New trailers!

Our first line of new trailers. We chose the Tango line from Pacific Coachworks, an innovative company here in California. These trailers are so well-constructed - aluminum frame, indestructible Centrex front cap, all wood throughout, porcelain marine toilet, power awnings, etc. There is an optional slide-out outdoor kitchen/entertainment center available!

We tried out the Flagstaff 30' trailer for Thanksgiving

Dad had to drag us out to Santee Lakes in the only trailer that did not get rented for Thanksgiving weekend, but we had fun once we got there. We took the 30 foot Flagstaff trailer with a "super slide." This trailer sleeps 5 or 6 (or more if you bring air mattresses). It has a large bathroom separating the bedroom from the living room, with a large shower with a garden tub. There is a big flat screen TV and stereo with surround sound in the living room. It rained most of our time here, so we watched several movies. The first night, it was dry, so we had a campfire with another family from Poway, whose kids are friends with ours. Nick had a great time riding his scooter around the park, feeding ducks and pretending to fish. Mom went into work for a few hours Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and was glad to get some organizing done that she can't do with customers and other employees around.

We noticed a few unusual deficiencies in the Flagstaff trailer during our stay, such as the lack of electrical outlets near the dinette or the bed - places we usually plug in the laptop and our cell phones. Also, the bathroom doors are short, with 3 inches of space at the tops and bottoms. We were also glad we used this trailer before any renters, so we can fix the too-loud water pump and converter fan before we give it to anyone else.

Jeremy drives heavy equipment at the new lot

Jeremy gets to do things other teens dream about. We rented several large lifts to do the signs on the new lot and Jeremy got to drive them around and help with the construction. Nick got a ride on the hoist they used to put up the big billboard sign too!

How to move a 10 x 10' shed (but don't get caught!)

The guys did not want to spend days dismantling our 10' square tool shed and reassembling it at the new lot. We used a forklift to help get the shed onto a flatbed tow truck, drove it over to the new lot (on the freeway no less!) and dropped it at the new lot.

New Rice RV location

Wow! What a busy summer and fall! We have now moved to our new lot on the 67 freeway at Riverford Road. This is a perfection location (it has been an RV lot for 25 years, anyway). Forty thousand cars pass by our huge freeway-side signs every day. There are four sales offices plus and administrative office building with lobby and a large service bay/shop. We have a new service department manager, Jim, and a new rental department manager, Adrian. We already see that we are 10 times busier at this lot for all aspects of our business - rentals, sales and service. Perhaps the best part is the golf carts we now have to drive up and down the huge lot.

NEW RICE RV LOCATION!

We are moving to the big lot along the 67 freeway at Riverford Avenue, formerly occupied by Double-D RV and then Revolution RV. This is a big move up, with lots more offices, space for the new units we will be selling, customer parking, etc. There's easy freeway access and a gas station directly across the street to make life easier for our rental customers. And now we have an excuse to get a couple of golf carts.

New address: 11510 Woodside Avenue, Santee, CA 92071. The phone number will be the same.

Vail Lake RV Park in Temecula - a new Rice family favorite

We definitely will add Vail Lake to our list of favorite RV destinations close to San Diego, to use for a quick getaway or to try out a new rental unit. Vail Lake has 500 spots in a beautiful woodsy area near Temecula, about 45 minutes north of San Diego. Our site was big - so big we did not have to unhook the boat we brought to use at the lake - we just backed the 40 foot RV and boat into the spot. The park's big attraction is a water slide, although that was closed when we visited (rats!). There are 3 big swimming pools (one shallow one for toddlers). The water was quite cold, which took a little getting used to, even with the 100-degree-plus outside temperature. The main office complex for the park included a miniature golf course, a bar with pool table, restaurant, ice cream bar and stage. Friday night, we sat at the patio tables and watched a very good band (the bartender told us it was a group of teachers from Vista High School - I did not verify that). Kids and parents danced in front of the stage. Our 3-year-old Nicholas danced like something out of a music video, which makes me wonder what he has been watching with the older kids!

Our visit was in September, with a very small crowd. It might have been a different experience on a more crowded summer weekend. We noticed that Halloween is a big holiday at this campground - they already had the decorations up when we were there and they told us they were fully booked for that weekend.

The park is a few minutes' drive from Vail Lake, a private lake where members can fish, waterski, wakeboard, etc. We arranged a trial day at the lake to see if we wanted to buy a membership. When we arrived, we thought the lake was too choppy to wakeboard and ski, but we found that there is a protected area that was still glassy, a long, narrow strip of water with hills on both sides, perfect for such sports. We probably won't buy a membership any time soon, but it's a great sports lake if you live close by and would use it every weekend.

Which RV did we take? Well, we had just gotten this 40' Fleetwood Discovery on the lot, but it was not officially in the rental fleet yet. Someone dropped it off to either have us store it or rent it out for them. It was quite nice inside, with 4 slides and two sofas, so it had more sleeping room than our two Monacos. But towing the boat up to Temecula, the engine ran hot, and we found some other broken things inside the RV, so it probably won't make it into the rental fleet, unless the owner wants to pay for repairs up front!

Labor Day at the Colorado River

Last year, we seemed to get away more for 1 or 2-night RV trips, but this year we worked nearly every day. After we checked the last rental out on the Friday before Labor Day, we rolled away in the 40' Monaco Camelot diesel pusher, towing a wakeboard boat. Jeremy and the kids insisted on driving the little Geo Tracker separately, even though it has no air conditioning!

Our destination was the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona (about 3 hours from home), a favorite boating spot for Dan and the kids (Lesley is a little more delicate and does not appreciate 115-degree heat!). There were no campgrounds with hookups to be found, so we tried the old family standby spot, Squaw Lake, which has non hookup spots for RV's, bathrooms, showers, etc. To our surprise, there were no other campers at Squaw Lake when we arrived. Later, some brave souls arrived and camped in tents on the beach. The camp host said if we parked at the far end we could run our generator all night and keep the a/c on. We launched the boat and tied it up at the beach.

Unfortunately, we soon found that the Monaco generator had a problem and would not run both air units at the same time, and the front air was not fully cold. We made do using the rear air, running the generator 24-hours a day. (We proved Dan's theory that the generator uses about half a gallon of fuel per hour.) The fridge didn't do too well, either. Good thing we discovered those flaws before we rented out this RV to someone!

Dan and the kids like to get up at sunrise and go out wakeboarding and waterskiing before any other boaters make the water choppy. By the time they come in for breakfast, Mom and Nick are up.

Boating on the river is fun as long as you stay wet and moving. When you stop the boat, you dry off in a few minutes and start to roast.

Squaw Lake is near the Imperial Dam and just across from Hidden Shores. You can take a quick boat ride over to Hidden Shores for fuel, groceries, cell phone coverage, etc. Farther up the river are other campgrounds with facilities too. Dan likes the stretch of river just upstream from Squaw Lake because it is wide and deep, with few sandbars to get in the way when skiing. Other people like to go upstream to the big sandbars, where they set up chairs and awnings and sit in the water with their friends.

Nick can swim well with his life jacket, so he had fun jumping into the water and he even took a ride in one of the tubes with Melissa. Lesley took her first tube ride, but we ran out of gas before she really got going and we had to get towed in by the sheriff's boat.

One day, Lesley and Nick took the Geo into Yuma (hot!) and shopped a bit. On Sunday, we packed up the RV and took the whole family to the evening Mass at St. Francis of Assisi parish in town. We also found out that there is a 9:30 a.m. Mass at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground chapel just 10 minutes from Squaw Lake, but we were not able to make that one. Next trip we'll try that.

After the final run Monday evening, Dan took Melissa and her friend, Julia, out to learn how to drive the manual transmission Geo while Jeremy and Lesley backed the RV down the launch ramp and retrieved the boat. We fed the rest of our carrots to the friendly wild burros who came out to see us off. When the bag was empty, though, the burros became less friendly and chased us into the RV.

For the next trip out here, we will be sure to check the status of the a/c and fridge first! And, next time, rather than the Geo, we should bring one of the trucks with good air conditioning, perhaps using the truck to bring a second boat (like the little jet boat repair project Dan has not finished yet). If we can plan ahead, we can get a site at Hidden Shores with hookups, internet access, the laundromat, etc.

As an aside, I'm glad Jason was able to come to our house and dog sit for us for this trip because this environment is not safe for dogs. Even if you leave them in the RV with the air on, a circuit breaker could pop very easily and the dogs would be in big trouble!

New Monaco Camelot diesel pusher joins the Rice RV rental fleet

The Rice family never stops working to make sure our customers have enjoyable vacations. Like right now, for instance, we are spending Sunday at Campland on the Bay in the new 40 ft Monaco Camelot diesel pusher with 4 slides that just joined our rental fleet. No sacrifice is too great for our customers. Of course, we have to acquaint ourselves with each rental unit so we can teach renters how to use it--especially with complicated rigs like this Camelot. How else could we figure out how to operate high-tech things like the iPod connector, the surround sound, the satellite TV, the ice maker or the washer/dryer if we didn't take it out for a night with our teenagers?

This RV is ideal for a group of 2 to 4 who are driving a long distance and staying at RV resorts with space for big rigs. What a great vacation--cruise around California now that the crowds are gone and the kids are back in school, but the weather is still perfect. Stay at luxury RV resorts and look like you spent a quarter million dollars on a top-of-the-line RV, but come back when you get tired of traveling, let someone else clean the RV up for you, and still have money left in your bank account!

Cruise America doesn't give this kind of service!

Nights and Sundays we forward our 800 number to Dan's cell phone in case a renter has an emergency. Aside from an occasional renter who calls at 2 in the morning because he can't remember how to turn the water pump on, we don't get many emergency calls. This Saturday, though, someone called at midnight because of an ominous engine sound. They were still in the area, but had to get to Los Angeles that morning for a business engagement. Leaving 3-year-old Nick and visiting 3-year-old grand-daughter Kimi in the care of our teenagers, we headed off to Rice RV and then to Chula Vista to deliver a new motor home. We finished the transfer at 3 a.m. and plodded home, listening to the spooky all-night AM radio show about aliens and conspiracies. The joys of being a small mom-and-pop business.

July 4 at Santee Lakes

July 4 is one of those holidays when we rent nearly all of our units. After a grueling week preparing for the rush, after the last rental rolled away, we loaded up one of the few remaining units – the 32’ Sprinter trailer with 2 bedrooms – and headed to nearby Santee Lakes to camp near some visiting relatives.

The Sprinter is an amazing trailer. A 2008 model, the interior is pristine. The front bedroom has a queen bed and the rear bedroom has 4 bunk beds and plenty of storage. In the large living area, the sofa opens into a true sofa bed and the wrap-around dinette makes into a large bed as well. There are beds for 10, although you could squeeze a few more in on the floor. The trailer has two separate entrances and, interestingly, the second entrance opens into the bathroom. This is a great idea when you are camping and you don’t want to track dirt or beach sand through the entire trailer to get to the bathroom. (With the sofa bed open, it blocks the aisle, so the occupants of the front bedroom might have to use that second entrance to get to the bathroom at night too!)

Our weekend in the Sprinter also reminded us why it is so important (besides being fun…) for us to try out all our rental units so we know all the features and problems to tell future renters about. This unit had never been rented yet, so if we had not used it ourselves, we would not have known about a blown fuse. Dan ran up to Wal-Mart and fixed that in a few minutes. We also discovered that if you run the air conditioner, an electric skillet and a coffee maker at the same time, the a/c fuse will heat up and pop repeatedly. We turned off everything and let the a/c breaker cool off and when we started up the air again we had no problems. If this problem had happened to a novice renter, it might have spoiled their vacation.

Santee Lakes is a great little getaway in the middle of the city. As a matter of fact, I am typing this blog sitting at the dinette in the Sprinter using their free wireless internet access. The dogs are looking out the door at Nicholas and his cousin riding bikes out front, barking at any ducks that stroll by. The older kids are at the pool. Earlier, we rented a couple of bumper boats…I mean paddle boats. You can go fishing from a boat or the shore. With cable TV hookups, we can catch some fireworks shows from the east coast on the large flat-screen TV on the wall between the living room and bedroom (which, by the way, you can rotate so the TV is in the bedroom instead).

Car seats in RV's part 2

In a previous blog, I talked about the difficulty finding a safe place for a child car seat in an RV.  One of the dinette seats is forward-facing, but the seat belts in the dinette are only bolted to the wood frame, not the frame of the vehicle like the front seats.  I mentioned that I heard some motor home manufacturers make an anchor for a car seat tether behind the dinette (for the LATCH system).  Two of our motor homes, the 29' Itasca Spirit and the 29' Minnie Winnie, have these anchors.  I will be checking the other motor homes to see if they have the car seat anchor.  

Jeremy the Eagle Scout

Our 17-year-old Jeremy has been something between a junior partner and a janitor at Rice RV since he graduated from high school last summer (2 years early).  He thinks he is a slave and we think he has a cushy "job" - spending an awful lot of time in the air-conditioned break trailer watching Sesame Street with Nick when he should be dumping holding tanks or changing generator oil.  But, in his own unique way, Jeremy usually gets things done.  Last week, he had his final meeting with Boy Scout higher-ups and is now officially an Eagle Scout, following in the footsteps of his stepbrother, Chris.  I think it's sad that, like Chris, he will wear the red-white-and-blue neckerchief only a couple times before he leaves scouts behind him.  But Chris says his Eagle Scout belt buckle, which he wears every day, has opened more doors for him that he ever imagined.  Chris just started working for the City of San Diego in the motor pool.  We expect him to work his way up to mayor!  Oddly enough, Jeremy does not see a career in RV cleaning and is talking about signing up with the San Diego Sheriff's Department.  

Rice RV sales picking up/new inventory coming in

Perhaps the economy is improving or perhaps this is related to my previous post about so many other local dealers closing, but sales are definitely up at Rice RV in the past couple of weeks.  We are also getting in tons of new inventory (thanks to Dennis being back on the job!).  As usual for this time of year, the summer rental reservations are pouring in, so we are all busier than ever.  If you want to drop in to buy or rent an RV, early Sunday (we open at 11) has been a less-busy time.  Or drop by on a morning mid-week.  

I have never seen a motor home this luxurious before!

I've been in some really nice motor homes, like the 2007 Fleetwood Revolution we used to rent out. But this 40' Tiffin Phaeton takes the cake! We took it in as a consignment to sell (and to rent VERY selectively, for about $400 a night!).

Where do I start? Push a button and the jacks come down and automatically level the coach. Push a button to open the electric awnings. Open the 4 slides and you see tile floor, granite counters, beautiful hardwood cabinets and leather upholstery. There is a 40" flat screen TV in the front. A huge backup camera monitor is bigger than my computer screen. But wait! Not only do you see a view behind you, but when you use the blinkers, you see the view from the two side cameras. It's also a GPS navigation system and, if you buy wireless broadband, a full PC computer with Windows. Update your MySpace page or play a game while your spouse drives. Or you could fire up the in-motion satellite and watch some sports. Some satellite services come with wireless internet nowadays, so you could use that for the built-in computer. Push a button and the passenger chair turns into a recliner.

The sofa bed is not the usual small fold-flat RV sofa. You open it up like a real sofa bed, but the mattress is an air mattress. You blow it up with the electric air pump. Way more comfortable than any RV sofa or sofa bed! In the kitchen, there are tons of cupboards, but if you want more counter space, you can pull out one row of cupboards, to reveal a granite-topped counter. There is a microwave/convection combo and a 4-door refrigerator with ice maker.

In the bedroom, there is a king-sized Magic bed (like a Select Comfort with controls for the firmness on each side) and a washer/dryer unit in the closet.

Driving this thing is like driving a giant Mercedes. The 350 Caterpillar engine is 40 feet behind you, so you barely hear it. The transmission, braking and suspension systems are smooth and powerful. The windshield is all one piece, so you don't have a line down the center blocking your view.

If only we had some time off so we could borrow this and take it to a luxury RV resort for a weekend of pretending we are rich!

How much to own this little gem? It's a steal at $159,000. It cost $230,000 new in 2007 and it is still in perfect condition.

Where do you put car seats in an RV?

This is a tricky question for parents. Child car seats are designed to be in a forward-facing seat. In most RV's, the only available forward-facing seats are the front passenger seat and the forward-facing bench of the dinette. However, at the dinette the table is in the way, and even if your car seat fits in the space, in an accident the table could come off its supports and injure your child. We ourselves have opted for the front passenger seat with Nicholas, now 3, as long as there is no passenger air bag or the air bag can be turned off. Another issue is that the dinette seat belts are fastened to wood, whereas the front seat belts are bolted to the frame of the vehicle and are much more reliable in an accident.

Because this is a gray area in the law, many people opt to buckle car seats on the sofa, even though it faces to the side. I consider this to be safer than the dinette with the table hazard, but in a serious accident, the car seat would not protect the child's head from side-to-side motion, since car seats are signed for forward-backward protection.

I recently read something about some RV's having tethers for car seats behind the forward-facing bench of the dinette, which would be a great benefit (although I would probably lower the table to the bed position rather than leaving it up).

The fact of the matter is that traveling in an RV is not as safe as a car and you have to sort out the risks versus benefits for yourself.

We have one interesting class A RV for sale at Rice RV which has four captain's chairs in the front, with an additional set behind the driver and passenger seats, presumably with frame-mounted seat belts. They face forward while driving but swivel around to be part of the living room when you want. See photos of this 1998 30' Itasca Sunrise here.

Two amazing little RV's we added to our rental fleet

This year, our rental fleet made a jump from 24 to 31 foot units, but now we have a brand new 26' Coachmen Freelander with a slide out. Check out photos here. It is small and easy to drive but has a private rear bedroom.

Our other exciting new unit is a 23' Gulfstream Vista Cruiser diesel class C with a slide out. Gorgeous inside and out, it gets an amazing 15-18 miles to the gallon! Check out photos here.

Dennis out of the hospital!

Our favorite salesman, Dennis, is out of the hospital and back at work part time.  He still feels a bit wobbly from the chemotherapy but is regaining weight and feeling better every day.  

Lesley's recommended California RV adventure

Try this out for a California RV adventure starting in San Diego! This would take a minimum of 1 week, but 3 weeks would be ideal!

Day 1: I hate the Los Angeles perpetual traffic, so I take the inland route and go up the 15 to the 10/210 to the 101 and head north from there. If you avoid the traffic, you can get to Santa Barbara in 3 or 4 hours.

If you planned way ahead and made a reservation, stay at Carpinteria State Beach. For a list of other campgrounds with RV sites in the Santa Barbara area, go to this helpful site. Lake Cachuma is up in the mountains a ways. El Capitain, Refugio and Gaviota state parks are quite a ways north of Santa Barbara proper. Ocean Mesa is a luxurious, expensive RV resort north of Santa Barbara.

Day 2: Make sure you see Mission Santa Barbara and La Purisima Mission State Park (the latter is a California Mission that is run as a state park, with animals, crops, restored buildings, etc.). The Danish village of Solvang is also a popular tourist spot and they have a big RV park, Flying Flags.

Day 3: Continue into the Central Coast and pick a campground, such as Pismo Coast RV Resort or a cheaper state or county park in the San Luis Obispo/Morro Bay/Pismo Beach area. Or go all the way up to San Simeon State Beach and tour Hearst Castle (reservations needed).

Day 4: Backtrack to San Luis Obispo and take the 101 for the 3 or 4 hour drive to Salinas. Go west on the 68 to Monterey. Go a little ways north on the 1 if you want to stay on the beach at Marina Dunes RV Park or a little south if you want to stay at Carmel by the River RV park or Saddle Mountain RV Park . Try to catch a shuttle or public transportation into town because there is no room to drive or park RV's.

Day 5: Monterey day trip: Start with the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Cannery Row. Catch a ride to Fisherman's Wharf. Walk along the scenic coastal trails.

Day 6: Visit the Carmel Mission, then walk around downtown Carmel, admiring the quaint cottages and boutiques. Walk down Ocean Avenue to Carmel Beach. Guess the prices of the beach-front homes. Eat at one of the many 5-star restaurants (no black ties required here!). Stop at the Safeway and pretend not to notice the movie stars shopping.

Day 7: Head south on the 1. Stop at Point Lobos Reserve and watch the wildlife. The drive south to Big Sur is 45 minutes by car, but longer in an RV. You have picked a campground from this list and reserved a long time ago, right? Alternately, you could take a tour bus or public transportation or rent a car to drive down to Big Sur. The best part of the trip is the view from the road and the campgrounds are extremely busy, especially in the summer. But if you want to stay down there, have fun hiking, walking along the rugged beach, horseback riding, buying healing crystals and hemp bracelets from the hippie residents, etc.

Day 8: Whether you stayed in Big Sur or another day in Monterey/Carmel, head north again. You could stop (and even spend another night) in Santa Cruz. Take the kids to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk/amusement park. You can take the 17 east to catch the 101 again, or if you skip Santa Cruz, just go back on the 68 to Salinas and hit the 101 there. A couple hours puts you in San Francisco. Stay at Candlestick RV Park in the city or San Francisco RV Resort on the water south of the city.

Day 9: Tour San Francisco. Ride the cable cars. Walk up or down Lombard Street. Visit Golden Gate Park. Eat at a famous restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf.

Day 10: It's a 4-hour drive from San Francisco to Yosemite Park. Find an RV site in the park at or stay at a private campground outside the park (more expensive but they don't get booked as quickly).

Day 11: If you are camping in the park, take the shuttle around the valley floor, go to the visitor's center, the short hike to Bridalveil Falls, and whatever else suits your fancy. If you have kids along, read them John Muir: My Life with Nature by Joseph Cornell.

Day 12: Take your pick of a day-long guided tour (like up into Tuolomne Meadows) or a major hiking expedition. You can hike on your own or in tours, for a few hours or a few days. You can also get in some rock climbing if that is your sport.

Day 13: The drive straight from Yosemite to San Diego is 8 hours or more. If you are pressed for time, you could do a marathon driving day, or stop halfway in Visalia or Bakersfield. You could extend your trip and go into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks near Visalia, but with the mountainous driving this would take longer than driving all the way to San Diego. (You should probably take another week some other time to do these two parks.) Bakersfield RV Resort is well-rated and fairly inexpensive at $39 per night.

Day 14: Finish the drive home, dump and wash the RV and unpack. Or, if you can't bear the thought of unpacking, sleep in the RV in your driveway like we have!

More San Diego County RV dealers closing but not us!

I just heard today that Camping World in San Marcos has closed its sales department and moved all its RV's away. It happened about a month ago - I don't know how we missed that news! The only large new RV dealers left in San Diego are La Mesa RV and Holland RV, next to each other off the 52 freeway in Kearny Mesa. Travelon in Santee closed last weekend and 10,000 RV closed a few weeks ago. Vacation Station and Beaudry RV left town months ago. Revolution RV went down with a scandal last year and many small RV lots have closed their doors since last summer. Another independent dealer in El Cajon is closing soon but is selling off what they can before the inevitable happens.

Rice RV is holding its own, partly because of our busy rental season, which gives us a cushion for the slower times, and also because our overhead is low. The dealers that have gotten into financial trouble took on large loans for "flooring" new units (encouraged by the RV manufacturers' strict purchasing rules). When sales slowed down, they still had to pay for those units. At this point, our sales are all consignments or units we purchased ourselves.

There is still a large market in San Diego for recreational vehicles (though not large enough right now to support the huge inventories some dealers took on) and, as the U.S. economy picks up, RV sales in San Diego will likely boom again, but with a very different business model than that previously run by the RV manufacturers, dealers and lenders.

Boating adventure on Mission Bay!

It was over 100 degrees in El Cajon on a Monday in April!  Dan and I couldn't take it anymore and closed an hour early so we could test-drive a boat we took as a trade in.  This is a 19' Bayliner fishing boat with a cuddy cabin.  We sent Nicholas home with Jeremy.  We launched the boat at Ski Beach on Mission Bay and drove out to the open ocean to see how it fared there.  This was a very smooth ride - not nearly as bouncy as taking one of the wakeboarding boats out to the ocean.   Back in the bay, we parked at the courtesy dock at the Barefoot Bar at Paradise Point and had dinner.  This was actually where we had our first date and, on that occasion, Dan had taken me for a ride in a boat he used to own (awww...).  Heading back to the launch ramp in the dark, we were stopped and boarded by the Coast Guard!  As it happened, we had forgotten to check for life jackets - not one on board! - and we did not have the registration with us.  But we chatted with the young men about our 20-year-old son who hopes to join the Coast Guard and they let us off with a warning.  How nice to live in a place where you can have this much fun and adventure after work!  

Salesman Dennis hospitalized with cancer

Our best salesman, Dennis, started feeling a little ill about a month ago.  He was having trouble swallowing and keeping food down.  He thought it was a stomach flu or pneumonia for a few weeks, but finally went to see a gastroenterologist, who looked down his throat.  Dennis had a tumor of the esophagus/stomach.  He is in the hospital, undergoing chemotherapy and, after that, maybe surgery if the tumor has shrunk enough.  We are praying that Dennis will be cured and come back to work soon!  

Silver Strand State Beach

Your family spent a great day at the beach and, now that the sun is going down, nobody wants to go home.  Why not park an RV at Silver Strand State Beach, fall asleep to the sound of the waves, and wake up to spend another day on the sand?  This is a popular destination, so you need to make reservations.  For day use, arrive early in the summer because spaces fill up quickly.  In less-busy times, you can park your RV sideways and spread out. If you get bored of the beach, drive, hike or catch a bus into Coronado.  Shop, have tea at the Hotel Del or try a new restaurant.  More information and a link to the reservations page at www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=654

RV'ing with your pet

Rice RV has some pet-friendly units. Nobody has ever asked to bring anything other than a dog, so maybe we should call them dog-friendly units. Before deciding to bring your pet, look up animal rules for your destination. Don't count on being able to leave your pet in the RV while you are out for the day. Especially in the summer, an RV gets as hot as a car and could be deadly for a dog. Even if you are plugged in and leave the air conditioner on, a circuit breaker could blow or the park could lose power and you would not know your pet was sweltering in a closed-up RV.

We charge an extra security deposit for renters taking a pet along in case we end up cleaning up animal hair or worse. Just having a dog lie on the sofa of the RV for extended periods of time can leave a smell, and then we have to take the RV out of circulation until we can deodorize it thoroughly. Be sure your pet will not cause damage to our RV (and, thus, expense to yourself) before deciding to bring him or her along. And woe to the renter who does not inform us about his pet traveling with him and returns the RV with a hairy carpet or clawed furniture!

Our Golden Retriever, Maggie, often accompanies us on RV trips. While driving, we leave Maggie's water bowl in the sink and put it on the floor on longer stops. She likes to lie on a cool, uncarpeted floor, but this causes her to slide around a bit on turns. She is most comfortable near our daughter, Melissa, her favorite family member, and this helps keep her anxiety down on long drives. In a larger RV, we bring her bed. Of course, we have to bring plenty of plastic bags and a good leash for walks around the RV park and cleaning up after Maggie.

Maggie had a litter of puppies last year and recently a family that adopted one of the puppies returned her to us because they have to move. Now we have 2 Golden Retrievers, and Roxy is not yet as well-trained as Maggie. I'll let you know later how it works out to try to bring 2 large dogs in an RV...

Private RV rentals

I see a lot of ads for Craigslist from people renting their RV or people who buy 4 or 5 trailers and keep them in their back yards to rent out.  A few of our customers have told us horror stories about these kinds of rentals - going to pick up an RV and finding it doesn't work or the people rented it to someone else instead and never told you, trailers with bald tires and things like that.  When these people advertise their trailer for rent for $50 a day or an RV for $100 a day, keep in mind that they are operating "under the radar" and don't have to pay for a business location, workers' compensation insurance, payroll tax, a full-time technician to do safety inspections in between rentals, liability insurance, etc.  If you are lucky enough to find an honest RV owner who rents his unit out, keeps it well-maintained and clean, and is organized as far as taking reservations, delivering the RV, etc. - great!  But usually you get what you pay for.  Our company employs a full staff to make the rental process run smoothly and ensure a fun, safe vacation for our renters.  

Boat rentals available at Rice RV

Last year, we explored the idea of renting boats too, but ran into a snag with insurance rates.  We could get lower rates if we rented to a select group (like a boat club) of people who had passed safety tests.  We did not have time to pursue this much last year, but we are going to try again this year.  We have to be very selective about renting the boats.  Driving an RV is similar to driving a car, so most RV renters do just fine (except when pulling long RV's out of gas stations...).  We have to screen potential boat renters more carefully because boat driving and marine safety/courtesy rules are so unique.  The potential liability is much greater with boats, as a boating accident can cause much greater personal and property damage.  Our boat choices include an Air Nautique wakeboard boat and a Centurion wakeboard/ski boat.  

Nick the salesman!

This is one of those things you had to see yourself to get the full value.  The other day, a woman was standing on our lot near my office, waiting for the salesman to return.  Nicholas walked up to her and said boldly, "Can I help you?"  The lady was charmed and told him she wanted to buy a trailer.  Nick asked, "Do you want a big one or a little one?"  The lady said, "What do you like?"  Nick turned to walk down the lot and said, "I like this little one here."  The woman said she needed a big trailer for her family.  Nick thought for a second, then turned around to see the 34' trailer he was standing in front of.  He said, "Here's a big one!" and started to walk toward the door, implying the woman should follow him.  Who knows how long this would have gone on if the salesman had not returned and Mommy intervened.  

Rental reservations filling up

We wondered how the economy would affect the summer RV rental season, but so far we have the same or even more reservations being made for summer vacations. For families that might have flown to Hawaii or Disney World in the past, an RV trip is way cheaper and, I think, more fun.   You probably would not save much renting an RV over driving in a car and staying in motels, but you can park your RV in remote spots where they have no motels, you can relax and watch TV or use the bathroom while another person drives, and you can keep all your stuff, including food and dishes, in one convenient spot for the entire trip.  

RV Survivalists

http://www.lewrockwell.com/schembrie/schembrie13.html

This is an interesting article recommending owning an RV as an emergency mobile house in case of complete economic collapse or civil unrest. I hope we won't be needing an RV for those reasons! They did come in handy in last year's wildfires in San Diego. We lived in one on our lot for a few days during the evacuation. Many people purchased or rented motor homes or trailers to avoid staying in crowded shelters, so they could leave the smoky area, or to live on their property while rebuilding their house. Many of our current sales are people buying large trailers and fifth wheels to live in a trailer park or on a friend of relative's property because of tough economic times.  

A few new RV's in our fleet...

Since we don't buy a bunch of identical discount RV's for our rental fleet, each of our units is unique and renters can choose from lots of different options. For those who want more luxurious RV's, we have several new ones:

The 31' Jamboree has the same basic floor plan as our other 31' class C units (large slide out, rear bedroom, etc.), but is highly upgraded, with leather upholstery, flat screen TV and more. These class C units are easier to drive and sleep up to 8 people. This is a good option between a high-end class A and a basic class C.

The 31' Fleetwood Terra class A has 2 huge slide outs, a beautiful interior, full body paint, and a large bathroom with two entries. It sleeps 4-6 people.

The 40' Monaco is our only diesel pusher currently. Driving a diesel motor home is more like flying an airplane, with a smooth, quiet ride (the engine is 40' behind you!), air shocks, a jake brake for slowing on hills, a computerized transmission and other improvements. The Monaco has 2 large slide outs, a 4-door refrigerator, a washer/dryer and a large bathroom/dressing area. Tile floors, granite counters and leather upholstery add to the luxury.

Newport Dunes Resort

With our limited schedule, when we really want to "get away from it all" we drive an hour and a half up to Newport Beach and stay at the Newport Dunes RV Resort ("the Ritz of RV parks"). Most of the spaces are packed close together, but that's about the only down side for us. If you want more space, you can splurge for the waterfront sites, but you had better reserve way in advance and be prepared to spend more than for a luxury hotel room.

The sprawling RV park sits on its own private lagoon off Newport Bay (called the back bay). This is a kids' paradise, with a water playground (trampolines, climbers, etc.), boat rentals, playgrounds, games and activities, a salt water swimming pool and arcade with pool tables. Movement around the park is slow because of all the golf carts, electric scooters, skateboards, bikes, etc. If you don't get enough exercise walking around the lagoon or into town, you can work out in the marina in a room overlooking the rows of yachts and sailboats.

We like to bring a boat (extra charge for parking the boat in the far parking lot near the launch ramp) and use it to sight-see around Newport Beach and Balboa Island. This is a leisurely tour, as the speed limit throughout the Bay is 5 miles per hour. But this gives you more time to view the 100 foot yachts bobbing in front of the movie star homes along the water. We park at one of the public docks and walk around the shops and mansions. Sometimes we dock on the Newport Beach side, or ride the ferry across, and walk or bike along one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

This really does not qualify as a camping trip. But it's a fun way to break out of our routine without driving far from home.

Oceanside Harbor - cheap beach camping!

Don't come here for the camping - it's literally a parking lot with no hookups. But the beach is gorgeous. You can't beat the prices - spaces are only $5 per day and $10 overnight (you have to pay every 12 hours). Spend the whole day at the beach, walk around the nearby shops and have a bonfire with your rowdy neighbors, because you're not going to be able to avoid the noise anyway. Don't let your vehicle, including slides, extend past the white lines in the parking spaces, or you will get a ticket. There is a boat launch, but this is the ocean and very different from tooling around Mission Bay in a power boat or sailboat.

Dos Picos

Talk about a stay-cation! Dos Picos is only 15 minutes from our house in Poway but it feels like a different world. The RV sites are nestled among big oak trees. Dos Picos has a very woodsy feeling. Great hiking and beautiful scenery. The RV sites are not pull-through, so when you make a reservation ask about a site that would be easier for backing in. Not all the sites are level, either, so hopefully you have an RV or trailer with levelers. Partial hookups (water, electric, no sewer). Take a day trip into Julian and stop at Dudley's Bakery on the way back. Make your reservation on line with San Diego County's great reservation system (http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/parks/index.html).

Campland on the Bay

Voted best campground in San Diego every year.  We love going to Campland when we want to go wakeboarding. We tow a boat behind an RV, put it in the water and anchor it just off the beach overnight. Then we go out at sunrise and the kids wakeboard and dad waterskiis on "glass" on Mission Bay.

The campground has everything - a store, a restaurant, shuttles to local attractions, bike and personal watercraft rentals, a sandy beach on Mission Bay, and an unbeatable view of the Sea World fireworks every night. They have live music and dancing in the summer, kids activities, and more.

We rarely stay for more than a night, but on a longer trip, you can catch a ride to Sea World, or down Grand Avenue to the beach with real waves and the boardwalk. A longish bike ride would take you to Belmont Park to ride the rollercoaster and a few other rides.

The place is extremely crowded, with the streets clogged with golf carts, bikes, skateboards and the like. The spaces are rather close but there's some greenery.

This is still our first choice for an RV trip involving wakeboarding.

Spring - time to go RV'ing!

Spring is here (in San Diego, anyway) and now is the time to go out in the family RV - or rent one!

You'd think the Rice family goes on lots of RV trips, but we don't have much time, especially in the summer, with our busy dealership.

But every time we get in a new rental RV, we have to take it out for a short trip to acquaint ourselves with it so we can show our customers how to use it. We like to try out new campgrounds around San Diego for these short trips so we can make camping suggestions for our renters. And now we will share our recommendations for family RV camping in this blog!