Well it's Christmas and was very cold. We had all kinds of ice, snow, rain, below freezing. We had half of the city out of power and people living in shelters. My sons friends ended up staying with us as they didn't have power. Why am I saying this in a camping blog? What a great time to plan a trip. Especially one that will take you south to the warmer areas. Locate a great area. We are thinking about Savanna GA or somewhere in South or North Carolina. Research what sites there are to see. This is a great family time, planning the trip. This can also help to keep costs down as it is always better to plan the days rather than have no plan. It is easier to plan ahead, save better and have an idea how much the trip will cost. The money can be in the bank before you leave and nothing will make it to the charge cards. Do a lot of research and find the perfect campground. It doesn't need to be near the city. If you can find the campground anywhere near, say within 1/2 hour to 1 hour drive, that would be OK. Best to find a campground centralized to the general area you want to visit so you can go 1/2 hour to 1 hour in any direction and cover a wide area.
Happy camping

As I sit here very late on Christmas Eve and reflect on the last year I remember that tonight my family and my father sat around the table playing domino's. And I realize that during the Christmas season we all want to be with family maybe even more so than receiving presents. I was laid off of my day job two months ago so Christmas presents are a little slim. My sons are taking this rather well and enjoying being together and having fun. I realize this is really what we should be doing around this season. Tomorrow on Christmas day, I will be enjoying the day with my father and sister and brother in law along with my wife and two sons.

I realize that when we camp in our RV, we don't have a TV, we don't listen to the radio, we don't listen to movies, or even read a paper. We go out and have fun during the day and at night sit around the table and play games. To me this is the vacation. We are all dashing around in four different directions, all with our own agenda. We are enjoying each others company and enjoying our family. As a result, we return back home stronger, closer and rested, with no stresses.

I recommend taking games, and leave the world behind. Forget the TV, Radio, newspaper and enjoy the family.
Have a very merry Christmas and remember what we are about. This is the birthday celebration of Jesus. Because of Him, we have hope. So remember the hope this season.

Thanks

Well winter has set in with a vengeance! We had ice up to 1/2 inch with a great deal of damage. Trees are down everywhere and half the city is without power. For the first time in the last 20 years, we at our house have power and fully functional. How fun it is to stay warm in my hours and plan for a fun summer vacation. We are still not decided between going south or going east to New York. A lot will depend on the economy. Whatever the economic situation, it is still fun to plan a vacation. If it is not possible for the next summer, then maybe the next year. South could also be done in the winter.
Happy Planning

Where to go? That is the question. With so many places to go, I go through this every winter. I like to go to places I have never been before so look forward to my summer vacation. This year I think it's between Savanna Georgia or upper New York. Over the next few months I will start going though the process of determining where we are going to go.
Savanna Georgia was my wife's pick and upper New York was my idea although both have merits. So we will be doing some research to determine which may be best for us at this time.
Sounds like fun.

Well now what? The economy is crashing around us and we are talking about RV camping. Isn't that a little excessive. After all, isn't the economy in a shambles and who can afford to go on vacation! It's my opinion who can afford not to go on vacation in a RV. Camping in an RV can save so much money that it can make a vacation perfect because now it is affordable.
However, jumping into a rental RV without preparing reminds me of the movie RV with Robin Williams. He obviously had no idea how to prepare for camping and had none of the basic skills. I understand that is the point but it does remind me what good preparation is. So how to prepare. What should be done. I go through a check list.

• Check tires and lug nuts. Make sure proper pressure and lug nuts are tight.
• Have all the ketchen items are there
• Have Black water tank sanitizer in the RV.
• Have games, card, and other items.
• Pack clothes, bed items, sleeping bags or blankets, pillows

You get the idea. Everything you want to make sure to take should be on your list. Also take the research information so you make sure you can execute your plan.

Happy camping.

What does a RV camper do during the winter waiting for camping season to start. I always plan my next seasons camping trips. I get double mileage from this as I get to be excited during the planning stage as well as experiencing the trip it self. Our family likes to sight see all the sights and tend to plan camping in areas that are full of places of interest to go see. We spend a great deal of time investigating what there is to do, see, or shop. We like areas that have small interesting shops, unique sights, and parks. We have covered most of Michigan (at least lower Michigan), Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. We have also been to Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. We have also camped in Missouri, and New York. So what do we do

1. Determine where we want to go.
   
2. Determine distance and time to get there
3. Research what we can do there
4. Build a schedule

This allows us to enjoy our trip to the fullest, while insuring we have enough money to complete the trip. We have a strong general idea how much the trip will cost so we can save the money to go.

More on pre-planning later.

Enjoy your camping.

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The current financial and economic issues have now hit home. I am pulling my 2001 Wilderness Yukon with a 1999 Ford Exhibition. This vehicle now has over 140,000 miles on it and we had planned to look into replacing the vehicle with a new or newer SUV or pickup this next year. Now, we need to hold onto the vehicle a little longer since it is paid for. I was thinking of replacing the Wilderness pull behind with a 5th wheel but now need to keep it a little longer since it is paid for as well. The trailer is in good repair and the SUV shows no since of age and we are keeping it repaired. So we will keep trucking on (bad pun, I know).

Well I don't want to through out opinions in this blog but this does apply to RV camping. I am concerned over the desire to increase fuel mileage to the point that SUV's and Trunks are not produced or shrunk to the point that we will be in danger of not having enough power to pull our campers. I agree that we need to improve gas mileage but maybe the solution is to develop electric moters and generation to the point that electric models are as robust and able to pull loads like the gas or diesel engines. One possible configuration I heard that may be promising is to use a smaller gas engine to spin a generator that develops enough electricity to run powerful enough electric moters to pull heavy loads. Our trains today use this every effeciently. The moters of the train are electric. The power to run the moters are diesel. Could this technology be adapted to small and large cars and trucks. I am not sure batteries are the way due to the size and weight requred. What ever they come up with, I hope they can allow us to keep RV camping.

With the cold weather here in Indiana, I am reminded of the need for winterizing my camper. I was early this year and winterized prior to Thanksgiving. In the past, I have waited as late as Christmas. I suppose that I hate to winterize because it means the end of the season. But I can look forward to next season. I spend time viewing maps, looking in the internet, polling family members. This year we may need to be very careful due to a job loss. But still, with the 50% decrease in Fuel, the economics of RV camping is still better then using Hotels. Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the value of camping in an RV.

This is my new blog for all of us RV campers. This post will discuss all aspects of RV camping from Maintenance to Where to camp and what to do when you get there. I have been camping all my life, both RV and tent. My folks had a camper that we used, and after my sons were old enough, we started to camp in pop-ups and finally a Pull Behind (27 ft. Wilderness Yukon.). We have had so much fun and been to many different places that I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise. I decided to start a blog for us RV campers. It is my hope to post at least 3 times a week. I would love responses as I have mostly camped in the Midwest and Virginia. If this works and I can make a living on blogs, I would like to start camping much more and many more places. Welcome to my blog.