Guest Column: Technology and RVs

This continues a series of guest columns on how technology is reshaping hobbies and passions  – basket weaving, rugby – whatever.

This time it is my good friend, Tom Chimera who blends a career helping clients with his Overpayment Recovery Services, and a nomadic RV life.

“My wife Lydia and I like to see this beautiful country by road. And we have found with a bit of planning we can find volunteer work at many parks we visit. (The photo is us at work at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas). Not sure how we could have managed that lifestyle without a RV.

We used to own a 1995 Sea Ray Express Cruiser and as we looked to upgrade to a fancier “land yacht” I had done my research by walking the aisles of many an RV show (Tampa, where I live, hosts one of the largest annual shows).

But when a neighbor offered to exchange his 1994 Coachman RV for my Sea Ray (about 10 feet longer - which is really a huge upgrade) I turned to the web – and was fascinated by the intelligence it offered. The variety of sites with used boats and RVs for sale, enabled me to do the exchange research in a relatively short time and we made the trade.

With the stately 1994 Coachman RV in hand, a new period of Internet research began. I started looking at the many issues related to being on the road in a moving house - from meal preparation to campground information to repair information. Our first venture was to visit Smoky Mountain National Park. It was a particularly memorable jaunt as I encountered my first fence post in a park and some seriously narrow streets in Sevierville, TN. Then in the following months, we ventured to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, NM, along with visits to about 7 other National Parks. This trip definitely showed me many features other owners were enjoying that we were not.

On our trip through Hot Springs  we found a newer coach – a 2003 American Tradition - we could afford with low mileage and an anxious seller.

Talk about new technological enhancements compared to my old Coachman. My old coach had a speedometer and a trip odometer while the new coach has a performance monitoring and engine monitoring system which gives me vast information about the efficiency of my travels and their duration

The engine (a diesel as in previous coach), was upgraded to a new electronically controlled model offering more efficient performance and smoother operation just as automobiles have changed over the years. The transmission, while still made by Allison, had been fine-tuned again for more efficiency and smooth operation over the intervening decade.

My old coach had a generator capable of running all the onboard systems. My new coach had an almost identical generator, but also had a power management system and instead of a direct 12 V connection to many appliances, it now used an inverter which runs many appliances off 120 V while moving. This new power system also monitors the amp usage and will control which appliances are in use depending on the power source the RV is plugged into. I can plug into a simple 120 V single outlet or up to a 50 amp RV outlet and run things efficiently through the power management system. It also will automatically start my generator if needed as the charge on the batteries gets low, even taking into account time of day restrictions for generators used in campgrounds.

The Internet also allows me to trade while I'm on the road. Pays some of the RV bills  – except, of course, in the brutal market in the last year or so.  While the connection speeds vary all over the place, the Verizon AirCard is usually good enough for my trades on its 3G network. Many campgrounds now offer Wi-Fi for even more reliable and faster connections.

The Internet (and mobile phones) has been a god send when it comes to repairs and you are in unfamiliar territory. Once, while traveling in Idaho we damaged our steps and were able to arrange repairs in Salt Lake City only a few hours from where we were. The same thing happened on our way to Yellowstone National Park where a vicious wind gust tore one of our awnings near Cheyenne. We called ahead to Idaho Falls, and arranged for a repair shop to remove the awning and a canvas shop to repair it with little delay.

Another source of delight with the Internet is the ability, through camping newsletters and blogs, to find volunteer work at our destination. Again, no dependence on local newspapers or the Yellow Pages.

Trailer Life Directory provides us plenty of detail on campgrounds we should consider and Google Earth allows me to peek at them from above. Our ability to travel bas ben enhanced by a Pharos GPS tracking device which connects to Microsoft Street and Trips on a laptop. While it sometimes adds to the trip’s excitement by leading us down a dead-end road (and related turn of making a U-Turn in a large vehicle) the ability of the GPS tracking system to route me turn by turn through cities and countryside is a wonder. My wife, in particular, loves the GPS. No, not the technology – the fact that she is no longer the designated navigator and the fact that we now have to find other things to argue about :)

Communications and entertainment enhancements, including DirecTV and Sirius satellite radio also provide on-the-go connectivity to the world outside. With Sirius radio, I could listen to football games of my beloved Buffalo Bills while traveling in Yellowstone National Park. My DirecTV connection allows me to get feeds from both the East and West Coast networks for the national news in addition to all the cable channels - many more than we can get at home.

We have put approximately 20,000 mile on our coaches. I like to remember the visits to Granny’s house in Dad’s 1956 Packard. 150 roundtrip miles of agony. Wish we had my American Tradition back then.

It's not quite the Madden Mobile, but good enough for us – and certainly tempting to the bear we encountered in Yellowstone!"

Comments

[MikieD re: used campers for sale]

Tom is a role model. I'm amazed the the great motor homes he's found. And what a lifestyle they've given him.

If someone is just starting out, a used camper can be a boon. You might take a look at the campers FEMA has for sale starting last May.

I've attached an article.
Thanks!
Mike

[Tia Oshields]

The American Tradition is one hefty and reliable RV! Technology is far-reaching nowadays, and we’ve gotta keep up with the times, as they say. My buddy Harold changed for the better too, and is now cruising in a Berkshire 2012.

[vinnie mirchandani]

Tia, thanks. Check back in a couple of weeks. Tom is doing a guest column on latest RV technology.

[http://www.tapisdeveil.info]

You ought to taqke part iin a contest for one of tthe greatest blogs online. I am going to highly recommend this site!

[Vinnie Mirchandani]

thanks!