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Top travel apps for your mobile phone

Gripd identified four travel apps they say head the list in a recent press release found at RV Daily Report. I'd say that two are particularly useful for RVers.

Weatherbug-It is the largest network of professional weather stations in the U.S. so should be an excellent source of up-to-date local travel conditions.

Waze - is a social mobile application that enables drivers to build and use real-time road intelligence. The service includes constantly-updated road maps, alerts on traffic and accidents, and data providing users with the fastest route to get to wherever they need to go. Map and traffic updates are automatically collected and generated as users drive with Waze activated, but drivers can also actively report and update other users with what's happening on the road.

You can check the other two - you might find them useful as well.

Oh, and don't forget to either have your navigator do the checking or pull over. Don't be a distracted driver!

If you have other favorite apps, please share them with us. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Stinky RV- should she get her money back?

We recently blogged about a man trying to get his money back on a Forest River RV because of safety issues - "Should a consumer get a refund for a lemon?" The Michigan Supreme Court sided with the consumer.

In RV Daily Report, there is a report of a woman who purchased a used RV for almost $135,000. She said it was so drenched in pet urine that even $17,000 in repairs and janitorial work couldn't salvage it. The woman, Lou Hayes Woodruff, signed an arbitration clause when she purchased the RV and the dealer, Bretz RV & Marine, wants to hold her to it. Woodruff sued for the right to have a jury trial, where she'd be more likely to get a favorable settlement.

At the Supreme Court level, the debate is not whether she gets her money back, but a point of law. In this case, her lawyers claimed it was a contract where she had no ability to negotiate the terms. The lawyers for the RV dealer contended that she had willingly signed a memorandum of agreement agreeing to arbitration and should be held to that.

The Montana Supreme Court ruled in favor of Woodruff. This means she has the right to a jury trial to determine whether or not she can get her money back for this urine-soaked RV. You can read more about the reasoning at the Missoulian.

We'll have to see what the jury decides - IF it goes to court. Perhaps the dealer will be willing to settle before then. I believe most people would be sympathetic to Woodruff in this case. If I were a jury member, I'd certainly vote to give her her purchase price back plus fees spent trying to get the odor out. Do you agree? Jaimie Hall Bruzenak