be isolated their whole vacation. Mm-Hmm. . Uh, and then people who didn't wanna take the covid vaccine held off on travel because of various requirements.

22:27 Um, people were just, just now starting to put Canada back on their camping plans. And now there is, there's this, and remember, almost 70% of all RVs travel with a pet. Almost all of them dogs. - And a lot of us, a lot of our viewers, we don't have money in case for some reason, our pet would be denied coming back into the States. So then how long are you gonna have to stay in Canada? You don't want your pet taken away from you and put in a kennel. Yeah, - I'm sure they're gonna have kennels set up at the border stations and you can't argue with these people. You know, these are government people. Uh, and don't forget Mexico, uh, so many RVers in the west love to travel down to the Baja and they take their RVs to camp and they take their pets with them and they've never had a problem either.

23:15 So we have a lot of uncertainty and I'm sure, uh, we'll be hearing after this from a lot of you as well. Um, and I know I've been really critical of the CDC and the government, but come on. I mean, I understand it. If you rescue a bunch of, of starving dogs in some, you know, godforsaken country overseas and you're bringing 'em in here, yeah. You really wanna take care of it. But some little hyper fufu that somebody has kept in their a two pound dog that they've kept and raised since it was a puppy. Good grief. - And I, I can't have a look at all these rules and regulations for dogs when, um, our borders are wide open people they don't even - Care about. The people coming across the border - Are bringing in, - I know I shouldn't get political, but damnit somebody's gotta get political.

24:01 You we're allowing this stuff to go on and anyway, - But I mean, these are, these are our pets and some dogs are really old. Yeah. And they don't look good on a good day, . No, I mean, - I do too. Oh, - It just, um, leaves you open to what kind of mood? The person at - That border, the guy at the border patrol. And I've never met a friendly one. Have you ever met a friendly one? Oh yes, we did. Up in South Dakota. Yeah. Or North Dakota. Yeah. There was a really nice guy there, but he was just, I don't think he had seen anybody cross forever. And he was lonely. He was very friendly. And in Montana they were very nice. - But I mean, you're kind of the, you're at the mercy of whether they're gonna let you come in or - Not.

24:42 And, and these guys, I I, I have, they got tough up respect for the guys at the border. They're, they're trying to enforce something that the government, that their superiors won't let them enforce. And they're under a lot of stress. But I do have some issues with these relations - And, and I wonder about rabies in, um, Mexico. - Well, it, it hasn't been a problem. Um, but, uh, they're not on the list of high risk countries. - Okay, so dogs, these stray dogs wandering all over the place. I - Don't dunno. I don't know. Okay. So I've said all I can say on it, and, uh, and if I say anymore, you're gonna start kicking me. 'cause I, - I probably should have kicked you a couple minutes ago. - You know, that's tough. I don't care. Somebody's, we have to speak out against stuff, don't we? We - Just allow all this Well, they just ridiculous - Stuff to - Go through. They got it nowhere.

25:24 - They did. Alright. Uh, we'll get into better stuff. Yes. How about the news of the week ? After this, Jennifer and I bought some land near Nashville, Tennessee. A while back we got tired of crowded, expensive campgrounds and worrying about reservations. Tennessee is a gorgeous state with friendly people and it has been such a pleasure. 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.

26:05 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. Five to 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 everybody. Time now for the news of the week.

26:48 - And it looks like we're gonna have a very busy summer travel season. That's according to, uh, AA and that's based on Memorial Day Forecast. - You know, it's coming this weekend. Oh, - This weekend kicks off the official start of summer. And AAA is anticipating more travelers this weekend than they've seen in the past 20 years. So about 43.8 million travelers are anticipated. Second only to 44 million. And, uh, 2005. And the number traveling by road is expected to set a record at 38.4 million. And you know what they say? A very busy Memorial Day weekend usually translates into a very busy summer travel season.

27:35 So if you're traveling, AAA suggests that you avoid being on the road between noon and six on Thursday noon and seven Friday, two to 5:00 PM Saturday writing this down. - I think a AAA makes about as much sense as the CDC. Of course you'd wanna, that's when prime time is. And that's when most of us can leave, you know? - Yeah. And three to seven on Sunday and Monday are supposed to be very busy times. - So if you're gonna take off on a trip, leave now. , come on. - And if you're looking for some easy summer camping recipes to go with all that fun, - We'll put a link to a story, uh, on the description below for some fun, uh, uh, camping for your Memorial Day camp out.

28:16 Uh, maybe you'll just do it in your own air to have a camp out there. 'cause AAA says you can't, you shouldn't leave when everybody else is leaving, which is everybody else leaves. 'cause that's the only time they can leave. tour rounds have stroke striked again. They strike again this time at Canyonlands National Park, uh, at Cave Springing Cowboy Camp. Very cool place at, uh, Canyonlands. Jennifer. I'm wondering if we should have a special Turon of the Week section in our news reports. 'cause it seems that's what we're always reporting. And remember, turon equals moron and tourist. Combine the two. You get a, uh, you'll get a, uh, you'll get a, the word tour on. So who gets the prize this week?

28:58 - Well, a sun glass and baseball hat where a man and a woman were caught, were caught on security cameras at Utah's Canyon Lands National Park, touching items in a restricted area. They - Were more than that. - Some of which, uh, they're accused of stealing. That's a big no-no. - So the NPS is accusing this couple of archeological theft from the cave Spring cowboy camp that's in the, um, needles district of the park. Very, very popular area. Rangers say they entered, uh, assigned as closed area. Meaning it said, don't go in here. Right? They went in, they removed artifacts from a cabinet, and then they were handling these, um, what a, uh, hi. Historic, historic, - Historic harnesses in a way that could have harmed them.

29:46 - This happened March 23rd and the Park Service released pictures and they asked for the public's help locating, uh, these tours. And, uh, we are more than helping to put that picture up. And, uh, uh, linked to a story with more details. And if you know these people turn these tours in another story. - Okay. The 10 Best Campgrounds, roadside attractions, gas station food, and more released by the USA today. Uh, - 10 best awards they call it. Yeah. And, and, uh, they had the 10 best campgrounds, the 10 best Luxury RV resorts, 10 bus roadside attractions. We'll link to the full story and we're glad to say no.

30:28 Bucky's was number one. They did make the list, but as you know, we're not fans of Bucky's 'cause they're so RV unfriendly. Um, what is it about Best of - 10 List? I dunno. It's like everybody always gets excited about the 10 best. Everybody wants to know who's the winner. So in this case, if, if you're like us, we have to share a few. The 10 best campgrounds were voted by readers and chosen by Wonder who the expert panels were. What do you - Remember? I was an expert panel. That's true. I did the 10 best. I was an expert panelist on the USA today test for the 10 Best State Parks. And, uh, we got a ton of different nominations from folks.

31:11 Uh, there were probably 30 or 40. And some of them, by the way, were clearly shills, where somebody at a at you know, said, Hey, our park's better. And they got everybody to send them in. But then as one of the experts, uh, we'd been to almost all of 'em and we helped, helped choose 'em. But, uh, so that's how they picked this list. They do this every year. - So and so they're what they're looking for. Great amenities, beautiful scenery, and access to some of the country's most interesting places. What's - Number one? - Number one was the in town campground. Just minutes outside Nevada City, California, followed by Jelly Stones Yogi on the lake outside of Jackson, Mississippi. And Camp - Fmo.

31:55 Camp fmo. Yes, we've seen that. That's in the Texas Hill country. - Okay, so those are the top three. That's why that sounded so familiar. Yeah. - Alright, so the best roadside attractions, , I don't even know some of these. Lucy - The Elephant, which stands six stories high in Josephine Heron Park in Margate, - Margate City, New Jersey. - New Jersey, took number one - Sheely's Official Skunk Ape headquarters in Florida. That was number two. - And number three was the world's largest ball of twine in er city, Kansas, which, um, as of last fall weighed more than 27,000 pounds. - So the winner of the most luxurious RV resort went to Camp Margaritaville RV Resort and Cabana Cabins.

32:42 That's in, uh, Auburndale, Florida. And we have heard so much about that. They have a very aggressive marketing, uh, team there that has, um, offer. We have not gone, they've offered us a free stay. And of course they wants to do a story on 'em. Many other RVs have taken the free stay and done the story, but, so that's why they're so well known. But, uh, I guess it's a lot of fun. It's a great resort and we will check it out sometime. Uh, and we'll pay our way. We'll pay our way. You don't have to give us a free one. - And winner of the best gas station for food went to Royal - Farms. Now, I've never been there. Um, I think that the best roadside attractions list could be a, a pretty fun road trip, though. It could be. Uh, I love those sort of Americana things.

33:25 Now if you wanna see, uh, the whole list of the top 10 in the different categories, we'll put a link in the show notes or in the description below. Uh, one last story, and I'm gonna put on my skepticism hat here. Uh, this is, do you ever remember all the stories we did from the Tampa RV show over the last three or four years, but not this year? 'cause they weren't there about the Wingham Yes. This little Italian rv. Mm-Hmm. , uh, uh, they keep saying it's gonna come to America. Well, guess what? Last week they said that their Wingham Oasis five 40.1, what a catchy name. Uh, but their wing of model is nearly ready to hit North America.

34:07 But to be honest, I will believe this when I see it. Now, originally this little Italian RV manufacturer promised it would arrive in the US and Canada in the fall of 2021. They introduced it at the, uh, Florida RV Super Show in Tampa. It had a huge crowd and it really was a pretty cool little unit. It was small. Mm-Hmm, . Uh, and they introduced it in January of 21. I said, it will be available for sale, uh, in, uh, in the fall of 2021. Well, that didn't happen. Um, they showed up at, uh, the Tampa RV show in 2022, and they said, well, it'll be spring of 2022. And then it was, well had some problems.

34:48 It'll be spring of 2023. And then it was the summer of 2023. And then the company stopped announcing dates. Uh, they were not, uh, showing this vehicle at the Tampa RV show this past year. So I would think that many of those initially interested buyers have moved on by now and bought something else. But, um, as a compact Class B, it does have quite a following. And, uh, the company that was announcing that it's going to be available this year, uh, showed, released some statistics and they showed that it has more web searches for any brand of RV out there. Um, it's built, the new one is built on a Ram ProMaster.

35:29 I think the initial ones were on the Fiat chassis. Mm-Hmm. . They were. But, but the, this rig is now on the Ram ProMaster and it's designed to feel like you're driving a car. Um, its body is made of all fiberglass. It has a dropdown bed that makes the interior feel a lot rumor when the bed's up. Um, they've been around as a company overseas since 1977 and they've been making RVs in Europe for decades. Uh, they say that the delays in getting it here were caused by getting the unit certified according to the us. Uh, regulations, uh, parts shortages, um, supply chain challenges, paperwork, all that sort of stuff. Um, we'll let you know if we can get any hard dates later this year.

36:12 And, you know, our fingers crossed, I think it'll be a very popular unit, but, um, they gotta bring it to the market. - I don't doubt for a minute that it's hard to work out - All the, oh, oh my gosh, if it's that hard to bring your dog back across the country. Can you imagine what the government regulations are in bringing a new RV in - And parts shortages and - Parties? Yeah. - Just hard. - Um, so Wingham, we hope you, hope you make it this year. Um, all right, when we come back, the question of the week, and then we've got our Mike and Jen story time. So stay with us - When we're asked. What's the most important modification we made to our rv? It's an easy answer. Battle borne batteries. Battle borne batteries are quality, safe, reliable lithium batteries that allow us to stay out there off the grid longer.

37:00 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. 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.

37:45 - Welcome back everybody. Time now for the RV questions of the week. What do we got? - Okay, this question, we've been watching all your recent YouTube RV videos, and my husband and I have a bet. He says, you two are planning to get a new rv. I said, no, you like your Montana fifth wheel too much. So who is right? - You know, we get these questions all the time where people have a bet about what we're gonna do or what we said. Um, what we are doing a lot of RV reviews. We - We are and we're having fun. - Yeah. I mean, we just did a, a series on, uh, new class Bs Mm-Hmm. . Um, we did another one and - We did one on the Brinkley fifth wheel. And we had fun doing that.

38:25 - And we'll soon be reviewing several Class A rigs, uh, some more class B motor homes, uh, some Class Cs as well. Um, but one of the reasons we're doing all these is because we, we move, we now live in southwestern Michigan. That's our sixth and bricks home. And that's just a short distance over the, uh, Indiana, Michigan border. So we can easily get to Elkhart where 80% of all the RVs in North America are built. And so, um, we know our audience likes the reviews, so we will keep on doing them. Uh, I'm not gonna say we might not find something that we really like, uh, but we have no plans to replace our Montana high country.

39:06 We absolutely love it. In fact, after every one of these reviews, we've come back to it and said, this really is, of all the different RVs we have, is is the one that makes us kind of the happiest. And, um, we really like the way it's equipped is only one thing that we, we wish it had - A washer and dryer, - So we're gonna check that out. Maybe. We'll, we'll do that. But, uh, we love our Montana. See, - Now we gotta think about that. We're gonna get the washer dryer before we went to Canada. - Yes. Well, we do want have, now, - We don't know. We can't leave our dog. - We're moving high bow in the washer and dryer. - Oh, stop it. Throw it in prison. - Yeah. , we probably, oh gosh. So - Bo is dog food - . But, but bottom line, um, you can expect to see us continue to do reviews of different RVs, but you're also seeing us, uh, doing our own chilling out in our, uh, Montana fifth wheels.

39:56 Alright, time now for the RV story of the week, Mike and Jen's story time. And this week we wanna talk about the tape measure illustration. This is a fun one. - You know, as we travel around and we meet people who follow our videos or listen to the podcast, we find ourselves often being encouraged encouragers for the RV lifestyle. Sometimes it just takes a little push and people will jump right in. And when we sense that that's what they need, we share our illustration of the tape measure. And, and - People are, are re are, are, you know, understandably reluctant because an RV is, they say it's the second most expense, uh, thing that anybody will ever buy other than a house.

40:40 So, um, there's a lot of desire and a lot of uncertainty and a lot of some days. So we like to tell this story and, and I tell you about the time we did. One of the times we did this, it was a while back, we were doing, um, a personal appearance at Sunshine State RVs in Gainesville, Florida with our friend Nick Schmidt who, uh, manages that place. And we were talking with the various people who had come down to meet us at this appearance. And there was one couple in particular who just couldn't seem to pull the trigger and make a purchase. And, uh, we sensed it was the husband who, uh, who was on the fence here. And - He said something about how he noticed the older you get, the faster time goes.

41:24 And he had worked hard all his life, built a very successful construction consulting business, almost watched it disappear in the great recession in the nineties. And then with lots more hard work, built it back to the point where he was then and he was able to sell it and retire. He and his wife had their eyes on a class B and he was 78 years old and he was on the fence and he was wondering if he should retire or keep running the business. - So we told him a story we often will use for people like that. And it really has even helped us make decisions. And it's our tape measure parable.

42:05 And, and it goes like this. Get outta tape measure. Uh, put your finger at the start where you, you pull it out and measure, um, you know, at the one inch mark, put your, your finger right there and then go all the way out on the tape measure to, um, to 78 uh, inches. That's how old he was. So you start at one and you go to 78 and then ask yourself, how long do you think you'll live? - You know, 90, 95 and, uh, whatever, put a finger on of your other hand at, at that mark. - So you've got 78 now you're holding, and with your thumb, your left thumb, and you've got say 95 on the other finger.

42:51 And take a look at that and that's how long you'll live. But of that from 78 to say 95, how long do you think you're gonna be strong and healthy enough to travel? - So just look at that tape measure. - Maybe you take from the 95 to 85, 87, whatever it is between 78 and the number that you settled on for the upper limits of your health. So it, it's like this long, - It's not a lot of - Time. And you look and you go back 78 inches already. There's not a lot of time. You don't have time to waste thinking about someday, uh, and making your dreams come true.

43:31 So, um, we told that story to this guy and and we've told it to so many others and it really helps light bulbs go off. - Yeah. 'cause we always think that we have more time and this visual aid to help you see, Hmm. This isn't a lot of time. - Yeah. So now in that particular time, the reason we like to tell the story of the story is because listening in as we were sharing the tape measure illustration with this older couple was a younger guy and he'd come to meet us from his home. I think he lived near Orlando. Uh, and he was also a fence sitter. Now this guy was maybe in his early forties and he said that he had dreamed of doing a lot of boondocking that uh, uh, he wanted to play golf as he traveled in an RV and he could work remotely.

44:19 Um, and so he was planning to buy, he said maybe in a year, maybe two. But as we were running the tape measure, uh, numbers, uh, he said he put his numbers in there and he heard us telling the story. And remember what he said, - He said, maybe I don't have all that much time to wait either. - So we said, look, um, to both of these shoppers, here's our question. What's the worst thing that could happen to you? You follow your dream and you decide it isn't what you wanted, or you suddenly get sick and you can't travel anymore, or you follow your dream and it is everything and more than you want it. Um, so what do you do?

45:01 There really isn't a major downside here because you're following your dream. And I love a story that Nick Schmidt told about it. You know, he, he, he kind of helped really put that in in perspective too. - Yeah. Nick says, uh, he once had a customer who came in and bought an RV and immediately took off on his adventure. And then for six months he and his wife traveled the country and, uh, they put 10,000 miles on it. And I don't even think they changed the oil or, or washed the rig. And then one day, six months after Nick had sold it to him, he shows up at the lot there and says, that's it, I'm done.

45:41 And he says he did and saw everything on their bucket list and had the time of their lives. He asked, uh, what Nick could give him to buy it back. And uh, Nick - Board, the guy left smiling saying it was the best investment he ever made. So, you know, we laugh when Nick shared that story, but that's the thing about this RV life. That's the worst thing that could happen to him. It didn't work out. He had a great time, he'd found it and now he can move on to another dream. Well, - I think it did work out. He did everything he wanted to do. He had a good time. And now I guess he wanted to do something else. - Yeah. And it wasn't forever. And yeah. And that's a thing. You - Don't have to do it forever. - So, um, get your own tape measure and uh, take a look.

46:24 What are the things that you wanna do? Yeah, it doesn't have to be an rv. How old are you? Put your, your finger there and go, how much longer do you think you can? You you're healthy and can do stuff and if there's not a lot of time, then you better get moving. - And I think the older that we get, we, we realize we see other people and we realize that you're healthy one day and maybe not the next. And just like - That kinda, - You shouldn't waste a day. - And if you, and if it turns out you can rv, you sell it, um, be a member of something like the FMCA and then there if you get sick on the road, they have a, a plan in place that'll take your RV home and get you home to care. So there's, there's always a will and a way and, um, the worst case scenario is you find out it's not for you and you'll probably still have a lot of fun as you're finding that out.

47:12 Best case scenario is you'll be able to live your dream. And I'm betting like us. You'll say you wish you'd started at a long time before. Alright, that's Mike and Jen's story time for this week. Uh, have a great time, everybody. Uh, we'll be back next week with another edition of the podcast. Thank you for watching and indulgent in our stories. And if you're taking your dog to Canada or Mexico, check out those CDC rules and you better follow 'em. Happy trails.