Classic #RV Park Decor
You can find all kinds of interior designs inside RVs, but none are quite like those with a vintage-style theme. This small RV in particular has a ’50s-style renovation that is too adorable to not admire. Designed by
They left the stove the original color, and the walls and cabinets a beautiful shade of aqua blue – a perfect choice to match with the bright yellow items in the kitchen.
Successful RV #cooking can be challenging. With a lack of counter space, minimal storage, and a tiny fridge, there are many obstacles to over come. Luckily, the amazing
There is nothing better then coming home after a long day of exploring to a hot, home cooked meal ready to eat. Or, fill the pot in the evening and let it cook overnight for a delicious breakfast or lunch.
We all know that home cooking saves money, but did you also know that crock-pot meals can be incredibly economical? That’s because dishes cooked in a crock-pot often use cheaper cuts of meat, frozen vegetables, and inexpensive pantry staples like dried rice and beans.
Most crock-pot meals require no other cooking utensils aside from maybe a cutting board, a knife, and occasionally a bowl or two. This makes for very simple and quick clean up when the meal is done. For even less clean up, get yourself a box of
Simplify meal time with RV crock-pot cooking. From stews to deserts and nearly everything in between, crock-pots make delicious meals with little effort.
A walk through my favorite fabric-by-the-pound store led me to Insul-Bright fabric, the stuff used in oven mitts and pot holders. It was sold in folded bunches for $3.99/lb. I grabbed two large pieces (I’m not a measurer) hoping it was enough for all the #RV window coverings, and walked out for less than $10.00. It ended up being enough to double layer each window!
I cut two pieces of the insulation fabric to fit each window and stapled them together along with sticky backed Velcro circle fasteners. Depending on the size of the window, I stapled Velcro to all four corners and at least two places in between. Then I stuck the other side of the Velcro just inside the window to correspond, and stuck the fabric panel to it. Since these are covered by curtains, I saw no point in sewing or making them pretty. They serve a functional purpose of blocking the sun and heat, however, the Velcro makes them easily removable to see out the window or take them down during mild weather.
Next I put some thought into how to hang more traditional curtains. Originally, the camper had mini blinds, curtain rods, curtains, and a cornice over all of that. I’ve always hated mini blinds. They collect dirt and are terrible at blocking light, and need I remind you of the hideous pink flowered fabric? It all had to go. The obvious solution was to hang new curtain rods and curtains. I was concerned that a rod would allow the curtains to hang away from the wall thereby letting in heat and light that made it through the first insulated barrier. Velcro and staples to the rescue again!
I cut panels for each window out of heavy, felt-backed fabric (another opportunity for added insulation) and added a decorative fabric across the top. Again, I’m not a measurer, but I can tell you the panels extend about two inches on the sides and bottom of the windows and about four inches across the top. That’s after hemming all four sides.
Recreational vehicles are known to have little insulation and thin windows to keep their weight down. Our 1987 Kountry Aire 5th Wheel is no exception, and it heats up fast! When it became apparent that we would still be parked in the Phoenix, AZ area during the peak of summer, I came up with an RV window coverings solution that was easy, fast, cost effective and not terrible to look at.
Curated from RV WINDOW COVERINGS
Most tax and accounting professionals are not well-acquainted with our oddball lifestyle. You’ll want to work with a knowledgeable numbers and tax law guru who understands the intricacies of tax filing for full-time RVers. Ask around on full-time RVing discussion forums and groups, you’re likely to find a professional who can keep you as far away from the audit trail as possible.
We hunted around and found George Montgomery, a former full-time RVer, business man and enrolled agent for the IRS. He wrote a book called “Can I Write Off My RV? What Every RVer Should Know About Taxes” which is a great place to start your full-time RVing tax picture research, even if you don’t choose him as your tax preparer.
George’s book will put a stop to the myths you’ve probably heard about writing off #recreational vehicle expenses. After living and working on the road as a tax man, George is so qualified he’s earned the title of “RV Taxmaster” from Workamper News.
One of the most interesting things I learned from George’s book is that if a full-time RVer has no primary residence other than their RV, none of the lodging portion can be written off, but some deductions can be taken if the RV is being used for business. What a surprise to learn that this is completely opposite of the way I always understood the “sticks and bricks” home office deduction, which my husband and I have always taken advantage of since we became self-employed in the 1990s.
But wait: before you call H&R Block, if you’re a full-time RVer who lives and works or volunteers on the road, you want to make sure you get the right person to file your tax paperwork. Don’t be fooled into thinking that deducting expenses for your full-timing lifestyle is the same as when you lived in a stick house. Living and working from your RV paints a very different tax picture, so before you try to write off your RV payment and associated costs as a “small business” expense, take a minute to learn more about how the tax laws affect – and benefit – you as a full-time RVer.
” I mean the initiating feature or condition that eventually led to the failure. Too often people confuse the tire’s ending condition with the initiating or “Root Cause” reason for the tire to end up in the condition they are observing.
For the last few years of my 40-year career as a tire engineer, my primary job duty was to investigate failed tires that had conditions that were hard to understand or provided confusing and sometimes contradictory evidence as to the Root Cause for their condition. With that background, I have developed some guiding principles for the most likely reasons for tires to fail.
. This is best described by the failure of the tire sidewall due to excessive flexing. The flexing is the result of operation when the tire is significantly under-inflated.
“. When a tire looses significant inflation air they flex much more that the body cord can tolerate. Excess heat is generated which can, in extreme cases, result in the Polyester actually melting. I showed examples of what this can look link in
Well, that may seem to be a reasonable question but in my opinion it is based on what is often inaccurate failure analysis. In reality, tires fail for a relatively small number of Root Cause reasons that can be discovered, but it does require detailed and sometimes exhaustive investigation. By ”
We both had this dream to travel from the time we were very young and when we married we shared those thoughts with one another but as life sometimes goes, it got in our way and we put that dream on the back burner…again!
We had a successful tile installation company, we were blessed with a grandson and we had a 4 bedroom, 2 ½ car garage that was packed with “stuff” and we were living the “American Dream”.
But it was not our dream and then significant changes began to happen in our lives, we lost my baby brother, Jeff who hid his sadness behind a bottle as many people do but he died at forty taking all of his dreams with him. A short year later my mother passed, then Jerry’s dad passed, then we lost our daughter and grandson a year into living this lifestyle. We now consider ourselves orphans with no family, just each other and we are happy with it.
Our initial dream was to travel the NASCAR circuit but just a few weeks prior to us adventuring out the floor dropped out from under us and our dream took a very nasty turn. We lost our RV, we lost set jobs along the way, we had nothing but a dream. Jerry wanted to get our stationary lives back and me, well, being the dreamer I am, I talked him into staying in the mobile lifestyle and came up with a marvelous idea…so I thought. We would find work that included housing, and/or tenting along the way.
We are full time travelers searching for new adventures and roads less traveled. We are learning to live our lives from a new spiritual awareness…a “No Worries”, “Hakuna Matata” philosophy. Join us on our journey and please feel free to leave your comments, suggestions or questions. We love hearing from our readers! Our email address is hittheroad57@hotmail(dot)com. Please replace (dot) with .
It always surprises me how many people avoid lentils altogether out of the common misconception that dried beans and legumes are difficult to prepare. They are actually a breeze to cook, and infinitely flexible in the flavor department. Lentils are inexpensive tasty powerhouses that offer an impressive amount of iron, zinc, potassium and magnesium along with a whopping 18 grams of protein per cup. Because lentils aren’t a complete protein, I always recommend serving them with brown rice to reap all of the nutritional benefits.
Want to give your lentils some star power? While they are cooking, sauté chopped onion, garlic and sweet peppers in some olive oil until al dente, and toss in some fresh, chopped herbs like parsley and oregano. When the lentils are done (don’t strain them), stir everything together and serve the lot over brown rice, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
As I mentioned before, lentils are a great addition to a salad. Toss them with some barley, goat cheese, and fresh, raw veggies and you won’t believe how you have lived so long without them. They are also perfect as a soup. You can either start with more liquid or add broth after the lentils are cooked. I love to use my stick blender to puree some of the lentils when I make a soup. This creates a luscious, creamy broth. And speaking of creamy broth, now that the weather is starting to turn cooler, I decided to share one of my favorite chicken soup #recipes this month as well.
It never hurts to have a few comfort food recipes in reserve, and this creamy chicken and wild rice soup certainly fits the bill. You don’t have to be under the weather to crave this stuff, though. It’s like a big, warm hug on a cool night! And don’t feel limited by the vegetables I use; add whatever makes you happy. Zucchini, squash, even leftover roasted vegetables will taste great and make it your own custom creation.
Late this month the long, hot summer will give way to fall, and I for one will be happy to see it arrive. To help you get ready for those nights when you need a sweater for your evening stroll, we are going to dive into two comfort food favorites: lentils and chicken soup. Both are easy to prepare, low in fat, and great as leftovers. In fact, I often make a double batch just to make sure I’ll have enough for lunch the next day.
OK, bear with us for a minute. Even though the receptacle found in your motorhome is rated at 120 volts AC, the 50-amp shorepower is actually a 120/240-volt AC, four-wire service (Figure 1). The acronym AC stands for “Alternating Current,” which means the voltage is constantly changing from 0 to 120 volts positive and back down to 0 volts, before going to negative 120 volts and then back up to 0 volts. This happens 60 times a second in a process commonly referred to as 120/240-volt AC 60 Hz (hertz), as shown in Figure 2.
The electricity that feeds the 120-volt AC receptacle in the motorhome comes from the 120/240-volt AC breaker panel. This panel is supplied with 240 volts AC, which comes from two 120-volt AC legs that are 180 degrees out of phase. This means that when Leg 1 of the 120 volts AC is going from 0 to 120 volts positive (Figure 2), Leg 2 of the 120 volts AC is going from 0 to 120 volts negative (Figure 3).To get 240 volts AC to power the larger appliances like a clothes dryer or the aftermarket CheapHeat electric-element furnace upgrade, rather than going from one hot leg to neutral (120-volt AC), power is taken from the two opposing hot legs, and since they are 180 degrees out of phase, the end result is 240 volts AC (Figure 4). Now since the neutral wire (white) isn’t used in the 240-volt AC configuration, the waveform’s reference is from the red to black wires rather than red to white or black to white wires, which now generates the waveform as shown in Figure 5. This means that owners looking for high-capacity clothes dryers can upgrade to units powered by 240 volts AC, something that is offered in a number of high-end motorhomes.Got all that? Well, now let’s review the four-wire 50-amp shorepower cord. It has four 6-gauge wires rated at 50 amps each, meaning the cord has two 50-amp legs at 120 volts AC (hot to neutral) for a total of 100 amps at 120 volts AC or one circuit of 240 volts AC at 50 amps (Leg 1 hot to Leg 2 hot), or a combination of the two.But wait! If we have 120 volts AC at 50 amps on the red to white wires and 120 volts AC at 50 amps on the black to white wires, wouldn’t that be 120 volts AC at 100 amps on the white wire since there is only one white wire? Well, that’s because the two hot legs are 180 degrees out of phase. When Leg 1 electrons are moving toward positive 120 volts AC, the Leg 2 electrons are moving toward negative 120 volts AC. When correctly wired, the neutral leg will see no electron flow — and that’s why it’s called the Neutral Leg, and there is no overload.
This adapter was subjected to a heavy load that produced high heat and melted the plastic. For safety, and to ward off any loss of power, this 30-to-15 amp adapter needs to be replaced.
If the #RV park pedestal is wired incorrectly, and the two legs are not out of phase, you will have 100 amps applied to a white wire that is only rated for 50 amps. In that scenario you have both Leg 1 and 2 electrons moving toward 120 volts AC positive and negative at the same time (Figure 6), which means you have double the electron flow (current) going through the white wire when it’s only rated for half that load. The end result is an overloaded wire that will overheat and possibly cause a fire.
It’s common to find 50-amp electrical service in motorhomes these days, a requirement that’s needed to power the expanding use of convenience appliances and energy-thirsty accessories. Most owners unknowingly feel pretty confident that if they plug into 50-amp service, they can run all their systems without restrictions. But that’s not always the case, and what you see is not necessarily what you get. Understanding the complexities and limitations — yes, limitations — of 50-amp service will help prevent overloading and eliminate disappointments when it comes to taking advantage of fully equipped motorhomes.
Lake James in NC is a massive reservoir spanning almost 7000 miles. While many campers are excited about camping on the lake, some are discouraged by the long waiting lists. Fortunately, Keowee Falls is a RV Park near Lake James NC and a little under two hours from Asheville NC. With lakeside camping and no waiting list, find out what many other happy campers have already discovered at Keowee Falls RV Park!
Another RV Park near Lake James NC include Lake James Landing and Barefoot Landing. Lake James Village is also a popular family destination.
Our RV Park is located within 1-2 miles of the following businesses:
| Ingles Grocery Save-A-Lot Road House Music Burkes Outlet US Post Office CVS Spinx Buddy Kings Used Cars Redbox Always Money West Union Post Office New China |
Grooming Center Advance Auto Parts Western Union Tri-County Ace Super Service Tire and Alignment Shell Hasty Mart Subway Open Door Baptist Brooks Tire and Recapping Davenport Funeral Home Walhalla Wesleyan Church |
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This year we had some impressive entries into our summer photo contest, and several posts to our Facebook page! Here are some of the more interesting submissions:
This duck enjoys chilling out on Lake Keowee where our happy campers love to go fishing.
This is certainly modern art, an expose of our marina and boat dock area.
Stunning – the abstract of negative space against the warm colors of dawn’s cold embrace.
Donna Player had the most likes on Facebook for this winning entry to the Flickr Summer Photo Contest.
Check out this cool video we put together in summary:
