RVT.com RV Trader Blog

New Products Take Chill Out of Fall RVing

If you enjoy fall RVing, we’ve found two products that can make those chilly fall days and nights more enjoyable.

There’s nothing like a roaring campfire on a cool fall evening. Sitting around the campfire swapping stories and watching the stars are among the joys of RV camping.  But starting a fire in the fall can be a challenge. When the weather’s cold and damp, so is the wood. Campfire in a Can is the solution. Campfire in a Can provides a toasty fire that is safe enough to burn on a wood deck or patio carpet. Natural looking logs and an adjustable flame create a cozy campfire experience. Compact and lightweight, the long propane hose stores conveniently inside the canister, making it easy to store in your RV.

It’s pleasant to sit outside your RV and take in the colorful landscape. Red and yellow leaves drift slowly in the breeze, squirrels scamper up and down trees, the air has a special tang and crispness — ah, autumn! Tempachair keeps fall chills at bay. A portable, heated director chair that uses radiant heat technology, Tempachair keeps your backside toasty while you sit outside your RV enjoying the sights and smells of autumn.

Find these and many more products and RV accessories on RVT.com. Just click on RV Accessories on our home page for a continually updated list of products geared to make your RV travel experience exceptional.

RV Is a Gift for the Whole Family

Halloween isn’t quite here but stores are already setting up Christmas displays. It’s a little early to get into the holiday spirit, but some gifts take more time and planning than others. This holiday why not give your family a gift that will bring you all closer together. Give your family an RV.

Doing things together as a family, psychologists now tell us, is the best way to keep kids engaged in healthy activities and out of trouble. Numerous studies have shown that when families eat dinner together, children do better at school academically, are better integrated socially and are better able to stand up to peer pressure. If you can get all that from sharing a burger and a little chitchat, think what the togetherness of an RV vacation could do for your children.

RV families not only eat together when they travel, they explore and learn together and have fun together. While RVing, children have an opportunity to help out and contribute to the family which builds self-esteem. Family activities and games give parents and children a chance to bond and talk. When parents spend time playing with their children, children are more apt to come to them in times of trouble. Started when children are young, RVing can form the cornerstone of a positive parent-child relationship that can carry you both through the turbulent teen years.

Who suspected something as enjoyable as RVing could have such deep psychological benefits? Just ask any RVing family; it does.

Get Best RV Deal with RVT Price Checker

The economy has turned everyone into a bargain hunter. Whether you’re making a big purchase or a small one, these days you want to know you’re getting the best deal possible. That’s especially true when you’re buying a new or used RV online. To make it easy to compare RV models and prices, RVT.com recently introduced a new RVT Price Checker feature to make sure you get the best possible deal when you buy a new or used RV online.

RVT Price Checker lets you find and compare the low, high and average asking prices for any RV make or model listed for sale on RVT.com. Click View a Demo to see how the feature works. Compare prices by RV make, model, type, new/used, private/dealer ad, year of manufacture, length, location state or distance from your home. With a click, you can even view the listings that match your search criteria.

The North American leader in online RV sales, RVT.com has 10 years of experience in online sales and has helped facilitate the sale and purchase of thousands of RVs over the Internet. RVT Price Checker is just the latest innovative feature we’ve created to make it even easier to sell or purchase an RV online. Visit our website at RVT.com and give it a try.

Homeschoolers Use RVs as Mobile Classrooms

Parents who homeschool their children are investing in RVs as mobile classrooms. Book learning has its place, these parents argue, but there’s nothing like actually being there to give a child a true appreciation for what he’s learning. It’s not a new idea.

Occasionally, you’ve probably read about a family who packed the kids into their RV to crisscross the country for a few months or a year. The advantage of seeing new sites and meeting new people is obvious. But for most families it was a unique and short-lived experiment. When the kids reached middle school or high school, it was back to the traditional classroom. Today, however, the proliferation of homeschooling has turned an occasional adventure into an educational choice for many RVing families.

History and geography lessons particularly lend themselves to onsite learning. An RV tour of Civil War battlefields allows kids to put themselves in the picture. Hike along the Appalachian Trail to experience the difficulties the pioneers faced when starting their trek west. Spend a day helping out on a farm to learn about how food gets to the table. Tour a factory to find out how things are made. Explore geology and paleontology while fossil hunting. When you have an RV classroom, the opportunities for learning are endless — and exciting.

Fall Means Family Fun for RVers

Fall is a great time for weekend RV trips with the family. Sunny days and cooler temperatures make perfect hiking weather. Even when the temperatures plummet into the 40s at night, you and yours will be toasty warm inside your RV.

Trips to apple orchards for a U-pick experience are fun for the whole family. Many orchards operate cider mills and it’s fun to watch the applies shoot off the conveyor into the grinder before being pressed. There’s nothing better than fresh apple cider — unless its fresh-baked apple donuts or apple pie offered at many apple farms.

One of our family’s favorite apple farms is Long’s Farm in Commerce Township, Michigan, northwest of Detroit. The kids run off some energy picking a couple of bushes of apples. We refuel with cider and apple-cinnamon donuts at the farm stand. Watching through the window as they press the cider and cut and fry the donuts is always a highlight. Recharged, we hit the corn maze. We’ve developed a “Marco”- “Polo” system for finding each other so we don’t lose anyone in the maze.

A stop to pet the farm goats and watch them romp around their 3-story jungle gym rounds out the day before we head for the campgrounds. The kids love roasting hot dogs on sticks over an open fire. But my favorite fall treat is baked apples (core and fill with butter, sugar and cinnamon) wrapped in foil and roasted in the coals for dessert. Yum!

Exterior RV Maintenance Tips

Even if you scored a great deal on your new RV on RVT.com, it’s still a major investment. Proper exterior maintenance will protect that investment and keep your RV looking sharp for years to come. Attentive outside maintenance will also increase your RV’s resale value when you’re ready to sell your RV on RVT.com and trade up to a bigger, better RV.

Regular exterior maintenance will keep your RV looking like new.

> Always keep your RV covered to protect the roof and exterior. Over time, weather and UV rays from the sun will cause paint to fade and eventually flake. Ozone in the air dries out rubber and vinyl causing it to crack and deteriorate. If you can’t garage your RV, keep it covered with a specially designed RV cover.

> Wash your RV periodically and after every trip with a mild solution of soap and water. Take care not to spray water directly into appliance vents.

> Keep black streaks on metal and fiberglass at bay so they don’t become permanent. Use a commercial black streak remover and follow instructions. Test an unobtrusive area before using on graphics.

> Wax your motorhome to protect the finish and make black streak removal easier. Take care with taped-on graphics.

> Regularly inspect your RV for water damage inside and out.

> Keep you RV’s roof free of leaves, tree sap and debris and clean it regularly.

> Inspect roof sealants periodically, particularly around openings and seams to prevent leaks.

More Fall RV Driving Tips

Falling leaves and dropping temperatures signal RVers that it’s time to shift from summer driving habits into winter drive mode. Fall and winter highway conditions are more hazardous,  requiring that RV drivers take a little extra care while traveling. Today we continue the safe driving tips started in our last post.

As the days shorten, the angle of the sun changes from high to lower on the horizon. RV travelers are more likely to be driving right into the sun for longer periods in morning and evening. Keep your sunglasses handy and use your sun visor. Push your visor all the way forward before pulling it back into position so that it angles slightly toward the window. A visor angled toward the driver’s face can cause injury in a head-on collision.

Be aware that sun blindness can affect not just you but oncoming vehicles and those crossing at intersections. Keep your RV’s low-beam headlights on during the day to make your vehicle more visible. Use extra caution at intersections. Inspect lights periodically and keep front windows clean.

As daylight dwindles be aware that depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision decrease in the dark.  This can be especially challenging for older RVers who may be experiencing night vision problems associated with normal aging. Take 2 to 5 minutes to allow your eyes to adjust after exiting brightly-lit areas. Schedule driving during daylight hours. You’ll have more time to explore your destination and enjoy your RV campsite.

Autumn Driving Tips for RVers

Colder weather has arrived and with it falling leaves are blanketing the highways. Frosty nights have already hit many states, and there have even been reports of snow in Colorado and Montana. Drifting leaves, frost-slicked bridges and the first flakes of snow can make RV driving a bit more hazardous. Of course, that’s no reason to curtail your plans for a leaf peeping tour, apple-picking weekend or trip to your family’s favorite corn maze. But it does mean you should take a little more care with your driving to keep yourself and your family safe while RVing this fall and winter. Just follow these smart autumn driving tips for RVers:

Watch out for leaves drifting across roadways. Particularly when slickened by rain or frost, dead leaves can be as slippery snow under your RV’s tires. And remember that bridges freeze before roadways. A hard frost can make bridges and overpasses slippery, particularly on curves. Slow down and put a little more distance between your RV and the car in front of you when you’re on the road. Increasing following distance gives you more time to brake and maneuver if you or the driver you’re following start to skid or lose control.

On city streets, remember that leaves and snow can obscure potholes, dips and other roadway hazards. Slow down and watch the vehicle in front of your RV for clues to road conditions.

More fall RV driving tips next time