Shownotes
Transcripts
INTRO
Eric Stark: So your RV refrigerator just died. What do you do? Do you have a funeral? Do you put? Well, you might not do either. We will talk about that today and stay on the road.
But before we get into staying on the road, we will look at enjoying the RV life and talk about RV life—campgrounds and a directory, actually, campground reviews and a directory.
We'll then visit Sheridan, Texas, and look at the top reasons you'd want to go there. In RV Envy, we'll see you link hubs and sensors for RVs.
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. Let's talk about everything. RV today is 100, episode 152, so let's jump into this. Welcome to the show today, Alexis.
Alexis: Thanks. I'm excited to be here with you.
Eric Stark: Alexis just bought a new RV. I did not know a used RV.
Alexis: New to me.
Eric Stark: So she took my advice.
Alexis: I certainly did. It's awesome.
Eric Stark: So they bought an older RV. That's perfect. It is built right. And how many slide-outs does it have? None. None. Not one slide out. So there's one less motor you have to worry about.
Alexis: Exactly.
Eric Stark: All right, so cool. So it's a nice, clean, older trailer. Good shape.
Alexis: It is.
Eric Stark: Yep, yep. Back when they built them, right?
Alexis: Exactly. Yep.
Eric Stark: We have a friend named John who would agree with your purchase.
Alexis: Yes, I think he would. He'd be pleased.
tark: Yeah, definitely before:Alexis: Yes.
Eric Stark: Here in Montana. All right, so there's one thing I wanted to bring out. This came out a couple of weeks ago during the week. I am still determining when.
But when you have an RV, whether a trailer or motorhome, sometimes you get things made just for that RV. They're only going to fit that RV. For example, if you have a Class A motorhome or a Class C or B and you have a windshield cover on it that you maybe got from Sunpro Manufacturing,
If you buy a different RV, there is no point in keeping that windshield cover because it may not fit the next RV. And we always hear about this: I bought an RV, or, you know, we got an RV, or no. How's it going? Yeah, yeah, we bought this RV. It has snaps on the front for a windshield cover, but the people didn't leave it. They sold it and kept that, which makes no sense. Yeah, and we hear that all the time. So, there are some things on an RV. When you sell it, you want to keep them. I understand that.
But things were made for your RV that will fit that RV. Or your awning. You may have a twelve-foot awning. You know, you're going to get a more extended trailer. So that awning is going to get. Be bigger. So don't keep the shade; just let it go with the RV.
RV LIFESTYLE
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: That's part of getting a new RV, buying new stuff, re-outfitting it, and spending more money. Just do it.
Alexis: Just get a new one for your new RV.
Eric Stark: But keep that in mind when you sell something made just for your RV. It's cool to let it go with the RV.
Alexis: Yes.
Eric Stark: All right. So now, as we talk about everything RV, let's just get into this and hit the RV life: campgrounds, reviews, and directories. What did you like about their website? Or the services they offer?
Alexis: I like to be picky about where I travel and want it to be a good place. What I find remarkable about this is that you can see reviews from other customers who stayed there. So, if somebody has thoughts similar to yours, this is what I expected. This is what I got.
Then, you can decide where you will go based on that before you even hit the road, which is very cool. You can see some amenities that you want. You could choose a campground over another based on location or other factors, depending on what you and your family want from that campground or RV park. That's nice.
Eric Stark: They're honest reviews, which makes a difference. Yeah. They're not just robots or whatever out there doing it.
Alexis: Right.
Eric Stark: Alexis made a good point about those reviews: don't we always shop by reviews?
Alexis: Exactly.
Eric Stark: We go to that big, old giant website that sells all the garbage worldwide.
Alexis: Oh, yeah.
Eric Stark: You know, you look at the reviews, and you can tell there are many fake reviews. Yep. You know, so you got to sort through them.
You only wanted to read two or three, but now you're reading 50 because most of them sound like the manufacturer just makes them. A robot, or a bot, whatever you call it these days, is doing it.
Alexis: Yeah, yeah.
Eric Stark: They're fake, but these campground ones are real. There are also a lot of outdoorsy-type things, like trail directories.
They have real people reviews and make all the difference in the world. They do, and you have to read several of them. One might be very harmful and very positive. So you have to find that average.
Alexis: Yeah, exactly.
Eric Stark: Besides the reviews, what other incredible things are on the RV Life website?
Alexis: Another cool feature is the forums. Here, you can talk to people who have been there or sometimes get guidance and support from the campgrounds' hosts.
They're going to be a wealth of information. If they're on that site, they will be helpful. So you can ask a natural person instead of just reading. And then there are tips and advice. Blog posts cover maintenance, packing lists, budgeting advice, and destination recommendations.
Like what we do with our next stop, but ours is better.
Eric Stark: Yeah. Nor is there for maintenance. You just come here. This is the source for.
Alexis: Well, there are a few things. Yeah, who knows?
Eric Stark: Yeah, it's an excellent resource. It caught our attention, so obviously, we're talking about it.
We don't discuss anything we want to look at, use, or do ourselves, so it's definitely on our radar. So go to their website. You know, it's rvlife.com, but it's. To get to this pot, go to campgrounds, dot reviews, dot RVLife.com. Yeah, there's a friendlier link on the website. You know, that's just what we had written down here.
So that's just what I'm going with. But I'm sure if you go to RVLife.com, they'll have a link for something like campgrounds or reviews.
Or something that's, so just go there, peek, and see what you can find. Yep, it's free. Why not? You know? Okay, now let's jump into staying on the road. We're going to talk about RV refrigerators.
So, your RV refrigerator just died. What do you do? Has it stopped working? Do you have a funeral? Should you just replace it?
Just put it, look the other way, and hope the problem will disappear. Or do you do neither? Let's find out. So you're camping and enjoying your RV, and that day has finally come. Your refrigerator just died.
I paused there because I would say something else, but it's my sense of humor. No one else will appreciate it. Anyway, your refrigerator has just died. It stopped working.
You know, everything's getting warm as you sit there. Oh, no. What do we do? So now what? Well, first, we have to examine the situation.
You have to take a moment and determine if a funeral is necessary or maybe just minor surgery. We hope for minor surgery, but sometimes we have to go to a funeral, right?
If your refrigerator is beyond minor repair, such as the cooling unit failing, we'll discuss that in more detail in just a moment.
But the cooling unit failing would be a good reason to buy a new refrigerator, at least from where I sit.
When looking at a refrigerator with problems, we must consider some essential things, especially if it gets into a cooling unit. But like I said, we'll jump into that in just a moment.
So we hear this always: Someone will say, "My refrigerator just quit working," or they'll say, "It died." When they say it died, you automatically think it's time to get a new refrigerator, right? Exactly.
Alexis: You know, no, reviving it.
Eric Stark: Exactly. It's done and over with. But that's not really what they mean. They just tell it to quit working. So we don't automatically call a funeral home and get things set up for the funeral. We don't do that right away. First, we determine if the refrigerator malfunctioned and if it can be repaired, which is most often.
What happens very rarely is a refrigerator beyond repair. It does happen, but most of the time, it can be fixed. So I bring this up because, quite often, the first reaction is to replace the refrigerator. It stopped working, but we had to replace it. Quite often, that's how the conversation starts: How much is a new refrigerator? Then, you ask a couple of questions. Oh, we were just out camping, and it quit cooling. Okay, so we might not need a new refrigerator here.
Refrigerators are so expensive anymore that it's good to repair them and make them work. If you can't, that's the route we always take. So I recommend that our customers ensure the refrigerator is dead and ready for a funeral before replacing it. We want to make sure, so that's where we start asking questions. And the customers—they're only sometimes suitable in this case.
Alexis: Exactly.
Eric Stark: The customer is only sometimes correct. What a horrible thing to say. Right? And it's only sometimes time for a new refrigerator. But we started asking questions.
We start working our way through it and sorting out the events that led up to it, you know, what happened? How did it die? What was going on? You know, was it taking too many drugs? No, just kidding. No drugs are involved in the refrigerator.
But what happened, you know, why did it quit working? People will go to YouTube and like, you know, type in the refrigerator, but it stops working. And, man, it's such a broad term. You'll get so much stuff back that it must be clarified. And quite often, they grab onto something different from their problem.
That's why they might think their refrigerator needs to be replaced. So you can't go to YouTube because you won't find the same problem. Occasionally, I go to YouTube looking for stuff, but it never helps.
Alexis: No.
Eric Stark: It's like, wow, walk away. What are these morons doing all these videos? It's not the problem, right? And so many of the videos are just wrong. It's terrible advice.
It is, you know, especially the titles. They make a title sound like it's your problem, but it's far away. So, if you want to go to YouTube, that's fine. But sometimes people go there, you know, trying to resolve this, which is excellent—you know, you're trying to do it on your own. Or they talk to somebody who has a refrigerator in an RV. Their friend says, "Well, I had the same problem. This is what I did."
It wasn't the same. Yeah.
Alexis: How do they know now?
Eric Stark: Find out. Well, it's similar—not even close. So it has to be the same problem, the same refrigerator. You know, there are variables there.
So talking to a friend sometimes may help, may not help, depending on what their experience was, you know, and even technicians sometimes are going to come back with you just needing to get a new refrigerator. You see, they're not like doctors anymore. In this PCR testing, you always got Covid, right?
So you take it to a dealership and always need a new refrigerator. It's dead beyond repair. You know, they don't want to deal with resuscitate, can't talk today. I'm not a doctor, that's why. So.
Anyway, only some dealerships do that, but it is happening more and more that repairs are different from what's being done; they're selling new parts, like the automotive industry. Years ago, mechanics rebuilt brake calipers, wheel cylinders, and alternators. Not anymore. Everything just gets replaced. You always get new. Well, not new parts, rebuilt parts, or whatever parts, but a semblance of new.
It's a different world today, so everybody wants to add new stuff. You have to be cautious here because we find that about 85% of the time, the problem is minor. For example, it needs a thermistor, maybe a gas valve or a circuit breaker popped, and it doesn't work on 110. Or a fuse on the circuit board blew, or the circuit breaker is. The circuit board needs to be fixed.
Circuit boards are a little more expensive, but it's still a minor repair compared to a new refrigerator.
Alexis: Exactly.
Eric Stark: Alexis is shaking her head. Uh huh, uh huh.
dge versus newer fridge over $:Alexis: Exactly.
Eric Stark: These repairs can add up. Sometimes, a refrigerator might have a problem that's harder to diagnose and may end up with a couple of parts, but that's okay.
You're still muddy ahead. Or the refrigerator might have an intermittent problem that makes diagnosing it more challenging.
I know that sometimes people just put it in a new refrigerator out of frustration. They're tired of dealing with it. They could have taken it to some technician sheds, and they've spent 300 here, 200 there, and 500 here.
The money starts piling up, and it's like, I don't want to deal with this anymore, so they just put it in your refrigerator. And sometimes I get it—you know, you're just frustrated. Put in new, and that should solve the problem.
Yeah, hopefully. Hopefully, it was in the refrigerator, not something else. We hear it all the time about furnaces, and the same type of stuff is in water heaters.
That's why I need a new water heater and a new furnace. A furnace will cost at least $1,000. Oh, yeah, let's go. Go ahead and repair it.
All these things can be repaired up until a certain point. Sure, they all reach a point where they're beyond repair, but until it gets to that point, think about repairing it again.
Most of the time, everything can be repaired. However, there are times when a refrigerator is beyond repair.
For example, it continually has problems, you know, since you bought the RV, whether it was new or used. Every year, you're just like a new circuit board, a new heating element, a new this, a new that.
You know, the burner's not working, it doesn't work on electricity, it doesn't work on gas. And it's, you know, a couple hundred here, a few hundred there. And you're tired of putting money into it. It's like the money pit.
That refrigerator may need to be corrected. You know, it happens. It happens with cars, right? Yep. Some vehicles are just piles of junk compared to their same model and year.
I knew a guy in Arizona had a Ford van identical to mine.
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: I have spent thousands of dollars on his front suspension, but I have spent nothing.
Alexis: That's so funny.
Eric Stark: You know, and I had more miles on mine than his. You see, he's just complaining. I finally got rid of it. Like, I haven't had a problem, it's like, whatever. Yeah, so those things happen.
That may be the time when, you know, it's a money pit, and you just get rid of it. Understandable. Or it's older, you know, it's an older RV. You're keeping it around. You don't want to let it go. It's. It's your favorite.
Everything works in it, you know, except for the refrigerator. And the fridge could be repaired. But you decide, you know what? This RV is 25 years old. It's the original refrigerator.
We're going to keep this RV. Let's just put a new refrigerator in it, then go ahead and do it. You know, it's time just to bury that old dog.
It gets to that point, you know. Sometimes, they just get old. It's not worth putting money into them where you don't want to. Parts might become more challenging to get.
The last time you got a circuit board, they had difficulty finding one. So it's time to go. Let it go. Parts such as door gaskets and other things aren't available.
It's just pouring money into a dead horse if you will. You don't want to do that. It's only sometimes cut and dry when a refrigerator fails.
It sounds odd that people automatically go to the refrigerator when it needs to be replaced, but that's where it goes for whatever reason. You know, maybe it's just society in general anymore. It's a throwaway society. If your home refrigerator breaks, you just get a new one.
Alexis: It is that way, you know.
Eric Stark: So, it makes more sense. But we need to be careful there.
So now, let's get into the cooling unit because that's the biggest or one of the most expensive parts of a refrigerator. Doors can get costly, you know, things like that. But the fridge is enormous, and it's easier to replace the door financially than a cooling unit because it works. Yeah, I want to put a new door on here. The hinge broke, and they do it on some models. They become an absolute nightmare. The cooling unit is the heart of the refrigerator. It keeps it going but can develop a leak if it fails.
And you smell that gut-wrenching, poisonous stench that comes oozing out called ammonia and greenish-yellow film that can get on everything, and it smells horrible. If you breathe it in, it can kill you. It's deadly stuff. So you have to be very cautious there.
You know, if you smell ammonia, leave it alone. Don't go in there and start breathing deep and doing exercises. And those are signs you see, you know, the smell.
You see that film that'll get on the back of the refrigerator, sometimes inside the fridge. Those are signs the cooling unit has died. It is done with, you know, so the refrigerator will not function that way.
You're not going to be able to deal with the smell. You got to clean it out. It's got to let it dissipate. Sometimes, that smell can take days or weeks to go away completely.
A cooling unit can also develop a blockage, preventing ammonia from circulating properly, which can cause your refrigerator to stop working. This will sound weird, but you cannot use any amount of Pepto Bismol. It will not clear it up because there is a blockage.
Well, some people like to take out the refrigerator and turn it upside down, and they call it burping. Ah, Pepto Bismol. Does that make sense now? That can. That can sometimes work with limited success.
If that's the hobby you want to start every six months, then you can start that new hobby. But it's generally a limited success, so it's not something you want to rely on.
I can do this whenever I want to think that way.
Alexis: You're delaying the inevitable.
Eric Stark: Exactly. You know, you take it out, turn it around, flip it over. It does it, but it may or may not work.
Now, the other option, which sometimes people will try, is to tap on the back of the cooling unit with a two-by-four rubber mallet and try to break the blockage loose. Sometimes, that works, but the block generally goes somewhere else unless it breaks into smaller pieces.
All that stuff does is delay the inevitable death, you know? Yeah. You're just prolonging this life, but not very well. So, the tactics we just discussed work sometimes, but only sometimes.
We're talking about this, and I always think about saving money. You know, money's becoming a big thing today. You have to save it. You know, the economy's well, everybody knows this world is going crazy.
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: Things have become more expensive, so you only want to buy a new refrigerator if you have to. You want to avoid having a shop or doing it yourself.
Do this kind of tactic, trying to keep it alive when it's just going to die, you know, especially if you're out of it and you're camping with your family, and you're burping. It worked until you got out camping; bouncing down the road made that blockage go right back into where it was. And there you go now, stopped working. The dreaded cooling unit failure is probably the biggest reason to replace a refrigerator. That's why you now have a couple of options, maybe two or three. So we're going to go through these.
The best option is to replace the refrigerator and be done with it.
Alexis: Yeah, yeah.
Eric Stark: That sounds wild, but it's done and over with. You know, you've taken your lump and moved on.
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: But replacing the refrigerator does create an issue. Sometimes, a couple—we'll get back to that in a second. And you can always have a new or rebuilt cooling unit installed.
Now, I always opt for number one, if you're going to do it, to have a new cooling unit put in, not a rebuilt one.
I opt for a new refrigerator rather than a cooling unit. But if you put in a new cooling unit, you can get that new one to be problem-free, and you can get beyond the warranty point and keep going for years. And that's great, but that's just my opinion. And you have to remember that's just my opinion, which I'm not telling. That's what you have to do.
So don't go to a dealership. And I was told by Eric. Right, don't do that. That's just my opinion.
Alexis
Yeah.
Eric Stark: If you replace the refrigerator, there's an issue: You'll have to replace the door panels. Most new refrigerators will not be able to use your old door panels, and RV refrigerators do not come with door panels.
Alexis: They don't have.
Eric Stark: Some have a residential-style door and don't require panels. However, they're a different type of refrigerator, which is more expensive. They're not your typical RV gas and electric refrigerator.
So, replacing the door panels just adds to the expense. You know, they're at least $150. That's the lowball price there.
Your RV came with door panels from the factory on the refrigerator. They're probably wooden or paneling. They're nicer-looking and match the interior of the RV.
Well, when they built the RV, they bought that refrigerator and had door panels made for it. So they're probably not going to work. As I said, they rarely work on new refrigerators.
Matching or putting them in the new refrigerator may not be an option. What you can get with door panels is limited.
Companies have come and gone over the years. Some have excellent stainless steel, but they disappear, and the next one comes along. Maybe they only have black, plastic-looking stainless steel.
So your options get limited, but it's just an extra expense.
What I find interesting is that sometimes our customers, Rvers, will get more excited about buying new door panels than a new refrigerator. It's a bigger deal. What do you mean? It's another $150, which seems odd, but it is. That's just the way it is.
New refrigerators do not come with door panels. So expect that if you buy a new refrigerator, if you get to that point.
Now, back to the cooling unit: Should we replace it or buy a new refrigerator? If the fridge is in good enough shape, it'll warrant a cooling unit. In other words, the doors are in excellent shape.
The gaskets on the doors close, and they seal the circuit boards and other things. You know, if the refrigerator is having problems starting to act up at the same time the cooling unit failed just beforehand, you don't.
Would you want to invest in a cooling unit knowing you'll need to buy some other parts? That's what I'm getting at. The doors, the gaskets, and other parts are hundreds of dollars.
So, do you want to add that to a cooling unit? If the door seals are wrong, they may be. Okay, we do the cooling unit; we must also do the door seals.
That's the shape of your refrigerator. Are they available? You would find that out before you order a cooling unit.
Do that because door gaskets might not be available, depending on the refrigerator's age. Like so many other parts, they become obsolete. Do your doors have hinges built into them? Are the hinges cracked? Are they broken?
Can you get a new door? Do you want to spend the money on one? A new door could cost $300 or $400.
Or would you instead take that money on top of a cooling unit and put it into the cost of a new refrigerator? Those are things to consider if the parts are obsolete. Don't buy a cooling unit if you can't get a door. It makes sense.
So, replacing these parts on top of the cooling unit just adds to the price. And, you know, it's going to take longer.
Sometimes, ordering parts, ordering cooling units, and getting them together can be difficult. Sometimes, parts can be complex to get on older or even new refrigerators because they're out of stock, whatever it might be. And, you know, there's always that standby.
You can go to that garage sale online—the online shopping center selling everything under the sun—and they sell many knockoff RV parts. You could buy some of those and see if that works for you.
But I would avoid non-domestic or non-cold refrigerator parts because you never know what you'll get.
And if you're basing that on buying a cooling unit and installing these parts there, you might be throwing your money down the drain.
Alexis: You could say goodbye to that money.
Eric Stark: Yeah, pretty much.
If you put in a cooling unit, is your refrigerator going to be able to last for an extended period, not just days, weeks, or months, before something else fails and you're pouring more money into it? After you do the cooling unit, you're committed to that puppy, you know? All right, now it needs a circuit board.
I wish we had noticed the door gaskets could have been better. Technicians said they were fine, but now we get it whole. We see they're not, you know? Right.
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: You need to check these, too. I'll just leave it up to the technician.
Another type of refrigerator we must discuss here is side-by-side refrigerators, where the doors aren't top and bottom but next to one another. That's a giant refrigerator.
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: Those things are more expensive than your typical refrigerator. They have doors on the top and bottom or a single door, and there are a lot more. So, those make great candidates for putting in a new cooling unit.
Alexis: Okay. Interesting.
Eric Stark: A new cooling unit.
Alexis: Okay.
Eric Stark: I am anti-rebuilt cooling units, period.
Alexis: Okay.
Eric Stark: They're the reason why, too. Because of their cost, side-by-side refrigerators, especially newer ones, are sometimes a perfect candidate for this. But again, you still want to look at everything else, ensure it's in good shape and there are no problems or things like that. And then when you're going to do a cooling unit, whether you go with a rebuilt one or a new one, check the warranty out—an excellent old warranty.
Alexis: Oh, that warranty.
Eric Stark: You know, warranties can bite hard. especially when someone just tells you what the warranty says.
I'm not trying to knock someone here, but if you're in an RV repair center. You're talking to the technician, and he says the warranty covers, you know, it's a five-year warranty, parts and labor, and blah, blah, blah, and he's telling you that he might be telling you that in good faith because the brand of cooling that they were using had that warranty.
Alexis: Sure.
Eric Stark: But maybe the parts department decided, "Well, we won't sell that brand anymore. We're going with this brand because it's cheaper for us." The warranty is less, though.
Alexis: The warranty is cheaper, too.
u're going to have, you know,:Alexis: Yeah, exactly.
Eric Stark: You have to be very careful during the labor. What does it cover? If it covers labor, does it cover shipping costs to get the new clean to you? They'll want the old one back as a core variable, so you must determine what that warranty covers. The best way to do that is to read the warranty.
Alexis: Yes.
Eric Stark: Don't take their word for it. Read the warranty.
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: And now, I said I don't care for remanufactured cooling units, and I don't when they fail.
And they generally do if it fails under warranty; how many times can that recooling unit be put in and out of that refrigerator before all the screws are stripped out, things are broken, the plastics worn out, and the doors don't work the same. Because, you know, if a technician has to do a warranty refrigerator cleaning, he won't be happy.
He needs to be paid for it or get paid more. He'll be less happy if he has to do it a third or second time without being paid.
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: That refrigerator is going to bear the brunt of it. When you get it back, it won't be the same refrigerator. That's why I don't like rebuilt cooling units; they fail.
New cooling units fail as well, but less often. Those you can put in almost just forget about it, but they come with a higher price tag.
But if you're going down that road, you could go down that road. So the choice is yours. So that's the option you have. So just think about that when your refrigerator dies.
You could apply this to water heaters, furnaces, anything on your RV, and, in fact, your house. Wow. This is like the RV, the smarter homeowner show, too.
Alexis: Yeah. My goodness.
Eric Stark: So you can apply it to many things, though.
Alexis: Good advice.
Eric Stark: So just think about that, you know, before you buy it. Take your time with things.
If the refrigerator's not working and you don't plan a trip the next day, take your time before buying a new refrigerator, a cooling unit, or whatever it might be. So that's the simple advice for the intelligent rver out there.
-:We're looking at things from a different angle viewpoint, and our listeners have a different set of topics, things you guys will work on, your RVs, questions you have, even if it's something you've already done, but you just want to confirm you did it the right way or the best way. Let us know. Let us hear how you would like to discuss that stuff and have it on the show.
-:Alexis: Yeah, sure.
Eric Stark: I mean, cowboys have whips. Well, gosh, you know, that stuff gets on the news. A new nose. All right, so she's got a Henry rifle, lever action. What's that?
Alexis: Annie Oakley style.
Eric Stark: There you go. Annie Oakley.
Alexis: I don't know.
NEXT STOP
Eric Stark: The reason why she's dressed like this is because we're going to Sheridan, Texas, today. Woo hoo. So, Annie Oakley, what's happening in Sheridan, Texas?
Alexis: There's so much there. I got into this, and it was excellent. I always do these articles and want to go to these places.
But for one, it's got the Colorado River, which is very cool and the focal point for outdoor recreation. People come there for that. Yeah. Am I right, or am I wrong?
Eric Stark: The Rio Grande.
Alexis: Okay.
Eric Stark: The Colorado River doesn't go to Texas. Are we sure it ends in Arizona?
Alexis: Okay, well, I'm going to double-check that.
Eric Stark: Lime. I'm here. Oh, boy. Here we go.
Alexis: I love it. Okay, we're googling right now.
Eric Stark: Go right ahead.
Alexis: I'll keep talking. So we've got Boucher State Park—now I'm scared to mention it—just a short drive from Sheridan.
A lot of rivers go there because there's so much to do. There are biking trails, hiking trails, and lakes, so there's a ton of stuff to do. I must also mention the excellent bird watching there. And then we've got Fayette Lake. It's a reservoir near Sheridan, and many water sports enthusiasts go there.
You can do your boating and skidooing. Was I right? Then there's the Lost Pines forest. That's a big one for Sheridan, too, because people can go there and do hikes and explore, and it's just an excellent adventure for nature lovers.
Eric Stark: All right, so Alexis was right.
Alexis: Okay, good.
Eric Stark: Okay. It's not the Colorado River.
Alexis: It's the Colorado River.
Eric Stark: It's the other Colorado River.
Alexis: Okay.
Eric Stark: Texas has its own Colorado River. They do.
Alexis: Okay. Yeah, I thought so.
Eric Stark: This is the first time I've heard of another Colorado River.
Alexis
Okay.
Eric Stark: I've never heard of any river being named elsewhere. It sure happens, but now we know the other Colorado.
Alexis: The river is in Texas. In Texas, they can call it whatever they want.
Eric Stark: Wow. It should be. Let's meet at the Colorado River.
Alexis: Somebody ends up in Texas.
Eric Stark: You're in Utah, and they're in Texas. Exactly. Where? Yeah, I love it. All right, so it's a good thing we have Google handy.
Alexis: No kidding. Yeah.
Eric Stark: Our reputation has been saved.
Alexis: I'm not, you know.
Eric Stark: So I wonder if it's got more water than the regular.
Alexis: Yeah, I don't know. You guys do that. Okay, whoever's listening, look up and see how much river it is—River's actually in there.
Eric Stark: There you go. Yeah, so it's. I didn't catch how many miles long it is, but it's quite a big river, so that's cool and a lot to do there.
Get the RV-friendly campgrounds and accommodations.
Alexis: And then they've got Sheridan, a cool town. It's got a lot of history. So if you're going for that, you'll have a fun time.
Eric Stark: You see, that makes sense, too. You know, it gets Sheridan, Wyoming. So why not have your own Colorado River? Sheridan, Texas, Sheridan, Wyoming. Wonder which came first.
Sheridan, Texas, or Sheridan, Wyoming. Someone in Wyoming or Texas may let us know.
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: Okay, tell us what dunces we are here.
Alexis: Start texting in right now.
Eric Stark: Yeah. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Alexis: I love it.
Eric Stark: All right, it's another excellent place for RVs. Texas is late for rving in general.
Alexis: It is. Yeah.
Eric Stark: It has winter and summertime areas—a prominent, giant place to go.
Alexis: One thing: My husband drove through there when he was younger. He said it's the best road ever. The streets are always perfectly paved. You said it's just like the best road system in Texas.
So, if that's something you're concerned about.
Eric Stark: Just know that, yeah, road construction is just part of the game anymore, for sure. All right, so check out Texas. And, of course, there are many other places to go in Texas. That's just one of the few. We've talked about it.
Alexis: A few we have? Yep.
RV ENVY
Eric Stark: All right, that will take us to RV envy. Today, we're going to talk about link hubs and sensors. And you're thinking, what will your link hubs and sensors discover?
So it's Yolink. So many things come to mind.
All right, now the link on their website used to have stuff that was very RV-specific, and it has disappeared, which is unique. Nonetheless, they sell these hubs. It's like putting an Alexa or a Google whatever in your house.
So, the hub receives signals from the water sensor to detect a water leak in your home, or temperature sensors outside the hub will receive that information. Then, you have an app on your phone and it sends that information to your app. So, if it's 80 degrees outside, you can see it on your phone.
It's typical stuff, so it's cool. They have some neat things, like RV water leak sensors.
You can put one in your bathroom, and they have probes on them, too. You can make them work better to detect leaks in different areas, whether under a sink or behind a toilet.
That's really what my focus is: temperature and things like that. That's not a big deal, but these water sensors are excellent, and you don't necessarily have to have Wi-Fi for them to work.
The sensor will still send its signal to the hub, but you won't be able to get that information from it. Okay, so the hub has to be connected to Wi-Fi, and that's, you know, in an RV. That can be difficult.
If your RV park doesn't have Wi-Fi, you won't be able to connect. You'd have to connect to the different Wi-Fi areas.
Alexis: Yeah.
Eric Stark: Yolink had some YouTube videos about their RV stuff. As I said, it's not on their website, but it has some things that could be improved, like the Wi-Fi. You'll need to find out if you have a problem. You can get a water valve that'll shut the valve off to your RV, which you could activate on your phone, but you have to have Wi-Fi.
There are some things there. Depending on where you go camping, you may always go to the same place, and they have Wi-Fi there. This is ideal for you.
Check out their website. Go to their website, check it out, and see what they offer. You could find something there, or you may have something similar.
You may be using a Google thing, but Yolink is cool. Everything's very affordable, which caught my attention.
I like these things even if you use them in your house, like the water leak function. Water leaks ruin trips, whether your RV or your home, and they're very expensive.
You're out in your RV all day, coming back, and waters are running out the door. That sucks, you know, so this could help stave that off. So worth checking out. So that will bring us to the end of our show today.
As a reminder, go to our YouTube channel. We have many videos and things to watch, learn, and see.
Videos where we're explaining things the right way, not just the hillbilly way, but the right way.
All right, and so next week, we have episode 153. We will discuss maintenance projects you should have done because we're into summer. So that's your roof, freshwater, and LP systems. So we're going to jump into that. A little more details next.
We had a great show today. We learned that Alexis has climbed the ladder summit with a new RV. So look out for her in campgrounds. Her husband. Yeah.
Alexis: Watch out.
Eric Stark: Run the other way. Thanks. All right, this is Eric Stark with TheSmartRver Podcast. Thank everybody for listening to and hanging out with us today.
And if I don't see you on the road, let's connect at TheSmartRVer.com.
