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We have a fun show for you today, discussing the best of 2023. This list includes our favorite RV of the year, the best RV show, our favorite guests, and our favorite trip of 2023. We also look forward to 2024 and what is on our wish list for the new year.
Spoilers Ahead
If you are reading this after listening to the show, then please continue, but if you haven’t heard the show yet and do not want to know what made it to the top of our lists, stop here, take a listen, and then come back to show notes for the links and photos of what we discussed.
Ok, with the disclaimer out of the way, you can now proceed forward.
Best Trip of the Year
Kenny’s Pick
It was a toss-up. I did the Fantasy RV Tour Baja Wine & Dine trip, which was fantastic, but I also product-tested a Winnebago Travato for two weeks and visited the East Coast, where we were able to see several of our friends and tried a new experience, which was van life. Ultimately, I went with the Travato East Coast trip because we were able to catch up with so many of our friends.
Sean’s Pick
This may sound like an ad, but my favorite was the trip to the FMCA rally in Perry, Georgia. It is a jam-packed rally with a lot to see during the day and entertainment at night. They have seminars on multiple topics going on all day. There must have been 5 or 6 seminars at once every hour that the vendor hall was open. They have the most vendors I have seen at a rally. There are also a lot of RVs to walk through and fun events throughout the day, including a fun run, coffee, music, and crafts. They also have entertainment in the evening, but the best thing is that it gets quiet at a reasonable hour. You don’t have to worry about partying into the early morning hours at this rally. This was our 3rd one, and I enjoy it more every year.
Favorite New Product/Accessory
Kenny’s Pick
I had two significant upgrades done to my RV this year. We installed a huge Battle Born Batteries expansion and had a Truma AquaGo installed to replace our OEM water heater.
As much as we love the new AquaGo, I am picking the BBB expansion as it has changed the way we travel by allowing us to be off the grid for longer as well as giving us a 2nd layer of protection for our dog Belle while at a campground during a power outage.
Sean’s Pick
I really like my new Garmin RV GPS. I have always used phone apps for navigation for all the years I have been RVing. The Garmin has many more features than the phone apps, including many campgrounds like KOAs and national parks. It also has road and traffic warnings and services available at upcoming exits and rest areas. If you link your phone, you can also answer calls through it to be hands-free. I use it even when I am not towing the 5th wheel.
Favorite New RV
Kenny’s Pick
This was an easy choice as it stood out to me as a good value for what you got. My choice for this year is the Winnebago Access. I am not usually a travel trailer person, but for an RV under $25,000, it has 50amp service with appliances like a 12-volt fridge, tank heaters, insulation for winter camping, and power jacks, to name a few. I also found the floor plans modern and comfortable, with solid bedroom doors. You also have choices in floor plans like bunk beds and or slides.
Sean’s Pick
It is not in production yet, but the Cirrus 920 truck camper prototype was shown at the Hershey RV show. It was probably the nicest truck camper I have seen. It has a full dry bath, locking cabinets, an induction cooktop, and a lot of storage. It also has an 810 amp hour lithium battery bank (three 270 amp hour batteries), a 3,000-watt inverter, a DC-to-DC charger, and three 310-watt solar panels for 930 watts.
Favorite RV Show or Rally
Kenny’s Pick
This was one of the more difficult questions as I went to seven RV shows in 2023, but I narrowed it down to two. One is the Overland West in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the other is the FMCA Rally in Perry, Georgia. I chose the FMCA Rally as my top pick for a few reasons. The first was that Sean was my neighbor for the week. We were able to put on a live morning show there, and we had a great time touring RV’s and all the entertainment that went on. We also liked visiting the vendor hall and checking out what was new for the year. FMCA puts on a great show!
Sean’s Pick
I gave it away in the answer to my favorite RV trip. Julie and I both like the FMCA rally.
Favorite Campground
Kenny’s Pick
This was another tough choice for me as I love Disney’s Fort Wilderness, but we also stayed at a San Diego KOA this year, which was fantastic. San Diego has several expensive campgrounds, which is no exception, but we felt we could get so much more for our money than any other San Diego campground we have stayed at.
Sean’s Pick
The Cape Charles Chesapeake Bay RV Resort is on Virginia’s eastern shore. This campground had everything. Not only did they have RV spots, but they also had cabins, safari tents, and a sister hotel co-located on the property. The best part about this resort is the large beachfront area that is dog-friendly. They had a bar and grill on the beach and a large pool. The resort also had kayaks and paddle boards for rent. I recorded a mini pod on our experience.
Favorite Road of the Year
Kenny’s Pick
This is another not-so-easy question for me as I did a ton of traveling this year, but I narrowed it down to two and made a final decision on one of them. I enjoyed the drive to Ensenada in Mexico. We drove along RT 1D. It was a scenic drive along the coast where we could look out at the ocean, and we even saw a sunken ship from the road. As great of a drive as that is, it is not my number one for the year. We also drove on Hwy 163 in Utah to visit the Forrest Gump filming location. This is the scene in the movie where he stops running. Even if you are not a fan of the movie, you will like this road and location. There is a beautiful view of the mountains in Monument Valley. We spent almost two hours on this road, stopping for photos and enjoying the views.
Sean’s Pick
My favorite road traveled in the RV is related to my favorite campground. It is Highway 13, driving through the Delmarva peninsula. We were on this highway for quite a while after crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis and going down the peninsula to the Cape Charles Chesapeake Bay RV resort. The route passes through little towns and has a country feel. With all the towns, you don’t have to worry about speeding maniacs because the speed limit changes often. I enjoyed seeing the towns we drove through. They all seemed to have a unique feel, making the drive go by quickly.
Favorite Podcast Guest of 2023
Kenny’s Pick
With so many great guests this year, you know that picking just one is tough. I enjoyed the interview with Brett Davis, CEO of the National Indoor RV Center. I thought that was a very educational episode and that Brett was incredibly transparent about the RV business.
As much as I liked that interview, I chose our interview with Chris Crowel from Cummins. This may surprise a lot of you as I am known for not being a fan of generators, but I felt Chris was very entertaining and informative. I learned a lot in that episode about what it takes to get these power sources to market, especially while following strict EPA laws.
Sean’s Pick
I can narrow it down to a few. Brett Davis with National Indoor RV Center was interesting because he knows the RVing business and had a lot of great insight. Our interview with Wade about Wakespeed was a good one because we know Wade on a personal level, and it always makes the conversation better. Anthony from Cortes was good because he could explain the innovation they are using to build these unique campers. Also, Scott from Adventure Genie was excellent because he seemed passionate about the product and the changes they are making to the RV travel experience. Lastly, Tim from Greenfin was one of my favorites because he was really persistent in developing the product the way he wanted, and even though it took years to get the final design, he didn’t give up. He even self-funded the development of the boat, which was tough.
Favorite Product on the Podcast
We agreed! Again, with so many great guests, products, and services, it was tough to pick just one. AdventureGenie stood out to both of us for its innovation and how we believe their AI-driven RV planner has the potential to shape the future of how we travel in our RVs.
Who are we looking forward to having on the show in 2024?
Kenny’s Pick
With what feels like an endless number of possibilities for guests in the new year, choosing just one company is tough, but I am very interested in having Spot2Nite on the show as I feel their service in the RV industry is very much needed. They are trying to streamline online campground booking instead of needing to call or, worse yet, sending an email and waiting for a reply if there is availability. With Spot2Nite, you can go online and book a stay easily and quickly. We hope to have them on as a guest early in the year.
Sean’s Pick
I look forward to having more of the new RV manufacturers like Cortes on the show. These new companies are innovating the RV industry, and I think they will change the future of RV design and use. The big manufacturers have dominated the industry for years and kept the same or similar designs. These new companies like Taxa and Cortes are changing the game. Interviewing them is fun because they have such unique perspectives and design ideas.
RVing Goal for 2024
Kenny’s Goal
I really took this question to heart. What I would really like to see this upcoming year is better self-control of my eating habits while traveling in the RV. I have a terrible habit of bringing snacks up to the driver’s cab for long days on the road, and I have a habit of putting myself in vacation mode and eating at every restaurant that looks good along the way. This would probably be fine if we were on the road for a few weeks a year, but we typically cover over twenty thousand miles a year in our RV. That much travel adds to many ice cream parlors and bakeries. So this year, I aim not to gain my normal 10lbs while RV traveling.
Sean’s Goal
Finally go to the Canadian Maritimes.
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Well, we hope you enjoyed this week’s episode. This was a lot of fun to put together, and we look forward to seeing what 2024 has in store for us. Take care all. Happy New Year!
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