Episode 88: RV Tips about Solar Power, Travel Trailer Towing and Life on the Road

We have a jam-packed show for you this week. We talk about solar power, what you need to know about it and how it will enhance your RV experience. And we have travel trailer towing resources and insights into life on the road. We’ll introduce you to a several of the people we’ve met on the road recently, including a single woman who lives in her Class B RV as she travels the country after retiring from her job as a missionary in Africa. Plus, reader comment and questions, tech tips, a fun RV destination report and RV News of the Week. Scroll down for show note details and resources and click the player below to start listening. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #88 May 18, 2016 of Roadtreking - The RV Lifestyle Podcast: This week's show was recorded at the beautiful Henderson Beach State Park in Destin, FL. That's our Roadtrek where we parked in a lot overlooking the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. We opened the rear and side doors and recorded the show right from here, enjoying the nice sea breeze and salty air. Henderson beach boast more than 6,000 feet of natural scenic shoreline border the emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Natural features of the park include sand pines, scrub oaks, and dune rosemary. Boardwalks provide access to the beach for swimming, sunbathing, and fishing. Four large and two small pavilions allow for picnicking and grilling. The view out our back door as we recorded this episode There's great camping here. The park has 60 campsites that can accommodate either tents or RVs, with a mixture of back in and pull-through sites. The sites have water, electricity (all sites are 50 amp except campsite #28); picnic tables, ground grills and clothesline posts. Campsites do not have sewer connections; a centrally located dump station is for provided for the proper disposal of waste. Amenities include heated and air conditioned restrooms with showers, coin operated washers, dryers and vending machines. Pets are welcome at campsites. Unlike remote wilderness camping, provisions and restaurants are a short drive away. The only downside is the spots here are usually booked a year in advance. We often to day camping, as shown above. JENNIFER'S TIP OF THE WEEK This week’s tip is about cooking and serving sizes. I’ve shared before that I like to prepare as many meals ahead of time as possible. That means less time spent in the RV on meal prep while Mike and Bo are having fun outside. [spp-timestamp time="5:15"] So we try to spend an afternoon at home before each trip planning meals and cooking them. One easy meal is meatloaf. And when I make meatloaf, I like to bake it in a muffin and cupcake pan. The pan I use is non-stick and it has spaces to make 12 cupcakes. But we make 12 little meat loafs. Just spn the meatloaf mixture into each hole and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about 25 minutes. I’ve found that each one is a perfect serving. Sometimes Mike takes two. But after baking the little meat loaf muffins, they store easily in a zip lock bag which then goes into the freezer of our Roadtrek CS Adventurous. It takes only a couple of minutes to heat them up in our RV’s microwave/convection oven. So simple. We serve with steamed green beans and a nice salad. Meatball muffins. Try ‘em. Mikie likes em. I bet you will too! The tip of the week is brought to you by Good Sam, the world's most popular RV organization, now celebrating its 50th year. LISTENER QUESTIONS and COMMENTS OF THE WEEK: Listener Michael asks for help on adding solar for his RV: How much does he need? We refer him Try to the Go Power! Calculator which will recommend battery bank size for the loads you use. [spp-timestamp time="10:05"] This is a great web tool that will help you size your system and provide you with equipment recommendations based on your specific power usage, location and season. It’s at http://gpelectric.com/go-power-calculator A coffee fanatic named Tom offers a tip [spp-timestamp time="16:08"] on preparing great coffee while traveling using something called the Moka Pot – a stovetop expresso maker like the one you can find at this link - http://amzn.to/27vtEjs Sponsoring this part of the podcast is Van City RV in St. Louis, and their Partner Dealerships Creston RV in Kalispell, Montana, and Wagon Trail RV in Las Vegas. Bringing You the largest Inventory of class B’s from three locations. RV BASIC TRAINING Listener Howard is looking at getting a new travel trailer and wants some tips on driving and towing it. [spp-timestamp time="23:00"] There are some great travel trailer guides at Trailer Life – See http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/ Here’s one on choosing the right towing vehicle - http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-how-to/trailer-tech/choosing-the-right-tow-vehicle/ This part of the podcast is brought to you by Campers Inn, the nation’s largest family-operated RV