Pam and I get into many discussions with potential full-time time RVers about the cost of living the full-time RV lifestyle. One question that always comes up is how can these costs be subsidized so one can enjoy being a full-time RVer?  Are there ways to live the full-time RV lifestyle and make a living while doing so?  That would be a big Yes!

Spending time at a family member’s lake house

I will offer some suggestions of things we have tried.  Some of these we are still doing in order to continue to enjoy something that we love to do: travel from spot to spot, enjoy new places, never stay longer than a month in one spot, and be able to deduct expenses because of our activities.

Now, by the time you have made it this far into reading this blog you are probably screaming, “tell me more!  Of course, I would like to know how to fund my travels and possibly be able to write them off on my taxes!”

Now, I have to say that I can neither confirm nor deny what I am going to say here about tax benefits as I am not a tax expert.  I can only relay my experiences based on information that has been adopted by me and recommended by my CPA / Lawyer.

Work Camping

To many looking at the full-time RV lifestyle, the concept of work camping is still a new one.  Basically, anyone who lives in an RV and works, they are considered work campers.  Now that can be working for someone else or for someone who runs a business out of their RV.

There are some tax advantages to working for someone else and living in your RV depending on the job situation, but there are even better opportunities when you have a business and operate that business from your home on wheels.  More on that later.

The best way to find these work camping jobs is to find a service that puts you in touch with employers who are looking for folks just like you.  Pam and I have used Workamper News to secure jobs in places we have wanted to visit and work.  We have responded to employers postings for job opportunities using this source.  Employers have also contacted us because of our resume was listed with the Workamper News online system.

We have been using this service since 2010.  We have worked in RV parks around the country and found them because of this type of service.  And again, these were places we wanted to visit.  We have spent time in areas of interest to us and made money while we were there.  Some of these opportunities were just to work for our RV spot a few hours a week and others were full time jobs that paid an hourly wage in addition to supplying us an RV site.

Now, most of these work camper opportunities will not create a full time income, but they will help subsidize those who want to travel and have some of the costs covered.

That also brings up another point.  You don’t want to come into the full-time RV lifestyle with huge payments on a new RV!  Not unless you can afford the payment because it is being paid by investments that are funding your lifestyle.  RV’s depreciate rapidly and one must consider this when purchasing one.  

This is where a trusted tax advisor and CPA can help evaluate your situation and best guide you.  It is even better if you can find one that understands the full-time RV lifestyle!

Starting An Online Business

Do you have your own website?  If not, you should!  Let me share why.

There are many companies that offer to pay people to put affiliate links on their websites for products they use and recommend.  Given the power of today’s internet and the global reach of Google search engine results, it is possible to run a worldwide business from the comfort of your RV.

I started a few websites a number of years ago.  I have continued to learn and develop them and they have started to create a consistent income.

Lindsey also shares her opinions on our website

Basically, this is how this works.  You use products and services that you enjoy.  You apply to those companies and ask for an affiliate link that you can place on your website. As you write articles about these items you can place links that visitors to your website pages click on.  Once they visit that company’s website and buy because of your advice, you receive a commission for the effort.

Over time, these small commission payments can add up to a nice little income.  It can be one that funds your travels.  It is something you can do anywhere you are located and at any time.  If you are a night mole this is a great way to be productive while staying up late!

Starting an RV Inspection Business

There is a rising need for RVers who understand them and are willing to help people who are buying used RV’s in making a good purchasing decision!

There are folks who are traveling the country in their RV’s and doing RV inspections in areas where they want to visit.  They have also been traveling to areas where they are needed.  These are people who have started a limited liability corporation or an S corporation and have contracted with companies who desire their expertise.

This is an awesome business model for someone who enjoys, or wants to start enjoying, the full-time RV lifestyle!  Not only can they do something they enjoy but they can help others enjoy it too!  There are also many tax advantages to this type of arrangement as operating an inspection business that requires traveling to different locations can help fund that travel.

Summary

These are just a few options that you can consider if you want to fund your full-time RV living lifestyle!  We are very familiar with all of these and would be delighted to talk to you about any ways in which we can help you! Please feel free to leave a comment below and I will get back to you.

Blessings, Howard & Pam

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Baroooo! Lindsey checking in with my Bark Report. Boy, my bad.  Mom says I just haven’t been barking enough the last couple weeks. (Insert dirty look from dad.) But I am here to bark at you this week  to answer inquiring minds asking, how does RV Water System work.

I promised Dad I would do better for y’all. I am now using something called Grammarly to run in the background of everything I type.  It helps me write better. That includes any e-barkmails, my Bark Report or any thing I use on the computer. I had to tuck my tail between my legs (Oh wait!  I don’t have one!) and have this help me out. Sometimes I’m not too good with spelling and grammar. This should make it easier to read.  But I am still a work in progress.

This week I want to bark at you about the water systems in our moving house and let you know, yes they do work. It’s soo cool we can use them 2 different ways. When in a campground we use the stuff called city water. Dad hooks up that white hose from the faucet outside, and check this out, right onto the side of our moving house. Wow. First time I saw that I thought we might need Noah to build us an ark. High tide coming in! But all is good. Just a tip, be sure to use a drinking water hose, not a garden hose. 

So when we don’t have that hose running to our house, we use water from a big tank right under our bed. It holds all the water for us to use wherever we go. (Otherwise, we’d need this REALLY long hose if you get my drift.) This tank is right under our bed which I like to call our “water bed”. Sometimes you can even hear it sloshing when we’re driving. Just like the ocean. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

When we want water, all Mom or Dad do is push a switch and turn on the faucet. Ta Da! You hear this BRRRRR…..BRRRRR….BRRRR.  Presto. Water! Dad told me it’s called a water pump. It creates the pressure to push the water from our “water bed” to the sink, toilet or shower. How neat is that?! It burps and we have water.

If we kept using the pump, we wouldn’t have a “water bed” anymore.  Then Dad needs to fill it. He hooks up that white hose outside to our house and flips a different switch. If you have super big ears you can hear the water filling under our bed. Humans can’t hear as good, so there is this pipe underneath our house that will sound like a waterfall if it gets too full. Look out! High tide! 

Next we have this other tank called a gray tank. We used to have 2 of them bad boys in our other moving home. One was called a gray tank and one was called a galley tank. The galley guy caught our kitchen and shower water. I sent a lot of my doggy smell down that one whenever Mom gave me a bath. In that moving house, the gray tank caught Mom’s laundry water. We only have one in our house now so all shower and sink water goes in it. If they get too full, they can back up inside.

Now we come to the smelly tank humans call the black tank. That’s where all the icky toilet stuff goes down. (Not mine, mind you. Mom did show me this really cool video of a pup that learned to use a human toilet. Oops! Rabbit Trail. I’ll just stick to my outside potty thank you very much.) If you want to look really smart, remember, black before gray and you’ll be okay. You’ll be the hit of the campground.

Speaking of emptying those tanks, your moving home should have these little sensor things on them.  They tell your humans the level of the stuff in your tank.It’s a panel on the wall with lights.  When they read F, time to go pull those handles outside that Dad calls Gate Valves.  Then it’s Stand back, she’s gonna flow! I sometimes sit on that scrunchy hose going into the ground for Dad to be sure it doesn’t come off.  We don’t want a fecal indiscretion.  It’s just not neighborly. 

Dude, seriously.  I want you to know I have not been slacking off the past couple weeks Working here! Helped out at Workamper Rendevous, NRVI Convention and then Dad had a class to teach all right here in beautiful Heber Springs, AR. It was way kool.  With a capital K! 

But as with all good things, it must come to an end. Soon we will be like geese and head farther south.  Do stay tuned for more fun stuff next time.  If you are lying awake at night and can’t catch some good zzzz’s, feel free bark at me below.  I love hearing from y’all. 

Until next time,

Lindsey out……

Pam and I have visited a number of Thousand Trails RV Parks and stayed at a few. We have discovered a few things about their systems and parks that we would like to pass along to you!

Now I will start out by saying that we are not ones to stay in an area for more than one month!  We do not look for places to go for three to six months at a time.  That is not part of the full time RV lifestyle that agrees with running our business out of our RV.

One of the Thousand Trails RV Parks that we stayed at recently was in Ohio. It is called Kenisee Lake RV Resort & Campground.  It has been the only one of the Thousand Trails RV Parks that we would recommend so far.

However, like others we have stayed at, the wi-fi was non-existent and the reception on our Verizon jetpack was very weak.  The reason being is that a lot of these Thousand Trails locations are out of town in areas where cell service is limited, at least in the northeast anyway!

Like other Thousand Trail RV Parks, there is a reservation system but you don’t get a particular site reserved for you.  Once you arrive and check in you have to drive around and find a site that will work for you.  We have been through this process several times recently, and each time it has been a big downer for staying at Thousand Trails campgrounds!

The reservations operators tell you to get there early so you can get a good spot.  If you show up later in the day, during peak times, good luck!!

We bought our current RV at Lazydays in Seffner, Florida.  With the purchase came 14 days of free camping with the Encore / Thousand Trails Resorts system.  We have stayed at these kinds of RV parks before because we are members of the Passport America discount camping club and some of these RV parks are listed in that system as well.

Through the Passport America discount camping club, you can get an RV campsite for $15 to $20 a night in some Thousand Trails parks.  If you are not camping during the busy season you can take advantage of this discount program.

During this past summer, we wanted to spend a few nights in a Thousand Trails park in North Carolina.  We called the 800 number and made a reservation, and when we got to the park were told to drive around, find a campsite, and come back to finalize the paperwork once parked.  Okay, we had 14 free nights so we thought we would check it out.

We drove all around that campground and there was not one site that would work for our RV.  After spending twenty minutes driving around, we decided to move on.

At that point, we figured we would not get to use our fourteen free nights because there were no Thousand Trails locations near where we were traveling.

Pam, being the bargain shopper she is, found the Jefferson, Ohio location mentioned earlier and it was not too far out of our way.  We used our two free weeks there as they had availability, even though we were staying during the late August summer season.

The staff was cordial and the park worked well for us.  We arrived mid week when there were a lot of RV sites to choose from.  We found one where we could get a weak signal on our Verison jet pack.  Lake Kenisee is a huge place and we found lots of opportunities to take long walks.

So, for us, the jury is still out on the whole Thousand Trails campground network.  I can say we would not want to commit to a long-term relationship with them due to the way they have designed their reservation system.

I would prefer to stick with the Passport America discount camping system because you choose the park you want and there are no commitments, paying up front fees, etc.

We will keep you posted on our experiences with this subject as we continue to try to use Thousand Trails if they are convenient in our travels.  Please feel free to share in the comment ares your experiences that you have had with them so others can benefit.

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For those starting out full time RV living, there is a very important decision that has to be made.  That is choosing a 5th wheel RV or a motorized one! I know this to be true as I observe the amount of traffic to my full time RV living website article that discusses the best 5th wheel for full time RV living.

Now that does not mean you can’t full-time in a travel trailer, because we have friends that do, but the majority seem to face the decision of buying either a 5th wheel RV or a motorized one.

The First RV Trip in a Rental

Pam and I have traveled over one hundred thousand miles in RV’s.  We started renting RV’s in 2001.  Once we decided on what we wanted, based on our rental experiences, we purchased our full time RV home in 2008.

5th Wheel and Tow Vehicle

We have rented class A gas and diesel RV’s, we have rented and owned class A and class C gas RV’s, and we owned a large 5th wheel RV for six and a half years.  We logged many miles on that 5th wheel RV.  

So, I feel comfortable being able to share my opinion with you on the pluses and minuses of both. Now, this is my disclaimer: I realize everyone has their own opinion, wants, and needs.  Mine is based on our experiences and our changing needs.

Our Class C RV from 2-2015 to 7-2018

Back in 2015, Pam I and were heading to Arkansas for a month’s worth of business meetings, the NRVIA National Conference, and to teach an advanced RV Inspector training class.  Pam drove the class C motorized RV for a good portion of that trip.

I sat in the co-pilot seat with my laptop and got some work done while Pam kept us moving towards our destination.

So, given that fact, here is a major advantage of a motorized RV.  While you are traveling, you have instant access to what you need: the refrigerator, the toilet, the TV, all while rolling down the road.  Basically, you always have access to anything you need while you are on the move.

If you get stopped on the highway for hours due to an emergency you can fire up the generator and be comfortable.  You have all the comforts of home without having to get out of the vehicle.

We have even switched drivers in heavy traffic so the driver could make a potty stop.  We did similar things in our fifth wheel, it was just not as convenient.  Since we are on the move all the time, we enjoy the convenience of the motorized RV!  It’s easy to park, easy to setup, and easy to move.

We had the fifth wheel setup and departure routine pretty well orchestrated, but it was never as easy as it is with our current motorized RV!  We had been in about twenty different locations that summer.  Comparing that much moving around based on living in our previous 5th wheel and our current motorized RV, we would have to say we find our current RV much more favorable for the full-time RV lifestyle that we are currently enjoying.

We have been in situations while traveling in class A and class C RV’s that involved boondocking in Walmart parking lots, Casinos, and Cracker Barrels. After being parked for a few hours, there were times we got concerned about our safety.  Because we were able to just turn on the motor and not have to get out of a trailer to get rolling, we were kept safe and able to get away from the danger.

Now, motorized RV’s tend to be more expensive relative to a comparable 5th wheel RV!  We have good friends who have a Redwood 5th Wheel RV. They are beautiful inside and offer many amenities that are only found in motorized RV’s that are in the quarter million dollar range, and up.

Also, for folks that plan on having a full time RV lifestyle that does not involve lots of moving around, or only moving a couple of times a year, the 5th wheel RV might fit that need better.  They are like living in a small one bedroom condo.

Our forty foot 5th Wheel RV was very roomy inside.  Our three favorite features of the RV were that it had a spacious kitchen that allowed us to prepare meals as we would in our “sticks and bricks” home.  It also had a large shower and an apartment size washer and dryer.

When towing a 5th wheel RV I found I always had to plan ahead and be sure my route was able to accommodate the length and height of my RV.  It was important to be sure my route did not include bridges with low clearance, narrow roads, and tight areas where I might get into trouble.  It’s thirteen and a half foot height had to be considered!  I especially had to pay attention to the RV parks that I wanted to stay to be sure I would be able to navigate their premises.

Now, I have driven forty-foot class A diesel RV’s that I got in trouble with, but not as much as in my 5th wheel RV!  I could always get the class A RV into an RV site, but backing the sixty-foot 5th wheel (truck and trailer) could be a bit more of a challenge.  I have observed other 5th wheel RV owners struggle getting settled into their RV sites.  We have watched 5th wheel owners damage their new RV’s because they had no idea how to handle the trailering aspect of owning that type of vehicle.

This really seems to be the big challenge and difference between a 5th wheel RV and a motorized one.  The less you know about trailering and backing a long trailer, the more stress you will have when it comes to moving it from place to place.  The wheels of the trailer do not follow the same track as the truck!

We always suggest to new RV owners that renting an RV before moving forward and purchasing one is a good idea.  That is how we started and we found the experience helped us choose wisely based on our needs at that time.  Motorized RV’s are easy to rent.  You can also rent towable RV’s.  You may have to go to an independent dealership to get set up, but you can rent anything you want to try if you do some research.

Your needs and wants in a full-time RV home will be different than ours. The idea here is to investigate different people’s opinions on this subject, rent what you can and weigh that information against how it is that you will use the RV type that you choose.  

The goal is to purchase your full time RV home and get it right the first time – no regrets!  And how do you do that?  Keep researching till the time is right and you can make an educated decision on your purchase.

If you buy your RV new or used, be sure to hire a third party independent inspector to assist you!  Don’t wind up buying a money pit or something that will spend months at the dealership getting warranty issues fixed when you could have known about those issues up front.

Pam and I wish you all the best as you work towards becoming full time RVers!

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Is Full Time RV Living For You?

Full time RV living is a dream for many and a mystery for some.  People wonder if full time life on the road, in their RV, is for them.  Others see the lifestyle being lived by others and decide to start searching out a possible full time RV living home without really considering what it may be like.

Pam and I just attended the largest RV show in the country.  This was the Hershey Pennsylvania RV Show that took place September 16th through the 20th.  Pam and I were there to support the NRVIA, RV Inspection Connection, and Workamper News. We had the opportunity to meet many people who were there looking for their first RV and wanting to retire soon so they could begin their full time RV living lifestyle.

There were others there who have RV’s but they wanted to upgrade for the same reason.  It appeared these people want to embrace this style of living but really don’t know what to expect.  They had lots of questions for Pam and I as we had chances to visit with them while manning a vendor booth.

Let me step back a little and review how Pam and I started this journey. We started RVing back in 2002.  For five years, we rented everything we could. We tried Class A RV’s that had both gasoline and diesel engines.  We rented class C gas engine RV’s, and we spoke to others about their experiences with fifth wheel RV’s while we were staying at RV parks.

In those five years on the road, we put on thirty-five thousand miles and took trips that lasted anywhere from two and a half to five weeks.  At that time, we lived in the mountains of Colorado and loved living there.  When we went away on vacations we always enjoyed coming back home because we felt we lived in paradise.

But, along came RV travel.  Once we started to enjoy being out on the road in a home on wheels, our thirty-eight hundred square foot home in ski country USA did not seem so desirable anymore.  Neither did the amount of work it took as far as upkeep.

After our first trip out in the RV in 2002, after we had returned home I said to Pam, let’s sell the house and get an RV and live in it full time!  She was not in such a hurry to do that given we had just spent nine months building it ourselves and we had spent years planning for it.

You see, our dream even before marriage was to live on the road.  We had no idea how to accomplish that goal.  We are both nomadic and the lifestyle appeared it would suit us perfectly.

So we kept on renting RV’s till 2008 and at that point finally decided to make a change. Late that year we finally decided to purchase our full time RV living home.

Now, when we went out on these RV trips in rented RV’s, we brought along with us the things we like to do.  We are outdoor folks so biking and hiking were something we liked to do at home.  We found we could easily enjoy these activities while traveling in the RV.  It was easy to put a bike rack on the back of the RV and take our bikes along.  We have enjoyed many bike rides in different locations across the country.

Since we love being outdoors, the RV lifestyle fit us perfectly.  After all, you don’t want to spend all your time in your RV!  The RV should be a way for you to take the activities you enjoy doing at home and expand upon that. You want to be able to enjoy those things while adding the additional benefit of being on the road in an RV.

When considering full time RV living I would like you to consider this.  Be sure you are able to bring those things you have enjoyed doing in the past into your new lifestyle.  You want to be able to take those things and perhaps enjoy them in a different way while being able to travel where you want in your RV home.

Now to some this may seem obvious.  To others, it may seem mundane! But I mention this here because we have seen many of our RVing friends wind up leaving the full time RV living lifestyle because they were too unhappy.  They felt like they had left too many things behind; the grandchildren, the tool shop, the craft room, other family members at home, more living and storage space, daily mail delivery, consistent television reception, a full size washer and dryer, etc.

When considering full time RV living you have to be able to enjoy the things you did in the past while living in your RV home.  Or, you have to find new things to replace those old things before you make that leap and sell everything.  Either way, be sure to spend time thinking about these things before jumping in and possibly making a big mistake!

Pam and I considered it carefully before we sold all our “stuff” and hit the road.  Fortunately we had many miles of experience in RV’s, we had found we could do many things we enjoyed in new and better ways, and we were able to go from a large home down to only hundreds of square feet with ease.  So, the question is, is full time RV living for you?

We hope those of you considering joining us on the road have been helped by just a few things we have shared here!  Making a big lifestyle change is something to not take lightly and we want to help you do that with eyes wide open!

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Ten Free Things to do at Niagara Falls

When coming to Niagara Falls in an RV, and you are cost conscious, there are great things to do that do not cost anything at all!  That is what makes this such an amazing destination for those that do not need to spend money to have a good time!  There are so many free things to do at Niagara Falls, it really took Pam and I by surprise.

We went for a weekend visit to Niagara Falls State Park while recently in western New York.  We had such a great time in the two days we were there we returned the next weekend to do it again.  We were unable to see and do it all the first visit as there were so many great things to do that don’t cost a cent!

RV Boondocking at Seneca Niagara Casino and Resort

RV Parks around the Niagara Falls area are not in close proximity to the Falls, and parking can be a problem when it is really busy.  We visited Niagara Falls State Park in late August. We figured it might not be as busy as some of the U.S. public schools were already back in session.  What we had not counted on were all the foreign tourists that were visiting too!  No problem, though!  We just had to be a little more creative with our picture taking in some areas of the park.

Anyway, given the fifty to eighty dollar a night RV park rates, we decided to research some free options in the area using some websites that we utilize as we travel the country.  We found Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino. Their information states the following regarding RV’s parking at their facility.

Parking for oversized vehicles, including RV’s, is available on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis in the huge parking lot on the east side of the property (Use ‘Falls Street’ entrance for your convenience). The Native American casino allows vehicles to park on the east side of the lot, by the fence, even though the lot surface area is not marked for oversized vehicles. Utility hookups are not available. The Casino is located about a mile from the entrance of Niagara Falls State Park.

It only took us about ten minutes to walk to Niagara Falls State Park from the casino parking lot.  It is almost a straight shot west to reach the park entrance.  Once you walk around to the front of the Casino you are on Falls Street which takes you directly there.

We stayed a total of five nights between our two visits and found it to be a perfect place to boondock!  We were able to use our leveling jacks, put our slides out and use our generator as needed.  As long as you have enough onboard storage for your water usage, you can enjoy a few days in this area without having to pay RV park fees!

Information Plaques Located Around the Falls

The second of the free things to do at Niagara Falls is to walk around, enjoy the sights and sounds of the Falls, and learn the history of the Falls.  There are numerous plaques spread around the grounds that describe different areas of interest.  Some are historical and others state current facts.  

One fact that I found amazing was that in just one second, seventy-five thousand gallons of water spill over the American Falls!  We enjoyed walking miles around Niagara Falls State Park enjoying all the different views of both the American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.  All that water cascading down makes for spectacular sights and sounds!

In Season, Niagara Falls Shines Brightly at Night!

The third free thing you can do while at Niagara Falls is to see the Falls at night!  Every night after sunset the Falls are lit in a rainbow of colors.  It is just spectacular!  It was so enjoyable and relaxing to just sit, watch and listen to the sounds of the rushing water! There are many ways to catch this event photographically.  Even pictures taken with my Samsung smartphone, at its lowest resolution setting for web use, captured the sites quite well during the night viewings.

In Season: Free Fireworks Show Friday and Sunday Nights!

The fourth free thing you can do at Niagara Falls State Park is to see the free fireworks show that occurs Friday and Sunday nights during the summer months.  Now, this is not a really long fireworks display.  I figured the display lasted about five minutes or so. The fireworks shot from the river bed light up the Falls in a unique and spectacular way!

Lots to See on the Canadian Side of the Falls!

The fifth thing you can do that does not cost you anything unless of course, you choose to shop, is walk across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada.  If you have the proper documentation it is a very easy thing to do.  The walk across the bridge only takes a few minutes and there are more great views of both the American and Canadian falls.

Once you get through customs you are right near all the sights and sounds of southern Ontario.  While we were there we saw beautiful gardens, water fountain displays, listened to free entertainment while enjoying the views of the falls.  We enjoyed walking around checking out all the shops and arcades that are in abundance in the area.

We had such a good time just walking around, we made the journey into Canada twice during our stay.  We figured the walk from the parking lot of the casino to the Horseshoe Falls in Canada was about two and a half miles. It was really quite easy and with a comfortable pair of walking shoes, it is really no problem.  With all the places to stop and enjoy the sites, it is really easy to take a break, if you need one.

Pedestrian and Bike Paths Abound at Niagara State Park!

Biking around the Niagara Falls area and the park is a great activity that does not cost you anything if you bring your own bicycle.  If you don’t have one as there are rentals available, but then it is no longer a free activity.  If it is really crowded it can be more difficult to bike around within Niagara State Park because the foreign tourists do not seem to understand sticking to the right when either walking or biking.

If you visit during a busy time of year you can bike along Robert Moses Parkway to avoid the crowds.  One side of the street is an unused road that they have closed off for pedestrian traffic.  You can bike for miles.  This is not a scenic as being right around Niagara State Park, but if you want a good ride, this is certainly an option.

Your Fur-Kid will Love a Walk Around Niagara Falls!

The seventh of the free things to do at Niagara Falls is to take your dog for a walk in the park.  They can enjoy themselves as much as we humans! Lindsey had a great time being photogenic when we placed here on a pillar right by the Falls.  After we took this photo we actually had a small crowd that had gathered while we were taking the numerous shots it required to get this one.  She was very distracted by all the attention!

Plenty of Open Space for a Picnic!

The eighth free thing you can do is to have a picnic at Niagara Falls State Park.  There is plenty of open space to lay out a blanket, bring some food and enjoy a meal and the sights.  If you just want to pick something up on Falls Street before you get to the park, there are several options to choose from.

We found Mario’s NY Style pizza!  We really enjoyed the selection they had and the quality of their pizza.  It has been a while since this native New Yorker had a good slice of New York style pizza!

Old Falls Street Fun!

When strolling up and down Falls Street you can enjoy the activities: games and music. There is an outside area right near the Econo Lodge that had large size game boards of chess and checkers.  There were also ping pong tables and large Jenga blocks to play with.  There was even a huge chalkboard where you can express your lifetime wishes to the world.

Lindsey decided she wanted to play chess, but none of the other fur-kids wanted to take her on.  So, we just let her sit there and look cute for a while.  She did get others to take her picture too!

Awesome Photo Opportunities Abound!

The tenth of the free things to do at Niagara Falls is to take pictures while enjoying the area.  There are so many great places to stop and enjoy the Falls while capturing their splendor from so many different angles and distances.  There are numerous walkways where you can get up close and personal with the Falls.

If you enjoy getting wet, depending on which way the wind is blowing, you can partake of the mist created by the huge amounts of water cascading down.  This also creates some great photographic opportunities.  As I stated earlier, I was using my Samsung smartphone to capture the pictures I have displayed here.  It did a fine job of capturing day and night shots while being very portable and easy to keep dry when that was necessary!

If you have a chance to bring your RV to the Niagara Falls area, be sure to enjoy some of these free activities!  It is a great opportunity to relax, unwind and enjoy the beauty that is Niagara Falls!

Pam, Lindsey and I wish you blessed travels as you enjoy this great country of ours!! Let us know how your RV travels are going if you make it to this great location!

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While trying to avoid the high RV park prices of a holiday weekend, Pam and I decided to boondock for three days at the unofficial Cabela’s RV park.  

As we travel about enjoying the full time RV lifestyle we try to average about twenty dollars per night for our camping fees.  We do that by occasionally seeking refuge in an approved parking lot site.

We also use camping club memberships when we are not on a monthly or weekly rate.

There are the usual places to stay like Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Camping World and rest areas, but we recently discovered that Cabela’s serves the RVing public too. So we checked out the Cabela’s RV park in Hamburg, PA.

Now I have not spent much time at a Cabela’s store before, but we have family that like to hunt and they speak highly of their offerings.

I have read other comments about Cabela’s that state that the store is like a Home Depot for people who like to kill things.  I did find that comment very amusing but know it is somewhat controversial as many people are passionate about hunting and fishing.  I have never had that propensity, but I did enjoy visiting one of their stores!

We were in Pennsylvania near the town of Hershey and we needed a three-night stay at a place that would not cost us the usual RV park fees.  We used freecampgrounds.com and found that the Cabela’s in Hamburg, PA would allow RV’s to park and stay at no charge.

They have a row in their parking lot that will handle many RV’s and it is marked accordingly on the east side of the parking lot.  They have access to non-potable water for aiding in reducing fresh water usage for sewer needs, and they also have a dump station available if needed.  That is why I have given this location the name of Cabela’s RV park!

We showed up on a Friday afternoon of the Labor Day weekend.  There were plenty of spaces to park.  We chose to be close to the dump station so we could easily get some non-potable water, in a bucket, to use to aid in flushing the toilet.  This allowed us to extend our fresh water for other uses!

The information on freecampgrounds.com asks that once you have parked your RV that you check in at customer service and let them know you are out in the RV area and are spending the night.  We asked about spending three nights and they were most gracious in allowing us to do so!  The women at the counter even offered the code to the dump station to avoid the five dollar charge for dumping our tanks.

We can’t say enough good things about how nice the service personnel were at Cabela’s, and how helpful they were.  They even offered best wishes for us to enjoy our stay!  I was very impressed with their customer service.  I was very appreciative that they allowed us to stay for the weekend!

We really enjoyed their store and will visit other locations around the country as we have the ability to do so when in areas they are located!

This particular store in Hamburg, PA had many activities other than just shopping. They had a large cafeteria inside on the second floor, they had many animal displays with educational information included, an electronic shooting gallery, an aquarium, hunting gear, fishing equipment, clothing, footwear, guns and ammo, and other related items.

You can spend a good portion of the day at this store, if not the whole day. It depends on your level of interest in these things.  We observed many other RV’s pulling in and spending the day visiting this store.

Some folks took advantage of the dog and horse area to leave their pets in an outdoor environment instead of in a hot car while they went shopping. Cabela’s even provides locks for the penned areas if you don’t have your own.

There are also other services available nearby if needed: Walmart, fuel stations, and many eateries if you want to avoid cooking in the RV.  Most of these can be seen from the Cabela’s parking lot.  That is how close they are. We walked over to Walmart for a few incidentals.

So, if you are in the Hamburg Pennsylvania area and need a spot to rest for the evening, free of RV space fees, check out Cabela’s RV park.  This is a very nice option as long as your RV is set up to comfortably allow you to boondock in a situation like this.

If you do, please be respectful of the area and the other RVers that may be there. Don’t look like you are moving in for the long haul with awnings out, chairs, area mats, and grills.  That is what ruined it for RVers with Walmart when they started to offer this benefit.  Keep it low key and clean up after yourself.

Do that and Cabela’s will continue to offer RVers the opportunity to avoid RV park fees while traveling!

Blessings,

Howard, Pam, and Lindsey

When looking for discount camping for full time RV living, there are several options to choose from. One of the options that Pam and I chose early on was to stay at Passport America Campgrounds.  We checked out a lot of the Passport America reviews and decided that fifty percent savings for an RV site was certainly worth the cost of the yearly forty-four dollar membership.

But, how could we be sure that the testimonials being given were not just advertorial but actual Passport America reviews?

After doing a little research, we found some RV park review sites where we were quickly able to determine what these Passport America campgrounds were really like.  Were they just run down old parks that were Passport America Campgrounds who joined the ranks so they could get more business?  Or, were they nice parks offering a special price on their nightly rates, during their slower times, and they wanted to offer a good deal to RVers like us.

For us, we have found a mixture or both!  We have stayed in some very nice parks that were Passport America campgrounds and we got a great deal with our Passport America membership.  We have also stayed at other parks that got acceptable reviews, but for us, they were pretty run down, and, they nickel and dimed us with nominal charges for things like having an AC unit.

Personal Passport America Campgrounds Experience

We stayed at a Passport America Campgrounds park located in Gasport, NY. It truly was out in the middle of nowhere, but we needed a spot for four nights and that was relatively close to Niagara Falls.  We were boondocking at Seneca Niagara Casino and Resort, right near the Falls, but after three nights we needed to be attached to services.

So, we drove the thirty-six miles to Gasport, NY to stay at Niagara Hartland RV Park.  The listed rate on the Passport America Campgrounds website was sixteen dollars a night, plus electric.  We looked for some Passport America reviews on the campground at rvparkreviews.com and they got favorable reviews from the few postings we saw on that website.

We wound up with a nice RV site at Niagara Hartland campground.  The RV park was quiet, except for the chickens that roamed the property and were the morning alarm clock, the early morning alarm clock!

For less than eighteen dollars a night we stayed for four nights.  The accommodations were acceptable to us.  Yes, there were lots of seasonal units staying there, and some older units, but they were separated from the transient sites and they did not bother us.  The manager of the park was most accommodating and we would recommend this park to others.

After that, we ventured a little further south and chose another one of the Passport America campgrounds.  This one was in Bath, NY. This park listed on the Passport America website that their nightly rate was sixteen dollars. When we arrived they said the rate was wrong and that it was actually eighteen dollars a night, and not for a full hookup site. Their website information was a little more vague on what type of RV site the Passport America campgrounds discount covered.

This campground was old, had lots of seasonal residents with old trailers and RV’s, and it had very little transient RV traffic.  We felt a little out of place. The campground served its purpose for us, but we would probably not return if we were in that area again.  There were very few Passport America reviews for this campground so we just had to take a chance.  Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t!

Overall I find the Passport America campgrounds meet our needs as long as we do our research ahead of time: check online for Passport America reviews of the campgrounds we want to visit, be sure their days of discounting match up with our travel plans, and we call ahead to verify that the information that is listed on the Passport America campgrounds website is correct.

We recently had a chance to stay right on property at their new building that houses MY RV Mail mail forwarding services.  This is part of the Passport America brand.  We use this service too!  Since 2010 we have been able to receive our mail no matter where we are.

Happy travels as you enjoy the RV lifestyle, and hopefully the full time RV lifestyle! Please feel free to leave a comment below if we can assist you with this topic!

Blessings,

Howard, Pam, and Winston

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