RV Caravan Travel: Is it a Good Fit for You?

This week on the RV Podcast:

• Is RV Caravan travel right for you? Just how does that work?
• The Escapees RV Club has been bought out by Harvest Hosts. What will that mean to the membership of both organizations?
• How we came to adopt the “330 Rule” for our travels and why you should too.
• All this, plus the RV News of the Week and your questions coming up in Episode # 507 of the RV Podcast

You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below.

If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can listen to us through your favorite podcast app or the player below.

This episode was recorded on the road in Bar Harbor, Maine, where we are about to begin an epic tour of the Canadian Maritimes with more than 40 of our friends and followers. Organized by Fantasy RV Tours, we’ll set off Tuesday morning.

Jen and I arrived Saturday afternoon after a 1,200 drive from Southwestern Michigan. It was an awesome road trip getting here. We followed our 330 Rule (no more than 330 miles a day and/or stopping by 3:30 PM local time). We shot a video along the way and will publish that this coming Saturday.

We will be sharing our Maritimes adventures as often as we can with videos, live feeds, photos, and social media updates. The best way to follow us is through our RV Lifestyle Community at https://community.rvlifestyle.com

We can’t wait!

SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ – Wendy Bowyer

Wendy Bowyer reports on the hot issues most talked about this past week on social media and our RV Lifestyle Community group.

In our RVLifestyle Community‘s Plumbing Space, Mary was having trouble attaching her stinky slinky to her sewer. She said the black tank pull and the grey tank pull were too close together, so she asked if anyone had a tool that would help her unhook the hose. She added that she had tried a rubber hammer and a screwdriver, but they just weren’t working, and she needed another idea. Ideas she asked for, and ideas she got!

Someone recommended she try oil filter pliers and others suggested a strap wrench. Chris and Robert each suggested adding an extender.  Mary said she appreciated all the ideas and I’m looking forward to hearing what worked out for her.

Also in our Community under Mods & DIY Tweaks Space, Dexter shared a picture of a great solution he made for seeing the steps of his rig at night. He said he didn’t want to deal with solar or changing out batteries so he connected the step lights to his porch light. So now when he turns on his porch light, the stairs also illuminate so he can see them at night. He also made a way to unplug the stair lights when traveling. Many thanked Dexter for the idea and we will share a picture of this in the show notes.

Meanwhile in our RVLifestyle Facebook Group, we get so many different kinds of questions. A recent one that got people talking was from Bridget. Bridget asked if anyone was ever charged a preparation fee of $5,000? 

Apparently, a dealer in Washington wanted to charge her a $5,000 prep fee – something she had never heard of. So she asked: “Is this the new norm? …. (It) sounds crazy. Ridiculous. Say it ain’t so!”

Well, hundreds of people agreed – it is absolutely ridiculous.

John said, “Leave. Leave now. You negotiated a price and they are adding $5K after the fact. Walk away.”

Some people said they had paid prep fees of $300 or $500 but never anything close to $5,000. And the majority were not charged any prep fee and had never heard of such a thing and asked what it was supposed to include.  Bridget said she was told it covers washing the outside of the unit, detailing the inside, and an inspection.  

Over and over people advised Bridget to not just walk from this dealer but run. And it sounds like she did.

Good for her!

RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK

More and more RVers are caravaning or traveling in groups as part of a guided tour. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like, our RV conversation of the week will give you a great overview.

Our special guest is Stacey Rabung, operations director of Fantasy RV Tours, one of the oldest and most popular organized guided RV Tours. 

Fantasy RV Tours organizes and runs RV caravans all across the world.

The conversation covers the locations of the tours, the benefits of guided tours, and the assistance provided by the tour company. 

Stacey explains that guided tours are like taking a cruise on land in your own RV, with the company providing the itinerary, reservations, and activities. 

She also mentions the need for additional health insurance for overseas tours. The conversation touches on the number of participants in caravans and rallies, RV restrictions, and the reasons why people choose guided tours. 

Stacey emphasizes the convenience of having reservations made in advance and the inclusion of meals and excursions. The flexibility of traveling together and the role of the tail gunner in assisting guests with breakdowns are also discussed.

RV NEWS OF THE WEEK

Flash flooding causes campground damage and evacuations in Missouri and Arkansas

Heavy rains flooded campgrounds and damaged roads in Arkansas and Missouri last week, leading to some viral footage from one campground of RVs being carried away – literally – in a rush of water.

Sylamore Creek Campground in Arkansas experienced as much as 15 inches of rain and video of RVs floating away – literally – went viral. The campground had many seasonal sites and sadly some in our RVLifestyle Facebook group had their RVs left there damaged in the flooding. (See post here).

Just north, in southern Missouri, many campers were also hard hit by last week’s storms. 

RVers in campgrounds around Lake Taneycomo were forced to evacuate because of heavy rains and photos show many roads extensively damaged in the Branson area.

The weather has been so unusual in much of the country lately, it made me think of the importance of having a survival radio in case of an emergency. I wrote about this recently in an article you can see here.

Campground mystery of the missing shoes solved outside fox den

Stolen flip flops. Missing crocs….. someone was stealing shoes left outside campers at Rivermouth Campgrounds in Michigan Upper Peninsula’s Tahquamenon Falls State Park. 

But who? 

Apparently a “ring” of fox!

Park officials found at least four pairs of shoes and eight single shoes outside a fox den. The shoes all have teeth marks and some had straps chewed off.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources posted about it on their Facebook page along with a recommendation. If you’re camping in the area, be sure to bring your shoes in your rig!

Tahquamenon Falls is one of our favorite places to camp in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula which is gorgeous this time of year. If you are thinking of camping that way be sure to check out our Adventure Guide for Michigan’s UP here.

Washington state shortens length of time campers can stay at a campsite starting next month and raises rates for 2025

If you’re planning to camp in a Washington state campground anytime soon you are now limited to stay just 10 nights in any one 30 day period beginning Aug. 19, AND the cost is to camp is going up in 2025.

Beginning in 2025 rates per site will range from range from $23 to $56 per night, depending on season, desirability of campsite, and access to utilities like electricity and water hookups. (It was $20-$50.)

Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is making the changes amid concerns there are not enough places to camp. Washington State Parks has 77 campgrounds.

Harvest Hosts purchases popular Escapees RV membership club

Many in the RV community were shocked last week to learn Harvest Hosts purchased the 70,000 member Escapees RV Club.

The Escapees membership includes a discount program, support services, educational programs and events, all of which is now owned and managed by Harvest Hosts. 

The Escapees Mail Service and the 8 Escapees RV Parks will remain under current Escapees ownership and management.

The Escapees, for those unfamiliar, started 46 years ago by Joe and Kay Peterson. It stayed in the family for three generations branching into a full membership community, with the Peterson’s daughter and her husband, and then grandson and his wife running it.

On its website, the family said it was with “much emotional reflection and heartfelt discussions about what is best for our members,” that they decided to sell to Harvest Hosts. And while they had been approached by companies before for purchase, they “have never felt the devotion to shared values and instilled trust as we have with Harvest Hosts.”

To read the full statement, click here.

Harvests Hosts is a membership organization that permits unique camping in wineries, farms, breweries and other such places. 

To see our interview about the Escapees that we did with Travis and Melanie Carr, the president and vice president,  last year click here. The interview starts about 21 minutes in.

Fire department called to campground to rescue pet monkey stuck in tree

We’ve heard of people taking a pet pig camping, pet chicken, and exotic pet birds, but a pet monkey? On a leash??

Last week in southern Indiana, a woman who took her pet monkey camping had to call the fire department after the little guy got stuck in a tree some 30 to 35 feet in the air.

The monkey escaped while wearing his leash, and the leash got tangled in a tree at the Patoka Lake Campground. The fire department was called out just after midnight and rescued the little guy by cutting some branches and bringing him down.

The department posted a picture of the monkey reunited with its owner on its Facebook page. 

We’re glad he was rescued, but surprised the campground allowed a pet monkey to go camping. What do you think? 

RV QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK

QUESTION: Do Cracker Barrel, Walmart and gas stations count as boondocking? If so then yes I can say I boondock – Sharon

ANSWER: Sure it counts. If you are not plugged into shore power and amenities… that’s boondocking. Technically, of course, boondocking comes from the term boondocks, which means out in the middle of nowhere. In a forest, on a prairie, in a very rural area, someplace far from neighbors and without the comforts of full hookups in an organized campground. But a Walmart or Crackerbarrel parking lot doesn’t have any hookups and, except for the purists and semantical nitpickers out there, most of us would say overnighting there is close enough to boondocking for you to claim it.

MIKE & JEN’S STORYTIME

The RV 330 Rule is a rule Jennifer and I (try to) live by when on the road. We learned the hard way that traveling without it leads to exhaustion and frustration. Here’s what it is and why you should (try to) follow it, too.

When Jennifer and I first started out, I would hit the road and keep hitting the road until we crammed as much into one day as possible. In my mind, the more we drove, the more we’d see and the more fun we’d have.

Well, we quickly learned that it doesn’t work out that way. Sure, we covered a whole lot of the map in a matter of days, but it sure wasn’t as fun as it could have been.

That’s why we adopted the 330 rule and have tried to live, or rather, travel by it ever since. 

The 330 rule is you “stop when you have driven 330 miles or it’s 3:30 in the afternoon.”

The idea is to get somewhere while it is still early enough to explore, chill, and enjoy the place when you’re not exhausted from driving miles upon miles. 

In our early days, I looked at the daily driving mileage as a challenge. The more the better. 

I kept trying to set another personal best… It’s 735 miles, by the way. Silly. Stupid, really.

There’s really nothing worse than pulling into a campsite after dark. It can even stray into bad camping etiquette. 

There are two main reasons every RVer should try to adhere to the 330 Rule. The first is health and safety-related. The second is sanity-related. 

Pushing yourself too hard when driving isn’t great for your health and can even be downright dangerous. I certainly crossed the safety line when I pushed myself to drive those 735 miles in one day. 

Did you know that drowsy driving is as dangerous as drunk driving? According to the Sleep Foundation, drowsy driving is most likely to occur in the late afternoon, when most people are naturally sleepier. (That, and between midnight and 6 a.m.)

That’s why stopping by 3:30 pm (before late afternoon) is safest. 

Plus, driving long hours leads to multiple health concerns, including Sitting Disease. And yes, that is a real disease and a real health risk for RVers.

The second big problem of pushing yourself beyond 3:30 and 330 miles is you’re almost guaranteed to end up frustrated and grumpy. And fighting with your spouse or travel companions. 

If you arrive at camp late or after extensive driving, you’re exhausted and still have to set up camp. This often leads to touchy nerves, bickering, and downright fights between travel companions. 

That’s NOT a great way to start your camping trip. 

Adopting the 330 rule will keep you sane and Jennifer can attest that it will also keep you married! She was not happy with me during the days of my record-breaking driving attempts and not happy with me now if I break the rule these days.

I’m glad I finally admitted that she was right and stopped trying to push us so hard (most of the time). Our road trips have been far more enjoyable ever since!