I get a lot of questions from Gypsy Journal subscribers and blog readers, and while I try to answer all of them individually, occasionally I like to share some with the folks here.
Q. I am wondering if you have ever written any articles about starting your own blog – and/or website hosting services? If not, if you could point us to any articles/links to sites to get started we would appreciate it.
A. I have not written much about starting a blog, but Jim and Chris Guld from Geeks on Tour have covered blogging in detail. Here is a link to some of their information on blogging. https://geeksontour.com/?s=blog&searchsubmit=
Q. You recommended Doctor Drain from Walmart for the black tank. But how much do you put in at any one time? My tank is 65 gallons.
A. About 4 tablespoons should do the job. In real hot weather a bit more may be needed to help control odors.
Q. We keep hearing about jobs as gate guards. Are the jobs hard to get? Do you have to have a police or security background? Do gate guards have to be armed?
A. No, a law enforcement background is not required, and no, gate guards are not armed. Our friends Greg and Jan White have been gate guarding for several seasons now and have a lot of excellent info on it at their blog at http://ourrvadventures.com/gate-guard-info/
Q. We are looking for a place to buy on a lake (or some water feature) that we can become part of a community and park our motorhome or set a park model on. Prefer somewhere in North or South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, or Georgia. Do you have any suggestions as to how to locate online these kind of places?
A. Here are a couple of resources you might check out. http://www.rvparkstore.com/rv-lots-for-sale and http://www.rvproperty.com/rv-lots/rv-lots-for-sale/ Good luck with your search.
Q. We are new RVers and were going to stay at a Flying J truck stop overnight. But a relative warned us no to because lot lizards (prostitutes) would come knocking on our door and if we opened the door they would rob us. Is this a real concern? Does it really happen?
A. I don’t know if it really happens or not. My wife has never allowed me to open the door and talk to any lot lizards in truck stops. Seriously, we have stayed at many, many truck stops all over the country and never been bothered. Then again, we stay inside and would never open our door to anybody who came knocking.
Q. How do you store things like Social Security cards and marriage certificates and other such personal paperwork in an RV? We bolted a small strong box in the underbelly space and recently had the box ripped out during a break-in. We are concerned about identity problems as a result.
A. Unfortunately, you can never be 100% secure. If you can figure out a way to hide it, a thief can figure out a way to steal it. The best you can hope for is to make it difficult enough that the lazy ones and the snatch and grab artists will be deterred. I know someone who actually bolted a lockbox to one of his overhead cabinets in a very conspicuous place, and filled it with some junk jewelry. His hope was that if a thief saw that they would pry it loose and take it and run, thinking they had scored, and not bother looking for the small safe he had hidden elsewhere in the RV with his real valuables.
Several blog readers have asked where they can find pictures and information on our 2002 Winnebago Ultimate Advantage motorhome, which we are selling. I have set up a page for it, with lots of info and photos. You can access it here at this Motorhome For Sale link.
A lot of you do your online shopping by clicking this Amazon link or the Amazon Search box at the top right sidebar of this blog. We appreciate that, because when you purchase an item on Amazon any time of the year from one of our links, we earn a small commission, which helps us offset the cost of publishing the blog.
Thought For The Day – It is better to be hated for what you are, than loved for what you are not. – Johnny VanZant
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
We have heard a few good hints over the years for hiding items in plain sight:
tampon box under the bathroom sink (most males won’t touch that box)
inside a DVD case of a boring old musical movie
pull out a bottom drawer and lay things on the floor below it
under a pile of dirty laundry in the basket (this is good for laptops)
inside the washer/dryer (good for purse or camera)
inside a wide mouth soup thermos in the cabinet
in a solid colored tupperware container in the fridge or freezer
and finally=== split your things up so if they find something, they might quit looking and not find the rest, especially money.
I won’t tell you which of these things we use, but they are at least some good ideas as opposed to a safe.