RT59 Discovering the Fun Stuff the RV Travel Books Don’t Know About

It's been said by many that every place has a story to tell. And in this episode of Roadtreking the RV Podcast we learn that many of the most interesting places also have a festival or special event to celebrate their stories. Just about every weekend, somewhere in North America, there's a small town festival celebrating something. And finding those festivals - be they music, food or event-centered - is just one of several topics we tackle this week in Episode 59. We interview the author of a great book that belongs in every RV, a book that helps you find hundreds of small town festivals and events that let you not only have fun but experience great food and learn about interesting people and places far off the interstates. We have some traveling tech tips, a bucket list destination of the week for you to explore and, of course, lots of RV news, tips and trends. [spp-player] Here are the complete shownotes for Episode 59 of Roadtreking the RV Podcast: Mike and Jennifer's Whereabouts As this episode begins, we find the Wendlands in Southwest Georgia, after a leisurely RV trip that took them to a Halloween celebration campout in Kentucky and a great fall color tour in Tennessee and North Dakota. Listen carefully and - between the lines - Mike shares how they find free places to overnight when traveling from place to place, besides the old favorites like Walmart and Cracker Barrel. He doesn't want to name names and spoil a good thing but, if you have a small motorhome that doesn't scream "RV!!!!," Mike suggests lots of other places. JENNIFER'S TIP OF THE WEEK: Star Shower Laser Light Projector We got this idea from visiting the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky last week. It’s a way to decorate your RV…or your full sticks and bricks house for that matter – with literally thousands, of beautifully colored sparkling lights. This is what the Star Shower looks like when projected on an RV They’re billed as Christmas lights, but we saw folks down in Kentucky who were using them as Halloween decorations. They’re called the Star Shower and they really aren't lights in the traditional sense at all. You don’t have to hang string after string of lights. Not even a single sting. The Star Shower is a laser light projection system. They cover 600 square feet and utilize a tiny projector to shine all over your RV. This is so cool. The Star Shower laser light allows you to display thousands of green stars, or a green and red star combination. You can select whatever display you want. The company says one set will cover the typical single story house. Now the folks we saw using this had two Star Shower Projectors going and it perfectly covered their entire 32-foot-long Fifth Wheel, plus a size-able part of the ground around. The display is very bright and we thought they were real lights until we got right next to the RV. They require a 110-volt electric system to work, either from your RV or from the shore power electric box outside the rig. They are available all over the place, at many big box and hardware stores or directly from Amazon at (http://amzn.to/1Xu7b0c) $39. These are a lot of fun. We might use one at our home this holiday season…besides the RV. [spp-player] LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK: Finding the right RV, understanding lithium batteries, finding RV park reviews From listener Dolores came a question about finding an RV she saw a video on some time back: Q: ..it was electric, had solar panels pre-installed on the roof, and you could run all of the systems from a tablet! They advertised leaving the rig and wanting to turn the lights back on or check the dog (there was an inside camera). The table piece really intrigued me along with the camera. I travel for a military contractor 3-6 months at a time and rather than hotels I'd like to have an RV so no matter where I am (meaning parked on post or at an armory) my home is outside and I can keep an eye on Yogi (my rescued dog). Do you have any idea which RV I was looking at? Uggggh, I can't believe I didn't save it as a favorite! Thanks for any leads you can give me that will take me to what may be my perfect RV! [8:33] A: We suggest she look at the Roadtrek TS Adventurous. That’s the model she was intrigued by but it was from an old video. Since then, the many feautres that caught her eye with the TS are available in other models. It has the innovative and interactive Coach-Connect monitoring system (optional) and Two deployable work stations. But Mike suggests other solutions may work for her as well. Various third party Wi-Fi cameras and a data card can help her keep track of her dog. Most all Roadtrek models now offer Solar packages, as well. Q: Theresa writes: We just bought our 210 Popular and it was part of the ECO200 promotion that started in August through September 30. One of the Facebook members commented on their ECO 800 and how they are able to camp using the batteries for an extended period. I would love to have m