Customer Reviews

RV Living in the 21st Century: The Essential Reference Guide for ALL RVers

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For anyone considering or experiencing the RV lifestyle, this book is a wide-ranging tour of things you need to know. Peggi McDonald, a Canadian with extensive (20 years on the road) RV knowledge; been there, done that. She shares the kind of information and advice that enable people to build their competence and confidence as pat-time or full-time RVers.

The book is written in a conversational style, rather than technical. It's easy to understand, appreciate, and absorb. The pages are filled with tips that will reduce ignorance and risk for experienced people, as well as for the newbie. Everyone can learn from the depth and breadth of the insight shared by the author.

This book was written by a Canadian who travels in the United States and Canada. Readers will benefit from the multi-national perspective she brings to the subject. Her writing is seasoned with personal stories that illuminate her points and express the human side of this lifestyle. It's a welcome counterbalance to all the do-this-and-do-that advice that is essential in this kind of a guide.

Readers will gain valuable knowledge about the RV world, life on the road, protection of life and property, full-timing, and communication. If you make a list of all the questions you might have-before you read the book, you'll discover that most of your concerns will be addressed as you work your way through this resource.

Great learning opportunity...and gift for people considering this increasingly popular lifestyle.

I enjoyed reading this RV book. I found it to be easy reading and presented in an easy to digest format. The security tips for your house while you are away and health & safety tips are just a couple of subjects out of many, that are invaluable and give you peace of mind! I have been RVing for years and even learned things I hadn't come across before. I am really impressed that another woman RVer knows so much about the systems of an RV and among other things knows how to actually dump the holding tanks. After reading this book you will also know how! One of the most important and overlooked subjects about your RV are the weight issues involved. Peggi gives information about where and how to weigh your RV and terminology involved this includes motorized and towables. For new RVers especially, reading this book will put you light years ahead of the game! Good job Peggi Mcdonald!

The author sounds like a nice enough person, but I did not buy the book to learn about her personal life. I was looking for something of a more technical nature to help me decide on what sort of RV I wanted. This book was not it. This is more of a Travels With Charlie type of book. The author is Canadian and a lot of the information has to do with Canadian laws. The photos are amateur photography in black and white and they are fuzzy and indistinct. At times I could not make out what the photos were attempting to show me. She'd be writing about how cute they had fixed up the interior of the RV and there would be this picture of fuzzy something-or-other.

RV LIVING IN THE 21ST CENTURY by Peggi and John McDonald is an excellent publication and a MUST for ALL RVers - from those new to the RV lifestyle to seasoned RVers. The book is organized by chapters which guide you through buying an RV or camper to where to stay, how to pack, what to purchase for multiple uses, how to add storage and organize, and many many more tips. The authors are well qualified for writing this and their other books listed below. They have spent years living in their RV six months in Canada and six months in the United States each year. They are also authors of 'SPIRIT OF THE OPEN ROAD and RV PACKING TIPS and RV LIFE LESSONS and EASY LIVING HINGS and RV TRAVEL TO CANADA E-BOOK.
Although we have been RV-ers for 30 years, we learned a lot from these EXCELLENT books. A very good investment for life on the road...whether for short or long stints. Highly recommended!

i researched rvs when thinking of buying a used one for me and my man, to replace our old class a. found useful info on standards and ratings by RV Consumer Group. no one accepted our offers, and what we wanted were far and few between: we wanted a used 38-40 foot diesel pusher with a mid-entry door, booth seating, good ratings for full-time living, and actually, no slides. closest was a 39z bounder.

then we decided on a travel trailer so we'd only have two engines to get from place to place, and i did extensive research on those as well.

discovered this book when i saw a 40' diesel pusher with a mid-entry door pull into a tight spot right across the street from my home in an rv resort park. one attempt, and they pulled it within an inch of the post to plug into! a dream to watch the rv of my dreams right across the street from me, and how elegantly they backed it into their spot!
then i found out the neato lady wrote books on rving, and i purchased this one.

after three years living full-time in an rv, i read most anything i could on repairs, i joined rv forums to ask questions, and bought books on rv maintenance, besides continuously looking for a new used rv for us.

but no other book has been as helpful as this book! it describes all facets one might encounter while rving. Peggi and John may base themselves in Canada, but they've traveled from deep Mexico to most of Canada for over two decades!
they have also conducted rv safety and driving and other rv related courses at seminars. so they know their stuff, and how to present it.
they share stories of their mishaps, and how they got thru them. so one can learn from their mistakes.

great webpage as well: rvliving.net
her weekly newsletter is full of ideas and adventures, as well as the latest advice and info on rving and the lifestyle. one may subscribe to it on her webpage.

i absolutely enjoyed it. the few stories were nice and related to the topic at hand. i thot the black and white photos were excellent. it's a quality book, too, in that it doesn't fall apart with all the opening of pages like cheap paperbacks tend to do. easy to read, short chapters to the point broken up by nice photos.

she loves her man and her dogs, and they love her. she's a neat lady, too. one thing not in her book is that she has their phone number written on their dog's collar, in case Bratt gets lost. i ended up doing that to the inside of my little dog's collars, tho they have id tags on them.

i wish i read this when first rving, as my man and i would have saved much time and trouble in learning how to get around, where to live, how to toad, decorating, maintenance on most everything, how things work or why they don't work, excellent storage ideas even for non-rvers. many many many tips in it, especially for the daunting task of the sewage system.

this would make an excellent present for friends who are starting out rving, or considering going full-time. or for full-timers already!

I happened to run across Peggi in an RV park. I was interested in RV living as an option, but knew nothing about what was involved. I bought one of her books. Being a woman I appreciated the detailed information she shared. It was so interesting that I couldn't put it down. Her book really gives you insight first hand. As far as I am concerned this is a manual.. something you would not want to discard.
Suzanna-Minnesota

This conversational book promises more than it delivers. As a Canadian planning to buy an RV in the US, I was hoping that the author's Canadian experience would be useful to me. In this I was disappointed because the info provided is partial, at best.

For example, in the section regarding import of an RV from the U.S. to Canada, Ms. McDonald seems to automatically assume that you'll be buying new, and A,B, or C class only. A number of basic, critical facts is left out. E.g. The regulations are substantially different for vehicles older than 15 years, or if you're buying an unmotorized RV like a travel trailer. Many newer RVs are not admissible at all. And BOTH U.S. and Canadian Customs have procedures and forms you must go through.

Most other topics suffer from this same lack of depth and detail. Best coverage is given to transborder communications issues while on the road. Although slightly dated, the fundamentals are there.

So, if you're willing to dig deeper, this book can be a useful starting point. If you take it at face value, be prepared for some nasty surprises.

This excellent book is a very reader friendly book. It is well illustrated and a very valuable resource for your RV libary. This would be a good companion on any journey.

As new owners of an RV, I ordered this book to perhaps give us a few hints. Well it surpassed all my expectations and both my husband and I devoured the book. It offers practical and insighful help into Life on the Road for all Rvers.
Wonderful book.

This Guide is very helpful to the first timer looking into te RV lifestyle. It contains many ideas to look for in an RV home as well as numerous tips on living on the road. I can see having this as a reference guide as we start traveling.