November 13, 2008
Issue 58 of the Fulltime RVer newsletter
This newsletter is funded through sales at RVbookstore.com, the World's Largest RV Bookstore specializing in books and DVDs about RVs and the RV lifestyle. Email alerts for this issue were sent to 21,322 readers.
Books and DVDs
about Fulltime RVing
Largest selection in the World.
By Chuck Woodbury
Welcome to the 58th edition of the Fulltime RVer newsletter.
I found this old postcard the other day, and it provided me with a good laugh. Our RVs of today are a bit more sophisticated, eh?
As I wrote in the RVtravel.com newsletter two weeks ago, on a recent trip from northern California to Seattle I noticed a substantial flow of RVs headed south. Most were large motorhomes (with toads) and fifth wheels: I'm pretty sure what I witnessed was the annual migration of winter RV snowbirds headed to Southern California and the Arizona deserts. I was encouraged that the snowbird season will be okay this winter. I had wondered, with high gas prices and all. . .
Read my blog. Updated often.* * *
RV Travel: Do you get it?
Do you subscribe to the weekly RVtravel.com newsletter? If not, sign up here for FREE or read the latest issue to see if you like it. Now in its seventh year with more than 71,000 subscribers. No spam!!
LATEST RV RECALLS: Is yours among them? Find out.
FMCA:
The best club for motorhome owners
If you drive a motorhome you should join the Family Motor Coaching Association, the largest and best club exclusively for motorhome owners. Many benefits including rallies, local chapters and thick monthly magazine. Special new member price of $35. Click here to learn more or join.
Ten excellent websites for fulltime RVers
There are hundreds and hundreds of websites these days about RVing -- some excellent and filled with excellent articles, technical information and, in some cases, reader forums. Other sites, are not worth the calories it takes to click a mouse to get there. Here are ten websites that we think offer valuable information to fulltimers, and in some cases much more.
Escapees
If you're planning to be a fulltime RVer or even if you are already one, start with the Escapees website. There is information tailored to the potential or current fulltimer including downloadable eBooks about selecting a home base.
The Basics and Much More
Jaimie Hall Bruzenak and Alice Zyetz have three websites covering everything from the basics of RVing to fulltiming and working on the road. Jaimie is the author of Support Your RV Lifestyle! which many consider the bible of working on the road. Jaimie's seminar on "Working on the RV Road" is available on DVD. A free ezine subscription to RV Lifestyle is included on the websites. RVhometown.com. RVhomeYet.com. RVlifestyleExperts.com
Workamping: Working on the RV Road
Workamper News is the best source for finding jobs for fulltime RVers. Becoming a subscriber entitles you to participate in the forum, read posts on employer ratings, and receive a daily Monday through Friday hotline email for jobs as soon as they're posted. Webinars are available for writing your resume as well as from employers revealing details about workamping positions.
For motorhome owners only
The Family Motor Coaching Association (FMCA) is THE club for owners of motorhomes (no towables). The club's website is worth a visit. Membership in the club includes access to areas of the website off limits to non-members as well as a subscription to the club's monthly printed magazine.
The Kievas website covers lots of RV territory
Joe and Vicki Kieva have a website with many articles on all aspects of RVing. Although they are "most-timers," their columns in Highways and other magazines deal with issues pertinent to fulltimers. Their seminar on "Extended and Full-Time RV Travel" is on DVD.
Fifth Wheel Specialist
Jerry (River Guy) Brown, a solo fulltimer in a fifth wheel, has a great website for full-timers. He is the author of The Fifth Wheel Bible.
Malia's Miles
Malia Lane, a solo female fulltimer, has an excellent website tailored for women RVers and contains contributions from several sources, each of whom are experts in the fulltiming lifestyle.
Gypsy Journal
Nick and Teri Russell have been fulltimers for years and taught at Life on Wheels. Their Gypsy Journal newspaper and website has many helpful tips about frugal RVing and boondocking.
And don't forget these websites:
FulltimeRVer.com -- RVtravel.com -- NewRVer.com
RVs for saleMotorhomes, Travel Trailers, Fifth Wheels, Truck Campers, Pop ups and much more. See the big selection at
NewRVer.com.
Click here
You probably know by now, but just in case. . . Gaylord Maxwell, the founder of the successful Life On Wheels Conferences, died suddenly in September. His wife Margie has chosen to discontinue Life On Wheels, which was Gaylord's pride and joy and the object of much of his time and energy. Please take a moment to watch this short video, where Gaylord tells one of his most inspiring stories.
Bargains at RVbookstore.com
Low, low prices. Save up to 80% and even more!
Money saving tips for fulltimers: keeping your tummy happy
A few months ago the big topic in most of our minds was, "How can we afford fuel?" Now that fuel prices have dropped, you'd think we'd get a bit of a relief. But many fulltimers are now worrying about pension funds and 401K plans. To give a hand, here's an installment of the occasional FulltimeRVer.com series, "Money Saving Tips for Fulltimers." In this installment, we offer a few tips to help keep food in the belly, while keeping the wallet from shrinking.
Super big motorcoach is serious business
If you like to camp in Forest Service and National Park campgrounds, then this would not be a good RV for you. But if you like big rig trucks, where you sit up high and look down on the world, then this is your rig. This big boy heavyweight from Peterbilt offers everything a regular house has but it has wheels and a lot of horses under the hood. Check it out.
Tips for uncluttering your life to fulltime RV
For those who would take up the road to fulltime RVing, unloading clutter from your life is a necessity, unless you can somehow put all your storehouses on wheels and tug them along behind you. For some, it almost becomes a chicken and egg thing: Do you RV to rid your life of clutter, or do you rid your life of clutter to RV? For most it is the latter, but surprisingly, some are taking up the RV lifestyle to simplify their lives, and getting rid of possessions is part and parcel. Read more.
Stay free overnight at Wal-Mart
Save $3.35 by purchasing these popular directories together. Most Wal-Mart stores permit a free overnight stay in RVs. The thick 2008 Wal-Mart Atlas provides driving directions to more than 4,000 Wal-Marts and Sam's Clubs. It lists which stores sell diesel, have pharmacies -- and provides store GPS coordinates. The "Wal-Mart No Park" Directory lists more than 350 stores that DO NOT allow stays! Learn more or order.
Fulltimer ForumExchange information with other fulltime RVers or wanna-be fulltimers. Ask a question or answer one.
This is a great place to learn a lot about the fulltime RVing lifestyle.
Big Rigs Campground Directory
now available on CD-ROM
The
hugely popular Big Rigs Best Bets Campground Directory is now available
on CD-ROM. This is the premier guidebook to RV parks that cater to long
RVs -- 32 feet and longer. Previously only available in printed form,
the publishers have just released the information in a searchable
CD-ROM. Learn more.
Tech Tips
Life of RV batteries depends upon how they are treated
The life of your RV batteries depends a lot on how you treat them. How they're used, how well they're maintained, how they're discharged, how they're re-charged, and how they are stored all contribute to a batteries life span. Learn more.
Add an extra "room" to your RV for less than $30
Here is a great way to add an extra "room" to your RV for less than $30. Sound impossible? Well, it's not, and if you have an awning on your RV, you're more than halfway there. Keep reading.
It's time to think about winterizing
The sad reality is that not everybody can become a snowbird and head off with the birds before the snow flies. For all you folks who are STUCK in the cold, here's our annual treatise to making your rig safe for the ravages of Ol' Man Winter.
New Low Price!
Greatest DVD on Quartzsite
Take an armchair visit to Quartzsite, Arizona, a hotspot for wintering RVers. See where to camp for free, tour RV parks, learn about local attractions and more. Was $24.95. Now only $19.95 - Learn more or order.
Bill's Hint
If you get any kind of a shock or "tingle" when you grab your RV's door handle while standing on the ground, unplug your power cable. On rare occasions campground power is found to be improperly wired. In wet weather it could be fatal. -- From Motorhomes Made Easy
Break down on the road? No problem!
Get Good Sam Club's Emergency Road Service. Don't settle for less: Get the best. Learn more or sign up.
Successful businessman gives up
big salary to be fulltime RVer
What do you do if you're living a model of success -- at least an outsider's model of success? Well, in the case of Michael Dautel, he gave up his $200,000 a year job to buy an RV and live in it fulltime. "I'd decided I'd had enough of the rat race," he said. Nine years after his life changing decision, he's still fulltiming and has no regrets. Read a story about Michael.
Take a quick video tour of Quartzsite, Arizona
RVtravel.com blogger, Jim Twamley -- also known as the "Professor of RVing" -- takes you on a three-minute tour of Quartzite, Arizona. The dusty outpost in western Arizona is home to tens of thousands of RV snowbirds each winter season. In this video Jim shows you where they camp, and then takes you on a quick trip through town.
TriviaShortly after the beginning of the California gold rush, the citizens of the mining town of Rough and Ready, Calif., got fed up with the federal government's mining taxes. On April 7, 1850, they voted to secede from the United States, proclaiming their new country the "Great Republic of Rough and Ready." They elected Col. E.F. Brundage as President, and signed a Constitution. Alas, the Great Republic of Rough and Ready lasted only three months as the world's smallest nation. On July 4, swept by patriotism (and the desire to have an Independence Day bash), another meeting was held at which time the citizens voted to rejoin the Union. Nowadays, on the last Sunday of June, the town celebrates "Secession Days." Rough and Ready is in the California foothills near Sacramento.
Workhorse UFO Chassis
The hottest RV chassis going these days is the UFO from Workhorse. Poke around the company's website to learn about this chassis, and about everything else going on at Workhorse (which is a LOT). Don't miss the entertaining videos.
Learn more.
Did you miss last issue's edition of this newsletter?
Read it here.
American's largest RV Consignment Dealer
Buy or sell your used motorhome, diesel pusher, fifth wheel, or travel trailer hassle free at PPL Motor Homes. PPL is the largest RV consignment dealer in the USA, selling over 18,880 consigned RVs since 1972. Visit the PPL website.
Everything in this newsletter is true to the best of our knowledge. But we occasionally get something wrong. We're just human! So don't go spending $10,000 on something we said was good just because we said so, or fixing something like we suggested (check with your own technician first). Maybe we made a mistake. This newsletter is copyright 2008 by RVbookstore.com. Our address: RVbookstore.com, 170 W. Dayton Street, Suite 103, Edmonds WA 98020.
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