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Frugal RV Travel Blog
The Frugal RV Travel Blog keeps you up-to-date with all additions and changes to the Frugal-RV-Travel.com Web site and sends "on the road" updates from the author as she travels. Subscribe here.

• Newsflash: Backcountry Biking in National Parks, Maybe
  The Untited States Department Of The Interior may open up thousands of miles of backcountry trails in the National Parks to mountain bikers. The trails are presently closed to fat tires. Pro-mountain biking organizations like the IMBA are calling on people to take action and express support for the new rules. Other groups, like the American Hiking Society, believe the rule change will undermine hikers' experiences on the trails. While I enjoy mountain biking, I'm also an avid hiker and I agree with the American Hiking Society. Where we live in Ontario, on the 800-km-(497-mile)-long Bruce Trail, there are several hike/bike sections. While hiking along these routes, I'd rather be enjoying the peaceful sounds of nature but instead often find myself keeping a vigilant ear out for the sound of bikers who often come around every bend at full speed. I'm presuming this suggestion will, at first, be implemented on only a few trails in select parks on a trial basis. Still I can't help but think that not only hikers but also wildlife will be displaced. The parks suggest that this change will attract more youth but I think they should count on losing an equal number of older (and usually more responsible) hikers like ourselves on these trails. The Department of the Interior is currently looking for public input on the issue. To express your opinion, you can read the official report and submit your comments here.
• A Question We're Still Being Asked Often:
  
  You Hardly Work, And Yet You Travel A Lot - How Do You Do It?
  How do we do it? Well, the short answer is, we make the commitment. Our pattern is to travel every 2 years for 5 months, then come home and work for 19 months. We prefer not to work while travelling and our costs for those 5 months are no more (sometimes less) than when we're home. About $1000.00 per month covers all trip expenses for two. Another $200.00 per month covers fixed expenses like insurance, taxes and utilities at our modest Ontario townhouse. During the 19 months we're home, we each salt away $160.00 per month toward our next trip and we're covered. It's that simple. The truth is, we don't even work full-time when we're at home, so even if you have a mortgage or higher costs it should be possible for almost anyone. Whether at home or on the road, we don't live beyond our means, have no debt, and whenever possible, avoid anything that means another monthly payment. Our lifestyle may not appeal to everyone, yet I'll bet in this economic climate there will be more and more people learning to live by our example: Frugally. The difference is that we won't be resenting it. My definition of frugal - getting the best value for your money. Today most people can't be bothered and marketers count on it. Don't know when it became a dirty word. Most of our grandparents lived by it. And speaking of the economic climate. Do I regret spending all those months on the road when I could have been earning more money and salting it away? My definition of tight - someone who works every spare minute of his/her life and avoids spending money on anything that's enjoyable, eventually leaving it all to his/her children/relatives to spend as frivolously as they want. The memories are in the bank and can now be withdrawn over and over again. I certainly can't say the same for the nest egg that I worked so hard to accumulate in my early working years.
• My 2 cents worth...
  An Editorial by Stephen Fletcher written on his website RV Basics is of particular interest to boondockers. It discusses a recent bill introduced in the Nevada legislature by RV Park and Campground owners who want to restrict RV parking in all kinds of public places. Mr. Fletcher reports that "Fortunately, thanks primarily to the Escapees Club, the word got out and RVers from around the country flooded Nevada legislators with email and phone calls and the bill didn't get out of committee." Stephen made some very good points and it's great to have professional-image websites such as his provide a voice for the average RVer. Now, I'd like to add my own two cents worth on the topic: The simple truth is that, if it were not for boondocking, Randy and I wouldn't be traveling at all. That would take money out of the pockets of every grocery store, gas station, laundromat, restaurant, tourist attraction, park, art gallery, bookstore, and yes, occasional campground that we use while we are on the road. I'm sure there are many other RVers who would be in the same situation. If we couldn't travel we wouldn't need an RV, so the RV dealers, mechanics and insurance companies would also lose out. We don't prefer Walmart parking lots but, sometimes, especially in cities, there are no reasonably-priced overnight options. I believe there's a very obvious opportunity in the RV resort/campground industry. Rather than provide more of what many RVers don't want or need, i.e. expensive recreation facilities, game rooms, saunas, etc. they should consider providing more of what we obviously do want - a flat, safe, convenient, clean place to park for the night at a reasonable price, (Perhaps $8.00 to $10.00 or even $12.00 per night). I think if a few RV parks would try offering a dry camping area as an option to their expensive hookup sites they would soon find they have a leg up on their competition. They could reduce their staffing and other costs and perhaps have added income from providing other things we all need such as a clean RV dump station, propane, laundry, etc. In keeping with some of Stephen's other arguments on the subject, here's another angle: Why aren't the RV parks taking up their fight with the RV manufactuers? After all, if those darn RVs weren't so comfortable and equipped with bathrooms, holding tanks and batteries, RVers would need campground facilities and hookups all the time. And finally, going back in history, I think the first motorhomes appeared on this continent sometime in the 1930's. The public embraced them for the freedom they offered to travel inexpensively, without the need to stay at hotels. Somewhere along the line the RV resort/campground became "an option." Now they're trying to make it our only option? Do you agree that there is something wrong and yet very familiar with this picture?
• Buying A Used RV
  With today's economy, there has never been a better time to get a deal on a used RV. Still, for some, this purchase can be a scary thought. You need to know what to look for.
• For Those Times When You Decide To Spend The Money On An RV Resort Campsite
  RV campgrounds can be expensive. To be sure you won't be dissappointed, do a little homework before you make that reservation. RV Shark provides a comprehensive list of RV resorts across the U.S.A. with unbiased reviews written by RVers who have been there.
• Ebooks Make Perfect Gifts Any Time Of Year
  ...They Also Qualify As "An Act Of Green"
  Many people may not realize how easy and practical it is to give an ebook as a gift. Once purchased and downloaded there are several options for presenting an ebook as a gift:
  • Do you prefer something that you can wrap? Use your own printer to print the book, place it in a binder or add a sleek cover with a cerlox binding (only a couple of dollars at most copy centers).
  • Burn the book onto a cd that takes up little shelf space and can be viewed from any computer.
  • If the giftwrap isn't necessary,you could copy the ebook from your computer onto the recipient's computer.
  • The simplest method is completely cost-free: Email the book as an attachment wihtout shipping charges or worries about getting it there in time for Christmas.
  Ebooks are the perfect gift for an RVer who is currently "on the road" and, therefore, has no fixed address. Aside from how to present the gift,there are other advantages to consider:
  • Most ebooks are less expensive than simliar books in print.
  • All reputable ebooks are offered with a no-questions-asked 100 money back guarantee. If you order now, a 60-day money back guarantee will be valid well into the new year.
  • An ebook is the ultimate "green gift". No tree has been cut for the book or the wrapping paper and no fuel has been used to deliver the gift.
  Is there an RVer, tent camper, or hiker on your gift list who would appreciate an an ebook as a gift this year?
• Fuel Prices In Today's News....
  
  A story by Lauren Krugel in today's