Escapees Magazine – November/December 2014
“Flame On! – Installing a vent-free heater”
By: Emily & Mark Fagan

The November/December 2014 issue of Escapees Magazine is featuring our article, “Flame On! Installing a Vent-Free Heater.”

Followers of this site have seen our recent post about choosing a heater and installing it in an RV, and here we are writing about it again. Are these heaters really that great? In a word, Yes!

Even in a “warm” place like Arizona, it is very different living in an RV than in a house, and we were surprised by just how frozen we were our first winter.

An RV furnace can keep a lot of the chill off, but if you really want to be warm, a vent-free heater will give you even more heat while using less propane and less electricity.

Some folks worry about the safety of these gas appliances, and this article goes into some detail about why you shouldn’t be nervous. If you are handy, the installation is straight forward. If not, of if you don’t want a permanent installation, there are portable options as well. And if you want a cozy look, they even build them into fireplace mantels!

Escapees Magazine is a wonderful and very informative RV magazine geared towards people who live in RVs long term. It is the membership magazine for the Escapees RV Club which is unique among RV organizations because it offers such a wide variety of programs for its members.

From discount RV parks to mail forwarding services in three states to advocacy work on behalf of all RVers to bootcamp programs that teach new RVers how to live this lifestyle, it is a club that has something for everyone.  The Club even has special interest groups for RVers, nicknamed “Birds of a Feather” groups (BOFs).  These range from Photographers (a group we are part of) to Beaders to Birders to folks who like to RV in the Buff!!

Plus – they have kindly allowed us to share our article here:

Flame On! Installing a Vent-Free Heater

For more info and a step-by-step installation guide with photos, visit our blog post here:

How to Select and Install a Vent-Free Propane Heater

Feel like doing a little easy reading? Our other magazine feature articles and cover photos here:

Published Work by Emily & Mark Fagan

New to this site? Visit our Home page to read more about our full-time traveling lifestyle and our Intro for RVers to find out where we keep all the good stuff. If you like what you see, we'd love for you to subscribe to receive our latest posts!

2002 33′ Custom Automate Fifth Wheel Trailer
for sale for $19,500 in Montana.

We’ve just heard about an incredibly unusual and wonderful opportunity for anyone that is in the market for a high quality, boondocking-ready, full-timer’s fifth wheel trailer.

NOTE: This trailer has been SOLD!

Our good friends and RVing mentors decided to sell their beautiful fifth wheel trailer — and it has been SOLD.

There are two slide-outs on the driver’s side, one in the Living area and one in the Bedroom.

In 2002, after 18 years of owning and living in a variety of fifth wheel trailers (mostly NuWa Hitchhikers) as winter snowbird RVers in the southwest, the owners had this trailer CUSTOM BUILT for them by the fifth wheel manufacturer Automate. They have cared for it meticulously and truly lovingly ever since.

The kitchen has custom cabinetry with extra wide drawers.

Automate was one of the highest quality trailer brands of a decade or so ago.

These RVers are extremely knowledgeable and savvy, and when they decided to buy a custom trailer, they knew exactly what was needed for comfortable long-term living in a fifth wheel.

10 cubic foot fridge

They oversaw the design and construction of their fifth wheel at the Automate plant, visiting the factory every day for weeks on end to ensure that everything was completed to their high standards.

They used the trailer for five to six months each winter in the southwestern states through the winter of 2012-13.

Dinner with a view!

Completely outfitted for long-term boondocking, it has four 6-volt wet cell batteries, 360 watts of solar panels on tilting brackets, a Heliotrope charge controller and 2500 watt inverter/charger. It also has a ceramic vent-free propane heater.

Boondocking-ready with solar panels and a vent-free heater.

There is also plenty of fresh water and holding tank capacity with 100 gallons of fresh water, two 50 gallon grey water tanks (kitchen/shower) and a 50 gallon black water holding tank.

The layout has a separate shower/sink are and toilet room.

What we like most about this trailer is the light and airy feeling inside. Besides the plentiful and big white framed windows, there is a large skylight in the bedroom. The living room slide-out is very deep, and the rear end of the trailer has huge wrap-around windows.

Shower and vanity

Ample custom cabinets and toilet room

This is the approximate floorplan (but NOT exact).
The main difference is the vanity is on the opposite side of the bedroom.

And here’s a fun little bonus — you’ll be buying a trailer that has been on the cover of Coast to Coast magazine (the Spring 2012 issue) !!

Spring 2012 Issue: “Arizona’s Best Kept Secrets – Treasures of Tonto National Forest”

New to this site? Visit our Home page to read more about our full-time traveling lifestyle and our Intro for RVers to find out where we keep all the good stuff. If you like what you see, we'd love for you to subscribe to receive our latest posts!

Cover photo: Mark Fagan
Story & photos: Emily & Mark Fagan
Issue: Fall, 2014

Posted September 26, 2014

The Fall 2014 issue of Coast to Coast Magazine is featuring our photo on the cover as well as our article about RV travel to Phoenix, Arizona.

Read More…

iPhone Simulation, Landscape

We have made some changes to this site that should make it a little easier to view on mobile devices. Yay!

It was partly “mobile ready” before but there were lots of niggling problems.

The post title overlapped on itself, the header image and comments stuck way out to one side, the menus were goofy and stacked on top of each other. Those and other annoyances have been tidied up.

It’s not perfect, but it’s way better!

Read More…

A Full-time RVers Metamorphosis
Escapees Magazine, Sep/Oct 2014
Article by Emily Fagan

Last spring we met a special couple, Phil and Ann Botnick, who have been living in an RV full-time for twenty-six years. As we got to know them, I was so taken by their story (and their rig — it is amazing!), that I wrote an article about them for Escapees Magazine. It is appearing in the September/October 2014 issue.

Read More…

August 2014 issue of Trailer Life
Story and photos by Emily & Mark Fagan

The August 2014 issue of Trailer Life Magazine is featuring our story about two delightful and fascinating ghost towns in Montana: Virginia City and Nevada City.  Back in 1863 these two towns were absolutely bursting with activity.  Over time their good fortune faltered, and today they are loaded with ghosts and are really fun to visit.

Read More…

Sailing Magazine – February 2014 issue!

On Newsstands Now!!

Posted February 3, 2014

The February 2014 issue of Sailing Magazine is featuring our story and photos about beautiful Huatulco, Mexico.  Of all the places we sailed to on the Pacific coast of Mexico, the lovely Bays of Huatulco were by far our favorite cruising grounds.

Although it is just a ten mile stretch of coast at the southern end of the country, each bay is unique and charming.  With snorkeling galore, a variety of tropical beaches to explore, two small villages and intriguing places to head inland, we had a hard time tearing ourselves away from the area when our months of tropical bliss there finally ended.

Sailing Magazine is a beautiful, big, glossy magazine that takes pride in publishing fine photography and high quality writing about all things sailing and cruising.  Sailing has been around for many decades, and when I was a little girl growing up in the 60’s it was on our coffee table and was the magazine my father turned to when he dreamed of sailing off over the horizon.  I am so proud to be counted among their contributors this month!

Our DVDs cover the Bays of Huatulco in depth

To get a copy of the February issue of Sailing, check out their website’s list of newsstands around the country that carry it.  You can also subscribe to Sailing in either their print edition or their Kindle edition.

If you want to learn more about traveling to Huatulco, have a look at this page where you’ll find links to all our blog posts from our four months there.  We have also created two DVDs about this area.  One gives a visual picture of where the best anchoring spots and snorkeling and beaches are in Huatulco and the other takes you on a virtual trip to the vibrant city of Oaxaca, a day’s drive inland.

If you are planning to go to Mexico or are already down there, be sure to spend some time in these special bays.

New to this site?  There is lots of great info for both sailors and RVers, especially those heading to Mexico.  Please visit our Home page and our intro page for cruisers and our intro page for RVers to find where we keep all the good stuff!