RV LIFE Podcast

Top 5 Must-Know Topics for RV Enthusiasts: Insights from 100 Episodes

• Dan & Patti Hunt

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In this milestone episode of the RV Life Podcast, host Patti Hunt reflects on the journey of the podcast over the past two years and celebrates its 100th episode. Patti shares insights into the top five most requested topics by listeners, featuring special messages from previous guests. This episode aims to inspire and educate RV enthusiasts about the RV lifestyle.

  • Top 5 Topics Countdown:
    1. Balancing RV Life with a Successful YouTube Channel: Featuring Kyle and Renee from Happily Ever Hanks, who share tips on managing work-life balance while traveling.
    2. Navigating the Holidays for RVers: Insights from The Status Crows on how to enjoy holiday celebrations on the road.
    3. Girl Camper Magazine: An inspiring conversation with publisher Janine Pettit about her journey and how she encourages women to embrace camping.
    4. Unveiling Thousand Trails: A deep dive into the Thousand Trails membership, addressing common misconceptions and sharing personal experiences.
    5. Diesel Fuel Savings and The Toll Pass that Covers 48 States: Save money on diesel fuel and 1 toll pass for the whole country. 

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Speaker 1:

What are the five most important topics for RVers? My name is Patti Hunt and you're listening to the RV Life Podcast. My story began a little over three years ago when my husband came to me and said let's sell everything, buy an RV and go out on the road full-time. After I'd laughed, thinking he was joking, we had some conversation and we decided to sell it all and go full-time. We spent about three months figuring things out before we went full-time, so I can't say we were totally prepared, but it did work really well for us. Here it is, over three years later and we have started a podcast. The RV Life Podcast was started a year and a half ago, actually 22 months ago. We're going on almost two years and today it's just me, it's a solo episode, because I really want to celebrate our 100th episode Now. The RV Life Podcast was created to educate, entertain and explore the RV lifestyle, with the mission to inspire you to live life to the fullest. I hope that over the past 100 episodes, I have accomplished that for you. Today I'm going to highlight our top five episode topics, which are the top topics that you, our listeners, wanted to hear. Throughout this episode you will hear special messages from my guests of my top five episodes, and I want to hear from you, my listeners, and find out what topics you'd be interested in. You could do that by putting a comment in the podcast page notes so you could do a review and put a comment in. Let me know what your favorite topics were, let me know what topics you'd be interested in hearing and or if you'd like to be a guest on the podcast, you could also put it on our social media, at RV Life Podcast, at Instagram or Facebook. Well, this week, on what you Need to Know, it is brought to you by Open Road Resorts and their locations are in Montana, idaho, texas and Nebraska. And now I'm here to announce their newest location in Santa Fe, new Mexico, and it's called Santa Fe KOA Journey, and this place looks beautiful, just like their other locations, and you can relax and enjoy in the southwestern charm of Santa Fe while taking in the breathtaking views of the mountains that surround this campground. If you want to know more, go to openroadresortscom. But what you need to know, this week, america's largest RV show, which was in Hershey, was an incredible event. But if you missed that great big show, there are others coming and January 15th is the Florida State Show, the Florida's Super Show. That's what it's called Florida Super Show and it's on the Florida State Fairgrounds and it is January 15th. So if you're looking for one of these big shows, you're looking to buy an RV or see what else is new in the RV world, to meet people it is a big place to be part of the RV community, so check that out. This, what you Need to Know, was brought to you by Open Road Resorts. Check them out at openroadresortscom.

Speaker 1:

And, as I said, today is just me and I, like I said, went full time over three and a half years ago. I had little to no experience in an RV little to no experience in an RV. I'd literally spend about seven days total in an RV and two weekends in a campground. One of those weekends it poured so bad I think I said I'd never, ever do it again. It was a mess, but for some reason, when Dan asked me three and a half years ago to go in an RV, I just jumped in and said yes. Now I'm not saying that's for everyone. Everybody does not need to jump in an RV and go full time, but I highly recommend getting out in nature, going into a campground, you could rent a cabin, you could rent an RV. I highly recommend it because over the last three and a half years, I have to say it has been truly amazing. The places that we visited, the experiences we had, the people that we met and the incredible community the RV Life people provide is like nothing I've ever experienced.

Speaker 1:

Now, as I said, today I'm going to talk about the top five episodes on the podcast. This is our 100th episode 100 episodes, 22 months. I am truly amazed and I have to say that none of this would have happened without the support of people like Andy Rabinowitz of RV Life, who gave Dan and I a chance. Patrick Buchanan, who we met two years ago. Two and a half years ago we hit it off with him and he decided that we'd be the people for the podcast, to host the podcast. And all of the people that have supported us and surrounded us, including my social media people. So Melody and her husband, kurt they are from RV Plus 3. There's some Marcus, my editor. He's listening as I'm talking. So Jacob, my editor, producer, all of the people, all of the team that make this show possible. I'm incredibly grateful and, as we have gone along on the podcast. We have met so many incredible people and today I'm going to do a countdown of those top five.

Speaker 1:

Listen to episodes of those top five listen to episodes. So number five on the countdown list is an episode balancing RV life with a successful YouTube channel. And these tips were not only for people who wanted to have a YouTube channel or already had one, but just balancing their work life. You know any kind of work that they're doing while trying to be on the road, as well as people who have social media platforms. It all applied and my guests were Kyle and Renee, also known as Carl and Nene, from Happily Ever Hanks, and if you've listened to them, you know what I'm talking about because they go by these names. And if you haven't listened to them, I highly recommend you listen to their channel Happily Ever Hanks.

Speaker 2:

Hey everyone, kyle and Renee here from Happily Ever Hanks, and we are so excited to be back on the RV Life podcast. First off, we just want to say how honored we are that we made it to the episode and made it back on the top five. That's really incredible.

Speaker 3:

Yes, we're so grateful for the support and the love from this amazing RV community. It's been such a wild ride since we were last on the show and we've continued to grow our channel and share all the adventures on the road.

Speaker 2:

Now, right now, we're actually heading to Maine exploring some beautiful spots. Our travel schedule has been pretty packed, but we're loving every minute of it, meeting new people and finding unique places to share with all of you.

Speaker 3:

Thank you again to everyone who tuned into our episode and made it a success. We truly couldn't do any of this without your support. And to anyone who's thinking of hitting the road or even just dreaming about it listen, go for it. We're living proof that with some planning, a lot of excitement, you can make it happen. Thank you so much, patty, for connecting with us and doing such a great job with the RV Life Podcast.

Speaker 1:

And they really gave so many great tips on how to balance. That work-life balance was so important. I think it's important in any field you're in. If you're a busy person that has a lot to do. When it comes to work, you don't work the typical nine to five. This was a great episode. I highly recommend you listen to that episode. They're just, they're funny, they're entertaining and they just gave so many incredible tips for our listeners. We got a lot of feedback from them and our next, so coming in at number four, was navigating the holidays for RVers and that was the Status Crows. And it's funny because we just did the Hershey event. The Status Crows are an acoustic duo. They take requests. They're truly amazing. They performed at the RV Life Hershey after party, which was a huge success. People loved listening to them and their music and they talked about on the show how to navigate the holidays when you're an RVer.

Speaker 4:

This is Michelle Dahlin and this is Chuck Crow, and we're the Status Crows All Request Acoustic Jukebox Duo. Congratulations to Patty Hunt and the RV Life podcast on their 100th episode. We had the honor of being interviewed on a recent popular episode where we got to talk about how we successfully travel as full-time musicians. We shared tips, tricks and suggestions for aspiring musicians and for anyone thinking about diving into full-time RV or van life. Listening to fresh episodes every Wednesday makes rolling on the road to our next gig and infinitely more interesting, so never miss an episode. Subscribe to the RV Life podcast on Spotify or Apple podcasts today. See you down the road.

Speaker 1:

They gave so many great tips on this. We all know that the holidays can be a little stressful and probably a good time for people to listen to this episode. As we are at the end of September, people are thinking about the holidays coming up really soon. They just gave it was such a great conversation. It was just a nice flow to the conversation. They gave so many great tips on how you navigate.

Speaker 1:

Like I said, you know, being on the road the holidays, what do you do? If you're like me? You're getting pulled in different directions. You need to be in different places. So how do you manage that?

Speaker 1:

And one of the things so the status quo is Chuck and Michelle. And Michelle said, and I quote, quote don't be attached to the outcome. And we have an idea. And she said we have an idea of how things should go, but then they don't go attached to the outcome. And we have an idea. And she said we have an idea of how things should go, but then they don't go that way. And we all have experienced this. We all know how that is. So if you don't get attached to the outcome, you have a better chance of just sort of what I call being in the flow and letting things happen.

Speaker 1:

Sure, make those plans, try and figure out what it is you'd ideally like to do, but then also be aware that stuff happens sometimes and it changes your plan. So with Dan and I, when we first started out RVing, I had everything planned for like a month and then after that I knew what I wanted to do and where we would go. So we had this grand plan. It was in writing. We actually used the RV Life Trip Wizard it's amazing for planning and literally one day we're ready to take off to head into wherever we were going. One day into it, and everything changed. Somebody called us who was in Albuquerque and said look, there's an event. If you could get here in 24 hours, you could be part of it. And we decided we wanted to be part of it. So we changed our plan Once we got there. Our good friend said it's not a plan, it is a current thought, and that really helps. When you're trying to. You know you find something fun that you want to do and you could go do it.

Speaker 1:

So this episode with the status crows navigating the holidays for RVers is one that's probably very timely to for those of you who want to listen to that because it was a great episode. So number three is Girl Camper Magazine, and if you don't know Girl Camper Magazine or you don't know Vetchane Pettit, I highly suggest you get to know her. You don't have to be a girl, you don't have to be camping alone. She did and the episode is called Girl Camper Magazine an inspiring conversation with the publisher and she truly is an inspiring person. So, no matter who you are, how you travel, I highly recommend connecting with her and listening to this episode to be inspired and uplifted. She believed. Now she talked about how she believed her life had three phases, so the learning phase, growing up, school, et cetera, the marriage and kid phase. And then she realized that she wanted something more. She wanted something else and she decided to take off part-time, on a part-time basis in an RV and go explore the world. And again, this episode was obviously a big episode because it was one of our most listened to and she just gave so many great pieces of information. It's a must listen.

Speaker 1:

Okay, as we move into the number two episode, before we do that I want to talk a little bit about the sponsors on the show. We have had a number of sponsors on the show and I just want to talk about how grateful I am to our sponsors that have stayed from the beginning. Most of our sponsors have been here from the beginning. They have stayed with me through everything that's going, gone on with the RV Life podcast and the changes that have happened. They have been incredibly supportive.

Speaker 1:

You know again staying with us, and one of those, one of those sponsors is Clear 2.0. And Clear 2.0 is an amazing company that does water filtration systems. So those of us who are in an RV, or even if you're in your home, we really want clean, fresh, safe water. Clear 2.0 provides that. Whether it's their single inline filter, their two canister filter system or their three canister filter system. All of these systems are there to fit what your needs are, and I really feel like they have invented something special and I encourage you to go to clear20.com to find out all about their products. And now, because they are show sponsors, they're offering you, my listeners, 20% off. And that is all in the show notes. So let's go on now to number two. So our second most watched episode is Unveiling Thousand Trails a deep dive into RV membership, community and controversy.

Speaker 2:

Hi, we're Warren and Sharon Lewis.

Speaker 1:

And we are so grateful that Thousand Trails is one of your top listening episodes on the RV Life podcast and a big congratulations to Patty and RV Life for your 100th episode. This episode was done because, as some people know, thousand Trails is a membership program. Well, no, thousand Trails is a membership program. When Dan and I started out our journey in the RV, we were not, we didn't have the best of plans. Like I said, three months we sort of planned there was so much we didn't know. We didn't know. We listened to all the YouTubers, we did as much research as we could but, in all honesty, when we got out on the road, there were a lot of things we weren't quite prepared for, and one of those things was the cost of RV memberships, like RV campgrounds, what it was going to cost. It was also memberships. There were a lot of memberships out there and talking about which memberships we needed and which ones we didn't, and we bought a lot of them that, honestly, we didn't use. We had looked at Thousand Trails. Because of some of the just being transparent, the negativity out there, I decided that it wasn't for us. Well, as the story goes, three, four months into RVing, I was getting concerned about how we were going to afford to stay in campgrounds every day, 30 days a month, every day. Even if you could find a campground for, say, $30 or $40 a day, that was adding up to a lot of money and that was not in the budget. So I was starting to get concerned about how we were going to afford this full RVing thing, you know, being in campgrounds.

Speaker 1:

And so we ended up in Oregon with our kids and our grandkids. We were going to go somewhere and be out in nature and have fun and at that time there were fires. The wildfires in California were affecting the, were causing smoke in Oregon and we literally couldn't go outside. So Dan said let's call the Thousand Trails membership rep we had heard about. Let's see if we can go to the beach. We were in Oregon, but the beach in, you know, on the coast of Oregon sounded like a good idea. So he called and I was apprehensive. Again, just just being honest, I was apprehensive, but we called the membership specialist. They explained everything.

Speaker 1:

We ended up getting a camping pass and then we this was a Saturday in August we called Thousand Trails with our membership and said, okay, we'd like to come to Whaler's Rest. That's one of their big campgrounds on the coast of Oregon and we said, can we get you know five days there? And they were like, yeah, sure, well, we could get you in. They got us in. Once we were there, we had an incredible time. We were right across the street from the Pacific Ocean, which was something I hadn't been to because I'm an East Coast girl, so the Pacific Ocean is very different. If you've never been there, you've got to check it out. And then Dan and I asked if we could stay, and we stayed for three days more. So the pass worked really well for us.

Speaker 1:

And then what we found? As we continued in Thousand Trails Parks, we found that there was a lot of misinformation, a lot of controversy, and so that's why we did this episode with people who were our membership specialists. They have since retired, but this episode really worked to clear things up, because a few months after we got our camping pass, we then upgraded our membership and in almost three years of using our membership it has saved us so much money. We stayed mostly in Thousand Trails and Encore Parks, but we really wanted to do this particular episode to help people navigate if this was a good membership for them and it came in at number two and it's kind of stayed there between. It's actually balanced between our number one and number two most listened to podcast episode.

Speaker 1:

So obviously this is a conversation people are wanting. I want to thank, I want to just point out again that this has taken a team of people to get the podcast to where it is. I'm kind of blown away and very honored to be able to say that the podcast actually is in the top 5% of all podcasts worldwide. What that means for me is that I am providing value to people, that it's information people want to hear, and so that's what that means to me. I decided to do the podcast because it's a platform to inspire people and that's been my mission. So when I know that it's out there and people are listening, that certainly gives me the encouragement to keep going.

Speaker 1:

And again I'm going to ask, as you're listening, in the review section of whatever podcast platform you're listening on, put your comments in what you like, what you don't like. I'll take all of it what topics you want to hear more about? Would you like to be a guest on the podcast? Put those in the review section of any platform that you're on or go to social media, because my goal is looking at the next 100 episodes. I want to know what's important for my listeners. I want to see how I'm going to improve and get better Now as I'm working with Jacob. We have been talking about. You'll see, you'll hear changes. There's some changes in the music and how can we always improve what we're doing. So I'm really looking forward to your comments.

Speaker 1:

The number one so number one most listened to episode was diesel fuel savings and the toll pass. That covers 48 states, and both of these companies are my, are sponsors on the show. All of the sponsors that I have on the show are people, companies that I use, I've tested, I believe in and that is the reason they're on the show. So the diesel fuel savings card it's Open Roads fuel card and that fuel card Dan and I have had since he signed up for it before we started RVing. It was free to sign up for the card. It was called TSD back then and you know it's a savings card. But like a lot of cards that we get sometimes they're supposed to save us money. We end up not using them and if you don't use it, obviously it's no good. We used this card every time we stopped for fuel, literally used it every single time, and it has saved us money every time we've stopped for fuel. As you know, if you're traveling and you have diesel, if you're saving five cents a gallon, it means something, and Dan and I have saved anywhere from five cents a gallon up to a dollar a gallon at times. Now sometimes I'll have Dan push it to the next state because we could get more of a saving. Sometimes you push that gas tank. We're on a quarter tank but we could make it, so I don't necessarily recommend that. I don't want you running out of fuel, but the diesel fuel savings card, the Open Roads fuel card, has been a huge money saver, and you could go to myopenroadscom It'll be in the show notes. They have been a sponsor of ours for a long time. We believe in them and we will hopefully keep them on because it is such a big deal.

Speaker 1:

Now, about a year ago, maybe six or eight months ago, I spoke to Innovative Toll Solutions, who's also partnered with Open Roads Fuel Card, and they have a toll pass that covers all 48 states. So let me clarify, because people ask me questions about this toll pass. I live in Pennsylvania. I have an E-ZPass. We had to get an E-ZPass for the RV, which was a commercial E-ZPass, as well as an E-ZPass for the car. We've driven back and forth across the country three times. We've gone through states.

Speaker 1:

I thought we were OK, and or they would send us a mail by plate, whatever they call it. You know in the mail what we owe. Well, that should work okay, except for the fact that by the time they sent it to my mailing address because I have a virtual mailbox type thing by the time they sent it there and I got it, it was beyond the time type thing. By the time they sent it there and I got it, it was beyond the time, literally. Last year I spent over $250 in fines both from Texas and Dulles, which is near Washington, because I didn't get to those quick enough. I thought I was okay, but I wasn't. So this toll pass is going to save you all of that 48 states.

Speaker 1:

You have it in your RV, you put it in your car, it's one toll pass costs $24 for the year, that's it, and then if you have a problem, so let's say you do have a problem. It wasn't in the window, it didn't read properly. They have a concierge service that's going to help you and you have an app on your phone. You would just go to the app check to see if it worked or if there's a problem, and concierge service that'll help you through it. This toll pass to me is a no brainer. It is just incredible.

Speaker 1:

And again, this was the number one listen to podcast episode by far. So seems to me that's what people want to hear about and again, I encourage you to let me know like what topics you want to hear. Would you like to be a guest on the podcast? What you know? Some suggestions for how to improve? I am always open for that and just just excited for what is coming in the next year.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so before we move on, I want to talk about NIRVC, which is National Indoor RV Centers. They are a sponsor of ours and they were our very first sponsor starting when we started the podcast. I'm very grateful to them. I'm grateful they've stuck with us. As it is the end of September now, when you're hearing this podcast episode, a lot of people are putting their RV in storage. Nirvc has storage for motorhomes. I highly recommend you check out nirvccom to find out about storage. They again do concierge service. They do it right. They will take care of everything on your RV. You don't have to winterize it because they put it inside. So I highly recommend NIRVC for your storage needs.

Speaker 1:

Well, let's look at what the accomplishments have been for this past year. As I said, we've managed to do 100 episodes and I am so grateful there are some bonus episodes out there. I am so excited to announce that RV Share Campers Choice Awards, affectionately known as the Campies, just told me that we won the award for the best podcast, and so, again, I am honored. It gives me the. I'm getting emotional, I don't want to, but it just really makes me happy to know that what I hope to accomplish as far as inspiring people to fully live life is being seen. People are, you know, they're hearing it, and I am very happy about that. And this was we were nominated by one of our peers and it's just incredible, and I'm very grateful for everybody who voted and for all the people out there who supported us.

Speaker 1:

Getting to that 100th episode was not without its ups and downs, and the message that I hope to get across is no matter what the challenges are, push forward, keep going. Have that support team. I could not have done this without my support team, for sure, and I'm so grateful. Okay, so what does the future hold for the RV Life podcast? Well, that's ever evolving. Again, I'm looking for your feedback on topics that you'd like to hear, feedback on topics that you'd like to hear.

Speaker 1:

I'm looking to add things as I talk to my producer and editor. You know, changing up the music. Some add some new things in the you know sounds and things like that. It's something I'm very excited about. We'll be talking about that. So you'll hear those changes as you hear more and more of the podcast, the future of the podcast. You're also going to see more of what I call bonus episodes. These are episodes that will be put up at any time during the week. I will I can actually say it because this episode will come out after, but I am currently doing an episode for Thousand Trails. That'll be a bonus episode, so that should come out the beginning of October. So that's something new coming. You know companies, businesses, people that want an exclusive episode. We will be doing that, so I hope you look forward to those.

Speaker 1:

Okay, it is now time for the Featured Campground of the Week and that's brought to you by RV Life. So RV Life obviously sponsors the podcast RV Life, so RV Life obviously sponsors the podcast. I'm so grateful for the owner, andy Rabinowitz, who decided to move forward with the RV Life podcast and decided to take a chance on me moving forward, and Patrick Buchanan, who has been he's the executive producer and just been supportive and helpful and it has just been great and is one of the big reasons why the RV Life podcast is the success that it is Okay, but the feature campground, the Encore Terracea Village this is an Encore campground with 206 sites. Encore Terracea Village has a brand new section. Now I'm going to be honest. I know Dan stayed at this RV park a year or so ago and it was not in the best of shape, totally honest. There were a lot of people that were talking about how it was run down. But, as I have been talking to the ownership at Equity Lifestyle, who owns Thousand Trails and Encore, they're talking about all the big changes that they are making and have been making, and Encore Terrace Sea of Village is one of those places. So there is a brand new section. I believe that opened up last winter and they offer full hookups, pull-through sites, dog parks, cabins for rent and there is a lake there, as well as many, many other amenities. Unker Terracea Village has a solid 6.6 rating on the RV Life Campgrounds with 28 reviews. Rv Life Campgrounds with 28 reviews. Now I want to just say something on that. I believe the reviews on this will absolutely continue to grow as this brand new site is there.

Speaker 1:

You can go in and see pictures. It looks amazing. So this is a park. If you haven't already booked or haven't thought about booking at this park, you want to check out. What's really convenient is, if you go to campgroundsrvlifecom, you can find a book now button. When you go to this particular feature campground, there's a book now button right there and it makes it easy to book your stay right from the campgroundsrvlifecom. And once you go to that site, you could also see many, many pictures, the tips, their full list of amenities on this property. And RV Life Campground is part of RV Life Pro and it's the most comprehensive source of RV parks, campgrounds and resorts, as well as city, state and national parks, and again, visit them by going to campgroundsrvlifecom.

Speaker 1:

Okay, well, that was a lot of information. I hope that you enjoyed that. You know, as one of my only solo episodes in the last five months. I think this is the first solo episode. I am encouraging you to please reach out to me if you have thoughts, comments, questions. Again, you could do that right here on the podcast page in the review section. I read every single comment, everything I read and respond to. Or you could go to my social media, which is RV Life Podcast at Instagram or Facebook, and send me a private message, a message on anything I've posted. I really want to hear from you and you've been listening to the RV Life Podcast and you've been listening to the RV Life Podcast. I'm Patty Hunt, wishing you a great rest of today and an even better day tomorrow. Thank you.