Love Your RV & Boat! Newsletter - 12/25

Welcome to the December Newsletter. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Jan 03, 2026

What's New With Us

Happy New Year, everyone. Another fun-filled year of RVing and boating is in the books. Looking forward to more of the same in 2026.

Things have been going well for us here in Campbell River on Vancouver Island. Even in the winter, it’s a beautiful place to be. The winter so far has been surprisingly mild, with only a few nights when the temperatures dropped to the freezing point. Lots of cloudy days, though, and quite a few windy rainstorms passed through.

Here is a time-lapse of the estuary as a powerful storm rolled through with winds up to 80kph (50mph).

The last week or so, though, has been very calm, with hardly any rain, which has been perfect weather for many nice hikes along the shore and in the forests. Here is one from a sunny Christmas day. The snow-packed mountains looked spectacular!

We haven’t had any problems with the RV other than a leaky skylight. During heavy rain with high winds, I noticed it dripping into the shower. Looks like it has a hairline crack; it must have hit a tree branch. I temporarily patched it with roofing tape and ordered a new one. Stay tuned for a video on the replacement.

Another issue I had was with the truck. One day, I was disappointed to see a large bolt stuck in one of the new tires I bought not long ago. It wasn’t losing air, but sure enough, it had gone right through. Luckily, it could be fixed under the warranty.

Below, you’ll find links to some video reviews that have kept me busy, with two more on the way in a week or so. I’m going to demo a pair of power station DC-DC chargers. They recharge portable power stations using the vehicle's alternator. Last winter, I reviewed the Bluetti Charger 1 and used it on the boat this past summer.

While under, the boat engine alternator provided power through the charger to recharge a power station. Handy for days without solar due to fog or clouds.

Well, Bluetti has a new improved Charger 2 model soon to be released. Also, BougeRV has recently released its own DC-DC charger. Stay tuned for the demos of each charger, starting with the Bluetti, then the BougeRV.