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Last week, a dog died in an RV that overheated after the air conditioning went out.
In this week’s episode 512 of RV Lifestyle’s RV Podcast, we learn about two pieces of safety equipment that all RVers who travel with pets should have.
Plus, we share how one of our followers saved over $1,000 on an extended RV warranty, what’s trending on social media this week, and how to plan for and find a great campsite.
The audio version is available on all major podcast apps or in the player below.
The Dangers of an Overheated RV
A couple who tragically lost their beloved dog whilst camping are telling their story as a warning to others.
Dawn Shover and her husband were camping in Ohio with their dog, Chief, when they made plans to go to a fair with their grandchildren and left Chief in their camper while they were away.
To keep the Chief safe, they bought a new generator and made sure it was full of gas and all was well.
But when they returned a few hours later, they were horrified to find the generator gone, the camper well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, their beloved pets lying lethargic and foaming at the mouth, and their dog dead.
So what happened?
Apparently, the air conditioning was too powerful and blew a fuse, causing the temperature inside the camper to quickly exceed 100 degrees on that hot summer day, resulting in the death of the dog.
The couple are sharing their story to warn others that a generator to run an air conditioner isn't enough.
It's a very tragic story, but we hope that by sharing their pain, others will be helped and pets protected.
Here are two products we think every RVer who travels with pets should have.
Waggle…monitors the temperature inside your RV while you’re away and sends you an alert if the temperature rises above a certain level: https://rvlifestyle.com/waggle
and
SoftStartUp … Run your air conditioner with less power than a power spike – https://softstartup.com/rvlifestyle
Good advice: Shop around for the best extended RV warranty
I was camping in Maine last week and a woman driving a camper right next to us recognized me and came over to thank me for saving her over $1,000.
“How?” I asked.
She explained that when she purchased her RV, the dealer encouraged her to purchase an extended warranty, and she remembered that Jen and I had talked about wholesale warranties and how to find the best warranty for RVers, rather than the more expensive warranties sold by dealers.
She went to https://rvlifestyle.com/warranty , filled out the form, and Wholesale Warranties gave her a price that was $1,000 less than the dealer. Since RVs break down often, she now has peace of mind.
We never recommend purchasing an extended warranty from a dealer without first comparing the two.
And Wholesale Warranties will do it for you, free of charge, finding you the best deal at the best price on both new and used RVs.
Please visit https://rvlifestyle.com/warranty for details.
Social Media Topics by Wendy Bowyer
In a general camping discussion space in the RVLifestyle community, Tricia asked, “Have you ever had an animal steal your belongings? A squirrel once stole my little bright pink cooking spoon, and I can't find it anywhere!”
Doreen is one of several people who have had things stolen by raccoons when she and her husband were lying in bed in their pop-up house a few years ago when they heard rustling and scratching noises, followed suddenly by a dragging sound.
They'd been canoeing all day and had piled all their wet gear under the bunk. After doing this a few times, her husband woke up with a flashlight to find a raccoon had pulled down their life jacket. Julie told us that the couple camping next to them had had a raccoon steal a bag of bagels.
Suzanne said, “Years ago, when my husband and I were tent camping outside of Logan, Utah, jays would steal anything that wasn't in a container or bag on the picnic table.”
Also, in the Boondocking space of the RVLifestyle community, we asked people to share tips they've learned the hard way from their past off-grid camping experiences. There are a lot of valuable tips in this thread. Robin's tip is to check your fridge and make sure it's on the right mode for your unit. And, in most cases, you'll need to use propane gas when boondocking.
Martin's advice is to be mindful of the amount of shade where you park your car if you're camping for a few days, and to think about cooling your car off-grid when boondocking. Finally, some great advice was to always keep track of your location by mile markers and know where the nearest medical facilities are.
Later, in the RVLifestyle Facebook group, Kim wrote, “Oh my goodness! No one told me that every container in my RV has a huge problem with heights! Condiments, toiletries, tubes, everything went flying everywhere! Newbies, be aware that altitude will affect your belongings!”
Kim was in Colorado and it seems she had gone from somewhere flat and low to 10,000 feet when these issues started.
The thread has attracted over 300 comments, with many sharing similar experiences, including Kristina, who said she's had popcorn tins explode and potato chip bags burst at high altitudes.
Ali experienced a mustard jar exploding on her first drive through Colorado, and we heard story after story of popcorn tins expanding and potato chip bags exploding. So many stories!
In essence, this can happen when you buy something at a lower altitude and then go to a higher altitude.
Some people avoided the explosion by buying products at higher altitudes, others suggested opening sealed containers of liquids to remove some of the contents, and still others recommended stabbing potato chip bags with a pin to remove the air, then tapping them or transferring them to a Ziploc bag to keep them fresh for later.
RV Question of the Week
Question: How do two people plan an RV trip, pick campsites, etc.? It seems like a lot to me. – Dennis
A – Our favorite tool for planning trips and finding campgrounds is RV Trip Wizard .
It's part of the RV Life Pro suite of tools, and it's what we used to plan our epic trip to the Canadian coast.
Once you set your start and destination, the best route will be found and highlighted on the map.
You tell it how many miles you want to drive per day, and it draws a circle showing you where you should stop.
You can then direct it to show you campgrounds along your route. You can also see photos, read reviews, and visit the campground's website to reserve a site.
If you want to purchase an annual membership to RV Life Pro, it currently costs $65 per year. Annual memberships also come with a free 7-day trial.
Add the coupon code “RVLIFESTYLE” to get 25% off the price. (Note that the discount code must be entered on a computer; if you try to sign up on the mobile app, there's nowhere to enter the coupon code.)
Use this link to get your discount: https://rvlifestyle.com/RVlifePro
Feedback from campground staff
I received this post via social media about a bad campground review and thought it was worth sharing. The poster is a campground employee named Christina, and she has a very interesting perspective:
This summer I'm working in the campground office, and this job has opened my eyes to the fact that many of our campers expect a lot and have unrealistic expectations.
Read on for some scenarios…
Some campers expect us to act as a concierge when they call or come to our site. We can tell you the names of some restaurants and attractions. There may be a whale watching company or something, but we don't know all the prices and current schedules and we can't arrange that for you. Others want all the information about nearby national parks instead of calling the national parks. Campers call us and say they just got their trailer and want us to show them how to operate everything when they get there. No, we can't do that. “What if we don't have a pull-through site? I don't know how to park my camper in reverse, can you do that?” No, we can't. “What do you mean you can't leave your dog tied up in a tree while you go sightseeing for 5 hours?” “I don't like my site. I want to move.” Sorry, we're full and can't move. “It's going to rain today so I've decided to leave. “I would like a refund for the remainder of my stay.” Sorry, we can't give you a refund. Some guests don't think it's an inconvenience to be on a site 30 minutes to 2 hours after checkout time. Then they act as if it's unreasonable for us to try to kick them out, when in fact they're causing trouble for campers who arrive later.
“I've watched them turn into bad reviews full of lies and fake stories that are completely different from what actually happened. They're angry and want to ruin our reputation. They're strategically leaving out things they want to leave out. I've stayed at plenty of campgrounds with bad reviews, but had a great time.”
***From Team RV Lifestyle: You may have noticed that within the first few pages of our newly updated e-book, we address this review issue. We state that we typically “select campgrounds based on the most recent reviews and our personal experience, not just star ratings, which can be misleading in this area. Because reviews are very fluid, we strongly encourage you to read the most recent reviews before booking. Please also note that the prices and availability we list may also change.”
The latest update bundle is here:
Check out our Southwest Adventure Guide Bundle (Arizona, Utah, Colorado)
Every time Jennifer and I travel through the Southwest we are blown away by the grandeur and beauty this country has to offer. It can be really hard to stay in one state, so we created this bundle for those who love to travel as much as we do.
We've combined our Southern Utah Guide, Colorado Guide, and new Arizona Guide into this 3-state bundle for one great price.
These RV travel guides are 7-day guided tours of the amazing places to explore in each state. Each destination is a hand-picked selection of the best things we enjoyed on our trip and would love for you to experience them, too.
Combined, these guides contain over 200 pages of content.
Mike Wendland is a multiple Emmy Award winning journalist, podcaster, YouTuber, and blogger. He and his wife Jennifer have been traveling in an RV across North America for the past 12 years, sharing their adventures and reviewing RV, camping, outdoor, travel, and tech gear. The two are leading experts on RV living and have written 18 travel books.
