Category: Transcripts from Podcasts

Make Money While RVing – Here Is How You Can Do It

The following is a podcast transcript about how to make money while RVing:

Hello everyone and welcome to the RV inspection and Care podcast. This is podcast number four.

Before we start, let me invite you to please subscribe to my podcast. There’s going to be a lot of great RVing topics and subjects coming up soon.

Click here to subscribe to my podcast

And interviews as well, so be sure you subscribe and don’t miss any of it!

Right now, let’s get along to our topic for today’s podcast. And that is, how do you go about making money while traveling in an RV?

Now this is a huge topic. And there is great interest in this particular subject.

The good news is that there’s never been as many opportunities to be able to work and travel full-time or part-time in your RV as there are today. That’s the great news!

That’s because of modern technology, generally speaking. So let’s go ahead and talk about the options that we have for working as we travel.

Watch my video about how to make money as a fulltime RVer

Table of Contents

Make Money While RVing – Online Work

The first section I’m going to talk about is online work. Because I know what the dream is.

A lot of folks have a dream in their mind about what it’s going to be like when they travel in their RV.

They feel that by working online they can just take their laptop and sit in their comfy chair by the campfire and make money online.

This is while they’re traveling from campground to campground across the country on a never-ending vacation. Well that sounds great, doesn’t it?

I’m sorry to say that it is very rare that something like that actually happens. The reality is that working online can be very challenging.

So let’s talk about the options that we have there. First of all let’s talk about freelancing. What is freelancing anyway?

Make Money While RVing – Freelancing

Well, it’s generally offering your services that you can provide for others on a short term basis. You offer that service to one person after the next.

So here are a few suggestions of things that you can do. Perhaps being a virtual assistant.

Or maybe helping with web design, if you know how to build web pages or websites. Those are great things to freelance.

If you have experience as a programmer or you can code well, that’s a real opportunity for freelancing there.

You see, all of these things are more or less things that relate to technology.

And therefore they don’t require any physical location to be able to perform your service. You can find work online for that.

There’s a couple of websites I want to mention here too. One is upwork.com and the other is fiverr.com.

On both of these sites you can go and advertise your abilities and your skills. And then you can schedule jobs as they relate to your services.

And you can do this as a freelancer. So this is one way to make money online.

Make Money While RVing – Remote Work

The next way that you can make money online is by remote work. Here we are more or less talking about working for a company somewhere.

And the company doesn’t require for you to actually be in a location. They they don’t ask you to come in to work. You can just connect in through the internet.

Well if you can work remotely at home, there’s a very good chance that you can take that work on the road as well.

Now there’s just a couple of things that we just talked about so far. And that is freelancing and remote work.

And they’re both going to require that you have a good internet connection as you travel.

That may sound pretty easy to do. But let me tell you from experience, about one of the biggest challenges that RVers face.

And that is how to maintain a really good internet connection no matter where you go.

But you’re going to have to do that. Because you can’t be out of connection with the people that you’re working for.

Sell Things Online To Make Money

All right, let’s move on to the next thing you could do online. And that is that you could start a business that sells things online.

You could use websites like Etsy or Ebay or Amazon and sell things.

Now there is a little bit of a drawback here. Because to sell things you have to have inventory.

And as you know, traveling with your RV you have to keep your weight down. And space is usually at a premium.

The things that you carry with you then have to be kept in small spaces. So inventory can be a little bit of an issue.

That means that you need to choose things that won’t take up a lot of space. And won’t weigh an awful lot, but you could still sell online.

You also have to figure out a way to ship them as you’re going across the country too.

Now with Amazon you can do something called FBA or Fulfilled by Amazon.

What that means is that you send whatever you have to sell to them. And when the person buys, it then is shipped from Amazon. Meaning that it’s fulfilled by them.

So that’s a way you could do it. The whole idea is that you need to have some product or thing that you sell. And then you need to have a platform to sell it on. And then a way to fulfill those sales.

Make Money While RVing – YouTube & Blogging

Now the next thing that you could do online is you could make YouTube videos like yours truly. And you could maybe make a blog like I do and so on.

You know that’s what a lot of people kind of have in their mind. They say “Hey you know what? We’ll go on youtube! We can head across the country, and we’ll have all these fabulous adventures. Then we’ll make videos about it and we’ll blog about it. And people are going to just follow us like crazy.”

Well, that is a really nice idea. But in practical reality it doesn’t happen as easily as it may sound.

Yes, you can do those things. And yes, there are those who get great results in very short periods of time.

I mean I’ve seen some YouTube channels that just explode. And they have a hundred thousand or more subscribers in a matter of just a few months.

But please let me caution youโ€ฆ that is not the norm at all.

Instead YouTubing and blogging is a long, slow slog in most cases with most people. I’m talking from experience.

I never expected my YouTube videos or my website to just blow up into popularity right off the bat.

And it’s definitely been more of a long term investment in time and energy.

So if you are thinking of trying this type of thing, just make sure that you have the correct mindset.

And if you do, then yes, it is a viable way to make money. Just expect to be very patient.

And expect it to take some time before you’re really being supported by it.

A Caution About Being Self-employed

Now all the things that we’ve talked about so far, are about working for yourself.

It’s not the case with when you’re doing remote work. But these other things, yes you’re working for yourself.

So let me interject something here If you haven’t been self-employed before or just worked for others, there is a whole other facet to this thing that you need to learn about and work on. And what is that?

Well, when you are working for yourself, you are now responsible for the accounting of what’s going on with your business.

All the money you take in, all the money you put out, you now have to keep track of that.

And either you become the accountant or you need to pay someone to do that for you. It’s an expense then.

Also it’s not only accounting you need to learn, but you also need to learn about taxes. Because taxes aren’t going to be simple anymore.

If you work for someone else, it’s very simple to fill out your taxes at the end of the year.

When you’re self-employed though, there’s a whole other thing to taxes.

You also need to learn about things like insurance and licenses and so on.

I’m certainly not trying to discourage you. And I’m definitely not trying to be Duane the Downer on this.

But I am trying to give you reality before you look into having your own business online. Or anywhere else.

Just think about what I’ve just told you. And make sure you’re looking into these other auxiliary parts that go along with being self-employed.

That way you’re preparing well. Not just for the business itself, but for all that goes with it.

Make Money While RVing – Offline Work

Okay now we talked about online ways of making money. Let’s talk about offline work too.

Offline work is something that a lot of people hesitate and hold back from.

But the reality is, you’re probably more likely to get that kind of work on a consistent basis than online work. At least to start with.

Make Money By Workamping

So let’s start with our first option and that is workamping. And what is workamping anyway?

Well, it’s kind of a catch-all term. And it essentially means that as you go across the country you work for short stints for others as you travel.

An example might be doing jobs in campgrounds or becoming part of a campground staff.

There’s a big demand for that. So that’s something you could do. On the other hand, you could also work at amusement parks.

It tends to be seasonal work but it is work that can be done offline. Or you could go to work during the harvest seasons, like the beet harvest.

That’s a a very popular one for a lot of RVers. They get paid really well for a short period of time.

Amazon during the holiday season is another one and so on. Actually there are lots of temporary ways to make money as you go across the country.

You just need to kind of familiarize yourself with the options that are out there. And there are websites where you can find that kind of work.

You just need to put a little effort into finding those sites and locating the options you have. If you are interested in pursuing that kind of work.

Make Money While RVing – Sell Things Offline

Now the next way that you could work offline is that you could once again sell things. But instead of just selling them online, you could sell them offline.

For instance, you could go to small craft fairs, festivals, farmers markets etc. You get the idea. You’ve seen those folks that are selling their wares.

Well, you can make money if you get the right products. And if you promote it the right way, and you’re in the right places. So that’s another way to do it.

You could even combine that with online advertising or selling as well. So it is a way to make money while on the road.

Now let’s move on to two more ways of making money offline while you are RVing. And these are, in my opinion, a little under-utilized.

Become a Certified RV Inspector

One way is to become a certified RV inspector like me. Yes, the organization that usually does that is NRVIA.

Make money while RVing by getting certified as an RV inspector from the NRVIA.
Duane is Certified by the NRVIA

And you can go to their school and take the classes that are needed for certification.

You’ll learn all about how to inspect RVs and they’ll certify you. And then you’re off to the races. This is especially good for married people in my opinion.

It works great for us! Because my wife, Cheri, can do the inspection on the inside of the coach while I’m working on the outside.

Then whoever gets done first can help the other one. So it works very well for a married couple.

Why? Because you’re actually getting two people working at the same time.

So it cuts your time on the inspection in half. And that’s really good.

Now the great thing I’ll say about the inspection process is, it’s a great job to do as you travel.

Because as you go across the country, the NRVIA gets requests for inspections all the time.

And they note where you are in the country. So if a request comes in from your area, then you’ll get information from them.

And then you have the chance to get that job or that inspection.

Making A Full-Time Income On The Road

But don’t expect that this is going to be a full-time income as you travel across the country.

I’m just trying to be realistic with you here. Does that mean that there are no full-time RV inspectors? By no means.

There are some that really do a lot of inspections every year. But they tend to be those that are in an area where they stay in that area.

Usually they’re in an area where there’s a lot of RV activity. Places like Florida, Arizona, maybe Texas and California which have very high RV traffic.

So they can stay there year round and make a full-time living being RV inspectors.

But please do be aware of one thing when you’re on the road and you’re traveling. Especially through these smaller states where RVing is not quite as popular as it is in others.

That is that you’re probably not going to get nearly as many requests for inspections there. At least that’s been my experience.

But on the flip side of that is that we’ve gone all across this country. And we have gotten inspections and requests almost everywhere we’ve gone. So that’s very good news on that front.

Make Money While RVing – Become a Certified RV Repair Tech

Now let’s move on to the next way of making money offline. And this is the one that I think you can do to make a full-time living. It’s also very easy to do for almost anybody.

And that is going beyond becoming an RV inspector and becoming an RV repair technician as well.

Let me tell you, there is demand for this everywhere you go right now.

Now the NRVIA certifies inspectors. But the NRVTA certifies repair technicians.

So you can go to their school and they’ll teach you all about how to repair RVs. Yes, it costs money but it’s an investment in your future.

Now once you are certified, then wherever you travel, you can perform repairs on RVs.

And I can tell you from my experience that I go into lots of campgrounds. And there’ll often be one, maybe two or more RV repair techs in that campground.

From my observation, they also seem to stay really, really busy.

How To Get Business As An RV Repair Tech

You know, you can put a little sign in the front of your RV. Or just put some on your rig itself that says you’re an RV repair tech.

And then you’re going to have people come to you asking about problems they’ve got with their RV.

I see a lot of these techs that spend time going from one RV to the next in the same campground.

But there’s also other ways to get jobs as you travel the country as a repair tech though.

There are websites where you can get leads from people that are looking for a repair tech in their area.

Right now the whole RV industry is exploding. So the repair tech industry is just out of sight.

I think that you can pretty much set your schedule at this point. And you can have as much work or as little work as you wish to have.

There’s so many new RVers out there. And so many RVs that have gone on the road in the last few years, that the work is there.

So if you are ready, you are prepared, and you are certified, you can definitely make money doing that as you travel. And make a really good full-time living doing so.

Now what we’ve covered today is just a few of the methods you can use to make money on the road.

I can’t go on and on though because this podcast would just become way too long.

But the things I’ve covered today are what I feel are some of the major ways that you can make money as you’re traveling in your RV.

Make Money While RVing – Words Of Advice

However, here’s a few pieces of advice. If you’re starting a business, expect it to take time to build.

Do not expect a business to just immediately go boom and you’re going to be making all this money.

I have started a lot of businesses in my life. And I have had them become very successful.

But there’s a common feature from all of them. And that is that when you start them out, it’s the hardest part.

It’s never easy in the early going, so understand that. And that leads to another point of advice.

Economize as much as you possibly can when you are operating your own business on the road.

At the start, yes, you’re going to have ups and downs as your business begins.

So economize, try to cut back on your expenses as much as you possibly can.

And that way when you go into the lean times, they won’t be nearly as difficult to deal with.

When Should You Start Making Money?

Here’s another suggestion. Before you go on the road. You know, before you decide “okay let’s hit the road!” Get your business established first.

Don’t go out there and then begin your business. Get it off the ground while you’re stationary. It’ll be a lot easier that way.

I did that myself. And I’m really happy that I did. I also see other people that have done that as well.

And those that do focus on their business before they go out on the road seem to do so much better as a result of that.

Make Money While RVing – Learn As Much As You Can

Read as much as you can on this subject. I mean just become a voracious reader about ways to make money while traveling.

Talk to others who have done it. Talk to RVers who are making money on the road.

How do they do it? What are the suggestions that they can offer you? What are the things that they can tell you?

You don’t want to make the mistakes they made. And you can learn from those other RVers who have already traveled down the road you are embarking on.

Multiple Streams Of Income Are Best

Here’s another personal piece of advice. I feel like it’s a great idea to have multiple streams of income as you’re traveling in your RV.

In other words, you don’t rely on just one thing to make all your money.

Remember, if you put all your eggs in one basket, and the basket goes down, you’re in trouble.

But if you have multiple streams of income. Or in other words, you’re doing two or more different things to bring in money while you travel.

Then if something gets a little lean for a while, you’re not just wiped out.

You have something else that you can do that’ll help make money in those lean times. That’s a personal recommendation from me.

Make Money While RVing – Stay Open To New Ideas

Also, as you go, if this is something you really want to do, then stay open to new ideas.

There’s a lot of things out there that you’re never going to find out about till you actually get out there and start doing it.

And you will meet new people and learn about new ways to do things. Then you may find something better than what you have started out with to make money.

And if you do, well then that’s when you can begin to make a decision. Ask yourself “do I want to make the switch now or do I want to keep doing what I’m doing”?

The point is, don’t be close-minded. Be open-minded and open to new ideas as you go.

You never know what you may learn about how to make money while RVing.

Conclusion

Well I hope what I’ve covered so far today has been helpful for you.

I tried to share a honest assessment about how to make money while RVing. And ways that you can do that.

So I hope I’ve given you some ideas that will help you think more about making preparations for life while traveling in an RV.

Well, that’s it for now. Have safe and happy travels my friends. Until next timeโ€ฆ.

RV Etiquette And Manners – Things That Every RVer Needs To Know

RV etiquette and manners – the following is a podcast transcript:

Hello everyone and welcome to the RV inspection and care podcast.

This is podcast number three. And I want to invite everyone to subscribe to my podcast. That way you won’t miss anything.

Click here to subscribe to my podcast

Now today’s podcast is about RV manners and etiquette while we are camping.

And this is going to be especially good for some of you newer RVers. You know, those of you who don’t really have a lot of experience with it.

You’re going to learn a lot about the things that you can do to make camping more enjoyable. For yourself and for others.

And the truth is that most RVers do practice good manners. Especially long-time or experienced RVers.

However, I will say this. Even experienced RVers like myself still need to be reminded about the effect that we can have on others by our actions when we’re camping.

So we’re going to cover a lot of points today. Things that we should keep in mind while we’re camping to make sure we’re showing good manners to others.

Watch my video about RV etiquette

Table of Contents

RV Etiquette In RV Campgrounds

And we’re going to start first with campgrounds. Because campgrounds are where a lot of the issues come in.

That’s because of RVers being really close to one another. A lot of people in a small area.

And that’s when manners and etiquette really show up when they’re not being shown.

So let’s go ahead and get started on good manners in campgrounds. And afterward we’ll talk about boondocking.

Campground Rules

The first point of etiquette for RV campgrounds is when you come to a campground and you’re checking in.

Usually they’re going to give you a list of guidelines and rules for that campground.

And a lot of folks will take that list and just sort of put it aside. They intend to get to it, but they never do.

Well, my encouragement is to read the campground rules right away. There’s a reason they’re given out.

And the truth is that with each campground, things can be a little bit different.

And a lot of times the things you really need to know are in those rules. So be sure to read the rules for each campground that you go to.

Now we’re going to get started on a section here that I’m going to call the noise section.

Because that’s one of the biggest irritations that folks have about campgrounds and being near to other RVers.

RV Etiquette – Loud Music

So our next point of etiquette is – no loud music! And this is a big one with me.

You know, it’s really amazing how many people love to play their music. But they kind of don’t realize that not everybody wants to listen to the artist they want to listen to.

Or even the kind of music they want to listen to. And so a lot of times they’ll turn their music up and everyone around them is hearing their music.

Well, here’s the thing. Music is a very subjective thing. And from one person to the next, it’s very different as far as what they want to listen to.

So if you force your music on someone else, they’re usually not going to be very happy about that.

Now here’s my recommendation. If you’re going to play your music outside, then go to the edge of your campsite.

And if you can hear your music out at the edge and beyond your site, it needs to be turned down.

But if you really don’t want to bother anybody, then wear headphones outside.

The point is to make sure that your music is not being played so loud that it’s going to affect others. And then cause them to not feel enjoyment of their camping experience.

So that’s number one – be careful with loud music!

Observe Quiet Hours

Number two is observe quiet hours. Almost every campground says that you need to be kind of dialing everything back on the noise level by 10 o’clock.

And that’s a good rule of thumb to follow. Because usually around that time people are starting to get ready for bed.

But if you aren’t careful, you’ll be out there at that campfire sitting around it. And you’re having a good time with your friends.

And the 10 o’clock curfew kind of comes and goes. The next thing you know, you’re still just having a great time.

Maybe laughing and telling jokes and enjoying one another’s company. And maybe one of you in the group has a really loud voice to begin with.

But your neighbors are getting upset because they want to go to bed.

So be careful and observe the quiet hours in a campground.

Now that doesn’t mean that you can’t be out there late at night around the campfire.

Because that’s certainly a great thing. But just be careful about the noise level after 10 o’clock.

Make sure that you dial it down so that it’s not going to create a problem for others.

RV Etiquette – Use Of Generators

Now the next point of etiquette about noise is – never use a construction generator!

In a campground these things are just too loud. I know they’re much cheaper than inverter generators.

But they really are loud and obnoxious. Especially when folks right next door are trying to enjoy their camping experience.

So if you need a generator for any reason, make sure that it’s an inverter generator.

And make sure you use it sparingly. You know, the truth is that you really don’t need a generator all the time.

Mostly you just need it to power up and charge up your batteries. Maybe use it for a short time in the morning.

And then a short time in the evening to get you through the night.

Otherwise, the generator really should sit quiet. Unless you’re going to use it for a really high electricity component.

Like maybe your microwave, or a hair dryer, or something like that. And really it should only be on for a short time then.

So make sure you’re careful about your generator noise. And never use a construction generator!

RV Etiquette – Don’t Leave Dogs Unattended

Now the next etiquette point on noise is – don’t leave dogs unattended!

When you’re away from your campsite, this can be an issue. Because when the owners are there, very often the dog is happy and content. And they can be more quiet.

But when the owner leaves, sometimes the dog gets very nervous. Because they’re in a place that they’re not used to with all these other people around.

And before you know it, they’re barking. Because they’re nervous. Maybe even whining or howling.

And this could go on for hours while you’re away from the campsite.

In the meantime, this is really bothering your fellow campers. So don’t leave dogs unattended when you’re away from the campsite.

Keeping Your Dog On A Leash

Now we’re going to move into more discussion about dogs. And that is – keep your dogs on a leash!

A lot of dog owners at home, they may allow their dog to roam pretty freely. And there’s no problem with that.

However when you’re in a campground, that’s a space where you’ve got a lot of people and dogs really kind of crammed in next to one another.

And before you know it there can be personality differences with these dogs.

So if you aren’t carefully controlling your dog, they may get into an altercation with other dogs. Especially if they don’t have a leash.

So everybody needs to keep their dog on a leash and keep them under control.

That way we can avoid a lot of problems and a lot of issues.

RV Etiquette About Dog Poop

Our next point of etiquette is to pick up after your dogs. And don’t leave poop bags behind for others.

Now we shouldn’t have to say this really. But unfortunately, we do.

There are some that carry their dogs along camping. Then they take them out to take care of their business.

And unfortunately, they leave their poop behind without cleaning it up.

Or even more egregious is – they will pick it up with a bag, but they leave the bag there.

Please don’t do that! That is not good manners. It is not good etiquette.

Because no one wants to clean up behind your dog!

RV Etiquette When Your Dog Is A Barker

Now the next point of RV etiquette with regard to dogs is about whether the dog is a barker.

And you know what I mean. If anybody walks by, or maybe a dog starts barking in the distance they just automatically respond and start barking.

Well, if they are a regular barker, at home it might be fine. Because maybe you live in an area where that doesn’t bother anybody.

But if you know your dog is a barker. And it’s just the way they are. Well then, maybe it might be a good idea to leave them with a sitter when you go RV camping.

And that way you don’t bring along the dog that’s going to irritate everybody around you.

Okay, let’s move away from dogs now. And let’s talk about the next point of etiquette.

RV Etiquette About Campsite Trash

That is – don’t leave any trash behind for the next camper. And I’ve seen this a lot.

You pull into a campsite. And the people that were there before you apparently broke something.

Or maybe they just don’t want it anymore. So they just leave it there rather than throwing it away.

Or maybe they took their trash and put it in the campfire ring.

Well, these are not good things to do. So don’t leave trash for the next camper. That’s a really important point of etiquette!

RV Etiquette About Children

The next one is about kids. Make sure that they’re well supervised and that they’re respectful to others.

Unfortunately, sometimes parents go camping and they’re relaxing and the kids want to go somewhere.

So they just say “sure go ahead”. And the next thing you know, you’ve got this group of kids just going around the campground.

But maybe because they’re unsupervised, they start to get into things they really shouldn’t get into.

So that’s not a good situation, if you have kids. You want to make sure someone who is an adult that you can trust is watching out for them wherever they go.

RV Etiquette When Driving Your Car

Now our next point of etiquette is about when you’re driving through a campground. You need to be careful and drive slowly.

Of course, I know almost all campgrounds have the speed posted. In fact, some of them are down to five miles per hour, right?

And that can be a little bit irritating sometimes. Because you’re used to traveling more quickly while you’re on the road.

But when you’re in a campground, understand that we have a lot of kids in the campground too.

And we’ll have dogs and older folks who don’t hear as well. So if you’re driving quickly through the campground, there’s a good chance that accidents can happen quickly.

Things that nobody wants to take place. So be careful, slow down, and follow the posted speed limits in campgrounds.

RV Etiquette About Campsite Boundaries

Our next point of etiquette is – don’t consider that the campground is your personal territory. Or that you can go wherever you want.

Instead, consider that every campsite is somebody’s property. So don’t wander through campsites. This is a very important point.

Sometimes you could have a campsite that is in an area where it’s easier to go through your campsite to another part of the campground than to go all the way around by the road.

And you might find people shortcutting right through your campsite. Well, how do you feel about that?

Most people are not too happy about people cutting through their campsite. And so, if you wouldn’t want someone doing that to you, then obviously you shouldn’t do that to someone else.

Actually, that’s one of the bigger complaints that people have about RV campgrounds. So be careful in that area!

Using Dump Stations

Now the next point of etiquette is with regard to dump stations. And this really kind of comes into play usually around state parks and things like that.

This is where there may not be any sewer connections. You could have your water and electric, but not your sewer connection.

So when you’re getting ready to leave, there’s usually a dump station provided. And that way you can empty your tanks before you go home.

It’s very convenient. But unfortunately, there are those who get in line for the dump station. And then they take their time.

It seems like it takes forever for them just to get out of the RV to begin with. And when they do, they’re on a Sunday picnic while they go around and get this thing out and that hose ready.

In fact, maybe while they’re there they even rinse out their black tank. You know, not just dump it, but then rinse it thoroughly too.

Well my friends, that is not what the dump station is for. What you want to do is – when you pull up get right out and get hooked up.

Then dump those tanks quickly, disconnect everything and put it away before driving off.

It is not time then to rinse your tanks. That is showing very little regard for those behind you.

So be aware of others and their time, and use the dump station quickly!

Emptying Waste Tanks

Now our next point of etiquette is to empty your waste tanks as inconspicuously as you possibly can.

What do I mean by that? Well, most RV waste tanks and the handles for them are on the driver’s side of an RV.

And most awnings and places to enjoy the RV are on the passenger side.

So suppose you go out and pull the handles to release all the waste out of your tanks and into the sewer.

Well, you’re going to do it on the side of your next door neighbor. Where they could be enjoying their campsite.

So for instance, you’d never want to do that while someone is having lunch or eating a meal next door.

Because when you dump those tanks, we all know that there’s a kind of an obnoxious smell that goes with that.

And it stays for a little while. Not forever, but it does have a lingering effect.

Do do you really want someone else to be subjected to that? See, that’s not good manners!

So if your next door neighbor is enjoying their time outside, try to find a time to dump your tanks when it won’t interfere with that.

RV Etiquette For Those With Smaller Campers

Our next point of etiquette is about being in a campground with a small camper.

If you have a choice of campsites, please don’t choose a site that could take care of a larger rig.

Now this is one of my issues as well, because I have a bigger rig. And some of us have Class A motorhomes and big fifth wheels, and things like that. Maybe even long travel trailers.

And it really is disappointing when we go by sites that could have accommodated our rig.

And instead there’s a teardrop little travel trailer in there. Or a small 20-footer, or something like that.

Then we have to go cram our RV into a site that’s really not made for it instead.

Now I understand that you can’t always control this. Because it really all depends on how people come in and out of campgrounds as to what is available.

But if it is within your power, and you have one of those smaller rigs, try not to take up one of the sites that are best left for larger rigs. And that shows manners!

Okay, those are the points I wanted to share about campgrounds.

RV Etiquette When Boondocking

Now let’s talk a little bit about RV boondocking. And first let me say that pretty much everything I talked about with regard to campgrounds will apply to boondocking too.

But I do want to share a few extra points on that. And number one is to leave plenty of space between you and any other rig when you go boondocking.

Leave Extra Space Between Campsites

That’s why they’re boondocking. Usually it’s because they don’t want to be in a campground.

They don’t want to be really close up to someone else. So if you come into a boondocking area that can accommodate several rigs. try to find one that’s really kind of far away from the ones that are there.

And that way you don’t really impinge on them and their area. And you won’t make them feel uncomfortable

Don’t get too close, in other words. That’s the point I’m trying to make.

RV Boondocking Campsite Management

Now for the next point of etiquette on boondocking. And let me emphasize this very much.

Whatever you bring into that site, bring out of that site. Now why am I making this an issue?

Because this has become a major problem across the country. And there are several really nice boondocking spots that none of us are going to be able to enjoy anymore. Do you know why?

Because people were leaving things behind. Trash and other things that should never have been left.

And it just grew and grew until it made the whole area unsightly. And there was nobody that was able to pick up after it.

So they just decided to shut the whole site down. Well, that’s unfortunate!

So here’s the rule for boondocking. Whatever you bring into that site, bring out of that site.

If we all practice that, it will avoid all of these problems.

RV Etiquette When Staying Overnight

Now for our last point on boondocking. And that is about if you’re going to stay overnight somewhere.

I’m talking about Walmarts, and Cracker Barrels, and things like that now.

Then recognize that those are businesses. It’s not a campground. So keep a low profile.

It’s not time to put your chairs out. Or have your grill out and your mats down and all these kinds of things.

Instead, keep a low profile. In fact, don’t even use levelers that could create problems on the pavement.

Because you don’t want to scar it in any way. You’re just there for the night.

So make it very low profile when you’re staying there. And if you do that, it makes the owners of the business feel good about having RVers stay there again.

Also, it won’t create any problems for future RVers either.

All right. Well, those are all the points of etiquette and manners that I wanted to share about campgrounds and boondocking.

How To Handle Problems

But now, here’s an important point. What if someone is showing not so good manners around you?

What if they’re doing things that are irritating? How do you handle that?

Well, here’s my personal opinion. If it is something small, why not try to be less picky about it? You know, not so prickly?

There’s two qualities that really go a long way in this matter. And that is patience and kindness.

So if it’s not a major problem, then why not just sort of put up with it and deal with it?

And that will help you kind of deal with life in general. Because the more that you go on in life, the more you realize that nothing is totally fair in life.

So don’t expect everything to be totally fair. And suppose your next door neighbor is not being really fair about the way they’re treating you.

Well, if it’s not major, maybe the best thing is just to be patient and show a little bit of kindness in that area.

What About Bigger Problems And Issues?

However, suppose it’s a bigger problem. Suppose it’s something that really needs attention.

Well first of all, I would recommend speaking to the staff, the campground staff first.

Let them have the opportunity to deal with it first. And very often they have the expertise in this area.

Often they know what to do, and they can deal with it in the best way.

But let’s suppose that even after those efforts, it’s still going on. What do you do then?

I encourage not confronting your fellow camper in an angry and accusatory way.

If you need to bring it up to them, try to be as respectful of them as you possibly can. And as kind as you can.

Very often, the situation is that they’re just not aware of what they should be doing in the matter.

So if you approach them in a respectful and empathetic way, then very often you’ll get very good results for that.

So try to follow those guidelines in dealing with fellow RVers that are not showing good manners.

Conclusion

Well, I hope that what I’ve gone over here today has been beneficial for you.

Now let me give you a little insight here. It’s actually been beneficial for me too.

That’s because all of us, no matter who we are as RVers, sometimes sort of forget about what we should be doing.

And maybe we don’t realize how some of the things we do might be affecting others. So we need reminders.

And as I said earlier, even making this podcast has been beneficial for me.

It has reminded me of some things I need to improve on as well.

So we all need to work on some of these matters, and just look at it that way.

The more that we show respect for others. And the more that we show respect and care for the beautiful land that we camp on.

Then the more we will all enjoy our RVing now and on into the future!

That’s it for now. Have safe and happy travels my friends … until next time!

Motorhomes VS Towables – Which Kind Of RV Is Best For You?

Motorhomes vs Towables – RV Inspection And Care Podcast #1

Hello everyone and welcome to the RV inspection and Care podcast.

Yes, in addition to all my YouTube videos I’m going to add a weekly podcast to the mix as well.

We’re going to talk about all kinds of subjects about RVing. You know, about RVs themselves, the RV lifestyle, RV camping, towing, and all kinds of things.

And there’s going to be a lot of information here on this podcast. So what I invite you to do is please subscribe to the podcast.

And that way you won’t miss anything as I go along.

Now for those of you that are watching this on video right now, you can go down to the description below the video.

And there’ll be a link to my podcast where you can subscribe there.

But I’m not only going to just talk to you myself. Today of course, it’s just going to be me on the podcast.

Click here to listen to all of my RV podcasts

Watch my video about motorhomes vs towables

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future RV podcasts

However I’m also going to try to involve other RVers, you know, that we really could learn from.

There’s a lot of our RVers out there, and there’s a lot of RVers that have opinions.

But that’s really not what we want to focus on.What we want to do is find RVers that we can learn from.

You know, they have something to teach us, something to share that we can benefit from.

And I’m going to work hard to try to involve folks that I find along the way that will be beneficial not only to me but to you as well.

And I’m sure we’ll enjoy listening to them. So let’s go ahead and get started now and talk about one of the biggest decisions for newer RVers that they can face.

Motorhomes VS Towables – Which To Buy?

And that is, should I buy a motor home or should I buy a towable RV?

Now, that was a very big decision for me. And I really kind of struggled with this for a long time.

No doubt several of you have too. And even if you have a motorhome or a towable, you are probably kind of going over in your mind “Hey, I wonder what it would be like to have one of the other kind”.

So we’ll talk about that today. And the first thing we want to get into is the fact that actually there’s a lot that they have in common.

You know ,you can focus on the differences. But there’s a lot of commonalities as well.

Motorhomes VS Towables – Points In Common

For instance, when you’re talking about motorhomes or towables, they’re going to require some hookup at some point. If you use a tow vehicle with your motorhome.

So you either have to hook it up, or if you’re a towable, you’ve got to hook the tow vehicle to your RV.

And the truth is that it’s about the same amount of time either way you go. So that’s really kind of a wash as far as I’m concerned.

The next thing is that both of them are going to require a certain amount of set up and a certain amount of tear down at the campsite.

And it’s going to be similar. It’s not going to be a lot different from motorhomes to towables.

The next point is, as far as costs are concerned, insurance and fuel costs to me are kind of a wash.

You know, you might have a little bit difference between one part of the rig or the other part of the rig.

But when you take them both as a whole, well insurance and fuel costs are probably going to be pretty close to a wash.

motorhomes vs towables – motorhome pros

But now there are differences. There are things that would make either kind of RV more attractive to certain RVers. And let’s talk about that.

Now first of all, let’s talk about the pros, or the advantages, of having a motorhome.

Motorhomes Pro #1 – Weight Considerations

And the number one thing, and this was the thing that really kind of got me about motorhomes when I first was starting out RVing.

That is that all of your weight considerations are already done for you. And that was big for me.

You know, what happens is that RV manufacturers usually buy their chassis from someone. Then they build their RV on it.

And at that point, they establish the gross vehicle weight rating, the gross axle weight rating, the gross combined weight rating, and all of that.

So will you buy that motor home you’ve got it all worked out for you.I

You don’t need to have to figure out “okay, well I’ve got this tow vehicle. Now what kind of RV can you put with that?”

Or “I’m going to buy this RV, now what kind of tow vehicle can I use to pull that?”

None of those considerations are needed. It’s all taken care of for you. And that’s a big pro when you’re starting out .

Motorhomes Pro #2 – Kitchens & Bathrooms

Now the next point is that bathrooms and kitchens are available while you’re going down the road.

And boy is that nice! You know, I’ve got to tell you that when you’re traveling down the road, your on a long trip, and somebody needs to go to the bathroom, well you need to have a motorhome.

Because that’s going to make it really easy to take care of that situation. So if that’s an issue for you, well then, motorhomes are going to be a good buy!

Motorhomes pro #3 – small towed vehicle

The other point is that when you have a motorhome, and you’re towing a vehicle behind it, to run around town in, you can have a smaller vehicle.

You can have a very fuel-efficient, small kind of a passenger vehicle. And so that means that when you’re running around town you’re not burning all that fuel that a bigger tow vehicle would be burning up if you’re towing an RV.

So that’s a real kind of an advantage right there.

motorhome pro #4 – may not need towed vehicle

Now the fourth advantage I want to mention is that if you want to go really light, and you are in a motorhome, you can buy a small Class C. Or you could buy a small Class B and you don’t even need a tow vehicle.

You can actually use the RV for traveling around town. And so you’ve got all of your usable RV and over-the-road vehicle right there in one vehicle. You don’t need anything else.

Now that’s only true of smaller motorhomes. But it is an advantage that they have.

motorhome pro #5 – more storage space

Now the next point is there’s generally more storage space in motorhomes as opposed to towables.

Now I know that’s not always the truth. But it is especially when you get up into the bigger motor homes.

The diesel pushers especially. oh my goodness, you’ve got storage space! And that’s really nice to have.

motorhome pro #6 – campsite maneuvering

And then the next point is that you can more easily maneuver motorhomes in my opinion into campsites, than you can with towables.

Now that doesn’t mean the towables aren’t easy to do. But again, think about it, you only have one vehicle to get into the campsite.

So it’s pretty much like backing in a car or truck. It’s just bigger as opposed to having two vehicles that you’ve got to maneuver into a campsite instead.

So for some people, they find that backing-in procedure to be really valuable to them. So we’ll give that advantage to motorhomes!

motorhomes vs towables – towable pros

All right now, we’ve been talking about all the advantages for motorhomes. But there’s tons of the advantages for towables too.

towable pro #1 – usually less expensive

And one of the things that people really like about towables is that, number one, they are generally less for the cost of the entire rig.

And you know, that’s kind of interesting. Because a lot of people think that motorhomes are less expensive.

But pretty much, if you look at the length of almost any rig. And you check into the cost of a motorhome, or buying a motorhome for that length.

Or instead doing the tow vehicle with a towable, usually you’re going to find that the towable rig all together will be less expensive.

So that’s a big point! And it’s especially a big point for newer RVers who want to get started in RVing and like to keep their costs down.

towable pro #2 – may not need a tow vehicle

Now the next point is that in some cases with towables you don’t even need to buy another vehicle to tow it with.

If you get a small enough travel trailer. In fact, many little small travel trailers can be pulled with SUVs or even minivans, things along that line.

So you may very well have a vehicle that you already own that can tow a smaller travel trailer.

And if you do, you’re all set to go. You don’t have to make that extra expense in that case. So that’s an advantage!

towable pro #3 – easy to repair tow vehicles

The next advantage is that there are more places to repair the engine and the components of the tow vehicle then there is for motorhomes.

My point is this, if it’s a towed vehicle, it’s probably going to be some kind of regular passenger truck or something along that line.

Or some sort of SUV or minivan. And all of these can be repaired almost anywhere.

You can find mechanics to work on them very easily. Motorhomes though, are not as easy.

And especially when you get up into those diesel pushers. Things get tough because the bigger the rig the more difficult it is to find places that they can fit into be repaired.

And even mechanics that can work on them too, so in general there’s more places to repair the engine, and so on. On the the components of a tow vehicle.

towable pro #4 – costs less to repair tow vehicles

Now the next point is closely related and that is that they’re usually less to repair. Let me tell you, when you have a diesel pusher motorhome, almost everything you have done to it is going to be expensive.

The parts are more expensive. The labor is more expensive and so on.

So when you have a towable, and you’re towing it with a tow vehicle, that passenger vehicle again has so many places that it can be worked on.

The competition is out there, and you can usually repair them a lot for a lot less money than motorhomes.

towable pro #5 – better safety features

The next point is that while you are going down the highway, there’s better safety features in towables.

You know, when it’s a passenger vehicle, they are are pretty much forced to have the very best safety features in them.

And so, all of your passengers, and you, and everybody in that vehicle, has good safety features.

Unfortunately, motorhomes are very often not quite up to that standard.

Some are better than others. But some are really not very safe, especially for your passengers, if you have kids and so on. So it can be a consideration between the two.

towable pro #6 – keep tow vehicle when changing RVs

And finally, if you decide to make a change in the RV part of your rig, if you have a towable, all you’ve got to do is just change out the RV.

You don’t have to change the tow vehicle most of the time. And if that’s the case, all the maintenance you been doing on that tow vehicle, all the effort and the money you spent on it over the years, well you still get the rewards from it.

But in a motorhome, when you make a change, you change everything. And all the work you’ve done on the engine, and your suspension, and everything else on that chassis, well it’s going to go right along with it in the sale.

So that is a little bit of an advantage for towables as well.

motorhomes vs towables – overview

So as you can see there are some advantages either way. But let me make this point- it does not matter which one you choose as far as RVing is concerned.

You may have certain preferences though. You know, what I recommend is as we are going over the list here, determine what are the things that are most important to you.

What’s most valuable in your opinion, your priorities. And that will lead you toward either a motorhome or a towable.

But just understand that you’re not going to make such a big mistake that you can’t recover from it.

Both of those kinds of RVs will take you anywhere you want to go in your RV adventures. And allow you to have great fun and enjoy your time there.

motorhomes vs towables – conclusion

So what I’ve covered today hopefully will be beneficial for you. It will help you in trying to make the decision between the two.

But either way, you’re going to be able to get out there and go RVing and have fun RV camping.

Well that’s it for now. Have safe and happy travels my friends and thanks for listening to my first podcast.

Until next time ….

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