This week on the Rv podcast. Picking up the pieces after a major Rv accident. Do you toss in the towel? You start all over again? In our Rv conversation of the week. You'll meet a couple who faced those questions, and they have some inspiring and advice for all of us. Do hear Rv shades annoy you by rattling as you drive down the road? Our Rv lifestyle community has some great sounding, dampening at advice.
Dangerous heat, nasty weather have been sweeping across the country, taxing the comfort and the safe day of lots of rv viewers this past week. All this, plus the Rv news of the week and your questions coming up in episode 05:05 of the Rv podcast. Hello, everybody. I'm Mike Gwen And this is mine lifelong traveling companion and my bride. Jennifer. Channel, mister Mike. Hey, we should remind everybody that you can watch a video version
from our Rv lifestyle Youtube channel. And we invite you to go over there is youtube dot com slash r v lifestyle. And of course, if you are a ray listener. You know that, we're on all of the podcast apps and we hope you listen to us through 1 of your favorite. There. And when you do so, would you do favor and give us a review of the podcast it really helps other people to know about this and Google loves to see those reviews. So would love to have you give this 1.
Big thank you right now to all of you who took the time to respond to our series of, reviews on various Rv, we started off a few weeks ago by looking at small class a's, and then this past week, we've done small cab over class c's under 30 feet. And next Saturday on our Rv lifestyle Youtube channel we'll review the all electric luxury patriot class b Rv from Midwest automotive design. So that's
that's exciting. And the big news for us is we have a new truck, a long bed ford, f 03:54 by 4, 2 bone diesel. And now we have to get it ready for next week's trip to the Canadian Maritime. And, man, that was a a big hit in pocket book and to our plans for a relaxing time before we left for the maritime times. Relaxing leisure time to pack and think Yeah. Definitely I don't. It was anything, but for those of you just don't know what
We're talking about. We had a major issue with our existing truck that we the repair to it would have been astronomical, and it just didn't make any sense. The trucks of 20 21. To spend that money on of 20 21. So we ended up biting the bullet and buying a a new truck to pull, and we picked that up this week. And next week we got. And now we gotta put a a hitch into it. And then we have to, hitch up our fifth wheel We wanna run that to the factory, the Keystone factory in
L car. We need to do a little twitch switches find out why our our washer dryer is leaking, then we gotta haul it back, then we gotta pack it up, and then we're off to the Maritime times next week. So we are excited. This is gonna be, oh, 6 weeks trip. 6 weeks, we're gonna be gone. You nova Scotia, new Brunswick, Prince Edward Island. We are really excited. This is a fantasy Rv tour. We've always wanted to go on 1 of those. And it's a caravan of 25 different units.
It's kind... The newest... What what I understand is gonna be like, is kinda like a like 1 of those, all inclusive cruises that you take we're in all inclusive resorts day except we're in Rv. And we all got drive. We all got drive. A little over a hundred and 50 miles or so average, you know, per each time you you drive. We start in maine, and then we end up in Prince edward rhode Island and.
We'll try and document as much of that as we can as we do it through social media and our Rv lifestyle community and Youtube videos and ask us anything, but that's gonna depend on the Internet too. Yeah. We're being in some fairly remote areas. I'm I'm told that our our Star satellite system works great there also so... Well, that's exciting. Yeah. Yeah. But we're just hoping to be basically chill out. We we have heard so many good things about Fantasy Rv tours.
And, everybody says, well, this won't be your first And well, it is our first, but, don't know. They all say you're gonna be wanting to do more of them, and they... The reputation is is excellent. So we're looking forward to giving another the price. Alright. I think it'd be fun to, like, leave the driving to us, except, leave the planning and Yeah reservations and food, good restaurants, leave all those details. Yeah. They have experience. All set. They give you
an itinerary. You don't have to travel together. You know, you just Okay. We're all leaving, and you wanna end up at this campground sometime today, and that's when you go up to that campground all that's taken care of. We have a couple of wagon masters as they call them who are at the front of the back and the back. And then at the back, we got a couple, they call them tail gunners who Are there if there's any issues.
And you know, the they've made all the arrangements, all the foods, most of the meals are provided and. Most of the attractions. A lot of the attractions that you'll be seeing. They've got travel tours organized, and this is gonna be fine. It's gonna be different than anything we've tried before. We've never done anything like this before. So we're excited. Yep. Alright. We've got the the social media buzz, people talk about a lot of stuff in the Rv lifestyle, and that's coming up right
after this. After countless nights in the road, we have finally found the ultimate comfort solution for our home away from home. Our Rv mattress from Rv mattress dot com slash rv lifestyle. Now let me tell you. This is a game changer. Everybody knows that the stock mattresses that come in an Rv are not great. And whether you are a weekend warrior or a full timer. You deserve better sleep. Rv mattress dot com has 22 plus size options, 5 hide options, and 3
firm options. So you are bound to find something that fits. Jennifer and I got the signature hybrid mattress in queen with the cooling cover, and we love it. It truly has a sleeping just as good in the Rv as our house. In fact, so good, we actually got another Rv mattress for our sticks and Bricks House. Now swapping out the uncomfortable old stock mattress for our new Rv mattress was easy. It shipped from Arizona for free in a box. We brought it into the Rv and never
looked back. This Rv mattress is plush comfort. The best sleep we've ever had in an Rv. Every night feels like a luxury retreat, and we highly recommend upgrading your mattress at rv mattress dot com. Trust us, you will not regret it. And if you use the promo code, Rv lifestyle, you'll get a really nice discount. Again, go to rv mattress dot com slash rv lifestyle. Welcome back time now the social media buzz. And Wendy Boy reports on the hot issues most talked about this past week on social
media and our Rv lifestyle community group. So Wendy, let's hear it. Hi, everybody. Over in our Rv lifestyle community's general discussion space. We had a recent post from Lynn. Lynn is on a row trip and she has those metal blinds in her wig. And they are making all this noise as she drives down the
road. The wands hitting in the metal blinds, the metal blinds are whack against her window And she asked anyone have any ideas of what I can do to make the stop when she's traveling and then ultimately replace them with when she gets home. And this led to a really good discussion. Carrie said for her trip, the short term solution might be to put some Velcro on that wand and then attach that velcro from the wand to the blinds to kinda cut down on some of the rattling.
And for long term, David cautions when you replace this blind if it's above your stove. Make sure you don't put curtains there because it could be a fire hazard. And Steve, he said he replaced his metal blinds with a roll up shade, and it works great No omar rattling, no fire hazard. Just again, a great discussion in that thread. And also in our community in the general discussion space, we ask what is the most unforgettable place you visited in your Rv and why.
And this is a post everyone should read lots of bucket lists or travel ideas in here, but I'll share a couple with you. Frederick, he said the most unforgettable region he's been to is Southern Colorado, and he mentioned the great Cn Dune National block park. Black Canyon of the Gun Mesa Verde Pad brings. He said that drive along Us 01:60 to Duran is just spectacular. Just a wonderful region that Rv should go to.
For tim, his suggestion was to go to Mccoy State park in the mountains of Northern Georgia, and he shared a picture of his campsite so beautiful in the woods very inviting. He said there's trails all over the place there's this gorgeous lake. That's is a wonderful clear color just waiting to be paddle. There's waterfalls a short drive away, and the State Park even has full hook up. So it sounds like a great place. In Linda, her favorites were dead horse point State Park in Moa in Utah.
Both of these she said were just spectacularly beautiful. And the night sky with the stars all come out just cannot be beat. So again, lots of great travel suggestions in this post. And then meanwhile over in our Rv lifestyle Facebook group, we have lots of discussions going on there. As always and 1 was from Lisa. Lisa had just returned from a cross country Rv adventure, and she had unknowingly picked up some unwelcome guests. Now these guests had gotten into her bedroom into her bathroom.
They were even in her bedding, and she took a picture of 1 of them, and I gotta tell you. It was the most disgusting creepy look little green pale green spider with almost look like a scorpion because it had these legs that just pro protruding. Really got people talking. We'll make sure to put a picture they had in our show notes. And we're talking there were, like, 400 responses to this. Many said burn the Rv down. No. I'm pretty they were joking.
They just really didn't like Spiders. Many other common responses were something like oh. But this was a great discussion and you know, it just kinda goes to show and we're out there in the woods. Sometimes you pick up things that you unknowingly picked up and from the 400 more comments, it sounds like others have picked up things too, and you just never know. And I hope that Lisa got rid of all those creepy spiders from her rig.
And that's it for me this week, I'm Wendy Boy, and I'll see you over in Rv lifestyle community or Facebook group. That dead horse state park, is of our favorites as well. It's absolutely a beautiful place, and it really really is fun. Isn't it? Yeah. I encourage you all to go look at what other people have recommended as favorite places because, maybe you need to put it on your bucket list. Yeah and And we invite you guys to be a part of our Rv lifestyle community. Just go to community
dot rv lifestyle dot com. We'd love to have you join. Is absolutely free, and, yeah, we just so many interesting things to talk about there and great friends that you can make through that community. So come on over. It's not on Facebook. And that's 1 of the big pluses of it because it's none of that nastiness. Again, it's community dot rv lifestyle dot com. Coming up, the Rv conversation of the week, and we're gonna talk about what happens when you have a real setback in your Rv lifestyle.
And you have to pick up the pieces? Or do you throw in the towel and quit? We'll talk about that and meet a inspiring couple Right after this. Jennifer and I took a trip to Las Vegas and Arizona to look at wind mail acres, a brand new Rv property being offered by Western land and ranches. They're selling off 1 and 2 acre parcels starting at only 14900 dollars. Now these are big, An acre is
a size of a football field. The properties are on a plateau with big valley views, and the location is amazing. Next to Lake Mead national recreation area. We had a blast. There are so many places to explore near the property the Grand Canyon. We took a bold ride on the Colorado river below Hoover dam. Boulder city was a fun little town. That's right off route 66, and, of course, we had to enjoy some nightlife in Las Vegas.
It's a lifetime supply of fun things to do when you own a camp at wind acres. The properties are now available. This is 100 percent ownership. So there's no reservations needed when you wanna hang out, time limits or crowded parks that you have to go through, you can share your property, you can rent it. Whatever you wanna do. For more information, visit Arizona ranch sales dot com. Or call 822232 land. Welcome back. Time now for the conversation of the week. On April 20 ninth, Norm,
V suffered a life altering event. While they were driving diesel push, Class a and Virginia, the front right tire blue, which is I think everybody's nightmare, and the rig and cheap tipped and paramedics told them they were lucky to be alive. And miraculously, this Florida couple were not seriously injured. They had to go to the hospital, but they got out fairly soon. And now, much to their non rv being friends dismay,
they're back on the road. They're... They're starting all over again, in a brand new class a. Now could quit. Yeah. They could quit, and most people probably would have quit. And as you're gonna hear, it was a terrible accident, but they didn't quit. And we caught up with them to learn about their accident and how they're moving forward and get some tips that are not only inspiring but could help all of this. Well, Norman and Na join us right now. Hi, guys. It's great to see.
So start off if you will, by telling us a little bit about your yourselves, And and then we'll get in into, pick it up the pieces. When something, catastrophic happens. But tell us about yourselves and your R. Well, this 4 of July was actually 20 years since we met married 16 years, both of us are second marriages. So we've been arguing. Ever since I met him.
There was 1 occasion where he said to me, if my wife had lived, we were going to get an Rv and retire, and I said to him, and he was shocked because I came from a certain environment that he didn't expect that. I had been married to a surgeon, etcetera. And I said, I can do that with you. We had our feet. So the next week, he went out got our first founder. Yeah. Far a, boundary motor hall, and, I called her back. She was back home in Florida, I lived
in Illinois. And I told her you better get another plane ticket because I pick up my Rv next week. So... Wow, so so Norm... You are a Widow today. You hear that right? Yes. My first wife passed away when I was 48 passed away from cancer, and, I Luckily, we've... I've life moved on, and I've met Nate and things have been fantastic Sense. Tell Yeah. My hershey she believes that. Yeah. Nobody does believe this. My first wife told me about 2 months before she passed.
She said soon after I pass, you're gonna beat someone that will change your life forever. Now I met Na 6 weeks after my wife passed. And I... The last thing I wanted was a relation chip or anything, but it it was just made in the heavens. I mean, it was the the perfect perfect thing they happen. And they tell me your background and how you guys met too. Well, we're my radio you said before? Yeah. Yeah. To ur logic surgeon, I read for 35 years, I won't get into why we got divorced, but we did.
And I was kinda down that near was the end of the year of the doors, and my son lived in Chicago. And he played the weekends in a band. And I said to him it's fourth of july weekend. I'm very depressed. Can I come out visit of He said, yes but the band is playing in this terrible bike bar? And I said, I don't care. I'll come out and hear the band because they're good. Their rocker. So I was there, and he was there.
Yes. I have gone down there just... I had a friend who I had met being a carpenter who said he was the bounce at this bar and he said, norman, if you ever need talked, your bummed out, wanna do something come on down. So I went down to see him. Paid my coverage charge went in and then find out he wasn't there. So I ended up. I got a drink. I was watching a Nascar race. We looked at each other a couple times.
Yeah know, how he is when you looked Sometimes your eyes meet, you think somebody's look at you you immediately look away, which we did. But then with 10 laps to go on the race, they change all the Tvs. The channel on all the Tvs but 1. And that Tv was directly in front of her. I understand directly behind her to watch it And I was watching it, and she turned around and she goes, hey, there's an empty chair would you like to sit down.
And that's how we basically met and and our relationship started. So, Nate, you picked them up at a dive bar. Yes. And it truly wasn't a dive bar. I mean, if they turned the lights on, you'd wanna leave. I will be there. My son wasn't planning. As a matter of fact, He had this electric guitar that he could unplug. He jumped off the stage and he kind comes over with us. He says, mom, judy need to be rescued. And I'm going, no. No. Mom's fine. She's good. We're having a good time. So,
that's that story. And then he asked me out. And we went out on our first state 2 days later and we've never been apart. Wow. So you guys been rv being all this time, But let's get to this story that that we really only wanna share and have people learn from from what happened with you guys. Talk about, what happened back in April. The end of April, and the accident that that changed a lot of your Rv habits, but didn't kill them all.
That's exactly that. Yeah. We were... We had been on a fantasy Rv tour did a civil war battlefield tour. And then after it, visited family, made a couple stops, and we were on our way to North Carolina, coming down I 81. We were going down there I'm a 5 fisher. And we wanted to... I was gonna go fishing for a couple weeks, and then go pick up our granddaughter and take them on of vacation. So we're easing our way down I 81, and we were staying that night at the
Natural rich k a. Mh. Well, as we're going along, I mean traffic... Traffic is moving smoothly. I'm doing about 65, which is about the fastest I normally care to go in my Rv. And as we're going, I look ahead and I see the assigned for our exit. So I'm all excited. I'm like, oh, good. We're at the exit. This be fantastic. I know sooner said that in my mind and all of a sudden there was a bang. And the right front tire blue.
As the right front tire blue, I followed all the protocols they give you that you're supposed to do when at 1 of your steering tires move, you know, blows. None of them changed anything. It dove directly for a ditch. Went into the ditch, went up the bank a little bit, which was very steep. The motor home laid over onto the driver's side and slid, started sliding on the driver's side. As it was going. Now I screamed as as soon as the tire blue for nada as she was laying in the bed back.
To, hang up because Nate has a a bad bath, and a lot of times when we're traveling she'll lay at the bat. And I told her hang on, this isn't good. And, after it laid over on its side, and it stopped. I yelled back to her our honey. Are you okay. And she goes, I can't move she goes, I don't know. I can't move. I had fallen from the bed. I had just flipped off, onto the floor. And something hit my head, you think it was the fridge or we don't... No. I think she hit her head on the door,
which was right there for the bedroom. But I hit my head, and I couldn't move because everything was down. I said to him It was kind of like my worse feet being in a coffin. A lot because I couldn't move. I couldn't turn, and I was worried about him. He was worried about me of course, and I did not know what was snowing on outside? Right. And I yelled back to her. Are you pinned or ours is it just that you can't
move is something holding you. And she said, no, I just can't move and really what it comes to in that aspect is she didn't realize we were laying, I don't think on the driver's side. So the bed now is vertical. So it's like she's inside of a room set. While she's there. So, as I laid there, I'm the ground, I...
As the motor home rolled over, I un my seat belt because I could see we were gonna slide into a guard rail, and the guard rail was coming right for the center of the motor home which is, as you know with a diesel push where the generator is. And all I can imagine is the guard rail going into the generator and pushing it right back into my lap as the driver. So I rolled off the seat onto the side of the motor home. After I had crashed and yelled to her, I took inventory of myself so to speak.
I noticed I was bleeding from my left elbow, but they were just superficial cuts. I could feel that. And I felt a, a little burning in my right lane, but nothing was bleeding or I. So, luckily, we had some people who saw the accident, some good samaritan pulled over, and they came to the motor home with, some tools actually, and they busted the windshield so I could get out. As we yelled back and forth, they had called 911. They said are you okay. I said I think I am. My wife is in the back.
So they busted the windshield so I could exit at least exit the motor. So... Go ahead. Well, then, apparently, like he said, he called 911. I'm the yelling at him. Call 911. We watch the Tv series, 911. So I'm kind of in my mind thinking some cute guys are gonna come and lift me up. Didn't happen. Guy was kind of annoyed and he didn't quite know how to get me up, so then my husband thank gosh.
Yeah. They came through the front through the wake windshield that was broken out to try to get to her, but the couch had broken away as it when it fell over and landed in the middle of the aisle way that was a very blocked area. The refrigerator the doors flew off the refrigerator And in reality, it's a good thing, Dana wasn't in her seat because 1 of the doors in the refrigerator went right into her seat. Put I think. Yeah. Which I think would have in the end? Not been a good thing.
Let's just put it that point. So they did... How did they get you out then? You're you're kinda... Husband on the floor. My husband did it. Yeah. The fire were out sign trying to figure out how do we get tour? How do we get tour? And I directed them. I said, take out the rear air conditioner she's gonna be right about there. And lift her from there. So they cut to got a a couple sauce cut out of a large hole in the roof. And brought her out through the air conditioner
hole that they cut. What did... You guys were both taken to the hospital, but what did the paramedics tell you at the time? Well, the paramedics said after things were, like, calmed down a little bit, I was speaking with Juan, and he said, when we pulled up, we figured there'd be no survivors of this crash because it looks so bad. Wow. Wow. So we were we were blessed to be able to, be here and do this with you today in the way we see it. So you
you guys... The the... We have some pictures of it, which we'll share with our Youtube audience that watch the podcast. But the the the diesel push it was pretty much ruined. Oh, it's done. Oh, yeah. It was it was toast in the car. It The amazing thing is the car, the tow bar in a blue wax bar held the car to the motor home, and it was sideways also and had slid across the ground and and stayed right with the motor on through the entire... Through the entire incident.
20 years. We've been rv 20. We've in rv 20 years, we've never had an issue at all. Never had an never had an accident. No problems. Nothing and then damn. It just the... Sure. Is there anything that could've have been done differently with the tires did you learn anything about how old your tires were what brand, anything in the tires that that you. The tires the tires were 2 and a half years old. They weren't old. They looked fantastic. I actually when I took it in for service.
I had them... I said, could you check the tires, you know, and make sure they looked good and everything, which they did, You know, that my mechanics did. They said it looks fantastic. I don't think you'll have any problems. There were probably 15000 miles on the tires. You know, not a ton of miles, but we used the motor home quite a bit, so they didn't weren't sitting still a lot. And you know, we we have as... We mentioned we've purchased a new motor on since then. Yeah. We'll I'll
I'll come to that. I just just wanna go this tire thing. And the other thing is your speed, you said you go about 65. And, you know, I've seen so many other people going down the interstate and they're they're 70, 75 miles an hour. If you had been in been going that fast, I would imagine this accident would have been much, much worse if that's hard to believe, but even even worse than it was.
Oh, yeah. Definitely because it would have probably it it would had a lot more momentum that would have pushed it farther as it was sliding across the ground and stuff once it rolled over. And So go ahead. You so you guys were hospitalized for a little bit. Right? Just for a couple hours. They checked us out. They gave us cat scans with die with contrast. Yep. And nothing in our brain. They released us. At 11PM. I had no shoes, no socks. They released us to their cab, which took us to a hotel.
And that was it. So nobody body. We had nothing. They just released us to this. Everything in the motor home, none of that stuff has gone. Did... What did your family and friends say? Did they say that's it? You guys are done Rv, and what did you guys say? Our family was extremely supportive. Yeah. They were extremely supportive. Even my ex. Yeah. Even her ex. Are you gonna get another 1 because that's who you are. And I said norms in his bed rec, looking at another 1. So apparently we are.
I had some friends who never understood Rv. They're kinda like from my first line. And they all thought that we should just, you know, be grateful we were alive and hang it up. Did you read listen? You never for a moment thought about saying okay. That's it. We're done. No. Not at all. People... And you were You started really looking for another Rv norm. Is that what I heard right?
Well, we were sitting laying in the bed in the hotel, you know, just trying to recuperate a little, and I hit my phone, and I'm just flipping on Facebook looking just wasting time, basically. And all of a sudden ed came up for an Rv Elk guard in The indiana app, Brand new Rv up there, and I'm looking at it, and I leaned over to Nate, and I said here's our new Rv. And it was. It was. We ended up, purchasing it actually. We just went up to
Indiana to get it. Yeah. So are you doing anything differently? Tires. Yes. We put the Tyrone bands on retire. Explain those. Explain. They're supposed to help keep the tire on the vehicle if you have a rollout and allow you to steer it better. And and, where do people get those? We got them from our dealership. They where the Rv came from. We called them. When we talked to them, we said, no, we'd like to have these installed. Can you do that? And they said we
will have it done for you? I think on your site on Facebook, People mentioned that. Yes. They did. And and that's, that's how we found you because because we have followed... You you shared all the details with our Facebook group Rv lifestyle Facebook group and Yes. That tyrone tire blow up protection that they have is is is really neat to think. So for those who have accidents or there are setbacks, how do you pick up the pieces? And just keep on going. You said something nada
that I... You said that's what we are where our viewers. That's what we are. Talk about that. Like I said, when we first met, we discuss that we both wanted to Rv and we have been ever since. We traveled all over the United States and back to some of the great national parks we've taken our granddaughter who couldn't wait to come, and then wanted to stay longer, and we are our viewers. This is our second part of our life. We bought a house together for the first
time, what 2 years ago. Mh. So we now have a house that we own together, but our our being has always been a couple things. It's amazing that he wanted to Rv and I had Rv, but just little bits in my first life. If you know to Florida, and, back and forth to couple of states. Never to the extent that we do now, Il Rv was set up like a second home, like a summer house you'd have with everything. We never had to bring in from the house to the rv, just food. Everything else was there.
So it was devastating. It was like losing a house. Yeah. It was, like, having... Wife was losing a car. Yeah. It was like, having your summer home blown up in a tornado in a sense with with the accident. And we We've traveled. We've done all 48 states, you know, and we just... We we just love doing it. Yeah. National Parks, I work camp for a while as a single work camper in Colorado, and we'd live in at 6, 7 months at a time. Yeah. Weeks. Were you able to salvage anything from the old 1?
0, yeah. We got a a bunch of stuff. They... As as her as he was, the next day, he went to the Rv, and I don't know how. Got inside and he got so many of my favorite things. Stupid things. It's like my favorite towel from my daughter from my hair. He pulled that out. And other things. They're all in boxes. We went up just recently to the storage. And pulled the boxes out. I don't know what's in there. It's in the Rv outside. Yeah. Weeks
you immediately got yourself... You you started looking for another Rv. What did advice you? Good for you, Nor. What what advice do you guys have? For other rv years. When when the unexpected happens like that. Don't... It's like to say about you know, riding a horse. You fall off, get back on. If it's if it's your accident is caused by something other than something you've done. You know what I'm saying where you've made a mistake driving. Don't hesitate to go again. Accidents do happen.
That's why it's called an accident. Things do occur. I mean, we're thankful that we were able to survive it and survive it as as good as we did. I know myself. I was nervous going to that mona the first day after the accident I had a rent a car to do it. And driving down I 81. I had to go right past for the accident was, and I didn't go over 55 miles an hour that whole trip. Because I just I felt... I just felt nervous behind the wheel a little bit because this is, joke, not even 24 hours later.
And you know, I got to the motor home. I got to see the aftermath so to speak of the accident and and what it occurred. And the mess, the disaster that it it turned into. Because our trip was gonna be A3A3 month trip. And here we are, just a little over a month into it, and it's over. I will admit because we now have a new 1. Coming home was a long ride, and I was a little anxious. But I just It took a deep breath, like, I used to tell my patience, and I relaxed, and
I said it's not in our hands. I I think that's important. I really felt that everything we could do, he could do to keep us safe was done. That was... It's... You... Your spirit and your sense of perspective that it was an accident. Accidents happened. And, you know, they don't happen all the time, but they do happen. So you, got your new rake, and, we'll put a picture of it. A beautiful new Georgetown. When's your next trip then?
In approximately 3 weeks I we're going up to the Chicago area to get our granddaughter that we were supposed to pick up on the original trip where that when the accident occurred. And we're taking them to we're taking them to pigeon forge and taking up the Great Smoky national park, and, It'll be next. It should be fine. It's only gonna be a 10 day trip instead 3 weeks, but they're excited. And this Rv has bunk beds, so they can't wait.
Yeah. We're a diesel push head down to sleep out an air mattress on the floor. Because when we purchased that coach, we purchased it basically for the 2 of us. Yeah. Where this 1, it's more family oriented. Well, no. It had a sleeper Yeah. Elsa. And he pulled it out and put these great recliner seats in it. So it had no place for kids to sleep, but I think our perspective is different now. Well, you guys have picked up the pieces marvelous. And I really enjoy
meeting you. I look forward to, Jennifer and I do to seeing you on the road sometime and sitting around a campfire player. Oh, and thank you for sharing your story and encouraging others to pick up the pieces when things don't go the way you hoped. Thank you guys. So much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Aren't. They a delightful couple. That they are. Yeah. I love Nate... She says, where our viewers. This is who we
are. She said, and norm battered and bruised, after got discharged in the hospital, incorporating in a motel room, First thing he's doing is going through his phone looking at new Harvey buy. I don't know. That's a tough 1. Would you guys have quit? Which you have kept on? Maybe others have gone through this whole... The same type of experience. We would love to hear what you all decided, you can just send us an email, Mike and jen. At
rv lifestyle dot com. Is this kinda like fallen off a horse and getting back on it? That's what they say. You accept much more serious. Yep? Alright. The Rv news of the week is right after this. Jennifer and I bought some land near Nashville, Tennessee a while back. We got tired crowded expensive campground and worrying about reservations. Tennessee is a gorgeous state with friendly people.
And it has been such a pleasure. The same developer has some new property near us close to the Natchez trace and Buffalo River called the reserve at high forest. Big properties, 5 to 41 acres, you can build a house, a cabin or Rv year out. Prices started at only 89900 dollars, Your property, your way 100 percent ownership. The scenery in this part of Tennessee is breathtaking, and the property is gorgeous, garden, landscape, bring your pants build what you want.
There's high speed fiber optic internet, and it is so private. A great place to make your home base. Ready whenever you want, 5 to 41 acre properties from 89900 dollars. There's even great financing. Check out the site and a video tour at rv lands dot net. That's rv lands dot net. Welcome back everybody time now for the Rv news of the week. And have you heard about the July forth shootout out at, Yellowstone National Park. We've been following this story closely over the weekend.
And as of this writing, The National Park Service and Fbi are not providing many details. What we do know is there was an arm band making threats at Canyon village. The national Park service responded, there was a shootout, and the shooter died, and a ranger was shot and is in the is hospitalized but in stable condition. We found several news articles describing the scary moments of the shootout.
Power employees were scrambling hiding behind barriers and closet doors, making it sound like the shooter was not a tourist, but rather a worker. Also, a Facebook page kept by a former national Park service of officers said the shooter worked as a concession employee, and this match images of armed officers entering the concession employee housing.
And Canyon Village just located in the center of the park and includes a lodge and cabins, campground grounds, ranger center, visitors center's, store and employee housing. You know, 1 of the things that... And I made because I'm a journalist, but when you hear something like that? What are the first things that go through your mind?
And I find it really ind ind indispensable the the the government, because that's what we're talking about the N ups withhold everything All we wanna know was if if you had told us racing this site, we believe this is an employee, a disgruntled employee. Great. We understand that. But was it random? Was it some guy? Was it terror? They just don't say anything. And I'm sorry. It would solve a lot of issues with people, if you would just be as open and transparent as you possibly could be.
It just really helps you know, tell us the truth and tell us as soon as you can when something like that happens. Because that's a that's a scary story. Alright. That's my little soap box rant for today. Here's the story that is a sad 1 as well. A grandpa, a son and his grandson who were preparing for a trip out West were hospitalized after their Rv
exploded. They were loading up their a, class a for an epic trip out west, and it bursts into flames the neighborhood, you know, rocked to the neighborhood, sent everybody to the hospital, the heat from this fire was so intense siding a nearby homes melted. And the moment the explosion occurred was caught on a neighbor's ring camera. Families in peabody, Massachusetts, they were preparing to leave for the Grand Canyon in the next
day. The father and the grandfather have third degree burns hospitalized and stable condition as we, record this episode in the intensive carrying at the hospital long road for them before before they're they're out of there. The grandson was treated for burns and he was released, but we'll continue he starts to burn treatment as an outpatient. They don't know the cause of this fire. And, again,
you know, and it... It's probably part because we don't have a really strong news media in this country anymore, but, you know, share the cause because the cause of something like that, you know, was it leaky propane? We don't know. When we know that, it it helps us all learn our hearts out to this family and getting ready for a great vacation and, obviously, it could have been worse and for that we're grateful, But tell us what it was, so we can learn from it.
So dangerous record breaking temperatures are expected to continue this week and it's affecting, like a third of the Us population or or even more people. So if you're camping right now, how are you keeping cool? Your Rv cool? There is a record breaking heat wave underway that's expected to shatter records from the west to the East Coast, affecting about hundred and 30000000 people. And this warning went out over the weekend and is can continuing through Wednesday this week.
With the Pacific Northwest, mid Atlantic, and Northwest all expecting temperatures over a hundred degrees fahrenheit. Some cities like Portland, Oregon have declared a state of emergency.
Couple fires that broken out in California, and in New Jersey, a wildfire there forced evacuation of the baton, campground desert, spots in the southwest are bracing for a hundred and 20 degree fahrenheit temperatures, and death valley, 1 of the hottest places on earth set a record Friday for reaching a hundred and 27 degrees fahrenheit, but temperatures are expected to reach a hundred and 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Early this week. Can you imagine? You know, somebody on our our Facebook community wrote me a note and they said, hey, why don't you and Jen come out to Death Valley. We'd love to show you around, 1 of our favorite places. And I I thought of that when I read this story no thanks. Not in the summertime. We're not going to death. Death is gorgeous, but a hundred and 30 degrees. We experienced something close to that once when we were in the Middle East. We're in Petra. And Petra.
Yeah. Yeah. That was in Jordan. Jordan. And then we were also in a rain when it was really, really hot like, yeah too. Mh. So, I... It's just unreal. How oh, hot can be. Yeah. Weather is crazy. I mean, we had hurricane barrel that came shore in Texas over the weekend, and is now kind of... As you... As this is being released on Wednesday. It's supposed to sort of the the effects are kinda gonna just peter out by the time of Reach the great Lakes region.
And they say that we're gonna get really bad hurricane season this year. But in the past, past week or so strong winds, have killed 1 person injured 3, many Rv in Kansas. Yeah, we're wrecked the storm went through, last week out there knocking over Rv and can imagine the fear lot campers had. They were celebrating the fourth of July by camping.
There's these sheer winds that came to 70 miles an hour, and many rv viewers had planned on camping at Kansas Lake there through the weekend, but instead, they spent it, picking up the pieces of their mangled Rv We saw some pictures in the area that showed all kinds of Rv knocked over, must have been very terrifying for everybody. So 1 of the things that we recommend is that you have a weather radio and we will put a link in this story to the 1 that we used from Midland.
We we'll just put on an Amazon affiliate link to it. But these things are really must have for an Rv for anybody, really, but particularly in Rv. So, this year has been crazy weather wise. So, that's the money if you don't have on get 1 of these Midland weather radios. There's others you can get. This is that must be the 1 that we have, and and I can we can recommend it. Stay informed, crazy weather out there. Alright. When we come back the Rv questioned of the week and, Mike jen story time.
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Now in our case, they just dropped into the existing Ag g batteries that we have, and they'll probably be the same on your rig too. Valve battery experts can get those in your rig just like they dead with ours. They can also match you up with the right cabling, the inverter, the charger, the solar controller everything. Jennifer Swear by our battle born batteries, they allow us to boo dock off the grid Check them out. Go to rv lifestyle dot com slash lithium rv lifestyle dot com slash lithium.
Welcome back to the Rv question of the week. And the question is, we just bought a fifth wheel and wonder, what do you take oh after a trip. And what do you leave in the fifth wheel between trips and that's Alexis. Well, I don't know. What what do we? Let's see. What do we take out for first? Well, obviously, we take out all the food that's gonna perish because we turn off the refrigerator unless we're going away in, like, a day or 2. And I clean out that refrigerator really good.
Make sure nothing's left in there because, boy wouldn't a mess if you leave something in that refrigerator. And it kinda melts. Yeah. If you have it, you can develop mildew in their humidity. So... Yep. So the refrigerators totally open the to the doors on the refrigerator after it cools off, after it warms up. And then make sure if you got your fifth wheel, Remember to shut those doors if you need to, if you have to bring in a slide. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. That that's when we learned the hard.
To make sure. We weren't a lot of things. So I was worried. 3 quarters of things. The hard way it seems. And I look over my pantry and think what can I leave out and what do I need to bring in? Obviously, no fruit or vegetables are left, and I consider the cans jars. How long. Will it be before we take off again. And, clothing, that we just leave some jackets some raincoat coats umbrellas and things in the fifth wheel all the time. It's nice you could leave towels in there.
So you take all your dirty laundry out, take the sheets off the bed and get everything in that you need to clean. And something that you need to be aware of is, medicine. Read the labels on, even used for pain killers or vitamins. Vitamins too. Yeah. Things like that because excessive heat well, ruin their effectiveness, know, spices, all different things. So you have to think about to cold or too hot. And maybe bring in some things that you'd really didn't wanna bring in. Yeah.
We leave a vacuum cleaner in there. We we have duplicates of some things. Yes. We have a coffee, you know, I'm really jen doesn't drink coffee. I have a keurig, and we leave that in there. Mh. We do not leave water in it because it'll go sku on you, and you don't want milk... Not mold. So you you're mold. Yeah. So you just kinda, clean that out about close, we do like to leave a lot of our clothes out there. Sometimes I'll go out and the now. I need that sure. We're all, it's out Rv. But it's...
1 of the things about having a fifth wheel or something larger like that is you can leave a lot of nothing there. You Can't leave a lot of stuff. And when I'm going through all those cupboards looking, I'm looking around and saying no. Do I need to resupply paper towels, napkins or couple of paper plates or am I good? Yep. And we're doing that right now as a matter of fact because we're off gonna be gone for 6 weeks. And I think the biggest challenge is food. Right?
Because you have to bring your food in. Yeah. Yeah. And, think twice about, like I say, meta sense. Yep. When we... The day before we're to leave, I always go the day before and and turn on the refrigerator. So it's nice and cold and then we put... Once it's cold, we can start bringing stuff in, you know, the day before the night before, and and it's, you know, you have to carry everything in all at once. But we don't leave the refrigerator on all the
time. Right. And I like to make up sandwiches for when we travel so that We're good to go, just pull in a rest area and we can have our lunch with without me having to do a bunch of work. It's all set to go. Even what we're going to have that night for dinner. I like to have that ready in the fridge so that, again, try to make it simple. Makes it work before you go, but simple when you're on the road. Yep. Of, I like to avoid eating out. Why? Mean, people can hear that. Why? I love
me. I don't know. I know. That's Go cabinets I don't have to cook. It's like Often, there's long lines. Usually, food isn't that good, even a chain, you know, 1 chain that you're familiar with. The food great. You go to the same chain someplace else and the food is awesome. There's is normally too much salt. Oh, my god. I'm food, and I am supposed to avoid salt. All of us should avoid salt. Yeah. I think everybody should. And the older you get the more salt is really. Not
your friend. It's not your friend. So it's pricey. Time consuming and pricey. And usually the foods not that good. Yep. So there you go. We're going through that right now. And we hope that helps you Alexis, but you'll figure your own system out, and that's kind of what we do when we we get in. The first thing we do is we bring in all the dirty clothes and then over the next hour or 2 or sometimes even the next day, we'll bring in the, you know, the the food. And then turn off
the refrigerator. And I think everybody's familiar with, you know that you can't put something wet. In a closed basket. Yet. It has to be dry, or you're asking for mold and trouble. Yeah. A little more work to clean everything up And when we get home from a trip, like the next day. If I have time the same day, we do it the same day. I start wiping things. Down. Get things clean, because then it's not so overwhelming for the next time you wanna go You know, like, oh, I gotta clean that
thing. Yep. It is. Alright. Do you have a question for us? If we'd love to answer. Just send us to us at our private email, which is mike and jen at rv lifestyle dot com. Time now for Rv story time with Micah, and we have a only but good for you this week. So when we first shared these tips in a video like 11 years ago... We looked a lot younger. Wait do you see this? It really makes a difference thing wow. I looked at this video, and I said, that was me.
Yeah. But we had just been just... I think we'd had been rv for maybe 2 years before we made this video, and we were in a Class b at the time. Mh. A road truck, a road track class b. Not a lot of room in there. Not a lot of room, but we have found that this story has resonated with so many people. People often sometimes oftentimes I0I read your 10 tips for getting the along with your... For how couples can get along in an Rv, and I I always have to go what. And
now I know exactly the talking about. They still are digging enough that video. And the trip the tips have all held true. They still hold very too. Right? Yeah. Some things just don't change human nature. So we're going to play the audio of that and those of you watch on our Youtube channel. You'll see the the whole video as well. But I think you'll pick it all up, the 10 tips on how couples can live together peacefully. In a small space. Out a recent trip in our road trek.
Jennifer and I were doing some stuff, and well, I forgot. We were in a 22 foot long motor home until she said. I need a little bit of space with you not in it. I withdrew. Immediately. But the incident got me thinking. See has really not all whole lot of room in there. So to survive and enjoy the adventure, we've come off with our top 10 rules for getting along in a motor home. Rule number 1, if you have problems getting the long at home, don't expect it to be easier in a motor home.
2 people can share the same space. But the most important rule is to respect and don't try to do 2 different things in the same state. Rule, number number 2. Don't over overpass. You really don't need to have any more than say a 3 day supply of food or closed. You can do laundry on the road, and you can buy food locally where it's the freshest. Rule number 3, everything has a place and our place for everything.
Agree beforehand, where you're gonna store things. When done using, return them to that place and nowhere else. Rule number 4. If you travel with pets, assign them a space too. Dogs and cats love to know where they're supposed to be. Assigned them their spot in the motor home and train them to sleep there. Cut in front of the bathroom door where he'll trip on them in the middle the night. Rule number 5 as much as possible, plan ahead those meals. Grill outside, and if you
dirty dish or glass, clean it. Put it away right away after eating. Don't over overdrive. Going any more than 354 hundred miles in a day. It's going to tire you out. Remember your motor homing because it's fun, driving too far and too long makes everybody cranky. Rule number 7. Stay fit. Extra size. Don't pack on those extra pounds. Take long walks, bring a bike, find and does it health clubs a long way? Too much sitting, like too much driving isn't good for anyone. Rule number 8.
Explore. Use Google or the Internet or your Gps to find interesting spots in the towns and the places that you're passing. Visit a museum, learn the the locations history, try to eat at a locally owned restaurant. To the fast food places. Don't be in such a hurry all the time. Rule number 9. Be careful buying souvenirs. Your motor home only has so much space. Chip, the must have things home instead of jamming every available storage spot with things that
aren't essential for being on the road. Rule number 10, this is the big 1. When you're wrong, admit it. Conflict is inevitable. Jen? I'm sorry. I invaded your space back. Don't hesitate to forgive. That's okay. You're forgiven. Well, we hope this helps. I still think on that video, the line, and it's a line that you will be forever famous with was... I need a little bit of space with you not in it. Do you remember that? How can I forget?
I think everybody can say that. I need a little bit of space with you not in it. I don't know how I thought rather said that. I think I was first laughed. Well, I think I thought you were joking, and then I thought about it, and then I was like. I need a little bit of space but you're not in it. That's harsh. And then I'm place. That is really creative. So I think I put it on Facebook at the time. Jennifer just said she to some
space with me not in it. Yeah. And then he got all the sympathy from people for having to live with me. There you go. Yeah. Couple new guys said, yeah. I know that for man. Yeah. I'm I'm so abuse so you think? Anyway, I'll give you credit as a line. They're getting out there. Male or female. There are times you need space. Without somebody else, even somebody who you love dearly in that space. Yeah. Okay. You're gonna get all the sympathy votes this time, so that's gonna.
Alright. That's podcast for this week. We just luck getting this the, hitch off of our old truck and installed on our new and as we start packing up, following our own advice about packing to head to the Canadian Maritime in our Fantasy Rv tour we are really starting to get excited about that for the next 6 weeks. We're Mike and Jen. Thank you guys so much for watching. Happy trails.