Rv Navigator

Twenty-seven days in Ecuador gave us a chance to explore diverse areas of this small country. These 3+ weeks in Ecuador allowed us to visit the Amazon rain forest, Galapagos islands, and Andes mountains all within a country that is the size of Nevada. Small but diverse with rural-urban, hot-cold, and wet,-dry regions all on the Equator. For a small country in South American, Ecuador has a lot to offer. Our first stop was Quito, the capital. At 9000 ft and surrounded by volcanoes (some active) it is a scenically beautiful city. The hot jungle of the Amazon is what you would expect. Hot, humid and full of animals, bug and other critters. We toured on foot and canoe to see both land and water life. We then boarded a plane to fly 2 hrs off the coast to the chain of islands know as the Galapagos. They are part of Ecuador's national park system. As such they are protected and have strict rules for visitors. This control does maintain a good visitor experience (as long as the rules are followed). Getting clo

Every RV needs to be repaired from time to time. Newmar has opened a very modern service center with campground for its owners. How you'll get your RV fixed might be a factor when you come to buy an RV either new or old. Newmar pride itself on fixing any RV that it has manufactured regardless of age. Not every manufacturer will stand behind its entire line of products this way. We were in the service center campground to have our captains chair ((driver and passenger) recovered with new fabric. Not something we anticipated deteriorating, but we are able to get it fixed. Although we have not done any camping this month, we still have lots of RV topics to share- many of them the result of emails or facebook comments. Four season RVing, taking care of older RVers, and many other topics are covered in this episode. Be sure to visit our episode website for lots more info.

With Memorial Day behind us, we are ready for summer and the warm weather to begin. But, spring is still bringing rain and cold. We were worried about frost and the motorhome so we had to leave the heat on for a couple of nights this month. With June’s arrival, we are looking for long days and warm nights but of course we’ll be a home. We let our camping families have the campgrounds in the summer. Their season is short and we can visit any part of the year, so we’ll head out again in the fall. However, we will taking a short trip to Wisconsin just to exercise the MH systems during the summer down time. Of interest this month is the new VR system from Oculus, the Quest. This system is the first to be stand alone - no extra wires or hardware needed. This is a major step forward for VR systems. I have enjoyed the games and 360 videos. It takes us to places we’d never get to via conventional travel. This month we share ideas about RV generators, Harvest Hosts (which we just jointed, but have not use

A quiet month for us. In summer we fall in to routine activities centered around home in Chicago. We did do our yearly “exercise the motorhome” trip to Lake Geneva, Wis. (about 2 hrs from home) for 3 nights at a state park. We focus on photography topics this month - our camera choices, new photo options, and thoughtful ideas about photography and RVing are our main focus this month. On our short trip, we were attacked by birds - literally. Why would a cardinal keep flying into the motorhome for days? We don't know, but it happened on our short trip.

April 1st we fired up the RV for the trip back to Chicago. This was to be a meandering journey that would up the month. We planned to visit Savannah, Washington DC, Charlotte SC, and the Laurel Highlands of SE PA. All went well on this journey as we explain in this months podcast. We had several new systems to test out on this 1200 mile trip. Although we had not been to these destinations in quite a few years, it was nice to relive earlier experiences. We enjoyed Washington DC because of the welcome it provides to tourists. Many attractions are free and the transportation is easy and inexpensive. Of course we always have to consider weather on our travels. Spring storms can cause major damage, but we were not effect until we arrive home. Then the snow arrived. Up until the trips end, the weather had been good - mostly warm and just a little rain. Then the cold and snow arrived in Chicago. In this episode we share experiences about using a towed, the new engine monitor called Bluefire, as well as ne

In this episode we are focused on our recent trip to Antartica. At the end of February, we headed South - way south. In the land of ice, snow and rock that makes up the 7th continent. This land mass has no native animals, insects or plants (aside from a few liken). So why visit such a desolate place? The landscapes are bleak but beautiful with black rocky peaks and crisp white snow. The marine life is abundant with penguins, seals, whales, birds and many smaller lifeforms. Cruising is the only way to visit, as there are no public airstrips or outposts for visitors. Even the cruises only have landings at remote beaches or rock outcrops where the penguins or seals congregate. Cruise ships must bring everything their passengers will need for their stay. So we were provided with jackets and knee length insulated boots to put over our layers of cold weather clothing. Daily we suited up for our zodiac trip to the landing area for the day. Once there we “toured” on foot to see the penguin colony or snowy

February is always short, but because we are leaving for Antartica in late February, we are getting ready early. This maybe a time when we’ll be totally out of touch at the beginning of the month and thus not able to do the podcast, so we did it early. Our 17 day sailing will take us further south than we've ever been at the end of their summer. However we are expecting cold - in the 20s. This is a big change from February in FL. This month has been very warm while the rest of the country is mired in cold winter weather. After getting our alternator fixed for the second time, we headed off to do a bit of boondocking. For those who are new to RVing, boondocking is camping without hookups. In this case we were at the mouth of Port Canaveral with a great view of the ships (many cruise ships) sailing in and out of the second busiest port in FL. Our motorhome is nicely set up for boondocking - and we discuss this issue on this episode.

CBS News came a calling to check out our podcast this month. This took the form of a 4 man crew coming to our RV site in FL to set-up and record your RV Navigator being interviewed by CBS Correspondent David Pogue. This took place on January 4th with the final product airing on January 20th CBS Sunday Morning program. Our segment (1 minute & 11 seconds) was part of a longer segment (5 minutes) called “The Golden Age of Podcasting” with more info on podcasting in general. This was all quite exciting for us and totally out of the blue. It was a result of a cold call from the producer to us asking for an interview. We were also pleased that David sat down for a brief interview that will be part of this months RV Navigator episode. He turned out to be congenial interviewer and a good interviewee although he has no RVing experience. Since the Sunday airing, our podcast downloads have gone through the roof (at our expense). A usual months worth of downloads happened on that single Sunday after the br

We begin our 13th year of the RV Navigator in the warmth of Florida. This episode is our annual NYE edition which features champaign and fun as the new year begins. Lots of RV tech topics to cover as your hosts share their adventures of the past year.

Once again we are on the road away from our motorhome so we don't have alot of RVing news. Back from our 3 cruise itinerary to Spain with a sail back to Miami. We sailed on a small 100 passenger ship within Spain and Portugal, then a super cruiser with 5500 passengers for 12 days to Miami and finally a 3100 passenger ship to Bahamas. We share our impressions of these very different cruising experiences in this episode. We’ve now driven to Chicago to be at home for family time during holidays. Oh, yes, the cold has hit us hard with snow and cold in our northern home. We have cruising/travel ideas to share plus our annual holiday RV gift guide. What new gizmos should you buy your RVer? Ken knows!

We’re off on a 39 day trip to Portugal, Spain and a transAtlantic sailing to Miami. Leaving from our winter home in Florida, first flying to Lisbon for an 11 day small ship cruise to Barcelona. This itinerary would have easily been done via a bus tour - so why would you do it by cruise ship? The world of cruising is quickly changing and we note many of those as we explain how a small ship experience is different from a large ship cruise. We had a chance to try out various ebikes on this trip - have you given them a try? We also tried cell phone service in Europe, and it worked for phone and data. The world is shrinking with digital media keeping everyone connected. We have lots of comments about this experience and even some RVing ideas and tips.

Rvers need to be flexible and mobile. We planned to be in SC this month, but the hurricane had other plans so we headed to FL early. After stopping in Gaffney SC for a quick check up of the MH, we were planning to visit relatives near the coast of SC. However, this was just as the hurricane was scheduled to make landfall, so we packed and spent most of the month on our new lot at The Great Outdoors in Titusville. Unfortunately, once again mother nature surprised us. The weather in FL was very hot and humid. September in FL is warm, but this was record breaking heat. Combined with high humidity, it was very uncomfortable. So much for seeking the 70s (our usual mantra). We are here early so that we can leave in October and head to Europe on a 3 cruise package ending back in Miami in November. Topics include fall itineraries, looking beyond the floor plan, basics of E,W, & S, when buying an RV. What’s happening with RV buyers this year. We find that they are younger and buying smaller.

R’n’R - you know rants and raves. A wide range of topics in this month, from digital cameras to diesel vs gas to credit cards. Yes we have some strong views & as always we share. Feel free to share, we want to hear from you via email or Google plus.

We pick up on several trending topics including hot skin, water heaters, new apps, and long term RVing with an interview. Loads of great news from the world of RVing in Gillette WY for the FMCA Rally. Tune in for a full report.

Summer at home or at our Summer home as we have come to call it is enjoying the warm months in Chicago with the RV securely parked until fall. By design, we stay home in summer. Although we did make a short camping outing to the lake shore at the Indiana Dunes SP to keep the RV tuned up and ready to roll, most of the summer will be at home. Are we too long to visit the nations crown jewels, our National Parks? Big RVs can camp in our parks and we can prove it. We read the fears of new RVers that buying a big rig will keep them out of the scenic wonders of our country. We would reply, that it is easier to stay at or near NPs with a big rig. Who wants to drive a 30 class C across the Going to Sun Highway? Instead, we take our toad. One of the many reasons to stick with a big rig for see our great country. We also made a quick car trip to Florida and back to purchase a second RVing lot at TGO (one of our all time favorite long term RV resorts). We do rent this space out year round so let us know if

After 23 days at sea from Australia (and the outback), we arrived home in IL for the summer. We spend summers at home so that families can have the campgrounds during their summer holidays. However, with more and more RVs being sold and on the road, campsites are sometimes at a premium. We share our views on the camping crunch that the industry is experiencing during this boom time. We look at camping strategies to use during the busy summer months and beyond to make sure that your camping experience is a good one. We do of course have the usual array of interesting articles and topics from the last month in RVing.

On the road in Sydney Australis this month. We are currently about 1 day ahead of our usual world - confusing to say the least. We left mid month for a 53 day journey that ends with us sailing back to Seattle from Sydney, Australia. It started with a long flight to Fiji where we spent a few days recovering from jet lag. This was a total day for night swap so it takes a while to make the adjustment. Another 5 hours landed us in Sydney for the start of our land tour of the interior of Australia. We did most of the coastal cities a few years ago on a cruise. The end of March finds us on our way to Hobart, Tasmania, the island off the southern coast of Australia. RV wise, we bander about several hot topics including renting your RV, solar panel issues, and what it is like to full time. Multiple problems compounded the creation of this months podcast. Sorry for the poor audio quality. My usual travel studio set up just would not work so this podcast has a buzz in the background. I have used filters to make

When in your travels do you shed the tourism mode and become more local? I think it has happened for us in Tucson with this visit. So this month we’ve just enjoyed the winter warmth (with a bit of cold) to do home like activities. Join us for the details

Winter in the North means we are in the warm - this year in Tucson, AZ. After a brief encounter with winter in IL, we flew back to LV for a week before heading down to Tucson via Quartzsite and Pheonix. Then on to Tucson for a couple of months in the sun. Tucson is always sunny but often cool in January. This year turned out to be the warmest January in their history with 14 days above 75 degrees (very pleasant) and only a couple of freezing mornings. We enjoy the outdoor activities provided by this area of country. This campground offers alot of actives for us seniors all under the warm sun. Plus Tucson offers great bike trails and hiking in the mountains. We are content to be stationary for 2 months when winter travel is just not reliable in other parts of the country. We took the time to upgrade several kitchen components while here in Tucson. We've wanted replace or electric cooktop with an induction model. Induction are more boondocking friendly and are excellent heat source. We've also started