Go Rving & the RV 250: Road Trips, RV Data & the Freedom of RVing with Monika Geraci

Hey everybody. This is a fun episode today. And I've been looking forward to this one for quite a while. We've actually emailed back and forth for I don't know, probably four or five weeks now because this lady is so busy. Um, but we're gonna talk about something so much bigger than anyone's rig or any season in the RV. This year, the United States turned 250 years old, and the RV Industry Association has built a whole thing around that called the RV 250. And so I'm bringing on someone today who lives kind of right at the intersection of RV data, RV trends, the storytelling behind the brands, and wants to help us understand what this initiative is and what it's about, but where it's headed. Now, you might know Monica best by Go R Ving, but she's also in RVTI, which is the RV Technical Institute. She's super down to earth and humble, but she's been in here quite a few years. And I think she's been working in the industry for what, like 15 years or so, maybe a little longer. Welcome to the podcast, Monica.

Thank you for having me, Jennifer. Yeah, I've been around, been around a minute. I think this month was actually my 16th year with the RV Industry Association. So great industry. Love, love my job. So, so happy to be a part of of this wonderful industry for so long.

But you're more than just, you know, somebody that works in the industry because you grew up around RVs, did you not? I did.

I am one of five children and grew up, was born in Southern California, and then spent middle school and high school in Colorado. And so I saw the western part of this country out the back window of our 40-foot dolphin. Um three girls got the the big bed in the back. My parents were on the pull-out couch, and my brothers got the got the table until we were old enough. And then, you know, a lot of people want to get off the ground, out of the tents, into RVs. When you're a kid, you're like, can I sleep in the tent? Can I sleep in the tent? Because it was that uh level of of freedom. So uh yes, been lifelong RVer. Uh loves to take my my girls out when we when we can as well. So yeah, been a part of my life always.

Yeah, well, and I love that about you. So many people in the RV industry are not in the RV industry, if that makes sense. And so it's very cool that you are still very much a part of that, but you're kind of at an intersection of the whole thing because, you know, with Go RVing and everything else, you know, you've got the data, you've got the trends, you know, you've got all sorts of things. But how did that path actually come together for you?

I actually started in the association in the government affairs realm, reading bills, lobbying positions, um, started down the lobbying path, but I really like the communications part of it. Um, the RV Industry Association has a big fly-in where our members come in and head up to Capitol Hill to advocate on issues on behalf of the industry. I mean, one we're working on right now is to get no tax on RV loans so that could be up to $10,000 back that you do you wouldn't pay interest on RV loans. So things like that. Um, so that was one of my first big initiatives. And then our economic impact study, we did that for the first time back in 2016. So able to articulate exactly how big this industry was. If someone snapped their fingers and the RV industry just didn't exist, what would that hole in the economy be? And it's 170 billion now because that's not just what RV sales are. That's there's a lot of people. They're the tourism dollars of your listeners out there using their RVs. There are the wages that the people who are building these RVs put back into the economy. So really love that data piece and the communications. And as you mentioned in your intro, I run PR and communications for not only Go R V, our consumer-facing marketing arm of the whole RV industry, but also the RV Industry Association and then the RV Technical Institute. So it's there's lots of different data pieces, there are lots of different stories, lots of audiences to talk to in all of the great things that our industry is doing.

Yeah, and it's not the same audience, and I don't think people know that. Like each audience is kind of a separate entity. That's the other side of it is that data tells you information, but there's a lot of information out there that like the road doesn't necessarily guess that you have insider access to. So I don't think people realize that either.

Yeah, there's a ton of different data that we have and how that can be used. So information on the number of RV techs out there, how many are certified, what they want out of being certified. But that RV tech area is is so interesting. And talking to wannabe techs, there's, you know, AI is fantastic, but like, what is AI going to do? Um, but we know AI is not going to be fixing RVs, turning those wrenches anytime soon. And so having a an AI-proof job, if you will, an RV tech, and we've got the technical institutions to do that. So talking to potential techs, talking to current techs about how you can elevate your skills is one thing. Talking to dealers on why you should have certified techs and how that's going to not only improve the customer experience, let's let's fix the RV right the first time. And having technicians that are more highly trained, ideally certified, is going to get you there. So, and how that works back down to the manufacturers and the suppliers who build the RVs. If you've got trained technicians that you're helping create that curriculum and that training, the whole industry works together better because ultimately that is what the industry wants. And what we should want is the better customer experience, all the way from the OEMs that are building the RVs, the suppliers putting the components in them, dealers who are selling them, and then the campgrounds as well. So the industry works really well together and using that data across all of those pieces. So that's just one kind of example with the RV Techno Institute.

It's a symbiotic relationship, and people just don't realize how much that matters, I think. And the role that you guys play in that is huge. So for anyone hearing this for the first time, the RV 250, what is that in plain terms?

Um, RV 250. So we actually launched this initiative just about a year ago with three road trips. And the idea is what better way to celebrate America's 250th birthday than in an RV? Uh, so this initiative was based initially on travel itineraries. And it didn't have to be, you don't have to hit this exact one, but we put a six-month travel itinerary. Like if you want to just let's just do it, and hitting some major historical sites across the entire country. It's a whole loop. If you want to be a little more conservative, maybe let's take a six-week trip and that takes you across the country. So again, hitting some really great historical landmarks. And then let's be more realistic. What if we have just a long weekend, like a four or five-day weekend, and doing one around the nation's capital? And where can you hit some of those really foundational US history landmarks? And so that's what we started with and launched this with the idea of there are over eight million RVers out there, and even more people who take RV trips, people who rent and borrow, stay at park model RV cabins at at campgrounds. So there's a there's a lot of people. There's 72 million people who say they plan to RV this year, and calling to action all of those people and having this celebration of America's birthday. So we ended up with over 20 of these itineraries. But again, you don't have to take this exact trip, but it's just to spark that idea of like this is where these would be some great places to stop. The team worked with destination marketing organizations, local travel bureaus across states and cities. Uh, we had a really great one for Philadelphia if you wanted to go do uh a trip to Philadelphia, one for New England. Um, you know, you don't think Boston, and you're like, I'm gonna take my RB to Boston. Fun fact, I I actually went to college in in downtown Boston, and my sophomore year moved into an apartment, and my dad delivered my furniture in a class A motorhome that he drove down the streets of Boston. So you can take a Class A motorhome down the streets of Boston. You know, drive right by Fenway. I wouldn't recommend it regularly, but it can it can be done. Can be done. It can be done. But there's the Freedom Trail and then outside of Boston, places that are foundational for our history. So a lot of you know insight and recommendations there. So that's the that's the basis of the RB250 initiative.

And do you think that that's this is like RVIA's like the beginning of their involvement in that? Do you think that that'll be like something they do for years coming for travelers?

So tips and inspiration is a bedrock of Go R Ving. Go R Ving is the consumer-facing marketing arm of the industry. We at Go R Ving do not care which RV, what type. We do not sell specific RVs. We just want to promote RVing and want people to find the right RV for them. So we provide a ton of how-to tips and inspiration. Um, and some of that comes in the form of these travel guides. Maybe you'll take this exact trip, maybe you won't, but it's getting in front of people and being like, oh, that looks really cool. Um, so this is a bedrock of what GoR Ving does, both inspirational trip itineraries. We also share stories of people who have taken trips, and then they're that's more of the storytelling of amazing trips that people have gone on, um, connections they've made with family, friends, pets, all of those fun things. And then expert advice. So on winterizing, on visiting a show for the first time. For people who don't know like anything about RVing, maybe they came across your podcast, maybe they came across a you know, an RV reel as they're scrolling and they land on Go R Ving's website. It's like, okay, so I'm gonna go to a show and like what do I do? Or I do want to go to a dealer a lot, but what should I expect when I arrive? So Go R Ving's here to try to demystify that, try to make it as easy as possible for people to become RV owners. So, where does RV250 fit into this? It's a special, it'll end up being about 16, 17 month initiative. We are nearing towards the end of it. Um something we launched in January of this year that was like part two as we rolled out this initiative were these passports. I do have one. Is the RV250 travel passport? And so inside, so these were available and they are still available at about 250 dealer locations. So we worked with our dealer partners and we're like, who who wants these? And we sent packets of these passports that you could, it's got a cool map that you can color in, and then just pages for your trips that you take. Like, where did you go? Um, what was your favorite part? Who did you go with? And then everyone loves the sticker. So they all came with a sticker sheet that you could put there. You can do whatever you want with stickers, but ideally, like you fill this in. So these were and are available at about 250 dealer locations across the the country. And then in tandem with launching this, and there's a there's a QR code here, but it's also on our website, go rving.com slash RV250, was a it's not a contest, um, but we encouraged people to submit photos of their RV250 trips. And if anyone who submits photos that show you and your RV, we mail out a piece of go rving swag. We've got like flashlights, um, some little bags. It's a variety of different go rving swag that's mailed out. And then we're about two weeks away from doing through the 15th of this month. Anyone who submits photos is entered to win $5,000 towards uh your next camping adventure. So it's still open for about two more weeks. So I encourage people to send us their photos if you want to be entered to win that. Um, we've had really good feedback. We've gotten some fantastic user-generated content. That's what it is. We're we're calling for people to raise their hand and say, I'm an RVer. I went on an RV trip to celebrate America's birthday, or I just went on an RV trip, you know, and hear some fun photos from it. Because that's what Go RV prides itself on is sharing authentic stories from real RVers. And so having that, putting this call out for send us like your your real photos. And we've already started using those in some of our social posts, and we're gonna continue to to do that through this campaign.

That's fantastic. So a couple years ago, actually, I acquired Learn to RV from a friend of mine named Doug. This was actually his brand for years. When he said he was ready to give it up, I didn't want to just go into the RV community because we've been full time since 2013. I wanted to be able to continue to tell people's stories. And as the R V community evolves, I don't know, I just care about it. And I I don't get paid to care about it. It's just who I am. And when we came into this season with Learn to R V and last year starting the podcast, one of my friends said, You should start a podcast. And I was like, I don't need to start a podcast. And you know, here we are a year later. Um, we just hit our hundredth episode, and it it's crazy that we did that in under a year. We're not gonna try that for season three. We're not going for another hundred this year. I don't know, who knows? It could happen. But the reality is we want Learn to RV to grow in a very organic way where education is paramount, and things like Go RVing and RVTI are such a natural fit for what we're doing on this side of things. And there's no fee and there's no paywall for the groups that we have in Learn to RV. I started a ladies-only group a year ago at a Tiffin rally, and I did this ladies seminar, and I had a lady come up to me and she said, I don't know how to do anything. And I was like, What do you mean? She goes, Well, my husband, he does everything, but he doesn't want to give me a checklist, and I keep asking him for one. And I was like, Well, let's equip you. And so I started this Facebook group for ladies only. There's only like 200 ladies in there, but it's a place where they can safely ask those questions and I can find out the answer because I have enough RV Texas friends that if I don't know the answer, I can get it for you without having it explained in a way that's demeaning or anything like that. So we want to make sure that that's accessible for everybody and we don't want to put it behind a paywall. Now, that being said, my husband calls this my pet project. So, you know, a good chunk of our audience. You could have worse hobbies.

I think this is a pretty, pretty great one to have.

Yeah. Well, thank you. So, you know, a good chunk of our audience is either brand new to this lifestyle, you know, hence the name Learn to RV, or seriously considering it. A lot of people will say to us, I don't need that because I already RV and I tell people there's new things all the time, and we want to be the place to share that information with you. But what resources does RVIA have specifically for people just starting out?

Yeah, so that is what the GoRV platform really strives to be. That essential resource for new and aspiring RVers. We have a really cool who doesn't love an online quiz that's a it's a short, it's about five to seven questions that is pretty high level, but who who's coming with you? Like, is it is it you are you a solo traveler? Is it you and a partner? Are you bringing the whole family? Um you and the the pets, like what are you wanting to tow or drive? Because that's let's be honest, that's one of the biggest decisions to to be made is do you want a motorhome or are you going to like 90% of the market have have a towable? Do you already have a tow vehicle? And if so, like what is that tow vehicle? Are you with an SUV? There are options that you can tow with an SUV, or do you have a full-size truck? So just that first, like help me choose high level. It'll spit out a couple options, but then also side by side RV type comparison. Like, what's the difference between a class A and a class B? I don't know who named these. I don't know why we went biggest, smallest, middle one. Like I I wasn't, I wasn't around when we decided class A was biggest, class B smallest, class C is middle of the road. Like, I don't know, but that's not intuitive to people. So explaining that, what is a fifth wheel? Not everyone knows what what a fifth wheel is. And so having those explanations, having we've got a whole series of 101 videos and part of our newbie toolkit. So really, like what is the black tank? What is the gray tank? What do you do with them? How did how to tow? And these aren't these aren't deep dives into these items, but it's enough to give people a level of like, okay, like demystifying it, having like first trip planning checklists and best practices, you know, like let's let's maybe not do the the six-week trip if you're if you're first starting out, let's do a a weekend shakedown trip at the RV park that's less than an hour from from home. My my older brother has been. I think he legitimately has owned. Well, I have RV'd consistently my entire life. He has owned RVs, like his entire life. And so he just got his latest one last year. And very experienced RV owner. They took that sucker to the RV park that's 25 minutes away. Like that's where they did their first trip. Like it's those kind of things that, of course, he knows that he's been doing this forever. But let's let's not go super far away. You probably forgot something. I'm sure the camp store can help you, Walmart can help you. If you're only you're less than an hour from home, maybe you can just pop back back home and and get what you forgot. So just being a resource of those really practical items and and know-house is what what guarding strives strives to be.

For sure. And I always say you don't know what you don't know until you need to know it. And then you're gonna seek out that information. So there's resources even experienced RVers don't know exist. What do you think they benefit from with Go RVing?

Yeah, so with experienced RVers, there are new things coming out. And this is from Go R V or from the RV Industry Association, RV Technical Institute. I mean, there are a higher pressure monitoring uh system that's now a requirement for for new RVs. Take a step back. Actually, something that not everyone knows. I think a lot of people they look at their RV and they see the RV Industry Association or RVIA seal on the side of their unit. And they're like, what is this? I get phone calls. People often are like, I don't even know what my RV is. Like, who sold this and and all that? That's not what that's for. It's not a tracking sticker. What that seal means is that that RV, that the manufacturer of that RV, certifies that that RV was built to the RV standards. For park model, it's ANSI A119.5. For all other RVs, it's NFPA National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 1192. This is a standard that is updated regularly by third-party NFPA. The industry serves on the committees that make the recommendations, but there are also public comment go into these updates. There are also a handful of additional standards. The part, there's the part of the National Electric Code that applies to RVs. There's a low voltage standard. So there's the external ladder. There is a standard just for that. So there's not a handful of these different standards that manufacturers are members of the RV Industry Association. And a condition of being a member is they have to build their RVs to these safety standards because safety is not a competitive issue. Safety is of paramount importance, is of super importance to everyone in the industry. Quality, like that, that's competitive. That that's not only competitive, it's also subjective. What is quality for one person is and necessary for one person is not for others. Safety, I think we can all agree, we want these things built safely and to the appropriate standard. So that's what it's not a good housekeeping seal of approval. It is showing that the RVs are built to the safety standards. And these safety standards are constantly being updated. Like I said, the TPS system, that's a new requirement that is that is coming out.

Well, and that's so smart. TPMS is so smart to have on as a requirement for everybody because a blowout can not only hurt you, it can hurt so many around you. And so TPMS, we didn't have a TPMS system on our unit until two and a half years ago. And we haul with a big 3500 and we haul a big fifth wheel. But we were fortunate until, you know, we'd never had a blowout. We've had other issues. But TPMS has saved us probably three times just in the last 12 months, where that went off before anything bad or catastrophic happened. And so the other thing that I think that that is important is a fire suppression system. So we actually have a fire suppression system on our unit. And, you know, you pay for that. It's not something that's cheap to have on it. But at the same time, if my unit had a fire, my little things from Pro Tang would go off long before we had a major issue. So that's a huge benefit for us. But I didn't know what an RVI certification was until we got on the road in 2013. And my friends had a school bus. And there's, you know, a lot of talk about converting, you know, an old box truck or why not to do that. And the reality is simple, is to get it RVTI certified is a whole process. It's not just something that you just automatically get the sticker. And so, and that's for the safety of everyone involved. And people just don't realize that.

Yeah, like people also like fun fact. Yeah, I'm gonna shout out my my older brother again. He likes to needle me and he's like, I take that sticker off. Like that's and I'm like, oh my gosh, don't do that. Don't do that. Because the number of people that we get calls from who are asking for replacement, and because what that seal means, it is the manufacturer who is saying this unit, they put it at the end of the line, the army's being built. The manufacturers put that on and they're saying, This meets all the standards. We also have a team of inspectors that go in unannounced um visits and walk the line, check the entire line and um can do deviations if they find things that are not in line with the standards, then those manufacturing plants get deviations of like this is what you need to fix. And and this has not happened, definitely not recently. That, but manufacturers can get kicked out of the association if you have these repeated deviations. So that's what that seal means. So you have to be a member of the association, the manufacturer has to be, and they have to put it on there. So that's where like a schoolie is never gonna be. If you see if you see a schoolie with an RVI sticker, it is not an RVI sticker that was likely bought bootleg, which you know that happens too. And we've had to do some cease and desist orders on uh people who are are selling counterfeit seals because we take that very seriously, because again, this is a safety issue. And so that seal shows that those manufacturers have built that RV to the safety standards when it was built. So that's also once it's out of the plant, that's where I don't know that I've ever heard of a manufacturer providing a replacement seal because they can't certify that what's what an owner has done to that RV in the in the time since it left their plant.

So for sure. I mean, you just can't fabricate that. Like, I mean, you can, but you shouldn't, and you certainly can't do it legally. Yeah. So, well, based on what you're seeing in like the data, then a lot of people have questions about where the RV industry is headed. You know, the numbers this year are scary. I own a business in the RV industry, we've seen it firsthand. Numbers at rallies and events are much lower than they've ever been. You know, I think we just have to push through it, but that's a whole different conversation. But where do you think the RV industry is headed? I think if we just get past this, we'll be fine.

The bones, the bedrock of the industry, they're strong. The interest out there in the RV lifestyle is strong. Our latest demographic profile had 16.9 million households say they want to buy an RV in the next five years. Wanting to buy an RV, like that, that desire, the the lifestyle remains very attractive to many, many people. The economy, the K-shaped economy, the the whatever you want to call it, uncertainty. I think consumer confidence hit the lowest back in May. Then it popped up a little bit in June. I believe last month, though, like it hit a new all-time low. Like it's just people aren't sure. I'm a proponent of of AI. I think AI is gonna make our lives easier, but it's gonna make changes. And I think there's a lot of unsure on what kind of changes. There's headlines that are like AI is gonna create millions of new jobs. Like there's gonna be and it's gonna make your life easier and create millions of new jobs. You got a headline over here, it's going to take everyone's job. You know, what's what's right? Like what's going to happen with autonomy? I think I mean inflation, grocery bills going going up. Like, what what are you going to be able to do? So people who are wanting to make that that jump into the lifestyle, it's still, while it is an affordable way to travel, it still is a large discretionary purchase that that people have to get comfortable with making. Uh, we do quarterly uh polling on people's travel intentions. So looking at like how many people are planning to travel this fall, like 28 million Americans are planning to take a trip this fall. But we also oversample RV owners to get their vibes on what's going on. And for RV owners, people who already own, it is, they're like, I'm gonna take more RV trips because it's I already own the RV. And taking a weekend trip with something that I already own is a way that you can still travel and make it an affordable way. I'm maybe I'm not booking the highest site, highest price point site at the the campground. I'm gonna, I'm gonna back it in. I'm not gonna do the pull through. Like, you know, I'm I'm gonna bring save ten dollars wherever you can.

Yeah, I get it. You know, that's just it. We've been traveling since 2013. We hit the road long before it was cool. Like families weren't doing what we were doing. We hit the road with six out of seven of our kids, and we still have three teens traveling with us. So we still have a family unit essentially traveling with us. Now we own a business in the industry, so now we're kind of committed and maybe overcommitted to being at all the things. But the reality is that, you know, campgrounds are, I am seeing like less people in them. And and I think that's just the nature of things. I think fuel prices have affected that, but not necessarily in a way that everybody else is talking about. I think that you have a trend. And being in this industry for as long as I have been, you know, you see people roll off and on the road every two to four years. So there's the people that come on the road for two years, they do all the things they sought to do. So they did their bucket list and they leave. Or four years in, they're now ready to go settle back down. Sometimes that's the case. Learn to RV isn't just for full timers. Like that's the heart behind it is we want to reach everybody that's out there. So the idea of being able to share with people how to do that weekend trip, even if it's only 25 miles from home, there's some great stuff there that you know you can teach just how to do that and do it more affordably. You know, figuring out where to go, how to do it, the places to go. So this year on Learn to RV, the goal is to highlight some campgrounds. And we'd love to help you get those itineraries out there with some of the writers that we have on our team and working with Go R Ving the trends that most RVers on the road wouldn't necessarily be tracking themselves. What do you think those are? I know that's a hard question.

Yeah. They aren't necessarily tracking themselves. One of the things that surprised me, and this was a survey, so there's always some some margin for error, but but I think this comes back to like people still want to get out, and it's for RV owners that for fall travel, it went back up to that like seven to 10 hour away from home, was where the vast majority of of the RV owners that we we surveyed um for this fall said that they were gonna be traveling. So when you hear this, like gas prices, like all this, like people aren't getting out there, people aren't aren't RVing as much. And there are definitely pockets of that that are true. And there definitely are people who aren't going as much, but there are the people who are going, who are going more. And that was really an interesting to me. If you had asked me beforehand, I would have said that like one to three hour window um was where people were going to be going because of gas prices in particular. Um, because that is also what our research has consistently for the entire time I have been at the organization. It's that yes, gas prices impact people. Gas prices impact everything. They can't, they impact literally everything.

You're well, they impact your entry prices, they impact everything. So, you know, you're gonna pay more for getting things to the store because diesel is higher. Whatever that looks like for you is gonna impact some way or another. And it depends on where you live. Like it's gonna be far more expensive to like winter in Florida or Southern California than it is gonna be to, you know, winter in central Texas because the temperatures reflect that. Yep. Absolutely.

And I I am I'm outside Dallas now. And yeah, and gas prices, I mean, they're they're higher than I'd like, but when I traveled, they're better than where I am. Sure. But that's the beauty of having an RV, right? Is like yeah, you control. Like this was a thing that I I started saying during the pandemic that the biggest um pros of RVing were freedom and control, like freedom to go where you want and to control your environment. And definitely we we had a lot of people turn to R Ving during the pandemic, and that controlling your environment was so important. So, this is something if you've listened to any interviews with me for a while now, freedom and control. But it's it holds true. People still want that freedom to go where they want. And if we want to bring this back to the, you know, RV 250, that freedom, Americans are like, don't tell me what to do. Like, I want to be able to do what I want to do. I want that freedom to control my own destiny, control my itinerary. And that's what you get when you're RBing. But also, we also want control, right? Like, look, I want freedom, but I want to control what I can. And so you can control how far you're going, control your gas prices, control your grocery bill, what the food costs are gonna be when you're on uh a vacation. Control who comes with you. Like you can add another plane ticket, that costs more money, but like, oh, we're gonna, we're gonna throw granny in also, or more importantly, your pets, like not having to board your pets and bringing them with you. So it's that freedom to still be able to travel the way you want while also controlling your costs and your environment is just so integral to to the RV lifestyle.

Yeah, totally. I couldn't agree more, but we still travel, so we're crazy that way. You know, and and the way I look at it is if we were stationary versus traveling, we'd still have expenses. And so those expenses just change where we spend that money. You know, we're more intentional about where we go out to eat, the things that we're doing. We are looking for educational history, local, local businesses. We like shopping at little local downtown areas and being intentional about where you're spending your money as opposed to buying everything on Amazon. You know, Amazon's great if you're at home, but if you're out on the road, you know, enjoy those small businesses. And then, you know, we were at an FRVA rally and Ed Thor said, you know, it's not about whether or not you just attend them, you have to actually purchase something from them. And so I think that that's true too, is, you know, being invested into all of those businesses. If you're an RV overnights member, you know, investing in those farms and wineries as you travel, just being intentional with where your money goes in the industry. And I think it's gonna come out okay. Where's the best place for people to find out more about the RV 250 resources after they're done listening to this episode?

Go rving.com slash RV250. No, just RV250 will give you that landing page and you can link to join the contest and hopefully win $5,000. Um, but at the least, send us some some photos uh that you may see in some Go R Being uh social posts, as well as we'll mail you out some some RV250 swag.

Fun swag is never a bad idea. Last question for you the open road has been so much part of your family and your story, or at least a good chunk of it. What does the milestone mean to you personally? Like as someone who loves this RV lifestyle and works in it.

Oh, I mean, personally, I'm gonna sound corny, but that whole idea of like freedom. And I I had the benefit of working with USA Today this summer on an eight-minute documentary that had Bob Wheeler from Airstream and Toby R. Work from KOA and Chad Reese from Winnebago. We were at the RV Hall of Fame, like it's sort of as the historical stuff, and it was this series, and it was one word, and and it was freedom for our being. It is that freedom. It's it's what our country was built on. And so I'm biased, of course, but I think that there is nothing else that embodies the best way to celebrate our country on the 250th than the freedom of R Ving.

I couldn't agree more. You know, I was really hoping for a conversation just like this. So thank you so much for taking the time and bringing the RV 250 to the Learn to RV community. Any way we can help, we'd love to be a part of it. Links to anything that we've talked about today, the RV 250, the contest for new RVers, we'll make sure it's all in the show notes. You have to go get your entry in before September 15th. So we did a summer scavenger hunt for Learn to RV, which was all in this private group, and it was a lot of fun. Anybody that did that scavenger hunt probably has a picture they could submit today. Um, but you need to get your entry in before what September 15th, right? Yes. Yep. So there is a hard deadline here if you're trying to win the so well. Thanks so much for joining us, Monica, today. I so appreciate it.

Get out there and go RVing. I really appreciate you having me on, Jennifer. This was a really fun chat.

Well, thanks so much. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and all the things to learn to rv the podcast. You can find us to most places that you listen to podcasts online, or you can go to learn to rvthepodcast.com and the players right embedded in the website. So we'll see you around the campfire next time.