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In this blog we explain why we bought a Renogy 200 watt solar suitcase, and how to decide if portable solar power is right for you. You can see a great summary in our video! Although Kathy and I have camped almost exclusively in state, county, and private campgrounds, we know that some of the most beautiful campsites in the U.S. are free. Most of these are on state or federal land, often in remote locations with stunning views. Most allow two-weeks stays. But there’s a catch. No hookups! No running water. No electricity. No sewer connections. This is affectionately called boondocking. Now, in ourRead More →

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I (Kathy) was happy being the navigator while Jeff drove our 37-foot Class A coach, fondly named Windy. On the other hand, Jeff happy being the sole driver? Not so much. The first time I drove Windy was three years ago. I’d had a lesson from a guy who it turned out had no idea that I needed to learn how to back into a campsite, maneuver around low branches, and drive on both interstates and narrow back roads. But at least I’d had a lesson. So on a rather deserted divided highway in rural Texas, I agreed that it was time for me toRead More →

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The water from our RV water heater was hot — too hot — 160 degrees hot. And much to our surprise, there was no way to adjust the built-in thermostat. Fortunately, Atwood does sell a replacement thermostat with adjustable settings, so during some down time, Jeff set out to install one. IN THIS VIDEO:Atwood Adjustable Thermostat – https://amzn.to/2XrpRpSArctic MX4 Thermal Compound – https://amzn.to/3aUyDkdRead More →

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One of the top problems reported by RVers is waste tank monitors that just don’t work! In theory, with a simple push of a button on your RV’s control panel, you can see just how full your tanks are so that you know for sure when they need to be dumped. The problem is that most monitoring systems installed by RV manufacturers are simply, excuse the expression, “crap.” After a couple of uses the monitors typically read “full” all the time, which means that you really have no idea how much capacity you have left. THE CAUSE Factory tank monitors rely on a series ofRead More →

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You might think that those beautiful motorhomes you see driving down the road have a full paint job, just like your car or truck. But if the dominant color on a motorhome is white, off-white, or gray, chances are the white is plain fiberglass, and the graphics (swoops and swirls) are vinyl decals (not paint). Vinyl is cheaper than paint. And in the RV world, particularly with older rigs, “full paint” is a luxury for higher end coaches. The problem with decals is that while they look nice at first, they don’t tend to age well. The UV rays of the sun often cause themRead More →

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Now that we’ve been RVing for a while, we thought it would be fun to make a list of our ten favorite things that make RV living easier. It was hard to narrow the list down, and Jeff actually ended up adding three “Bonus” items in his list! We’ve included more details about each item below. Are any of these on your list of favorite things? Is there something you love that we missed? Please let us know in the comments. Tooletries Silicone Organizers We struggled with how to best describe these on our video. What it basically comes down to is that these areRead More →

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Several friends have asked us for information about our Thousand Trails membership. We bought our membership from https://www.campgroundmembershipoutlet.com and got a great price with all of the help and information we needed. If you call them, please mention you heard about them from Jeff and Kathy Wildrick. I’ll also attach a cost analysis we did at the time of our purchase! 1) Zone Pass. This is the “entry level” membership in TT. With a Zone Pass, you can stay for free at any TT park (Dark brown markers on the map below) in that zone for up to 14 nights. After that you must stay outRead More →

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Okay. There are a lot of things to be “afraid of” when on the road. Accidents. Breakdowns. Break-ins. Bears. Bugs. Robberies. Illness. Stinkbugs. But one of my biggest fears before heading out on our first long RV trip last December was that one of our pets would get sick. What would we do? How would we find a vet? How would a pet’s illness affect our daily RV life and travel plans? Take these questions and fears and multiply by four. Yes, we have three dogs and a cat. The dogs are Tucker, a handsome 95-pound Golden Retriever; Oliver, a friendly 9-pound Chihuahua; and Mitzi,Read More →

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It was a cold day in early January when we pulled into the Fort Wilderness Campground at Walt Disney World. But we didn’t let the cold – or the rain – dampen our spirits! Here are some of the highlights (and lowlights) of our stay.Read More →