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Woman killed by an RV so get rid of RVs?

According to an article in the Commercial Appeal, a man and wife were hitching their camper to their truck when the camper started to roll forward. She ran to the front to put the brakes on. The door flew open and hit her, knocking her to the ground. The camper ran over her, crushing her. A tragic accident.

In the comments section, someone comments that if RVs were banned, then this would not have happened. Do you get rid of something because there is an accident? The details in the article are sketchy. In fact, I'm not sure if she was going for the truck brakes or what. However, this probably happened because some step was missed. The wheels should have been chocked at the very least.

Obviously this commenter has a thing against RVs. Another poster mentions that some people think they should be banned because of the environmental damage they cause and all the fuel they use. Overall, if someone full-times in an RV, I think they have a smaller environmental footprint than living in a regular house. An RV can have a very small footprint for the RVer who has solar panels and who boondocks a lot. Most full-time RVers do not drive a lot of miles in a year either. Many commuters burn more fuel in a year than most of the RVers I know. And, in any case, our country is about choice. You vote with your dollars. Slowly, RV manufacturers are moving towards more fuel-efficient RVs and green features. That's because consumers are looking for those features. 

Any comments? Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

 

 

RV Lifestyles Ezine: Pre-winter checklist

Read the latest RV Lifestyles Ezine, "Pre-winter checklist." Columnists Tom and Nancy Vineski supply the checklist plus give you a formula for figuring whether it is more economical to run your refrigerator on propane or electricty when you have hookups. We're also gathering information on which GPS/street mapping program you use. Plus Jaimie reports about the Workamper Rendezvous. And, there's more.... Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Winner of ePublishing package

Nina Paules was a guest blogger last month. In "ePublish your RV writing or memoirs - here's how," she explained all about ePublishing and what her company offers to writers. She also generously offered an "All-Inclusive Package w/Advance cover upgrade" to one reader who posted a question or comment.

We drew a name and the winner is Jan Goldfield, PondLady. Congratulations, Jan! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Folk music capital of the world

We had a little time on Friday after teaching classes about Workamping at the Workamper Rendezvous in Heber Springs to do some exploring. Mountain View was on my list. It was a little over an hour away so we had a beautiful drive over the Greers Ferry dam and then through the countryside. Mountain View is a small town with the older part built around a square. You can see an illustration of the layout plus get more info at the Stone Country Tourism site. The group below was playing on the square- most seem pretty informal - just a gathering of musicians. Other groups were settled in on porches at shops around the square. And, George and I couldn't resist this photo of us on a giant rocking chair!

We ate at the Rainbow Cafe, which had quite an amazing selection of vegetarian dishes for a small cafe. In fact, we were lucky that Jane, from Tupelo MS, invited us to join her in her booth. The place was packed! If you go to Mountain View for any kind of festival and you are driving your RV, get there the night before and get a spot to park. We're told that even on regular evenings, the square is jammed with people listening to musicians and even more so on festival weekends. Hint: The Annual Bean Fest & Championship Outhouse Races is coming up the last weekend of October.

After wandering around, we drove a few miles to the Ozark Folk Center. A big lot here does accommodate RVs. Once you pay your admission fee, you can either walk up 123 steps, or take the shuttle. After several days of good Arkansas cooking, we took the stairs! The small buildings are clustered in a loop on the top of the hill. Each building contains a shop with a craftsman demonstrating the vintage crafts. These include things like wood carving, gunsmithing, quilting, spinning, candle making, herbs, and much more. If you have more time and would like to learn one of these crafts, they even have a folk school.

 

Here's a basketmaker and the wood carver, carving my likeness out of a toothpick!

I bet this cabin  came straight from the hills. An old-time merry-go-round with several swings for seats was burro-powered.

 

We found two wooden figurines to pose by and listened to the group that was the 2:15 entertainment for the day.

 

 

After leaving the folk center, we stopped in a dulcimer store. Those were tempting. They also had a few autoharps. I used to play and have been thinking about an upgrade - one that has working strings (!) and a 21-chord rather than only 15. However, the least expensive was $900 and they had one for more than $3300! Whew!

If you like folk music and folk crafts, Mountain View and the Ozark Folk Center should be on your list. Bring your chairs, set up in the square and sit down for an afternoon or evening of entertainment. It's not far from the White River with good fishing too. And Greers Ferry Lake with its dam at Heber Springs has wonderful camping plus boating and fishing. Come on down! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

RVer living well on $11K/year

Yahoo Finance has had several stories on "living well on $X a year." They started at $40,000, then did $20,000. They were intrigued by Glen Morrissette, 42, who not only lives on $11,000 a year in an RV but has health insurance. They followed up with a story on him. He is professional musician who can work from his RV.

In the article, they interviewed him but you can also get information from Living Simply, his blog. His RV - a Class B - is paid for. He limits his travel. His one splurge is good food. Since he is a solo RVer, he can eat on about $250 a month. He likes his own cooking so rarely eats out. Compared to living in an apartment in Los Angeles, Glen estimates he is spending at least $1000 less per month. You can read his story here.

He does not talk about the price of campgrounds. That could be a lot of money even if you only spent an average of $20/night each month. If you'd like tips on ways to save money on your campground fees, take a look at our article, "Ten Tips for Saving Money on Camping."

The RV lifestyle is about choices. Some expenses - like Glen's fuel expense-  are controllable in the RV lifestyle. You can live on less and live happily. That's the great thing about this lifestyle - there is no right or wrong way. Happy RVing! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Fee-free days for 2012

The secreatary of theDepartment of Interior has announced 17 fee-free days at our national parks for 2012. These are five weekends at different times during the year. See the NPS site for details. From here you can check out special deals being offered by concessionaires within the parks. Many national park entities never charge a fee, but it can save you up to $25 in larger parks.

The Bureau of Land Mangement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service will also waive their fees on most of these weekend. See RVDaily Report for details on these other agencies.

Fees for camping in NPS or concessionaire RV parks will not be waived. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Homemade RV

Saw this homemade RV at Fail blog. It doesn't look very comfortable but I guess you can at least stand up to change. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Thank you Bank of America!

So says Michael Hiltzik in his column in the Los Angeles Times. BOAs $5/month debit card fee has called attention to bank fees that have been hidden from the consumer. Consumers are responding by protesting and finding other banks.

The new fee is a result of the Durbin amendment to the Durbin-Frank bank regulation passed last year, which limits the hidden fees that banks can charge. Instead, BOA is charging the consumer upfront. Due to consumer uproar, some banks that were planning to implement similar fees have backed down.

RVers often choose a national bank like BOA because of the convenience of branches in more areas. However, Internet banking can make banking at many banks and credit unions easy even if there are no branches nearby. Credit unions usually have an agreement with other credit unions so no ATM fee is charged. Many financial institutions now permit deposits by scanning and send the check image as well as direct deposit for recurring deposits.

If enough consumers move their funds, banks will reconsider their fees as the two banks mentioned in the article have done. Keep your RV lifestyle costs down. Vote with your dollars! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Encouraging diversity

We don't see a whole lot of African Americans out camping and RVing or enjoying the outdoors. Rue Mapp, founder of OutdoorAfro blog, is calling attention to that segment of the population. At her blog, which has 7,000 followers, she tells about her trips and ways to get outdoors. One post talks about why we don't see much Black participation in national parks, hiking trail or activities like rock climbing, yet they do enjoy nature. Just in a different way.

Her upcoming trip with her family in an RV is to Big Sur. You can read more about it at her blog. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Workamper Rendezvous- coming up fast!

We are headed to the Workamper Rendezvous in Heber Springs which will begin Tuesday, October 18. The spring Rendezvous was such a success, we're doing it again! 

There are three days of classes and a bonus day with extra courses. There will be sharing at a special session plus roundtable discussions, presentations by Amazon (below left) and the Corps of Engineers (below right) and plenty of socializing and food!

Instructors are Steve Anderson, Jody Anderson Duquette and Luke Duquette, Arline Chandler and husband Lee, George Montgomery, Terry and Evada Cooper, Mark Kohler and me. Lots of seminars to choose from! Couples are advised to split up so they can take more information in. George is official photographer. The rest of the Workamper staff will be coordinating everything and making sure all goes smoothly. They did a fantastic job in the spring.

Camping is available at nearby Corps of Engineers campgrounds on Greers Ferry Lake.

There are still a few openings so sign up if you want a fun learning experience. Go to Workamper Rendezvous for more information and registration. See you there? Jaimie Hall Bruzenak