Motorhome Tips

We have presented a few tips here. This section will grow as we have time to write.

The Walk around: Every time we move, we walk around the entire motorhome, even if we stop for lunch. We check all storage compartments, make sure all utilities are unhooked,check behind for clearance and check to see that our TV antenna is down!

Weighing your motorhome: After you load all your belongings and fluids, weigh your home. Based on your loaded weight, you can determine your required tire pressures.Where can you weigh it? This can be tough. We just kept making phone calls until we found the right place. We wanted to weigh front, rear, left side, right side and total. Then we cross checked all numbers. The cost can be from zero to quite a lot, make sure to ask.

Checking your tires: After determining your weight, refer to your manual for tire pressures. You probably have a tire pressure sticker in your home. Our pressures with a loaded motorhome differ from the sticker. We check our cold pressures each day we move. We carry a gauge, a hose and air chuck to add air. Note that if you drive only a few miles to an air pump, your tires will heat up and your pressures are to be checked cold.

Tools you need: Sometime we will post a list of the tools we have needed for the last six years.

Walkie Talkies: For $20.00 (12-2007) you can purchase a pair of walkie talkies. They are useful and fun in a lot of places, but mainly we use ours when setting up camp. We each carry one when we park. We can talk about backing into a site; checking the cable TV which several times has not worked; yell "stop" when a slide is going to collide with something, etc. Basically, it saves you time from not having to run back inside to talk to one another.

Digital Photography Tips

We are not experts, but we have taken and modified some very outstanding photos. We have taken 63,624 (09-2012) photos and put over 7,700 on our weekly travelogues.

Cameras: Today's cameras are amazing. We recommendthe following features: 12x-30x Optical Zoom (or greater): You will miss a lot of good shots with a small camera with minimal zoom. The larger zoom cameras will be bigger, but they are worth it. Get a large LCD screen so you can see your photo and re-take it if needed. Ours is the largest we could find at 3 1/4 inches and we can view it without glasses!

Photo Sizes: We take all photos at 7 megapixels. The bigger the photos, the fewer number the camera will hold, the longer it takes to upload to your computer, the more space and the slower the viewing. Note that we reduce our emailed photos to 900 x 675 , about 1/2 of one megapixel. As of 04-2012, 98% of the monitors in the world, can see a 900 x 675photo without scrolling. If you take large photos and send them without shrinking them, your audience will either have to scroll up/down, left/right and never see the whole picture or view each attachment with a number of clicks for each.

Both are unacceptable. So if your only use of photos is to email them, take them close to 900 x 675. Note, as time goes on, with higher resolution monitors, bigger photos can be viewed. If you are going to print 4x6 or larger photos, you will want to use more megapixels.

Snapshot Tips: Take many shots from different angles, different lighting and different zooms. Learn to "frame" your subject and include or exclude "junk". You can also crop photos later so it is better to include too much than cut off something you want. Digital photos are free! Take lots and after you upload to your computer, delete all the crummy photos and duplicates. Clean your windshield before you take off!

Storing Photos: Every camera comes with some photo album software. We don't use them. See Photo Journal.

Modifying Photos: This will be a huge section full of great procedures that have allowed us to produce our weekly emails. For now, know that we use  Paint Shop Pro X4. PhotoShop is better in many areas than Paint Shop Pro but cost about four times as much. To read about some basic editing techniques, seePhoto Editing for the Travelogue.

Communications Tips

Eliminate all Postal Mail: We signed up for online notification and bill paying for everything possible. Then we made a list of weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual due dates. Between the two, we don't miss any payments. We still need a few items sent to us, such as, DMV tags, annual membership cards and some government forms that cannot be emailed or accessed by the web. These steps will minimize how often you need your mail sent to you. We alsocanceled all magazines or any other periodic mailings!

Post Office Mail: You will need to have a "mail forwarding service", someone to receive your mail and send it on to you. We are fortunate to have Ellen's sister Janice for ours. She picks up the mail; reads Ellen's certain items; faxes when necessary and holds on to the rest. Janice has only sent mail to us a couple of times in six years (04-2012). When we need something, we just have her send the items to General Delivery at a city in our path. Note that each city has a single post office for general delivery; you must find that office on line. Lacking an angelic relative, you can sign up for a number of mailing services. We will be providing a list of those we researched.

Cell Phone Tips: You may have your favorite companies, but we have been using Verizon for 18 years and the coverage has been amazing. We have been at only one RV Park, Outdoor Resorts in Aguanga, California, where Verizon did not work and another carrier did. They now have a Verizon tower! (11-2008). We have been in many places where we had good reception and others could not make calls or the calls were dropped.

Internet Tips: Again the Verizon Aircard has been great. We can't tell you how many times we have been on roads with no buildings in sight and had good coverage. We need the Internet Monday to Friday, as we run our software business. We check our coverage at an RV park check in. If coverage is not adequate, we leave. Another reason not to get reservations. We can also call Verizon and they will "predicct" how good the coverage will be.

Email Tips: We send a lot of email. Our email accounts are not web based, like Yahoo and Gmail. You can't compose your email offline with these accounts. Many times we compose our weekly emails offline and send them when we have a fast connection.

Faxing Tips: Our phone service is www.OneBox.com. They provide an 800 number, an 800 fax line, voice mail and many more features.

Non-RV Web Sites

We use these sites and they are "trusted sites". They won't infect your system with viruses, but you should still block pop ups.

Zip Codes: Many sites ask for city and state or zip codes. Some ask only for zip code. Use this site to find a city from the zip code.

Weather: AccuWeather Enter the city and state.

TV Schedule: Titan TV is best, but also TV Guide Enter your zip code and connection type, such as Analog Broadcast for antenna. You can access IMDB.com to review TV shows, movies and cast.

Learning Facts: Wikipedia Enter your search criteria. You should read About Wikipedia to build your trust in this site's facts.

FoxNews and NewsMax are Pete's favorite sites for up to the minute news.

Free and Trusted Computer Software: These will require software downloads. Click to access our Computer Tips

Web Search Engine: Google Simply the best!

Other RV Web Sites

These are the web sites of services that we have used. There are many other choices but BigRigBible is about products and services that we have used and found valuable.

List of Diesel Motorhome Manufacturers. Find new homes, service and other information.

Motorhome Accessories: A list of products that we have reviewed and purchased.

Fuel Stops: Find truck fuel stops by clicking: Pilot / Flying J,Loves, T/A

Motorhome Washing: Blue Beacon Truck Washes We have used them a dozen times and got good and inexpensive washes. Once, we did have water spotting, but they told us to come back to have it taken care of.

Christian Service: SOWERS Servants on Wheels Ever Ready is an organization that connects Christian RVer's with 501C organizations that need volunteers. The host project provides RV hookups for one month in trade for 72 hours of service.

Service Locations: Coach Care has been great. We will add all other locations we have been to and rated.

Towing Services: Coach-Net provides towing, technical support and other services. We have used them twice with great service.

RV Insurance: We use the insurance broker Poliseek. They carry many lines and will compare rates and offer you the best company for your state. Make sure that your insurance company specializes in motorhomes as these companies will offer you the best coverage, e.g. Total Cost Replacement and Window Glass coverage. We recommend that you check the rates before renewing each year.

USA Dump Sites. Click it, then click on your state for a list.

Black and Gray Tank Flushing. All Pro Water Flow and click on find a dealer. There are only a few states that have these franchises, so search hard. We use this service annually and our tanks are returned to factory fresh condition.

Monaco RV Clubs:There are many clubs to belong to as a Monaco owner. Most are regional. As we travel full time across the USA and Canada, we joined Monaco International

Finding RV Parks & Campgrounds

If we are traveling and looking for a park for a few days, we search in the order on this page until we find a park we like. We don't reserve and we only pay for one night. On the second day we decide how long to stay.

Elks Lodges:You must join the Elks; this will take a few months The above link gives you access to all Elks. Elks RV Parking list those lodges that have posted there RV parking. We use the first link because many lodges have not posted. And many have no designated parking but welcome you to stay. They may even drag out a power cable for you. 

Passport AmericaYou pay an annual fee, it is worth it!

Escapees Parks. You pay an annual fee, well worth it if you travel in these areas. 

Woodalls Directory. Optional sign up.

Trailer Life Directory. Optional sign up.

Big Rig Resorts. No sign up or fees.

Reserve America. Government parks are listed here. Optional sign up.

Renting at Ownership Parks: These are the nicest parks and include groups like Outdoor Resorts and Signature Resorts as well as single location parks.

Parks we have visited and rated: These are the RV parks that we have visited, listed by state and rated.

Learning About RV Parks

The longer we travel, the more we learn of types of places that we can stay. If you can afford any price, or you move back and forth to the same parks each year, then skip this page . If you are like us, you travel randomly and will want all kinds of parks to fit your needs.

Type of Parks: We have stayed in 463 locations. Places to stay range from free overnights like Walmarts to high end parks like Motorcoach Country Club in Indio, California at $99/night (04-2012). There are free locations, private parks, city, county, state and federal parks, rallies, casinos, repair centers, truck stops, rest areas, friends homes and more . Elks members can stay at Elks Lodges, from free to $25 (06-2012). Private parks vary: parks for travelers only, parks for snow birds and parks with trailers and park models where people live full time. And there are private ownership parks where you can buy your own lot or rent.

Park Discounts: We purchased yearly memberships in FMCA,
Good Sam Club , KOA, Passport America, Elks andEscapees. We recommend all except KOA. We feel that most, not all, KOA parks are overpriced. While you get 10% off with a membership; we just pay the full price when we stay at a KOA.

Searching for Parks: We do all our park searching on the Internet. This entire site is designed to be your one Internet portal to every site you will need. Our search order depends on our needs. If we want luxury or know the park we want, we go directly to their web site. If we want an couple nights on the way to somewhere, then we search in this order. Elks, Passport America, Escapees, Trailer Life, Government Parks, Big Rig Resorts and finally surfing the web.

Our Park Ratings: We have stayed at 325 different parks (06-2012) and revisited some of them. We rate every site that we stay at, on a scale from 0 =Won't stay there again to 5=We would like to live there. We rated Beebe Bridge County Park in Lake Chelan, WA as a 4. It had only 30 amps and water, a dump site and showers, no other facilties! So what do we care about that it could be rated so high. We like a solid, spacious, level pad, a patio, nice grass, a clean park and a great view. This park would be a 5 with 50 amps, a spa and cable TV. We like clean showers, bike trails, a pool, volleyball and pickleball. But, we don't downgrade a park if it lacks these. You may not find our ratings valuable if your desires and needs are vastly different from ours.