An “UNBEETABLE” Workamping Experience – The Sugar Beet Harvest
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This week on the RV Podcast:
- An UNBEETABLE RV Experience. And we spell Beet BEET. Were talking about RVers who Workcamp the Sugar Beet Harvest. We'll explain all in the RV Conversation of the Week
- Brinkley RV is continuing to set the pace in the RV industry, this time with an all-new luxury Ultralite Travel Trailer that can be towed by a large SUV.
- A Major RV manufacturer has shut down its two California plants because it's just too expensive to do business there. And this comes as the state proposes a clean air fee that could add another 65 cents a gallon to its sky-high fuel costs.
- All this, plus the Social Media Buzz and your questions coming up in Episode #520 of the RV Podcast.
You can watch the video version from 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. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays.
And now for news on our new giveaway!
Win a deluxe camping stay near Zion National Park!
This giveaway has some awesome prizes that can fit into your 2025 camping adventures. Here are the details! ENTER HERE.
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Settle into a spacious pull-through RV site that provides all the comforts you need for an extended stay, with full hookups and 50-amp service.
SECOND PRIZE – Three lucky winners will receive a one-week RV pull-through stay:
Experience the adventure of a lifetime with a one-week RV stay at Zion Utah Jellystone Park™! With spacious pull-through RV sites ranging from 45 to 75 feet and equipped with full hookups and 50-amp service, you will enjoy all the conveniences of home while surrounded by Utah’s stunning natural beauty.
BOTH prizes provide you with unlimited access during your stay to the park’s many attractions, activities, and amenities, including a massive water zone, which includes a heated swimming pool, a lazy river, multiple water slides, and a splashground.
OR GET YOUR DISCOUNT!
As a thank you for participating in this RV Lifestyle sweepstakes, Zion Utah Jellystone Park™ is offering you 10% off a stay at the campground. This discount is valid for reservations with a minimum of 2 nights and for a maximum of 7 nights. The discount can be utilized on any new reservation stays through December 31, 2025.
To redeem this 10% offer, simply use the promo code Zion2024 when booking your reservation online at https://www.zionutahjellystonepark.com/ or via phone at 866-934-5267. Please note this offer is not valid on prior reservations, and this offer may not be combined with any other offer of discount.
MORE details about this on the Sweepstakes page https://rvlifestyle-ider.wp1.sh/Sweepstakes
RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK – Workamping the Sugar Beet Harvest
As this episode is released, several hundred RVers are heading home with thousands of extra dollars in their pockets, thanks to an annual workamping experience that has them head to South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and scattered other spots where they help in the harvest of sugar beets.
For many, it is an annual journey, with free camping and excellent pay that helps pay for their next year of RVing fun.
This week, our own Wendy Bowyer interviews one of our social media moderators, Traci Reinekie, who just finished her month-long work as a sugar beet harvest workamper.
To get all the details, be sure to listen or watch the podcast via the above links!
RV NEWS OF THE WEEK
A new bill under consideration by the California Air Resources board is estimated to raise pump prices by as much as 65 cents a gallon there. Californians already pay on average $1.47 a gallon more than the national average because of taxes, and if this low carbon fuel standard is passed in November, rates for the state are estimated to be more than $2 a gallon more than the national average!
Speaking of California, Forest River Inc. announced it is closing its California-based manufacturing facilities in Hemet and Rialto, affecting 400 employees. Why? The rising costs of doing business in California makes the plants there uncompetitive.
We all love fall colors, but recently out-of-control crowds of hikers out to see fall colors made a 1.5-mile trail in New Hampshire's Franconia Notch State Park unsafe. An experienced hiker snapped a picture of what it was like at “Artist Bluff” loop recently and it looked awful! Many were not dressed or prepared for the trail and about half a dozen rescues were made.
Brinkley RV is teasing a new travel trailer, the Model I, a lightweight trailer heavily requested and years in the making. A prototype of the impressive-looking Model I is available for view online and at a couple RV shows now, with estimated delivery beginning in March 2025.
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.
In the RVLifestyle Community‘s General Discussions space, Jill had a question about planning a 3-month trip. She and her husband are leaving Michigan and heading to the Southwest. They will take 2 days to get to St. Louis where they have reservations, but from there they have no plans. So Jill asked: “How do you plan trips for that long or do you wing it? Would love to hear ideas you've learned over the years.”
Burt said he and his traveling partner do not plan out every night on long trips. Rather they plan as they go, using RV Trip Wizard to pick a key destination and see what is there. They don't like to travel more than three hours a day, so they use Harvest Hosts, Boondockers Welcome, Campendium, Freecampsites, and the Dyrt to break things into “bite-size chunks.”
They prefer boondocking but mix in some campground stays to dump, refill the fresh water, do laundry, and take some hot showers. AND they prefer to stay off the beaten path, avoiding interstates as much as possible and staying in national forests, Corps of Engineer campgrounds, and BLM land. Burt gave such a heart-felt answer and it turns out that is exactly the way Jill likes to camp.
Ari also joined the conversation, saying he and his wife prefer this way of travel because when they have many advance reservations they found this creates stress and longer travel days, and they feel pressure to get somewhere they paid for rather than having the freedom to see things they discover along the way.
But Ari's one exception to this advice is if they are planning to go to a popular national or state park, they do get reservations in this case because it is harder to find a place to stay. Great advice!
We often hear from RVers who have never boondocked but want to. So in the Community's Boondocking space we asked, “For those who haven't tried boondocking yet, what is the number one thing holding you back?
Julio, who's from Texas, said it is having enough battery to keep the AC on. Mark said it is figuring out where to go, and Brian said it is getting his wife to agree. All of these responses make a lot of sense!
Then over in our RVLifestyle Facebook Group we had one post that REALLY got people talking! Ervin asked, “Is it normal for a state campground to close and lock the only entrance from 10pm to 6am?” Ervin had to be at work at 5 am recently, was at a state campground that used a chain and deadbolt to lock everyone in, and he had to wait nearly two hours for someone to come unlock the gate so he could leave.
In the campground's defense, there was a sign saying campground closed 10 pm – 6 am, but Ervin never dreamed they were literally locked in. The whole experience made him wonder what happens if there is an emergency and police or EMS need to get in when seconds matter.
Well, this post had more than 1,000 comments and interestingly, the responses seemed evenly split. Half were completely appalled, had never experienced this, and said it does not seem safe.
BUT the other half said this is extremely common in parts of the country where campgrounds lock people in at night for safety reasons – to keep the “bad guys” out.
Oklahoma state parks, Georgia, Texas, Washington state and South Carolina all came up as places where this often happens. In the case of an emergency, EMS or police have bolt cutters, many said, and can get in there. But those on the other side said that would take time and could make a difference in many emergencies.
It was a great conversation and if this is a concern of yours, I would definitely ask about being literally locked in at night before making a reservation
RV QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK
QUESTION: I remember hearing you talk about using Alexa in a tow vehicle but I can’t remember your response. We have a Ford F-250 that we tow our 5th wheel with and wonder if it possible to use Alexa in it? Marsha
ANSWER: Yes, you can. Most trucks made in the past several years let you get Alexa on the go. Not all, but most. So for everyone, the first step is to make sure your vehicle has Alexa built in. There’s a special site to check – https://www.amazon.com/alexa-automotive. Go there and enter your vehicle details. If it already has Alexa, follow the registration steps listed to set it up. If not, you may have to download an app. The site has instructions.
For your Ford F-250, To use Amazon Alexa in a Ford F-250, you can follow these steps:
- Activate your vehicle's modem if you have the FordPass app. If you don't have FordPass, set up an account.
- On your vehicle's SYNC 4 screen, tap the Alexa icon.
- Select Alexa Built-in, then select Yes or Get Started.
- Scan the QR code or visit Amazon.com/code and sign into your Amazon account.
- Follow the steps to finish registering Alexa in your vehicle.
- If desired, select Yes to enable the Alexa wake word on your SYNC 4 screen.
You can use Alexa to control your vehicle with voice commands, such as streaming music, getting directions, and checking the weather.
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