Rv Navigator

Our report on the differences between winter RVing in Florida compared with wintering in Texas. We have been in the RV bubble in Florida for over 2 weeks, so we have some interesting comparisons to make. This plus the latest RVing news.

After spending a week on the Atlantic coast we head to the Tampa Super show. Listeners, show highlights, and repairs have dominated our time at the show. What's happening and what are the trends in RVing is our main topic.

We begin our usual trip south for the winter as we celebrate episode 60, our 5th year of doing the podcast. This year takes us to Florida and several adventures in the southland this winter. Class A or 5th Wheel? What's with megapixels? Topics for #60.

We have yielded to listener request by adding a mid month version of the RV Navigator. We never thought this podcast would generate such interest, but if you want to hear our rantings, you'll now get them more often. The RVers Xmas list is our topic.

We always find it hard to believe that we have so many loyal listeners, but we hear from them regularly each month so it must be true. Based on the number of downloads the RV Navigator is reaching quite a large number of interested RVers and others hungry for information. With this in mind, we are going to succumb to listener suggestions that we take the podcast to a new level of frequency - bi monthly. Is this vanity or are we really filling a niche? The iTunes comments are great and your email feedback has been very positive so I can only assume that our RV experiences are valuable beyond our lives. We are glad to share and are rewarded by your listenership. However, a second month episode comes with the caveat that listeners help provide content and feedback for the mid-month edition. Our trial mid-month episode will feature Christmas presents appropriate for RVers (or Techies) so send us your suggestions and comments. This episode starts with our getting the RV Fridge repaired under the Norcold r

This months RVing adventure was a short 4 days in Parke County Indiana home of 32 covered bridges. Covered bridge may conjure up images of New England but Indiana's Parke County has more in a compact space than anywhere else. They have 5 driving routes of about 35 miles each that take visitors to all of the bridges. Some are still in use while others are just along the road side as tourist stops. Many are from the 1800s with other from the early 1900s and all are in fairly good shape. Visitors can at least walk over them all as well as photograph them in the rural settings. Each fall they have a huge outdoor festival that draws thousands of tourists. Our visit was a week after the festival so things were quite. It is worth a visit if you are in the vicinity with your RV. Turkey Run SP offers great camping for all types of RVs. Other topics this month include numerous topics presented by listeners via email including reports from Australia. This months feature is about the changing landscape of wire

Our cruise continued into September as we enjoyed the Crown Princess for almost a month of cruising on our way to New York City. After some difficulty uploading last months changes, we are back with good internet and easily able to make this months deadline. Sorry to those who were looking for the Rv Navigator on September 1, but although finished, it was just not possible to get it uploaded. This month we are back home ready to focus on the RVing lifesyle that we love so much. As regular listeners know, we purchased an iPad at its introduction on April 3, 2010. At this point, it has been part of our family for a little over 6 months. It has become a useful tool which we use almost daily. It has now traveled the world by RV and ship, so we have some interesting comments to make on its use. We also explore the competition as well as update its use for RVers. Finally, this episode is capped with a interesting interview with RV author, Ron Jones from the AboutRving.com website and several RVing books t

We come to your this month from the oceans around the British Isles several thousand miles from home. Once again we are doing "RVing on Steroids" on a cruise ship - no navigating, no cooking, no cleaning. Join us for some RV news at sea.

We headed south in July knowing that the temperatures would be on the rise as we hit Louisville, KY. This was the site of the largest RV show in the country this year so we felt compelled to see the show regardless of the summer heat. We did spend a couple of extra days on each end checking out Indiana State parks, but the main event was in Louisville, just across the Ohio River in Kentucky. Almost 2900 RVs parked in the lots of the Kentucky Expo Center made the place seemed jammed. Some paid extra for electric hookup, but this was very expensive due to the portable generators that were used to supply the power. We just fired up the genset and boondocked. It was Louisville's hottest days of the year, in the high 90s, so we had to use the generator all of the time we were in the motorhome including over night. Fortunately, the entire event was held under one air-conditioned roof within a couple of minutes walk of our parking spot. Seminars, vendors, dealers and RVs all housed inside for the show. Thi

RV manufactures generally do not build the entire RV because they buy the chassis with engine from chassis builder. Once the chassis leaves their factory, the RV manufacturer adds the body and interior. Responsibility for warranty and repair of the chassis and engine is Spartans (in our case). At a chassis rally we learned about how to maintain and use our motorhome under pinnings. Obviously it is important to keep all of these systems in good working order and maintained so that you will arrive at your destination. We had the 44 point check-up and most of the fluids and filters replaced. Many had not been touched since the vehicle was new so it was time. The Spartan factory has a complete repair facility near by the Rally headquarters. With over 50 coaches from many brands in attendance, we had lots of company and stories to hear. New in 2010 is the latest round of emission controls for diesel engines in the US. Cummins as well as many engine manufacturers has started using a DEF fluid sprayed in

After 4+ months of travel on the road, we headed back North to the Chicago area to visit our stick home. Having traveled about 7 months out of the last year, we wonder if having a home is really worth it. It is, however, nice to be "home" again. The Chicago summers are pleasant and the list of activities is extensive. So we'll be on the home front until mid-August when the wanderlust will catch up with us again. After detouring around Nashville and other flooded point of Tennessee, we made our way north in a leisurely fashion arriving early in May. Topic in this months podcast include an interview with friends who spend extended RVing time in Mexico. Mexico camping is of interest to many full timers and part timers alike so this topic is very relevant. They share first hand experience (having just returned from several months in Mexico) about the dos and don'ts of Mexico camping. Their experienced mirrored our experiences (more limited travel in Mexico) - once you get away from the boarder towns it i

We have been on the road most of the month, although for us that means staying for a week or so at a time in each campground. After the Texas coastal experience, we headed in land to check out the Texas Hill country near Austin. Spring in this area brings the Bluebonnets to life creating a blue tapestry on the side of the road. This is all courtsey of Lady Bird Johnson. She was a wild flower lover and had the seeds spread along the highways of the the area. The LBJ ranch is in the region so she spend alot of time in the area. It does give a splash of color to the landscape and give towns the excuse to have a festival. We attended the Burnet Bluebonnet festival and enjoyed its small town atmosphere. Even better for me was the discovery of real Texas BBQ for which this area is famous. It was a whole new experience in dining. From Texas we headed to rural Lousiana, 2 hours outside New Orlaens to sample the Cajun specialtiies. Once again we found much to love about the cuisine of the area, but not the

I toyed with making some lame Aprils fools joke this month, but we did not want to mislead our listeners. We make enough honest mistakes so that intentional ones would not be appreciated. The RVIA reports that February RV shipments to dealers is up 95% over last year, so maybe we can be optimistic about RVing next year. Plus have lots more company in the campgrounds. Our travels have taken us to the Gulf beaches of Texas near Houston. As many of your will remember, just 18 months ago they were hit by a major storm, IKE. We found that the area has recovered remarkably well. Yes, there are signs of storm damage, but most tourist sites are fully operational and welcoming tourists. Aside from the Texas state wide spring break, we found most campgrounds and venues uncrowded. Although we did just see a TV report on South Padre (near our January headquarters in McAllen), which looked like a human zoo during spring break time. It is extended here due to its national popularity. We have been spending a wee

Waiting, waiting, waiting in the RGV for the weather to finally warm enough to hit the road. We have many plans for travel in Texas, but this winter has been cold even here, so we are waiting until El NIno gets through with winter. Mid month we headed off to west Texas and Big Bend National Park. We wanted to give this area enough time - no rushing the itinerary so we scheduled 2 weeks for the NP and associated state parks. In retrospect, this was plenty of time for us. If you were a avid hiker, birder or similar sport enthusiast, then more time might be necessary. Our plans were two camping sites in the park and then on to the Davis mountains to the north. We managed to drive most of the improved roads and some 4 wheelin' roads as well as see all of the major sights in a week. The second week was spent a bit north visiting Marfa, Alpine, McDonald Observatory, and Fort Davis. Our overwhelming feeling was one of isolation and desolation of this area. Small towns (usually less than 1000 population)

After arriving in South Texas in late December, we have spent a stationary month in the Rio Grande Valley. This month, we interviewed some long time fulltimers, attended the local RV show, & did some comparisons of the RGV & other warm weather spots.

Leaving home in the winter is always a challenge and this year was no exception. However, 4 days later in Texas, our windshield was loaded with warm weather bugs. This episode made on the last day of the decade, includes some old and some new topics.

Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving from your RV Navigators. Oh, yes we are on the road again but not in the RV. After a cold couple of weeks in Northern Europe to begin the trip, we have made our way to Rome and points south as we head eventually for Ft Lauderdale and home in mid-December. We landed in Munich just after the last podcast to visit our friend Hartmut and his family. This was a return visit after many years away and a heart-felt reunion. Then via the very fast autobahn, we drove to Vienna (about 5 hrs) for a few day. Then on to Rome where we were to pick up the first leg of our cruise. Rome in November?? It's on the same latitude as Chicago. However the weather was very cooperative with temps in the mid 60s and sunny everyday. This weather has held for the entire month of November so we have been very pleased with our decision to travel at this time of year. This months podcast was made while on our cabin balcony during a sea day. It was an ideal day at sea, smooth seas and warm te

Despite the very cold and rainy October in the midwest, we did get away for a short weekend of RVing with some new friends who have just purchased a new 2009 motorhome. You'll hear about the purchase and their impressions in an interview we conducted while on the road in Indiana. I have had requests for the webpages that we used most often when RVing. I have created a new page on this website that will get you started with some of my favorite links. I am focused on quality rather than quantity, so this list is not comprehensive. However, I think you'll each of sites is best in class for their category. Have you "moded" your RV? We are always looking for step by step mods for customizing our motorhome, so we have revisited the RV Mods website for some ideas. We have also made some hardware updates this month with the purchase of a Kindle from Amizon. The co-pilot is tired of carrying arm loads of books to keep her busy during our travels, so she invested in a Kindle. This is version 2 so has several i

A few technical issues are still outstanding from our comments last month. iTunes downloading seems to be going smoothly since I updated some software. I explain how to actually download our podcast (for listening later) instead of listening live. We also will be posting our podcast on Podomatic.com as a back up to iTunes. We always like to travel in September. If you travel in this month, you know that the weather is usually good, crowds have eased, and the roads are open. We took the month to improve our golf skills at an Elder Hostel in Wisconsin and then see a bit of the midwest. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois were on our itinerary which focused on the Mississippi River towns. We always bring our bikes so finding some nice riding trails was high on the agenda. Sparta, Wisconsin is the hub for several bike trails that were former RR beds. Winding through the picturesque countryside with rolling hills, green farms and few old tunnels makes these bike trails very appealing. Along with the

Several readers have emailed with problems with downloading via iTunes. I have tried to fine a solution to the perplexing problem and I must apologize for the inconvenience for those who are experiencing download issues. The problem seems to be the connection from the RV Navigator website and the iTunes software on SOME computers. I really have no connection to iTunes other than the notification of new episodes when they are posted. This happens automatically via their servers talking to the RV Navigator website servers. Some how this process is breaking down with our listeners computers. I don't know how to fix the problem but I have stumbled on a workaround which seems to work for most listeners. If the latest episodes of the RV Navigator DO NOT appear in iTunes, quit iTunes. Open the RV Navigator website (http://rvnavigator.com) and then relaunch iTunes, refresh your podcast list and the new episode will appear and download. How about that - I don't know why, but it works. Listener Debbie poses a