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Chapter Fifteen

What You Will Need on the Road.

A short course in Road Savvy

Supplies and cost

Unless you are totally broke and desperate, don’t leave home without…

A road worthy vehicle. Preferably, one you can live in.

At least $ 500-1000 dollars in cash plus a debit card and a credit card just in case..

Spare parts for your vehicle

Toolbox with tools to fix things like the water pump, alternator, starter. I mean take off the old broken part and put a new one on.

Tire repair kit

Flash light

Manual or battery powered air pump

Cook stove, gas or propane

Cooler

Portable tables for out side set up

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Canopy for outside set up

Clear plastic to cover merchandise in case of rain

Plenty of plastic tarps, clamps and bungee cords

Ant spray

Mosquito repellent

Sun block

Hats or caps

Long sleeved shirts for sun protection

Gloves for unloading, loading and set up

Table tops and folding table legs

The list is much like one for going camping.

It seems like you always forget something.

Let me tell you how it works out on the road. You will break down sooner or later.

Stuff happens.

If you have the spare parts along, you can usually fix the problem yourself.

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The last thing you need is to become a victim of a local rip-off mechanic and his buddy’s parts store. Some of the stories I’ve heard are enough to make you sick -

all because the vendor didn’t have spare parts for their rig.. Enough said!

Another thing to watch out for.

Full hook up RV parks. If you like to spend extra money, be my guest - stay at these parks.

Here’s the scenario.

You are driving along and it’s getting late. You see a nice billboard sign ‘Lazy Oaks Campground - Full Hook Ups. Nice Drive-through Sites’.

So, you pull in.

You tell them that you are self contained and all you need is electric or just a place off to the side to park.

They smile and tell you that you will have to pay the Full Price for hook ups even if you don’t use them!

This is going to cost you an extra 10 to 15 dollars. By that time it is getting dark.

You are beat up and tired and it’s too late to drive on. So you pay the full price just liked they planned. Oh well, live and spend!

Always watch out for this kind of scam. When you see a campground advertised with “Full Hook-Up Sites” with no mention of anything else, well - you get the picture.

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Many times, all you need is a safe place to park and turn your engine off. Why spend the extra travel money on something that you don’t need?

Remember: Plan ahead. Get a campground guide, then you can check on

campground prices beforehand. Spend as little or as much as you like.

Don’t let some scam RV park take money away from you, be prepared.

Sometimes, I’ll go into an RV park office and tell them that all I want to do is park some place out of the way. I’ll add that I don’t want any hook ups and am leaving early in the morning. About half the time I get a spot for a few dollars (always pay in cash). Everybody’s happy. They get extra cash and I get a cheap spot to park for the night.

Here’s another way to cut down on campground prices. When you go in to register at an RV park or campground, tell them that you are a traveling vendor on business and not on vacation. Ask for the Commercial rate.

This worked for me at a very nice sportsmen’s fishing lodge. The lodge had a nice bay front campground . It was late when I arrived. I went in to the office and told them that I was a traveling vendor and all I needed was a place to park. No hookups of any kind. The lady in the office checked with the manager and they said,

“Okay.” The price for a waterfront parking place? Three Dollars!

I used that same sportsmen’s lodge for years.

Every time I was heading down the Gulf coast I would pull in and reacquaint

myself with the office. Prices did go up a bit with the new owners. The deal was the same but they raised it to $4 dollars. I can live with it.

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