Cheap Cellphone Service With Straight Talk -> Saving $$ & Severing Verizon Ties!

Paul’s happy ‘coz his phone bill is down!

Around 3 months ago we severed all ties with Verizon direct. We were tired of dishing out around $120/mo for limited phone service and figured there must be a cheaper option. Neither of us are the type to need/want the latest snazziest phone model, but we still wanted to be on the Verizon network just without the contracts and high fees. Is it too much for a frugal RV geek to ask? Thankfully there are many Mobile Virtual Network Operators (“MVNO”) operators who lease and re-sell phone and data from the major operators. We took advantage of just such a solution on the data side ~8 months ago, and we decided it was finally time to do the same for our cellphone.

Our Solution? We bought a Samsung Galaxy Proclaim and switched to Straight Talk unlimited talk/text/data for a mere $45/mo. We have no long-term contracts and we are still on the Verizon network. A “beastly” success!

Sound too good to be true? Well, honestly yes and no. We are perfectly happy with our solution and frankly our new phone is an upgrade from our old one, but it may not be the right solution for everyone. Here are some of the key things to consider if you’re looking at doing this for yourself:

1/ Buy The Right Phone For the Right Network

Operators like Straight Talk only carry certain phones, and only a small sub-set of these will run on the Verizon network. Straight Talk re-sells for AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile. The important thing to understand is which phone you buy will determine which carrier you end up on. If you really want to be on Verizon you need to look for the following:

The red Verizon map is a sure sign this phone runs on the Verizon network

If you don’t mind 2nd hand you can get a reconditioned Galaxy Proclaim for only $60

a) Phones Models Ending in C or with CMDA-V on the box: You can typically tell which network your phone will run off by looking at the phone model (for older phones) or the box (for newer phones). For older phones (non-Android, non-smartphone) model numbers ending in “C” are CDMA and will run on Verizon, whereas those ending in “G” are GSM and run on either T-Mobile or AT&T depending on the area. For the  newer phones (e.g. Androids) you’ll typically see CDMA-V (“V” for Verizon), CDMA-S (“S” for Sprint), GSM-T (T-Mobile) or GSM-A (AT&T) on the bottom left corner of the box. If you want to be doubly sure it’s Verizon you can “shop” online using a zip code that only offers Verizon (e.g. 54747 or 59801 work, at least for now).
b) Phone Models With The “Red” Verizon Map: Android Phones that run on the Verizon network will all have the classic red Verizon map on the box. Android phones that run on AT&T will have the blue map. The Android Sprint phones typically won’t have any map on the box at all.
 c) OR, Choose The Super-Easy Way: If you’re looking for an Android phone simply buy a Samsung Galaxy Proclaim, Samsung Galaxy Centura, LG Optimus Dynamic, LG Optimus Zip, or LG Optimus Showtime. These phones models are the main Android offerings that currently run on Verizon. They should ALL have the red Verizon map and CDMA-V on the box when you pick them up. Or you can buy an iPhone (see #8 below).

Also, do check this excellent Q&A from Howard Forums, especially since things change and they often update it.

2/ You’ll Need To Pay Full Price For The Phone

Part of the deal for getting cheaper prices on regular service is that you have to buy the phone outright. Since most of the phones are older models (there are exceptions -> see #8 below) this usually means you won’t be shelling out more than around $150 for a decent phone. Given the $$ we were throwing at Verizon, this little investment put us well ahead of the game in only a few months! We could have gone for a snazzier phone,  but the Galaxy Proclaim got good reviews and has all the “bells and whistles” we needed. A very good deal for the price.

3/ You’ll Only Have Access to 3G Data

At the current time Straight Talk only has access to 3G data which means you won’t be plugging into any of the 4G networks, even if you buy a 4G capable phone (e.g. iPhone 5). So, you have to be ready to live with the slower data speeds. We mainly use our phone for browsing, navigation, apps and 3G is perfectly fine for us.

4/ Unlimited Data Is *not exactly* Unlimited

You may well hit a data wall…

Although Straight Talk advertises “unlimited” data on their $45/mo plan, the word on the web is that there’s really around a 2Gb limit or around 100MB a day, after which you may be warned, start to see throttling on the phone or may possibly even be dropped. Also tethering (using your phone as a hot spot) is not allowed per the Straight Talk Terms Of Service. So, the question is can you actually live with around 2Gb of data? We monitored our data usage for several months before making the change and decided we were OK with that. So far our usage on the phone has supported this. We do everything we normally would on the phone and stay well within those limits.

5/ You’ll Be Limited to Verizon “Native” Network

The “native” Verizon network are the darker pink areas.

When you buy a Verizon-operated phone on Straight Talk your phone coverage will be limited to their pre-paid “native” coverage map. This means no roaming and no extended network. To see this what this looks like go to the Verizon coverage map and click on the “prepaid” map -> you’ll get coverage in all the darker pink areas, but not the pale purple ones. In practice this will result in a somewhat smaller coverage map than what you would have with Verizon direct. The differences are not huge, and most of the non-covered areas are pretty remote, but if you’re regularly in one of those spots this service may not work for you.

6/ Customer Service Sucks

The one big complaint you’ll hear across the board is that customer service for Straight Talk sucks. I’m not going to deny it…it does and that comes with the territory. So far we’ve done everything on-line and have not had to deal with their phone support. If we ever do I’ll imbibe a strong beverage and suck it up. For me, it’s a price I’m willing to pay for cheap, reliable coverage and if it really pisses me off too much I’ll just leave. After all, that’s the beauty of not having a contract!

7/ You Might Have A Few Extra “Fees”

Our auto-refill bill has a few extra charges

A minor thing to be aware of with Straight Talk is there is usually a small fee ontop of your $45/mo* plan  depending on how you buy your monthly service. If you purchase your service online directly through Straight Talk (or sign up for auto-refill) you will be charged your state’s sales tax, and possibly some regulatory or 911 fees, depending on local laws. For our number this adds up to just over $4 extra per month. If, on the other hand, you buy refill cards directly at Walmart stores (or on the Walmart web site) you will only be charged whatever the sales tax is in the state where you buy it. No other fees. In a State like Oregon (no sales tax) this means you pay exactly $45/mo and no more. You can also get a little extra discount by buying 3- or 6-month refills.

*Straight Talk also offers an unlimited international plan for $60/mo. We use Skype (on the phone) for all my international calls, but for those looking for a separate plan, the $60/mo deal is a great (and still inexpensive) option.

8/ What About The iPhone?

The iPhone 5 starts at $650

A lot of folks went pretty gaga when Straight Talk started offering iPhones. You’ve got to pay full price for the phone (which means around $550-$750 depending on model), but even with that initial outlay the $45/mo deal can still save you significant $$ over a direct carrier for 2-year contract (see this comparison). If you buy the iPhones directly from Straight Talk it’ll run on CDMA, and word has it Verizon is the carrier. The catch? Exactly the same points I mentioned above. You’ll be limited to 3G data speeds (the phone comes programmed that way), the Verizon native network and the 2Gb “limit”.

We’ve been totally happy with our Straight Talk switch so far. Our new phone was an upgrade from our old one, has all the modern “smart” features (GPS navigation, Android apps, voice recognition, web service etc.) and has worked great all though Arizona and Utah, except in the most remote locations. The only ding? Our phone battery is pretty poor and doesn’t seem to last the day, but that’s about the only irritation. So far, we haven’t noticed any difference from our old Verizon service, just more $$ in our pockets.

Other Options For Low-Cost Phone Service

There are many other options out there for low-cost phone service. We carry a back-up phone from TracFone which only costs us ~$100 per year. We simply buy a “bucket” of ~1400 minutes once a year and that’s it. No monthly fees, no extra costs. Just like Straight Talk (they’re part of the same company), which phone you buy determines which carrier you end up on. It’s a great, ultra-cheap option if don’t need a lot of talk time and want to avoid regular monthly fees.  Also, other MVNO’s such as Page Plus offer various plans all running on the Verizon network and will allow you to bring over your own phone too. A fabulous option if you already own a Verizon phone and just want to port it over to a cheaper plan.

So, what about you? Do you use Straight Talk or have found a cheap cellphone plan that you love? DO share, ask and enjoy in the comments!

Nina Vs The RV Tank Valves – A Gripping Tale Of Plumbing Mastery….

Nina’s in the shop…….

I’m sure all you dedicated blog readers have been dying to know about my latest adventures -> Have I found a swimsuit? Did I have a wardrobe malfunction in the hot tub? Has the RV survived my repair job? These are indeed  fascinating and complex topics which require lengthy and deep mediation so I can present them “just so”. Although I’m certain the swimsuit question is the top of everybody’s “want to know” list, I’m actually going to do an about-switch and give you the story of the RV repair instead.

Ridiculously happy to be replacing tank valves…yup, that’s the kinda woman I am all right

Now believe it or not despite my inherent clumsiness, complete lack of directional sense and natural blondness I am actually a very handy woman. For a year during my student days I worked part-time in a machine shop building a massive (15 by 15 by 30 foot) metal and brass art installation so I can both drill, CNC, weld and turn a lathe. Letting Nina-the-tasmanian-devil loose in the shop always seemed to scare the bejesus out of everyone else, and I would consistently come out looking like a coal miner, but oh, how I loved it. In the RV I actually do much of the “handy” stuff and would happily do more if I knew anything about it…which I don’t…which naturally doesn’t stop me..

So yesterday I decided it was time to tackle the tank valves. Now, we’ve had a small leak from our black tank valve for some time. For those of who you are blissfully unaware of what I’m talking about, our black tank is the handy container that captures all the fun stuff coming from toilet and the valves are the things you pull so the sh*t comes out…more or less exactly. Having a black tank leak is, as you can imagine, unsettling to the home in a rather smelly way.

The tools for the job. New tank valves, ratchet wrench, regular wrench, plumbers grease and nitrile gloves

So I gathered my tools, headed out the back and started flushing & draining the tanks to prepare for my little “operation”. As I was hanging by the wet bay the lady next door eyed me curiously

“What are you doing dear?” she asked, surprised to see me on the “dark side” of the RV
“I’m going to change out our tank valves” I said with a giddy smile on my face
“Oh…..” replied the lady, obviously at a total loss for words

At that point she must have gone in to talk to her husband about the “crazy woman who obviously needs help” as no more than 2 minutes later the man came out to see for himself…

“What are you doing?” has asked, seemingly not having believed his wife
“Well, still planning to change out the tank valves” I repeated happily
“Errmmm, I see” he replied, clearly a little uncomfortable “isn’t your husband here?”
“Nope, anyway it’s more fun if I do it myself” I chirped
“Ermmmm” he manged to repeat, not quite knowing how to respond “well, if you need any help I am right here. Any help at all” he added, to make the point clear

At this point the neighbors took out their chairs, poured some icy drinks and posted themselves rather conspicuously outside their RV to watch the show. Oh, this was going to be good…..

Undaunted by my new audience I attacked the project with rigor. Now I admit that tackling the tanks are not something every woman would enjoy, but thankfully no-one has ever called me any woman nor do they understand the giddy fun of mechanical success. And anyway plumbing is not semiconductor science (which is what I did before)….basically just pieces of stuff stuck together so that liquid can flow through it. As long as the seals are tight and you’ve got plumbers grease on hand you’re pretty much good to go.

The whole project in a picture
1/ Unbolt the old valves
2/ Pull everything apart
3/ Grease up the new seals
4/ Attach seals to the pipes
5/ Put everything back together and bolt it up

So, after I drained the tanks I unbolted the old valves, took out the valves & seals, reinserted the new seals w/a good layer of goop, aligned the valves so everything matched and put it all back together. The hardest part of the entire project was getting the new seals properly aligned with the pipes & valves since they kept slip-sliding around and not quite staying in the groves where they were supposed to be. But once the thing was back together it was a no-brainer. A light hand-tightening of the bolts and everything tested leak-free. Whoo Hoooo! The neighbours may have been a tad disappointed, but I was ecstatic.

And that’s the way…aha, aha…you do it…

Another project complete…
Another exciting day in the RV…
And some plumbing mastery…

Who knew RV tanks could be so much fun ?

P.S. For those considering this project themselves I bought our new metal-handle Valterra tank valves on Amazon HERE. In our motorhome the black tank valve is 3″, the grey 1.5″, but you should always measure your own before buying. The grease and other tools were from the hardware store. The giddy sense of self-satisfaction was free

Internet Connectivity On The Road -> Our New Rockin’ No-Contract 4G Upgrade!

Paul checks the market and enjoys an afternoon glass in the boonies

Having teased you for almost 2 months since I originally made mention of an exciting internet upgrade, I figured it was finally time to pull back the curtain and unveil the prize. Now, for those of you who’ve been following the blog for a while you’ll know we used to use a Verizon Pantech UMV190 data modem boosted by an external antenna and amp. This set-up kept us happily connected ~95% of the time in our first 2 years of RVing. Using the Verizon network was absolutely the right choice (and still is), but going under contract was absolutely not. Towards the end we were constantly hitting the 5Gb limit on the stick, and the stupid contract was keeping us “locked in” to the deal. Grrrr!This annoyed me so much it became item #6 of 10 Thing I Wish I’d Known Before Fulltime RVing. So we waited, and waited, and patiently waited until we could get rid of the darn thing and take our own advice…which happened just about 2 months ago in Eugene, OR. We’ve been testing the new service ever since and I’m happy to say it’s been working fabulously so we’re finally ready to make the big reveal!

Our solution was the Millenicom 3G/4G MiFi 20Gb HotSpot plan, boosted by our old external amp and antenna. We also upgraded our charging system with a handy 12V charger so we can use it without turning on the inverter in the boonies.

This is our step-by-step of what we wanted and why we chose what we did.

1/ We Did Not Want A Contract

Nooooo more contracts!!!

Millenicom only do month-to-month deals with no long-term contract. Once you buy the device you can stop it at any time, plus you can even suspend service and place it “on vacation” for 3 months out of any year. After 2 years of being locked in to a contract that really didn’t suit us having that flexibility was something we definitely wanted. Who knows what our internet needs will be a year from now? Who knows what the provider map will look like? When you’re on the road and rely 100% on your internet for a living having the ability to switch and change if something better comes up is priceless.

2/ We Wanted To Be On The Verizon Network

Gee…I wonder who’s network I’m on? Firing up the Millenicom 3G/4G Novatel 4620L HotSpot

If you’re travelling nomadically cross-country Verizon is by far the best coverage out there. AT&T may boast more 4G coverage and there may be certain spots other providers are better, but Verizon LTE is fast catching up and their overall coverage map is still the most superior on the market. Now Millenicom, being a reseller can’t officially tell you who they’re working with (it’s part of their deal with the providers), but you can tell which provider you’ll get based on the device. Right now, if you get their 20Gb 3G/4G Hotspot plan using the Novatel 4620L MiFi I guarantee you it will be on Verizon (their current 3G Advanced Plan with Novatel U760 stick is also on Verizon). Their other plans (e.g. unlimited) are on other providers so don’t be tempted into buying them. We had no doubt we wanted to stay with Verizon’s network, and unless you’re travelling in limited spots (where you know your coverage) I’d advise any fulltime RVer to do the same.

Note/ If you want to learn more about the differences in 4G technology check out Technomadia’s post HERE. You can also download their excellent app Coverage? and check out the provider coverage maps for yourself.

3/ We Wanted More Data

You may not think you’re a data monster…but you will be…

After 2 years of 5Gb contract we were rapidly hitting our limits and needed to expand. No matter what you might think now, if you’re fulltime RVing and using the internet for work (or even play) your data usage over time will go up. Let’s say you start streaming some music, or perhaps looking at a few videos…these are all data intensive. Also as 4G expands to more areas, data usage will increase even more. Many media websites can detect your speed and will feed you higher quality streams on faster devices, plus faster internet access encourages more browsing. As a result many folks who switch from 3G to 4G see a sudden “jump” in their usage even through they’ve not significantly changed their habits.

The Millenicom 20Gb plan quadruples our current limit and is just right for us (for now). Since we’ve switched we’ve enjoyed pretty-near unlimited internet time plus the ability to stream a few TV episodes in the boonies on Amazon Prime.

Note/ Before you say “I’ll NEVER need that much data” just think back 10 years or so in computer history. I still remember using a computer in the late 80′s with a 5Mb hard drive that was cutting edge, while these days I need a 1Tb drive just to hold all my pictures. The data monster is everywhere!

4/ We Wanted To Have Access To 4G

4G is pretty frikkin’ cool!

Most of our travel is still in “the boonies” which means most of the time we’re in regular old 3G areas, so in theory we could have stayed with a 3G plan through Millenicom. However 4G is expanding rapidly and the higher speeds are supremely attractive, plus my prediction is that it won’t be long before 3G users start to feel throttled. In many places 3G networks are over-subscribed and the providers are actively pushing to upgrade people to the bigger 4G pipelines. Late last year Verizon starting cutting speeds of their ”top” 3G users with their very sneakily-named “Network Optimization” plan (AT&T annouced a similar plan) and we felt the effects of this on our old Verizon-plan 3G data stick and 3G phone. After only ~2Gb of usage our data speeds would often drop precipitously, a real problem for someone who invests for a living. So we wanted out of the bottleneck and into the new technology. If you’re starting out now and rely on the internet for a living I’d advise doing the same.

Note/ Millenicom users on 3G plans are, so far as I know, not currently throttled by the provider (the resellers are not held to the same limits as direct customers), but they’re still at the mercy of overloaded towers.

5/ We Needed To Be Able To Boost The Signal

During our 3 years of travel we’ve come to appreciate how important it is to have signal boosting capabilities for our cellular internet. Our old antenna/amp has helped us get a usable signal in many, many spots where we’d otherwise have almost nothing and our new system absolutely needed to have the same capabilities. The new Novatel 4620L was the first MiFi on the market with an antenna port and this sealed the deal. All we needed was a cheap adaptor cable and we could use all our old equipment….at least to some extent. Our existing Wilson Omni 21″ Trucker antenna is both 4G/3G compatible (700/800/1900 Mhz), but our Wilson amplifier can only handle 3G (800/1900 Mhz). What this means is that we can boost our signal anywhere we’re 3G with both antenna/amp, but can only use the antenna to boost in 4G areas.

We’ve decided, for the moment, that this is acceptable.  4G boosting is still in its early infancy. There are a few options currently out there (for example the Wilson Sleek and this 4G LTE amplifier) but lots of new amps are being developed and it won’t be long before tri-band (3G/4G) amps are out. So far this has worked out perfectly. Whenever we’ve been in 3G areas, we’ve used our old boosting system extensively but in the rare 4G areas we’ve been we’ve (so far) not found the need to boost. At some point we will buy a new amplifier, but we’ve decided to wait until the technology matures before we invest in one.

Our new upgraded Internet system

Note/ We use this particular set-up because we wanted to repurpose our old antenna/amp, but if you’re creating a new system from scratch you’ll want to look at all the antenna/amp combos on the market. I still like the Wilson Omni antenna, but would likely wait for another amp if we were starting over. Also there are really good directional antennas, wireless amps and other options to boost your system. Check out Jack Mayer’s page for details.

6/ We Wanted Battery Capability & Easy 12V Charging

We’re very happy with our new Rocketfish charger

Our last 2 months on the road we’ve not had any hookups and one of the things we’ve really come to love about our new MiFi is its battery capability. We can run the MiFi for ~4 hours without a charge, and when we DO need to recharge all we need is a USB cable. We recently bought an iPad Rocketfish™ Premium Charger with built-in USB port that pretty much does it all. It fits into the 12V socket in our dash and can now charge our iPad and MiFi at the same time without the need to turn on our inverter. The USB port also can be used to charge our mobile phone too. Coool! For those wanting even more battery power there’s an extended battery you can get for the MiFi which will give you even more boonie-power.

7/ We Needed Support For Several Devices

Our tech paraphernalia currently includes 2 laptops, an iPad and a smartphone. The Novatel 4620L MiFi support up to 10 devices -> more than enough for our needs, even if we expand.

8/ We Wanted It ALL For The Same Price!

Apart from being locked into a contract, one of the things that really bothered us with Verizon was their pricing system. We originally had 3 Verizon devices (USB stick, iPad and phone) on 3 separate plans and they were using ~8-10Gb of data a month combined. We looked at moving onto a “Share Everything” plan, but that would only save us ~$10 with no upside in data allowance and the potential for alot more $$ if our data usage increased over the next 2 years (a practical given!). By getting rid of our old Verizon 5Gb/mo USB data stick and switching to the 20Gb/mo Millenicom plan we got rid of a contract and quadrupled our data allowance for the same price as our old plan. Deal!! The other nice thing about Millenicom is that the price you see is the exactly price you get. There are no “hidden” telecom, state or other weird charges. So our bill is exactly $69.99 every month. Neat!

Note/ If you’re a small data-user, but make alot of phone calls the “Share Everything” plan might still make sense for you, especially since it gives you unlimited phone minutes. For us data usage faaar exceeds our phone minutes (I use Skype for all my family calls to Europe) so getting the most out of our data plan was way more important.

The MiFi gave us usable internet even out here

We’ve been testing the MiFi for the past 2 months and have been perfectly happy with the performance. We looove the battery capability, looove the small size (you can stick it in your pocket and take it into town if you want), loove the speed (3G speeds are exactly equivalent to our old device, and 4G is smoking!) and looove the ease of use. The only possible negatives I could give is that the antenna port is tiny and gives a very “loose” connection (there’s no “snap” when you plug-in the antenna and the cable will sometimes fall out on its own), plus the blinking light on the MiFi is rather too bright. This is annoying, but it’s a minor inconvenience and has not so far dampened our appreciation of the new device. We’ll probably add more upgrades down the line (new 3G/4G amp when they’re out, possibly a flag pole extender for the antenna and perhaps a WiFi Ranger), but these will come as we need them.

That’s it folks. If you want to read more about internet connectivity and other boosting options on the market I highly recommend Jack Mayer’s RV communication page HERE.

The Darker Side Of FullTime RVing? 5 Thoughts To Ponder Before Making The Leap..

Yesterday Wish Upon An RV Star wrote a rather thought-provoking post Days Of Wine And Roses? and it got me thinking, so much so that I just had to write about it. Now I fully admit I don’t typically write about the downsides of fulltime RVing. I’m a natural optimist (a state reached by life-long deliberate training) and prefer to handle the difficult passages in life with humor. My posts reflect that side of my nature and so they’re mostly positive…and mostly humorous. But I admit that some folks might read too much into it and think my life is one long-lived utopia. Given the ups and downs I’ve had over the years (including depression, eating disorders, personal challenges) and even the issues I’ve been through during our 3 RVing years I have to chuckle at that assessment, but sometimes…just sometimes…it helps to hear the darker bits (some say it makes us more human?). So, for those looking at this lifestyle for the first time here’s my short straight-forward take on the other side of fulltime RVing:

1/ Life Doesn’t Stop For Travel

You will manage to do stupid things even after you move into an RV

I’ve travelled my whole life, so maybe travelling is much more ingrained in me than others. I expect (and know) that life happens no matter where you are. You will endure unexpected heartache, make clumpsy & painful mistakes, break things by your own hand, have medical issues , lose things, get deflated and sit for days waiting for stuff to get fixed…and none of it will come “at the right time”. This is life and it doesn’t stop just ‘coz you move into an RV.  We’ve experienced ALL of these in our 3 years of RVing and expect to keep doing so. The important question is not what happens, but how you deal with those life challenges. That’s true in an RV, in an apartment or in a $50 million dollar home.

2/ RVs Are Not As Big As Apartments

Sometimes things are exactly the size they seem…

I know this may sound bleedin’ obvious, but I always find it endlessly funny how some people move into an RV and then seem surprised by how small it is. Yes, it’s small. Yes, your kitchen is minute and your refrigerator is about half what you had at home. Yes, your shower-stall is not the double walk-in rainfall you had before. Yes (I’m sorry to say) your sh*t likely still stinks (and as a bonus you get to carry it around in an RV!)…but honestly that’s to be expected. Paul and I lived in a teeeeny apartment with no living room windows in Hong Kong for 4 years before we decided to go RVing. In that time we learnt to live comfortably in a small space with very little natural light, a barbie-sized kitchen (we only had 2 burners and no oven), a child-size washer, iffy electricity and a refrigerator the size of a gnat. So moving into an RV was EASY! I have never felt the RV to be small. In fact I consider it very luxurious & spacious, especially compared to our HK days (which I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way). Sometimes I miss some of my “stuff” and Paul certainly misses his 400+ investment books, but this is part of the sacrifice we make to be mobile. If we were spending our time in city-squeezed RV parks I might feel differently, but given we choose to camp in natural environments with lots of trails and green around us that just adds to the space.

3/ You’re Not In A Fixed Place

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore….”

Part of moving into an RV is embracing the mobile lifestyle. That means you no longer live around the corner from your favorite joint and actually need to think about where to go, eat, shop and stay. It’s actually one of the things I love about RVing, but you risk fizzling out and collaping if you go at it too hard. We made the mistake, as many new RVers do, of racing around waaay too much in our first year. Not only that but we managed to hit the midwest in August (how dumb are we?) and were practically eaten alive by both mosquitoes, fleas and ticks (believe it or not we even contracted Lyme Disease)….oh, it wasn’t pretty it was not. But we managed to see the beauty despite the beast, learned from our idiocies and have slowed down, spent more time getting to know the “local” scene and followed much better weather ever since. We’re still going to hit periods of weather that suck, and will still end up doing some drives we don’t enjoy, but now we know how to chose our pace & our place so that the experience is enjoyable. Our “improved” approach made RVing 100 times better, and I can see us slowing down and being even more picky about our spots in the years to come.

4/ Budget & Money Still Matters

You still gotta think about the green stuff…

No mater how much you might wish it you are never going to get away from needing the green stuff. Money matters…from the day you’re born ’till the day you meet the never-after. We make our income 100% from investing and have done so for the past 3 years. This means we have a non-steady income stream, which is true for many “younger” RVers. We’ve also had unexpected expenses come up (a particularly large and personal one earlier this year) which put an extra painful wrench in the socket. What this means is that we have to watch our budget and adjust accordingly -> no differently from what I would do if we lived in a fixed home. This year we cut down massively on travel (= less gas), ligthhouse hosted for 2 months (= free camping) and are planning on boondocking much of winter. Would you call that sacrificing? Maybe…but I love the fact that RVing allows you that exact kind of flexibility. You can drive less, workamp, chose cheaper camping options…I’ve never had a lifestyle that was so adaptable (money-wise) and sure appreciate the freedom of it.

5/ You WILL Be Close To Your Partner

Sometimes it’s best just to tell him to go out and play with the dog…

The sheer size of an RV means that if you didn’t know your other half before starting this endeavor, you bet-your-behind-you-will now. Paul and I were together (and by together I mean we commuted together, worked in the same job in the same company in the same group in next-door cubicles and lived together!) for 14 years before we went RVing, so spending 24-hours a day in each others space was completely natural. Zero adjustment here, baby. But some people DO have a process to go through when they move into a tin-can rig and if they’re not prepared for this it could literally shatter their fulltime dreams. My advice is be mentally ready for this adjustment, develop separate hobbies, go on few separate sight-seeing trips and take solo-walks with the dog when you need a break. It may take some time, but if you’re open-minded about it, it’ll work out in the end.

So is fulltime RVing for everyone? Hell no! If you’re not adaptable, flexible, relaxed about travel & weather, love being around your other half, comfortable in a small space and have a decent sense of humor this lifestyle might well fail you. That’s not to say you can’t be all those things in a stix & brix house, but space and plans are even more likey to be “jello” in an RV, so you gotta be prepared for the unexpected. And the positives? Freedom, adventure and memories to last a lifetime. For me, those three little things totally outdo the negatives. For you? Well, you’ll have to make that decision for yourself.

P.S. For those itching to read more my old “10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Fulltime RVing” and Paul’s quite excellent ”Revisiting A Recipe For A Happy Retirement” post from yesterday meshes in quite nicely to this topic.

The Ins & Outs Of RV Extended Warranties

This blog post has been on my “list” for a while and I’ve resisted writing it mostly because I wasn’t sure of my own conclusions.  Discussions on extended warranties are akin to opening a can of Sicilian worms in an Italian bait shop. It’s a MESSY topic with lots of very heated opinions on each side of the fence. After 5 months of thinking, testing (yes, actual real-life testing) and experience I’m going to be honest and tell you there is no absolute answer. Extended warranties are not for everyone. They can be a waste of money, they can be supremely helpful and they can also be everything in between. Our situation is that we currently have an extended warranty, it has worked and paid out for us (we’re ahead on our money), but I’m still not sure it’s worth it (I know, I’m a walking contradiction).

So what I am going to do in this post is give you the tools to decide for yourself on whether you need one including how to negotiate the best policy, traps to be wary of and what to plan for with claims. So, take a big breath, sit down in your comfy chair and here it goes:

1/ To Buy Or Self-Insure -> That Is The Question

Should you put your money in the bank or in a policy?

The truth is for most items you buy in your lifetime extended warranties are simply not worth the money. They are often overpriced for the protection you get and you rarely get your money’s worth. In fact that’s the very reason they are so very lucrative for the people who sell them to you!

The only situation where this question becomes “iffy” is when you’re dealing with a very expensive item (like an RV) where the cost of repairs can be really, really high. At this point it becomes a grey area. For many people simply putting money aside every month for repairs and using that “self-insurance bucket” when something comes up will put them ahead on $$ for the lifetime of their RV. For others the financial worry of a major breakage is too much to bear and buying a warranty for “peace of mind” makes their RV life alot smoother. You’ll have to decide, based on your own financial situation, age of your RV, $$ value of your big ticket items and risk tolerance whether self-insurance will work for you.

2/ An After-Market Warranty Is More Like Insurance

If you decide to buy an extended warranty one key thing to understand up-front is that, unless it’s manufacturer-provided, it’s really more like insurance. Manufacturer-backed warranties (e.g. the one you’d get with a brand new RV) are more like “true” warranties in that they pretty much just fix anything that goes wrong. After-market warranties are different. When you buy an after-market warranty you’re basically trying to insure against some future breakage/failure on an item which is no longer supported by the manufacturer. These non-manufacturer warranties can be very specific and have lots of potentially tricky “outs”. You cannot treat an after-market warranty like a safe-house and think everything will just “get fixed”. You can also not treat an after-market warranty like a bank deposit and think you’ll get your money back. Know and understand that if you sign an after-market warranty it is a contract that you may never use and you need to abide by all the details to get your “insurance” to pay up. If you go into the process with this understanding you will be much happier with your decision in the long run.

3/ Not Every RV Warrants A Warranty

An extended warranty on an older coach makes no sense

Even if you’re bought into the whole idea of an extended warranty not every RV owner should get one. Here are some of the cases I would not consider it:

• New RV Owner – New RVs typically have a “breaking in” period which will often require lots of trip to the shop. If you’re buying a brand new RV it should come with a manufacturer-backed warranty for at least a year, and that’s the warranty you should use before shopping for one on your own. If you’re buying a “new” used RV  you may be able to negotiate a 1-year repair plan backed by the shop you bought it from to get you through the “break-in” period -> that’s what we did with our rig. In fact we got the shop to throw in a 1-year plan for free and spent the first 6 months getting free repairs on all our systems from the dealer. Well worth it and not a cent out of our own pocket.
• Older, Used RV Owner – Most RV owners will tell you that if things are going to break, they’ll do so in the first few years. Once your engine, appliances and other items are “broken in”, your chances of any kind of warranty-backed repair drops dramatically. Also as your RV gets older you are more likely to simply replace/upgrade things rather than repair them and these new items won’t be covered by the original warranty. Lastly as your rig ages policy costs go up and the cost-benefit of having a warranty goes down.

Personally I feel the best candidates for extended warranties are newer RV owners past their initial 1-year factory warranty who feel they still have some “breaking in” to do, or in-between owners (RV is a few years old, but not yet old enough) who need the insurance in case something comes up. It’s a cost-benefit decision and only you can make that assessment for you. In our case once our current 5-year warranty is done we’ll not be buying a new one.

4/ Dealer-Sold Warranties Are Big Money Makers -> For The Dealers

Many RV dealers will try to sell you an extended warranty when you buy your RV. Unless the warranty is backed by the dealership itself (which is extremely rare) and you plan to get all the repairs done at that very shop, I would never personally sign up to one of these things. Dealer-sold warranties are typically much more expensive (often twice the price) and less comprehensive than any warranty you can get externally. Avoid the trap and shop around on your own.

5/ Key Items To Negotiate In An Extended Warranty Policy

Read the fine print on every contract

Assuming you’ve decided to go-ahead on a warranty purchase start looking around and getting quotes on policies. Get several quotes and then get a copy (and read) each of the contracts before you sign. You want to treat an extended warranty like insurance which means you should look to get all your “big ticket” items covered (the ones you can’t afford to fix on your own), but you ALSO need to be aware of the fine-print and “outs”. In my mind the 2 most important “must have”  items in an extended warranty are:

1. Exclusionary Policy  - Extended warranties come as either “inclusionary” or “exclusionary” policies. Inclusionary are the most common kind (also the cheapest) and will only cover the specific items listed on the contract…in other words if it is not on contract it is not covered. This sounds great in principle, but can be a real “gotcha” if some non-covered part you didn’t even know about causes your claim to be denied. Exclusionary policies are the other way around. They only list items which are NOT covered on the policy…..by contract everything else IS covered. Since RVs are extremely complicated machines with thousands of interacting parts many of which I don’t even know the name of, my recommendation is to go for an exclusionary policy. They are more expensive, but they are much more comprehensive policies, much simpler to understand with alot less potential “outs”.
2. Consequential Damage - One of the biggest potential bummers in a warranty claim can be denial of a big ticket item due to damage from a non-covered part. Imagine a non-covered part (say some type of gasket) blows and damages a big, expensive covered part (say, your transmission). Unless you have consequential damage the warranty company can legally deny your claim. This is a situation you never want to be in. Even if you decide to buy an inclusionary policy, make sure consequential damage is part of the policy.

These are my personal “must have” up-front items. Working from this baseline,  look for the following clauses too:

• Understand Transfer and Cancellation Policies - Make sure that you can transfer or get out of the policy if you sell the RV or decide you don’t like it.
• Know Who’s Backing the Warranty – Most of the folks you get quotes from will be brokers (i.e. companies who sell you products from other companies) and not the actual people managing your warranty and claims. So, make sure you find out who that is. You’ll want to be sure the claims company is a reputable one and the underwriter is a solid, A-rated insurance firm.
• Make Sure You Can Use Any Repair Center – If you’re travelling around you don’t want to get stuck somewhere the warranty isn’t accepted. Make sure they’ll accept any repair center nationwide.
• Call Around & Check Reputation - Call some RV shops nationwide and ask them if they’ve worked with this company before and what the claims process was like. If they’ve got a bad rep or are not well known that’s not a good sign.
• Check On Full-Time RV Coverage - If you’re a fulltime RVer make sure the warranty you buy is valid for full-time use of the RV. Some are not, or require a surcharge for that purpose.
• Understand Term Limits, Deductibles And Claim Procedures - If you’re getting a 60,000 mile policy does that 60K start from today, or from the day you bought your RV? Also what are your deductibles and how difficult is it to make a claim?

There are many more details, but those are probably the most important ones. Just make sure you read all the fine print so you know the potential “gotchas” up-front.

6/ Keep Ontop Of Maintenance & Contract Details

Once you’ve bought a warranty make sure you stay ontop of maintenance and any other contract “gotchas”. Most warranties will deny claims if you do not follow manufacturer-recommended maintenance guidelines, or let your parts rust, or do not change out worn parts. If your fridge fails, the last thing you want is to get denied because you didn’t do your yearly fridge service. Stay ontop of it and keep your records in order.

7/ If You Make A Claim, Follow Policy Procedure (And Prepare For Time & Hoops!)

Be ready to jump through some hoops

We’ve used our extended warranty twice since we bought it, and although it’s worked and paid up both times, neither experience was painless. No matter who you use, make sure you understand the proper procedure to make a claim. Extended warranty companies require the damage to be assessed up-front (sometimes they’ll even send their own inspector) and will then need to approve the repair before any work is done.  Ontop of that warranty companies will often only approve a certain labor rate and number of hours for repair (based on national averages and internal guidelines). This is where things can get really gritty. Assuming you’ve been ontop of your maintenance and there are no other “gotchas” in your contract you might still end up arguing with the warranty company on how much they’ll pay for the repair….so you’ve got to prepare for time, patience and some back and forth!

As an example our first repair was in CA and the shop labor rate was above what the warranty would accept. We managed to negotiate the shop down, but it took a couple of days of back and forth. Our second repair was in OR. This time the warranty company wanted to send an inspector (2 days), wait for his report to be approved (another day) and then, even though we passed inspection and the labor rate was OK, they would only reimburse 2.7 hours on what the shop deemed to be a 5 hour job. In the end we managed to negotiate a compromise, but it was still alot of painful hoops to jump through. Bottom line, if you make a claim expect to spend some time on it.

8/ And Our Solution Was….?

So, given all that who did we get our policy with? I got quotes from several companies including Good Sam’s, GoRVWarranty and Wholesale Warranties. Good Sam’s did not offer an exclusionary policy so I decided against them up-front. GoRVWarranty and WholesaleWarranties (both brokers) offered similar contracts at vastly different prices. My research on GoRV dug up some questionable practices** and alot of folks who were unhappy with the company (poor after-sales service) so I negotiated a hefty sum off  WholesaleWarranties and stuck with them. My finally policy was for 60 months/60,000 miles, $100 deductible with CSI/Allegiance, underwritten by American Bankers Insurance (A.M. Best “A” rating) and costs us ~$1.5 per day. It’s an exclusionary policy with consequential damage and free tire plan thrown in. So far I’ve been very happy with WholesaleWarranties. They are easy to deal with and (more importantly) they’ve “gone to bat” for us against the warranty company each time we’ve had a claim. I’m still not sure the warranty is worth it (we could have managed each of our past 2 claims faster and easier with money put aside), but only time will tell.

That’s it folks. If you haven’t already fallen asleep I’d love to hear your experience and thoughts on extended warranties. Feel free to comment away below!

** UPDATE: As of Nov 13th, 2012 Go RV Network, the parent company of Go RV Warranty filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the West Texas District court. Definitely happy we avoided them as a broker.