Sprucing up your RV is not merely a matter of aesthetics; it is an essential undertaking that enhances both the functionality and enjoyment of the RV lifestyle. In this episode, eric and Alexis delve into the realm of cosmetic fixes and light repairs that are accessible to any dedicated do-it-yourselfer. We discuss the importance of addressing minor issues before they escalate into significant problems, thereby preserving the integrity and value of your RV. Additionally, we explore the delightful practice of foraging while traveling, emphasizing the potential for sustainable eating that accompanies this adventurous lifestyle. Furthermore, we provide invaluable insights on how to save money on RV upgrades, ensuring that your travels remain financially viable without compromising on quality or experience.

The discussion navigates the essential elements of enhancing the aesthetic and functional aspects of recreational vehicles (RVs) through manageable cosmetic upgrades and repairs. I assert the importance of addressing minor issues before they escalate into significant problems, emphasizing that many DIY enthusiasts can tackle these tasks without requiring extensive expertise or specialized tools. The episode makes clear various practical fixes, such as addressing peeling wallpaper, tightening loose screws, and replacing worn-out fixtures. Each topic underscores the value of maintaining an RV, not only to preserve its functionality but also to enhance the overall enjoyment of the RV lifestyle. I advocate for proactive maintenance practices, which can prevent minor inconveniences from growing into major disruptions during travels. Overall, the episode serves as a comprehensive guide aimed at empowering RV owners to take charge of their vehicles' upkeep, thus fostering a sense of pride and accomplishment in their endeavors.

Wholesale Warranties

Links referenced in this episode:

• thesmartrver.com
• genesis.com
• brandmotion.com
• furrion.com
• magnadyne.com
• dicor.com

So in staying on the road today, we're going to talk about sprucing up your RV and using some cosmetic fixes and light repairs that any do it yourselfer can do.

And then enjoying the RV life.

We're going to forage and do some wild crafting from your RV base camp.

We're going to be looking for some sustainable food while you're traveling and scrounging for it.

And then the money saving tip, we're going to talk about saving some money on RV upgrades.

And then in the next stop, we're going to visit Charleston, West Virginia.

And then right next door is Thurman, West Virginia, which we're going to cover in shadows of the past, towns that once were.

And then in RV envy, we're going to discuss the brand Motion Rear Observation system.

These things absolutely rock.

So this is Eric Sark with the Smart RVer podcast, your trusted source for RV tips and insights to embrace the RV lifestyle without worries.

So let's talk everything RV.

And today is episode 176.

So, Alexis, what do you have to say for yourself today?

I want you to try mushrooms.

Eric loves mushrooms.

Eric hates mushrooms.

Eric hates seafood.

Fish.

Okay, let's just get this record straight.

So Alexis's little thing here for foraging, to me is just like looking for mushrooms.

Yeah, it's just fun, you know, like.

Yeah.

What do you do, stomp on them?

You do kill them?

Die.

You mushroom.

You punch them in the face.

Exactly.

So I really don't have anything to bring out.

Okay, so we're just gonna just get right into this.

Oh, you will.

All right.

What are you gonna.

Oh, I don't have a rant.

I just think you should try mushrooms again.

That's my rant.

Like Monsanto, all the stuff they kill on the planet, like people, animals.

Why don't they go after the mushrooms?

That's what Monsanto ought to do.

Go after the mushrooms.

They're innocent.

They can't fight back.

That makes it easier.

No.

Okay.

They're the enemy.

It's like Rage against the machine.

They do fight back with their ugly looks.

Rage against the mushroom.

That's right.

So sad.

It's a mushroom uprising.

Oh, a poor little fungi fun guy.

You see?

He's a fun guy.

Yeah.

Anyway, so let's get into enjoying the RV life so everybody can see what they want to go foraging for.

So help us out here.

Well, this isn't really for you because you don't like anything, but this is for people who do.

Forage.

I feel like is Huckleberry Picking.

Foraging.

Yeah, because that's what I do.

You know, I like huckleberries.

Okay.

When you're looking for something to eat in the refrigerator, not sure what you want.

It's like foraging, just like that.

Same thing.

The real question is why do it while you're rving?

Is it really going to help you out?

Well, we're going to talk about that.

RVing already embodies the freedom and self reliance because you're out, you know, wherever you are.

So the foraging takes that an extra step.

It's a chance to stretch your legs after a long trip, explore your surroundings and score ingredients that don't require a grocery run, which we just talked about in the last one is trying to save money.

So this can kind of help go along with that.

But of course we need to be careful because you can't just pick something out of the woods and eat it.

That doesn't work.

So you need to know before you actually go out into the woods and know where you are.

And you kind of have to have some golden rules of foraging which are listed in this article.

I'll only cover a few, but it's a definitely more of an in depth one on the website.

First and foremost, this is pretty obvious.

But never eat anything you can't identify.

Okay?

Okay.

Please, we don't want you dying out there.

You need to be able to have like a guide that you can with clear concise descriptions and pictures that tell you what is edible and what is not.

Otherwise you're going to be in trouble.

It's a mushroom, it's not edible.

Yeah.

To Eric, all mushrooms are not edible.

That's one.

And then taste test carefully once you do find something you can eat with a positive eye to identity on that.

But even with that you might have an allergy you don't know about that could be kind of scary.

So taste test it, you know, and if nothing happens, you're probably fine.

If you have kids, let them taste test it.

Yeah, there you go.

Yeah.

Here you little minions, try this.

Or take a picture of it and.

Put it on a.

Oh actually that's a good idea.

Google.

Yeah.

Pictures or whatever.

Like can I eat this?

Yeah, that's a good idea.

And also a big thing, especially in Montana were big on the leaving no trace.

So don't squash over precious little environments that you know you don't need to do because we really want to respect the environment and leave it.

Leave it the way we find it even better sometimes.

So also one thing you can think about is gearing Up Some places are infested with mosquitoes.

A lot of those dense places where you would find like mushrooms or huckleberries or anything you're looking for.

So.

So gloves are a really good thing.

Sometimes the bushes can have spikes on them.

So you might get cut up if you don't have that.

Your field guide always.

Maybe even a breathable mask.

You might be in somewhere where it's really like humid.

So you might want that.

And a notebook and pen.

My friend always sketches different wildflowers that she finds.

And that's just a really cool like memory book.

So each time she goes camping she'll sketch a little bit picture of like a flower she likes or one she hasn't seen before.

It's just you can do a lot with this.

It's kind of a connection with nature.

That's pretty neat.

Also wearing bug spray and a hat is a good idea.

Sometimes you're really focused on what you're looking for and you don't realize the sun is beating down on you and you end up with a really bad sunburn.

So don't do that.

But of course there's other legal and ethical notes on this and I'll leave that to you to read.

But just some final thoughts is, you know, it's really cool if you can find things that are delicious.

Not mushrooms sometimes lets you connect with your surroundings a little more.

Lets you have a safe place to kind of be curious about things and see new things and try.

Try new things.

Like mushrooms.

Be another good new hobby.

Yeah, there you go.

So if you need some expert advice on it.

Not Alexis, real expert advice.

Watch the movie Master and commander.

Oh, and the scientist on the ship, he did the same thing.

He'd go out and draw the.

The flora and the fauna and the animals.

They put them in cages, throw them in the ship and make a six month journey back home and probably end up eating them along the way.

So that was good for that.

That's what you made me think of.

I don't like that.

You know, I just, you know, if it doesn't come in a.

You can't go to grocery stores.

Just leave it.

That's my God.

When it comes to that type of food.

All right, so that's some good information.

That full article will be on the website under the next or enjoying the RV life.

Foraging wildcraft from your RV base.

So it makes sense.

It's something to do.

It can get the family involved.

You know, it doesn't have to be like this full on hobby but depending where you're at.

It might make more sense than other places too.

You know, like here in Montana, huckleberries are huge.

Oh yeah.

Where in other parts of the country, you know, whatever.

Knuckleberries might be huge or mushrooms or whatever.

Yeah, different things.

Rocks, whatever.

Fiber.

All right, so now let's talk about some money saving tips.

Now actually, we should have used the foraging one in the last episode because the money saving tip was about, you know, your rv, saving food and all that.

But anyway, we like to spread it out.

That's right.

So now when it comes to RVing, you know, there's always gear.

You need things you need to, to enhance the RV lifestyle to make it more enjoyable.

Or sometimes there's just things you have to have for your RV to like let's say a weight distributing hitch.

If you have a trailer, you got to have one.

Buying those things and trying to buy them on a budget or lower prices makes sense.

So, you know, it's what you can do, what you can't do to get your RV road ready and to avoid pricey repairs.

You know, sometimes repairs and upgrades can throw your budget out of whack and actually ruin a trip or stop it from happening really.

So it's this money saving.

The idea of it is to help you enjoy those trips so you're not so stressed out because, you know, most everybody has a budget and even if they can afford to buy it and go on the trip, you know, when you get home, you might be thinking, we spent a little too much money on that trip, so it's getting ahead of it.

And so, you know, if you can do an oil change on your own, if you have a motorhome, then it would make sense to do that.

That's going to save you the fees of paying a shop to do it, rotating your tires.

If you can do inside repairs, let's say replacing a faucet can save the labor, which would probably be a hundred dollars minimum.

Most shops.

Oh yeah, or you know, $250.

At a lot of shops anymore, 300 bu labor rates are through the roof, you know, so the labor adds up quick.

And a faucet would probably be a flat rate of one hour, maybe a little less.

But most shops have a one hour minimum, so it's an hour.

So it could be $250 plus the price of the faucet.

So saving saving on labor really adds up these days.

And also when you're shopping for your RV parts, your accessories, gear to make that trip better, there's things outside of the norm where you can go maybe to Craigslist.

Be cautious, though.

You know, there's always that great deal on Craigslist.

It is just a scam.

Facebook groups in the local area where you're at, they sell you stuff on there.

So trying to find some used things or maybe something new somebody bought and they didn't need it after all.

They, you know, bought it.

It wasn't exactly.

So rather than take it back, they just want to return.

Maybe they bought it online.

The shipping is too much to send it.

There's always stuff out there like that.

There's great deals.

So, yeah, I wouldn't say spend your days, you know, shopping on all those, like those different marketplaces like that.

But if you need something, you can check that first before you go buy new.

And then if you're not in a big hurry, you can wait till it goes on sale someplace or.

Good point.

Or, you know, if you're out camp camping and your neighbor leaves and they have what you want, you can just borrow it.

You know, borrow it without giving it back.

Just kidding everybody.

Oh, right.

So, you know, and it's.

It's staying ahead of it.

And it goes back to the maintenance thing too.

You know, it's like preventative care.

Buying what you need.

It makes the trip better.

It saves money in the long run when you're prepared for it.

Because if you have to buy something out on the road, generally you pay more for it and it's not exactly what you want.

So little investments will help make the RVing much better.

Much.

But saving money along the way makes the entire package much better to do.

So that article will be on our website, the smartrver.com under money saving tips.

And now we're jumping into staying on the road.

So this is sprucing up your RV with some cosmetic fixes and repairs for the RV do it yourselfer.

So all do it yourselfers can do this type of stuff.

It's pretty simple.

And if you're the smart rver, you can definitely do it.

So we've got some good information here.

And it's pretty basic, you know, might be things a lot of you are familiar with already doing.

But, you know, remember when we're talking in this show or this podcast, it's to a broad audience, new people, ones with tons of experience.

Some people don't really have any mechanical ability where others are absolutely skilled.

They could rebuild the RV from ground up.

So it's a diverse crowd.

So that's why we're covering this stuff.

It's the basics.

And it also might get you a little more motivated to fix some of the things that you've been kind of ignoring.

Some of those little problems that become worse.

As I say that, I'm thinking about things around my house.

You know, little screw here, a little screw there, need to get on it.

You know, who am I to say this now?

That's it.

Show's over now.

So it's little things, little things that sometimes turn into big things.

It becomes a big problem.

A loose screw on a door can become a.

A big problem for a door, a hinge, whatever it might.

So let's just get right into this.

So the do it yourself fixes and repairs do matter.

We look at it like, well, that's the small stuff.

I don't want to mess with that.

But those small things, as I said, become big things.

Like let's say in your RV you have peeling wallpaper.

If you just let it go, it's just going to get worse and worse.

If you have a table that's wobbling a little bit, you know, not because the leg is just a crummy fit, but like the screws that hold the base in are loose, that's going to become worse.

If you have a leaking faucet, that's going to become a bigger problem than just a leaking faucet.

So these little things need to be taken care of.

And you don't want your camping trip to become a to do list where that's all you're doing.

Checking this off, checking that off.

Got to run back to the hardware store and get this while you're on a trip, you know, because that's what can happen.

These little issues can be very annoying, but they can also snowball into great big problems that turn into much bigger a scratch.

You know, the paint can turn into the powder or the powder coat finish can start peeling off.

And you know, maybe it's not that easy to fix as a do it yourselfer.

You don't want to spray paint the side of your rv, which, hey, I get it, I understand that.

Yeah.

But maybe it's something else.

That little touch up paint could prevent a bigger problem.

So whatever it might be, so take care of that stuff.

That's what we're really getting at here.

You know, there's also something nice about when you fix up all these little things.

You get them all done, your to do list is finished, you feel better about yourself, you've been productive and you've accomplished something and now your RV has a little more value to you, like, hey, I kind of like this rv.

After all, got these little things done.

You can also stave off the wanting to buy a new RV because yours has all these problems.

Well, they're not really problems.

There's just things you've ignored and you've let them become maybe bigger than what they needed to be.

So let's just keep it simple and get into this and we'll walk through it and you can make all these fixes to do repairs on an rv.

I was thinking about this.

You know, do you need a garage full of tools?

500 tons of tools.

Not really.

A cordless drill with the bits like a Phillips head, a couple square tips, then your drivers like a quarter inch, 5 16, 3 8, 12 inch.

That's.

That'll cover so much stuff on an RV, it's amazing how many things you can take apart and put together with a cordless drill, pair of wire cutters, wire strippers, crimper channel locks.

There's.

You don't need a whole lot.

Basic set of wrenches and sockets.

You know, you kind of would base that on what you're able to do.

In my truck, I carry a lot of tools because I've always been into off roading and so I could probably rebuild my engine out on the dirt.

So that's awesome.

If I had kind of a MacGyver box, a little bit of everything, but you don't need to do that.

And you know, electrical tape, duct tape, I hate duct tape.

But you know, having some in there just in case, you know, makes it easier.

And I found that like in my truck, I keep a screwdriver and a crescent wrench in the door.

Smart.

Just simple little things.

You can just take care of it real quick while you're traveling someplace.

Otherwise, you know, a little loose screw turns into a problem.

Especially on newer RVs, the way they put things together, a loose screw can turn into a nightmare.

It's true.

So just thinking of it that way.

So you don't need gobs of tools.

Tools are pretty basics and I've tried working on a tool list, but it's too complex to do really is.

It's.

Everybody's so different.

Yeah, my mindset is completely different than everybody else.

But that, that drill, cordless drill in those bits make a big difference.

So tools are pretty basic.

And even one of those multi tools like a Leatherman, those are pretty handy to have.

I don't have one, but I always see people with them and that's pretty darn handy.

I should get one of those.

But it's been, I don't know, 40 years since I saw the first one.

So I think that that horse is out of the barn.

I think you're okay.

Yeah, so I'm not going to run out and buy one.

Okay.

So cosmetic fixes, these things are generally something that doesn't have a big expense to it, but they actually can make a big difference in how you view.

View your rv, like, let's say on the inside your walls.

Like I mentioned earlier, the wallpaper is peeling.

Now.

In some cases, you can maybe put some contact, you know, spray contact adhesive on there and get it back to stay.

But quite often wallpaper, once it starts peeling, that's it.

You're not going to be able to get it to stay back, you know, unless you put staples and nails in it or something.

The easiest solution, it might not be the least expensive, would be using Revive by Genesis.

We talked about that in some previous podcasts where you resurface the walls and the ceiling of your RV and make it look brand new.

And we'll have a link to Revive's website in the.

In the description of this podcast in case you missed the other one and see what it's all about.

But that is a great repair.

So that'll take care of your walls and stuff.

But now maybe that's not the route you want to go.

Maybe you want to paint your walls, which that's fine.

I'm not a big fan of painting inside of RVs, and I know some people out there have done it and they look absolutely amazing to me.

That just.

It's not.

Those walls aren't meant to be painted.

Those panels are like plastic on them.

So it's getting the right paint, making it work.

So it dries.

I mean, I've seen like a guy did a horse trailer on the ins.

Paint didn't dry.

It was like a week after he did it.

Oh, that's weird.

Tacky.

The weirdest thing that could be a problem.

But you can do that type of stuff.

You can paint the walls.

And I would start small, maybe one room, one wall, and see how it goes.

Something that you could live with if it wasn't awesome.

Because once you do that, Revives out of the question.

Because it won't stick to that unless you're able to peel the wallpaper off behind it or the liner on behind it.

So once you commit to that, you're committed.

Now, I guess you could put Revive on new wall panels and put them up and trim them out.

That could be a solution.

Or pull the old ones off and do that.

A lot of extra work, but that's doable.

So sometimes that's where it gets to, though.

But there's a lot of stuff you can do like that on the interior.

You know, get creative.

If you want to avoid the revive.

There you go.

The cabinets are another story.

You can't just go buy cabinets for an RV at Lowe's or someplace like that or ikea.

It's not going to work.

Cabinets are built into that rv and they're built in a very special way to make them light, but yet durable.

Cheap, but yet not so cheap.

But if they're kind of ugly looking, Revive makes a product for that as well.

So you can reface those cabinets, get them looking brand new again if you wanted to go that route.

Now, some have said that, like chalkboard paint will stick to just about anything.

So you could use that on the walls and the cabinets.

Finding the right color chalkboard paint, you know, I mean, that's just what I've heard.

I'm not suggesting that.

But even on your older cabinets, let's say the hardware on it's kind of dated looking.

You know, just changing the hardware can make it nicer looking.

And knobs and stuff are pretty inexpensive.

You know, you can probably get a knob for a bucket hardware store.

Updating that will make a big difference.

Sometimes the trim that's used in RVs or the interior in general just needs to be cleaned.

You know, sometimes there's things that will seep out of the windows, like the butyl tape from the ceilings, the walls, get kind of whatever film on it, then some moisture in there.

Then you see those kind of running marks, you know, kind of yellowish stuff.

Looks kind of nasty.

So just cleaning up some of that stuff can make a big difference.

And cleaning things generally just kind of gives it a fresh look anyways, right?

Even if you don't think it needs to be cleaned, then you feel a little better about yourself.

Your RV's spruced up on the inside, and it just feels better, you know, putting down some new flooring.

If you have carpet in there, maybe you have linoleum that's just old and ratty looking.

Changing that, that can definitely clean up the interior.

There's fixes that you can do.

And even flooring is not that complex.

It's just harder in an RV because you're in these small, tight areas.

Most guys that do flooring for a living don't want to do RVs because they're just Constantly in a corner, basically, and that's harder to do.

But you could do something like that.

It's not that hard.

Pretty simple.

And some people even just put, like, square tiles over the old flooring.

Yeah.

You know, how well that sticks and holds down the road, I'm not sure.

But, you know, you don't want to do something that's just going to look horrible.

Right.

You know, it might be new, but does it look good?

So other, you know, small, light repairs that you can do, you know, there might be some mechanical things or little tweaks here and there that are going to help keep your RV going.

Talking about little maintenance things that you sometimes forget, neglect.

Like a cabinet door.

Maybe the screws that hold the hinges are loose, you know, and you just keep putting it off.

Well, eventually, you know, those screws are just going to fall out or the hinge is going to get tweaked out of shape.

Cabinet doors in RVs, they're not like the best wood.

It's pressed wood, and it's funky wood.

So those holes get a little bit bigger.

It makes it harder to do the repair.

But if you found yourself in that situation, you can just put a toothpick in that hole with a little glue on it, let it dry.

Then you could re drill it and put the screw back in, and you're pretty much ready to go.

So that's a simple fix if you get to that point.

But try to just tighten up those screws and avoid that.

That's a trick that you can use on a lot of stuff, not just cabinets wood.

You know, if you have a hole that's rounded out with a screw in it, that toothpick or a small piece of wood always works.

Yeah, that's been around forever.

I think cavemen thought of that one.

I was rock so.

Or something.

Yeah.

Club the rock into the hole.

There you go.

Then club the rock into the rock.

I don't know.

Yeah.

All right, so faucets, that's another one.

Easy repairs.

Dripping faucet, leaking faucet just kind of has that run going all the time.

That could be a stem and bonnet.

So you pop off the handle and replace it.

Take your old stem and bonnet to the RV store, though.

They're not all the same.

Regardless of what you think or what you've been told, there's a plethora of stem and bonnets.

Some of them aren't available because the faucets that the manufacturer, the RV use are not mainstream.

They're just some cheap Chinese stuff that Was cheap and fit in the RV at that day.

So you might have to buy a new faucet at that point.

But that's okay.

If you can't find parts for it, you probably want to get a new one anyways that you get parts for.

And most RV stores are selling the main brand faucets and they sell the repair parts for them.

So keep that in mind as you're buying a new faucet, Ask if they have the parts for it.

You know, sometimes the handle on the faucet could just be loose.

Not a big deal.

Tighten it up, little cap on the handle, pop it off and put it back on.

A lot of newer faucets with the chrome and bronze finish have little caps that are harder to see.

So you need to be careful popping those off so you don't ruin the finish.

But yeah, that's simple stuff.

Now an RV has screens on the windows.

This is an area that's kind of tricky because RV screens aren't just a mainstream thing.

You can't go to an RV store and get new screens made.

It doesn't really happen.

Putting new screen fabric into an existing frame is a little more doable.

But the bead sometimes is so small or the spline that holds the screen in, that's hard to find.

So you can reuse the old one, but that is something you could do at home.

Takes a little bit of finesse, a little bit of patience, but it's definitely doable.

I don't know what screenshots, you know, if there are ones that do it or not.

For RVs, it's just one of those things, right?

They come with windows.

It's not like a house.

It's totally different.

Different ball game altogether.

So I'm not going to say that's an easy peasy one, but you can make it work or just throw away the screens and don't worry about it.

There you go.

You don't got pets.

Who cares?

Don't open your windows.

That's why you got air conditioning.

This is 20, 25, man.

Right.

Screens are out, ACs are in.

Yeah.

And then furniture, you might have a piece of furniture that's a little wobbly or, you know, falling apart.

The handles loose and easy fix.

You know, just take care of that stuff like I talked about earlier.

The table on the pedestal, you know, the screws that hold the base or the pole.

The base of it could be loose.

Tighten them puppies up so it doesn't become a bigger issue.

And a lot of those tables are on in slide rooms.

So having to mess with that floor can become a bigger issue than you probably would ever want to dig into.

So just take care of that.

Those are pretty simple, easy to do wins that aren't real technical, but they're going to make the inside of your RV a little bit better.

And you know, there, there can become a point in time where the repairs are becoming beyond your scope.

You know, if your cabinets are falling off the wall, they're just major problems.

Maybe it's not something you can fix.

Sometimes we might try to fix it, but we might make it worse where now it's not really repairable and.

And now you'd have to get new cabinets made, which could be a fortune and hard to find someone that can do it.

So be kind of picky what you do.

You don't want to do something that leads to disaster.

And also don't be in a rush.

Sometimes repairs take a little bit of finesse and a little bit of patience.

And if you're going to watch like YouTube to see how to do it, you probably need to watch about 10 videos and kind of merge them all together and see which one is more realistic, one that's actually going to help and not be a problem.

Some of those videos are very misleading.

It maybe works for that guy or that rv, but it won't work on yours.

So don't be misled by that and then take your time preparing it.

You know, if you.

Whatever it might be, if you're clean, sanding, painting, prep is always key.

So another area you can do too is be going to RV forums.

There's a lot of times good information.

There's that's probably better than YouTube.

Forums seem to be more dialed in on the particular thing you're working on.

You could probably find one about your RV, the particular problem where a YouTube video might be more broad in scope.

So forums can become your best friends.

You know, replacing interior lights is pretty simple.

It's 12 volts.

You're not going to get electrocuted.

Some people are worried about that.

Rewiring them is a different story because all those wires are built in.

But you know, structural damage, that would be a.

You see the pro.

Unless you have a great skill set, at the end of the day, you can take a $50 problem and solve it rather than letting it turn into, let's say, a $500 problem.

So these things are pretty easy.

And you're part of the smart rver family.

So we know you guys can take care of this.

And if there's ever anything you want us to do research on or help you with, all you have to do is contact us.

If we're not sure about it, we will do the research and we will come back and give you the full package.

You will know everything you need to know about it.

So you're an expert just like we are.

There's many things you can do yourself and they make your RV hold that value and become more valuable to you and you enjoy using it even more.

So the full article will be on the website for you guys enjoyment.

So check that out.

Now we're going to go to the next stop which is Charleston, West Virginia.

So Alexis, what is in Charleston, West Virginia?

All right.

A lot of things.

Really?

Yes.

Like Eric said, we're spotlighting Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital where history, nature and culture meet at the confluence of the Kanawha river and Elk rivers.

Back in the day it was called the salt capital of the East.

Then a Civil War union stronghold and later a chemical industry hub with names like Union Carbide.

That labor uprising nearly shaped U.S.

labor laws.

Nearly shaped.

I like that.

Yeah, my grandpappy Popeye was in that one.

I believe it.

Well, let's fast forward to today.

Charleston's got 48,000 folks and a golden domed capital 293ft tall, outshining DCs by five feet.

Something to brag about.

You can dive into the state museum, which is very cool.

You can hike the kanawha State Forest, 25 miles of trails they've got.

And there's a lot of free concerts too at the Haddad Riverfront Park.

That's pretty.

It's really pretty actually.

If you look up a picture, they've got a big concert area there.

And we always talk about food.

So if you're hungry, try ten ten Bridges award winning filet or Dem two brothers barbecue ribs.

I love that.

Dem two brothers they get.

They have a really good rapport.

So for RV campers, lazy K's or Kanawas.

Got you covered.

So this is really a neat place.

A lot of history, a lot of US history.

It's a got the small town charm but really big stories.

This is a place you should definitely think about taking your RV for your next stop.

There you go.

So is there RV parks there?

There are.

Like I said, lazy case.

Oh, that's right.

Yeah, he's not listening I guess if I'd listen.

HE tunes out.

Wow.

Rude.

You know, it's interesting because there's a lot of history there, but that's one of those towns.

Very historic, but it evolved into a modern.

It did.

With all the things.

Exactly.

Them two brothers.

Them two brothers.

So them two brothers were probably real problems when they were kids.

Yeah.

You know, they were all the neighbors.

Them dem.

Two brothers, you know, and it just stuck.

And now they make barbecue kind of like that.

That's cool.

Yeah.

All right, so check out west or Charleston, West Virginia.

Be on the website as well, under the next stop.

And now we're going to go into shadows of the past, towns it once were.

This is going to be Thurman, West Virginia.

I'll bet no one's heard of Thurman or very few people.

Yeah, it's near Charleston, so it's in the same area.

So this is a town that, you know, one time had a lot of trains running through it, a lot of coal.

In fact, the coal flowed like gold as it's brought out.

So let's do a little reading here.

This again is a page out of the book from my grandpappy, Popeye.

That book's running out of pages.

Keep tearing them out.

Yeah.

You know, I think the light.

If my mom was a librarian, she would.

Or my wife, she'd be mad.

Pretty upset.

Tearing the pages out of books.

That was cool in high school, though.

Yeah.

All right.

Thurman carved out 73 acres along the New river, dreaming of a boom town.

And boy, did he get one.

Fifteen passenger trains a day rolled through and the town swelled with hotels, banks and saloons.

Even a 14 year poker game at the Dunn Glen Hotel that made Ripley's bed, believe it or not.

But the good times couldn't last.

The Great Depression hit hard.

Diesel locomotives replaced steam, and the coal trains didn't need Thurman anymore.

Today, the National Park Service stepped in, preserving its eerie main street and train depot, where Amtrak still makes a rare stop.

Thurman's a time capsule, its empty buildings echoing with the clatter of a lost era.

A shadow of the past, sure, but one that still haunts the New river gorge.

So that's interesting.

A lot of these Towns kind of have the same history.

They do.

And that steam engines to diesel, kind of a lot of stuff for everybody.

But that's progress, I guess, right?

Yeah.

But these towns, you know, we pick these towns based on where they're at, too.

Just so you know that in case you're not looking at a map.

Right.

So they kind of are close to one another.

So if you go visit one, you can visit the other.

That's the point.

Like in this case, Charleston is the bigger town.

More amenities than.

Right.

The smaller town, Thurmond.

But the history's there.

And especially if you're a history buff, and especially on the east, that area, you know, the Civil War, United States is rich in history there.

Lot to see.

Well, it's a different kind of history than out west.

Yeah, very much so.

But you know, that Civil War made its way west, too, so.

Interesting.

If you're not a history buff.

Well, it's a good way to become one.

Maybe buff, but a little, you know, some expertise.

We're going to get into RV envy, and we're going to talk about brand motion.

And they make rear observation systems.

People are used to backup cameras.

That's where the focus has been throughout the decades in RVing.

But backup cameras aren't really what they're called anymore.

They're rear observation systems because they've evolved so much that you're really paying attention to what's behind you when you're driving down the road.

Not just backing up now backing up.

They're.

They're priceless.

So you don't hit things.

You're not screaming at your spouse.

You know, why didn't you tell me?

Why didn't you tell me when to stop?

Turn right or whatever, and you hit something, it eliminates all that.

So you don't need a divorce lawyer anymore on the payroll.

That's out of the question.

All the cameras, for the most part, have sound, so you can actually hear the person behind you if they're screaming at you.

More importantly, when you're driving down the road, you can see what's happening behind you.

If you're going down a hill, a grade, and there's a semi coming up on you, it doesn't look like they're stopping.

You can flash your lights, maybe get out of their way if they're having a problem.

If your tires are starting to shred apart, you can see that debris blowing out on the road behind you.

If you're towing a vehicle, you can see it break loose and go flying off a cliff.

You know, so you can see what's happening.

So it can avert a lot of problems.

To give you a little more sense of security, having that monitor sitting on your dash and there you go.

It's pretty simple.

And most RVs are coming pre wired for them.

Now, Brand Motion is a brand that works with Furrion.

So if your RV's pre wired with Furrion, there's another brand.

I forget the name of it right now, but it ties in with that as well.

So it makes it real simple to add on to your RV if you have a new one or even a used RV or an older one.

These things are so simple to install.

All you're doing is tapping into the clearance light circuit.

Wow.

Because they run off the clearance lights.

All of them do that.

So when you're.

So when you're pulling it, you just pull in your trailer, just turn on your clearance lights and the camera comes on.

That's brilliant.

So there's no hard wiring to do.

Worst case scenario, you have an inch of wire showing above or below a clearance light.

I think everybody can live with that.

Not a big deal.

I like their system, it's just a better quality system.

I like Furrion too.

Now Furrion has dropped their prices.

I don't know if they're blowing them out to come out with some new designs or if they're just dropping prices to get them out there.

Maybe to compete with Brand Motion.

I don't know.

Brand Motions, their latency is like zero, which is really nice.

So things are happening very quickly around you while your camera is keeping up with it.

There's no delay.

That's good.

And you can add on cameras.

Another thing too, if you had, let's say, I'm just going to use a simple illustration here.

Two travel trailers and each one had its cameras on their Brand Motion.

Well, that monitor will go from one trailer to the next.

So you don't have to have two camera systems.

So you save some money that way.

It creates simplicity, which I think is really cool.

Or if you have like a utility trailer, you need a camera on it for you back into.

Well, it'll still work on your Brand Motion system and your, the other cameras for your travel trailers.

Two separate things on one monitor.

So you just switch back and forth.

So that's pretty nice.

And that's just my take on it.

I like Brand Motion.

I like Furrion as well.

We've looked at other brands.

Like Magnadyne has a camera system which is okay.

In fact, we've reviewed that one and it works Great.

But the newer ones, these ones just seem to be better, they're priced more.

The Magnadyne is less expensive.

So for a cheaper camera that's definitely a good way to go.

But I'd say spend a few extra bucks and get what you need.

And also these can double as security systems.

Having a camera by your door of your RV or on the other side, wherever you feel you might need one, but by the door makes more sense.

Porsche light goes on and boom, there it is.

You know their motion sensitive, so makes it pretty simple.

Alright, so that's it.

So check out Brand Motion.

We'll have a link to their website in our description here and you can take it from there and decide what you want to do.

So Brand Motion is the brand we're recommending, but Furrion's right behind it.

Then after that, Magnadyne.

So we have a call to action here.

Very important.

Everybody needs to act today.

No, we just want to let you know that we appreciate it when you share this podcast with others.

Your family, friends get more and more listeners, more people watching on YouTube and we appreciate that it pushes us up in the rankings.

We become a more of a fixture in homes which we're really bringing out some good information to share with others as valuable, saves you money, saves you headaches and make your life better as an RVer and great places to go as well.

So next episode is going to be 177 and there's going to be some great information in there.

In fact in that episode we're also going to talk about RV brake maintenance.

So we had a great show today.

As a reminder, if you're going to be doing any of that cosmetic work and resealings part of it, make sure you're using Dicor products.

They have a sealant that works great on the outside side of the rv on vertical surfaces.

They have the lap sealant for your horizontal surfaces.

Check that out.

Dicor products, they have great, great products.

So this is Eric Stark with the Smart RVer podcast, your go to guide for smarter RVing and unforgettable adventures on the road.