Summertime and RVing is easy

Title of this post used words of a song from this

 

I have taken a long break from this blog and now that it's summertime, it's time to get started again.  It is now past Memorial Day weekend, which, according to the National Parks and Recreation Association, is officially the beginning of summer.

I figured I could start the summer reminding us all of some great websites that can help with our summer RV plans (or dreaming of summer RV plans as the case may be).

RV Camping with Woodalls.com - WOW!  This has a lot of great information, including (there is much more, so don't think this is all - I'm just including some highlights): RV Camping, Tent Camping, Family Camping, Tips for RVing, Places and Parks RVers must see this month, their own blog, Browse RV Camps by state.  Go check it out - I'm sure you'll find something you're wanting.

Campgrounds from Woodalls.com - Same as above and also a place you can enter a sweepstakes for voting for your favorite North American Campground as well as register for their Diamond Club which gives you many benefits for free.   I also noticed a Rally - The "Greatest RV Event in the World."  If you're interested in socializing with RVers, why not check out this RV event?!

RV Parks from TrailerLifeDirectory.com -This is Woodall's partner site. It is also the Official Directory of the Good Sam Club, which means that you can find many RV Parks that are featured as well as top rated Good Sam RV Parks across the nation.  For those of you who may not know what the Good Sam Club is, there is also an explanation on the website.  You can also make online reservations as well as take virtual tours.  You can learn about what's happening in RV news.  There are plenty other things you might be interested in on the site, and it's definitely worth a look (if not a bookmark, tweet or post on Facebook).


Sorry it's so short, I've gotta get back into the swing of things.  Let me know what else you'd like to know information about this summer.

Reserve America

Many thousands of people each month are looking for this website, and there aren't many searches comparitively, so I thought this deserved a mention.  The website is: http://www.reserveamerica.com/

I can see why many people are looking for this website in particular.  It has a lot of good information about where to go when camping.  There isn't just RV camping, there is also: tent camping, trailer, group sites, day sites, boat sites, horse sites.  You can choose any state of the continental USA plus Alaska.  You can also choose a park name or zip code/city near which you want to stay.   You can even choose the dates you want to stay to find out if that place is available when you want it.  OH MY!  It even gives you the option to choose what size site you want, with certain hookups, whether you need a pet-friendly place, if you want to be near a water, near hiking/biking/fishing/hunting, winter activities, equipment rental places, golf, horse-back riding.  Unfortunately, I didn't see an option for Wi-Fi camping spots.  Overall, however, this part of the site is the most extensive of all I've researched.   

WOW!  The map is also more extensive than the other websites I've researched as well.  There are little green dots where on the map the campsites of which they have information are located.  That's quite a nice feature - then if you know roughly where in each state on the map you are staying, you can see how many campsites are nearby.

The next blue tab at the top of the screen has spotlights, and it looks like most states are included.  There is a little blurb and picture of all of the campsites recommended.  I thought I'd just see a few sites included, but, no, there are many campsites all around the nation included.  I can tell that many hours went into research (or maybe these places are where the website staff have stayed and enjoyed).

The next tab is where you can find outdoor gear, and also some jobs through Monster.  That's nice and handy if you forgot some important gear.

In the next tab, it takes you to links for Hunting and Fishing Licences in each state.  That's very useful and informational.  It's sortof like they thought of everything needed to have a good camping trip and included it into their site.

The last tab is where you can include an account and reserve campspots.  Again, the URL is: http://www.reserveamerica.com/

I highly urge you to go to this site the next time you want to look for any type of camp spot.  
 

Solar Panels for RVs????

Click HERE

What are solar panels?  They are basically flat material that is generally put on the roof of a house (or might work for an RV - why not try?) to save money on electricity bills.  From what I've learned about RVs, they take a LOT of electricity. 

Why not?  Solar Panels can be made for homes.  Why not check out this website and see if it would work for your RV?  Wouldn't you like to save money on electricity?  Also, some of you aren't full-time RVers, so you could use this on your house.  Why not use the natural renewable energy source called the sun that we receive (and many bask in whenever possible) each day to use for something that helps save money and helps the environment as well?!

So, looking at the photo above, if you use solar energy, you aren't CREATING man-made energy.  As we all know, natural energy is better for the environment.  The more natural, the better.  Not only will solar panels help your electricity bill and save the environment, making your own is a LOT cheaper than buying one.

I heard a couple of quotes that a retail solar panel can run between about $600-800 or, if installed, can be upwards of $20,000.  Why not save that money by doing it by yourself.  It could be a bonding experience with a child or spouse, or, some needed alone time. 

Let me know if I can help in any way of if you have any questions about this information.

RV Park Reviews - take two

I already posted about one website a few months ago RVParkReviews.com, but I wanted to include some other websites that are similar, so to give you more options.

• http://www.campgroundreport.com/ This website lets you choose a certain area in the United States to find an RV Park review and also lets you submit your own critiques of an RV Park at which you've stayed.  It has a simple, yet useful, design.  It also includes tent campground reviews.
• http://rvbuddy.com/ This site also has tent camping as well as RV Park Reviews.  You can also rate the RV Parks at which you've stayed.  It is in blog form, with the posts about the RV Park sites reviewed on the left and the states to choose from on the right.  I like how it lets you just browse through the last sites reviewed or go to a certain state if you want.  You can also comment on the reviews if you agree or disagree to give other RVers your opinion.  
• http://www.rvparking.com/ You can rate RV Parks, read reviews, find an RV Park and also read their blog.  This seems to be a website which has it all.
• http://www.americaonwheels.com/ This site has an RV Park directory, place to review (rate) RV Parks, articles about full-timing/industry resources/trip planning and directions of how to get from point A to point B (trip planning).
• http://www.rvshark.com/ This site has a very simple design, but basically has information about RV Parks and reviews for USA.  It advertises it also has reviews for RV Parks in Mexico and Canada, though I couldn't find that information.
• http://www.gocampingamerica.com WOW!  This website appears to have it all.  It has RV Park Directory, Reviews, tent camping, stuff for kids to do, RV rental, park highlights, park events, photo gallery, products to buy, information for park owners and even a few destinations where they went. 

Happy hunting and hope that helped!

Money making while RVing

I just started a new website that talks about affiliate marketing (read next paragraph for more information) and also might help in finding what to get for those who are hard to buy for on your Christmas list.  There are many products to buy and some you can sign up to sell.  If you have access to the internet, or can find some at the RV Parks at which you stay, you can make money.

I explain more of it on my website (on the first page- right hand side - third blue box down "Navigation" - second article down called "selling products you didn't create"), but many companies will pay affiliates to advertise their products.  Clickbank is the biggest company I know that you can just pick a product you'd be interested in telling others about (of course it's always best to buy the product first and test it out for yourself, but it's not necessary), sign up and start promoting.  Recently, I've been getting e-mails from some people who have been able to pull in 6-figures (I'm talking upwords of $200,000) a month by reviewing and promoting products.  I don't make that much - yet.

However, if you're interested in learning more about it, I also have some articles throughout the website that you can learn more about it.  Feel free to comment on this blog post, or ask me questions through my e-mail (lpstarr@gmail.com) for more information.  If you would like to be a full-time RVer, or be able to STAY a full-time RVer, this is the simplest (not easiest - that would be the lottery) way I know of to make money where you don't have to go to school to learn and you can make money as you earn.

The URL for my website (or you can click on the word "website" above) is: http://www.gincomes.com/7689
Like I said before, feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Guest Blogger - I was on her blog

Me a few years ago

   
     I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I just wanted to give another community more of me - what I feel I can give.  I wanted to reach out to another RV community who has a certain perspective and give them another perspective.  If any of you would like to be a guest blogger on my post to give this community a different perspective, I welcome that.      

    
     The last blog post "Gratitude and RVing" was posted on Levonne Gaddy's blog.   The URL to this post is:  http://acamphosthousewifesmeanderings.blogspot.com/2010/11/gratitude-by-lisa-starr-guest-poster.html
 Levonne, like it says in the URL, is a RV Park host's wife.  She has such a different take on life than I do (and many other RVing blogs of those who are going RVing and blogging about their travels) because she's living the lifestyle of running the RV Park.  She discusses what she discovers and she just seems happy and enjoying her life.  Sure, sometimes she has struggles, but so do all of us.  The main point is that she shares from her heart something that she feels will benefit others.  She tells you in the moment what's going on and how her life is each day.  It's fun to get that different perspective.
    Please visit her blog at: http://acamphosthousewifesmeanderings.blogspot.com to enjoy the beauty of differences in this world.

Gratitude and RVing

     On Thanksgiving Day, I feel that this is very appropriate to discuss.  First of all, I think Gratitude and RVing go hand in hand because gratitude is what you have before you go RVing (first and hopefully every time), get to the point you can go full-time if that is your goal and to help things work properly.  I'm going to mention these and explain them.

    Think back to the first time you went RVing (if you haven't gone yet, check out my blog post on the subject to prepare)- FEEL that excitement again.  What were you excited about?  Finally living your dream?  Discovering a new way to travel?  Saving money on a rental car and hotel room?  The sites you would see?  Being on a vacation with the love or loves of your life?  Or, maybe it was simply the opportunity to go on a long-needed vacation to someplace special.  RVing is such a special lifestyle, or vacation tactic; I hope you enjoy every trip you take and are grateful for the experiences.

    If RVing full-time is a realized dream, when did you start having this dream?  When did you achieve the seemingly impossible dream?  What steps did you take and obstacles did you overcome to get there?  Where have you been since then?  Explain the experience, either in your mind or as a comment.  Are you still grateful for this lifestyle?  What can you do to be more grateful for this wonderful opportunity?

    When you're grateful, more things come to be grateful for - it's called the Law of Attraction (The Secret is the best book I've seen on this topic if you want to know more).  Basically, what this means in RVing is, if you are grateful for your RV working properly when it does, you'll bring more times of the RV working properly.  It's weird, but inanimate objects like an RV can feel when you're giving it positive (or negative, as the case may be) energy.  Sure, you still may need to make repairs, but I dare you to try me on this one and see if your RV works better for longer.  You can just say "Thank you" either out loud or silently directed toward the RV.

     Basically, gratitude is just great for everything, from life to RVing.  It can help you enjoy RVing more, dream higher of obtaining and RV (or better RV) sooner, and can also help your RV work better.  I know these may sound strange, but I'd like to hear your stories in relation to this post.  I'd like to know what happens and how gratitude helps you.

Whatever you do or don't do, just remember to be grateful.