The principal concern addressed in this podcast episode is the paramount issue that detracts from the joy of RVers, which is a lack of preparedness and maintenance. This deficiency often manifests itself in various forms, including neglect of essential repairs and insufficient planning, ultimately leading to frustrating experiences that overshadow the anticipated pleasure of RV travel. We delve into practical solutions, offering insights from the RV community that highlight effective DIY fixes for common issues encountered on the road. Additionally, we explore the significance of being well-equipped and knowledgeable about one’s RV to prevent minor inconveniences from escalating into major disruptions. Lastly, we provide a glimpse into upcoming adventures at Olympic National Park and the historical remnants of Bordeaux, Washington, emphasizing the importance of awareness and organization in enhancing the RV experience.
The episode also ventures into the contemplative realm of historical RV destinations, specifically focusing on Bordeaux, Washington, a town that once thrived but has since succumbed to the passage of time. Through a narrative rich in historical context, I recount the rise and fall of Bordeaux, exploring its origins as a bustling logging community and its subsequent decline as resources dwindled. This poignant exploration serves as a reminder of the transient nature of human endeavors and the inevitability of change. The discussion culminates in a reflection on the importance of preparedness not only in the context of RV maintenance but also in the broader scope of travel and exploration. I encourage listeners to embrace the lessons of history, to remain adaptable in the face of unforeseen circumstances, and to cultivate a spirit of resilience that will enrich their journeys in the RV lifestyle. Together, we aspire to foster a deeper appreciation for both the joys and challenges inherent in RV travel.
Takeaways
- The primary factor diminishing the joy of RVing is a lack of preparedness, which leads to unexpected issues.
- Real DIY fixes shared by the RV community can be invaluable for addressing common RV problems effectively.
- Understanding the unique nature of RV toilets is essential to avoid flooding incidents and ensure proper usage.
- Maintaining your RV and being proactive about repairs minimizes the chances of surprises and enhances your travel experience.
- Planning ahead for fuel stops and campsite availability is crucial for a smooth RV journey, preventing unnecessary frustration.
- Developing DIY skills for basic maintenance and repairs can empower RV owners and enhance their confidence while traveling.
Wholesale Warranties - RV Extended Warranties
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The number one thing that'srobbing rvers of the joy they were
promised and how to fix it andenjoying the RV life. Real DIY fixes
from the RV community. Andthen in the next stop, we're going
to visit Olympic NationalPark. And then in the shadows of
the past, towns that oncewere, we're going to go to Bordeaux,
(00:20):
Washington, and in RV Envy,the question is, do you have it together
at the campsite? This is EricStark with the Smart RVer podcast,
your trusted source for tipsand insights to embrace the RV lifestyle
without worry. So let's talkeverything RV today, and it's episode
(00:42):
179, so let's just dig rightin. So how are you doing today, Alexis?
I am doing really well.
Yes, really well. That's good.
Yeah.
That's so nice to do reallywell today when everybody has so
many problems. And here youare in your ivory tower.
Yes.
All right, so now just messingwith you there. So, you know, we're
(01:04):
going to talk about this RVtoilet valve malfunction and how
it flooded an rv.
Oh, boy.
We're not going to get to thegist of it until the end of the show.
Okay, I'm excited.
So now everybody has to hangaround for the entire podcast. So
no matter how long we gotoday, you've got to hear the end
of this.
Yeah, that's right.
(01:24):
All right, well, you shouldwant to hear the end of it. I can
say you got to.
You should.
Got to know.
Gotcha.
All right, so as a reminder,before we start digging into the
meat of everything, if youhaven't explored the idea of having
a RV extended warranty, checkout Wholesale Warranties. There's
a link to their website in ourdescription or actually to a contact
(01:46):
them page where you can sendit in, and they will contact you
and talk to you about an RVextended warranty and how they can
bring you peace of mind andhow well they work and how honest
these guys are. Really,Wholesale Warranties is probably
the best in the industry. Theyare up front. They don't want to
sell you a warranty unless youknow everything about the warranty.
(02:08):
So they're not going to dupeyou, walk you into something that
you don't need. So if you'relooking at buying a used rv, a new
rv, private party, or througha dealership, contact Wholesale warranties.
Yeah.
Or maybe you just alreadybought an RV and you didn't get a
warranty. Now you want to getan extended warranty. Check them
out, use the link in ourdescription, and it'll take you right
to a page and someone will bein contact with you soon enough.
(02:33):
So today in staying on theroad, I mean enjoying the RV life.
Jumping right ahead here. Hey,so we're going to talk about do it
yourself RV fixes from the RVcommunity. So these are the real
deal from real RVers. AndAlexis source these out on the Internet.
Took her days and days anddays to find these.
(02:55):
Talk to a lot of weirdos.
Wow. So don't try this athome, kids. So she didn't talk to
any of the Smart RVers. Okay.She was down in LA at the encampment.
That is what I meant.
The homeless encampments.Okay. And then she left all that
stuff there and got real stories.
Yeah, sorry.
(03:17):
Wow. Okay. By the way, this isour last episode. Well, it was a
doozy.
It was a doozy.
So there's quite a few herethat we've got so far. And we're
gonna start kind of sprinklingthese through some episodes.
Yes, we are.
(03:38):
Some of these are pretty cool.
They're gonna be more likehorror stories, right, is what we're
gonna do.
Yeah, exactly. They can be.
Yeah. Today we're not going totalk about horror stories though.
So about something else onour. On our list here, Alexis, is
there one that stood out toyou that grabbed your attention?
There is. I highlighted itbecause I thought it was really good.
Especially because I know howmuch you love duct tape and the title
(04:02):
is the Duct Tape Slide OutRescue. He doesn't love duct tape.
Just saying. That was sarcasm.Anyway, I'll go ahead and read it.
It says, it says, let's startwith a classic duct tape. One full
time RVer Mike from Arizonashared how his slide outs rubber
seal ripped during a windyovernight stay in the desert. The
(04:23):
tear was letting dust and heatpour in. No dealership in sight.
And two days from his nextstop, Mike grabbed his trusty roll
of industrial duct tape andcovered the tear from the outside.
It wasn't pretty, but it heldfor over 600 miles. The key, Mike
says, was cleaning the rubberthoroughly before applying the tape
(04:46):
and using multiple layers in acrisscross pattern. Bonus. The temporary
fix kept out both the dust anda nasty scorpion he later spotted
on the ground outside. So dutythere. The scorpion sounds a lot
worse than dust.
Then after he got done puttingduct tape all over the side of his
rv, he made a duct tape walletso he could. He might be really cool
(05:08):
and have his money and so hego buy more duct tape. Yes. Yeah,
I don't think duct Tape shouldbe used on anything. Maybe an extreme
emergency. And I wouldn't callthis an extreme emergency. I mean,
I get it. He used it. Somepeople are very. Well, most people
do use duct tape. Yeah, Ilike, you know, I saw the same roll
of duct tape when I boughtwhen I was a little kid. You know,
(05:29):
I don't use it very often.Yeah, that's an exaggeration, but
no, I get it. You know why Idon't like duct tape? The real reason
is because it leaves thatadhesive on everything.
Yeah.
You use it on an awningfabric. This guy use it on slide
out seals, which he's going tohave to replace anyway, so kind of.
All right, he will. But whenyou use it on an awning, like it's
(05:51):
tearing at the top and you putit on the awning rail and the fabric.
Whoever does that awning hasto cut all that off.
Yeah.
And they're just gonna. Infact, when I do it, I just get the
fabric out. I'm not gonnaclean up all that duct tape. That's
your problem.
I don't blame you.
You used it, you live with it.All right, so. So I see you have
one more highlighted here.
(06:12):
I do. Is that okay? Should we.
Sure, why not?
Let's look at it. Okay. Thetitle is When a Cabinet Door falls
off and zip ties save the day,it's not always the big stuff that
causes headaches. A listenernamed Rachel wrote in to say her
upper kitchen cabinet doorcame completely unhinged, literally,
(06:33):
while driving across a bumpyKansas highway with no screws long
enough to reattach it. Shegrabbed a pack of heavy duty zip
ties and looped them throughthe screw holes to temporarily anchor
the door to the frame. Itwasn't elegant, but it kept everything
secure and rattle free for therest of the trip. And pro tip, it
says zip ties aren't just fororganizing cables. They're great
(06:57):
emergency stand ins formissing bolts, broken latches, or
even securing your awning armif a hinge breaks mid trip. What
do you think about that?
Well, I've seen a lot ofawning arms with zip ties holding
them together. Yeah.
Okay.
And just the other day,someone had a camper in here and
it was one of those pop upcampers. And the latches were held
(07:17):
closed with zip ties. Okay,Zip ties are all right. They're pretty
harmless.
Yeah, they're pretty harmless.
Yeah, you can scratch paintand stuff if you're not careful.
But I get what she did, youknow, you got a cabinet. Wasn't sure
what to do.
Right.
So she found some zip ties.
She made it work. Yeah.
Or some people might call thempan do it.
Oh.
Oh, yeah.
Did not know.
Yeah. And you don't need toknow. Don't forget I even said that.
(07:40):
Oh, no.
All right. Yeah. So there's alot of them here and there's. It's
interesting how people get socreative when they're trying to fix
something out on the road.
Pinch. Yeah.
And so having some of thesethings around, like even the duct
tape.
Even the duct tape.
All right, I gotta come clean.I do carry a roll of gorilla tape
(08:00):
in my truck for off roading.Now, you know, I've got everything
in there, so you know that I,I, it's last resort though. That's
like all else fails.
I love it though, so makes me.
Happy to know after walking 80miles in the sun, you know, then
maybe I'll break it out.
Yeah, okay.
But having stuff around, zipties, they're inexpensive. Having
those, you don't have to havea bunch of different sizes. Just
(08:22):
get longer ones. They work for everything.
I say have a drawer in your RVwith all this stuff in it so you
can just know where everythingis if you need it. There's the drawer.
Yeah. It's part of beingorganized and having it together,
basically. But yeah, sothere's a couple horror stories.
Well, they're not horrorstories, but things that have happened
to people and how they, theyclimb their way through it without
turning.
That's interesting.
(08:43):
They didn't make the situation worse.
Right.
That's what's important.
That's the point. Yeah.
You know, quite often you, thesituation gets worse. Trying to fix
something, you create moredamage or, or make it just bad.
Exactly.
So now that brings us to ourmoney saving tip. And today we're
going to talk about propane.And this might not really apply 100%
(09:03):
to RVers, because in thepropane world, when you're getting
your tanks refilled, you'retypically going to a propane filling
station with an rv. Motorhomesdefinitely travel trailers, maybe,
I would say more often thannot, because most exchange places
where you can go and get apropane tank and exchange it. They
(09:25):
don't have the larger tanksfor most trailers, but a lot of RVers
are coming with the smallertanks that are more of the barbecue
size, the 15 or 20 pound ones.It's easier to go to an exchange.
You just give me your old tankand get, I'm not going to say a new
one. It's new to you. ButGenerally they're used tanks. In
(09:45):
fact, I had a tank that wasexpired, it needed a valve or something.
The person at the propaneplace said, why don't you just go
down to this place, sign upfor their exchange, go through their
tanks and get a new one andthen there you go, you never have
to use it again. And yeah,that's great, but I'd rather just
have my tank. I know thehistory and all that. So I just had
(10:07):
her fix it, you know, not abig deal. She just kind of proved
the whole point that somepeople will use these just to get
rid of their old tanks, thenthey have to be recertified so they
can be used again. And they'revery expensive. They're a lot more
than just having a tankfilled. So if you're trying to save
money, these propane exchangesare convenient, but they do come
(10:28):
with a price tag. Like I said,they're expensive and you don't know
what you're going to get. Youknow, a lot of those tanks are old,
they're rusty, they're crummylooking. And if you have a nice barbecue,
nice setup, you don't wantthis old tank sitting there. And
you don't know the history ofit. And granted, you're not using
it for that long of a time ifyou're barbecuing regularly or using
(10:49):
it regularly. But then again,it could hang around for quite a
while, you know.
Yeah.
So you just don't know whatyou're getting. But also, it's the
money you spend. They are alot more than just having a tank
filled.
Gotcha.
You know, they're justconvenient. Well, I don't even know
if it's convenient, you know,going to some of these stores where
they're at, Hey, I need to geta propane tank. Someone has to go
(11:09):
and lock it. You go through oceans.
Yeah.
You're probably there longerthan if you went to a propane filling
station.
Exactly.
And you know, are you gonnabuy an impulse item there, throw
a little extra money down onthe counter, stand in line, you know,
and you get an ice cream orwater or whatever, you know. Yeah,
yeah. So just go to a propanefilling station, save the money,
(11:32):
forget about it.
That's exactly right.
And you know, when you're outtraveling or using your rv, sometimes,
you know, sacrificing a littlebit saves you some money. And it's
worthwhile because it's not ahuge sacrifice. And you start saving
some money here, some moneythere, and it all adds up. You know,
maybe by the end of the day,you've actually paid for a dinner
out if you decided to do so.Money's money.
(11:55):
Money's money.
Be smarter with it. And asthings get changed in this world
we live in, you know, it'sharder to make a living. Your dollar
doesn't go as far. So, yeah,save where you can.
Yeah.
So this article about themoney saving tips will be on the
money saving tips portion ofour website, the smartrver.com then
enjoying the RV life will bethere as well. Some of these horror
(12:17):
stories. So you can read thoseand check them out, and those will
become a regular feature.We'll just keep adding to it. We
won't make new pages. Justkeep adding, adding, adding.
I love it.
Till we've got them all. Andthat'll be never ending. Right. As
long as we have RVs, we'll bedoing things that are interesting
and stupid at the same time.
Entertaining.
(12:37):
There you go. That sounds better.
Yeah. Than stupid.
Yeah. There we go again. Thethree remaining listeners are gone
now.
All right, guys.
All right, so this is nowgoing to bring us to staying on the
road. And the title of it isthe number one thing that's Robbing
rvers of the Joy They WerePromised and How to fix it. So that's
(13:01):
interesting. What were youpromised or what? What did you promise
yourself when you weredreaming about buying your rv? Yeah,
I know. At the dealership theymade a lot of promises, you know,
and they paint a picture.You're out on the open road, your
hair blowing back, all thesescenic places. You're going to see
beautiful campgrounds, sippingcoffee at sunrise. All this just
(13:25):
the mountains behind you. Whatan awesome place. Right? That's where
you want to be. That's the RVlife. That's the picture that's painted.
But that's not always thereality. Now, the mountains might
be there. You might bedrinking some coffee, not sipping
it. You're not enjoying it.You're down it because you got a
million things to do becausethings went wrong. Yeah, a lot of
(13:45):
RVers have those expectations,but they're not really finding the
RV to be as fun as theythought or told it was going to be.
So what's the deal? What'sstealing rvers of this joy? What.
What's the problem here? Youknow, over the years, I've Talked
to probably 4 or 5 millionRVers, but maybe not that many.
Probably.
Probably in the thousands.
Oh, yeah.
(14:05):
It's probably not the answer.You're thinking an interesting question,
but the answer is not always.In front of it. And I've talked about
this before, it's a lack ofpreparedness. That's the biggest
problem rvers face. And we seeit in our store. We hear it all the
time. It doesn't end. Very fewrvers, I think. Well, it's not just
(14:27):
rvers. People in general,traveling, doing things, they're
not prepared. Guys that areinto overlanding, off roading are
probably more prepared forwhat they do because they're in such
remote areas. And when thingsgo bad, you got to get out. Lack
of preparedness. And thatsounds pretty simple, but it's not
always that simple. Andactually to be prepared takes a few
bucks as well. So let's kindof look at this and break it down.
(14:49):
Some part of it is maintenanceneglect. So you have an rv, you notice
some things and you're nottaking care of it. Maybe your tires
a little low, your roof's gota bad spot in it that you're going
to take care of. But youdidn't last summer. Your battery
was great. Oh, it worked allsummer long. So you think I'm good,
(15:11):
even though, you know, there'sa couple things, but, oh, well, you
know, I'm just going to ignorethat. Then all of a sudden you're
stranded on the side of theroad or you're at the rv park, you're
having problems and you'reburning cash, you're burning daylight,
and now you're waiting forsomeone to come fix it, maybe a tow
or trying to find a tire shopthat's open. Maybe it's a weekend.
(15:32):
So now all of a sudden, yourpeaceful getaways a mess, right?
It's anything but that. Somaintaining your rv is going to help
you reduce the amount ofsurprises you have. And the fewer
the surprises you have, thebetter the trip. Peace of mind will
settle in and you're going toenjoy your trip that much more. So
(15:52):
some of this ties in with poorplanning. Your rving. You can't micromanage
every mile that you haven'ttaken yet. And then when you're traveling,
you can't micromanage thosemiles either. You just have to be
prepared for what's comingahead, right? Can't wing it all the
time. Winging it sometimesworks, but not all the time.
No.
And it can come down tosomething as simple as fuel stops.
(16:15):
Let's say you're drivingacross the state, 600 miles, 800
miles. It doesn't matterlooking ahead, you know, kind of
mileage or the distance youcan go on a tank of Fuel while you're
towing your trailer, drivingyour motorhome, thinking about gas
stops, where you can get fuel,and planning ahead rather than just
getting out on the road. Andyou look at the map, oh, look at
(16:37):
all these cities, these towns.Then you get to that town and it's
like, nothing there. Yeah,it's a name on the map. And I know
in Montana, just driving to orUtah recently, you know, there's
a town called or on the map itsays Monida. There's nothing there.
There's Lima, Walma. There'ssomething there. There's these little
places that have nothingthere. They used to be something,
(16:58):
but they're still on the maps.
Interesting.
Arizona, where we live.There's towns on the map right by
our house. There was no townthere. It used to be a town for the
railroad, so you can't alwaysdepend on that. Going to Alaska one
time, we kind of. We wereprepared, but we could see that there's
all these towns, but it waswintertime. They're all closed. So
(17:19):
plan ahead and give yourselfsome leeway on the fuel. Don't cut
it right down to the last 12miles or whatever. And think about
campsites availability. Ifyou're going to be stopping at campsites,
you know, plan ahead becausethat removes frustration. And, you
know, planning ahead sometimesis a little bit of a chore, but once
you do it, it's behind you.And keep notes. If you stay in a
(17:41):
campground or multiplecampgrounds, write them down. You
know, maybe get a book orstart a journal or something for
that trip so you can keep itall there. It's all in one spot.
Or keep a journal for all yourtrips. You have everything. And,
you know, another thing wecome across is how RVers sometimes
(18:02):
can be hesitant to do do ityourself repairs. They feel like
they need a mechanic, thatthey don't have the skill set, so
they want to keep someone onspeed dial in case there's a problem
and they're not ready for it.And that gets kind of over the top,
ridiculous sometimes andexpensive because it's not necessary
in all cases. You don't haveto be an expert to maintain your
(18:24):
rv. And like I've talked aboutin the past, the example of a fuse.
You know, a blown fuse canruin a trip for somebody if they
don't know how to check andreplace a fuse. Something stops working.
It's like, oh, no. Oh, wecan't go on the trip. Or we better
cancel the trip. The waterpump quit. We got to get a technician
out here. We got to getsomebody, it turns into this three
(18:45):
ring circus when it's just alittle, you know, 50 cent fuse. Yeah,
so have a voltmeter, learn howto use it to check fuses, learn how
to look at a fuse. If youdon't have a voltmeter and don't
want to buy one. You shouldhave a voltmeter though in an RV
that should just be hands downsomething you should have. Don't
be afraid to do things. Awater valve and a toilet is not that
hard to replace, you know,especially if you have to do it,
(19:07):
you can't get someone to doit. Learn how to be self sufficient,
what your capabilities are.But learning is the thing. Learn
how to. Now another thing outon the road is power and connectivity.
So power is prettystraightforward. You got to have
batteries, you got to have 110volts, you got to have something
to keep the lights on in therv. But today more and more people
(19:30):
are working remotely. They'restaying in touch with their family
and friends, sometimes justfor the fun of it, sometimes because
they want someone else to knowwhere they're at. So in case they
don't come home in a week orwhatever, they can send out the dogs
and the search party to findthem. Yeah, the FBI. Have you called
all the hospitals? What'sthat? Moving a check every farmhouse,
(19:52):
doghouse, outhouse or house inhouse, whatever. I don't think that's
how it goes. So if you're outon the road and you're running out
of juice, you know the poweris getting depleted, that's a problem.
You know, you don't want yourbatteries go dead. You want to have
110v, but when you lose yoursignal now you might not be able
to stream videos, keep intouch with other people. So now you
(20:16):
get a little stressed outbecause that digital withdrawal is
coming upon you and youweren't ready for it. So make sure
your batteries are up tosnuff, that they're in good shape
and invest in good batteries.You know these big box stores like
Costco, Walmart, auto partsstores, they have inexpensive batteries
(20:36):
and they're not good for RVdeep cycle batteries. They don't
last as long, you're going tobe replacing them sooner. And this
is what I call self inflictedinflation. You buy cheap and then
you have to replace it sooneror more often. See that inflation
is self inflicted. Don't dothat yourself. And then with good
(20:58):
batteries you're going to keepthings going. And remember, like
I said in the beginning ofthis, just because the batteries
worked last summer. Doesn'tmean they're going to work this summer.
It's true.
Kind of like your car, youknow, you pull up your house, you
park in the driveway, you shutthe door, you go in, eat dinner,
go to bed, wake up in themorning, you go back to work, watch
your car, and it doesn'tstart. Well, ran last night.
(21:20):
Yeah.
Well, it doesn't today suck,so you got to get it fixed.
Yeah.
You know, there's always goingto be things you can't control, but
try to be in control of whatyou can. And then there's the old
someday trap. I'll get to thatsoon enough. I'm going to do that
next weekend. I'm going to dothat, you know, at the end of summer.
I'm going to wait and I'mgoing to get. I got a list going
(21:40):
here. So I'm going to waituntil all this stuff is, you know,
in the summer. I'll get tothis entire list. Well, don't do
that. If you're building alist, you're building problems. And
taking care of this stuffbefore you have to is the way to
do it is being prepared.
I agree.
You know, don't delay trips,cancel trips because you're not prepared.
And also, you know, it'shaving some things. We've talked
(22:02):
about having tools, you know,with you, and you have to kind of
decide what works for you.Look at your rv, what you're going
to need, what your skill setis. Cordless drill. Hey, got one
sitting right here as a matterof fact. Look at that. Just in case.
Yeah, I'm prepared.
Yeah, you are.
Got this morning I said, youknow, we go do this podcast today.
I'm gonna have make sure mycordless drill is there. I even got
(22:22):
a wrench.
Yeah.
See? What do you got?
Coffee.
Coffee.
Yeah, I'm prepared.
Wow. All right, so it's reallysimple. Just be prepared, be flexible,
and learn a little bit aboutyour RV things. Do you think you.
You wouldn't be able to dealwith out on the road? Learn about
them?
Yeah.
What can you do to deal withthem? And like I said, there will
(22:45):
be problems and sometimes youjust can't doing about it. It might
ruin your trip. And that's it.
Yeah.
You know, and don't feel thatbuying a new RV is going to solve
your problems. New. That's whypeople buy new cars. They think it's
going to solve all theirproblems. So just be ahead of things.
Check your route, check yourtire, check your propane. Just do
(23:06):
all things, right?
I don't know.
Yeah, Check your gun at thedoor. So you're a smart RVer. So
you've got this. It's right upyour alley. All right, so now that
article will be on our websiteas well, like every article. So now
we're coming to the next stop.And this is Olympic national park
(23:29):
in Washington, and it's goingto be right next to Bordeaux, Washington.
And, you know, I want to makesure I mention this now because I
forgot, I don't mention it onevery episode, but we have the next
stop. In the shadows of thepast the towns once were. There are
two places that are close toone another.
Yes.
The next stop is the biggercity, more of the hub. Where you
(23:49):
want to go is like, you know,maybe a camping area. Resources.
Right.
Buy everything you forgot. Thetowns that once were the shadows
of the past, those are thecall. Small, cooler towns.
Yes.
So, Alexis, what can you tellus about Olympic National Park?
There is a lot to know aboutthis park. It's very huge. There's
(24:13):
a lot of ecosystems in it.Nearly a million acres of this from.
So there's rugged coastlines,there's rainforest, and there's glaciated
peaks. A lot of diversitythere. It's very, very unique. So
three activities that you cando. Hiking the hall of Mosses Trail.
This is kind of cool.Following the road signs, of course,
(24:36):
is a good idea to get there.And then tide pooling at Rialto Beach.
One thing you're going to wantto do, though, this is a word of
caution, is check the tidecharts before you do that. And wear
sturdy shoes. Just don't thinkthat you're a professional tide pooler,
if that's what it's called. Idon't know. You can do this, but
just be careful. Check those.What are they called? Tide charts.
(24:58):
Just to make sure you don'tget swept out. Sticky books. There
we go. And then HurricaneRidge Stargazing. This is a popular
one at 5,242ft. You can checkout the night skies here. So they
do this. It's. It's led by theranger, so you don't have to go out
alone. It's safe. But youdefinitely want to check that out.
Another sticky book.
(25:19):
Right, There we go. Threerestaurants. Lake Crescent Lodge
Restaurant. The Tides Inn nextdoor. Gastropub. Sounds very interesting.
It's actually a very trendypub with brisket sandwiches and craft
beers. They're amazing.There's also RV parks, of course.
We always have to talk aboutthese. They've got quite a few. There's
(25:42):
a Olympic peninsula, PortAngeles, KOA. So that's only 15 miles
from the park entrance. Sothat might be something you want
to consider. There's more, butyou can google those. They've got
propane station, dumpstations. Obviously we like you to
do your own research, but wedo have some listed here so that
you can reference them. Sothere you go. Check it out. Smart
(26:06):
RVers nutshell.
So yeah, there's a lot there.
There is.
It's the national park.National parks always have tours
and cool things.
They do.
You only have to pay to getin, which kind of sucks, but that's
life.
Yeah.
So it's worth going. I thinkmost national parks you can go to
without any reservations aboutgoing many reservation to get there,
like Glacier or something. Butyou're not going to be bummed out.
(26:30):
Yeah, no.
What I'm getting at, checkthat out. That's in Washington. So
now that's going to bring usto another. Shadows of the past.
The towns that once were findmy place here. Talk about Bordeaux,
Washington. Bordeaux, such acool name. So this is another page
out of Grandpappy Popeye'sbook. Bordeaux is like we mentioned,
(26:52):
near Olympic National Park.Now Bordeaux is a very interesting
place, as you'll see as weread through here that it's not what
you probably think it is.
Right.
And then you're not gonna beable to go there.
I know. How weird is that?We're still gonna talk about it.
I guess we don't even talkabout it now. All right, so here
we go. So now remember, we'rein Washington, so we got a nice mossy
(27:15):
forest, it's green over gr andit's just south of Olympia. So when
you're in Olympia you can getsome beer there as well. But it's,
it's a tree or a town that'sthere but kind of not there anymore.
Get into it. At the turn ofthe 20th century, Bordeaux wasn't
on most maps. But to the hardworking loggers and their families
(27:36):
who lived there, it was theheart of everything. Founded around
1903 by the Bordeaux familywho also ran the local lumber company,
the town rose quickly out ofthe dense timberland. This was no
sleepy village. At its peak,Bordeaux had a schoolhouse, a company
store worker housing, a postoffice, and of course the ever present
(28:01):
sawmill where the air rangwith the wine of blades and the scent
of fresh cut cedar log. Trainssteamed through the town daily, hauling
massive loads toward thebooming markets of the west coast.
Life in Bordeaux was Tough buttight knit children walked to school
through muddy paths. Familiesgathered for church services and
makeshift halls. And everywhistle from the mill meant another
(28:25):
shift had begun or ended. Thetown even had its own baseball team,
giving residents something tocheer for on weekends. But like the
trees that once surrounded it,Bordeaux's days were numbered. By
the 1940s, the old growthtimber was gone, the sawmill closed,
the train stopped running, andfamilies moved on in search of work.
(28:47):
One by one, buildings wereleft to rot, reclaimed by the forest
that had once been cut away.By the 1950s, Bordeaux was silent.
No more steam whistles, nomore baseball games. Just moss growing
over the ruins and the windwhispering through second growth
pines. Today, Bordeaux is onprivate land, closed to the public,
(29:10):
but the ghost of it lingers incrumbling foundation, rusted rail
tracks, and the stories passeddown by those whose grandparents
worked the mill or went toschool there. It's a reminder of
a time when towns didn't justgrow, they were carved out, hauled
up, and eventually, when thework was done, left behind. So that's
(29:31):
Bordeaux in a nutshell.
I love it.
So it's kind of a cool place,like so many of these places that
come and go. But this one'sinteresting. It's on private land
and so the owners haven'tsaid, hey, you can come, you check
it out. You know, somenational parks actually cross over
private land or state parksand they get permission to let people
(29:53):
go through.
Yeah.
Or to see something. You know,private land could have a waterfall
on it.
Right.
And so then, you know, theywant to make it accessible, so they
do that. So this hasn'thappened yet, but it's.
Still, you never know.
You know, you could probablygo check it out from a distance.
You can, I think you can hikearound it, right? Yeah.
And we'll have information onthe website as well.
Yeah.
So you'll be able to check itout more thoroughly. So now that
(30:15):
was our next stop in ourshadows of pass. So again, those
will be on thewebsite@smartrver.com. now let's
jump into RV Envy. Having ittogether at the campsite. Now, when
I think of this, I'm thinkingof, you know, at a campsite where
you're not running around in apanic trying to figure out what to
do. You're doing all thesecrazy things. Everybody's looking
(30:37):
at you like the entertainmentfor the day.
Yeah.
You know, you pull in and justhavoc starts. Everybody's looking
at this guy, man, you don'tknow what he's doing. They're beyond
being a New RV or this is.This is insane, what they're doing.
Right? So you don't want to bethat guy. You don't want to be that
family. They're screaming andyelling at one another, yelling at
(30:58):
your kids. You know, the wholepackage. When you go camping, whether
it's a campground, you're outin the woods, the lake, the river,
the beach, wherever, you wantto be prepared and know what you're
doing. And you might even haveto practice this at home a little
bit, depending on your skillset, how long you've been RVing.
(31:20):
But have it together, man.Don't get there, and you're. You're
like, oh, gosh, I got to goget some wheel chocks. I got to do
this. I got to do that.Banging on your neighbor's door.
How do I do this? Have anunderstanding of what's happening
at the park. When you'regetting ready or getting reservations
for the park, you can talk tothem. Hey, what kind of service do
you have for power? What aboutwater? What site? Where's it at?
(31:42):
You know, where most peoplethat pull in is the water. Like,
in the middle of the rv. Thepower is at the end of the rv. You
know, if you're yanking onyour power cord because it's 25ft
too short, because they puttheir pedestal at the beginning of
the spot, not the middle, youlook like a fool. You know, then
you got to get an extensioncord, have an extension cord, be
ready for that.
(32:02):
Yep.
And these are basic things.It's kind of like we were talking
about in staying on the road,you know, that being prepared, it's
similar to that. It's keepingcontrol of the situation or having
it in control and not lettingit rule you.
Right.
So having some extra waterhose, some long, you know, extension
(32:22):
cord for your power cordadapters for the different types
of outlets at the parks, youknow, 30amp, 50amp, 150, 115 volt,
you know, being ready forthose things. Wheel chocks, having
your family understand what'shappening here so they can help and
you're not doing it all, andso they know what's going on. So
maybe something happens to youand they can pack up the RV and leave
(32:44):
Right. You behind. But, youknow, what if you fall, break your
leg? And now your wife has topack up the rv. Can she do it? Would
she have a clue? Right, right.It sounds kind of crazy, but things
happen.
Yeah.
You know, things happen allthe time. So just have it together
at the campsite. Be preparedfor it. You Know, don't. Don't look
(33:06):
like the afternoonentertainment when you get there.
It's very simple. And part ofthat is just being prepared for everything.
And that preparedness helpsyou enjoy the trip more. You're not
going to. If you're notprepared for setting up, you're going
to hate going RVing. Yeah, Ihate this. Always such a hassle.
I never have the right stuff.That's because you haven't bought
the right stuff.
(33:26):
Yeah, exactly.
You know, you haven't talkedto others. Some experienced RVers.
To me, the expert.
Exactly.
So be prepared. You know, haveit together when you get to the campsite,
you will enjoy that tip thatmuch more. Subscribe to our podcast
on your favorite podcastchannel, Whether it's iTunes, iHeart,
(33:46):
Spotify, we're on all of them.And if you have a podcast channel
that we're not on, let usknow. We will make sure we get on
it. We are on everything.Check us out on YouTube and subscribe
there. We appreciate it. Tosubscribe and like and watch our
podcasts and share them withothers. Today we've had a great conversation
about many different things.Staying on the road. Next stops RV
(34:10):
envy. Enjoying the RV life.And I did bring up that sticky water
valve at the beginning of theshow today. So let's get here. Let's
see what happened here. Thewater valve in this couple's RV stuck
open. They had somebodystaying with them. It sounds like
maybe that person didn't dosomething. Right. So the pedal didn't
(34:31):
close, or the valve or theball valve didn't close all the way.
So the water. But it did. Itclosed enough to. How do I describe
this? It didn't close all theway, but it closed like, let's say
98% of the way. So some waterwas going the holding tank, but the
bowl was filling up fasterthan it was draining into the holding
tank. So the bowl's fillingup. Water starts overflowing the
(34:54):
bowl. Now you got toilet stuffeverywhere. Right. In the bathroom,
things like that. So becausethey were in the rv, it only got
so bad, so the damage wasminimal. You know, it was on linoleum,
so they had to replacelinoleum. It did buckle from it,
which that isn't a huge thing.But, you know, you think about the
inconvenience of it.
Yeah.
(35:15):
You know, why did that happen?Why did the person not understand
how to really use the toilet?RV toilets are a little bit different
than a house toilet.
Yeah, they are.
And you can't expect people tojust know. You might actually have
to go in there and show themhow to use it. Especially if your
toilet doesn't really work. Right.
Yeah.
And when I say them show themhow to use it, I mean how to how
it functions. You know, don'tsit down on the toilet and show them
(35:35):
how to use it. Yeah. You'renot in jail. Okay, so just some other
pedal works if you have anolder one that has a fan flush, you
know, just.
Yeah.
You know, be reasonable.
Yeah.
So they adverted a majordisaster because they were there.
If they would have been on theway out, you know, we can imagine
how much water would have beenthat RV when they got back.
(35:56):
Yeah.
So make sure your RV is up tosnuff and how. And show people how
to use it. If you have aguests, even if they're other art,
Even if they're RVers, theirtoilet might work different.
Right.
So it doesn't make them anexpert on your toilet. Share with
them. Make them smart. Allright, so this brings us to the end
of another episode. This isEric Stark with the smart rver podcast,
(36:20):
your go to guide for smarterRVing and unforgettable adventures
on the open road.
The number one thing that'srobbing rvers of the joy they were
promised and how to fix it andenjoying the RV life. Real DIY fixes
from the RV community. Andthen in the next stop, we're going
to visit Olympic NationalPark. And then in the shadows of
the past, towns that oncewere, we're going to go to Bordeaux,
(00:20):
Washington, and in RV Envy,the question is, do you have it together
at the campsite? This is EricStark with the Smart RVer podcast,
your trusted source for tipsand insights to embrace the RV lifestyle
without worry. So let's talkeverything RV today, and it's episode
(00:42):
179, so let's just dig rightin. So how are you doing today, Alexis?
I am doing really well.
Yes, really well. That's good.
Yeah.
That's so nice to do reallywell today when everybody has so
many problems. And here youare in your ivory tower.
Yes.
All right, so now just messingwith you there. So, you know, we're
(01:04):
going to talk about this RVtoilet valve malfunction and how
it flooded an rv.
Oh, boy.
We're not going to get to thegist of it until the end of the show.
Okay, I'm excited.
So now everybody has to hangaround for the entire podcast. So
no matter how long we gotoday, you've got to hear the end
of this.
Yeah, that's right.
(01:24):
All right, well, you shouldwant to hear the end of it. I can
say you got to.
You should.
Got to know.
Gotcha.
All right, so as a reminder,before we start digging into the
meat of everything, if youhaven't explored the idea of having
a RV extended warranty, checkout Wholesale Warranties. There's
a link to their website in ourdescription or actually to a contact
(01:46):
them page where you can sendit in, and they will contact you
and talk to you about an RVextended warranty and how they can
bring you peace of mind andhow well they work and how honest
these guys are. Really,Wholesale Warranties is probably
the best in the industry. Theyare up front. They don't want to
sell you a warranty unless youknow everything about the warranty.
(02:08):
So they're not going to dupeyou, walk you into something that
you don't need. So if you'relooking at buying a used rv, a new
rv, private party, or througha dealership, contact Wholesale warranties.
Yeah.
Or maybe you just alreadybought an RV and you didn't get a
warranty. Now you want to getan extended warranty. Check them
out, use the link in ourdescription, and it'll take you right
to a page and someone will bein contact with you soon enough.
(02:33):
So today in staying on theroad, I mean enjoying the RV life.
Jumping right ahead here. Hey,so we're going to talk about do it
yourself RV fixes from the RVcommunity. So these are the real
deal from real RVers. AndAlexis source these out on the Internet.
Took her days and days anddays to find these.
(02:55):
Talk to a lot of weirdos.
Wow. So don't try this athome, kids. So she didn't talk to
any of the Smart RVers. Okay.She was down in LA at the encampment.
That is what I meant.
The homeless encampments.Okay. And then she left all that
stuff there and got real stories.
Yeah, sorry.
(03:17):
Wow. Okay. By the way, this isour last episode. Well, it was a
doozy.
It was a doozy.
So there's quite a few herethat we've got so far. And we're
gonna start kind of sprinklingthese through some episodes.
Yes, we are.
(03:38):
Some of these are pretty cool.
They're gonna be more likehorror stories, right, is what we're
gonna do.
Yeah, exactly. They can be.
Yeah. Today we're not going totalk about horror stories though.
So about something else onour. On our list here, Alexis, is
there one that stood out toyou that grabbed your attention?
There is. I highlighted itbecause I thought it was really good.
Especially because I know howmuch you love duct tape and the title
(04:02):
is the Duct Tape Slide OutRescue. He doesn't love duct tape.
Just saying. That was sarcasm.Anyway, I'll go ahead and read it.
It says, it says, let's startwith a classic duct tape. One full
time RVer Mike from Arizonashared how his slide outs rubber
seal ripped during a windyovernight stay in the desert. The
(04:23):
tear was letting dust and heatpour in. No dealership in sight.
And two days from his nextstop, Mike grabbed his trusty roll
of industrial duct tape andcovered the tear from the outside.
It wasn't pretty, but it heldfor over 600 miles. The key, Mike
says, was cleaning the rubberthoroughly before applying the tape
(04:46):
and using multiple layers in acrisscross pattern. Bonus. The temporary
fix kept out both the dust anda nasty scorpion he later spotted
on the ground outside. So dutythere. The scorpion sounds a lot
worse than dust.
Then after he got done puttingduct tape all over the side of his
rv, he made a duct tape walletso he could. He might be really cool
(05:08):
and have his money and so hego buy more duct tape. Yes. Yeah,
I don't think duct Tape shouldbe used on anything. Maybe an extreme
emergency. And I wouldn't callthis an extreme emergency. I mean,
I get it. He used it. Somepeople are very. Well, most people
do use duct tape. Yeah, Ilike, you know, I saw the same roll
of duct tape when I boughtwhen I was a little kid. You know,
(05:29):
I don't use it very often.Yeah, that's an exaggeration, but
no, I get it. You know why Idon't like duct tape? The real reason
is because it leaves thatadhesive on everything.
Yeah.
You use it on an awningfabric. This guy use it on slide
out seals, which he's going tohave to replace anyway, so kind of.
All right, he will. But whenyou use it on an awning, like it's
(05:51):
tearing at the top and you putit on the awning rail and the fabric.
Whoever does that awning hasto cut all that off.
Yeah.
And they're just gonna. Infact, when I do it, I just get the
fabric out. I'm not gonnaclean up all that duct tape. That's
your problem.
I don't blame you.
You used it, you live with it.All right, so. So I see you have
one more highlighted here.
(06:12):
I do. Is that okay? Should we.
Sure, why not?
Let's look at it. Okay. Thetitle is When a Cabinet Door falls
off and zip ties save the day,it's not always the big stuff that
causes headaches. A listenernamed Rachel wrote in to say her
upper kitchen cabinet doorcame completely unhinged, literally,
(06:33):
while driving across a bumpyKansas highway with no screws long
enough to reattach it. Shegrabbed a pack of heavy duty zip
ties and looped them throughthe screw holes to temporarily anchor
the door to the frame. Itwasn't elegant, but it kept everything
secure and rattle free for therest of the trip. And pro tip, it
says zip ties aren't just fororganizing cables. They're great
(06:57):
emergency stand ins formissing bolts, broken latches, or
even securing your awning armif a hinge breaks mid trip. What
do you think about that?
Well, I've seen a lot ofawning arms with zip ties holding
them together. Yeah.
Okay.
And just the other day,someone had a camper in here and
it was one of those pop upcampers. And the latches were held
(07:17):
closed with zip ties. Okay,Zip ties are all right. They're pretty
harmless.
Yeah, they're pretty harmless.
Yeah, you can scratch paintand stuff if you're not careful.
But I get what she did, youknow, you got a cabinet. Wasn't sure
what to do.
Right.
So she found some zip ties.
She made it work. Yeah.
Or some people might call thempan do it.
Oh.
Oh, yeah.
Did not know.
Yeah. And you don't need toknow. Don't forget I even said that.
(07:40):
Oh, no.
All right. Yeah. So there's alot of them here and there's. It's
interesting how people get socreative when they're trying to fix
something out on the road.
Pinch. Yeah.
And so having some of thesethings around, like even the duct
tape.
Even the duct tape.
All right, I gotta come clean.I do carry a roll of gorilla tape
(08:00):
in my truck for off roading.Now, you know, I've got everything
in there, so you know that I,I, it's last resort though. That's
like all else fails.
I love it though, so makes me.
Happy to know after walking 80miles in the sun, you know, then
maybe I'll break it out.
Yeah, okay.
But having stuff around, zipties, they're inexpensive. Having
those, you don't have to havea bunch of different sizes. Just
(08:22):
get longer ones. They work for everything.
I say have a drawer in your RVwith all this stuff in it so you
can just know where everythingis if you need it. There's the drawer.
Yeah. It's part of beingorganized and having it together,
basically. But yeah, sothere's a couple horror stories.
Well, they're not horrorstories, but things that have happened
to people and how they, theyclimb their way through it without
turning.
That's interesting.
(08:43):
They didn't make the situation worse.
Right.
That's what's important.
That's the point. Yeah.
You know, quite often you, thesituation gets worse. Trying to fix
something, you create moredamage or, or make it just bad.
Exactly.
So now that brings us to ourmoney saving tip. And today we're
going to talk about propane.And this might not really apply 100%
(09:03):
to RVers, because in thepropane world, when you're getting
your tanks refilled, you'retypically going to a propane filling
station with an rv. Motorhomesdefinitely travel trailers, maybe,
I would say more often thannot, because most exchange places
where you can go and get apropane tank and exchange it. They
(09:25):
don't have the larger tanksfor most trailers, but a lot of RVers
are coming with the smallertanks that are more of the barbecue
size, the 15 or 20 pound ones.It's easier to go to an exchange.
You just give me your old tankand get, I'm not going to say a new
one. It's new to you. ButGenerally they're used tanks. In
(09:45):
fact, I had a tank that wasexpired, it needed a valve or something.
The person at the propaneplace said, why don't you just go
down to this place, sign upfor their exchange, go through their
tanks and get a new one andthen there you go, you never have
to use it again. And yeah,that's great, but I'd rather just
have my tank. I know thehistory and all that. So I just had
(10:07):
her fix it, you know, not abig deal. She just kind of proved
the whole point that somepeople will use these just to get
rid of their old tanks, thenthey have to be recertified so they
can be used again. And they'revery expensive. They're a lot more
than just having a tankfilled. So if you're trying to save
money, these propane exchangesare convenient, but they do come
(10:28):
with a price tag. Like I said,they're expensive and you don't know
what you're going to get. Youknow, a lot of those tanks are old,
they're rusty, they're crummylooking. And if you have a nice barbecue,
nice setup, you don't wantthis old tank sitting there. And
you don't know the history ofit. And granted, you're not using
it for that long of a time ifyou're barbecuing regularly or using
(10:49):
it regularly. But then again,it could hang around for quite a
while, you know.
Yeah.
So you just don't know whatyou're getting. But also, it's the
money you spend. They are alot more than just having a tank
filled.
Gotcha.
You know, they're justconvenient. Well, I don't even know
if it's convenient, you know,going to some of these stores where
they're at, Hey, I need to geta propane tank. Someone has to go
(11:09):
and lock it. You go through oceans.
Yeah.
You're probably there longerthan if you went to a propane filling
station.
Exactly.
And you know, are you gonnabuy an impulse item there, throw
a little extra money down onthe counter, stand in line, you know,
and you get an ice cream orwater or whatever, you know. Yeah,
yeah. So just go to a propanefilling station, save the money,
(11:32):
forget about it.
That's exactly right.
And you know, when you're outtraveling or using your rv, sometimes,
you know, sacrificing a littlebit saves you some money. And it's
worthwhile because it's not ahuge sacrifice. And you start saving
some money here, some moneythere, and it all adds up. You know,
maybe by the end of the day,you've actually paid for a dinner
out if you decided to do so.Money's money.
(11:55):
Money's money.
Be smarter with it. And asthings get changed in this world
we live in, you know, it'sharder to make a living. Your dollar
doesn't go as far. So, yeah,save where you can.
Yeah.
So this article about themoney saving tips will be on the
money saving tips portion ofour website, the smartrver.com then
enjoying the RV life will bethere as well. Some of these horror
(12:17):
stories. So you can read thoseand check them out, and those will
become a regular feature.We'll just keep adding to it. We
won't make new pages. Justkeep adding, adding, adding.
I love it.
Till we've got them all. Andthat'll be never ending. Right. As
long as we have RVs, we'll bedoing things that are interesting
and stupid at the same time.
Entertaining.
(12:37):
There you go. That sounds better.
Yeah. Than stupid.
Yeah. There we go again. Thethree remaining listeners are gone
now.
All right, guys.
All right, so this is nowgoing to bring us to staying on the
road. And the title of it isthe number one thing that's Robbing
rvers of the Joy They WerePromised and How to fix it. So that's
(13:01):
interesting. What were youpromised or what? What did you promise
yourself when you weredreaming about buying your rv? Yeah,
I know. At the dealership theymade a lot of promises, you know,
and they paint a picture.You're out on the open road, your
hair blowing back, all thesescenic places. You're going to see
beautiful campgrounds, sippingcoffee at sunrise. All this just
(13:25):
the mountains behind you. Whatan awesome place. Right? That's where
you want to be. That's the RVlife. That's the picture that's painted.
But that's not always thereality. Now, the mountains might
be there. You might bedrinking some coffee, not sipping
it. You're not enjoying it.You're down it because you got a
million things to do becausethings went wrong. Yeah, a lot of
(13:45):
RVers have those expectations,but they're not really finding the
RV to be as fun as theythought or told it was going to be.
So what's the deal? What'sstealing rvers of this joy? What.
What's the problem here? Youknow, over the years, I've Talked
to probably 4 or 5 millionRVers, but maybe not that many.
Probably.
Probably in the thousands.
Oh, yeah.
(14:05):
It's probably not the answer.You're thinking an interesting question,
but the answer is not always.In front of it. And I've talked about
this before, it's a lack ofpreparedness. That's the biggest
problem rvers face. And we seeit in our store. We hear it all the
time. It doesn't end. Very fewrvers, I think. Well, it's not just
(14:27):
rvers. People in general,traveling, doing things, they're
not prepared. Guys that areinto overlanding, off roading are
probably more prepared forwhat they do because they're in such
remote areas. And when thingsgo bad, you got to get out. Lack
of preparedness. And thatsounds pretty simple, but it's not
always that simple. Andactually to be prepared takes a few
bucks as well. So let's kindof look at this and break it down.
(14:49):
Some part of it is maintenanceneglect. So you have an rv, you notice
some things and you're nottaking care of it. Maybe your tires
a little low, your roof's gota bad spot in it that you're going
to take care of. But youdidn't last summer. Your battery
was great. Oh, it worked allsummer long. So you think I'm good,
(15:11):
even though, you know, there'sa couple things, but, oh, well, you
know, I'm just going to ignorethat. Then all of a sudden you're
stranded on the side of theroad or you're at the rv park, you're
having problems and you'reburning cash, you're burning daylight,
and now you're waiting forsomeone to come fix it, maybe a tow
or trying to find a tire shopthat's open. Maybe it's a weekend.
(15:32):
So now all of a sudden, yourpeaceful getaways a mess, right?
It's anything but that. Somaintaining your rv is going to help
you reduce the amount ofsurprises you have. And the fewer
the surprises you have, thebetter the trip. Peace of mind will
settle in and you're going toenjoy your trip that much more. So
(15:52):
some of this ties in with poorplanning. Your rving. You can't micromanage
every mile that you haven'ttaken yet. And then when you're traveling,
you can't micromanage thosemiles either. You just have to be
prepared for what's comingahead, right? Can't wing it all the
time. Winging it sometimesworks, but not all the time.
No.
And it can come down tosomething as simple as fuel stops.
(16:15):
Let's say you're drivingacross the state, 600 miles, 800
miles. It doesn't matterlooking ahead, you know, kind of
mileage or the distance youcan go on a tank of Fuel while you're
towing your trailer, drivingyour motorhome, thinking about gas
stops, where you can get fuel,and planning ahead rather than just
getting out on the road. Andyou look at the map, oh, look at
(16:37):
all these cities, these towns.Then you get to that town and it's
like, nothing there. Yeah,it's a name on the map. And I know
in Montana, just driving to orUtah recently, you know, there's
a town called or on the map itsays Monida. There's nothing there.
There's Lima, Walma. There'ssomething there. There's these little
places that have nothingthere. They used to be something,
(16:58):
but they're still on the maps.
Interesting.
Arizona, where we live.There's towns on the map right by
our house. There was no townthere. It used to be a town for the
railroad, so you can't alwaysdepend on that. Going to Alaska one
time, we kind of. We wereprepared, but we could see that there's
all these towns, but it waswintertime. They're all closed. So
(17:19):
plan ahead and give yourselfsome leeway on the fuel. Don't cut
it right down to the last 12miles or whatever. And think about
campsites availability. Ifyou're going to be stopping at campsites,
you know, plan ahead becausethat removes frustration. And, you
know, planning ahead sometimesis a little bit of a chore, but once
you do it, it's behind you.And keep notes. If you stay in a
(17:41):
campground or multiplecampgrounds, write them down. You
know, maybe get a book orstart a journal or something for
that trip so you can keep itall there. It's all in one spot.
Or keep a journal for all yourtrips. You have everything. And,
you know, another thing wecome across is how RVers sometimes
(18:02):
can be hesitant to do do ityourself repairs. They feel like
they need a mechanic, thatthey don't have the skill set, so
they want to keep someone onspeed dial in case there's a problem
and they're not ready for it.And that gets kind of over the top,
ridiculous sometimes andexpensive because it's not necessary
in all cases. You don't haveto be an expert to maintain your
(18:24):
rv. And like I've talked aboutin the past, the example of a fuse.
You know, a blown fuse canruin a trip for somebody if they
don't know how to check andreplace a fuse. Something stops working.
It's like, oh, no. Oh, wecan't go on the trip. Or we better
cancel the trip. The waterpump quit. We got to get a technician
out here. We got to getsomebody, it turns into this three
(18:45):
ring circus when it's just alittle, you know, 50 cent fuse. Yeah,
so have a voltmeter, learn howto use it to check fuses, learn how
to look at a fuse. If youdon't have a voltmeter and don't
want to buy one. You shouldhave a voltmeter though in an RV
that should just be hands downsomething you should have. Don't
be afraid to do things. Awater valve and a toilet is not that
hard to replace, you know,especially if you have to do it,
(19:07):
you can't get someone to doit. Learn how to be self sufficient,
what your capabilities are.But learning is the thing. Learn
how to. Now another thing outon the road is power and connectivity.
So power is prettystraightforward. You got to have
batteries, you got to have 110volts, you got to have something
to keep the lights on in therv. But today more and more people
(19:30):
are working remotely. They'restaying in touch with their family
and friends, sometimes justfor the fun of it, sometimes because
they want someone else to knowwhere they're at. So in case they
don't come home in a week orwhatever, they can send out the dogs
and the search party to findthem. Yeah, the FBI. Have you called
all the hospitals? What'sthat? Moving a check every farmhouse,
(19:52):
doghouse, outhouse or house inhouse, whatever. I don't think that's
how it goes. So if you're outon the road and you're running out
of juice, you know the poweris getting depleted, that's a problem.
You know, you don't want yourbatteries go dead. You want to have
110v, but when you lose yoursignal now you might not be able
to stream videos, keep intouch with other people. So now you
(20:16):
get a little stressed outbecause that digital withdrawal is
coming upon you and youweren't ready for it. So make sure
your batteries are up tosnuff, that they're in good shape
and invest in good batteries.You know these big box stores like
Costco, Walmart, auto partsstores, they have inexpensive batteries
(20:36):
and they're not good for RVdeep cycle batteries. They don't
last as long, you're going tobe replacing them sooner. And this
is what I call self inflictedinflation. You buy cheap and then
you have to replace it sooneror more often. See that inflation
is self inflicted. Don't dothat yourself. And then with good
(20:58):
batteries you're going to keepthings going. And remember, like
I said in the beginning ofthis, just because the batteries
worked last summer. Doesn'tmean they're going to work this summer.
It's true.
Kind of like your car, youknow, you pull up your house, you
park in the driveway, you shutthe door, you go in, eat dinner,
go to bed, wake up in themorning, you go back to work, watch
your car, and it doesn'tstart. Well, ran last night.
(21:20):
Yeah.
Well, it doesn't today suck,so you got to get it fixed.
Yeah.
You know, there's always goingto be things you can't control, but
try to be in control of whatyou can. And then there's the old
someday trap. I'll get to thatsoon enough. I'm going to do that
next weekend. I'm going to dothat, you know, at the end of summer.
I'm going to wait and I'mgoing to get. I got a list going
(21:40):
here. So I'm going to waituntil all this stuff is, you know,
in the summer. I'll get tothis entire list. Well, don't do
that. If you're building alist, you're building problems. And
taking care of this stuffbefore you have to is the way to
do it is being prepared.
I agree.
You know, don't delay trips,cancel trips because you're not prepared.
And also, you know, it'shaving some things. We've talked
(22:02):
about having tools, you know,with you, and you have to kind of
decide what works for you.Look at your rv, what you're going
to need, what your skill setis. Cordless drill. Hey, got one
sitting right here as a matterof fact. Look at that. Just in case.
Yeah, I'm prepared.
Yeah, you are.
Got this morning I said, youknow, we go do this podcast today.
I'm gonna have make sure mycordless drill is there. I even got
(22:22):
a wrench.
Yeah.
See? What do you got?
Coffee.
Coffee.
Yeah, I'm prepared.
Wow. All right, so it's reallysimple. Just be prepared, be flexible,
and learn a little bit aboutyour RV things. Do you think you.
You wouldn't be able to dealwith out on the road? Learn about
them?
Yeah.
What can you do to deal withthem? And like I said, there will
(22:45):
be problems and sometimes youjust can't doing about it. It might
ruin your trip. And that's it.
Yeah.
You know, and don't feel thatbuying a new RV is going to solve
your problems. New. That's whypeople buy new cars. They think it's
going to solve all theirproblems. So just be ahead of things.
Check your route, check yourtire, check your propane. Just do
(23:06):
all things, right?
I don't know.
Yeah, Check your gun at thedoor. So you're a smart RVer. So
you've got this. It's right upyour alley. All right, so now that
article will be on our websiteas well, like every article. So now
we're coming to the next stop.And this is Olympic national park
(23:29):
in Washington, and it's goingto be right next to Bordeaux, Washington.
And, you know, I want to makesure I mention this now because I
forgot, I don't mention it onevery episode, but we have the next
stop. In the shadows of thepast the towns once were. There are
two places that are close toone another.
Yes.
The next stop is the biggercity, more of the hub. Where you
(23:49):
want to go is like, you know,maybe a camping area. Resources.
Right.
Buy everything you forgot. Thetowns that once were the shadows
of the past, those are thecall. Small, cooler towns.
Yes.
So, Alexis, what can you tellus about Olympic National Park?
There is a lot to know aboutthis park. It's very huge. There's
(24:13):
a lot of ecosystems in it.Nearly a million acres of this from.
So there's rugged coastlines,there's rainforest, and there's glaciated
peaks. A lot of diversitythere. It's very, very unique. So
three activities that you cando. Hiking the hall of Mosses Trail.
This is kind of cool.Following the road signs, of course,
(24:36):
is a good idea to get there.And then tide pooling at Rialto Beach.
One thing you're going to wantto do, though, this is a word of
caution, is check the tidecharts before you do that. And wear
sturdy shoes. Just don't thinkthat you're a professional tide pooler,
if that's what it's called. Idon't know. You can do this, but
just be careful. Check those.What are they called? Tide charts.
(24:58):
Just to make sure you don'tget swept out. Sticky books. There
we go. And then HurricaneRidge Stargazing. This is a popular
one at 5,242ft. You can checkout the night skies here. So they
do this. It's. It's led by theranger, so you don't have to go out
alone. It's safe. But youdefinitely want to check that out.
Another sticky book.
(25:19):
Right, There we go. Threerestaurants. Lake Crescent Lodge
Restaurant. The Tides Inn nextdoor. Gastropub. Sounds very interesting.
It's actually a very trendypub with brisket sandwiches and craft
beers. They're amazing.There's also RV parks, of course.
We always have to talk aboutthese. They've got quite a few. There's
(25:42):
a Olympic peninsula, PortAngeles, KOA. So that's only 15 miles
from the park entrance. Sothat might be something you want
to consider. There's more, butyou can google those. They've got
propane station, dumpstations. Obviously we like you to
do your own research, but wedo have some listed here so that
you can reference them. Sothere you go. Check it out. Smart
(26:06):
RVers nutshell.
So yeah, there's a lot there.
There is.
It's the national park.National parks always have tours
and cool things.
They do.
You only have to pay to getin, which kind of sucks, but that's
life.
Yeah.
So it's worth going. I thinkmost national parks you can go to
without any reservations aboutgoing many reservation to get there,
like Glacier or something. Butyou're not going to be bummed out.
(26:30):
Yeah, no.
What I'm getting at, checkthat out. That's in Washington. So
now that's going to bring usto another. Shadows of the past.
The towns that once were findmy place here. Talk about Bordeaux,
Washington. Bordeaux, such acool name. So this is another page
out of Grandpappy Popeye'sbook. Bordeaux is like we mentioned,
(26:52):
near Olympic National Park.Now Bordeaux is a very interesting
place, as you'll see as weread through here that it's not what
you probably think it is.
Right.
And then you're not gonna beable to go there.
I know. How weird is that?We're still gonna talk about it.
I guess we don't even talkabout it now. All right, so here
we go. So now remember, we'rein Washington, so we got a nice mossy
(27:15):
forest, it's green over gr andit's just south of Olympia. So when
you're in Olympia you can getsome beer there as well. But it's,
it's a tree or a town that'sthere but kind of not there anymore.
Get into it. At the turn ofthe 20th century, Bordeaux wasn't
on most maps. But to the hardworking loggers and their families
(27:36):
who lived there, it was theheart of everything. Founded around
1903 by the Bordeaux familywho also ran the local lumber company,
the town rose quickly out ofthe dense timberland. This was no
sleepy village. At its peak,Bordeaux had a schoolhouse, a company
store worker housing, a postoffice, and of course the ever present
(28:01):
sawmill where the air rangwith the wine of blades and the scent
of fresh cut cedar log. Trainssteamed through the town daily, hauling
massive loads toward thebooming markets of the west coast.
Life in Bordeaux was Tough buttight knit children walked to school
through muddy paths. Familiesgathered for church services and
makeshift halls. And everywhistle from the mill meant another
(28:25):
shift had begun or ended. Thetown even had its own baseball team,
giving residents something tocheer for on weekends. But like the
trees that once surrounded it,Bordeaux's days were numbered. By
the 1940s, the old growthtimber was gone, the sawmill closed,
the train stopped running, andfamilies moved on in search of work.
(28:47):
One by one, buildings wereleft to rot, reclaimed by the forest
that had once been cut away.By the 1950s, Bordeaux was silent.
No more steam whistles, nomore baseball games. Just moss growing
over the ruins and the windwhispering through second growth
pines. Today, Bordeaux is onprivate land, closed to the public,
(29:10):
but the ghost of it lingers incrumbling foundation, rusted rail
tracks, and the stories passeddown by those whose grandparents
worked the mill or went toschool there. It's a reminder of
a time when towns didn't justgrow, they were carved out, hauled
up, and eventually, when thework was done, left behind. So that's
(29:31):
Bordeaux in a nutshell.
I love it.
So it's kind of a cool place,like so many of these places that
come and go. But this one'sinteresting. It's on private land
and so the owners haven'tsaid, hey, you can come, you check
it out. You know, somenational parks actually cross over
private land or state parksand they get permission to let people
(29:53):
go through.
Yeah.
Or to see something. You know,private land could have a waterfall
on it.
Right.
And so then, you know, theywant to make it accessible, so they
do that. So this hasn'thappened yet, but it's.
Still, you never know.
You know, you could probablygo check it out from a distance.
You can, I think you can hikearound it, right? Yeah.
And we'll have information onthe website as well.
Yeah.
So you'll be able to check itout more thoroughly. So now that
(30:15):
was our next stop in ourshadows of pass. So again, those
will be on thewebsite@smartrver.com. now let's
jump into RV Envy. Having ittogether at the campsite. Now, when
I think of this, I'm thinkingof, you know, at a campsite where
you're not running around in apanic trying to figure out what to
do. You're doing all thesecrazy things. Everybody's looking
(30:37):
at you like the entertainmentfor the day.
Yeah.
You know, you pull in and justhavoc starts. Everybody's looking
at this guy, man, you don'tknow what he's doing. They're beyond
being a New RV or this is.This is insane, what they're doing.
Right? So you don't want to bethat guy. You don't want to be that
family. They're screaming andyelling at one another, yelling at
(30:58):
your kids. You know, the wholepackage. When you go camping, whether
it's a campground, you're outin the woods, the lake, the river,
the beach, wherever, you wantto be prepared and know what you're
doing. And you might even haveto practice this at home a little
bit, depending on your skillset, how long you've been RVing.
(31:20):
But have it together, man.Don't get there, and you're. You're
like, oh, gosh, I got to goget some wheel chocks. I got to do
this. I got to do that.Banging on your neighbor's door.
How do I do this? Have anunderstanding of what's happening
at the park. When you'regetting ready or getting reservations
for the park, you can talk tothem. Hey, what kind of service do
you have for power? What aboutwater? What site? Where's it at?
(31:42):
You know, where most peoplethat pull in is the water. Like,
in the middle of the rv. Thepower is at the end of the rv. You
know, if you're yanking onyour power cord because it's 25ft
too short, because they puttheir pedestal at the beginning of
the spot, not the middle, youlook like a fool. You know, then
you got to get an extensioncord, have an extension cord, be
ready for that.
(32:02):
Yep.
And these are basic things.It's kind of like we were talking
about in staying on the road,you know, that being prepared, it's
similar to that. It's keepingcontrol of the situation or having
it in control and not lettingit rule you.
Right.
So having some extra waterhose, some long, you know, extension
(32:22):
cord for your power cordadapters for the different types
of outlets at the parks, youknow, 30amp, 50amp, 150, 115 volt,
you know, being ready forthose things. Wheel chocks, having
your family understand what'shappening here so they can help and
you're not doing it all, andso they know what's going on. So
maybe something happens to youand they can pack up the RV and leave
(32:44):
Right. You behind. But, youknow, what if you fall, break your
leg? And now your wife has topack up the rv. Can she do it? Would
she have a clue? Right, right.It sounds kind of crazy, but things
happen.
Yeah.
You know, things happen allthe time. So just have it together
at the campsite. Be preparedfor it. You Know, don't. Don't look
(33:06):
like the afternoonentertainment when you get there.
It's very simple. And part ofthat is just being prepared for everything.
And that preparedness helpsyou enjoy the trip more. You're not
going to. If you're notprepared for setting up, you're going
to hate going RVing. Yeah, Ihate this. Always such a hassle.
I never have the right stuff.That's because you haven't bought
the right stuff.
(33:26):
Yeah, exactly.
You know, you haven't talkedto others. Some experienced RVers.
To me, the expert.
Exactly.
So be prepared. You know, haveit together when you get to the campsite,
you will enjoy that tip thatmuch more. Subscribe to our podcast
on your favorite podcastchannel, Whether it's iTunes, iHeart,
(33:46):
Spotify, we're on all of them.And if you have a podcast channel
that we're not on, let usknow. We will make sure we get on
it. We are on everything.Check us out on YouTube and subscribe
there. We appreciate it. Tosubscribe and like and watch our
podcasts and share them withothers. Today we've had a great conversation
about many different things.Staying on the road. Next stops RV
(34:10):
envy. Enjoying the RV life.And I did bring up that sticky water
valve at the beginning of theshow today. So let's get here. Let's
see what happened here. Thewater valve in this couple's RV stuck
open. They had somebodystaying with them. It sounds like
maybe that person didn't dosomething. Right. So the pedal didn't
(34:31):
close, or the valve or theball valve didn't close all the way.
So the water. But it did. Itclosed enough to. How do I describe
this? It didn't close all theway, but it closed like, let's say
98% of the way. So some waterwas going the holding tank, but the
bowl was filling up fasterthan it was draining into the holding
tank. So the bowl's fillingup. Water starts overflowing the
(34:54):
bowl. Now you got toilet stuffeverywhere. Right. In the bathroom,
things like that. So becausethey were in the rv, it only got
so bad, so the damage wasminimal. You know, it was on linoleum,
so they had to replacelinoleum. It did buckle from it,
which that isn't a huge thing.But, you know, you think about the
inconvenience of it.
Yeah.
(35:15):
You know, why did that happen?Why did the person not understand
how to really use the toilet?RV toilets are a little bit different
than a house toilet.
Yeah, they are.
And you can't expect people tojust know. You might actually have
to go in there and show themhow to use it. Especially if your
toilet doesn't really work. Right.
Yeah.
And when I say them show themhow to use it, I mean how to how
it functions. You know, don'tsit down on the toilet and show them
(35:35):
how to use it. Yeah. You'renot in jail. Okay, so just some other
pedal works if you have anolder one that has a fan flush, you
know, just.
Yeah.
You know, be reasonable.
Yeah.
So they adverted a majordisaster because they were there.
If they would have been on theway out, you know, we can imagine
how much water would have beenthat RV when they got back.
(35:56):
Yeah.
So make sure your RV is up tosnuff and how. And show people how
to use it. If you have aguests, even if they're other art,
Even if they're RVers, theirtoilet might work different.
Right.
So it doesn't make them anexpert on your toilet. Share with
them. Make them smart. Allright, so this brings us to the end
of another episode. This isEric Stark with the smart rver podcast,
(36:20):
your go to guide for smarterRVing and unforgettable adventures
on the open road.
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