New RV Owners Are Skipping This (and It's Costing Them)
RV Podcast - Stories From The Road
Mike Wendland
4.5 • 704 Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2026
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Buying a new RV is exciting, but according to veteran RVer Janice Smith, your first stop shouldn't be a cross-country trek. With 34 years of experience and **16 different RVs** under her belt, Janice joins Mike and Jen to reveal her "must-do" ritual for every new rig: the **Shakedown Trip**.
In this episode of *The RV Podcast*, we dive into why this short initial trip is the single most important thing you can do to save your future vacation (and your sanity). Janice shares exactly what she looks for, the common "new rig" issues she’s caught, and why even the most expensive units need a trial run.
### ???? In This Episode:
* **Stories from the Road:** Janice Smith on the art of the "Shakedown Trip" and her 3-decade journey through 16 RVs.
* **Travel Tips:** Essential advice for your next adventure.
* **RV Q&A:** We answer your burning questions about the RV lifestyle.
* **Destination Spotlight:** An epic guide to the **Blue Ridge Parkway**—a bucket-list drive every RVer needs to experience at least once.
**Release Date:** March 18, 2026
**Hosts:** Mike and Jen Wendland
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### ✨ Resources & Links
* **Join the RV Lifestyle Community:** https://rvcommunity.com
* **RV Lifestyle Store** https://shop.rvlifestyle.com
* **RV Trip Budget Planner:** https://rvlifestyle.com/budget
*** Ultimate RV Trip Packing List Tool** https://rvlifestyle,com/packingapp
***RV Lifestyle Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway** https://rvlifestyle.com/blueridge
**Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE and hit the ???? to join us on the road!**
> "The best way to enjoy the road is to be prepared for it." — Janice Smith
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is episode 592 of the RV podcast. |
| 0:05.0 | And this week on the podcast? |
| 0:08.0 | We've had a variety of RVs. |
| 0:10.0 | We've started out with the travel trailer, the tag-along, |
| 0:14.0 | and we've had two fifth wheels. |
| 0:16.0 | We've had motor homes that have been the A, B, C, |
| 0:20.0 | and now we're in the Super C. |
| 0:22.8 | And we have had all different sizes from 40 foot on down to about 25 foot in length. |
| 0:29.6 | And we've enjoyed everything about each one that we had. |
| 0:33.2 | Each one had a purpose. |
| 0:35.3 | And that's what they're for is to meet the purpose in your life, and they're a |
| 0:38.7 | season time, too, as well. In this episode's conversation of the week, we're going to hear |
| 0:44.0 | from a veteran RVer who has owned 16 different RVs over the past three decades, and she will |
| 0:50.7 | share the single most important thing that she does as soon as they get a new one. |
| 0:56.2 | Plus, we'll share your travel trips, answer your RV questions, and share an epic road trip |
| 1:01.0 | every RVer needs to do at least once. |
| 1:04.3 | This episode is being released on March 18, 26, and it finds us reporting to you from Florida, where we've pretty much been on the road |
| 1:13.2 | down here since the first of the year. |
| 1:16.3 | Hello, everybody, and welcome to the RV podcast. |
| 1:19.3 | I'm Jennifer Wendland, and this is my lifelong traveling companion, Michael, my husband. |
| 1:24.4 | Hello, Michael. |
| 1:25.4 | Hello, my dear. |
... |
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