As big a year as 2019 was, 2020 is already shaping up to be even bigger! Join us as we review 2019, and give you a sneak peek into what’s coming in 2020.
2020 RVgeeks Appearances – Come See Us!
- Jan 11-19: Xscapers Annual Bash: Happening at the rodeo grounds in Lake Havasu City, AZ, the Xscapers Annual Bash "ain’t your grandma’s RV rally!" The days are filled with speakers covering all topics RV and RV life related including boondocking, solar, working on the road, cooking, and hobbies. The evenings are filled with a mobile party like you’ve never seen at an RV event. Dance the night away at a rave, sing out loud to classic rock and 80s bands, compete in fun games, or participate in margarita contests. Learn More
- Jan 16: Tampa RV After Party: Join us at 6PM for the the RV Show After Party at The Wing House (5003 US-301, Tampa, FL 33610), hosted by RVnGO. Learn More
- Jan 21 & 22: Quartzsite, AZ: Come to Silly Al’s Pizza (175 W Main St, Quartzsite, AZ) at 7PM and join us while we rock out with Anthony Nalli’s band, Wicked Truth.Learn More
- Feb 12-16: RVillage Rally: Spirit of the Road 2020 is all about connecting with fellow RVers for five amazing fun-filled days in beautiful Florida. Meetup with old friends and make new ones, enjoy live music and dancing every night, attend master classes, shop the vendor booths, kayak on the Suwannee River, enjoy world class entertainment… and so much more! Learn More
Special Savings!
Save twice as much as usual during the month of January, 2020! Use the Discount Code GEEKS2020 at Tough Top Awnings and M4 LEDs and save 10% instead of the usual 5%! Who doesn’t like saving money?!?!
Be Generous!
Thinking about joining the Escapees group? Use our link when you do and we’ll donate 100% of our affiliate income to the Escapees C.A.R.E. Center, a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit organization providing members whose travels are impacted because of age, or temporarily interrupted because of health problems, a safe haven with professional assistance at affordable prices. Every little bit helps, so spread the word! (read our post and watch the video for more details)
Links Mentioned In This Video:
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- Xscapers Annual Bash 2020 (January 11-19, 2020)
- Tampa RV Supershow After Party (January 16, 2020 @ 6PM)
- Wicked Truth (Anthony Nalli’s band)
- Silly Al’s Pizza (Quartzsite, AZ)
- RVillage Spirit of the Road Rally 2020
- Join Escapees (and we’ll donate 100% of our affiliate income to the Escapees C.A.R.E. Center)
- The RVers TV
- Mortons On The Move (are you watching their Go North series about Alaska? You should! Start at the bottom for Episode 1)
- Heath & Alyssa Padgett (and don’t forget to subscribe to their YouTube channel, too!)
- M4 LEDs (save 10% during January 2020 with Discount Code GEEKS2020, after that save 5% with our regular Coupon Code RVGEEKS5.
- Tough Top Awnings — save 10% during January 2020 with Discount Code GEEKS2020, after that save 5% with our regular Discount Code RVGEEKSROCK.
Recent & Related Videos:
- Italy RV Tour Part 1 – Exterior
- Italy RV Tour Part 2 – Interior
- Escapees C.A.R.E. Center Support
- Headlight Restoration — Best method yet for restoring plastic headlight lenses
- RV Gray Valve Repair — REAL-TIME DIY Holding Tank Valve Replacement
- Don’t Let This Happen To Your RV! Check Your Propane Detector!
- Fix That Dripping Shower + BONUS TIP: Caulk Like A Pro!
Do you ever need to use your generator now that you have the lithium battery upgrade? I’m especially concerned with the amount of energy consumed by your household refrigerator. Thank you.
Hi Anton! We did the lithium upgrade in 2018, but wanted to live with it for a season before following it up with a major solar upgrade. We knew going in that lithium alone wouldn’t eliminate the need to run the generator, since the new batteries, while highly superior for energy storage, don’t actually produce any additional energy. But rather than do the lithium and solar all at once, we wanted to see how much difference in quality of life the batteries alone made (a lot)! But we did still need to run the generator every few days, since we only had 375 watts of solar. We recently upgraded to 1,300 watts of solar (video coming very soon!) and now, if it’s sunny at least about every other day, we never need to run the generator at all, even this time of year, with short days, and low sun angle. We’re boondocking in the desert right now, and at 1 PM, with our four tiltable panels up (the other four are not tiltable… see the upcoming video for an explanation), we’re at 91% battery capacity, and will be full within the next hour or two. And that’s with a friend’s rig (who has no solar) plugged into ours to charge their house batteries too!
Hi John & Peter – My wife & I have been following you both for years, and it was GREAT to hear that you are contributing to Escapee CARE. I am with the Escapee BOF “Boomers” – now down in Quartzsite together in Boomerville (220 rigs in this group alone as of today) – just North of Plomosa Rd (2.9 miles in from Rte, 95 – follow the signs. You are more than welcome to stay here!).
Every year we have a big auction from which ALL the proceeds go to CARE. As such the Boomers have been the largest single contributor to CARE for many years. We sell personal RV stuff, but we mostly get lots of sponsors from the Big Tent show and others. For example – This year we have 2 Battle Born batteries to auction off, 1 LionEnergy battery, Dometic electric fridge, etc. etc. Our auction is this Thursday – Jan. 23 – @ 11:30 am, and it would be great if you could both come by and say Hi and let everyone know how you are supporting this great charity. I see that your schedule is crazy busy, but we would love to see you both. I will try to greet you at Silly Al’s tomorrow night (if I can squeeze by the crowds).
Hope to see you!!
Thanks so much for your kind words and invitation, Richard. We’ll soon be announcing an expanded initiative in our support of CARE. If we get the opportunity to break free from our current schedule, we’ll try to stop by. Either way, please say hello if you make it over to Silly Al’s tomorrow (Wed).
Peter – Good to meet you briefly at Silly Al’s last week. As an FYI – the Escapee Boomers raised over $18k for CARE from our auctions, donations and food sales during these past 2 weeks at Q. Again – it is great that you and John have identified CARE as a worthwhile charity. Good luck in all your travels – hope to meet you again someday!
I got a glance of the rig that you escaped from when the Wynn’s had you.
We might need a Silver Alert! ????
Followed you guys for years, and I’ve learned a lot from your blogs. As of now we are part-timers and will probably go full as soon as my wife retires in a couple of years. Kudos on “The Rvers”. My only problem with it is that there are way too many commercials, but lots of info. Keep up the good work.
Hi Haskel! Thanks very much for your comments. We appreciate and respect your input. The commercial aspect is primarily a factor on Discovery, which is, after all, commercial television. Every other outlet… all of the many streaming services, and PBS, are commercial-free… and with expanded content. We hope you’ll give Season Two a chance (streaming or on PBS)! Have a safe and Happy New Year!
Wow, you guys are busier than ever!
We throughly enjoyed your 2020 preview video. Speaking of New Zealand, know that our oldest and his family, who are also avid RVers, did a 2 week tour of the islands earlier this year in a small motorhome. They absolutely loved it, and we can’t wait to see your own take on that glorious part of the world.
Stay safe and don’t forget Hobbiton!
TomAndPeg
p.s. Sorry to see your departure from Patreon, but we do understand. Know that we shifted our Patreon pledge to Salt & Tar, a young couple of mariners deep into the 4th year of building their dream sailboat. Give them a look-see.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Tom & Peg. We appreciate your support, and are happy to hear you’re supporting another creator oon Patreon (that’s some cool boat they’re building)! Wishing you a safe & Happy New Year!
Hi Peter and John. Another great year in the rear view mirror and I look forward to your new adventures on the road ahead. I know you keep telling us of the new Zantrex power farm with solar package, etc. But I recently decided to move forward with a solar upgrade for my rig during the off-season months. Would you be so kind as to tell me a little about your PV panel tilt system. I have been comparing your aerial rig pics to systems on the market, but for the life of me, I have not been able to identify it.
thank you,
mike angles
Hi Mike! It’s a little bit of a spoiler for us to officially reveal that there are special tilt systems under our rigid panels (guess we didn’t do that good a job of hiding them! LOL), but since you asked, and we’re going to be showing them in detail soon anyway… They’re made by SolaRVector: https://www.solarvector.net
Thank you so much. I did see these in my research, but thought they were different. So many decisions. Kind of fun like a chess game.
All my best for your new found success.
re, mike angles
san jose, ca.
I don’t think I’ve seen much as far as safety on diesel pushers. For those getting ready to buy do you find certain manufacturers putting framing materials in the rigs that are more crash resistant? Or should one just buy a super c so the engine could absorb energy in a collision?
Thanks for all you do. It looks like you have lots of fun. Also thanks in advance for answering my question.
Hi Brandon! Having driven MCI tour buses, as well as having been the safety & training manager for a large metropolitan motorcoach operation for many years, I have (unfortunately) seen more than my fair share of bus accidents. Keeping in mind that MCIs (and Prevosts, etc) have full monocoque chassis, and are therefore more structurally sound than any RV, the damage that they can sustain to the front end, due to their overall weight, can be pretty severe. I’m not aware of specific claims by any particular manufacturer, but the bottom line is, if you drive a heavy vehicle into something, the front is going to take the brunt of the impact. The bus driver is the most likely occupant to get injured or killed if they rear-end another tall vehicle, or hit a tall fixed object. That said, I have never felt the need to sacrifice our chosen layout (Class A) for safety reasons. I practice good defensive driving skills, good scanning & situational awareness, and of course never tailgate. As a result, I’ve never once had to make a panic stop in nearly 17 years of full-timing. Is that a guarantee? It’s not. But considering there are untold thousands of Class A drivers out here (most of them not even current or retired professional drivers, of course) operating safely year in and year out, I’d suggest that buying a Super C exclusively for any added safety (if you don’t also want one for other reasons) is unnecessary. I’d recommend that any driver who doesn’t feel safe driving any particular RV should consider a defensive driving course to enhance their safety AND their confidence. Hope this candid opinion helps!
You answered it well. I thought with your experience you would be the best one to ask. Thanks again and Happy New Year
You guys are great and pass along so much worthwhile information. Have to tell you that we were very disappointed with the new show “The Rvers”. The content is not nearly as good as yours has been and the music is way too loud and obnoxious. Way too many commercials and it’s difficult at times to tell where the content ends and the commercials begin. Hopefully it will get better, but so far it’s almost not worth watching …. at least for us. Keep doing your own thing, it has been terrific and good luck and best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
Hi Ron. We appreciate and respect your input. A couple of things to keep in mind… This is the first season of a new show, and we’re all finding our “legs” so to speak. Comments about the music levels have reached the Producer, and he’s very receptive to improving the experience for viewers. The commercial aspect is primarily a factor on Discovery, as every other outlet… all streaming services and PBS… are commercial-free… and with expanded content. Also, the content is a bit broader / more general, especially for Season One, to appeal to a wider audience, rather than just hard-core experienced RVers. We’ll continue our videos on YouTube for sure, but we’re also very excited about the future of the show, and hope you’ll give Season Two a chance (streaming or on PBS)! Have a safe and Happy New Year!
Haven’t seen you guys in a couple of years and looking forward to doing so at Quartzsite. Congratulations on all your accomplishments!
Hi Sandra! Be sure to come say hello at Al’s! ????