What happens in an RV emergency if you are all alone?

If you are a regular listener, you know Jennifer and I love to boondock. We love to get away from the crowds and enjoy the peace and quiet. So do many RVers, of course, but this week we want to talk to the substantial segment of the boondocking community who are solo travelers. Being alone in the middle of nowhere is equally enjoyable as it is for couples or those who travel with a friend. But what happens if you are alone and an accident or emergency happens? If you’re traveling solo, you need to take some extra precautions. We’ll talk about that and get some advice in this week’s RV Lifestyle interview segment. Our friends at the Camp Addict website, Marshall Wendler and Kelly Beasley, will share their expertise and a harrowing story that illustrates just how bad things can go and how much worse they could be…if you are all alone. Plus, RV news, tips, your questions and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride…Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #245 June 5, 2019 of The RV Podcast:  WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE Can you believe it's June? Camping season is in full swing, The roads are filled with RVs crisscrossing the country and summer fun is on everyone's schedule. JENNIFER We are heading north into Canada, camping our way through parts of Ontario, and then on to Montreal, Quebec, where we'll spend the weekend before turning south and visiting parts of New England and then New York for some exploration of the  Adirondacks.  MIKE We usually start the summer by heading to the Rockies and the west. This year, its the east and the Adirondacks for a few weeks. Then we'll see. We're trying to pick regions of the country that we haven't extensively toured yet JENNIFER We plan to resume our "Ask Us Anything" live stream on the RV Lifestyle Channel next Sunday at 7PM eastern time, from wherever we happen to be. MIKE We've taken the past couple of weeks off to catch up on some projects but we've missed our weekly visits and the excitement of a live audience so we're planning to be back this coming Sunday night.  RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER New York State Health Department warns all heading outside to protect themselves from ticks  The New York State Department of Health warned residents and visitors to protect themselves and their pets from ticks and the diseases they carry as the number of tick caused illnesses has been steadily rising. New York is averaging about 5,500 new cases of Lyme Disease each year. Mike and I are noticing more and more ticks as we travel the country making it more important than ever to wear protection and educate yourself on safety tips. To see a report we did on this subject not too long ago click here. MIKE Four-year-old boy attacked by mountain lion expected to recover   A mountain lion that attacked a 4-year-old boy walking with his family in California's Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve was shot and killed. DNA samples confirmed that last weekend. The boy was with about a dozen people in the area called Carson's Crossing on Memorial Day when the mountain lion attacked him. His father kicked and threw rocks at the animal to free his son who was flown to a nearby hospital for treatment and is expected to recover. Mountain lion attacks are rare, but it is important to watch young children when walking trails in mountain lion country. JENNIFER Millennial writer urges manufacturers to make smaller, more interesting RVs  A writer published an interesting read last week urging RV manufacturers to listen to what millennials want in an RV, as that age demographic becomes a bigger and bigger share of the RV market. Many of her suggestions Mike and I agree with, even though we are not in the millennial generation. Making smaller RVs, focus on quality and technology and improving designs are things we have been talking about for a long time. MIKE Woman injured by female elk protecting her baby at Yellowstone National Park  Remember the warning we shared with you recently about the need to stay away from mother elk at Yellowstone National Park (or anywhere for that matter)? Well, last week a concessions worker at Yellowstone apparently got too close a baby and the mother elk attacked. The woman was taken to an area hospital and no further information was available about her injuries. The woman was in the Mammoth Hot Springs area of the park, and officials are again warning all visitors to be alert and stay at least 25 feet away from the elk and their babies. JENNIFER Dog walking on Arizona trail bit by rattlesnake after sniffing bush  A sad story out of Arizona last week is a good reminder for all of us who walk trails with dogs in rattlesnake country. A dog walking on a trail with its owner at in the Superstition Mountains sniffed a bush and was bit in the eye by a rattlesnake. The woman and her friend were able to rush the dog to the vet in time for life-saving anti-venom medication, but the dog will lose its eye. MIKE Here are some short RV News headlines we found interesting this week: Many campsites in Colorado normally open by now remain closed because of snow Have you heard about camping in see-through tents? Apparently it is a trend in the UK  American Fastbacks, a company once owned by Erwin Hymer Group North America (previous owners of Roadtrek), recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Most Nebraska state parks now open though high water levels still issue at few 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 e-mail questions we answer this week: Call 1-586-2990 and leave your question of comment on our special Voicemail number: Hello, we do long trips, this past trip we were running an electric space heater in our camper and for some reason the cord & The plug got really hot and we lost the electricity in the back half of the camper and it did not trip the power switch so I was just wanting if you have any suggestions- Karen  Hi!  Is there any chance you will be having a meet-up while in New York?   I follow your channel and watch your videos and would love the opportunity to meet you and Jennifer in person, Safe travels! Nita (from Upstate NY) Got a question or comment? Call our special Voicemail number at 1-586-2990  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 INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK Marshall and Kelly of CampAddict.com What happens if you are RVing alone in the middle of nowehere and an accident or emergency happens? If you’re traveling solo, you need to take some extra precautions. We’ll talk about that and get some advice in this week’s RV Lifestyle interview segment. Our friends at the Camp Addict website, Marshall Wendler and Kelly Beasley, share their expertise and a harrowing story that illustrates just how bad things can go and how much worse they could be…if you are all alone. Here's the transcript: Mike:                Well, Kelly and Marshall join us right now. Where are you guys, by the way, as we talk? Marshall:          We are moochdocking just north of Taos, New Mexico. Mike:                Something happened to you guys that illustrates, I think, a really important part of the RV lifestyle, and that is using your head and not being all alone in a place where if you need help you can't get it. Why don't you set this up by explaining what happened to you guys just a few weeks ago. Kelly:                Okay, well we were boondocking out in the Valley of the Gods, Utah. We were with a big group of friends and little by little people had taken off. It was down to one of the last days and it was myself, Marshall, and three other friends of ours. Well, Marshall and I were leaving that day so we went through our usual routine of hooking up our trucks and trailers. I was inside this rig and I heard him call me, and I heard him call me pretty urgent sounding but you know, you don't want to freak out right away. I started walking out of my rig and as I probably stepped out, I heard him call it again and this time it was serious. At that point, I knew something was wrong. So, I ran over to his rig and he's squatting down next to his tires. I'm like what's the matter? What's going on? I don't remember exactly what he said, because you got adrenaline going and you're kind of freaking out, but in essence, his fingers had gotten stuck in between the levelers he was trying to pull out from under his tires. I think it was just the one finger got stuck. Marshall:          Yeah, my pointy finger on my right hand. Kelly:                He could not get it out. So, he's freaking out. He's like get in the truck and pull it forward. Pull it forward. But, he was hitched up already too. I'm just reactive and I'm thinking how much? How much do I pull forward? Just a little. So, I go and I jump in the truck, and this is a new truck to him so I haven't even used it much, so now I'm like freaking out. Am I putting it in drive? Is that really drive? Okay, is that good? Okay, now ... I probably tried to go forward like an inch and I immediately hear back up, back up. I mean, this was like horrifying. So, I back it up. I put it in park and I get back out, then I go and I look, try to assess. This happened three times. I ran back and jumped in that truck again and went forward again. I hear back up, back up. It wasn't freeing him. In fact, it might have been doing him more harm than good. I didn't know what was going on under there, I couldn't see. Second time I jumped out, I think,