Pianos and pirates and parrots - oh my!
Tales from the 110th FRVA Convention
We’ve got gadgets, we’ve got news and more and, this week on episode 299 of the StressLess Camping RV podcast, we’ve got updates on the nation’s largest RV club, a way to save money on Internet for RVers and even a safety hack that could brighten your day.
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Mentioned on this episode
We have updated our RV Internet connectivity resources: https://www.stresslesscamping.com/rv-internet-connectivity
More information about RV speakers for conventions and RV shows
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.
Automated transcript of StressLess Camping RV podcast episode 299
Peggy Barthel
We've got gadgets,
Tony Barthel
We've got news
Peggy Barthel
And more.
Tony Barthel
And this week on episode 2 99 of the Stressless Camping RV podcast, we've got updates on the nation's largest RV club.
Peggy Barthel
We've got a way to save money on the internet
Tony Barthel
And a safety hack that could brighten your day.
Peggy Barthel
We have this week's podcast, along with the notes and all the stories to go with the episode and discounts deals and helpful hints on our home, on the web. Stresslesscamping.com,
Tony Barthel
Sit back, grab a beverage. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe.
Peggy Barthel
Thank you for joining us for episode 299 of the podcast.
Tony Barthel
I'm Tony.
Peggy Barthel
I'm Peggy.
Tony Barthel
We're two RV industry veterans who travel part-time
Peggy Barthel
In this mini-light
Tony Barthel
Looking to share big adventures and help you with great tips,
Peggy Barthel
Tricks,
Tony Barthel
And discounts. And I didn't even have to read that.
Peggy Barthel
Hey, after 299 episodes, oh my gosh, we've learned one sentence, yay us.
Tony Barthel
One of the ideas we had was perhaps share a beer from our road, from our, from our travels, as it were. Which is gonna be interesting if we record this in the morning.
Peggy Barthel
Oh, dear.
Tony Barthel
Hey, you can't,
Peggy Barthel
You can't just talk about it.
Tony Barthel
Well, I guess I could. Anyway, we happened through Louisiana and there's one of my favorite breweries there, Abita Springs. We stayed at an RV park, a KOA, and they had a bunch of Abita Springs, but they also had this, the seventh tap.
Peggy Barthel
The seventh tap
Tony Barthel
From Shreveport, Louisiana. And it's a Cajun Kolsch.
Peggy Barthel
It's pretty darn tasty.
Tony Barthel
It really is. It is. Kolsch is a German style beer or Kirsch, and it's a, it's pretty doggone good. So I will be sipping this while we share what we've got for you this week on the podcast. So
Peggy Barthel
Also what we've got for you this week. Well, what I've got for one person is happy birthday to my mother on the day that this podcast comes out. My mom will be having a birthday tell. Yeah, having a birthday. I let remember, I don't think she's afraid to say her age, but I'll let her be the judge of that.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. So,
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Well, so the reason that we're on the road, well, the reason that we're on the road this time is at least two-fold. Two-fold as of now,
Tony Barthel
As opposed to Ben Folds.
Peggy Barthel
As opposed, yeah. To the Benfolds five. We have been in Georgia, which we're gonna talk about extensively this week, but now we're in Texas and we're gonna be teaching a girl camper college in Texas.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. We've been doing a lot of workshops and seminars, and we're doing this camper college at an undisclosed location That's right. In Texas.
Peggy Barthel
In Texas, they
Tony Barthel
Don't
Peggy Barthel
Share where you're, Texas is a really tiny place, so you'll probably narrow it right down.
Tony Barthel
But it's a, it's a three-day immersive session where you bring your own RV and we work with you to learn all the systems and functions of that RV. So we have been very privileged to be able to teach these classes to a number of gatherings of girl camper.
Peggy Barthel
Right. So if you are a girl camper, which means you're a female and you camp, you can also join these classes. We'll have one in the Eastern Sierra in June, and we'll have one in the Ohio, Pennsylvania area in September. So let me know if you're interested. And also if you have a group of people that wants to take a class like this, it doesn't have to be a Girl camper event. It can be us. I mean, it's us anyway, but you can organize that through a dealership, through a campground, through whatever group that you are interested in having join in.
Peggy Barthel
So get in touch with us if that's something that you're interested in. And we can give you the details about having what we call basic training camp.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. If it's under,
Peggy Barthel
If it's not for girl
Tony Barthel
Camper, right. If it's under the Stressless camping banner, it's RV Basic training. If it's under Girl Camper, they call it Camper College, but it's essentially the same class. Right. And we'll have some really nifty things on our website soon to support that. Additionally. Well, you know that every week we get to share how much we enjoy our solar and lithium system from ABC Upfitters. And that's not what we're gonna talk about this week. What in addition to solar and lithium systems, ABC Marketing, which is the parent company of ABC Upfitters, does a lot of stuff within the RV industry, including a company called Stellar Lighting.
Tony Barthel
And Stellar Lighting does all kinds of lighting products for RVs. If you look at some of the new RVs that have the beam of light lighting across the roof.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. The strip light in the ceiling,
Tony Barthel
That's probably stellar lighting. It's
Peggy Barthel
A like a strip of LED. There
Tony Barthel
Are lights under coaches, they have lights on the new Keystone rain, I believe it's like a colored lighting that goes around the perimeter. So they have all kinds of cool lighting stuff. And when we were having our system installed, they had a prototype of a red, what they call rail light. And what this is, is it's a tall red light that fits in what are called the insert moldings on most RVs. Probably all, almost all tobles.
Tony Barthel
And it's that edge piece that there's a plastic cover on, and the screws are underneath that. The plastic cover typically protects those screws. Well, these rail lights replace that plastic cover and insert. And
Peggy Barthel
So they just basically slide into that rail.
Tony Barthel
Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
Right. Yeah. And then they're attached to the brake slash
Tony Barthel
Turn signal.
Peggy Barthel
Turn signal lights. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And it's a really bright vertical light. And the reason that we haven't talked about it until now is they had to get approval. There's a very specific red that's approved by the Department of Transportation, the DOT, right. Well, it's approved. And now we can share with you that if you would like crazy great brake lights,
Peggy Barthel
You
Tony Barthel
Can get them through ABC Upfitters. So you can get your power and solar system upgraded.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
You can get your lighting system upgraded.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
So one of the things that's consistent, it's all the same number. And that number is
Peggy Barthel
5 7 4 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2 5.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. You talk to the people there at 5, 7, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2 5, and they can hook you up with all kinds of great stuff. We love our solar and lithium system. We also love our rail lights. So
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Where were we last week?
Peggy Barthel
So last week, by the way, it's really hot in Texas right now.
Tony Barthel
Yeah, it, it's March and it's,
Peggy Barthel
It's very windy, but it's very warm. So we have the air off, of course you can hear us. So we were in Georgia where it wasn't quite so hot or windy, except that one night we almost got a tornado. Anyway, we were in Georgia for the FRVA Convention.
Tony Barthel
Wait a minute, frva
Peggy Barthel
Frva, who in the
Tony Barthel
Wide, wide world of sports is the FRVA,
Peggy Barthel
That's the new identity of the FMCA. For many years, about 60 years, the Family Motor Coach Association has been active as a membership group. And in the last, I think it was 2017 or 18, they voted to have, you know, allow Towables and any and things other than motor coaches because their numbers were dwindling. And they recognized that sales are a small amount of the, what did I say?
Peggy Barthel
Class A's are a small amount of the sales Yeah. Of RVs. And a lot of people are looking for something to join that have a towable. So for, well,
Tony Barthel
There's so many benefits to the FRVA. Some people join because they get their tires for much less money. They might join for a program called Medical Assist.
Peggy Barthel
Yes.
Tony Barthel
And what that is, is if you are on the road and you get sick, the FRVA has a program that'll get you and your RV and your family back home.
Peggy Barthel
Right.
Tony Barthel
And it's just part of the membership.
Peggy Barthel
So we've been members of FRVA, well, FMCA FRVA pretty much since Tobals were, were welcomed in. And they have two conventions a year, usually in the, in the spring in the south, and in the late summer, early fall in the north part of the States. And this year happened to be March in Perry, Georgia. The theme happened to be La Fite's Lost Treasure
Tony Barthel
R it be a pirate-y
Peggy Barthel
Theme. It was a pirate-y theme. So we took full advantage, we taught our seminars in pirate costume. We really, you know, embraced the pirate theme of the pirate's. We were
Tony Barthel
Looking for the booty.
Peggy Barthel
Oh, no. So that was a lot of fun. There was a pirate, there was a parade, there were pirate costumes. So it was just really a lot of fun in terms of pirate stuff.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. But more importantly, there are about 1500 RVs there. We gotta meet some people that we have only spoken with online, like Bernie Cullotson, uncle Bernie, uncle Bernie. We gotta meet Uncle Bernie. We also gotta meet Patrice and Kevin McCabe from RV there. Yet what gracious, wonderful people. Yeah. And the FRVA gave them their, their own room. So they did their own seminars. Their own workshops. Yeah, they did RV demos, answered questions, things like that.
Tony Barthel
Speaking of demos and seminars and all of that, we, well, you already said we,
Peggy Barthel
We taught three seminars. We teach a seminar called Don't Be Spooked by Boondocking. Ooh. We teach one about RV and Personal safety and Security, and we teach one where we talk about our favorite apps for traveling.
Tony Barthel
And all of those are articles on Stresslesscamping.com. We also have other seminars. So if you are putting together a gathering of RVers, we also do workshops and seminars.
Peggy Barthel
Right. So if you don't want that basic training that I talked about earlier, everyone's kind of passed the basics, but you still wanna have some seminars, reach out to us and let us know, and we will give you some details on how that can happen.
Tony Barthel
Also, not in the notes, there is a big haul of stuff. You know, all of the gadgets and all that. Oh,
Peggy Barthel
Gotcha. Yeah, yeah. Oh, there's always vendors. Yeah. So there's all kinds of vendors. And you know, much like when we go to Quartzite and we walk through the tent of vendors, there aren't there. There aren't really as many as there are in Quartzite.
Tony Barthel
Quartzite's. Insane.
Peggy Barthel
They're more like really RV focused. There's less like wigs. And I know I wasn't making the noise, so Although there was a wig booth
Tony Barthel
Was there.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah, there was. I saw it. So anyway, it's always fun to walk through the vendors and buy things you didn't know you needed. Probably don't really need, but it's really fun. Anyway,
Tony Barthel
I think we spent less money at this FRVA convention than we've ever spent at a gathering
Peggy Barthel
Probably. So we, we, I think that
Tony Barthel
We were pretty,
Peggy Barthel
I think we have maybe hit a maximum capacity of stuff. We have everything that everyone sells because we always buy it.
Tony Barthel
Yeah, yeah.
Peggy Barthel
So maybe perhaps we're, we're leveling out a little bit.
Tony Barthel
Maybe you did go to a couple of seminars that I did not go to.
Peggy Barthel
We did. So there was a seminar, particularly for women about, I guess, or really for the current non-driver, whether that be man or woman. The idea is that if you are not the primary driver of your RV rig, you should know how you should be slightly practiced, at least slightly practiced in knowing how to do that job. Knowing how to, you know, get hooked up, get ready, knowing how to drive.
Peggy Barthel
If your significant driver is incapacitated for some reason, you know, maybe they just have a terrible cold and they just can't, they, you know, they're falling asleep at the wheel. It doesn't have to be a, a giant emergency. If it's a giant emergency, then you call FMCA assist and they help you. But if it's just someone who's tired and, and need you to take over driving, it would be a shame to just pull over where you are and not make any more progress, because you are not familiar with being behind the wheel.
Peggy Barthel
And so I always encourage the non-driving partner to drive to learn how to, and, and this is not only for driving, it's for all the quote-unquote outside jobs versus inside, inside jobs. A lot of people call him that. I usually do the inside jobs and Tony does the outside, but I can do all the things outside and he can do all the things inside. Because if one of us goes camping solo, because the other one's traipsing around California with their family or something, you have to know what to do on the opposite side of the walls from where you are.
Peggy Barthel
And so that was just a really, really encouraging seminar. I saw a lot of feedback, people thanking the seminar hosts for teaching it and encouraging. And a lot of those ladies said, I got in and I just drove to the white line at the fuel stop. You know, anything, get behind the wheel. She said, if you're not ready to drive it, sit in it and turn the key, turn it on, turn the lights on, do something, get more and more and more comfortable and familiar.
Peggy Barthel
And so that is something that I really encourage everybody to do. Not that you wanna take over that job, just know how to do that job in case you have to. Well,
Tony Barthel
And that probably applies to also hooking. You know, a lot of the people at FRVA are still Class A owners,
Peggy Barthel
Right? Right.
Tony Barthel
So hooking and unhooking. The tow, the
Peggy Barthel
Towed,
Tony Barthel
Sure. But if you're a towable fifth-wheeler travel trailer, hooking and unhooking, the fifth-wheeler travel trailer
Peggy Barthel
For sure. So,
Tony Barthel
So both people, and if you have older kids, you know, let's say teenagers, they should also be aware of just the steps and be
Peggy Barthel
Sure.
Tony Barthel
Be a part of the, the process.
Peggy Barthel
Be able to help when necessary. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
And of course that means checklists, right? And checklists make for straight checklist,
Peggy Barthel
Checklists
Tony Barthel
Make for Stressless camping.
Peggy Barthel
Right. Another seminar. So
Tony Barthel
Easy for you to say.
Peggy Barthel
Another seminar that I attended that's attended another seminar that I attended, and Tony came in with me, but then there was a different seminar that we noticed that he would rather go to. So he left right before the speaker said, and the pilot's job is to say thank you. So he missed that part. So I have to remember every day to remind him that that's his job. It was how to be a good co-pilot. And so that doesn't mean sit in the passenger seat and sleep. Right.
Peggy Barthel
And it kind of doesn't even mean if you're in a, in a class a get up and make lunch. Although, you know, I know people do. I know people don't, we're not gonna talk about that. That's not what we're here to get in an argument over whether you should get up or not. But your job as a really is to keep an eye on the map. Know when the next fuel stop is, know when the next rest stop is open the bag of snacks. Fast forward the commercials on the podcast,
Tony Barthel
Except on the Stressless Camping RV podcast. Of course.
Peggy Barthel
Well, no, don't fast forward those. No, of course not.
Tony Barthel
No, no. But
Peggy Barthel
Those paid, you know, those advertisements that are very obvious in the advertisements, fast forward through those. Of course. So, but that's, that's my job. I can reach over to the dash and Tony doesn't, you know, take his eyes off the road and everything to do that.
Tony Barthel
Well, here's a weird thing. I'm a nerd, and I think a lot of you recognize that. And I love technology. And I think some of you might know that already. I don't know what it is, but I cannot find a gas station in front of me. I can find all the ones we've passed. So I'm a lousy passenger. That makes, makes me mad. He's
Peggy Barthel
Not a, he's not a great copilot. He's not a bad passenger. He's not a great copilot or navigator.
Tony Barthel
And that jerk that lives in the phone, and I
Peggy Barthel
Shall not
Tony Barthel
Mention their name,
Peggy Barthel
Don't do it
Tony Barthel
Because Yeah,
Peggy Barthel
Because you make her wake up. Right. Slow
Tony Barthel
Mo. If slow mo were all that smart and had those, that Apple intelligence, Shlomo would know where I'm going, not where I've been.
Peggy Barthel
Know that we're moving 60 miles an hour west. Don't show me the gas station to the east.
Tony Barthel
Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
Anyway, so that's what makes, that's what makes me good as a co -pilot.
Tony Barthel
She's really good.
Peggy Barthel
I can read the maps, I can find the coming up things. I can change the radio station, so to speak. You know, search for the next radio station podcast. Pause, read the texts to him. So he is not trying to read while he's
Tony Barthel
Driving radio friends. We have this group of friends, and once one person responds,
Peggy Barthel
Oh, it becomes, it's on a text fest.
Tony Barthel
It is
Peggy Barthel
Like bing, bing, b bing, bing, bing, bing. And he's got FOMO. He can't stand to not know what's happening. So I have to read, and then I have to describe all the GIFs to him.
Tony Barthel
Or is it GIFs, gifs or GIFs?
Peggy Barthel
Mmmmm. We're not here to argue that either.
Tony Barthel
That's right.
Peggy Barthel
Anyway, so that was a really great seminar that just really, you know, kind of brings home the fact that everybody has a job to do. You know? And do I sleep? Sure. I fall asleep nearly every day for at least a few minutes.
Tony Barthel
I know how to make her fall asleep. Listen to the
Peggy Barthel
Certain podcasts that
Tony Barthel
Mac Break Weekly.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. That I love the tech that I'm not interested in. He wa he listens to those and I take a little snooze and then wake up to fast -forward through the commercials. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
So anyway, those are two that we went to. I went to a few others too, but nothing earth -shattering.
Peggy Barthel
There's always entertainment.
Tony Barthel
Oh. Which is great. Yes.
Peggy Barthel
So we missed a cup. There was, there's like entertainment every night and we didn't make it to all of them. But the one that we don't miss is there in Perry. There are a, they're not, they're not actual brothers. Their name is the something brothers, but they're not really brothers. But they're dueling pianos
Tony Barthel
And they're so good.
Peggy Barthel
And
Tony Barthel
That's so entertaining.
Peggy Barthel
If you have never seen dueling pianos, I have never seen a bad show of dueling pianos. They are amazing musicians. They know every song on earth because these guys play purely by request. Yeah. Like the first song or whatever, while they're warming us up is something that they choose. And then they play requests all night long. They take turns playing requests. They get you up on stage, you know, up in the front to dance with them. They're funny, they're entertaining, they're really good musicians.
Peggy Barthel
It like every, every dueling piano show I've ever seen has been, I've
Tony Barthel
Never seen a bad dueling piano show. I'm sure there's one out there, but Yeah. And so that was one that we did not wanna miss. We also got to spend time with the vice president. So one of the neat things about the FRVA, a a lot of people joined because of discounts on tires or discount or the medical assist or all the other discounts that there are part of the FRVA. But really where you get, I, in my opinion, is the most benefit is in the local chapter.
Tony Barthel
So meeting other people. And we spent so much fun time. We gotta spend time with Mike Sokol. We, we gotta spend time with a lot of the members
Peggy Barthel
<affirmative>. And one of the things I really like are the breakfast doughnut events. Well, not really Breakfast, it's doughnuts and coffee.
Tony Barthel
Doughnuts and coffee. Yeah. And the Frustrated Maestro's
Peggy Barthel
And the Frustrated Maestro's are always entertaining and singing. But you go for doughnuts and coffee, you get a doughnut, you get some coffee, you sit down and you just start chatting with whoever you're sitting near.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. It's,
Peggy Barthel
And that is a great, great social hour. It's not very nutritious breakfast, you know, it's doughnuts, but it's more about the social aspect. A lot of this is really about the social aspect. We, in the, I think our first one that we went to in Wyoming is when we met Paul and Cindy.
Tony Barthel
Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
We were just sitting at a table, like randomly resting and working. And they came up and sat at our table and started chatting with us. And now we're like together two or three times a year.
Tony Barthel
Yep.
Peggy Barthel
So
Tony Barthel
The And and Paul and Cindy aren't the only one.
Peggy Barthel
No.
Tony Barthel
And so the friendships you make and the community you build by being part of this and going to the events can't be underestimated. It's super fantastic. So we,
Peggy Barthel
So, so I want to make sure that you, because you always say chapters. Yes. There are chapters are more specific locations or
Tony Barthel
Special
Peggy Barthel
Interests. Special interests. So we belong to the chapter called the Golden Spike. I was gonna say the Fomers, but no, they're called the Golden Spike. They're train freaks. Right? They're train nuts. Train freaks. They're
Tony Barthel
Fomers,
Peggy Barthel
They're, you know, there's, I think there's some kind of a beer chapter, but there are, I
Tony Barthel
Don't think there is.
Peggy Barthel
There should
Tony Barthel
Be.
Peggy Barthel
There are chapters, but in between the international and the chapters are regions. North America is split up. So, you know, there's Canadians in the, in the Western chapter, the Rocky Mountain chapter. And I don't know all the chapters now see now I did it region. There's the Western region, the Rocky Mountain region, and other regions that I can't name 'cause I don't know them, but because we've only belonged to the two. But they are regional. And so you, you go from international where it's all thousands and thousands and thousands.
Peggy Barthel
And then you go down to regional, which is hundreds and hundreds. And then you go down to the chapters, which could have a few members. Could have a lot of members. But there're a lot of times, I know
Tony Barthel
You could start your own chapter,
Peggy Barthel
You can start your own chapter. But they're a lot more kind of interest based.
Tony Barthel
Yep. So anyway, we got to spend time with Wayne, who's the new VP of the Rocky Mountain Chapter
Peggy Barthel
Region.
Tony Barthel
Region.
Peggy Barthel
Now
Tony Barthel
You've got me doing it and just has a really good vision for what needs to be done. But I'm gonna say the president of the FRVA, Paul Mitchell, I got to sit in a couple of his presentations. And the FRVA, there's no hiding. The fact that it used to have 120,000 members and is now down to 55,000. And there are challenges in the organization
Peggy Barthel
As there are really with any organization,
Tony Barthel
With any, but you know, people like to belong to stuff less. I mean, you look at your local Kiwanis or Rotary or any of those and they're losing membership
Peggy Barthel
<affirmative>.
Tony Barthel
But Paul really has a good vision and grasp on reality. And I think he's got a good idea of how to move the organization forward within the reality of today.
Peggy Barthel
Paul is the president,
Tony Barthel
Paul is the president, and just a super great guy. And they have a new marketing person. They have a number of new people,
Peggy Barthel
<affirmative>.
Tony Barthel
And I have to say to a person, they were, it was very encouraging, very knowledgeable, honest, forthright people who I think are gonna take the FRVA and really make it an even better value to the membership. So if you are thinking of joining an RV association, we have a discount to the FRVA and we really like the organization and think they are moving in the right direction.
Tony Barthel
And if you do decide to join, and maybe you should go to the one of the local chapter meetings.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
They're, it, it's just, you know, we all share the same thing. They're RVers. We're all RVers. Some of us are dreamers, but whatever. But
Peggy Barthel
Oh yeah. Meet them anyway. So we can lead into the gadget report without leaving the FRVA convention. Because one of the things that we did spend money on was this week's
Tony Barthel
Gadget Report. Frva's Tech Connect.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
And a lot of you might know, we do have Starlink right now as we record this. Starlink Rome is unlimited, is 165 bucks a month. That's no small investment. But it almost always works great. But one of the advantages of Starlink is you can turn it on and off. Right? So if you are off the road for a while, you can turn off Starlink, which we do. Or you know, it, it, it's fairly flexible, but 165 bucks a month.
Tony Barthel
And there are some people who are like, well, you know, for whatever reason wanna see an alternative to Starlink. Well, we looked at FRVA's Tech Connect program and we've had this before, but now it's a newer program with T-Mobile is the provider and they claim it's truly unlimited. But of course it's cell phone based,
Peggy Barthel
Eh.
Tony Barthel
So we signed up for it. It's 60 bucks a month for that unlimited service. And thus far, now of course this is gonna change based on where we are. Sure. But thus far it has been incredible.
Peggy Barthel
It's been really good. So some we haven't, I don't think we've turned on Starlink since we bought that to kind of experiment. But between the AT&T on my phone, the T-Mobile, on the Tech Connect and the Verizon on Tony's phone, we have had enough phone signal, sometimes incredible phone signal.
Tony Barthel
Oh yeah.
Peggy Barthel
So that we have not needed so much reliance on Starlink.
Tony Barthel
And so what we did,
Peggy Barthel
And it's, and I'm sorry, it's a heck of a lot more versatile. I don't mean versatile, portable.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. This is, it's
Peggy Barthel
A heck of a lot more portable than Starlink.
Tony Barthel
It runs on 12 volts. So it's also better off the grid and
Peggy Barthel
It has its own battery. Right. So 12
Tony Barthel
Vol, it has its own battery.
Peggy Barthel
So it's working right now. Even though he is holding it in his hand, it, for those people who are listening and not watching, it's about the size of a cell phone. Yeah. And so we can, you know, throw it in a backpack or throw it in a pocket really and carry that T-Mobile signal with us.
Tony Barthel
And I've, I, like I said, I've been impressed with the signal. The way we've saved money is with, this is 60 bucks a month. So I dropped our Starlink plan to the 50 bucks a month, which is 50 gigs. And then you can buy additional service as you need. But 60 and 50
Peggy Barthel
Is less than
Tony Barthel
One. 60 is less than 1 65. And so
Peggy Barthel
There's your math lesson.
Tony Barthel
$500 basically over the course of a year is what I feel I'm saving. Well there's five years of FRVA membership. There
Peggy Barthel
You go.
Tony Barthel
I mean, truthfully, that's how the math thus far. Great service. We've been Louisiana, Georgia, here in Texas thus far. The T-Mobile system has been really, really fast and very good. Right now I'm, you know, here in Texas, my Verizon phone is getting about 160 megabits down and this thing's getting 500 megabits down. Wow. Which is pretty fast.
Tony Barthel
Now that's not my expectation.
Peggy Barthel
Sure.
Tony Barthel
Generally, but it's not, it's faster than I've been getting on Starlink. Now, if I wanted to make this cell system work better, I could opt for a cell booster. So I could make this work better by putting an external amplified antenna outside the RB. And I may still do that. We'll see. And of course, we'll, you know, we'll keep you up to date on how good this is.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. But it's just another FRVA a a thing. You can get through them. And thus far I've been very, very pleased.
Peggy Barthel
Cool. So last week's question of the week. I, I caught a good one this time. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
We
Peggy Barthel
Got a lot of great answers. And we asked kind of under what circumstances do you listen to podcasts? We got, we kind of are breaking this answer up into three. Like how, what, what, let's say what's app you listen with when and how you listen and what you listen to. Yeah. So we got a lot of great answers. And so what we found was Apple Podcast and Spotify both kind of came in neck and neck as far as just listening to a podcast,
Tony Barthel
Which is, which supports, you know, nationwide kind of stats. Apple and Spotify are about, well, depends on who you ask, but
Peggy Barthel
Apple
Tony Barthel
And, and that's audio only of course.
Peggy Barthel
But for our listeners who answered, they're equal,
Tony Barthel
Right? Yeah, exactly.
Peggy Barthel
But by far YouTube was, was way in the lead. So a lot more people are watching YouTube than are well people who answered and some answered YouTube plus, you know, whatever podcast app. So whatever that means. There are quite a few of you who are watching this on YouTube. So Hi, I hope you like the Glisten.
Tony Barthel
It's Glisten while you listen.
Peggy Barthel
It's Glisten while you
Tony Barthel
Listen. Everything else, Amazon, audible, Roku Overcast podcast, pocket
Peggy Barthel
Cast. Pocket cast.
Tony Barthel
Were equal. Yeah, same numbers.
Peggy Barthel
So other podcasts that people listen to are RV Miles.
Tony Barthel
Us too.
Peggy Barthel
We do traveling. Robert,
Tony Barthel
Us too.
Peggy Barthel
We do Camp Nowhere. Haven't heard it. I haven't.
Tony Barthel
We'll listen,
Peggy Barthel
RV Atlas
Tony Barthel
We do too.
Peggy Barthel
Dear Bob and Sue
Tony Barthel
Haven't heard it. We should
Peggy Barthel
Exploring National Parks.
Tony Barthel
Love it.
Peggy Barthel
Well, is that the same as America's National Parks?
Tony Barthel
Oh
Peggy Barthel
No, maybe not. America's National Parks is the one we listen to. Right.
Tony Barthel
I don't know if
Peggy Barthel
We've heard
Tony Barthel
It. Oh no. That did get mentioned.
Peggy Barthel
The Wandering Shores
Tony Barthel
Haven't heard it. Gonna find it
Peggy Barthel
Red-handed. I'm not so sure that's RV based. I have a a feeling that's it's a crime thing.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Which by the way is the hot thing right now. Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
In
Tony Barthel
Podcast is true crime.
Peggy Barthel
The KQED Forum stuff you should know.
Tony Barthel
Which my brother-in-law
Peggy Barthel
Turned turn this on to. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Turned this on to.
Peggy Barthel
And my favorite Murder
Tony Barthel
Haven't heard it.
Peggy Barthel
We listened to What's not on that list is part-time genius. Sometimes we listen to Ologies.
Tony Barthel
Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
And we listen to, oh my gosh, I
Tony Barthel
Girl Camper.
Peggy Barthel
We, well of course we listen to Girl Camper. We listen to Clark Howard.
Tony Barthel
Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
For financial Advice.
Tony Barthel
The RV podcast with Mike and Jen,
Peggy Barthel
The RV podcast. And when it's time for me to take a nap, Tony listens to tech stuff about Tech and Apple and things like that that I don't understand. Macbreak weekly. And
Tony Barthel
Then I listen to a lot of news related podcasts too.
Peggy Barthel
<affirmative>. And so something that we learned is that people have a lot of different ways that podcasts serve them. So some of you are enjoying podcasts while you're doing things like walking Zappo or other dogs, cleaning, driving, gardening, going for walks, things like that. A couple people said that they can't concentrate on both podcasts and driving. So they listen while they go for a walk or do the gardening or something.
Peggy Barthel
They don't try to listen and drive. Tony kind of can't keep his mind focused on driving without having a podcast to help him. I, I don't,
Tony Barthel
I'm not sure how it happens. Yeah. Somehow I can. But if tune out pieces,
Peggy Barthel
Whereas
Tony Barthel
Music, I cannot. I can't. If I am like in a city and I need a lot of turns and stuff, can't listen to music. 'cause when music comes on, you know, in my mind we're all rock stars, right?
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Right.
Tony Barthel
And I have to play and, and sing along and, and so it's, it's all encompassing. When there's good tuneage on the old radio I'm in,
Peggy Barthel
I like to listen while I go for a walk or when I drive because I think it, it kind of helps me if I, I used to just listen to music before there were podcasts and I think that was gonna keep me awake. But frankly, if you listen to a radio station or you know, even a serious station, you already know all the songs. You're not, I'm not, I don't stay engaged. Like I might sing along on the ones I know, but it doesn't really keep me alert. And so listening to a podcast or an audio book or something, I have to stay awake to pay attention.
Peggy Barthel
So as long as I'm awake, I might as well watch the road too.
Tony Barthel
That's the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio.
Peggy Barthel
The great Detectives of Old Time Radio that helps us relax at night.
Tony Barthel
Yep.
Peggy Barthel
Anyway, anyway,
Tony Barthel
So, so it's interesting to me,
Peggy Barthel
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
How differently people consume podcasts and how they affect your thinking process. So thank you for sharing and of course you can continue sharing 'cause this is fascinating to me.
Peggy Barthel
Yes, yes, please do.
Tony Barthel
And we also have a new question this week.
Peggy Barthel
So the question for this week is, do you name your RV? Now don't just please don't just say yes or no please. Like
Tony Barthel
You gotta share it.
Peggy Barthel
Tell me the name, tell me how it got its name. Now I will say I have a history of naming everything. When I had houseplants, every houseplant had a name. I have always named everything. And this trailer has not told me its name. I don't know, it's on its name on
Tony Barthel
A sticker on the outside says
Peggy Barthel
Rockwood Mini Light. So this trailer I don't
Tony Barthel
Name thing.
Peggy Barthel
And also this truck doesn't, don't have names. It
Tony Barthel
Has a big old thing on the outside that says
Peggy Barthel
Ram Ram. So this is Ram in Rockwood?
Tony Barthel
Yeah, it says it. There's a sticker on it.
Peggy Barthel
Okay.
Tony Barthel
Anyway, no, everybody does
Peggy Barthel
Things differently, but I think, I love to hear why people name what you know, their rigs, what they name them. So please, you know, show us a picture. Tell us its name. Tell us how it got its name. Yeah, remember when we had the travel, the, the vintage trailer was, I wanted to name it Daisy Duke. Yeah. And I was trying to like, make curtains out of cut off denim and stuff. So
Tony Barthel
Yeah, that's true. That was was pretty cool. Anyway, you can answer that question. Ask your own questions that are fun and friendly. Stressless Campers Facebook group.
Peggy Barthel
Also, you know that we have a once a week newsletter. If you didn't, you do now and you can sign up anywhere. All over the website are chances to sign up for that once a week newsletter. We send you links and stories and things in the RV world that we think that, you know, you can get some help out of some, some information to help your Stressless RVing be more Stressless. You obviously, I didn't read that. We do only send once one newsletter a week.
Peggy Barthel
We don't have time for any more than that. You don't have time for any more than that. So we don't wanna fill your inbox with a bunch of stuff you're not gonna read. So please read it when it comes in. Sometimes there are contests and sometimes you have to read it to know that there are contests. So please sign up for that and let us know that you want to hear from us once
Tony Barthel
A week. Yep. You'll also find the notes for this episode. Episode
Peggy Barthel
2 99. 2 99. You know what that means? 300 is next week. Oh my gosh. Wow. That's some kind of math. We have to come up with something spectacular. Super spectacular for 300.
Tony Barthel
Right?
Peggy Barthel
Wait, don't get your hopes up. Yeah,
Tony Barthel
Don't get your hopes up. All right. You could also check out our new favorite RV products and services page on the things you'll need for your Stressless Camping adventure.
Peggy Barthel
And we're in all the social places, so when you've gotten all the discounts and you've read all the notes and you've signed up for the newsletter and you shared, shared, shared, you can jump off to Facebook and all the other social places that we are.
Tony Barthel
Yep. And of course, if you don't wanna miss a future episode of the Stressless Camping Podcast,
Peggy Barthel
It's free to subscribe on any podcast catcher.
Tony Barthel
Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe. It really makes a difference.
Peggy Barthel
We are saving you a seat around our virtual campfire. We appreciate you coming and listening or watching us this week and every week we are gonna turn the air conditioner back on
Tony Barthel
Darned too.
Peggy Barthel
So have a fabulous week and Stressless Camp Camping.
Mark Ferrell
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 join in us next week. Until then, happy camping.
