RV Lifestyle RV Podcast

Mike Wendland
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RV Lifestyle RV Podcast

Celebrating the RV Lifestyle by Mike and Jennifer Wendland. Tips, travel ideas, RV news and great interviews about the RV Lifestyle.

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    Breaking News! Motorhome Sales Banned in Six States

    Big motorhome sales banned in California and five other states, effective Jan 1, 2025! This is a special edition of the RV Podcast involving a breaking story that we need to get out there. California and five other states have a controversial regulation in place that will effectively ban the sale of most large motorhomes starting January 1, 2025. How could this happen? We dig into this in this Special Episode of the RV Podcast. You can watch the video version on our RV Lifestyle YouTube channel by clicking the player below. If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays. The RV Industry is reeling this week as California and five other clean air states are about to ban the sale of motorhomes with a gross vehicle weight (GVWR) of over 8,500 pounds. This includes most motorhomes. * The average weight range for a Class C RV is 10,000–12,000 lbs.  * The range for a Super C Motorhome is 19,500 lbs and up * The average GVWR of a Class A motorhome typically ranges from 13,000 to 30,000 lbs Class B motorhomes - campervans - typically weigh 6,000- 8,000 pounds GVWR and thus won't be affected. This ban affecting the larger motorhomes will be effective Jan 1, 2025, and it’s a story that has caught everyone by surprise. It came to widespread attention just a few days ago when a letter sent by Newmar RV to its dealers in the affected states came to light, telling them of the coming sales ban.  Now the reason this has shocked the industry is because, frankly, the industry really expected an exemption from a program that seems aimed at big diesel trucks that are driven around the clock, not low mileage recreation vehicles that typically drive 3,000-5,000 miles a year. Their reasoning is sound. It seems pretty cut and dry. But several industry leaders I talked to in preparing this special report felt much more should have been done and that perhaps there was a complacency and lack of urgency in dealing with this. The Advanced Clean Truck Regulation California and the five other states that have signed on to the same clean air regulations haven’t made a secret of this at all. The Advanced Clean Truck Regulation has been out there for over a year now. The other states that have adopted it are Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey. You may wonder why California is the driving force here. Because under Section 177 the federal Clean Air Act that regulates air emissions, California is the only state authorized to set vehicle emission standards and other states wanting to adopt their own such regulations can do so only if they are identical to California's. Really. I'm not making this up. But no one in the industry really thought RVs would be affected by the Advanced Clean Truck Regulation. They thought RVs would be treated differently than big commercial trucks once regulators understood the problem making big motorhomes all EV.

    31 min

  2. 30 OCT

    Campground Theft: Is it Getting Worse?

    This week on the RV Podcast:  * Campground theft: How to Protect Your Gear while camping * Somebody is trying to keep folks out of an Oregon national forest by burying planks booby-trapped with nails on forest roads. * How RVers can get a nice break on diesel prices. * All this plus the RV News of the Week and your questions coming up in Episode #521 of the RV Podcast You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below. If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays. We have one more week for you to win our latest giveaway! It has some awesome prizes that can fit into your 2025 camping adventures. Here are the details! FIRST PRIZE - One lucky winner will receive a one-month RV pull-through stay: The ultimate getaway awaits with a one-month RV stay at Zion Utah Jellystone Park!  Settle into a spacious pull-through RV site that provides all the comforts you need for an extended stay, with full hookups and 50-amp service. SECOND PRIZE - Three lucky winners will receive a one-week RV pull-through stay: Experience the adventure of a lifetime with a one-week RV stay at Zion Utah Jellystone Park! With spacious pull-through RV sites ranging from 45 to 75 feet and equipped with full hookups and 50-amp service, you will enjoy all the conveniences of home while surrounded by Utah’s stunning natural beauty. MORE details about this on the Sweepstakes page https://rvlifestyle.com/Sweepstakes RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK - Campground Theft Recently on our Facebook group, MaryJean posted a picture of a campfire at night and wrote: "Beautiful campfire but without our chairs that someone stole from our campsite today.” MaryJean was staying at the Turkey Run State Park Campground in Indiana. She and her husband left their site for a few hours, came back and their chairs were gone. They looked around at the sites, didn’t see them. They asked their neighbors, no one saw anything. They asked the campground staff, nothing. So they filled out a theft report. ….. And spent the night gathered around their campfire with no chairs, and a real sense of violation. MaryJean’s post triggered nearly 600 comments. Most expressed shock and sympathy, but what struck us was how many others had similar stories, many saying it seemed to them thefts were on the rise. Here are a few samples: Joe: We were camping in Arizona recently, went out for the day, came back and someone had stolen my wife's bathing suit that she had hanging on a drying rack! Lori: “Someone stole our portable trash can. Left the trash that was inside on the ground. We were at Colorado River RV Campground in Texas.” Beth: At a state park in Ohio, things were disappearing from campsites during the summer months a couple years ago. Turns out it was indigent people living in the surroun...

    43 min

  3. 23 OCT

    An “UNBEETABLE” Workamping Experience – The Sugar Beet Harvest

    This week on the RV Podcast: * An UNBEETABLE RV Experience. And we spell Beet BEET. Were talking about RVers who Workcamp the Sugar Beet Harvest. We'll explain all in the RV Conversation of the Week * Brinkley RV is continuing to set the pace in the RV industry, this time with an all-new luxury Ultralite Travel Trailer that can be towed by a large SUV. * A Major RV manufacturer has shut down its two California plants because it's just too expensive to do business there. And this comes as the state proposes a clean air fee that could add another 65 cents a gallon to its sky-high fuel costs. * All this, plus the Social Media Buzz and your questions coming up in Episode #520 of the RV Podcast. You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below. If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays. And now for news on our new giveaway! Win a deluxe camping stay near Zion National Park! This giveaway has some awesome prizes that can fit into your 2025 camping adventures. Here are the details! ENTER HERE. FIRST PRIZE - One lucky winner will receive a one-month RV pull-through stay: The ultimate getaway awaits with a one-month RV stay at Zion Utah Jellystone Park!  Settle into a spacious pull-through RV site that provides all the comforts you need for an extended stay, with full hookups and 50-amp service. SECOND PRIZE - Three lucky winners will receive a one-week RV pull-through stay: Experience the adventure of a lifetime with a one-week RV stay at Zion Utah Jellystone Park! With spacious pull-through RV sites ranging from 45 to 75 feet and equipped with full hookups and 50-amp service, you will enjoy all the conveniences of home while surrounded by Utah’s stunning natural beauty. BOTH prizes provide you with unlimited access during your stay to the park’s many attractions, activities, and amenities, including a massive water zone, which includes a heated swimming pool, a lazy river, multiple water slides, and a splashground. OR GET YOUR DISCOUNT! As a thank you for participating in this RV Lifestyle sweepstakes, Zion Utah Jellystone Park is offering you 10% off a stay at the campground. This discount is valid for reservations with a minimum of 2 nights and for a maximum of 7 nights. The discount can be utilized on any new reservation stays through December 31, 2025. To redeem this 10% offer, simply use the promo code Zion2024 when booking your reservation online at https://www.zionutahjellystonepark.com/ or via phone at 866-934-5267. Please note this offer is not valid on prior reservations, and this offer may not be combined with any other offer of discount.MORE details about this on the Sweepstakes page Mike Wendland full false 40:55 RV Problems: Dealing with the Disappointments https://rvlifestyle.com/rv-problems-2/ Wed, 16 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000 https://rvlifestyle.com/?p=110506 This week on the RV Podcast... The RV Lifestyle is what YOU make it. How to handle RV Problems or disappointing circumstances and stay on the road. Florida RV Parks largely dodged a bullet last week, with most relatively unscathed from Hurricane Milton and now getting ready for this winter's snowbirds. A State Park in Wisconsin has had to shut down for the season early because of a severe mouse infestation. It's been SO overrun with the rodents that authorities say they had no choice. All this, PLUS the Social Media RV Buzz and your questions, coming up in Episode 519 of the RV Podcast This week on the RV Podcast... The RV Lifestyle is what YOU make it. How to handle RV Problems or disappointing circum

    44 min

  4. 9 OCT

    Another Hurricane! Plus Tips, Trends and RV News

    This week on the RV Podcast:  * The Hurricanes just keep coming. As recovery is still underway from Hurricane Helene, a new one, Hurricane Milton, is taking direct aim at millions of Florida residents and many of the favorite snowbird campgrounds in Florida.  * Why are so many campgrounds adding treehouses, covered wagons, and tiny homes instead of more campsites? Blame the millennials. At least, so says Kampgrounds of America. * RV Prices are starting to drop. And that’s good news for consumers after years of jacked-up dealer prices. * All this, plus the RV News of the Week and your questions coming up in Episode #518 of the RV Podcast You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below. If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays. We're at our "GATHERING AT THE GULF" Fall MeetUp We just set up camp in anticipation of our Gathering at the Gulf with 70 or so of our friends and supporters. We are on the panhandle, and from what we can tell, we will not be in the path of this latest Hurricane Milton.  We'll be sharing all the photos from our Gathering with our Community all week. If you aren't a member yet -- here's where to do that https://community.rvlifestyle.com And we have a NEW giveaway! LUMI! Lumi is a lightweight, portable smart projector that throws high-quality 1080P HD visuals up to 200 inches. Lumi, plugged into your RV turns empty walls into immersive entertainment experiences. And we'll be using it during our gathering, too! One lucky winner will get this super cool projector to use at your home or campground. Check it out and enter at https://rvlifestyle.com/sweepstakes RV NEWS OF THE WEEK We just keep getting hammered by Hurricanes. We have two to report on this week. The devastating destruction from Hurricane Helene that continues to isolate people. Power is still out for tens of thousands, Infrastructure massively damaged. The National Park Service announced the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed indefinitely.  Most of the roads in northwest North Carolina are open to essential travel only, More than 50 campgrounds were impacted, some completely destroyed, and many state parks are closed for at least several more weeks. It’s been heartbreaking reading of all the pain and suffering from Hurricane Helene. And yet in the midst of that, so many are helping and offering assistance. Here’s one example: The Mountain River Family Campground in Mike Wendland full false 36:21 Exposing High Pressure RV Sales Tactics https://rvlifestyle.com/high-pressure-rv-sales/ Wed, 02 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000 https://rvlifestyle.com/?p=110403 This week on the RV Podcast: How to Deal with High Pressure RV Sales Tactics. We’ll interview a reputable dealer who exposes unethical tactics and tells you how you should respond to high pressure. RV Campgrounds in six states have been devastated by last week’s Hurricane Helene. With prices continuing to rise, many are asking, “How can anyone afford the RV Lifestyle these days?" We have some advice in our Social Media Buzz segment. All this plus the RV News of the Week and your questions coming up in Episode #517 of the RV Podcast. This week on the RV Podcast: How to Deal with High Pressure RV Sales Tactics. We’ll interview a reputable dealer who exposes unethical tactics and tells you how you should respond to high pressure. RV Campgrounds in six states have been devastated by ... Retreat at Paris Landing and we’re heading up this week to get our first look at it. It’s in Tennessee, northwest of up near the Kentucky

    37 min

  5. 18 SEPT

    Essential RV Extras: The Top Upgrades Real RVers Want!

    This week on Episode 515 of the RV Podcast: Essential RV Extras: The Top Upgrades Real RVers Want! You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below. If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays. We are in celebration mode this week. We are so excited to share that RVLifestyle won TWO SEPARATE Campers' Choice awards (also called the Campies) sponsored by RV Share. You can see the rest of the winners here. One for Best RV and Camping YouTube Channel and one for Best RV and Camping Blog! Whoo hoo!!!!! What makes this extra exciting is we won because of YOU. You nominated us and voted for us and we are so thankful. Thank you for giving us your trust and support. And thank you RVShare! For those who didn't know, The RVLifestyle YouTube Channel has over a thousand videos on every RV topic imaginable. (If you haven't already, please check us out and subscribe https://www.youtube.com/rvlifestyle!) And our blog https://rvlifestyle.com/ contains more than a dozen years of stories and so much information offering everything from practical help to campground info to RV inspiration and more. Once again, thank you everyone! Win Free Stuff! We have a new giveaway. We’re giving away to two lucky winners: First Prize: Waggle Pet Monitor PRO+, which keeps track of the temperature inside your rig and sends alerts via SMS, email, and in-app notifications when it exceeds your set threshold. Second Prize: The RV Mini AI Cam lets you monitor your pet virtually with its 360-degree camera, two-way audio, and real-time motion tracking. These are the best in safety for RVing pet owners. To enter, just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/sweepstakes Enter using all the 14 different ways, and the lucky winner will be announced Sept. 29. Join us during Meetup Week! From Sept.

    40 min

  6. 11 SEPT

    Enough is Enough! Ever Rising Campground Fees

    This week on the RV Podcast: * Enough is Enough. RV’ers have had it with ever-rising campground fees * The BLM wants to charge RVers up to $600 to boondock in the Arizona desert.  * And speaking of Arizona, we have the details on a large chunk of highly desirable RV property near Kingman and Route 66 that’s going to be sold off in 5-acre parcels later this month * All this plus the Social Media Buzz and your questions coming up in Episode #514 of the RV Podcast You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below. If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays. RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK - Rising Campground Fees This week’s conversation of the week is about a topic that has been simmering all summer. Our email and social media have been filled with angry comments from RVers who are up to here over what many feel is price gouging by RV campgrounds all across the country. As the demand for camping space has continued to grow after those crazy COVID days, so have prices. It’s insane: $100 a night is no longer rare, with $70 a night very common.  On top of that, campgrounds are doing all sorts of other things... Charging more on weekends or holidays, adding various extra charges, like making you pay more to reserve a specific site, making it harder to get a refund when you have to cancel, and charging extra for having friends stop by to visit or to bring along a pet. And we’re not even talking about taxes - tourist taxes, county taxes, state taxes! It’s crazy, and people are crazy mad. Campgrounds are businesses Let’s get one thing clear right off the bat. Campgrounds are businesses. Many have huge expenses and limited seasons, and they need to cover costs. Their costs are going up fast, too. To be competitive, many have had to upgrade their Internet wireless networks - no cheap undertaking. Add swimming pools. Leash-free dog runs. Build cabins. We get it. They are hard-pressed to afford all this and have to raise prices to afford it. We want campgrounds to do well and stay open or we won’t have anywhere to camp. Before the Internet, you would call a campground or just show up, pay the camping fee, maybe a tax, and go camp. When the internet began, reservations could be handled online and campgrounds started adding reservation fees. They had to invest in costly software to manage the reservations. That was the first fee just like when ticket sellers do this when you go to a show. Hotels do it. Airlines do this. It seems to be a normal cultural thing. But over time and especially the last couple of years, many other fees started getting added to the tab. Now some in our TV Lifestyle Community say they fully understand this: “It’s a free country - choose to pay it or move on.” - said one of our social media community posters. Said another: “It is a matter of Supply and Demand…. There are a whole lot of new RVers now…. This creates a crunch on the decent campgrounds… i like site “x” and so do others… Therefore a lock fee for t...

    35 min

  7. 4 SEPT

    RV Horror Stories: Real RVers Share Real RV Fails

    This week on Episode 513 of  the RV Podcast:  * RV Horror Stories: Real RVers Share Their Most Embarrassing RV Fails and “Operator Errors” * Is it right for State Parks to give priority camping reservations and special rates only to in-state residents? * Getting rid of condensation stains on RV shades… there’s an easy solution to make them look like new again. You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below. If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays. RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK This week, we want to share a wild campfire discussion we had during our recent Fantasy RV Tour trip to the Canadian Maritimes. We were all hanging out one night and got to sharing our most embarrassing mistakes…and many sounded like horror stories. And, yes, I shared mine, too. This is a fun but educational conversation. You might laugh at our RV mistakes, but you'll hopefully learn from them, too.  Be sure to hit one of the players above and listen (and watch) the entire conversation! SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ - Wendy Bowyer Wendy Bowyer reports on the hot issues most talked about this past week on social media and our RV Lifestyle Community group. In our RVLifestyle Community General Discussion Space, Loretta posted an RV Cover Question. She and her husband just purchased a 2024 Grand Design Reflection 5th Wheel. They plan to travel from November until early April, and when their 5th wheel is not in use, park it outside on their property. They live in Ohio, and from April through November the temperatures can range 40 and 95 degrees. They made a cement pad that has partial shade and trees. Under these conditions, would you get a cover? Randall said they used to have a cover for their unit, but every 2-4 years, the cover would have to rip and need to be replaced. After paying $150 each time to replace it they decided to build a carport that is working well. Michael showed a picture of his travel trailer neatly covered up. He said the cover works great in the northeast winter, but for that summer heat and humidity, he wondered if it would be a mildew trap. And Brenda & Marc urged Loretta, if she does get one, to get a stronger, well-made cover. The thin ones rip easily from trees or strong winds. Lots for Loretta to think over. Also in our RVLifestyle Community, in the RV Travel, Trips & Tours Space, R & T posted they had JUST retired, and were heading out for an RV trip to the Outer Banks. Many in the group were ready to celebrate the big retirement day with them, offering congratulations. Then the couple shared some pictures of themselves parasailing, windsurfing, and posing with their cute Goldendoodle Tucker, living their best life! How inspirational! We love to see these celebration posts. Then over in our RVLifestyle Facebook Group,

    38 min

  8. 28 AUG

    Hotter than Hell: A Dog’s Tragic Fate in Overheated RV

    Last week, a dog died in an overheated RV when the Air Conditioner lost power. This week in Episode 512 of RV Lifestyle's RV Podcast, we learn about two safety devices every RVer who travels with a pet needs to have. Plus, how one of our followers saved over $1,000 in their extended RV warranty, the Social Media Buzz of the Week and how we plan and find great campgrounds. The audio version is available on all the major podcast apps or in the player below: The Dangers of an Overheated RV A couple who tragically lost their dog while camping are sharing their story as a warning to others. Dawn Shover and her husband were camping in Ohio with their dog, Chief. They planned an outing with their grandkids to a fair and left their dog, Chief, in the RV while they were gone. To keep Chief safe, they bought a new generator and made sure it was full of gas and that everything was good.  But when they returned hours later, to their horror, they discovered the generator had turned off, their RV was easily more than 100 degrees, and their beloved pet was lying listless, barely moving, foaming at the mouth. Then their dog died. So what happened?  Apparently, the air conditioner was working so hard it blew a fuse, and on that hot summer day, the temperature in their rig RV quickly rose to over 100 degrees, killing their dog. The couple is sharing their story as a warning to others that a generator powering the air conditioning is not enough.  Such a tragic story, and we also hope their willingness to share their pain helps others and protects pets. We share two products we think every RVer who travels with a pet should have: Waggle….which monitors the temperature in your RV when you are away and sends an alert if the temperature exceeds a certain level: https://rvlifestyle.com/waggle and SoftStartUp ...Which lets air conditioners run with less than a power spike - https://softstartup.com/rvlifestyle Good Advice: Shop around for the best Extended RV Warranty We were camping in Maine last week and a woman in a camper down the line from us recognized me and came over to thank me for saving her over a thousand dollars. “How?” I asked. She explained that when she bought her RV the dealer tried to talk her into buying an extended warranty from him. She remembered Jen and I talking about Wholesale Warranties and how it finds the best deals for RVers not the expensive ones sold by dealers. She went to https://rvlifestyle.com/warranty and filled in a form and Wholesale Warranties got her a price that was $1,000 less than the dealer. Now she has peace of mind because RVs break… all the time. We never recommend buying an extended warranty from a dealer without first shopping around. And Wholesale Warranties will do that for you... free. Finding the best price for you at the best price, on both new and used RVs. Check it out at https://rvlifestyle.

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Celebrating the RV Lifestyle by Mike and Jennifer Wendland. Tips, travel ideas, RV news and great interviews about the RV Lifestyle.

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