The RV industry is finally doing something about its biggest scandal

This week we talk about the RV industry’s efforts to do something about its biggest scandal… the unacceptable 21-day delay average to get an RV repaired at an RV dealership or service center. There is and has been a desperate need for trained RV technicians. But with the opening of a special training facility last week in Elkhart Indiana, we finally have some good news to talk about that will mean that you as an RV owner will soon be able to get your RV serviced in an acceptable amount of time. Plus, RV News of the Week, your RV Lifestyle questions, Tips and a great off the beaten path report. Show Notes for Episode #262 Oct. 2, 2019 of The RV Podcast; WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE We’re just back from a very busy week at the annual RV Dealers Open House week in Elkhart, IN. We have a full and complete video of the show waiting for you on our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel JENNIFER This week finds us headed to the California RV Show. This is an awesome show, the biggest on the west coast and one of the biggest in the nation. It will be held at the Auto Club Speedway, in Fontana, CA. MIKE This is a new and larger facility for this amazing show and it offers free parking now, instead of the $15 parking fee there used to be at its previous location in Pomona. Jennifer and I will be there that this weekend and we’ll be doing meetups Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4 and 5. You can get tickets and learn more at https://www.californiarvshow.org/ JENNIFER Friday and Saturday afternoon, from 1:30-4PM, we'll be hanging out at the Leisure Travel Vans Display. From 11am-1PM Saturday, we'll also be at the Camp California/Campground Views display area. The rest of the time, we'll be wandering about shooting videos. We look forward to meeting you! MIKE We realize that everyone can’t attend the California show. But we are in the heart of the RV show season this fall and there ar a whole bunch. At then end of this podcast we will have the RV calendar of events that lists what’s coming this weekend across the country…and of course we have links to them all on the shownotes at rvlifestyle.com/261. But RV shows are the best way to find the perfect RV or get ideas on how you and equip and accessorize yours. Plus they are just a lot of fun. JENNIFER Can you believe it is October already? It’s my favorite month. I love the bright colors of the trees, especially in Northern Michigan where we’ll be heading right after we return from California. In the upper Midwest, we can have either beautiful Indian summer or freezing rain and snow flurries. So we’re hoping for Indian summer. MIKE Did you notice that last weekend in Montana, our favorite part of Glacier National park near the Many Glaciers are received four feet of snow? That is early. And on our early morning walks with Bo, we’re seeing lots of wooly bear caterpillars, which have the reputation of being able to forecast the coming winter weather. Whether this is fact or folklore, we don’t know, but supposedly the wider the rusty brown sections there are, the milder the coming winter will be. The more black there is, the more severe the winter. The ones I’ve seen have way, way more black. JENNIFER I suppose this is a good time to remind everyone of our upcoming annual winter campout at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The dates are January 9-12, 2020 and already, we have 40 brave souls signed up to come and play in the snow with us. MIKE This will be the sixth year we have gathered up there in the beautiful UP. This is an informal gathering, which means you have to make your own reservations with the Michigan DNR. Go to their website at https://midnrreservations.com/. Book the dates you want (some of us are coming Thursday, some are even staying over to Monday). After you make your reservation, be sure to join our special winter campout Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1697339513886451/and introduce yourself and tell us what site you booked. All communication, announcements, etc as we get close to the date will be done through that group. You have to ask to join it but we’ll approve you right away. JENNIFER They better hurry though because at the rate people are signing up so early, it looks like this one may fill up fast. By the way, we don’t charge or make a cent from this. It’s just for fun… and that we certainly do with snow shoeing, hiking, exploring and hanging around roaring campfires. It’s one of my very favorite things we do each year. This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER Bull elk charges woman, knocking her down, at Rocky Mountain National Park News out of Rocky Mountain National Park this week is a good reminder for all of us to stay away from elk during mating season - which is happening now. The other day a woman in the Colorado park was charged by a bull elk who knocked her down and repeatedly charged her with his antlers. A worker drove a pick-up truck on to the sidewalk to get between her and the elk, and then the animal charged the truck. Bull elk can be extremely territorial during mating season so remember- keep your distance. MIKE New policy permits off-road vehicles to drive roads in Utah's national parks, causing conservationists to predict policing nightmare Off-road vehicles like ATVs and UTVs will be allowed in Utah National Parks beginning Nov. 1 under a policy change that was apparently made without public input, and has made plenty of people mad. The new policy requires Utah's national park superintendents to have their laws agree with Utah state laws which permit off road vehicles on main access and back access roads as long as the off-road vehicles are equipped with standard safety features, registered and insured. A national parks spokeswoman was quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune saying this does not mean people can take their off-road vehicles off the roads. But conservation groups say this is creating an enforcement nightmare because these vehicles are designed to go off-road, and it is impossible to ensure everyone follows the law. Conservationists and critics say the ATVs are loud, and if people do go off road, they will cause unnecessary damage to land considered a national treasure. JENNIFER Michigan family budgets $2,500 for camping fees during trip out west, spends just $33 thanks to boondocking A Michigan paper ran a feature story on a family who budgeted $2,500 in campground charges for a trip west but spent just $33. Why the big savings? Boondocking. The family researched how boondocking works, and details in the article how they saved money by camping on public land, Boondockers Welcome sites, Walmart or Cabela parking lots, and more. The article was a fun read, and really shows how much can be saved by using for free or low cost camping options. If you are interested in learning more, we wrote a full guide on boondocking that could be checked out here. MIKE Canada's Liberal Party promising free camping for all qualifying low income kids and their families if reelected Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made news last week when pledging, if his federal Liberal Party is reelected, to expand a "Learn to Camp" program. The expansion would provide funding so up to 75,000 low income kids could go on an all expense paid camping trip with their families for up to four days in one of the country's national or provincial parks each year. They would also teach kids camping skills by eight grade in the program. JENNIFER Buffalo Roundup at South Dakota's Custer State Park attracts 25,000 visitors Last weekend's buffalo roundup at Custer State Park attracted 25,000 spectators to the annual event that counted 1,460 buffalo. The South Dakota State Park brings in riders on horseback to corral the animals where they are given a health check, counted, and separated. This year 470 will be sent to auction in November. The park sets a goal of 1,000 wild buffalo in the 71,000 acre state park to maintain the ecological balance. Custer State Park consistently ranks as one of the best state parks in the country. Here is a story we posted from a visit many years ago. EDI EDIT EDIT This part of the podcast 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 QUESTION: Hi, Mike and Jennifer, it's Chris calling from Pennsylvania. My wife and I just upgraded from a pop up to a beautiful new travel trailer and I had some questions actually just one major question regarding insurance. I was wondering if you can help me understand a little bit about how Insurance works on an RV. I know that when you have insurance on a vehicle it may cover the trailer or not. I'm not exactly certain and also what I'm hoping to find is a policy that in the case of an accident or destruction of the RV and some sort of tragic event. It would replace or cover the replacement cost. Not just the value. Say the Blue Book value like on a used car. So I was wondering if you had some maybe some suggestions about insurance, and that's how best to ensure your RV to make sure that it's covered. Thanks. Mike and Jennifer. I love the podcast. I can't wait to hear your answer. ANSWER: Our Best advice is to all the experts at lecreation Insurance Specialists - http://rvlifestyle.com/insurance They have access to comprehensive RV insurance options with specialized coverages like Total Loss Replacement, Agreed Value, Scheduled Personal Property and Secured Storage. They can provide specialized coverage for harder to place insurance such as full-timers,