Mount Gizmos

camperkilgore wrote:


For us, audio books are 10 times better than coffee for keeping awake on those long stretches out west. They make us safer.

Audible.com is the service we use for audio books, and the trouble with them is you can't just copy one of their books to a storage device of any kind. They are kind of like Apple. They fix it so you can't do that sort of thing. That's with the membership. Now I think we can buy the books, and that makes it so we can put them on any type of storage device, but that gets really expensive. I haven't found another service with as good a selection of books.

There's a lot of reasons why we looked to electronic devices to "help" us. After experiencing a tire failure that caused a lot of damage to our camper, we decided to invest in the TPMS. I know folks have driven millions of miles without it, but a long time ago we didn't have flimsy expensive rvs and crummy tires that blow up and tear up those flimsy rv's.

Phones don't have to be mounted. But retrieving one from a pocket or under a collection of stuff that we inevitably collect when traveling is a distraction and a dangerous one sometimes. Besides....they have to be charged, so the charging wires have got to be dealt with somehow.

I fully agree that we should all simplify and concentrate on safety. I sometimes want to just get a tent and a little car. But then the larger rv is NICE.

You might "feel safer" listening to "audio books" but in reality, you are more likely to be LESS "safe".

Why?

Simple, listening to a book WILL take away your attention more than music, otherwise you would not be able to follow and remember the plot of the book..

Music songs tends to be short, audio books take a long time.

But if you MUST have audio books, you do have several good options..

BUY A NEW CAR STEREO!!!!

Why?

New car stereos have USB inputs and many also have BlueTooth connectivity.

With USB inputs many of these stereos CAN BE CONNECTED TO THE USB PORT OF YOUR CELLPHONE. You can use the radio to CONTROL YOUR CELLPHONE. You can play back MP3 files, play streaming music, make and take phone calls (hands free) and yes, Audible should work..

For a wireless option you can use the BT connectivity to connect your cell phone to the car stereo. You can also do the same as the USB option, just have to "pair" the cell phone to your stereo. With the BT option, you can simply place the phone ANYWHERE inside the vehicle and use it.. No need to mount it to the dash, the radio will act as the control for the phone.

As far as "Audible" making it hard to copy, well there IS ways around that.. Ever hear of audio recorders? The DO make audio recorders that record to SD cards and Yeah, you could even hook the audio output to your PC or MAC and press RECORD.. Yeah, it will take time and you will need Internet connectivity but it can be done..

Once recorded, put a bunch on a USB flash drive and knock yourself out.. When done, just delete and record more.

TPMS, well that is a sore spot with me, have one that is built in my truck, it is a pain, it is junk and it really is not needed but because some Gov official decided that everyone must pay for mistakes made by one tire Company and one vehicle company that EVERYONE MUST PAY MORE FOR A VEHICLE in the name of "safety".

Sensors go bad, batteries go bad and in my state, if the OEM TPMS system has any malfunction the vehicle inspection is flunked until the system is fixed..

GPS, well, yeah we tried one, slow response, difficult to get it to take to route WE wanted and quite frankly, was a general pain to use.

We prefer to map out our routes BEFORE we leave, with paper maps and online mapping like MapQuest. We get step by step directions with MapQuest printed out with even landmarks. Easy to read, easy to follow and no bright glowing screen in the drivers face.

Drivers now days are suffering from technology overload, way to much junk hung on their dash.. I see it nearly everyday, I can easily spot a distracted driver that is texting, talking or paying too much attention to non essential electronics.. They tend to bob and weave, drifting from lane to lane and often nearly running off the road.. Often they ARE the ones camped out in the PASSING lane, not letting faster traffic go by them..

I see their super bright screens of GPS units, tablets, Video monitors and many other gadgets and those nearly blind me when I am behind them.. I cannot imagine just how blinded they are by all that light while driving at night!

Even have seen drivers watching MOVIES!!

Like I said, perhaps decide on ONE must have item, try it, I would bet that you will not miss all of the extra stuff.

Sometimes traveling light is the better way..