RV Podcast 282: How RVing Changed My Life

This week we meet the executive producer of a Discovery Channel show about the RV Life… who tells us how RVing has changed his life in the most unexpected way… Our guest is Anthony Nalli, who shares a behind the scenes look at the popular RVers TV series, as seen on the Discovery Channel and the PBS network…. Plus we have RV news, tips, your questions and a very interesting off the beaten path report from our friends, the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #282 Feb. 19, 2020 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We’ll…here we go again. We’re off, this time on a trip that will probably last about three months. This is a crazy busy week for us, getting the RV serviced, topping off the propane, packing it and then taking off across the south and southwest U.S. We hit the road right after this episode is released. We've got lots of great adventures planned, starting with a big circle tour of Florida. Speaking of Florida, we'll be doing a meetup at the Ocala RV Show in Ocala, FL Saturday Feb. 29 from 11AM to 1PM at the Sunshine State RVs display. We look forward to meeting our Florida followers and snowbird friends wintering down there. We plan to also visit the Space Coast, Key West, the Everglades and Naples. We also will be checking out a brand new RV resort that just opened for the over 55 crowd in Summerfield, FL (Sunkissed Village RV Resort). And then on up and along the Gulf Coast, first to Texas and then heading all the way to New Mexico. We'll have videos, blog posts and lots of social media updates on our travels, meetups, adventures, and plans by sharing regular updates on our travels, especially on Instagragram. You can follow us on Instagram by clicking https://www.instagram.com/rvlifestylemike    If you have some suggestions of things we should see and do and report about. Just send them to us via email. You can email us anytime at mikeandjen@rvlifestyle.com.... 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 California state parks building new campground with stunning, ocean side views California state parks are in the process of building a new, 110 site ocean-side campground at Fort Ord Dunes State Park. The state park opened about a decade ago off Highway 1, near Seaside. It is a former army base with four miles of breathtaking coastline on the Pacific Ocean. Currently the land is a favorite of surfers and beach walkers. The state plans to start construction on the campground this fall, and open it in 2022. Utah officials want to create new state park near Arches National Park Speaking of new state parks, Utah state legislators want to create a "Utahraptor" state park that will recognize Utah's dinosaur discoveries and provide a second entrance to Arches National Park. The Mayor of Moab spoke in favor of this, saying the community has had problems with people boondocking in areas where it is not allowed, causing community problems. The spot of the proposed park is 15 miles north of Moab where the Utahraptor was discovered. The site was also an internment camp in WWII. Some large RV parks hiring RV service technicians to help customers, provide new revenue source Long time readers know we have reported at length over the years about the shortage of RV service technicians. (click here or here). So it was with interest we read a story in RVBusiness about RV parks hiring their own RV technicians as a side revenue source- and a way to help campers. Hiring RV technicians and employing them at a large campground makes sense to us. To read the story click here. Owner of Newmar RV successfully sues under lemon law   A story about a court deciding in favor of a 2016 London Aire RV owner - and against Newmar Corp. (now owned by Winnebago) - caught our eye over the weekend. The owner of the pricey, new RV sued Newmar under various lemon laws, according to a story in RVtravel, after he experienced numerous breakdowns - nine in a two year time. Influencing this RV owner's decision to buy the London Aire was a promised extensive service network with well-trained technicians. Yet according to the story, as this RV continuously broke down on trips in Oregon and California, the owner discovered service technicians were not trained and could not fix the RV, leaving him without a rig for months. Apparently Newmar placed some blame on subcomponent manufacturers, but ultimately Newmar was found responsible. More Pennsylvania state park campgrounds to allow pets If you camp with your pet, and plan to use a Pennsylvania state park, in 2021 you will have more campsite options. Pennsylvania state park campgrounds only permit camping with your dog or cat in certain campsites. By 2021, 46 new spots in six campgrounds will open up to pets.  This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes, America's #1 e-bike brand, offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping    LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK Via email: Question: Just got our 2020 FX. Any great  tips for how you store - haul- your outdoor chairs with the small exterior compartments? - Cindy Answer: Bringing chairs is an issue for those with smaller RVs. These are the two we take... telescoping chairs that fit in one of the driver side outside storage bins. https://kit.co/rvlifestylemike/rv-gear-mentioned-on-our-rvlifestyle-blog-our-rv-podcast-and-our-rv-lifestyle-youtube-channel/gci-outdoor-pico-arm Also, we had the optional rear ladder installed. I've seen others affix larger chairs to the ladder, though Jennifer hasn't yet let me do so as she thinks we'll look like the Beverly Hillbillies From our RV Lifestyle Facebook Group: Question: The Jayco RV we have a deposit on has a soft floor in front of the oven and the bunks. The dealer thinks its standard wear. The dealer said they would have service "look at it" and they would call Jayco about it. Anybody have "soft floors" from standard wear? It feels like its soft in between beams. Thoughts? - Juliana Answer: This question broght a huge response. More than 80 RVers weighed in. The consensus: Don’t walk away from the deal…. RUN away from the deal. The soft floor is most likely water damage. Here is the post and comments: https://www.facebook.com/groups/roadtreking/permalink/1503838623108445/ After reading the comments, Julianna did follow the advice and cancel the deal. Do you have a question you’d like us to answer, or a comment on the things we’re discussing. If so, we invite you to leave us that question or comment on the special voicemail number we have for the podcast – it’s 586-372-6990.  If you are driving and can’t write it down right now, just go to the RV Lifestyle travel blog at rvlifestyle.com and scroll down the page. You’ll see that number prominently posted on the blog. This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, maker of quality, safe and reliable lithium batteries that can be installed in just about every RV. Get in touch with Battle Born to find out what lithium batteries and an upgraded energy management system can add to your RV Lifestyle. Check them out at https://rvlifestyle.com/lithium RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK The Discovery Channel series "The RVers" is an informational TV series about the people who roam the world in recreational vehicles. The show's creator and producer Anthony Nalli. Anthony is an also the creator of the award-winning series, the Aviators and he is an RVer himself, a fulltimer in fact, who has both a Class A and a Class B RV. We caught up with him in the Arizona desert and Anthony Nalli is our Interview of the week. Here’s a video version of the interview:    The interview of the week is brought to you by SunshinestateRVs.com, where every new  motorhome is delivered to the customer free, anywhere in the country    OFF THE BEATEN PATH REPORT    By Tom & Patty Burkett If you’re like most of us, by the time you get close to Glacier National Park you’re anxious to be there and begin enjoying the incomparable sights, sounds, and smells it offers.  As you head for the entrance at Saint Mary or Babb, you zip through Browning, Montana on US 89 without a sideways glance.  And when you do, you miss some things worth a good look, even though the mountains are calling.  First and foremost, as we see it, is the Museum of the Plains Indian, on the north side of the highway as you’re heading west.  It doesn’t look at all impressive.  The building may be an old school.  If not, it was built to resemble one, an elementary school from the forties.  When we visited we wondered, until we actually pulled open the front door, if it was operating.  Sure enough, in the cool bright interior we found what we were looking for.  A Native woman in traditional dress greeted us at the desk and explained the museums layout, the special exhibits, and welcomed us as the first visitors of the day. Although there were nice displays of pottery and basketwork, some paintings and blankets, and nicely worked silver and turquoise jewelry, the standout items in the collection were the dresses  and shawls.  Made of handwoven fabric and supple deerskin, they were worked with exquisite designs in beads, quills, and silver ornaments.  Some had eagle, hawk, raven, and crow feathers.  Some were pure white and others dyed rich, deep colors.  As we moved from gallery to gallery we were humbled by the artistry and patience required to make such things, and certain of the pride with which they were worn. Off the main exhibits is a workshop area where artisans can gather and create.  There was a painter working the day we visited,