Educating RVers

We keep discovering new books and DVDs about RVing every week. The fact is that more information is being published on the subject these days, now that Baby Boomers are increasingly trading their backpacks and tents for recreational vehicles. Here are a few terrific new titles we've come across that we think RVers will enjoy.

Extended RV Travel
Extended RV travelers are those who spend weeks and even months traveling and living in their RV. Unlike weekend and vacation RVers, though, extended RV travelers cannot just put their lives on hold while they are away from home, and then play catch-up when they return. Life goes on while they are on the road. Arrangements must be made to secure their home, receive their mail, pay their bills, and keep in touch with their friends and families. Extended RV travelers may also need to obtain medical care and get their prescriptions refilled while thousands of miles from home.

In Extended RV Travel: How To Travel In Your RV For Weeks Or Months At A Time, RV lifestyle experts Joe and Vicki Kieva, who have been extended RV travelers since 1989, deal with these subjects and answer the questions most frequently asked by those who are about to go on the road for long periods of time.

How To Build Low Cost Motorhomes
The cost of a new motorhome can be pretty darn steep. If it's too steep for you, here's an alternative: build your own motorhome from a pre-owned bus. In addition to keeping your costs down, you'll have hours and hours of fun, and end up with a motorhome that is tailor-made just the way you want it.

Author Louis McClure has been building bus conversions and enjoying motorhome travel for years. In this fact-filled book packed with photos and illustrations, he tells you about the different types of used buses, how to select the one you need, and where to find it.

He tells you how to begin the conversion, how to make the necessary patterns, how to build all cabinets, wardrobes, dinettes, etc. Full information is provided on ranges, water heaters, space heaters, and other appliances that allow your conversion to be self-contained. Complete discussions of plumbing, wiring and gas systems follow. McClure completes the fascinating book with suggestions on maintenance and operation.

99 Days to Panama
This is THE guidebook for RV travel in Central America. Nearly 100 camping places with directions and GPS coordinates are included, plus tips on finding other camping spots and meeting interesting people. There is information about how to get permission for pets to travel with you and how to get a free trip through the Panama Canal. And there are more than 400 color photos, plus many maps.

Running from a swamp fire, being lost in the jungle and working as line handlers through the Panama Canal, authors John and Harriett Halkyard had extraordinary experiences when they made their trip. Join them as they set out to explore Central America.

Armchair travel with the authors in a candlelit Mayan church high in the mountains of Guatemala, watch the rescue of passengers from a grounded ferry in Nicaragua, share their impromptu school presentation in El Salvador, and paddle upstream in an underground sacrificial cave in Belize. You will meet the special people they befriended and the unique places they camped.

The Halkyards tell just how easily and safely you can enjoy this welcoming part of the world in your RV. “We wrote this book,” they explain, “to encourage others to explore the fascinating places of Central America. It is much less developed for camping than Mexico, but nevertheless as novice RVers we found it easy to find camping places that were safe and enjoyable. We mostly boondocked, but we list directions for those who would rather have the security that goes with staying in established camping places.”

Motor Carriers' Road Atlas '05
If you drive a big RV—extra long or extra tall—then this truck driver's atlas will be a huge help in knowing where you can drive without slamming into an overpass or getting stuck hanging over a cliff.

This is a complete atlas, containing every single road that's included in Rand McNally's standard atlas. But in this one, trucker's routes are highlighted to prevent big rig drivers from getting onto roads that won't accommodate them or where they are not allowed. Following these trucker-recommended routes will ensure that RVers in big rigs don't end up in a pickle on a back road where they can’t get through. The atlas covers state-designated truck routes as well as national network routes. A 22-page directory lists more than 40,000 city-to-city routes with route-specific mileages. This thick, large-sized 2005 edition includes the latest low-clearance locations as well as road construction and condition hotlines, plus new roads and Interstate exits. It covers the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Fulltiming: The Documentary DVD
If you're thinking of traveling full-time in an RV, then you must see this just-released 90-minute DVD hosted by Larry Wood. It addresses virtually every question a would-be full-timer needs answered. And the best part is that the answers come from actual full-timers, who reveal what they learned along the way and what advice they would provide to others who want to follow in their footsteps.

How did their family react when they were told they were selling their house to live on the road? What type of RV did they choose and why? What mistakes did they make? How do they finance their travels? How do they take care of their everyday affairs? What about medical concerns? How do couples get along in such a small space?

Wood covers all these topics and dozens more. And as a bonus, he stops by the Life On Wheels Conference at the University of Idaho and visits with RVing experts there who discuss everything from traveling with pets to packing a rig to getting their RVs serviced on the road and even how they connect to the Internet.

Ask yourself this: if you could have a discussion with a couple dozen full-time RVers and a dozen full-timing experts about full-timing and how to do it. . . would you grab the opportunity? Well, watch this DVD and that's exactly what you'll get