RV Home Yet?

Small is "in" for RVs again

Small is popular again. Oh, some people want the 40-foot RVs, but more manufacturers are coming out with small retro teardrop trailers. Today's RV Daily Report included stories about the Serro Scotty and Heartland Recreational Vehicles LLC, which has entered the teardrop market.

Serro Scotty plans to market their small trailers directly to the consumer. Says the article, "The new factory direct program offers a consumer direct discount, lower base price and $1 per mile shipping. Once again the black Scotty dog adorns the front of the camper and the traditional spirit is alive again."  Pictured is their smallest unit, the Serro Scotty Pup.

Heartland Recreational Vehicles LLC is entering the teardrop market with the retro-styled MPG line set to debut at the 47th Annual National RV Trade Show Tuesday in Louisville, Ky. The MPG combines a contemporary look with retro styling, which they hope will appeal to the youthful demographic. It comes in 18-foot and 20-foot lengths and with a dry weight of less than 2700 pounds allowing it to be towed by smaller SUVs. 

I also came across an article at the Petaluma360.com site about a man in Petaluma, CA who makes small structures of 120 square feet. They are quite popular as backyard retreats, shops, sheds and artist studios because they are unique. He can make one a bit larger that qualifies as an RV, though moving it is tricky and requires a professional. If your RV retirement has taken you to a lot in an RV park or resort at least part of the time and you want extra space besides your RV, one of these could fill the bill. They are very reasonable, though you can run up the bill with customizing them.

We seem to have the two extremes: RVers who want as large an RV as they can get and those who travel in a small, simple unit. Not as many full-time RVers choose the smaller RVs. Friends have a T@B trailer with no bathroom facilities. That would not do for more than a short trip for me! Another RV friend's sister and husband are traveling full-time in a van with no bathroom. It does limit the places where they can stay, for sure.

You have to admit some of these little guys are cute! It would be fun to travel in a vintage teardrop. The new ones play on that nostalgia. I doubt we'll be doing that soon, though. George is over six feet tall and most of these little ones mean he would have head bruises and scrapes from encounters with the AC or doorways. We'll have to pass. Too bad because secretly he'd love to build one. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Related posts

• Bruce Osborn shows how he built his own teardrop
• Jordan full-times in a teardrop- one night his coffee pot froze!
• Alice wrote this article on vintage trailers for RoadTripAmerica.com

Cliff dwellings at Walnut Canyon NM

A few miles east of Flagstaff, off exit 204 on I-40, lies a small national monument that is probably not too visited, but should be. Walnut Canyon National Monument is fairly small, quiet and peaceful. The canyon, though, housed quite a population of people around 1100 A.D.

The people who chose this canyon were the Sinagua. Higher concentrations of Sinaguans moved in after Sunset Crater to the north erupted sometime between 1040 and 1100. Almost everywhere you look in the canyon, you can see cliff dwellings.

 We took the hike down to the sky Island where a number of cliff dwellings in various states of decay are located. Across the way, we could see many more. Not too many artifacts have been found; pot hunters in the 1880s pretty much took everything.

The hike down to the sky island goes down 245 steps, the sign said. You'll notice the climb on the way back up - but there are many benches to rest at and interpretive signs to stop and read to catch your breath. The bottom left photo was taken on the sky island, looking back up at the visitor center perched at the rim of the canyon, where the trail started.

The path descends through several climate zones. You travel from the Upper Sonoran desert at the rim to the cooler, moister Pacific Northwestern forests of shade-tolerant shrubs and mixed conifers, including Douglas fir. In other areas of the canyon, you'll find the ponderosa pine/gambol oak forest and pinyon/juniper woodland. At the bottom is a riparian community along the stream.

 The National Park Service has preserved other Sinaguan sites in the Verde Valley area that probably get more visitation. This canyon, however, is unique and worth a stop if you are in the Flagstaff area. The parking lot will accommodate RVs. There is a picnic area but no RV campground or other camping. There are RV parks in Flagstaff to the west, an RV park at Meteor Crater to the east, and plenty of boondocking in the nearby Coconino National Forest. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Another RV-sized coffee brewer

We found another RV-sized coffee brewer that brews one cup at a time.

George and I had been to New Frontiers, a health food store on Butler in Flagstaff, AZ. Less than a block away, a coffee shop caught our eye. We worked our way back to It's About Coffee for an after-lunch cup. They were selling a "Single Cup Pour Over Brewing System." The system costs under $10 and can be washed in a dishwasher.

These are the directions:

1. Bring 14 oz of filtered water to a boil
2. Grind 1/4 cup of coffee at a fine ((expresso) setting
3. Place coffee grounds into paper filter and place inside gourmet single brew filter holder. Place the filter holder on top of a coffee mug. (Pictured)
4. Pour water slowly over gorunds, making sure to saturate completely. Stir as needed.
5. Remove filter holder before four minutes to avoid any bitter after-taste

The attendant made my coffee that way. It was quite good. She said the trick is partly in the water. They use reverse osmosis to purify their water and then add selected minerals back in the water to give it a good flavor. They also roast their own beans.

I asked her about freezing coffee beans until you are ready to use them. I have heard people argue both ways. She said freezing retains flavor. Their bags are vented, which helps reduce moisture. "Seven month-old frozen coffee beans taste fresh when immediately frozen in our vented coffee bags. Thaw just before grinding."

So now you have another choice! This coffee brewer is plastic so no glass to worry about. It also takes a small space. If you follow the directions you should be able to make good coffee every time. Like the Aero-Press, you could quickly and easily make a cup of coffee at a rest stop.

No need to give up good coffee to live the RV lifestyle! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Related post:

Aero-Press- excellent coffee, right size for RVs

A Great Gift For Your RV!

Need a nice Christmas present for your RV? Look no further. This compact, lightweight, well-balanced and powerful vacuum cleaner makes an excellent gift. It's perfect for the job of spot cleaning when you don't want to drag out your other full-size monster for a five-minute job.

It runs on a digital motor that turns at 104,000 rpm off a 22.2-volt lithium ion rechargeable battery providing incredible suction. As a first test, I cleaned the inside floor of my truck, picking up small stones and dirt that traveled with us all the way from Alaska.

The unit has two selectable speeds: a ten-minute setting for light work, and six-minute setting for the heavy lifting. A light comes on indicating that there is one minute left before the battery needs to be recharged. The unit sounds powerful at either speed and cleaned the floor mats in seconds.

Two interchangeable tools are supplied: a crevice tool, and a combination brush/wide-mouthed nozzle, either of which snaps into place on the unit.

There are no replaceable filters or bags needed with this vacuum. None. Debris falls into a transparent container that when full, empties through the bottom which snaps back into place. A lifetime washable air filter completes the system.

You can purchase it online at Dyson.com or locate a store that carries it at their Web site.

The nice folks at Dyson USA sent this vacuum to us for testing. We receive no compensation (other than keeping this vacuum as a welcome addition to our RV!) from them. George Bruzenak

Photo by Jaimie Bruzenak

Andy Baird on e-book readers

The latest poll at RVLifestyleExperts.com home page has to do with how your read books in your RV. Do you use some sort of e-book reader like Kindle or Nook? Do you read mostly print books? Don't read? or... Andy Bair, who has an interesting site, Travels with Andy, has a different solution than the choices given and left this comment. He has given permission for me to share it.

"I read constantly, but don't have the space or CCC to carry many physical books, so e-books have been my salvation. In the past couple of years I've read hundreds of e-books--mostly downloaded free from manybooks.net--on my Sony PRS-505 Reader, which has the exact same E-ink screen as a Kindle but in a slimmer, less button-cluttered package.

"But my new favorite e-book reader is my iPod touch. I get books from the same public-domain and commercial sources (in fact, Amazon's free "Kindle for iPhone" software turns my iPod touch into a Kindle)... but unlike a Kindle or Sony Reader, the iPod touch is always in my shirt pocket. If I get stuck in traffic, or a slow supermarket line, or I have time to kill while waiting for the laundry to dry, I pull it out and read a few chapters from any of the dozens of books I have stored on it. It even downloads and plays free audiobooks--I listen to those while driving.

"And of course the iPod touch can also run any of the 100,000+ other useful applications (many of them free) available in the online App Store... something the Kindle and Sony Reader can't do. Nowadays I do most of my reading on this pocket-sized device."

As Andy mentioned in an email, "The e-book field is in ferment right now, with new readers and formats being announced almost weekly, so it's hard to know what to buy." The iPod (or iPhone) can be a good interim solution, especially if you take advantage of all the free e-books available. E-books are a good solution for the RV lifestyle for keeping weight down. Too much weight is hard on your RV and causes damage.

If you haven't voted, go to RVLifestyleExperts.com and be counted. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Related posts:

Amazon's Kindle- a way to lighten the load?

Where do you get your books to read?

Kidney dialysis doesn't stop this RVer

RVer Harvey Wells is traveling with a portable hemodialysis machine so he can do his dialysis treatments wherever he is. The Texas man is stopping at dialysis centers to share his experience with other patients. You can read more about him at ChicagoTribune.com.

A disability or physical challenge doesn't have to stop you from traveling. RVs can be modified - such as adding a chair lift as shown- and medical equipment taken along. When George's late wife, Susie, and he traveled to Maine in their 5th wheel, they took all her medications and her oxygen machine with them. Ken Murray is blind, yet he travels in an RV. Read his story at RVLifestyleExperts.com.

There are walk-in clinics and urgent care facilities too for medical issues that come up as you travel.

Physical disabilities and challenges don't have to stop you from traveling in an RV. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Related articles:

• RV travel for the Physically Challenged
• Resource for finding health insurance
• Staying fit on the road

Read RV Lifestyle Ezine- November part 2

Read the latest RV Lifestyle Ezine, "5 Insider Secrets Announcement" at our Web site. Read more about Jaimie's f/ree Webinar, "Five Insider Secrets to Living a Frugal Life of Freedom in an RV" and Tom and Nancy Vineski's second installment in their series on RV Solar Power 101. Plus, find resources, RV news and fun.

Subscribe and don't miss out on our bimonthly ezine. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

For better or worse, but not for RV lunch!

For people starting the RV retirement lifestyle, consider how you’ll be spending your time. In an article, “Money isn't the only retirement consideration” in the Minneapolis- St.Paul StarTribune.com, the author suggests that having the money to retire isn’t the only consideration. If one partner is a Type A and has been intensely involved in work, going into retirement without some planning as to where they are going to spend that energy is a recipe for trouble. That’s where the expression comes from—for better or worse, but not for lunch. For the partner who has been on her (usually the wife) own, having a partner underfoot is an adjustment.

While many RVers start their RV lifestyle by exploring the many places they want to see, generally in a year or so, they want more to their RV retirement. In RVers—How do they live like that? authors Judy Farrow and Lou Stoetzer suggest that, at some point, people become “career RVers” or they may very well get off the road. Some of the “careers” or roles they have noted are: lone wolves, pathfinders, elders or mentors, Workampers, ping-pongers and snowbirds, park dwellers and others. This provides a purpose or focus for life on the road.

For the intense person who is about to retire, finding activities you can do in your RV travels will help that adjustment period. Here are a few suggestions:

• Work or volunteer for part of the year
• Continue consulting or occasional work in your industry
• Take up a hobby that is portable and doesn’t take too much space in your RV
• Take photographs, perhaps sharing them in a blog or on Facebook
• Choose a theme for your travel - visit national parks, follow the Lewis and Clark trail, etc.
• Write your memoirs, that how-to book or novel you’ve often thought about
• Focus on exercise- hiking certain trails, biking Rails to Trails locations

You’ll probably be eating lunch together—at least most days— but before you start traveling, think about how you'll be spending your time on days you aren't traveling. RVers—How do they live like that? is an excellent e-book to read before hitting the road too, so you can learn more about what to expect about life on the road. There is lots of information on the RV technical side; this e-book provides the human side of RVing. (Available through instant download at RVLifestyleExperts.com) Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Military Fam Camps for RVers

Located on military bases, military campgrounds provide an option for many RVers who want to camp in beautiful areas, but prefer not to pay the prices asked for by private facilities. Military campgrounds are restricted to career and retired military, disabled veterans, Department of Defense workers, and various others connected to active service and their guests. Unfortunately, the average soldier who served a short enlistment is not allowed to use the facilities unless invited as a guest. Each campground has slightly different criteria so always check first before you go.

How do you find military campgrounds? U.S. Military Campgrounds and RV Parks is one source. Another is Paths Across America, part of the Army MWR site. You can subscribe to RV Camping and Outdoor Recreation™ Around the World as well.

To read more about camping at military fam camps in your RV, read Alice Zyetz' article at RVLifestyleExperts on the topic. If you qualify, these are another resource for camping that are usually less expensive than regular commercial parks and often in prime locations. I have always wanted to camp on the beach at Camp Pendleton, just north of Oceanside, California. I've driven by there for years. I'll have to make a military friend, I guess! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Get your winter reservation soon!

If you are planning to winter in Arizona in your RV and don't have a reservation, think about doing so 
soon. Today's RV Daily Report included a piece that reported that reservations in Mesa, Arizona (just east of Phoenix) are up. Jeff Crider, an industry-association spokesman, said "advance reservations are up at about a dozen of the larger RV parks and campgrounds."

Mesa has about 44,000 RV spaces. RV parks there report that reservations are up and cancellations are down. Some of that is due to the fact that more Canadian snowbirds are headed south, helped by the stronger Canadian dollar. I imagine Yuma and Tucson will attract more RVers this year too.

 Some of the resorts in the Mesa area offer a ton of activities and amenities. We visited friends at one a few years back on Baseline. Besides activities within the park like swimming, aerobics and other exercise, dancing and cards, vans and even buses took residents on shopping sprees, to concerts and hiking in the Superstition Mountains. You could be busy nearly every minute of every day!

In any event, if you are expecting to stay in one of the RV parks or resorts for any length of time, now would be the time to call and reserve your spot. Generally RV parks offer better rates for extended stays, so take advantage of those. Plus, many of the sites at resorts are taken by park models, put there by guests who have liked the resort and return winter after winter.

If RV parks and resorts and city life are not for you, Arizona also has thousands of acres of Bureau of Land  Management (BLM) in the warmer desert areas for boondockers. Reservations are not a problem! However, the rules say you have to move your RV 25 miles or so from your spot every 14 days. Or, you could get a permit at one of the Longer Term Visitor Areas (LTVAs) and stay for the entire winter for $180. Besides La Posa, just south of Quartzsite, there is one at Imperial Dam in Arizona and six in California. 

Whichever is your RV lifestyle - RV parks and resorts or boondocking - it's available in Arizona. If you're going the RV resort route, line up your spot soon. Otherwise, maybe we'll see you around Quartzsite this winter! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak