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99 Things NOT to do when RVing

April 1st, 2013 No comments

99 Things NOT to do when RVing

Tim R. Enright

A bit of satire for all those RVers out there who see the humor in what we love.

 

Don’t…

1. Drive down the road with more than 2 slides out.

2. Use your sewer hose to fertilize your neighbor’s flowers.

3. Backup your RV into the … FILL IN THE BLANK.

4. Hang raw meat on the clothesline to scare away the bears.

5. Tie the dog to the rear bumper while you pack to go home and forget.

6. Put your awning out over the fire pit so the rain won’t put it out.

7. Use the air conditioner, microwave, coffee pot, hairdryer and toaster all at the same time and wonder why the TV went out.

8. Drive your rig down a one-way road if you don’t know what is at the other end.

9. Plan a camping trip for your church group only the find out the place you booked is clothing optional.

10. Fill your air mattress with LP gas if you smoke in bed.

11. Believe the salesman when he says that you can easily tow that new Toy Hauler with your Smart Car.

12. Put the RV up on blocks and yell out to the kids “we’re home now!”

13. Run out of gas only to realize that you put the gas into your water tank instead.

14. Use honey as suntan lotion in August.

15. Drive your Rig through the fast food drive-thru window without looking at the menu first.

16. Hang Grandma’s lawn chair (with her in it) on the bike rack because the seats inside are full.

17. Park your RV directly on your neighbor’s water hose.

18. Forget to put the support bars under the slide out of your Pop-Up before you leap into bed.

19. Take binoculars to the beach and try to convince your wife you are just going to look for birds.

20. Fix your flat tire with Duct Tape.

21. Put whiskey in your fresh water tank to keep it from freezing (OK, this one really doesn’t sound so bad.)

22. Hook the trailer up to the truck while your wife is still inside on the toilet.

23. Go up top and check the TV antenna during a thunderstorm because you can’t get the weather channel.

24. Pour water down the outside of the kid’s tent when they are inside while moaning “AHHHH”.

25. Carry your PETA sign through a deer hunting camp.

26. Feed the Seagulls and wonder where all the White Rain is coming from.

27. Put Arm Floaties on Grandpa, push him into the lake and expect him home in time for dinner.

28. Leave the parking brake in your toad on as you travel.

29. Explain to the kids how you through the cat’s toy into the fire and you’re waiting for it to return.

30. Walk past the neighbor’s Pit Bull with a pocket full of Hotdogs.

31. Cook marshmallows over a fire taller than yourself.

32. Steal the neighbor’s Cable connection on game day.

33. Clean your fish with a chainsaw.

34. Jam a stick into the black tank drain to unclog it.

35. Pet the neighbor’s dog if he has foam coming from his mouth.

36. Whisper sweet nothings into your wife’s ear while sitting in a group around the campfire, if you forgot to put on your hearing aid.

37. Try serving a veggie burger to a hunter.

38. Sunbathe on a Tuesday in the rain.

39. Cook microwave popcorn on a campfire.

40. Ride your bike if someone stole the seat and the tire is flat.

41. Get out, drop to your knees and kiss the ground after the first time your wife drives the RV.

42. Use a Roman candle to start a campfire.

43. Go jogging in high heels before 6AM.

44. Eat all your worms before you go fishing.

45. Sit with your back to the campfire after eating baked beans.

46. Take the Pop-Up down with your wife still in it.

47. Fill your fresh water tank using the hose marked “not to be used for drinking” at the dump station.

48. Light your cigarette with a bon-fire.

49. Practice casting your new fishing pole into a crowd.

50. Go swimming with bait in the pockets of your shorts.

51. Use a hack saw to disconnect the power cord because it is stuck.

52. Stretch a rubber glove over the head of your neighbor’s little barking dog.

53. Dive into a frozen lake within 30 minutes after eating.

54. Yell out profanities because you dropped a log on your foot at church camp.

55. Sing campfire songs around the fire in the middle of the night, all by yourself.

56. Drive a 13 foot trailer under a 12 foot bridge.

57. Roast marshmallows over the fire on the tip of your finger.

58. Go for a hike in the woods wearing a brown jumpsuit with a white hanky sticking out of the back pocket during Deer Season. (Actually, I wouldn’t find this fashionable
any time of the year.)

59. Eat a Popsicle after it falls on the ground and more than 2 ants get on it.

60. Dump your tanks while driving down the road.

61. Water ski behind a red row boat.

62. Use gasoline to start the electric fireplace in your RV.

63. Swim in shark infested water if you are blonde.

64. Go to the beach wearing only the top half of your wife’s swim suit.

65. Kiss that sweet little puppy if you can’t tell which end you are holding up.

66. Pull the handle on your tanks before you hook up the hose.

67. Expect the life guard to save you if his seeing-eye dog is a sleep.

68. Go hiking with the wrong map.

69. Use your outside shower in the nude.

70. Put peanut butter on a jellyfish.

71. Start the campfire with your only remaining roll of toilet paper.

72. Take ownership of your air mattress by carving your name in it.

73. Play the cornhole game with cream-style corn.

74. Brush your hair with a grill cleaning brush.

75. Use a meat thermometer if you think you have a fever.

76. Yell “Fire” in the middle of bingo.

77. Run and Jump head first into the kiddie pool.

78. Clean your fish in the hot tub.

79. Shoot hoops with a shotgun.

80. Pitch a tent that is two-thirds or more in a lake.

81. Forget to duck under the bed slide on your 5th wheel while chasing after the dog.

82. Put all the snacks in the kid’s tent so the bears don’t steal them.

83. Shove all your fishing hooks into your front pockets.

84. Crow like a rooster at Dawn, or Sue, or Peggy, or Mary, or Jill…

85. Whittle a snake out of Grandma’s cane.

86. Try to squeeze your big butt into a small folding chair.

87. Throw flaming marshmallows at the neighbor’s kids.

88. Rent a RV for vacation if you don’t know how to drive.

89. Pour sugar all over the table to create a sand trap for the ants.

90. Run barefoot through the campfire so you don’t mess up your new sandals.

91. Practice your yodeling at 3AM.

92. Drive into town without unhooking either the electric cord or the hitch.

93. Tell the nice man at the boarder that your husband needs to carry a lot of guns because he likes to kill stuff every once in a while.

94. When your wife and kids go back to the trailer to eat lunch at the rest stop, unhook and take off. (However tempting this may be, it never works out well.)

95. Ask the salesman if you will need reindeer to pull your new Toy Hauler.

96. Shove the Kid’s hamster into the tank drain so they can run around and clean the tank out.

97. Put the steps away without letting anyone inside know.

98. Try to write a book about 99 things NOT to do while RVing, when you can only think of 98 things.

 

Article Courtesy of : www.BugSmacker.com : Copyright © 2013

Bug Smacker is now available on your Kindle

December 10th, 2012 No comments

Bug Smacker is now available on your Kindle. Bug Smacker is auto-delivered wirelessly to your Kindle and updated so you can stay current. Each post is fully downloaded onto your Kindle so you can keep up with the adventures of Bug Smacker even when you’re not wirelessly connected.

Sign up now for your Bug Smacker Kindle Subscription.

Bug Smacker is now available on Kindle

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6 Volt Battery Upgrade

November 4th, 2012 No comments

I elected not to have the dealership install a battery in my new RV when I purchased it. Instead I decided that I would purchase my own. This was not only a money saving decision, but a performance based one as well.

I did a ton of research on “the best RV Battery”. I found that most people said that if you go with two batteries then it is wise to choose 6 volt batteries. These are usually Golf Cart type batteries. 6 volt when compared to 12 volt batteries will have a longer reserve capacity. They are considered True Deep Cycle batteries.

When shopping for new batteries I discovered a vast array of prices and types.  Not only do you have your choice of 12 volt or 6 volt versions, but there are different types as well. There are Flooded Lead Acid, Gel Cell and AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries. These all have their Pros & Cons. I will not go into detail here since there are plenty of good sources on the web that supply a wealth of information on this topic. I will say that I decided to go with the 6 volt, Flooded, Golf Cart battery for my RV since it provided the best balance between performance and value.

The batteries in my RV are located in the front storage compartment of the fifth wheel. The original battery boxes were designed to store 12 volt Marine Type batteries. They had a hose attached to the top to vent off any hazardous gasses. Since the 6 volt batteries were taller, I needed to purchase new storage boxes. I then cut holes in the lids and secured a fitting to them. I attached the existing vent hoses to this fitting. I also had to replace some of the cabling since the 6 volt batteries are wired in series instead of parallel.

I am now hoping that when we are Boondocking this time of year, the batteries will supply enough power to keep the furnace going all night long. I really don’t enjoy waking up in the middle of the night to go start the generator because the battery went dead. It’s hard to get out from under the covers of your bed when you can see your breath.

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Pre-Travel RV Check List

October 17th, 2012 No comments

Here is a short list of some of the things to do to get ready prior to leaving your campsite. Hopefully this list will give you some piece of mind as you get ready to travel.

 

Pre-Travel RV Check List

  • Inside Gear Stowed
  • Stow TV
  • Antenna Down
  • Windows/Vents Closed
  • Shut off Interior Lights
  • Water Heater/Pump Off
  • Slide(s) In
  • Remove Chocks
  • Unhook Electrical
  • Disconnect Cable
  • Stow Water/Drain Hoses
  • Secure Awning
  • Raise Jacks Up
  • Lock Doors
  • Retract Entry Step
  • Hookup & Latch Hitch
  • Test Tug Trailer
  • Do a Final Walk Around

 

Here is a link you can use to print the list above: Pre-Travel RV Check List

Article Courtesy of : www.BugSmacker.com : Copyright © 2012

Your Home Phone on Google Voice

April 20th, 2012 No comments

Your Home Phone on Google Voice

Tim R. Enright

That is it, no more phone bills! I have decided to switch my home phone number from Vonage to Google Voice.  I now needed to check into “Porting” the phone number so that I could keep it. I logged into my Gmail account and went to Google Voice. The setup procedure asked if I would like to use a new number or use my mobile number. I chose to use my mobile number. I put in my number to check for available options. The results I received stated that my mobile number could not be ported at this time. I was not surprised since the number is still listed with Vonage who is considered a land line provider.

I then called Verizon. I asked them to setup a new “Pay As You Go” account from me on an old cell phone I had laying in the junk drawer. I said I wanted to port my existing number to them, which they were more than glad to do. I selected the least expensive plan which cost $0.00 per day with 25 cents per minute. This would not matter since I did not plan on using the service anyway. They wanted to charge me an activation fee until I stated the fee was waived on the internet where I got this number to call them. They also wanted me to pay for some minutes upfront. I just told them I would rather wait until the transfer is complete. So far I have switched my number from Vonage to Verizon and it has cost me nothing.

Next I went online to Amazon and purchased a VOIP device. I ordered the OBi110 Voice Service Bridge and VoIP Telephone Adapter which will allow us to make and receive calls from Google Voice. It also has some other really nice features as well. The device is portable so you can use it wherever you have internet access. Best of all there is NO monthly fee.

The porting of my number to took a little longer than expected (due to an error by Vonage). The next day I received a text message from Verizon that the number had been ported. I then waited until the following day to make any more changes due to the fact that most services refresh overnight.

The next morning I logged into my Google Voice account and plugged in my phone number again, this time it worked. I chose to port my number to Google Voice. During the process you will be asked for your account number. I just called Verizon customer service to obtain the number.

It was in the porting process with Google that my free ride came to a halt. They needed to verify my cell phone number by calling it. Since I hadn’t purchased any minutes yet, the attempt to call my cell phone failed. I did however find out that instead of purchasing the minimum $15 dollar amount by calling *611 on your cell phone, you can stop by a Verizon store and buy a $5 dollar package. I also had to spend $20 dollars to have Google port the number when it was finished.

In conclusion: In a matter of 3 days and $25 dollars I ported my phone number twice, spent an additional $50 dollars on an Telephone Adapter, and ended up with the same home telephone number and service I had with Vonage; only now it is FREE!

 

Article Courtesy of : www.BugSmacker.com : Copyright © 2012