New iPhone app by RVer maps America's malls

One characteristic you can claim to be part of us RVers genes is that we don't let too much grass grow under our wheels. Some of us are on the go more than others, but we are all moving about to one degree or another. As such we are forever traveling to new areas that we are unfamiliar with and have to bumble around trying to find the services, shopping, and restaurants that we like.

One RVer, John Ahrens, is hoping to make our lives easier. He and his associates have created an app called Point Inside for iPhone and iPod Touch where they scanned more than 400 malls around the US and Canada, so that you can walk into one in Sioux City or Richmond or Seattle, bring it up on your iPhone, and have before you an interactive map of that mall showing where the Radio Shack store is, the location of the escalators, how to find the Starbucks, and the quickest route to the restroom.

You can learn more about this app (which just went live) and the malls now mapped in the iTunes store. And so far, the app is free, so don't hesitate to download it and try it out.

Dyson's super powerful new clean machine

Are you still looking for a useful gift for the RVer in your life? This one takes some serious consideration. I’m referring to the Dyson DC31, a powerful new handheld vacuum from the Dyson people that will have your RV clean up chores finished before the fun of using it wears off.

Dyson recently sent one of their DC31 vacuums to me to test (probably upon hearing about the current state of cleanliness of my motorhome) and I agreed to put it to the test. These are the findings of me, my wife, her sister, my brother-in-law (who vacuumed out his entire car), and my niece and nephew, all who participated in the testing over the Thanksgiving weekend).

•The first thing I noticed was the powerful suction, the Dyson patented cyclone design. The claim was that it is the only handheld vacuum that doesn’t lose suction over the length of the battery charge. I can attest to this, having used it right up to the end of its charge.

•The DC31 utilizes a 21.6 volt lithium ion battery that gives ten minutes of continuous suction. And this battery, Dyson claims, re-charges three times faster than the competition. I can’t guarantee that, not having tried every other vacuum, but I can tell you that it charged up very fast. In fact, I seldom used it for the full charge, using it mostly for short quick pick-ups, and kept it plugged into its wall mounted charger when not in use and it was always ready to go.

This is what I liked about the DC31:
•It looks like a robot fighting machine out of Star Wars.
•It was not too heavy for my wife and young niece to use.
•It carries a two-year warranty.
•It picks up from carpets, linoleum, wood, computer keyboards, small children’s food trays, around litter boxes, in corners and crevices, and sucks up spider webs, beach sand, garden dirt, and the scattered remains of a Thanksgiving dinner.

•Changeable tools allow for most cleaning situations. The clever design of the main tool has a sliding brush head that slides back out of the way for use on hard surfaces. A crevice tool gets the hard to clean areas.

•A button on the back offers the option of ten minutes at lower power, or up to six minutes at 70% greater power—which even at this setting is not annoyingly loud. The lower power setting will handle most jobs, but the increased power setting really turns on the juice for tough jobs.

•To empty, I simply pushed a red release button and the bottom sprung open to empty the debris into a trash can. Then snap closed. (Open, shake debris out, close--four seconds. I timed it.) There is no bag to replace and the lifetime filter needs cleaning only once a year.

After using the DC31 to suck up everything I could think of I can recommend it as a very useful tool for RVers. It does the job admirably well, and it fits in perfectly with our RV and boondocking lifestyles.

Bob Difley is the editor of the blog "RV Boondocking News."

Putting up the RV for the winter? It's a "wrap" with Doctor Shrink

OK, we admit it--we probably won't be the first in line for this unusual idea, but some RVers might find it just the trick for keeping their RV out of the elements for the season. Have no fear (of weather intrusion) Dr. Shrink is here.

Forget about those Tyvek RV covers that flap in the wind. Forget about blue tarps that blow away. Dr. Shrink helps you become your own do-it-yourself shrink wrapper! First, (it says in the fine print) a solid framework is set up to ensure the best protection from causing the cover material falls or slides. Then with Dr. Shrink's clever caps, the rig is ready for wrapping. Lay a layer of shrink wrap over the rig and take after it with a heat gun.

The end result? Your RV is wrapped up tighter than a spider's dinner leftovers. If you're concerned you may access to the rig before next season, Dr. Shrink provides accessory "doors." No need to fear a build up of excess moisture under the cover, you can include the good Shrink's vents that mount right into the shrink wrap.

When it's time to hit the road, simply approach your slumbering RV mummy with a pair of scissors or other cutting instrument and free the captive. Don't worry about pollutin' the environment, Dr. Shrink can set you up with a nifty recycle bag. Check out www.dr-shrink.com for full details.

Legacy RV water hose on reel--a reel problem

File this one under "real world tests" that don't flatter.

UV radiation finally signed the death warrant of one of our RV drinking water hoses: The poor thing just permanently kinked, and filling the rig's fresh water tank became a kind of marathon exercise in straightening out a kink, only to have to run back down the line to remove yet a fresh one. The RV maintenance man finally swore this would be the last time he'd fight with this hose, a new one was in order!

The problem many RVers with limited storage space fight with is where to put the hose when not in use. Our field research rig is a truck camper--and one without "basement storage." Water hoses get chucked in the crew-cab's "back seat" area. Coiling them neatly helps, but unless put into some sort of containment, they somehow take on a mind of their own and wind up doing a serpentine dance among tool boxes, hats, cat carrier, et al.

It was a bell ringer when we ran into the Legacy flat hose reel, equipped with a 30 foot 1/2" hose. Visions of hooking the receiving end of the hose to the tap, then rolling out only as much hose as necessary to reach the rig left a pleasant picture. Ready to break camp, simply pull out the folding rewind crank, zip the hose back on the reel, and stow it away. No more tripping over hose tangles, wow!

While sitting in camp one evening though, prior to needing to refill the tank, mental juices began flowing. The tiny bit of the delivery end of the hose that came out from the center of the hose reel, we wondered. How on earth would a 2 or 3 inch chunk of hose easily lock onto the city water inlet on our RV? Would we need to carry around another few feet of hose to reach down from that inlet to the ground-located hose reel? Or, could we induce more of that nice, flat, drinking water safe hose out of the reel on the delivery end?

We looked the hose reel over: Sure enough, if we unreeled the hose, then slipped the flat hose at the far end out of a slot in the reel, we could extend it. So we pulled the hose out to a more useful 4" length, then rewound the hose to check for ease of operation. Not a problem, the hose rolled back onto the reel with no reluctance. OK, now for a bigger test: We hooked up the female end of the hose to our site's water tap. What kind of flow would the hose deliver? No time like the present!

We opened the water tap and wondered at the itty-bitty flow that emminated from the male end of the hose reel. A bit of a sputter, but nothing to write home about. Then, with fits and starts, the flow increased to a good flow--exactly as the hose reel itself popped and snapped, and the reel sides blew apart. We hastened to shut off the flow and examine the damage. A plastic cover that acted as a hub at center of the reel had popped off, the reel sides had unsnapped, too. The hose, which normally is a single layup of hose over hose, was now two, side by side. Apparently the good folks at Legacy had never intended that water be run through this flat hose unless completely unwound from the reel.

It took the better part of an hour to manually unwrap the hose from the reel, which of course, would no longer "unwind." It was a fairly straight-forward matter to repair the damage, snapping pieces back in place, and then rewind the hose using the fold-out lever. But useful? Most of the reasons we bought this hose reel for were now ruled out. We went back and carefully re-read the hose reel packaging. Nothing appeared in print that warned the hose would of necessity need to be unwound before use. We checked the company website too, and it was likewise devoid of this essential piece of information.

Walmart will soon be seeing us again. This time to return this promising, but sadly undelivering, product. We'll buy the old $6.00 drinking water hose, coiling it neatly between uses, and hoping that the trash bag we stow it in will hold up for at least a few uses. Maybe by the time we need to replace that new hose, somebody will come up with a real hose reel.

Got a Big RV to Back Up? Get Mulitple View Backup Cams

If you've invested a quarter million in your BIG RV, it only makes sense that you don't want to accidentally back into a post and put a BIG ding in your RV. While the big rigs generally roll out with one backup camera set up and viewing, wouldn't it be great if you could have more than one viewing angle?

Now you can: SPAL Products has rolled out their concept for multiple-angle backup cam views. Utilizing their new Four Channel Video Unit, you can plug in up to four backup cameras, and the monitor screen up in the cockpit will automatically split the screen view into chunks, each one showing a specific camera image. The SPAL unit--priced at less than $239--will work with virtually any RV backup camera monitor, but of course (here's the catch) you'll need to use SPAL's backup cams. Maybe $93 each for a backup camera isn't too high a price to pay for the enhanced safety involved.

The splitter unit mounts under the dash, and is said to be a quick install, plugging in camera inputs and monitor output.

Check out SPAL's website for more information on the video splitter unit, or any of their other security equipment.

New Honda 3000 Generator Lighter, More Economical

When campfire conversation makes its way to the subject of generators, it seems there's almost a universal lauding of those little red Honda generators. Indeed, they are quiet, dependable, and when you size them right for your needs, powerful. Now Honda says they have a new 3,000 watt generator that improves on weight and fuel economy.

The new genny on the block is Honda's EU3000i Handi, coming out this summer. 3000i sounds a lot like the current 3,000 watt Honda machine, the EU3000is. There is a bit of a difference: Primarily it's a matter of moving the thing in and out of the bed of your pickup truck or basement storage area. The current model scales in at 134 pounds dry, while the new kid comes in like a fly-weight at 78 pounds.

Where, one asks, did all the fat go? Well, for some, there's the fly-in-the-ointment of the fly-weight "Handi." If it isn't handy for you to have to yank a cord to start your generator, the Handi may not be the generator of choice--the new machine is a recoil start machine, while the older 3000is bears electric start. But if you can live with pull ropes, the Handy is a bit less of a fuel glutton: 7.7 hours on a little over a gallon and a half of gas versus 7.2 hours on nearly thee and a half gallons for the older model--both running at 1/4 of the rated 3,000 watt capacity.

In electrical output, both have dual 20 amp standard 3-prong outlets, plus one 30-amp twist lock receptacle. The older model does have a better DC rated output of 12 amps at 12 volts, while the newer Handy is only rated at 8 amps in the DC output. The Handi is a bit louder, noising up the neighborhood at 65 dB, while the more senior machine produces only 58 dB. But in light of the fact that human conversation hits 60dB, its doubtful that the difference will make or break a sale.

From the looks of things, the big difference between these two characters is fuel economy, weight, and electric startability. With the option of buying an after-market "remote start" system, the older Honda 3000 is pretty attractive. But weight is a biggy. For this writer, the thought of trying to stuff 40% more weight up on the pickup bed from a ground level starting point says I'd rather be back hustling cans on garbage day.

The suggested retail of the new critter is right at $2,200, but how that will work out in terms of a "street price" remains to be seen. Honda offers a standard three year warranty, both for residential and commercial use.

photo courtesy Honda Power Equipment

Get the Stink Out with "What Odor?"

We're typically suspicious of any product that capitalizes on the "As Seen on TV" tag. And so with some trepidation we checked out a jug of a new deodorizing product called "What Odor?" But as any RVer can testify, it seems like if a funny smell can go anywhere, it will surely make its way into your RV.

One nasty spot is the plastic waste basket. Be it in the kitchen, the bathroom, or anywhere else, these guys have memory for smell that rivals the recall capacity of a pachyderm. We'd tried the usual kitchen spray products to no avail, but when the new "What Odor" arrived, we gave it a shot. And that's all it took. One shot.

OK, how about something really tough? The "What Odor" folks suggest it works on the worst of smells--skunk--but we weren't willing to go out and try tracking down Peppi LePue or any of his kin for a field test. What to do? A few weeks went by and the phone call came in: RVing friends of ours had been away from the rig for a few days, the refrigerator in their fifth wheel had "conked" and they were left with the smell of decomposing food enough to run them out of their home.

They'd tried everything in the "standard remedy" file, from baking soda to coffee grounds, charcoal briquettes, and other odd nostrums. Nothing seemed to be cutting it. We handed over our bottle of "What Odor" and asked for a checkback. Unlike the waste basket, one shot didn't do it. However, after three whacks at it, one shot per day, the report his wafted into us that, "It's about 80% better. Where can we get more?"

If "What Odor" can do something like this, on as bad a smell as decomp, there must be something to it. the company says the product doesn't "mask" the odor, but rather, eliminates it. We can't argue the point, it seems to do what it says. You can't run out and by this at the corner RV store, however. Check out the web site at whatodor.com. What will you pay? The big specialroonee is a two-fer deal. Buy one 16 ounce spray bottle and the outfit will toss in another 16 ouncer. You know what's next: But wait there's more! They'll also toss in two free 6 ounce travel bottles! With shipping and handling fees, you're out about $30.

RV With Your iPod--and Skip the Tangled Charge Cord

In these days of personal muzak, it seems everybody--and perhaps an incredible number of their dogs--is sporting an iPod, or an iPhone. Like a lot of personal electronic devices, the iFamily does have a bit of a drawback: They need frequent charging. In your RV on the road, the handiest way to get juice into your iPod is via a 12-volt "accessory socket." We used to call it a cigarette lighter sockets, but I guess we're more enlightened now, if you'll pardon the pun.

The problem is the wire that runs from the iPod to the accessory socket. Like most charge cords, they just seemed factory designed to get tangled up--particularly when not in use. You can stick it away in the glove box, and sure enough, when you go to fish out a stick of chewing gum, or the traffic cop is waiting for you to produce your registration, that blessed cord is all wrapped up around everything, preventing the release of that important item you seek.

Enter reCOIL, the handy dandy iPod charger that plugs into your ciggy socket--and when not charging your iPod or iPhone--the charge cord conveniently retracts into the charger. No more tangles. Certified "Made for iPod" and "Works with iPhone" the new charge genius has a suggested retail price of $29.99. Check our the manufacturer's website at www.scosche.com.

"Funky Colored Flames" a Flame-Out

We see a lot of--shall we say--"interesting" products as RVers. In the end, it's kind of reminiscent of a Clint Eastwood movie. You know the one, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Some time back we were asked to evaluate a new product called Funky Colored Flames. The press release had this to say, "This new innovative product creates a brilliant display of blue, green, and purple. It can be used in indoor/outdoor wood fireplaces, bonfires, campfires and backyard fire pits." When our sample arrived, we tucked it away on the shelf waiting for "just the right moment" to try this "innovative product" out.

Last night, a crowd gathered around our fire. This just had to be the time! Without saying a word, we tossed one of the unopened packets in the fire (as the instructions told us) and waited. Sure enough, we could vaguely see some green and purple flames--sort of. Another packet was tossed in with similar results. No one else around the fire said anything about the flames, until we finally had to ask, "Hey, what color are those flames?" And after squinting for a half minute or so, one of our test subjects ventured that perhaps he was seeing a little bit of blue.

Later, as our test fire flames came down in height, we tossed the third and final packet in. We got a bit more of a show here, but really it was nothing like that represented by the photos provided on the Camping World website touting this product. At over $5.00 a box of three, our feelings--and those of our ersatz focus group were you'd be better off buying a bag of marshmallows.

Still, if you have a gaggle of three-year olds, you can find Funky Colored Flames at Camping World, Target, and Walmart.

photo courtesy Camping World

How Much Does it Weigh? Balanzza Tells All

In some areas it's not uncommon to run across a propane seller who fills, not by volume, but by weight. The LP tank is scaled empty, then again when full, and the purchaser buys propane by the pound (or kilo, depending on your whereabouts). Some wonder if they can trust the scale. Or perhaps you're not sure how much LP you've left in your bottle, but have no way to weigh (Oy vey!).

With the appropriate equipment you can put to work on those thorny gas weight questions, or to ensure your luggage is within airline carrier weight limitations. But wait there's more! How about "the big one" that didn't get away? Your buddy's fish-stories can finally be put to rest, and all these other scaly issues too, with the help of the Balanzza digital luggage scale.

This handy device is in itself, lightweight--a great thing in these fuel conservative days--but isn't a lightweight when it comes to accurate reporting. Not much bigger than the palm of your hand, the Balanzza is easy to use. Simply slip the handy nylon strap through the propane tank yoke, snap the locking clasp, pick up the scale and tank. When you hear the beep, the weights displayed in either pounds or kilograms. A handy tare weight function also allows display of the actual contents weight without the need of mental calculations.

Powered by two AAA batteries, the Balanzza retails for $24.95, and can be purchased online at balanzza.com or locally in many Target stores. The device weighs up to 100 pounds or 44 kilos.

Coil n’Wrap brings RVers the “InstaHanger”

RVers are appreciative of new and innovative products that make RVing more enjoyable. Long time RVers Ken and Judy Wilton are always on the lookout for these products for RVers to enjoy. Perhaps you’ve met them at one of the many RV shows across the country where they demonstrate and sell RV products under their company name “Coil n’ Wrap.”

Now they’ve done it again, bringing RVers another great product called the “InstaHanger”. Whether it’s hanging up ironing or hanging up laundry fresh out of the dryer the InstaHanger will save you time and effort.The great thing about this device is that it folds-up when you’re finished using it.The InstaHanger is 18” by 3” and the metal hanging rod is 12” long when extended. When folded the device is approximately 1 ¾” thick.It comes in the “Country Classic” wooden model or the white plastic model. The InstaHanger is easy to install and holds up to 50 pounds when firmly attached to the wall with the provided screws. If you don’t want to screw it into the wall you can use the supplied high temperature hook & loop as an alternative installation.If you are a part-time RVer you may also want a few of these for your house. One for the laundry room and one in the bedroom. They come in handy when you need to air dry a shirt or a blouse or when you're sorting out clothing while packing for a trip.

You’re sure to find many uses for this new product. You can purchase this and other fine products at their website by clicking here: Coil n’ Wrap. You can also check their website to see when they will be at an RV show near you. Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing