Imagine that you are about to retire. In the driveway, is a brand-new RV. Your dream machine. The Florida sun is shining, and life looks good…until you look out over the Gulf of Mexico to see a hurricane named Michael barreling down towards you. That’s what happened to a couple we met this week, who shared their harrowing story of what happens when a hurricane hits …how you – and your RV - need to be prepared, from having enough RV insurance, food and off-grid battery power in the RV. You will not want to miss the interview of the week, coming up in a bit. We also have lots of RV news this week, answer your RV Lifestyle questions about alternate energy for the RV and four-season RVs ready for cold weather camping and we have a great off-the-beaten path report from our friends the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride…Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #226 Jan. 23, 2019 of The RV Podcast WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Mike and Jennifer doing a Live stream on YouTube from the Tampa RV Supershow JENNIFER We've been attending the annual Florida RV Supershow for the past four days and it's good to be sitting! We put on a lot of miles shooting video on the new models and RV Lifestyle accessories we've seen down here. MIKE It seems like we walked pretty much every inch of the 26 -acre display area - several times - each day! There was so much to see with more than 1,500 RVs on display and 400 vendors showing off their RV products and services. JENNIFER Look for a full video on all the cool stuff this Thursday on our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel at https://youtube.com/rvlifestyle  And please, if you have not done so, subscribe to our channel there so you can be notified of new videos as we publish them. MIKE We also met dozens and dozens of fans and followers. It was truly humbling to shake so many hands and get so many hugs. We leave the show on an emotional high from all the encouragement and kind words. Thank you to all for taking the time to introduce yourself to us! And we’re off traveling again. By popular demand. We asked you on a recent YouTube live stream what kind of stories you’d like us to focus on besides our regular travel and trip reports and there was an overwhelming response to do more RV reviews and factory tours. So that’s what we plan to do over the next few weeks, visit various RV factories and suppliers and do a video report on how they build RVs, what new gadgets and innovations they have, who are the people building today’s RVs and what are the exciting things they are seeing for the future. So we’re off tomorrow to shoot our first one this week. We have another scheduled next week and you’ll be seeing them all soon on our YouTube RV Lifestyle Channel – https://youtbe.com/rvlifestyle We should note there was a definite downer part to this past weekend. Several very disturbing stories broke about a shakeup and serious allegations of financial irregularities surrounding the Erwin Hymer Group of North America, the parent corporation that owns Roadtrek Motorhomes. Many of you know that Jennifer and I have been on-the-road ambassadors for Roadtrek and the company has been one of our sponsors. We know many of the people who work there and our hearts go out to them in this time of uncertainty. Most of the stories we've seen come from unnamed sources and, as we write this newsletter, the company has not issued any comments at all. I’ve written all I know on the RV Lifestyle blog and if you need a background on it… check there. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Several unique Florida state parks still closed five months after Hurricane Michael hit An interesting story ran last week out of Florida, highlighting the lingering damage Hurricane Michael did to Florida's state parks with several remaining closed - some five months after the Category 4 hurricane hit. Some of the damage includes the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park's peninsula turning into an island, with a 20 foot deep ocean separating what was once one long strip of land. Another park greatly damaged was Florida Caverns State Park, which was the only Florida state park to offer cave tours. Jennifer and I visited those caves (see here to read more) and reading this story made me think about how suddenly a unique place can change. To read the full Florida state parks article, click here. And be sure to stay tuned to our interview about what it’s like when a hurricane hits your RV. JENNIFER Experts predict it will take decades for some national parks to recover from damage inflicted during government shutdown  The partial federal government shutdown is continuing to affect our national parks, with reports this week saying some of the parks will need DECADES to recover from the damage done to them by visitors. Most parks are partially opened, with a skeletal staff. While in many places communities are chipping in to pick up trash and care for the parks, in other areas people are taking advantage of the situation to go off road, and do other illegal things. (Click here to read more). To read other stories on this, click here or here. MIKE National Parks employee furloughed by government shut down, producing one video per day showcasing amazing national parks Speaking of national parks, last week I came upon a gem for all who love history and American national parks. During the partial government shutdown, a furloughed National Park Service employee is working to create one video per day featuring a national park. The videos are beautiful with stunning images, history and other information that makes each spot unique. The first one was on Big Bend National Park, a spot Jen and I hope to visit this spring, and fondly remember reading a story for our blog that Jim Phipps wrote about his experience visiting. (click here.). To see a story on the daily videos click here or go straight to the YouTube site here. JENNIFER Winnebago unveils RV options to better accommodate those in wheelchairs  Winnebago introduced RVs that are wheelchair accessible at the Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa last weekend. We’ve had lots of questions about such features ver the year and we applaud Winnebago for taking this step! The RVs include several options such as a wheelchair lift into the RV that can handle up to 800 pounds, a roll-in shower with assist bar, wider hallways, a raised toilet with assist bars and more. To learn more click here MIKE Michigan celebrating 100 years of state parks in 2019 Michigan state parks are celebrating their 100 year birthday this year with several special activities, including asking visitors to share a memory. Michigan has 103 state parks visited by about 28 million people in a typical year. Mackinac Island State Park was the nation's second national park, after Yellowstone, before the federal government gave it to the state when it became Michigan's first state park. (see here). To learn more about Michigan's state park centennial celebration, click here. Or head over to the website Trekers.org, run by our friends Ari and Jessi Adler, who plan to visit and report on each one of Michigan’s 103 state parks over the next year.   This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping  LISTENER RV QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK A listener asks about RVs advertised as four season and asks what does that mean for winter camping             If you do an online search for the term “Four Season RV”, the result will be a lot of truck campers and motorhomes or trailers that can withstand the cold. Beware! Not all of them are what the manufacturer implies. Sometimes the only difference between a normal RV and a “Four Season RV” is the weight surplus and the high price. You won’t find any industry-wide criteria in regards to materials or design that designate an RV as four season worthy But in general, to be a real four season RV it would need better sidewalls & roofs, ceiling insulation, and enclosed and insulated holding tanks. Lance truck campers are highly rated as four season. Lance features an advanced ducting system for optimal heat distribution. Lance spends a lot of time engineering the most efficient ducting routes so your camper does not have hot or cold spots, resulting in even temperature throughout. The holding tanks are included in this this system, which is unique to Lance products. Heating pads and heated pipes for Coachmen's optional Polar Package Plus on the Galleria Li3 Class B mtorhome Northwood’s Arctic Fox line of travel trailers and fifth wheels are said to be four season friendly. Keystone has a line of four season fifth wheels. To ensure that you stay warm even in the face of a cold winter, they put a test model fifth wheel in an extreme weather chamber, set the thermostat inside the RV to 74 degrees, and then dropped the ambient temperature around the fifth wheel to 0 degrees Fahrenheit for an extended period of time. The idea was to simulate an “extreme cold weather camping trip”. Although the outside temperature dropped below zero, the temperature inside the RV stayed at a comfortable 70+ degrees, and all of the holding tanks, dump valves and water lines remained completely operational. The Four Seasons Living Package includes an insulated and enclosed underbelly, R-21 insulation in the floor, insulated double layer fiberglass sidewalls, 12V electric tank heaters, insulated slide-outs, radiant technology insulated roof, heated pass-through storage and more. In motorhomes, it’s much trickier. Winnebago advertises that its 4 x 4 Revel Class B does not need to be winterized as long as the diesel heater is in use. Coachmen’s new Galleria Li3 Class B has done a lot to improve winter camping with extra insulation and moving the lithium batteries and the 30 gallon fresh water tanks from under chassis location,