Community Forums

RussOnTheRoad · 05-28-2014, 04:49 PM

I began full-timing 3 weeks ago, today being the first day of my 4th week. Woohoo! LOL. Along with my new lifestyle I'm learning a new skill: blogging. Man, Wordpress boggles the mind!

I've just created my first boondocking report and would love any feedback anybody would like to provide. How can I create similar reports that would be most useful for you? What would you like me to add? What would you like me to leave out? Wold you like things organized differently or better? Anything you have to say wold be appreciated.

You can find my report at Boondocking | Russ on the Road

Thanks.

twogypsies · 05-28-2014, 05:33 PM

From what I could read it looks pretty thorough. (When I clicked on 'More' I had to sign in and I didn't do it). One thing, I notice you have a 30' RV and you state 'big rig accessible'. Keep in mind that for those reading, many will think 40'+ is accessible because that is typically what 'big rig' means. Keep in mind the road conditions, width of roads, curves, trees to maneuver around, etc. Instead of using the term 'big rig' you might want to start using 40'+ o.k. Just a suggestion. It should work out well.

UncleBilly · 05-28-2014, 07:25 PM

Cool. Another blog I can follow and let you make the mistakes and I can learn for free 😜

RussOnTheRoad · 05-28-2014, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twogypsies

From what I could read it looks pretty thorough. (When I clicked on 'More' I had to sign in and I didn't do it). One thing, I notice you have a 30' RV and you state 'big rig accessible'. Keep in mind that for those reading, many will think 40'+ is accessible because that is typically what 'big rig' means. Keep in mind the road conditions, width of roads, curves, trees to maneuver around, etc. Instead of using the term 'big rig' you might want to start using 40'+ o.k. Just a suggestion. It should work out well.

Thanks. That was useful.

I fixed the link that asked you to sign in. It was pointing to an administrator's page. I have a question though... how did you get to read the report if you didn't (couldn't) sign in?

When I wrote that the spots should be accessible I did so with 40' in mind. If you recall I mentioned that my neighbor was towing a 30' 5th wheel. With his truck that makes him 40' plus. I also noticed a number of good size Class As in some of the spots I wrote about, and I did look for trees, considered road width and conditions.

I didn't write "40+ OK" or something like that because I really don't know. I don't want somebody to rely on a statement like that only to find out it isn't true. This is why I mentioned the size of my vehicle and why I wrote "I think most of them should be accessible to big RVs without much difficulty".

Thanks again.

Steve Kiemele · 05-29-2014, 01:25 PM

Since you asked for feedback....

The blog would read a little easier if you would break up the long paragraphs. Each paragraph should be limited to one main idea, thought, or subject. If you have several different things to say about one subject, each thing could have its own short paragraph of a sentence or two.

All caps, especially large fonts, are very difficult to read.

In a longer publication, serif fonts such as "New Times Roman" read more fluidly than sans serif fonts such as "Ariel."

RussOnTheRoad · 05-29-2014, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Kiemele

Since you asked for feedback....

The blog would read a little easier if you would break up the long paragraphs. Each paragraph should be limited to one main idea, thought, or subject. If you have several different things to say about one subject, each thing could have its own short paragraph of a sentence or two.

All caps, especially large fonts, are very difficult to read.

In a longer publication, serif fonts such as "New Times Roman" read more fluidly than sans serif fonts such as "Ariel."

Thanks much for the feedback.

At first I didn't understand what you meant about breaking up the paragraphs so I went and looked at my blog. Apparently something has gone wrong with the formatting and all the paragraphs I had previously have melted into one. This has been a problem with WordPress for me. It's done this a number of times.

As to all caps I assume you're referring to the headline title because that's the only place I see all caps. I have no control over the formatting of the headline with this theme (page design) as provided by WordPress. I could choose another theme and perhaps someday I will but it's no small task in order to do this.

Again, thank you for your suggestions.

twogypsies · 05-29-2014, 08:06 PM

Russ, I don't know if you've seen this wonderful blog or not but Nina is so generous on helping with problems, perhaps she can help with Wordpress which she's used. If this link doesn't come through correct, her blog is WheelingIt and I did a search for blogging tips. Hope it helps.

5 Tips To Creating & Growing An RV Blog | Wheeling It

You also asked how I could read your blog post without logging in. When I clicked on your site it showed a 'teaser' of 5-10 lines and the word 'more' at the end to click on. I clicked on it and got the sign in page.

Good luck with your blog. It sounds like a lot of work but I enjoy reading them.

RussOnTheRoad · 05-29-2014, 08:28 PM

Thanks for the referral to WheelingIt. I am a big fan of that site and regard Nina's blog as the best I've come across in the RV world. I was unaware of her page about blogging and thank you for that referral too.

I am still unclear about how you accessed my blog. It sounded like you didn't get past the teaser page originally but in the comments you wrote initially it seemed as if you had seen the whole report.

Check out my blog: RussOnTheRoad.wordpress.com

Gordon Dewald · 05-29-2014, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RussOnTheRoad

Thanks. That was useful.

I fixed the link that asked you to sign in. It was pointing to an administrator's page. I have a question though... how did you get to read the report if you didn't (couldn't) sign in?

When I wrote that the spots should be accessible I did so with 40' in mind. If you recall I mentioned that my neighbor was towing a 30' 5th wheel. With his truck that makes him 40' plus. I also noticed a number of good size Class As in some of the spots I wrote about, and I did look for trees, considered road width and conditions.

Typically the 40' has a 279" wheel base with a 50 - 60 degree cut. The truck has 167" wheel base with the same cut. It allows the truck to make shorter turns. The inside track the trailer takes can be more than made up for going farther into the intersection with the truck before starting the turn.

I didn't write "40+ OK" or something like that because I really don't know. I don't want somebody to rely on a statement like that only to find out it isn't true. This is why I mentioned the size of my vehicle and why I wrote "I think most of them should be accessible to big RVs without much difficulty".

Thanks again.

Hi Russ;
A 30' 5er and truck are not the same as a 40'. The turning radius is entirely different for each rig. On tight corners such as in a campground a MH may not be able to make the corner.

Typically the 40' has a 250+ wheelbase with a 50 - 60 degree cut. The truck works on a 160 +/- wheelbase with a slightly better cut. That means the truck and trailer can turn shorter even with the inside trailing because the truck can start the turn farther into the intersection.

UncleBilly · 05-29-2014, 09:37 PM

Just added you blog too my RSS reader and all looks good. I still think this is the easiest way to read any web site...

RussOnTheRoad · 05-29-2014, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

Hi Russ;
A 30' 5er and truck are not the same as a 40'. The turning radius is entirely different for each rig. On tight corners such as in a campground a MH may not be able to make the corner.

Typically the 40' has a 250+ wheelbase with a 50 - 60 degree cut. The truck works on a 160 +/- wheelbase with a slightly better cut. That means the truck and trailer can turn shorter even with the inside trailing because the truck can start the turn farther into the intersection.

Good to know. Thanks!

RussOnTheRoad · 05-29-2014, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleBilly

Just added you blog too my RSS reader and all looks good. I still think this is the easiest way to read any web site...

Thanks for adding my blog. I hope you find some useful information and some entertainment value from it as time goes by.

I never figured out the whole RSS thing. If I can find the time and remember I may do a little investigating.