What Should You Have To Begin Camping, RVing, and/or OHVing?

The main thing you need to get started is desire. You just have to want to do it. Then decide where you'd like to go and how you'd like to get there. Next, decide exactly what you want to do and begin working toward acquiring the equipment, knowledge, and skills to do it.  Keep in mind just buying the right gear and equipment is only the beginning.  Before you can enjoy using it you're going to have to learn how to set it up, how to maintain it, and how to use it properly.  Proper use of camping, RV, and OHV equipment is necessary for safety as well as for enjoyment.

Here is a list of basic equipment to get you started:
    Tent or other shelter (RV, SUV, pickup with a camper shell)
    Sleeping bags or blankets
    Ice chest
    Cooking facilities: stove or portable BBQ
    Lantern or flashlight(s)
    Axe or hatchet
   Water jug

Some optional items to make things more comfortable:
    Camp chairs
    Folding table
    Canopy or large umbrella

These items will give you a good foundation to begin camping and from there you can build up your gear as you discover what works for you and what you need for added comfort and convenience. Watch your fellow campers to see whey they use and what works for them. There are other posts in this blog that give more detailed information on tools and equipment if you need or want some ideas to help you get started.

Tent camping. If you're going to start tent camping, obviously you'll need a tent. There are hundreds of designs to choose from. The kind of tent you need depends on several things: where you will be using it, how many people it needs to house, what kind of weather you expect to see, will it be a base camp or something you have to carry while hiking? How much can you afford to spend? Tents range from tiny, light weight back-packing tents that barely cover your sleeping bag to keep the dew and rain off to huge, multi-roomed affairs for large families. I had a 10x14 canvas cabin tent my Boy Scouts called "The Hotel". I also have a nifty little pop-up dome that takes about 3 seconds to set up. Just remove the strap and toss it up in the air. Poof! Instant tent! If you're going have to carry your tent while hiking, you will want something that is small and light. If you are setting up a base camp near your vehicle you can use a larger, heavier tent that gives you more room and may provide better protection against the elements. Because tents tend to be somewhat pricey, you may want to look for a good deal on a used tent. Check out your local classified ads or on-line sales such as ebay and craigslist. Sometimes you can find extraordinary deals on new tents on ebay. If you are buying a used tent, see if you can set it up before you take it home so you can make sure it is satisfactory condition and all the parts are there. Minor tears can be usually easily repaired. Stay away from articles with major damage or lack of significant components unless you are fully prepared to make the necessary repairs. Garage sales are often a good place to find used tents. Sometimes you will even find ones that have never even been taken out of the box! For successful tent camping you will need more than just a tent. You will need sleeping accommodations. Sleeping bags are the easiest and usually the most comfortable for camping but ordinary blankets and quilts can also be used. Some folks are reluctant to buy used sleeping bags, but they can be dry cleaned to ensure they are sanitary and safe to use and they usually come out just about like new. Some people like sleeping on folding camp cots instead of laying on the ground. Of course this isn't a viable option for hiking or back-packing or if you have chosen a small tent. Sleeping pads are light weight and easy to transport and add a lot of comfort over sleeping on the hard ground and twigs and rocks. You will also need a way to transport and preserve your food and water. An ice chest will usually do to keep refrigerated food safe for several days. Keep an eye on the ice and replace it before it is all gone to prevent your food from spoiling. Try to store your ice chest out of the sun and way from any direct sources of heat to prolong its usefulness. A simple plastic tub is one of the most convenient ways to organize and transport non-perishable foods, but you can also use a duffle bag or even plastic grocery bags (but they aren't very durable). You will need a way to cook in camp. Some folks opt to do all their cooking over a campfire. If that is your choice, a foldable grill will make many tasks easier. Other alternatives include your ordinary back-yard BBQ or hibachi and camp stoves. Don't try to cook inside your tent! It creates a high fire danger and the fumes and smoke can make you sick and can permeate the fabric, causing foul odors and premature discoloration and deterioration.

RVing. If you want to start out in an RV right away, you're first step is to determine what kind of RV you want. A lot of folks start out with a simple tent trailer and gradually work their way to what best meets their needs as they mature. Some retirees will jump right into a big, luxurious, Class A motorhome. Whatever you choose, do your homework before you buy. Consider how you will use the RV, how much you can afford to spend, where you will use it, and where you will store it. I can't tell you which RV is right for you. What you choose must be right for you and right for your current needs. You may have had some idea of what you wanted last year. Next year you may need something different. But the only one that is best for you is what is right for you right now! The convenience and luxury of a large Class A motorhome may be very appealing, but if you want to camp in primitive forest service campgrounds, you may need a smaller unit to comply with length restrictions and negotiating narrow, winding access roads.  A tent trailer or teardrop trailer can usually be towed behind all but the smallest vehicles and can often be stored in your garage.  An RV usually combines many of the basic equipment you need (shelter, food storage, food prep, comfortable sleeping accommodations, etc).

There is another shelter options to get you started enjoying the camping experience:  rent a cabin in a KOA or other campground.  That way you have a base of operations that will be a little more familiar while you explore the fun of campfires and other camping related activities.

OHVing. Like anything else, your choice of an OHV is a very personal matter. What works for me won't necessarily work for you. You need to consider your physical capabilities along with the kind of terrain and weather where you expect to be using your OHV. Dirt bikes are the favorite of my family. They are highly maneuverable, but they require physical strength and stamina. It is said that Supercross, the ultimate professional dirt bike racing event, is THE most physically demanding sport in the world. ATVs are more stable except when crossing a slope, require less physical capabilities, and can haul more gear and equipment. I often see ATV riders who are otherwise wheel-chair bound. ATVs also deliver a little better performance in soft terrain such as mud, sand, and snow, especially if they are equipped with four wheel drive. The OHV you choose depends on what seems fun to you, where you'll be using it, and how much you can afford to spend. New OHVs of just about any type are fairly expensive. Used OHVs may have mechanical problems associated with ordinary wear and tear or abuse but can often be a good buy. Be careful when buying a used OHV. Check it over carefully and if you have any concerns, have it checked by a competent mechanic. What you spend on a pre-purchase inspection could save you hundreds of dollars in repairs. I have had very good luck purchasing used dirt bikes over the years. I have had to pass on a few along the way that didn't seem to be in satisfactory condition. If the engine starts easily and runs smoothly without expelling clouds of smoke or steam out the exhaust and the clutch, brake, and transmission work smoothly, it is probably OK, but a mechanic can do extended tests to make sure. If the fenders or other plastic parts are badly damaged or the tires worn out, it may have had heavy or abusive use that could lead to premature failure. There are plenty of legitimate bargains out there, so don't throw your money away on a beat up unit just because it is cheap. In the long run it may be less costly to pay more for a better machine. A reputable dealer will often offer a limited warranty and will have performed, at the very least, certain tests required by law to ensure the basic safety of the machine. Often they will have done a lot more because they want their customers to be happy and they don't want the cost of having to do warranty work. Expect to pay more at a dealer than you will pay for the same unit from a private party. Buying from a dealer may also help you to establish a relationship that can yield on-going benefits. Some dealers offer purchasers of vehicles discounts on merchandise, supplies, and services. The more you buy from a dealer, the more likely you will get rewards. Two critical criteria when purchasing an OHV: 1) It should fit you well and you should be comfortable on it and 2) it should be fun to ride! I was offered a great deal on a bigger, newer, and nicer dirt bike when I bought my first one, but I turned it down because I wasn't comfortable on it. Ever worn a pair of shoes that didn't fit? Not comfortable and I'll bet you didn't wear them very long or very often. Your OHV will be the same way. If it doesn't feel good, you won't enjoy it and you won't ride it.

What? Go for it!

Who Should Go Camping, RVing and/or OHVing?

Who Should Go Camping, RVing and/or OHVing? The simplest answer to this question is: everyone, at least anyone who has an interest in doing so. It is particularly advantageous for young families as it provides opportunities for a lot of true quality time for parents and children to share experiences a little or no cost. However, it is not unusual for retirees to begin their RVing experience long after all the kids have left home. Camping offers something for just about everyone. Even physical disabilities do not prevent people from enjoying camping, RVing and OHVing. In fact, OHVs, especially ATVs, provide extended mobility for many wheel chair bound folks. I know a wheel chair bound parapalegic who is an ATV rider and strong OHV activist. A properly equipped RV can be a very comfortable way for older people and those with disabilities to travel and enjoy the great outdoors.

Young families. I have a special interest in seeing young families get started. We got a late start with some of our kids, but most of them grew up camping. My oldest son was about 10 when we first started RVing and dirt biking. The youngest came along about 4 years later. By then our brood numbered 6, including 4 boys and 2 girls. With a 14-year age difference it was difficult to find activities that were appealing to everyone -- except camping and dirt biking. Everyone always enjoyed that! It was good to start them out young. How young? Well, as we added to our family, they started camping with us as babies, often riding in a carrier on Mom's back and started riding their own dirt bikes before they were in kindergarten. Our youngest son rode 13 miles of a 26 mile Poker Run on a 50cc dirt bike when he was still a month shy of his 4th birthday -- and wanted to go further. Our camping and dirt biking outings allowed a bonding for the family I think we wouldn't have gotten any other way. Camping and OHVing also provide numerous "teaching moments", beginning with responsibility for taking care of their own equipment and gear and extending to personal achievements like conquering a difficult trail or climbing a steep hill and beyond, to exercising teamwork with the family and with fellow riders and various impromptu science and astronomy lessons. Not to mention developing their own camping skills. My oldest daughter, who started riding when she was about 5, went on to race Women's Desert Expert in southern California for several years and for most races she chose to be on her own. She set up her own camp, did her own camp cooking, and even did her own "wrenching" to maintain her bike. This same girl ran a Grand Prix on her dirt bike one Saturday morning and competed favorably in a city-wide beauty contest that afternoon. No one watching her perform a complex piano solo at the pageant would have guessed she spent the morning racing her dirt bike.  She also brought home the #1 plate in Women's Motocross in Los Angeles in 2001.

Established families. Enlisting the cooperation and interest of older kids in camping may be more of challenge to start with, but is still doable and very much rewarding. The more exciting and adventurous you can make your outings, the easier it will be to capture the attention of today's teenagers who are highly focused on electronic lives such as cell phones, video games, texting, and virtual online relationships. In many ways it will be a good way to help round out their development to get their noses out of their electronic world and help them develop useful skills in the physical world. Camping is a VERY physical activity. Your own enthusiasm will be a primary force in inspiring your family. If you are lukewarm or intimidated yourself, your kids will respond to and reflect your ambivalence. Find something you can be passionate about: OHVing, hiking, fishing, hunting, canoeing, bird watching, visiting historical or geological sites or experimenting with pioneer and survival activities. Most kids (and adults) are fascinated with fire. Learn how to build a fire without using matches. Not only is it kind of fun, it is a good survival skill to have. My grown son was visibly impressed when I used flint and steel to start our campfire on a recent tent camping excursion.   Explore other survival techniques, such as building a shelter or finding food and water. Just make sure that, whatever you choose to do, you are genuinely interested in doing it. Then seek information and training to build your skills and enable you to share them with your family. Camping, RVing, and OHVing all provide many wonderful "teaching moments".

Older couples. Just because you've filed for social security doesn't mean you have to sit home in the rocker the rest of your life! In fact, sitting in the rocker may shorten your life! Many couples don't get around to starting their camping or RVing lifestyle until retirement. By then, many people prefer RVing to tent camping because of the comforts and conveniences RVs have to offer, but if you are in good health and have a craving for authentic outdoors experiences, go ahead and give tent camping a try. There is certainly no upper age limit, as long as you feel physically able to handle it. My grandfather always said "A man will rust out quicker than he'll wear out". More recently I've adopted the attitude I saw on a T-shirt: "You don't stop riding because you get old; you get old because you stop riding." Camping and RVing as a couple can sometimes restore some of the spontaneity and intimacy of the life a couple initially shared before having children. On the other hand, taking your kids or grand kids along on your trips can also be rewarding and enjoyable and recall some of your own youthful enthusiasm for life. And don't be afraid to explore options for OHVing if you find that appealing. ATVs and side-by-sides have given us a range of choices that greatly expands the options available to those of us who may not be as physically active as we once were. Off road motorcycles are a little more challenging, so if you have any interest in riding s dirt bike, start as soon as you can so you'll already have the skills. Age doesn't have to stop you from having a good time. I have an associate who is well into his 70s and still organizes and personally leads two week-long dirt bike rides in Mexico every year. You don't stop (riding, camping) because you get old; you get old because you stop (riding/camping).

Who should begin Camping, RVIng, and/or OHVing? YOU!

C.E.R.T. -- Community Emergency Response Team

This may not be directly related to RVs and OHVs but it does pertain to emergency preparedness, and our RVs, if properly equipped and maintained, can serve as DRVs: Disaster Recovery Vehicles and our camping equipment can serve as emergency survival equipment -- if we know what to do and how to prepare. Camping, RVing, and OHVing may place us in situations where we need to be able to deal with emergencies without immediate professional help. Camping provides a wonderful opportunity to practice emergency preparedness and survival skills we may need in case of a natural or man made disaster in our neighborhoods.

Preparing yourself, your family, and your RV for emergencies. To be prepared you need to seek to develop skills and obtain training you may need in the event of an emergency -- a natural disaster in your neighborhood or getting lost or stranded while camping. A good place to start is by joining your local Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.). Smaller communities or places with transient populations like areas where vacation cabins are located probably won't have a C.E.R.T. program but may have their own emergency preparedness programs and you may be able to become part of the local volunteer fire department. Volunteer fire fighter training is also a good way to develop skills you might need during an emergency.  It has been said "You are the only first responder you can really count on."  That is especially true when you are camping or participating in outdoor recreational activities in remote areas but it could well apply to a disaster situation at home.  In any major incident, standard Emergency Services are going to be overwhelmed for some time.  Figure 3 days to 2 weeks before things will start getting back to anything approaching normal.

As a First Responder your own safety is always your first priority.   While that may not seem very heroic, it is essential.  The last thing you need to do is become another victim.  Looking out for yourself and your fellow C.E.R.T. team members first ensures you do not add to the victim pool but remain available to help victims of the original incident.  Taking care of yourself is NOT a selfish act.  Did you know more would-be rescuers are injured or killed than initial victims of a disaster?  That is mostly due to well-intentioned but poorly executed rescue attempts by untrained people.

Community Emergency Response Teams are comprised of volunteers who are trained by local fire departments to provide first responder emergency services in a disaster situation. In a major disaster, such as an earthquake, tornado, widespread flooding, or winter storm, local emergency services agencies are going to be overwhelmed. It could be a couple of weeks before anything resembling normal services can be restored. What are YOU going to do if response to a 911 call -- if you can even make one! -- is two days or even two weeks out? Community Emergency Response Teams are designed to provide first responder services in their neighborhoods and then where ever they might be assigned by local emergency services professionals. I present a pitch for C.E.R.T. here on my RVs and OHVs blog to encourage campers to avail themselves of this valuable training. As previously mentioned in my post on Camping and Survival Skills, the worst possible thing you can do in an emergency situation is panic. Preparation, including C.E.R.T. training, is a key to avoiding panic. I have taken C.E.R.T. training from fire departments in large metropolitan cities and in small rural communities and, since the program has been standardized under FEMA, the training is consistent and effective and easily adapted to the unique threats individual areas might face.

The training one receives as a member of a Community Emergency Response Team can be invaluable in a disaster. C.E.R.T. members are trained in emergency response procedures, fire suppression, first aid and medical triage, disaster psychology, and light search and rescue. The mission of C.E.R.T. is "to do the most good for the most people". A C.E.R.T. member's first priority is their own safety and the safety of other team members. C.E.R.T. members are not authorized to enter heavily damaged buildings nor engage in any rescue attempt that would put themselves or others, including well-meaning volunteers, in further danger.  One of the hardest things a C.E.R.T. volunteer might have to do is try restrain someone who is intent on putting themselves and others in danger in an attempt rescue a loved one. C.E.R.T. volunteers are not authorized to physically restrain people but are trained to guide and direct people away from hazardous situations.  If someone is hell bent to enter a burning or collapsing structure against your advice, you can't stop them. 

C.E.R.T. training is usually provided by the local fire department. The C.E.R.T. program originated in earthquake-prone southern California but has been adopted by FEMA and adapted for all kinds of disaster situations. Contact your local fire department to learn if they have a C.E.R.T. program and when the next class is scheduled. Classes are usually quite inexpensive, sometimes even free. Make sure any class you take is legitimate and that the credentials you receive are valid. I have heard of well-meaning folks creating their own C.E.R.T. classes. They made up their own manuals, instead of using the FEMA-approved training materials. They charged about twice the normal cost of fire department sponsored classes (many times community sponsored courses are free!) and conducted them on just 2 Saturdays instead of the regular 2 nights a week for 10 weeks an authorized C.E.R.T. course requires. I expect the training they delivered was potentially better than no training at all, but their graduates may be lacking in critical skills and hands on practice and their credentials are not recognized by official C.E.R.T. programs or other emergency response organizations.  C.E.R.T. folks are usually recognized by EMS organizations as valuable resources and not just ordinary citizens to be kept at bay.  One of our C.E.R.T. instructors reported being allowed though a police roadblock during a local emergency because of the C.E.R.T. sticker on his windhshield and the C.E.R.T. ID card in his wallet.

I had the privilege of getting my initial C.E.R.T. training from two premier southern California fire departments, both of which are leaders in C.E.R.T.. C.E.R.T. was invented by the Ventura County Fire Department and refined and formalized by the Los Angeles City Fire Department, who is often credited with having invented it. It has since been adopted by FEMA as a nationwide program. I have since re-certified in a more rural environment where local trainers have included helpful survival tips that are specific to our location and the kinds of recreational activities folks engage in around here. As far as I'm concerned, you can never get too much training! One of our local C.E.R.T. leaders has participated in at last a dozen mock disaster training classes, was one of the responders to the 9/11 disaster at the Pentagon, and yet still claims he learns more from being part of local C.E.R.T. classes than any of the other, more expensive professional (and military) courses he has attended-- and he learns something new from each iteration.

I urge everyone whose health will permit it, to seek C.E.R.T. training. Then, if/when a disaster strikes (natural or man-made, at home, at work, in camp, or on the trail) you'll be better equipped to take care of yourself, your family, your companions, and your neighbors. It will also provide you with fundamental skills for handling any emergency situation.

When a disaster strikes, your first responsibility is to yourself. You must take care of yourself first. This is NOT a selfish concept. If you are injured in the initial disaster or allow yourself to be injured attempting to help others, you will become part of the problem instead of part of the solution. In order to be an effective rescuer, you must first tend to your own needs -- physical, emotional, and spiritual. Your next responsibility is to take care of your immediate family. Only then are you emotionally able to move on to help your neighbors or lend assistance to professional emergency service personnel. If you rush out to help others before taking care of yourself and our family, you are likely to lose focus for the task at hand as you dwell on the status of your family. Once you have all your ducks in order, you can help others. If you don't take time to care for your own needs, you will not be as effective as you need to be in taking care of others. When conducting search and rescue operations, your primary responsibility is the safety of your team (including yourself). You won't be any good to anyone if you become injured or trapped along with the victims you are trying to help. Your priorities are: 1 your personal safety, 2 your family safety, 3, safety of fellow team members, 4 safety of the community. The first thing you will do when you respond to an emergency situation is do a size up to determine the nature and extent of the circumstances and whether it is within the scope of C.E.R.T. to attempt rescues or if you should simply control the perimeter to prevent further injures.  Remember, you are the only first responder you can really count on.

What does C.E.R.T. cover?  Major topics include disaster medical services, light search and rescue, disaster psychology, fire prevention and suppression, and terrorism.  Medical services and fire suppression are probably the topics that will be most applicable to camping and RVing but even disaster psychology will be useful and you may even find applications for light search and rescue techniques, so pretty much the whole course will be well worth your time.

C.E.R.T. is not for the weak of stomach or the timid. but just about anyone can be C.E.R.T. trained.  If you can't handle the thought of dealing with seriously injured victims you will need to work on your attitude. You must prepare yourself for what could be unpleasant tasks. As a C.E.R.T. member you may be called upon to perform emotionally charged tasks as you deal with trapped and/or injured or even dead people. Disasters can create gruesome injuries which you may or may not be able to treat. And no matter how good your treatment is, seriously injured people may still die. You have to prepare yourself to deal with it. In C.E.R.T. training you will be taught how to perform medical triage -- to identify and treat the most severe injuries first. Our tendency as compassionate human beings is to provide assistance to injured people right away, but that isn't always the best approach. While splinting a broken arm or bandaging a non-life threatening wound, another victim, who could have been saved by timely treatment, may die. Therefore, it is essential to understand the full scope of all injuries among all victims before beginning treatment -- except for obvious life threatening injuries. You will also be taught how to do a "sixty second assessment" to evaluate the medical status of victims in 60 seconds or less. You will be given training in first aid and CPR and taught how to identify and provide appropriate immediate treatment for life-threatening injuries and conditions. One of the hardest things you may have to do in a real disaster situation is identify and process people who didn't -- or won't -- survive. You may also find it difficult to inform highly vocal but lightly injured victims that they'll have to wait while you deal with folks with life-threatening injuries. One of my C.E.R.T. instructors insists duct tape is an invaluable resource when dealing with such people! Yes, it may be necessary to restrain some victims, both for their own good and to prevent them from injuring others or interfering in critical tasks. Another handy device for restraining potentially dangerous people are plastic cable ties. Even law enforcement sometimes uses them in lieu of handcuffs. While C.E.R.T. volunteers do not have law enforcement training or authority, sometimes you must simply use common sense to ensure the safety of you, your team, and your victims.   In one of our C.E.R.T. exercises we had a victim who, due to a confused sate of mind caused my a head injury, kept wandering off. One solution is to assign another "walking wounded" to keep an eye on such people. Lacking that you may have to restrain them for their own safety and the safety of other victims and rescuers. By the way, giving people something useful to do is a very good way of helping them as well as helping you as a rescuer. 

C.E.R.T. Organization. C.E.R.T. operates under the authority and direction of the local emergency services team. C.E.R.T. may be called into service by the local emergency services professionals but may also, by design, voluntarily take charge of their own neighborhoods until professional help arrives. C.E.R.T. does not replace professional emergency services personnel, but acts to provide care and mitigate circumstances until emergency service can arrive. In the event of a large-scale disaster professional services may be unavailable for weeks and you may be the only help around. By convention and direction, the first C.E.R.T. member to arrive at a scene becomes the Incident Commander and remains in charge of the scene until professional rescuers arrive or he voluntarily turns over command to someone else -- which he should do before he becomes too exhausted to function effectively. That means the C.E.R.T. trained teenager next door could be your Incident Commander, even if you are a paramedic or a doctor! If that happens, your job is to support him any way you can, not try to usurp his authority! It is likely that an inexperienced Incident Commander will voluntarily turn the job over to more seasoned personnel when they arrive, but if he/she doesn't, do your best to be supportive. The Incident Commander is responsible to identify and organize resources available to assist people in his immediate area. Resources may include people, equipment, tools, medical supplies, transportation, shelter, food and water. The first priority for the Incident Commander is the safety of team members. Next is the safety of other people within his jurisdiction. He will be responsible for designating team members to take charge of specific C.E.R.T. tasks such as logistics (collecting, inventorying, and managing resources), medical treatment, morgue, fire suppression, search and rescue, transportation, and communication. Depending on the circumstances and resources available he may organize search and rescue teams to extricate victims from lightly damaged buildings. In the case of heavily damaged buildings or events involving hazardous materials, C.E.R.T. is charged with establishing a safe perimeter and keeping unauthorized people away from the scene. Since C.E.R.T. personnel have no law enforcement authority and do not carry weapons, keeping unauthorized people out of a hazardous area largely consists of monitoring the perimeter and informing would-be intruders of the danger.  You can usually let them know that professional rescurers have been called and are on their way to assist victims in the restricted area.   In most disaster scenarios, more would-be rescuers are injured or die than there are initial victims. Well-intentioned but untrained citizens rush to the aid of their friends and neighbors and even strangers, without regard for their own safety or an understanding of the additional risk their actions may pose for themselves and for existing victims. YOU do not want to be one of those people! By getting C.E.R.T training, you will know what you can and can't do to assist and be prepared to fulfill the C.E.R.T. mission to do the most good for the most people. Sometimes doing the most good may mean keeping people from entering a heavily damaged building or away from hazardous materials.

In a disaster situation, the general public will be seeking leadership and instruction. Most people will not be adequately prepared to deal with loss of utilities and emergency services. They won't have a clue what to do when they can't just call 911. That is where having C.E.R.T. training comes in. The more people who get trained, the better any neighborhood is able to handle its own needs in a disaster. You may find yourself the ONLY C.E.R.T. trained individual on your block or at your place of employment and people are going to look to you for guidance. Following the Northridge Earthquake in California in 1994 I donned my C.E.R.T. gear (hard hat and safety vest) and began checking on some of my friends and neighbors. Everywhere I went people came out of their homes all around anxiously seeking information and direction. Fortunately we were far enough from the epicenter that there was not a lot of heavy damage in our neighborhood, but I was at least able to provide some assurance of that to worried people and give them some basic instructions regarding their immediate safety and what they could do to prepare for aftershocks and, perhaps, how to deal with extended loss of utilities.

Becoming C.E.R.T. trained will give you confidence and peace of mind that you will know what to do if/when disaster strikes. That makes it well worth the few weeks and modest cost (if any) of training.

C.E.R.T Rules!

Shopping for an RV

Shopping for an RV can be fun! There are lots of different types and models to choose from, each with its own unique features and capabilities. Exploring the various options can provide many hours of interesting and educational entertainment. Shopping for an RV can be similar to shopping for any other vehicle in some ways. You will want to consider brand, condition, features, mileage and price. However, there are other things to consider. You will want to do your homework before you venture out to start looking. The Internet is an excellent resource. You can read presentations by manufacturers and reviews by owners. You can compare prices at different dealers and among for sale by owner used units. You can check for recalls. The main difference between shopping for a new or used family car and an RV will be checking the condition of the coach and its appliances. Of course, if you've decided on purchasing a new unit, condition will not be of major concern since everything will be new and will come with manufacturer's warranties. The reputation of the dealer and the manufacturer will be things to consider.

Used RVs. Used or "previously owned" RVs can be an exceptional value, especially in today's slow economy. RVs don't typically log mileage quickly like cars and trucks and you can find units with very low miles at good prices. I recently saw a 21 year old motorhome with less than 26,000 miles on it and a 30 year old unit with only 42,000 miles.  However, low mileage is only one consideration. You may find serious problems even with a low mileage vehicle if it has not been properly stored and regularly maintained. On ANY used vehicle, check the tires and all mechanical components carefully. If you don't feel qualified to do so, hire a mechanic to go over the vehicle for you. Considering the large investment we make in RVs, the amount you pay a mechanic is a cheap way to avoid large, unexpected expenses.  These days even a simple carburetor overhaul will run about $500, so investing a $100 in having a mechanic check things out could save you plenty.  You will also want to inspect the condition of the exterior paint and roof and the interior and verify that all appliances are operating correctly. Some stale odors are normal but a strong musty or foul odor inside an RV is usually a sign of water damage such as dry rot that can be very expensive to repair.  Stains and soft spots in the floor, walls, or ceiling are another indicator of water damage. You may find RVs with cosmetic water stains on the ceiling or wall, but if the underlying structure is solid and the leak has been repaired, it is mostly an aesthetics problem. Short term leaks can leave stains but usually don't cause serious damage. Long term leaks usually result in dry rot, which can present serious structural problems even if they don't leave stains. Long term leaks don't always show up as stains inside an RV. The damage may all be inside the ceiling or wall. I always thought it interesting that dry rot occurs in wet wood! You'll find air fresheners hanging in a lot of RVs. Mostly that is just because people enjoy the fragrance and it mitigates cooking odors and normal stuffiness from storage. However, if the air fresheners or smell of cleaning products are overpowering, the seller may be attempting to cover up the foul odors from water damage. Examine the roof and look for damage to the surface and cracking of caulk around vents and other accessories attached to the roof. Dried out and cracked caulk will allow water to penetrate the vehicle. Don't be shy about testing appliances. RV appliances can be pricey to repair or replace so you want to know what you're getting into. Non-working appliances can help reduce the price, but you'd better know what it is going to take to get them fixed or replaced. Run the generator and test the microwave. Run the air conditioner(s) and the furnace. Test the hot water heater and the stove. Inspect the refrigerator. If it is moldy or stained or smells bad you may have trouble getting it clean enough to be comfortable using it. Turn it on. The cooling fins should get cold to the touch in a few minutes. Turn on the water pump and ensure that water flows freely at all faucets and the toilet flushes properly. Listen to see if the pump continues to cycle after all faucets have been turned off or for any hissing sound that may indicate a leak. Any un-repaired tears in carpets, curtains, or upholstery should be noted. You may be able to use that to help negotiate a lower price, considering you will bear the expense of making the necessary repairs. Un-repaired tears or other damage are often an indicator of poor maintenance habits in general so I am always suspicious when I find any lack of routine maintenance. On the other hand, accidents can happen to anyone, so unless the damage is excessive, I wouldn't worry too much about light damage that has been successfully repaired. Inspect the dump valves for any signs of damage or leakage. They often hang low enough to be damaged going in and out of driveways or traveling on rough roads. Repairs are usually not terribly expensive and can often be done by owners, but a leaking sewer system could delay your first trip.  Be sure to distinguish between worn or damaged valves and damaged holding tanks.  Valves are easily replaced;  holding tanks repairs can be costly and time consuming.

One kind of hidden value to pre-owned RVs is that they will often have a number of nice additions courtesy of the previous owner(s), things that were not part of the standard equipment but do add to convenience and comfort.   A few additions, such as power levelers might add to the Blue Book value but most accessories won't increase the price so its like you're getting them for free.

Timing. When is the best time to buy an RV? That depends on your priorities and your needs. If you need an RV now, NOW is the best time to buy. If you are flexible, you may want to time your purchase to take advantage of market conditions that favor your needs. You will usually find more units available in spring and early summer giving you a better choice, but prices may be higher because more people want to buy an RV for their summer vacation. On the other hand, if you are looking for the best price, look for end of season reductions in late summer, fall and winter, on both used and new units. Local RV shows frequently offer special "show prices" at RV shows, which are usually well below market or sticker price. Some RV shows include previously owned units as well as new ones.  It is fairly common to encounter high-pressure sales techniques at shows, encouraging you to "take advantage of the show price" before someone else grabs up the unit or the show is over and the price goes back up.   Personally I find such tactics repulsive and feel that reputable dealers don't have to stoop to strong arm tactics.  Their products and reputation should make the sale for them.  Fortunately, I've found salesmen at RV shows to less pushy than those on the lot and a lot less pushy than typical than used car salesman!

Dealers and salesman. RV dealers and salesman can be a valuable resource when you're looking to buy an RV. Good salesmen are often very knowledgeable and can help guide you to the right RV for you. A really good salesman will realize it is more valuable to help you find the right RV than it is to make a quick sale. Don't succumb to high pressure tactics. There are enough units and enough dealers out there so you don't have to give in to over-zealous salesmen. I generally walk off the lot if I'm hit with the "this offer is only good today" or "I have another buyer, but if you act now...." approach. In some cases there may be legitimate special advertised pricing that does expire, but frequently it is nothing more than attempt to force you to make a quick decision and you end up buying something you didn't want. If you find a unit you really like, make sure you know what its book value is, then make a reasonable offer. If you are willing to negotiate and accept some compromises, you can usually reach an acceptable arrangement.

Private party sales. When negotiating with private parties, it is good to know the book value of the vehicle you are considering. You might luck out and find a desperate or ignorant seller who will take your low-ball offer, but most likely the seller has done his own research and knows what his vehicle is worth. You can expect to pay somewhere between the trade-in value and the retail value when buying from a private party. Some specialty vehicles (4WD motorhomes, for example or other rare units like refurbished GMC front-wheel drive models) may command full "blue book" retail or even more from a private party, but that would be very unusual. The official "book" retail price includes the dealer profit, sales commission, and a margin for warranty services, none  of which a private party has to be concerned with. In most cases it will be a waste of effort and even offensive to offer less than the trade-in value, although I have seen deals where low offers have been successful. But those I've seen involve peculiar circumstances. Be wary of unusually low prices. In most cases, if a price seems too good to be true, it is. Very low prices often indicate hidden problems, but sometimes there are good reasons. In one case I know of, the seller and his wife both had health issues and needed a quick sale and they lived hundreds of miles from any dealer where they could wholesale their motorhome. He didn't have the time or money to deliver the unit to a dealer and was willing to let an interested buyer reap the benefits rather than going out of his way to add to the high profits of a not particularly helpful dealer. Some sellers just need to get out from under their payments and will transfer ownership for little or no money down just to get relief from hefty payments. Don't be afraid to ask the seller about his maintenance practices and if he has any maintenance records you can review. Some sellers will willingly share how they used their RVs. That can be useful information too. A unit that has only been used in full-hookup campgrounds and driven only on paved roads may be in better shape than one that has seen a lot of off-highway driving to primitive camp sites. But sometimes things can be deceiving. A unit with very low mileage may have only been used for short trips, like to local campgrounds or tailgating at sporting events. Lots of short trips are much harder on the engine and drive train than highway miles and appliances and other components may have endured unusual wear. High miles may be due to long distance usage. Lots of "highway miles" is usually a good thing. Highway miles are much easier on vehicles than stop-and-go city driving.  An RV that has been used for touring may have higher miles than one primarily used for tailgating at local sports events, but the touring use may yield less wear and tear.

Trade-offs.  As you compare RVs within your price range you're likely to find some older, high end units at about the same price as some newer, "normal" rigs.  Only you can decide if an older or higher mileage unit is more desirable than a newer one with fewer miles and fewer features.  An older unit may be an excellent value if it has been well-taken care of and may give you luxury options that aren't within your budget on newer vehicles.  You may have to decide between higher power and better fuel economy.  Class A motorhomes are usually more luxurious and have more features and larger holding tanks than Class C rigs, but Class C rigs,ironically, can usually sleep more people.

Ebay and other online sites can make shopping easier and save a lot of driving. I have purchased 2 motorhomes through Ebay. One I bought from a dealer and I should have been more careful. In spite of the dealer's frequent claims of having recently serviced the vehicle, I found it 3 quarts low on oil at my first fuel stop. The damage already done led to a early and expensive engine failure. Had it been a private party sale I would have been more thorough in my inspection prior to completing the deal. Most dealers are completely trustworthy. I just happened to get one who either by design or by accident, misrepresented the unit. The one I bought from a private party turned out to be a good buy. It served us for several years and then I passed it along to one of my sons who continued to use if for several more years. In the case of the problem RV, it was a kind of impulse buy when I wasn't actively looking for a "new" RV. I saw it on Ebay at a really good price and really liked the brand and the features. In fact, I kept that motorhome for many years and, after installing a rebuilt engine, it  served us very well. I had been actively looking for an upgrade when I bought the private party unit and had inspected quite a number of coaches for sale before settling on that one. That gave me a pretty good idea of features, condition, and price.  I should also mention that the one I bought from the dealer was an excellent value, even with having to replace the engine.  It was a Holiday Rambler and was top of the line in its day advertised to be the most luxurious motorhome ever.

Test drive. Always ask to test drive the vehicle. It should start easily. Listen for unusual noises and vibration and observe the exhaust. Wind noise may indicate loose or ill-fitting windows, vents, or doors. Blue smoke out the exhaust is usually an indication of excessive oil consumption. White smoke may indicate a coolant leak into the combustion system. Black smoke usually indicates the fuel mixture is too rich. Any of these conditions may require significant engine work, but an incorrect fuel mixture is usually pretty easy to remedy. Listen to the engine. It should run smoothly, with no knocks or pings. Diesel engines may produce more smoke normally than gasoline engines and often have louder engine noises. Squealing belts may not be very expensive to replace, but could indicate a lack of routine maintenance by the previous owner. Try to include various types of terrain on your test drive. Don't just drive it once around the block. You will want to see how it performs on hills and on rough roads. You will want to know how it handles on the freeway when passing or being passed by 18-wheelers. Excessive body roll from passing vehicles may indicate weak or worn suspension, which can be very costly to repair and can make handling the vehicle difficult or even unsafe. The transmission should shift smoothly and without the engine reaching high RPMs. It should downshift easily when climbing hills or when you kick down the accelerator such as when passing or entering a freeway on-ramp -- depending on your speed. Carefully monitor all the gauges. For one thing, you want to know if they're all working properly. For another, they may give you indications of potential problems if they are not within normal readings. This is also a good time to see if you are comfortable driving the vehicle. If you are not, perhaps you should keep looking until you find something you are comfortable driving. Are all the controls within easy reach? Do the mirrors provide adequate coverage for safety? Are you OK with the size? Be especially careful negotiating corners until you are completely comfortable with the way the unit handles. Hitting a curb or clipping a street sign or tree could create damage you would be responsible for and you sure don't want to be spending your RV budget to repair damage to someone else's RV or messing up your new rig! While driving on rough roads, listen for excessive rattles or creaking. You can expect some noise, but it shouldn't sound like its falling apart around you! Check all the lights, including clearance markers.  In some states you will have to repair any broken or burned out lights before it will pass a required safety inspection to get it registered.  Non-functioning lights, especially if widespread, may indicate serious wiring problems. If it has awnings, open them and inspect the condition of the fabric and the hardware.  The fabric should pull taught when the awning is open and shouldn't have any tears or bad stains.  All the hardware should work smoothly, with no unusual noises or binding.   Look inside all cabinets and exterior compartments. Watch for hidden water damage or damage from insects or rodents. Be very wary if you find water in exterior compartments. It may indicate a plumbing problem or defective seals on the doors.

Orphaned RVs can deliver exceptional value.  What is an orphaned RV?  It is one whose manufacturer has gone out of business.  Since the drive train and appliances are usually brand names that are still in business the only downside to owning an orphan RV might be getting body parts if they are damaged.  However, you may still be able to get parts in an RV junk yard and since many RVs are made of fiberglass or fairly standard aluminum panels a good body shop may be able to make good repairs even without factory replacement parts.  Being orphaned usually causes the resale price to drop, making them a good buy if the are in reasonable condition.  The price reduction works to your advantage when you're buying but could bite you if you happen to own an RV at the time its manufacturer goes belly up.  I have owned one or two orphaned RVs and they always delivered extremely good value.  The purchase prices were reasonable and I had no problem maintaining the mechanical components and appliances.  Fortunately I didn't have any need of body work, but, as I said before, I am confident a competent body shop could handle just about anything needed.

Happy buying!

Family Teaching Moments In Camping

RVing, OHVing, and camping provide many family"teaching moments".  I often took advantage of the clear, desert skies for impromptu astronomy lessons for my kids. They all soon knew how to find the north star using the Big Dipper and to recognize Orion, Cassiopeia, and the Seven Sisters. None of that would have been possible back in our suburban home where city lights completely obscure the Milky Way.  By the way, did you know there are only six stars in the Seven Sisters?   Or that it is the logo for Subaru?  I have a small telescope we use for star gazing.  It is big enough that we can see the rings of Saturn and the red spot on Jupiter.  Having a few esoteric facts about things you might encounter during an outing provides both entertainment and education.  There are many good books on astronomy. I think the best ones are also the simplest. I have a thick volume on astronomy that seldom gets used, but I keep one about the size of a Readers Digest Magazine handy to get quick answers to most of the questions that come up around the campfire.  And you never know when your knowledge might be challenged.  I once made a comment about "basking in the glow of a hydrogen fusion furnace 93 millions miles away"  (the Sun) only to have a fellow camper challenge the distance.  He thought it was only about 3 million miles, which would put us so close our oceans and even our atmosphere would evaporate and burn away.  I pulled out one of my astronomy books to prove my facts and he promptly refused to believe what was right there in front of his face in black and white!  He said he'd look it up on the Internet when he got home!  Yeah, like everything you read on the Internet is true! For what its worth, I do strive to avoid spreading any falsehoods through this blog. You really don't need to know the details of celestial mechanics or the chemistry of stars to appreciate the beauty and the mythology associated with the major constellations. Teaching moments can be impromptu or planned. Usually the best ones, the ones that make lasting impressions, are ones that at least seem to just happen, even if you've planned ahead for them (like my astronomy lessons). Keep your eyes open and pay attention to opportunities to share experiences with your kids and grand kids while you're out camping. Weather and nature will present many chances for discussion and scientific learning. The geology of many regions is often evident and illustrates the history of our planet better than any book. The route from our home to our favorite dirt bike riding areas in he Mojave Desert took us across the San Andreas fault and the swirls created by its movement were clearly visible where the freeway cut deep across the fault, showing up as a big "S" in the layers of the rock. Who knew rock could bend?  You will find interesting geology just about everywhere you go. 

Life lessons. I have found some excellent parables in dirt biking to help my kids maintain their perspective on life. For example, focusing on obstacles in your way turns them into "magnetic rocks" that seem to attract your front wheel. You always want to look where you want to go, not at what you want to avoid. Similarly, when climbing a hill, look over the top, not at the obstacles part way up. If you concentrate on the obstacles or difficult section, that's as far as you're going to get, but if your focus is over the top of the hill, that is where you are going to go. These techniques have direct applications in everyday life. If you focus on your problems, they tend to dominate you while focusing on the path through them or beyond them yields a much more productive course. Along the same lines, it is really important to keep things in perspective. Consider the following exercise.  Hold a penny by the edge between your thumb and forefinger and hold it up close to your eye so you're looking right at Honest Abe. You will notice that, first of all, the penny nearly blocks your entire view and secondly, that you cannot see the penny clearly. The same thing happens when we focus too intently on our problems. They block out everything else and we can't even see the problems clearly. Think what happens when you hold the penny out at arms length and see it in perspective with the rest of your surroundings. It no longer blocks out everything and not only can you see it more clearly, you can see it in relationship to everything else and recognize its relative size and value. Similarly, when we view our problems correctly and in perspective we can see them more clearly and measure more effectively their significance -- or insignificance.  If it won't make any difference 300 years from now, don't worry about it, especially if you can't do anything about it right now anyway.

Responsibility. Our modern world seems to have lost touch with the concept of personal responsibility. Liberal politicians and other "do-gooders" keep shifting personal responsibility away from individuals to "society". They blame "society" for the murderer, the gang-banger, the rapist, the alcoholic, and the drug-addict instead of holding people personally accountable for their own choices and actions. While society unfortunately does contribute to and sometimes fosters evil or criminal behavior, much of what goes on is completely due to poor choices made by individuals.   OHV activities provide many opportunities for riders to learn and exercise personal responsibility, starting with cleaning, organizing, and maintaining their equipment and extending to responsible riding behavior. I found dirt-biking gave my kids opportunities to develop both individual self esteem for their personal accomplishments on difficult trails and team work in assisting other riders -- or accepting assistance -- when needed. They also learned (sometimes quite painfully, physically and/or fiscally) that it pays to take proper care of their equipment. And it seldom took more than one time leaving something at home to teach them to make sure they packed everything.

Outdoor skills. There are many outdoor skills that are nurtured in RVing, OHVing, and camping that will serve you and your kids well. Building campfires, caring for the environment, cooking, and first aid are just a few of the fundamental outdoor activities to be exercised while camping. Almost everything we learn from camping helps give us skills that can be used in dealing with disasters where the normal facilities and conveniences we enjoy and take for granted may be interrupted.

Lesson plans? For the most part, you don't need any formal lesson plans. Just be prepared to recognize and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. Some things, such as astronomy, may require a little advance work (unless you're already a skilled astronomer and already know the constellations and the movement of the planets) so you'll be prepared when you get the chance, but many lessons are taught most effectively by example: cleaning up around your camp site; stopping to help another rider out on the trail; lending your tools and expertise to assist fellow campers; properly maintaining your RV, OHV, and camping equipment -- good examples in these areas will have more impact than hundreds of hours of lecturing. If you don't already have good campfire building skills, you may be able to learn together with you kids. Shared learning is an excellent bonding experience and doesn't necessarily mean your kids will think any less of you because you don't "know it all". The very example you set by admitting and overcoming your own limitations will give your kids life lessons that will help them better deal with the problems they will face throughout their lives. As my kids' riding abilities grew roles switched to where they were teaching me new riding tricks.

Science. Camping provides opportunities to examine many different kinds of science. Campfires demonstrate the "fire triangle" (fuel, heat, oxygen) and are a chance to teach basic fire safety principals. Clear night skies are natural laboratories for astronomy. Every day presents opportunities to explore weather patterns. Exploring stream beds can illustrate the effects of erosion and sometimes reveals geologic features of interest and sometimes even fossils. Observing local plants and animals offer lessons in biology. Maintaining your RV, OHV, and camping equipment teaches mechanical and maintenance skills. Even more cerebral subjects such as mathematics have applications in calculating food, water, fuel, and travel requirements. Map-reading and navigation can be practiced. Even domestic sciences, such as cooking, sewing, and housekeeping also have their place in outdoor recreational activities.

You're ALWAYS teaching. Unless you live the life of a hermit, you are always teaching someone around you, whether they are your spouse, kids, neighbors, or strangers. Sometimes all we teach is what idiots we are ("no one is totally worthless: they can always serve as a horrible example"), but with a little thought as to what we're doing and an awareness that we're "always on", we can make our lessons positive ones -- for ourselves as well as for those around us. For generations, moms have taught their kids to set a good example. We would all do well to remember and follow that lesson.

Remember: example, example, example! "What you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying!"

Camping Checklists

Why use checklists? I've mentioned checklists here and there in lots of other posts. I find them useful enough to dedicate an entire post to them. To some folks checklists may be the domain of overly obsessive campers or the weakminded.  Some people may consider them unnecessary, but if you've ever arrived at camp and discovered you left some significant item at home, you'll appreciate their value. I have created one for my motorhome, one for my dirt bike trailer, and one for each of us for our personal riding gear. Each one evolved after arriving in camp hundreds of miles away from home and finding we had left something behind. Now, by running through each checklist BEFORE we leave home, we almost never find ourselves leaving anything critical at home. I am not going to give you specific checklists here. You need to develop your own, ones that will meet YOUR specific needs. However, if you're stuck and need a starting place, I will be happy to share mine. Just send me your email and I'll send you a copy of the my Excel spreadsheets. What I do may well be too detailed for you, but it may at least give you a place to start. My email is desertrat@desertrat.org.

Lest you think checklists are for sissies, consider that some of the most sophisticated professions -- air line pilots, surgeons, and astronauts -- all use them religiously.

RV Checklist. My RV checklist goes over routine safety checks like tires, belts and hoses, lights, fluids, brakes, fuel, and clean windows. Also making sure the antenna is down, the awnings are secured in travel position, and the step retracted. I also like to test all the interior lights and all the appliances, including TVs and other entertainment devices. My list also includes a verification of provisions -- edible, medical, tools, sundries,clothing, and recreational/entertainment items. Major kitchen utensils are also on the list as are sundries such as soap, shampoo, and shaving supplies. I have organized mine by "room" or area to save running around. It only takes a few minutes to run through the checklist and it has saved us from coming up short on things on more than one occasion. Checking off things like making sure antennas are down, awnings are secured, and the refrigerator door is latched prevent accidents and spills that quickly spoil a trip or cause expensive damage. You don't have to use my checklist. In fact, mine wouldn't probably be very helpful to you.  Make one of your own that meets your needs. For the first few trips it will be a work in progress as you figure out what else needs to be on it -- or what you thought you needed that you've since rejected. Once you have refined it it will be a very useful tool.

OHV Checklist. I use a separate checklist for each of our dirt bikes and the supplies in my dirt bike trailer. The list includes routine maintenance items and safety checks on each bike, fuel and (when appropriate) two-stroke oil, as well as making sure we have all the bikes (with 8 riders in the family, leaving one behind was a possibility). The list of tools and supplies can get quite complex so having a detailed checklist is important for making sure nothing is missing. It is also a good way to make sure you have replenished spare parts you may have used up on a previous trip. I keep things like goggle cleaning solutions and SC-1 detail spray in my dirt bike trailer for use as needed during an outing so those kinds of supplies are also on the checklist. Because fasteners tend to come loose and get lost on the trail, having an adequate supply of appropriate replacements is essential to keeping your rides rideable. Spare parts, like brake levers, master links, hand grips, spark plugs and and inner tubes are essential to keep things running without having to make trip to the nearest motorcycle shop, which, by the way, might be a considerable distance from camp.

Personal Riding Gear Checklist. It is really disappointing to get to camp and find out you've left some of your riding gear home -- or some of it is in need of repair before you can go riding. You shouldn't have to worry about the latter if you're performing your post-trip procedures properly because you will have already cleaned and repaired all your gear. However, the checklist is a good last-minute verification that all is well. I have a separate column for each member of the family and list each piece of riding gear. I encourage each rider to check his or her own gear. It not only saves me time, it helps instill a feeling of responsibility in the kids and helps them learn the value of doing routine cleaning and repairs in a timely manner. Then, if they come up missing something it is no one's fault but their own. I've seen desperate riders try to get by with flip-flops and duct tape when they left their boots at home and I never want to be one of them. Doesn't work very well, especially if you're kick-starting a big-bore bike!

Tent Camping Checklists. You don't have to be camping in an RV or riding OHVs to benefit from pre- and post- trip checklists. There are many pieces of equipment necessary for a comfortable and successful tent camping trip. You don't want to be setting up camp when you realize you didn't bring the tent stakes or tent poles or left your axe or mallet at home. Your checklist should include, at the very least, all the components of your tent, sleeping bags and pads, cots (if you choose to use them), stoves, utensils, pots and pans, tools, food, water, lighting (flashlights and lanterns) spare batteries, lantern and stove fuel, matches, paper towels and napkins, first aid kit, clothing, tools, and games and recreational equipment. Once again, you will find it useful to develop your personal list over a few trips until it fits your needs and eliminates the ordeal associated with having to "wing it".

Personal preparation. You may want to create a checklist for personal preparation. This may be most useful when you have small children or aging parents, but can be helpful for anyone. Personal preparation might include pre-trip hygiene, hydration, clothing, sundries, medications, and personal entertainment.

Checklists? Check 'em out!

Recent/Ongoing Edits

I have said you can never get too much training. With that in mind, I follow my own advice and continually seek additional information. As I pick up new tips for camping, survival, RVing and OHVing relevant to exiting posts I update them. In April 2011 I invested many hours in going back over and editing previous posts and I do this every so often. Part of it is simply correcting typos and standardizing formats, but in many cases I add information, so, if you have time, you might want to peruse any old posts from time to time for topics that interest you. I may have added something and your experience may have changed so that you see things in a different light.  I have also made some changes to standardize the format as it has evolved over the past few months. In every post I've attempted to provide useful information in a format that is easy and fun to read. If you don't find what you're looking for, please feel free to comment or email me and I'll research and respond to your questions.  If I don't have personal experience related to your inquiry, I have a network of qualified experts I can draw on.

Editing is an ongoing process. I frequently review previous posts to check for typos and spelling and add content as I think of or come across additional relevant information.  So re-reading this blog from time to time may be useful for two reasons:  1) I may have added more content and 2) your experience may be different and you may pick up on things you didn't before.

I practice what I preach. Not only do I re-read my own blog and continue to update it, I frequently re-read trade publications and do additional research on the Internet.  I have Motorhome Magazines in a rack in the "library" going back several years and I periodically make a pass through all of them.  I subscribe to a number of Pinterest camping topics.  I am always on the lookout for new camping and RV gadgets. It drives my wife crazy when I take time to check out the camping section in EVERY store we go into, but I find it useful and enjoyable and I am often pleased when I find good bargains or unique items.

Never stop learning!

Lemont

OHV and RV Visability

Visibility is an important aspect of using both RVs and OHVs.  It even has applications in tent camping to some extent. There are two different kinds of visibility you need to consider: 1) seeing: how well you can see from the operator's position in a motorhome, OHV, or tow vehicle and 2) being seen: how well your RV or OHV, or tent can be seen by other drivers/riders.  Hunters know the value of visability, whether they wear camouflage to hide from their quarry or bright orange to prevent other hunters from shooting them.  I prefer the bright orange.  I figure I'd rather scare away my quarry than get shot!

Seeing. The operator of an RV, tow vehicle, an OHV, or even the family car obviously needs good visibility to safely direct the movement of the vehicle. Most motorhomes, tow vehicles, and cars have pretty good forward visibility -- as long as your windshield is clean and not blocked or impaired by reflections or junk on the dashboard. Immediate lateral visibility is also pretty darn good, but the view anywhere behind the driver is often very restricted, especially in motorhomes and when pulling trailers. Good outside rear-view mirrors help a lot but a back-up camera is even more useful in negotiating your way into cramped campsites with large RVs with out taking out the landscaping and damaging your rig. Lacking a backup camera, having a person outside to direct you can prevent embarrassing and costly mistakes. A pair of inexpensive walkie-talkies help avert misunderstandings that can often come from unclear hand signals or attempts to shout directions, which will often incite the ire of nearby campers. It is critical to keep the windshield clear and free from fogging, ice, snow, and even reflections. There is a tendency for some people to use that big flat surface below the windshield of motorhomes and tow vehicles as a storage shelf. Leaving items lying there presents a couple of hazards that need to be avoided. In almost all cases they can reflect in the windshield and cause distractions or even distortions of what you see. Secondly, they can become unguided missiles in the event of an accident or sudden change of direction. At the minimum, objects flying off the dashboard can distract the driver and, depending on mass, velocity, and shape, can even cause serious injuries to occupants and damage to the unit. Keeping the windshield fog-free can be a challenge in cool, damp weather, especially on the large expanses of glass in many big motorhomes. The addition of fans at each top corner, like those used on trucks, can help -- a lot. There are also anti-fog preparations you can use to reduce the build up of fog on windows and windshields. Keep the outside clean too -- scrape away ice and snow completely before driving. Do not rely on the wipers to simply clear a hole for you to see through. The remaining blockage can completely hide even surprisingly large vehicles and obstacles that could pose significant problems.  I've seen lazy drivers scrape only a spot big enough to peek out and that is clearly a recipe for disaster!  If you are operating any kind of motor vehicle at night you need good headlights and tail lights so you can see where you are going and so other drivers can see you.

Visibility for OHV operators is usually a function of proper goggles and helmets, although a few OHVs today have windscreens which require the same care as RV or tow vehicle windshields to guarantee good visibility. A properly fitting helmet and clean goggles should give the OHV operator good visibility with one exception:  they are usually made of plastic instead of glass. Plastic windscreens need special care to prevent them from getting scratched.  Wiping them when they're dusty sill put micro-scratches in the plastic that soon turns it cloudy or even opaque.  Wash them with soap and water and dry them with a soft cloth.  If badly coated or scratched, try using a good plastic cleaner like Novus to restore clarity.  Dirty, scratched, cracked, cloudy, fogged, dusty, or muddy goggles seriously impact what you can see and affect your safety and that of everyone around you.   When on the trail on your OHV, take a minute to check and clean your goggles each time you stop along the route.  Try not to wipe them with a dry cloth as the dust will put microscratches in the lens that will quickly accumulate to render the lens opaque.  Use a little water from your drinking water supply or, in a pinch, a little spit will do.  Motocross and desert racers often use 'tear offs' on their goggles to maintain a clear view.  These are thin transparent sheets that cover most of the lens and can be ripped off and tossed aside easily when they get muddy or dirty.    Be sure to use appropriate lenses -- clear at night and in conditions of low light and shaded lenses in bright sunlight. A bad fitting helmet can also cause problems. One that is too large will not move correctly when you turn your head. It isn't going to be of much use if you end up staring at the inside of your helmet when you try to look left or right! A helmet that is too small will move with your head -- if you can get it on in the first place. But, if you're anything like me, a tight helmet will quickly give you a headache, which doesn't make it any easier to see straight! As always, your protective gear should be appropriate for the activity, should be clean and in good condition, should fit well and be worn properly. Regardless of the type of vehicle, the operator needs to be able to see where they're going and have good visibility to the sides and even rear of the vehicle.  Unlike vehicles licensed for on-road use, most OHVs, especially dirt bikes and ATVs, lack rear view mirrors.  I found out early in my dirt biking that rear view mirrors were of great value, especially when leading my kids on a ride.  You can buy clamp on mirrors at motorcycle shops but my favorites were old fashioned bicycle mirrors.  I cut the metal arm down from about 10" to 2" so the " round mirror was just above my hand grips and didn't pose a problem when going through vegetation.  These days most bicycle mirrors are mounted on a flexible plastic shaft that vibrates too much to be useful but you can still find solid shaft vintage bicycle mirrors on ebay.

Being seen. You would think being seen isn't problem for big RVs. Don't count on it! I have been in foggy situations where you could get within about 10' of an unlighted motorhome before it became visible through the mist -- and that might be too close to stop! The U.S. Department of Transportation has spent million of dollars studying the visibility of over-the-road trucks, resulting in recommendations for clearance lights and reflective markers.   Proper lighting, including headlights, tail lights and marker lights is essential for seeing and being seen on the highway.   Since it isn't practical to leave the clearance lights on for extended periods of time when you are camping, having good reflectors can make your vehicle more visible to approaching vehicles. The solution I like best is to add a strip of 3M reflective tape along the entire side of my RV. Done right, it will blend with the original decor and yet will make your RV show up brightly in approaching headlights.  For that I used a white tape about the same size an existing stripe on my RV.  The red and white striped reflective tape used on semi-trailers has been proven to be highly visible and is a good addition to OHV trailers.  I put it on the rear bumper and about a 1' strip near the front and rear on each side of my motorcycle trailer.  Studies sponsored by the US DOT found it to be THE BEST at making semi-trailers and over-the-road trucks visible at night.   It may not be very pretty, but it could prevent your RV or trailer from being smashed by a roving Jeep or ATV at night.   Here's where visibility may be of concern to tent campers. You want to make sure your tent isn't setup where it will be in the way of any errant vehicles.  During OHV outings, I've seen ignorant or thoughtless campers set up their tents on trails and even on dirt roads, directly in the path of other riders or vehicles. Sure, it was a nice flat spot with no vegetation, but definitely not a good idea, unless you want to get run over! Make sure you pick a spot that is not in or close to any right of way. At night you might add light sticks or reflectors to make your tent more visible so vehicles and even folks on foot so they don't trample your cloth domicile.  Reflective tape is an easy way to highlight your tent. A tent well lighted from the inside usually shows up pretty well at night. Making your tent visible is a second-level precaution.  Your first defense should be to set up your tent where it will be out of the way of any roads or trails.  You will see pennants flying on staffs on the back of many ATVs, dune buggies, and side-by-sides. You can even buy battery powered strobe lights to put on the top of the staffs.  These pennants and lights allow approaching riders to detect your presence and movement (speed and direction) when you and your vehicle may be partially or completely hidden behind a rise, rocks, other vehicles, or vegetation. Pennants are typically not practical nor normally used on dirt bikes. Your best bet of being seen on your dirt bike is to wear bright, even reflective, clothing and to make sure your lights (if you have them) are working. Even during daylight hours, lights make your vehicle more visible. Be careful and watch where YOU are going so you don't needlessly put yourself and your vehicle in the path of another rider. This is especially important when riding criss-crossing desert or forest trails. On desert trails stand up when approaching intersecting trails to make it easier to see and be seen. When riding forest trails, look ahead for intersecting trails and slow down until you can verify there is no traffic on the intersecting route. Also, for all OHV activities, be aware of your environment and avoid putting yourself and your vehicle in obscure places. Lying in wait to surprise your friends could easily backfire if another rider slams into you in your hiding place! And your surprise might cause your friends to lose control and crash, perhaps even into you!

Non-motorized activities. For safety you will want to use good practices to see and be seen in non-motorized activities, such as hiking and hunting. Some hunting activities may require you to blend into the environment, but to avoid being shot by some other hunter, it is a good idea to make yourself very visible. Bright orange clothing is frequently the choice of hunters, but if you are hunting in an area where bright orange fall foliage is common, you may need to choose another color. Unless you are hiking during hunting season (something I highly discourage!), being seen is probably more of a factor if you become lost and rescuers need to find you. Once again, bright colored clothing is helpful although you will want to avoid flowered prints that might attract unwanted insects. Carry a bright colored neckerchief or flag you can display as an emergency signal if necessary. An orange trash bag is a useful tool for many survival activities, including signalling as well as shelter. It can be folded into a small form, weighs little and isn't very expensive.  Making yourself visible around camp at night will avoid accidents. Carry a flashlight so you can both see where you're going and be seen by other folks. Wear a jacket or vest with reflective stripes if you have one when moving about camp in the dark.   There are clamp on reflective stripes if your jacket doesn't have any reflectivity.  You can probably find them at bicycle shops.  I think I came across mine at Dollar Tree!  You may need a certain amount of privacy for trips to the bushes, but make sure you avoid trails and roads where vehicle traffic might put you in danger.

See and be seen!

Tent Camping Equipment: New vs Used

It would be nice if we could all start out with brand new equipment, but that isn't something most of us can afford and even if it were it might not be cost effective. After all, people who have money didn't get it by squandering it.  You may be able to make judicious use of year end clearances and liquidations to pick up some good deals on new items, but most folks will find it more economical to settle for some good used camping equipment. If it is used, but not abused, it should serve you well for many years at a fraction of the price of new stuff. Check your local classified ads, supermarket bulletin boards, web sites (like ebay and craigslist), thrift stores, and garage sales. Many times people accumulate extra equipment over the years and will dispose of their excess at cents on the dollar. A lot of used stuff is practically, and sometimes literally, brand new. Since camping is usually a part time leisure activity for most people, their camping equipment gets light use. People often purchase or receive as gifts items they never get around to using or only use once or twice.  And keep in mind it is only new until you use it the first time anyway.  I am a bit of a bargain hunter and seldom pay retail for any camping equipment, preferring to take advantage of sales or buy pre-owned gear.

Used tents. Tents are one of the largest expenses for tent camping. Here is where you can probably save the most by buying used equipment. And, since tents are not intimate items, there is relatively little danger of serious or offensive contamination unless they are really badly soiled and/or have a foul odor. Be sure to examine all the poles to make sure they are the right ones for the tent and are complete and in good condition. Count and inspect the stakes. You will need to replace bent, broken, or missing stakes. Check all the stake loops. Torn loops can sometimes be repaired, but make sure you know what you're buying and that you have the skills and tools to make any necessary repairs. For cabin tents, check the grommets where the tent poles connect to the fabric. If these are missing or damaged you may have to reinforce those spots before you can install new grommets. Check the sleeves where the poles go on dome tents to make sure they aren't ripped or the seams coming apart. Check the floor to make sure it isn't ripped or punctured or the seams along the walls coming apart. Check the zippers and screens on all doors and windows. You might be able to patch small tears in screens but zippers are difficult to replace. Sticky zippers might be fixed using a product like EZ-Snap lubricant.  However, if the zippers are damaged, keep looking. Don't forget to check the rain fly if it has -- or should have -- one. Make sure you have some idea of the new price of similar tents so you don't get ripped off. Anything at or below 50% of new retail is probably an acceptable price. I might be willing to pay slightly more if the tent is in nearly new condition and meets my requirements. Some brands will command higher resale prices because of the reputation and quality of the products, so do some price comparisons online or via the classified ads. Unless you urgently need a tent right now, take time to look around to obtain the best price and value. Watch the flyers from sporting goods stores. They often have special promotions that deliver exceptional value on new tents and camping packages, especially at the beginning and end of the camping season. Carefully check what is included in any packages to make sure you aren't paying for a lot of stuff you don't need or want and that the package price really is less than the sum of the cost of the individual items from other sources.  I got used 14' cabin tent for under $40 and a new 7' umbrella tent for $10 at a year end sidewalk sale.  I had to patch a hole in the roof of the cabin tent where the previous owner had installed a chimney for a tent stove and had to fabricate the crossover connection that held the 4 poles together for the umbrella tent, but both were things I could easily handle and I got many years of  use out of both tents.

Used sleeping bags. Since sleeping bags are rather intimate items, some people are reluctant to purchase used ones which can hold down prices. Keep in mind they can be dry cleaned, which will sanitize them, and usually will come out like new, if they haven't been abused. Consider the kind of weather you will be using them in. 10 degree bags won't keep you warm enough in sub-zero weather, but will be too warm for typical summer evenings in most camping areas. Consider the style. Mummy bags are good for keeping individuals warm but they limit movement and some people get claustrophobic in them. Rectangular bags can usually be opened and zipped together to form double sleeping bags for couples, good for added warmth as well as comfort and intimacy.

Used camp stoves. Used camp stoves can save you a bundle. The old fashioned white gas (Coleman fuel) stoves are plentiful and reliable. It is typical to find the pump may not work because the leather washer in it has dried out. Many times all that is needed is a few drops of oil to get it working again. If that doesn't work, the pumps can be easily and inexpensively rebuilt. A second major component is the generator. This is a tube-like structure that converts liquid fuel to vapor for the burners. If the generator is defective, it must be replaced. Again, this is a fairly easy and inexpensive DIY project (under $20). If the fuel tank is leaking, keep looking. Damaged fuel tanks are dangerous and cannot be easily repaired. If the burners are clogged they can usually be cleaned with a wire brush. Used propane powered stoves don't have pumps or built in fuel tanks; they use replaceable pressurized propane canisters. Be sure to keep an eye out for sales on propane canisters to keep your operating costs down. Another option is to get an adapter so you can use a bulk propane tank like the one for your home BBQ. The fuel is a lot less expensive than buying individual 1 # cylinders.  The last time I filled up my motorhome I paid $2.79/gallon -- compared to about $2.88 for two 1-quart portable canisters.  Thrift stores and garage sales are good places to look for used camp stoves.  I've seen 3-burner Coleman stoves for $8.00.  Even it it needs some work, it would probably be well worth that!  Even if  you already have a good camp stove, you might want to pick up another good used one as a backup or in case you host large group or need it in a disaster scenario.

Used lanterns. These days there are many options for camp lanterns. The old Coleman gas lantern is a time-proven staple but there are many battery-powered alternatives available today, including LED lights that minimize battery drain and even lanterns with built in solar chargers. You may luck out and find battery lanterns at garage sales etc, but the venerable Coleman lantern is a more likely find. Just like camp stoves, steer clear of lanterns with damaged fuel tanks. Faulty pumps and generators can be easily and inexpensively replaced. You may even be able to buy a replacement for a missing or cracked glass globe. These are not universal or one size fits all, so do some research into availability before buying a broken lantern.  Now that LED lanterns have been around awhile you'll start seeing them on the used market too.  But even new ones aren't terribly expensive.  I've seen some very nice ones around $10.  LEDs use SO much less power than the old incandescent bulbs!  I left an LED lantern with 17 LEDs on overnight in my barn and it was still bright the next morning and for months afterwards!  A regular incandescent lantern would have killed battery about half way through the night.

Used cookware. Used camp cook ware and mess kits can be a good bargain. Even if they are blackened or dirty, they can usually be cleaned and sterilized and safe to use. Small, individual mess kits are not terribly expensive, even when they are brand new, so be aware of the price and value before you buy up a bunch of used stuff for your kids. You might be able to get new kits for not much more.  In choosing any cook ware, seek sets that are designed for camping. These will usually stack together for storage and will have multi-use components, such as a lid that also doubles as a frying pan. Camp cook sets often include plastic plates, cups, and flatware as well as pots and pans.  These types of kits save space and weight without sacrificing functionality. Cast iron cook ware is heavy to tote around but is practically foolproof and indestructible. It can be used directly in a campfire and even the worse burned on, sticky mess can usually be burned off and scoured and the pan re-seasoned. New or heavily cleaned cast iron cookware does need to be seasoned before using. Seasoning consists of coating the cooking surface with cooking oil and heating it until the oil burns away, leaving a coating on the surface. This applies to cast iron grills and griddles as well as frying pans and dutch ovens. Anytime a piece of cast iron cookware as been scoured or washed with detergent, it should be re-seasoned. To avoid re-seasoning, remove all food residue from the item, then rub it with crumpled newspaper or paper towels until all traces of grease and residue have been removed. Ordinary kitchen pots and pans can be used for camping. Thrift stores are a good place to look. Light weight aluminum pots and pans may melt if used directly in a campfire but they should be fine on a camp stove. Seek cast iron if you plan to cook directly on the fire.  It is heavier to lug around but it will last a very long time and stand up to plenty of hard use.   You won't want it for back packing or hiking in any distance to your  camp site, but it will be nice to have for RVing and car camping.

Used ice chests. There is little that can go wrong with ice chests. Make sure they don't have any holes or cracks in either the liner or the outer skin. Make sure the hinges and latches work. And make sure they don't smell bad! Some plastic liners absorb odors that can be very difficult to remove. You sure don't want your food smelling like dirty socks or like something that died! There have been many improvements in insulation and durability over the years. New ice chests are not too expensive, so you might want to check out your local Walmart before grabbing up older "bargains". For short term use, light weight styrofoam chests are really inexpensive, but they aren't very durable. Plastic ice chests are the next least expensive permanent solutions. Painted steel models used to be common but you don't usually see a lot of new ones these days. I picked up a couple of nice older Coleman steel ice chests on ebay. New stainless steel models are durable and often keep food colder than plastic models but they're somewhat expensive -- plastic chests can be found for $20-$50. Expect to pay around $100 for stainless steel. Size matters! Consider the space you have for transporting your equipment. Huge ice chests can hold lots of food and drinks but they may take up your entire cargo area and are very heavy to carry when fully loaded. Sometimes having a number of smaller chests will be more convenient (and less expensive) and the ice will last longer. Separate chests for drinks and perishable foods is a good idea. You will be getting into the drink chest more frequently and if it should run out of ice, the drinks won't spoil although they won't be as appealing if they are warm. Smaller chests are also easier to carry. Keeping perishable foods separate avoids exposing them to frequent opening of the chest and will protect them longer. Sometimes having a few inexpensive styrofoam chests is a good solution for separating and transporting items. They are also good for keeping your frozen or cold foods cool on the way back from the grocery store. Get the right size chest for you needs. You don't need a huge, $150 marine cooler to keep a six pack cold for an afternoon picnic and it probably wouldn't even do the job without filling it with many bags of ice whereas a small cooler and 1 bag of ice would easily and conveniently handle a six pack.

Camp chairs are not terribly expensive when they are new and to some extent are designed to be disposable.  That being said, you might still pick up some good used camp chairs.  Be sure to inspect them for bent or broken frames or damaged fabric or netting. Like so many other pieces of camping equipment, people tend to accumulate more than they need and you may snag a great deal on some good used ones.  At one time folding aluminum chairs with woven fiberglass straps were the norm.   Today the collapsible "bag" or "quad" chairs seem to dominate the market. 

Used camping tools.   Things like axes, hatchets, mallets, and folding shovels are handy to have when camping and used items in good condition will be just as serviceable as new ones.  You might have to sharpen an axe or clean and paint a shovel, but it will probably save you quite a bit over buying new.  Other candidates in the tools category might include knives and mallets.  Camp chairs and cots are pretty durable and used ones could save you quite a bit of cash you could use on something else.  Folding tables and "camp kitchens" are also nice additions if you come across them.

Save away!

RVs: New versus Used

OK. You've decided you want to buy an RV. Should you buy a new one or a used one? Obviously your decision will depend on several factors, the most prominent of which is probably price versus your budget. However, even if you can afford a new RV, there are some things to consider before writing that check. I have purchased both new and used RVs. I only bought one brand new. The rest of the time I found it more cost effective to buy a pre-owned unit.  I will review the pros and cons of both options below.

Buying new. Buying a new RV is a thrilling experience for anyone. Having a coach no one else has lived in is a special feeling. Buying new may also give you the chance to order the unit configured to your personal specifications. All very nice advantages. When buying new you don't have to worry about the abuse or lack of maintenance by some previous owner. You know exactly what you're getting, and you get nice warranties on the unit and its appliances. About the only negative I've seen to buying new, other than price and depreciation, is what they call "infant mortality", which consists of a series of problems that seem to come with every new RV. I bought a brand new RV once and it spent about 1/4 of its first year back at the dealer or at the manufacturer getting things fixed that should have been checked before it ever left the lot or the factory. You can count on a new RV losing 15-20% of the purchase price the minute you sign the papers and make it a "previously owned" unit and depreciation is high the first year or two. You might want to check the resale value of similar units for the last few years to get an idea of how fast the resale value of your new pride and joy will slide. As to the warranty issues, why is the "infant mortality" rate so high? Consider this: an RV consists of all the components of a motor vehicle and all the features of a house. When you buy a new house you usually go through a period where you prepare of list of items for the contractor to fix.  There are often several warranty issues with a new vehicle too.   So it shouldn't come as any surprise that it combines the problems of both, making it seem like a lot.   Still, there is a lot of pride of ownership that comes with buying a brand new RV.  Be sure to understand and follow the maintenance required by any warranties and make sure you file any claims before the warranty expires and do so according to the warranty terms.

Buying used. Buying a used RV can often get you an extraordinary bargain. Remember, the minute the papers are signed, a new RV becomes a used RV, even if it hasn't even been driven yet. Many if not most RVs get little use, especially compared to the mileage we put on our daily drivers. A good, low-mileage, well-maintained RV can sometimes be even better than buying new. First off, you will pay less and someone else has already taken that first big chunk of depreciation. Used RVs were often excellent buys even before today's failed economy. A few years ago friend of mine picked up a late-model, low-mileage motorhome that booked for over $120,000 for about $69,000! It had been owned by an older couple and one of them got unexpected serious health issues and they weren't able to use their motorhome.  They lived some distance from any dealers who might buy it or take it on consignment and were willing to let it go for substantially less than book value.  Today's bargains are even more impressive. Secondly, the original owner has already had to deal with the "infant mortality" period and most warranty issues have already been resolved. Previous owners have also often added features that will add to the convenience and usability of used units. Such additions usually don't add a lot to the "blue book" value, so you get them practically free! Used units may also already have luxury options you may not have found cost effective in a new unit. When buying a used RV, do a thorough inspection and have it checked by a reputable RV technician. Unless you know the seller personally, you don't know how well the previous owner took care of the unit. Sometimes they provide documentation for routine maintenance and repairs, which usually demonstrates careful treatment but more typically there won't be any maintenance records. Here are some basic things to check out before you incur the cost of having an RV technician do an inspection. Look at the overall condition of the unit. Is it clean and without body damage? Is the interior clean and does it smell pleasant? Foul, musty odors often indicate there are or have been leaks that may have created structural problems was well as bad odors. Extra strong air fresheners are sometimes an attempt to disguise bad odors, so if you encounter a rig whose pine or vanilla or gardenia air freshener all but makes your eyes water, be wary. Soft spots in the floor, ceiling, or around windows and doors are also strong indicators of water damage that can be expensive to repair. Take the unit for a good test drive that includes various kinds of road conditions (hills, windy roads, rough roads) so you can check handling, listen for unusual noises, and watch for loose components.  It should start easily, drive, shift, and brake smoothly and there shouldn't be any unusual vibrations or noises.  Check the condition of dump valves.  I've often seen cracked, broken, or sticking valves.  They aren't expensive if you replace them yourself, but that can be a nuisance if you're anxious to hit the road right away.  Old dump valves will probably have rusty bolts that can be very difficult to remove.  Check the tires. If the sidewalls are cracked the tires are old. If the tread is worn down or the sidewalls are cracked or the tires are more than 10 years old, the tires will have to be replaced. Uneven tire wear indicates a suspension problem that could be costly to repair and an overall lack of owner attention. Because RVs don't log a lot of miles, tires that look good may still be in need of replacement if they are more than 7 - 10 years old. The age can be determined by the DOT serial number on the tire. If you are looking at a motorhome or tow vehicle, check the fluids: oil, transmission fluid, and coolant. If the oil or transmission fluid feels gritty, looks black or brown, or it smells burned, look for another vehicle -- now! Black engine oil is not necessarily problematic. The detergents in modern oils will dissolve deposits and turn new oil black in just a few minutes of operation. However, the oil should not smell burned or feel gritty. Transmission fluid, on the other hand, should be a deep red. Brown or black fluid indicates over-heating or contamination, which can be fatal for automatic transmissions. Like engine oil, transmission fluid should not smell burned or feel gritty.  Oil levels should be normal.  Low oil may indicate a leak or a mechanical problem such as worn piston rings or faulty valve seals.  Overfilling can cause the oil to foam, reducing its lubricating properties and causing engine damage.  Check the coolant. Low coolant may indicate a leak somewhere -- or lack of routine maintenance. Rusty or dirty coolant indicates lack of maintenance and potential cooling system problems. Oil in the coolant may be due to cracks in the engine block that allow oil into the cooling system.   We wary if you can smell coolant in the engine or driver compartment.  Don't take the dealer or seller's word for recent service. I bought a motorhome from an allegedly reputable dealer who assured me it has just been fully serviced, with fresh oil etc. I believed him. My bad! After driving only a couple of hundred miles I discovered it was 3 quarts low on oil at my first fuel stop. I should have checked the oil myself before I drove it off the lot. I subsequently had to replace the engine, (very expensive!) a couple of weeks later due to damage from lack of adequate lubrication. There is no telling how long it had been low on oil before I bought it. There are plenty of units available in good condition out there to choose from, so unless you are willing to accept and have the expertise and resources to assess and correct serious problems and the price is sufficiently reduced to make repairs cost effective, keep looking. Because of today's economy, there are some incredible bargains out there. For example (even though this is not an RV, it indicates the kind of potential that exists in today's failed economy), I recently talked to someone who purchased a 36' cabin cruiser with trailer for only $500 last year. It needed a little engine work, but he was knowledgeable and was able to effect repairs for about $75. That's a bargain in anyone's book. I've seen $80,000 motorhomes offered for under $40,000. Take your time and look around until you find the right deal on the unit that is right for you and you'll have a coach you can thoroughly enjoy for many years.  I bought an 11 1/2' self contained camper for just $100!  It was an extraordinary find, in excellent condition even though it was about 40 years old!

The looking process. The very process of looking for the right motorhome can be a fun experience. Take advantage of local RV shows to examine new units. Some shows also feature a few selected previously owned units. Check out the classified ads and local RV lots to examine used units. Shopping around will let you explore options you might find appealing and get a feel for their relative value. The more you look the better idea you will have of what is going to work for you and the better you will become at detecting and avoiding potential problems and identifying the features you want. Just steer clear of high-pressure salesman! If you start hearing words like "this price is only good today" or "I've got another buyer on the line" or experience any other arm-twisting, high pressure tactics by over-zealous RV salespersons, RUN! Most legitimate dealers will let you explore the units on their lots and, of course, are anxious to answer questions and try to talk you into buying. Their products and service should be enough to convince you to buy without high-pressure scare tactics. Any salesman or dealer who has to resort to high pressure sales techniques is probably hiding something and will not be pleasant to deal with after the sale. Remember: YOU are in the driver's seat, figuratively and literally. Don't be bullied into buying something you don't really want or you aren't ready for.

Happy hunting!