When is a campground rule more of a suggestion? - RV podcast 375
When is a campground rule more of a suggestion?
When is a rule not a rule? When is vital camping gear not vital? This week we are pleased to be joined by Tony and Tina from TNT RVing to talk a little bit more about campground rules, and opine about gear and gadgets that some people think are vital and other people think are a waste of precious storage space.
Kate asked, Peggy (FINALLY) responded with her recipe for Beef and Broccoli.
Other places to hear the podcast
Mentioned on this episode
Contact us today to book an RV Basic Training Camp.
See Tony and Tina on YouTube at TNT RVing.
Learn about our favorite way to make coffee with AeroPress.
Get a grass-safe sand-free mat from AirGear.
A clean RV and clean holding tanks are a click away with Liquishine and Liquified products.
On Episode 99 we learned how campgrounds are controlling dog poo with Poo Prints
If you’re confused about solar, battery power or just want to upgrade your RV we have found the solutions from ABC Upfitters are both reliable and exceptional.
We have a podcast episode and video where you can learn more here.
Automated transcript of StressLess Camping RV podcast episode 375
Tony A
When is a rule not a rule?
Tina
And when is camping gear vital or not vital?
Tony B
This week, we're pleased to be joined by Tony and Tina from TNT RV to talk a little bit more about campground rules and pine about- ... gadgets and what people think is important and what they think is not important.
Peggy
We have this week's podcast, along with tips, tricks, notes, notes for this episode and all the other things that you might need at stresslesscamping.com
Tony B
We really appreciate your likes and your shares and your beer donations. Thank you for joining us for podcast episode number 375. Stressless Camping. I'm Tony.
Peggy
I'm Peggy.
Tony A
I'm Tony.
Tina
And I'm Tina.
Tony B
And we are here at ABC Upfitters- ... because Tony and Tina are fancying up their Rockwood.
Tina
We just got upfitted.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
Yeah. We are, instead of two, now we are four content creators, uh, traveling around in Rockwoods and bringing you tips, tricks, RVs and destinations to make your s- camping more stressless. Uh, Tony and Tina, why don't you tell us who you are and about your channel?
Tina
Okay.
Tony A
Well, I'm Tony.
Tina
And I'm Tina.
Tony A
And we're TNT RV.
Tina
And we're TNT RV.
Tony A
Yeah.
Peggy
Wow, you have so much-
Tony B
That's a-
Peggy
... you've practiced that
Tina
Yeah.
Tony B
Yeah. By the way, we have two Tonys, obviously, and two September 13th birthdays.
Tina
September?
Tony A
Or June.
Tony B
I mean June 13th. What the heck?
Peggy
I- So a little bit about us.
Tony A
So we're also Rockwood brand ambassadors.
Tina
As are Tony and Peggy.
Tony A
And we like to share tips and tricks, uh, mods and-
Tina
C-
Tony A
... RV reviews
Tina
And campground reviews on our channels. So check us out on Instagram and YouTube.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tina
And Facebook.
Tony B
Yeah, too. Did you know that on the Stressless Camping website, there are thousands and thousands and thousands of you who join us every week, looking at stories and articles, looking for deals and discounts and so much more, and you can appeal to this RV-focused audience with a customized ad package. So we love to customize ad packages for folks. We have eliminated all of our Google ads and all of those annoying videos and pop-ups and all that junk, just to make space for people who we enjoy working with and who have great products or services.
Tony B
So if that's you, if you're listening to this and like, "Hey, I have a great product or service," like our friends at ABC Upfitters or Liquified RV Toilet Treatment or so many others, well, there's an opportunity, and you know how you'll find out more? Reach out to happycamper@stresslesscamping.com and hit us up and we can send you all the details and information and all of that, and you could be part of the Stressless Camping podcast and website family. When, what would be cooler than that?
Peggy
What indeed. Okay, last week, we talked about campground rules and-
Tony B
Yeah
Peggy
... rules of etiquette and rules that are actually written down by campgrounds, and then we were kind of talking about some things and we thought, "When are rules more like suggestions? Where, are there gray areas in some of the rules?" So we thought we might talk about a couple of the rules that campgrounds have that potentially have gray areas embedded in them.
Tony B
Well, and then, so we're camping with Tony and Tina, and we're talking about reading the rules and the rules at campgrounds. And Tony and I are like, "Pssh, we don't read the rules."
Peggy
Tony-
Tony B
"We read the room."
Peggy
The Tonys said, "There's rules?"
Tony B
No. No rules are rules.
Tony A
Generally, normally do not read through the pamphlet that they hand out to us-
Tony B
Yeah
Tony A
... and I do not read the rules.
Tina
And there are rule followers- ... and there are rule breakers.
Tony B
Unbeknownst to me.
Tina
Un-
Peggy
Oh.
Tina
Unbeknown-
Peggy
You-
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
Yeah, is it breaking a rule if you don't know-
Tony B
I know, yeah. Oh, it-
Peggy
... there was a rule because you didn't read the rule?
Tony B
It's breaking a rule, but Tony and I were talking about, like at the campground we're at right now.
Tony A
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
Everybody and their brother is having their RV washed. Chances are, washing your RVs is okay there, since there are two RV wash services-
Tina
Right, yeah
Tony B
... floating around washing RVs, so.
Peggy
All right. Well, you went out of order, but the rules actually say not to wash your RV, which is-
Tony A
And you said I did not read the rules.
Peggy
You didn't know.
Tony A
I acc- accidentally broke a rule by washing Ellie, because I wanted to make sure she was nice and clean when we brought her to ABC Upfitters.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
Okay. So let's talk about that rule a little bit. It's not the first one on my list, but who cares? We never go by the list.
Tony B
I know, right?
Tina
Like we-
Tony B
No, that's rules right there.
Peggy
Okay. Maybe the campground says, "Don't wash your RV." Can you pay to have someone come in and wash your RV? That's washing your RV. Can you climb up on a stepladder and spray window cleaner on the windows? 'Cause even our rule follower here-
Tina
I didn't do it
Peggy
... did that.
Tina
Yeah, I didn't do that.
Peggy
Can you use your waterless wash and wax from Liquified, from Liquishine-
Tony B
Liquishine
Peggy
... rather?
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
Uh, and because, you know, then you're just using a spray bottle and a wet rag. Is that what's against the rules?
Tony B
Yeah, w- um-
Peggy
Or does it mean don't use a hose and wash your rig down?
Tony B
Well, one of the things I'd like on some rules, I mean, some it's like, "Pick up after your dog." Okay.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony B
I get that.
Peggy
There's no gray area there.
Tony B
That's, there's no gray rule.
Tina
None of that gray.
Tony B
There's no gray matter. There's only brown matter. But, but, like, don't wash your rig, why? Is it because they don't want soap in the grass? Is it because, like in the Southwest, there's a water shortage, a huge water shortage?
Peggy
Right.
Tony B
And water is, oh my gosh, expensive. Or is it... You know, like I know they're not gonna put the explanation, but I'm gonna be the annoying guy who goes, "Well, no."
Peggy
Why? Is it because when you hose it down there might be over-spray?
Tina
That's right.
Peggy
If there's a wind or if you're spraying too hard against your rig, it's gonna splash over and-
Tina
Put spots next
Peggy
... put sp-
Tony B
Yeah
Peggy
... water spots on the next rig if it's too close?
Tony B
And then, yeah, if they're on a well, I can understand that.
Tina
Sure.
Peggy
Right.
Tony B
'Cause they wanna minimize. But then how many of us are filling our black tank three times to flush it?
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony B
So, you know, what's the reason? Right. Yeah. So for example, Peggy brought up a good point, Liquid Shine. The whole reason that it was invented is so you could wash and wax your RV without using water, really.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
It's a waterless, very effective RV wash that also has a, like a wax component or shine component, hence Liquid-
Tina
Shine
Tony B
... Shine.
Peggy
Shine.
Tony B
If there's a campground where they're like, "Well, don't be out there washing your RV," can you Liquid Shine your RV? And I suspect you can, and maybe if you are, you know, like super kind, you might go up to the office and go, "Hey, look, this is a waterless. It's not gonna spray all over the place and I'm not gonna be using a hose to rinse down my RV." Like, sometimes, you know, I think a lot of rules come from there was that one guy that one time who ruined it for the whole rest of us.
Peggy
Right. Sure.
Tina
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
And I mean, that guy might have been out there, like got the local fire department, bring a, a truck and sprayed.
Tina
Flooded the area.
Tony B
Yeah, flooded the area.
Peggy
Oh.
Tony B
I mean, who knows, right?
Peggy
Yeah. And that's what I think. I think they, the reason they don't have it is because some of those camp s- grounds and campsites are really close to one another. Sure.
Tina
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
And I think that, that over-spray could be affecting the campsite next to you. I think that might be where that whole rule stemmed from-
Tina
Well-
Peggy
... in the first place. But out where you guys live- You're f-
Tina
Out west
Peggy
... yeah, you're from a place where water shortage isn't a thing.
Tina
A thing.
Tony B
Right.
Peggy
But-
Tina
Right
Peggy
... where we're from, anywhere west of the Rockies-
Tina
Pe- right
Peggy
... it's you don't wash because you, that's a waste of water.
Tina
Right.
Peggy
Like, you don't even wash your car in the driveway. Like-
Tony B
Yeah, yeah. We're not even allowed to wash our cars- ... in the driv- you know, like just out in the-
Tina
Yeah
Tony B
... because water is like a super precious commodity.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
Here, water is like, "Oh, no. They're having another flood," type of situation.
Tina
Sure.
Tony B
So different worlds.
Peggy
Maybe you could bathe your RV by driving through a flood.
Tony B
Oh.
Tina
Yeah, I'm not doing that.
Peggy
Dunk it, dunk it into a puddle. Maybe not. Anyway, so maybe do not wash your RV is a little bit of a gray area rule.
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
Maybe we could figure out ways that seem perfectly good, kind, wonderful ways of breaking the rule and still not really breaking the rule.
Tony B
Well, I still think if there's a don't wash your RV and you take a bottle of Liquid Shine up and show it to 'em and go, "Hey, look, I'm not spritzing this all over the, everywhere. I'm spritzing it on my camper and wiping it off," they might go, "Oh, that's pretty cool."
Tina
That's right.
Tony B
"And by the way, we should have that in our gift shop."
Peggy
Yeah. Yeah.
Tony B
"And where did you get that?" "Oh, I bought that at stressescamping.com."
Peggy
So h- what about another rule? What about the rule that says no campfires? Again, you, in the East Coast, I think that's less likely to be a rule-
Tina
Mm-hmm
Peggy
... because the reason for no campfires, especially in the West, is it's so dry, any little spark, any accidental starting of a fire could be disastrous for an entire area.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tina
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
And several forests have burned down in the West because somebody left a campfire unattended.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
And again, it's the same, it's because of that one guy, and that one guy didn't bother putting out their campfire.
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
And next thing you know, the forest is burning down.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony B
And, and the next, next thing you know, they got a bill- ... like mad.
Peggy
Right. So where do you, where does that line get drawn? Can, if you, if it says, "No campfires, no fire pits," can you still light your propane campfire? A lot of times the answer's yes, but sometimes the answer's still no.
Tony B
Sometimes.
Peggy
There have been, there were times in California when, and this is the next item on my list, you couldn't even put charcoal briquettes in your barbecue-
Tina
Yeah
Peggy
... and have that fire because that was too much, too s- too dangerous, too scary, and too risky of a fire. So where does the no campfire rule become gray? Is it somewhere between wood campfires and propane campfires, or is it charcoal briquettes, or is it a gas griddle? I mean, technically there's still a fire there.
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
Right? So-
Tony B
So-
Peggy
So are you really breaking the rule if you're frying your bacon on your gas griddle in the morning?
Tina
Yeah, I don't know if that... Well, I don't know. But I do know that near us, we did have a whole slew of high w- we had high winds and several of the campgrounds that you could, no matter what, always have a fire, did have no fires this month or no fires this week-
Peggy
Sure
Tina
... which was very rare for us out here. Um, but we, we love our propane. We don't ever really light a real fire.
Tony B
No.
Tina
'Cause it's easier just to shut it off than light it up.
Peggy
Right.
Tony A
So one of the things I liked about it is the fact that some of these different campgrounds that we go to around our surrounding area, you're not allowed to bring firewood.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tony A
So-
Peggy
Different-
Tony A
And-
Peggy
... states. Yeah
Tony A
... not to mention, like, like you said, we can simply start it at night when we want a fire, and we don't wanna smell like smoke. We just, when we're ready to go in, we just shut it off. Easy-peasy.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
Yeah. There's, there's a legitimate concern about some insects in wood-
Tina
Yeah
Tony B
... where you're bringing wood in from elsewhere and it could-
Tina
Mm-hmm
Tony B
... end up in their forests. And I mean, I remember when we l- we were leaving northern California, and there were whole hillsides that had gone brown because of-
Peggy
Of-
Tony B
... beetles going onto the wood
Peggy
... oh, yeah
Tony B
... and it was, you know, it came from- I don't know, somewhere else, right? And it was a, a invasive thing that, uh, we didn't have, but people brought in, and I don't know if it was on wood or in pallets or what.
Tina
Sure.
Tony B
I, I just know something that they were very concerned about. So the no campfires might be, you can have a campfire, but don't bring that fern wood. Uh-oh.
Tina
Speed limits in campgrounds are for a reason.
Tony B
Yes.
Peggy
Speed limits in campgrounds are for a reason. Uh, you know, you see little kids riding their bicycles-
Tina
Yeah
Peggy
... and maybe they pop out from behind some, you know, RV and run right out into the street without thinking. So campgrounds, of course, are gonna have speed limits. Some people, I, for example, drive super, super slow, especially in a campground, not necessarily because there's a rule, but because I'm not that confident, right? And I'm, I'm, like, thinking and, and figuring out every little inch of my route, so I go very, very slowly.
Peggy
People who are more confident necessarily aren't gonna, like, slow down and, and c- worry about every little inch of the ground they're trying to cover.
Tina
Right.
Peggy
They can just get in there and whip the rig in and back it up in one second and be done with it and not worry about it.
Tina
Who needs to pay attention to the speed limits now are the electric bikes.
Tony B
Oh my gosh.
Peggy
Oh.
Tina
They-
Tony B
Oh, good point
Tina
... go the same five miles an hour, and those electric bikes, I see people going a lot faster-
Peggy
They can go 20
Tina
... than five miles an hour.
Peggy
Some people do.
Tony B
Or, or some people might have modified their bike to go faster.
Peggy
Well, yeah.
Tina
So I think that plays into it, too.
Peggy
Yeah, that's a really good point. It's not just for the people-
Tony B
That's a good point. I never thought about that
Peggy
... driving RVs. It's for everybody.
Tina
Everybody.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony B
Uh, all wheeled vehicles?
Peggy
Well, wait a minute then. What if I wanna go jogging and I can go faster than five miles an hour?
Tony B
I don't think-
Tina
If you're breaking the speed limit-
Peggy
Am I breaking the speed limit?
Tony B
Like, I don't think you're likely to run over, like, a snack-sized dog or a little kid. I, I would imagine the worst that would happen is somebody trips.
Peggy
If I can run that fast, I can also stop that fast.
Tony B
Yeah. Unless you have, like, a cartoon where your legs turn into wheels.
Peggy
Oh.
Tony B
It's like...
Tina
Just flattened.
Tony B
Yeah. Yeah.
Peggy
In that case-
Tony B
Meep meep
Peggy
... follow the speed limit. One of the rules I sometimes see is not to put a rug out, and I assume that the reason for that is a lot of these, those plastic, like, you know, yard rugs are not good for the grass, and they kill the grass. And the, you know, maybe if you're there one night, well, I don't know who's gonna be there for one night and bother to put their rug down.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tina
Yeah, right.
Tony B
Well, there are some.
Peggy
But the longer you're there, of course, the more damage you're doing to the grass. And, you know, you pick up one of those rugs after a few days, and the grass is all yellow and, like, soggy, and there's little pools of water and everything. Also, because if you're in a place like this where they have to mow every other day, and your rug is there for six days, that means they miss three mowings, so that yellow, mushy grass is also too long.
Tony B
They have to do three mo mows.
Peggy
Three mo mows. Uh, so we actually use a sand-free mat that we got from Air Gear, and it does not-
Tony B
Link in the show notes
Peggy
... link in show notes. It does not kill the grass. So I-
Tony B
Yeah
Peggy
... will put a picture here of, um, after 10 days at the Frog Rally when I picked up our, our sand-free mat, and it, it's mashed down because a lot of people were there walking around on that rug, but the grass itself is not damaged. As soon as I took that mat up, the grass can spring back up.
Tony B
Ah.
Peggy
The mower can come and go over it three times to make up for the days it couldn't mow, and it's perfectly fine. So I believe, and I don't know, because I'm kinda lazy and I don't put my rug out very often anyway, but I assume that the reason for the no rug rule is to protect the grass.
Tony B
Perhaps.
Peggy
So if you really want a rug, and you really wanna follow the rules, try a sand-free mat.
Tony B
From our friends at Air Gear.
Peggy
From our friends at Air Gear, link in show notes.
Tony B
But then what about, there's a whole bunch of other, like, gadgets we've seen, like, what people think is essential. We went into someone's RV once, and it had a island kit- it had an island kitchen and a lot of counter space, and every square inch was covered-
Peggy
It wasn't yours
Tony B
... with appliances.
Peggy
It wasn't yours.
Tony B
No, this was, like, I, it's like our house doesn't have that many small electric appliances.
Peggy
Yeah, it was small appliances. So my, my thinking is, um, I got a message the other day and said, "I think every RV must carry a electric flat griddle," because look, I fried my bacon this morning on my electric flat griddle. And my re-
Tony B
Electric fat griddle.
Peggy
My response was, "Look, we fried our bacon this morning on our propane griddle."
Tony B
Actually, on Tony and Tina's.
Peggy
On Tony's.
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
Um, so what some people think is an absolutely vital necessity to have when you go RVing, other people think it is complete waste of space. So I just thought we'd talk about a few of those things that some people really... I just wanna make everybody mad today.
Tony B
Oh, yeah.
Peggy
You're either gonna be mad that I say you have to have it, or you're gonna be mad that I say you don't need one. So let's talk about parts of the RV. For example-
Tony B
Toilet
Peggy
... well, everybody needs a toilet.
Tony B
Oh.
Tina
Well-
Peggy
And we're not gonna get into the kinds of toilet. That's its whole own episode.
Tony B
But we've had that episode.
Peggy
And we've done that.
Tina
I was gonna say-
Peggy
And we've done it a few times
Tony B
People were flushed with excitement.
Peggy
Pretty much I'm gonna say any, you know, RVIA-stickered RV is gonna have a toilet in it.
Tony B
Uh-uh.
Peggy
Well, no, okay. All right.
Tina
No.
Peggy
Let's just not go to toilets. Let's talk about ovens. A lot of them don't have, and that's fine. A lot of... I'm talking about people's opinions, really. A lot of people say, "I wish I didn't have an oven. I'd rather have the storage space." Or people say, "I use my oven for storage space." Or people say, "Doggone it, why didn't I get an oven?"
Tony B
Well, here's, here's my thing I'd like to tell the RV industry. Dear, the RV industry, why don't you make a standard cabinet hole that you can add an oven to, and it would be the 21-inch good oven, because I think a lot of people don't want an oven or don't use it, or maybe they buy an RV with the 17-inch oven and it's such a piece of junk that they're like, "Well, this is literally worthless waste of money and space." So why not just make a cabinet and you could have a drawer from the factory, but then you could pull that out easily, put a oven in, 'cause the gas is gonna already be there most likely.
Peggy
But the stove top-
Tony B
And bing, bang, boom, you've made everybody happy.
Peggy
Right. So unlike the ones at home where the oven and the stove top is all one appliance that you can, you know, take in and out, RVs have a stove top that's gas powered and an oven that's gas powered, but they're two separate entities.
Tony B
Yeah, they kinda are. I mean, they're not, you know, they, they are shipped as one, but they could easily be shipped as two items, and it would make the RVs a little bit cheaper and it would give people more choices.
Peggy
Right.
Tina
And we've done some, uh, we actually just did a quick run through of a RV that, a big RV, it didn't have an oven, but it had the convection oven.
Tony B
Yeah, the convection microwave.
Peggy
Sure.
Tina
And people were like, "I don't want that. I want a real oven."
Tony B
Yeah.
Tina
So it's like the convection oven does work.
Peggy
Right.
Tina
You're not gonna be cooking a turkey in it.
Peggy
Well, and, but-
Tony B
And it's not good for off-grid
Tina
Right, no it's not
Peggy
... I'm kind of torn. Right.
Tina
Exactly.
Peggy
And that's why I'm kind of torn by it. At home, we only have a convection microwave. We don't have a gas range at all. Well, we have one.
Tina
Yes, you see.
Peggy
It's in the garage. We don't use it.
Tina
But you have the one in your RV.
Peggy
Well, we do-
Tony B
Yeah
Peggy
... have one in the RV. So if we need, if we really, really need to bake with a gas baking utensil, we go to the RV. But we use the convection microwave to do our baking. In the camper, we use our RV oven. Would I be just as happy to have a convection microwave and some storage space? Probably. But the fact that I have an oven, I'm going to use the oven, and there are a couple of things that are a little bit harder to do in a convection microwave oven.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tina
Well, you just made us your bread.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tina
A gluten-free bread for me.
Peggy
Gluten-free bread. I did.
Tina
In the oven.
Peggy
I have made glu- I just make gluten-free bread in the oven. Now, I have done it in the convection microwave at home. I could do that if that's what I had. But like Tommy said, if we were camping off-grid, if we're off-grid for several weeks-
Tony B
Like at Quartzsite
Peggy
... at like at Quartzsite, and I want bread, I am gonna use my gas powered oven. I'm not gonna use a convection microwave and waste that electricity.
Tina
Right.
Tony B
By the way, did you think it tasted like cornbread?
Tina
I did. Yeah. It tastes pretty good.
Tony B
It's really good, and there's a recipe at stresslesscamping.com, but it's- ... it's like three ingredients, right?
Peggy
It is three ingredients. It's eggs, milk powder, and baking powder.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
Super easy.
Tony B
It's very good.
Tina
It's really good, yeah.
Tony B
Yeah. I think it tastes like cornbread.
Peggy
So anyway, so whether you feel like an RV must have an oven or whether you feel like an RV should not have an oven, it's an opinion thing. We're just here to-
Tony B
Well, yeah, I just think-
Peggy
... talk about it and think about it. But, but kind of no matter who, no matter what item we talk about, there will be someone who says, "There is no way I would ever go camping without that thing," and there is someone else who's gonna say, "There is no way I would ever use that thing."
Tony B
Yep.
Peggy
Right? It's just all-
Tony B
Can't please everybody.
Peggy
Yeah, you can't please everybody.
Tina
Well-
Tony B
That's why there's 31 flavors at the ice cream store, something for everybody.
Peggy
Right.
Tina
Yeah, the one thing I think I could not go, i- appliance wise, would be the coffee maker. You have to have one.
Peggy
Oh, really?
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
Well, you guys definitely have one.
Tony B
And we only have one, but we love coffee.
Tina
But you love your coffee.
Peggy
We love our coffee.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
So-
Tony B
And so we use the AeroPress
Tina
You do, yeah. Yeah.
Peggy
Mm-hmm. So that is a very, very much a, a item that shows up on all the social areas.
Tina
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
"I can't go camp- coffee. I can't go camping without my electric coffee maker."
Tony B
Well, but you also are as off-grid as we are. Well, probably more 'cause their system n- has, is not only the same basic components as ours, but they added a second battery and more solar panels. So you are off-grid campers and you use-
Tina
Yes
Tony B
... but you use a Keurig.
Tina
We use a Keu- well-
Tony B
Well, that's just one of her coffee makers-
Tina
That's just one of our coffee makers
Tony B
... that Tina likes to bring along with us
Tina
But I, I actually have an espresso maker, a Lor espresso maker as well. Now, if we're only camping for, like, two or three days, I'm not hauling out the espresso. But I, like at Frog, when we were there for nine days, I had both coffee makers going.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tina
But we weren't off-grid. We weren't hooked up.
Tony B
No, we had hookups, but you still could.
Tina
You could easily.
Peggy
You could.
Tony B
Yeah, you could easily.
Peggy
You could, yeah.
Tony B
'Cause it's not, like, how long it takes to make an espresso can't be that much power-
Tina
No
Tony B
... off a battery.
Tina
No, it doesn't. No. It's the same. I think it's the same. I don't know if we did it.
Tony B
Yes, it is.
Tina
But I am that person that if I'm there for a week, I do have a lot of appliances on my countertop. I've got the ice maker. I've got the- ... Keurig, and I've got my-
Tony B
Not as much as that one camper. I swear it was like a small-
Tina
Oh, the popcorn maker
Tony B
... oh, yeah, popcorn maker.
Peggy
So we'll come back to electric appliances in a minute, but I, but I wanna g- what I don't wanna forget to say at that time is there's, uh, also a very big balance between how much electricity you're willing to use and how much storage space you're willing to use. Their rig has a lot more storage than ours has.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
So having two coffee makers as oppo- pro- as opposed to two AeroPresses, not a big deal for them. For us, it would be like we'd have to give up something else storage wise.
Tony B
Or just take half the junk that's on our counter off the counter. Like the 800 beers that we had to take out of the fridge.
Peggy
Eh.
Tony B
Our fridge is kinda eeny, meeny, miney right now.
Peggy
Yeah, yeah. That's not fair. That's not a fair assessment because that's not stuff we normally keep there. Okay. So let's go back to the things that are built into an RV and the, and what, what people love and hate about each of them. Um, let's talk about dinettes versus theater seats.
Tony B
Well, you have the best of all of them.
Tina
Yeah, we have both.
Peggy
We had... They do.
Tony B
.
Peggy
They have the, the... In this travel trailer right here behind us, they have a rear dinette, big U-shaped dinette-
Tony B
A big one
Peggy
... with tons of windows. It's fantastic.
Tony B
Yeah, it's really good.
Peggy
And they, right next to that-
Tony B
And I like that your table weegees.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tina
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
And right next to that, they have theater seats. Now, we had theater seats in our 2205. We took them out and replaced them with office chairs because what we found in our first couple of weeks of using the 2205 was the theater seats were fantastic if all you ever wanted to do was kick back and watch television. But we didn't ever kick back and watch television. We needed to sit up straight with good posture and have a good height of table and-
Tina
Oh, yeah. For sure
Peggy
... work on the road, right? We're, we're not just off camping.
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
If we were just off camping, that'd be fine. But because we needed to work on the road, we had to make our RV a little bit different. So when we were ready to make a change, one of the reasons that we got what we got is because it has a dinette, and we realized we can sit up straight in a dinette. We have a table right there, which we have swapped out.
Tina
We have. The table is gone.
Peggy
Admittedly. Admittedly. But now we realize when it is time to kick back in the evening to watch television, we're not all that super comfortable. We miss the theater seats.
Tony B
And I'm not saying that the cushions in the dinette are hard. However...
Peggy
But it's hard... So you have both.
Tina
Yeah.
Tony B
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
The dinette and the theater seats, but also your RV is how long?
Tina
It's-
Tony B
29 foot, 10 inches
Peggy
So-
Tina
It's almost 30 feet
Peggy
... about 30 feet.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony B
So it's five feet longer than ours.
Peggy
Well, it's four.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
It's four feet longer than ours.
Tina
Which is, which is completely the dinette.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
Which is, can be pretty significant. We don't really wanna go more than the 26 feet that our travel trailer is.
Tony B
Don't think we're not thinking about it.
Peggy
Well, we're- We're, don't think we're not thinking about it, but it, it's very... Even in, which we're gonna talk about next, even in a slide, a unit with a slide, in our unit it would be very difficult to squeeze in theater seats and a dinette.
Tony B
Oh, yeah.
Peggy
You know? So it all, it, a lot depends on how the floor plan is laid out. We looked at something that did have kind of both, and we liked it a lot. But, um, but it's not a Rockwood, so pshew. Forget it.
Tina
Well, and when we first, when we first were RV shopping, I did not think we needed a dinette. I didn't think we wanted one, just go with the theater seating, which we had in the 2205.
Tony B
Mm-hmm.
Tina
It was great. And then you realize, "You know what? I could really use a dinette on a rainy day. I have no place really to sit and eat."
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tina
"And I am working a little bit from the road, and it'd be nice to have a place to work." So that is game changer.
Peggy
Yeah. It's true.
Tony B
Yeah, and it's, it's a really good dinette too because, like I say, your table kinda weegees around.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tina
Yeah.
Tony B
And it's, uh, the height is sorta infinitely adjustable.
Tina
Yes.
Tony B
It is a really great dinette.
Tina
Yeah, I love, I... 'Cause I can lower it so it's ergonomically correct for when you are-
Peggy
For typing, yeah
Tina
... for typing when you're working. It's great.
Peggy
And then if you're gonna eat something messy, you can lift it up close to your-
Tina
Right.
Peggy
That's how I like to sit to eat something messy, is with my table right up here by my chin.
Tony B
Yeah, you have, like, a bar height table, but you're sat in a regular chair.
Peggy
In a regular chair.
Tony B
And your, and your chin is resting.
Peggy
Then I don't worry about spilling.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tina
We did, yesterday we were at the campground. We made a big breakfast, all of us together.
Tony B
Oh, that was so cool.
Peggy
Yeah. It's been rainy.
Tina
And it was great.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tina
So we ate inside at the dinette, and it was perfect.
Tony B
And we did that at dinner too.
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
Yeah, we, it was still raining.
Tony B
It's amazing. Workshops from Yoders Meat.
Tina
Yes, sir.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
Oh, it was wonderful.
Peggy
It was.
Tony B
Yeah. Mm, mm, mm.
Peggy
Okay, but so then where do you draw the line? Like, if you have to have both, you almost have to have a 30-foot trailer. We don't really wanna go that big. We have places where we like to go we wouldn't be able to get a 30-foot trailer into the location.
Tony B
Rockwood makes a 2108 which has a Murphy bed, and it has a dinette under the Murphy bed and theater seats.
Peggy
Okay.
Tina
There you go. 2515 also.
Tony B
Is that the, uh, one with the theater seating and the dinette right across?
Tina
Next to the bedroom up front.
Peggy
Oh, like a Manias.
Tina
But it's a smaller bathroom. Yeah.
Peggy
A Manias is longer.
Tina
Yeah, like a-
Tony B
Yeah, a Manias also s-
Peggy
Yeah, it's, but, I mean, these are all the things that-
Tina
Mm-hmm
Peggy
... these are the things to consider when you are shopping for an RV. I didn't know this was gonna be a topic about shopping for RVs.
Tina
But it is.
Peggy
But really this is important.
Tina
But, yeah, that's, but-
Peggy
Like how do you camp? How, what do you need for amenities? And honestly, yes, there is that Murphy bed with a dinette under it. I'm not real thrilled about having to take everything, uh, take my computer off the dinette table to put the Murphy bed down to go to sleep at night. And also, I have gotten spoiled by our 2506FK, and there's a bedroom in the back, bathroom in the middle, kitchen and dinette up front.
Tony B
Yeah, I do really like that.
Peggy
I don't wanna go back to having a bed in the kitchen.
Tina
Right.
Tony B
Yep.
Tina
Right.
Peggy
I'm not really thrilled about that.
Tony B
But every, yeah, that's-
Peggy
But if that, if, again, if it's a solo person or if you have very, very similar sleep schedules, like we don't, maybe it doesn't matter that the bed's in the same room as the coffee maker. Because everybody-
Tony B
Tony and Tina are the same.
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
Because everyone gets up at the same time and makes coffee.
Tony B
Not us.
Peggy
We, I really, really, really like that separation, and I have not found anything that to me is worth willing, I- is worth me being willing to go back to having a bed in the kitchen.
Tony B
But yeah.
Tina
I agree. I agree.
Tony B
Mm-hmm.
Tina
But separation of space is key, and I've always said that in our, a lot, in almost all our videos. I love that because not that we-
Peggy
Want to be separated, Bill. But, but-
Tony A
I go to bed early
Peggy
... he goes to bed early, I stay up late. I like to sleep in, he likes to get up early, and it works perfect for us.
Tony B
Yeah. That's, and that's something-
Peggy
I'm learning my cure, get 10:00.
Tony B
See? And that's something that if you're shopping for an RV, be real lipstick about- ... how you, how you and whoever's with you are situated, right? Do you like one of you wakes up early, one wakes up late? Do you do work from the road? Do you watch TV or not watch TV? Well, who would watch TV when you could watch TNT RVing on YouTube- ... and Stressless Camping on YouTube?
Peggy
Yes.
Tony B
My gosh. All of these, do you want an oven? Do you actually... I mean, some people at home, all they're doing is nuking, uh, like, chicken bites for their kids or whatever. And you're not gonna go on the road-
Peggy
Right
Tony B
... and likely be different.
Peggy
Right. If you don't use your oven at home, you don't care about an oven-
Tony B
Right
Peggy
... in the RV.
Tony B
So they're all things to, to factor in when you're shopping that will make a huge difference over time. I mean, I remember selling RVs, and there was a couple that came and we're talking, and I said, "Oh, this..." I s- they said, "What do you think?" And I'm like, "Well, this rig is perfect for what you're doing." And then they bought something else, and they, they traded it in. And I'm like, "You know, we still have that one I pointed you to originally." And they're like, "No, no, we, we decided we want this." Guess what their third rig was?
Peggy
They came back every year-
Tony B
Yeah
Peggy
... and got the third one-
Tony B
Literally, talk about a depreciation hit
Peggy
... that was the one you showed them.
Tony A
Oh.
Tony B
So be, be real lipstick. That's a nod to you, my buddy Perry, at, uh, Redwood Empire RVs. Be, be real lipstick. He would always say that. Uh, about, uh, how you actually plan to use this thing, and honest with your own self and with each other. It's better to discuss what you like, don't like, the configuration, what matters to you before you owe $70,000- ... than after.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony A
Right. And I think it's important when you're RV shopping, make sure you spend time inside the RV, because guess what? Uh, during when we camp, there's at least a day or two-
Peggy
Of rain
Tony A
... might have solid rain. So-
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
'Cause everybody's like-
Tony A
It's important
Peggy
... "I'm just gonna use it to sleep and I'm gonna be outside the whole time." It's not necessarily always true. It's not necessarily true. Yeah.
Tony B
Yeah, yeah.
Peggy
It might be too hot, too cold, too wet. Right.
Tony B
Yeah, it's been hot-
Peggy
Too dry
Tony B
... humid, and rainy.
Peggy
Yeah. Yeah.
Tony B
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
Okay.
Tony B
The Chamber of Commerce has been slacking in the weather department here in Indiana.
Peggy
All right.
Tony B
So you guys get your act together.
Peggy
So here's something else some people absolutely love and some people absolutely hate. And if you think you're never gonna be inside and you find yourself inside a lot, a unit with a slide out. A lot of travel trailers, uh, you know, I'm gonna s- I'm gonna go out on a limb and say a majority still of travel trailers, and especially the middle and larger sizes, are gonna have one to four slides in them. Mm-hmm. Tony has a very real concern that a slide is gonna go bad.
Tony B
Tony P., but maybe Tony-
Peggy
Tony. Maybe not Tony P.
Tony A
Uh, I don't really, too much, I feel like, um-
Peggy
You do maintenance on it
Tony A
... I, I do. I do lube it and everything, and plus, if something breaks, it'll be content for us.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
There we go.
Tony A
But, but rest assured, I, I actually, uh, approached Myron, uh, who's the, what, head of warranty for Rockwood, and we were talking about the Schwintek slides 'cause they, they get sometimes a bad rap.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony A
And he said to me that, "Tony, don't worry about it. Rockwood, Flagstaff, they install the Schwintek slide correctly. You won't have any problems." So.
Tony B
And I think Schwintek gets a bad rep for a number of reasons, one of which is people not maintaining them properly.
Peggy
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Tony B
Right? I mean, it's how many times have you seen on social media, "What lube should I use?" None!
Tony A
Right. None.
Peggy
Right.
Tony B
Don't put any.
Tony A
Make sure the tracks are clean.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tony A
Wipe it down.
Peggy
Right.
Tony B
And also, I mean, sometimes you see these either Class As or Cs with full wall Schwintek slides, and it's like, "No. No, no."
Tony A
Exactly.
Tony B
And yours is just a-
Tony A
It's just a wardrobe slide
Tony B
... little one.
Peggy
Just one.
Tony B
I wouldn't worry about that.
Tony A
Exactly.
Peggy
So, so yes, there are things that can go wrong with a slide. There are things that can go wrong with every part of an RV, right? Mm-hmm. There are things that can go wrong with a slide, but the slide offers a tremendous amount of space and, and feeling of space and, and non-claustrophobicness.
Tony B
Non-claustrophobicness.
Peggy
I just made up a word.
Tony A
That works. I like that.
Peggy
Yeah, it's a word today. That you're not gonna get with a RV that doesn't have a slide, right? And so there's, again, there are some very strong opinions, "I need the space," and there are very strong opinions, "I don't wanna worry."
Tony A
Yeah.
Peggy
Uh, and so-
Tony B
Well, I think it's-
Peggy
Don't want that slide
Tony B
... you think about how, you know, I mean, we've all been to, have you only been to Rockwood factories?
Tony A
Uh, no.
Peggy
No, we went to Alliance and, um-
Tony B
Oh, that's right. We all went to Alliance.
Peggy
Yeah. And we've been, yeah.
Tony B
Okay. Because I was gonna say, sometimes you tour enough factories and you're like, "Oh, that..." You watch some of these rigs being put together and you're like, " ." So.
Peggy
Yeah. Yeah, there's also that. So this is another one of those, you know, really kind of, there's two very valid sides to this argument. Slides are really, really good for space. Slides can be a huge pain in the butt if they go bad, if you don't take care of them, maintain them, lube them, clean them the way you're supposed to.
Tony A
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
Um, if your stop can get stuck in the wrong place. A very valid concerns. But if you keep an eye on things and you maintain, and that's why you're supposed to, you know, do your walk around every month or every camping trip, um, I personally worry less. However, also, I understand the concern. We, you know, Steve and Cathy had their stop can go wonky on them.
Tony B
Yeah, and it really, like-
Peggy
Just-
Tony B
... put a kibosh on their vacation
Peggy
... just this week in the campground-
Tony B
Oh
Peggy
... we watched somebody shoving their-
Tony B
Oh my gosh
Peggy
... slide in from outside.
Tony B
I forgot about that.
Peggy
I'm not saying these are not real concerns, I'm just saying I don't wanna be that close to anybody-
Tony B
Right
Peggy
... that we're in a place without a slide until we find the right floor plan that works for without it.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
Okay, so those are the things that are built in. We already kind of started talking about the appliances that you carry with you, like coffee makers, um, griddles. Like, do you, do you carry a griddle at all? Like, we don't even carry a griddle at all, we rely on our friends to carry griddles. And we don't buy bacon unless we know we're gonna be with someone who will cook it outside for us, for example. But-
Tony B
Yeah, as much as I love bacon, the smell of it, like, the next day in your camper is, like, ugh.
Peggy
So again, electric appliances mean that you are gonna need to have the space to store them, and you're going to need to have the electricity to run them. And whether that means staying in a full hookup campground, which is fine, or whether that means adding more solar panels, which is fine, or getting a bigger battery, or giving up on some other electric appliance, whatever the case may be, it's... We're not telling you you can or cannot carry a griddle.
Peggy
We're just saying some people feel it's important and some people don't, right?
Tina
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
And, and these are kind of the, the pluses and minuses of doing each one. Uh, some people will not go anywhere without an electric toaster, but we have a-
Tony B
An old campfire toaster
Peggy
... a fire top toaster that we put on the stove top and fold it up and put the bread on it, and it works perfectly to toast.
Tony B
By the way, every time we use it, every single time, it sets off the fire alarm.
Peggy
Every single time- ... it sets off the smoke alarm
Tony B
... it's not a matter of if, it's absolutely-
Tina
No matter what
Tony B
... the fire alarm is going off.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tina
Well, now that I can't eat gluten, we took the toaster out. We don't need it anymore.
Peggy
You don't need a toaster 'cause you can't eat bread.
Tina
Yep. Yeah.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tina
So there you go.
Peggy
Yeah. Um, so-
Tony B
And I can't toast toast because I set off the fire alarm.
Peggy
A lot of people... That's okay, I'll just bake my bread in the oven and we'll all be happy.
Tina
There you go. There you go.
Peggy
A lot of people... What was I gonna say? Uh, when I see the question on social media a lot of times, what do you, what, what appliance are, is a must-have for you, a lot of times the very first answer is an ice maker. And we have an ice maker that we don't really travel with because it's big and it takes up space.
Tina
It's big.
Peggy
And I have three Tupperware ice maker ice trays that go in the freezer of the refrigerator that's always on. They have lids so they don't spill or pick up bad smells, and that works perfectly well for me. Now, if we were going on, hmm, I don't know, margarita weekend or something-
Tony B
Oh, well, the ice maker's gonna make an appearance
Peggy
... then we're taking the ice maker-
Tina
Yeah
Peggy
... because it's gonna run constantly so that we can make enough margaritas for everybody, right? There's a time and a place for some things, and those are... All these things that we're talking about, if, if you love them, I am not telling you you can't have them or shouldn't have them. Uh, if you are-
Tony B
Yeah, because people will go, "Well, I'm not listening to you."
Peggy
Yeah. You'll just leave.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
Uh, if you have the room and the electricity and the desire, absolutely take all these things. If you are trying to save on room or electricity or design... No, that doesn't make any sense. Anyway, uh, if you don't wanna use the electricity for these things, no one's forcing you to carry these things.
Tina
Yeah.
Peggy
So we just, you know, these are just some things. Uh, they're all gray areas. Like, everything we've talked about, there's a gray area because there's a very strong-
Tina
Opinion
Peggy
... on this side, and there's a very strong on that side, and somewhere in the middle is the, the middle.
Tina
For a happy medium.
Peggy
Is a happy medium.
Tony B
Well, it's clowns to the left of me- ... jokers to the right.
Tina
Here.
Tony B
Here we are, stuck in the middle with you.
Peggy
With you.
Tony B
Well, anyway, so lots of opinions. Uh, we, as always, we love hearing from you because you are why we're here.
Peggy
That's right.
Tony B
Well, actually, really why we're here is to hang out with Tony and Tina-
Peggy
Yeah, why we're here right now. Yeah
Tony B
... and learn more about... What are you doing here? Didn't you already have a system from ABC Off Griders?
Tony A
Well, we're experimenting with some new solar panels.
Tony B
Mm.
Tina
Ooh.
Tony A
And Ellie's such a, a bougie RV-
Tony B
Bougie
Tony A
... bougie, we decided to try out some bouge panels. We call it bougie panels.
Tina
Bougie panels.
Tony A
They're new 200 watt, they're bifacial, and they also have a shade protect. So now when we have some shade over the solar panels, it's not gonna completely cut out the output of it, just partially. And then also we get some reflective solar power from, uh, when the sun will reflect off the, the white RV surface and hit the underside.
Tony B
Yeah.
Tina
We, we need to power up both those coffee makers.
Tony A
Yeah, that's right.
Peggy
That's right.
Tony B
So for those who don't know, the way a lot of solar panels on RVs work is if a little part of, of a panel is blocked, it stops the whole panel. And it can be, depending on how they're wiring, let's say three panels are wired together, that little shade will shut all three of those off, which is interesting. So the panels that Tony and Tina are getting-
Tony A
Mm-hmm
Tony B
... that isn't the case.
Tony A
No.
Tony B
It's a, it's a newer style of panels, and one of the things that we really like about ABC Off Griders is that they, you know... Your system is not just a one and done, right? You can come here and get- More battery power
Peggy
Mm-hmm
Tony B
or add, as we did, the 50 amp DC to DC, or maybe replace the solar panels with some experimental new panels
Peggy
Or get rail lights
Tony B
or get rail lights.
Peggy
There you go.
Tony B
Gosh, the rail lights are so good. So one of the many things we like about working with ABC Upfitters isn't just the quality of the components and the installation, 'cause they do such a good job with the installation, but also that you're not just the end of the story. So even customer number one, we know who you are, Bill. Uh, he got an upgrade recently, right?
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony B
He came back here and-
Peggy
A couple of weeks ago. Yeah
Tony B
... so unlike a lot of companies, it's really a dialogue with an experienced solar installer rather than, "Well, we're gonna put this system in and hope we never talk to you again."
Peggy
Right.
Tony B
So if you would like the kind of relationship that dealing with a quality company brings, you can call 574-333-3225.
Peggy
That's 574-333-3225, or use the QR code for a link to learn more on our website. And maybe we'll see you next time we're recording at ABC.
Tony B
Taking over the install bay.
Peggy
Yeah.
Speaker 5
Yeah.
Peggy
A few weeks ago, I actually did share the recipe for the, what I call milk bread, and this week Kate reminded me yet again that I still hadn't posted my beef and broccoli recipe. So Kate, I finally posted my beef and broccoli recipe.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
Everybody go check it out. It's a really easy, kind of one pot, hearty meal.
Tony B
Yeah, it's very good.
Peggy
Eventually, the heat's gonna go away and you're gonna want that hot food, and I hope that you enjoy beef and broccoli.
Tony B
Yeah. Well, last week in our question of the week we asked, "What campground rule is most important to you?" Assuming we read them.
Speaker 5
Right.
Tony B
And this-
Peggy
And this week I said, "Well, so are you the kind of person who says, 'Rules? What rules?' Or are you the kind of person who says, 'I read and follow every rule to a T.'"
Tony B
Yes. Anyway, you can answer that at our fun and friendly Stressless Campers Facebook group. Uh, you can ask your own questions, post your own funny pictures, whatever. We appreciate your being there.
Peggy
Tell us your camping stories.
Tony B
Yeah.
Peggy
Show us your very important electric appliances that you must travel with.
Tony B
Yes.
Peggy
Why not?
Tony B
Absolutely. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe. Sharing means caring, and we really appreciate when you tell others about the Stressless Camping RV Podcast.
Peggy
Thank you so much for being here for episode 375 of the Stressless Camping RV Podcast. Don't forget to get on s- on our website and sign up for our once a week newsletter. That way you won't miss out on any new deals, discounts, episodes, recipes, guests-
Tony B
Guests
Peggy
... uh, special recording session locations. All those things- ... that make your RV adventure stressless camping.
Tony B
Stressless camping.
Mark Ferrell
We hope you learned a lot, and had some fun, and got some tips for your next stress-less camping adventure. We're honored by your reviews on Apple Podcasts, which helps others find us too. Don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss out on the adventure, and we look forward to your joining us next week. Until then, happy camping.
Tony B
When is a rule not a rule?
Peggy
When is... When, what?
