Road Work Play

Full Time RV Living Blog

Where Do You Find Fresh Water When Traveling Full-Time in Your RV?

How to Find Fresh Water on the Road

Out of all our supplies, water seems to be what we go through the fastest. Knowing where to find water when on the road is one of the most important pieces of information to have, below we provide you with a few places to get both filtered drinking water and regular city water.

Filling Your Fresh Water Tank

Many gas stations have a water hookup. The location of the hookup will vary. Truck friendly fuel centers and truck stops often have hook-ups at the truck fuel pumps, some have them next to the air fill and vacuum areas, some regular gas stations have a random faucet at a curb, or on the side of their building. Whenever we have needed to ask, the clerk was more than willing to let us fill our tanks. Just make sure any water you use is potable water, if you plan on drinking it.

Lots of local parks have hookups to water their gardens. If you ask, they will often let you fill your tank up off their potable water hose.

Rest areas in some states have fresh water fills (and dump stations, too!). A quick Google of the state you’re in and “rest area RV dump” should point you in the right direction.

RV Park Water Faucet

RV Parks! Even if you’re not staying there, they’ll be more than happy to take a few bucks for a dump and fill. Call first – Often, they will tell you they have fresh water fill on the phone, then when you arrive tell you the water is non potable. When this is the case, press the fact that you need water, and called ahead to make sure you could fill. They always work it out so you can fill, often by directing you to an open RV site where you can use the water hookup. It should run you $5-$10 at most locations for a dump and water fill. Often, just a water fill will be free.
Some locations will try to charge you $30. Laugh at them. Laugh hard. Then call somewhere else.

Finding Filtered Water, and Small Quantities

Walmart, some Home Depots, and various grocery stores have a water fill machine. It’s usually around $0.25 – $0.35 per gallon. For our drinking water, we carry four 6 gallon water jugs, using a Dolphin Water Pump, and two 7 gallon jugs with a spigot. All of our drinking water comes from these machines, allowing us to never have to worry about chlorine or eggy flavor.

 

Some Walmarts and hardware stores – like Ace Hardware – will let you fill a jug from the hose in their garden center. Simply ask and see what happens.

You can even try checking directly with the chamber of commerce or parks in your area. For example, in Zephyr Hills Florida, there are multiple Zephyr Hills drinking water fill ups with a cost of only $0.25 cents per gallon, paid on the honor system. We have also been directed to spigots and told we can fill up using them at no charge.

Looking for more RV’ing tips? Check out our RV How To’s section for all our awesome tips!

We Finally Went West, and Saw Some of Route 66

Historic Route 66

Our business had been preventing us from heading further west in our adventures, but, we finally worked out what was needed and it was time to adventure along.

We headed out of Florida for the winter, and made our way along the coast, stopping at a few overnight spots found in our previous trips. We were anxious to see new places, and covered ground quickly until Texas.

In both and Texas and New Mexico, we found that quite a few of their towns have free RV parking and some, like the Waylon Jennings RV Park and a spot in the town of Levelland, Texas have both power and water hook-ups – for free! Some other areas, like San Jon, New Mexico offer free overnight parking with no hookups.

San Jon Free RV Parking

San Jon Free RV Parking

As you may know, we’re big fans of roadside attractions and there are plenty of neat things to see around Albuquerque,  New Mexico.

One of the coolest, was a local architect who built a custom ‘bug’ house for himself, complete with dinosaur guards. Additions were also made for a few of his neighbors as well. You can check out the story on Roadside America.

Then, it was on to Tinkertown Museum in Sandia Park, New Mexico. This was a really fun stop along our path and is a must see for anyone traveling through the area. As they say on their website’s gallery page, “Capturing the feel of Tinkertown with a few photos is near impossible. It’s the kind of magical place that needs to be experienced first hand.” We do, however, have a video for you of one of their animated, singing machines. Tinkertown is great, admission is ridiculously inexpensive, you should stop in.


This video originally had the music from the machine playing but, apparently, the song being played was I Want To Be A Cowboys Sweetheart by Patsy Montana. Because of this, SME filed a copyright claim “On behalf of: Columbia Nashville” and were going to run ads on the video, with all proceeds going to them. We have edited the video to remove the song, they take enough money from the little guys.

We stopped by a few other neat attractions in New Mexico, then headed towards Arizona.

Arizona was a lot of fun, and probably the best time we had on this trip – mainly because it was a lot of relaxing down time. We met some cool people, stayed at an Abandoned KOA at Two Guns Ghost Town, and visited Quartzsite, where we enjoyed two of the boondocking locations. After our little break, we started heading further west.

We made it to California and, in planning where to go, discovered that everything we heard was true. California is not very RV friendly, especially to those who boondock and overnight in free spots. We did find a few areas in the desert, near the border that allowed boondocking. Our van managed to get us stuck in the sand at one point, making us long for 4WD.

We spent most of the time making our way along towards a Facebook acquaintance we were going to meet in person, with a little driving along the coast. Along the way we did visit a few neat stops including the Sequoia National Forest, which made for a nice drive, and to see more Roadside America goodness.

After leaving our acquaintance’s area, we found that California doesn’t see a problem with having thick branches right against the road, in public parking spaces. During this, we also learned we  should have stuck with Progressive Insurance (just not their Roadside).

Bright side, the parking was for an awesome beach, that made for a great walk along the California Coast.

One of the best parts of the west, and one of the things we reminisce about the most… In N Out Burger. Get the fries monster style.

And that was our trip to the California Coast. It was definitely an adventure, encouraged us to buy a new tow vehicle, and gave us great times we’ll never forget.

Our Stay at Cumpressco Campground – Green Swamp West Tract, Dade City, Florida

Cumpressco Campground - Green Swamp West Tract, Dade City, Florida

Green Swamp Preserve was yet another great place to enjoy a week stay. Like the other great free camping areas in Florida, there are miles of trails to explore. Green Swamp, however, contains two equestrian campgrounds, and features a larger amount of gravel/shell roads than any of our previous stays. This allows for a lot of easy, comfortable bike riding.

Also within biking distance, a mile or less away, is the Withlacoochee River Park. This site features paid camping with hook-ups, tent camping, an observation tower, both paved and unpaved trails, and more.

When we arrived at Cumpressco Campground, we selected the very back of the site, where there was enough of a clearing to put our solar panels in the sun for a decent portion of the day. As we were the only one’s here, we pulled in right next one of the shelters, which made for an awesome spot.

Next to the camping area, only a hundred feet or so from our camper, is a cow pasture. A few times a day, we can sit and watch the cows relaxing and grazing in the sun before moving on.

There is wildlife aplenty on the preserve as well. We have seen large tortoises, huge grasshoppers, heard coyote, and much more. For around an hour one day, we even had a gecko hang out with us at our picnic table – only about a foot away from us.

One word of warning. With all the great outdoors and wildlife, comes mosquitoes. Lots of mosquitoes. If you use bug spray, bring it. If you do not, be ready to build a nice fire to keep them away.

Overall, even with the bugs, we really enjoyed this campground. Over the weekend, we had two other small groups show up to camp, but the rest of the time had the place all to ourselves.

Have you stayed in the Green Swamp Preserve? How was your experience? Tell us in the comments!

Waylon Jennings RV Park, Littlefield, Texas

Waylon Jennings RV Park, Levelland, Texas

After leaving Levelland, Texas our next town to explore – with a free camping spot, was the Waylon Jennings RV Park in Littlefield, Texas.

Waylon Jennings RV Park, Levelland, Texas

Waylon Jennings RV Park, Littlefield, Texas

This was another town owned free camp ground, complete with power and water. The site feature two large rig pull through sites, and several small rig/tent sites. There is also an overflow area with plenty of space for more large rigs, with power hook-ups only.

Waylon Jennings RV Park, Levelland, Texas

The campground is located next to a Hardware store, complete with an RV section and a RadioShack. The hardware store also carries bike tubes, in case you have a burr pop yours like I did!

Within biking distance is the downtown area. While it is not the hustle and bustle it may have been in years gone by, it is still full of great architecture that is a must see.

Making Our RV Door Handle Look Like New Again

After the paint dries, add a clear coat if you'd like, and do the reverse of the above to put everything back together.

The swing out handle to our RV was starting to look pretty worn out. Instead of replacing it, you know we did it the RV DIY way!

The whole process was easier than you may think and was done while traveling, with half the work done at our free camping spot in Levelland, Texas and a majority of the other half the work (after the paint fully cured) done at a Walmart on the way to the Waylon Jennings RV Park in Littlefield, Texas.

Here’s how easy it is to make your RV door handle look like shiny new!

What we used:

Our door handle, ready to start it's new life

Our door handle, ready to start it’s new life

 

Four Screws, two on each side, need to be removed. Once removed, the black cover on the front will come right off (you may have to pry at it a bit with your fingernail).

Four Screws, two on each side, need to be removed. Once removed, the black cover on the front will come right off (you may have to pry at it a bit with your fingernail).

 

Now, using a socket or wrench, remove the nut on this spring loaded bolt. Be careful that the spring doesn't pop off and get away from you - its not under much tension, but springs will be springs. Once removed, the bolt will pull out. Repeat for the top portion of the handle, and the handle can be removed.

Now, using a socket or wrench, remove the nut on this spring loaded bolt. Be careful that the spring doesn’t pop off and get away from you – its not under much tension, but springs will be springs. Once removed, the bolt will pull out. Repeat for the top portion of the handle, and the handle can be removed.

 

You'll want to remove any rust/oxidation, and knock off any blemishes that would make a bump in your new paint. We used our freaking awesome Black & Decker Matrix Drill, and a Black & Decker wire brush attachment. Black & Decker - if you're reading this, we use a lot of your stuff. You should consider sponsoring... Just saying.

You’ll want to remove any rust/oxidation, and knock off any blemishes that would make a bump in your new paint. We used our freaking awesome Black & Decker Matrix Drill, and a Black & Decker wire brush attachment. Black & Decker – if you’re reading this, we use a lot of your stuff. You should consider sponsoring… Just saying.

 

Pop off these black caps on each end, then, the rusty spots like the one seen here should be cleaned to the bare metal.

Pop off these black caps on each end, then, the rusty spots like the one seen here should be cleaned to the bare metal.

 

Clean the bar off, we used rubbing alcohol, and paint it whatever color you would like with a good pain, like Rust-oleum.

Clean the bar off, we used rubbing alcohol, and paint it whatever color you would like with a good paint, like Rust-oleum.

 

After the paint dries, add a clear coat if you'd like, and do the reverse of the above to put everything back together.

After the paint dries, add a clear coat if you’d like, and do the reverse of the above to put everything back together.

You’re done! You have a great new looking handle, for only a few bucks.

Giant Storms, a New Camera, Levelland Texas, and a Great Free RV Spot

Levelland, Texas Free RV Parking

Armed with our Nikon D5200 and ready to take better looking photos, we finally started heading west!

And, it appears we may have left a little early. Along our path, we encountered tornado sirens – causing us to have to duck and hide in a Walmart, temperatures dropping into the 30’s, and another large storm system heading right for us.

Wanting a way to have some heat, and to not be pummeled by a tornado, we started planning a route around the storms, where we could sit right on the border of rain and cold. Kind of in the little sweet spot, where we didn’t have too much of either.

This lead us to the town of Levelland, just a little west of Lubbock, Texas.

Welcome to Levelland

Welcome to Levelland

Levelland is one of several areas around Lubbock, where you can find an RV parking area – complete with power, water, and a dump station – for the low, low price of free. That’s right, free. Some locations have a 5 day limit, some have a 3 day, all of them are a pretty awesome of the town to offer.

Leveland Free RV Parking

Leveland Free RV Parking

So, what is this free RV parking like? It is next to a road, causing  some traffic noise that calms down quite a bit at night. Picnic tables are located on the road side and dumpsters are at the rear of the area. Lastly, there is a small municipal airport a few hundred feet from the rear of the park, where you can watch small planes landing and taking off. Don’t worry, it’s not loud like you might think.

Airplanes

Airplanes

If you’re up for a bike ride, it is only around a couple of miles in to Levelland’s downtown, where you will find lots of shops and some great vintage architecture. We love exploring areas like this, so our bike rides are always some of our favorite things.

We’ll wrap this post up with a gallery of photos from around the town of Levelland, Texas.

New Internet Option For Low Income Rvers And Van Dwellers

As rvers we are always looking for affordable internet. If I had known about this plan before I signed with Unlimitedville I would have gone this route.  Some people are reporting being able to use 500 or more gigabytes a month with no issues.

The service is called PC’s For People. They offer UNLIMITED wifi hot spots for 10 dollars a month. The catch is you have to make less than 200 percent of the poverty level. That means 23,760 for a single person, 32,040 for a family of two, etc. You may view the eligibility requirements here.

This PC’s For People is run on the Sprint network. I know that is not optimum for everyone, but we have gotten by running our business on a Sprint hot spot for a year now.

I was very excited when I heard about this plan and couldn’t wait to write this post to share it with you. Hopefully this will be a game changer for some of you.

Click here for the link to the PC’s For People web page where you can view the plans.

RV Boondocking and Dry Camping FAQ

Our RV at Hickory Hammock Wildlife Management Area

Between the RV groups, and all the great people who have asked us questions is person, we decided to put together this list of Frequently asked RV full time and boon docking questions and answers. Man, that’s a mouth full. Anyways, we’ll be adding to this list often, so make sure to check back here and there to see what’s been added, or make suggestions.

Have a question that didn’t make the list? Feel free to ask in the comments, or post the question over on our Facebook page, in our Road Work Play Facebook Group, or our Social Boondocking and Camping Facebook page.

Where do you find fresh water when traveling full time in your RV?

There are a surprising number of places that fill let you fill your RV fresh water tank, or at least give you water enough to get you through to your next stop. The list of places we have personally filled up include:

Tank Fills

  • Many gas stations have a water hookup. The location of the hookup will vary. Truck friendly fuel centers and truck stops often have hook-ups at the truck fuel pumps, some have them next to the air fill and vacuum areas, even some regular gas stations have a random faucet at a curb, or on the side of their building. Whenever we have needed to ask, the clerk was more than willing to let us fill our tanks. Make sure any water you use is potable water.
  • Lots of local parks have hookups to water their gardens. If you ask, they will often let you fill your tank up off their potable water hose.
  • Rest areas in some states have fresh water fills (and dump stations, too!). A quick Google of the state you’re in and “rest area RV dump” should point you in the right direction.
  • RV Parks! Even if you’re not staying there, they’ll be more than happy to take a few bucks for a dump and fill. Call first – Often, they will tell you they have fresh water fill on the phone, then when you arrive tell you the water is non potable. When this is the case, press the fact that you need water, and called ahead to make sure you could fill. They always work it out so you can fill. Often they will direct you to an open RV site to fill from the potable water hookup. It will run you $5-$10 at most locations for a dump and water fill. Often, just a water fill will be free.
    Some locations will try to charge you $30. Laugh at them. Laugh hard. Then call somewhere else.

If you only need a few gallons…

  • Walmart, and some Home Depot and Publix stores, have a water filling machine. It’s usually around $0.30 per gallon. We carry two 6 gallon water jugs, using a Dolphin Water Pump, which we can fill in a pinch. It is nice to have 2 when you drink a lot of water. We keep one in the van for filling water bottles on the go, and one for emergency drinking water in our travel trailer.
  • Some Walmarts, and hardware stores – like Ace Hardware – will let you fill from the hose in their garden center. Simply ask and see what happens.
  • You can even try checking directly with the chamber of commerce in your area. For example, if you are lucky enough to be in Zephyr Hills Florida, there are multiple Zephyr Hills drinking water fill ups. Most hold 1 gallon and 5 gallon jugs. There are a few in front of the chamber of commerce. The cost is 25 cents a gallon on the honor system.

How Do You Find Places to Park?

One of the most challenging things to handle on the road is finding a place to park a rig for the night. While some localities will not care if you park in any random parking lot for a few Z’s, others will threaten to ticket you and tow your vehicle if you’re in one spot for too long. In and near large cities tend to be the most challenging, but usually it can still be done.

  • Some of the apps available for free or low cost are great. We have a few listed on our Essential Full Time RV Apps post, like Walmart ONP, that really help with finding a place to park. This list is also updated as we find great new tools.
  • When in a pinch, you can always ask locals. If you see a van dweller or RVer that looks like they are a full-timing local, striking up a conversation with them can sometimes lead to finding a wealth of great information.

What Do You Do With Trash?

We eat a lot of fresh foods, making our trash fairly minimal. Our main garbage bags are Wal-mart bags, which can be tossed in any public trash can.

How Do You Have Power for Charging Laptops and Phones?

We looked at the available options, and it all came down to two options. We could purchase a generator, but we didn’t want the noise, vibrations, and extra fuel costs involve with having a generator running all day and into the night. Because of this, we went with an RV solar set-up, and running as many possible devices as we could off of 12V power. So far, it is working great!

How Do You Receive Mail When on the Road?

There are two ways we use to receive mail on the road.

    1. Mail Forwarding: Several mail forwarding services available, each with their own perks and downfalls. After large amounts of research, we went with St. Brendan’s Isle in Florida. Their service offers the ability to have mail scanned, which is great when we need a document quickly, and the address can also be used for becoming a Florida resident.
    2. General Delivery: When you know someone will be shipping USPS, and you need an item fast, General Delivery is a handy way to receive your item. Not all Post Offices support General Delivery but, when the closest doesn’t, another nearby one usually will. You simply need to call the Post Office and check, and then start sending away.

Who Should You Choose for Full Time RV Insurance?

Alan had Progressive Insurance for years before we started full time RVing. When we started off, we set up with their full timer RV package, and started our travels. Our first hiccup was an issue with our roof, which was handled pretty quickly. But, then our second issue came up and Progressive’s Roadside Assistance left us stranded on the side of the road for 3 days. Knowing we didn’t want this to happen again, we decided to change insurance companies. Since even one of the Progressive reps stated ‘all they do is RVs’, Good Sam’s Insurance with their full-time RV insurance, and their Good Sam Roadside Assistance package seemed like an obvious choice.

Free Florida Boondocking

Our RV at Hickory Hammock Wildlife Management Area

When we winter in Florida, we prefer to escape the cramped RV park life, get out into nature, and enjoy ourselves. Since we are fully self contained, hold over 7 days of water, and have our RV solar system, it was time to see what we could do.

Thanks to the SWFWMD and SFWMD, and FWC, we are able to stay for no charge in a few great spots. We meet some great people, have an amazing time, and look forward to winter as out new favorite season.

Check out the links for our post on each of the areas we have stayed.

Deep Creek Preserve, Arcadia, Florida

Deep Creek Preserve, Arcadia, FL

Deep Creek was a fairly nice place to stay, and was comparable to Oak Ridge and Cypress Creek. It had your standard amenities, including non-potable water, a port-o-john that was in need of a little more service (like a new floor) but usable and not disgusting, picnic tables, and fire rings. The park itself was well kept, clean, and really pretty.

We set up, spread out, started collecting firewood, and got ready for what we thought would be a week long stay.

The main trail, which went out the rear portion of the area, had some flooding due to rain, so we could not go too far out. Funny thing, this was a sign. After a couple nights of being here, we went to bed, and awoke the next morning to an indication that it rained. A pretty big indication.

Flooding at Deep Creek

Flooding at Deep Creek

 

And, it rained more. And more.

With the waters, came the Sand Hill Cranes. It was neat to watch and hear, them in the area. Without four wheel drive, we only dared to take the van out, making us stuck in this location a little longer than planned. This gave the perfect chance to gear our van up, and take a short, couple of day trip out to the beach. When we returned, the water was starting to recede, and the ground was drying up. Another night, and we were able to pull out and head on our way.

Other than being stuck, we still enjoyed our most of our stay, and it is a pretty location. If you’re going, though, make sure it’s not in a time of excessive rain. If it is, make sure you park close enough to the main road in to be able to get out.

Quick and Easy Drawer Covers

RV Drawer Modification to Add Drawer Covers

While we were in the process of removing our booth seats and table we, once again, had mice join our travels. Mice are bad enough with chewing, nesting, and all the normal mouse behaviors but, for some reason, the occasional mouse likes to explore every drawer we have. And poop in it. On our silverware, cooking utensils, plates, bowls. You name it, the mouse poops on it. You can’t really keep mice out of your camper or RV at all times, even though we are trying, but you can keep them from getting in some areas – like your drawers – and keep the mouse poop at bay.

This is where we took the old luan from our booth seats, and re-purposed them (crooked edges and all!) into simple, non-expert, mouse poop preventing drawer covers. Isn’t that exciting?

Here’s how we did it.

Standard Travel Trailer Drawer

Standard travel trailer drawer. In kind of bad shape…

Next, we started our test fit version, which was to cut the lid in the shape of the drawer itself.

 

This didn’t work. At all. The drawer has to lift on its track when inserting into the drawer slot, and the luan prevents the drawer from raising the necessary amount – so the drawer could not open and close. So, we moved on to plan B, which involved a little more work, but still was pretty easy.

We started to re-cut the boards to the dimensions of the interior of the drawer, which would allow the drawer to function as it always has. We were almost done recutting our prototype, when the battery died on the saw. We plugged in the charger, inserted the battery, pressed the change button, and “click” our 30-ish year old battery charger was no more. No more drill, no more saw, our project was at a halt.

So, it was time for a new drill. After lots of looking, reading reviews, and seeing what could be bought the same day, locally, we chose a Black & Decker Matrix Drill and the handy Matrix Saw Attachment. I love this new drill set. Having various attachments, as apposed to multiple tools, makes it take up less space. The lithium ion battery is a massive upgrade from the old NiCd batteries our old set used. Overall, it’s perfect for a mobile lifestyle. And, it allowed me to get back to work.

The re-sizing of the top was completed to allow the lid to fit in the drawer, the lid was cut into two sections, and we were ready to move on.

The drawer lid needed mounting now, and some simple screen molding – originally planned for support behind our hinges due to the flimsiness of luan – was pre-drilled and screw mounted on the inside of each drawer. These will hold the rear of the lid in place, and provided support for the front opening portion.

Drawer with new lid supports added.

Next, the lids were hinged and fit to the drawers. Each lid was placed in to a drawer and the hinge holes were marked to ensure they would fit when assembled.

AC-Clamp was used to hold the screen molding (for support to the hinge) and hinge in place while holes were pre-drilled and screws were installed.

A C-Clamp was used to hold the screen molding (which would add support to the hinge) and hinge in place while holes were pre-drilled and screws were installed.

With the lid fitting perfectly in the drawer, opening would provide a challenge. For this, we simply cut the corner off of one side, providing a small finger hole to pull from. With the notch cut, and all hardware and supports installed, we had our finished lid.

We were now ready to pre-drill our 4 holes to hold the rear of the drawer in place, and slide our drawers back in to their home.

And, that’s it. We have nice RV drawer covers, which should keep out the mice and their poop, and also double as a quick pullout space to sit items as needed when working in the kitchen. Best of all, it was super cheap to do.

How To Save Money On Groceries While Living Full Time In An RV (No Coupon Clipping Necessary)

Living on the road full time has its challenges. Saving money on groceries is one of them. It isn’t easy to find coupons in every new town you visit. It is even harder to match them to stores when you are unfamiliar with the area. Even if you are a pro couponer, while on the road, these apps will help you save even more money. More money means going to more amazing places. What RVer doesn’t want that?

I have spent time over the last month downloading and testing many rebate and money saving phone apps. Some are fantastic and others were just not too helpful. Here are the apps that work well for me and why I like each app. All of the apps I cover here are free for Andriod and Iphone users. By signing up with our referral code we get some change to help keep our site going. Most of these apps give YOU a bonus for signing up as a referral as well. Some give up to 2 dollars just for signing up. Enough talk. On to the list!

Ibotta

Ibotta

Receive 2 dollars when you redeem your first rebate within 10 days of signing up!

This is by far my favorite money saving app. Ibotta is incredibly easy to use. In just seconds you can click on the available rebate, complete the task, and earn cash money. This app has rebates on everything from toothpaste, to bananas, to beer and liquor, to gift cards for your favorite retailers. I eat mostly fresh foods and love that this app gives you “any brand” rebates. That means many of the rebates are on any brand of onions, milk, salad, OJ, meat, ice cream, etc. I get rebates on a weekly basis for a ton of the veggies, dairy, and meat that I already regularly buy. My other favorite type of rebate on Ibotta is the BEER and LIQUOR rebates. Those rebates are high dollar often as high as 6 dollars off a 12 pack or 4 dollars off brands of Liquor. These alcohol rebates alone have saved/made me over 25 dollars this month. The third thing I like about IBOTTA is the ability to stack some offers. For example this week there was a “ANY BRAND” .30 cents off cereal and a 1.00 off Enjoy Life Crunchy Flax Cereal. I was able to use both rebates for a total of 1.30 off of a product I already buy on a regular basis. With IBOTTA you can transfer your balance to your Paypal or vimeo account or get Amazon, Walmart, or other gift cards with it. You only need to rack up 10 dollars before you can transfer it too. There are multiple bonuses each month that will give you even more cash.

You can automatically receive 2 dollars when you sign up using my referral link and redeem your first rebate within the first 10 days after sign up.

You can download the Ibotta app here.

OR

Download it straight from the Google Play Store or App Store and use referral code 6ef7zq

Shrink

Shrink

This app is great for those who shop often at specialty stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and World Market. Most of the products are things you won’t find in a Walmart or local grocery store. I do not shop at high end stores, but this app is still very valuable to me. I use the portion of the app called Shrink Exclusives. I regularly save on “any brand” milk, eggs, and produce using this feature. All of the apps I am posting about today have the ability to overlap on rebates. If you see for example 20 cents off on bananas on one app and 30 cents off of bananas on another app you may use both rebates on the same purchase. That can often get you completely free products. Sometimes you can even end up with a free product and extra money left over.

You can download shrink here. Don’t forget to use referral code OOCHPR in the Shrink Exclusive section of the app for exclusive deals!

Savingstar

SavingStar

This App works in a really neat way. Along with having “any brand” rebates, it also has “one or many” rebates. These come in handy. Example: Save 5 dollars when you buy 25 dollars worth of Dixie Brand products. If you buy 25 dollars worth of Dixie Brand products in one shopping trip that awesome, but most people don’t need that much at once. The beauty of “one or many” rebates is you usually have 30 days to reach that 25 dollar mark. You just scan in your receipts that have qualifying items and when you reach the 25 dollar mark your rebate is credited to your account.

 

You can download Savingstar here.

 

Shopmium

Shopmium

This app does not have a ton of rebates, but it is still a great one to have in your money saving arsenal. Any money that I can save while on the road in my RV is more money to explore the country. This app often has free full sized products on rebate. Also it has great rebates that once again overlap the other apps rebates saving you even more money on each shopping trip.

Remember those free full sized products I just told you about? By signing up through my referral link you will receive a free Lindt Chocolate Bar any flavor.

You can sign up for Shopmium here for Android and here for IPhone don’t forget to use the FREE candy bar code kcuchfmm!

SNAP by Groupon

Snap by Groupon

I like this app because most of the rebates are over a dollar saved per item. They are also one of the apps that has BEER and soda rebates. Those babies really add up. Often I will save 6 dollars on a 12 pack of Hieneken using Ibotta and save 3 dollars more on the same purchase using the snap app. That makes a 12 pack around 3 or 4 dollars!

You can download SNAP by Groupon here. Make sure to use referral code fa8cb9886f97f573

Jingit

Jingit

This app has some fun and unique features. There are everyday essential rebates on things like “any brand” cereal, milk, etc. They also have short videos like commercials you can watch to make about 50 cents each. You may watch each video once per day. I usually start one and leave the volume off on my phone so I don’t really have to hear a commercial blaring at me. The videos are all under 30 seconds so it’s is not much of a time investment to make some change. That change really adds up quickly too!

You can download Jingit here. Make sure you use referral code 338740

Receipt Hog

Receipt Hog

This app runs on the same principle as Receipt Pal does. You snap photos of your receipts to earn gift cards. Receipt Hog is really fun to use. You also earn spins on the Receipt Hog slot machine to earn bonus points towards gift cards. I have only been using this app for about 2 weeks so I have not earned any money, but I am halfway to getting a 5 dollar amazon gift card which isn’t too shabby of a prize for doing something quick and enjoyable.

You can download Receipt Hog here. By using referral code kem80940 Receipt Hog starts you out with up to 10 free spins on the Receipt Hog slot machine!

Receipt Pal

Receipt Pal

After IBOTTA this is my favorite money making app. All you need to do to make money is snap a photo of your receipts. Each receipt earns you points towards gift cards and entries into weekly drawings for a 250 dollars git card as well. I earned a 5 dollar amazon gift card my first week of using this app. That’s not bad considering how little effort it takes to use.

 

Checkout 51

Checkout 51

Checkout 51 is a great supplement to IBOTTA. Checkout 51 often has rebates that overlap IBOTTA and many of the other apps I will tell you about in this post. You can use the same rebate on the same shopping trip on multiple apps to save even more money. For example this week I can save .40 cents on bell peppers on IBOTTA and another .25 cents on bell peppers on Checkout 51. There are no amount limits for the produce or “any brand” rebates. This means you can buy as little as one pepper and save .65 cents total. I often get free items this way. Also you don’t need to fill your fridge with just one item to save a little money.

 

As rvers we often shop online and have items shipped ahead of us to our next location. Be on the look out for part 2 of this series where I show you which apps will save you the most money on your online purchases.

If you have any favorite money saving apps, tips, or just want to say hello, please leave a comment.

Best Lightweight RV Mattress: Innerspace Luxury Products RV Mattress Review

Innerspace RV Mattress Review

Innerspace Luxury Products RV Mattress

When we first bought our used 2008 Forest River Wildwood 29TBSS it had a rather suspect looking sticks and bricks style mattress in it. We knew we would need to throw it out. We initially replaced it with our pillow top queen mattress from our sticks and bricks apartment. We really had to squish that mattress to fit into the slightly shorter bedroom in our travel trailer. The mattress was really heavy which made lifting the bed to access storage a grumpy two person job. Trying to put sheets on a mattress that has been shoved into a space half a foot too small was a painful and nearly impossible feat. This was still manageable until winter hit. We wintered in cold Richmond, Va. Anyone who has winter camped knows how awful condensation can be. We found when wrestling the sheets onto the bed that the wall the mattress was jammed up against was dripping with condensation. We could not

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