RV LIFE Podcast

Introducing the New RV LIFE Podcast - RV LIFE 147

• RV LIFE • Episode 147

Share episode

Making RVing Simple With New Format & New Voices

The RV LIFE Podcast is back with a new season, a fresh format, and new voices. Join Jim and Rene as they introduce merger of the RV LIFE and RV Entrepreneur shows. Our new team of co-hosts now bring you bite-sized segments on travel, lifestyle, income, and RV industry news. They welcome RVE co-hosts Rose & Glynn Willard plus industry insiders John DiPietro & Bob Zagami from The Camper Report. Meet the voices behind the mic and learn how you can share your own campfire stories this season to fulfill our common mission: To Make RVing Simple.

Get Complete Show Notes & Full Transcript
https://podcast.rvlife.com/rvlife147/

Connect & Learn More

Be A Guest or  Share Your Story!
https://podcast.rvlife.com/contact

Special Discount Codes: Click Link & Use Code
* RV LIFE Pro 25% off at check out

SPEAKER_04:

From RV Life, this is the new RV Life Podcast.

SPEAKER_02:

And we're back with a new season two in a brand new format.

SPEAKER_04:

More stories, more voices, same mission, make RVing simple. RV Life, RV Life.

SPEAKER_02:

RV life, RV Life, RV Life, RV Life Podcast. Hey friends, Renee here at RV Life.

SPEAKER_04:

And Jim from the RV Entrepreneur. Thanks for tuning back in. And in case you haven't heard, we've merged our two shows. And today we're kicking off the new format and introducing some new voices. But first, I want to thank all of our listeners for hanging in there with us. And we especially want to acknowledge Dana Patty Hunt for launching the RV Life podcast a few years ago and all their efforts to grow such a following.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, for sure. We're so excited about our new format, and we think you're gonna love it. For each episode coming up, we've got a collection of shorter segments covering everything you want to hear about RV.

SPEAKER_04:

That's right. You're gonna hear travel tips and destination reports, RV lifestyle hacks, remote income ideas and inspiration, plus important industry news, all in one show.

SPEAKER_02:

You'll also hear from some new and familiar voices. We've got John and Bob joining us from the Camper Report to cover travel and industry news. And we've also got Rose and Glenn. They'll continue providing RV entrepreneur profiles plus lifestyle stories.

SPEAKER_04:

So And then, well, there's us. But who are we? Oh, let's meet the team first. All right, let's meet Rose and Glenn, co-hosts of our new lifestyle and income segments, born from the RV Entrepreneur Show.

SPEAKER_02:

From full-time road schoolers to savvy boondockers and business builders. Here's their story.

SPEAKER_03:

We're entrepreneurs and RV enthusiasts. And from 2021 to 2023, we RV'd full-time with our two boys all over this beautiful country, boondocking and road schooling along the way. We had never RV'd before, but we loved to be in nature and camp, so we thought we could learn.

SPEAKER_01:

We learned quickly. In fact, we fell in love with boondocking as our primary style of RVing, not only because we had the perfect RV for boondocking, but also because it gave us freedom to come and go as we pleased. It was a new challenge for us to master. Let's not forget it, it's free. I mean, come on, it offers lots of space for our front and backyard. But most importantly, we were able to teach our boys to respect the land, preserve our resources, and better connect with nature.

SPEAKER_03:

And after those two years, we decided to downsize from a travel trailer to a camper van for part-time travel closer to our region for about a year. Now we're stationary for our boys and several business opportunities we're getting into. But RVing has become so intertwined into our very fabric that we will definitely return to the R V lifestyle. So why did we get into RVing in the first place?

SPEAKER_01:

All right, hit the rewind button. So we had a business for 20 years in the health and fitness industry, and when COVID hit, it shut us down. Now I had more time during this to spend with the family, where in the past I thought I was spending time with the family, but I wasn't quite there. So this was an epiphany. We had to figure out how to make this permanent yet financially viable. Definitely.

SPEAKER_03:

So during our walk and talks around the neighborhood, we kept discussing how we wanted to get out on nature more, how we wanted to live our life now rather than waiting for, say, retirement or just the weekends. And the reality of full-time RVing is something we discussed a lot. An RV could take us anywhere we'd like to go and still have her home with us. And since we really couldn't do much during COVID, it just made sense.

SPEAKER_01:

It made a lot of sense because we were in the perfect position. We had no debt, it was a hot real estate market. We had a buyer for our business. So we said, let's do it. This gave us financial ability to focus on exploration and family bonding without chasing an income.

SPEAKER_03:

So our journey began in 2021. We left and we were in our truck. I remember this just like yesterday. We were all quiet and we were like, Are we doing the right thing? Can we really do this? But we did it and we decided to document everything for friends and family on our YouTube channel at ResetYourJourney, and then on our blog at resetyourjourney.com. And we decided to gear it more towards boondocking and RB travel with kids because there really wasn't much content about that. And we wanted to help those families out. We learned so much about ourselves during this time. We learned a lot about the country, and we grew as a family. We met a lot of cool people and experienced a lot of good. We did also experience some rough days, don't get me wrong.

SPEAKER_01:

Don't forget the wheel.

SPEAKER_03:

Especially when our wheel fell off our travel trailer. But then we met an amazing family that helped us, and we are still friends with them to this day. So we quickly realized that it wasn't just about all the cool places we saw, it was about the people we met along the way.

SPEAKER_01:

RVing really is about the people. And if you haven't realized that yet, eventually you you definitely will. So how did we get into podcasting for RV life? Well, we're all about getting ourselves out of our comfort zone and doing things that challenge us to grow as people and improve our own skill sets.

SPEAKER_03:

And I was initially looking for a way to get out of my comfort zone and be more comfortable with speaking for an audience. I've always been super shy, but I really enjoyed doing the voiceover work for our YouTube videos. And one day I saw that the RV Entrepreneur podcast was looking for a female co-host. So I applied. What the heck? And I've been podcasting for almost three years now.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it it quickly became evident that Rose really enjoyed speaking with all the amazing guests. So much so that eventually even I got pulled into the mix at the end of 2024.

SPEAKER_03:

So during this time podcasting, we've really enjoyed sharing the stories of entrepreneurs on the road, learning so much from all the amazing guests we've interviewed. And now we look forward to bringing you more great content to help you with your RV journey.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. Boondocking family and figuring it all out as you go.

SPEAKER_04:

And that multiple revenue streams mindset. That's a theme you're going to hear more often in this season in the RV entrepreneur segments.

SPEAKER_02:

And since we'll be guiding lifestyle and income too, here's a quick intro from us.

SPEAKER_04:

Not to brag, but roll the tape, Jim. She said tape.

SPEAKER_02:

So, where to begin? How long you got? Well, when you have been full-timing as long as we have, that could take a while. We'll try to make it shorter for you, though. I'll tell ya, not too long ago, somebody referred to us as the OGs of full-time Rvine. Now, I wasn't sure whether to be insulted or flattered, but I think I'll own it. You know what? Because when you have been on the road since 2007, I think you kind of earned that title.

SPEAKER_04:

It was actually quite a while ago now, but not as long ago as when we first decided to hit the road. Renee and I were working. We had a 3,700 square foot home, we had business downstairs, lived upstairs, and we had our dog Jerry, who was our chief fun officer, and he ended up getting cancer in the limb and had an amputation, and we were distraught and distressed. So Renee sat me down one day and said, I got an idea.

SPEAKER_02:

And that idea was to sell everything, to give Jerry the road trip of a lifetime, the send-off that he deserved for being so patient all those years that we were growing our business. And I thought, well, why not? We're at a really good point to just chuck it all, put it, put some stuff in storage, get an RV, which we thought was really funny because we were hardcore backpackers before we ever considered buying an RV. But that's exactly what we did because it was the best way to give Jerry this road trip that he deserved. So we got a new Arctic Fox fifth wheel, we got a Dodge Ram pickup, had a bunch of yard sales, and before we knew it, we were on the road within about six months of that diagnosis. It happened really quickly.

SPEAKER_04:

Jerry was still up in Adam, so we decided to hit the road. But Renee, being meticulous as she is, created some spreadsheets for us and did all sorts of planning. We got the right rig, we got solar power, we got satellite internet long before Starlink and this nifty little checklist about where we should go and what we should think about doing when we settle down again. Well, long story short, that never really happened, but we did find all sorts of areas around the country that we loved. And there was not a single one that really engaged us enough to stay and settle down, quote unquote. So we've settled down into life on the road.

SPEAKER_02:

The funniest thing about when you start full-timing is you think you can see everything in a year. A lot of people move quickly and they go from A to B to C within a few weeks of each other. And we were just like that. We were no different. It wasn't until we got all the way across the country, Jerry was doing great. We landed in Florida and we thought, you know what? There is no way we're gonna do what we want to do in a year. We wanted to find a new place to live, we want to start a new business, but we weren't even close to being able to decide. So we heard about this thing called work camping. And wow, that just sounded really intriguing. What do you mean I could trade some labor for uh a free rent, uh cool utilities at no cost, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_04:

Meanwhile, our tripods website that we had created to help people go through amputation recovery and care with their own animals had kind of taken off. I built some discussion forums and we hosted thousands of blogs for people, and we had a community growing where we eventually um launched a uh nonprofit foundation, but it wasn't quite paying the all the bills. So we discovered the work camping to save on rent and enjoy uh additional destinations where we wanted to go, and we started taking on additional work to pay the bills.

SPEAKER_02:

One of the nice things about work camping was it also allowed us to try on new ventures and see if owning a campground was something we wanted to do. You know, a lot of RVers talk about that, and we thought so too. Uh, we our first work camping gig was at an animal rescue, though, because we love animals so much, and we thought someday let's start a rescue. So we volunteered to work at one, got free hookups, great place to park, work with some nice people, and quickly discovered that that kind of work is not made for people like us. We are far too wimpy. So we crossed that one off the list.

SPEAKER_04:

And we moved on, and our next job was at an organic farm in Florida, and we got to pick and pick pick plants, sell them at farmers market, run the farm stand, and operate the farm. And it was the first time, probably ever, that the farm owners said that they felt comfortable leaving. And that kind of triggered me thinking, wow, if you own a farm, you're never leaving. So we discovered as much as we love digging in the dirt, that wasn't necessarily for us. And at the time we discovered uh WorkCamper News and discovered a uh job in Colorado on a ranch. And uh ranch owner said, You sound great, we'll find something for your wife to do. And we traveled all the way across the country and we ended up returning to the ranch nine out of 11 summers almost in a row, and we became like family, and I learned how to fix things and break things and cut fall trees and mill them up and build stuff, and really got to become like family there, who quickly discovered that we needed time to work on our own stuff because tripods has grown and had grown into this huge community. Renee had to take on some writing and I was doing additional web work. So we quickly kind of discovered that work camping um really needed to allow us the time and we'd become much more selective in the jobs we take.

SPEAKER_02:

One of the nice parts about doing this lifestyle and taking your time to figure out what you want to do is that you can go back and look at the things that always gave you joy and decide, I think I want to do that and and spend more time and actually trying to make a living at it. So I said, I'm gonna be a writer. I went to school for journalism. I always wanted to be a writer, and I uh just had college loans to pay off and things like that. But this was my opportunity. Our dog passed away two years after we started, and at that point we said, well, why do we have to stop? We've always worked online, even when we had our old business, our clients were always remote. So I said, I'm gonna be a writer. Jim, you're gonna be a web guy. And this is how we are going to earn a living in addition to work camping. So we've always had lots of balls in the air, and RV life has been one of them for many, many years, and we're very grateful for that.

SPEAKER_04:

What we discovered was that the best way to support the nomadic lifestyle, and my advice for anyone just getting started, is to create multiple revenue streams. We put a lot of irons on the in the fire and we started blowing on the ones that glowed hot. Tripods took off, but it didn't pay all the bills, so we got the writing. And I developed uh a bigger clientele of web development when um RV Life had acquired the RV Entrepreneur podcast and uh conference, and they brought me on as a new host. And here we are. Now the RV Entrepreneur has merged with the RV Life podcast, and that brings us back to where we are now.

SPEAKER_02:

We just consolidated 18 years in less than five minutes, really. Um, it's a whole long story, but you don't have time for that, neither do we. We're so happy to be here and to be hosting the RV Life podcast. As we go on in our travels, we're now in our third Arctic Fox. You know, we've enjoyed some amazing places. We've been to Alaska a couple of times. Uh, we live there for a year in winter outside of the RV. We rented a place, which was really cool. Uh, and now we pretty much go between Colorado, our home state, and California back and forth and just really enjoy life on the road.

SPEAKER_04:

We now have a Project M Camper on the truck and are pulling a travel trailer. So we do a lot of kind of hub and spoke travel and get out for adventures and come back. And we've redefined we're camping as working wherever we camp. And we look forward to sharing all these adventures and the lifestyle and the industry tips with our other hosts here on the RV Life Podcast. All right, oh, geez, reporting for duty.

SPEAKER_02:

Ha! Now let's bring in two pros you'll be hearing from this season.

SPEAKER_04:

Meet John DiPietro and Bob Zagami with decades of RV media and deep industry connections.

SPEAKER_02:

John and Bob will team up to bring us travel and industry news with destination spotlights and what's changing in manufacturing and campgrounds.

SPEAKER_04:

Rolling the tape.

SPEAKER_07:

Hi, everybody. My name is John DiPietro. And my name is Bob Zigamy. And we want to welcome you to Bob. Tell people where we are welcoming them to. Well, this is the preview of the new RV Life podcast.

SPEAKER_06:

And the new and improved RV Life podcast. That's that's correct. With a host of characters that you're going to enjoy as we bring you the very latest in John and I will be covering the RV industry news.

SPEAKER_07:

Right. And periodically I'll be bringing you up to date on cool travel destinations. So, Bob, let's tell a little bit about ourselves so that the people know that they're getting real information from real experienced people. And you know what? Experience is certainly uh synonymous with you. For nearly 30 years, 30 years you've been covering the industry. And uh not only have you been covering it as a journalist, but you're also an RV owner. So go back a little bit uh to the uh to the recent past and tell people your story.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, I'll jump back to the 30 years because it's kind of crazy. This all started as a hobby. I was just digging into the RV industry when I got my first motorhome and just loved the industry and dug deep into the the business aspects of it and everything that it brings to the RV consumers and then started writing and did some editing of magazines and and most currently, of course, we've got our own RV uh in RB in New England podcast show, which is every Wednesday night. And we're we're delighted to be able to continue our relationship with the RV Life Network and uh with this new podcast. Right.

SPEAKER_07:

And you know, the new podcast is going to be really cool because it combines so many different aspects of RV. RV life. And um, you know, when you go back now, tell us about the first RV that you owned because it's an interesting story.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, it was an impulse purchase. I went to an RV show with my brother-in-law. I'd I had never camped, I was never a Boy Scout, and went to an RV show and went home with a Class C motorhome. And I flicked, I didn't even know what a motorhome was. But uh I loved to drive, I loved to travel. I thought, and this is back in you know, 78, uh, and and just enjoyed the hell out of it. It was uh I got addicted like every most RV consumers. You know, most people when they get into the RV lifestyle, very seldom do they leave it. They they they practice it in different aspects. They might go from a pop-up to a travel trailer, they might buy a big diesel pusher, or they might go destination camping in a park model. There's so much to talk about.

SPEAKER_07:

Yep. And in the time that you've covered the industry as a journalist, I mean, you've met everyone from Bob Tiffin at Tiffin to Bob Martin at Thor, uh, to Mike Happy at Winnebago. And uh I think that you're probably too modest to say that you've got uh the presidents of the major manufacturers throughout the world on speed dial with you, and they all take your calls.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, you know what's unique about that is it's it's the RV industry. It's informal, it's fun, and and there's no egos. Uh I don't think you could do this in any other industry. I mean, I I had a large imaging company for years, and uh I couldn't talk to the CEOs of the companies that participated in that industry. But these are down-to-earth people, they put their pants on the same way as everybody else. They love to get out to the rallies, they love to be at the shows. You know, very seldom when you go to trade shows or consumer shows, do you see the presidents and CEOs of the companies that are represented on the floor? But that's not the case with the RB industry. We see them all the time.

SPEAKER_07:

And you know what, looking over on the camping side, I mean, you um have have spoken directly with the with the presidents of KOA and Spacious Skies and all the major um campground operators. Um they kind of work hand in hand.

SPEAKER_06:

Uh we we hope they continue to do that and and work even better as uh as the industry progresses, and we look forward to 2026 and close with this podcast. Uh, but this is a lot of exciting things happening, and and this year we just came off some of the trade shows and we saw some amazing new features, new product lines, new companies getting into the business, and you know, it's only up from here.

SPEAKER_07:

Yep. Did you see um do you see any trends in the industry as far as uh are the class A's gonna continue to be built? Uh are class C's gonna continue to be built? Are class Bs going to continue to have that upward trajectory that they had a few years ago?

SPEAKER_06:

Well, you're right. There are changes in the mix. Uh the class A's are definitely decreasing, especially the large diesel pushes, and that's been taken over by super Cs. Most manufacturers now are rushing to have a super C uh that's built on a medium truck chassis, like a Freightliner International, or some of the heavy-duty Ford and Chevy uh diesel engines. So that's that's a big one. And of course, on destination camping, park models continue to be popular, but most uh companies are also bringing out their own destination trailers, which you know have a sliding glass door, people put them on a site for the whole season, build a deck around them, build a covering. Uh those are the those are the big uh changes that we see. But enough about me, John. How about you tell the folks a little bit about your media and marketing background that that brings you to this stage?

SPEAKER_07:

Well, you know, thank you very much for that opportunity. We've been RVing for over 20 years now, and that seems like it was yesterday when we looked for our first RV, but we found it. And um, you know what? We went to a few rallies and we said, we love this, we love this, and uh had the big class A RV, and then a few years down the road switched over to the class C on the Sprinter chassis. And the reason I switched over is because I had attended an RV show where you were one of the speakers and you brought up this new sprinter-based motorhomes. And I said, you know what, let's go take a look at this. And as soon as I got in it and test drove it the first time, we were hooked. And um, you know, as far as my media background is concerned, I spent um several decades in radio, both on the sales side and on the air side, as well as TV on the sales side and on the air side. So we've seen every different change in media over the past 10 years, five years, even more accelerated changes. Um, but we still actively RV. We just got off a um beautiful trip this weekend where we had to use the heater for the first time in quite a while. Well no, that's terrible. Usually signifies it's the end of the camping season if you're in the northeast or in the northern part of the country. But um we're gonna be bringing that RV to Florida real soon and continuing our RVing there. So um, you know what? We've we've had the opportunity to work together with um RVing in New England for nine years and every week doing a show, and we put together a program for RV Life called the Campa Report Show. We did 224 episodes. So we've worked together, we're continuing to work together, and um looking forward to our colleagues um uh in making this RV Life podcast the best ever. Absolutely looking forward to it. Cool. What would you say to new RVers, Bob? New people that are looking at RVing for the first time. We've got a couple minutes left here. Um, new RVers for the first time, what would you say that they should uh be aware of?

SPEAKER_06:

Well, uh I think the the most important thing is to do your homework. You know, there's a lot of misinformation on the web. There's a lot of this artificial intelligence stuff out there. You really have to do your homework. And you know, we encourage people to work with their local dealers, develop a relationship, know the people in the parts department, know the people in the store, know the people you know in the sales and and the general manager. So you have you start off on the right foot and have a good experience. Take your time, do your homework and and do what's best for you. Here we go.

SPEAKER_07:

So whether you rent it first, whether you borrow your brother-in-law's unit, or uh just like we bumped into some people at the campground this past weekend that they had a 40-foot travel trailer, 40 feet. I mean, it's one of the biggest ones I've ever seen, with with triple axles, and it was their first RV. So people go from they they buy everything for the first time. But the cool thing is that they are active RVers, and we want to let them know that we welcome them to the RV lifestyle, and more importantly, want to tell everybody to listen to us regularly right here on the RV Life podcast. I agree a hundred percent. There we go.

SPEAKER_02:

That is the kind of context we love, what to watch and where to go. Just like John said, there we go.

SPEAKER_04:

So, for a quick format refresher, we'll be dropping new episodes every other week for a while. And each one promises to bring an exciting and informative mix of travel, lifestyle, income, and industry news. But wait, there's more.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh yeah, we've also got RV or Insights, and that's where you, the listener, come in. We want to hear your campfire stories. Got some helpful Rv tips or an interesting story you want to share? Let us know.

SPEAKER_04:

It's now easier than ever to share your story with RV life listeners.

SPEAKER_02:

And you could be the first. Tell us a tip, a quick tale from the road, or a lesson you learned, and we might just share your story on the podcast.

SPEAKER_04:

Tell us what type of rig you have, or maybe your social handle, make it informative or entertaining, and keep it under three minutes or so. Learn how to record your message at podcast.rvlife.com slash contact.

SPEAKER_02:

So that just about wraps up our first episode of the new and improved RV Life Podcast. What do you think?

SPEAKER_04:

Me? Well, this show is an evolving community project. So tell us what's working and what you want next.

SPEAKER_02:

No, not you, our listeners, silly. Check out the new website, message us there or on the RV Life podcast Facebook page. Your ideas are gonna help shape the future of this show. Speaking of the future, what do we have coming up? Hey, this season we've got some great shows lined up. You'll hear tips for RVing to Mexico, the truth under the tent at Courtsite, an actress operating her eco-conscious business from the road, and so much more.

SPEAKER_04:

So subscribe and follow at RV Life Podcast everywhere, and check podcast.rvlife.com for all future episodes with full transcripts and complete show notes. And seriously, send that insight for our Campfire Stories segment.

SPEAKER_02:

For RV Life, we're Jim and Renee. Thanks for riding along.

SPEAKER_07:

Until next time, tell everybody to listen to us regularly right here on the RV Life Podcast.

SPEAKER_00:

Are you ready to elevate your RVing adventures? With RV Life Pro, you're not just getting a service, you're gaining a reliable companion for your journey. From planning your trips with precision to navigating with confidence and even connecting with a vibrant community of fellow RV enthusiasts. RV Life Pro is your all in one solution. Don't just dream about the perfect adventure. Live it. Visit RVLife.com today and discover how RV Life can enhance your RVing experience.