It’s a good time to look at gift possibilities for the RVer. Only you know best what would work for the RVer in your life — after all, you’re probably an RVer too — but here are some ideas, from leading-edge tech items to classics.
Stocking stuffer: Wineglass holder, Etsy.com
If you enjoy a little wine after dinner outside your RV, and a proper wineglass is required every bit as much as your most comfortable jeans, here’s a place to securely set down your glass. The clip-on wineglass holder works on any chair with an arm no thicker than 1 inch.
One end is a spring clip that latches securely onto the arm. The other end has plastic fingers, allowing you to slip the wineglass stem between them. The glass won’t go anywhere, which is good, since you’ll have your feet up won’t be going anywhere, either. Price: $10
RV-Compatible Grilling Set: Wayfair.com
If somebody’s got to play outdoor chef — and enjoys doing it — a grilling set makes the job easier and more enjoyable. Wayfair.com has a good choice of sets, each with a compact storage case that makes RV storage easy. Some cases are hard and hinged, while others are soft and flexible. Typically you’ll find a basting brush, tongs, carving knife and fork, spatula and skewers. Some sets include steak knives, and sometimes forks, as well.
Price: $30 to $200.
Drone: DJI Mavic Pro, DroneNerds.com
You’re taking in a fabulous view, and you think If only I could get a little higher or closer to see better. A drone does both — virtually — and shoots video at the same time. The Mavic Pro’s 4K video has four times the pixels on your 1080p TV screen. Video is shake-free because the camera is steadied by a gimbal, a small version of what stabilizes Hollywood films. Stills are 12 megapixels, and Mavic takes hands-free selfies.
The 1.6-pound Mavic Pro is great for RVs because it stores small, with foldable arms and propellers. The remote controller folds to pocket size. You see live on your smartphone what the drone sees. It has a range of 4.3 miles, and it automatically returns safely if the battery runs low. Fly over 20 minutes at up to 40 mph.
Price: $999.
Book: Travels With Charley: In Search of America, by John Steinbeck
Why recommend a book about America published 55 years ago by an author who’s since died? Well, because it documents a trip around the U.S. in a truck camper by a man and a poodle, Charley. For another, it’s by one of the country’s most celebrated writers. And it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. For all of you who write blogs about life on the road in your RV, and all of you who wish you could, here is the original, written half a century before the Internet.
The publisher admitted more than 50 years after publication that much of this writing is fiction, but it’s interesting to read this insightful writer’s observations of the changes in America — and the fears stirred by change. Many of the problems and fears are still with us.
Price: About $6 online for a paperback, or you can spring for a rare first edition, about $110.