Your channel has given me more practical information than any other RV resource channel by a long shot. Whether it's more info about solar, or boondocking, or pretty much anything technical, you guys are the best! And this type of thing on top camping sites helps me ponder along with you what makes a good campsite.
I love how it is the experience that makes for an awesome campground for you. Fireflies! Wine! Shakespeare! What a year you've had. Thank you for sharing your experiences. Can't wait to visit some of those same places.
Great report. Best to you on the boat. We did both for many years and loved it all. Looking fwd to 2017. BTW makes me really want to explore the east more, as I for 60+ years still can't get enough of the west.
You two are such an amazing couple. Soulmates for sure. Enjoying all your videos. Will start my traveling next year. Trying to learn as much as possible before I start out. Thank you so much.
Also, I had typed that comment before finishing the video and seeing that you guys did a quick summation of your "rent" each month. It is great to see that because we want to travel at a similar pace, and budgeted much more. As first time full-timers, we wanted to really make sure our bases were covered. If you don't mind me asking, what's the fuel efficiency like on your rig?
Glad you're out enjoying our local scenery. We've camped at O.S. several times. Thanks for all the great content, the hubby and I just love your videos.
We haven't brought our first rv yet. Thanks to channels like yours we are motivated to do this. Great video Thanks for Sharing. Hope to see you on the road.
Your mentioning having maintenence performed in New Jersey made me think that it would be a good topic to share your knowledge of the various facilities across the country. I think it would be very useful to a lot of people.
We have a vintage bus conversion... the number of people who can use the shops we have to seek out for maintenance are very little. That said, we've pretty much done videos or live casts from most places we've stopped for a while. We did Zephyr's 5th Birthday from that NJ maintenance stop. Archive should be in the channel somewhere.
I definitely agree on the Schroon Manor Campsite in the ADK.. New York is such a beautiful state.. but hey I'm a New Yorker..lol great video keep up the great work..
I live only 25 minutes away from oscar schemer park! I just came across your channel and loving it. We do not plan to go full time but would like to RV part time and your info is wonderful!
We are in Saddle Mountain BLM right now. Our family just started full timing and so far this is our favorite place to boondock. Hope to run into you two sometime.
Great video, especially the cost summaries at the end. It really gives perspective and says a lot about the feasibility of the lifestyle. It would be hard to find an ho-hum apartment for that monthly rate. Staying a 4 night minimum really reduces the fuel part of the equation which in our case it far and away the biggest hit. Planning a tour of western Canada from Georgia this spring and trying to do it on a budget :-) I have a feeling that your trawler videos will be even more interesting than the bus :-)
thanks for the info., i wrote down 4 places that i will now be staying at when i travel up the east coast. now in Wildwood, FL at a Thousand Trails, which i find to be a bargain.
Look up Gamble Rogers. He was a singer/songwriter/troubadour. Find his song, "moose turd pie" about the handy dancer building the railroad. He died trying to save a drowning man. A real hero.
My wife and I love Oscar Scherer. Go there quite often. What site did you get? You need to take a side trip down Casey Key Rd, just west of the park. Go down Blackburn Point Rd. and get on Casey Key - go all the way down to North Jetty Fish Camp @ Nokomis Beach. Love the big houses. Make sure you take the little car. Enjoy
If you like unique theaters then if you're ever around RI look into "Theater By the Sea". It's right on the ocean in South Kingston and listed on the National Historic Places. During the Summer NYC actors put on plays and afterwards mingle with the audience. Interesting people to talk with. It's a cozy little theater so plan way ahead because seats are very limited. I think dining afterwards is part of the whole experience.
Good luck with the boat thing this year. Personally, I'm looking forward to your own perspective with the RV + boat + (x2) tec-heads review. As we all know other converted RV'ers=>Boat nomads are surviving (GWTW's) even with those incredible costs/outlays/servicing/food costs/certifications/expenses/wifi costs/unconnected moments.... O' wait, are you REALLY ready to be unconnected for long periods of time!?... you two are a different (IT/Internet depend) breed lol! :)
We're also planning a very different boating adventure than our buddies the Wynn's and Our Odyssey. Ours will mainly be along rivers, canals and the ICW. Much more opportunity for connectivity similar to US based RVers.
Great Video! Off topic, curious, what's your opinion on att's grandfathered unlimited data plan, is it still worth the price considering the other data plans available?
The AT&T unlimited plans don't include any mobile hotspot/tethering use - so unless on-device data is all you are concerned about, it's not overly useful as a 'mobile internet'. Here's our guide to unlimited data options: www.rvmobileinternet.com/unlimited
The southern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is in Virginia Beach not Norfolk. An yes it is a major hassle getting off the island with a large rig, especially in the warmer weather months, lots heavier traffic.
Yes.. we love NM. We spent a bit of time there in 2015. Here's our travel wrap-up for that year: www.technomadia.com/2015/12/our-2015-travel-route-year-in-review/
Technomadia: In your Favorite Campgrounds of 2016 video you mentioned becoming Elks. I have two questions, and I expect other RV’s do as well. Perhaps you would consider discussing the Elks membership in one of your videos.My questions are: 1. Elks require that you be sponsored. Many of us do not happen know anyone that is a member, and this requirement is an obstacle. Is this a rigorous requirement or more of a formality? I am wondering if one inquires will the lodge “find” you a sponsor or are you entirely on your own? 2. When applying were you up front about being only interested in using the camping benefit, or did you represent yourselves as being interested in other aspects of being Elks. (ie: Are the Elks welcoming of members that are RV’ers)I might suggest interviewing other RV’rs about their Elks Membership experience, or even interviewing an officer of a Lodge.I hope you find my suggestions helpful. I will keep watching for whatever video content you may create about your Elks experience.Bill
It varies quite widely by lodge. We tried to join the 'traditional' way at Chris' dad's lodge - and it was too complex and cumbersome. They required you stick to the rules. Then we found lodges that are more RV-er friendly, and some lodges will do a mass-induction at Escapee's rallies. (Which is kinda how we did it.)
These are your 12 favorite "campgrounds" - I'm curious, 12 out of how many (extended stay/non-transit) campgrounds. Do you boondock at Walmart, etc. when you are traveling between places you plan for extended stays, if not, how do you manage that?
We do occasionally overnight in public parking lots if we're making miles ... but we like to try to avoid it. Our preference is to not travel more than a couple hours in a day, get to camp by mid-afternoon and plop down in one spot for a week or two.
Awesome list of places!!! Thanks!!! I see you went thru my hometown of Del Rio, TX, but it didn't make the list.. LOL Look me up if you ever make it back. Congrats our your next adventure.
Seminole Canyon SP actually made our honorable mentions list on the written version of this. We left those out in the video in consideration of length :) Did love it there!
Great! Hope you got the see the historic pictographs. its kind of crazy to think how old those are and have survived this long.. Thanks and safe travels!!
are RV people really nice bc a few videos I watched on the RTR event the people was like don't come up to me except the times I say you can ...and I'm parking out on my own bc I don't want to see people ...I want to full time but wondering if yall are nice or moody and mean
RV people are like any other on the planet - a wide variety. Some do like their solitude, and some are also very social. To find the social ones, get involved with the many groups out there (RVillage.com is a great place to start).
We love meeting people in our travels and we value our at-home time (we do work full time after all and need to concentrate). It's a difficult balance for us sometimes, given how visible we are - most folks are respectful and wait until we're out and about before saying hi. But too many knocks on our door does get disruptive for us.
Your channel has given me more practical information than any other RV resource channel by a long shot. Whether it's more info about solar, or boondocking, or pretty much anything technical, you guys are the best! And this type of thing on top camping sites helps me ponder along with you what makes a good campsite.
Awww... thanks. Love hearing it.
I love how it is the experience that makes for an awesome campground for you. Fireflies! Wine! Shakespeare! What a year you've had. Thank you for sharing your experiences. Can't wait to visit some of those same places.
Sounds like you guys had a great year, thanks for sharing your journey and experience, have a great time and journey in this new year.
Enjoy listening to you guys
My wife and I are enjoying your videos and learning a lot. Your videos are informative, fun, and to the point. Thank you!
Great report. Best to you on the boat. We did both for many years and loved it all. Looking fwd to 2017. BTW makes me really want to explore the east more, as I for 60+ years still can't get enough of the west.
Super happy that you had a great 2016. Love your videos and wish you both the best.
You two are such an amazing couple. Soulmates for sure. Enjoying all your videos. Will start my traveling next year. Trying to learn as much as possible before I start out. Thank you so much.
Boat and bus! Best of both worlds!
We are finally hitting the road full time in July, and you guys have been an amazing source of information! Thank you guys for all you do.
Also, I had typed that comment before finishing the video and seeing that you guys did a quick summation of your "rent" each month. It is great to see that because we want to travel at a similar pace, and budgeted much more. As first time full-timers, we wanted to really make sure our bases were covered. If you don't mind me asking, what's the fuel efficiency like on your rig?
We get about 7 mpg in the bus (diesel). You can view all our travel costs at: www.technomadia.com/costlog
Glad you're out enjoying our local scenery. We've camped at O.S. several times. Thanks for all the great content, the hubby and I just love your videos.
Great list! I've added a few of your favorites to my own "to-do" list. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for taking me along.
We haven't brought our first rv yet. Thanks to channels like yours we are motivated to do this.
Great video
Thanks for Sharing. Hope to see you on the road.
Your mentioning having maintenence performed in New Jersey made me think that it would be a good topic to share your knowledge of the various facilities across the country. I think it would be very useful to a lot of people.
We have a vintage bus conversion... the number of people who can use the shops we have to seek out for maintenance are very little. That said, we've pretty much done videos or live casts from most places we've stopped for a while. We did Zephyr's 5th Birthday from that NJ maintenance stop. Archive should be in the channel somewhere.
Enjoy traveling through you guys. The lifestyle is doable but takes preparation. You make it look easy
Only because we did our preparations a long time ago. ;)
Great information on the campgrounds, I'm definitely going to try a few of the spots you've stayed at. Happy trails and sails in 2017. 👍
We are privacy freaks too!!!! Love our solitude....good job on the video - thanks for all the great information!
Great info. We are headed out for 8 weeks to do northern cross country from SC!!
Enjoyed the information and the walk with you :)
I definitely agree on the Schroon Manor Campsite in the ADK.. New York is such a beautiful state.. but hey I'm a New Yorker..lol great video keep up the great work..
wish I would have known you were at Oscar Scherer state park. I would have loved to visit, I don't live far from it. Enjoy 2017, happy trails.
I live only 25 minutes away from oscar schemer park! I just came across your channel and loving it. We do not plan to go full time but would like to RV part time and your info is wonderful!
Amazing information ! Thanks for doing this !!!!!
We are in Saddle Mountain BLM right now. Our family just started full timing and so far this is our favorite place to boondock. Hope to run into you two sometime.
that was an excellent video!! thx!!
Thanks!!
Great video, especially the cost summaries at the end. It really gives perspective and says a lot about the feasibility of the lifestyle. It would be hard to find an ho-hum apartment for that monthly rate. Staying a 4 night minimum really reduces the fuel part of the equation which in our case it far and away the biggest hit. Planning a tour of western Canada from Georgia this spring and trying to do it on a budget :-) I have a feeling that your trawler videos will be even more interesting than the bus :-)
This was very helpful. I just subscribed and bookmarked your site today. You guys should write a book!
We have. Two of them :)
Looks like I have some purchasing to do this afternoon then! Thanks again for sharing your experience and tips with us newbies!
thanks for the info., i wrote down 4 places that i will now be staying at when i travel up the east coast. now in Wildwood, FL at a Thousand Trails, which i find to be a bargain.
thanks
We live near the Neuse River and it's pronounced "Noose". Love your channel!
Thanks!
Since you're elks, next time you are in Louisiana stay at the Slidell Lodge. It is my absolute favorite of anywhere we've stayed at
Thanks for the tip!
Look up Gamble Rogers. He was a singer/songwriter/troubadour. Find his song, "moose turd pie" about the handy dancer building the railroad.
He died trying to save a drowning man. A real hero.
My wife and I love Oscar Scherer. Go there quite often. What site did you get? You need to take a side trip down Casey Key Rd, just west of the park. Go down Blackburn Point Rd. and get on Casey Key - go all the way down to North Jetty Fish Camp @ Nokomis Beach. Love the big houses. Make sure you take the little car. Enjoy
We were in site 104, loved it. Already off to the next location though.
If you like unique theaters then if you're ever around RI look into "Theater By the Sea". It's right on the ocean in South Kingston and listed on the National Historic Places. During the Summer NYC actors put on plays and afterwards mingle with the audience. Interesting people to talk with. It's a cozy little theater so plan way ahead because seats are very limited. I think dining afterwards is part of the whole experience.
Good luck with the boat thing this year. Personally, I'm looking forward to your own perspective with the RV + boat + (x2) tec-heads review. As we all know other converted RV'ers=>Boat nomads are surviving (GWTW's) even with those incredible costs/outlays/servicing/food costs/certifications/expenses/wifi costs/unconnected moments.... O' wait, are you REALLY ready to be unconnected for long periods of time!?... you two are a different (IT/Internet depend) breed lol! :)
We're also planning a very different boating adventure than our buddies the Wynn's and Our Odyssey. Ours will mainly be along rivers, canals and the ICW. Much more opportunity for connectivity similar to US based RVers.
Gamble Park is an Awesome spot. I live 30 minutes away - but hard to get into at times, especially beachside... book way in advance... :)
Or snag last minute cancellations :)
Great Video! Off topic, curious, what's your opinion on att's grandfathered unlimited data plan, is it still worth the price considering the other data plans available?
The AT&T unlimited plans don't include any mobile hotspot/tethering use - so unless on-device data is all you are concerned about, it's not overly useful as a 'mobile internet'. Here's our guide to unlimited data options: www.rvmobileinternet.com/unlimited
The southern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is in Virginia Beach not Norfolk. An yes it is a major hassle getting off the island with a large rig, especially in the warmer weather months, lots heavier traffic.
It's actually in the middle of the bay :) We stayed over in late June and passed through again in early October, neither was very heavy traffic.
Are you going to be in Tampa for the 2017 Florida RV Super Show?January 17-22 2017 Florida State Fairgrounds. Would love to get to meet you both.
Yup, we're aiming to pop in and check it out. We've never been before.
My favorite photos are the ones with KiKi.
where are you guys? it looks warm!
Oscar Scherer State Park - Sarasota, FL
Sorry Texas didn't make the list :-( I am looking around for a Mini Cooper now and am curious if yours is a Standard or Automatic Transmission?
Standard.. we have a video from about a year ago about the Mini Cooper setup.
Went to Tonopah (Google Earth) was impossible to find the spot you are talking about. More specifics, please.
We detailed it in our blog post about the stop... click through to the accompanying post for this video, then to the post about Saddle Mountain.
Blog post? Okay, I'll start looking. Thanks.
Do you have any spots you like in New Mexico?
Yes.. we love NM. We spent a bit of time there in 2015. Here's our travel wrap-up for that year: www.technomadia.com/2015/12/our-2015-travel-route-year-in-review/
Is an $8k maintenance bill typical for a vintage class A??
Nah.. we've had some years that were $30k and others that were under $3k. :) Check out our 5 Years in a Vintage Bus video for an overview.
How do you like your bikes? Worth the money? Any advice on bikes?
We love our bikes.. we'll get a video out some day.
Technomadia:
In your Favorite Campgrounds of 2016 video you mentioned becoming Elks.
I have two questions, and I expect other RV’s do as well. Perhaps you would consider discussing the Elks membership in one of your videos.My questions are:
1. Elks require that you be sponsored. Many of us do not happen know anyone that is a member, and this requirement is an obstacle. Is this a rigorous requirement or more of a formality? I am wondering if one inquires will the lodge “find” you a sponsor or are you entirely on your own?
2. When applying were you up front about being only interested in using the camping benefit, or did you represent yourselves as being interested in other aspects of being Elks. (ie: Are the Elks welcoming of members that are RV’ers)I might suggest interviewing other RV’rs about their Elks Membership experience, or even interviewing an officer of a Lodge.I hope you find my suggestions helpful. I will keep watching for whatever video content you may create about your Elks experience.Bill
It varies quite widely by lodge. We tried to join the 'traditional' way at Chris' dad's lodge - and it was too complex and cumbersome. They required you stick to the rules. Then we found lodges that are more RV-er friendly, and some lodges will do a mass-induction at Escapee's rallies. (Which is kinda how we did it.)
These are your 12 favorite "campgrounds" - I'm curious, 12 out of how many (extended stay/non-transit) campgrounds. Do you boondock at Walmart, etc. when you are traveling between places you plan for extended stays, if not, how do you manage that?
Oops, I just re-read your description: answer 12/80. What about traveling between the 80 spots?
We do occasionally overnight in public parking lots if we're making miles ... but we like to try to avoid it. Our preference is to not travel more than a couple hours in a day, get to camp by mid-afternoon and plop down in one spot for a week or two.
like a little info on your E bike's
We're overdo on covering them... at this point, there are newer models out, so kinda getting a little late. These are the e-Joes.
Awesome list of places!!! Thanks!!! I see you went thru my hometown of Del Rio, TX, but it didn't make the list.. LOL Look me up if you ever make it back. Congrats our your next adventure.
Seminole Canyon SP actually made our honorable mentions list on the written version of this. We left those out in the video in consideration of length :) Did love it there!
Great! Hope you got the see the historic pictographs. its kind of crazy to think how old those are and have survived this long.. Thanks and safe travels!!
$17 a night is cheap. From our trip to Alaska last summer, we look forward to the Forest Service and BLM campgrounds.
Are you going to be there on the 21st or 22nd(Sat or Sun)?
No, we won't be able to be there over the weekend.. attending a boating seminar down in Ft. Myers.
are RV people really nice bc a few videos I watched on the RTR event the people was like don't come up to me except the times I say you can ...and I'm parking out on my own bc I don't want to see people ...I want to full time but wondering if yall are nice or moody and mean
RV people are like any other on the planet - a wide variety. Some do like their solitude, and some are also very social. To find the social ones, get involved with the many groups out there (RVillage.com is a great place to start).
thanks...I like my privacy too but not to the point of being hateful...
We love meeting people in our travels and we value our at-home time (we do work full time after all and need to concentrate). It's a difficult balance for us sometimes, given how visible we are - most folks are respectful and wait until we're out and about before saying hi. But too many knocks on our door does get disruptive for us.
I love people but kinda nervous bout approaching campers just to talk ..but I guess I will just feel it out
1st