The truth about RV Dealers

This week we get the inside secrets about RV dealers…how much they should be willing to discount, how much your brand new RV depreciates the moment you drive it out of the lot, why it can sometimes be so hard to find good service and what upsells they’ll try to talk you into like extended warranties and insurance you should reject. Our guest is the straight-taking Bob Zagami of the New England RV Dealers Association and you will not want to miss his interview on the RV Podcast this week. Also this week, your questions, RV News, tips and another great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride…Jennifer Show Notes for Episode #255 Sept 12, 2019 of The RV Podcast; WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK This week’s show comes to you from the Holly State Recreation Area near Holly, MI Besides camping in Holly, we also traveled across Michigan to Holland Motorhomes where we met some other RVers and did some modifications to our Leisure Travel Favs Unity. This week, we plan to leave Holly and head to Lakeside Ohio, a long established resort and conference center right on the shores of lake Erie on the Marblehead Peninsua. We also want to give a shoutout to our reviewer of the week…Keithafer who left us this wonderful five-star review on iTunes: “We currently are not RV owners; however, we are in the process of considering an RV lifestyle. There are, of course, a great many things to learn. Even though we had a travel trailer many moons ago, a lot has changed in the industry. The RV podcast has helped me to approach this with a broader perspective. I thought I had in mind what I wanted to do, but their style has got me thinking. There are several things about this particular show. First, the show is that it is well rounded. It is a combination of news, interviews, places to visit, industry trends, and so much more. They pack it with excellent information that is also entertaining. I'm often listening, and then, the podcast is over! Second, he is not over-advertised. I like their commitment to keeping a healthy balance of sponsorship and information for the listener. Third, they seem very personable, and Mike and Jennifer work well together in the podcast. I like their honesty and family orientation. There are a lot of podcasts that I have found on RV living, but this one I look forward to the next weekly episode. I'm hoping someday, my wife, and I will get a chance to meet them in person. They also have a YouTube channel and website that adds to the overall learning experience.” Thank you, Keithaver. We so appreciated those kind words and your review. And we invite you dear listener, to do the same. Please leave us a review and a rating on iTunes or Stitcher or whatever app you listen to us on. We so appreciate the feedback and we read every one!  RV NEWS OF THE WEEK  JENNIFER Grandma never saw the ocean or mountains, so her grandson set out to show her A story captured the hearts of many who saw it last week about a grandson - in his late 30s - taking his grandma - in her late 80s - camping in all 61 national parks so she can see the world. The grandmother has been a widow for 20 years, worked minimum wage jobs, and never saw much of the country - which was a regret. So her grandson set out to turn that around, seeing the country's national parks. MIKE Family tent camping in southern Arizona fight off bobcat as it attacked 4-year-old girl  A bobcat attacked a 4-year-old girl camping with her family in southern Arizona last week. When the girl's family heard her screams, they all ran to help and were also attacked as the fought the animal off. Officials came out to try to trap the animal but were unsuccessful. Fifteen people ended up being treated for rabies as a precaution and the wildcat, as of this writing, was still on the loose.  JENNIFER Park service has a message: Don't pet the bison  Don't pet wild bison. Seems obvious, right? But apparently it is not. Last week a picture went viral showing a man petting a wild bison at Yellowstone National Park. The photo led the park service to issue statements warning the public not to do this. Recently a 9-year-old girl was tossed into the air and injured by a wild bison after getting too close. And at Theodore Roosevelt National Park a 17-year-old was gorged by one. Bison are wild animals - who can kill. The recommendation is to stay far away .... and definitely do not touch. MIKE Man thinks he sees Bigfoot so he tries to shoot it Federal officials are investigating a report that a man fired a gunshot while camping at Mammoth Cave National Park, an incident that another camper says was prompted by an alleged sighting of Bigfoot. Mammoth Cave said law enforcement rangers responded early Sunday to a report of a person with a firearm at one of the Kentucky park’s backcountry campsites. Brad Ginn told news outlets that he and his girlfriend were camping nearby and were awakened about 1 a.m. by a man with his son. The man said they were going to investigate strange noises he kept hearing. Ginn said he heard a gunshot minutes later and the man returned to say Bigfoot had emerged from the woods, so he fired. Ginn said he and his girlfriend decided to leave and report the incident. Park spokeswoman Molly Schroer says an investigation continues and the park is safe to visit.  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 Questions we tackle this week: A listener asks about what to do if they need to fill a prescription in Canada?             Canadian provinces require that pharmacies dispense medications pursuant to a valid prescription authorized by a Canadian practitioner. Therefore, U.S. prescriptions received by a Canadian pharmacy must be approved by a Canadian physician, who issues a Canadian prescription, prior to it being filled. This practice is often referred to as cosigning. To be clear, a patient or doctor in the U.S. only has to send a prescription. You do not need to worry about finding a Canadian practitioner. The pharmacy will take care of the approval process from there. Generally, U.S. pharmacies will not transfer your prescription to a Canadian pharmacy. If you decide to buy a medication from a pharmacy in Canada and you have a prescription with a U.S. pharmacy, you'll most likely need to request a new prescription from your doctor. A pastor form Ohio heard we’re visiting Lakeside of Ohio soon and has a recommendation for a great fish restaurant nearby – Jolly Rogers - for fresh Lake Erie Perch. This question came in via our RV Lifestyle Facebook Group from Beth: “I just watched You tube RV Lifestyle on a fitness club. I’m wondering if anyone has parked the night in the parking lot after working out?”         This is not something we would do. The fitness club is just a tenant in the shopping center and while most people would probably never have an incident, most cities and shopping centers don't take kindly to overnight camping in their lots/ 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 This week we get the inside secrets about RV dealers…how much they should be willing to discount, how much your brand new RV depreciates the moment you drive it out of the lot, why it can sometimes be so hard to find good service and what upsells they’ll try to talk you into like extended warranties and insurance you should reject. Our guest is the straight-taking Bob Zagami of the New England RV Dealers Association Here's a transcript of the entire Interview: Mike Wendland: Bob Zagami joins us right now. Bob, how's New England these days? Bob Zagami: It's incredible. It's 91 degrees. I'm sitting out on my deck of my park model up in Maine, and just enjoying the scenery. So, it's been hot like the rest of the country. Mike Wendland: One of the things I really like about Bob Zagami is that you know what RVing is all about. You just came back from a bunch of 4 or 5 thousand mile trip, didn't you? Bob Zagami: I did, Mike. I've been RVing for 40 years in everything from a pop up to a motor home. We love it. We love the lifestyle, we love the passion of it, and I did just come back from a visit to Winnebago in Iowa. They loaned me their new Boldt, which is a energy efficient, I wouldn't call it a hybrid, but Lithium-ion batteries, 200 watt solar panels on the roof, totally self-sustaining, but it was one of the more comfortable motor homes, and granted, it's a class B. Mike Wendland: Yeah. Bob Zagami: One of the more comfortable motor homes that I've driven, well insulated, easy to drive. It could be a popular unit. Mike Wendland: Yep, it is. Well, I want to have you put on your professional hat and help us understand a couple things about RV dealers. When things go wrong, it's always the dealers that get kicked. And when I look at some of the stuff like at our Facebook RV lifestyle group, the complaints about dealers, and I feel duty bound to get the other side of the story.