RV LIFE Podcast
The RV LIFE Podcast, created by one of the premier companies in the RV industry, is for the RV Community with a mission to Educate, Entertain and Explore the RV Lifestyle. The Podcast will explore all things RV Life: living, working, exploring, learning. With hosts Dan & Patti Hunt, full time RVers, content creators, educators and explorers.
RV LIFE Podcast
Van Life: Adventures, Safety, and Community
Let's dive into the fascinating world of van life with special guest Charlie Grace, a seasoned RV traveler and van life expert. She and your host Patti Hunt discuss the allure of van living, stark differences from traditional RV living, and essential considerations such as power, water, and safety. They also chat at length about having a pet on the road. Patti shares her excitement about attending the Music City Motorhome Expo to explore luxury vans and receive practical advice from Charlie on selecting the right van for her needs. Charlie introduces her new website, vanlife.travel, and reveals an upcoming virtual summit focused on female van lifers. They also touch on traveling with pets, community building, and upcoming events like the Hershey RV Show.
Connect with Charlie Grace
In this episode we spoke about Joshua Sheehan check out his episode.
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Have you ever thought about living the van life? Well, the van life for me has always been a little bit of a fascination. I imagine this world where you get into a van and you could drive almost anywhere and park, and that to me sounds pretty amazing, because I have been thinking and imagining laying in my bed in the back of the van, looking out onto the river, listening to the sounds of nature, listening to the water flow by and at night, looking out at the night sky and the beautiful stars. That's what I imagine van life to be like. Now, that's very different than spending the past three years in a 40-foot class A. And if you stick around today, of course you're going to stick around today because I have an amazing guest that's going to talk about van life. She's going to talk about what it's like to be a solo traveler. We are going to talk about so much today and I am excited to get into it. For those of you who are new, I'm Patty Hunt and I just want to tell you the RV Life podcast was created to educate, entertain and explore all things RV lifestyle with my mission to encourage others to live life to the fullest, whether you're full-time, part-time, sometime or dreaming about the RV lifestyle. This podcast is for you and I want to hear from you. Please leave us a comment or question here on the podcast or on social media, instagram or Facebook at RV Life Podcast.
Speaker 1:It is now time for the fun fact, and the fun fact is brought to you by Open Road Resorts, and they now have five amazing locations. They have two in Montana, one in Idaho, one in Texas and now their newest campground is in Nebraska. It's called West Omaha KOA and if you're traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast and you want to hit Yellowstone National Park, west Omaha KOA is a great place to stop or just to stay. This campground is highly amenitized. It has a lot to do in the campground as well as in the area. If you're going to Yellowstone this summer, certainly check out Red Rock RV Park, which is one of open road resorts campgrounds. That looks just amazing and while I've never been there, I'm certainly looking to get there. The fun fact for this week? It's brought to you by Camper Report and you can find that at camperreportcom.
Speaker 1:Rv Life recently did a survey, excuse me sampling 10,000 RV Life Pro members, providing valuable insight into travel plans and trends for 2024. The results indicate that RVers are more excited than ever to camp for the 2024 season, with many planning to spend time on the road more time on the road compared to last year. Andy Rabinowitz, the CEO of RV Life, said while there are moderate concerns about fuel prices and campground availability, the RV Life community remains enthusiastic and ready for new adventures, and I'm certainly excited for new adventures. And on the RV Life podcast, not only do we give you valuable information, but also ways to save money on things like fuel cost. I think that's something I know, that's something in the community we think about all the time, and I'm going to tell people about Open Road Road Fuel Card. It's a little confusing Open Road Road Resorts. Can you imagine what it's like on this side? Open Road Resorts has those five great locations. Openroad's fuel card has a diesel fuel card that saves you money every time you get diesel fuel. You could go to OpenRoadscom actually MyOpenRoadscom or click the link that will be in the show notes.
Speaker 1:Now, one of those other things that people need to consider when they are on the road is clean, fresh water, and certainly my guest today and I are going to talk about water, because the difference between a 40-foot RV and the water tanks and a van has to be different. My friends at Clear2O have solutions for water filtration. So, whether it's an inline filter, a three-stage system, or you're looking for one of those water pitchers that have filtration water pitchers that have filtration clear2ocom is the answer. They have the best water filtration system on the market and you can check them out by going to their website, clear2ocom, going to their YouTube channel, where they show you in very short, quick videos why their water system is best.
Speaker 1:Now let's get to our guest. My guest today is one funny redhead and she is the RV camper van queen. She is a writer, a YouTube, a social media superstar and even has a famous dog. She has a unique and infectious energy that has earned her legions of fans. Her engaging videos take you on an entertaining journey into the fun and exciting world of RV lifestyle, comedy and more. Whether you're looking for RV travel tips or just want to laugh along with her hilarious stories, you could count on my guest, charlie Grace. Welcome, charlie Grace, to the RV Life podcast.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. It's a pleasure being here, it sure is.
Speaker 1:And I want to tell people we have met four times, I think, over the last two plus years and we keep meeting at RV events like Tampa and the Hershey RV events, and every time I meet you I say I feel like I know you and I think that's just this connection that I believe we have. And so, before we jump in, I want my listeners to get to know you. You've been on the road for eight years, correct? Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. How did that start? What was the thinking I always say as a child I had a lot of wanderlust and curiosity, but I wasn't, my family weren't campers. I never had that kind of say, oh, we always had RVs or oh, we always went tent camping. I just had this dream of I always wanted to do it. So when the opportunity presented itself, I was like I'm buying my first RV, I'm going to make this happen, and it was just a decision I made and I'm glad I did it, and I haven't looked back since.
Speaker 1:So now did you go in the first RV back eight years ago. Was that full-time, or you just did that part-time Sometime? What did that look like?
Speaker 2:So I like to call myself an any-timer. I think there's more any-timers out there than ever before, because I don't like to say part-time or full-time. We go anytime we want to, whether it be vacations or weekends or anything like that. My travel has changed since I initially started because I was more of a weekend warrior Got. Since I initially started because I was more of a weekend warrior, got to test the water, learn some things and I made lots of mistakes, like everybody does when they get their first RV. And now I'm at the point where I'm slightly experienced but still make obnoxious, fun mistakes.
Speaker 1:So, and that's a good point, because we've all made mistakes. I was embarrassed the first couple of times I made mistakes. We've all made mistakes. I was embarrassed the first couple of times I made mistakes. After getting into the RV and realizing I didn't know what I didn't know, I felt, oh my goodness, how could I have made so many mistakes? How could I have not learned more before I got in the RV? And I've come to realize that's just part of the journey. That's just part of the learning process and for me, like you, we look to educate. Let's tell people about our ridiculous mistakes so they don't make the same ones, right? So you get your information out to people.
Speaker 1:You're a writer, you're a YouTuber, you're on social media. You're Facebook, instagram, tiktok You've got almost all of them and I just want to get this out there. People can get to know you through charliegraceadventurescom. There's your website. They could find all of that. When was that transition into the writing and the YouTube? I think a lot of people that go out on the road. What we're going to do for business? What we're going to do? Should I be a YouTuber? Should I be on social media? Where did that start for you?
Speaker 2:Initially, I have a rather large family and initially when I started this, I still had children at home and we were trying to take them camping or do something really fun and take a trip. And I realized that my dream was not their dream at all. So I had to take a hard look and go it's okay. So I started traveling a lot by myself and doing trips. Now they're a little older.
Speaker 2:I have I'm at that emptiness syndrome-ish, if you want to call it ish. I have two out of college and two in college, and so it really was initially. I'm going to do something for my kids. I'm just going to. They knew me as something funny anyways, and they're like mom, you should really just let people know what you're doing and let your personality shine through, and you're going to help a lot of women and other people along the way by sharing your mistakes and they can learn from it, because no one that I was watching on the RV, youtube channels or whatever was really showing a sense of comedy, and I really think if you can laugh at yourself, we can all learn together.
Speaker 1:I love that. So I love the fact that, first of all, your family supported you. That's not often the case. So when I went full-time RVing, sold everything, bought the RV, there wasn't a lot of conversation with family. I think I felt like maybe I'm crazy. So I thought that they thought I was crazy and to this day I'm not so sure what they thought, because it was easier to just do my thing and move on. But that's a good point, whether you have that support, like you did, of your family. I had the support of my family. I'm going to say they supported me behind my back. They might have said I was crazy. Whatever that is, do you Do what feels right for you, don't worry about. This is the message I'd love to get out to people, because people ask all the time what did people think when you said you're going full time. Don't worry about what people think. Live your life on your terms is a messaging that I think we both share, right?
Speaker 2:And something I think that's interesting generationally speaking I'm of the over 50 aid my generation we were thrown in the pool and said swim. We weren't always given a lot of skills ahead of time as far as learning how to do things, so for me to just grab an RV and let's hit the road, I was like I'll figure this out as it comes. So for me it wasn't that unusual. For other people, there is a lot of anxiety where they feel they need to watch every YouTube show or read every manual, and there are some key points to that, and I'm not saying you shouldn't do that. I think if you think you need to know everything, it may never happen. So give yourself a little grace and just start.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And again, that is a messaging that I put out there. We watched all the YouTube channels. Now, the time that you went in an RV, a van, eight years ago, there wasn't the amount of information there was three years ago when I started out. Now that information could also be helpful and not helpful. Sometimes it's interesting because I was on social media this morning and somebody asked the impossible question do I leave my gray tank open? Experts quote unquote experts people in the industry people say I've been living full time forever and I leave it open. Somebody else said I've left it open and I got bugs.
Speaker 1:There is not necessarily perfect, right answers for a lot of things. And, yes, it's good to learn write answers for a lot of things. And yes, it's good to learn. But it's also good to say check it yourself. So for us, we had gotten our new to us Jeep that we were towing and we looked up the Jeep. We figured out we had this all figured out. Well, we hooked the Jeep up and we traveled I don't know how many miles and destroyed all four tires. We had done all the YouTube research, we'd done it all. So we said, all right, we're going to do a video and in that video the key takeaway was do your research but double check it. Call the Jeep. The company call directly and say this is my year, this is my type, because the year Jeep we had didn't fit the other year for what they said we should do. Check and double check is what we want to make sure we get out there.
Speaker 1:Now I really want to jump in because, having lived in a 40-foot RV with a 100-gallon water tank, huge head this is where Grace is making Charlie, grace is making faces. 60-gallon gray tank, 50-gallon black tank, huge tanks, whatever they were, huge tanks. I could take a shower every day for six to eight days, wash the dishes and still be okay with a little bit of conservation, but still be okay. This whole idea of van life sounds cool and, as I said in the beginning, laying in my bed and back and hearing the water flow by and watching nature. But I started thinking, as we've been talking about this whole van life, there's things I don't know. I don't know. So those tanks in a van nowhere near Like how big are, give me an idea. Different van.
Speaker 2:Oh no, what you talk about when you say I have a huge water tank and I have a fantastic big black tank and I could be out boondocking for six days straight. The way in which you live and conserve is vastly different in van life than typical RV life. And I have to explain that because I started out in a class C, in a small class C, then moved to a 30-foot class C, then ended up getting a van. So I've had bigger tanks to begin with. I've had that experience. I really enjoyed that. But the reason why I chose a van, even though at the cost of those tanks, like we're mentioning, is the flexibility of doing and going to the places I wanted to go. But at the cost of having a, let me think I've got a 13-gallon black, a 13-gall gallon gray and a 24 gallon freshwater tank. Wow, I can't even.
Speaker 2:Okay and you're like I can't even. So, if you haven't started that way, you don't know how that works. But, more importantly, how you travel and where you fill up and what you do, it changes. So you may not be sitting still for six days. You may have to go get water after three or four days.
Speaker 2:I just boondocked for seven straight days, seven straight days boondocking in one spot, and the reason why I did that was because I was at an event. It was a meetup and it was a really great event, but it was a hundred percent boondocking. They offered you could fill up your water, which was great, but you'd have to move your vehicle and go do it. So that was nice. I didn't have to fill up for about three or four days. So if you're a person who likes a shower in the morning and a shower in the evening, unless you like Planet Fitness, van life may not be for you. If you can learn to love those wet wipes and learn to take a sailor shower and carry some hats, because your hair may not be beautiful every single day, look at the real reason why you want to try van life and realize that it is active. It takes a lot of mental energy to really embrace and understand van life.
Speaker 1:Right and that there's van life on the side. So when I started out in our 40 foot we went to Lake Mead for the first month, be known to me, you could fill up water from a hose that was five feet away, six feet away. There were hookups around but there was no sewer and there was no electric there, so it was boondocking for the most part. We would have to pack up the whole RV to take it up to dump it. Now I'm 40 foot doing that.
Speaker 1:I did that for a month and I just did it and I'll be honest, I wouldn't do that now. So I do spend. If I'm going six, seven, eight days without hookups, I'll then plan on spending time where there are hookups I could dump. I can be hooked up to sewer water, electric, the whole nine yards where you then have places that you're hooked up and so the water coming in, the water going out, because, like you said, you can fill that van with water but there's only so much tank space. And again, I like to point this out because some of our listeners are very new to the whole RV lifestyle.
Speaker 2:I can give an example. I can give an example. This is someone asked me what is a typical 30 day or one month look in van life as far as not specifics of where, but how and that's the how is a huge question. So for me, um, like I said, I did seven days of boondocking. When I do that, I typically do about four to five days, we'll say a boondocking. But I have water and I have portable electricity and I have those things that take care of me from that perspective. And then I tend to go someplace where I can hook up for a couple of days, recharge, make sure everything's OK, whether it be boondocking, moochdocking, moochdocking or a campground or something of that nature, just so I can have all that taken care of and then I can go back on the road. So for me, my comfort level is five days, anything more than that.
Speaker 1:And I really got to plan a little more different, right, okay, so now I'm going to ask a really important question. So we record. I just want to let people know this episode will go out it's people are listening to it on June 6th, I think is the date we are recording. A week or so before and when this episode is live, I will be at the Music City Motorhome Expo, which is in Tennessee, and it is being put on by National Indoor RV Centers. It's an amazing event and the reason I'm saying this is because I will be meeting and looking at the Gretsch RV. So these are luxury vans and I'm thinking, maybe now that so I've never driven our 40 foot Monaco. I don't know how, I don't feel comfortable, but I am thinking of what would part-time sometime, anytime, like you said, van life look like for me. So I just want to let people know that and I'll have videos and more information on the Gretsch RV and other van vans that will be at this event.
Speaker 1:But let's talk a little bit about there's so much that you've done over the eight years and so much that we're going to talk about here. This may be one of those episodes where we're a little all over the place for the people listening While we're talking. If you have questions, put them in the let us know the questions. Go on social media. Let us know the questions because you and I both want to make sure people get the information. Okay, so now you go out in a van, single woman by yourself, thing that comes to mind that my mama would say what about safety? Let's jump into that.
Speaker 2:I am a frightful redhead what can I say? I grew up in the South. I am not what I call a black belt trained person. I'm just a very intellectual, cerebral person who thinks and plays chess with safety to make sure that things are taken care of. So this is something that I traveled before. How do I, how am I alert?
Speaker 2:Really, listening to your gut is really important. I think a lot of females don't do that enough when we're traveling. If you park somewhere and you don't feel safe or you just you don't see cameras or lighting or whatever, it might be moo. I'd even been to a paid campground once paid campground and I did not feel comfortable. So guess what I moved. That's number one. So listen to your gut, make sure you're thinking about that.
Speaker 2:Second thing is there are items that I carry with me, whether it be pepper spray or other things in my van that I use just in case of a situation I have not had to use that I'm very lucky.
Speaker 2:Like I said, these are things that I look at as far as locking and keeping my vehicle or be like a club on my wheel or other things like that, to show that there's an extra added layer of safety. When you're traveling with everything that you own and your name is on the side of the vehicle, people are going to realize oh guess what? She's a YouTuber, she's probably got a camera, she's probably got a laptop, the items of value. And that's not uncommon for people to break into vans. After all, I've got five doors that you could try to open to get to my van. But I do have a very smart camera that allows me to see around my van and what's going on and anywhere I park. Like I said, I just like to make sure I feel comfortable and I look a lot of apps for what? Other people where other people have gone to as well, okay, so, that's a lot of good.
Speaker 1:I loved that. First thing trust your instincts, trust your gut. Growing up that wasn't a thought, I was just afraid of everything. So I've learned that. And again, like you said, it doesn't matter if you go into a paid campground and you don't feel safe, okay, you may lose that money. I would certainly message the campground and say, hey, I just didn't feel safe. Would you be willing to refund? But it's more important that you trust your gut and be safe than say, okay, I'm going to lose that money. The cameras are a good idea.
Speaker 1:One of the things my mother always did my parents, whenever I would leave their house and go somewhere especially whether it was before the time of cell phones, because I lived in that time they'd say, okay, call us, message us when you get there. And that even continued. As an adult, I'm taking care of my mom. But if I went somewhere, I'd say, oh, I just got home, or I just got back. Or even with our travels, I think, okay, here we are right now in North Carolina, and one of the things I suggest is letting people know. So even when Dan and I would travel, we had two people. We would message this is where we're going. We're leaving now. We should arrive at this time Because, as passage, this is where we're going. We're leaving now. We should arrive at this time because travel around, people have no idea where you are.
Speaker 2:I like having I want to call it a travel accountable buddy. You know, when you have a travel, I have like four people every day, you know, and I there's actually a little device that I have now that if for some reason I don't have cell phone signal, it's like a GPS. It just you hit a button and it goes to a list of people with your GPS coordinates, I'm safe, I'm here, and then when you move, the same kind of thing. So every day I'm with a group of we get together and once a year and hang out. But it's more importantly that if something were to happen, at least we know where she was, we know where he was that night.
Speaker 1:That's great. That's a great idea. And if you will send me a link to that device Now, I don't know, I just got the new iPhone 15 Pro and there I believe it's something. If you don't have signal that you could still be tracked I'm not the technology people, so if anybody out there is listening, please let me know, post that. But I will definitely post what you're talking about. I think that's a great idea.
Speaker 1:I used to think when I was younger, my parents would say, oh, message me when you get there. And I think, well, I'm not a little kid, but that's your safety as adults. It's a safety thing as soon as we travel. I've traveled all over the country and so have you. So great piece of advice there. What I want to talk about is you're now and I think timing is always everything. In the two and a half years we've met so many times and I called you the other day and said I know we need to talk and within two days we're recording this episode and you tell me that you are launching and at this time it should be launched fanlifetravel. Talk about that. Tell us what it is. When will it be launched? Give us the first of all. Why did you start vanlifetravel? Let's go to that. I'd like to hear people why, so let's start with that.
Speaker 2:I am so excited I can't hold back. I've been waiting. I've been waiting a long time to launch vanlifetravel. What I'm doing is it is a website. I've been waiting a long time to launch vanlifetravel. What I'm doing is it is a website. You can find it on your phone, you can go on your desktop and essentially it addresses the questions and concerns of those people who are what I call van curate, or people who are interested in learning more about van life. So I have a whole section specifically dedicated to them, and I have a section dedicated to those who, like me, who have a van but we're upgrading, we're tweaking what we need, we're trying to figure that out and the most important part is finding community. So it has three separate sections.
Speaker 2:And then the big piece de resistance that I'm very excited about is in November 8th to 11th, we're hosting the first ever van life travel virtual summit to answer those questions, and we have a whole list of industry experts and people that have been doing this for a while that are going to share their knowledge base for free. This is important. I wanted to do this so I could share what I've learned and what other people have learned and hopefully help people on the road as well. All we're doing is we're just. You go to the website. You say click here for your free ticket and put you on a list, and then, as time gets closer and closer, they'll send you the information. Very exciting.
Speaker 1:That is really exciting. And again, I'm thinking about this van life. I've always said in travel, not always six, eight months into the 40-foot RV life for me, I thought what would it be like? What would it be like in a fifth wheel? Not so sure I need to go down that road because then there's a truck and they're learning how to drive. I think fifth wheel living has a different thought. But these vans have really made me curious and the big thing, like we've said, is I could go almost anywhere, park almost anywhere. So I'm really excited about it.
Speaker 1:And okay, so the vanlifetravel and people could go to that website. Now that should be live. I'm putting you on the spot. We didn't talk about it should be live at the posting of this, absolutely Okay, good, good answer, I'm glad. So now this summit that'll be in November sounds so incredibly cool, Because one of the things like the process of where I am is a van right for me. Can I even drive one? Like they're big, they're high? Can I drive a van Like, yeah, I've driven trucks, I've driven vans, I've driven minivans, but it's a different animal? And so these are the questions now in my starting thinking about this. So I can't wait to get onto the website and really start looking at getting the questions and answers for the things I didn't know. I didn't know and we always say that I think I know about RV life and RVing and campgrounds and hooking up, but the van is obviously totally different. I just want to point out that this summit that'll be in November, the theme is female van lifers right.
Speaker 2:This is exciting. So every year we're going to have a different theme and because we're discussing female van life, that's where the majority of the questions come from is I'm considering this. I see a lot of women who are empty nesters or husbands might have passed away, or I really want to continue on my RV journey and I'm really looked at to. I call it, get my she shed on wheels and it's van life is either a gateway drug or an extreme luxury vehicle when it comes to RV life.
Speaker 2:It gets you out there to places you might never understand or be able to go, such as with a very large Class A RV. I'm jealous many times when I go to places like Florida and I see these beautiful resorts and they say only if you're a Class A, it's a different way of looking at it. I'm like you know what my Class B, my RV costs a lot of money. Some of these things are extremely on the luxury side. We may have to revisit that someday with these campground resorts, because those Gretches are a pretty penny and those Pleasureways are pretty awesome and those storytellers are. We're looking at a quarter of a million dollars on up there. Yeah, it's a pretty penny.
Speaker 1:And that's interesting because I do know of places that are Class A only places. But you're right, is it a money thing? Anyway, we won't go down that road, but it's something. Maybe you and I will go down the road later and start approaching these places and say listen, you need to get our van into those places, so many directions to go in. I'm just and again, for people who know me, no, I don't have like a list of questions and a specific place to go, I just try and go with the flow. This is really exciting to be able to bring the van life and this is not a topic we've ever covered to the community. Let's talk a little bit about creating community because, first of all, traveling by yourself, traveling as a woman, but even not I talk about community a lot too, even as a couple, community is so important. Let's talk about that. Share your experience and how. You've certainly created a huge community. Tell us about that.
Speaker 2:So I think when I first got my first RV, I was excited but I realized I didn't know a lot of other people doing it and I reached out and I think at the time my first purchase I got an RV dealership and there were little groups in my state that you could look up online and join and whatever, and I had a very hard time finding one that I fit in with, because everyone has their own little niche of what they're doing. When I moved from my class seat in my van, everything opened up in a very different way. I really was not prepared for this and I had no idea that there were all these not brand specific but van specific meetups and that was huge because I thought, oh, I'll never be able to go to that Winnebago meetup or oh, I wish I could go to that Airstrip meetup, because when you buy those brands they do have certain groups and that is an instant community that it's add water. There you go. When you have a van, it's a little different. So I was able to participate in items such as Van Fest and Peace Lovin' Vans and other small and not small like 350 vans, and it was just such a welcoming, amazing opportunity because people want that human connection. They really do and I made some lifelong friends at these events that said, yeah, I've never been able to find my tribe until I came to one of those events and I said let's keep in touch. And I created what I call an extended van fam so we connect, like we talked about touching base and finding people.
Speaker 2:But I list all of these events on the van life Travel website and they're free to find. Of course, many of them you have to pay to go to, but I highly recommend people try them out, even if you're a little introverted, even if you're. Nothing says you have to participate in everything. But just go check it out and you'd be surprised. I met two ladies who were very reserved, didn't think, didn't want reserved, weren't sure about going, and one of them was actually buying land in Tennessee, of all places, and was going to create a little mini campground for other women traveling to and from places as a safe place to go and camp. I thought what an amazing idea. And she said after this event she goes. It just solidified where I needed to be, who I needed to be surrounded with and find those like-minded people.
Speaker 1:And in talking about community and like-minded people, when, so I think, people in the content creator world will call us content creator. I guess that's what we fall under. I feel like there are times where I'm in this sort of area niche place and I don't necessarily fit into the community that's in the same place. For instance maybe that's a comment right? Let me clarify I am over 50 as well, and so a lot of people in my age group are retired, they're not working. That's the people that almost seems like I quote unquote should be identifying with or hanging out with. Well, I'm not only working, but probably working more than I did when I was a teacher. Thankfully, I love what I do and I only do what I love, so I want to clarify that. But it's a lot of time and hours, so I identify more with the entrepreneur side of things. A lot of those people are younger, and my point in saying all this is it really has taken me time to find my community, my people, and that could be sometimes. It doesn't always have to be the entrepreneur. It is sometimes the people who are retired and we talk and we get together and I've made lifelong friends there. I have community and lifelong friends in the entrepreneur world. I just had Josh Shand on the show and he does the content creators group and mastermind. I'll put that in the show notes because if you are a content creator and entrepreneur, he's definitely somebody to connect with and there are events. So I guess our point is there are tons of events. Find what you enjoy, if you like going on long hikes. There's groups and meetups and community for that. I really believe that, if nothing else, people being involved somehow in community. So if that you're introverted and that's from afar and you like to hike by yourself, whatever that looks like, there's a place for you. I also love to talk about I don't know if Girl Camper Janae Pettit. Yeah, you're saying, yes, I just she was one of the first people we had on the show and she started talking about the things she does and how she went out when just solo girl camps and what a fantastic group and just a great resource for people.
Speaker 1:And as we think of names and places for people to connect with, we'll certainly throw them out here on as we talk, but I did tell people that you have a somewhat famous pet. So I want to switch gears because I think of van life and, I think, small space. I've always had pets, until just before we got our RV and I've made the choice not to have a pet on board. It just for me seems like more work, but I love pets. I've even gone into campgrounds and babysat somebody's pet because they were going away for the whole day and I said I'll take care of the dog. So I've babysat for pets twice and I'll continue to do that to get my loving pets in. And I'll continue to do that to get my loving pets in. Tell us your story of Rosie right, that's her name. Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Rosie Bell Dog. I was going to say she's down here looking for me to pet her right now. I have always had a dog. I'm one of those gals and I love dogs. I love pets. Just been very blessed to have some amazing pets in my lifetime. But she is my travel partner. She is a lab mix but she has dwarfism. So think of a big chocolate lab with little teen tiny legs.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, Wow, you'll have to send me a picture that I will post on social media for our people, for our listeners, and you can look up on Instagram and Facebook. Rosie Bell Dog like a Southern Belle B-E-L-L-E. She's pretty funny but anyway. So she has always been with me since I've had an RV. I had a dog prior to her, a little Chihuahua, which is funny, who sadly passed away and then I lasted about two months. I lasted about two months before I went to the pound and started having those puppy pangs and found her having no idea what size she was going to end up, being thinking she was going to be more of a medium dog, which ironically she is. Um, but you do, you have to think about that. So my van is really just the most expensive dog house on wheels, because it's meant more for her than me in many instances. Because she's in there, she loves the van. I have a very. I have a lot of what I call horizontal space for her to get on. It's more important for her to have areas to move around and do things and whatever. When I'm not in the van, then I might be doing something else.
Speaker 2:I actually wrote a little book. I wrote an ebook called how to RV with your Dog, because I've had a background working with animal behaviorism oh gosh, I can't tell you for how long and it's been a lot of fun just to share that insight, and there's a few other amazing people out there that have some great insight. But if you're thinking about having pets in an RV, there are definitely some steps you might want to think about doing before you just take them on a trip. So it was. She's like I said, we've been lucky. She's been a puppy and been in and out her whole entire life. But if you're getting your first RV for the first time and your dog is five years old, or even a senior dog at 11 or 12, you might wanna just baby step it a little bit and that's a big question.
Speaker 1:Actually, we do a question of the week which usually comes further down. It's the RV Life podcast. I get to do things the way I want. So the question of the week was from somebody, a lot of people on social media. Sometimes I get questions from people as I walk around individual people. This question was a lot of people now talking as they're starting out their RV life, whatever type of RV they have, about pet. Because I've had people that say the pet is the dog is a mess, or even cat. People travel with cat. They're a mess in the RV. So how do I do that? And I like your idea of step it up. So does your book kind of address more of that? What would be stepping it up? What would be another suggestion you have for people that are thinking about this RV life before they jump all in with a pet? That may not be okay with the plan.
Speaker 2:So my suggestion is, if you have the luxury of having your rig, a travel trailer, rv, whatever it is in your yard or beside your house, bring it home, give it a few days, take your pet in and inside and out of it, let them look at the stairs, let them feel it's okay to do things. Spend some time in the RV before you're on the road with your pet, in and inside and out of it. Let them look at the stairs, let them feel it's okay to do things. Spend some time in the RV before you're on the road with your pet. Just sit there, give them a treat, bring their special toys, figure out what their special smells and beds and things are. You need to get them as comfortable in that space as they are in their other home. So they have to start to think of it as, just like we do, like their second home on wheels. And in order to do that it's really just positive reinforcement making sure they know if you have a dog that like jingles a bell to go outside, to go to the bathroom or you know, pause at the door and those things is that RV door going to be adequate for that as well? So you've just got to work out some of those little kinks before you try to do that.
Speaker 2:And a great example I have is I was at a I think it was Nashville Shores, ironically in Nashville and someone had gotten a brand new golden doodle.
Speaker 2:A beautiful little puppy loved this dog, but they had just picked it up and they were leaving it in a travel trailer while they were going golfing the next day and the dog had never been in the travel trailer. So, needless to say, the dog's having some anxiety. You can hear it barking a lot and that's one of those campground etiquette things where you know, okay, a dog can bark a little bit, but it barks, like for eight hours. It's a bit of a nuisance, so you don't want to be that camping neighbor. And when they returned the dog had been in there for over eight hours by itself. There was no emergency contact information or anyone to contact to let them know if something might have happened in their rig, such as electricity going out or anything like that. So there's some very specific guidelines that I've put together that might help those people that they don't think about when they take their pets on a trip?
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I talked to some people on the show, so I'm just going to lead people to the book. It's called RV Travel with a Dog and they can find it on Amazon. Because you know things that I wasn't even though I'm an animal person I wasn't thinking about in an RV. There's some electronic devices that you have in your RV if it gets too cold or too hot, emergency contact people leaving. If you go on a hike somewhere and something happens and you think you're going to be four hours and can't get back in time, having maybe somebody in the campground that'll take the dog out. That's where communities are so important. So this is a very important topic and, again, your book sounds like a great resource. There's a lot of communities that just talk about traveling with animals and bottom line is you might have an older animal that, just if they don't like getting in a car, getting them into an RV may not be the best option Again. So you have options.
Speaker 2:You don't have to take your pet. That's the other thing is. I like to say that don't feel like it's something you have to force. If you have to force, if you have a pet that is not a good fit, you can board them, you can get someone to house it, it's okay. You're not a bad dog mom or dog dad. You need to think about how to be the best dog and dog mom. So do what's right for your pet.
Speaker 1:Right, absolutely, instead of taking them and them having anxiety and wanting to leave them and that's a big thing as well for people who are thinking about going full-time Definitely something that you really have to think about and consider before this whole full-time, possible full-time adventure with an animal. Whenever somebody pulls in next to me and they have an animal I shouldn't say whenever, but when I can I want to go over and pet the animal, and I parked one time next to a family that had three kids. There were four dogs a lizard like a not a gecko, I forget what it was and some other animal, probably a bearded dragon, exactly what it was and they travel on weekends and they take the kids and all these animals. There were something else in a cage I don't even remember. Wouldn't be for me, no judgment, but yeah, you have to find what works for you, and so let me just take a little bit of a break. I do want to talk about we talked about Oprah Merge fuel card, and I just want to talk about how great that fuel card is in saving money when you're traveling and you have diesel fuel.
Speaker 1:It is free to sign up for the card. They have an app on the phone where you can look in the area you're in and decide where do I want to stop for the best fuel prices. So your card attaches to your bank. It is amazing. And again, the note that the information will be in the show notes myopenroadcom. I don't know, we had this card before we even started RVing and I can't even. I wish I knew exactly how much money I've saved over the last three years, because it's literally thousands of dollars. So I'd love to let people know about that card. And again, information. Let's get back a little bit to the whole van life. The van, okay, because here I am going, getting ready to be in Nashville and check out these luxury vans. Is there something people should look for? What do? There's always the I don't know what I don't know. So we've talked about the tanks. One question I have is am I going to find a van where I can put my cappuccino machine?
Speaker 2:Oh, very important questions.
Speaker 1:Yes, this is the most if you listen to the Army Life podcast. This is the most important question. So obviously I'm not going to boondock with the cappuccino machine. I'll have to figure a plan out, you could.
Speaker 2:We just got to get you the right energy. That's all we got to make sure you have enough. There's some things, so that, okay, let's start with that. If you know how you live the lifestyle that you like, that's going to make a big difference based upon the type of van that you're looking for. This is important. So you're looking specifically at and I'm going to pick on Gretch because I love Gretch. I'm not going to lie. I can't say anything negative about Gretch. It's just based upon the lifestyle that you want. So the first thing I would say that people negate and don't think about is energy. You're thinking water tanks, I'm thinking energy.
Speaker 1:That was my next question.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Energy. If you want that cappuccino machine, do you know how many watts it uses per hour? Do you know how much energy you're going to need on a daily basis? So that's something I would look into and you can never, ever have too much energy. So you'll say, they'll say you're going to have one lithium, two lithium, three lithium batteries. You want to know exactly how many amp hours, how many watt hours, and how are you going to keep that recharged. Is that a solar panel? Do I got to drive every day? How is this going to work for me? Or am I just plugged in? And if you're plugged in you're just fine, there's no problem. But if you're driving on the road and you want to stop over and make a grilled cheese sandwich, can I do that on that convection cooktop with those batteries?
Speaker 1:And this is a great point and what I want to bring up and again, this episode is being recorded and I'm taking all this information to the Music City Motorhome Expo and then I could look at these RVs and look at this. So I just want to tell our audience when I'm recording a podcast, we are on video. I don't share the video. Eventually, the podcast I'll have video, but the dog is doing something. What is the dog? You keep having to stop the dog. Did she get into something?
Speaker 2:She's fine. She's just trying to get my attention, so she's looking for her treats and I understand she's on. You've been doing this podcast for about an hour now.
Speaker 1:Okay, if you have to stop and acknowledge the dog, I'm fine with that. This is all real life and that's what I love about the podcast, and there's no editing this out. Could have easily told my editor to edit that out, but I just thought it was funny. You keep going to the dog.
Speaker 1:So being at this event and looking at these vans, power is one of those things and solar is certainly something Now for me. I'll be honest, I never really looked at watts and amps and it was all computing, and obviously people now know that at least this next part of my adventure I'm doing solo, so I'm going to have to learn these things. I did know when we were in our RV and we had, say, 30 amp power instead of 50, I couldn't run both air conditioners and try and turn the coffee maker on, certainly couldn't use the coffee maker and the microwave because they were on the same. Whatever wine connection, whatever it's called. So I need to get up on this stuff.
Speaker 1:So when I'm looking at these vans you know from what I'm hearing I joke about the cappuccino machine. But it's really no joke. Really is in everybody's best interest when I get up in the morning to have my cappuccino, like I even keep saying. I saw this cup that said depending on how filled the cup was, so if it was at the top, there was a line that said do not speak to me. Or halfway through you could talk to me, but I can't respond, so sort of me in the morning. So it sounds like all joking aside and my cappuccino machines no joke. But all joking aside, looking at the type of travel and the life you want to live, that's, whether you're in a van or any type of RV, what are you looking for? What do you want to do? If you're looking to boondock a lot, you might want more solar power, a generator. What does that look like? How does that work? So power is, you're right, probably more important than the water situation or as important.
Speaker 2:And I would say power is an issue. If you have pets because you are going to drive, you are going to park and get groceries, you are going to whatever it might be, you're going to need a little power for that AC when it gets too hot. I'm currently in the Southeast region and so to me, air conditioning is pivotal, absolutely pivotal for me just to go into a Publix or a Kroger's and go grocery shopping for an hour and do some things like that, so I need to make sure those are all taken care of. I want to say one thing that most people, when most people shop, they look at floor plan first, and I think this is wrong, and I'm going to tell you why 100% agree.
Speaker 1:I'm going to just jump in I 100% and I want to make sure people hear this agree, floor plan is not the most important, but go ahead. Thank you for bringing that up.
Speaker 2:No, it's not, but I want to. I think the opportunity that you have at this particular event that you're going to in Nashville, that my understanding is that they're going to allow you to actually drive some of these vehicles. And when you go to a lot of RV dealerships they look at you and they say, oh, do you like the floor plan? Let's fill out that paperwork, let's get you on the road. And you haven't had the opportunity to drive that actual vehicle.
Speaker 2:So one of the top three reasons why I love my camper van so much is the way in which it drives, the way it's so quiet. If you've ever been in a loud Class C, you'll understand. It's just everything's rattling. It's really loud, you feel like you're driving a U-Haul truck, whatever it might be. And I was just shocked and floored and excited when I got in my Ram Promaster 3500. And I could hear myself think and I could have a conversation with someone too at the same time, just talking in a normal tone. I wasn't really yelling or whatever. So I would say get in, get the feel for it and then work on the other things. So for me it's drivability.
Speaker 2:Second is energy, because you can never have enough, like I said, and you think you're like, oh, I'll be plugged in all the time, and I was plugged in all the time at one time and now I'm a little different. And then the third thing you have to think about is I know this is going to sound weird do you want to make a bed every day? Because that is the biggest campground or van life question people don't think about is I just want to go to bed. I don't want to have to put a couch down and make it up and do this and do that, and that is a bit of an anxiety or stressor for some people. And then the last question, our last thing I put in, is how important is the bathroom to you?
Speaker 2:Because some people really want a bathroom. They want a bathroom and a shower and they want to close the bathroom. They want a bathroom and a shower and they want to close the door. They want a private space. Heaven forbid someone comes with them, even a guest or a husband or a friend. Some of these vans don't have a bathroom. They have a toilet, they've got a drawer, but they don't have a bathroom.
Speaker 2:And even if you want to take that another step further, I'm going down the rabbit hole. Watch out here. Do you want a black tank, or do you want a cassette toilet, or do you want a composting toilet? Get a little granola and gritty here. Those black tanks are really handy because you can go a long time and not have to do anything with it. But if you like drinking those cappuccinos and whatever, those cassette toilets fill up really quick and you've got to dump that every other day and you've got to carry that someplace and take it with you. So you've got to think about how you want to deal with that component, which, to some people, is just a real pain in the butt.
Speaker 1:And this is what is so great. When we talked and I said, oh, I've got to get you on because I am thinking about a van and even having been in the RV life for over three years, you just mentioned the things that I did not know, that I didn't know. So these are great things to think about. We talk about and with the class A and you talk about the things you learn that we got our class A because it was affordable. We didn't. Honestly, I didn't think Dan was really convinced I was going to last, so it was like, let's get something affordable, we could sell it if we need to. I know that's what he was thinking. And when I was looking for my Class A, what was the one thing I was looking for? Even though Class A is pretty big, I needed a space for a cappuccino machine. That was what I went in and looked for. I wanted my bed that did not come down over the driver's seat. It had to be permanent. I wanted a bedroom space. I knew that and I would go in and literally measure under the counter to see if my cappuccino machine would.
Speaker 1:But honestly, now I look back and I think that was pretty silly because I wasn't thinking about the tank and all this stuff. And one thing I'd learned a lot of what I'd learned is quality of RVs and how they're built. So we, six months in, met Jeff Sather who was the president of Freightliner, and talked about the Freightliner chassis. And talked about the Freightliner chassis, I did not know. I said I feel really stupid because I did not realize what the chassis involved. It's really important stuff. I'm willing to admit my sort of stupidity, lack of knowledge, because I want other people to benefit. So now, as people talk about new Class A, let's say I know a lot about the Freightliner chassis. My new Class A, when I get one, will be on a Freightliner chassis. I'd love.
Speaker 1:But these are important things. So making a list, I think, before you start. So again, this is recorded a week and a half before I'm going to be at this event. So I'm going to make a list of what things are important a week and a half before I'm going to be at this event. So I'm going to make a list of what things are important. Yes, the cappuccino machine will be at the top of the list. But safety, drivability these RVs.
Speaker 2:One of the things I did on my unvanlifetravel which I was really proud about was it wasn't just showcasing all the pre-mades. I did a page where it says if your lifestyle is this, here are some pre-made vans that might fit that lifestyle. But more importantly, I always say it's chassis first, build out second and that's huge.
Speaker 2:So I also gave information on every kind of chassis that's available in North America, from the Ford to the Mercedes to the Ram to the Nissan NV, which they no longer make, but it's still available out there and they've been doing some build-outs on those. So you need to understand that chassis and there's not anyone that doesn't want a dependable, reliable vehicle. There's nothing worse than having a very expensive, gorgeous RV that is in the shop all the time.
Speaker 1:Right. So service and how? A company first of all, for me it's integrity at the company. Company First of all. For me, it's integrity at the company. That's why I've gotten to know and this event that I'm going to is amazing, because I know I'm going to be there connecting with the president, ceos, vice presidents of these companies, and that's about integrity. That's about them being authentic, them caring about the industry. It's why I'm so connected to National Endor RV Center's Brett Davis, the president. I could never say enough about him Such integrity, an incredible human being that truly wants to make the industry better.
Speaker 1:And when you look at those things and they trickle down into the product, to me that's what's important. What's the company culture down into the product? To me that's what's important. What's the company culture? What is the president, that CEO, that leader, who are they? What are they like? And then service making sure you buy this van or all the way up to a class ARV, what am I going to get the service I need? So these are a lot of things for people to consider.
Speaker 1:I want to repeat you have bandlifetravel, so there'll be a lot of incredible information. We're not finished, but I do want to remind people they can leave messages on RV Life Podcast, instagram, facebook. They can certainly message you at charliegraceadventurecom, and everything about you is there and so much more. There's so much great content there, but right now I want to go to. We could talk for forever and I hope we'll get together and we'll do a live and we'll do a video and I'm sure there'll be more stuff we will do together. But the question of the week is brought to you by Open Road Innovative Tolling. Now, this is a toll pass that covers all 48 states. Anybody who's listened to the podcast knows that I got $250 in toll fines this past year before I had this toll pass. I know and Mary Grace, charlie Grace, is making faces yeah, that's a lot of money 250 bucks A lot of money.
Speaker 1:It's a lot of money. It was like $25 worth of tolls, which is the tough part. So again, I feel like an idiot. But what happened is I went through a pay by plate where they send you the toll in the mail. I have a travel mail service. I didn't get it in time, I didn't handle it in time. They give it 25 days and $250. And yes, I tried to argue it, I tried to be pathetic, I did the whole nine yards. I think I even tried to cry. It was not working.
Speaker 1:But now, with this toll pass, it costs $24 a year, all 48 states, all toll bridges, toll roads, all of them. And if you should get a fine or something should quote unquote go wrong, they have a concierge service that'll handle it for you. How does it get better than that? I'm sold. I need this. Yes, the information's in the show notes. It is one of the greatest products, as well as Oberoad's fuel card for anybody that has diesel. These are great money saving product. Now, I did ask you the question of the week that came from social media, but I'm going to ask you and I'm putting you on the spot. I don't tell my guests, I'm going to say this what is a bucket list item that you've done or you want to do, that you want to share with our listeners? Give them some ideas of those things out there that they must do.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, I have personally speaking. There's some travel I've wanted to do for a long time and I'm going to click up one of those bucket list items this year. So I'm actually doing I've gone around all the Great Lakes but one. So I'm going to circle Lake Ontario and actually in June, in July, I'm going to do that and then I'm going to make my way up to Maine, because I've never been to the northernmost point of the United States. So I'm going to go all the way up there along the coastline and go up there and that will be one of my click check off bucket list items.
Speaker 2:And I think, if there's places that you need to go, where you want to see, I tend to go with. I go to people more than places. At this age and stage of my life, I want to visit people along the way and have those connections. But for some reason, Maine has been calling. So I had this trips for a plan in 2020 and we all know what happened in 2020. So that got switched off a little bit and now the opportunity is perfect and I'm going to take it. So that's when this toll thing is going to come in play, because let me tell you what. There are so many tolls going in the Northeast section. But I'll go up there and then on my way back I will probably meet you at Hershey for the RV show.
Speaker 1:That's awesome and I love that and I'd like that. A lot of people and there's no judgment, no problem with it. When I say a bucket list item, they'll say I want to go to Albuquerque, balloon Fiesta, great, and that should be on the bucket list. So I like this idea of I want to go to Maine, I want to go to the uppermost part of the country. I think those are more the things that I look at places, people, certainly people top of the list. So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 1:And then, yes, you're referring to the Hershey RV show that we will be at. I say we, rv Life Pro will be there. I will be there, I will be talking to people. That's what I love doing. So I used to, in all transparency, do a seminar every day and I love doing those. I opted out for this year because I just want to be out talking to people, getting questions and what they're thinking and how can I help others in the community. Also and this is the first I'm mentioning it since you brought it up after the Hershey RV show. So on Thursday, september 12th, at night, so after the show is over, we are doing the RV Life Live Hershey After Party and we've done it. This will be our fourth year doing it. It totally sold out last year, so we're putting it out there sooner, so people should look for that and certainly Charlie Grace will expect that you'll be at that event. We are so looking forward to this event this year.
Speaker 2:It was so much fun. Guys, you got to get your tickets, because it really is a blast.
Speaker 1:And so here's the problem that people need to realize I didn't just. We all worked as a team to sell it out. I oversold it, so I was giving tickets and inviting people after it was sold out, and we can't do that again this year. So, yes, they better get their tickets when we launch that, which will be sometime in July. It's now I want to talk about. This leads us perfectly into the Featured Campground of the Week, and they are brought.
Speaker 1:The Featured Campground of the Week is brought to you, rv Life, by RV Life Campgrounds. This week's campground is Thousand Trails Hershey RV Campground, and it is a Thousand Trails Campground. This week that I'm talking about Perfect, that we just segued into Hershey, this week that I'm talking about Perfect that we just segued into Hershey. It's as if you're reading my mind, but I have personally stayed at this campground several times. It has 320 sites and it offers full hookups. We love those. I love those Pull-in sites, pull-through sites. It has dog park If you need. If you don't have the RV, you can rent the cabin. It is 20 minutes from the RV show we're speaking about and the famous Hershey Park, so it's about 20 minutes easy ride back and forth and I love this park. So it's not just because of the huge indoor hot tub, which I love my indoor hot tubs, you don't get those in RVs. It's just it's a nice park, it's pretty, it's got great views. But the people that I've met there, that's the biggest thing. I always meet so many incredible people there. I chose to talk about the Hershey RV Campground, the Thousand Trials Hershey RV campground, now, because if you don't book it soon it is going to sell out. I'll also say don't worry, if you need a last minute reservation, always call the park.
Speaker 1:It is 1000 Trails campground, but if you're not a 1000 Trails member, you could certainly still use the campground. You could still get a space in the campground. This campground does have an 8.4, a solid 8.4 rating on RV Life Campgrounds. It's got 130 reviews. You can go to all of these campgrounds that I've talked about by visiting campgroundsrvlifecom. You can book right from the website. So this is a feature campground. You could book right from the website. So this is a feature campground. You could book right from the website. When you go there, you could see pictures, you could see tips, you could see a list of their amenities.
Speaker 1:Rv Life Campground is part of the RV Life Pro suite of product and they have the most comprehensive source of campground reviews. They're from us, people like you and I, that give reviews. These reviews cannot be bought, so I love going to campgroundsrvlifecom for all the information on a campground that I want to stay in A lot today. I want to keep going, but there is time limit.
Speaker 1:But I want to thank you so much, charlie Grace, for being my guest, for being able to just go with the flow here as we talk about whatever comes up and so much incredible information. And again, people can reach out to you at charliegraceadventurescom. You have plenty of social media, lots of amazing videos on YouTube and by going to your website they can find all of that. Thank you so much for being my guest. Thank you for having me. This was a pleasure. It's all my pleasure. Thank you, thank you, thank you and once I finish, at the Music City Motorhome Expo event, we are going to talk and I'm going to go through all of the van information that I compiled. You have been listening to the RV Life Podcast. I'm Patty Hunt, wishing you a great rest of today and an even better day tomorrow.