Episodes

Winnebago Factory Service Center Winnebago Factory Service Center General Manager Tom Olsen joined us to talk about the history of the service center and all of the benefits of having service done on your Winnebago RV there. Two of the main benefits are access to parts and their trained technicians. “Our technicians are homegrown. Many of them have come from our manufacturing center, so they are familiar with the coaches’ construction. Hence, they have that experience before they even walk in ...

Weigh Safe Do you tow a travel trailer, 5th wheel, or maybe even livestock? Would you like to increase your confidence while towing or improve your overall towing experience? Then you will enjoy today’s episode with Chris Procopio from Weigh Safe. What advantage do Weigh Safe hitches have over the competition? Weigh-Safe is the only hitch to provide a built-in hydraulic scale allowing you to measure tongue weight. “The importance of our built-in hydraulic scale is that it measures tongue weigh...

RVers Online University Are you looking to learn more about RVing or thinking about making the transition from part-time to full-time RVing? Then today’s episode is for you. We talk all about Escapee’s RVers Online University with Travis Carr, President of Escapees RV Club. Joining Travis are Brandon & Kerensa Durr, two of the instructors. Created in 2017, RVers Online University has recently gone through a significant update with new features and benefits. The university is suitable for all le...

KOA National Camping Report KOA published an interim National Camping Report that was focused on issues surrounding camping and COVID-19. The information for the report was gathered by a third party market research company at the end of April 2020. We thought it would be interesting to look at the report and compare it to what we have seen during our camping throughout this pandemic. 2020 Travel Plans When asked about their travel plans for the remainder of 2020, 41% of campers say they still...

AirSkirts We love when we hear about new companies and products introduced to the RV industry and when fellow RVers create them, that’s even better. Today Jim Phelan, the founder of AirSkirts, joins us. Jim is a Full-time RVer who wanted to improve the way skirting goes around an RV, not only with the install process but also with the skirt’s overall performance. Jim talks about how he took the idea he created for himself and turned it into a business. AirSkirts are inflatable, set up in minute...

CLEAR2O You may remember our interview with Keith Bernard, CEO of CLEAR2O. Keith came on the show last year to talk about their DIRTGUARD sediment pre-filter. We were both so impressed by Keith and what he had to say about the DIRTGUARD that they each bought one. Keith returns today to talk about their new product, CLEAR2O Personal Water Filter. The Personal Water Filter will allow you to drink directly from open water sources, such as streams or lakes, by removing bacteria and parasites, preve...

H3R Performance Hey everyone! Chris Dieter from H3R Performance joins us today to talk about their line of fire extinguishers, Halgaurd and Max Out. He also shares a lot of knowledge of extinguishers, such as the different types, ratings, maintenance, the differences in discharge time, and their extinguishers’ construction. Chris also talks about the importance of having a fire extinguisher that is UL listed. “Having a UL rating is hard to overemphasize because UL is a well-known standard for ...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and welcome to Beyond The Wheel Driver’s Edition! Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals Some of our favorite RV companies will be participating in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Battle Born Batteries will have their first Black Friday sale and will also run a Cyber Monday special. They will also keep the phone lines open over the weekend to handle the sales and questions. Micro Air is running a Cyber Monday special on their popular Easy Start 364 & their new Ea...

TAXA Outdoors TAXA Outdoors creates mobile human habitats. Today, we have the CEO and Founder, Garrett Finney. Maybe you have seen one of their habitats, the Cricket or Mantis, out and about. Actually, maybe way out and about!These habitats are designed with the adventurer in mind. Garrett discusses his design process, how they decide what features to include in their habitats, like wireless electric brakes, and how working with NASA inspired his habitat designs. He also takes us back to the e...

About RVnGO We love it when guests come back on the show to give us updates, especially with everything happening in the last year. Paul Kacir, founder and CEO of RVnGO, talks to us about the sudden boom in RV rentals as well as some of their new exciting partnerships. RVnGO has really streamlined the RV rental process for both the renter and the rentee. If you own an RV and would like to start making some income from it or are thinking of getting into RVing, you will definitely want to listen ...

Grand Design RVs Grand Design RV is a name that everyone knows, but did you know the company is under 10 years old? It is hard to believe that an RV manufacturer that is so young can be so recognizable. That is what happens when you are one of the fastest-growing RV companies in the industry. We believe their success has been achieved by doing things the right way. We talk with Tommy Hall, Marketing Director of Grand Design RV, and discuss what sets them apart from other manufacturers. Is it t...

This Beyond the Wheel Driver’s Edition episode originally aired live on our new Beyond The Wheel Podcast YouTube Channel. Be sure to subscribe to the channel to participate in the conversation. In this Driver’s Edition episode, we talk about Micro-Air Easy Touch Thermostat Giveaway which begins on October 1st. We have partnered up with Micro-Air to give away one of their Easy Touch Thermostats. This is a smart thermostat designed to work with your RV heating and cooling systems. Also, it allows...

Easy Touch RV Thermostat Do you wish your RV thermostat was similar to the smart thermostats you would find in a modern-day home? On today’s show, Micro-Air’s Roger Krinic tells us all about their new Easy Touch RV Thermostat. With an Easy Touch thermostat, you can control the temperature in your RV from anywhere you have a cell signal. All you need is an app you download on your phone. This means if you are away from the RV exploring a new area and travel with pets, you can rest assured the pe...

RV Toll Pass Going through a toll booth is about to get a whole lot easier thanks to RV Toll Pass. Most of us have probably experienced the frustration of one transponder working in one state, but not another. Some of us, like Kenny and Sean, carry multiple transponders to cover travels across the country. Well, that will no longer need to be necessary thanks to a system that RV Toll Pass has developed. Don Brady, Vice President of Business Development, talks about how they were able to create...

About Surviveware TO RECEIVE A 10% DISCOUNT ON YOUR SURVIVEWARE ORDER USE THE CODE BTW WHEN CHECKING OUT ON THE SURVIVEWARE WEBSITE. Today’s episode is all about safety and preparation. If you enjoy hiking, biking, and being in the great outdoors, Janco Bronkhorst, the CEO of Surviveware, has you covered. Janco and his wife, Amanda, created a line of first aid kits designed for the outdoor enthusiast. These first aid kits allow for easy carrying with loops that attach to your belt or Velcro st...

An RV Podcast Welcome to Beyond the Wheel’s Driver’s Edition! This is an RV podcast with a focus on the people and products that make RVing great. This is the episode where we talk about what’s new in the RV industry. Bruce from Texas came up with the name Drivers Edition and is the winner of the Micro Air Easy Start giveaway. Thank you, Bruce, and thank you to everyone who participated. Giveaway Speaking of giveaways, we would like to announce that we teamed up with Sun RV to giveaway a $2...

About Alliance RV We have a very special episode today. First, this is our 50th episode! Second, we are interviewing Alliance RV, a new RV manufacturer that just started production this year. Coley Brady, our guest, is the Co-Founder of Alliance RV. The company will be focusing on high-end 5th wheels with the full-timer in mind. Coley has 16 years of experience in the RV industry. He was at Heartland RV since its first year of inception (2004). Quickly rising through the ranks to Vice Presiden...

Costa Vista RV Resort With the increasing interest in camping and RVing right now, we are excited to welcome a new campground, Costa Vista RV Resort. This resort will have a minimum of 246 sites. With us today are Jackie Maguire and Nate Philippsen. Jakie and Nate are vice presidents at Sun RV. They are going to tell us all about the new Costa Vista RV Resort, in Chula Vista, California. We hear the word “resort” used a lot when describing an RV “park,” but this is one is going to live up to t...

The Backslider If you flat tow a car behind your RV, then you are probably aware of everything that can go wrong while trying to back up with the car still attached. Kenny & Sabrina damaged their tow bar while trying to reverse out of a spot once and completely replaced their tow bar. Luckily though, someone is working on a solution, and that person is Richard Larson. He has a background in Aerospace design, and some of his work is even on the international space station. Rick also has a love f...

An RV Podcast In this RV podcast, Kenny and Sean discuss the future of RVing. A recent survey, conducted by KOA, showed an increasing interest in camping. They asked campers and non-campers to rank different forms of travel and camping rated at the top for safety. “People are valuing the outdoors more than ever right now. Thirty percent of those surveyed said camping is going to be their first trip when they’re able to get out there.” – Tobey O’Rourke CEO of KOA We also are excited to see the ...

Lithium Batteries are probably the hottest thing to hit the RV industry in a very long time and today we have Denis Phares on to discuss them. Denis is the CEO of Battle Born Batteries. He helps us pull the curtain back on what goes on inside Battle Born headquarters. Denis shares the step-by-step process that goes into the build of each battery and why it was so important to have each component designed and built in house. “We manufacture our batteries in house so we can have a very high level...

Clean water is so important to all of us. One way we can improve the quality of the water coming into our RV is by using an RV water filter. Keith Bernard President of Applica water and the CLEAR2O brand is on the podcast to talk about water filtration and his products. Keith has a unique story about his involvement with the company, he started as an employee at Applica and then later purchased it. The most important thing we learned from talking to Keith is not all RV water filters are made th...

About Ashis Bhattacharya Did you Know Winnebago builds more than just recreational vehicles? On today’s show, we have Ashis Bhattacharya. Ashis is the Vice President of Business Development & Advanced Technology and the General Manager of Specialty Vehicles. Ashis has a background in engineering & aerospace technology. He explains why he wanted to work at Winnebago and how he has helped expand mobile solutions for medical purposes. With the Covid-19 pandemic going on, we wanted Ashis to talk ab...

In this episode, we discuss how the Coronavirus has changed the way we RV. A big part of RVing is being social which is tough when we are all trying to do our part to slow down the spread of the virus by practicing social distancing. We talk about how we are turning down invites to campfires and how Kenny wouldn’t even accept a business card from someone and how it made him feel as if he was being rude to the person. There is also the slowing down of traveling and exploring, with most tourist s...