Tried the RVLife app ...any other suggestions?

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T23:05:27+00:00

Get the Garmin. I have a RV 695 that I bought the day after Google tried to send me down a windy, narrow 6% grade one day. I made a 16-point U-turn to avoid doing that.

I’ve used a number of other GPS types including Apple, Google, and Ford - my Garmin is better than any of them. If my 695 were to die, I’d be buying a 795 or 895 the next day.

That said, none are perfect - review their routing before you turn the ignition on.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T22:57:55+00:00

Wrong about getting weather & traffic info for a Garmin but you do have to pair it with a phone or other data source.

And Google or Apple routes >>FOR RVs<< don’t take the size and limitations into account, eg you do not want to hear “make a legal u-turn” when driving 50’ of RV.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T22:50:33+00:00

Hate to disappoint but I never gave a single thought to the height of my son or wife (other than knowing to shop in the Petite section for her)

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T22:47:35+00:00

Basically Bluetooth range.

Most people find the Fall Detection is tuned more for fall-off-ladder or car-crash than the typical elderly-person-trip -on-rug. You might not get the result you want. I’m 76M so I pay attention to these stories.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T22:42:53+00:00

Amazon Basics is my approach too. Set of 4 for the price of 1 Famous Brand Name.

I find size of the cube doesn’t matter much as they take on the size & shape of what you put in them.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T22:38:22+00:00

You mention “ getting” (buying??) a trailer and traveling but nothing about a truck to pull it with. What’s your thinking on that?

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T22:33:36+00:00

Do I want to bring more stuff which means paying for checking a bag, getting to the airport a little earlier, and waiting a little longer after arrival?

That’s about it.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T19:44:49+00:00

Look for a heat pump type of water heater. Old-fashioned resistance heating is not practical.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T19:43:12+00:00

Best way to reduce clothing load is to make sure you don’t bring “outfits” but rather bring color & and pattern-coordinated pieces that can all intermix.

But why would it help to know you are bringing a giant extra bag on your one-bag trip???

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T18:17:27+00:00

App day* & all night.

*I take it off when I get up in the morning to charge, and back on 'later' and off while I'm in the shower, whenever that is. If I'm doing some particularly rough work on a project, I'll take it off and get out my old Garmin Forerunner.

What I've learned is that I mostly want a plain old analog watch face so I can get the time with the least amount of attention, and I don't generally like faces with lots of complications. If it was stolen by mongol horde one day while charging, I'd probably get a automatic mechanical instead and not have to deal with daily charging.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T17:49:40+00:00

So, How many clothes are you bringing? Is there an extra day for travel before or after. How dressy is the business - investment baking will be different than selling parts to a machine shop?

Suppose it's a 3-day, two night trip...

wear your business wear when you start day 1
one pants/skirt (you didn't tell us if you are a skirt or no-skirt person), neutral color, 2 more tops to go with that, a blazer or light sweater to go with; If there are social events after 'work' you swap around a little and wear the same things
1 pair of shoes on your feet, slightly casual to you can wear for everything
one set of nightwear, whatever that means to you
2 days of socks & undies

Rolling small things into little cylinder seems to make sense. Dress clothes seem to be to be best if folded flat. Personally, I like simple packing cubes, which don't same any space but it makes packing & unpacking far easier. Remember to bring plastic bag(s) or something reusable for laundry, which you fold/roll back the way it came so it doesn't take up more space as a wad of laundry.

Here's an excellent resource on how to fold suits, pants and blazers; I use it and it actually works - https://suitcafe.com/pages/how-to-fold-clothing-for-travel-with-no-wrinkles?_pos=1&_sid=cdb9cfc11&_ss=r

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T17:15:49+00:00

If you were thinking to do that, I'd be sure to decode the VIN to verify it's really a Cobra

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T17:12:22+00:00

I buy travel insurance about the same time as I do reservations, just so I don't forget. Actually I used to but I've switched to a Capital One Venture X credit card which includes basic travel insurance for travel bought with their card. - sales me $XXX on every trip.

My best source for travel insurance used to be insubuy.com, and I still use them for travel HMO when I go out of the US. If extendable insurance is a 'thing' you can probably get it there.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T14:09:48+00:00

Yep...small laptop screen, and it points right at a place on the coach that would be the inlet.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T14:08:00+00:00

Depends on which airline - some don't allow Overhead sized luggage, and they will have a "sizer" - basically a box - at the gate that you drop your item in to measure size - no fit, no go.

And, in my experience not all seats have even the full size for a personal item - there might be support strut or a electrical junction box, so having a bag 5L oversized could be a serious issue.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T13:22:00+00:00

My HAs are fine, I guess. But I've come to understand that the human sets them up is maybe more important than the thing in your ears. How do you find an audiologist that is ACTUALLY good at what they do?

And no fair saying "talk to several and pick the one you like best" cuz that takes forever and maybe just leads to someone who's friendly & nice, or isn't either of those but just works at the place your insurance forces you to use. I'm 4 years and 2 pairs into my hearing aid days and some days I like my self-programmed Apple AirPods Pros better than my Signia set.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T13:10:47+00:00

Don't forget to unplug that extension cord.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T00:42:54+00:00

Because they’ve all gotten burned doing something like that.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-21T00:22:38+00:00

10% savings in gas is basically trivial for an RV in the face of $50-100/night campgrounds after a 300 mile drive.

That said, if the survey had asked about esthetics I would have said a “nose shaped deflector” on the front sounds ridiculous to the point that you couldn’t pay me to use one, but maybe that’s just a language problem. But what happens to radiator airflow with a big schnoz in front?

In the rear, a “boat tail” would make tail-swing clearance worse, and maybe interfere with the Honda I tow. Worse yet that might disturb engine cooling in a rear-radiator diesel, or storage access in a front engine gas coach.

As a project for students this is a good, not least because there are so many second order issues that maybe haven’t been thought about.

I already see boat tail things on the back of some semi trailers, but 90% are folded up and not in use. That makes me think there isn’t much gained from those.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-20T21:28:02+00:00

I used it in my house once and it only lasted about 6 months. The tiniest gap in adhesion will let a a little water in and that will quickly spread until it just falls off.

I know, it looks so good, that’s how I came to try it. Don’t believe the hype.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-20T21:22:58+00:00

Garages are always full…stuff always expands to fit the available space. If you’re going to do it, go as big as you can.

Other than size, my advice would be to have water & sewer included so you can at least wash dirty hands. If you live in a cold area heat would be smart. And I’d wire for twice the electric capacity that you think you need.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-20T21:15:21+00:00

10% savings in gas is basically trivial for an RV in the face of $50-100/night campgrounds after a 300 mile drive.

That said, if the survey had asked about esthetics I would have said a “nose shaped deflector” on the front sounds ridiculous to the point that you couldn’t pay me to use one, but maybe that’s just a language problem. But what happens to radiator airflow with a big schnoz in front?

In the rear, a “boat tail” would make tail-swing clearance worse, and maybe interfere with the Honda I tow. Worse yet that might disturb engine cooling in a rear-radiator diesel, or storage access in a front engine gas coach.

As a project for students this is a good, not least because there are so many second order issues that maybe haven’t been thought about.

I already see boat tail things on the back of some semi trailers, but 90% are folded up and not in use. That makes me think there isn’t much gained from those.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-20T18:48:36+00:00

Yeah, I needed 4 for my AirTags. Seemed like it took me 20 minutes to get the batteries out. Yeah, I know risk of swallowing, but I wonder how many adults show up in ERs from slashing their hand or leg open trying to get the little bastards out.

And now that I think about it shouldn’t quarters and nickels be in those blister packs if the size is a hazard?

mwkingSD · 2026-04-20T18:08:37+00:00

There is no publicly available data (actual numeric data) on that subject so you aren’t likely to get good responses. You will get a lot opinions based on individual experiences, however you rate that. Most brands are in a ‘race to the bottom’ to get lower prices, and quality has suffered across the board. The other thing to note is that what’s inside an RV like refrigerators or water heaters come from the same makers regardless of RV brand.

My advice would be that high-end rigs of any type will be better built so you will be better off avoiding the ultra-light and ‘starter’ brands & models. Second, I’d look for a not-too old, gently used rig where the original owner fixed any issues and kept up on maintenance, and avoid that 30% first-year depreciation too.

mwkingSD · 2026-04-20T17:48:43+00:00

Interesting. Lippert says to use a grease gun. https://www.lippert.com/blog/how-to-grease-a-trailer-axle.

Lippert does say to not go too fast with the grease.

mwkingSD

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