Internet Resources for camping etc.

Internet resources for RV, OHV, camping, and survival information are virtually unlimited.  If you're reading this, you've already found at least one!  There are lots of other blogs and web sites with useful camping and survival information.  Many manufacturers and retailers of relevant equipment and supplies have company web sites that often include helpful general tips in addition to specific information about their products.   Most RV and OHV clubs have their own websites too.  If you need information about a particular brand, product, region, or campground or a specific related topic or activity, enter it in your favorite search engine.  Need information on wilderness survival or wilderness medicine?  You can find it on the Internet in great abundance.   Use your favorite search engine to find articles on just about any subject.   Do it NOW.   Chances are local Internet access will be down during a disaster in your neighborhood and mobile access in the remote areas where you normally find campgrounds will be limited and spotty. 

Buying online.   Many familiar stores can be shopped on line.  Often their online selection exceds what you will find  in the brick-and-mortar retail store.  Many times you can have the item shipped to be picked up at your local store to avoid shipping fees.  The only downside to online shopping is you can't try out or try on items before buying.  Online classified sites are frequently a good place to find bargains on used or vintage items.  Most sellers on Internet sites like ebay and craigslist are legitimate, but like anything else, there are a few bad apples that can spoil things.  Check a sellers feedback on ebay.  If they don't have any or it is mostly negative, you may not want to deal with them.   Those with a lot of positive feedback are usually pretty safe.  Ebay has its own buyer protection program that may ensure you don't get ripped off.   I did get ripped off once, before they offered buyer protection.   I bought a truck bed liner kit and never received it.   When I tried to contact the seller I eventually learned the seller was a teen age boy who had been stiffed by his supplier and there was nothing I could do about it but chalk it up to experience.   Ebay and craigslist are good places to look for bargain prices and to search for rare or obsolete parts and equipment.   But keep in mind that you must enter the highest bid in order to win an auction on ebay.   In some ways that means you must be willing to pay more than anyone else in the world to win your item!   But, unless you allow yourself to be drawn into a bidding war, you will usually get good value on ebay.   You can make online purchases from many retail stores too and save a "trip to town".  Always consider the shipping cost.  Some stores, like Walmart for example, will let you buy online and then pick it up in your local store with no shipping charges. So why buy it online in the first place?  By doing so, you can be sure it will there waiting for you and won't be sold out when you get there and some online items aren't available in the stores.   And you don't have to search the store to find it.   Just go to the Internet will call desk.

The technical support groups for major manufacturers are usually an excellent source of useful information.   You can contact them online or call them.   I have been pleased with the response I've gotten on several occasions, including an engineer at a converter company who advised me to buy an automotive battery charger instead of upgrading the failed charger built in to my converter.   The chargers in most converters are not built to sustain batteries the way a good multi-stage charger does anyway.  I was also able to learn what the correct charging voltage should be and discovered that mine, at 18+ volts, was boiling my house batteries.  I disconnected the faulty charging circuit and used an external charger until I could upgrade the whole converter to a new model converter with a multi-stage controller.

When you ask for help in a search engine sometimes you may be offered an opportunity to buy answers from online technicians.  Some of these guys are licensed, some of them are not. Sometimes they know what they're talking about, sometimes they don't.   They are usually experienced experts in their field.   The fee is usually pretty nominal and my personal experience with this kind of service so far has been good.  I've solved some RV problems with their help without having to drive it in and pay high hourly diagnostic rates at a dealership.  Check feedback and credentials if you can before you send any payments.  It is a little uncomfortable paying up front, but my personal experience with these services has been positive so far.

Online books and manuals.   You may find useful extracts and sometimes even the complete text of useful books and manuals on line.  This can be especially helpful if you are in need of technical specs or parts lists for obsolete equipment.  You may also find out where to buy or order printed manuals for future use.

Blogs, forums, and use groups are another good source of information.  I hope you are finding this blog useful.  Internet sharing through blogs, forums, and use groups gives us all access to worldwide resources where we can take advantage of the experiences -- and the mistakes and bright ideas -- of thousands of other people.   I've found free advice on several subjects ranging from the restoration and mounting of a vintage bench vice to residential roofing repairs and RV plumbing questions.

Online search engines are an incredible resource.   With them you get instant access to thousands of sources of information related to your search.  Often the results will be overwhelming and you'll have to refine your search criteria to zero in on what you're looking for.  I have noticed that recently almost all search engines are returning a lot of unrelated stuff and often seem to loop back to the same search when I click a result.  They didn't use to do that.  I think it may be a side effect of search engine optimization.  You may have to be patient and persistent to get the results you want.   Look for ways to make  your search as specific as possible to reduce the clutter.

Be imaginative in your searches. Y ou may find useful survival tips by researching the lives and practices of mountain men or discover excellent camping meals under "pioneer cooking".  Searches for tents and sleeping bags will probably yield more information than you can even read, let alone absorb.  Sometimes you may have to narrow your search to keep it manageable and get down to what you want to know.

Archives of "Survivorman" episodes are available on several web sites.   I've watched every "Survivorman" episode at least two or three times.   Even though you may never expect to find yourself stuck in the Arctic tundra or stranded in an African or Amazon jungle, his techniques and advice have many applications and he demonstrates that you CAN survive in a multitude of inhospitable environments.   Having done a lot of desert camping and riding I found his desert episodes right on.   I appreciate that he isn't afraid to admit when he makes a mistake himself. Hopefully we can learn from his experiences.   And, by the way, unlike some other "survivor" shows, Les's adventures are NOT staged or faked.   He does solicit expert advice about each area he visits so he is prepared, but everything you see him do is real.  And I like it that he shares his mistakes and failures (like when he set his survival shelter on fire!) as well as his successes.  Sometimes it is good to learn what NOT to do.   Some other "survivor" shows deliver more dramatic and exciting content, but it has been shown that they are staged.  The main actor even spent the night in a comfortable hotel nearby and not in his survival shelter.  A little broadening of some their "remote location" shots showed they were within a few hundred yards of a busy highway!   Les has to live by his wits and live with his own mistakes, like accidentally setting his shelter on fire in one episode.  I would rather have honesty than a dramatic story.

Government agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and state and county parks departments often have web sites that can help you identify campgrounds and other recreational opportunities.  It is always a good idea to check the rules and regulations for your destination to be sure you aren't counting on being able to do something that is prohibited.  OHVs are prohibited in some campgrounds even though there are legal trails nearby.  You may or may not be able to discharge fire arms and there are often restrictions on alcohol consumption.  There may also be seasonal fire restrictions.  OHV trails are sometimes closed after the winter until log falls can be cleared and wet sections can dry up enough to be passable with permanently damaging the terrain.  It is always better to know ahead of time about any kind of restrictions rather than be turned away or end up breaking the rules and facing expensive fines.

Check it out online!