INTRO

It's time to winterize your RV and hit the road. That's right. It's that time of year. So, in today’s episode, we’ll discuss winterizing your RV and enjoying the RV life. Today, we'll discuss Wheels of Fortune, The Road to Income for RVs, and how to make a few bucks on the road to support your traveling.

And at the next stop, we will discuss a fantastic adventure in Morgan State Park in California. And then, finally, we're going to wrap it up with RV envy and talk about RV water filters. And that will coincide with the video that we have on YouTube. So, all sorts of stuff to look for today. So, this is Eric Stark with TheSmartRVer Podcast, delivering the smarts you need to enjoy the freedom of the RV lifestyle without the fear of breaking down. Today is episode 146, so let's jump right into it. Alexis, welcome to the show today. Thanks, Eric. I'm happy to be here. Glad to be here. We love that you have a smile on your face on the radio. So now the last episodes are 145 or 144.

We talked about first aid kits. We did. All right. So, I misguided you and had you put some information on our wrong stuff. No. When you start bleeding, you're supposed just to bleed out. No, I was just kidding. I told Jase to look at Jase Medical for medical supplies, like first aid. I was wrong. It was MyMedic.com.

I got the two can few. I see. So that's a correction. So, if you're looking at Jase Medical going, OH MAN, what is Eric on, man? So, Jase Medical is antibiotics, things like that that you would keep with you in case of a problem while traveling. You know, go to their website, or go to our website and use the link to go to their website.

You can also save ten bucks. We also have a coupon code, Smart First Aid, and then mimetic, the website for first aid supplies. And again, we have a link on our website. Also, be included in the description of this podcast. So, sorry for that confusion if it is through you if you went looking.

RV LIFESTYLE

We did. Mm hmm. Great response. Some people are already done with buying a new RV because they don't want to deal with the problems. Yeah, jump right into enjoying the RV life and talk about Wheels of Fortune. So, let me introduce Pat Sajak. Hello, Pat. He's not here today. It. All right. So Pat Sajak is not here, but it's Wheels of Fortune, the road to income for RV years.

So now, a lot of our viewers get it. There are ways to make money on the road. But I do want to see this. You know, a new law just passed outlawing gigs or side hustles. So, you must look at that before you start doing something. Or you're I don't know all the details, but that's a new law for everyone.

For everyone. Crazy. How does that affect everybody doing side gigs or side hustles? No, I'm better looking at that teacher. That doesn't make a whole lot, but it is doing some stuff on the side, you know, to make ends meet. I don't know why, but I usually talk to your accountant, or he or she should know.

Yeah, but anyway, back to making some money.

ALEXIS- I got to talk to my accountant real fast. Eric.

ERIC- Yeah. Anyway, this isn't a side hustle. This is just part of a business as well. Okay. Okay. I saw the nonprofit and realized I should change the website to .org. I said, oh, there you go. Yeah. All right. So, Alexis, you've done some research, and this article is on our website center enjoying the RV life. The title was Wheels of Fortune Unleashing the Road to Income for RV.

So, what takeaways did you get from this?

ALEXIS—Well, there's so much opportunity, depending on how involved you want to be in any kind of work while you're on the road. You can split it with a full-time job, maybe a remote job, or just do a few things on the side.

I like that it said you do campground hosting. So that works right into where you are. You know, you are camping, you're there. It might not even feel like a job if you're going to do that. That might be ideal for some people, especially retirees. Now, it might be a good thing.

You can do that, or you can do mobile business. You don't want to be so involved with other people in the campground. You may want to be in your RV doing your own thing. So, there's a lot of leeway there, which I appreciated learning about. Right? Campground hosting has been around for a long time now.

ERIC- That's a terrific way to go. If you have a display at home, whether retirement or whatever, that supplements because you get free rent. Yeah, definitely. I mean, so some other things. It's, you know, a lot of people that way. But you know, when I was looking at this list, we're going to only go through some of the time, but a good internet connection is something you must have for almost everything you're getting.

Exactly. Mm hmm. Even if you're going to do a mobile RV repair, you must have Internet. Yeah. There are limits to where you can go. Yeah. So, you have got to investigate that. Yeah. And don't start cheesy. Yeah. Buy something while we'll upgrade down the road. If you're going to do it, make sure you have reliable Internet. It's essential.

You know, Star Link has come around now. They've got an RV version, and there are some other ones we've talked about, like magnetic, and they're great things that I am, and there are others. There's another one. I can't think of it. It's a very high-end Internet. But that's what you want. Do you want good Internet? Yep, exactly. And sometimes, it's expensive upfront, but that's part of running a business.

Exactly. You know, RV mobile or mobile? RV or service would suit many of our viewers if they have that inclination. Because you're there, you're where our fees are. Even if it's not a super-hot spot, just be in there. You would be busy if you went to Yellowstone for two weeks and put up a sign or RV repair.

Oh, I'm sure. And what's nice about some of these places—and don't get me wrong—is that they're like a mash unit. People just want to get it fixed to get back on the road. Yes, yeah. You want to do it right? But sometimes they're like, you know what? We can't get this done right now. Just make it work.

You know, like a spare tire. Just getting from point A to point B will happen, and let us get out of here. Yep, exactly. But you know, you can write about your adventures. You can take photographs or pictures or put them online. You can sell the images. You could do a vlog, which is video blogging.

Yep. Freelance work. Do whatever you can from home—from the RV- just with an Internet connection. Yeah. So, there's a lot of jobs. Seasonal work, to be creative with that. Yeah. If you just want to go someplace during the summer but want to help offset that, look at campground hosting or maybe a job at a local store of some kind.

A restaurant. Your expertise is cooking. Exactly. Yeah. And they hire people like that. They know you're not going to do it. They do. So, their expectations just show up. Take care of your job and get out of here in the season. Exactly. And there's usually a little village or a town nearby, so you can find a terrific way to make some money while traveling and having a good time, you know?

And it's not for everybody, and maybe not everybody has to, but some people do it just to stay busy. Yeah, exactly. Arizona, we hire a guy every year. He came. Leo, And he just wanted to keep busy. It wasn't so much about the money. He just loved doing stuff and helping people. You know? We worked around the schedule.

STAYING ON THE ROAD

It worked out great, you know that. Yeah, great guy, too. So, it's nice. Whatever works for your schedule is what it boils down to and your circumstances. Yep. Okay, now let's get into staying on the road. Okay, it's time to de-winterize your RV and hit the road. Spring is here. Summer will be right around the corner whenever winter has flown by.

You know, one thing we always do every winter, at the beginning of fall, is start okay. Or at least me, mentally. I will put this off because that can be a winter project. Winter project. We get busy with winter projects and other things that must be done during the summer. So, winter projects have become almost impossible to get done.

Yeah. And so, then you're fighting that. Sometimes, winter holds back many things you want to get done. But now spring is here, and you want to use your RV. You must be winterized. You must get it ready to go on the road. It's not something you can skirt around, you know, out in the yard, giving you that mean, look, do winterize me, and like, running from it.

No, no, you got to do it. Your family is counting on you because they want to hit the road, too, man. Every stir crazy. They want to get out of the house, or at least to the areas where it's colder in the winter. I know some places in Southern California. Yeah, Arizona is here. Now it's summer all year round.

It might not be as urgent, but you might not do any traveling because, again, this wintertime, a lot of places aren't worth going to. It's not the same. You know, you must winterize adequately. And it's not just d winterizing the RV; it's checking out the RV at the same time. But suppose you live in those areas where you had to winterize it using RV antifreeze or blowing out the system. In that case, you want to make sure that before you undo that, there's a staying above 32 degrees at night, or at least it's not below 32 degrees for any length of time, long enough to freeze the water lines or fittings or faucets and so forth in the RV. So, you must wait until that point and sometimes get slightly rusty. Our temperature up here will be in the fifties for the next week. But you know what? I will wait because there will be another cold snap below 32 for a while, a few nights here and there.

And I don't want to have to winterize again then. D winterize. You now have better things to do. So, if you can't wait to do the RV antifreeze, there are other things you can do outside of the RV, but you might want just to wait and do it all at once because you do need to have the water or the antifreeze out of the system to de-winterize your RV and check everything out thoroughly.

So, it depends on how you've done it and where you live. You know, if you blew it out, then you don't have this much to do. You don't have to drain that. It's just letting the air out. If you have a motor home, we will discuss that because the house portion is pretty much the same as a trailer.

But you have Chelsea, which changes it some. When you think about winterizing, it's more than draining the antifreeze and putting some water in. It's more than that. You need to check the entire RV currently. Now's the time to do it because you're coming out of winter storage and ready to hit the road.

Your family's counting on you. They say we want to make some memories and count on you. Or they might see it differently. But that's what they mean to say nicely. Yeah. So, you need to check the RV. But let's start with the freshwater system, draining the freshwater system and getting water in there.

Then, you can check the rest of the RV or get that out of the way. Then, you can check the rest of the RV for problems that may have crept in during winter storage. This process will depend on how you winterize, and if you use RV antifreeze, it will apply more to that. But the principles are there.

You know, everything we talk about is all based on principles. Whether you have a motor home or a trailer, it is always the same hack. It all applies to anything you own. Your house is always principles. Remember that you're going to drain the water system, drain out all that antifreeze, and get out as much as you can, so you don't want to go inside and open the faucets or the toilet valve.

You want to get all the water out of the system. And as I said, the faucets, the toilet, and so forth open those valves that allow the air and the water to drain freely. So, you get all that out, and then you'll put water back in the system and start from scratch. You'll have to walk around and open each faucet as you're filling the RV, whether from the tank or from city water, to ensure you get all the air pockets out and air bubbles.

The same goes for the water heater. You need to remove all the air from the system. Once you have done that, you can check the system for leaks. But if you hook up city water or turn on the water pump, it might be good to have another person in the RV help you do that, especially if you're turning on city water.

And now it's pressurizing the system. You want someone in there to ensure that water is not spraying out of something that broke and is now flooding the bathroom. And you don't think about it. And then you get distracted. Someone calls you, and you're on the phone for five minutes, and then the water's dripping out of the floor of your RV.

If you have someone in there, they can say, hey, turn the water off and anything. Shut it down, go inside, see what that possible league is, and then take care of that. And that's one thing you must do, which is check for leaks. And if there are leaks, fix them one at a time. And if you winterize correctly, it still doesn't mean there might be leaks.

We hear it all the time. People have blown or put antifreeze in, blow it out. They've blown it out, then put it. They do everything, and then there's still a little water to stick someplace, especially toilet valves, especially domestic three and ten toilet valves. And it breaks. It doesn't take much. And then they're buying a new valve.

So, ensure everything is nice and tight and there are no leaks. Check the water, pump the strainer, get a flashlight, poke your head in cabinets, and be very thorough because you could have a minor league and not notice it for a while. And maybe it's a leak that was already there, and it's still there. Then, it goes away over winter.

Imagine that. Use a flashlight because it makes it easier to see water when it's dripping or dropping off something with that reflective value. So it's more visible, and it's easier to find hard-to-find leaks that way as well. So, have someone in there, and then just start working your way through the water system. Sometimes, it will take a little bit longer than one, or you think it's mundane, but you need to do it that way.

You know, you've got it out of the way; everything's checked. And so, at that point, you've done the water system, the internal at off, do whatever it is you will do. You could drain it, do whatever it is. How you prepare your RV is up to you. So that system's sound. It's out of the way. So, while in the RV, you can check the interior lights to ensure they all work. If you have a bulb out, it's not a big deal.

It is looking for more significant things, like a deficient light fixture. This must be replaced, or maybe a broken wire is going to it—things like that. You can plug in your RV and check the microwave. Make sure your slide-outs go in and out. Okay? Ensure that the converters are charging the batteries or that the batteries are being thoroughly checked inside.

Remember to look at the ceiling and, especially inside the cabinets and the upper cabinets, open the doors, peek inside, and look up and make sure that there are no stains in there and no signs of water damage. It's not wet because sometimes we don't look there, we forget about it. Or maybe someone's loading a cabinet thinking that, oh, you must know that perhaps it's your wife and sees it but doesn't say anything because they assumed you already saw it.

Then it just goes unchecked. So sometimes communication can be a problem. If we don't know something, someone else might, but they might think you already saw it. It happens, you know. So we're checking things out, looking for that water damage because, you know, the roof protects the RV. If you have a bad roof, you have a lousy RV if you don't take care of it.

And again, we see it here all the time. It's one of the major things that causes so much damage to an RV on that roof. Few will go there unless you have an older forest room or that diamond plate along the side—another problem. But so, look inside all the cabinets, you know, check underneath the sofas or chairs just everywhere in the RV for any damage that could creep in from water rodents.

Who knows what, you know, odd things happened. RV is when they sit for several months, even in the wintertime. And so, the weather should be good enough for you to check the air conditioner to ensure it's working. You should clean the filters now if you did it before storing them.

So do that while you're in the RV. And you know, remember to check the stove to ensure all the burners work, and the oven lights, check your furnace to ensure it's coming on and heating up. You know, you might be thinking you're going to summer. You don't need to worry about the furnace. Well, it depends on where you live here in Montana; in some of these northern states, it gets cold at night, and the furnace helps.

Even in the summer, some areas get cold at night. And if it doesn't work, it's up to you. You could let it sit until wintertime, when you might need it, or maybe never use your furnace. You don't care. No, laugh out loud. It said I'd take care of it. I'd look at it like this: suddenly, you'd have to do it if you want to sell the RV.

If you did need the furnace for some reason, you found yourself someplace where you usually are, and it doesn't work. And now you're calling someone to come out and repair it unexpectedly. It costs a little extra money and can be inconvenient, but it's always good to keep everything working. Arby's is set, and one thing is left, and other things are left.

Pretty soon, it'll be just a box, and nothing works on it. Check the propane system for leaks. Now, if you're uncomfortable with checking your propane system, you could take it to a service center and let them inspect it and check for leaks. However, you know, a lot of it is visual, and a lot of it can be done with the liquid LP leak detector that you just dab onto the fittings.

A shop might use an electronic sniffer, but it works the same way. The sniffers are sometimes better, especially if there's a hard-to-find leak. But you know, the more likely you'll not have a problem if you've been maintaining your RV. So, if you've been listening to this podcast, we know you've been maintaining your RV because you're the Smart RVer.

All right. So, I checked that out for propane leaks, which is a bad thing. So, you're going to give that interior the once-over. You've checked the propane system. Now go outside and check everything outside. And I mean, we can go through everything, but we don't need to. Yeah, just the basics: go up on the roof and make sure that no sealant is cracking there.

If there are cracks in the sealant where water can penetrate the RV and cause damage, go ahead and get some lapses. In what? Assuming you have a rubber roof and fix the leaks, it is a good time to clean the roof as well. Then, seal your leaks and put on some 303 or some sort of protectant for the roof decor mags, camp, or whatever your favorite is.

There are different things for that. If you're going to clean the roof, you should clean the AC coils simultaneously and make sure they're nice and clean. A little service around the AC cleaning the roof is a deal for a project. Still, it is better to do that at the beginning of the season and then do it once in the middle of a couple of times. You go and remember to check the tire pressure and the spare.

You know, the spares always look, man, like that red-headed stepchild, as they say, just as a spare. Who cares? You know where you will go when it's two in the morning and there is a blackout. Coyotes are howling on the side of the road, and you can't get out there because your spare is flat, or it looks good, and you put it on, and it goes flat two miles down the road.

So, look at your spare time for the sake of doing it. When you replace your tires, replace the spare, even if you don't get the same quality. If you buy Goodyear Endurance tires for $250 apiece, maybe you don't want to put that kind of money into your spare but put a new spare on. It's as old as the other tires, and it goes bad just sitting.

I've talked about that endlessly so I won't go endlessly now, but just make sure you take care of it and check out your leaf springs, which show no cracks or unusual wear that the wire has gone to. The brakes are still good. They have yet to crack. You know, animals of Aeternum just look for obvious problems underneath the RV. If the underbelly is dropping down, a strap is hanging, and some wires are loose, give it a once-all.

Now, if you have a motor home, you have the chassis and the house in one unit, so it's slightly different. So, you want to do everything I just talked about for the house, and then you're going to look at your chassis. It's an aluminum chassis, different from the trailer chassis, and much more complicated. You have an engine transmission, fuel tank suspension, and much better suspension than a trailer, but it's there.

So, if that's something you'll do, you know what to do. Check everything out. If it's not, you will take it to a service center and have them do it. How do you do that? You just want to ensure it is getting done because maintaining the chassis is essential in a motor home.

In the next episode, we'll discuss the chassis of the motor home, the trailer, and the vehicle a bit more. You'll also tow your trailer, but for now, you'll focus on the trailer and get that puppy into the motor home and get it into shape. So, the object is to check the RV out, the entire RV, to see where the repairs might need to be done.

And now's the time to do it; even if you're not going out for another month or a half, now's the time to do it. Get on it for several months. It doesn't matter. The weather's changing. You should have the time to do it. If you know that is coming up, you need to do it.

You can spread it out over a few weekends, and then you'll be ready for your trip. You get that thing out of the way, air up the tires. Now, the tires you checked before you want to trip again, but you know what I mean. Just get that puppy ready. And then, when there's time to go, there are fewer things you must worry about.

Also, in the springtime, shops get busier. So, if you must take your RV in for a repair, you can get it in sooner and back sooner, then get it in later and in the middle of summer. You know, you don't want to do that. You tried to get it. The sooner rather than later.

All right. I hope that helps everybody with their RV and getting it de-winterized so they can hit the road and make some memories with their family. Okay, so now, along with the maintenance, if you have a slide-out, don't forget that SunPro Manufacturing makes slide-outs for RVs. Yeah, there's a three-year warranty, a five-year warranty, and a ten-year warranty.

You can go to SunPromfg.com to learn more about it. And, of course, there will be a link in the description of this podcast. Now we are going to head down the road and we're going to go to Mugu State Park in California.

I kept saying, Magoo. So, there's a character in Gumby and Pokey Goo or something like that, probably. Yeah, that. Oh, well, all right, Alexis. So, tell us about Mugu State Park in California. Well, this place is fantastic. It's hard not to find an excellent place to RV in California because it's sunny and the ocean is there.

ALEXIS—I mean, there are a lot of good places. So, with Mugu, it's got it right on the coastline, which, again, is beautiful. There are a lot of outdoor adventures to take advantage of. There are a lot of good views, pristine beaches, hiking trails, all kinds of wildlife, and RV-friendly amenities along the way. So, you really can't go wrong. I guess there's a lot of bird-watching, and that makes sense.

Waterfront activities. I'm not really into whatever screwing, whatever that is in the water, but some people are. Dolphin and whale watching, too, which was neat. I would like that. Yeah, there's just a lot to do. You can bring your pets with you a lot of the time. There are pet-friendly places to go along there and lots of local attractions.

ERIC—Things to do in Ventura and Malibu are close, so you can hit those spots. There's a lot there. And so, this is Southern California. Mm. And Magoo is about halfway between Oxnard and Malibu. Oxnard, right. And so, winter is close to, I think. Oxnard is closer, but Oxnard is not as nice as winter. I don't know about Oxnard, but I work in town or something.

ALEXIS- I don't know. They have a marina there and stuff, and then there's Malibu, of course, but it's a nice area. It's cool. I've been there a million times. Yeah. And it's an excellent area along the coast. Oh yeah. Lewis Obispo. That area. Mhm. So, it's a great place to start an adventure or a trip to incorporate an adventure if you're going to be in California.

ERIC- Yeah, I think so. Or if you lived there and haven't been there, you know, even though you may have tended to different places along the coast there. Magoo's unique, you know, it's long the ocean. Hmm. And, you know, Alexis brought a whale watching some of that stuff. Yeah. From the coast. You don't even have to go out in a boat or anything.

ALEXIS—You sit along the coast and see the whales, animals, sea life, and so forth. So neat. Yep. So, it is a very cool place and a great place to go on some day trips, you know, being halfway between two locations. There's not a lot there as far as amenities go. But it's close enough where you can do things that make it pleasant, you know?

ERIC—You can even go to Santa Monica. It doesn't take very long to go up and down the coast there. Yeah, you do all sorts of stuff. And the farther south you go, you get closer to the city. But there are a lot of things to see there. You know, you can probably see, um, I don't know if that's up to you.

Yeah, if you want to go. But there are trails. And remember the sunsets; sunsets over the ocean are always very calm. You can't beat it. You know, it's different each day, and it just always has a different color or a different flair to it. Yeah. So, check that out. Point Mugu, California. Or I mean, Mugu, California, when I was younger, that's what the weather reports were, Point Mugu to the Mexican border.

Okay. You learn about the weather, the surfing conditions, and everything else. But since I'm in Montana, it doesn't matter anymore. Right. Okay. And then here's one more reminder to check out RV Destinations magazine. If you have subscribed to or got it, it is a website worth looking at beautiful magazines, amazing pictures, and unique places. And then again, it works with what we talked about on the Next Stop.

RV ENVY

It gets you thinking about places you can go. It might not be where you end up, but it gets your mind going and the juices flowing in places you'd like to be. All right now, let's talk about RV water filters in RV Envy. I just did a YouTube video that's a coppery answer to one water filter. I'm not going to talk too much about this, but I will put a link to the video in the description of the podcast first, and it is on YouTube under our channel, TheSmartRVer.

So, every RV should have a water filter regardless of where you're at; even if a primary water filter is good, it might be the bare minimum, but getting just the bare minimum out of the water is sometimes better than nothing. It can take water that could be better and make it water this drinkable, or it can bring lousy water and make it where it's okay.

And we've been in that situation out camping where the water is just horrible. You put a filter on, and now it's possible to filter like a two-filter system. It's okay; you won't drink it, but the odor is gone. It's almost like good water, you know, almost. So, water filters sometimes don't give you drinking water, or you might not be comfortable with it.

The psychological factor is important, but it's going to give you much better water for just using. Sometimes, it smells so bad. Well, it ran out of the RV, so it can eliminate that. So, check out the video or just look to get a water filter or water filters for the RV and get a single, a double, or a triple. You can get one inline, you can get canisters, there are a lot of options there.

The other thing, too, is that in the video, I show how it boils down to just three different types of filters, but there are various brands and other configurations, so it's simple. So go to YouTube and check it out. Just go to YouTube and search for the smart here, and bam, there we are. All right. That brings us to the end of the show today. Next week, we will have episode number 147 in two weeks.

Episode number 147. Are you in your RV, ready to hit the road? If not, let's get it ready for the next great getaway. There we go. Episode number 147 is coming up in two weeks. So, I want to thank everybody for stopping by today and listening to the show, and I thank Alexis for her Next Stop and joining RV Life.

OUTRO

How to make some cash on the road in. That's all about that money. All right, everybody. So, thanks for stopping by and listening. I am Eric Stark with TheSmartRVer Podcast. It's been great hanging out with you. I don't see anything less connected on the road, TheSmartRVer.com.