It’s late and I have to be up early, so all you’re going to get today are some quick questions and answers that have come in recently. Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll be able to have a longer blog for you.
Q. My sister and her husband had been displaced by Hurricane Ida and we’re letting them stay in our motorhome, which is parked beside our garage. There is no power hookup there, so they have to run the generator for the AC to work. We have been following you ever since the Life on Wheels days and I know that in your Frugal RVer seminar you described how you made an up-stack to get generator fumes away from the RV or from neighboring rigs. I can’t find one on Amazon or anywhere else online that I can get delivered anytime soon. Can you explain how you did that again, Nick?
A. I made our generator extension pipe from thick-walled PVC, using a short section from the generator exhaust pipe to an elbow and then a long section to get the exhaust fumes up in the air. Here is a picture of a commercial one (top) and of the one I made and used on our MCI bus conversion for many years (bottom).
Q. We were told to find a credit union as our best option for financing an RV, but every bank and credit union that we have talked to charges interest. Is there any place that loans money on RVs that doesn’t charge interest?
A. Interest on loans is where a financial institution earns most of its money. Why in the world would they loan anybody money and not charge interest? They would be out of business very quickly.
Q. I would like to read your blog from the beginning. But I can’t figure out how to go on to the next day/post from your first one. Is there a way to do that?
A. I started posting a daily blog in 2007, but I think the ones online date back to 2008. There is an Archives box on the right sidebar where you can access older blog posts.
Q. When will the next John Lee Quarrels book, Ka-Bar Karma, be available on Kindle?
A. I never give a date for when a book will be out, because when I have in the past, something always seems to get in the way. But the story is moving right along and it should be out sometime this month.
Q. I found yesterday’s blog about guns interesting because I have seen people with signs in the windshield of their RVs saying protected by Smith and Wesson or something like that. My first thought is that they are a jerk I don’t want to associate with, but my second is that they are also setting themselves up for trouble. What’s your feeling about that?
A. Absolutely. Anytime you advertise that you have a gun, you are letting any thief in the area know that there’s something worth stealing in your house or your RV, and as I said in the blog, if a person had to use a weapon in self-defense, signs like that are opening them up to all kinds of legal nightmares. When it comes to something like this, the less said (or displayed), the better.
And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. Actually, this isn’t a funny sign, but a photo someone shared in an RV group I help administer. I’ve been in campgrounds where they have signs at the exit telling you to make sure your antenna is down and your wife is on board, but never saw one reminding you to bring your laundry in. I guess it might be a good idea.
Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Big Lake, the first book in my Big Lake mystery series. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high cost of shipping printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.
Thought For The Day – I’d make a swear jar, but I don’t have the income to keep up with my mouth.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Regarding RV exhaust, CAMCO makes the Gen-turi Generator Exhaust System available from Amazon, Camping World, etc. for about $140. (Used to cost about $120. 🙄 )
If using the pipes on a tall Class A there is a model with an 18″ extension. The exhaust needs to clear the roof! I recommend them when parked “rally style” so you don’t set off your neighbor’s alarm system, or worse, kill them! 😱
re: “every bank and credit union that we have talked to charges interest”
These people need some of that anti-stupidity vaccine you mentioned recently.
So often I wish there was a smacking your forehead emoji for all the stupid questions.
The laundry picture is a good one.
To the person who wants to read from the beginning – I highly recommend doing this. You will learn a lot. As Nick said, use the archive Ink to find the first post. Then, at the top of each post, there is a Iink to the next one, making it easy to read them all in order.
“No Interest RV Loans” – Well, the problem we have here is these people reproduce & vote.
I actually own one of those bumper mounted drying racks, so i could probably use some sort of reminder lol.