The Dave and Raewyn's do's of RV life we have discovered

Some handy hints that we discovered

Firstly I would like to point out that points included should be taken experiences that we have encountered and what may have worked for us may not be practicable in all cases. Now that the disclaimer is up let's get started.

Prior to purchase

Now that you have narrowed it down to one or two RV's 

• Take the time to inspect your potential purchase get faults fixed then check and check again. The car salesman reputation applies at RV sales centers too you know. Besides they just need to move units.
• get up on the roof and under the RV. Climb in the pass through and look at the command center, you know that area under the shower that has everything that makes it livable in shitty weather if you cant access it then ask to have the panels removed so that you can see and test it all. Hot water, furnace and the back of the refrigerator
• Check out the frame, suspension, brakes and tires. In particular check out the date of the tires as they don't age like an Aussie Shiraz.
• Get up on the roof, loose the shoes and climb up and check out the rubber membrane for any leaks
• Check the outer walls for de-lamination, that is to say the laminated walls are starting to come apart. Usually can be identified as bulges in what would otherwise be a flat surface
• Did I mention to run the furnace, AC and refrigerator, water pump and anything else you can find?
• Run all jacks

Within the warranty period

Test all of the above as soon as possible as you might find yourself taking it back as we did with a auto-leveling jack fault and during this time you will get a feel as to how the RV pulls when empty (dry).

I guess at this point you will need to load the RV up

This is where the arguments happen and is a test of a relationship and is discussed in a latter blog.

Let me tell you about British Columbia

 Musings about British Columbia

Let me tell you about my experiences with living in southern British Columbia. Please bear with me this page eventually gets back on to the RV topic.

The first time we moved to Oliver, BC

We moved to Oliver in April to work for a winery as I had previously worked in viticulture in Victoria, Australia. 

Yarra Burn Victoria, Australia

I worked for a winery in Oliver, BC, and while the work was similar to Yarra Burn there seemed to be a hierarchy. More than just the chain of command. The "ol'e boy" system that exists in England and to a lesser degree in Australia is alive and well here in southern BC at least.

Yarra Burn was a great place to work, I actually enjoyed my work and the views rolling hills and temperate rainforest. The winery in Oliver included the same kind of work, I was operations manager, which means I basically managed the machinery used in the operation of a vineyard.

So while the work was similar the work ethic and the attitude towards employees is completely different.   

Here in southern British Columbia (the Okanagan and the East Kootenay regions) are the regions that have the mildest climate by Canadian standards. So these regions have typically medium industrial , commercial and alot of hospitality due the amount of tourism in the area. Increased tourism generally will mean low paying jobs and this is what you will get in these areas. I mean the average hourly rate seems to be around $20 - $27 p/hour. which is certainly a meager wage in an area with expensive housing and cost of living when compared to other areas.

Second time in the East Kootenay

Employers in others areas seem to be fine with asking you to do additional work that will be unpaid. I was a bit miffed at this as it does not benefit me financially at all, actually it seems that employees feel grateful for the privilege of being able to work. When I queried a fellow employee they said it was normal and that it's just part of the "sunshine tax" 

Pretty as a picture just don't work there

 The "sunshine tax" It's more a case of tight-assed small/medium companies in a position to screw over it's locals who have limited options of employment.

If you are new to this blog please subscribe and comment.

 Either positive or negative let me know what you think.

  

Plans for 2021

As seems you can't make a living in Southern BC, anything substantial anyway. we will be possibly heading north again and maybe even wintering in Northern Alberta, this should allow us to eventually winter in the States not withstanding COVID border restrictions.

Raewyn, hasn't experienced the Northern Lights and you need to be up north in the winter to see them in their full spender.

We are currently looking for a heated shed for the winter that will fit our RV and perhaps a car or two. Now this is a task as you could imagine they would be fairly highly sought after. The RV park that we stayed at had some dedicated heated sheds for this purpose. There not cheap but they are a cheaper option than renting a house or a unit as we have animals to consider. 

That's interesting eh? a heated shed for your RV. Not something you would need to consider when living in an RV and Australia has a lot of "grey nomads" full timing and living on the road.

We do figure that 18 to 24 months in the oilfield will be sufficient to catch up financially and to have enough to finally get down south for a work-free winter finally.

I don't get the differences in pay rates in different provinces across Canada. I mean I can understand the differences in mining industry work and other work but similar employment between provinces? It seems to me that in British Columbia people think that $20 p/hour is a reasonable wage when based on the cost of living it should be more like at least $25 p/hour. People here just laugh it off and say it's the "sunshine tax". That's Southern BC for ya'. Don't get me wrong I mean it's not a pretty place and were here as we didn't want to winter unprepared in northern Alberta. It's just the wages, they suck! 

So in all, Rocky Pines RV "resort" is serving it's purpose even if it's located on the side of an unstable hill and I mean unstable as we have had to adjust the leveling jacks on occasion up until the ground started to freeze. They do include a carpark for people here who's vechicles cant get up the hill to their RV's.

Rocky Pines RV Park

We were lucky to get that site as there are alot of RV'ers that cant get south. On the plus side they do have fast internet. The sites electricity is currently un-metered (they have slapped an additional $100 on top of the site fees of  $600 so we have switched as much as possible over to electricity, even bought an additional heater or two to save on propane usage.

So as the moment we are looking leaving on or around mid March.

Hi, if you have gotten this far please subscribe to receive updates and feel free to comment.

 

Cranbrook, British Columbia

Life in Cranbrook, British Columbia 

We arrived in Cranbrook late October to enjoy the remainder of the warm weather. Rocky Pines RV park is located on the eastern end of Cranbrook just off highway 3.

Rocky Pines RV Park was not our first or second choice for that matter. Cranbrook is not as touristy as Fernie which is just down the road but has a bigger population, we were hoping to spend winter on Vancouver Island but most sites were already booked out due to the Canada/US border being closed. The snowbirds need to go somewhere I guess, as it turns out Cranbrook was a better choice for picking up work quickly.

Cranbrook's main industry is logging and tourism and meth production. The last one is a judgment based on the amount of "tweakers" spotted while driving through town.

Since my time in Canada, I have found that working in BC seems to be treated as a privilege as most employers pay as little as possible and expect far too much for free. Locals just laugh this off and say that it's the "sunshine tax". I guess that is why my bias lies with Alberta.  

Rocky Pines RV Park is on the side of a hill where all the RV spaces are all cramped together with only dead pine trees for shelter. The park does have surprisingly fast internet speed that has a relatively good uptime. All sites have 30 and 50 amp power, water and sewer mounted conveniently halfway on the edge of each site. None of the sites have meters so each site has an additional one hundred on top of the six hundred per month for the site so it's a case of running as much as possible on electricity.   

As the RV park was landscaped in 2019 with power going in 2020, there is no laundromat (construction started in late 2020 with the intended opening in the first half of 2021. There are two laundromats in Cranbrook, a conventional laundromat complete with homeless and tweakers and a drop-off service.

Our first winter

Upon setting our RV at the park we had to look at skirting our RV for the winter and organizing a few 90 Lb. propane bottles. It is an obligation or a condition of wintering at this RV park that you skirt your RV with either a custom skirt or with wooden framing with insulation foam. While this is a common practice it seems wasteful to spend three hundred or so on materials only to give it away when we leave in mid March 2021. 

The general consensus is that skirting is necessary for sub zero camping. We have found that our cougar is good for minus 10 degrees C, we did find that the floor was cold even though the heating was set to 20 degC.

The median temperature in Cranbrook for December are supposedly around minus 5 degC but of late it's been around minus 6 at night to -2 to plus 6 degC I did some work under the trailer and did notice it was significantly warmer so I believe the skirting even in these mild temperatures would be saving in heating costs.

We found that at temperatures above minus 15 degC we have to turn down the furnace as the two small space heaters are sufficient to maintain an average temperature of around 20 degrees inside the RV. There is one distinct advantage  that 5th wheels have over travel trailers (caravans if your an Aussie) is that as the bedroom is the highest point it's generally the warmest room especially when you have a kelpie and a kitty sleeping on you.

Cranbrook, located in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia is similar in climate with The Okanagan which is further to the west. The Okanagan has a higher population with Pentiction and Kelowna both being larger that Cranbrook.

Leaving Peace River, Alberta for Cranbrook, British Columbia

 Heading South for the Winter. Cranbrook, BC

Being the first summer in our RV we were able to set up our little home on wheels for the warmer weather but we figured out that minus 20 Deg C weather was not an ideal first winter for us so I took a 6 month sabbatical from working in northern Alberta so we packed up and headed south, well as far south as COVID would allow. We were originally going to stay on Vancouver Island for it's mild winters. We made a few stops along the way, as we had a few days to get to Cranbrook. It would also mean a stop for a few days at one of the bigger RV parks on the outskirts of Edmonton, Alberta.

Dimond Grove RV Park, is about 6 hours south of Peace River. it's one of those RV parks where your average rig is worth around $250.000 plus. We were greeted by a grumpy RV attendant who guided us into our site and explained ad nauseum about how to back our RV a difficult 30 feet and DON"T DRIVE ON THE GRASS!!! Seriously this guy was as condescending as hell. I figured that this asshole was just used to assisting overly cautious, over cashed retirees reverse the kids inheritance into it's spot. 

The RV site rules were somewhat draconian such as all wood for firepit's and BBQ's had to be bought from the site otherwise "fire privilege's would be rescinded. Other RV park rules were standard as you would expect, such as animals on a lead etc.     

Service with a frown

The site on a daily fee was $50.00 per night, which is the most expensive way to pay for a site but as we were there for three nights it was our only option. RVer's stay at this park. It's open all year around, just don't bring your own fire wood.

Our time in Edmonton allowed us to catchup with friends and Raewyn's family. We left for Lethbridge, AB and encountered 100Km winds which managed to partially remove some of the plastic fender. Like I said, these RV's break. I was surprised as the crosswinds didn't seem to push the RV around. We did notice that the fuel consumption did increase considerably. 

We left Edmonton for Lethbridge to stay with friends then on to Cranbrook, BC where we are going to stay for the winter.

 

Life in the Peace River region of Alberta

 Welcome to Peace River, Alberta

For the duration of our stay in the Peace region allowed us to take stock of the new RV and our new way of life as three days prior we were living in a house in Oliver, BC. Raewyn, was in the process of going back to fulltime study in business & HR management. I was working within the oil and gas sector in the Peace Region. I had already been working fir the same company for two years prior and was fly in and fly out back to Oliver.

When we arrived in Peace River, Alberta the temperatures dropped to below freezing but was a few degrees over by mid morning so our non-insulated water hose for the RV supply would partially  freeze.

As previously mentioned we were over loaded while transporting the RV over the Rockies from Oliver, we needed to continue to go through our stuff to see what we really need and can do without. For the interim and to preserve our sanity we rented a small storage unit through Rendez-Vous RV park. While the reader might think "out of site out of mind" it still allowed us some space to go through stuff over the next 6 months. One benefit of COVID was that the holiday season for Northern Alberta was relatively quiet, particularly as roads crossing into the Territories were closed for the season.

The bulk of guests at the RV park were employed within the energy sector or working in construction twinning the bridge across the Peace River and various projects around the region. Due to the extremes in climate most construction happens in the warmer months. 

Yep, people live in RV's in -40 Deg C

During our time we were hoping to take some time out to travel and explore the local area unfortunately due to the COVID restrictions that were inplace at the time and my workload traveling the area was fairly restricted. 

High Level, Alberta

We did get to relocate to High Level, Alberta which is about 3 hours North from Peace River, Alberta for a few weeks which was made easier with the bulk of our stuff in our storage unit. What can I tell you about High Level? It's a town in the middle of nowhere, it's about as far north as you can grow wheat even for that it's pretty marginal as the summer season is so short. The main income is from oil and gas and forestry with some tourism mainly hunting and fishing. Any further north and it's mainly tundra and muskeg.

How to constructively break stuff

We were soon to discover how easy it is to break stuff in the RV. Cabinets and fittings are fairly fragile not to mention keep an eye out when opening and closing slides particularly in the kitchen and under the bed as where there seems to be alot of unused space. It's amazing how well a slide can crush pots and pans!

While you can store kitchen stuff there don't close that slide!

We learnt early on on that before you open and close slides be sure to check that cupboard doors, and that crush spaces are clear of obstacles as not only do they get damaged they can cause damage to the slides themselves.

For all of the wood grained paneling there isn't a large mount that is actually made out of wood. it's mostly MDF with a plastic coating. This generally means that fixtures and fittings fall off or can be damaged through general use and while the RV is being towed down the road.

As someone said its like a house in a tornado/earthquake for the duration of the trip.

There is a reason for the materials used in the construction of an RV that is weight. The RV has to be built to be within the weight that the axles are rated to and ofcourse the towing capacity of the vehicle and license restrictions that may apply. A basic tool kit and some items such as screws, plumbing fittings and glue will come in handy. Most of the repairs we have had to do since we bought the 5th wheel have been fairly basic such as replacing broken plumbing fittings due to a few cold and frosty mornings, remounting cabinet doors and anything else likely to fall off.

 

Traveling from Oliver, British Columbia to Peace River, Alberta

Oliver, British Columbia to Peace River, Alberta.

We left Oliver in mid April 2020, with the aim of staying overnight in Jasper just over the border in Alberta in the Rockies. The journey involved heading north through the Okanagan, British Columbia. So it was a good test with the RV loaded, being a 5th wheel I found it easier to pull than a travel trailer with more even weight distribution on the front and rear axles on the Ford. This journey was the first time we pulled the trailer with all our worldly possessions. The trip took us over a few mountain passes with about 10 hours in total, allowing for a few stops to take the odd photo, coffee and to check wheels and tyres. When you're towing it pays to plan your trip with plenty of time to complete your journey as bouncing down your typical Alberta road you're going to end up with broken plates and your stuff bouncing everywhere. 

The route we took through the Okanagan and the Rockies to Jasper, BC. When we arrived in Jasper, as we were just there for the night we found some off-street parking and opened the bedroom slide.

Fortunately when all slides are in you can still access the bathroom, the stovetop and the bed. One disadvantage we found with the RV is that the 12 volt batteries that power the lights, slides, leveling jacks and the furnace are only charged when the RV is plugged into the towing vehicle. When we were checking all the functions on the RV we found that the single 12 volt battery was pretty much discharged after extending the slides and setting the auto-leveler, which lowers the four stands and levels the RV. So while on the road we couldn't afford to flatten the battery so we only extended the bedroom slide for the night. Later in Peace River we would eventually add a trickle charger to the battery however this would only charge the battery when plugged into a mains power outlet or connected to a generator.

Trickle charger maintains battery charge

We found that running the lights, furnace would discharge the battery to about fifty percent during the day and recharge overnight. Something that needs to be corrected this coming spring in 2021 is to add an additional battery and solar panel on the roof. While this will not be enough to run the air conditioner it will be sufficient for lights slides and furnace. 

When we reached Jasper  for our overnight stay the temperatures were around 2-3 deg C and out first night of sleeping in the RV. As we didn't unhook the Ford it was just a matter of retracting the bedroom slide a quick coffee and we were on our way. The day's travel we would continue our drive through Rockies to Hinton in Alberta where we would then head North through to Grande Prairie, Alberta.

The route levels out once you are close to Hinton, Alberta. As you head north to Grande Cache, Alberta the terrain changes to rolling undulating hills and rough secondary roads. Grande Prairie was the main stop along the way for a break before the final leg of the journey. 

We had to arrive at the RV park by 8 in the evening to check in and to allow time for RV site staff to show us where the sight that we booked was located. As Peace river is located fairly North that it was daylight until 10pm so setting up late in the evening wasn't going to be an issue. We arrived just after 8pm after going via Rycroft and Grimshaw.

Due to COVID the park was relatively empty when we arrived in March. there are 2 sections to the park the northern side being the newest has smaller wind brakes but is closer to the council park and trout pond. The RV park was mainly inhabited by people working on the new Peace River bridge. While we were there a few families stopped at the park but numbers were down through the peak holiday season. You know people RV here in the winter? Indeed, even with the regions' minus 40 degC winters. People actually do stay here over the winter in Peace River and this park is open all year around but we didn't want to try this for our first winter in our RV.

Yep, that pond is stocked in spring. The layout of the RV park and council park means that this RV park was ideal for pets

One thing we did learn while setting the 5th wheel up was that it can be completed in a relatively short time. Once we backed the trailer into the site set the legs and stabilizer legs, extended the slides, connected power, water and waste water  we were pretty much setup within one hour and we learnt that once you have stopped once inside use caution when opening kitchen cupboards as everything had moved around, thanks Alberta roads.

Home sweet home for the summer at least.

If you're in the Peace River area the Rendez-Vous RV Park is worth a look. 950 Woods Rd, Peace River, AB T8S 1Y9 Phone: (780) 618-1345.