The primary focus of this podcast episode is to share the invaluable resources provided by RV Help, a platform designed to assist RV enthusiasts in maintaining their mobility and enjoyment of the RV lifestyle. I delve into the features and benefits of RV Help, emphasizing its role as a pivotal tool for ensuring that RVers remain on the road without undue stress. In our discussion, we also explore the nostalgic elements of RV travel, advocating for the integration of memories and experiences that enhance the overall journey. Furthermore, I present practical financial strategies that contrast the pursuit of cost-saving measures against the goal of wealth accumulation, ultimately guiding listeners toward more fulfilling travel experiences. As we transition into discussing serene desert destinations, we underscore the tranquility found in these locales, inviting our audience to embrace the quietude that they offer. Also in this episode of The Smart RVer Podcast, we’re talking about a few big themes that all tie together: getting help with your RV, making great memories, saving money, and finding peace and quiet out in the desert. First, we look at what we call “RV help” — the idea of having support so you’re not out there on your own when something breaks or you’re not sure what to do. This means trusted mobile techs, and resources that help you maintain your RV and keep it road-ready. The goal is simple: less stress, more confidence, and more time enjoying the journey instead of worrying about breakdowns. We also talk about adding a little nostalgia to your travels. Maybe it’s decorating your RV with classic signs, old-school camp gear, or visiting small towns that feel frozen in time. Those touches from “back in the day” can turn a normal trip into a memory your family will talk about for years. From there, we shift into Money Saving Tips. We share practical ways to save on fuel, campground fees, and food, without feeling like you’re “roughing it” all the time. And we don’t stop at saving — we also touch on how your spending on the road can fit into your bigger financial picture, so you’re not just funding today’s trip, but also building long-term stability. Finally, we slow things down and head into the desert. We highlight peaceful destinations like Anza-Borrego and the Mojave National Preserve — places where the quiet, open space helps you reset. It’s about stepping away from the noise, soaking in the scenery, and remembering why you started RVing in the first place. Put together, this episode is about traveling smarter: having the right help, making meaningful memories, being wise with your money, and finding those quiet places that refill your tank in more ways than one. Weigh Safe - Weight Distribution Hitches The Smart RVer Podcast Episode Schedule. Enjoying the RV Life: See All of the Articles Money Saving Tips – How to Save that Hard-Earned Cash The Next Stop: See the Awesome Places We Recommend RV Envy: See all of our DIY Articles Money Saving Sites: Wholesale Warranties – RV Extended Warranties RV Help - Mobile Tech App SunproMfg Side Window Covers MudFlap - Money Saving Fuel App Social Sites: X.com – Visit us @thesmrtrver Facebook – Follow Us Instagram – Follow Us YouTube – Watch Videos & Subscribe Our Online Resources: The Smart Rver YouTube Channel – Check Out Our No-Nonsense YouTube Videos Sunpro Mfg – RV Sunshade, Windshield Covers & Slide Out Awning Fabrics Hot Boat Ropes – Marine Cordage- Anchor Lines, Dock Lines, Tow Lines, etc. Top Rated Podcast – The Smart RVer Podcast Website

In staying on the road today, we're going to talk about RV help. Who they are and how they keep you on the road and then enjoying the RV life.

We're going to bring nostalgia into the RV lifestyle to make every trip feel timeless. And then in money saving tips, we're going to compare shaving cost to travel more versus building wealth.

And then the next stop, we're going to go to the desert in several different places where it's just super quiet and very enjoyable. And then an RV envy, we're going to talk about way safe weight distributing hitches.

This is Eric Stark with the Smart RVer podcast, your trusted source for tips and insights to embrace the RV lifestyle without worries. Let's talk everything RV today is episode 192. Let's jump right into this. So here we are. Welcome back everybody to the show.

We got a lot of great information as usual to share with you, how to keep you going down the road smoothly. So we're your trusted source for that information. So we're going to just jump right into it today.

Oh, wait a minute, we're not going to jump that quick. First we're talking about RV help today and I have to put a little plug in for them.

There's going to be a description or they're going to be in our description a link to their website.

RV help, which we're going to get into in greater detail, is a great source, but in case I don't say it later, there's a link to their website in our description and we highly encourage you to take a look at it and join their subscription plan. It's a great product. So now let's get into this and let's go to enjoying the RV life.

So we're going to bring nostalgia into your RV lifestyle, to your adventures. There's simple ways to doing this. This isn't like a total revamp of your whole entire RV lifestyle.

It's just some small changes to just make it different. Go back in time a little bit to the area that a lot of people call nostalgic.

I mean, behind me, if you're watching this on YouTube, you can see behind me it's Americana. We got everything in here from this to that. License plates, old gas signs, heck, sombreros, mariachi, shaky thingies. We've got it all.

We got junk from everywhere and it's nostalgic. And everything actually does have a story. Tell you where we got it, when we got it, what it's about, a reminder of it.

Like there's a Box of Cracker Jacks on the wall, you know, Where'd that come from? I'm not going to tell you in this episode. Save that for another day. But if you ever meet my buddy Carl Clapp, he'll tell you if you ask him.

Let's get into this. You could actually call this retro RV moments, where you just kind of change up the theme and you go for the nostalgia.

Like I said, RVing is a very unique thing because it does create memories. Even what we might consider the worst RV trip. We'll laugh about it later on. That was the trip where the transmission fell out. We got four flat tires.

The air conditioners blew right off the roof. It was the craziest thing. See, we look back and we laugh about in the moment. We're all panicked, freaking out.

We can look back and laugh because it's a memory. And some memories are definitely better than others, right? Especially the ones that don't cause damage and cost a fortune.

But it's very simple to create these memories. There's a lot of things in the United states that go back 30, 40, 50, 60 years that bring back memories of a different time.

And a lot of younger people don't understand that because they didn't experience it. They kind of see it. I know younger people like the music from the 60s, 70s.

See, that's nostalgic to us or nostalgia, but to them, it's just cool music. So now take your ro. Your RV and turn it in a road trip where maybe you can experience some of that and you can bring it right into the rv.

So it's pretty simple. You know, your rv, you're not going to change the interior of it. You're not going to redo it.

But what about just bringing in some accessories, like maybe what they used to travel with, you know, back in the 50s, maybe a plaid blanket. Throw a couple of those in on the. On the dinette, on the beds, you know, just a little bit.

Maybe get some old albums from the 50s or 60s or whatever, a couple of them. Set them up on a.

On a shelf someplace, you know, some enamel coffee mugs, which you can still get those today, but you get ones that kind of got that old look to it, you know, do some different things. Some string lights in the.

Inside the rv, just to kind of change the atmosphere a little bit, kind of get it in the mindset, because it is a mindset thing. You got to think that way, and then maybe set up a memory corner where the memories are there.

You're going to be Using this RV or I mean, when you're using the rv, you see that, or at least on these trips you do, you make it from the past. So that's some basic stuff. But when you're traveling, you know, take your time going places.

You, maybe you have a destination in mind that's not really the nostalgia type destination. Maybe you're going to a theme park someplace. But along the way, are you going to be going through some small towns that fit that bill for nostalgia?

Small towns where you can explore them, get out, look around. They have the little stores, you know, the antique stores, the unique stores.

A lot of times it just is junk in the stores, but it's cool to walk through it because those are somebody else's belongings that gave them memories at one point in time. So you could call this old fashioned fun if you will, but it's very simple, it's very basic. If you have kids with you, hey, no screens, no phones.

Unless you're going to be taking pictures or doing videos. You don't need to be texting your buddies, right?

Pay attention to this stuff because where you're going is very cool and you can have a very good time doing it. And all these little towns have so many little nuggets of information.

If you talk to people there or along the highway, you see these pull outs where it's, you know, a historical event took place there. Stop and read about it.

Sometimes those things can be very mundane or they can be very interesting and get you really thinking about something that's interesting. Maybe that will be another trip. We can go visit that place where a battle took place or whatever.

How did they travel? When you go into an antique store, yeah, it's a lot of old things, but what's the story behind those old things? Who did they belong to?

In some stores you go into them, the person that owns it or that is really in tune with what's in their store, they'll be able to give you a history lesson on a good chunk of the stuff there. Or you go to these little museums that cost like 50 cents to get into. Oh, you see, I'm going back in time now.

It's 50 bucks, maybe not that much, 5 bucks. But you know, they're, they're very small. It's a donation, basically.

And it keeps these museums going because everything was donated to them from locals. A plethora of history right there. And it can be so interesting.

And the things that you see and the things you can learn will take you back in time to when things were actually better in the United States, when things were cheaper, when your dollar had some value. You know, you think about that. You go into some of these stores, you're paying $50 for something, maybe an anti, something that's really cool.

But when it was brand new, it might have only cost two bucks. But now you're paying 50 for it because it's old and worn out and not usable anymore. Wow. Geez, we sure spend money in funny ways, don't we?

Those are just some things to think about when you're traveling so you can slow down a little bit, just look a little bit more, bring some music along, some of those classic tunes, you know, to set the mood, get the mindset going. And you know, if depending on your kids, how old they are, they might balk at this every step of the way until they actually kind of get out there.

Or for them it might be a horror experience. But down the road when they get home, they're sitting around with their friends talking about mom and dad and what morons they are.

You know how kids are. They might actually start laughing about this. And hey, that was actually pretty cool the things I did see and learn.

And I know in that one store they had some albums there, you know, maybe it was the Rolling Stones. And I do like the Rolling Stones. In fact, I have them on my, on my phone here, you know, so they might get a little amusement out of it later on.

Maybe not in the moment, but whatever, you know, just do it for doing it sake that it's worth to do. See something maybe you haven't really spent time looking at, maybe you've ignored. So it can be a blast.

Just make sure everybody's got the mindset and you know where to go and how to enjoy it.

Now that's going to bring us to money saving tips and we're going to talk about why we're shaving or saving dollars so we can travel more or shaving money off shaving costs on our trip versus building wealth. Because what we're talking about in money saving tips has nothing to do with building wealth. Not whatsoever.

And not that there's anything wrong with building wealth.

In fact, it's recommended that you do so saving some money to travel more makes sense because that actually does help you build wealth in some Ways because you're not spending money that you. Or squandering your money, I guess, or, or aimlessly spending your money ever.

How you want to look at it now, some people might look at owning an RV while you're wasting your money anyways. And you know, there's probably some truth to that because it is a luxury. It's a recreational vehicle. Right. It's not a money building vehicle.

It's a recreational vehicle. And recreation costs money. It's an expense. It's on one side of the ledger. Money goes out, money doesn't come in.

But when you do it, thinking about it, well, we need to be smart. We want to save some money so we can actually travel more or a little bit longer, a little bit farther, ever.

How that pans out for you and how much money you save. But there's three areas that really affect all RVers. It's fuel, it's campgrounds, and it's food and fun.

So those three areas are where you can actually cut the most, usually to save some money on your trips. So you can either travel farther, travel longer, or just enjoy it in a different way.

Maybe some extra money to spend at those antique stores you run into and spend 50 bucks on something that only cost a dollar when it was brand new. There you go. And that doesn't come out of your, you know, your, your building wealth fund. Right.

That just comes out of that trip fund, which makes sense.

So driving a little bit slower is how you're going to save fuel economy and making sure your vehicle's in good shape, your tires are good, there's no issues that are making your fuel economy decrease. You know, a clogged up air filter, things like that, poor fuel injectors. So driving slower, making sure everything's maintained is good.

Then when you're out camping, do you always stay at an RV park? Are you always shelling out 50, 60, 80, 100, $150 a night? Because that seems like what you're supposed to do.

Well, what about going dry camping off grid for, you know, stay here a stay there? See, that puts money right back into your pocket for your RV travels. And then what about eating? Do you eat out every meal?

Do you have to eat out every meal? Can you have more meals in your rv?

See, in all three of these things we've talked about in different money saving tips, they're feasible things to do and they help you save some cash. It stretches your budget and makes it go further.

So there's nothing wrong with saving and building wealth, but it's two different things, and they don't really mix together. They stay separated. But saving money on your RV trip is not pulling money out of your wealth fund, which is important.

So with some minor tweaks, a little adjustments, you can, you know, travel smarter, save more money, and extend your trip in a multitude of different ways and enjoy it even more so. And it mixes it up. You just change the entire routine of your traveling.

So now it's a whole different type of traveling if you're not already doing this. So that might change it up for you, too. Hey, I really like this. We're driving slower. We're going out and camping now, not in RV parks.

We're going out in places where we've never really camped before. We're seeing things we haven't seen before. So this is pretty darn cool.

So shave some costs where you can and enjoy your trip and enjoy it much longer, farther, whatever, wherever it takes you. You can see the full article on the smartrver.com now. That brings us to staying on the Road and RV help dot com.

Who are they and how are they going to keep you on the road? It's important that we understand this because staying on the road is the major portion, the major segment of our show, and RV help is there.

I guess they could be at the core of your RV experience, if you will. Knowing that they're there, knowing how to use their app can be very important. And RV Help was designed to help RVers stay on the road. Imagine that.

Keeping you on the road, keeping you happy. That's what RVing can be all about. And today we're going to dig into that.

Now, I've talked about RV help in the past, and I've also had Heath Padgett from RV Help. We did an interview back in August, so we're kind of hitting this pretty quick. But I really like their business model.

I've talked to them extensively about what they're doing. They're probably getting tired of hearing from me because I think their idea is good. I sound like a yes man. Oh, that sounds good.

Oh, that sounds good. But it's all things that I've talked about doing it just I don't have the resources to do it.

Everything they're doing is what I think should be done, a business should be doing to help RVers keep on the road, keep their RVs going down the road without problems.

And also making life easier as an rv, because it can be very difficult sometimes finding a qualified technician to work on your rv, especially if you're out on the road, maybe at a national park. It makes me think of Fred.

He was a mobile RV tech and he would go to Yosemite and he'd hang out in Ennis, Montana during the summer and then you get called in Yosemite and do these repairs. And he was a very technical guy, I think very qualified.

But he described it as like being on a mash unit where they go in, just patch things up and get people on the road and get them going down so they can enjoy their trip. And you know, he didn't mean that in the sense that it's a sloppy surgery, a sloppy repair.

You know, they'll put a new water pump in, but it's probably going to leak and the wires will come undone in three weeks. That's not what he meant. He's doing a job to get the people on the road so they can finish their trip and enjoy it.

Whether they're renting the RV or it's their own personal rv, he just happens to be there.

But you'd have to call around and, and talk to different places and people to get his phone number because it's not like he could put a big sign up in Yellowstone. Hey, Fred's mobile RV repair doesn't work that way.

Now I guess if he is in the Dakotas he could have it carved on a mountain possibly, but that might be some red tape there. But anyway, back to RV help. So Fred is like the guy you're going to find on rvhelp.com he's going to get you on the road if you're traveling.

But maybe you're at home and there's not a dealership or a repair facility around you. Well, rvhelp.com is going to be the place where you're going to want to go. It's easy to use and you know what's cool is free.

Now they do have a subscription based service. They have a pro plan and that's the plan I highly recommend. They have two tiers of it, but I think it might be changing.

In January I kind of got, I talked to him about it and I should have been more clear before I said anything. But their pro plan is the way to go. It's like 200 bucks but they give you so much more. But the free plan, let's just focus on the free plan.

The free plan, you call them up or you download the app, you go to their website and you can find out where a mobile RV tech is, is in your area and it'll list all of them. And then you can, by reading their descriptions, you can decide who you want to use. And that makes it sweet because these guys are going to help you.

And you can decide, hey, oh, that guy, I know him. I used him once. I didn't really have a good experience. So I'm going to call the second guy on the list.

And then there you go, you call the second guy on the list. It didn't cost you anything to make the phone call because RV helps not charging you.

And then you work it out with the tech on what's going to go on and how he's going to do it. But what's really cool is these techs are all certified. They have skills, they've been trained. They're not guys that have just learned on their own.

And not that those guys are always bad, but sometimes they are. A lot of good technicians have learned everything on their own, but they're just not certified. But these guys are all certified, which acts.

Which actually adds a little weight to their reliability, to their ability, if you will.

So it's a better option for you because a certified technician, especially if you're broken down someplace, can make a big difference on how it's going to go. So RV Help is there. They're like there right in that moment where you need some help the most. There they are.

They're between you and the problem, and they help you get the problem fixed. So RV Help has been working on this, and they continue to add functionality to the website.

They're adding services, they're upping the game constantly because they want, they really understand how, how it is for an RVer, and they want to help you enjoy your trip or your RV in general. There's so much to say about them. It's, it's, it's like one big giant.

Advertising is what it feels like to me talking about them because I like their platform so much. But it goes back to the technicians, and these guys want to help. And the guys at RV Help too. They've all been involved in RVs full timing. It's.

They actually have an RV they've taken out on the road. So they get it. They know how difficult it can be. They've owned RVs, and they know what it's like when it breaks down someplace.

Unless you can fix it yourself, you know, you can really be stuck. And so having a mobile RV tech that's going to come to you can make your life so much easier.

Now, what kind of help can they actually give you just on the free service, the basic plan. So you go to their website, you're searching for mobile RV tech. So these techs are going to be trained as RV tech.

So they can be able to work on electrical systems, which would include your converter, any battery related issues, or 12 volt issues, possibly inverters as well, solar slide out systems, leveling jacks and slide out systems.

And leveling jacks are pretty important because if your slide out is stuck in the out position and it's time to go home, you got to figure out how to get it in. You know, you can't drive down the road with your slide out room extended. Well, I guess you could.

That'd be a sight to see, especially on a narrow bridge and just tears it right off. That'd be a great video. And you can't drive with your leveling jacks down either. It's just not going to work.

So sometimes those things go, go wrong and you need to get them fixed. And maybe the tech won't be able to get out, but they'll be able to help you on the phone. That's where that extended pro plan comes in.

Then they work on furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, refrigerators, stoves, appliances in general in an R, water leak, plumbing leaks, you know, water pumps, holding tanks. They're going to cover all of this because they're mobile RV techs. It's them. So they know a whole lot and they're able to do it.

Now, just to put this in perspective, you know what if you're in a national park someplace, let's say Yosemite Fred's not there, but you have access to RV help. So instead of just packing up telling the family, ah, the air conditioner, quick guys, is 100 degrees out.

I'm not spending another night in this RV without air conditioning. We're going to pack it up and we're going to go home. Can you imagine your family, how upset they're going to be?

Like, really, we got to go home, dad, we don't care. You know, we want to stay. No, I'm not doing this.

Well, now if you have RV help or you're using RV help, you can call up and get a mobile tech out there and they'll get your air conditioning working or at least tell you what's involved in it. Yeah, your air conditioner shot, you need a new one.

Now I can put a new one on here, but it might be two or three days before I can get it and get back out here. And you might say you know what? We can deal with that. We'll just make that work.

In fact, we'll just leave the RV here and we'll drive into the town, local town, maybe it's in us here in Yosemite, and we'll spend the night in a motel for a night or two, you know, because now there's some light at the end of the tunnel. So you got some help. So see how that can work. Or maybe it's just a capacitor and the guy replaces it.

Now the air conditioners work, working great and you don't have to do anything other than pay them and enjoy your rest of your trip. See how easy that would make it, what a stress reducer that is, that makes RVing and so much better. That's enjoying the RV lifestyle.

And then when you look at these guys on RV help, you see profiles, you see what they do, their certifications, you see it all. So you're not going into this blind, you know, you're, you're getting a name of a, of an RV guy and everybody says, oh, he's good.

Little rough around the edges, but he's good. You know, you call him up and yeah, he's rough around the edges. Is he good? Well, he got me on the road, but it really wasn't that great.

It wasn't an overall good experience. You know, that can happen.

Heck, even with RV help, they might have a technician that's having a bad day and it might not be the best experience that day, but overall they're there to help and make it a good experience. And then also if you're purchasing an rv, they can help you with that. They do the pre inspections, new used RVs.

So that in itself is worth a bundle having an RV checked out. Now you have to pay for those inspections. They're not freebies, don't get me wrong wrong here.

But being able to go to a company and getting a reputable inspector is a good thing. And they've all been to the NRV TA school, so they've trained, not all of them, but the ones who are inspectors have been trained.

And training is important because there's a lot to inspect in an rv. You know, there's a list they go down, which can take hours depending on what kind of inspection you want.

It might take three hours, it might take six hours, might take eight hours depending on the RV and what you want inspected. So that is very cool too, because these things can save you a ton of money down the road, man. I mean, for so many people, Come into our store.

Hey, Eric, you know, you won't believe the deal I just got on this rv. Oh, man, this thing is sweet. And you got to come out and check it.

You know, they're all excited about you walk outside, and in your mind, you're thinking, you just bought this. No way. You know, you can see from the outside that the roof has been leaking for 10 years.

You know, you see the siding is bubbling off the side, and they're like, I got a great deal. Yeah, it needs a little bit of work, but they have no idea how much work that it really needs. And it's important that they understand that.

Or you understand that before you buy an rv, you don't want to get into something and find out that you've got $10,000 repairs heading your way. That is not good. Right? You want to know before you ever purchase it. So that's where those inspections are so important.

And another thing, too, is they can help you with remote and or virtual tech support. Now, those are the paid plans, but it's there. And that's why I recommend the paid subscription, because you get so much more.

Even the app that you can use, the tools and app, it brings more to the table for you as the RVer. And you can track things. You can track your trip.

They're adding stuff to the app constantly right now, and I don't know if it's all out yet or if it's going to be out in January. This episode is coming out December 5th, which is today. Imagine that. But I put in a date to it, just so you have an idea where we're at.

So it might be a month or so before the end of the year from now, but then it's there, and they're adding more to it. And I don't know the complete changes of the structure there. I'm just telling you there's going to be some changes, but it's still worthwhile.

Even if you signed up in December and you don't have all the changes yet, but you're going to have them in January. Who cares? The sooner you sign up, the better. Then it's at your fingertips, and it's well worth the money, because this app, to me, is priceless.

Their service is priceless. Yeah, I'm probably not the best guy to talk about it. Sounds like I'm making it all up, right? But they really are good.

So now you think about how beneficial this can be, having an app, even the free version. Like I said, you know, it's kind of what we're talking about today is more of the free version. They're there for you all the time.

So it doesn't matter where you go in the United States, you have a problem, you can get support from them. So if you're buying an rv, you got support. If you're using your rv, you have support. They have the app, they have a service.

So it's also known how to use it as well. It sounds pretty straightforward. Oh, rvhelp.com now for me, I'm very computer driven. I'm not smartphone and tablet driven. I have those devices.

But for me to look up a website on a phone, I hate it. My fingers are big, the screen is small. I like a laptop at minimum with two monitors or three monitors. For some of you though, that not a big deal.

You do everything on your phone, but it's also knowing the remembering their name. Rvhelp.com so have it bookmarked, have the website ready. If there's login credentials you need, have them ready, be ready to use it.

If you do sign up, fill out the profile, make sure all your data is in there, everything about your rv, you, everything they ask for, so it's there. And then you can also upload pictures as well to help your tech or your tech.

Or if you're going to be texting back and forth with the tech before the repair is done, you can text them images. You know, maybe have the images ready before you ever talk to anybody. Take some photos of the problem.

And believe me, photos help and even of the model numbers. A lot of RV owners think they own a car when they own an rv. And you can't go by year, make or model, you have to go by the appliance of the rv.

So if it's your air conditioner before the tech comes out, having that model number form, man, it's worth his weight in gold because if he has to make trips, you're paying for it and you don't want to pay for that, right? So it. And it makes it go a lot quicker as well. So have pictures and some of these things you should already have on your phone.

Just set up a folder with these pictures in it with your rv, the name of your RV and your furnace and all that good stuff. So it's there, you're ready to text them pictures. And believe me, they'll appreciate it, man, because it'll make life easier for them.

Hey, they sent me pictures. I got the model number. I can look it up. I can make sure parts are available. I Can make sure I have the parts, the things I think that it might be.

So that even almost gives you a quote or an estimate before they even show up, because they have an idea of the parts. Well, your parts list here. I think what you might need, the worst case scenario would be $150 for the part.

You know, whatever their labor is and travel costs. Now, you got an idea what it's going to be? Okay, I can deal with that. Right. So it's going to help.

Or if you're going to do some virtual troubleshooting, you got the pictures. It's going to help. So these are things that are going to make it a lot easier for you. Owning an RV will always come with repairs.

You can't get away from it. I've never met an RV owner that hasn't had to have repairs. It doesn't work that way.

That's why I'm in business, because people need to repair their RVs, but it's being prepared for those repairs is important, so you don't have to face them alone or in this, you know, dark chasm of the help you get is so bad. Like, gosh, man, I wish I never would have called this guy. Never wish I would have taken my RV to this company.

You know, you don't want to live in regrets. And that's where RV help comes in. These guys are certified.

These mobile techs have the ability, they have the skills, and these guys are definitely professionals. And I think if they're going to get into something that's over their head, they're going to bow out, they're going to tell you, you know what?

This is beyond me. I've never done one of these repairs before, and I'd rather not practice on your rv. So here's who I'm going to recommend.

And, you know, we can appreciate that it might be annoying in the moment, but when you look back on, hey, I'm glad he did that, you know, gosh, that could have turned into a nightmare. Because I understand the job. It was a massive job and way beyond his scope or doing it out in the field someplace, just wouldn't work.

It is a shop type of repair. So we can appreciate that. Rather than a guy taking your slide room out in your driveway, oh, I can't get it back in. I don't know how.

And see you later. I'm not going to charge you for taking it out. And he drives off, he's happy. And you're like, what? My slide room's sitting on my driveway.

What am I going to do? You know, you don't want that. That would absolutely suck.

So have RV help bookmarked in your phone, your tablet, your computer, every how you're going to contact them, be ready to use them. Go to their website now, use the link in the description. Learn how to use their website, their services.

So when you do find yourself in that position where you need the help that they provide, you can just make the phone call, send the email, the text, whatever it might be, and get yourself back on the road. Well, I hope that helps you and there'll be more about rvhelp.com on our website, thesmartrver.com and use the link in our description.

Now that brings us to the next stop. And in the next stop, we're going to talk about going to the desert and visiting some places that are nice and quiet.

And the desert just has that certain thing about quietness. It just kind of eludes or exudes quietness. So that's cool, though. The desert is nice.

So we're going to visit Anza Brago in California, the Mojave National Preserve. It also is in California. Then the Oregon pipe or the Oregon pipe cactus country in Arizona. So Anza Brago. I've never been to Mojave.

I've been to and Oregon Pipe. I think I've been there or through there. The desert is very unique. I've always liked the desert.

The desert has a beauty about it that can change within 50 yards. You can be driving through it and all of a sudden you're in this totally different, same desert, you know, just changed all of a sudden.

And that's what makes it so interesting. But why go to the desert? Well, if you go to the desert in the wintertime, it's definitely cooler.

You know, the mornings and nights can be a little chilly. Actually, some people don't realize that, but the desert does get kind of chilly at night in the morning.

But it does warm up during the day, so it makes the perfect weather for hiking, outdoor adventure, being in your rv. So it's nice. And if you wear layers, you know, thin layers.

That way, if you're out hiking, you start in the morning, just take something off, wrap it around your waist or shove it in a backpack or stash it and pick it up on your way back out. Whatever works for you. So the temperature is great and it's just quiet.

The desert, man, you can be in the middle of the desert and not hear a thing other than yourself, your own noise. And maybe for some people, they can't handle that. But it is pretty nice.

And the best time to go to the desert is generally, you know, January, February, March, December, November. Depending on where you go, the weather might, you know, you have to look at the weather. Depending on where you're going, the weather does change.

And some weather you just might not want to deal with versus what you would like to for the ideal trip. So the desert is quiet and that's one of the best things about going there.

So if you want to just get away, get away from it all, the noise of the world, you know, your phone ringing, your email beeping or making a noise, a bell going off here, this or that. The desert's the place to go. And a lot of people don't flock to the desert.

Now you have the dunes and places where all the, you know, guys with their ATVs and stuff go. That's not where you want to go. Like the places we mentioned, Mojave, Anza, Brago, Oregon, Pipe in Arizona.

These places are where you can really go and enjoy the desert. And they're known places, so they might be a little more crowded, but they're good.

If it's the first time, it's a good place to go to just experience it and kind of enjoy it for the first time. Adventure, if you will. So if you want that little time to get away and just enjoy some quiet, check out the desert.

Silence might become your new best friend. All right, now that's going to bring us to RV Envy. And we're going to talk about Way safe weight distributing hitches.

Now, I chose Way Safe because I purchased one this year at a trade show talking to the guy. And I'm not going to say I got caught up in the moment because that didn't happen, but it is a very cool hitch.

They're a little on the expensive side, but they are designed in a way to help you really set up your RV or your trailer so you're towing it correctly. It's helping you to understand how to get your weight distributing hitch totally dialed in because it actually has a weight or a scale on it.

So it's weighing your tongue weight. And that's what you don't ever know is what your trunk weight truly is. But with this hitch, it has a dial on the side and you can see what it is.

So you set it up accordingly and it makes it very nice. And I know there is a big difference.

Towing my trailer with it and without it, using a regular conventional weight distributing hitch, not an old ease lift, one with the chains that held the spring bars up and a separate sway control day and night. Difference I was actually kind of surprised at how much difference there was and I really like the Way Safe weight distributing hitch.

Now I'm not going to break it down into all the details, but what I'm going to do well it's already there is have all this stuff will be on our website, all the information about it and I highly recommend it if you're in the market for a weight distributing hitch to look at Way Safe before you buy anything else. And if you think your weight distributing hitch is old and worn out and it's time to replace it, check it out.

You might say I don't need all that, but believe me, it's well worth at least looking at because you're taking some measurements and you're putting them into an app on your phone and it's telling you how to set the trailer up or the weight distributing hitch up so you're getting it balanced properly and it's not a lot of work. I mean it's an extra five minutes. Besides, bolting it all together and putting it on it adds five minutes more to the time.

It's a piece of cake to do. So go to our website, the smartrverver.com check out the article in RV Envy and RV Envy and it will be there for you.

And all you got to do next is make the purchase right. So hey everybody, I want to thank you for coming by today. We've had a great show.

It's always nice talking to you and sharing this information because I know you find it valuable and it's going to make your RV lifestyle more enjoyable. So this is Eric Stark with the Smart RVer podcast, your go to guide for smarter RVing and unforgettable adventures on the open road.