Month: October 2023

7 Easy Ways to Preserve Your RV Travel Memories

/ National Indoor RV Centers

Robin Buck, a full-time RVer and travel blogger, shares about ways you can preserve your travel memories. 

A great benefit of owning an RV is the ability to travel the country to visit new and interesting places. Whether you are taking a quick summer vacation or going on an extended trip, you will want to remember all of the fun times you had. We like being able to share our journey with family and friends, but also want to make sure our travel experiences stay vivid and unforgettable later on. These 7 creative ways to preserve your trip will help you capture those wonderful memories and make sure they stay with you long after the trip is over.

Ways to Preserve Travel Memories

1. Journal Your Adventures

One of the most traditional yet timeless methods of preserving travel memories is by keeping a travel journal. The act of putting pen to paper can help you relive your experiences, capture your emotions, and document the small details that often get forgotten. Try to write daily entries about your activities, the people you meet, and your impressions of the places you visit. As an alternative to a full-blown journal, I have found that a planning calendar can be a good place to document travels, notes, and timelines.

Ways to Preserve Travel Memories

2. Compile a Travel Scrapbook

One step up from a travel journal is a travel scrapbook. Here you can combine your journal entries along with sketches, photographs, and mementos all in one place. Many people enjoy including postcards they sent to themselves from each place or ticket stubs and brochures from attractions they visited. This tactile and creative approach allows you to craft a personalized keepsake to hold your cherished memories.  By using decorative paper, stickers, and markers to embellish your pages you’ll not only see but also feel the memories come to life.

Ways to Preserve Travel Memories

3. Collect Souvenirs with Meaning

Souvenirs are more than just trinkets; they are everyday reminders of fun times and new places. Choose souvenirs that have a special meaning or tell a story about your trip. Since space can be a concern when you are traveling in an RV, we usually look for small items like refrigerator magnets, keychains, flattened pennies, or park tokens. Sometimes, though, I might purchase a handmade craft, a t-shirt, or even jewelry as a memento. Displaying these souvenirs in your home or RV can spark conversations and bring back pleasant memories for you to share.

Ways to Preserve Travel Memories

4. Map Your Journeys

Many people like the visual appeal of seeing their travels and routes displayed on a map. You can plot your travel adventures using pins, stickers, or color-coded markers to represent each destination. Another fun option is a scratch off map. We have one for all of the national parks and scratch off a sticker for each place we have visited. If you want to go digital there are sites like Google Maps or MyTravelMap where you can input your travels and then print it out or share with friends.

Ways to Preserve Travel Memories

5. Capture the Moments with Photography

Photographs are perhaps the most immediate and visually stimulating way to preserve travel memories. You can use a good camera or even a smartphone to capture breathtaking landscapes, vibrant street scenes, and candid moments with locals or other travelers you meet. Experiment with different angles and lighting to make your photos unique or try an action shot of fun activities. Interesting new foods, unusual architecture, and famous landmarks are other great subjects for your pictures.

Ways to Preserve Travel Memories

Ways to Preserve Travel Memories

One key thing about photos is that they can pile up quickly. I suggest going through them frequently to pick out your favorites while everything is still fresh in your mind. Once you know which photos you want to keep you can create a digital album on your computer, or you may also want to print them out for a traditional photo album. Mixbook, Shutterfly, and Snapfish are just a few of the online companies that will help you create a high-quality bound photo book with just a few clicks. Better yet, I like to view mine on a Nixplay digital picture frame and even have one set up with my parents, so I can email pictures directly onto their frame too!

Ways to Preserve Travel Memories

6. Create Dynamic Video Memories

If a single image can speak a thousand words, imagine what a video can convey! Videography captures not only the visual but also the auditory and emotional aspects of your journey. You can use your camera, cellphone, or even a GoPro to document a bustling city scene, your serene hike at sunrise, or an amazing swim with dolphins experience. Many people post their videos on YouTube channels so they can easily share with family and friends. Videos take a great deal more space than photos, though, so make sure you filter and edit them, or your collection will take up a lot of your camera or computer memory.

7. Share Your Travels Online

In today’s digital age, creating a travel blog or website has become an accessible and engaging way to document your adventures. Like a travel journal, a blog is an excellent way to write about your travels and allows you to include more in-depth information and even insert pictures and links.  I started my travel blog so that we could share our experiences with our family and friends, but I’ve since expanded to include sharing advice and tips for other RVers as well.

Ways to Preserve Travel Memories

Many online platforms, like WordPress and Blogger, make it easy for beginners to get started. If you are not up for the ongoing upkeep of a blog, you might just focus on sharing via social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. There you can upload pictures or albums to share your trip quickly and easily.

Enjoy Making Memories

Documenting our experiences has become part of the fun as we visit new places in our RV. Travel memories are precious and preserving them ensures that you can relive your adventures for years to come. Whether you prefer the traditional approach of journaling and scrapbooking or the modern methods of blogging and videography, there are countless ways to capture the essence of your travels. By combining these creative techniques, you can create a comprehensive and meaningful record of your journeys that will continue to inspire and enrich your life.

Robin Buck

Robin and her husband, Mike, are Air Force veterans and empty nesters who have been traveling full-time in their Entegra Anthem motorhome for 5 years. Always ready to explore, they love nature and wildlife, meeting new friends and discovering America one stop at a time. Robin writes about their travel adventures, RVing tips, and the full-time RV lifestyle on her blog RVing with Robin.

Building A Better Service Experience

/ National Indoor RV Centers

Full Service

We don’t just do mechanical work but also complete body repair and interior renovations. From a brake job to upgrading flooring, NIRVC can do it all in our state-of-the-art facilities. Full RV service also means the convenience of having your work done on-site by technicians who know your coach and know you expect the work to be done right, on time, and at a reasonable cost.

Warranty

The Service and Repair center at National Indoor RV Centers is authorized to complete work for all extended warranty plans as well as work under most original warranties for your coach’s individual components such as refrigerators, washers and dryers. But more importantly, we stand behind our work, whether you pay for the repair or a warranty company pays. Since our relationship covers more than just RV repair services, we have more at stake with you than any other motorhome shop. We believe customers are won by providing exceptional service.

Qualified Technicians

Our technicians average over a decade of experience in RV repair work. These are individuals who have built careers in the field and whose reputations are on the line every day, in every job. At NIRVC, we provide lasting and continual training to ensure our technicians are up to speed on the latest equipment, factory recalls and diagnostic testing for RVs. We also provide our technicians with the best equipment and expect the best work in return.

Online Customer Portal

The latest NIRVC difference puts a world of convenience and transparency at your fingertips. Our new online customer portal is the fast, FREE way to access information about your RV, schedule or cancel service appointments, get real-time progress updates on your vehicle’s service status, and place orders for vehicles or parts. Most important of all, it gives you a more immediate way to connect with our expert service technicians to ask questions and understand what’s happening every step of the way.

Learn more about the service experience at NIRVC.

Glacier National Park: Crown of the Continent

/ National Indoor RV Centers

Robin Buck, a full-time RVer and travel blogger, shares her firsthand experience with NIRVC.

Visiting some of our country’s beautiful national parks is often at the top of many RVers’ bucket lists. After all, it is the perfect way to appreciate nature in a very up-close and personal way. While we have thoroughly enjoyed our time in each national park we’ve been to, some of them really stand out as favorites. One that is at the top of my list is Glacier National Park.

Glacier National Park is located about as far north as you can go in the wilderness of northern Montana. We were so close to Canada that our phones even dinged with a “Welcome to Canada” message! Nicknamed the “Crown of the Continent,” this park’s 1 million acres are home to stunning mountains, frozen glaciers, thundering waterfalls, pristine lakes, glorious meadows, and an abundance of wildlife. This vast diversity offers something for everyone whether you choose to enjoy it by car, from a boat tour, or on foot on one of the many hiking trails.

Going to the Sun Road

By far the #1 attraction in Glacier National Park is the Going to the Sun Road. This 50-mile-long scenic drive crosses the park from east to west and offers some of the most breathtaking natural views in the country. The narrow road hugs the mountainside as you twist and turn your way up and over the Continental Divide. At the top, Logan’s Pass is the highest point in the park that can be reached by car at 6,646 ft in elevation. There’s a visitor center here and trailheads for two of the park’s most popular hikes: Hidden Lake Nature Trail and the more strenuous Highline Trail.

Driving the length of this national historic landmark can take several hours, depending on traffic and how many times you stop. There are numerous turnouts and parking areas where you can take a break to stretch your legs, take photos, and admire the stunning views. I especially recommend stops at the Jackson Glacier Overlook, Triple Arches, and the Weeping Wall. If you do nothing else in the park, this road will give you a sense of Glacier’s rugged terrain and towering mountain peaks. As you enjoy the view of alpine meadows and wildflower fields, be on the lookout for grizzly bears, mountain goats, deer, and bighorn sheep to name just a few.

St. Mary Entrance

If you start your journey on the eastern side of Glacier National Park, you will come in through the Saint Mary entrance. There is a nice visitor center here where you can speak to a ranger, get trail information, buy souvenirs, or get your park passport book stamped. As you begin up the Going to the Sun Road, one of the first things you will come to is Saint Mary Lake. It is the second largest of the park’s over 700 lakes!

You can enjoy lots of nature opportunities in this area without even going very far into the park. We loved the different perspective we got as we rode on a boat tour and learned more about Saint Mary Lake. The tour includes a stop at Sunrift Gorge where a short walk leads to the rushing waters of Baring Falls. There are also several other hikes to waterfalls in this area. The Sun Point nature trail leads to an overlook with spectacular views of Saint Mary Lake and the mountains looming above it. This spot is especially magnificent at sunset! You can also see the tiny Wild Goose Island popular from the opening scenes of The Shining movie.

West Glacier Entrance

If you enter the park from the western side, you can stop in the Apgar Visitor Center or visit the nearby shops and watersports rentals. Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park and offers many water recreation opportunities, as well as wonderful photo ops of its popular colored pebbles. At the northern end of the lake, you can look over McDonald Falls where brilliant aquamarine water rushes towards the lake.

Other popular sights on the western end of the park include Avalanche Creek and the Trail of the Cedars Nature Trail. This wheelchair accessible trail winds its way into the forest of towering old-growth cedar and hemlock trees. Some of these ancient trees are estimated to be 500 years old! As you walk through the lush forest with its tall trees, ferns, and mosses make sure to stop for a photo at the footbridge over Avalanche Creek. The power of the water rushing through the gorge is stunning.

Many Glacier Entrance

If you want to explore another fascinating and popular part of Glacier National Park, the Many Glacier area is full of jaw-dropping landscapes as well as lots of trails and wildlife. The entrance is about 17 miles north of the St Mary entrance on the eastern side of the park. I suggest stopping for lunch at the historic Many Glacier Hotel or taking a sightseeing boat ride on Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes.

If you want to hit the trails, there are lots of hikes to choose from with something for all levels. We hiked to Grinnell Lake which amazed us with its turquoise waters and numerous waterfalls tumbling down the steep cliffs of the glacier. Those up for a more strenuous challenge can hike all the way up to Grinnell Glacier or try the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail. It’s a very “cool” experience to stand on a massive glacier!

Know Before You Go

Glacier National Park is one of the parks where timed entry tickets are required during the busy summer months. In addition to the park entry fee, you must go online at Recreation.gov and reserve a timed entry ticket ahead of your visit. If you are not able to get a timed ticket, you can always enter the park before or after the designated ticket hours. We found that going into the park before the opening hours allowed us to deal with less traffic and increased our chances of spotting wildlife or getting a peaceful lake picture with the mountain reflection.

It’s important to note that there are size restrictions on Going to the Sun Road, so it’s best to leave the RV at the campground for this adventure. There are campgrounds in the towns just outside both the eastern and western sides of the park that can accommodate big rigs. If you don’t want to do the driving, you can opt to take the park shuttle bus or sign up for a guided Red Bus Tour.

Weather is also a concern when visiting this northern park. The Going to the Sun Road typically opens in late June or early July each year after the snow is plowed. We encountered snow along many areas even after the road was open in late June during our visit, so if you want to see more wildflowers and less snow then visit later in the summertime.

Beauty Abounds in this Park

As its name implies, you will see massive glaciers in this park along with the hundreds of lakes and valleys that they helped to form over millions of years. Spectacular mountain peaks and cascading waterfalls are around every bend. We marveled at the plant and animal species that thrive here and were excited to see more wildlife here than any other park we visited including bear, elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and marmots. We truly couldn’t believe how amazing the views were no matter where we looked.

 

Glacier National Park is an explorer’s paradise, and there are so many areas not even mentioned here. You could spend a week or two in the park and not see it all. Whether you choose the exhilarating Going to the Sun Road, water fun on one of the many lakes, or an incredible hike to see a glacier, you will not be disappointed. An RV trip to Glacier National Park is one you will remember forever.

 

Ready to begin your own RV adventure at Glacier? Shop NIRVC’s inventory of new and used RVs today!

Robin Buck

Robin and her husband, Mike, are Air Force veterans and empty nesters who have been traveling full-time in their Entegra Anthem motorhome for 5 years. Always ready to explore, they love nature and wildlife, meeting new friends and discovering America one stop at a time. Robin writes about their travel adventures, RVing tips, and the full-time RV lifestyle on her blog RVing with Robin.

RV Weight & Safety Part 3: 5 Essential Lessons in Buying the Right RV Tires

/ Sherri Caldwell

Three years into our full time RV living, working and traveling adventures, I find myself more and more involved in the technical and mechanical aspects of our life on the road… like buying RV tires for Charlie-The-Unicorn RV.

As much as I love her, I like buying “new shoes” for our 2016 Entegra Aspire motorhome as much as I always have when buying tires for our cars – although I would prefer buying new shoes for Sherri!

Nevertheless, after talking about RV weight, both on the CAT Scales and four corner weighing, it’s time to circle back and talk about RV tires and safety. 

As with most things in life, you don’t know what you don’t know until you figure it out, whether the easy way or the hard way. It feels like we’ve learned about buying and replacing RV tires the hard way over the last three years, so I’m here to share our experience and help other new and/or less technical RV owners, especially if you own or intend to buy a “new to you” (pre-owned) RV.

Here are 5 essential lessons to buying RV tires the right way:

  1. Know your weights and limits
  2. Verify your RV tire size
  3. Locate your date codes
  4. Check your load range
  5. Determine your optimal tire pressures
RV Federal Compliance Label

Lesson 1: Know your weights and limits

First things first: Find your “stickers” (Federal Compliance Labels). In a motorhome, these are generally located near the driver’s door or on the wall near the driver’s seat. 

The most important information on this label, with respect to your tires, are the GVWR and GAWR:

  • GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) – the maximum weight limit of the vehicle and everything in it, including passengers, pets, gear, provisions, furniture, accessories, fluids (fuel, propane, water, etc.) and all of your household and personal goods.
  • GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) – the maximum weight limit on each axle. It is possible to be under the GVWR and still exceed an axle rating, depending on how your RV is loaded (i.e., the weight distribution on each axle).

You’ll also find your recommended tire sizes (front and rear) next to the Gross Axle Weight Ratings.

Charlie-The-Unicorn RV

Charlie-The-Unicorn RV’s Tire History

In September 2020, we bought our new-to-us 2016 Entegra Aspire online from a dealer in Florida (Sadly, it was not NIRVC, as this was before we knew about NIRVC). It all worked out, for the most part, with an abundance of research, several video walk-throughs, a thorough independent inspection, and two complete PDI’s (pre-delivery inspections), both virtual and in-person. We knew where to look for our weights and limits.

The dealer transported the coach from Orlando, Florida to Des Moines, Iowa, where we picked her up for our first big road trip, back home to Seattle, Washington. She had less than 5,000 miles on fairly new Michelin tires. The tires all looked and performed great for the 1,800-mile adventure, which you can read about in my blog, RV Road Trip: How We Survived Our First Epic 21 Day Adventure.

RV tire

Lesson 2: Verify Your RV Tire Type & Sizes

As I mentioned in Lesson 1, it’s easy to locate your recommended tire sizes on your Federal Compliance Label. The next step is to verify those tire sizes on your motorhome by looking on the sidewalls of your tires. The numbers should match. In the example above, the tire size is: 295/80 R 22.5.

When it comes to determining accurate tire pressures, you’ll also need to know the manufacturer and type of tire you have. In the example above, it’s Michelin XZA2.

In fact, all of your important tire information can be found on the sidewall of your tires, including the tire size, date code, and load range.

This information may not be super critical when you’re taking delivery of a brand-new motorhome at a dealership, but you will eventually need to know it for weighing your RV, tire pressure management, and if/when you need to replace any of your tires.

If you are buying a pre-owned RV, whether from a dealer or a private party, I highly recommend verifying the tire sizes, dates codes, and load range on the sidewalls of all the tires. 

Charlie-The-Unicorn RV

In May 2021, we replaced the front tires before we set out to travel full time across the country. We worked with a trusted tire shop that was part of a well-known franchise in Washington (and all over the West Coast). My husband handled that – before I was fully onboard with the whole idea of full time RVing, quite honestly.

The RV had been sitting for a couple of months or more on concrete at the dealership in the Florida sun and heat. He felt safer driving the RV long distance with brand-new drive tires on the front, but decided we could wait a year to replace the rear tires. 

In July 2021, we set off across the country, from Washington State toward our first winter in Florida.

DOT Code

Lesson 3: Locate Your Date Codes

Your date codes can be located on the sidewalls of your tires. It will be a 4-digit number enclosed in a stamped oval at the end of the DOT Code (a longer series of numbers and letters that begins with DOT, as required by the Department of Transportation on all tires).

The date code on the tire above is 3 5 2 1, from our first set of rear replacement tires.

  • The first two numbers indicate the week of the year manufactured (35).
  • The last two numbers indicate the year of manufacture (2021).

So, these tires were manufactured the 35th week of 2021, which was August 30 to Sept 5, 2021. They were installed October 2021, so those were some fresh tires!

Here’s one of the first things you learn about RV tires: RV tires age out before they wear out…

…even if they look brand-new, with barely worn tread.
…even if they have incredibly low mileage on them.
…even if the RV has been in storage for months or years.
…especially if the RV has been parked outdoors in the sun.

RV tires, whether they have been driven on the road or not, age out between 5 to 7 years from the date they were manufactured (Date Code).

RV pulled over

Lesson Learned

In September 2021, we were caravaning with friends, following behind them towing their 2015 Sanibel 5th Wheel on Interstate 10 WB in Florida, heading toward a fun weekend in New Orleans. While we were on the busy side of I-10, one of their rear tires exploded at full speed, ripping away much of the rear panel of their RV. Thankfully, they were able to make it over to the shoulder, and we stopped with them. It was a scary experience!

Their RV Roadside Assistance never showed up. Fortunately, Road Ranger Service Patrol, the Florida Department of Transportation’s emergency roadside assistance service, responded very quickly and helped them with their spare tire so they could move their coach to the nearest rest area.

We found a reputable local mobile truck tire service that came to the rest area and replaced all five tires on the 5th Wheel, including the spare. We all got back on the road later that evening. Instead of continuing on all the way to New Orleans, we decided to stop and enjoy our long weekend together on a beach in Pensacola, Florida.

In October 2021, after that experience, we returned to our RV property in Central Florida and immediately replaced all four rear tires on our motorhome. I was much more involved this time, doing the research and making the arrangements while my husband was working.

RV Tires & Full Time Challenges

I tried to buy tires through the FMCA Tire Buying Discount Service, but it was way too complicated. I had to call local heavy truck tire and service places in the network to find the correct tires and then arrange a time to take the RV to their shop for installation. This is a huge challenge of living full-time in an RV, especially working from home, with Hubs on video conferences all day. It is no easy task to bring your RV in for service.

load range

Lesson 4: Check Your Load Range

This is the most elusive, secret little letter you can possibly hope to find on your tire sidewall. But it’s there. And it’s super important.

Load range is a measurement of the inner strength (number of plies/inner layers) and load capacity (maximum weight and PSI) of your RV tires. For larger Class A motorhomes, it is indicated on the sidewall by a single alphabetic letter – typically G (14 ply) or H (16 ply). The higher the letter, or the number of internal plies, the stronger the tire.

RV tire

The Secret Letter

In October 2021, we ended up buying four new rear tires from MotorhomeTires.com, an AIM Club Sponsor (Again, this was before we knew anything about NIRVC or the AIM Club). They were very easy to work with. MotorhomeTires.com offers great educational information on their website. We worked with their service advisors to check our tire sizes and date codes.

MotorhomeTires.com sent a local contractor to us for tire installation, which was easy and convenient. In the end, we ordered and paid for Load Range H (16 ply) tires on the invoice, but the installer, in error, installed Load Range G (14 ply). We knew to verify the tire sizes and date codes, but we didn’t know anything about load range… until we got the rig four corner weighed at the FMCA Rally in Perry, Georgia.

When we subsequently discovered the load range error, almost 18 months later, MotorhomeTires.com arranged an immediate replacement of all four LRG tires with new LRH tires at no charge!

I would still recommend MotorhomeTires.com for their great service, convenience, responsiveness, and RV tire education.

As the RV owner, you need to know what’s important in ordering and checking your new tires before installation:

  • RV tire size
  • Date code
  • Load range

Lesson 5: Determine Your Optimal Tire Pressures

Load and Inflation Tables
Source: michelinrvtires.com

Once you have your weights and tire information, it’s time to go to your tire manufacturer’s Load and Inflation Tables online to determine your optimal tire pressures (PSI) for safe driving.

The example above is the table for our front tires (Michelin XZE 295/80R22.5 H)

  1. Have your four corner weights handy.
  2. Find your Load and Inflation Tables online by searching: [Brand] RV inflation tables for your tire manufacturer.
  3. Read down the left column of the chart to Single or Dual Axle rows in LBS. For front tires (single), locate the column with the weight of your heaviest tire on the axle. Scan up from there to locate recommended PSI. For Rear Tires (dual), locate the column with the weight of your heaviest wheel position (driver or passenger side). Scan up from there to locate recommended PSI.

Note: Never exceed the wheel/rim manufacturer’s maximum air pressure limitation.

That’s it for this three-part series on RV weight and tires! I hope this information and our learning experiences will help you on your way to safe and happy travels in your RV!

National Indoor RV Centers blogger Sherri Caldwell profile image

Sherri Caldwell is the founder of BooksAndTravelUSA.com, a full-time RV travel blog and book club/U.S. literacy project. Sherri and her husband Russ are currently living, working and traveling full-time in their 2016 Entegra Aspire 40P, Charlie-The-Unicorn RV.

The NIRVC Difference – CTO Update: Online Service Portal

/ National Indoor RV Centers

Meet our Brand New Online Customer Portal

Instantly access information about your RV, schedule appointments, place orders, and communicate with the service team, all from the convenience of your desktop, laptop, or mobile device.

The latest addition to NIRVC’s commitment to superior customer service is a FREE online portal that offers a faster way to get updates and connect with NIRVC team members. Among the features offered within the new customer portal:

  • Get instant updates on service & repair work. See real-time progress on your vehicle’s status from our service & repair technicians.
  • Check the status of an order. Whether it’s a new RV or parts needed for service & repair work, our online portal will let you know if it’s shipped and when it might arrive.

RV Service Status of Order

  • Connect with service team members. You can always email or call directly, but the online portal offers a quicker way to get your questions answered.
  • Schedule, reschedule, or cancel in an instant. Whether it’s getting your RV out of storage, scheduling some paint & body work, or booking a wash & detail for your RV, you can set it all up from within your portal profile.

Schedule Motorhome Service

  • Access your RV’s repair records. Whether you’re new to NIRVC or a longtime customer, we’ll put your RV’s entire service history (and invoices) at your fingertips!

RV Service Repair Records

There’s more to explore, too. Create your FREE profile today and start exploring all our online customer portal has to offer. It’s yet another example of the NIRVC difference.