August 27, 2025 • 36 mins
This week on the RV Podcast: You’ll meet a legendary retired TV anchorman - Mort Crim, now 90 years old, doing an epic RV journey and exploring campgrounds with his motor scooter. In our conversation of the week, he shares hard-earned wisdom about aging fearlessly and living life to the fullest.
One of the nation’s biggest RV dealers just had an employee arrested for embezzling $2 million.
What’s best? A pull behind trailer or a fifth wheel? Real RVers share their answers.
All this plus the RV News of the Week and your questions coming up in Episode 561 of the RV Podcast
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
This week on the RV podcast
More than Lyme disease, the hidden tick borne
allergy that you've never heard of. Get ready
for the fall RV show season,
what to expect, and why the RV industry
is starting to breathe a bit easier.
Why RV tires seem to have more blowouts
than cars?
(00:22):
All this plus Mike and Jen's RV story
time coming up in episode five sixty of
the RV podcast.
Hello, everybody. I'm Mike Wenlan. This is my
lifelong traveling companion and my bride, Jennifer. Hello,
my dear. Hello, mister Mike. The big news
for us is the release of our epic
thirty day RV adventure guide to the Pacific
(00:42):
Northwest.
This details route taking you through the best
of Oregon and Washington,
weaving in stunning coastal drives,
lush forest, and mountain vistas. As a special
bonus, we've even included an excursion into Vancouver,
Canada.
And we show you maps,
where to stay, where you can eat, whether
(01:04):
you've always dreamed of this journey or maybe
you're just planning to return to a place
you visited before and loved it. This guide
makes it effortless to enjoy the very best
of the region. We are so excited by
the book that you can find a link
to it in the description below or on
our, podcast show notes, which you can find
at rvlifestyle.com/podcast.
(01:26):
Please check it out. We are really excited.
This is the biggest of all of the
RV guides we've ever done. Thirty days. We
usually do seven days. This is a thirty
day guide, and we're really excited about this
book.
Alright.
Before we jump into our first segment, we've
gotta tell you if you are not already
part of our private RV lifestyle community over
(01:46):
at rvcommunity.com,
you're missing out. As some of the best
RV conversations
anywhere,
This online forum is completely ad free. It's
friendly,
and it's just full of folks who love
swapping tips and sharing travel stories, helping each
other out. We're in there every day ourselves,
so come say hi at rvcommunity.com.
(02:09):
Now for the RV news of the week,
here's a fascinating shift in how people are
approaching RV travel in 2025,
and it might surprise you. According to major
industry reports,
63%
of travelers say they will take fewer trips
in 2025
but spend more per trip,
focusing on one big annual RV adventure
(02:33):
rather than frequent weekend getaways.
They're calling these
splurge cations,
and campers are willing to splurge
on upgraded experiences,
premium campgrounds,
and adventure activities like zip lining, guided tours,
and fine dining.
What's really interesting
is the rise of passion driven travel. Instead
(02:55):
of just picking a famous destination,
more travelers are choosing trips based on their
interests like baseball stadiums tours,
brewery crawls, historic sightseeing,
or outdoor adventure travels. It's like the RV
community is saying, if we're gonna do this,
let's make it count. The trade off makes
(03:15):
sense too,
quality over quantity.
And with inflation hitting everyone,
people are being more strategic
about their travel budgets. That's what we're doing
in just a month. We're gonna do a
thirty three day trip down the Mississippi River,
tracing it from where it starts in Minnesota
all the way down to New Orleans.
And I think about our Pacific Northwest travel
(03:36):
guide, that new travel guide. It's a region
where you really can spend time and dig
in deep.
So I think we're right on top of
this trend. I really do. And I'm just
thinking practical
that you're not packing up every weekend and
unpacking, packing, and unpacking. Doing long trips. And
you're gonna go.
Yeah. Yeah. It's good.
Hey. Speaking of going, if you drive a
(03:58):
diesel motor home or a diesel pickup truck,
you're gonna be excited to hear
that it looks like manufacturers
will no longer be allowed to program in
that severe immediate power loss when diesel exhaust
fluid runs low.
Hopefully, this is gonna start with twenty twenty
seven models. The EPA
has now called on truck and engine makers.
(04:19):
They say you gotta scrap this aggressive
limp mode software.
Boy, we got stuck with that once. Remember?
I think it was our first RV trip.
Our first trip, we have had that lymph
mode Oh. Many times, and it is so
frightening. But the very first trip My very
first trip. It happened. Yep. And what it
what would happen is when your DEF fluid
gets low,
(04:40):
it would just it immediately cuts power to
the engine. And, the EPA says that's unacceptable.
It's unnecessary.
And, of course, it's been a long sense
of frustration for a lot of RVers. The
fall RV show circuit is bringing some interesting
dynamics to the industry this year. Dealers are
motivated to move inventory before twenty twenty six
(05:01):
models arrive, meaning some of the best deals
we've seen in years.
Show organizers
are working closely with exhibitors to change their
message and produce mix to best fit the
market condition. Translation,
if you've been waiting for the right time
to buy an RV,
this fall show season
might be your golden ticket. Speaking of fall
(05:23):
shows, all eyes around the the largest RV
show, they say. That's its official name. America's
largest RV show. That's the official name of
the show. Born yesterday. They weren't born yesterday.
They coined that phrase fifteen to sixteen years
ago, but that's the official name of it.
Attendees are gonna be among the very first
to see a lot of the twenty twenty
six models, RV models.
(05:45):
That'll give you a chance to kinda get
ahead of the curve if that's what you
gotta have the latest.
Last year's show
saw an interesting trend with destination
trailers having a much larger footprint than they've
had before.
Representatives like,
campsite reserves, Cedar Creek,
Wildwood,
Coleman,
Homestead model. They were very prominent in the
(06:07):
show and the front aisles of the show.
So we don't know what it's gonna be
this year, but the show has become more
than
just an RV showcase. It's where the industry
really tests out their new concept,
gauges consumer reactions.
And that's because it's like this giant
massive focus group. They get 60,000
people at Hershey.
(06:28):
So the industry really gets to see what
kind of catches everybody's eyes, and then they
fine tune that for the Tampa RV show,
the Florida RV show every in January.
But Hershey for industry watch is probably the
best barometer
there is to see where RVing
is headed.
Behind all these shows, there's a bigger story
about how the RV industry is adapting to
(06:51):
post pandemic
marketing conditions.
The RV Industry Association is projecting
wholesale shipments to reach a median of 350,100
units in 2025,
a modest increase from 2024,
which suggests the market is stabilizing after the
wild swings of recent years.
(07:13):
Retail registration data for June 2025 showed the
first
year over year increase since late twenty twenty
three
with 37,596
units sold,
an indication dealers are beginning to see improved
consumer activities. You know, what's really interesting is
how manufacturers
(07:34):
are responding. Some of them
have scaled back a lot this year, scaled
back production.
Others have been doubling down on trying to
come up with innovation,
and several brands introduced twenty twenty five models
with incremental but pretty practical
enhancements.
And And I'm thinking like Thor Industries. They
(07:54):
just upgraded their whole class b camper vans
with things like improved insulation and expanded solar
capacity from 700 watts to 800 watts, better
Internet connectivity.
So it's interesting. The industry seems to be
finding its footing in a more
measured sustainable growth pattern rather than the breakneck
pace that we saw during those pandemic years.
(08:17):
Alright. That's our news of the week. Show
notes for this episode can be found. You
can get learn more about them or find
links to the resources and stories mentioned
at rvlifestyle.com/podcast.
And Jen and I always love to get
your comments and your questions about anything you
hear in this episode.
Just send us an email. Our private email
(08:38):
is mikeandjen@rvlifestyle.com.
Time now for the RV conversation of the
week.
Last year, a few hours after eating a
nice juicy hamburger,
our veer Fred Church became violently ill. He
shrugged it off as a virus or a
touch of food poisoning,
But then a month later, the Little Rock,
(08:58):
Arkansas resident had another hamburger.
And this time, he woke at 1AM,
pounding itch on the palms and soles of
his feet. His tongue started to swell. He
threw up. And as the tongue kept swelling,
it was hard to understand.
Thankfully, Benadryl helped that night, but the incident
led Fred to an allergist where they did
(09:20):
a blood test, and they showed he had
something called the alpha gal IgE
antibody.
It's more officially now known as alpha gal.
And he was, they said allergic
to red meat and the cause
a tick bite.
And everybody it seems has heard by now
of Lyme disease and how prevalent that is.
(09:42):
But according to the CDC,
ticks cause at least 15 different human diseases
spread over all kinds of different ticks located
all over the country.
And one of the perhaps least known and
easily missed illnesses is that alpha gal one
that Fred and is gonna talk to us
about in this week's episode.
(10:03):
Fred and his wife, Kathy, are longtime RVers.
They camp in a coach house RV,
love the outdoors.
But this whole experience has changed their approach
to bug spray.
Today, Fred's here to share his experience on
the little known
but extremely serious condition called alpha gal.
And we think it might change your approach.
(10:23):
It's taking tick precautions
too. So come meet Fred with us. Kinda
walk us through this story a little bit.
How how you got bit by a tick?
Let's start with that.
Honestly, I don't remember
where I was to get it.
I think I may have been at my
daughter's place,
in North Arkansas where they have five acres,
(10:45):
and
the dog likes to play in that big
yard and the grass is tall, but I
fish a lot. It It may have been
that way.
But I got a tick bite
June
'24,
maybe in May, and it was on my
back.
And it was there for a day or
so because I couldn't see it being on
(11:05):
my back. And then I realized something was
there. Had my wife look at it, and
she goes, oh, yeah. There's a tick.
So
she got it off. Didn't think that much
about it other than it then started to
itch.
And I don't think the itching has much
to do with the syndrome, but
that's why I remember the tick bite. It
itched for weeks.
(11:27):
And that was it. Didn't think much about
it.
And then,
I'm not a big big eater anyway.
But one day,
we decided to go to lunch, and I
got a hamburger.
It tasted great. I hadn't had a hamburger
in a long time. And that night, about
maybe 06:00,
(11:48):
we were just about ready to eat. And
I
just looked at her, and I stood up
and went to the bathroom and just threw
up and threw up and threw up.
Yet when I finished, I felt great. I
mean, I didn't feel sick. It was just
it was gone, and
I thought, well, I got a bad hamburger.
And, apparently, that is
(12:09):
just very classic
for people's first reaction.
Why do they call it alpha gal?
Well, it's a it's a allergic reaction to
a sugar that is alpha galactose.
And
I'd I'd heard of it. I kinda knew
generally about it before I had it. We
(12:30):
have a friend who has it,
but I didn't know anything really. And, apparently,
all mammals
have the sugar, alpha galactose,
except humans.
And
that's the reason it becomes a problem if
you acquire it.
So you came down with this. Now you
(12:52):
got sick. You just thought that first time
was bad burger, food poisoning.
Oh, how did we drill down a little
bit more and find out Well, about two
months later,
it was time for another burger.
Got a burger, and this time it was
at night or in the evening.
And about 01:00 in the morning,
(13:12):
I woke up because my tongue was itching
so intensely
that it woke me up. And then I
realized my palms were itching
and the soles of my feet were itching,
and
that's a pretty good allergy when that starts.
And then I so I get up
and,
trying not to disturb my wife,
(13:34):
realized go to the kitchen and realized
my tongue is swelling.
And by the time I got to work
in the sound like I was,
I got her up because I thought, you
know, if it gets any worse than this,
we're going to the ER.
Unfortunately, the ER was, like, two or three
blocks away, so it wasn't like it was
gonna be a a terrible something. It was
(13:54):
tear it would have been terrible, but it
wasn't gonna be a thirty minute ride.
Got some Benadryl in me. Actually, I threw
up again
and, got some Benadryl in me after that,
and that's when I started kinda putting two
and two together.
That's because
Did you did not go to the ER
that night? No. I did not. So you
(14:15):
took some Benadryl,
felt better, knew it was in order to
clean It never got to my airway. My
tongue was swollen really quite a bit, but
I could breathe fine.
Right. And then with the Benadryl over the
next three or four hours, it kinda went
back to a normal tongue and,
quit itching. How But there you go. So
how did you, how did you ever get
(14:36):
diagnosed and figure this out? Well, basically, I
started with the Internet,
looked it up on Google,
and realized that my reaction,
both of them, was very classic. Most people
most people will start with a food poisoning
like reaction
and not think very much of it.
And then their next one is the one
that starts to get pretty big.
(14:58):
And
mine was actually fairly minor compared to many
people's. Many people do wind up in the
ER with true full blown anaphylaxis.
And,
there have been people who die because of
this.
This is not something just to take for,
lately that, oh, well, I got this little
condition. What else besides beef,
(15:20):
are you restricted? Is it any other foods?
We're also tested, though.
Let me yeah. One thing I will throw
back in about getting diagnosed.
After reading about it on the Internet, I
had some blood work run, you know, for
the IgE
components of this disease, and everything was elevated.
And I had pretty classic reaction there too.
(15:42):
It boils down to really pretty simple. If,
if meat has
hair or fur,
I shouldn't eat it.
If it has feathers and scales,
I'm okay,
which limits you a lot.
Now you have a medical background as is
your wife. You are
retired periodontist,
(16:04):
your wife a retired physician.
With your medical background, what has surprised you
about about this?
I think the thing that surprises everybody is
the fact it's such a delayed reaction.
Typically, when you have an allergic reaction,
as it gets into your system,
you pretty quickly have a reaction.
(16:25):
Like, if you take an amoxicillin
and you're allergic to penicillin,
probably within fifteen or twenty minutes, you're gonna
start having
something.
This is hours. Average is four.
Mine was closer to six.
So
that throws off most people's
instinct on what's an allergy or what you're
gonna be allergic to because you you're sitting
(16:47):
there going,
what did you have? And you're not going
far enough back
time wise to think about it.
I'm willing to bet that you've become kind
of an expert in ticks and,
tick borne diseases
from all of this.
I know to be very careful. I'm I'm
much more careful when I'm out now,
(17:07):
mostly because nobody really knows
if it lasts forever or not.
But they do know that if you continue
to be bitten,
it tends to be the lone star tick.
That's a type of tick.
It's not the only one, but that's the
primary one that carries this.
And if if you're bitten again, it just
(17:28):
starts the whole process over,
and you may not ever get over it.
So I'm being real careful. But the suggestion
is two years after your bite
to be completely retested to see where you
are. And by then, I may be okay,
and it may still be just like it
is. It it's a total crapshoot.
(17:49):
Now our folks, of course, who, follow us
here in this podcast, they're active. They're outside
a lot, with, the RV lifestyle.
Some advice for people. Ticks are now everywhere.
They really are.
Obviously,
you know, be aware of them. They're mostly
gonna be in tall grass.
(18:12):
I tend to wear long pants now
when,
normally, I would have worn shorts, and I
just about don't do that anymore.
They make I don't have any, but they
make clothing that has been immersed in special
chemicals that really repel them. I don't I
haven't gotten to that point, but I do
really spray my feet, socks, pants
(18:34):
very heavily with just a good bug repellent
with DEET.
One of the one of the things I
saw recently, which makes a lot of sense,
is to take duct tape, reverse it, and
put the sticky side out and roll it
around your pants legs at your socks to
kinda compress them, and
it kinda preps the tick on the way
(18:55):
up.
No doubt that ticks are now pretty much,
all over the 48 states.
No. That's good. Well, Fred, thank you for
sharing your story.
That's a
a part of
a disease that most of us would be
unaware of. We don't like ticks. It's the
number one reason adults wind up with anaphylaxis
(19:17):
right now, which is Really? Yes. Which is
just amazing.
You didn't have any trouble with an insure
with insurance or anything with, with all this,
did you? No.
Because we've heard
scary stories about people,
and maybe that's changed in recent years. People
with Lyme disease who could not get insurance
(19:37):
coverage, they were very slow in recognizing
that as a true problem. We we handle
that differently in Arkansas. This is sort of
a joke, but it's true. There's no Lyme
disease in Arkansas
because
our health department does not test for it.
So if you don't test for it, there
is none. That is true.
(19:57):
Wow.
Well, that's Don't ask me why.
Yeah.
That's that's a big question for, Arkansas because
they sure Lyme disease sure is everywhere else.
Hey, Fred. Thank you. We will pass along
some more information about ticks, but,
love love hearing getting your story and great
warning for people. Just need to know about
this.
(20:18):
They do. Thanks so much for making time.
You. Good talking with you.
Wow.
I never heard of anything like that. Yeah.
Here, I've always just heard about Lyme disease,
which is bad enough. Yeah. But all these
different types of diseases that ticks carry. And
ticks are so rare in places
we never saw them before. They're there. So
(20:38):
it's crazy.
Hey. Are you tired of expensive campgrounds and
crowded RV parks? We wanna tell you that
there's a better way to discover
amazing overnight stays than just looking at RV
parks across The US and Canada for just
$49
a year.
You should be a member of RV overnights.
(20:59):
We joined up with them this summer, and
they connect you with incredible hosts at farms,
wineries, breweries,
and unique roadside attractions
who welcome RVers
with open arms. These aren't just parking spots.
They're experiences.
We visited this RV overnight farm near Nashville
that has barbecues, country music, and line dancing,
(21:22):
and we camped at this awesome bison ranch
in Indiana.
Many locations offer electric and water hookups, and
you can often stay multiple days. So picture
yourself waking up at a vineyard in Napa
or parking beside a working farm in Montana
or discovering that quirky roadside museum that you
never knew existed.
(21:42):
These are real small business owners who genuinely
love meeting fellow travelers and sharing their slice
of America.
Planning your adventure is incredibly easy with the
the RV Overnights app or desktop website. Just
search for your route, book your stays, hit
the road, and here's the best part.
Our audience gets an exclusive
(22:03):
40% off their annual membership.
40% off. Just use the promo code RVL
deal when you sign up. Head to rvlifestyle.com/rvovernights
right now. Remember,
use promo code RVL deal, and you'll save
40%.
Now it's time for the social media buzz
(22:24):
with Wendy Boyer. She reports on the hot
issues most talked about this past week on
social media and our RV lifestyle community group.
Hi, everybody.
This past week, the buzz in our private
RV lifestyle community has been mini meetups. August
is mini meetups in our group where members
of the group get together and meet up.
(22:44):
And our first one was in Nashville, Tennessee
where some
members got together, shared a meal, some camped
at the KOA, and it sounds like lots
of laughs and fun by all. And can't
wait to hear about the others in the
next week.
But what I'd like to share with you
today are three tips
that I saw that make RVing a little
bit easier,
and here they are in no particular order.
(23:06):
The first one was from Wayne and Susie.
They shared it in our private community, and
they wrote, we are in a campground with
30 amp power, and it's a 100 degrees.
So I set up my swamp cooler by
tying freezer cold packs on the back of
our portable fan. It helps immensely. Just wish
I had another set of four freezer packs
to switch out when these need to go
back in the freezer.
(23:26):
And they shared a picture of their fan
with this setup. Sounds like a brilliant idea.
It sounds like it could be really helpful
to a lot of folks when it's hot
out as it's been this last few weeks.
And then the second post I'd like to
share with you was in our RV lifestyle
Facebook group, and it was from Jane.
And Jane wrote,
found this to be the best kitchen appliance
(23:47):
when it's hot outside. It doesn't heat up
your RV.
And for those listening to the audio only
version of the podcast, Jane shared a picture
of a single burner induction cooktop
that can be placed outside on the table,
plugged in, used to cook, keeps all those
smells and heat outside your rig.
Many also chimed in when they saw this
(24:08):
post, said they had it as a game
changer,
helped with them even save money because they
use less propane for cooking.
And the only thing is you gotta make
sure you have induction capable cookware, but wanted
to share this idea with you in case
it could help someone else out there. And
then the third and final post with a
tip came from Renee, and this one has
(24:29):
to do with the kitchen,
specifically your kitchen spices.
Renee took picture of all the things that
she brings in her RV in their original
packaging,
plastic, glass, all the different spices.
And what she did was she transferred them
into something called mason jar ziplock bags. She
picked them up online.
(24:49):
She they're stored in a clear glass box.
She got from the family dollar store,
huge space saver.
Look like a great idea. Many people were
super excited to see this and said they
were doing the same thing. So wanted to
share this as well in case it could
help somebody.
And that's it for me this week. Three
different tips that were shared on our social
(25:11):
media platforms, and we love seeing tips, love
seeing hacks, and hope it can help someone.
I'm Wendy Boyer, and I'll see you in
either our private RV lifestyle community or Facebook
group. I just love hearing all those tips
and suggestions
and the friendship that develop on our community.
They're they're really amazing, aren't they? There's so
much to learn from each other. Yep. There
(25:32):
is. Hey. Have you ever thought of having
your own RV land? Place where you can
camp as long as you want,
whenever you want without having to get reservations?
A lot of folks are looking at multi
acre parcels that they can develop into their
own RV retreat.
And there's only two places in the country
right now that we know about that
(25:52):
offer developments like that. One of them is
in Arizona and the other in Tennessee.
Rocky Lake is one of the most visited
sites in Tennessee. It's one of the biggest
lakes East Of The Mississippi and a great
vacation spot perfect for RVers. Tennessee Land and
Lakes is launching a grand opening of new
property at the lake. They're big properties that
(26:14):
allow for RVs
near Paris Landing State Park right near the
marina, golf courses, resorts, and a slew of
other great attractions.
It's one of the most popular parts of
the lake where it's at its widest and
a really beautiful spot. There are large acreage
five to 29 acre sites in size designed
for privacy at great prices for the area
(26:37):
with dedicated private access to Kentucky
Lake. It's an ideal setup for RVers.
Prices start at $99,900,
and they've got woods and fields, views, cottages,
and more with electric and high speed Internet.
You can get details and a video tour
at rvlands.net.
(26:57):
Visit rvlands.net
to get started. It's pretty incredible.
Jennifer and I took a trip to Las
Vegas and Arizona to look at Windmill Acres,
a brand new RV property being offered by
Western Land and Ranches.
They're selling off one and two acre parcels
starting at only $14,900.
(27:19):
Now these are big. An acre is the
size of a football field. The properties are
on a plateau with big valley views, and
the location is amazing.
Next to Lake Mead National Recreation Area,
We had a blast.
There are so many places to explore near
the property, the Grand Canyon. We took a
boat ride on the Colorado River below Hoover
(27:41):
Dam.
Boulder City was a fun little town.
That's right off Route 66.
And, of course, we had to enjoy some
nightlife in Las Vegas.
It's a lifetime supply of fun things to
do when you own a camp at Windmill
Acres.
The properties are now available.
This is 100%
(28:02):
ownership, so there's no reservations needed when you
wanna hang out, time limits or crowded parks
that you have to go through. You can
share your property. You can rent it. It's
whatever you wanna do.
For more information,
visit arizonaranchsales.com
or call 822232
(28:24):
Now for the RV question of the week.
I'm always reading about RV tires blowing out.
Why don't car tires blow out so much?
That was for Nancy. That's a really great
question. A great question. Yeah. The short answer
is that RV tires are used under much
harsher condition than car tires.
There's a lot more cars out there. They
(28:45):
certainly travel more miles than RVs, but
the reason blowouts are more common among RVs
is because RVs use those tires
in a tougher way.
And there's a lot of explanations for that.
First of all,
RVs are very heavy, and often they carry
loads
close to the maximum rating of the tires.
Or over the maximum rating of the tires.
(29:08):
It's so easy to overload your RV.
Yeah. Put extra stress on the tires whenever
you do that.
Car tires usually operate well below the maximum
weight, so they have more of a margin
of error there for you. And RV tires
run hotter because they're carrying these heavy loads
sometimes at higher pressures.
RV tires often age out before they wear
(29:30):
out. An RV might sit parked for long
stretches
so the rubber degrades,
dry, rot, cracking.
Even if the tread looks fine,
cars are more likely to be driven regularly
and stored in garages or shaded driveways. And
I I think another thing is let's be
blunt about it. RV manufacturers,
some of them,
(29:50):
cut their costs by equipping their rigs with
the cheapest tires they can source
often from little known overseas brands. Critics sometimes
refer to these as China bombs
because
of the reputation for failing under stress.
And it's true that many tires today are
made in China, but the difference is that
cars typically
(30:11):
roll off the lot with well known
reputable name brands.
We want to have an RV dealer give
us some advice, give us a rule of
thumb on how to know if you, wanted
those tires.
If you can't easily pronounce the manufacturer's name,
it's probably best to steer clear.
Yep. Bottom line,
RV tires blow out more because they carry
(30:33):
heavier loads.
They sit
unused for long periods, and they suffer more
from age and heat.
Car tires are used more regularly
and under less strain.
Hey. Do you have a question? We love
to hear from you. Send them to us
at mikeandjen@rvlifestyle.com.
And now it's time for Mike and Jen's
(30:54):
story time, the Ogema County
UFO encounter. So we're gonna talk about this
week.
So, Jen, do you remember
we were boondocking from the middle of nowhere
in Ogemont County up in Northern Michigan? How
could I forget? We were so deep in
those woods. I'm pretty sure our GPS just
gave up and started showing question marks. We're
(31:15):
talking like no cell coverage, just us, the
RV, and about a million trees,
and it's dark.
We're sitting around outside the camp chairs, got
a little fire going, and we're enjoying the
peace and quiet.
Probably 10:00 at night, and Jen goes, Mike,
what is that?
Because there were these lights, you guys,
(31:36):
just over the tree line to the east
of us, and they weren't like airplane lights
or anything normal. They were moving really slowly
from north to south, and here's the creepy
part. They kept turning on and off. Like,
not blinking. Just turning completely
on and then off. Just floating there. Then
(31:57):
they're gone, then they're back again maybe in
a slightly different spot.
We're watching these things for twenty minutes.
And Mike's got his phone out trying to
record, but of course There there's it's dark
and it's a long way away. I'm getting
a black screen, maybe a tiny dot. It
could be something, and you zoom in on
it. It gets all out of focus.
(32:19):
The phone wasn't very helpful.
But we both saw it. Multiple lights moving
in this weird pattern, definitely not following any
flight path that made sense.
And we're looking at each other. Are we
really seeing this right now? We've watched enough
YouTube videos
to know that
UFOs are supposed to look like that. Right?
(32:40):
And this was checking all the boxes for
us, mysterious lights, the middle of nowhere, no
logical
explanation.
We went to bed that night, and I
was like, Mike, I think we just saw
actual UFOs.
And he's I think so too. Neither of
us slept great that night. I kept listening
for that, whoo hoo,
weird humming sound that they show you in
(33:01):
all those old silly science fictions movies. I
I was waiting for the RV to start
shaking and a big light came down. Yep.
Right.
Every little noise
have me convinced that the aliens were coming.
So the next morning, we drove into town
to hit up the local general store and
one of those places that has everything from
fishing bait to breakfast cereal to motor oil.
(33:23):
And the guy behind the counters goes, y'all
camping out in the woods? And we said,
yeah. Why? And he said, I thought you
might have been. There's some other people out
there. And he started telling us about how
there's apparently this other campsite about a mile
from where we were, which we had no
idea existed, and the people camping there last
night were celebrating something.
(33:44):
Setting off Chinese lanterns,
he says.
Probably saw them floating around for quite a
while last night. Chinese lanterns.
We just stood there looking at each other,
feeling a bit sheepies.
All of our UFO excitement vanished
with the Chinese
ladders that we saw. But you know what?
(34:05):
For about twelve hours, we were absolutely convinced
we'd witnessed something
otherworldly.
We were ready to call the Discovery Channel.
I was already planning our interview with the
local news.
Camping couples spots unexplained
phenomenon over Oklahoma County.
Instead, it was more like camping couple mistakes,
party decorations for alien spaceship.
(34:27):
The moral of the story
is sometime the truth really is out there.
It's just way more boring than you hoped.
But, hey, at least we got a good
story out of it. And those Chinese lanterns
were actually really pretty
even if they weren't from outer space.
Before we go, let us again invite you
to become
(34:48):
hang out with us at the RV Lifestyle
Community, our private ad free group for RVers
who love to share stories,
share tips, hold rallies, and meetups,
and share great places to camp. Check us
out @RVcommunity.com.
That's it for this episode of the RV
Podcast. Thanks for watching and listening.
Happy trails.
This week on the RV podcast
More than Lyme disease, the hidden tick borne
allergy that you've never heard of. Get ready
for the fall RV show season,
what to expect, and why the RV industry
is starting to breathe a bit easier.
Why RV tires seem to have more blowouts
than cars?
(00:22):
All this plus Mike and Jen's RV story
time coming up in episode five sixty of
the RV podcast.
Hello, everybody. I'm Mike Wenlan. This is my
lifelong traveling companion and my bride, Jennifer. Hello,
my dear. Hello, mister Mike. The big news
for us is the release of our epic
thirty day RV adventure guide to the Pacific
(00:42):
Northwest.
This details route taking you through the best
of Oregon and Washington,
weaving in stunning coastal drives,
lush forest, and mountain vistas. As a special
bonus, we've even included an excursion into Vancouver,
Canada.
And we show you maps,
where to stay, where you can eat, whether
(01:04):
you've always dreamed of this journey or maybe
you're just planning to return to a place
you visited before and loved it. This guide
makes it effortless to enjoy the very best
of the region. We are so excited by
the book that you can find a link
to it in the description below or on
our, podcast show notes, which you can find
at rvlifestyle.com/podcast.
(01:26):
Please check it out. We are really excited.
This is the biggest of all of the
RV guides we've ever done. Thirty days. We
usually do seven days. This is a thirty
day guide, and we're really excited about this
book.
Alright.
Before we jump into our first segment, we've
gotta tell you if you are not already
part of our private RV lifestyle community over
(01:46):
at rvcommunity.com,
you're missing out. As some of the best
RV conversations
anywhere,
This online forum is completely ad free. It's
friendly,
and it's just full of folks who love
swapping tips and sharing travel stories, helping each
other out. We're in there every day ourselves,
so come say hi at rvcommunity.com.
(02:09):
Now for the RV news of the week,
here's a fascinating shift in how people are
approaching RV travel in 2025,
and it might surprise you. According to major
industry reports,
63%
of travelers say they will take fewer trips
in 2025
but spend more per trip,
focusing on one big annual RV adventure
(02:33):
rather than frequent weekend getaways.
They're calling these
splurge cations,
and campers are willing to splurge
on upgraded experiences,
premium campgrounds,
and adventure activities like zip lining, guided tours,
and fine dining.
What's really interesting
is the rise of passion driven travel. Instead
(02:55):
of just picking a famous destination,
more travelers are choosing trips based on their
interests like baseball stadiums tours,
brewery crawls, historic sightseeing,
or outdoor adventure travels. It's like the RV
community is saying, if we're gonna do this,
let's make it count. The trade off makes
(03:15):
sense too,
quality over quantity.
And with inflation hitting everyone,
people are being more strategic
about their travel budgets. That's what we're doing
in just a month. We're gonna do a
thirty three day trip down the Mississippi River,
tracing it from where it starts in Minnesota
all the way down to New Orleans.
And I think about our Pacific Northwest travel
(03:36):
guide, that new travel guide. It's a region
where you really can spend time and dig
in deep.
So I think we're right on top of
this trend. I really do. And I'm just
thinking practical
that you're not packing up every weekend and
unpacking, packing, and unpacking. Doing long trips. And
you're gonna go.
Yeah. Yeah. It's good.
Hey. Speaking of going, if you drive a
(03:58):
diesel motor home or a diesel pickup truck,
you're gonna be excited to hear
that it looks like manufacturers
will no longer be allowed to program in
that severe immediate power loss when diesel exhaust
fluid runs low.
Hopefully, this is gonna start with twenty twenty
seven models. The EPA
has now called on truck and engine makers.
(04:19):
They say you gotta scrap this aggressive
limp mode software.
Boy, we got stuck with that once. Remember?
I think it was our first RV trip.
Our first trip, we have had that lymph
mode Oh. Many times, and it is so
frightening. But the very first trip My very
first trip. It happened. Yep. And what it
what would happen is when your DEF fluid
gets low,
(04:40):
it would just it immediately cuts power to
the engine. And, the EPA says that's unacceptable.
It's unnecessary.
And, of course, it's been a long sense
of frustration for a lot of RVers. The
fall RV show circuit is bringing some interesting
dynamics to the industry this year. Dealers are
motivated to move inventory before twenty twenty six
(05:01):
models arrive, meaning some of the best deals
we've seen in years.
Show organizers
are working closely with exhibitors to change their
message and produce mix to best fit the
market condition. Translation,
if you've been waiting for the right time
to buy an RV,
this fall show season
might be your golden ticket. Speaking of fall
(05:23):
shows, all eyes around the the largest RV
show, they say. That's its official name. America's
largest RV show. That's the official name of
the show. Born yesterday. They weren't born yesterday.
They coined that phrase fifteen to sixteen years
ago, but that's the official name of it.
Attendees are gonna be among the very first
to see a lot of the twenty twenty
six models, RV models.
(05:45):
That'll give you a chance to kinda get
ahead of the curve if that's what you
gotta have the latest.
Last year's show
saw an interesting trend with destination
trailers having a much larger footprint than they've
had before.
Representatives like,
campsite reserves, Cedar Creek,
Wildwood,
Coleman,
Homestead model. They were very prominent in the
(06:07):
show and the front aisles of the show.
So we don't know what it's gonna be
this year, but the show has become more
than
just an RV showcase. It's where the industry
really tests out their new concept,
gauges consumer reactions.
And that's because it's like this giant
massive focus group. They get 60,000
people at Hershey.
(06:28):
So the industry really gets to see what
kind of catches everybody's eyes, and then they
fine tune that for the Tampa RV show,
the Florida RV show every in January.
But Hershey for industry watch is probably the
best barometer
there is to see where RVing
is headed.
Behind all these shows, there's a bigger story
about how the RV industry is adapting to
(06:51):
post pandemic
marketing conditions.
The RV Industry Association is projecting
wholesale shipments to reach a median of 350,100
units in 2025,
a modest increase from 2024,
which suggests the market is stabilizing after the
wild swings of recent years.
(07:13):
Retail registration data for June 2025 showed the
first
year over year increase since late twenty twenty
three
with 37,596
units sold,
an indication dealers are beginning to see improved
consumer activities. You know, what's really interesting is
how manufacturers
(07:34):
are responding. Some of them
have scaled back a lot this year, scaled
back production.
Others have been doubling down on trying to
come up with innovation,
and several brands introduced twenty twenty five models
with incremental but pretty practical
enhancements.
And And I'm thinking like Thor Industries. They
(07:54):
just upgraded their whole class b camper vans
with things like improved insulation and expanded solar
capacity from 700 watts to 800 watts, better
Internet connectivity.
So it's interesting. The industry seems to be
finding its footing in a more
measured sustainable growth pattern rather than the breakneck
pace that we saw during those pandemic years.
(08:17):
Alright. That's our news of the week. Show
notes for this episode can be found. You
can get learn more about them or find
links to the resources and stories mentioned
at rvlifestyle.com/podcast.
And Jen and I always love to get
your comments and your questions about anything you
hear in this episode.
Just send us an email. Our private email
(08:38):
is mikeandjen@rvlifestyle.com.
Time now for the RV conversation of the
week.
Last year, a few hours after eating a
nice juicy hamburger,
our veer Fred Church became violently ill. He
shrugged it off as a virus or a
touch of food poisoning,
But then a month later, the Little Rock,
(08:58):
Arkansas resident had another hamburger.
And this time, he woke at 1AM,
pounding itch on the palms and soles of
his feet. His tongue started to swell. He
threw up. And as the tongue kept swelling,
it was hard to understand.
Thankfully, Benadryl helped that night, but the incident
led Fred to an allergist where they did
(09:20):
a blood test, and they showed he had
something called the alpha gal IgE
antibody.
It's more officially now known as alpha gal.
And he was, they said allergic
to red meat and the cause
a tick bite.
And everybody it seems has heard by now
of Lyme disease and how prevalent that is.
(09:42):
But according to the CDC,
ticks cause at least 15 different human diseases
spread over all kinds of different ticks located
all over the country.
And one of the perhaps least known and
easily missed illnesses is that alpha gal one
that Fred and is gonna talk to us
about in this week's episode.
(10:03):
Fred and his wife, Kathy, are longtime RVers.
They camp in a coach house RV,
love the outdoors.
But this whole experience has changed their approach
to bug spray.
Today, Fred's here to share his experience on
the little known
but extremely serious condition called alpha gal.
And we think it might change your approach.
(10:23):
It's taking tick precautions
too. So come meet Fred with us. Kinda
walk us through this story a little bit.
How how you got bit by a tick?
Let's start with that.
Honestly, I don't remember
where I was to get it.
I think I may have been at my
daughter's place,
in North Arkansas where they have five acres,
(10:45):
and
the dog likes to play in that big
yard and the grass is tall, but I
fish a lot. It It may have been
that way.
But I got a tick bite
June
'24,
maybe in May, and it was on my
back.
And it was there for a day or
so because I couldn't see it being on
(11:05):
my back. And then I realized something was
there. Had my wife look at it, and
she goes, oh, yeah. There's a tick.
So
she got it off. Didn't think that much
about it other than it then started to
itch.
And I don't think the itching has much
to do with the syndrome, but
that's why I remember the tick bite. It
itched for weeks.
(11:27):
And that was it. Didn't think much about
it.
And then,
I'm not a big big eater anyway.
But one day,
we decided to go to lunch, and I
got a hamburger.
It tasted great. I hadn't had a hamburger
in a long time. And that night, about
maybe 06:00,
(11:48):
we were just about ready to eat. And
I
just looked at her, and I stood up
and went to the bathroom and just threw
up and threw up and threw up.
Yet when I finished, I felt great. I
mean, I didn't feel sick. It was just
it was gone, and
I thought, well, I got a bad hamburger.
And, apparently, that is
(12:09):
just very classic
for people's first reaction.
Why do they call it alpha gal?
Well, it's a it's a allergic reaction to
a sugar that is alpha galactose.
And
I'd I'd heard of it. I kinda knew
generally about it before I had it. We
(12:30):
have a friend who has it,
but I didn't know anything really. And, apparently,
all mammals
have the sugar, alpha galactose,
except humans.
And
that's the reason it becomes a problem if
you acquire it.
So you came down with this. Now you
(12:52):
got sick. You just thought that first time
was bad burger, food poisoning.
Oh, how did we drill down a little
bit more and find out Well, about two
months later,
it was time for another burger.
Got a burger, and this time it was
at night or in the evening.
And about 01:00 in the morning,
(13:12):
I woke up because my tongue was itching
so intensely
that it woke me up. And then I
realized my palms were itching
and the soles of my feet were itching,
and
that's a pretty good allergy when that starts.
And then I so I get up
and,
trying not to disturb my wife,
(13:34):
realized go to the kitchen and realized
my tongue is swelling.
And by the time I got to work
in the sound like I was,
I got her up because I thought, you
know, if it gets any worse than this,
we're going to the ER.
Unfortunately, the ER was, like, two or three
blocks away, so it wasn't like it was
gonna be a a terrible something. It was
(13:54):
tear it would have been terrible, but it
wasn't gonna be a thirty minute ride.
Got some Benadryl in me. Actually, I threw
up again
and, got some Benadryl in me after that,
and that's when I started kinda putting two
and two together.
That's because
Did you did not go to the ER
that night? No. I did not. So you
(14:15):
took some Benadryl,
felt better, knew it was in order to
clean It never got to my airway. My
tongue was swollen really quite a bit, but
I could breathe fine.
Right. And then with the Benadryl over the
next three or four hours, it kinda went
back to a normal tongue and,
quit itching. How But there you go. So
how did you, how did you ever get
(14:36):
diagnosed and figure this out? Well, basically, I
started with the Internet,
looked it up on Google,
and realized that my reaction,
both of them, was very classic. Most people
most people will start with a food poisoning
like reaction
and not think very much of it.
And then their next one is the one
that starts to get pretty big.
(14:58):
And
mine was actually fairly minor compared to many
people's. Many people do wind up in the
ER with true full blown anaphylaxis.
And,
there have been people who die because of
this.
This is not something just to take for,
lately that, oh, well, I got this little
condition. What else besides beef,
(15:20):
are you restricted? Is it any other foods?
We're also tested, though.
Let me yeah. One thing I will throw
back in about getting diagnosed.
After reading about it on the Internet, I
had some blood work run, you know, for
the IgE
components of this disease, and everything was elevated.
And I had pretty classic reaction there too.
(15:42):
It boils down to really pretty simple. If,
if meat has
hair or fur,
I shouldn't eat it.
If it has feathers and scales,
I'm okay,
which limits you a lot.
Now you have a medical background as is
your wife. You are
retired periodontist,
(16:04):
your wife a retired physician.
With your medical background, what has surprised you
about about this?
I think the thing that surprises everybody is
the fact it's such a delayed reaction.
Typically, when you have an allergic reaction,
as it gets into your system,
you pretty quickly have a reaction.
(16:25):
Like, if you take an amoxicillin
and you're allergic to penicillin,
probably within fifteen or twenty minutes, you're gonna
start having
something.
This is hours. Average is four.
Mine was closer to six.
So
that throws off most people's
instinct on what's an allergy or what you're
gonna be allergic to because you you're sitting
(16:47):
there going,
what did you have? And you're not going
far enough back
time wise to think about it.
I'm willing to bet that you've become kind
of an expert in ticks and,
tick borne diseases
from all of this.
I know to be very careful. I'm I'm
much more careful when I'm out now,
(17:07):
mostly because nobody really knows
if it lasts forever or not.
But they do know that if you continue
to be bitten,
it tends to be the lone star tick.
That's a type of tick.
It's not the only one, but that's the
primary one that carries this.
And if if you're bitten again, it just
(17:28):
starts the whole process over,
and you may not ever get over it.
So I'm being real careful. But the suggestion
is two years after your bite
to be completely retested to see where you
are. And by then, I may be okay,
and it may still be just like it
is. It it's a total crapshoot.
(17:49):
Now our folks, of course, who, follow us
here in this podcast, they're active. They're outside
a lot, with, the RV lifestyle.
Some advice for people. Ticks are now everywhere.
They really are.
Obviously,
you know, be aware of them. They're mostly
gonna be in tall grass.
(18:12):
I tend to wear long pants now
when,
normally, I would have worn shorts, and I
just about don't do that anymore.
They make I don't have any, but they
make clothing that has been immersed in special
chemicals that really repel them. I don't I
haven't gotten to that point, but I do
really spray my feet, socks, pants
(18:34):
very heavily with just a good bug repellent
with DEET.
One of the one of the things I
saw recently, which makes a lot of sense,
is to take duct tape, reverse it, and
put the sticky side out and roll it
around your pants legs at your socks to
kinda compress them, and
it kinda preps the tick on the way
(18:55):
up.
No doubt that ticks are now pretty much,
all over the 48 states.
No. That's good. Well, Fred, thank you for
sharing your story.
That's a
a part of
a disease that most of us would be
unaware of. We don't like ticks. It's the
number one reason adults wind up with anaphylaxis
(19:17):
right now, which is Really? Yes. Which is
just amazing.
You didn't have any trouble with an insure
with insurance or anything with, with all this,
did you? No.
Because we've heard
scary stories about people,
and maybe that's changed in recent years. People
with Lyme disease who could not get insurance
(19:37):
coverage, they were very slow in recognizing
that as a true problem. We we handle
that differently in Arkansas. This is sort of
a joke, but it's true. There's no Lyme
disease in Arkansas
because
our health department does not test for it.
So if you don't test for it, there
is none. That is true.
(19:57):
Wow.
Well, that's Don't ask me why.
Yeah.
That's that's a big question for, Arkansas because
they sure Lyme disease sure is everywhere else.
Hey, Fred. Thank you. We will pass along
some more information about ticks, but,
love love hearing getting your story and great
warning for people. Just need to know about
this.
(20:18):
They do. Thanks so much for making time.
You. Good talking with you.
Wow.
I never heard of anything like that. Yeah.
Here, I've always just heard about Lyme disease,
which is bad enough. Yeah. But all these
different types of diseases that ticks carry. And
ticks are so rare in places
we never saw them before. They're there. So
(20:38):
it's crazy.
Hey. Are you tired of expensive campgrounds and
crowded RV parks? We wanna tell you that
there's a better way to discover
amazing overnight stays than just looking at RV
parks across The US and Canada for just
$49
a year.
You should be a member of RV overnights.
(20:59):
We joined up with them this summer, and
they connect you with incredible hosts at farms,
wineries, breweries,
and unique roadside attractions
who welcome RVers
with open arms. These aren't just parking spots.
They're experiences.
We visited this RV overnight farm near Nashville
that has barbecues, country music, and line dancing,
(21:22):
and we camped at this awesome bison ranch
in Indiana.
Many locations offer electric and water hookups, and
you can often stay multiple days. So picture
yourself waking up at a vineyard in Napa
or parking beside a working farm in Montana
or discovering that quirky roadside museum that you
never knew existed.
(21:42):
These are real small business owners who genuinely
love meeting fellow travelers and sharing their slice
of America.
Planning your adventure is incredibly easy with the
the RV Overnights app or desktop website. Just
search for your route, book your stays, hit
the road, and here's the best part.
Our audience gets an exclusive
(22:03):
40% off their annual membership.
40% off. Just use the promo code RVL
deal when you sign up. Head to rvlifestyle.com/rvovernights
right now. Remember,
use promo code RVL deal, and you'll save
40%.
Now it's time for the social media buzz
(22:24):
with Wendy Boyer. She reports on the hot
issues most talked about this past week on
social media and our RV lifestyle community group.
Hi, everybody.
This past week, the buzz in our private
RV lifestyle community has been mini meetups. August
is mini meetups in our group where members
of the group get together and meet up.
(22:44):
And our first one was in Nashville, Tennessee
where some
members got together, shared a meal, some camped
at the KOA, and it sounds like lots
of laughs and fun by all. And can't
wait to hear about the others in the
next week.
But what I'd like to share with you
today are three tips
that I saw that make RVing a little
bit easier,
and here they are in no particular order.
(23:06):
The first one was from Wayne and Susie.
They shared it in our private community, and
they wrote, we are in a campground with
30 amp power, and it's a 100 degrees.
So I set up my swamp cooler by
tying freezer cold packs on the back of
our portable fan. It helps immensely. Just wish
I had another set of four freezer packs
to switch out when these need to go
back in the freezer.
(23:26):
And they shared a picture of their fan
with this setup. Sounds like a brilliant idea.
It sounds like it could be really helpful
to a lot of folks when it's hot
out as it's been this last few weeks.
And then the second post I'd like to
share with you was in our RV lifestyle
Facebook group, and it was from Jane.
And Jane wrote,
found this to be the best kitchen appliance
(23:47):
when it's hot outside. It doesn't heat up
your RV.
And for those listening to the audio only
version of the podcast, Jane shared a picture
of a single burner induction cooktop
that can be placed outside on the table,
plugged in, used to cook, keeps all those
smells and heat outside your rig.
Many also chimed in when they saw this
(24:08):
post, said they had it as a game
changer,
helped with them even save money because they
use less propane for cooking.
And the only thing is you gotta make
sure you have induction capable cookware, but wanted
to share this idea with you in case
it could help someone else out there. And
then the third and final post with a
tip came from Renee, and this one has
(24:29):
to do with the kitchen,
specifically your kitchen spices.
Renee took picture of all the things that
she brings in her RV in their original
packaging,
plastic, glass, all the different spices.
And what she did was she transferred them
into something called mason jar ziplock bags. She
picked them up online.
(24:49):
She they're stored in a clear glass box.
She got from the family dollar store,
huge space saver.
Look like a great idea. Many people were
super excited to see this and said they
were doing the same thing. So wanted to
share this as well in case it could
help somebody.
And that's it for me this week. Three
different tips that were shared on our social
(25:11):
media platforms, and we love seeing tips, love
seeing hacks, and hope it can help someone.
I'm Wendy Boyer, and I'll see you in
either our private RV lifestyle community or Facebook
group. I just love hearing all those tips
and suggestions
and the friendship that develop on our community.
They're they're really amazing, aren't they? There's so
much to learn from each other. Yep. There
(25:32):
is. Hey. Have you ever thought of having
your own RV land? Place where you can
camp as long as you want,
whenever you want without having to get reservations?
A lot of folks are looking at multi
acre parcels that they can develop into their
own RV retreat.
And there's only two places in the country
right now that we know about that
(25:52):
offer developments like that. One of them is
in Arizona and the other in Tennessee.
Rocky Lake is one of the most visited
sites in Tennessee. It's one of the biggest
lakes East Of The Mississippi and a great
vacation spot perfect for RVers. Tennessee Land and
Lakes is launching a grand opening of new
property at the lake. They're big properties that
(26:14):
allow for RVs
near Paris Landing State Park right near the
marina, golf courses, resorts, and a slew of
other great attractions.
It's one of the most popular parts of
the lake where it's at its widest and
a really beautiful spot. There are large acreage
five to 29 acre sites in size designed
for privacy at great prices for the area
(26:37):
with dedicated private access to Kentucky
Lake. It's an ideal setup for RVers.
Prices start at $99,900,
and they've got woods and fields, views, cottages,
and more with electric and high speed Internet.
You can get details and a video tour
at rvlands.net.
(26:57):
Visit rvlands.net
to get started. It's pretty incredible.
Jennifer and I took a trip to Las
Vegas and Arizona to look at Windmill Acres,
a brand new RV property being offered by
Western Land and Ranches.
They're selling off one and two acre parcels
starting at only $14,900.
(27:19):
Now these are big. An acre is the
size of a football field. The properties are
on a plateau with big valley views, and
the location is amazing.
Next to Lake Mead National Recreation Area,
We had a blast.
There are so many places to explore near
the property, the Grand Canyon. We took a
boat ride on the Colorado River below Hoover
(27:41):
Dam.
Boulder City was a fun little town.
That's right off Route 66.
And, of course, we had to enjoy some
nightlife in Las Vegas.
It's a lifetime supply of fun things to
do when you own a camp at Windmill
Acres.
The properties are now available.
This is 100%
(28:02):
ownership, so there's no reservations needed when you
wanna hang out, time limits or crowded parks
that you have to go through. You can
share your property. You can rent it. It's
whatever you wanna do.
For more information,
visit arizonaranchsales.com
or call 822232
(28:24):
Now for the RV question of the week.
I'm always reading about RV tires blowing out.
Why don't car tires blow out so much?
That was for Nancy. That's a really great
question. A great question. Yeah. The short answer
is that RV tires are used under much
harsher condition than car tires.
There's a lot more cars out there. They
(28:45):
certainly travel more miles than RVs, but
the reason blowouts are more common among RVs
is because RVs use those tires
in a tougher way.
And there's a lot of explanations for that.
First of all,
RVs are very heavy, and often they carry
loads
close to the maximum rating of the tires.
Or over the maximum rating of the tires.
(29:08):
It's so easy to overload your RV.
Yeah. Put extra stress on the tires whenever
you do that.
Car tires usually operate well below the maximum
weight, so they have more of a margin
of error there for you. And RV tires
run hotter because they're carrying these heavy loads
sometimes at higher pressures.
RV tires often age out before they wear
(29:30):
out. An RV might sit parked for long
stretches
so the rubber degrades,
dry, rot, cracking.
Even if the tread looks fine,
cars are more likely to be driven regularly
and stored in garages or shaded driveways. And
I I think another thing is let's be
blunt about it. RV manufacturers,
some of them,
(29:50):
cut their costs by equipping their rigs with
the cheapest tires they can source
often from little known overseas brands. Critics sometimes
refer to these as China bombs
because
of the reputation for failing under stress.
And it's true that many tires today are
made in China, but the difference is that
cars typically
(30:11):
roll off the lot with well known
reputable name brands.
We want to have an RV dealer give
us some advice, give us a rule of
thumb on how to know if you, wanted
those tires.
If you can't easily pronounce the manufacturer's name,
it's probably best to steer clear.
Yep. Bottom line,
RV tires blow out more because they carry
(30:33):
heavier loads.
They sit
unused for long periods, and they suffer more
from age and heat.
Car tires are used more regularly
and under less strain.
Hey. Do you have a question? We love
to hear from you. Send them to us
at mikeandjen@rvlifestyle.com.
And now it's time for Mike and Jen's
(30:54):
story time, the Ogema County
UFO encounter. So we're gonna talk about this
week.
So, Jen, do you remember
we were boondocking from the middle of nowhere
in Ogemont County up in Northern Michigan? How
could I forget? We were so deep in
those woods. I'm pretty sure our GPS just
gave up and started showing question marks. We're
(31:15):
talking like no cell coverage, just us, the
RV, and about a million trees,
and it's dark.
We're sitting around outside the camp chairs, got
a little fire going, and we're enjoying the
peace and quiet.
Probably 10:00 at night, and Jen goes, Mike,
what is that?
Because there were these lights, you guys,
(31:36):
just over the tree line to the east
of us, and they weren't like airplane lights
or anything normal. They were moving really slowly
from north to south, and here's the creepy
part. They kept turning on and off. Like,
not blinking. Just turning completely
on and then off. Just floating there. Then
(31:57):
they're gone, then they're back again maybe in
a slightly different spot.
We're watching these things for twenty minutes.
And Mike's got his phone out trying to
record, but of course There there's it's dark
and it's a long way away. I'm getting
a black screen, maybe a tiny dot. It
could be something, and you zoom in on
it. It gets all out of focus.
(32:19):
The phone wasn't very helpful.
But we both saw it. Multiple lights moving
in this weird pattern, definitely not following any
flight path that made sense.
And we're looking at each other. Are we
really seeing this right now? We've watched enough
YouTube videos
to know that
UFOs are supposed to look like that. Right?
(32:40):
And this was checking all the boxes for
us, mysterious lights, the middle of nowhere, no
logical
explanation.
We went to bed that night, and I
was like, Mike, I think we just saw
actual UFOs.
And he's I think so too. Neither of
us slept great that night. I kept listening
for that, whoo hoo,
weird humming sound that they show you in
(33:01):
all those old silly science fictions movies. I
I was waiting for the RV to start
shaking and a big light came down. Yep.
Right.
Every little noise
have me convinced that the aliens were coming.
So the next morning, we drove into town
to hit up the local general store and
one of those places that has everything from
fishing bait to breakfast cereal to motor oil.
(33:23):
And the guy behind the counters goes, y'all
camping out in the woods? And we said,
yeah. Why? And he said, I thought you
might have been. There's some other people out
there. And he started telling us about how
there's apparently this other campsite about a mile
from where we were, which we had no
idea existed, and the people camping there last
night were celebrating something.
(33:44):
Setting off Chinese lanterns,
he says.
Probably saw them floating around for quite a
while last night. Chinese lanterns.
We just stood there looking at each other,
feeling a bit sheepies.
All of our UFO excitement vanished
with the Chinese
ladders that we saw. But you know what?
(34:05):
For about twelve hours, we were absolutely convinced
we'd witnessed something
otherworldly.
We were ready to call the Discovery Channel.
I was already planning our interview with the
local news.
Camping couples spots unexplained
phenomenon over Oklahoma County.
Instead, it was more like camping couple mistakes,
party decorations for alien spaceship.
(34:27):
The moral of the story
is sometime the truth really is out there.
It's just way more boring than you hoped.
But, hey, at least we got a good
story out of it. And those Chinese lanterns
were actually really pretty
even if they weren't from outer space.
Before we go, let us again invite you
to become
(34:48):
hang out with us at the RV Lifestyle
Community, our private ad free group for RVers
who love to share stories,
share tips, hold rallies, and meetups,
and share great places to camp. Check us
out @RVcommunity.com.
That's it for this episode of the RV
Podcast. Thanks for watching and listening.
Happy trails.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com