Greetings from Myrtle Beach, SC (again)

The end of the North Carolina RV Show in Charlotte wrapped up our time in North Carolina for this year. This is the first time we have presented seminars in North Carolina that we did not experience the joys of a snowfall or an ice storm (see the accompanying picture).

Our next seminar presentations will take place at The Rally in Perry, Georgia from March 13th through the 17th. In the meantime we will spend the next ten days sitting next to the ocean at Ocean Lakes Campground here in Myrtle Beach.

This will be the longest stretch of time we have ever spent in one campground. We have some business chores to attend to, a few articles to write, and some restaurants to visit. Vicki will use the campsite's telephone hookup to make a number of 800 phone calls; I will stare at the ocean while holding a laptop in my lap; and we will visit places where I can get philly cheese-steak sandwiches and Vicki can put a serious dent in the sealife population.

We will also put the finishing touches on a new seminar, "The RVer's Kitchen", that Vicki will present at The Rally. During her seminar, Vicki will provide some observations on what to look for in the kitchen when choosing an RV. She will also share some ideas on quick and easy cooking and offer a number of helpful tips for using a combination microwave-convection oven. The seminar is based upon her book, My RV Kitchen and Favorite Recipes.

Well, as Gilda Radner's character, Rosanna Rosanna Dana on Saturday Night Live, used to say, "Its always something!" Rosanna must have been an RVer. Yesterday, while traveling the back roads from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach, we lost the outside access door to our RV's water heater compartment. How it happened, I don't have a clue. It was there and properly latched before we left the Charlotte KOA. It was absent when I walked our rig during our lunch stop. Also missing was a bent piece of wire, a little thicker than a coat hanger wire, that acts as a hinge pin. I had visions of us looking like the grapes of wrath while we waited for a replacement to be shipped from the factory (if they had one).

As soon as we settled into our campsite I called the Myrtle Beach Camping World parts department. The parts person said "Oh man, we did inventory last week and I threw out a half dozen of them things. Let me see if I can find one." He called back a few minutes later to let me know he had one left and would hold it for me. He also had a replacement "hinge pin". The green lower portion of our motorhome now has a shiny new cream-colored water-heater door. Its always something!

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Greetings From Rural Hall, NC

We are camped in the back lot of an RV repair shop. A few days ago I discovered a leak where the cold water pipe connects to the rear of our RV's water heater. There was a steady drip and the floor of the water heater compartment was soaked. And, just to make my day, I also noticed a small puddle of engine coolant on the cement slab beneath the motorhome. Great!!

The coolant leak was not serious but it would have to be repaired. The water leak, however, had to be taken care of immediately. The only access to the back of our water heater is through an eight-by-ten inch opening. You can look into the compartment through the opening, you can reach into the compartment through the opening. No way can you do both at the same time. And I know that removing the water heater is an involved procedure on our model motorhome.

On Monday I called the service department of Bill Plemmons RV. They have talented and skilled service technicians who have experience with our model motorhome. And because they are good, they are usually busy. "Bring it in, we'll squeeze you into our schedule" said the service administrator. We arrive at 2:30. They can't work on our rig today but we are welcome to camp in the back lot. It wasn't the first night we have spent a romantic evening enjoying the ambiance of a repair facility.

After parking on a cement slab I check the leaks. There is no sign of any leaks. They are miraculously cured! Four hours later the floor of the water heater compartment is dry. There is no sign of a coolant leak on the concrete slab or the bottom of the engine.

A service tech arrived at our door at 8:30this morning. Eleven years of RV technician experience. He has seen our problem on our model before. He can repair the leak without removing the water heater. By 12 noon he is finished. The plumbing fitting shattered in
his hand when he started to remove it. He has also repaired the coolant leak. We are free to go but decide we will camp in the back lot one more night before we head for Charlotte and the RV show there.

"Bring it in, we'll squeeze you into our schedule." I love those words.

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New Alaska DVD!

Our newest DVD, “RVing Alaska: What to Expect, How to Prepare” is almost ready.

Last summer we traveled to Alaska with videographers John Holod and Jodie Ginter. Together, we created a dynamite DVD that does just what the title says … it shows you what to expect and how to prepare for this great trip.

Topics include:

What to Expect
Road Conditions and Driving Tips
Campgrounds
Fuel Stops
Repair Facilities
Grocery Stores
Restaurants

How to Prepare
Vehicle Preparation
Personal Preparation
Crossing the Border
Documents
Money

Alaska Ferry System
Making Reservations
Boarding the Ferry
Eating Accommodations
Sleeping Facilities


If you would like to be notified when this DVD is available for shipment contact us at kievabooks@rvknowhow.com put “Alaska DVD” on the subject line and provide your e-mail address.


To read our detailed Alaska log on this blog, press “end” on your computer keyboard, click on “Older Posts” and scroll to September 8, 2007.

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Greetings from Littleton, NC

We are camped in the driveway of our very good friends, Loren and Nancy Benedict. If you have attended our “Full-time and Extended RV Travel” seminar you have heard us encourage RV travelers to develop 365 friends with long driveways. Well, Loren and Nancy have a super-long driveway with 30-amp electric, water and sewer hookups.

Unfortunately, we are in a location that does not have any sort of cellular service. So that means we not only can not use our cellular phone but our new aircard is useless as well. Luckily, Loren and Nancy’s router is strong enough to act as a wi-fi hotspot for us. We can go on line from the comfort and convenience of our motorhome. And we use their phone once a day to call in for messages.

Loren and Nancy used to be fulltime RVers. They traveled and lived in a 40-foot motorcoach and pulled a small truck that doubled as transportation and a warehouse for the products (mostly flagpoles) they sold at home, farm, boat and RV shows. That’s how we met them. A few years ago they came in off the road, bought a fixer-upper on the shore of 30-mile-long Lake Gaston and made a small piece of heaven out of it. They traded the motorcoach for a 28-foot trailer and used their truck/warehouse to pull the trailer. Today, they continue to sell at shows but specialize in quality flagpoles, flagpole accessories and flags. Check out their website http://www.1800flagpole.com/

Tom and Margie Hildebrand live near Loren and Nancy. They also used to be fulltimers and show vendors. The six of us worked the North Carolina RV shows, and after hours we would terrorize the local restaurants.

A few years ago, Tom was diagnosed with lung cancer. The doctors said he had six months to live. Tom apparently has not decided when to start the six-month countdown. He has gone through the hell of chemo, radiation and surgery and still looks like he will be around for a long time to come. His attitude is “If you are going to cheat, cheat death”

Nancy made a huge lasagna and the six of us once again broke bread together.

Monday, we head for a repair shop in Winston-Salem, NC. Our motorhome engine has developed a small coolant leak and the cold-water connection on our water-heater also has a small leak. Both are small but located in places I can’t reach. Hopefully an RV service tech will be able to take us in on short notice (these things always happen on a holiday weekend).

Friday, we begin presenting seminars at the Charlotte RV Show.

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Greetings from Raleigh, NC

We are presenting seminars at the Raleigh, North Carolina RV Show. The weather here in Raleigh is cool enough to discourage folks from going to the beach or working in the yard but nice enough to encourage them to attend the show. The show, which takes place at the North Carolina state Fairgrounds, is experiencing a large, enthusiastic attendance. Our motorhome is nestled among a stand of trees in one of the many full-hookup campsites on the fairgrounds. Our work commute is a brief walk to the seminar building.

Enroute here from Myrtle Beach we stopped and visited with our friends Mark and Dawn Polk. Mark and Dawn are both multi-talented individuals who have made a success out of producing RV educational videos, DVDs, books and e-books. They have worked hard and, more importantly, they have worked smart to make their products and website, http://www.rveducation101.com/ , a commercial success. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer couple.

The downside to camping at the fairgrounds and in the parking lots of other shows is that we don’t have convenient access to the internet. And our business has become dependent upon having a daily internet connection. So we decided to bite the bullet and make an attempt to join the 21st century… we purchased an aircard and signed up for service with Verizon. An aircard is a device that plugs into a laptop computer and provides a cellular connection to the internet. It doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we have a cellular signal, we can connect to the internet --- at least that is what the Verizon folks told me.

The aircard, a USB720 model, cost $59.00 but that was offset by a mail-in rebate of $59.00. The monthly service fee for unlimited access is $59.00 (more if you are not a Verizon cellular customer). Our aircard plugs into a USB port on our laptop when we want to go online. It sticks out about three inches but it can also be connected to the laptop with a three-foot long cable that came with the aircard.

Sitting here in the fairgrounds, in the middle of the city of Raleigh, the cellular signal is strong and the speed of our aircard internet access is comparable to the speed of our DSL connection at home. So far, so good. We’ll let you know how well the aircard performs as we travel around the country.

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