Can You Hear Me Now? Breaker Breaker 1... 9.....

For this post, I would like to discuss keeping in touch with the family while camping.  Many people in the good old days, used string and two soup cans or a CB walkie-talkie to keep in touch with family members during camping.  Most of the campers in the olden time and even RVers today, nothing was or is used to stay in touch.  While some may believe that a cell phone is good enough, and it may be traveling down the interstate, in a campground in the wilderness or at the nearby lake you may find that the good old cell phone does not work, even a little.   You may find that the carrier you have is the wrong carrier for good service in the area that you are in and that the other guy would have been a better choice.  Whatever the case, today we have very small radios called FRS/GMRS that will last a long time on batteries, give you several miles of range, be quiet and can even be set up for "selective call" so only your family members will hear you when you call them in for lunch or are backing up the rig.  RVers who are backpackers take note, these little radios can have weather radios and GPS built-in as well.








Let's take a look at a few [shown below] and discuss their features and benefits in more detail.

Motorola Model MD200R

Shown above are some Basic FRS radios.  They come as a pair when you buy them and have the following feature set.  The units come with rechargeable batteries, two belt clips, charging cable, AC adapter and have a range of 20 miles over flat and open terrain.  They offer a 12hr battery life.  As you can see the unit does not offer a lot of features but it works and could be used when backing the RV into that tight site, right next to the lake.



Motorola MH230

Above is shown a step-up model of an FRS/GMRS radio.  It can run on alkaline batteries for up to 10hrs or 8hrs on rechargeable batteries.  This model from Motorola includes 11 weather channels, 22 talk channels, and each channel has 121 privacy codes, (selective call)  for privacy.  The range is 23 miles over flat and open terrain.  It comes with belt clips and 1 dual drop-in charger to charge the pair of radios at the same time to save you time.  Use one as a base station at the RV and give the other one to whoever you want to keep track of.  Additional units can be purchased so everyone who needs one has one.  This unit would be great for a fisherman to keep in touch while out in the boat on the lake.

Garmin Rino 650 with GPS & FRS



 Calling all Backpacking RVers out there.  Here is an FRS/GMRS radio that has a built-in GPS or a GPS that has a built-in FRS/GMRS radio.  This unit is not low cost, but it does show that just about any need for communications while RVing can be met with an FRS/GMRS radio.  For the fun of it here are some of the features of this radio.  The radio has a 2.6-inch color touchscreen that is glove friendly.  A high sensitivity GPS receiver, a rugged waterproof case. Runs 18hrs on a set of batteries, and has a list of accessories as long as your arm. 

While most of us will want a lower cost unit you need not suffer from little to no features.  Range, the number of channels, the privacy feature (selective call), and battery life are the important ones to watch out for.

Safety and peace of mind make the weekend RV getaway fun and exciting for the whole family and the ability to stay in touch with all members of the camping party does that for me and my family.









Until next time.  Over and Out?

Affordable Gifts For Neighbor RVers And Helpful Acquaintances

Let's take a look at some gifts for neighboring RVers and helpful acquaintances for Christmas.  These are ideas that are great for anyone in the RV business community or maybe someone at the camping office that did you right and that deserves a Holiday Gift.

1. How about some Battery Operated Scented Candles?

Battery Operated Scented Candles

• Set of 3
• Each set includes: 4", 5" and 6" pillar candle
• Flameless
• Vanilla Scent
• Auto on/off timer when set -will automatically come on

2. Some Tea Light Battery Operated Candles are also nice.

Tea Light Battery Operated Candles

• They are bright and safe for any room
• Powered by CR2032 battery (Included)
• On/Off button on bottom of each candle
• Great for parties, Christmas, home decor, restaurants, nightclubs and camping.

3. How about a good book?  The Next Exit

  The Next Exit

The most complete U.S. Interstate Highway exit directory ever printed. Includes an exit-by-exit listing of services and amenities such as food, gas, lodging, camping, shopping, and more. Lists services within one mile of exit--save time, fuel and frustration finding what you need. Big rig accessibility in easy to spot red print. Aids in trip planning find services 5 or 500 miles ahead.

4. An Amazon Gift Card is great for people who move around a lot.

Amazon Gift Card

The cards come in different denominations and can even be emailed to a friend who is not near you this Holiday Season.

5. A Bass Pro Shop Gift Card would make a great gift.

Bass Pro Shop Gift Card

The card come in different denominations and can even be emailed to a friend who is not near you this Holiday Season.

6. Cabela's Gift Card

Cabela's Gift Card

The card comes in different denominations and can even be emailed to a friend who is not near you this Holiday Season.

7. Academy Sports and Outdoors Gift Card

Academy Sports and Outdoors Gift Card

The card come in different denominations and can even be emailed to a friend who is not near you this Holiday Season.

8.  Help your friends and family to get to where they need or want to be with a Shell Oil Gift Card.

 Shell Oil Gift Card.

The card comes in different denominations and can even be emailed to a friend who is not near you this Holiday Season.

Until Next Time

Please remember that this blog is an Amazon affiliate. When you order something through any of the Amazon links, it doesn’t add anything to your cost, but I do earn a small commission on everything you buy. Just click on an Amazon link, then shop as usual.