Friday, December 23, 2011

ATONRVP Podcast Episode 10 - Driveway Camping


  • PRACTICE – Camp in your own driveway for a weekend.
    • Should do this when you 1st buy the RV
    • Quick access to what you need in the house
    • Order what’s missing from ATONRVP aStore or Camping World
    • Practice with hookups
      • How long freshwater white hose do you need?
      • How long extension cords (have the THICK ones)
      • “Cheater Box” or “Cheater Cables”?
      • Surge protector
      • EC30W- a MUST have for driveway camping
    • Practice without hookups
      • How long do your batteries last till they need recharged?
      • How long does your water last?
      • How quickly does your grey tank fill up?
        • How many showers can you take before you need to shed some grey water?
  • Prepare!
    • The size of family or friends property is inversely proportional to how much of a nuisance you’ll be to them and their neighbors.
    • Use Google Maps with satellite view, or Google Earth to see how large the property is
    • Find out local codes or Home Owners Association rules on RV parking. YOUR JOB, not your family or friend!
    • If their property is very small, find a local campground or a place that allows overnight RV parking (use overnightrvparking.com!)
    • Find an overnight RV parking place anyway, JUST IN CASE!
    • Find the closest dumpstation – or be prepared to carry a 'honeytank'.
  • Politesse
    • Ask ahead of time if it’s okay, and before they can answer, let them know you can park many other places; “(Insert suggested question here)
    • Some family or friends may like being hospitable, and be offended that you didn’t want to stay in their home
    • Let them know you have what you need: bed, shower, food.
    • Don't assume you're automatically welcome to whatever utility you need. Ask them for water tank fill. Don't just do it.
    • If the family or friend wants to be hospitable, let them. They may enjoy bring you coffee in the morning, or snacks in the even.
    • Monitor your pets – they are out of their normal routine, and their behavior can be unpredictable
      • Ours damaged a relatives screen porch

Friday, December 9, 2011

ATONRVP Podcast Episode 9 - Arctic Parking

This podcast brought to you by
Nancy's new book!



Excellent article on cold weather RVing by Arthur Knapp

Products mentioned in this episode:


Andy, of myoldrv.com recommends:

And, as a backup:

This worked well against a cold wall:


This is the 12 volt fan I use. It provides white noise at night, and keeps the heat circulating by pointing it up:



Here's a good video on some RV preparation for cold weather:



Cheap Heat is something I want to keep my eye on for future upgrade:



Friday, November 4, 2011

ATONRVP Podcast Episode 7 - Clear as Mud


Dealing with grey and black water while overnight RV Parking.

While I'd love to say with is a 'clean' episode, being about poo and stuff I just couldn't put that tag on. 

USI-RV has a grey water recycling system for the RV. You use the grey water to flush your toilet.

Here's an article from RV Boondocking News with an interview from USI-RV's Greg Corwin who developed the system.

Another grey water potty flush system posted on ModMyRV.

A post on Live, Work, Dream about Stealth Grey Water Dumping.

One of my favorite fulltime RV bloggers and his comments on blackwater tank care.

While it's more of a boondocking technique and not a overnight parking thing, here is a way of making a grey water evaporation pond. This design is used at Burning Man.

Grey Water Dumping is a really hot topic on Bob Difley articles. This one got a little heated at times.

Some of the products we mentioned:







Friday, October 14, 2011

ATONRVP Podcast Episode 5 - Battery Sucking Vampires


Some links that do a better job of explaining RV Electric than we do:

MyRV Electric does an excellent job of explaining how these systems work.

RV Electric Power For Dry Camping goes into great detail, and 'Dry Camping' is similar to boondocking or Overnight RV Parking.

Technomadia adventures!

Technomadia builds a lithium battery bank.

Technomadia; Lead Acid battery downsides.

Technomadia; Lithium Ion Advantages.

Mastervolt MLI 12/320 Lithium Ion Battery

Current Price (as of blog publish date) on MLI 12/320: $6,635
OUCH!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Overnight RV Parking Dot Com

If you do any overnight RV parking during your travels, you probably already know about this site. If you intend to do any overnight RV parking, you'd do well to get a membership to overnightrvparking.com. With over 9000 listing, you can use the information to plan your trip, and avoid the hassle of having security knock on your RV door in the middle of the night, just after you've put your jammies on, had that glass of wine or beer, and settled in for a rest from a long day. Using the information in the database, you'll have a much better overnight RV Parking experience.

Friday, October 7, 2011

ATOVRVP Podcast Episode 4 - Dogs in Heat


(Disclosure: We DO make money if you purchase the items from the Amazon links in this post. When it comes to safety  though, if you find a better price somewhere else, take it! If it's not an Amazon link here, we don't make money from it.)

Our RV and experiences with warranty issues
Clarksville TN, 5 adults die at Speedway race, leave behind 12 children.

Traveling with Pets in the Summer
We use a 3 step contingency plan for climate control
1st contingency – Gen Turi + extra carbon monoxide detector.


Andy from Myoldrv.com, several posts about Genturi

Recreational Vehicles and the Necessity of the Camco Gen-turi


The Praises of a Gen-Turi Exhaust System for your RV



2nd contingencyCummins Onan EC30W generator auto start.

3rd contingency – Vent fans with thermostat control.

We're looking into more contingency steps;
Possible 4th contingency – RV Nanny or other such device
Possible 5th contingency -  We’re keeping an eye on a product called Go Cool. Something like, but not quite like, a swamp cooler. Here's the video:

Monday, October 3, 2011

ATONRVP Podcast Episode 3

We're now a legit podcast!

In this episode, we talk about our first experience Overnight RV Parking.
Soon will have links up to the RSS feed, iTunes feed, and chicken feed. Nancy and I are learning a lot and having fun with this project. Episode 4 will be out soon.

Monday, September 26, 2011

ATONRVP Podcast 2.5

Not our lastest podcast. We're preparing for our transition to libsyn, podcast artwork, the Amazon a-Store, and a regular schedule.
All Things Overnight RV Parking episode 2.5 (mp3)

Our next podcast should be us soon.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Where

Walmart parking lots are the most popular place for Overnight Parking. Flying J's has a few spots, water, and tank dump stations. Cracker Barrel has spots reserved for RV's and allows overnight parking.

Whenever you park in a commercial spot, make sure to ask if it's "still okay." Also, check for "No Overnight Parking" signs posted in the parking lot. While some business may allow Overnight RV Parking as a general policy, some towns and communities may have ordinances against it. If you see a sign, you're much better off moving along, or risk being wakened in the middle of the night, with a police officer pounding on your door.

If you travel with your dogs, PLEASE pick up after them! Nancy and I got into RV'ing because we didn't want to travel without our dogs. We make a point to clean up after them. RV'ers who don't do this ruin all RV'ers reputation. I've heard it first-hand. Please pick up!

All Things Overnight RV Parking episode 2 (mp3)

Show Notes: Overnightrvparking.com
AllStays Camp & RV app
AllStays Overnight Walmart Parking

Thanks for listening to our podcast!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

What is Overnight Parking

Is it Boondocking or overnight parking? Hardcore boondockers will tell you, "If you can see pavement, you're overnight parking, not boondocking." 

We'll go a bit lighter, and say; If you're staying in one place longer than one night, with no hookups, you're boondocking. You may be overnight parking on your way to a boondocking location. You may be an Express RV'r  (like us) on your way to your next tourist destination. You may be a full-time RV'r who does 'stealth' overnight parking, or rotating between overnight parking locations. Whatever your overnight parking needs are, this is the place for information.

There are plenty of good boondocking sites, but most of the sites dedicated to Overnight RV Parking are dedicated to where to park. We'll show you those, but this site has to do with the other aspects; why, and how. And in some cases, when. We'll get in to strategies, procedures, and technologies. We'll interview first time overnighters and experienced overnighters. We'll learn from those who's been there, and mastered the skill.

And, that's an important point; Overnight RV Parking is a skill. And, like any skill, it takes learning, practice, mistakes, improvements, more practice, and mastery. 

Our main goal is to save you money. Well, to be honest, our main goal is to get this site to the point where we're able to earn money from it, while helping you save money.  

Podcast Episode 1

Listen!

Show Links:
RV Boondocking News
Boondocking Tips