RV Home Yet?

RV choice and fuel mpg

If you are in the market for a new (or at least new-to-you RV), which type of RV will give you the best fuel mileage? Class A motorhome, Class C motorhome, or a truck and 5th wheel or trailer?

Most Class A motorhomes get 5-8 mpg, with diesel-powered motohomes doing a little better. A Class C would be comparable, though a very small Class C would also better the mileage a larger one gets. With our 5th wheel and GMC Duramax, we get an average of 11 mpg towing, 18 mpg when not. A Class C and Class A motorhome can tow a small vehicle that gets excellent mileage. If you are willing to use a dolly, the Prius gets more than 50 mpg. You should be able to find a vehicle towable on the ground that gets 30 or better.

If you are aiming to lower your fuel costs with your RV choice, consider how you are traveling. If you travel a lot of miles with your RV in a year, the truck and 5th wheel could be the best choice. However, if you travel a few hundred miles and then stay there for two or three weeks before moving again and use your toad most of the time, you'll save with a motorhome and a toad with good fuel economy. At one time, diesel fuel was less expensive than gas. Now that is reversed so take that into account too.

Of course, driving habits also impact your mileage. The faster you drive, the lower your fuel economy. Driving against a headwind can decimate your fuel mileage. What until it dies down, if possible, even if you have to stay an extra day or so.

Who knows when the price of fuel will go down - if at all. Your choices, of RV, how much you travel and how you drive, will affect how much you spend on fuel in a year. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

The Verizon Aircard -- Reprise

Andy, one of our readers, has asked a pertinent question: Could you please give an update after 4 mos. of using the Verizon air card? What model of air card/modem, antenna & router?

You can read the original post where we made the decision to switch from satellite internet (Hughes) to the Verizon air card. There you will find the reasons we made the switch.

Since then, we have traveled extensively through the Four-Corners region of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. In only one place, Canyon de Chelle, did the air card not work. But, in that same place Internet satellite would also not have worked. That was due to the heavily-treed campground where we parked. To solve that problem, we carried our computers about 150 yards to the lodge where free, public WiFi was available. Problem solved.

Two of us use the air card system, usually simultaneously. Jaimie does extensive updating of this blog, and the associated web page, plus monitor and administer a Workamper forum. I have my own writing projects. Our usage has been running around 3.5 GBytes/month, well under the 5 GByte limit that Verizon imposes before charging extra. We have had few, if any problems with upload/download speeds. They are at least comparable, or faster than what we experienced with Hughes. And, the cost per month is the same.

We both connect to our system through a Cradlepoint 350 WiFi router. The air card is a Verizon USB727. Those two work in our home base without the need for an external antenna. In our trailer, I have a Wilson 3 amp amplifier with a Wilson Trucker antenna mounted externally. When we use the system in the trailer, we have noticed no decrease in throughput.

There is no doubt that we will find areas where there is no coverage for Internet access using this system. Maine would be a good example. We traveled there two years ago when we were still using the Hughes satellite system. But, we couldn't get a signal where we were parked, again because of the heavy trees. What we had to do then was drive to Damariscotta and sit in the local coffeehouse, buy a coffee and use their free WiFi. That, in itself, is one additional reason for our change to the Verizon air card. When we have had to leave the trailer to access the Internet, it is a relief and we get a break from sitting in the trailer.

In short, we are extremely pleased with the Verizon air card system.

Be safe this weekend - don't start a fire

Most RVers are already hunkered down somewhere. A holiday weekend is not the time to be out and about looking for a campsite or fighting traffic.

Please be careful of your campfires if you are camped on public lands, especially in the Southwest. In many forests campfires are already prohibited due to dry conditions. Too many campers disregard this. They want a campfire because that is part of the camping experience and by golly, they are going to have one. The Forest Service and other agencies do not have the personnel to be patrolling the whole forest so they have to depend on people voluntarily complying.

Crown King, south of Prescott in the National Forest which we visited in April, has a 9000+ fire still burning. Officials suspect that the Lane 2 fire was started by hikers who were lost. See the news report. A related article, below right, discusses the hikers. Read my first post on Crown King here, and the second one here. I'm glad we got to see the area before the fire. Four houses have been lost along with several outbuildings. Let's hope a good thunderstorm comes through and douses the fire.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing this weekend, use caution and common sense and be safe! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

400 gallons, 1500 miles

1500 miles is the average number of miles food travels to get to your plate and 400 gallons is the amount of fuel on average used in its migration. If everyone grew some of their own food or bought from local farmers, we could reduce that amount - and live healthier.

How does that work in an RV? How about at least an herb garden? George found this three-lobe planter and planted oregano, rosemary, parsley and basil. All but the basil are in their second summer. The basil went to seed and we stopped harvesting it so it had to be replaced. We are on basil #3 this season; this one seems to like it's spot. (lower left)

If you will be in one place for the summer, either visiting or Workamping, you might try gardening in an Earth Box. You can purchase an Earth Box for about $55 each - or do a Google search, find the plans and make your own. George spent about $10 each for ours made of Ru bberMaid containers. It took him only a few minutes each using a saw and a drill. So far we have nine green tomatoes, one green pepper and one Anaheim pepper. I do have to advise you that you do not (and probably cannot) move an Earth Box once it has been planted, unless you have it on a cart with wheels. The lower half is water and the thing weighs a ton! A five-gallon bucket would do nicely for a vegetable planter too.

Ok, so you don't want to carry around a garden? or are moving too frequently? Look for farmer's markets as you travel. It's early for a lot of produce but you'll find some already. Local Harvest has lists of farms throughout the country. Or type in farmer's markets and the state you are in to find ones where you are traveling. Indiana actually had a booklet at the visitor centers listing all the farmer's markets in the state, so look there when you stop. Verify, though, with each booth where they got their produce. In some locations sellers go to the food distribution centers, buy produce that could come from anywhere, and then resell it. Buy local, if possible.

There's nothing like the taste of fresh produce right off the plant or tree that is picked when it is ripe. Yum... Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

It's an RV, it's a yacht, it's..... a lot of money!

The price will keep it exclusive - $850,000 is the base price. This vehicle doubles as a luxury RV and a yacht. The Terra Wind has features like custom teak wood cabinetry, marble floors and shower, 8 jet whirlpool tub and more. The back opens up to be a swim deck for your boating pleasure. And it has two slides.

This is probably the type of RV where you need to be pre-screened to even go in and look at it! With sales of luxury RVs and yachts dropping, it will be interesting to see if these is any demand for this vehicle/craft. 

To see more photos and all the features, check out their Web site. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Update on "Family of 11 lives in a 24-foot RV"

A link to a video showing this family has been added to this post. Go to "Family of 11 lives in a 24-foot RV.

Amazing! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

What sort of ID do you carry?

Tonight I took a walk. Though I had my cell phone, I had no identification with me. Not a good idea. If you are out walking, hiking or exploring, be sure to carry I.D. Your cell phone would help to identify you, but that could be taken from you, or, in case of an auto accident, thrown out of the vehicle or crushed. Even if you carry your identification, have information about where you are camped locally.

On your emergency card include your name, where your RV is parked and your spouse or travel partner's cell phone number. If you are a solo traveler, have an emergency number for a friend or relative with whom you regularly keep in touch.

There are two easy ways to carry your name and location. You can make a business card on your computer and then write the emergency number and your location on the back. Or, if you are staying in an RV park, take one of their business cards and write your name on it and your site number. Slip these in a pocket or wallet or purse when you go out.

If you are a pet owner who has left your pets should also make a note on your card that you have pets in your RV so someone makes sure if they are taken care of if you don't return. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

RVs - traveling motel rooms?

In the VailDaily.com, a short piece by Allen Best refers to RVs as traveling motel rooms! I've always thought of an RV as a house on wheels. I guess it is all about your perspective - are you a weekend RVer, part-timer or full-time RVer?

In his piece posted in Jackson Hole, WY - "RV Life Gets Expensive" - Best says that high fuel prices are affecting even the very richest. Jackson Hole Aviation reports sales of jet fuel are down 13 percent. The company has noticed reduced private and charter flights. And, of course, it costs a lot to fill an RV. The couple interviewed put $344 worth of gas in the fuel tank to top it off; a full tank would have cost nearly $600.

RVers are making adjustments, no matter what their status. Even if you have plenty of money for fuel, you have to think is this trip really worth that much? Would I rather spend that money on something else?

I can't go with the term "traveling motel rooms," though. In a motel, a maid comes in and changes the linens, makes the bed and cleans up. That certainly is not the case in our RV! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

RVs going the way of covered wagons?

Will RVs go the way of covered wagons because of high fuel prices? Garrison Keillor thinks so. The voice of "A Prairie Home Companion" has an essay at Salon.com titled, "The Motor Home Fades into the Sunset."

He always considered himself morally superior to those who camped in RVs - that is until he tried it. Once he did, he fell under its spell and was "happy to give up moral grandeur for a couple of weeks." However high prices, he believes, will force us to give up RV travel and tell stories of our adventures instead of doing it. Our communities don't make it easy to have neighborly exchanges. We rely on vehicles to get around and don't sit out on the porch or talk to neighbors. Fuel prices will cause some adjustments. We'll take up other things to do. We'll learn to tell stories to the checkout cashier at the grocery store or the bank teller rather than a neighbor.

Mr. Keillor has only dabbled in RVing. He's not a full-time RVer, nor even a snowbird. Otherwise he'd know how RVers form instant communities. How we can and do share stories of our adventures with other RVers wherever we meet whether we have traveled across the country or a few miles to spend a season. From formal gatherings, to RV parks and resorts to an encounter in an RV supply store or repair facility, RVers talk to other RVers. We've struck up conversations boondocking in the desert or the forest. We have an instant connection just because we participate and love this lifestyle. We don't need to learn new methods. We are living them.

Maybe RVers won't be driving as far this year, but I don't think our RVs will fade away and become relics - at least not anytime soon. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Help a harbor seal in Maine?

I happened upon a Web site listing volunteer opportunities in Maine. The three most recent include helping harbor seal pups in Biddeford, working at a transportation museum in Owls Head, and being a sidewalker at an Equestrian Therapeutic Riding Center in Lyman. They all sound interesting, though the first might be a bit smelly!

Wherever you are for the summer, you might be able to volunteer if you have the time. A humane society may need pet walkers and groomers, a nursing home could use people to visit with patients. If you like the outdoors, there may be a trails day where you can assist in trail construction or cleanup. Volunteer.gov has all sorts of government volunteer opportunities from a day or two to a season. Do a search for "volunteer" and the name of the state and you'll get several results.

Some of these volunteer tasks are pretty darn interesting. You meet new people, stay active. Give it a try if you get the chance. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak