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Happy Labor Day!

I can't think of a better way to celebrate Labor Day than loading the RV and heading out of town for the weekend.

For lots of folks Labor Day signifies the end of another great camping season, and for others it signifies the start of another adventure packed cold weather camping season. Whatever the case may be (storage or cold weather camping) take some time to prepare your RV properly. You'll be glad you did when everything is working the next time you use the RV.

As you read this month's newsletter we are traveling back home from a two-week RV trip to the North Carolina Outer Banks. It is one of our favorite camping destinations. There are lots of things to see and do in the Outer Banks, but for us it is just good old fashioned R&R. We are content spending the day with a good book at the campground with our dogs, or combing the beach for sharks teeth and other small treasures. We enjoy the down-time. It gives us a chance to relax, recharge and start fresh when we get back home and back to work.

I would like to thank all of our readers who visited our new RV 101 with Mark Polk  blog site. We plan to continue building the site into a great resource to help educate RV owners and RV enthusiasts on everything you need to know about using, maintaining and enjoying your RV.  If you visit the site be sure to click on the follow tab so you are notified every time a new post is released. 

Enjoy the newsletter, and if you have family or friends who like RVs and the RV lifestyle share with them. Happy Camping in 2017.

Mark
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Enjoy the RV Journey
Getting Ready for Fall Camping
Summer is over but that doesn't mean you need to park the RV for the remainder of of the year. With cooler temperatures fall is a great time to plan and take some fun-filled RV trips.

When I was a child my grandmother would load us kids in her Buick and go for a drive through the rolling hills of North Central Pennsylvania to enjoy the breathtaking fall foliage. Those memories of a road trip and a sea of beautiful vibrant colors have stayed with me all my life, and contributed to my passion for fall camping.

Although I no longer live in the Northeast, where some of the most beautiful displays of fall foliage exist, we are fortunate to live just a few hours drive from the spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway fall foliage show.
Regardless of where you live it's well worth taking a fun-filled fall camping trip t o a location where you can witness and enjoy the brilliant display of fall colors on the trees. Keep in mind that timing is important, the impressive displays of color happen at different times in different parts of the country, dependent on elevations and other factors like temperature and rainfall. In North Central Pennsylvania it was usually around mid-October, and in the Appalachian Mountain range it is usually mid to late October. 

Now is the time to plan your first fall camping trip.

Fall Camping Tip:  You can do a quick Internet search to locate the best areas and best time of year to see the leaves in full color. 

I look forward to these annual fall RV trips and my grandmother will be with me in my thoughts and memories as we enjoy one of nature's natural firework displays. Mark 
      
Need a Sway Control Hitch?

Check out the hitch Mark uses. The Original  Equal-i-zer Sway control hitch has been enjoyed by thousands of trailer owners for over 50 years. Learn more about the Equal-i-zer hitch, and find out which hitch will work best for you:


RV Feature Article

 Five Important RV Storage Tips
If your plans are to put the RV in storage rather than taking some colder weather RV camping trips this article is for you. These RV storage tips don't cover everything you need to do when it comes to storing your RV, but it's a goo start.
Looking for RV Insurance

Explorer RV Insurance Agency is pleased to announce our 'Quote your own RV Insurance' tool.  In less than 10 minutes, an RV owner in most states can get an indication of the cost for our RV insurance, for the coverage limits and options you desire.  

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RV Videos of the Month


One reason RV travel is so popular is you can travel with your pets. In this RV video get some helpful tips to make RV travel with pets as comfortable as possible for both you and your pets.    

                                          Watch Now 

In this RV DIY video host Mark Polk with RV Education 101 installs a Vroom RV retracting central vacuum system.


RV Breaking News
Are you interested in keeping up with breaking news about the RV industry? If so  visit RV Business

   RV History
1933 Ford Kamp Kar
Henry Ford introduced the V8 engine in 1932, so this was one of the early house-cars powered by a V8 engine.

This house-car was built by Walter Runkle, a home builder who also built custom vehicles for local customers from about 1915 to 1940. This particular house-car was used for yearly winter trips to Florida from 1933 to 1947.

If you like RVs and enjoy history you should plan an RV trip to the RV Museum & Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana. 
  Tired of dead batteries?

Stop the problem for good with the charger, maintainer & conditioner that Mark uses on all of his batteries.  The Battery Minder

                                  Visit our new Blog


Take a minute to visit our new RV 101 with Mark Polk blog

RV 101 with Mark Polk is an educational blog site for new and experienced RVers. There are helpful and informative article in four distinct categories: Beginning RVer, RV DIY & Maintenance,RV products and RV Tips & Tricks. Be sure and click on the follow tab so you are notified every time a new post is released.  Visit the new site now


RV Buzz Tip: RV Safety
 The Braking Equation

Getting to your favorite camping destination is half the fun as the saying goes, but getting there safely is the most important thing.

When you tow a trailer or drive a motorhome it takes longer to stop than it does in an automobile. The heavier the vehicle or truck/trailer combination is the longer it take to stop it.

The Braking Equation

Understanding the braking equation can help, especially in an emergency braking situation. When you apply the brakes to stop a vehicle there are four phases that comprise the braking equation.

The four phases are:
  • Perception time: The time it takes to recognize you need to stop.
  • Reaction time: The time it takes to apply the brakes.
  • Brake lag: The time it takes after you apply pressure to the pedal until the brakes start to engage.
  • Stopping distance: The distance you travel after the brakes engage.
Now let's take a closer look at what you can do to improve the braking equation and get to your destination safely.
Of the four phases you only have control over one.
  • Your reaction time is your reaction time and there is not much you can do to improve it.
  • Brake lag varies with vehicles and different types of braking systems. On vehicles with air brakes it can take a half-second or longer. You cannot change brake lag.
  • The only control you really have over stopping distance is maintaining the RV's tires and brakes.
  • That leaves perception time, the one phase you do have control over.
For example if you are traveling 55 mph and it takes you three seconds to perceive or recognize the need to stop you traveled about 240 additional feet before you start to react.

But if you are mentally alert and aware of your surroundings you can improve your perception time to less than one second. That means rather than traveling 240 feet before recognizing the need to stop you only travel 60 feet before you react. You will stop 180 feet sooner just by improving your perception time.

When you drive or tow an RV staying aware of what is happening in front, behind and around you will help improve perception time and improve your RV driving and towing skills. Safe Travels.

This is an excerpt from our Drive your Motorhome Like a Pro DVD
Water damage is at the top of my list for maintenance concerns on RVs, and most of the time it originates at the roof. There are numerous reasons for this. Every where the manufacturer cut a hole in the RV roof has the potential to leak, and everywhere the sidewalls and end caps meet the roof is another potential source for water leaks. When you add all the twisting and flexing that takes place on the road it's just a matter of time before sealants. give way to water intrusion and damage.
RV Education 101 Product of the Month
This instant video download covers ALL types of RVs (motorized and trailer). 
The RV Orientation video is 54 minutes long and is packed with great information. The easy to understand format uses charts and hands-on instruction to cover topics like campground setup, the LP gas system, water system, waste water system, and the electrical system. You also receive an  8 minute video presentation on Mark's recommended "RV Essential Items." This product review presentation informs you on what items you will need to purchase, in addition to your "RV starter kit" to make all of your RVing experiences more enjoyable. Items donwload

                                 MORE INFO       Only $19.95                 
RV Consumer Magazine Archives

The link below go to archives of our RV Consumer Magazine magazine issues. These past issues offer great information for RV owners, but keep in mind any offers or specials in these archived issues may no longer apply. The top link goes to the Flip book  formatted issues and the bottom link goes to the PDF formatted issues.
Planning an RV Adventure?    Stay at KOAs Along the Way



 Our digital RV Product Catalog puts all of our RV training products in one place, and we separate what products apply to what type of RV. For example if you own a travel trailer you can browse through the single DVD titles or go directly to the DVD value sets that apply specifically to travel trailers. 


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