In Episode 103 Eric Stark promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: If you have pondered living in your RV after retirement there is a lot to think about and if done right it can be an excellent choice for retirement. It can also turn into a disaster if not planned carefully. Eric gives some straight forward advice about living out your retirement in an RV. Eric explains that it might not be as easy as it may appear to be. He advises talking to others who have and what they did to make it work for their set of circumstances. Staying On The Road: Mentally compartmentalizing your RV can make your life so much easier and keep your head from exploding. Eric shares some real-life experiences from his retail store to help you understand what he means by compartmentalizi...
In Episode 102 Eric Stark promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: This section dovetails off episode 101 about buying a new RV and not getting taken to the cleaners. Eric recommends having the RV inspected by a professional RV Inspector. The NRVTA trains RV Inspectors and can help you locate an RV Inspector to inspect any RV you are considering purchasing, new or used. NRVTA Promotional: This program prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to build, test, inspect, repair, service, and maintain recreational vehicles, systems, and interior and exterior components. Includes instruction in brake, hydraulic, and towing systems; electrical systems; propane systems and propane and electric appliances; carpentry; plumbing; welding; and structural frames. Upon completion, the Recreational Vehicle (RV) Inspector, the student will gain inspection skills in the areas of propane, electrical, plumbing, fire and life safety, weight knowledge, and other technical skills as outlined in the RV Service Training Council. The Recreational Vehicle (RV) Inspector provides a comprehensive focus on evaluating and reporting the operational status of the RV systems found in today’s RVs. Students might expect to find employment at inspection firms, the insurance industry, banking, extended service agreement companies, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), dealerships, repair shops, and/or via small business ownership. https://nrvta.com/ (NRVTA Official Website) Staying On The Road: Eric points out the pitfalls of not being prepared and overreacting in an Emergency type of situation. It doesn’t matter how big or small the situation is, staying calm is the key to resolving it. Panicking can make the situation go from bad to worse. For example; a customer stopped by Eric’s RV Parts and Accessory store and brought in a furnace in one hand and all of the wires in the other hand and asked for them to be put back the way they belong. The customer heard a noise in the furnace and overreacted and pulled every wire off the furnace to get rid of the noise. He didn’t give it any thought, just started pulling wires, it went from bad to worse. The point is not to overreact and take some time to analyze the problem unless split-second decisions have to be made. Is it life or death? Most of the time it is just humans being humans and overreacting. The Next Stop: White Water River Rafter is the topic that Eric and Alexis discuss. River rafting is a great family experience and just builds the memories for the entire family to remember and look back on thinking about how awesome that RV trip was. Rving is about building memories. https://paddlecamp.com/what-is-white-water-rafting/#:~:text=White%20water%20rafting%20is%20a,rafting%20guide%20will%20accompany%20beginners. (More Information) RV Envy: You might not have the biggest or newest RV but keeping it in top shape will make most people envious. They watch you cruise through a camping trip problem-free. Your nice clean and well-maintained reflects how much you enjoy and care about it. https://www.wheresafe.com/ (Whersafe RV GPS Tracking Systems) - Use Promo Code “SMARTRVER10” and SAVE 10% https://sunpromfg.com/rv-awning-fabrics/slide-out-awning-fabrics/ (RV Slide Out Awning Fabrics) - Use Promo Code “TheSmartRver” and SAVE 10% https://arizonarvpartscenter.com/mopeka-lp-tank-gauge-measures-level-of-propane/ (Mopeka LP Tank Wireless Level Gauge) Use Promo Code “Mopeka10” and Save 10%
The Dodo bird is extinct and the perfect RV is impossible to find. This is where Eric jumps in and helps his audience to appreciate the Perfect RV is possible to create with some hard work and patience. The perfect RV is what you make of your RV or build from a good, solid foundation. The foundation is an RV that meets or exceeds your expectations and one that is worth investing time and money into to create the perfect RV. The perfect RV is the best way to enjoy the RV Lifestyle! With some enthusiasm, Eric digs into the frustrations you might experience buying a New RV at a dealership. Eric is frustrated that too many people buying their first RV or an experienced RVer purchasing their next RV run to block walls of deception and extremely poor customer service ending up with a problem-ridden bad experience. He wants you, The Smart RVer to make a purchase you are proud of and know that you didn't get taken to the cleaners with a piece of junk RV. This episode is a must to listen to before you buy your first or next RV. The RV dealership will hate you, but your family will love you for making a great purchase and knowing what you have got yourself into.
This si the 100th Episode of the Smart RVer Live on YouTube Thursday, May 26th @ 9am Mtn Time. https://youtu.be/-sjbTfnqj3k
In Episode 99 Eric Stark promotes the 100th Episode that will be hosted live on Youtube. He also promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: Eric does some comparisons of the top 10 essential lists for RVing and shares his thoughts that each top ten list will depend on who the RVer is and what their needs and RVing habits are. He came to this conclusion because there are hundreds of top ten lists and no two are identical and only share a few similar items. Battle Born vs Expion 360 Conversion Continues? https://thesmartrver.com/whats-my-model-number/ (Click Here for a Complete List.) Staying On The Road: In this episode, Eric explains the problems of RV sidewall delamination and what the causes are. He then explains the various ways to take care of the problem wheth...
In Episode 98 Eric Stark promotes the 100th Episode that will be hosted live on Youtube. He also promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: Eric asks the question is all of the new technology found in today's RVs Impressive or Unimpressive? With central command centers that look like an iPad and more electronics than ever before is it impressive? The RV industry doesn’t track like the automotive industry when it comes to getting electronics right the first time. It seems that it can be an expensive and time-consuming learning curve. Eric is passionate about technology but he expects it to work for years to come. Eric also hints at the new LifePo Battery that should take the RV Industry by storm. Battle Born? Staying On The Road: Eric believes that RVers should car...
In Episode 97 Eric Stark promotes the 100th Episode that will be hosted live on Youtube. He also promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: Eric explains the best practice if you need to replace certain parts on your RV such as appliance parts. He breaks down ways to help the DIY to get good service and the correct part on the first trip to the RV Parts Store. He mentions some of the many appliances and parts on an RV that require either Model Numbers or Pictures to be sure of getting the right part. https://thesmartrver.com/whats-my-model-number/ (Click Here for a Complete List.) Staying On The Road: Eric explains in detail how trailers with drum brakes are technology from 1920 and how drum brakes haven’t changed in 100 years. He also notes how ineffective drum b...
In Episode 96 Eric Stark helps his audience to appreciate that while RVing there will be good days and bad days. Some days will be perfect and some days will be like any other day and some days will seem to last forever because they are so bad. The big picture of making memories and enjoying time spent with family is what is important, those are the moments that last a lifetime and make RVing worth the ups and downs. https://thesmartrver.com/rv-battery-wiring/ () Eric also gets into his groove explaining the differences between wiring batteries in series or parallel and why you should know the difference. He also explains using 12-volt batteries and 6-volt batteries and what the big differences are. This coming July is the month to spend time in Montana come by our store in the Bitterroot Valley and meet us. We certainly want to meet our listeners and give away some free stuff for those that are willing to make the trek to Victor, MT to visit us. Montana has a tremendous amount of s...
Out with the old and in with the new, it might be time to put new flooring in your RV. This is Eric Stark with the smart RV or podcast, delivering the smarts. You need to enjoy the freedom of the RV lifestyle without the fear of breaking down.
In Episode 95 Eric is making up for lost time after being sick and not being able to work on his podcasts. He is glad to be back doing what he loves, helping others solve RV-related problems. Rather than cover the RV life Style segment in a traditional sense he dives into raising fuel prices and RVers can crunch the numbers to estimate a "real" estimate of what the actual fuel cost will be for a great trip in the RV. After all, the memories need to be made, the family loves a great getaway. As always Eric uses his experience from talking with RVers about how much future trips could cost in regards to fuel. It is an eye-opener because quite often the cost is exaggerated because real numbers aren't being used. Depending on where you are going and what your mileage is the cost might be a lot more affordable than previously thought. In many scenarios, it may only require cutting back on some other expenses to offset the higher fuel cost. Camping closer to home might be an option as well...