Choosing a Ladder for the RV

I've been searching on and off for several months looking for a ladder that we can carry along on our travels.  In the process, I have come to understand that there are two basic types that are most useful for people who feel like they need them:  telescoping and a-frame.

Telescoping ladders are great for RVers because they collapse into a small space, typically requiring less than three feet of storage.  A-frames may take up to six feet of storage, but they're safer because of their better stability.

If you have a larger motorhome, your roof is probably anywhere from 12 to 13.5 feet high.  Getting an A-Frame that will allow you to safely get on and off (and stay under six feet in storage) is not easy.  Telescoping ladders are therefore a better choice for roof access because you can get them in longer lengths - and they'll still collapse for storage.  Since you need to stand the ladder away from the RV a bit to climb it, you'd probably be most comfortable with a 15-foot telescoping ladder for hopping on and off the roof.

In the early days of my research, I had decided on a telescoping ladder similar to the Xtend and Climb 785P on Amazon.  It collapses and requires three feet of storage, yet extends to a more comfortable 15.5-foot length.

But that was before my wife expressed concern that my feeble old bones might break if I tried to get on and off the roof; if that happened it would "ruin" the trips we had planned (forget my injuries, the trip would be ruined!).  Back to the drawing board.

I made a promise that I wouldn't climb on the roof.  But I still need to get up high to clean roof drains, gutters (along the sides), and the tops of awnings and windows.  Sometimes, light bulbs may need to be replaced and tree branches moved out of the way.  I needed something that was tall enough to get the job done, but that was sturdy and stable enough to be comfortable using.

So here are the new requirements I drafted for my ladder:

• A-Frame with foot stabilizers (legs wider at the bottom for stability)
• Able to support up to 300 pounds
• High enough that I could stand on the highest safe step and reach around the top of the coach
• Storage length no more than six feet
• Weight that I can handle (Note: almost every ladder I looked at, telescoping and a-frame, weighed about 35 pounds - so this is a "wash")

In the end, I found one that met every requirement and ordered it.

This is the Little Giant Ladder Systems Model 15109-001 ladder available from Amazon.  As you see it here, the top of the ladder (the thicker orange platform) is about 5'9" from the ground.  The "comfort step" is the highest safe place to stand, and it's a wide platform.  The comfort step is two rungs below the top orange piece.  When the ladder in its shortest position, the comfort step is 3'10" off the ground.  But when you extend the ladder, you are standing 7'8" above the ground.  I'm 5'10", and I can easily reach around the top of my rig, which is a little over 12'7" when not aired up.  Here are some photos of my ladder so you can get an idea of its size, both in its shortest position and fully extended:

I'm really happy with the new ladder, but am still trying to decide where to keep it.  There's room in the basement, but it might be better to keep it in the bed of our pickup truck. 

Until next time...

Camping vs. Glamping

What's the difference between Camping and Glamping?  Wikipedia actually has an entire article devoted to the question, but I'd like to address it here because of reactions we often get from our non-RV friends.

When you camp in a motorhome, especially a larger one, you'll often hear "THAT'S not camping!".  When hearing friends or acquaintances say this, I've learned to resist the urge to argue and simply agree with them.  "You're right.  It's not camping."  When people think of camping, they think of tents, campfires, mosquitoes, bears, a rushing stream, and sleeping bags.  To a large extent, I agree.  That's camping.   To me, camping is also spending the night away from the city.  Surrounded by trees and nature.  Sitting outside reading and enjoying the smells of the forest, the sounds of the insects in the trees, and the peace and quiet.

When a person decides that they want to travel around the country, they may choose to stay in hotels or stay in a motorhome.  When I stay in a KOA near Disney World, I'm there to see the sights and have the benefit of sleeping in my own traveling house every night.  It's not camping in the traditional sense, it's simply "seeing the country and staying in a motorhome".

Since we choose to take our home with us as we travel, we'd like to take along many of the conveniences we enjoyed in our regular "sticks and bricks" house:  a microwave, a dishwasher, air conditioning, a washer and dryer, and even satellite TV.  We had these at home, why not come "home" to them every night as we travel?  After all, you'd have these amenities at a hotel, wouldn't you?

So we travel and see a lot of things AND we stay in our home on wheels every night, enjoying all of the things we'd have in a stationary home.  You may be in your house enjoying the same things as we are one mile away from you at a KOA.  The only difference is that tomorrow we can go somewhere else.

On our travels, we may stay in a National, State, County or City park.  We're close to "real" campers who are without all of the amenities, like those with tents.  We are all enjoying the same woods, the same crickets, the same mosquitoes, the same stars in the sky and the same smells of steak on the grill and damp wood in the forest.  But at the end of the day, the campers go into their tent and "rough it" while we disappear into our home on wheels.  They may read a book by the light of a lantern; I will look at the Internet, watch a football game, and do whatever I would do at my S&B home.

So yes, I glamp.  I am able to travel the country and go home every night to a place that has all of the things that I had in my previous house.  I'm comfortable and have many experiences that I wouldn't have otherwise.

Glamping isn't a dirty word.  It's a lifestyle, and glampers are no more "spoiled" than most people living in a typical house in a typical city.  Except our house is constant while the city may change.

Gotta' love it.

Tips for diesel fueling at Truck Stops

A lot of folks who are new to RVing with a motorhome, especially large diesel pushers (DPs), have questions about where and how to get fuel.  Most DP owners I have met have said that they prefer to stop at mainstream places like Pilot/Flying J's, Loves, or a TA Travel Center.

If you have a large DP or are planning to get one, the first thing you need to realize is that you are now as large as many semi trucks on the road.  In fact, if you're towing you may be longer than a lot of them.  It's clearly unreasonable that you should have to thread your way around the outside lanes of a BP or Shell station that happens to sell diesel in an outside lane.  When you're towing, you can't back up - which makes it all that more complicated.

The best solution is to simply go where the truckers go.  Don't worry about whether or not you're "allowed" to do it or if truckers may not like it.  You have every bit as much right to stop there and fill up as anyone else.

Finding a Place to get Diesel

Many apps (like Allstays) and GPS units (like Garmin and Rand McNally RV devices) can display icons for upcoming fuel stops.  The most popular places for RVers, like Pilot/Flying J and Loves, are easy to see when you use them.  Other apps, like Trucker Path, can show you many more places to stop.  The main problem with just telling your RV GPS unit to look for the next fuel stop is that it will most likely point you to a regular gasoline station; none of the popular apps or GPS's have a filter to display only places that have diesel fuel.

Of course, there are signs along the roadway.  These are usually quite sufficient if your low fuel light isn't on.  Most diesel RVers I've talked to say that they start looking for a fill-up when they have between 1/4 and 1/2 of a full tank.  In my case, I start looking when I'm about 50% full.

Pulling up to the pump

Just follow the signs that truckers might follow; easy because they usually have only two things on them:  "Trucks" and an arrow pointing the way.  Look for an open lane like you'd do at any gas station, but know that you may have to find a lane and wait behind someone.  If you do have to wait, it might quite a bit longer than would with a car because it simply takes longer to fuel a large truck; sometimes, a driver even takes time to go into the cashier and/or wash their windshield.

Some places, like Flying J's, may have big signs telling RVers to pull into lanes specifically for them.  Don't do it.  Remember that a lot of RVs are smaller than yours.  Even though it's a special RV lane that you may be able to get into, you might find it somewhat difficult to get out.

Once you have pulled in and are sure that your fill is close to the pump, turn off your engine.

A common question asked on Facebook forums is whether or not to turn off LP gas when refueling.  I'm not advocating what's right or wrong, but will tell you that an overwhelming number of people will respond with NO; they don't turn off the gas when refueling.

Filling Up

If you don't have a credit card that is specific to the place you're fueling (like a Pilot/Flying J credit card), you'll probably have to go inside before you pump to get your card pre-approved.  Be sure to know your pump number before you go inside.  Have a rough estimate of how much you'll need to charge so that they can pre-authorized that amount.  If I think I may need between $150 and $200 of fuel, I'll hand them my credit card and tell them "$200 on pump 26".  If I also want to get DEF (see below), I'll say "$200 on pump 26 for fuel and DEF".  They'll run the card and hand it back to me.

Next, walk back to the pump and fill your diesel fuel like you do at any gas station.  Note that it comes out a lot faster than a typical car pump.  Even though they usually have auto-stops, they fill so fast that they ALWAYS stop and spill over to the outside of my coach, coating my paint beneath the fill.  If you hear it getting near full, you can manually stop it or at least set the auto-stop to a slower setting.

If you need more fuel than the amount you authorized, the pump will stop at the authorized amount and you'll have to go back in for another authorization if you want more.  More typical is that you'll use less.  They will only charge you for what you use.

Next, if you need DEF, get it.

DEF:  Diesel Exhaust Fluid

Quite a few of the truck stops also offer DEF at the pump.  If you haven't bought your diesel pusher yet, DEF is another fluid that all diesel RVs since about 2012 are required to use.  There's a separate tank in your rig that holds the def and it also has a separate fill port (or two).  You might use about 1 gallon of DEF for every 50 gallons of fuel.  For a large motorhome, your DEF tank may hold about 10 to 14 gallons of DEF.

Large motorhomes usually have the diesel fill on the driver's side.  Some have dual fills, with one on each side of the coach.  For DEF, it's convenient if the fill is on the driver side - but it's often located near the engine on the passenger side of the rig.  Since DEF and diesel fuel are offered from the same pumping stand, it would be great if the DEF fill was beside the diesel fill.  But life isn't that simple, is it?

The DEF pump is usually a blue-handled pump TO THE SIDE of the diesel pump.  It's behind a black plastic door that you have to raise to see the handle of the hose.  After putting in your diesel fuel, return the diesel hose to its holder, press the "DEF" button, lift the handle, take out the DEF hose  and start dispensing.

For those of you who, like me, have DEF fills far away from the diesel fill, here's a suggestion:   carry a couple of DEF containers that you can fill at the pump and take to your next campground.  Then fill the DEF at the campground.  This way, you won't feel the need to do all kinds of odd things (while truckers are waiting and watching) at the pump.

Finishing up

Beside all of the room you have to maneuver, using the truck lanes is great because their window cleaning poles are long; it's easy to reach top of your windshield to clean it.

After you're done with everything, get in your coach, start it and move it forward away from the pump so the trucker behind you can fill up.

If you want a receipt, get back out and go back into the store to get it.  If not, drive away.  If we want to get a drink or some food, we'll usually fill and then pull around to one of the large trucker parking spaces.  That way, we can take our time inside.

Safe travels!