Grab bag of RV catch-up topics
This week on the StressLess Camping RV podcast we are sort of cleaning out our to-do list. We have a few stories that aren’t enough to fill an episode, but just right for a grab bag of camping topics! Plus there’s big news from some of our partners and we may have our own news.
Other places to hear the podcast
Mentioned on this episode
Review of the Rockwood Mini Lite 2506FK: https://www.stresslesscamping.com/honest-rv-reviews/2506fk-2025
Clime weather app for Apple or Android: https://climeradar.com/
Forest River Owners Group: https://forestriverfrog.com
RV Miles Homecoming: https://rvmiles.com/homecoming/
Union Pacific Big Boy locomotive: https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/4014/
Podcast Episode 255 - updates from the FMCA
Honest review of the 2025 Forest River NoBo 20.5 travel trailer
If you’re confused about solar, battery power or just want to upgrade your RV we have found the solutions from ABC Upfitters are both reliable and exceptional.
We have a podcast episode and video where you can learn more here.
Our trusted partners - RV Discounts and Deals
Automated transcript of StressLess Camping RV podcast episode 272
Peggy Barthel
This week on the Stress is Camping RV Podcast, we're sort of cleaning out our to do list.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. We we've got a few stories that aren't enough to fill an entire episode, but just right for a grab bag of camping topics.
Peggy Barthel
You might call it the grab bag of ketchup?
Tony Barthel
I guess so.
Peggy Barthel
Or whatever condiment you might like.
Tony Barthel
Wow. I relish that. Hey, you know, this podcast is all about cutting the mustard.
Peggy Barthel
Oh, boy. I'm Peggy.
Tony Barthel
And I'm Tony, and we're 2 RV industry veterans who travel part time
Peggy Barthel
In a small trailer.
Tony Barthel
Looking to share big adventures and help you with great tips
Peggy Barthel
Tricks.
Tony Barthel
And discounts.
Peggy Barthel
We'll get our small trailer very soon.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Boy, in, uh, like, a week and a half or something like that.
Peggy Barthel
That's right. So you all know that we or you most know that we've been most of the summer without our travel trailer, our Rockwood Mini Lite 2205 s, first because it was getting review reviewed. No. It was getting repaired. Reviews are what he does.
Peggy Barthel
It was getting repaired, and then because we were just gonna be back here for a short time, we left it, and we get to pick it up, and this time we're gonna keep it.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. That's the plan. That's the plan, Stan. Um, unless we get a new trailer, but Well Alright.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Oh, oh, sorry. I thought you were gonna say something bad. No.
Tony Barthel
No. No. No.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. I suppose that could happen. And if it does, then we'll maybe have to leave it again at ABC Upfitters.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. So if we do switch trailers, the new one that we're looking at is not available with the power package from the factory, but we don't that's alright because our friends at ABC Outfitters would be the place we'd go for a great solar and lithium RV power upgrade.
Peggy Barthel
For sure.
Tony Barthel
And the nice thing is they would use a 100% master volt components, so everything would work together. They are originally from the marine industry where, basically, there's not a lot of failure tolerance. Right? I mean, if you're out in the ocean, you don't want your stuff to break.
Peggy Barthel
No way.
Tony Barthel
So this Master Bolt product is is really high quality. We've had now 2 of these systems and they're great.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
And our friends are getting the Master Bolt system through ABC Outfitters installed in their RV as we their RV as we speak. That's right. They sure are. And they have the same floor plan as the one we're interested in. Well, kind of.
Tony Barthel
Well, mostly.
Peggy Barthel
They have the same number, but
Tony Barthel
they this
Peggy Barthel
year, 2205, Rockwood did a lot of changes on that floor plan.
Tony Barthel
Wait. You mean Did
Peggy Barthel
I say 220? Yes, you did.
Tony Barthel
2024. This year. Or 2025. Oh my gosh.
Peggy Barthel
There's too many
Tony Barthel
of the same number.
Peggy Barthel
This year for 220. Okay. So let me try that again. For 2205, Rockwood. For 2025.
Peggy Barthel
Heavens. For 2025, Rockwood has made some changes to that floor plan.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. We have the full review at our home on the web.
Peggy Barthel
And that floor plan is the 2506 f k.
Tony Barthel
Right.
Peggy Barthel
And the place that Steve and Kathy are having their system installed doesn't exist in the 2025 version.
Tony Barthel
The space is in the trailer. They are at ABC UPfitters as we speak. Right. And so that's the neat thing is they can customize these systems so that they work in your van. We just saw them do a monster 5th wheel with
Peggy Barthel
Well, like 14 12 or 14 12, I think, solar panels. 24100 That's insane. Watts insane. Watts of power on the roof.
Tony Barthel
Really, they work with you to decide what is right for you, how you like to camp, and then they put in a system and if things change over time as it did with our buddy Bill, they can also upgrade Mhmm. Or alter the systems to work for your camping style. So if you like that kind of thinking and you don't know what year it is or even if you do, give our friends at ABC Outfitters a call. And how would you do so?
Peggy Barthel
You can call 574-333-3225.
Tony Barthel
574-333-3225. There is a link in the show notes. Or
Peggy Barthel
Or you can go to their new website.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Abcupfitters.com.
Peggy Barthel
How long do we keep saying new? It's like new Coke. Right. It is only
Tony Barthel
way better than new Coke.
Peggy Barthel
Oh, it's been better than new Coke. But I guess it's new because it's only about a month old.
Tony Barthel
So Yeah. There you go. I think legally, 6 months is how long you Oh,
Peggy Barthel
well, we can keep saying that for a long time then.
Tony Barthel
How about a grab bag of ketchup?
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Mm, cat I don't even like ketchup.
Tony Barthel
Like ketchup. She doesn't like ketchup.
Peggy Barthel
Can we have a grab bag of mayo? Doesn't make any sense.
Tony Barthel
That sounds like a bad Halloween prank. Oh, and by the way, if you've got a story for our Halloween episode
Peggy Barthel
That's coming up.
Tony Barthel
It's coming up. So and we are always happy to have input from all of you. You guys have done a great job in the past. Yeah. We have a few stories of our own.
Peggy Barthel
So first thing, I guess, is that we went tent camping again.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. We had planned 3 days in the Jemez mountains, which is j e m e z, Jemez.
Peggy Barthel
That's right.
Tony Barthel
Right here in beautiful New Mexico.
Peggy Barthel
That's right. It was beautiful. We got we stayed at a campground that our friends, Michael and Mickey, found, and it was a great campground. It was called San Antonio Campground. It is a great campground.
Peggy Barthel
It was beautiful. Uh, there are some smaller sites and some larger sites. We didn't care because we had a tent. Right. Unfortunately, it just got so cold at night.
Peggy Barthel
We weren't really prepared.
Tony Barthel
Low forties, I believe.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. So I thought it was gonna be like maybe down to 50, and I thought that's okay. We can handle that. I took extra blankets to go on top of our RV super bags that we separated and each used individually on our cots. But even with an extra blanket, we were just super, super cold.
Peggy Barthel
So we did go home early. It was just we know now, And we've already like, in the morning as we tried to thaw out over Michael and Mickey's propane fire pit, we realized that if we took a we already have all those portable power Stations. Stations. So if we took a small electric heater or even if we got one of those propane gas buddies I
Tony Barthel
think it I don't know if one of those portable power stations. We have the largest one we have is the Jackery 1500, and we use that to run the cooler, the Weber 12 volt ice chest. Well, you know, you you've heard all this before, and, uh, induction cooktop. And we use the Jackery 1500 to run that. And over the we were probably there 30 hours total.
Tony Barthel
Right? We went the 1st day. So we had planned 3 days, and then we were late by a day.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. The first day, we just could not get ourselves together on time, so we were late.
Tony Barthel
So then we went, and it was beautiful. I mean, driving through the Jemez mountains, it's not what you would expect in New Mexico if you have this vision New Mexico is a desert. It's got this red rock like you'd think of in Sedona. It's got pine trees. It's mountainous.
Tony Barthel
There was a stream through this campground. I mean, it was it was really beautiful.
Peggy Barthel
Mhmm.
Tony Barthel
And we're really enjoying it up until about midnight.
Peggy Barthel
Midnight. At which point,
Tony Barthel
oh, la, la. Yeah. I mean, honestly, we could've left the cooler open, and the food would've stayed just as cold as it had with the power. So I was yapping on about the Jackery. I think over 30 hours, getting there, coming back it's only like an hour and a half from our house.
Tony Barthel
Getting there, coming back, running the cooler the whole time, running the cooler outside. I think we dropped to like 76%.
Peggy Barthel
No. No. I think it was about 50.
Tony Barthel
Was it because we're also using the induction
Peggy Barthel
cooktop But we also used it for the induction cooktop Right. To warm up our dinner and then to make our coffee. So
Tony Barthel
Yeah. You know? I think, no. One of those even the big Jackery probably would last maybe an hour or 2.
Peggy Barthel
With electric heater. But there's also those propane gas they're not they're not GasBuddy. Buddy heaters
Tony Barthel
Mister Buddy or
Peggy Barthel
whatever. Whatever they're called. Anyway, if we had just a small source of heat or if we were smart enough to maybe camp when it's a little bit warmer at night
Tony Barthel
Or if we had the trailer that has a furnace in it.
Peggy Barthel
Sure. And but that was the point was we said when we knew that the trailer was gonna be in Indiana for an extra time, let's try this tent camping thing that we're always talking about.
Tony Barthel
More time. I mean, the first time was a marvelous success. Yeah. The time in Wyoming when we went to see the big boy, it was a huge success. Was perfect.
Tony Barthel
Right. The temperature was perfect. This time, the temperature in the day was perfect, but overnight
Peggy Barthel
Just got little too cool for us. So maybe you like it really cold and you're fine with that. Maybe you're smart enough to take some kind of a heater with you.
Tony Barthel
My issue was I have no hair. Well, I Well, there's that. This hair. Right. But not this hair.
Peggy Barthel
So the top of your
Tony Barthel
head could be worn. Right. So my head's sticking out of the sleeping bag. We had the blanket and we had the RV super bag, but my head was freezing, freezing, freezing. I did not no me gusta.
Tony Barthel
It was no fun.
Peggy Barthel
So we definitely I I think we definitely want to tent camp in the future again. It's not that this turned us off of it completely. We did enjoy it, and we are really dialing in those things, like how long a Jackery will last and that kind of thing. We just have to be more cognizant of the weather and be a little bit more prepared with a hat and the heater.
Tony Barthel
I think would be fine. Would have been nice. Yeah. A beanie would have worked and I have 2 of them, including one that says grumpy on it.
Peggy Barthel
So that would have been appropriate. Yeah. It came from Disneyland. This might be the time of the year that you just put one of those in the truck and always have it in the truck.
Tony Barthel
Well, there's one in the camper,
Peggy Barthel
and that's where it is.
Tony Barthel
So, again, I mean, the goal is with this truck, which is 4 wheel drive and with the flighted air topper, is to leave the trailer at, like, a base camp and maybe go out for the night. And the the example I I've cited multiple times is going to Cerro Gordo.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Absolutely. We could camp down in the in the valley park depending on the time of year. Well, no. I was gonna say we could camp in on either side.
Peggy Barthel
We could camp on the Death Valley side, but I don't know if you can really get to Cerro Gordo easily from that side.
Tony Barthel
Road, but I'm not
Peggy Barthel
There's back road, but the point is if it's cool enough in Death Valley, it's too cold in Circle Corner for us to go tent camping.
Tony Barthel
Anyway, one of the things that that prompted is talk about our favorite weather app, which I looked at. And by the way, it did say it was gonna be in the fifties.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. That It lied. This is probably part of the problem. I don't know if there's a solution for this. When you have a weather app and you put, like, the town you're going to be in, let's say.
Peggy Barthel
So the closest weather station or something might be in Hamish Springs, but we were camped quite a bit higher than the the town itself. So unless you're able to pinpoint exactly where you are and find an app that will tell you what's gonna happen exactly where you're gonna be, you're you're just getting as close as possible. Right. And so we do use the Clime app quite a bit.
Tony Barthel
It's c l I m e. It's on the iPhone. I don't
Peggy Barthel
I think it's on all now.
Tony Barthel
Is it on Android?
Peggy Barthel
It's sync.
Tony Barthel
I don't know for sure. But it's from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, so it's your tax dollars hard at work.
Peggy Barthel
That's right. So it actually does have a map screen, so probably we could have zoomed in and found exactly where our campsite was to see if it gave us any more detailed information. But, I mean, you know, you're gonna get an estimate. There's never gonna be a 100%, like, to the decimal place proper, absolute answer. So
Tony Barthel
Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
Anyway, that is a great app for the most part. And so what? We survived. Yeah. We have something to talk about.
Peggy Barthel
We have a plan for next time. But, frankly
Tony Barthel
The plan is probably just bring the darn trailer.
Peggy Barthel
Well, for the most part, of course.
Tony Barthel
We are our fears first, and the tent camping is Yeah. Really kind of an auxiliary. Yeah. It's sort of like we're hamburger eaters most of the time, but every once in a while A
Peggy Barthel
steak tastes good?
Tony Barthel
Well, no. I was thinking like tuna.
Peggy Barthel
Oh. I went the wrong direction.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. No. I think the the the RV ing is is steak.
Peggy Barthel
We're steak eaters most of the time, but once in a while, you get a burger.
Tony Barthel
Okay. I still go tuna because I'm not a big fish eater. So which is, you know, even though there's something fishy about what I usually talk about.
Peggy Barthel
So anyway, next week, we will be in let me think. Net by next week, when you hear us, we will be in Indiana again.
Tony Barthel
Oh, absolutely.
Peggy Barthel
And we will be picking up the mini light, of course, and we'll be staying in the mini light, so we won't have to worry about the temperature quite so much. Nope. You know, daytime, still, I don't like cold, so I'll still be prepared because this is the time of year when it Yeah.
Tony Barthel
It it starts to get chilly. Too.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
So why we're going to Indiana? And we're linking up with Tony and Tina from TNT RV Yay. And a few other content creators. I think Josh, the RV nerd's gonna be there. Matt Foxcroft is gonna so it's a bunch of us people who do RV reviews
Peggy Barthel
That's right.
Tony Barthel
Because it's RV open house. And what that is is it's a big open house. It it's enormous. Well And it's where the RV industry brings all the latest stuff and puts it on display, and it's for dealers. So it's not really for we content creators.
Tony Barthel
In fact Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
And it's not for public. So don't get excited and ask how you can go. You can't really. Content creators are kinda not even loved.
Tony Barthel
No. They don't. They they are very restrictive at what they let us do, but we do get to see the new RVs. And that last year was the first time I was able to go by myself. I learned so much there.
Tony Barthel
Well, this year, we're going back, and Peggy gets to come with me.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. So I get to learn so much.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And it it's just really neat to see all the new stuff, but one of the things that we're going to be doing is spending the day at the airport with Lippert. And Lippert has Lippert makes, if you don't know, most of the chassis for RV, a lot of the suspension systems, a lot of the slide systems, just a lot of the pieces that RVs are made out of.
Peggy Barthel
Mhmm.
Tony Barthel
They have rented an airport where they're going to be showing off some of the new chassis technology that they've come up with in the in the recent past, including all new 2 brand new suspension systems, anti lock braking systems. I don't know what all else because we have to wait to go there.
Peggy Barthel
But we will get to go there, and we'll get to see what Lippert's got on the back burner or on the front burner maybe now Yeah. And get to check that out. So that'll be a fun day for us. Part of this, my understanding, is they're gonna soak the living stink out of this airport
Tony Barthel
Oh. And they're gonna put us in a 5th wheel and drive us around with semi lock brakes and see what we think.
Peggy Barthel
Oh, goodness. Okay.
Tony Barthel
That should be we're gonna absolutely if if they let us, we're gonna have video of that
Peggy Barthel
For sure.
Tony Barthel
Because that's gonna be a hoot.
Peggy Barthel
That'll be fun. But we will be at this open house. And while it is for dealers, you know, we can as we if we don't get in the way, we can listen to representatives talk to dealers and things like that. I'm sure they would ask answer questions for us. So while we're there, do you have something that you would like us to find out?
Peggy Barthel
Do you want, you know, is there something in particular you wanna see? And I don't mean like the 2025, 2506 f k. I mean She got
Tony Barthel
the year.
Peggy Barthel
I mean, like, you know, what do chassis look like? I don't know. So, you know Yeah.
Tony Barthel
If you have a question that you'd like to have us find out for you, sort of an inside the industry question Yeah. Use our Facebook group and let's develop a collection of those because we'll be right there with the manufacturers. Yeah. Reach out. Let us know.
Peggy Barthel
Is that gonna be our question of the week this week?
Tony Barthel
Oh, why not? Sure.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. So when we get to question of the week, we'll ask again, and then we'll post it so that that helps you remember that that's what we wanna know this week.
Tony Barthel
Sounds good. So then once we leave Indiana, there are 2 exciting events that we're going to.
Peggy Barthel
We have about a week. So to get from Indiana to Amana, Iowa, we're gonna, like, harvest host hops hop is what I'm calling it. Okay. Where I'm looking at breweries, so we can stay at a different harvest host brewery each night of our trip between Indiana and Iowa. And one of those nights, I think the first night, we're actually meeting up with our friend Steve and Kathy so we can see their brand new ABC Upfitters power package system.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. That'll be great. Wait. So that that's gonna be one of their first actual tests Yeah. At a brewery at Harvest Host.
Tony Barthel
And Steve and I, we may both have a teeny affinity for beer.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. If you don't own stock in hops, this might be a good time to look into that. Right? Hey. Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
Then when we get to Amana, we'll be there for a while because 2 weekend events are happening in a row. 1st weekend that we're there is Frogtoberfest.
Tony Barthel
Right.
Peggy Barthel
And that is I mean, Amana has an Oktoberfest, and Frog has a group that goes to it. So it's not like they're making their own Oktoberfest. Frog, the Forest River owners group, is going as a group to attend Oktoberfest. So that will be on the 1st weekend that we're there, And then the next weekend that we're there is the RV Miles homecoming.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. With our friends, Jason and Abby, and a whole bunch of other folks from RV Miles gathering in the same campground as Right. FROGtoberfest. Just, uh, to clarify, FROG is the Forest River Owners Group. You may have already said that.
Peggy Barthel
I said that.
Tony Barthel
And it's they do a bunch of events, including the Balloon Fiesta. They go to that.
Peggy Barthel
They do. Well, they actually that event is a they go to Durango, Colorado for a couple of days, and then they go to Balloon Fiesta for a few days. So our friend Bill has done that, I think twice, and that is a really fun but if you have any RV that's built by any Forest River brand, you should look into being part of frog because they do of among other things. I mean, last month, we went to their, like, annual The yeah. The rally.
Peggy Barthel
Their annual rally, their big rally, but they also do all these events all over the country and lots of fun events. So this will be our other than the main rallies, this will be our first time
Tony Barthel
at regional or
Peggy Barthel
frog rally that's not the the big rally.
Tony Barthel
And it'll be our first time at RV Miles homecoming.
Peggy Barthel
It'll be our first time at RV Miles homecoming. It'll be our first time at Amana's Oktoberfest, certainly not our first Oktoberfest by any means. Oh, and last night, Jason and Abby were talking about the Renaissance Festival usually happens around that same time in Amana, but they're not sure if it's gonna happen during that weekend. So that's something I have to look into. Yep.
Peggy Barthel
So Octoberfest and Renaissance and meetups and festivals, and it's gonna be a fun month.
Tony Barthel
All might be out there too. So let's cross paths and Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
For sure, let us know if you're gonna be yeah.
Tony Barthel
Or 2.
Peggy Barthel
Or 2.
Tony Barthel
So then
Peggy Barthel
So then when we leave Amana Colonies after the RV Miles homecoming, our friend Beverly sent us a link to the fact that the big boy is currently traveling to the East Coast, and just all just exactly when we're gonna be coming home from Amana colonies, the big boy will be going home to Wyoming. And we'll make a few stops in the state of Kansas. Now, you know our history with Kansas, right? That's where we got rear ended. And so we've had a little bit of trouble with Kansas, but we might chase the big boy through Kansas that week.
Peggy Barthel
It's like somewhere around the, I don't know, 10th, 12th October, something like that. So if that's something that you're also interested in, we might be doing that. So let us know, and maybe we can hook up and hoist a beer Yeah. One night while we're watching the big boy run through the city.
Tony Barthel
The last time, if you didn't hear, we went to Cheyenne, Wyoming, which is where they store the big boy is the world's largest operating steam locomotive. So it is an, um, £1,200,000 just behemoth. And Union Pacific has a what they call their heritage fleet. And they completely restored this thing, and they're running it around the country and showing it off. And it's a big deal wherever it goes.
Tony Barthel
Last time, we were in Laramie, and we're having a beer and a and a burger, and I hear it.
Peggy Barthel
So the idea was that we were gonna go to Cheyenne and watch the big boy come home to Cheyenne. But we had a few hours to kill, and we were midway camping between Cheyenne and Laramie. So we said, oh, let's just go over to Laramie. We'll have our lunch there. Then we'll go back over to Cheyenne and see the big boy.
Peggy Barthel
So we're sitting waiting for our lunch, and Tony looks over there.
Tony Barthel
You can hear this thing.
Peggy Barthel
His eyes got as big as platters. He's like, there it is. And he took off, left the restaurant, and go ran across the parking lot. Literally ran across
Tony Barthel
the street, across the park. You ever wanna see a fat dude run?
Peggy Barthel
Just put a train in front of him.
Tony Barthel
Train. Anyway, we'll put a link to where you can see where the big boy will be because it's basically a huge publicity stunt for Union Pacific. And so they they have this big locomotive running around right now. And, uh, they say where it's gonna stop and you can go see it. And it's it's truly an impressive sight.
Tony Barthel
So
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. So we maybe go and see it run through Kansas next month. And not yeah. Next month, October. Whoosh.
Peggy Barthel
Alrighty. So the next
Tony Barthel
Big news.
Peggy Barthel
The next piece of ketchup, the next packet of ketchup
Tony Barthel
Is the Family Motor Coach Association, which is the FMCA. And we've been pretty vocal about being friends of the FMCA or fans of the FMCA, whatever you wanna call it. They changed their name. And and to be quite honest, FMCA started in the sixties with bus conversions Mhmm. And was a group of people who converted buses, and then it grew and grew and grew and has a bunch of great resources for We RVers right now.
Tony Barthel
But people just aren't joining organizations like they used to.
Peggy Barthel
Right.
Tony Barthel
I mean, if you have a local Kiwanis or Rotary or anything like that, if you're aware of them, really joining organizations is on the decline, unfortunately. And that's true of the FMCA too. Uh, few years ago, they voted to allow towable RVs in. So travel trailers and 5th wheels.
Peggy Barthel
But I think that perhaps Family Motor Coach Association, if people don't, you know, kinda read the description and know what that is, they see motor coach association and they say, oh, I have a towable. That's not for me.
Tony Barthel
Right.
Peggy Barthel
And that is and that was true up until about 5 years ago or so. It was a motor coach association and only buses and class a's were in it.
Tony Barthel
So now they're trying to be more open about embracing towables and hence the big name change, f r FRCA. RV. F R V A.
Peggy Barthel
Right. Family RV Association.
Tony Barthel
Right. And so they have a few things. A few gosh. Like, 2 months ago, a month ago, whatever, we interviewed the head of the FMCA at that time. He has since left.
Tony Barthel
Again, they they have their troubles right now. Sure. But they also have some great reasons to join. They now have associate members for those who, you know, maybe have hung up the keys but still wanna go. Because one of the absolute truths about this is when you go to these conventions, and and they have regional chapters, they have chapters for special interests like this.
Peggy Barthel
That's so mean.
Tony Barthel
A train chapter, for
Peggy Barthel
example Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Called Golden Spike. You tend to make these friends and just keep them because they're you know, we all have RV ing in common.
Peggy Barthel
Right.
Tony Barthel
And so a lot of people make these lifelong friends, but if maybe you're just, I'm not gonna RV anymore or I'm gonna retire from RVing, so that's associate member. Mhmm. They also have if you're thinking, oh, I wanna be an RVer. One of the things that the FRVA has is this huge library of fantastic resources.
Peggy Barthel
Mhmm.
Tony Barthel
And so they have this Pathfinder membership, and both Pathfinder and associate, I believe you can go to the regional events, the conventions and such.
Peggy Barthel
Okay.
Tony Barthel
So 2 new well, Pathfinder isn't that new. Chris talked about it.
Peggy Barthel
Whenever it was a couple months ago.
Tony Barthel
Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
So but those are options. So if you're not all you know, if you're not an active RVER right now, you feel like maybe you don't wanna join the FRVA because you're not an RVER, these are some ideas of things that you can do so you can still be involved, you can still get some of the benefits, you can still know about the events. So it's a really good, you know, alternatives to being part of the club.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Of of of full membership.
Peggy Barthel
Oh, I'm sorry. The family.
Tony Barthel
Right. That's right. That's that's how they're referring to it. So one of the biggest reasons a lot of people join is this medical evaluation evaluation. There you yeah.
Tony Barthel
They're doing, hey, you look kinda sick to me.
Peggy Barthel
Change one letter.
Tony Barthel
This medical evacuation and travel assistance benefit. Right. And, basically, if you get sick out there on the road, you're gonna get And, basically, if you get sick out there on the road, this works to get you and your RV and the people who are with you home, and it's a huge deal. So let's say you fall and break your leg and you can't drive for 6 weeks or however long it takes, and you have your RV and you're in, you know, Hoobedo Kansas or whatever. Hoobedo Kansas.
Peggy Barthel
Hoobedo Kansas. I'm sure the big boy goes right through their next one.
Tony Barthel
Well, it goes, hoo hoo. I'm in Hoobidoo. Anyway and and you live in Florida or whatever. They actually can work with you to get you and your RV and even your pets back home and your people.
Peggy Barthel
Right.
Tony Barthel
So it's it's a huge benefit, but one of the things that's happened is the company that FRVA contracts with to provide the benefit raised the price by, like, double triple.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Like triple.
Tony Barthel
And so right now, if you sign up for the FRVA, the membership is only $50 a year plus $10 the 1st year. However, that is likely to go up to maybe as much as a $100 a year. I don't I don't know that. And I don't think they've decided yet.
Peggy Barthel
Right. And and I think that's true. They haven't decided, but what they kicked around for a minute was to not retain that medical evacuation benefit.
Tony Barthel
And it's
Peggy Barthel
And so, I mean, to me, even if it goes up to a $100 a year, it's still worth that alone, if you didn't take advantage of any of the other things, that is worth the membership.
Tony Barthel
Insurance that does that, it's gonna be more than your FRVA
Peggy Barthel
Sure.
Tony Barthel
Membership anyway. Yeah. And there's also tire discounts and stuff discounts and Right. Educational, you get a magazine. There's there's a ton of reasons to join, and we do have a discount
Peggy Barthel
Yes. Speaking of discounts. Bucks.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And so we'll put a link in our show notes to where we have that discount because that's still valid. And that, by the way, we when we talked to Chris was episode 255. Now another big thing.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. So then we were corresponding with FRVA. You know, we did a lot of conventions. We went to several conventions, and then we kind of have been doing other things, and we haven't we missed I'm so sad. We missed the convention in Oregon because, gosh, Oregon.
Peggy Barthel
Right. But the next convention is in March in Perry, Georgia, and we went there, I guess, 2 years ago in 2023, it must have been. And we have been asked if we are coming back, and they also said they would like to talk to us about the 3 day RV training course that we teach.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. So we may be doing our RV basic training. So if you've heard us talk about this, it's basically we say it's the 2 day version of your 1 hour walk through. So we go through all the systems in the RV and make sure you understand them and tips for how to make sure your RV doesn't fall apart and how not to have troubles on the road, all of that. Well, we may be doing that at the FRVA.
Tony Barthel
So we don't know yet. That's obviously, we'll let you know. Yeah. But we have also been asked to give some of our seminars and we have some new ones.
Peggy Barthel
That's right. We've been working on some new seminars and we've had a couple other inquiries actually to be speakers. And so unfortunately, one of them was the Kansas City RV show. It's the same time as the Quartzsite RV show. So we had to decline that one, but you know, who knows?
Peggy Barthel
We may be going on a extensive speaking circuit in the upcoming in the upcoming year.
Tony Barthel
More places that'll kick us out normally.
Peggy Barthel
Oh, no. So stay tuned. You know, we always love to meet up with folks when we are in different places. And so we try to use this place to tell you when and where we're gonna be, at least approximately, if we even know what we're doing. And the reason that we do that is so that you can say, wait, what?
Peggy Barthel
You're gonna be in my neighborhood? Let's grab lunch.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Absolutely.
Peggy Barthel
Coffee, beer, coffee, whatever you wanna grab. Well, wait a minute.
Tony Barthel
Now hold on.
Peggy Barthel
It's So, anyway, we are teaching seminars in Quartzsite also. Apparently, 2 a day?
Tony Barthel
2 a day.
Peggy Barthel
2 a day. And so rather than repeat the same one over and over, we have been coming up with ideas for, you know, we have kind of our big three, the 3 that we teach everywhere all the time. So we have been well, I think we would bore ourselves if we did those same 3 over and over. So we're coming up with different topics. We I think Tony posted the other day on the Stressless Campers group, if you were in Quartzsite and you're going to a seminar, what would you like the topic to be so that we can consider that?
Peggy Barthel
There were some good suggestions. And so we're again, we're working on our seminar we're expanding our seminar list. So hopefully, you can come to Quartzsite and see us there and listen to one of our seminars. And don't forget that after the big show, the The big show. The big show, the Quartzsite Sports Vacation and RV Show.
Peggy Barthel
I got it right. Yay. Uh, then we, as Dresses Camping, will just go out to the desert and Spend
Tony Barthel
the week out there with work.
Peggy Barthel
Spend the week out there with people and just have a meet up there. Now it will be in the BLM 14 day limit area, and we didn't write this down, but there is some talk going around. There may be some changes in Arizona with the what's it called? L l l t
Tony Barthel
Long term visitors.
Peggy Barthel
Term visitor area. LTVA. As I understand it, we haven't done this. But as I understand it, at this point, you can pay something like $200 and that gives you permission to stay out there, like, any amount of the 7 months that it covers, something like that. That price is is not scheduled, not planned, but proposed to go up to in the $600 range, which if you stay for 7 months, is still fairly reasonable.
Peggy Barthel
But we don't know what's gonna happen with that. We will try to keep followed up on that, but we are never gonna stay 7 months. So we just go to the part of the BLM where it's free, but you can only stay for 14 days, which is fine, because that's usually longer than we're able to put in our schedule anyway. But if you are able to come to Quartzsite, either during or after the sports vacation and RV show, we hope that we will be able to hook up with you and have a coffee.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Or maybe go to Bear Bellies, the adult day care center.
Peggy Barthel
That's
Tony Barthel
right. Peggy has also been working on if you haven't seen on our website, there is a really good RV show calendar, and Peggy's been working on that pretty extensively. A lot of new RV shows are coming, and a lot of the shows that have been popular in the past are coming back. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Tony Barthel
So if you're looking for an RV show, it's a great place to start. Yep. So, well, that's as much ketchup as I think we have. I'm full of ketchup. Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
Well, you know what I don't put ketchup on? Shrimp and zoodles.
Tony Barthel
Oh. Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
So our recipe this week is one pan, easy peasy, shrimp, and I mean, I suppose you could use noodles, but we happen to like to use zucchini, and we have a a spiralizer that cuts it up into spiral noodles, and so we call them zoodles. So this week's recipe is shrimp and zoodles. It has kind of a creamy white sauce. This is
Tony Barthel
very yeah. So Peggy is having some issues with a lot of tomato product.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Just basically, like, if she eats a lot of pasta with tomato sauce, her stomach bugs her.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Pizza, I have to be careful. So sad. But you know what? Pizza with white garlic sauce, no problem.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. And last week we talked about the the Chicken
Tony Barthel
crust pizza.
Peggy Barthel
Chicken crust pizza. So anyway, I tend to look for recipes that are very low carb and very low tomato.
Tony Barthel
You'll find this recipe at our home on the web, but it it was really good. It's shrimp and zucchini noodles. Yeah. Pretty And a
Peggy Barthel
cream sauce.
Tony Barthel
So this week, our gadget is I get these press releases from a company called Iosso, I o s s o. And they have all kinds of crazy sprays and lubes and cleaners, just tons of stuff for a lot the marine industry, but a lot the RV industry. And this week, I happen to get well, not this week. It was a few weeks ago. I got a email about zipper cleaner, and we talk about the flatted truck camper.
Tony Barthel
And I think the one thing we've said we don't like is that flap in the back, and part of that is the zippers. Yeah. The zippers are really high quality, but they're outside. It gets dusty. So when I saw this, I said, hey, where do I buy it?
Tony Barthel
And it's the Iosso EZ Snap Zipper and Snap Lubricant. Oh. It says it waterproofs and lubricates and reduces friction. So that's what it looks like. Well, you can just buy it on Amazon.
Tony Barthel
So I'll put a link in the show notes, but it just works. So if you have, like, the tent that we used to test the zipper
Peggy Barthel
off Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Put this on there. Especially that the, uh, flated truck campers, those huge zippers in there under a fair amount of stress because they kinda hold the sides together.
Peggy Barthel
So I will be curious. I don't know that I really need it, but I have some purses that have those magnetic snaps. Oh. And sometimes they they are so sticky that I rip the fabric of the purse trying to unsnap the snaps. So I might play with that a little bit on a snap on a purse that I've already ripped and see if it kind of lubricates that snap a little bit.
Tony Barthel
But that's a magnet, not mechanical snap. But, oh, why not try it?
Peggy Barthel
I mean, it's kind of mechanical. Okay. And it's just I don't know. If it's the magnet's too strong or the the snap itself is too tight. I don't know.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. So some other stuff this Iosil makes, fiberglass reconditioner. That might be good for some trailers. Mhmm. They make metal polish, teak cleaner, live well cleaner.
Tony Barthel
Obviously, that's for fishing boats. Tent and camping gear cleaner.
Peggy Barthel
Wait. Cooler cleaner. We need a gallon of that.
Tony Barthel
Where is that?
Peggy Barthel
Right there.
Tony Barthel
Oh, look
Peggy Barthel
at that.
Tony Barthel
Removes mildew and deodorant. Well, you know what? I wonder if that would work in an RV fridge. I don't know because I can't. Ice chest, thermos bottles, and plasticware.
Peggy Barthel
Perhaps if you accidentally left your refrigerator closed when it was off and it got a little mildew.
Tony Barthel
Oh, they also have awning cleaner.
Peggy Barthel
Well, there you go.
Tony Barthel
Interesting. Oops. This company makes interesting stuff. I o s s o, but we'll put a link on to Amazon where you can get your very own tube if you want it.
Peggy Barthel
Of zipper cleaner. Alright. Are there zippers on your on your RV of the week? These are some pretty lame segues.
Tony Barthel
You know, I don't I don't oh, I'm sure there are on, like, seat cushions.
Peggy Barthel
There you go.
Tony Barthel
There you go. I don't know if I'd clean them. But anyway, this week, I got a chance to look at the Forest River no boundaries or no bow 20.1. And what this is is it's there are more and more of these RVs now where there's a big long counter on the camp side where the stove and the microwave and refrigerator are. Mhmm.
Tony Barthel
And then theater seats on the roadside and a bed of some sort. And in some cases, it's a just a proper queen-size bed. In other cases, it's a Murphy bed, and that's what this novo is. And the Murphy bed is an actual queen-size bed, but you can leave it down. It does not interfere with the slide when it's down.
Peggy Barthel
Okay.
Tony Barthel
So if you're like, I hate Murphy beds. Well, there you go. The reason that I wanted to focus on this one is Nobo, they made these RV suites in the past, which are like semi permanent dwelling RVs, and they're all the rage right now. But those are really the styling is interesting because it's very tasteful to me of those RV suites, and that's what they did to their travel trailer line. So there are no swooshes, no swirls, none of this tacky carnival float graphics that I dislike so much.
Tony Barthel
It's just straight lines, browns and greens like you'd see in a forest. I love the appearance of this thing. And inside, it's got green cabinets, And I don't know if that's gonna float some folks' boat or if you're not gonna like it. So it's interesting to see this. There are a number of things I really liked about the way they did this.
Tony Barthel
They have one of those new sinks that has the glass washer and all the little pieces that go in. It's only a propane cooktop and no oven, but there's a microwave convection oven. You can get it with just a plain old leaf spring suspension or you can get it with the beast mode, which is the coil spring suspension from Kurt that I like so much. So an interesting choice. Overlanding trailers, which this sort of is targeted at, are one of the sort of highlights in the RV industry right now, but this is not that overlanding e.
Tony Barthel
Like,
Peggy Barthel
uh, emberlanding is
Tony Barthel
much better. Right? Uh, ember is really well suited for overlanding. And this kinda started with Rockwood with the GeoPro E Pros that were more adventurey overlanding e trailers, and there's a lot of stuff like the Shower Mizer and other features that are better for off grid camping. This is sort of a regular travel trailer with an optional good suspension, but I really like the interior.
Tony Barthel
Okay. That's
Peggy Barthel
it. Okay. Then, you know, we sometimes have a maintenance reminder, and sadly, I guess this is the time I have to start saying, check out, uh, winterizing guides. I see people already doing it. I know.
Peggy Barthel
So sad. Hey. You know what? Don't do that. Don't do any of that winterizing.
Peggy Barthel
Don't stop camping. Just come to Quartzsite.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. There you go.
Peggy Barthel
Come and visit us. It's warm there.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Because you don't wanna hear
Peggy Barthel
And speaking of that, last week, I asked the question of the week, will you be snowboarding? Now, I also did ask if you'd be snowboarding because every time I tried to write the word snowboarding, I got autocorrected, and some of you only answered that you would not be snowboarding. You didn't tell me if you'd be snowboarding. So if you're loving the snow and you're going snowboarding, good for you. Congratulations.
Peggy Barthel
If you are traveling south for the winter to get to where you don't have to worry about snow, like we are doing, good for you. And if you are just staying in the house because it's cold and snowy outside and you can't leave, see you next year. Yeah. So this week, as we said earlier, we'll ask the question of the week. While we're at RV open house, is there something in particular that you would like us to learn to report back to you?
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Do you have a question for the RV industry? And you can answer that at our fun and friendly Stressless Campers Facebook group.
Peggy Barthel
You can also sign up if you haven't already for our once a week newsletter.
Tony Barthel
Yep.
Peggy Barthel
It's absolutely free. It's very easy to sign up. There are places all over the website where you
Tony Barthel
can do that. Yeah, we're adding more places.
Peggy Barthel
Adding more places, but particularly at the bottom of every page you can sign up, and what we do is send you once a week an email with a newsletter that has links to stories and videos and podcasts and whatever we think that will help you get the most out of your RV experience.
Tony Barthel
And you'll find the show notes for this episode, episode 272, on the podcast page at stressless camping.com where you'll find both the video and audio versions of this podcast.
Peggy Barthel
You'll also find our deals and discounts page for the best deals on things you'll need for your stressless camping adventure, including
Tony Barthel
FRVA.
Peggy Barthel
FRVA. Yeah. And if you know of a deal that we don't already have, please let us know. We would be happy to share that with the rest of the world.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And, of course, we're in all the social paces. Paces. We're in all the social places, but you can start at stresslesscamping.com. And from there, jump off to all the places that you'll find us.
Peggy Barthel
If you don't wanna miss a future episode of the Stressless Camping podcast It's free.
Tony Barthel
It's free
Peggy Barthel
to subscribe on
Tony Barthel
any podcast
Peggy Barthel
catcher, and we
Tony Barthel
are saving
Peggy Barthel
you a seat around our virtual campfire. Yeah. Oh, and don't forget that those reviews really help others learn about the Stressless
Tony Barthel
Camping podcast. And, of first, the more people who listen, the more discounts and deals we can get for everybody. So anybody who's reviewed, thank you. If you haven't, you you still can.
Peggy Barthel
Please do.
Tony Barthel
And, of course, don't forget to share things that you found on the Stressless Camping website on social. That really helps too.
Peggy Barthel
And if you don't know how to do that, there's also a page on the website that explains how to share, and I think there's also a tip in the newsletter.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. There always is.
Peggy Barthel
We hope you're full of all that grab bag stuff. We appreciate you joining us this week. And as always, stressless camping.
Speaker 3
We hope you learned a lot and had some fun and got some tips for your next stressless camping adventure. We're honored by your reviews on Apple Podcasts, which helps others find us too. Don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss out on the adventure, and we look forward to your joining us next week. Until then, happy camping.
Peggy Barthel
This year, 2205
Tony Barthel
Wait. You mean
Peggy Barthel
Did I say 2205? This year for 220 for 2205. No.
Tony Barthel
For 2020 Why my heavens?