November 2007 · Nov 14

White Belt Chronicles # 4

I think that most RVers tend to be a pretty loyal bunch, particularly if they get good service and good value. RVers also are a supremely viral bunch; weather it be traditional word of mouth, on-line forums or blogs such as this one.

The power of the consumer has never been greater thanks to technology. This little article of mine can be read by thousands of people. Some may agree with my observations, and other may think I’m a little soft between the temples, but I find it somehow therapeutic to get these things off my chest.

Since Karla and I began RVing, we have always sought out good service providers to make our RVing experience more enjoyable. One of the regular stops we all have to make is for fuel. We have always sought out Flying J service centers for a number of reasons…….they are one of the few fuel chains that recognize RVs and go out of their way to cater to the unique needs of the RV Nation. Special fuel lanes that accommodate big rigs, dump stations at the fuel islands, propane, a special RV loyalty card with fuel discounts and a place to grab a pretty passable meal.

Maintaining brand consistency is a real challenge for every organization and I’m sure it’s hard to please everybody all the time. Well I think Flying J does a pretty good job of providing consistent service and value…..the fuel prices always seem to be competitive.

Now some of you might be saying, did they pay him to say this? Is he getting soft? Whoa! Slow down! I’ve got a few bones to pick with Flying J. First of all, we have tried to contact Flying J for several years to set up a story with them. Free, no strings attached editorial that would profile a company that recognizes the needs of RVers. Well, clearly, nobody at Flying J has any idea who we think we are. Nary a return phone call or email. That would appear to be common courtesy, but all I got was deafening silence from the Ogden, Utah head office.

I’m not done yet……

On a recent trip down to Connecticut we were wheeling Big Mo down I 90 in up-state New York and I asked Karla to pull out our trusty Flying J locater map and find the nearest fuel oasis to fill our Powerhouse Coach’s wallet-draining 300 gallon tanks. My co-pilot delivered the good news that we were very close to the only Flying J in New York state, at exit 48 on I 90…….whoo hoo!

I wheeled in expecting the usual carefree pit stop I had enjoyed at countless Flying J locations across the US and Canada. I pulled up to the propane fueling station that was located in the designated RV area. I called for service and out came a professional young man who filled up my empty 36 gallon tank…..so far, so good. Then I had to pull ahead to the fuel island…..that’s when the fun started. The card reader would not read my credit card or my Flying J RV Card, so after several attempts to activate the pump at the island, I had to go inside, wait in line and hand over my plastic to activate the pump. We have fuel tanks on both sides on our semi chassis based rig, so I started fueling on the passenger side only to discover that the fuel nozzle had no latch on it to allow me to keep it running while I went to the satellite pump. The satellite pump was without a latch as well so by the time I was done, my hand was cramping. The fueling process took 25 minutes! Yep, 25 long, frustrating minutes. Then it was back inside to line up for a second time to pay and retrieve my plastic that was being held hostage. Now we’re approaching 40 minutes on the entire propane/diesel transaction. Time to get back on the road right? Wrong! There was a semi truck backed in to the cash area making a delivery to the retail store. He was completely blocking the RV exit lanes. I asked the driver how long he thought he would be…….”about 20 minutes.” he said. So we set a new record for the amount of time it took us to refuel. I usually look forward to seeing a Flying J sign ahead, on this day, I was happy to see it in my rear camera.

And one more thing, if you’re going to offer a fuel discount, make a meaningful one. On a purchase of over $400.00 of fuel, my discount was a dollar and change……..Karla and I have consulted professional financial planners to help us decide what to do with our windfall.

We will continue to choose Flying J as a preferred fuel stop, but hopefully they will improve the shortcomings at their Pembroke, NY location and realize that RVers represent a worthy segment of the population to attract as customers. It would be nice to see some of the other fuel companies create facilities for us Rvers.

Got some good fueling experiences or horror stories? Post them here.

In the meantime, Travel Safe and Have Fun!

— Rob Engman

White Belt Chronicles # 3 · Sep 10

The days of carefree air travel are long gone, another reason that RV travel is a safe, cost-effective and enjoyable way to get from A to B. In the course of producing the show and running my business, I am forced to travel by commercial airlines several times a year. Each experience is different and there seems to be no way to accurately gauge how long the trip will take. There are a lot of factors that come into play…..volume of passenger traffic, weather delays, airline delays and security. Last year I flew back to Toronto from Presqille, Maine. With two plane changes and several delays, the door-to-door journey was over 14 hours. For grins, I MapQuested it when I got home only to discover that the driving time was just over 13 hours!

On a flight last year from New York to Buffalo, they had just enacted a 3 oz. limit on liquids, so I went out and bought travel sized toiletries so as not to pose a toothpaste or shampoo threat. I was just heading down for the weekend for my cousin’s 50th birthday party, so I was traveling light with just a carry on. Well the TSA screening team zeroed in on my bag and asked me to open it. They went right for my toiletry bag and started pulling out my under three ounce liquids. “These need to be in a plastic bag!” the burly, surly woman loudly scolded. Proclaiming sincere ignorance, I asked if they had such a high tech security device available. “We used to” she said “but too many people wanted them.” Ah yes, the logic that only an underpaid government regulated agent could follow. Not being one to let go of my newly acquired travel sized stuff so easily, I asked the TSA agent to hang on for a second…….I spied a store just beyond security and scurried over in search of a plastic bag. Eureka! A plastic bag was cheerfully furnished and I strode triumphantly back to reclaim what was rightfully mine. Much to my chagrin, I was then informed by Ilsa, She wolf of the TSA that it couldn’t be any old plastic bag…….it had to be a transparent Zip-Lock bag. Now my choices were to go back to the gate and check my bag (clearly shampoo and toothpaste is much less dangerous in the cargo hold than in the cabin) and risk missing my flight OR admit defeat, surrender my personal hygiene products and scamper off with my tail between my legs……… Well, once arriving in New York, I found the nearest CVS and restocked my travel bag. One would think that after this ordeal, I would have also bought Zip-Lock bags; being naturally blonde and, some would argue, pre-maturely senile the thought never entered my mind…….at least not until I was in the security line to come back home three days later. The sheer terror of loosing yet another set of cute little 3oz. travel toiletries drove me to distraction. Then it hit me…..everyone was emptying their pockets of all metal objects…….Hmmm metal……none of my 3oz. travel toiletries were metal! I quickly and discretely opened my carry on and stuffed my shampoo, toothpaste and aftershave in my pants pocket. The carryon went onto the belt and I walked through the metal detector without incident. I felt a little guilt at having breached the sophisticated security at one of the Nation’s busiest airports, but knew in my heart that I would be a cleaner and better smelling man for the effort.

I just want to clarify that I believe we need to have the highest level of security at our airports. It’s a shame that we have to, but we do. I support every initiative that will make the skies safer, just not the dumb ones. You can have your shampoo confiscated and then go straight to the duty free store and buy a bottle of highly flammable over proof rum……makes no sense to me.

I could regale you with many more airline stories that would prove the point that RV travel is a better way to go, but if you’re reading this, you are probably an RVer and you already know that.

Travel Safe and Have Fun!

— Rob Engman

June 2007 · Jun 5

Well you might be saying finally…...another White Belt Chronicles…..or not. A friend of mine recently reminded me that the good thing about writing a blog is that you can share your views, however unpopular or misguided, with the great unwashed, on-line masses…..the bad thing is that the people who subscribe to your blog will get expect regular updates. I haven’t done so well on the latter. Allow me to offer my lame excuses and get on with things. We have been busy finishing up shooting Season 4 of RVTV. It’s hard to believe but we will have completed 52 episodes after this season is delivered! OK one more bit of bragging…..we won 2 Telly Awards for Season 3 episodes!

Well it seems that my first attempt at writing something that people would care to read was along the lines of carping. I don’t really want to pigeon holed or perhaps curmudgeon holed as a person who complains full time…...oh who am I kidding? The title of this blog has done that already, so let’s talk about the misconceptions people have about RVing. When we first decided to purchase a Motorhome several years ago, I can remember friends asking (somewhat facetiously) if I was going to retire and move to a trailer park in Florida. First of all, I hate the term “Trailer Park”....it begs for the suffix “Trash”. We like to stay in Campgrounds or RV Resorts. There are a lot of tired facilities out there that probably warrant the stigma that goes along with the Trailer Park moniker and we should do what we can to make sure they either update or fade away into oblivion. How do we do this? Well we vote with our wallets for starters.

There are many places that we have pulled into that did not live up to their billing. Karla is pretty diligent about seeking out good, clean, reputable places to stay, but occasionally, even supposed “experts” like us are led astray by deceptive or….. less than accurate advertising. In the great lyrics of Tom Waits, “The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.” We use the directories, but don’t forget they are all supported by advertisers…..sooo they are rating and reviewing the same people who are paying them to publish the book. Now, I am in no way impugning the people who publish these directories, even though it’s the same huge conglomerate that owns both of the most popular ones. The web is also a great resource for selecting a destination or an overnight stay, but here too we have been burned. We make sure that there are pictures on the web site. If you haven’t got anything nice to show, you probably won’t show anything at all.

I think the best way to police the campgrounds/resorts/RV parks of the world is through impartial, consumer generated reviews. There are a few web sites out there that do just that…..but they need all of us to post reviews that are as current and as impartial as we can be. RVFamilyFun.com is one site that allows consumers to rate RV facilities. Remember to be fair and objective in your reviews.

Some of the best places we’ve stayed at have come recommended to us by fellow Rvers. Most people who are savvy in the RV Industry realize that we are communicative and sharing community. The best advertising, and sometimes the worst, takes place around the campfire or in a lawn chair at happy hour. Please feel free to respond to this edition of White Belt Chronicles with your best and worst stories.

I leave you with this pledge…….it won’t be nearly as long until my next dispatch…..AND, lest I forget to share this newsflash, watch for the first ever RVTV video podcast coming out this month. If you don’t know what a podcast is, don’t feel bad, it’s a relatively new technical innovation born out of the iPod and available to anyone with a computer and an internet connection……if you’re reading this……that means you. Watch the web site for the podcast launch date……if you like it, simply subscribe and new podcasts will automatically come your way when we spit them out, if you don’t like them (which means we’ve failed miserably and your rejection will send us seeking expensive therapy) then you can simply unsubscribe and never be bothered again with current RV news and information for free. OK, I’m done with the sales job and the guilt trip. Until next time…..in the very near future (still pretty non-committal) , keep the dirty side down……travel safe and have fun.

— Rob Engman

The White Belt Chronicles · Feb 13

OK, so this is my first shot at a blog. A few years ago I didn’t know what a blog was. Then I didn’t understand why anyone would take the time to write one. Today, I feel a need to share some experiences and opinions that I hope you’ll enjoy.

First off, let me explain the name of my blog…...“The White Belt Chronicles”. My wife Karla is often my lone captive audience as we travel down the road. Apparently, I often….....I mean occasionally go on a bit of a tirade about things that annoy me, strike me as unjust or just plain dumb. At moments like these, Karla suggests that I get a white belt, move to Florida and complain full time. Now let me say this…....I love Florida. It’s a great state for RVers and those of us who have an allergy to snow and the shovels required to manage it. If you happen to own a white belt, this blog is in no way meant to be an indictment of your fashion sense. The White Belt Chronicles will allow me to share some of my stories, opinions and curmudgeon like rants. Now, I’ll admit that I’ve always looked forward to Andy Rooney’s vignettes on 60 minutes, but I will try to stay on topic here. I truly believe that there are enough things to talk about that pertain to our RV lifestyle. Karla finds Andy’s unkept and bushy eyebrows particularly disturbing. If I get even one stray eyebrow hair, she has been known to sneak up on me with razor sharp shears.

And the really neat thing about a blog is that it will allow for interaction with the reader. If you’d like to leave a comment to any blog you read…...you can post it right here. This can include views that are contrary (be nice), suggestions for future topics.

Choosing an inaugural topic was pretty easy because it’s a subject that I encounter almost every day on the road. The Left Lane Bandits…....those intrepid drivers who blissfully occupy the left lane…...also known as the “passing lane”.....at or below the speed limit as a long line of hapless drivers form a long line behind them. In front of the Bandit lies an open road. What goes through the Bandit’s head? Very little, I fear. The bandit continues to hog the left lane as the drivers behind him or her…...usually him, get increasingly annoyed. They try to let him know that they would like to get by him by tailgating, flashing brights, honking, gesticulating…..but undeterred the Bandit hangs onto his prize. When one of his unwilling captives gets a break and is able to pass him on the right, the Bandit remains steadfast in his position and will not acknowledge the glare of the passing driver. HEY BANDIT! If your reading this, here’s how it’s supposed to work. If you wish to drive below the posted speed limit, stay in the right lane. If you encounter a vehicle that is driving even slower than you, then and only then, can you use the left lane to pass. Once you’ve passed, get back in the right lane.

RVers seem to know how this works. I very rarely see an RV committing this cardinal road sin. The ones I see are most likely renters. Keeping traffic flowing smoothly and safely is everybody’s responsibility. Don’t hog the left lane and don’t tailgate those who do.

Also, have you ever noticed that if you’re driving your RV in the passing lane and keeping up with the flow of traffic…...passing the traffic in the slow lane and maintaining a safe following distance behind the vehicle in front of you, there’s always some guy in a fast car who needs to power past you, whip in front of you and then slam on his brakes?! Does he have a death wish? Does he not know that it takes more road to stop a big RV than it does to stop Honda Civic with a coffee can muffler?

That’s the way it looks to me from behind the wheel of “Big Mo”.
As my good friend Doug Swarts says…..“Keep the dirty side down.”

— Rob Engman