Archived Issues
RV Travel: Rest area stays, and carbon monoxide dangers

Issue 227 of RV Travel. Learn about RV camping, RV travel, RV news and much more. 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. Subscribe to our quarterly printed magazine.

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Updated in 2006
Learn which Wal-Marts DO NOT allow overnight RV stays
While most Wal-Mart stores allow RVers to spend a night in their parking lots for free, hundreds do not. RVbookstore.com has just updated its best-selling guide to these "No park" Wal-Marts. The concise book is $4.27. Learn more or order.

Alien light!

Street light in Roswell, New Mexico, the UFO Capital of the World.

By Chuck Woodbury

Driving from eastern to western Washington last week late at night, I noticed at least two or three RVers holed up in each rest area I passed along I-90. Some were sandwiched in between 18-wheeler trucks, others were off by themselves. I've stayed a few times at rest areas through the years, but only when I was so tired that I was in danger of falling asleep at the wheel. Each time, I woke up after a few hours and went on. I have never been comfortable "camped" in these places. Yet some RVers do it all the time with no problems and no fear of danger.

What do you think about staying overnight at rest areas? Do you do it? Do you feel safe? Ever had any bad experiences? I urge you to comment in our RV Travel Forum, or read what other RVers say about the practice.

While on the subject of safety, a Seattle family of three died last week when a heater inside their van conversion apparently spewed carbon monoxide while they slept. The family had been selling items at a Packwood, Wash., holiday weekend flea market. Someone at the local library noticed the family's van and called 911. Once inside, investigators noticed a gas odor and found empty propane tanks, with a heater still in the "on" position.

While this family was asking for trouble with its flagrant violations of basic safety issues, their deaths are a reminder of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is most likely to occur with RVers when exhaust from their onboard generator gets inside the RV. I urge you to read Mark Polk's "tech tip" in this issue about how to recognize the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The inaugural issue of our new print edition of RV Travel is running one week late, and is now scheduled go into the mail on June 14. A one year subscription is $9.95. Learn more or order at RVbookstore.com.

Learn about Workamping and Full-time RVing next Saturday
Our next RV Bookstore Open House and Seminar is this week on Saturday, June 10. Jaimie Hall will be with us to discuss working on the road. Jaimie is the editor of Workamper News and the author of Support Your RV Lifestyle. This is a great opportunity to learn about combining work with your travels. In the second two-hour seminar, we will view Larry Wood's 90-minute documentary, "Fulltiming." Afterwards, we'll chat about full-time RVing. Learn more about the seminars and sign up online to attend.

Campgrounds that welcome dogs
If you travel with a pooch, make sure you stop by RVingWithDogs.com to search for a dog-friendly campground or RV park. And if you know of a good one, please take a minute to enter it in the campground data base so others can enjoy the park, too.

Find free and inexpensive places to camp
A lot of RVers are hitting the road now on long summer trips or short vacations. It pays to check out FreeCampgrounds.com before setting off on a journey to learn if there are free or inexpensive places to stay along your route or where you're headed. Nearly 1,100 sites are listed.

Last week's survey question
For husbands and wives: who made the final buying decision on your present RV? Read the results.

Past reader surveys and results

Good Sam Club: This is the biggest RV club in the world with good reason. It offers so much for so very little. This group has chapters on practically every street corner (we exaggerate) and is one-million strong. Good Sam offers all sorts of member benefits including one of the most popular emergency road service programs. Perhaps the best member benefit is a ten percent discount at most RV parks. And its monthly magazine Highways is one of the best, too, and alone worth the price of the $19 annual membership. The only downside to joining the club: You'll get a lot of junk mail hustling the club's "special offers."

Family Motor Coaching Association: A superb club for motorhome owners only. Besides holding national and regional rallies, FMCA publishes a wonderful magazine equal to Trailer Life and Motorhome Magazine in useful and entertaining content. Many member benefits.

Escapees: The very best club for full-timers and other avid RVers. The popular group has chapters across America, and quite a few member-owned campgrounds. The club magazine is packed with information. Anyone who RVs full-time or more than a few months a year should join this fine organization.

RVing Women: This is the biggest and best RV club for women RVers. Its website is the cyber meeting place for members, but they get together in real life, too, for support, companionship and fun. Any RVing woman, whether single, widowed or who travels alone for another reason, should join.

National African American RVers Association: NAARVA is a nationwide camping club dedicated to providing family support for African American RVers. It has 1,400 members with more than 50 chapters across the USA.

Smart RV Club: For active and retired military. This organization has 56 chapters and 3,500 members. Its website offers a lot of useful information.

Hot weather refrigerator tips
Keeping your RV refrigerator happy in warm weather is a matter of paying attention to your environment and reacting accordingly. Here are some simple tricks to keep your drinks cold.

The Pre-Delivery Inspection – Your chance to get it right
You bought your first RV. Before you drive it off the lot though, you've got an important task: the Pre-Delivery Inspection. This is your chance to make sure that everything works and that you know how to work everything. Take full advantage of this opportunity.

Communicating on the road. RVers discuss ways to stay in touch.

Where's the best place for a fulltimer to establish a home base?

An RVer wants to quiet his noisy generator? Is there such a thing as a generator muffler?

RVers are heading to Alaska. Been there? Got any advice for them?

Truck talk. RVers discuss trucks to use to pull a towable RV.

And in the FreeCampgrounds.com forum:
Heading somewhere and looking for a place to stay? Forum members can help.

Carry a long enough sewer hose
Sewer hoses are commonly available in lengths of 10 feet or 20 feet. There are also connectors that allow you to hook two hoses together for extra length. Carry at least 20 feet of hose because sometimes you just can't park close enough to connect.

This tip is one of more than 500 in All the Stuff You Need to Know About RVing by Ronald Jones and Robert Lowe.

Buy or Sell Used Motorhomes or other RVs
Huge Texas consignment dealer provides a hassle-free way to buy or sell diesel pushers, motorhomes, 5th wheels or travel trailers. Learn more.

Winnebago View 2007 Class C diesel now available
RVers looking for a Class C motorhome with superb fuel mileage might want to check out the new 2007 Winnebago View, which the manufacturer claims gets 17-19 miles per gallon. The 23-foot RV is powered by a Mercedes diesel engine with a European design. See the 2007 model here. A more extensive description of the unit is on the Winnebago website, although it is still featuring the 2006 model.

Staying healthy on the road
Anyone who has experienced serious health issues knows that life is a whole lot better when they are healthy. Staying healthy on the RV road offers specific challenges for RVers, who can easily spend way too much time inside their small rolling cottages, or eat a few too many not-so-healthy meals in eateries along their routes. Lynn Difley holds court in a very informative website, where she discusses a variety of health issues that affect RVers, with an emphasis on staying healthy rather than fixing ailments after they occur. You'd be wise to spend some time at Healthy RV Lifestyle.

Arthritis in your driving hands?
Get swift, soothing pain relief with Arctic Spray. No rubbing! No mess!. Learn more.

2006 Wal-Mart Locator
Hundreds of new stores. Use to plan free overnight stays. Get driving directions to every Wal-Mart in America. New in this edition: Stores that sell diesel fuel! Retail price $24.95. Order Now for our Everyday Low Discount Price of only $19.83.

Truck Stops Love RVers!
2006 RVers Friend lists every Travel Center in the U.S. and Canada and the services each provides RVers. Learn which offer overnight stays, dump stations, Internet access, propane, ATMs, or other services. Learn more or order for only $12.95

Cooking in the RV kitchen
If you cook in your RV and would like to do it better, you should read the monthly RV Kitchens Newsletter. It's published online and features a wealth of information about cooking in the RV as well as about grilling outdoors. This website is very well done. Sign up for the newsletter or read back issues.

Heater vent doesn't work. "Help!"
"A forum member asks: "We just purchased a 1999, 32-foot Southwind Storm, and my question is this: the heater vent in the bathroom doesn't work for some reason and before I take it to a repair place and spend a bunch of money, maybe someone else has had this problem and can help me out. I hate to pay a lot when I could maybe fix it myself." Can you help?

How much does hauling a full tank of water cost?
Another forum member asks: "We are planning a long trip this summer. I want to fill the water tanks so we can use our bathroom whenever we need and stay the nights at Wal-Mart to save money on the road. My husband says, "No way, the water will weigh too much and will double the price of gas." I said other people do it. He says no they don't. Please help us." What do you think?

Is it wise to buy a Thousand Trails membership?
A new RVer asks: "We plan to go full-time in about six months. It was suggested to us that membership in a place like Thousand Trails would be a good start. Isn't that expensive? Also, if it's such a good thing, why do I see ads in magazines for people wanting to sell their membership? We need your input, please."

Guidebooks and DVDs about RVing in Mexico .

Lost Lake Resort
Secluded RV living in the Northwest. Beautiful lots. Private trout lake, athletic club, clubhouse, park models, indoor/outdoor pool plus easy drive to Tacoma and Seattle. See available lots and prices. Learn more.

Don't buy an RV without knowing its history
Learn the vehicle's history. Get a VIN report at Carfax.com

This issue's
Knowledge Quiz

WE'RE TAKING A BREAK
FROM OUR QUIZZES FOR THE SUMMER

Knowledge Quiz official rules

How to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning
The onboard generator makes your RV fully self-contained. It allows you access to 120-volts when there is no shore power available, but keep in mind that carbon monoxide is deadly! Test the carbon monoxide detector every time you use the RV. Know what the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are:

1) Dizziness
2) Vomiting
3) Nausea
4) Muscular twitching
5) Intense headache
6) Throbbing in the temples
7) Weakness and sleepiness
8) Inability to think coherently

If you or anyone else experiences any of these symptoms get to fresh air immediately. If the symptoms persist seek medical attention. Shut the generator down and do not operate it until it has been inspected and repaired by a professional

(Learn about Mark Polk's RV "How-to" DVDs and eBooks .)

Visit the RV Travel Reader Forum to discuss everything to do with RVing with other RVers.

RVs for sale.
Hundreds to choose from -- motorhome, trailers, fifth wheels and more.

Why We Need English Teachers (as witnessed along the highways of America)

Upcoming RV Shows

RV-Links
Loads of links to great websites about RVing.

RVing With Dogs : Got a pooch onboard? You'll love this website.

Life On Wheels
"Go to school" to learn about RVing. Five annual conferences. Next one: July 9 to 14, Moscow, Idaho .

At RVbookstore.com we strive for excellence in all we do and that's the honest truth (as opposed to the dishonest truth). Our customers receive really, really fast service. We move so fast in sending out a customer's order that sometimes we pass through the sound barrier, which really upsets our neighbors . Our motto is "You need it so we speed it," and no truer words were ever spoken!

RVbookstore.com and RVtravel.com are a members of the Better Business Bureau. We are proud commercial members of the Escapees, the Family Motor Coaching Association, and a sponsor of the 2006 Life On Wheels Conferences. We are also darn good people.

RV Travel is copyright 2006 by RVbookstore.com. Our International Headquarters: RVbookstore.com, 170 W. Dayton Street, Suite 103, Edmonds WA 98020, USA, Earth, Milky Way, Known Universe, Unknown Universe.