Therapik claims drug-free relief of stings and bites

Don't you hate mosquito bites? How about bee or jellyfish stings? A new FDA cleared device called Therapik, is guaranteed to relieve the pain and itching associated with stings and bites -- at least that's the claim by its manufacturer.

The premise behind the device is relatively simple. According to the company, insect venom is temperature sensitive, and becomes inert if heated above a certain temperature. Therapik heats the sting site up and kills the venom without harm to the patient. According to MorePower2U, the parent company, "Therapik’s patented technology delivers heat in the precise temperature range necessary to deactivate the venom from over 20,000 different species of insects and sea creatures."

The device uses a nine volt battery and a lightbulb which is over-driven to produce the required amount of infrared heat, to heat the skin to 50*C - 60*C, which is the range where the

thermolabile (heat sensitive) venom is destroyed. By design, the unit can't damage the skin if used as directed.

Basically, to use the unit, remove a stinger if there is one, depress the botton and hold directly on the skin as long as it's tolerable, which is about 20-30 seconds.

Therapik is not effective for spider, scorpion, or snake bites, as their venom is not heat sensitive. Currently the device retails for $12.95 and is only available from the company's website, www.therapik.com. The unit comes with a one-year replacement guarantee.

SOURCE: Therapik press release

Send mosquitos packing with ThermaCell

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to technology that claims to scare bloodsuckers away. "Give me garlic for vampires!" I say, not some sort of Star Trekian ray gun. So when we saw the rollout of a new bit of technology that claimed to scare off mosquitoes and other undesirable winged bugs, I had a feeling I'd just run into 21st century snake oil. The folks at Therma Cell were confident enough of their product to send me, the official contrivance curmudgeon, a copy of their 'better mousetrap,' and I had to give it a try.

First, a bit about ThermaCell. It's a line of pest repelling products that utilize (of all things) allethrin--a synthetic compound that mimics the repellent produced by chrysanthemums. The allethrin is contained in a small absorbent pad that, when heated, wafts through the air, sending out a smelly signal to mosquitoes, black flies, no-see-ums, and other unwanted intruders to steer clear of the area. As far as smell goes, I couldn't detect any in my field tests. Combine this bug-disgusting emanation with a clever, low-power consumptive light source, and you may have something that RVers can really put to use.

My first trip into the field with ThermaCell fed my cantankerous ego: Instructions say to slide a repellent mat into a grid atop the lantern, push a couple of buttons to fire off a small butane flame to heat the thing, and watch the bugs make a mass exodus. I slide, pushed, sat back, and laughed. The nine, clear, bright LED lights were like ringing the dinner bell. Bugs flew in to investigate the light, practically coating the lamp with moths and other little winged night-dwellers. But then, the numbers decreased. I beamed a flashlight aloft and saw that the clouds of winged ones were diminishing--and then suddenly, they were gone.

OK, it takes a few minutes for the heat to warm the repellent pad up enough to spread the message. Once it happens, the bugs evidently decide there are better pickings elsewhere. We staged our test along side a backwater along the Colorado River. Here, mosquitoes--not as large as those in Alaska--lurk, waiting for foolish fishermen and RV reporters to show up. The nasty little Colorado blood suckers must have read the memo: I was troubled not a bit (or a bite) by a mosquito.

The company says their de-bugger will clear an area of about 15 x 15 feet. On our test there was a slight breeze and I found it best to sit downwind from the lamp. You may actually see a bit of smoke ascending from the repellent pad--that's normal, and a pad will shake off invaders for three or four hours. If you run the repellent function for less than three or four hours, you'll know the pad is still "good" until it turns white. Fresh out of the pack, it's green.

It's a clever, compact design. Batteries for the lantern go in the base; the butane cartridge to heat up the repellent pad slips into the center of the lantern, above a circle of LEDs. And of course, the repellent pad sits outside the lantern on the very top. A hidden burner in the top of the lamp assembly has a handy peep hole to inspect to make sure the flame is lit.

Both repellent pads and the butane cartridge (good for 12 hours of use) are proprietary. Allow the curmudgeon to come out of me again: It seems a bit like buying a nice printer for your computer for a great price--and then having to buy ink cartridges. A "shopping trip" on Amazon reveals you can get a "value pack" of a dozen ThermaCell pads and four butane cartridges for less than $17. Breaking that down to a guestimated use of three and a half hours per pad, it works out to about 40 cents per hour of protection, assuming you get free shipping.

What about the lamp function? The ThermaCell lantern runs on four AA batteries; a "low" setting produces a "night light" effect on two of its LEDs; on high all nine LEDs produce enough light for folks sitting at a picnic table to play a few hands of cards without straining.

Plan on using ThermaCell out of doors; not in a tent, and not in your RV. Although the allercin repellent is said to be safe for humans and pets when following directions, the directions limit you to outdoor use. And if you're keeping a hive of bees on your motorhome's back bumper, don't get too near either, allercin is anathema to bees.

Find out more about the ThermaCell line on their web site.

Rogue Wave pulls in WiFi signals from afar

One of the greatest headaches for the RVer in this information-driven age has to be Internet connectivity. Chances are great you're already running e-mail to keep in touch with the family and friends. Add in Internet searches, bill paying, photo uploading--pretty soon, connecting to the Internet is a big thing. How can you stay connected?

Many RVers have found connecting at "WiFi hotspots," is one way to keep Internet-in-touch. Some national chains offer their customers free connectivty, places like Starbucks and McDonalds are high on the list. Only trouble is, for the most part you'll need to take your computer inside to take advantage of these hotspots. What happens when you want to keep the computer inside your RV or log onto the Web without dragging into a service provider?

Enter the Rogue Wave. This handy electronic device (technically a wireless bridge and Ethernet converter) is like putting your laptop (or WiFi equipped desktop) computer on WiFi steroids. Imagine "tying" into a Starbucks WiFi connection--blocks away from the store. It's possible--in fact, even longer connections can be possible. We heard about the Wave and Randy at Land and Sea Wifi, a Wave dealer, provided us a test unit to really check it out.

Here's a "real world" scenario: Quartzsite, Arizona, the "Snowbird Capital of the World" where thousands of RVers descend to camp out on the desert every winter. One popular public camping area is La Posa West, south of Quartzsite. We rolled into the camp area not far from the check-in station. Firing up our laptop computer we found about three WiFi signals, all of which tended to fade in and out, and none were good for a connection.

We attached the Rogue Wave and it immediately showed us 30 WiFi signals, several of which were from RV parks about a mile from our location. In moments we were able to log into a solid WiFi signal from one of the RV parks. We've taken Rogue Wave to a number of locations and the story is basically the same everywhere. Fire up your computer and let it 'sniff for a signal,' and come back nearly empty-handed. Let Rogue Wave loose on the matter and find far more.

Is Rogue Wave the end-all for Internet access? Depending on your needs and travels, it could be. In our travels we've found plenty of WiFi signals floating around the airwaves. Not everyone wants to share Internet access; you'll find plenty of WiFi signals that are secured, and unless someone hands you the password, you'll be locked out. On the other hand, RV park owners are beginning to get the drift that RVers need Internet connectivity. Lots of them provide Internet service through Tengo Internet, and given you have a password (either given or sold to you by park management) or pay to subscribe, it matters not whether you are staying at the park, or are boondocking within Rogue Wave's distance.

Many RVers report that when staying in an RV park, they're often promised a WiFi connection. The service may be at the park, but whether you'll "get it" often depends on terrain, distance from the park's wireless equipment, and the fickleness of fate. With Rogue Wave, the chances are very much likely that if the park has WiFi, you won't need to worry about getting a space next to the office. Out at sea you might be able to connect up to eight miles away. Our experience of making connections at one mile plus are not uncommon.

Rogue Wave is another hot bet for you RVers who follow the group circuits. We've had plenty of Escapees members who tell us that when attending "SKP" outings they'll share Internet connectivity with SKPs who have satellite Internet connections. These well-heeled folks often share their bounty with others through the use of a WiFi network in camp. Now you can camp a good distance away and not have to crowd one another to get good connectivity.

Here are the "brass tacks," of the technical side. The Rogue Wave consists of an (omnidirectional) antenna, which couples up to the Wave's electronic heart, the Ethernet port. The whole thing is less than 3' tall. It's best to mount the antenna on your rig, which is easily accomplished with the brackets provided with the equipment. From there an Ethernet cable plugs into the port, and is run back to your computer--anywhere up to 300 feet away. The cable plugs into a small "Y" connector, one end of the "Y" plugs into your computer's Ethernet port, and the other end of the "Y" into either a provided power adapter for shore power, or another that plugs into a 12 volt cigarette lighter port. Optionally, you could plug the system, not into your computer, but into a network and share it with other computers in your RV (or home) system. Since the Wave is not powered by your USB port, there's no power drain on your computer system.

There's no software to load onto your computer; the system's "firmware" is built right into the Wave, and your computer should automatically recognize it as a communications network, and within a couple of minutes you'll have an Internet browser page showing you all WiFi connections in range. Click on the one you want (and provide the access code if it's a "protected" network) and you'll soon be linked up with the Internet.

The Rogue Wave, including all necessary hardware and cable runs $350.00. For another $25 you can get a reconditioned NetGear router that will let you to run multiple computers on the same connection simultaneously. We recommend Land and Sea WiFi, for their friendliness and product knowledgeability. You can count on them to stand behind you--and they offer a two-week product try out.

Sport-Brella chair gives seating comfort, UV protection

As RVers, most of us tend to be outdoorsy folks. Getting out in the open air brings such a refreshment--but at the same time, it can be a worry. In the US, the rate of non-melanoma skin cancer has reached what one expert describes as "an epidemic." Howard Rogers, MD, PhD, who practices dermatology in the Advanced Dermatology Center in Norwich, Connecticut. Dr. Rogers told the journal Medscape Oncology, "We define an epidemic as a disease process that affects a large proportion of the population and that keeps on increasing and this shows no signs of leveling off."

Before you run screaming into the shelter of your basement storage compartment, better you should simply open it and remove a Sport-Brella chair. Calmly set up the Sport-Brella in a location with a view of a calming, scenic view such as a river, canyon, or forest, and settle yourself in. Adjust the UV-resistant umbrella, take a few deep breaths, and try not to doze off.

The folks at Sport-Brella.com have built what may be another essential part of your RV gear. Imagine a tidy, sturdy carrying case, out of which you slide an easy opening sporting chair. Pop open the chair, lift a slide, and what opens up is a 50 UPF rated umbrella that shields you from harmful UV radiation, and cuts wind (or gasp!) even unexpected precipitation. The umbrella can be set on either side of the chair and swivels a full 360 degrees.

Concerned about your girth? Not to fear, the chair beats "first class" seating on airlines, giving to a 46" width, supporting up to 280 pounds. The umbrella is a wide, 46" protective dome over the seat's occupant. Built out of nylon and canvas, the foundation is a lightweight steel frame, suitable for use just about anywhere.

In addition to the great sunshade, Sport-Brella chair also has a couple of other useful "accessories" if you will. We found the build-in zippered pouch an excellent place to stow the carrying case and paperback book. And for those who need one, what we used to call a "Church Key" makes opening bottled beverages quick and easy. A cup (or bottle) holder completes the setup.

The Sport-Brella folks were kind enough to send us an evaluation copy, which we lugged with us over a 3,500 mile road trip across the west. Whether in the Rockies of Wyoming, or along the benches overlooking Arizona's Colorado River, the chair gave our tired tushes a welcome relief. The 50+ UPF rating meets the standard for "ultimate in UV sun protection." A 40 - 49 rating ("Excellent" on the scale) indicates that 97.5% of UV radiation is blocked.

With an SRP of $39.99 and available in blue, green, or red, you may find the Sport-Brella chair a welcome addition to your RV equipment inventory. You can order them on-line, or get information on nearby dealers by checking out the sport-brella.com web site.

RV pass time? SCRUBLE scrambles your mind and your letters

"If an earthquake caused your Rubik’s Cube to crash into your Scrabble board, the SCRUBLE Cube would be the result of the mix-up. SCRUBLE Cube is mind twisting word game that anyone who can spell, can play. And, its unique one-piece design makes it convenient to bring along with you to play at anytime in anyplace. Rather than just placing letters on a board or lining up colors on a cube, SCRUBLE Cube brings new excitement to these classic games."

So says the press release on the SCRUBLE Cube. Sounds kind of interesting, huh? We thought so, and the folks at SCRUBLE send us one to play around with. If you're into a calculator workout, here's the math on the cube: There are 7,401 septillion possible combinations on the cube--did I mention you'll need a scientific calculator? With those billions of road miles that RVers drive down the road each year, we figured that SCRUBLE's septillions of combinations might make the miles just shrink in scale.

We trotted our copy of SCRUBLE out to a group of road travelers one afternoon. Tossed to an unsuspecting subject, he took the cube, eyeballed it for a while; flipped the rows this way and that, and after we explained the purpose, tossed it back. "Remember," he drawled, "I only completed 7th grade." Maybe nobody else in the group wanted to show off as everybody else demurred an opportunity to come up with the latest entries for the New World Dictionary.

Undeterred, we asked yet another group of RVers to take the cube with them and try it out on the more "cultured" group up in Portland. Oregon, not Maine, the the land of "tree hugging, french-fry-dipping-in-tartar-sauce, everybody's at least got a BA" Portland. We didn't hear anything for months. Finally a report: Our field testers found the SCRUBLE, "Interesting to look at, and an intriguing idea," but a bit complicated in terms of moves and rules. "We adjusted some of the rules and simplified it by restricting some of the moves and that seemed to move the game on a bit." Still, it was not an unqualified hit.

SCRUBLE Cube will indeed while away the time for the folks that are into intense Scrabble or who are mechanically adept and can deconstruct and rebuild the SCRUBLE cube so it reads, antidisestablishmentarianism or floccinaucinihilipilification. You'll find SCRUBLE Cube at Barnes and Noble and FAO Schwartz.

A video shows more at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26JWYbKnNA.

Wallup: campsite privacy in a bag

You try to find RV parks and campgrounds with plenty of space between sites but sometimes you get jammed into a dry camp where you could literally rub elbows with your neighbor while sitting outside with your family. Or, maybe you've got an outdoor shower that requires some privacy or a dog that yaps at everything that moves. Maybe the neighbors have three or four nosy kids.

Heck, maybe you're just not in the mood to be sociable!

With a Wallup you can screen off areas around your campsite using a stakes and poles that come in a carrying case and seems, by this video, to be a lot sturdier than it appears.

It's available at Camping World and, as they say, at fine stores everywhere.

Road trip family fun with the Road Trip game

What's a road trip with the family without board games? You know, those old-fashioned cardboard fields you open on a table forcing everybody to pull up a chair and enjoy each other's company. Now you can give your laptops, iPads, iPods and smart phones a rest with family fun products from a fun company called Daddy-O.

Can you rattle off three towns that start with the letter "P"? What about three fast foods that contain the letter "B"? Can you finish the "Tale of the Trip" by filling in the blanks with words beginning with "A"? If you can, you're playing Road Trip©!

The object is to complete each word challenge and motor across the USA! "Rest Stop" cards add to the fun along the way, with lucky breaks and the occasional pothole.

Road Trip game contains 120 Challenge Cards, 40 "Rest Stop" cards, 7.5" x 20" Vintage Road Map Board, 30-sided Alphabet die, and 4 retro Station Wagon movers.

Daddy-O products would make great gifts for the avid RVers in your life, including yourself. For a look at their full line of retro games and puzzles go to: www.daddyogames.com

RV roof repairs at a great price

We've mentioned our love for EternaBond repair tape for years. Leaks in your RV's roof are a major headache, and RVers have tried (and continue to try) just about anything to stop leaks. Pour on some sealant, stick on some duct tape; we've seen folks who've even tried using old tire intertubes. Forget all that!

As we've often written, EternaBond can help you make a repair on just about any kind of RV roof material in a hurry. EternaBond is a micro sealant tape that installs simply: Clean up the area to be repaired, cut off the correct length of the tape, peel off the backing, press the tape down on the repair area, and rub the dickens out of it. It works--and it lasts.

The problem that many RVers have found is the expense. One mail-order RV supplier will sell you a roll of EternaBond, 4" x 50' for a stiff $70 bill, plus shipping. It tends to make one shy away from this fine product, and then leaves the same person grumbling after tearing a hole in their rubber roof with a low-hanging branch.

Now Walmart has stepped into the breach, offering a "repair kit" containing a 3" x 24" chunk of EternaBond along with the company recommended scrubbing pad, used to prep the surface to be repaired. Total cost? $9.97 plus applicable sales tax. That price should allow every RVer to carry a bit of this "RV first aid kit" in their tool box. We found it hanging out in the RV supplies section in a smaller "Wally" in Arizona.

Protect your electronic gear from rain, sea spray and blowing sand or dust

If you're an active RVer who spends afternoons hiking, backpacking, boating or maybe jumping sand dunes in your ATV, you should get to know a company called Aquapac®. Makers of 100 percent waterproof protective cases, they've rolled out a new product line called Stormproof™, a colorful 14-item collection of affordable waterproof packs and pouches designed for outdoor use.

Need to take your smart phone on the trail but it looks like it might rain? No problem. Aquapac has cases designed for iPhones and others which will allow you to keep your phone tightly sealed still use it. Your touchscreen and camera are fully functional through the windows provided and you'll be able to hear your calls just fine.

With cases specially designed for phones, cameras, iPods, iPads, Kindles and other electronic gear Aquapac promises protection from such force of water that even a fire hose can't penetrate. Pack it all up in an Aquapac backpack and you're good to go, rain, dust or snow.

You'll find them online at Amazon.com.

All-in-one kitchen kit is an RV newbie solution

Ask any veteran RVer about his or her maiden voyage and they'll tell you the first problem was to outfit their new rig. It's a costly and time-consuming project. Most of us start out by hauling a bunch of stuff from our home kitchen out into our motorhome or trailer and then schlepping it all back indoors when we return. Now, an outfit called Authentic Dealer Inc. has put together an all-in-one kitchen kit that provides most, if not all, of the items you'll need for your rolling kitchen at a very affordable price. The kit comes in two sizes: 115 pieces and 139 pieces. Here's what you'll find inside the big box:

139 pc. Premium II Kit Contents:
12 pc. Stoneware Dish set 4 Dinner Plates, 4 Salad Plates, 4 Bowls
36 pc. Storage Containers 6 round, 6 rectangular, 6 square resalable plastic storage containers with lids
4 Coffee mugs and 8 Tumblers 4 8oz. ceramic coffee mugs, 4 13 oz. plastic tumblers, 4 16oz. acrylic tumblers
2 pc. Plastic mixing Bowls and 1 pc. 11 in. Colander
20 pc. Stainless Steel silverware and steak knives 4 dinner knives, 4 dinner forks, 4 dinner spoons, 4 teaspoons, 4 steak knives
1 9.5" x 5.5" plastic cutting board
7 pc. Nonstick cookware set with tempered glass lids, capsule bottom 4 qt. Dutch Oven with lid, 2 qt. Saucepan with lid, 1 qt. Saucepan with lid 9.25 in. Fry pan
14 pc. Measuring cups and spoons 4 pc. Measuring cup set, 10 pc. Measuring spoon set
5 pc. Kitchen Utility knife set Chef knife, Carving knife, 2 Utility, Paring
6 pc Chip Clips
1 2.1 qt. Pitcher
5 pc. Nylon Utensils Serving spoon, Slotted spoon, Spatula, Ladle, Spaghetti fork
7 pc. Towel set with Pot holders 2 16"x27" kitchen towel, 2 12"x12" wash cloth, 1 Pot holder, 2 oven mitts
1 Premium can opener
1 Stainless steel cheese grater
1 Set Kitchen Shears
4 pc. BBQ Set
1 Oven Starter with long handle
1 Checkered picnic table cloth 52"x70"
42 pc. First Aid Kit Bandages, gauze pads, alcohol pads, butterfly closure
1 Toothpick holder and toothpicks
1 Peeler, 1 Corkscrew, 1 Bottle Opener
1 Flashlight with 2 D sized batteries
1 Pot Scrubber

For a list of items in the slightly smaller box, pricing and more information go to: www.rvstuffusa.com

For the campground bbq chef who thought he had everything...

You, my friend, are about to become the most popular camper in the entire RV park, campground, the stadium parking lot and in your own backyard. If you've about had it with mini grills or if you just want to blow some minds, check out the Carson Rotisserie, the most popular portable grill sweeping the country today.

This baby is a 7-skewer, charcoal fired, Brazilian style rotisserie cooker that, get this... folds up into a metal suitcase and stashes neatly into a cargo hold or trunk!

Just voted the most popular portable grill in America in a reader poll conducted by About.com Barbecue Guide Derek Riches, it ain't cheap (introductory priced at $599) but you campground pit bosses are guaranteed to be salivating just from watching this video.

To see how it sets up, check out the second video.

SEVEN rotating skewers?? No spit!



How does all that stuff come out of a suitcase? Here's how:





To learn more or to order one of these bad boys right now go to www.carsonrotisseries.com

Hug a tree, hang your camping gear

Hopefully we are all long past the days when campers thought nothing of pounding a few nails into a tree on which to hang their lanterns and other gear. Trees can still be handy storage places, though, if you have one or two Tree Huggerz.

They wrap around just about any sized tree trunk, providing enough hooks and pouches to hold all your assorted tools, flashlights, bug spray, clothing, and whatever else you need at hand without having to search all over the campsite or keep going in and out of your RV. 

Listed by its manufacturer at $21.95 each Tree Huggerz includes:

• 6 heavy duty hooks
• 2 convenient storage pockets
• 5 built in slots for inserting personal items
• 9 ft strap - fits trees 2 ft to 11 ft around
• Zipper closure for compact and convenient travel 

Also available in camouflage. There's a smaller version too, but it's hard to imagine why you would want just half the number of hooks and pockets to save a one-time expense of six bucks.

To find a dealer near you go to the company's website: www.tree-huggerz.com

Dometic teams with Serta to create new RV mattress line

ELKHART, Ind. – RVers can now rest easy on the new Better Homes & Gardens mattress collection by Serta, available to the retail market from Dometic dealers. The companies recently announced an agreement to offer this line of mattresses now being made specifically for RVs, exclusively to the RV aftermarket.

Serta’s Better Homes and Gardens mattress collection for RVs consists of the Horizon Innerspring mattress, Adventurer Euro Top Foam mattress and Horizon Euro Top Innerspring mattress. All are available in 60-inch by 74-inch, 60-inch by 80-inch or 72-inch by 80-inch sizes.

The entry-level Horizon Innerspring uses the Bonnell hourglass-shaped coil system with lofted fiber fill and firming foam for full support and is covered by a two-year replacement warranty. The Adventurer model features a dense foam core with three inches of pressure-relieving egg-crate convoluted foam, two layers of luxurious memory-foam style comfort foam, and Euro Top surface. The Adventurer is designed to fit smaller bedroom floorplans and is covered by a five-year replacement warranty. The Horizon Euro Top is the top of the line in the collection with a Bonnell coil system, three inches of convoluted foam and two layers of comfort foam finished with the soft and supportive Euro Top, providing the best combined technology of coils and foam for ideal comfort and support. It carries a 10-year replacement warranty.

Microsoft debuts 2011 Streets & Trips this week

Microsoft's Streets & Trips has been the nation's #1 best-selling travel and map software for eleven straight years and they have just launched their 2011 version. With the software loaded onto your laptop you can map trips between one point and another, create routes, and have your laptop deliver it to you in several different forms--including turn-by-turn spoken directions.

But that's the easy part. With your laptop in the hands of your navigator, you can search the data base for over 1.9 million stops along the way, including restaurants, gas stations, tourist destinations, and rest stops while on the fly.

But the real magic of the software, is that whenever you have a wireless connection, you have the ability to search online for millions of services and points of interest along your route, including those locations that are of your particular interest, such as nautical museums, kid-friendly restaurants, Civil War historic sites, wildlife refuges, and nude beaches, and plot them on your map with a pushpin icon.

But that's not all. By adjusting your settings and entering data specific to your style of driving, you can record your gas mileage, travel only two-lane roads, choose the shortest or the fastest route, schedule rest stops, and much more.

You can download a 60-day Trial Version of the basic program and try it out before you buy. The main program, that sells for a reasonable $69.95, includes a USB plug-in GPS that brings it all together. I will post a more complete test of Streets & Trips after a further evaluation.

Microsoft Streets & Trips 2011 Trial edition

Lewis & Clark Fold 'n Go Camp Kitchen

Lewis and Clark Fold-'n-Go Camp Kitchen

Non RV people just don't get it. They make fun of us:

"You say you go camping 'to get away from it all'," they chide, "but then you take it all with you!"

Don't tell them about this. You'll never be able to explain packing a portable sink into your motorhome or trailer so you can cook outdoors instead of in your lavish mobile kitchen.

The Lewis and Clark Fold-and-Go Camp Kitchen is the ultimate outdoor food prep area when one end of a campground picnic table just won't cut it. It features three food prep surfaces, cutting board, sink and water faucet (hose and water source required), various racks designed for paper towels, spices and whatnot plus a lantern pole.

It all folds and neatly tucks away into a motorhome storage bin.

At 50 pounds it's not something you want to pack into a wildnerness camp but why would you?

Consumer reviews are raves.

Available everywhere, priced between $65 and $100. Shop around online for best deals.

Improve RV fuel efficiency--for real

Getting better RV fuel economy almost sounds like a pipe dream. There are so many gadgets, notions, and fuel tank potions that all claim to improve your gas mileage, but so many of them turn out to be no more than gimmicks and do nothing to improve fuel tank economy, unless lightening your wallet gets you better mileage. We've finally found something that does work: Better driving habits, courtesy of Fuel Efficiency Adviser.

Fuel Efficiency Adviser is a computerized gauge system that plugs into your RV (or tow vehicle, or toad) engine computer through it's OBD-2 port. Simply put, slip this gauge system plug into a slot under your dash board and you'll soon have access to information that can help you get better fuel economy--plus a whole lot of other useful information. "Adviser" gives real time feedback as to how many miles-per-gallon your rig is "doing," and puts it in real terms: How much money are you paying to drive at this moment?

Here's how it helps in the "less pain at the pump" department: With the "Adviser" set to give instant feedback on miles-per-gallon, we set out in our "round town" car for a trip over the flat, up hill, down hill, and into mixed city driving. As soon as we started the engine, a digital readout not only tells us how many miles-per-gallon we're getting, it also gives us information on our "average miles per gallon" for the trip, and how much in dollars and cents we're spent. Heading out of town on the freeway, we're working on an upgrade. Will cutting back on the throttle and taking a few minutes more to reach our destination help? Absolutely. By trying to keep our "instant" miles-per-gallon numbers higher than our "trip average miles-per-gallon" the "Adviser" begins to help us develop new driving habits that really do save fuel.

But "Adviser" is more than just a trip computer. A full gauge system can tell you your engine coolant temperature, RPM, battery voltage, ignition timing, throttle position, and for some rigs, manifold pressure, plus a few other things we haven't mentioned. If you're a "gauge geek" "Adviser is a gift from heaven.

Troubled by a "check engine" light? "Adviser" also acts as a scan tool, allowing you to find out just what trouble code has been recorded by your car computer. With a few clicks of your mouse on the Internet, you'll know what the problem is, and if you want, you can clear the trouble code and turn off the check engine light. We've used it on our vehicles, and it can quickly be unplugged and used to check out any other OBD2 equipped vehicle.

Fuel Efficiency Centers (the maker of this device) provided us an evaluation unit. We first installed it in our 1996 Ford tow vehicle, equipped with the PowerStroke diesel. Alas! The 1996 model was the last year before the Feds required diesel pickups to be OB2 compliant. We weren't able to take advantage of the great fuel tracking data, but we did find one of the functions, "Average Speed," quite useful when making long RV road trips. By using our average speed figures, we could quickly estimate time/distance figures and plan for our 'set down point' for the day. The other engine gauge features like coolant temperature were a whole lot more useful than the "dumb gauge" system that Ford set us up with.

Installing the "Adviser' is easy. For us, the hardest part was finding the OBD2 receptacle. In our truck, not a problem--it was under the dash and in relatively clear sight. In our auto, it took considerable grunting and poking to find--until we noticed it just to the right of the driver's knee. Plug in the "Adviser's" plug, route the cable over or under the dash to a convenient point for reading the unit, and the install is done. "Adviser" takes its operating power from the OBD2 system--not batteries to fiddle with. A step-by-step guide allows you to configure in your vehicle's specifics. The first couple of trips to the gas station you'll have zoned in "Adviser" to give you on the mark specifics on fuel economy.

The company will set you up with one from their Internet site for $160. It may take a while to recoup the savings in fuel, but with the prices headed up, it'll soon be less time than ever. Add the other gauge capacity and the scan tool function, you may find Fuel Efficiency Adviser your next RV gadget.

Visit Fuel Efficiency Centers on the Internet at www.fuelefficiencycenters.com.