Boondocking is the whole reason many of us bought an RV in the first place. No hookups, no neighbors, no noise except the wind and your own coffee maker. That last part is the catch, though. Without shore power, your house batteries only give you 12V DC power, and almost every appliance you own wants … Read more
If you’ve ever tried to enjoy your morning coffee on a sun-blasted RV patio, you already know why awnings matter. We spent six weeks testing eight of the best RV awnings for travel trailers, mounting and dismounting them at three different campgrounds across the Pacific Northwest. Our team measured wind tolerance, checked how long the … Read more
I learned about RV leveling the hard way. My first weekend in a new travel trailer, I skipped the blocks because the site looked “close enough.” Two hours later, my fridge was rattling, the door kept swinging open, and a cold drink rolled off the counter. That is why I take leveling seriously now, and … Read more
A campground pedestal nearly cost my friend $4,200 last summer. One bad connection at a state park in Tennessee fried his air conditioner compressor, microwave, and the converter that charges his batteries. He had been an RVer for twelve years and had never plugged in a surge protector. After that weekend, he bought a Progressive … Read more
I remember the first time my old 6-gallon tank water heater ran out mid-shower. I was covered in shampoo, hair full of lather, when the water dropped from a comfortable 100 degrees to an arctic blast that made me yelp. That moment of panic is exactly what the best RV tankless water heaters are designed … Read more
When our old absorption fridge died on a trip through Arizona, we spent three days living out of a cooler and eating sandwiches. That week taught us more about RV refrigerators for campers than any spec sheet ever could. A good fridge is the difference between real meals on the road and soggy lunch meat. … Read more
After spending the last three summers hauling our travel trailer across 14 states, I’ve learned one uncomfortable truth. The factory-installed toilet that came with our rig was never going to cut it for our family of four. Weak flushes, plastic parts that cracked, and a seat height that made my six-foot-two brother groan every time … Read more
Last summer our family spent 11 days on a dispersed camping trip in the Sierra Nevada, and the worst part was not the mosquitoes, the cold nights, or the mud. It was the porta potty situation. We packed what we thought was the best portable camping toilet, a cheap bucket seat from a big box … Read more
After spending 45 days field-testing 12 different models across two ranges and one prairie dog hunting trip, I have a clear answer to which shooting benches deserve your money. The best shooting benches for ranges combine rock-solid stability with practical portability, and only a handful of models hit that sweet spot. I pushed each bench … Read more
After burning through hundreds of handloads at the range over the past few years, I learned one lesson the hard way: you cannot develop a reliable load without real velocity data. When I first started reloading, I trusted published load manuals and guessed at my muzzle velocity. My groups were inconsistent, my drop charts were … Read more