Gillette WY Recreation Vocation Lunacy

The Campbell County Economic Development Corporation had a booth at the Quartzsite RV show this last week. They were touting a new program they drummed up while obviously smoking something illegal (well…. maybe it’s not illegal in Wyoming – who knows anymore.)
It seems the town of Gillette Wyoming doesn’t have enough teenagers to work fast food in the summer. So, they are courting RVers in a program they call “Recreation Vocation” in which RVers are invited to bring their rigs to Gillette to live and work for the summer. They have a “booming energy economy and not enough workers.” They also don’t have enough housing so they want the RV community to bail them out by bringing their own houses. For this you get to earn $8 to $13 per hour (This is false advertising because their website as of today doesen't list any jobs for $13 per hour most are for much less) flipping burgers, making tacos or cleaning hotel rooms. The jobs shown on the front of the brochure they handed out (see below) are for Taco bell, Burger King, Conoco KwikShop, Pizza Hut and McDonalds. They only list one fun job “golf course marshals,” gee how many of those do you think they need? They also list these fun jobs, “Restaurant hostesses and city park maintenance workers.” When you look at the website you learn that all they really have are CRUMMY jobs available.Now, I think this is a great concept and many RVers would love to do these CRUMMY jobs for a few months if you provided them FREE – Get it Campbell County – FREE campsite facilities (including laundry and shower facilities) and NO additional FEES. You are asking the RV community for a HUGE favor and this is what they get - for $12.00 a day they get to live in the squalor of a 100 space fairground parking lot (with full hook-ups - I could make a joke here, but I will refrain) and on top of that they get to pay $35.00 per person per vehicle every 90 days AND they get to work at fast food joints, get held up at the local 7-11 and pay income taxes to boot. Apparently if you are from a state other than Wyoming you also have to have a Green Card.

If that wasn’t bad enough, you’re asking the RV community to give up the PRIME travel season of the year, May 1 through September 30, 2007 to bail out your local economy! Please go BACK to the drawing board and come up with a better deal for the RVing community! They have many MUCH better work camping opportunities in (can I be frank) much nicer places. So get a clue Gillette! Sheesh!

Social Security Credits Military Service

Attention military veterans! You may qualify for additional Social Security benefits if you served during certain time periods. Read this Social Security Administration publication to find out if you qualify. http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10017.pdf

RV Hobby Rocks!

RV camp hosts Chuck and Gloria Hill enjoy their Montana 5th Wheel in the Arizona desert.

When you walk around to the other side of their rig you see a hobby in progress. They are busy cutting and grinding stones. You might say this hobby rocks! This couple enjoys collecting rocks and making them into beautiful jewelry quality stones. What better place than Gilla Bend, Arizona to collect rocks. We have more rocks here than rabbits, so it’s the perfect hobby for these RVers. Rock hounds enjoy Quartzsite Hobby, Craft and Gem show that starts Wednesday and goes through Frbruary 4th. If you happen to be in the area, check it out.

The nice thing about this hobby is that the equipment is small and therefore portable. The rocks are usually small so you can avoid the problem Lucy had in the 1954 movie "The Long Long Trailer" where she kept a heavy rock as a souvenir of every place they visited. Eventually the trailer became overloaded and well, you know the rest of the story. This shouldn’t happen with this hobby.

Gloria wants to say “Hi” to her granddaughter Samantha who is serving with our fabulous armed forces in Iraq. Can you believe this Sam, your grandma is now famous, a rock star if you will. From all of us here stateside I just want to give you a great big salute and a hearty “Thank You” for serving our country!

Crock Pot Liners - No Mess

Reynolds Company (of aluminum foil fame) reaches out to RVers for the first time at the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV show with their new product “Slow Cooker Liners.”Reynolds representative Julie Mossler told me that you can purchase this new item in WalMart or grocery stores, BUT you must look for them where you normally find other Reynolds products such as aluminum foil. Julie says these crock-pot liners are great for RVers because they are a disposable one use product. Just throw them away after use and the pot is still clean. She says there is no need to soak the pot after your finished cooking. Less mess means more time to enjoy the RV lifestyle.

She says you can use these in slow-cookers up to 6 ½ quarts. The oblong bag designed to fit the elliptical shaped cookers fits just as well in the round cookers. Here I am preparing to use one of these new liners in my own RV home test. I decided to cook up some potato and ham soup for supper and Julie was correct – no mess (except for the lid – but that is no problem to clean).
DO NOT lift the bag out of the pot with the contents in it (especially when it is hot) otherwise it might break, spill and possibly burn you. Just dish out the contents like you normally would then after it cools down, pour the left-overs into a container for future enjoyment.

Want to win an RV kitchen makeover worth $1000? Go to the Reynolds website at http://www.noscrubrvclub.com/ and register. The first 2000 to register will receive a free gift.

Sniff, sniff… Ahhhhhh the soup is ready to eat!

Homeschooling in an RV

I first heard about parents homeschooling their kids while living the full-time RV lifestyle from the book, “Take Back Your Life,” a great read by the way. Speaking of reading, check out the many great RV books at the RV Travel online bookstore, you can access them through the ads in the side column of this blog. This past summer my wife and I toured a village museum in Harding Montana. They have many antique buildings including a train station, doctor’s office, period homes and a one room schoolhouse pictured below. I often wondered what it would be like to be a student in a one room schoolhouse. My friend Stan Sowers grew up in Kansas and attended such a school. He said that one year there were only four students. Most of the students went on to college and did quite well for themselves. Homeschooling and the RV lifestyle is not much different from those one room schoolhouses of the Midwest. I was fortunate to meet Cindy and her wonderful family. Here is the interview:

RV Now: Cindy you have four children, live in an RV Travel Trailer (bunkhouse model) and homeschool your children. How long have you been home schooling?

Cindy: About three years now, the kids have been put in public school for short periods of time.

RV Now: How did you get started home schooling your children?

Cindy: My husband works away for about six months, so the family started going with him. It is too hard to put the kids into different schools every two months so we chose to homeschool.

RV Now: What does a typical home schooling day look like for your family?

Cindy: We get up and eat breakfast and try to begin schoolwork by 8 am. I try to have all the work they need to do for that day in their folders. My 4th grader generally goes into the bedroom and does his work, asking for help when needed. My 2nd grader and two Kinders sit at the table with me and I read the directions and help as needed. We take a snack break around 10am and generally are finished for the day by lunch time. The afternoon is for computer time, play time outside and cleaning up. Since we do travel so much I do take advantage of museums often. Usually on Fridays we have a field trip to a factory, a history museum, or a science museum. The kids love this and learn so much more than from a book. We do have "big days" and "easy days" too. We might work longer or shorter depending on what has been done in the week or even the weather.

RV Now: Recognizing there are differences between living in a standard house compared to an RV, what are the advantages and disadvantages of home schooling while living in an RV?

Cindy: It is a little more difficult in the RV, just for the room. It is a lot of books and materials to have readily available, not stored away somewhere. The table is small, the reason my oldest does most of his work in the bedroom. But, that is also an advantage because I am always close by to help them when needed.

RV Now: Do you know of other families who live in RVs and home school?

Cindy: I did know of one other, but they no longer homeschool. Their oldest is now in high school and they have settled up in Idaho and she attends public school. The younger sibling does too.

RV Now: What tools, resources, organizations, web sites or blogs do you recommend for helping parents home school.

Cindy: We belong to a charter school so I get a tremendous amount of support from that. Of course, the internet is often used to for information. I would talk to more homeschool parents and attend homeschool conventions to look at materials. Every child is different and not one curriculum will suit each child. I like hands-on learning for my kids and use materials from Delta Education quite a bit. We have a support system of homeschool families too. There are all different grade levels and families who are new and families who have many years behind them doing this. I am the only one who travels in an RV however.

RV Now: What advice would you give parents who are thinking of doing this?

Cindy: Just do it!! I always thought homeschoolers were crazy, why not take the break while the kids are in school? But being forced into it, I realize all the benefits it has for our family. My children get along with each other better than many other families. There is a bonding that happens when the family learns together. The parent learns, too. I also love the flexibility of homeschooling, like going to places and you will take advantage of other moments. Because you know exactly what your child is learning about, you use it in every day moments to ask them questions and they will show you what they are learning in everyday situations. There isn't too many things better than to watch your child learn and to finally "get it" !!

Since doing this article I met another mom homeschooling her children while living the RV lifestyle. She told me about a resource that is specifically for RV homeschooling families and here is the link:

http://www.familiesontheroad.com/about.html

Think about this, you do a lesson on the Alamo and then actually go to the Alamo and do the tour - I think I would learn a lot more this way than just reading about it in a book. Jim

Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show

Oy! My feet are tierd! Quartzsite is an interesting place to say the least. We’ve stopped by the annual Sports, Vacation & RV show for the last three years. I enjoy the show and always learn something new and usually end up buying something. This was the 24th year the show has been in production. Something different this year is that they closed the big tent down and sent everyone home last Sunday around 3:00 pm due to high winds (somebody said they really closed it so they could watch the football game). This year the show runs from January 20th – 28th, so if you hurry, you can make it here by Sunday which is the last day of the show. Following the RV show is the Craft & Gem Show (Jan. 31st – Feb 4th) followed by the Classic Car Show (February 3rd & 4th). So, if you don’t make it to the show, no problem! There more shows to come and there are so many venders here doing business in the “Flea Market” format that it will make your feet hurt just thinking about it. If you are driving through Quartzsite and you’ve never been here before, do yourself a favor and spend a few days here. There is no place on earth quite like it! You don’t have to boondock, although space is plentiful if you want to dry camp a few days or the whole season for that matter. We just stay at the Desert Gardens behind Loves truck stop where we enjoy full hook-ups.

The last two years traffic was bad, but this year it is reasonable. You can actually get around town now that the construction is mostly finished.

There is always something cooking at the RV show! There is also live entertainment! And, there are lots of vendors with all kinds of goodies for RVers. Let’s see, where is my credit card…. See you on the road. Jim

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is a great place! We took a leisurely drive through the park from Twenty Nine Palms to I-10. We enjoyed meeting the local residents: The Joshua tree is a fascinating specimen. The blossoms of this tree are pollinated by the yucca moth. The moth lays her eggs inside the blossoms and the larvae feed on the seed and when they hatch the remaining seeds, which are ample, spread planting new trees. These two rely on each other for survival in this hostile desert environment. The Scotts Oriole, the Ladder Backed Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, owls and other birds that migrate through the area enjoy the protection of this desert tree. This park also has great rock formations and a beautiful Cholla garden. It is well worth taking a detour and putting this park in your planned itinerary.

Fresh Water Tank Filler

Don’t throw that drinking water hose away before you make a fresh water tank filler out of it. You could buy one at the store that looks like this: Or, you could make one yourself that looks like this. All you have to do is cut off the end with the female connector and “presto,” you have a fresh water tank filler. I like these homemade units better because you can make them longer than the commercial cousin and they stay in the tank filler recepticle better.

Then you add a water pressure gauge and an inline valve and you have a pressure testing system as well as a fresh water tank filler. This tool does double duty (you know how I appreciate tools that are multipurpose!) I don’t always put a water pressure regulator on when I hook-up. I make it a point to test the pressure every time before I attach the hose to the city water inlet of my rig. An RV Tech told me that most new RV plumbing can handle pressures as high as 90 psi without a problem. I, however, put a water pressure regulator on if the pressure at the hose bib exceeds 60 psi.

I experienced problems once when I was using one of those light blue plastic water pressure regulators from a large chain store. These are junk! Save your money and invest in a better quality brass regulator from your friendly neighborhood RV parts dealer. The problem was that the water pressure was reduced so much that it wouldn't force open the check valve on the rig and all I had was a trickle. You could get more water out of a squirt gun! When I changed to a higher quality water pressure regulator everything was fine. Jim

Axle Equalizer Safety Alert

Did you know you are supposed to grease your leaf spring equalizer assembly every six months? I know my 5th wheel well and while I’m traveling I visually inspect my rig every time I stop. I look at the tires, the 5th wheel hitch, the exterior of the rig and I even glance under the rig. At a rest stop just north of Bakersfield, California I made such an inspection and didn’t notice anything unusual. I always look at the gap between the tires and they were fine. After I arrived at Edwards Air Force Base Family Camp I noticed that my street-side tires were only about ½ inch apart. This top photo is normal, the next photo shows the tires too close together.














I immediately crawled under my 5th wheel and saw this:
This is a typical double eye leaf spring equalizer. The retaining bolt had literally cut down the center of this piece and eventually broke the equalizer. The springs are up against the frame holding up the 5th wheel.It had been like this for some time since there was rust on part of the material that was cut.
It is very difficult to see this from a glance because the metal housing that holds the equalizer blocks the view of a casual visual inspection. Notice that this set-up has a “wet bolt kit” meaning it has grease fittings that lubricate the leaf spring equalizer assembly - when you service them that is.It is recommended that these be serviced (read more grease added) every six months. Unfortunately for me, I had no idea that the grease fittings were even there let alone that I was supposed to grease them every six months. The eyes where the bolts insert into the equalizer are lined with brass sleeves. These sleeves had long been warn away. Here is a comparison between the old and new equalizers. I replaced both equalizers today and am glad I did even though on visual inspection the curb-side (the one that didn’t break) looked fine. After removal and closer inspection this equalizer was beginning to crack and would have eventually broken as well. This could have caused a catastrophic accident. So you can bet I will be servicing these leaf spring equalizer assemblies every six months from now on. There are also grease fittings on the ends of the leaf spring assembly that also require 6 month servicing. I know most of you knew this already, but for those of you who, like me, didn't have a clue about this - now is your chance to get an inspection and a correction. Keep an eye on your rig and by all means be safe out there! Jim

Slideout Solutions

RV slideouts are a wonderful invention and make RVs so much more spacious! Our first 5th wheel with a slideout would accumulate leaves, pine needles and dust especially when we parked under a tree. Since I didn’t know any better, we quickly accumulated this debris inside the rig when we retracted the slides. Some folks elect to install slideout awnings to keep dirt and debris off of their slideouts. These short awnings automatically deploy when you extend your slides. They can be purchased and installed from any RV dealer with a service department, or if you are so inclined, you can install them yourself. Here is a cheaper solution that has multifunctionality and when I can use a tool in multiple ways it makes me happy. I like leaf blowers! They are great at cleaning up a paved campsite or blowing debris off your little slice of heaven in the RV park.

Arizona is dusty and I use this jewel of a tool to clean up my site in a hurry. But, it also does double duty as a slideout sweeper. I used a length of PVC pipe and a threaded elbow fitting to make a blower extension. I used some gorilla tape to secure it to the nozzle that came with the blower. Now I can clean off the roof and the slideouts without having to get on the roof or climb a ladder. I use a bungee ball chord to hold the blower attachment handle to the main unit and use it as a “sawed off” air shotgun to clean the campsite. When I want to clean the slides I simply attach the homemade blower nozzle extension. I also use this unit to blow out the bed of the truck.

Junk Rack

When we took delivery of our new 5th wheel it didn’t have much in the way of towel bars, junk holders and hooks. Where do I put my wallet, watch, cell phone, all-purpose tool, reading glasses and keys? We looked around the 5th wheel and decided that we needed a towel bar next to the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink and a “junk rack” somewhere near the entrance. The towel bars were easy enough, but the “junk rack” took some thought. We decided to put it in the hallway going up the stairs to the bedroom. Here is a picture: This area also holds the “Fantastic Vent” and heat/AC controls. I mounted a thermometer next to these controls and put this dandy combination letter holder and key rack just below the controls. I used one inch drywall screws to mount the thermometer and the rack into the side of the pantry wall. This wall is a double thickness hollow wall and the screws did not protrude into the pantry.

We do not have a broom closet, and were placing our broom in the 5th wheel basement (the main storage space of the 5th wheel located under the bedroom and aft of the kingpin). My wife likes everything clean and was not happy having to ask me to fetch the broom all the time. We tried several places to store the broom but nothing worked until after we installed the ‘junk rack.”

As you can see the broom fit neatly in a space next to the steps and the handle is held in place by the “junk rack” itself. My wife loves the easy access to the broom and I like a place to put the stuff out of my pockets. A few RV manufacturers are beginning to build in useful stuff like this. Here is an example of a junk rack that also opens to reveal control switches.