Roadtreking Podcast 025: Why You Need to Set Up an RV Hotspot and What You Can Do With It

It's time for the Connected RV. You've no doubt had it with campground WiFi. Useless. There must be a better way. And in this episode of the podcast, we talk all about it: Using a small gizmo the size of a deck of cards to create, via a cellular connection to the Internet, your own WiFi network in your RV. We brought in Paul Ulreich, a wireless technology expert, to help you understand (in no geek-speak terms) what you need to know to get full benefits from your rolling WiFi network. Confused about wireless data plans and just what you can do with the various usage tiers? We sort it out. Wondering what you can do with that RV Hotspot? You'll be ready to rush out and get one, especially if you hand pets with you and a sticks and bricks home back wherever you came from. Also in this episode, we hear from a listener in Australia, Jennifer returns to help me discuss some of the most memorable people we've met out there, our plans for 2015, tips for staying warm (still), signs of spring at Yellowstone (at last!), an Off the Beaten Path report from the Alabama and Mississippi Gulf shores and a lot more! [spp-player] First Things First: Jennifer Returns! Jennifer returns to help me kick off the show after being pretty swamped recently with a big pending event for our family. Plus, a quick update on our immediate plans involving some shopping, final accessorizing of our new Roadtrek CS Adventurous XL motorhome, a trip I'm taking Grand Rapids, Mich. to install a VHF/UHF amateur radio transceiver in it then and - next week - Florida for a couple of weeks. Check-in of the Week: Roadtreking Fan Wayne from Australia A listener named Wayne calls from Australia to check-in and let us that our fans can be found well beyond our North American base. You'll recall a couple weeks ago we had a listener named Jose check-in from Spain. Any other international fans out there? Let's keep adding to the list! Record a quick message by clicking the tab on the right. We would love to hear from you! Listener Feedback: 1991 Roadtrek at 100,000 Miles and Going Listener Dave from Kitchener, Ontario calls to let us know his 1991 Roadtrek just hit 100,000 miles and is still going strong. Reminder of the Week: Stay Warm with Full Propane Tanks Listener Mike checks in to remind RVers to keep their propane tanks full if you want to stay warm in cold weather camping. Less full tanks can leave you shivering, Mike says. [spp-tweet "If you want your RV to put put maximum heat in cold weather, keep the propane tank filled."] Question: Can you talk about 4x4 RVing? Listener Andrew calls to ask about 4x4 RVing. Flashback: Memorable Encounters A listener named Van calls to ask us about some of the more memorable folks we've met out there on the road. Jennifer and I recall a few: The former hospital CEO who left a high powered well-paying job to make hand crafted wooden canoes on the Mississippi (https://rvlifestyle.com/todays-baby-boomer-retirees-arent-sitting-around/) Deby Dixon, a renowned wildlife photographer, who lives full-time in and around Yellowstone to be near the wolves and other wildlife (https://rvlifestyle.com/deby-dixon-yellowstone/) And the Wyoming cowboy who leads wagon trail campouts along the original Oregon Trail (https://rvlifestyle.com/rv-sidetrip-ride-covered-wagon-along-oregon-trail) RV News of the Week: Airstream Recalling, Park Models Rising, Yellowstone Plowing Recall - Airstream is recalling certain model year 2015-15 Land Yacht, Eddie Bauer, International, Flying Cloud, and Sport travel trailers manufactured Aug. 1, 2013, through Feb. 4, 2015 (Read more) Park Model Sales Up - The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) reported January’s park model RV shipments totaled 261 units, up 4 percent from the 227 units in the same month of 2014. By state, the largest number of park model units were shipped to Arizona, followed by Texas, then Maine, Wisconsin, Minnesota and California, according to RVIA figures. (Read more) Yellowstone Plowing for Spring Season - Yellowstone National Park’s winter season is drawing to a close. Park roads that serve commercial and non-commercially guided snowmobile and commercial snowcoach travel to iconic Yellowstone locations will be closed in stages beginning Sunday, March 1. After the roads close to oversnow travel, crews will begin to clear them of snow so they can reopen to automobile travel beginning April 17, weather permitting. (Read more) RV Bucket Destination List: Coast-to-Coast in 2015 Jennifer shares where she wants us to go this year...and the list is quite extensive! But I play some listener feedback that shows clearly we are not alone in planning to spend a lot of time on the road this year. Giveaway: Free Audiobook from Audible.com We also have news on how you can get a FREE audiobook download and 30-day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/roadtreking. Audible offers over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. For listeners