campercrazybuzz

Wine with a View…. what we like and don’t like about this RV

Class C RV…..an “Opulent” choice like a rich. bold glass of red wine

My husband was very hesitant about staying the night in an RV and was shocked when I told him the plans I made. He looked at me with huge eyes and his eyebrows raised into what would be a hairline (if he had one), and then grunted when he found out where we would be sleeping that night. With a quick growl he asked, “WHY? I am perfectly happy at the hotel”.

Notice the leg recliner extension – both sides of the dinette have this feature

Watch Mark convert the dinette into a bed and see the special features of the Owner’s Sleeping Quarters.

He decided that he would at least try to have an open mind about staying in an RV, put his feet up and made the best of the experience. We definitely liked using the dinette seat as a chaise lounge. After having major back surgery a couple years ago, he was not convinced that he would fair well sleeping on a dinette bed.

My husband was unsure about sleeping on a bed that would be converted from the dinette without a thick mattress. However, he quickly worked to create our evening haven. Watch as Dana shares tips with Mark on how to quickly convert a dinette to a sleeping area on our YouTube video channel Camper Crazy Buzz. Learn how to keep the cushions from slipping when you roll over at night and many more tips about storage in a View, especially if someone uses a CPAP machine.

The dinette area is very large and is able to sit 4 people easily. Each end has an extension that can be used as a chaise lounge or you could easily bring in an additional table to extend the dining area. The thing that caught my eye was how easily Dana’s husband can work utilizing the dining area. He had plenty of space to spread out with paper, pen, computer and phone, and can even put his feet up while his wife drives as he “kills himself” conducting business.

I was thinking that this may be a great RV for a working couple that travels, especially if they are on the computer a lot. With the increase of Millennial’s living full-time and working in RVs, this could potentially be an RV they would consider purchasing.

As we interviewed Dana in our round table discussions on our YouTube channel (Crazy Camper Buzz), she exuded pure joy when answering questions about her View. She is more than ecstatic that she and her husband are the proud owners of a new Winnebago View. Dana’s husband was happy to pose with her in this pic, however, he asked that I conceal his identity so his coworkers don’t get jealous of all his travels while “working”.

Proud Owners of a 2019 Winnebago View Class C

They were the perfect hosts in allowing us to stay overnight with them so my husband could get the whole RV experience and also shared some useful tips.

Their View is able to sleep up to six people comfortably since they have the berth above the cab. The owner’s sleeping area is a corner bed and has a curved bottom side which I thought may be uncomfortable. Dana assured us that while she sleeps against the wall, her husband’s feet do not hang over, although that not be the case for anyone well over six feet tall. The bed has separate adjustable headrests, so if one person wants to sit up to watch TV or read a book, the other person can lay flat. I think this is a great feature, and for some reason is not included in any videos that I watched about this style View.

This Class C RV has lots of STORAGE, STORAGE AND STORAGE. We especially liked all the storage surrounding the corner bed, as well as the privacy curtain and blackout shades. Dana made good choices in what she would need to outfit her rig and how to utilize her storage to its best capacity, which we will discuss in a future youtube video. To see all the specifications and different floor-plans available, you can visit Winnebago.com for details and watch the walk-through video by the manufacturer.

https://winnebagoind.com/product-classes/class-c

Now for the most important part of this blog…

Like Dana, I enjoy a rich, bold glass of red wine in the evenings and was curious as to how she travels with her wine glasses. While I have every desire to retire and “be gone” like Anna Kendrick in the “cups” song, I have no desire to drink wine out of plastic. I was very shocked to see that Dana’s elegant, thin rimmed, tall wine glasses sat on the shelf above her cooking area. She opened the cupboard door and there were 4 glasses sitting perfectly, undamaged and without any restraints. I was very curious and shocked because lets face it, traveling down the road and swerving and hitting pot holes would surely shift items in cupboards, drawers and storage areas.

Her tip was simple, use Gorilla type shelf liner in the cupboards and your glasses will stay put as long as you don’t drive like Danica Patrick. The shelf liner can be cut into small pieces and placed in between plates and bowls to keep them from sliding and chipping, or under pots and pans to keep from shifting.

The Original GORILLA GRIP Drawer and Shelf Liner – Solid Colors

It is also a handy tool for making the dinette into the bed which my husband used when making up our bed and is in the video on our YouTube channel.

All in all this is a great RV. It is not an RV that we would select for our lifestyle but has some great features that we like. The outside gray color is attractive and we liked the interior colors. This is not “grandpa’s camper”.

We had several people inside visiting while Dana talked about the RV features and we were not overly crowded. The air conditioner was not overly loud and seemed a lot more quiet than other RVs we have been in.

Most of all, it was an excellent choice for my husband to try out for his first night in an RV. We were comfortable and had a great night’s sleep.

Thanks to the owners for allowing us to have a glass of Wine with a View.

Camper Crazy Confusion …”To Poop or not to Poop”(that is the question)

Okay, you may be thinking…

“this is going to be a crappy, stinking blog”. We just hope you continue reading and visit our newest video as we research the dirty part of owning an RV. It is a topic that needs to be discussed and thought about when contemplating purchasing an RV.

Listening to videos about campers or visiting RV sales showrooms, you hear terms like, “black water”, “gray water”, “dump tanks” and may see toilet paper designed for RV use. Seriously, do you really need to buy a specialty toilet paper like this one sold on Amazon? There are youtube videos with people testing toilet paper to see which dissolves best. They are usually long, boring videos, so we decided to talk with people that own campers and ask their opinion.

You may hear your camping friends talk about “toilet bombs”, but they are not Camper Crazy toilet terrorists, they are just sanitation sensitive. For us future RV owners, these may not be familiar terms. However, if we watched that movie “RV”, we probably all remember the dumping scene. Thus the question, “to poop or not to poop”.

If you remember our blog and videos featuring BJ & Shanna’s family, they started out their trip with strict orders to their kids not to poop in the RV. They had to use the comfort station at the RV parks. They didn’t want to deal with all that cleanup work. By the end of their trip, they were all using the throne for their dirty work.

When talking to other campers, some have decided it is not worth all the hard work and strictly use the RV park facilities they camp in. However, that is a bit difficult if you eat a lot of high fiber foods or if it is bad weather and you have to run to the park facilities.

But, why is this important? Well, for one thing we spend a lot of time using the toilet! There are studies that have been conducted that show people spend from 1.5 – 3 hours on the toilet each week. So, if you are living full-time in an RV, in one year, you may spend almost one full week on the toilet. So, we figure, not only should the bathroom area be the right size, but the toilet should be comfortable and we better know how to keep that toilet cleaned out properly.

So, what is black water and gray water? Below your beautiful RV are holding tanks that hold the non-pretty elements of your RV. Underneath will be your “black tank” that holds the waste from your toilet. You will also have a “gray tank” that holds the waste water from your shower and sinks. If your holding tanks are not properly cleaned, they will generate a smell that will make you think that skunks have taken your RV hostage.

All of the RVs we have looked at have a foot flush on the toilet. You step on it and it dispenses water into the bowl and opens the valve in the bowl to dump the toilet waste into your black tank. Following are tips that we will try to utilize, if we figure out what type RV to purchase:

Tip #1 – Make sure you have some water in the bottom of the toilet bowl before you use it.

Tip #2 – Some recommend that if you have your fan on while using the toilet, shut-off the fan when you flush. That process will eliminate the fan from pulling up the stinky odors from the black tank when the valve opens. Others say that if you clean out your tank properly and often, this is unnecessary.

Tip #3 – Make sure your toilet bowl is empty of all water once you start traveling, otherwise you will have to clean up a sloshy mess, especially if the driver of your RV drives like my husband.

Tip #4 – You can use your shower sprayer with hot water to spray out the toilet bowl before you dump the tank and the steam will also help breakup any solids that may be starting to harden.

Tip #5 – Dump your black tank and THEN dump your gray tank to flush out the hose.

Tip #6 – Make your own toilet bombs. You can find instructions online to get the recipe and the campers we interviewed used slightly different recipes but all happy with the results. One of the campers we interviewed simply uses a few scoops of Borax and large squirts of Dawn dish-washing liquid and flushes it down into the black tank.

Tip 7 – You may want to try Poo Pourri…

Some recommend after you dump and clean your tank to add water to the tank to help solids from sticking to the sides and bottom of the tank. Other campers say this is unnecessary if you dump often and clean properly and use toilet bombs. After you dump your tank, you should always clean it out manually or with a Saniflush if your RV comes equipped with it.

There is no way we will only use campsite comfort station facilities to do our business. So, our goal is to make sure we know all the correct procedures in emptying the tanks, keeping them clean and using the proper chemicals that will keep the tanks in good shape and eliminate stinky odors.

If any of our readers have other suggestions that have worked for them, please leave a comment to help educate us and others that are Camper Crazy Confused also! And if you are camper crazy confused, leave a question and we will try and find an answer.

As always we recommend you watch our video on this sensitive subject matter. Simply login to YouTube and search for Camper Crazy Buzz. Don’t forget to subscribe and like!

Camper Crazy Round Table Interview Part 2. https://youtu.be/Gp HvgXH2iTg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpHvgXH2iTg

MOST IMPORTANT TIP:

If your RV does not have a lock on the bathroom door, you may want to install a seat belt on your toilet. You never know when you will fall off the pot and fly out the door(s)! Learn more & get the BUZZ in our videos and remember, “safety first”!

Camper Crazy Confusion

What does a used Jayco 5th Wheel, a brand new Winnebago View C class and a Pleasureway B+ class have in common? Look closely, can you tell?

In our quest to figure out which type of RV we should consider for our future travels (if and when my husband decides it should be in our future), we decided to take a road trip. Traveling to just outside of Memphis, we met up with our experienced Glamping Sr. couple, the Mid-lifers in their new Winnebago and their friends that have camped for years from Arkansas, with their pickup and 5th Wheel Jayco camper.

On our way, we stopped at Gander RV Sales in Alabama. We have been to many RV showrooms over the past couple years just “kicking tires”, but now we need to get all the BUZZ! Time to really educate ourselves, but there is a lot to learn when you know little about the Camper Crazy World.

So to persuade my husband that this is a life he would enjoy, I take him into the accessory store. Anyone that knows my husband can tell you that if it has a knob or a plug or a switch… he has to turn it, plug it in or switch it. He just can’t help himself. My plan…there has to be generators right? We will make our way there. We will eventually make it to the campers, but one step at a time.

Gander RV has a great accessory store, one of the best we have visited so far. They had a great pet section, RV furniture, outdoor equipment, all kind of RV parts and of course…GENERATORS. https://rv.ganderoutdoors.com/dealer/oxford-alabama-anniston

Oh boy, the bait seems to be working. He is enthralled with all the gadgets and the chair even has some kind of knobs and switches! Wow, they have more generators than one of the electrical supply houses he likes to frequent. This store is great! It is clean and spacious and has a great supply of camping gear, parts and accessories.

That is not all, they also have a nice selection of RV trailers and we look at several with our sales rep, Danny. He hasn’t been selling RVs for very long but is quite informative. Since my husband is a free lance electrical estimator, it is important that we have access to WiFi and we know not all parks have great WiFi, so we ask Danny about options. He shows us an LTE WiFi Router by Furrion. “Stay Online while exploring the world offline”, seems to be their motto. We need to explore this option further and if you are interested too, check out their website https://furrion.com/collections/routers/products/router

We see several campers that could potentially work for us, but feel more CONFUSED and overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we don’t know about the Camper Crazy world. So we get back on the road to hopefully find some answers. I am also very excited because I have a special surprise for Mark. I made arrangements for us to stay one night in the Winnebago View with the Mid-Lifers at the RV Park! Not so sure how he will react, but I am hoping that he will love it.

Oh, I almost forgot, what does a Jayco 5th Wheel, a Pleasureway and a Winnebago have in common? Owners that are all HAPPY CAMPERS and love think their RV is best…..for them at least. They are happy to share their likes & dislikes of their campers and discuss how to choose your RV and much more.

Join us on our youtube channel for Part 1,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipHJxNl5D5c

as my husband conducts Camper Crazy Round Table interviews with the owners as they discuss such topics as:

What is your favorite feature of your RV? Part 1
What don’t you like about your RV? Part 1
What TP do you use? Odd question but important! Part 2
Is it safe to be using the toilet when taking a curve at 60 mph? Part 2
What is your best tip for someone purchasing an RV? Part 3
You don’t want to miss these videos and by the way, we are still undecided as to which type RV will be best for us.
Go to Youtube and type in Camper Crazy Buzz and you will see our channel. We thank you in advance for subscribing and liking our channel and our blog.

Griswolds in the making

Since you are now introduced to BJ & Shanna’s family and have seen pics of what seems to be the start of a perfect road trip with their new RV, it is time to see their Griswold moments. As novice campers, they are learning the “RV ravages of the road”, and have learned sadly what can happen in a split second.

Day 3 started with the first damage to their new travel trailer. As BJ said, “I could have waited a little longer to have the camper damaged.” Excited for the day’s travels, he leaned the level up against the trailer and started to hook up the truck to the trailer. As he lowered it onto the hitch the level crunched the side. A loud squeaking sound and uggg….the first damage. Thank goodness no major damage…yet.

A little disappointed, but they wipe their frowns away and head on down the road. They figure “hey, that is why we purchased insurance.” RV Insurance is something we will discuss in a future blog, and I am sure BJ will be able to share all he experiences when filing his claims. Yes, I said claims because this is just the beginning.

Traveling through bad weather is always expected, however, the severe winds and rains they encountered in Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana was much more than they wanted to experience. They have hunkered down in Florida through several hurricanes, but being in a travel trailer during bad storms or pulling one down the road, that is a whole different story.

First, the extreme wind quickly blew the awning off the side of the trailer, damaging the roof and the air conditioner. The wind and rain was so severe they didn’t even realize the awning was ripped off the side. To be highly entertained, you will want to hear BJ’s & Shanna’s story in their own words, please watch…..AND SUBSCRIBE https://youtu.be/k58qtKPtAtM

As soon as possible, BJ did some of his fancy repairs to seal up the holes. It wasn’t pretty but he hoped it would keep the rain out. He was very satisfied with his hard work and ingenuity!

At this point, the roof and awning will have to be totally replaced, but at least the truck has gone unscathed…until some nice person dances into BJ’s lane, and BAM…damages the truck mirror. Thank goodness he has cameras to backup that trailer. Still, BJ will not let all this dampen his spirit, he is happy and having a great time.

Then more bad storms and hail. Really??? Now the hood of the truck and the trailer looks like they were ambushed with pellet guns.

Bad enough that they will have at least 4 deductibles for the damages to the truck and trailer, but poor BJ did not remain unscathed either. He did not escape the ravages of bad fast food and somehow he fell on the trailer stairs and they won.

Just two days from home and one of the tires on the trailer is pretty much destroyed. We met up with them and our son-in-law helped change the tire since BJ did not have a jack that would work. Although we hated to see them incur more hiccups to their trip, we were happy to share some time and get some highlights of the Griswold moments and invite you to see some of the “not so much fun” part of the trip on our youtube channel.

For all us wannabe Camper Crazy individuals, the lesson we learned is that we need to be “prepared for the unexpected”. When purchasing a new RV, most RV retailers require the new buyer to learn everything about their new RV in a class before they can take their camper home. Whether they discuss what to do when encountering damages from storms or what products to use to make temporary repairs, we are not sure. We will research and share in a future blog. At a minimum we can see a good first aid kit is a must. If purchasing an RV from an individual, a novice Camper Crazy buyer should review our future blogs for tips on what to purchase for situations like BJ and Shanna encountered. Perhaps a visit to a local RV store to inquire as to what to buy to be prepared for a first RV trip, (especially if you are planning to go in remote areas) is probably a good idea. Better safe than sorry as they say, because of course, we all want to be “Happy Campers”, just like Jax.

Their baby Jax has some special needs and the travel trailer worked out very well for Jax. He was able to get down and play on the camper floor once they parked each day, and a reason to purchase an RV. They did not want Jax crawling around on the nasty floors of hotel rooms. Carrying suitcases and baby equipment into hotels every night and day for 30 days was not something Shanna was looking forward to either.

With all the challenges to their trip, Shanna said, “I liked it much more than I thought I would,” and BJ said, “If Shanna said, ‘okay lets turn around and go back out west – I would say, ” LETS GO!!!”

Mark & I have now visited two camper sales stores close to our location and will be asking questions and posting what we learn. Planning on visiting a couple this week in Alabama and Mississippi. Will be asking lots of questions and posting info on future blogs.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our youtube channel and watch the video at: https://youtu.be/k58qtKPtAtM

New Camper Crazy Family

Excitement and adventure is their dream as they load up their new Grey Wolf trailer by Forest River and leave the heat of Florida for the cool Canadian landscape. The camper layout is great for their family with a Queen bed and twin corner bunks and nice sized pantry. Purchased new from Camping World they are ready to be Camper Crazy World Travelers. https://www.campingworld.com/ Learn more about Forest River Grey Wolf trailers at:

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/grey-wolf?RegionSelected=1

However, if we look closely at their smiles and eyes, Shanna seems somewhat apprehensive and Mia has a grimace radiating a little fear…is her dad a bad driver or is she just dreading this trip? BJ, Colton and Jax look genuinely happy and ready to set-off and leave Central Florida for their first stop in Stone Mountain, Ga.

The first day took longer than they expected. They had to make extra stops for the baby so they arrive to the site late in the day. They decide that they must get up earlier in the mornings and get things wrapped up so they can reach their campsites while still daylight, although they all realize it just isn’t in their nature to be early birds. Every stop has been carefully mapped out by Shanna using RV Trip Wizard. http://rvtripwizard.com The website touts itself as the Best RV Trip Planner. Shanna, following the suggestion of mid-life crisis couple Chuck & Dana, signs up and plans her trip. We will find out later if RV Trip Wizard is all it says it is.

Days 1-6

The first couple days are just casual driving through the hills of Georgia and Tennessee heading to Minnesota. First few days are very enjoyable.

Kids are not miserable and in fact Mia and Jax are quite happy traveling through each state. Colton is not totally bored, but then…his internet access has not been interrupted too much. So all is well for now.

Not sure how BJ is living without his Starbucks drive through coffee. Do you think he brews Starbucks in the camper?

The circle of love – so far a great family trip. Look at those happy smiles. We will get Shanna & BJ’s comments about the campsites they stayed in a little later and will post on our YouTube Channel.

As we can see BJ is ready to do some laundry. They purchased a portable washer and dryer. We don’t have the details, as of yet as to how well they work. However, they store the washer under the main bed and haul the dryer in the back of their pickup. We did not realize they made such portable washers and dryers but are anxious to find out more about them, since I am not a fan of using laundromats. He looks so happy doing the laundry. I wish my husband looked like that when I ask him to throw some towels in the washer. Unfortunately, strong winds and hazardous steps cause some Camper Crazy drama. Stay tuned for future blogs. In the meantime, enjoy a video of their trip so far @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmijHYW2QGI&t=19s

What is all the Buzz about???

Camping, Glamping & the World of Recreational Vehicles

“Oh, the places you’ll go!” Dr. Seuss

My husband calls me Camper Crazy because I have been nagging him for the past 3 years to buy an RV. I keep pitching the idea that we should live full-time in an RV when we retire… just a few years away!

However, he thinks I am Crazy…Irrational…and just plain NUTS! My husband is a workaholic and not one that likes to try new things. The thought of buying a camper totally stresses him out. So we have decided that we need to entrench ourselves in finding the pros and cons of camping and glamping and figure out which RV would work best for our circumstances and our future goals.

We have visited many blog sites and watched 100’s of videos on different types of RVs…..MANY ARE SO BORING. Plus, they have done nothing to convince my husband that an RV is something we need to buy, let alone live in. Let’s face it, you can only watch so many RV Salespeople showing you the features of an RV and then you find yourself…. snoring and dribbling spit on your pillow.

This site is a multi-family combined effort featuring the World of Camping, Glamping and Recreational Vehicles. Why should YOU subscribe to our blog and follow us on You Tube? Because we will give you the Buzz of info to be off and running as another CAMPER CRAZY, FUN LOVING INDIVIDUAL!

We will follow some RV trips of new campers and experienced campers. We will share their likes and dislikes, pros and cons.
We will learn the dos and don’ts – tips and tricks – and share Hilarious, Outrageous stories!!!
What kind of RV works best for young families, working couples, seniors, and single people? A CLASS; B CLASS, C CLASS? No we are not talking about school for you non-campers.
But wait…Mark and I have been involved in construction all our lives. In fact, we volunteer a lot of our time in helping with disaster relief work. Wow….you would think he would want an RV to be able to do more in this type of work.

Is retrofitting an older camper more logical, economical and conducive to a more attractive interior? We may be retiring in a few years but I don’t want our RV to be classified as a Grandpa’s or Grandma’s Camper. Jeez, that is why we call ourselves Pa and Gigi to our granddaughters. If you didn’t know…Gigi is a grandmother but so much cooler! So, for me a Cool Awesome Camper is absolutely a necessity. Plus, my 8 year old granddaughter would never want to vacation in an ugly camper with her Gigi. Gigi & Derby Adventures are never boring and are very cool.

What do we buy for our RV, when we determine which one to buy? After all, we want our married children and their families to travel with us on family vacations. Our son, Shane is so much like his father and thinks RESORT = NO RV. But his wife Kelli, would love joining us on RV trips. Our daughter Summer is with me. She would love to get an RV and is trying to sweet talk her husband Garth so maybe…just maybe they can join in on the family fun with our grandbaby Cookie.
And what about food? What meals are the healthiest and easiest to make on the road?
What campsites are the best?
We will also share pics and videos of areas you may want to visit and more!

This site is dedicated to finding the answers and featuring REAL LIFE CAMPERS in REAL LIFE (sometimes messy) RVs. Most of all, it is dedicated to helping everyone become Camper Crazy!!!

Next up….The First Time RV Family

YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS…A young couple with 3 kids on their first RV trip from Florida to Canada, driving a Ford F-250 pulling a new Grey Wolf Travel Trailer, (their rig on top of blog page). So far, this trip falls somewhere between the movie RV and the National Lampoon Griswold Family. If anything can go wrong on this trip, so far it has.

Stay tuned to the adventures of Brent (B.J.) & Shanna, with the teenage son who likes video games and computers, the 9 year old daughter who likes to run 5k races with her mom and their adorable baby who has some special needs and the motivation for BJ to purchase an RV.

And then….Chuck & Dana

A mid-aged (mid-life crisis maybe?) couple with 3 married children: their eldest son and his wife and their travel friendly puppy, Tokyo catch up with their parents in California and travel up the coast, then they will be joined by their daughter, an Irish dance instructor and her husband.

Chuck and Dana are traveling from Florida to Vancouver on a six week trip in their brand new Winnebago View. Their children are taking turns flying in to travel different legs on the trip with their parents. This trip got off to a rough start, but the pics and videos are amazing. You won’t want to miss being a part of this trip.

Traveling with them on this trip are her parents:

Danny & Mary Ellen, who are Totally Experienced Glampers to the Extreme! From previously traveling in a coach fit for a King and Queen, to now traveling in a new Pleasure-way Class B, they offer so many tips and tricks. But, don’t let their fancy lifestyle fool you. Danny is also an experienced Kayaker and Hiker. He is a true camper and can help us learn the best items to use when camping in a small tent in the wild…yes with wild bears and snakes and bugs of every sort. You can check out some of his hiking trips on YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngBadyvqGEM

So, now we are off…let the Adventure begin….join us at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-KjzYdmcJRpcRS3AAEEjQA and subscribe to join the fun. Our goal each week is gaining 100 subscribers to our channel and our blog. Can you help us reach that goal?

Please subscribe on the Blog Home page so you can get all the Camper Crazy Buzz!

Welcome to Camper Crazy Buzz!

This site is dedicated to all things camping, glamping and RVing…

We are Mark and Emily, married 45 years…and yes, all that time to each other!

Reaching another phase in our life, it is time for another adventure. Unfortunately, we are at a by-pass and not sure which direction to go…. we may be… OMG Senior Citizens (tough to even say), but in our minds we are still 17. I am ready to buy that RV, travel and live full-time in it once I retire, but Mark says….hmmm I don’t know about that.

After 4 years of dragging him through RV Shows and RV Campgrounds, we finally did it! We bought our first RV trailer. And of course, we did it the year of a PANDEMIC. Well I am not ready to retire just yet, so this year we may not travel much but we will continue to make plans and learn. Oh, and I forgot….my husband only agreed because he needs a travel trailer for his business. So much for my vacation paradise!