First, like your mother always told you: Don’t go grocery shopping without a list. If you do, you’re more likely to buy stuff you don’t really need. We made a list on our word processor of all the commonly purchased grocery (and non grocery) items. We broke them down in rough categories, so when we hit the store, our list is already laid out roughly to where we’ll find things group.

For example, we keep the milk, cheese, and other “dairy” items in one clump on our list. We print several copies of the “list” and hang them on a hook inside one of our galley cabinets. As we notice we need something, we simply put a check mark next to the item on the list.

Since much of our time we find ourselves in “little burgs,” where grocery store competition is small, we only buy the stuff we really need to get by when in that area. Once a month we typically hit a “big city,” and take our list with us to do our “major shopping.”

Take advantage of coupons where you can. Not always easy if you’re on the road, but we have found that you can sign up with some of the big chain stores to get weekly special ads sent to you by e-mail. Once a week we get a big advert from Safeway–and we can print manufacturer coupons from their site. Most of these are indeed, manufacturer–as opposed to “store brand” coupons, so they can be used in any store that takes coupons, including Walmart.

Don’t imagine that everything you purchase at a “club” store like Costco or Sam’s Club is going to be cheaper than at the regular retailer. We’ve found milk to be a lot less expensive at a club store, but other items may actually cost more when compared on price per unit basis. And produce at the club stores is usually way out of line in terms of price, and not necessarily of any better quality than at a more upscale supermarket.

When shopping, try to stay in a dollar limit. After our major once-a-month blast, our chief purchasing agent (her) takes the remaining grocery budget dollars–in cash–and divides them up into equal amounts for the remaining number of weeks on the month. If say there’s a hundred grocery dollars left, then we’ll likely have $25 a week for the rest of the month.

So how do you avoid “overspending” when trekking through the store? Set your spending limit before you step in the door. Don’t worry about trying to keep track of how much you’ve put in your cart to the cent–especially if you “do it in your head.”  As you stick an item in the basket, round the dollar amount up or down. For example, if the loaf of bread is $4.15, then mentally add $4.  If the hamburger is $6.67, then mentally add $7 to your tally. We’ve found it better to use a calculator, but sometimes you can forget to punch in a number.

Interestingly, a study by the Georgia Institute of Technology found that those on really tight budgets, the ones that had the most to lose by overspending, we’re those who were most likely to overspend.  Why? Because they were so engrossed in keeping a mental tally down to the penny, that invariably they’d ‘muff it,’ and forget to add something. That same study says that customers who find themselves spending more than they planned held it against the store; those who spent less, we’re happier with the store. Stores who have in-cart “scanners” to help the customer keep track of what they’d put in their baskets are big winners.

And oh yeah, you know this one too: Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry You’re bound to spend more money–and probably on stuff that isn’t good for you!

photo: Poldavo (Alex) on flickr.com with creative commons license

But there are plenty of times when you know you need to get hospital help that isn’t as emergent. How do you choose a hospital that’s right for you? Provided your health care insurance will “work with you,” in terms of allowing a choice of hospitals, fulltime RVers have an advantage:  They can go where they want. Still, how do you choose from among the thousands of hospitals around the US?

First, some simple things to look at: Is the hospital in an area convenient to your RV lifestyle? Can you find a suitable park or other location to put your RV? Some hospitals have RV spaces for patients and their families. Does the hospital recognize (and work with) your health care insurance plan? Is it accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body–we’ll give you more on that later. Is the place clean? Look around in the waiting rooms, and then ask to see patient rooms.

In terms of accreditation, you can turn to The Joint Commission, a medical accreditation body that examines medical providers and hospitals to see if they meet quality care standards. Their website lets you search for hospitals based on zip code or city and state. You’ll find out what specialties (if any) a given hospital is recognized for, which can be real helpful if you have a major health problem you need help with. Check out their site at www. jointcommission.org and look for the “Quality Check” area.

Another web site that can help you sort out the good from the bad is provided by the magazine, US News and World Report. They publish an annual list of the country’s best hospitals by specialty. The outfit ranked on a variety of areas, but included in the evaluation process were patient safety issues, deaths, and a facility’s reputation. Drilling down to a specific hospital also shows how patients viewed their own treatment at given facilities, and these outcomes were measured against state and national standards. Visit the site at http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals.

If you need reassurance, think of this: Thousands of RVers are working on the road, doing things that they may never have dreamed of. There are resources to help you. Here are a some of great Internet resources that can help you find work on the road.

Perhaps the best-known to RVers is Workcamper News. As their website puts it, “Workampers are adventurous individuals, couples and families who have chosen a wonderful lifestyle that combines ANY kind of part-time or full-time work with RV camping. If you work as an employee, operate a business, or donate your time as a volunteer, AND you sleep in an RV (or on-site housing), you are a Workamper!”

Workcamper News brings outfits with jobs together with RVers who are looking for work. A regular print media magazine gives job listings, but if you’re looking for work you can upgrade your membership and get the latest information from the Workcamper website. A basic membership to the print version starts at $30 a year, US, or you can subscribe to the electronic version only for $37. Get both for $42. Many RVers who want to workcamp swear by this outfit.

Another place to look is at coolworks.com. This outfit is an electronic “connect the employer to the employee” website, but not directed only to RVers. You can find jobs across the US, Canada, and Mexico that will fit an RVer’s needs, but hey, want to travel internationally and leave the RV back home? The coolworks site can help you out here, too. The site breaks jobs into categories by type, or you can hunt for work by location. The employers are the ones paying the freight on this web site, so RVers looking for work can go there and look for jobs today at no cost.

Finally, retiredbrains.com is another site, particularly directed to folks who have had years of work experience and are now looking to come back and use that experience in a temporary, full time, or part time way. Focusing on older folk, you’ll find the site has information on a wide range of topics, far aside from just looking for employment. But if the employment side is what you’re interested in, click on the “find retirement jobs” button. Job listings are free to browse.

To that end, we asked resort’s “talking head” media guy about what our readers who have a bit more common sense (i.e., are spending their winter in more survivable climes, as in Texas or Arizona) could do if they didn’t care to put on the tire chains and make the run to Indiana. Dave Lovell says that next week you should point your web browser to the official website, www.lakerudolph.com for more information on the jobs and on how to apply. But to give you a sneak preview, here’s a bit information we were able to gleen:

Seasonal positions are available at Lake Rudolph in the following areas: Housekeeping, Maintenance, Grounds, Call Center, Welcome Center, Camp Store, Lifeguards, Security, and Shuttle Drivers. The Santa Claus Christmas Store has seasonal positions available in the following areas: Retail Associates and Shipping/Receiving. Applicants should return completed applications by March 13, 2010.

No sleigh-bells? How about a red nose?

Rigs without slideouts aren’t usually too difficult for the careful do-it-yourselfer. Slide outs can create problems, depending on how they operate. In our rig, where our slideouts drop down even with the main floor, an overlap of carpet from the slideout covers over the seam where the two floors meet. The overlap is a factory hemmed edge–if we replace the carpet, we may need to get someone to install a hem for us. Your rig may have entirely different setup; it’s best to examine everything cautiously before undertaking a carpeting job.

If you decide to make a go of carpet replacement, here are some tips. You’ll likely find that when your rig was built, the carpet was laid on the floor platform, then partitioning walls laid over the carpet (and kitchen vinyl, too). You’ll need to cut out the old carpet, cutting right along the edges of cabinets and walls. A specialized carpet cutting tool can help in most areas; a sharp utility knife will be needed in tight corners. If you carefully cut as close as you can, you can use the old carpet as a template to cut the new one.

In our fifth wheel, when we replaced the living room carpet, carpet tape and tack strips never entered the picture. Rather, the carpet was laid out flat and stapled along the walls. A metal termination strip was placed between the kitchen flooring and the carpet, and it’s never been a problem in several years of living. Some RVers have found that often a carpet really doesn’t need to be tied down at all. If fit properly, then “held down” with furniture, it stays in place, and then occasionally it can be lifted and dirt and sand (which invariably finds its way through the carpet fibers) vacuumed out.

Is carpet really the way to go? It’s up to your taste. We HATE the light colored carpeting in our current big trailer. It shows every spot of dirt. When replacement time comes, we may opt to install laminate flooring. In our fifth wheel, the manufacturer had carpeted throughout the rig. Have you ever dreamed of a shag carpet in your kitchen and bathroom? We installed laminate flooring in both kitchen and bath and have never looked back. It’s wonderful stuff. True, it’s cooler on the feet than carpet, but it’s a whiz to clean up, and no more stains. In our fiver living room we installed low pile commercial carpet in a dark blue that appealed to us. It’s been down for years, and we’ve used an extractor to clean it. We were happy with that choice, oh so much better than the current stuff in our “big” trailer.

Whatever choice you make, be sure when you shop, check out the “remnants” section of the floor covering retailer. Many RVs are small enough that you can often find small lots of laminate flooring, or “end” portions of carpeting that will fit just fine, and save you a bundle.

Photo credit, laminate flooring replaces carpet, courtesy .Larry Page on flickr.com under creative commons license

In exchange for helping new arrivals find their way to their camp site, maybe stocking some paper towels in the rest rooms, or handing out information brochures, camp hosts get a free (often fully utility equipped) site to park their RV, and plenty of pats on the back for their work. While the camp host season is typically spring through fall, winter is the time that many state parks begin to line up their helpers for the camping season.

Michigan is no exception: Right now Michigan State Parks are looking for volunteers to help out during the 2010 camping season. The state is asking for a minimum four week commitment, and hosts will “work” a 30 hour week, doing 5 days weeks. Depending on your needs, the state has two different offers: Their “modern” campgrounds have full hookups, and plenty of visitors–and activity. If you prefer a slower pace, and you can handle “boondocking,” then the state’s “rustic” state forest campgrounds might be just what you’re interested in. To find out more about Michigan’s offer, then check out this link.

In two recent incidents, RVers have been hit by burglars: One couple, sleeping over in a Cracker Barrel Restaurant parking lot awoke the next morning to find thieves had broken into their tow vehicle and ripped off a few things. In a more dramatic experience, an RVer returned to his rig, parked at a service facility lot, only to encounter a gun-toting thief coming out the door of the RV. Fortunately, the RVer came off physically unharmed, but the crook made an exit with some expensive loot, and damaged the rig to boot.

Once again, the specter of having harm come to you in your RV lifestyle raises its ugly head. Here are a couple of things to bear in mind:  Burglary is often a crime of opportunity. Most desperatos like working close to home, and in a place with an easy escape route. We’ve never heard of an experience where thieves “hit” an RV that was boondocking somewhere out in the brush. It’s a long way to go to sack a flat screen TV. In both the incidents we cite, the RVs were in an urban area, on traveled roads. “Ok,” you say, “I overnight on Walmart lots, and those are in urban areas, on traveled roads!”

From our perspective, hitting a tow vehicle when someone is likely to be snoozing in the attached RV is pretty brazen. In the second case, the rig’s owner feels that the burglars had reasoned the RV was at a service lot, hence it was unlikely anybody was home. Making your RV less attractive to burglars is much like making a sticks and bricks home less attractive.

If you are away from your rig, make it look like you’re home. Put the slide-outs in the “out” position. Don’t leave the lights off 24-hours a day. If you can, put a timer on a light or two in the rig so it switches off and on, simulating the presence of occupants.

Don’t park off in the farthest, most isolated corner of the urban parking lot. Closer to a building is far less attractive situation to a potential thief than back in the shadows.

Consider adding a burglar alarm system–both to your tow vehicle–and your RV. Ones that have a flashing red light to indicate “armed” and a sticker on the windows of the tow rig and next to the door of the RV can go a long way to making the thief look for easier pickings.

NEVER leave anything of value in the tow rig when you’re not in it. Cameras, GPS units, credit cards are big bait. If you use a window mounted GPS unit, remove the mount from the window too. If a bad guy sees that suction cup mount hanging there, he may easily reason the GPS unit is still in the rig, too.

The thief who gained access to the RV had done so by punching a hole in the door glass and apparently reaching inside and unlocking the door. What can you do to prevent a similar entry issue? Equip your door windows and any glass close enough to reach through and unlock the door with window security film. Somewhat like window tinting film, the stuff sticks to the inside of the glass and provides another layer of protection. The glass can be broken, but the film holds it together and in place, preventing an easy reach inside to unlock the door. To make an entry possible, your burglar would have to do more than just one quick smash–it would take repeated blows–making plenty of noise, and taking time–something thieves find indigestible.

Yes, bad guys will take on an RV, if they think the payoff will exceed the risk. By taking a few simple precautions, and by spending a few bucks on enhanced security, you’ll dramatically reduce the chances that a burglar will find your RV worth the risk.

photo courtesy diywindowsecurity.com

Enter General Delivery. He’s no military man, but he can be a Major Hit for those of us who leave our sticks and bricks homes behind. General Delivery is a service of your United States Post Office. Those who don’t have a fixed address or a post office box simply have mail sent to any given town for themselves, care of General Delivery. When the mail hits the post office, postal workers set it aside to be held until you ask for it.

Here are a few tips to make your mail travel on to you a bit more smoothly:

Small towns are better:  While General Delivery is available for any town that has a post office, in the larger cities with more than one post office, General Delivery often goes to the downtown post office. Parking your rig may be a major issue. And if there is more than one post office in town, you’ll have to find out which office receives and holds it. We find the staff in a small town post office is generally more laid back and eager to help a stranger.

Take your ID:  You’ll usually be asked to provide identification when you pick up your mail. On occasion we have NOT been asked for ID, and have had our names mixed up; the post office had our mail, but because they “misheard” our name, they looked under the wrong name. If you have an unusual name like ours, De Maris, if they don’t find your mail on the first try, ask them to look at an alternative: We’ve had our mail filed under “M” for the Maris part of our name.

Have it labeled right:  If married, you might want to have your send label the mail for “Joe or Mary Doaks” rather than in just one name. That way either one of you should be able to fetch the mail. Here’s a sample format for our mail:

Russ or Tiña De Maris
General Delivery
Quartzsite, AZ 85346.

While the post office will hold the mail for a specified time, it’s not a bad idea to have the mailing labeled with a conspicuous, “Hold for Delivery.” If you’ll be delayed, a phone call to the post office (especially in smaller towns) may get some cooperation in holding your mail longer than the “rule” suggests.

Not only do dual tires mean you’ll be buying at least half-again as many tires for the rig when you “re-tire,” they also require special attention throughout their life with your family. Let a “single” tire get a little low, you run some risks. Let your dual tires get low, they can actually rub against one another and cause damage to themselves. While we always admonish keeping a sharp eye out for tire pressure on any rig, that goes “double for duallies” if you’ll pardon the pun.

But getting an accurate tire pressure read on a dual tire can be a frustrating experience. That’s because “from the factory” a dual tire equipped vehicle generally comes with standard valve stems. On the “inside duals,” the ones closest to the center of your rig, a short valve stem is “buried” in the midst of a rim, cleverly covered by the rim of the “outside dual.” If you’ve got a skinny hand, you may be able to shove a standard tire gauge foot in and onto the valve stem to get a reading. If you’re a large handed person, forget it!

Then take the valve stem of that outside dual. It’ll be bent at an angle, and so thoroughly protected by the metal tire rim, you can kiss off any hope of making a “standard” straight shafted tire gauge reach into to get a reading. Here come the options:

Get valve stem extensions, especially designed for use on dual wheel vehicles. For the inside dual, a straight extension tube screws directly onto the existing valve stem, extending the “reach” out, maybe four inches. An angled (OK, “twisted”) stem extension brings your access to the outside dual within reason. With these it’s an “easy read” of tire pressure.  They’re not expensive–you can likely fit out a set of duals for less than $15.00.  But hang on, there’s always the “fine print in the contract.”

First, valve stem extenders must be used ONLY on metal valve stems. Stick them on a rubber valve stem, and the motion put up by the extension will soon wipe out the air holding integrity of the rubber stems. Secondly, you may also have to hire the work of putting the new extenders on the rig–in some cases you’ll need to remove the wheels to get them on.  Some “do it yourselfers” will save the money and spend the time required to take the tires off and back on.

The real problem that tire professionals warn us about with valve extenders is that they reduce the integrity of the system. With a standard (non-extended) valve stem, you have two points where air can leak: At the “business end” of the stem itself, and likewise where the stem penetrates the rim. Add extenders and you add more points where leaks can (and often do) develop. And regardless of your stem, there will most always be a point of contact where the extender comes in contact with the rim. Time and vibration will most likely catch up and wear away at that extender.

What about using those flashy looking “stainless steel hose kits” that attach to your wheel hub? Again, the issue is reliability. The inside of that nice braided metal is a rubber tube. They do deteriorate with age, and “road hazards” can take a hose out in a flash.

What’s the answer? Sad to say, one of those old “trucker’s accomplices” is about the most reliable answer. It’s called a dual foot pressure gauge. It looks like a longer version of the tire pressure gauge you might carry in your shirt pocket, only two angled feet allow you to both push straight onto the inside dual stem, and the other allows you to “pull” onto the angled valve of the outside dual. The “stick” indicator on these guys isn’t spring loaded, so when your creaking back allows you stand up straight, you can adjust your glasses for a closer look of the gauge–it won’t have “snapped back” into the gauge stem.

Filling duals is another issue. Not every service station in town will have an air hose fitted out with a dual footed air chuck. Best place to look for a place to “air up” your tires will be at a truck stop. At least there, they most likely won’t charge you for the air!

There are a couple of approaches to the subject. One simply puts a more solid platform under your computer, and sets the whole works down in your lap. Many give you a wide enough surface that if you like to use a mouse in conjunction with your laptop, you have room to roll the mouse around; certainly all of them help you to keep you from getting “laptop burn,” particularly when your processor is working hard–say working with digital photos. Here’s an example of one such desk, that retails for less than $30, marketed by LapWorks (www.laptopdesk.net). This particular beast also has a folding hinge trick that allows you to set your laptop on a table, and the device then gives a bit of an angle to the laptop, making for easier typing. The problem some find with this kind of laptop desk is that when you need to move, you’ve got to up and set aside the desk and the laptop. Not always convenient, but it is one approach.

A somewhat similar approach, but one that gets the laptop off your lap entirely is to use a “bed table.” These handy little stands take a flat platform and add legs, usually folding ones. They’re great for breakfast in bed, and by sticking your laptop on one of these, you again have space for a mouse, and get the laptop heat away. Still, the issue of what do do when you need to move and don’t want to disrupt your work in progress comes up. This particular bird is sold by Sam’s Club.  You might want to shop around a bit, as this one with it’s handy drink and silverware holders could create issues with free mouse movement.

We’ve finally hit on what works well for us. Coupling the flat and stable platform with “full to the floor legs,” we find that a product called “Table Mate” solves the problems quite nicely. Made with lightweight plastic, the Table Mate is adjustable in height and in platform angle. There aren’t any side braces, so we can slide our legs in and out from under the rig without fear of banging up knees or legs. The whole rig slides right up over our laps, bringing the computer right into reach and at precisely the right height–and adjustable so we can use it with more than one chair, even the sofa.

We found we could order a two-pack of these from Walmart for $50, drop shipped to a nearby store. We jumped on it, and immediately found it was the answer to our laptop issue. In the end, however, the second Table Mate wound up being a printer stand, and set for the correct height, we could roll our plastic file cabinet right underneath the stand, saving even more floor space. Right now Walmart says they’re out of stock on these; check out an alternative seller at www.table-mate.com