RV Voting Controversy, Closed Campgrounds and RV Roof Issues
This week on the RV Podcast:
- Do RVers who claim residence in states like South Dakota, even though they really don't live there, have an undue influence on local elections? There’s a major RV Voting controversy brewing.
- What you need to know about RV roof maintenance – tips from an expert before you head out
- In Mike & Jen’s Storytime, the tale about Jennifer’s stay in a haunted Montana Hotel
- All this plus your RV questions coming up in Episode 540 of the RV Podcast
You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below.
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RV NEWS OF THE WEEK – RV Voting Controversy, Closed Campgrounds
Do RV Voters unduly influence local elections?
In South Dakota, there is a major political battle brewing over the influence of RVers who claim residency there, even though most of their time is spent traveling in their RVs. South Dakota has long been very popular with RVers because of the state’s lack of an income tax and the relative ease of securing on-paper residency. In most cases, they register with mailbox forwarding businesses.
So what’s the political issue? Those traveling RVers are able to vote in places where they really don’t live, and thus influence local elections.
State officials say those voters tend to be Republicans and note in one district in Sioux Falls, they nearly tipped a local legislative race away from a Democratic candidate.
So there are two bills pending. If House Bill 1066 becomes law, a person would need to have spent 30 consecutive days at some point in their life in a single physical location in South Dakota to be legally eligible to vote in the state.
House Bill 1208, meanwhile, would allow people with a mailbox address in South Dakota — but no physical abode in the state or proof they’d ever had one for 30 consecutive days —to register for a federal-only absentee ballot limited to candidates for president, U.S. senator and U.S. representative.
The issue of RVers having an undue influence in South Dakota elections is heating up and is likely to spread to other states where fulltime RVers claim residency, even though they don't live there – places like Florida and Texas.
Just as the camping season starts, two more National Park Campgrounds are being closed due to staffing issues caused by layoffs and forced retirement. Four of the six closings are from Hurricane Helene and scheduled construction. Some pavilions and picnic areas will also close, and vehicle-free days have been postponed. Those who paid for a campsite will be issued a refund.
RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK – RV Roof Issues
This is the time of year RVers are dewinterizing and going over their RVs in preparation for another year of camping. One part of your RV that is often overlooked, however, is the roof.
Before you head out, you’ll want to listen to Keystone RV’s Master Technician Matt Arndt, who tells us what you need to check on the roof of your RV to save yourself some big headaches and major repair costs down the road.
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.
Over on our private group at RVCommunity.com, we had some really practical tips recently posted on how planning an RV route is NOT the same as planning a road trip in your car. The post noted a number of red flags you must be aware of to keep yourself out of trouble.
In all, there were 7 red flags listed, and then community members shared a few more, but in the interest of brevity, let me share three of them
Toll Roads
While toll roads can be a no-brainer when planning a long distance car ride, when in an RV, they may simply not be worth it.
Toll roads charge more for RVs than cars, and sometimes those costs are shocking. We heard from an east coast family billed $576 for driving just 45 miles on a toll road last fall. Another family from Colorado told us they expected to pay $15 and were billed $54 on a toll road. Always know the cost before you enter a toll road, and if you can get a toll reader ahead of time, you will save some serious money.
Plan for fuel stops
Regular gas stations may not have the necessary space or accommodations for larger RVs, which can make stopping for fuel a nail-biting experience. So many RVers, unlike most car road trippers, need to plan ahead of time where they will stop to fill up. You can use Google maps to take a look at the station from a map, and use apps to map out how far you want to drive and which stations are RV friendly.
Planning for fuel ahead of time can save you stress and time.
Lack of Cell Service
In today's interconnected world, losing cell service can be a major inconvenience, especially when you're relying on GPS navigation or need to communicate in case of emergencies.
Consider if any region you are traveling through will likely have bad cell service. And we highly recommend keeping a road atlas in your RV or paper map of the state you're in – just in case your cellular GPS should fail.
There are many more tips in the post, but one thing that can really help is an RV-friendly GPS / route planner such as RVLife Pro.
To learn more about our private community and how you can be a member, just go to RVCommunity.com
Meanwhile, over in our Lifestyle Facebook Group that is about 525,000 members strong, we had a post from Ken that got people talking.
Ken and his wife were on their way home from a trip when their shower door broke, glass shattering everywhere. Ken posted a picture and it looked like the door had shattered into a thousand tiny pieces making a huge mess. Ken's big question is now what? He had the RV for three years before this happened, and wondered what he should do to replace it.
The group offered two solutions:
1) Get a retractable shower door installed. Many said it is not too expensive and works great.
or
2) Get a shower rod and curtain and with weights or magnets at the bottom of it. This is the simplest and cheapest solution – and the easiest to keep clean.
What I thought was interesting is that many others had their glass shower doors break on a bumpy road trip. Ken had his RV for three years before the shower doors broke, so if this happens to you sometime down the road, I hope these tips help..
RV QUESTION OF THE WEEK – What is the Cost of Ownership?
QUESTION: We are planning to buy an RV this year for family vacations and getaways. We love watching your videos and want to do many of the things you guys have. My one drawback is the financial expense and the investment value of an RV. How can I fully understand the cost of ownership? – Marty
ANSWER: How do you put a cost on fun and adventure and family togetherness?
If the cost of ownership is your main concern and the thing holding you back, I’d suggest that RV ownership may not be the best option for you.
Here is the raw truth about RV ownership:
First, ask yourselves how much will you really use that RV?
Let me give you two scenarios…
If you own an RV for one year: Use a $60,000 unit 10 days per year and you’re paying $6,000/day. Use that same unit 125 days per year and you’re paying $480/day. Use it 300 days per year and you’re paying $200/day.
If you own that same RV for 5 years: Use a $60,000 unit 10 days per year and you’re paying $1,200/day. Use that same unit 625 days for 5 years and you’re paying $96/day. Use it 300 days per year and you’re paying very little/day. But your maintenance cost and repair costs will be much higher in those later years. Whatever the math, I'm sure you get the idea here.
With more use, the cost of ownership drops considerably. But please note, the purchase price is just the start. We’re not even talking about other costs… fuel, insurance, maintenance, camping fees. Those are other major factors. We’re talking just about the cost of buying an RV.
But again, if cost of ownership is your main concern, it can be hard to justify buying a unit.
How you balance the ownership costs with the enjoyment an RV brings is all on you. It’s best to know exactly what you want (from experience) before committing to such a large purchase. Since you’re still not sure, try renting a couple different models to see how you feel then.
MIKE & JEN’S STORYTIME – The Haunted Hotel Hijinks
Okay, so picture this: We are on our way to host this fabulous RV gathering in Red Lodge, Montana – beautiful Beartooth Mountains, gorgeous scenery, the works! But then, BOOM! Jen gets knocked flat with what turned out to be bacterial pneumonia. Talk about terrible timing!
So instead of cozying up in our Class B, we book us a hotel room at this place called the Pollard Hotel. Built in 1893, super fancy, historic – Buffalo Bill Cody stayed there! William Jennings Bryan! Even Calamity Jane! I was thinking, “Well, at least if Jen is going to be sick, she'll be sick somewhere FANCY!”
What they DIDN'T mention in the brochure was the hotel's OTHER claim to fame – being completely haunted! We should've gotten suspicious when they told us the elevator was “broken” and wouldn't go to the third floor where our room was.
When we asked about it, this staff member just casually drops, “Oh, it's haunted, you know. But don't worry, the ghost is friendly.” FRIENDLY? Well, that makes it all better then!
So there Jen is, feeling absolutely terrible, coughing her lungs out, while Mike goes downstairs to check out the restaurant. And what does he do? Comes back with MORE ghost stories! Apparently, there's either a woman in a yellow dress who leaves the scent of French perfume, OR a guy named “George” who makes phones ring and leaves fingerprints on clean mirrors!
Don't forget about the mysterious popcorn and coffee smells! And that elevator that mysteriously “breaks down” whenever it needs to go to the third floor. Sure, sure… “mechanical issues.”
But here's the kicker – the next day, Mike had to leave Jennifer alone while he went to our gathering. Poor thing, left all by herself in a haunted hotel!
That's when she heard them – FOOTSTEPS! Walking back and forth, back and forth right above our room. But here's the thing – we were on the TOP FLOOR! There wasn't supposed to be anyone above us!
When we told the hotel staff about it at checkout, this young guy just smiles and says, “No sweat, it was probably just the ghost.” PROBABLY JUST THE GHOST?! Like that's supposed to be comforting?!
The Moral of the Story:
When your RV trip takes an unexpected turn, you might just get a supernatural upgrade! Or as we like to say: “When life gives you pneumonia, you might get a ghost story to tell for years to come!”
