↓Episode 173 – Navigating RV Extended Warranties and How to React When You Have Propane Leak

In staying on the road today, we have a great interview with Stacy

from Wholesale Warranties, the extended warranty company that you

definitely want to check out. If you're looking at a new or used

RV and then enjoying the RV life, we're going to talk about propane

leaks. Propane leak. Don't freak. Then the next stop, we're

going to cruise on over to Odessa, Texas, and from there we're

going to go into shadows of the past, the towns that once were,

and visit Pecos, Texas in RV envy. We're going to talk about propane

lines and look at quality over price. This is Eric Stark with the

Smart RVer podcast, delivering the smarts you need to enjoy the

freedom of the RV lifestyle without the fear of breaking down.

So let's talk everything RV, and today is episode 173. So let's

open the door and see what we got inside. So, Alexis, welcome to

the show today.

Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

That's good. You sure?

Yes.

Seems like every show's been a workout lately.

Well, I don't know about that. I've been perfect.

It's all me, right? All right, so let me see here. Just in case

you don't know, we talk about YouTube and our channel and stuff,

but we do this podcast and we obviously have it in the auto ver

audio version for a podcast, but also we have it on YouTube. We

do a full video of it on YouTube. YouTube. So if you prefer

watching it and see what kind of knuckleheads we are in life, real

life, I guess, on the, you know, big screen of YouTube.

Yes.

You can check it out there. And sometimes there's little extra

things there that bring it alive in a different way. So just

so you're aware of that. And also, I forgot about this place in

Gallatin, Gateway, Montana. Gateway. Gallatin Gateway. What a

name of a city. I wouldn't live there just because that. What

a hassle. Where do you live? Gallatin, gateway. Say that 10 times

fast. And so it's near Bozeman, Montana. And the reason

why I bring this up is because it kind of fits with our shadows

of the past towns. Now, Gallatin is not a little town of

the past. It's a part of a big old that Bozeman Metropolis place.

But there's a place there called the Antique Barn. Very cool.

You got to check it out. They got a ton of inventory. Massive store.

And the people there are really friendly. Great stuff. So

check that out. And as a reminder for your rv, if you're cleaning

the insides of the walls. You know, the. The panels in the rv,

they all have that wallpaper on it, whether it's wood grain or

just looks like wallpaper.

You.

You know, citrus cleaners can ruin the adhesive on that and make

it peel off much quicker than you'd want it to. So try to avoid

using citrus cleaners inside your rv. So that's my great tip,

how to protect your RV today. So that's it. Shows over. Wow.

There we go. Short and sweet.

All right. Just kidding. All right, as a reminder, check out our

YouTube channel for all the other videos we do. There's always

something coming out, something new. And so now we're going

to get into enjoying the RV life, and we're going to talk about

propane leaks. And don't freak. Why do I say that? You know,

you get a propane leak, and what do you do? Run out of the rv,

scream, I got a leak. You know, the thing's going to blow up.

My what?

I do catch on fire.

Yeah.

So, Alexis, since you came up with this title, so when you think

of a propane leak, do you think of panic?

Yes, to be honest, I did before I wrote this.

Right.

That's why I came up with this title.

And so it's kind of interesting because people do freak

out.

They do. They do. But you don't need to.

Right.

We're gonna tell you why.

We're gonna tell you why. Because Eric said that's it.

Okay.

No, seriously, propane, you know, it's dangerous. It's very dangerous.

Problem product. When you have a propane leak, it's generally not

some massive leak where propane's just spraying out everywhere.

Right.

And you know, I've talked about it, like, my furnace in my

trailer, the way they put in the propane hose, you know, that

could catch on fire, and it certainly could. But a little leak

with there's no flame around it, you don't have much to worry

about.

Right.

It's more of a nuisance.

Yeah.

In an rv, you have a propane line from the tanks going back to

the stove, the refrigerator, the furnace. Anything else you might

have water heater. They're all tied into a manifold or they come

off a steel pipe, so the steel pipe's really not going to be an

issue. Okay, so, Alexis, in your research, what did you come

up with? Or do you think that the most common places for a leak

would be and let's say a travel trailer?

So unlike something that I have, the biggest culprits are loose

Fittings, old wrinkly hoses and damaged regulators.

Wrinkly hoses?

Yeah, because when people bring them in, they're all wrinkly.

Right.

You know?

Okay. Yeah.

So.

So, yeah, cracked hoses is a better term probably than wrinkly.

You know, that works on who brings the hose in.

I mean.

Just kidding.

Nice.

So typically on a trailer, the hoses that go from the tank to the

regulator are the worst culprits for leaks.

Yeah.

Inside of RVs, very rarely are there propane leaks. It's usually

outside. And then you smell it inside.

Makes sense.

And it's that egg smell. It's added to it. It's a nasty smell because

propane itself is odorless.

Right. They add that.

Right. If you have a leak, it's not time to panic.

No.

It's turn the propane off and figure out where the leak is from.

Well, you know, turn it off, let the RV air out.

Yeah.

Open windows and then try to determine where the leaks coming

from. And the reason why we bring this up is because a simple

little leak can ruin a weekend if you panic.

It's so true.

You know, you just kind of, wow, gosh, we just got to go home

when. And the other thing, too, is, you know, it ruins a weekend.

And then you as, you know, the head of the house. Dad, you look

like an idiot.

You do.

Like, your kids are like, wow, we got to go home. We just got here,

man. Wait a minute. We had burgers on the grill. What the heck?

Now we gotta leave. So we don't want to do that.

No, no.

In most propane lines, you can replace yourselves, even if it's

the one that goes from the regulator to the main line. And now,

motorhomes are a little bit different, but they're just as simple.

Sometimes it's just a little more compact to work on them because

where they're at, the tank's usually lower. You maybe have to

lay on the ground to access it. But don't let a leak like that

ruin your trip.

Right.

And one way to stay ahead of it is keep in mind that most of the

propane lines out on RVs are garbage. Older RVs might have good

ones, but newer ones don't. They're plasticky lines. They're

just not any good. So you definitely want to be cautious of

that. And that's something you can get ahead with by buying quality

propane lines. And let me see here. Yeah, we're going to get to

that later on. We're going to talk about this a little bit More

in RV envy. And I'm going to give you a coupon code and a place

to go to buy lines. And it's not the Jungle website because they

sell low quality propane hoses.

Yeah, they do.

It's going to be our website where we make the hoses and these

things, everything. And we. Everything on our propane hose are

made in the United States, so none of it's foreign and it lasts.

They're flexible, they're durable. You know, you could lift

up a car. No, I'm just kidding. Just about super high quality,

though. Alexis, anything on that that I missed in your research?

No, I think it's good. Did we talk about propane detectors?

No, we didn't.

There we go. So if you don't have one or yours is outdated again,

we sell these. So get yourself one, because it's a really cheap

way to ensure your safety. And they're usually near the floor because

that's where propane settles.

It's heavier.

Yeah, it's heavier than air. So remember that. That's why they're

so low to the floor.

a law. And so when it starts beeping, it doesn't necessarily mean

you have a leak. It could just be the propane detectors aged out

because they generally last five to seven years.

Exactly.

Sometimes less, sometimes more. But it will expire, so you

do have to replace it. So don't skimp and try to save a hundred

bucks.

Please don't.

And you know, even keeping a little bottle of leak detector with

you or having some spray cleaner, something you can check

for leaks just in case anything bubbles up. Propane leak

detector works better.

It does.

But you know what you got to do in a pinch, you know, so. All

right, so there. We got it covered now.

So there we go.

Now everybody out there is a propane expert.

Yeah, they are.

All right, perfect. And now we're going to teach you how to save

some more money. Yeah, let your RV burn down and collect the

insurance.

Oops, That's a good one. Actually.

These insurance companies anymore, they don't pay on a whole

lot.

No, they don't.

All right, so seriously, joining an RV club can be a way to

save some money in RVing, because RV clubs, sometimes they

negotiate discounts with parks and different places to go. So you

might be able to save money when you go camping, you know, even

if it's not a huge amount. Saving money. Saving money as long

as it's worth it compared to like the yearly fees. And sometimes

RV clubs, clubs will have other discounts. Maybe they work

something out with an insurance carrier so you can get

insurance a little bit cheaper. Maybe cell phone coverage,

maybe health insurance, life insurance, who knows? Depending on

the size of the club, the discounts might be broader and bigger.

So it helps. And if you're on a tight budget, sometimes these things

can make it more bearable if you're RVing quite a bit or if you're

living in your RV full time and you're traveling a lot. So saving

that money can definitely help. And sometimes they have an

in on the cheaper campsites because they're scouring. They're

find more campsites than the average person. So sometimes they

find places that are pretty cool, but they're less money. So

it can be a great way to save some money. Then, you know, they

also there's Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome. Boondockers

welcome. Those are places where Harvest hosts. They have them

here in Hamilton. And I think the guy who owns the bowling alley,

Canute, he. I think he has something at his place for that.

Yeah.

So. And it's, you know, they're generally in someone's yard.

I mean, they're decent yards and stuff, you know, but so that

can save money as well because they're not have. They don't have

all the overhead. They just have a space for an rv. And then

you're really. It doesn't matter where you stay in some ways

because you're out doing stuff during the day. So.

Right.

Just think about that on RV club. You know, we're not pushing

it, but it's definitely can save you some money if possible.

Everything about the propane leak is going to be on our website,

the smartrver.com so if you go there under RV Envy, you'll see that

this great information there. Take it, share it with your friends,

neighbors, anybody that wants to listen, because it's definitely

information that can make life safer and better. This is going to

bring us to staying on the Road. And we have the interview with

Stacy from Wholesale Warranty. So let's go ahead and listen to that.

So welcome to staying on the Road. And as many of you know, I've

been talking about wholesale warranties in our past episodes and

I've had a lot to say about them, but I thought rather than just

hearing it from me constantly, it might be better to have an expert

on. So today we have Stacy from Wholesale Warranties joining

us on the show and she's going to answer some questions for us that

are going to bring the extended warranties to life, take

them out of the darkness, make them real and have a good understanding.

So welcome to the show today, Stacy.

Thank you so much for having me.

All right. Yeah, it's great having somebody here that knows a

little bit more about it than me. Well, a lot of bit more than

me.

I certainly hope so. I'll do my best.

All right, so we're going to start off with some easy stuff. Okay.

You're just going to lob at ya. So first off, you know, there's

the subject of what is an RV warranty? And so can you explain

what an RV warranty is and what they would cover and what they

exclude?

Absolutely. So that's sort of step one and really understanding

what RV warranties are for and you know, if they're right for you.

So an RV extended warranty is a contract that you purchase that

helps you to pay for the cost of mechanical and electrical breakdowns

on your rv. So these RV warranties are designed to cover

anything that makes your RV go. Something that turns on has a

mechanical function. So examples of that, if we're looking

at a motorhome, of course we're going to have your engine and

powertrain, but then we're going to get into some of the stuff

that makes it comfortable to be in an rv. So your air conditioning,

your water heater, your refrigerator, your appliances, the

flight out mechanisms. One of the things that fails the most often,

the motor that makes your awning go in and out. So these things

that serve that mechanical or electrical purpose, more important

is to understand what they don't cover. So an RV warranty is

not insurance. So you have your comp and collision insurance

and that's going to be for physical damage, storms or things

that, you know, acts of God is usually how they say it in an insurance

contract, or collisions. And so we don't cover anything that's

going to be covered under your comp and collision insurance. A warranty

also won't cover maintenance items. So if it's something that

you just regularly have to either do or replace, think like

oil changes or cleaning services, things that just help keep

your RV in good shape, not going to be covered by your warranty.

And then the last category that we don't cover is going to be

aesthetic components. So again, if it doesn't serve a mechanical

function, it's not going to be covered by your warranty. That's

things like fabric, paint, windows. A good way to think about

it is to think about your awning I mentioned that the, the

motor that makes your awning go in and out, that would be covered

by an extended warranty because it serves that mechanical

purpose. Now, the fabric of your awning, if that cares, or, you

know, the sun saps all the color from it, we're not going to

replace that. That's more of an esthetic component. So those extended

warranties are really there to cover the mechanical and electrical

components, the things that cost the most to replace, to repair,

when they start to fail.

Okay, very good. So that kind of clears up some of that. Let me

just ask you this. I know you touched on a little bit. What's the

difference between an RV warranty and RV insurance?

Yeah, so RV warranty is optional. So that's step one, RV

insurance, you got to have it. RV warranty is an optional coverage.

Insurance is there for physical damages, damages caused

by weather events, things like vandalism, things like that, or if

you get into an accident, that's all going to go to your RV

insurance. Your comp and collision insurance. Warranty is

for when things start to break. Because the reality with RVs,

it's not if they'll break it, when they'll break and how many things

in that RV do break. And so an extended warranty acts as a safeguard,

really, for your travel budget so you don't have to worry about

spending on those unexpected repairs when things like your refrigerator

just stop working or your slide outs aren't going in and out

anymore. So an extended warranty is an optional coverage

for those mechanical and electrical failures.

Okay, very good. So that sums it up pretty good. So now if I'm

buying an RV and I'm interested in a extended warranty,

how do I, or you know, if I go to the dealership, they're going

to sell me what they're going to sell me, and that's pretty much

going to be it. And then I could go online, I could talk to

wholesale warranty. So how does somebody approach this?

Absolutely. So we always lead with education. Knowing your options

and what's available to you is so important. So with an online provider

like Wholesale Warranties, we're a broker, we have access to

a couple of different policies and you can get a quote for free.

So if you know you're looking into an rv, whether you're picking

it up in six months or next weekend, you can call and get a quote

and see what we would recommend. So what level of coverage,

what, what program and what the cost and term deductible, all

those details, and you can get an education on what to look for

in a warranty. And then, of course, if you go to pick it up,

the dealer is going to make you an offer and they're going to,

hey, we have this awesome coverage. It's usually going to be

at the end of a pretty long day, once you're in that F and I

office and you're really just trying to get those keys and walk

away. And they're going to let you know what they have to offer.

We love that idea of getting in touch with somebody like wholesale

warranties ahead of time so that you know what these warranties

do. You can read the full black and white of the contract.

They're 17 pages. They might put you to sleep. I read them all.

But it's really important to know what they do and don't cover

what the insurance backer is behind it, really, the black and

white details. So calling to get that quote ahead of time is really

important. And it's also great to know that you don't have to be

buying an RV right now or even from a dealer to qualify for coverage.

So with a broker like wholesale warranties, we can actually

offer a policy pretty much at any point in your RV journey. So

if you're just coming on a manufacturer warranty, you have another

warranty that's expiring, you've owned it for a while, and

you notice it's starting to break down a lot more. We can actually

offer policies to vehicles 19 model years and older, so we can

go back pretty far, and you don't have to be in the process of

purchasing to get an extended warranty.

Okay, awesome. So that kind of helps that now in choosing a company.

Now, if you're at a dealership, they're going to offer

you somebody, but you really don't know anything about their reputation.

Right.

And how does a reputation tie into this?

Yeah, I think it's really important because, again, you want

to see the black and white of the contract and you want to, you

know, see what their coverages are. But the most important thing

is you want to hear what other RVers have experienced when they

go to actually use that policy. So when you're, you know,

working with an RV warranty specialist, I love ours, they're

going to tell you all about it. But what matters the most is

do they cover claims the way that the person who sold you that

policy said they're going to cover claims? And the best way to

verify that is to have that time to look at the reputation not

only of the person Selling you the contract, but of people who have

used that contract. And there's a lot of people involved

in a warranty. You've got administrators, insurance backers,

you've got the selling dealer having all that information ahead

of time. Be able to Google it, take a look at what people have to

say is incredibly important. So you know you're getting a policy

you can rely on.

Right. Very good. And you know, I was just reading something

the other day about vibes, you know, and you get a vibe from a company

that's generally who you go with. So you're in the finance department.

The vibe's probably not going to be very good. Phone and they're

helpful, that changes it. So that's cool. So that's good things

to know. Now, another thing that can happen when you're at the

dealership, you're signing the paperwork and doing all that, they're

just going to hand you a contract, ask you to sign it. They

might have some generic paperwork about what the contract

will cover or what the warranty will cover. So what's your

recommendation on that? Just sign away blindly or read that whole

contract?

Yeah. So you definitely want to take the time to read that contract.

And don't we always say not a brochure, a contract? So a brochure

is going to say all the great things about a policy. But like I

said earlier, what is not covered is the most important thing

to understand about any extended warranty. So definitely

don't sign on the dotted line unless you've had the chance to flip

through that contract. You know what is excluded, what's not

going to be covered, you know how to use it, where you're allowed

to use it. There are a lot of questions that come into play when

you're finding an extended warranty that makes sense for you.

And a quick brochure and chat really isn't the best way to make

a decision on a plan. So taking the time can be really important

to really look through the contract and work with somebody who

you feel is educating you on the good and bad. The you know, what's

covered, what's not covered, that's really important.

Okay, so along the same lines, if you're at the dealership and maybe

they're pressuring you to just sign it, we don't have time for you

to read it. You know, it's just not working out where you can

read it and fully understand it because, you know, you can't just

read those things in five minutes. You know, it takes time.

So would you Recommend just kind of passing on at that point

in time because they can add an extended warranty anytime after

the purchase.

If you don't feel like you really know what you're getting,

take your time. You can go through an online provider. You can

usually even if you went back to the dealer a week later, I'm pretty

sure they wouldn't turn you down on selling you that plan. But

once you've had time to make a decision you feel good about, that's

when you want to move forward. And it's so important to know that

you have options outside of the dealership. Now there are dealer

plans that are great, that are going to be there for you, that have

great coverage. It's not that every dealer plan is bad, but it

really is that last add on that you just don't have time to

really make a competent decision on. And that's why looking

ahead of time too. So don't wait just until you're in that F

and I office to look into an extended warranty. Get your quotes

ahead of time, know what questions to ask. Your dealer can

kind of set you up for success.

Okay, very good. Yeah, so having your options and knowing what

they are is very good. Now the other thing too is you buy an extended

warranty, are you stuck going back to that? Stuck. Are you. Are

you stuck going to a certain type of RV repair facility or can

you have a mobile guy come out? What's the deal on that?

Yeah, so it really depends on where you buy. So if you buy from

a dealership that does have a repair facility on site, most contracts

are going to say you need to take it back to that dealer if your

breakdown is within usually 100 miles or something, you know,

within that range. And then most policies will let you take it

kind of anywhere. There are dealer policies that are, that will

restrict you to like a certain subset of repair facilities or dealerships.

Something that we look for as a broker when we choose which policies

to offer is flexibility. Because RVers are traveling. So the

whole, you know, that's kind of the name of the game. And so we

don't want to limit you to where you can take your RV when it

does break down. So something to look for in policies is that you

can take them to any licensed repair facility in the US or Canada.

Licensed just means that they are in business to work on RVs. They

have a tax ID number. It can't be your super mechanical friend.

Even though they might do an amazing job, the warranty company

is probably not going to want to pay them. And then also we have

policies that not only allow you to use a mobile mechanic, but

will pay additional fees for their travel fee to come out to you.

So if that's something that's important to you, if you tend to

boondock or you set up camp and you do not want to be packing

things up just to get, you know, something relatively small,

covered or repaired, look for a policy that allows for mobile mechanic

and might even pay for some of the travel fee. We see mobile mechanics

as kind of the future. We've really seen a huge increase in the

number of RVers using that. So something to look for in a policy

as well. Something that we have in our policies.

Very good. Yes. Become a very, very common anymore. Especially here

in Montana, a lot of people lived in their rv, so they need that

mobility because they don't want to tear everything down. In

fact, they can't in a lot of cases. Okay, so very good. So now

when you're buying one of these, is there, you know, do you

have to have a note from your mother and you know, 4,000 documents

to buy an extended warranty or is it pretty simple?

It's usually pretty simple. So we just, you know, require some basic

RV information. We'll want to know the most recent odometer, something

that is unique to wholesale warranties. So you won't find this

everywhere. But it's something that we really like, is that we do

require on a used unit an inspection, an RV inspection prior

to putting that warranty into place. And what that looks like is

we have a. We work with a company that has a network of inspectors

across the U.S. they come out to your location on your schedule

and they take a mechanical review to say everything in this

RV is in working condition. Right now the refrigerator is getting

cool. There's no funky noises when we take a quick test drive.

There's no, you know, obvious signs of rust or water damage or

any of those, you know, obvious signs that something is already

wrong with the rv. And once you get that inspection done, you

basically have a clean bill of health. So when you, you know, sign

your contract and a week later you have an engine failure, well,

you have an inspection that shows my engine was working when

that policy went into place. So you have got to go ahead and cover

that claim. Now with some other policies, they'll do one of

two things. They'll deny pretty much everything in the first

few months as a pre existing condition. And you don't really have

any way to tell them no, it was working when I Got that policy.

Or they will have a waiting period. And so even though you sign

today, you can't make claims for 30 days and 1,000 miles. And

depending on the type of RV or you are, 1,000 miles might take you

a while to hit that. So you might not be making claims for, you

know, several months of your policy. So that is the one thing

takes a little bit of time. But we do love that inspection because

it really protects the owner of the RV from those early denials

due to preexisting condition.

Yeah, and that's interesting because a lot of people will have

a brand new RV inspected before they ever buy it.

Yeah.

And interestingly enough, they find a lot of problems and they end

up passing on that rv. So how much more so would it make sense

to have it done for a used rv? Now, does the person who's talking

to you guys about a policy and having the RVs inspected, do they

pay for that inspection?

It's part of the warranty. So we take an initial payment to cover

the cost of the inspection and then that's part of the overall cost

of the warranty. Now if you have that inspection and they find

a lot of things wrong and you say, hey, I'm actually not going

to move forward with that policy after all because I'm not

buying that RV. It's not a refundable down payment, but it is

$450. And if that saves you from buying a, you know, $150,000

RV with a lot of issues, we've had people thank us for it. So it

is that initial payment and, but then it is part of the overall

cost of the rv. And it's especially great if you're still

process of purchasing it because if they find some minor things,

you can still usually get your dealer or the private party that's

selling you to take care of those before you take possession

of the RV.

Right. Actually, $450 is pretty inexpensive compared to a

lot of inspection services. So that's pretty good.

Absolutely. Yeah.

Now, so somebody, let's say somebody buys a new RV and so that

has a manufacturer's warranty on it, on the RV itself appliance,

while the appliances and so forth are through the manufacturer

of those appliances. But so they buy your warranty and there's

going to be an overlap there. How does that work?

Yeah, so when your RV is brand new and you have that manufacturer

coverage, you will have an overlap with the extended warranty

if you put it on the RV at the same time. And the manufacturer warranty

will take precedence. So if you still have that manufacturer

policy, they're going to ask you to go talk to the manufacturer

first. So a lot of people will say, well, why would I get it at

that time? And the reality is, the warranty companies, the adjusters

who price out those policies, they know you have a manufacturer

warranty if it's a 20, 25 right now. Right. A current model

year. And so they give you the best rate, the highest level of coverage,

and the longest term you will ever get on an extended warranty

is when it's brand new, when you're still under that manufacturer

warranty coverage. And so while you will have somebody else

to talk to during maybe that first year, and then other stuff

starts to drop off. Right. So your engine may have a couple of

years, but your refrigerator may have six months. And it's a little

bit all over the place. You can go to your warrant, your extended

warranty once those manufacturer policies drop off. Now,

if you don't want that overlap in coverage, you might pay a little

bit more for it. But that is one of the benefits of having an

alternative to a dealership at the time of purchase. You can come

to wholesale warranties. If your manufacturer warranty is expiring

or it's up, we'll just do that inspection, and that helps us get

your policy into place.

Okay, so there's some good points in there because some things

do drop off sooner. So you're covered.

Yeah.

And now let me ask you a question, though. Just let's say

it's the interior lights of an rv. They have touch lights, and every

light proves to be defective, like within the first year, and the

manufacturer says, no, we're not going to warranty these. And

the lights are just some generic, you know, offshore light.

You can't find a manufacturer or anything. So would wholesale or

would an extended warranty cover that?

So it really depends. If it's considered a defect, a manufacturer

defect, then that wouldn't be covered. But if it's an issue that

is not covered by a manufacturer warranty, and that's

a mechanical and electrical issue, you can definitely turn to

your extended warranty. And your coverage is in place from day

one. So as those things either fall outside of manufacturer coverage,

or you have that manufacturer coverage dropping off on certain

things, you can absolutely go to your policy. You can also use

it for additional benefits. It comes with. So a lot of the policies

will come with like a little bit of towing, lockout, service,

fluid delivery. Our policies all come with tire and wheel protection,

and that Starts day one. So you don't have manufacturer warranty,

but that says you can use your extended warranty for it.

Okay, great. So that even is an example of a question you can

ask when you're looking for a warranty. You know, things like that.

Because that happens sometimes. The manufacturer said

no or they can't get them anymore. You're on your own. So that's

good to know whether you're covered or not, because you don't

want to have the attitude that you're covered with. You're not.

Right.

You'll look at it differently. Okay, perfect. Now, the other thing

too is, let's say I'm going to buy a used RV and I'm going to buy

it from my neighbor. I'm not going to go to the dealership. So

can I get a warranty from wholesale warranties?

Absolutely, yes. We do a ton of warranties on private party purchases

both ways, actually. So you could also transfer your warranty.

A lot of people will put a warranty on their unit to have it

have a higher resale value when they do sell their vehicle.

Private party. And for people who are buying a used unit from a

private party, that's one of the times that I absolutely probably

wouldn't move forward without a warranty because even if it looks

like it's in great condition, you really don't know what's been

going on with that rv. So we can definitely do a policy on a private

party purchase. That's where that inspection comes into play.

Really big, really great to have that a third party go in and

take a look at everything, make sure it's all in working condition

and. Yep, absolutely, we can do that.

All right, perfect. So, you know, one of the things that you,

you mentioned that buying a used RV and it looks really good.

I hear it all the time. I just bought this used rv. It looks absolutely

wonderful, you know, and I go out and look at it and I find. Start

finding things right away. Within seconds I'm, oh, that's bad,

that's bad, that's bad. And so they really didn't get the deal they

thought they got. That's where that extended warranty would come

in. The inspection actually would really alleviate some of that

pain later on.

Absolutely, yes.

Okay, now on the inspection, is there a big process of that or

pretty much just you guys send someone out and they take care of

it and go through the checklist?

Yep, we send someone out. They'll contact you. They can go

to a dealership or to, you know, wherever the RV Is located.

So if you have it, you already have ownership still come to your

house or your storage facility or they'll work with the dealership.

So they'll go and they'll usually the dealership will want

to have a sales rep or somebody out there with them. And

they walk through. Takes two to three hours. You have to have

access to shore power, so they can kind of test everything. You

want to turn it on a couple hours before the inspection. So things

like the refrigerator have a chance to get cool. And they just.

They kind of walk around. They have their full checklist. You get

a copy of it afterward as well, which is really nice. So that

comes with lots of images and lots of, you know, pass, fail, or,

you know, something was a little weird here, but it's probably

gonna pass a lot of notes on there. They do have a test drive

if it is a motorhome, which is, you know, nice to kind of get

a couple of miles under your belt. The inspector doesn't do that

part, so somebody does have to drive it. But it. It's a really easy

process to set up. Takes just a couple of hours. And it protects

you, you know, on kind of from every front, from purchasing it and

from getting the warranty and making sure everything's going to

be covered.

Yeah, so that sounds pretty smart. So listening to what you said,

I would think that if you're going to buy a used rv, maybe from

a private party, even a dealership, sometimes dealerships

aren't as cooperative as a private party might be. You know,

I've heard of that. I've seen it where they just don't want to

do everything. But a private party, if you reassure them that

all they're going to do is come inspect it, they're not taking

things apart. They're not going to, you know, pull your roof

off to look at the inside, anything like that. But also, when

it's all said and done, that person who's selling it now would

have a list of anything that is hindering the sale of it that

they would already know they'd be able to. It's discovery is what

it is.

Yeah, absolutely. It really covers everybody. It's a benefit

that we, you know, built into our policies because it helps us

get you that day one coverage. We don't want to deal with waiting

periods and things like that. But the more that we offered it,

the more we realized it with helping customers in so many parts

of their, you know, RV buying process, the warranty buying process,

and it's been a really great Benefit for our customers.

All right, great. So now Wholesale Warranties is just an online

brand, you know, like so many others. That sounds so bad. Who really

is Wholesale Warranties? What's the background of the company?

Yeah, so Wholesale Warranties was founded by Jeff Shelton, the

owner. He was actually a full time rver when he sounded Wholesale

Warranties. And so he had that firsthand experience of having breakdowns

and how costly they were and how much of a pain they can be. And

he also had the experience of growing up around RV and boat dealerships

with his family. So he had, you know, known people who sold warranties.

He had an idea of that. He saw it go through the dealerships and

saw that people didn't really understand what they were getting.

Again, it's the end of that long day in the sni office. They

were feeling frustrated with their policies and he thought, you

know, why don't we just go direct to the customer? Let's, you

know, cut out the middleman, get him the best price possible.

And then the thing that really sets us apart, and I think this is

because he has that firsthand experience of having those, those

failures while traveling. We have a, an internal customer advocacy

department, a customer service department, and we don't process

your claims in house. We're a broker. We work with a couple of

different policies. But if you ever have an issue, if something

isn't being covered and you think it should be, if you just forgot

who you're supposed to call, you're stuck on the side of the road

and you're stressed, if they're covering, you know, 90% of

the claim and you're wondering why that last 10% isn't covered.

We have a staff dedicated to just that. They're going to work

with you. They'll talk to your repair facility, they'll talk to

the warranty company and they'll smooth out any issues and

get anything that should be covered is going to be covered. We

go to bat for our customer. We don't work for the warranty companies.

We, you know, if they are not treating our customers well, we will

discontinue using them. And so we really put the customer first.

So hold on. Warranties is all about protecting your, your RV travels

because we're founded by somebody who knows how great they

are. Right? And so everything that we do is really education and

customer service focused. And we want to make sure that you understand

your policy, you know how to use it. And if you run into any issues,

you're not, not alone. You know, you have somebody to turn to.

That's going to go to bat for you, make sure everything that should

be covered is going to be covered.

All right, that's excellent. Because I know there are times, I

know from experience here in our business that RVers come in,

they think it's covered and it should be covered. You're reading

the contract, but they're coming up these little loopholes,

why it's not now, and they're just stuck. It's between them and

the warranty company or us in the warranty company. You know, we

don't really have any skin in the game, so they don't care about

us, and they've already got their money. So you kind of don't

care about the customer sometimes. So that's great to know.

Yeah, absolutely.

All right, so I think you've covered everything. You've answered

a lot of questions. I'm sure there's more. Many people that are

listening to this podcast are probably coming up with a zillion

questions of their own. So if you have any questions or you want

to get a quote, you can. In the description of this podcast,

there's a link to wholesale warranties to contact them. And so

use that link. It'll take you right to them, and you can ask all

your questions, get a free quote, everything you need to know.

So, Stacey, I really appreciate you stopping by today.

You answered a lot of questions for us. I think it's very

clear how extended warranty will work for an RV and also explore

your options like you brought out. Those options are very important.

So really, again, I want to thank you again.

Thank you so much. It was great to be here. Great to chat with

you, and we look forward to answering any other questions that

come up. That's what we're here for.

All right, so that was a great interview. Stacy. Really brought

to life a lot of the information and the. The details

of getting an extended warranty or rv, even the pros and

cons. So if you want a quote from wholesale warranties, there's

a link in the description of this podcast, and it'll take you

to their website where you can get a free quote. So we appreciate

it if you use that link and it makes life easier. And if you're

serious about an extended warranty, they are the guys to talk

to first. All right, now this brings us to the next stop. So, Alexis,

are you ready for Odessa, Texas?

Odessa.

Oh, mama.

Have you ever seen that SNL skit where the old people are calling

the Alexa every name but what it is? No, because this reminded

me the name when they're like, odessa, tell me the weather. So that's

why I picked it. I'm just kidding. So anyway, with that intro.

Let me read you a little a better intro about Odessa because

I thought this was really interesting. So I'm just going to

stop and cattle shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway.

Its name is believed to come from Ukrainian immigrants who thought

the region's flat, open plains resembled their homeland. The discovery

oil hub, attracting workers and businesses eager to. To cash

in on the. On the money. So despite its rough and tumble reputation

in the early years, Odessa actually grew into a thriving city

known for its cowboy culture, oil industry, and even a touch of

Hollywood fame. Did you know this? The Friday Night Lights. This

is where it was filmed, so.

Oh, really?

Yeah. So I thought that was interesting. Pretty cool. Yeah. So

there's a lot to do there. There's quite a few museums, really

neat museums. One of them is the Odessa Meteor Crater and Museum.

Very interesting. That's open from Tuesday to Sunday. And they

offer a glimpse into cosmic uniqueness. That's what it says.

Cosmic uniqueness. Oh, man.

I don't know. It sounds a little hippie dippy.

No, I'm just in Texas. Cosmic Uni.

And then there's an art museum. Ellen Noel Art Museum. Let's

see. It's a Smithsonian. Smithsonian affiliated institution.

I don't really know what that means, so we're gonna move right

along. You can also go to their theater. It's a globe of the

great Southwest. I've heard a lot of things about this place, too.

This is pretty cool. There's a lot of really good shows at this

theater. So if you're in the area, that's definitely one. And

love that. So for those art lovers out there, theater lovers.

Okay.

Yeah. And then there's. We always talk about food. Okay. And

I found some really good ones this time. When you're in Texas,

I always think barbecue. Okay. So the first one we've got is the

legendary Barn Door Steakhouse. Sounds so good. Obviously

they have steak there. Another one is Brantley Creek. Barbecue.

Anything you can imagine as far as barbecue goes. Baked beans,

cornbread, coleslaw, just. Oh, sounds so good right now. And then

let's talk about RV parks, because this is for RVers. So Mesquite

Oasis RV Park. Is one of them. Lots of spots, lots of opportunity

to wash your clothes if you don't have. If you're not a fancy

person and don't have a washer and dryer in your rv. And then there's

Park Place, RV resort. It's got basketball courts, barbecue grilling

stations. They've got a big place with a pool table, shuffleboard,

tv, lounge area. So just everything that makes you feel like

home. So this place really is cool. It's very, very neat. Texas

in itself is a very unique state. I've never been there. My

husband has, he says the cleanest, like, highways he's ever

seen. So that's kind of cool. So the infrastructure there is really,

really nice. So I recommend a visit.

You know, we started off a little shaky there, but you got a

little better. Thank you. You sold it a little bit better. Yeah.

It makes me think of that show on tv. It's a cartoon about the family

that lives in Texas. The guy sells propane. His son's name is

Bobby.

Oh, yeah. King of the hill.

Yeah, King of the hill. Aren't they from Odessa, Texas?

Probably sounds like that.

So Odessa, Texas, like a cartoon city?

I don't know.

All right, so anyway, so anywhere in Tex, Texas has got to

be good. Everything's big, bad. I mean, they got barbecue stations.

I. I mean, what do they like, back up a cow and. Well, I probably

do slice and dice it right there.

That's. That's the best.

Fresh off the ranch. All right, very good. Now, your husband's

name is Cole?

Yes, it is.

And they have Coleslaw there.

Yeah, I call him that sometimes.

So I kind of like that. Coleslaw.

Coleslaw.

So Cole's in the room right now, and he's kind of looking like,

oh, man, these guys.

He's our director. He's mean to us. He's shaking his head.

Right. Amazingly enough, we're going to talk about Pecos, Texas,

which is kind of right next door.

Kind of.

There's. What was that? Fort Stockton in between.

Yep.

If you're in Odessa and you want to go to Fort Stockton on your

way to Pecos, you can. Now, Fort Stockton, I think is just a

gas stop. Really? Pretty.

Pretty much, yeah.

Nothing too exciting there. At least that we know of in our vast

research. But let's. Let me tell you a little story about Pecos,

Texas.

Okay.

It just so happens I have one of these. Remember the last podcast?

Think I said I had a book of these?

Yeah, you did.

And I just keep pulling pages out from Grandpappy Grandpappy. Popeye.

All right, here we go. So this is the dust and the glory of Pecos.

Pecos, Texas, squats loan the the Chihuahuan Desert, where the

Pecos Rivers carves a stubborn line through the dust. Back in the

1880s, it was just a speck, a cattle camp where cowboys watered

their herds after long drives up the river. Then the Texas and

A depot hammered into the dirt by men with calloused hands and big

friendly bet turned into a wild spectacle. Roping, riding and

bronc busting were right there in the open scrub. Folks came from

miles around, cheering under the brutal sun. And Pecos claimed

the world's first rodeo. The town swelled with pride, its name

widespread alongside legends like Judge Roy Bean, who dispensed

justice with a whiskey bottle in hand at his Jersey Lily Saloon.

The 20th century brought booms and busts. Irrigation turned the

desert green with cotton and cantaloupes, sweet, juicy orbs that

and sulfur mines roared in the 60s, pumping life into the streets.

But when the mine shut down, the wind took over, whistling through

for fraud, a scandal so big it shook Washington. Pecos weathered

it tough as the land itself. Today, Pecos sits at the crossroads

of i20 US285, a gritty hub of ranching and oil, and the west of

the Pecos Museum, guarding its past in an old hotel. The rodeo still

kicks up dust every summer, echoes of the first one ringing out

on quiet nights. You can hear the river murmur and the train rumble.

Reminders of a town forged by sweat, stubbornness and a little

bit of glory. Wow, that was just amazing. Pecos, isn't that.

Where is Paul Bunyan? Someone's got to be from there.

I don't think so.

Is Paul Bunyan a real person?

I think it's a fiction.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

All right then. Yeah. I don't know. Pecos has been named in so

many movies and stuff and westerns, and so it's just got to

be one of the places to go. And also near there is, we've talked

about in the past, the Big Bend National Park.

Yeah, so?

So you've got Odessa, which is just a hub to every gather group

together. And you got Pecos, you got Fort Stockton. You Got Big

Bend national park and there's another one right next to Big Ben.

Then there's another little ghost town in between those two national

parks. We were going to talk about that, remember? Yeah. Remember

what it was? Yeah. So that came and went. You can check out

these articles on our website, the smartoveryear.com under the next

section, Odessa, Texas and Pecos. And you can learn a little

bit more about them, get curious and do a little exploration

of your own there. So now that's going to move us into RV envy.

And today we're going to talk about LP lines and the quality over

price. When you're buying propane lines, do you buy by quality

or do you buy by price? And price is a huge thing anymore. And

we go to websites online, we buy cheap, low quality lines because

they're cheap, save a few bucks, get free shipping and is it

worth it? You know, and they only last six months a year. You

know, I just did a video that's on YouTube maybe a couple

months ago and showed some propane lines that weren't very old

and how the fitting just blew out of one. So the crimp comes loose

and it doesn't look like it's loose and the fitting pops out. And

so that's dangerous.

Yeah, very.

Because that's like a real leak. Yeah. And other lines, they

just crack so quickly, you know, six months a year. We see it

all the time in the store.

Yeah, we do.

And I always ask people how old they are, where they got them,

if they remember. And it's always low quality lines. And even

a lot of the RV stores sell brands that are not good brands.

You know, we sell MB Sturgis for the lines that we sell over the

counter. And it's an okay brand. I mean, we haven't really

had any issues with them at all.

We haven't.

And they seem to hold up. People aren't coming in. Well, I

bought these here a year ago or six months ago. We don't hear

that.

No.

But we decided to make our own lines because we've been making propane

lines for, I don't know, 40 years. And the quality is just better.

They're going to last. They outlast anything out there and you're

just kind of done with it. And that's what we recommend is buying

quality lines. It's just hard to find. Like currently the hose

we're using is made by Parker, which is American company, huge company.

They provide propane line for massive industries, the railroad,

I mean everything, anywhere you got propane lines. They're there

trucking, so they've been around a long time. They know how

to do it. And their lines are good. They're thicker, they're rubbery,

they hold up in the sun, the elements. I highly recommend finding

lines like that. If you can find a place that'll make them, that's

the way to go. Because generally when they're making them,

they're selling a better quality line than the stuff you get

from most stores and on the Internet, because all that stuff

comes from overseas, from China primarily. And it's whatever.

They sell it and that's the end of it. You know, propane line,

like we said earlier, you know, don't panic, don't freak. But

yet, why deal with it if you can just avoid it? It.

Yeah.

And so what we're doing on our website, the sunpromfg.com and there'll

be a link to it in this podcast description. If you use the

promo code pro kit, you'll get 10% off, and that'll last till April

2nd. So that's 10% off, and that'll be two lines and a bottle

of leak detector. So that's pretty much it is.

Yeah.

You know, and these are good lines.

Oh, yeah.

These ain't no jungle lines. Jungle lines. There you go. Or the

we're gonna get canceled. Or the online garage sale.

Yeah, that too.

You know, they sell all the fake and counterfeit stuff. So I

don't want to get too negative. There are some good companies

online that do on sell good stuff. You know, some are just worse

than others. But anyways, let's get back to the reality here.

You got to have good propane lines. It's a necessity. It avoids

or helps you avoid problems when you're out on the road. And

that's what we want to do. Avoid those problems. So Again, go

to sunpromfg.com or actually use the link in this description.

You'll be able to use that promo code, prokit, and save 10%,

and that'll last until April 2nd. All right, so that's bringing

us to the end of the show today. This next episode will be

in two weeks. Episode number 174. We had a great show today. Alexis

told us all about Odessa, Texas.

Yes.

And Bobby and Frank are happy. Bobby, what's the dad's name?

Hank.

Hank.

Yeah. So what a great. And we got coleslaw.

Coleslaw.

All right, so we had a great show today. A lot of good information.

If you can, you go to the smartarver.com all that information

is there so you can read it and do with it what you will. But

it'll definitely perk up your curiosity about traveling, do a little

bit more and taking on problems on your RV and the wholesale

warranty side of it. So it's great stuff. All right, everybody,

so this is I want to thank you for stopping by today. This is Eric

Stark with the Smart RVer podcast, your go to guide for smarter

RVing and unforgettable adventures on the open road.