RV Towing Tips from a Top Expert
This week on the RV Podcast:
- We have some very helpful RV towing tips from a top expert who also shares the best way to weigh your rig and what you need to know about tire maintenance.
- Guess what kind of RV sold the best last year? If you said motorhomes…. You’d be wrong!
- In Mike and Jen’s storytime, we’ll tell you about the time we spent a wild night in our RV on Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania, waiting for the Groundhog Day appearance of Phil.
- All this, plus the RV News of the Week and your questions coming up in Episode 533 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 towing tips
This week, our conversation is about RV towables, trailers, and fifth wheels and what you need to know about safe traveling and towing, from making turns to tires to driving at the proper speed to weighing the RV for safe towing.
Our guest is Tim Schultz, the Vice President of Engineering for Lippert Components, one of the largest RV suppliers in the world.
We caught up with Tim and the recent Florida RV Supershow in Tampa, and our interview is this week’s Conversation of the Week.
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.
On our RVLifestyle Community, we get together – LIVE – online twice a week to talk about different topics. It is always a great time, with lots of interaction, and last week, Phyllis and I hosted our Thursday night event, giving an overview of all the ways to connect in our private community that you just can't do on Facebook. It was fun showing people around and seeing the excitement.
Also in the Community, one of the things I have been following is an epic trip one of our members is taking, camping down the Baja peninsula in Mexico. Burt is posting pictures of him and his wife and friends as they camp down this gorgeous, pristine area along the Pacific Ocean, sharing details of the adventure they are having. I don't know about you, but I love these sorts of posts.
And speaking of epic trips, over in our RVLifestyle Facebook Group, we had a post of a different once-in-a-life-time adventure.
Craig asked: What are your thoughts on driving a motorhome from Kentucky to Alaska and back?
Alaska is one of those places many RVers dream of traveling to, camping all the way there and back. But there are some real things to consider before undertaking a trip like this.
Many encouraged Craig to go, saying they have gone and it was amazing, and reminding him you only live once.
But others had some words of caution, which is helpful to know ahead of time.
Many stressed the road will really beat up your RV because the highway is rough.
Several said to expect a cracked windshield at some point. Others told him to be sure to top off your fuel every time you see a gas station and bring extra gas cans and several spare tires. (One commenter had a friend who experienced multiple blowouts because the road is so rough).
Others suggested Craig consider joining a caravan so you have a guide to help you. But the bottom line, many said go for it! It is a journey of a lifetime!
Another poster, Kim, had a question we hear often. She asked to see pictures of what other RVers did to cover or replace what she described as the “unattractive & outdated camper window valances.” And I bet many of us know exactly what she is talking about!
If you are considering replacing the valences, you really need to check out Kim's post. So many people did a great job changing these out.
Some, like Beth, replaced them with shutters- looked great
Others, like Wendy, recovered theirs with different fabric and made a matching throw pillow for the sofa to tie it all together.
And Kay took hers completely down, and that really opened up the whole window and looked great.
But perhaps the biggest news of our Facebook Group this past week is that we officially reached half a million members! I just want to say a big thank you to all of you who are a part of our team, and an especially big thank you to our amazing moderator team, which volunteers countless hours every week to keep everything on track. They do this volunteer work in between their jobs, camping, spending time with their families – and they are amazing at keeping out the trouble, and keeping the main thing, the main thing. Thank you Team!
RV NEWS OF THE WEEK
The RV Industry Association released its wholesale shipments for 2024 showing mixed results. Shipments for all motorhomes – Class A, B, and C – were down by a combined 23.9%. BUT shipments for towables were up by a combined 11.8 % which, when averaged together, showed overall shipments were up 6.6% in 2024 from 2023.
King's River RV Resort in Kingsburg, CA is expected to become the first RV park in the state with electric vehicle charging stations at all 189 campsites. Each site will now have two 50-amp plugs, one for the RV and one for the electric vehicle. The change is being made in anticipation of California's plan to ban gas-only cars by 2035.
Seasonal workers at many of the nation's 433 national parks and historic sites have received emails saying their job offers for the 2025 season are “rescinded” as part of the Trump administration federal spending freeze. These seasonal jobs range from visitor center employees and maintenance workers who clean bathrooms and empty trash cans to park rangers, leaving many outdoor enthusiasts wondering how this will affect summer travel.
Texas will open a new 2,000-acre state park with camping in the next two to four years after purchasing the property for $35 million. The land is in the Texas Hill Country, includes about two miles of access to the Colorado River, and offers stunning views and forests.
Speaking of state parks, Utah's much anticipated Utahraptor State Park is expected to fully open in the next few months. The new state park will have 67 modern campsites after drilling wells and extending power from nearby Moab.
RV QUESTION OF THE WEEK
QUESTION: We’re making a list of what to get for the new camping season, and I’m wondering if I should replace our drinking water hose and the water filter. – Carson
ANSWER: Yes, you should replace both. Bacteria and mold and all sorts of nasty things can grow in both, and while the hose may look great, in our opinion, you should toss it out at the end of each season. If you are a full-timer, you should probably replace it every three months or so.
This is really important because it is certain that bacteria will grow when the hose sits stagnant with water inside, is exposed to warm temperatures, and is not properly dried between uses.
So besides replacing it often, make sure that you drain the hose after use, when you disconnect from a campground spigot. Don't leave it out on the ground; put it in a dry storage area. But even in an RV storage area, summer heat can still cause issues, so if in doubt, replace it.
As to your water filters, they should be replaced every 3-6 months and at the start of every new season.
See all the ones we recommend on this Amazon list: Outside the RV – Camping Essentials
MIKE & JENS STORYTIME
This week, our storytime is about a visit we made to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania several years ago to witness the annual spectacle of a groundhog named Phil predicting the weather.
We were covering the event as media and were able to talk the organizers into letting us drive our RV right up Gobbler's Knob and spending the night there.
“We’ve never had an RV camp up there,” they told us, “but why not? Go for it. You’re media.” We drove up and settled into the back of a parking lot that was empty. We settled in about 10 PM and all was quiet. We knew we had to be up and ready to video the festivities at sunrise so we turned in right away.
Only to be awakened by about 2AM by lights from a steady stream of cars and trucks filling up the big parking area, accompanied by lots of noise from happy and very noisy Punxsutawney partygoers.
What we didn't realize was that Groundhog Day fun started at 3 AM when they opened the gates, and as we gave up on sleep and grabbed our cameras, we found a crowd of 20,000 from all over the world settled in to await the groundhog.
For four hours, the whooping and hollering and music grew louder. There was dancing. Beach balls were tossed back and forth and all this as sleet and a cold winter drizzle turned the ground muddy.
Here are some excerpts from our story… but what was perhaps the most amazing thing about this big party is there was no alcohol involved in the partying. Nor was anyone allowed to bring chairs. The crowd stood in the squishy mud.
Here's the video report we did at the time:
Curious about the gear, gadgets, accessories, and RV products Mike & Jennifer use and recommend?
On this RV Lifestyle Travel blog, our RV Podcast and our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel, we mention all sorts of RV-related products and gear that we use, So we created a special page that links to them. We update this all the time. CLICK HERE to go to it directly. Have you caught one of our Amazon LIVE events yet? Just go here and Follow us – to be notified every time we go live.
