Friendly RVers Are Thoughtful RVers

RVers who leave campfires unattended are thoughtless. Besides the fact that an unattended fire has the potential to burn down the camp, many people are allergic to the products in campfire smoke. Some may have mild reactions such as congestion or watering eyes. Others can have more severe reactions such as throat constriction and asthma attacks. Many RVers don’t realize this and allow their campfires to smolder until the campground looks like Los Angeles in the 60’s. If there is a constant breeze to carry the smoke away this isn’t usually a problem. However, when there is little or no breeze, and you insist on having a campfire, then please keep it a fire and not a smoke generator. By that I mean you need to keep feeding the fire so that you see flames. There will still be smoke, but flame indicates that you are achieving a more thorough burn dissipating less smoke into your neighbors RV. And PLEASE, when you are done with your campfire put it out completely! Drown it with water, stir the ashes, drown it again, stir the ashes and repeat. When you are finished, there should be no smoke coming out of your fire pit. Don’t worry, the fire pit will dry out for the next campfire. If, however you leave your fire pit smoldering, you could be causing a kid to have an asthma attack. Many kids (including one of my grandchildren) have asthma and carry inhalers. If you’ve never experienced an asthma attack yourself or seen someone have one, you have no idea how painful and dangerous this condition really is. So, please, when you have a campfire, use it responsibly, namely keep it fed and put it out when you’re done. Helping kids have a pleasurable camping experience is one of the joys of the RV lifestyle. Keeping it real -Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing, Dr. of RVology and ROAD Scholar

Don’t Leave Your Manners At Home When You Go RVing

RVers as a group are some of the nicest well mannered people you will meet. We recently met a nice Canadian couple who parked next to us at an RV park. One afternoon as dinner rolled around, these folks decided to BBQ hamburgers (which are notoriously smokey due to the fat content of the burgers). Because they were experienced RVers and very polite people, they made it a point to ensure that the smoke from their BBQ drifted away from surrounding RV’s. It’s a blessing when you have thoughtful neighbors! I’ll have more to say about this tomorrow. Helping to keep you out of trouble in the park - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing, Dr. of RVology and ROAD Scholar

Do You Know About RV Truck Stop Etiquette?

RVers often use truck stops for refueling because they are designed for large rigs and it seems that RVs are getting larger every year. Did you know that there is a proper way to use a truck stop refueling station? When you are finished filling up your tank/s and washing your windows, you are supposed to pull forward enough to allow the truck or RV behind you to pull in and begin refueling. Once you pull forward you can go into the truck stop store pick up a soda and pay the cashier for the $200.00 worth of fuel you just pumped. This simple courtesy will go a long way in helping with RV/Trucker relations. Jim