RV Solar and Lithium: The Latest Innovations

This week on the RV Podcast:

• The Latest in RV Solar and Lithium Innovations – How much RV solar and lithium power do you need to run your AC all night long? How about if you just want to use a CPAP machine? And how much does it all cost? This week we talk about the latest innovations in RV power systems with two of the industry's leading experts. We also share the ballpark costs so you’ll know whether it's right for you.
• Love’s Travel Centers are adding more overnight camping spots with RVers this year
• In Mike and Jen’s Storytime… How  Mike's love of popcorn led to our serendipity style of travel.
• All this plus the RV News of the Week and your questions coming up in Episode 532 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.

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RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK – RV Solar and Lithium Update

This week we talk about the latest in advanced power management systems for RVers, concentrating on RV Solar and Lithium.

In a wide-ranging discussion recorded at the recent Florida RV Supershow in Tampa with two experts from Future Solutions, a leading RV energy design and installation firm, we learn about the newest technical innovations and price points.

Matt and Josh share how your rig specifics, how often you plan on using it, where you’ll be spending most of your time, and what you use in your day-to-day life will all have a big impact on your mobile energy needs.

Watch or listen to the entire conversation through one of the above players.

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.

The talk of all of our social media groups this past week has been the weather! Who would think places like Louisiana or the palm tree lined beaches of the Florida panhandle would have snow – and we're talking 3, 5, even 7 inches of snow in places! I hope everyone who found themselves camping in this unexpected weather is safe and their rigs were not damaged. 

But in our RVLifestyle Community, we've had a lot of buzz about gatherings. People had so much fun meeting one another at our Tampa RV Show meetups. I loved watching online friends become “real life” friends, and see those connections form.

And this week in the Community, registration is now open for our campout we're calling the Sleeping Bear Rally. We are camping by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore! This is such a beautiful part of the country in the northwest corner of Michigan's lower peninsula. Picture Lake Michigan with its pristine, clear blue waters, sandy beaches and sand dunes some more than 450′ high, healthy forests, quaint resort towns – it really is a charming area. 

We are so excited to camp with our Community. If you're not a member, you need to check it out at community.rvlifestyle.com

Then over on our RVLifestyle Facebook Group, lots of conversations, but one that caught my eye was from Cindy. Cindy asked:  Can you all give me an idea of how much “yard” space is normal? Is this normal? It seems all the campgrounds in Colorado are like this.

Cindy then showed a picture of some large units packed into the tiniest campsites. We're talking about 1.5 folding chair width apart between rigs, and it looked REALLY tight. 

I saw more than 340 comments and people said things like: That is crazy or I could not do that.

Now Cindy is doing long-term camping until she is able to travel around. So that means she needs to be at a private park. Many said that is the issue.

Denise wrote that not all RV parks are that bad, but finding the good ones is a challenge. She told of a private park she stayed at once where there was not even enough room to put their awning out.

Marie said last fall, they stayed at 23 campgrounds from Michigan through Yellowstone, Utah, Arizona, and back. They camped at all private campgrounds because they wanted full hookups. She said they ONLY liked five of them for space and privacy. 

So why is this? 

Older private campgrounds, that have never been re-designed, were built for when campers were much smaller and did not have slides.   

So what is the solution? Go to state parks, Army Corps of Engineer parks or if you are using a private park, really do your research first.

Then we had a post from Teri who said she needed some help. Teri likes to cook with onions on occasion but then that onion smell stays in the RV for days, and so she asked how to get rid of the smell? She is about to stop cooking with onions.

This post received nearly 500 comments and there were many great ideas.

First, Teri could cook outside – but obviously you can't always do that.

Second people suggested she open the windows, turn on the vent, or use a fan to carry the cooking odors out the open window and out of her rig.

And the final most common suggestion I saw was to use an air purifier- many said this works great.

I hope this helps someone!

RV NEWS OF THE WEEK

Not sure if you saw our report, but Love's Travel Centers announced plans to greatly increase the amount of overnight full-hook up spots for RVers. They have 87 locations with RV hookups right now, and will keep building 100 locations in 2025.

Reservations to camp at Canada's Jasper National Park that suffered a horrific fire last summer are set to open this Tuesday. Parts of the park and some campgrounds will be closed as last year's fire was the most devastating to strike the park in more than a century with 32,500 hectares and one-third of the town's buildings burned.

Are you using a space heater to keep warm during the recent Arctic blasts? If so make sure it is not the Vornado space heater sold on Amazon. Vornado's VH2 Whole Room Heater is being recalled because of potential electric shock and fire hazards.

If you're planning a camping trip to a Michigan state park this summer, prepare to pay more. On Aug. 1 prices are rising $4 and $10 a night, depending on the location and amenities, and there will be a new 7.5% premium fee per night for locations with 85% or more occupancy. Fees will remain the same at rustic campsites in state parks or state forests.

A family who left their RV in a Arizona shopping center's parking lot while they ran into a store to pick up an item returned to find their Class A motorhome on fire. The fire likely started in or near the refrigerator. The owners were getting ready to go on a trip. 

RV QUESTION OF THE WEEK

QUESTION: We just returned from the Tampa RV show, hoping to buy a new RV, and we’ve left more confused than ever. We just can’t seem to find the right RV for us and narrowing it down to a particular model is overwhelming after seeing so many new RVs. What’s your advice? How can we find the perfect RV?  – Will

ANSWER: First, let me say that there is no such thing as the perfect RV. So you need to understand that you are going to have to make some compromises before you buy because no RV will have every feature that you want. 

You have a series of clarifying steps that you have to take in buying an RV. It starts with identifying how you plan to use the RV. For example, will you be a casual weekend camper? Or maybe an occasional two-week vacation? Will you be a long-term camper, going for cross-country trips? Do you plan to be a Boondocker? Would you like to someday, perhaps even be a full-timer? 

Those are all things that you need to decide in determining how much room you’ll need and what amenities you’ll want in your RV. Assuming that you have come that far in your decision-making process, you then have to decide whether you want a towable or a motorhome. Both have their pluses and minuses.

If it’s going to be towable, then you also must then determine whether you are going to bring a car or vehicle towed behind. See how complicated this is already? 

Next make a long list on all of the features that you must have. A king or a queen size bed? Plumbed for a washer and a dryer? A fireplace? Front or back living quarters? Make the most detailed list you possibly can, and then narrow your choice down to three different RVs.

See which RV ticks off most of your must-have features. One more piece of advice that we have to pass on: Try to buy from a small family-owned RV dealership. Though the big national RV dealer chains may do more wheeling and dealing with you, they will try to upsell you so many extras like their own financing or extended warranties or pain protection that your price will grow and grow, and you really don’t save that much money.

These big chains operate on a sale-driven basis that puts profits over people, whereas a family-owned business tries to form longer relationships with their customers. We think you’re going to be much happier dealing with a small, locally owned RV dealership than one of the big chains. But again, there is no perfect RV. None will have everything you want. Because buying an RV is the second most expensive item most people will ever buy after a house, our advice is to take your time, never be pressured and know beforehand what you can compromise on and what is a deal breaker.

MIKE & JEN’S STORYTIME

How Mike’s Love of Popcorn led to our Seredndipty Style of Travel

This happened very early in our RV Lifestyle days. We were on our way to Yellowstone, somewhere in Nebraska, when we saw a roadside sign for something called Popcorn Days in a town called North Loup.

That was all Mike needed to turn off the Interstate.

Here’s the video this week's storytime is built on, from a long-ago trip that illustrates how following serendipity can lead to lots of fun and discovery:

Popcorn Days in North Loup is celebrated the second week of August every year.