Tips To Keeping Unwanted Pests out of your RV

On our last adventure we were packed full of people, stuff and food. After driving for almost 10 hours we arrived at our campground and started to unpack all of the “extra” bedding and blankets and found poop pellets from some sort of rodent. 

ETCTA’s Top-5 Tips To Keeping Unwanted Pests out of your RV

1-Inspect your RV, Know your RV

• Look for areas underneath your RV where a mouse or rodent can enter-In my 2016 Fleetwood Discovery 40g the most vulnerable area is the wet bay which has an easily moveable tray at the bottom and offers a direct line into the RV via the plumbing system.

• Inspect all wiring and plumbing to make sure they have not done any damage to any wiring, water or propane lines

• Inspect your bedding for a nest and poop
• Inspect all bays for holes or openings. Are any of them new? 

2-Clean, clean, clean

• Don’t leave anything in your RV that will attract a rodent (food, crumbs, smells). After each trip we wipe down all surfaces and cabinet drawers with Lysol Wipes

• Vacuum all areas. Inevitably someone will drop something on the floor while eating these droppings could be a Thanksgiving Feast for a rodent.
• Clean your grills and grill grates. Burnt or charred remains of last nights steak are Christmas dinner for a rodent and they will do everything possible to enjoy it.

3-Take preventative steps

• Utilize a rodent repellent. We put a few of these in the bays of our RV and apparently the smell retells rodents. Also as an extra precaution I sprinkled this on the ground around my RV.

4-Go easy on the traps

• They can break a finger or toe if not handled and placed correctly
• They attract and kill mice as opposed to repelling them. If you have a pest living in your RV then by all means be careful and strategically utilize them.

5-Take cues from your neighbors.

• If your neighbor in storage or at a campground has or had mice chances are that they will try to find a new home. 

Be Prepared and don't let a furry little creature ruin one ounce of your camping fun :-)

RV Park Review-KOA Point South/Yemassee

RV Park Review-KOA Yemassee

Campground Address:

14 Campground Road

Yemassee, South Carolina

Date of Stay-December 2018

Average Nightly Cost-$60

This KOA was a great stopping point on our way to Orlando.

I wish that I could have actually explored the campground but we rolled in LATE at night and out EARLY in the morning. 

When we arrived we were quickly checked in and shown to our site. Even at 8pm they had someone on duty ready willing and able to show us to our site. Our site was wide and deep enough for us not disconnect our toad. The bathrooms were super clean.

If you are in the area and need a clean and friendly place to stay I highly recommend the KOA/Point South 

#KOAKampgrounds

Top 5 Tips To Manage Disney & Universal During The Holidays

A few months ago we had a great idea of enjoying Disney and Universal Studios for Christmas. I  planned the journey and my lovely wife planned the theme park logistics.

We braved the crowds at Universal Studios on Monday December 24th and Tuesday December 25th and the endless mass of people at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on December 27th.

A few facts:

• Universal Studios is visited by over 10.1mm people each year
• Walt Disney World (all parks) is visited by over 150mm people each year
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom  is visited by over 12.5 mm people each year
• The average daily attendance at both parks is 4-5x greater than an average week…sooo be ready.

A Few Tips To Help You & Your Family Survive.

1-Invest in a Fast Pass (Disney) or Express Pass (Universal). In order to maximize your day you will need a little bit of help via an extra ticket. Based upon my experience…if the normal “wait-time” was a third of my actual wait time (20-minutes vs the posted 60-minutes). 

2-Arrive early and knock off your wish list rides early in the day. At Animal Kingdom we wanted to ride the Avatar Ride so we were one of the 1st ones in line when the park opened. Once the park opened we all made a “B” line to the front of the Avatar ride…by the time that we walked through the HUGE people cue we were able to walk on the ride. To be fair the people cue for this ride is almost a mile long (slight exaggeration). When we walked by later in the day the wait time for Avatar was 4 hours.

3-Eat at odd hours. Everyone wants to eat between 12 and 1! So the lines will be long. If you can hold off on feeding your family until after 2 you will save a few valuable minutes. 

4-Be friendly to EVERYONE! All of the employees have name badges talk to all of them, treat all of them the way that you want to be treated. You never know one of these employees might be able to offer you a valuable tip that will enhance your stay.

5-Plan ahead and pack your patience. If you decide to go during the busy time just know that the lines for EVERYTHING will be longer. Both Disney and Universal have apps that will provide you an interactive map of the  park along with ride or attraction.

Have Fun :-)

Unique Camping Experiences-Harvest Hosts

If you have been around the RV/Camping Lifestyle for over a year I am quite sure you have heard about Harvest Hosts. 

I wanted to give you my 2 cents. We have been happy members for the past 4 years and have stayed at well over 30+ different host sites.

What It Is 

• A great way to meet, interact  and learn from the local farmers, brewers and wine makers of this great country. After 30+ stays I can honestly say that I have an sincere appreciation of the hard work and passion that goes into local wine & beer making.

What It Isn't 

• A campground

• A campground

• A campground

Sorry for being repetitive but I have chatted with a few RV'er who were upset that they could not get Wifi or they could not connect to the host locations 50amp service

Prerequisite

You must have a self contained RV and most importantly be very comfortable being self contained.

• No electrical hook-ups

• No water hook-ups

• No sewer hook-ups

• No guarantee of a level place to park

Here is a video that Jason & Nikki Wynn put together about their experience with Harvest Host



Out of all of the RV Clubs and Memberships that we have this is one that we will definetly keep.