2025 PRCA Clown of the Year Matt Merritt spent five months on the road this year in a truck and horse trailer, and his last run home from Pendleton, Oregon to North Carolina cost him $3,000 in diesel. Stan and Matt talk about what life on the rodeo road really costs, and what it teaches.

Matt has owned just about every kind of rig: a bus, a 48-foot race car trailer with living quarters, a stock trailer, a travel trailer, and now a four-horse Bloomer behind a Ford F-350. He's honest about the years he never checked hubs or bearings, the leaf spring that broke near Coeur d'Alene and took a tire with it, and why he's ready to run a TPMS again.

They also cover how a barrelman and rodeo clown works the arena, the Texas swing from Fort Worth to San Antonio, how contestants decide which rodeos are worth the drive, fighting fatigue behind the wheel, and Matt's one lesson every RVer can learn from rodeo travel: practice with your rig, because those things are dangerous.

And when the diesel bill is huge and the check may not cover it, Matt explains why he prays for joy to be spread through him.

Guest: Matt Merritt, 2025 PRCA Clown of the Year and host of Mic Drop at the NFR

Matt on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MattMerritt8

Matt's sponsors: Wrangler, Resistol, Lane Frost Brand, Justin Boots, American Jerky Company, Boot Barn, Premium Tire and Lube (Pendleton, Oregon), American Bonfire sunglasses, and Buggy Barn.

Stan first heard Matt on Jordan Jo Hollabaugh's "In the Loop" podcast: https://jordanjohollabaugh.com

Stan's TPMS is the RoadTech system from TechnoRV: https://technorv.com?Click=12127

I'm a TechnoRV affiliate and may earn a commission if you use my link.

Rolling Smooth RV book series: https://bit.ly/rollingsmooth

Beyond the Chutes podcast: https://beyondthechutes.show

Wandering Gypsy RV Life: https://wanderinggypsyrvlife.com

Support our journey: https://buymeacoffee.com/wanderinggypsyrvlife

Safe travels, my friends, and remember: not all who wander are lost.

Seventy episodes. When I sat down to record the first one back in March of 2025, I honestly didn't know if there would be a second. This week I went back through all 69 episodes and pulled some of my favorite moments: the stories that made me laugh, the lessons that stuck, and a couple that still hit me right in the heart.

In this episode:

- Doug Simcox of Beyond the Chutes on why you better be a little bit handy

- Luke Branquinho's hardest haul, from Lovington, New Mexico to Belgrade, Montana

- PRCA announcer Garrett Yerigan on beating Jack Frost in a freeze

- Tilden Hooper, two blowouts, a bent axle, and what his dad said about his tools

- The day Bertie Bea's water pump quit mid-shower in Kearney, Nebraska

- One small step when everything feels heavy

- The $308 safety decision in the Wyoming wind

- The awning that met the exit gate

- A windshield moment passing the Cheyenne Frontier Days grounds

Chapters

0:00 Welcome

0:55 70 Episodes

1:57 Doug Simcox: You Better Be Handy

3:56 Luke Branquinho: The Hardest Haul

5:55 Garrett Yerigan: Beating Jack Frost

8:20 Tilden Hooper: Blowouts, a Bent Axle, and Dad

11:58 Caught With My Pants Down in Kearney

13:24 When It Feels Heavy

15:10 The $308 Safety Decision

16:56 Why I Keep Building

18:29 The Dreams I Didn't Give Up On

19:37 Thank You for 70 Episodes

20:20 Outro

Thank you for riding along with me.

More stories, photos, and adventures: https://wanderinggypsyrvlife.com

Podcast: https://wanderinggypsyrvlife.com/podcast/

Rolling Smooth RV book series: https://rvrollingsmooth.com

Beyond the Chutes with Doug Simcox: https://beyondthechutes.show

TechnoRV: https://technorv.com?Click=12127

I'm a TechnoRV affiliate and may earn a commission if you use my link.

Buy me a cup of coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/wanderinggypsyrvlife

My Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/stanc

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Safe travels, my friends. Not all who wander are lost.

PRCA music director Kye Todd spends his summers going rodeo to rodeo, and this year he traded motel rooms for a used travel trailer. Sitting outside at Kick Back Ranch and Event Center, Kye and Stan talk about what that switch really looked like: a blowout on the maiden voyage, fiberglass issues, soft spots in the floor, and a bed lift that quit. They also talk about the best part, his wife Haylee riding along all summer and working from the road.

Kye shares hard-won lessons for anyone buying a used RV. Make the dealer put new tires on it. Push back when something isn't right, because when you say "see you later," they start dealing. And remember that tires can look decent and still be dry rotted from sitting in the sun, so check their age, not just the tread.

They also cover why Kye now trusts a TPMS that actually works, why he keeps his fresh tank full instead of trusting campground water pressure, and how a handful of motel nights can add up to a camper payment.

Plus, how Kye got into rodeo music, his fall run through Florida, and his advice for young rodeo hands: go learn from somebody who has been doing it.

Guest: Kye Todd, PRCA music director

Recorded at Kick Back Ranch and Event Center, Ramer, Alabama

TechnoRV, home of the RoadTech TPMS. Kye now runs: https://technorv.com?Click=12127

I'm a TechnoRV affiliate and may earn a commission if you use my link.

Rolling Smooth RV book series: https://rvrollingsmooth.com

Beyond the Chutes podcast: https://beyondthechutes.show

Kick Back Ranch and Event Center: https://kickbackranch.net

Wandering Gypsy RV Life: https://wanderinggypsyrvlife.com

Support our journey: https://buymeacoffee.com/wanderinggypsyrvlife

Safe travels, my friends, and remember: not all who wander are lost.