Welcome to RVtravel.com, written by real RVers and real writers, not influencers, content creators and artificial intelligence. You come first, not search engine rankings. Be sure to check out all our other RV-related newsletters.
If you shop at Amazon.com we’d appreciate you using this link. We get an itty bitty commission if you buy something, but they add up and help us pay our bills (most importantly our hard-working writers!).
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Members edition
Featured articles
Tesla electric semi-truck inspires all-electric Class A motorhome
An all-electric Class A RV based on Tesla’s commercial semitruck is in the concept phase. The motor coach would be powered by four electric motors—like the Tesla Semi, weigh around 50,000 lbs., have a 600-mile range, and use 1.7kw of electricity per hour. Other e-RV possibilities have been floated, including one by Winnebago. The Winnebago electric RV has not yet been put into production, but there is a fully operational concept vehicle in service, and Winnebago has introduced it as a likely production camper van. Read all about those here.
Has slowdown in RV sales helped with campground crowding?
RV sales have slowed (finally) and fewer people are buying RVs than has been the recent trend. Has that changed campground crowding? This week we hear from an employee at a popular RV park who says it’s important to make reservations early, especially if you have a big rig. Another RVer says they have had no problems getting reservations at private RV parks. Also, there are more tips for planning trips and finding campsites. And one RVer says the half-empty public campgrounds are due to “pure laziness on the part of administrators and rangers not making it available if no one shows up.” Read more.
Electric vehicle growth has RV industry befuddled!
A pair of webinars this past week underscored how seriously the campground world views the oncoming onslaught of electric vehicles. While campground and RV owners remain mostly skeptical, questioning the costs, range, recharging availability and environmental impact of a lithium-based technology, industry leaders are unwavering in their belief that the EV-RV revolution is already here and that the problems others see are either overblown or will be resolved in timely fashion. Read more.
DID YOU YOU MISS YESTERDAY’S POPULAR ARTICLE?
Opinion: Living in your RV on private property is not the government’s business
Read the article, rated at 4.3 stars out of 5 by more than 300 readers.
Photo Contest
Here is the current edition of our photo contest. See if your submitted photo made the first cut, and then vote for your favorite. Once you’ve voted, submit your own photo for consideration. Winners receive a $50 Amazon gift card. Good luck!
That was the RV week that was
December 4–10, 2022
The price of gasoline has fallen to the point where the national average is now cheaper than it was a year ago. According to AAA, the price per unleaded gallon was $3.329 Thursday, below the $3.343 per gallon price a year ago. GasBuddy says there’s a good chance the price could fall below $3 nationally by Christmas. Gas prices fell 15 cents per gallon in the past week and are down from $3.80 a gallon a month ago.
Winnebago has issued a recall regarding awnings on 4,500 Revel vans. Carefree of Colorado, the brand behind the Revel’s awnings, says the gearbox housing the awning needs to be fixed. If the housing is damaged, the brake may be released, causing the awning to open, sometimes en route. The recall applies to Revels built between June 4, 2020, and November 18, 2022. The latest recall by Carefree indicates the problem is on at least 8,000 awnings.
New York State Police and local law enforcement agencies issued a record 3,062 tickets from April 1 to November 17 as part of Operation Hardhat, which aims to crack down on work zone violations and highlight the importance of safe driving when encountering construction, maintenance, and emergency operations along state highways. The number one violation was for speeding, followed by violations over cell phones, seatbelts and failure to move over.
The Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge at Washington state’s Olympic National Park will receive approximately $10.8 million in upgrades both inside and out. The lodge is about 17 miles south of Port Angeles along a windy, but good road. At an elevation of 5,242 feet, it offers a spectacular view of the Olympic Mountains, attracting approximately 300,000 visitors per year. It was built in 1952 as a ski lodge, remodeled in 1983 and again in 2000, when it was expanded to its current size of 12,197 square feet.
Thor Industries reported last Wednesday that its first-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings fell sharply versus last year as demand for RVs has slowed from pandemic highs. Thor stock edged up Wednesday. The Elkhart, Indiana, company manufacturers Airstream, Heartland RV, Jayco, Livin’ Lite and other RVs. Until recently, RV sales had been on a decade-long upward trend, but the pandemic spurred consumer interest in RVing as Americans sought a safe way to travel.
The BLM Challis (Idaho) Field Office is implementing seasonal motor vehicle closures in central Idaho, from Dec. 15, 2022, until May 1, 2023, to protect wintering wildlife, important elk calving areas and bighorn sheep lambing grounds. The closures include: Second Spring Basin • Carlson Hills and Fuller Gulch • Willow Creek • Donkey Hills and Birth Creek areas.
After a handful of dire years, the endangered western monarch butterfly is experiencing an unexpected population boom. The place to go to see them? Pismo Beach, California, and this is the perfect time. When heading south on Highway 1, that bisects downtown, you’ll pass through several blocks of motels, restaurants and retail storefronts surrounded by trailer and RV parks. As the road bends toward the coastline of Oceano Dunes Natural Preserve, there is an anonymous-looking 2-acre stand of eucalyptus trees. That grove, once a small artichoke farm, is one of the most prolific population centers in North America of the endangered western monarch butterfly.
A non-profit group has filed a lawsuit challenging a Fullerton, Calif., municipal code that outlaws people living in RVs on city streets without a valid permit, arguing that the restrictions target the homeless and disabled and violate the state constitution. Fullerton is one of many Orange County cities that have instituted restrictions on where and whether RVs can park on their streets.
The City of Springfield, Oregon, will now require private property owners hosting RVs on their property to register with the city in order for the city “to evaluate the need for this kind of temporary housing”. The registration is free and includes providing contact information for those living in the RV. Since October 2020, the city has temporarily allowed the use of RVs parked on private property for housing purposes, provided that both the property owners and RV occupants adhere to the city’s Temporary RV Occupancy Guidelines.
The National Park Service will waive entry fees on five days in 2023 to all national parks. Camping fees still apply. The free entrance days are:
• January 16 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• April 22 – First Day of National Park Week
• August 4 – Great American Outdoors Day
• September 23 – National Public Lands Day
• November 11 – Veterans Day
News briefs
There were 28,016 retail RV registrations in October 2022, a 23.2% decrease from the 36,3483 units last October, according to Statistical Surveys Inc. Year-to-date, there have been 406,163 retail registrations, which is off 21.6% compared to the 518,358 units posted during the same period a year ago.
Massachusetts has become the 18th state to establish an Office of Outdoor Recreation. It joins Maryland and Arkansas as the most recent states to create such an office since 2020. Eighteen states across the country now have offices dedicated to growing the outdoor recreation economy.
For the first time ever, a moose has been spotted in Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park along Sunrise Road. It’s the first moose sighting in southwest Washington. As of 2015, there were approximately 5,000 moose living in Washington.
The former Waterloo Harbor Campground on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal in Geneva, N.Y., is now one of more than 500 KOA campgrounds.
“Christmas in Coloma,” scheduled for this weekend at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma, California, has been canceled because of an ominous weather forecast.
Be careful if you are driving over California’s Sierra mountains anytime today or soon. A winter storm packing heavy snow and powerful winds was moving into the northern Sierra Nevada late Friday, where as much as 4 feet of snow was forecast over the weekend in the upper elevations around Lake Tahoe.
Muskegon RV of Muskegon, Michigan, has been sold to Optimum RV, which currently has locations in Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and now Michigan.
CONTEST
Is this your RV?
Win a $25 Amazon gift certificate if today’s RV photo shows your rig
Every day we post a photo of an RV either submitted by its owner or by our editors and writers as they move about the country.
Click here to see if your RV made it into today’s issue.
[mailerlite_form form_id=5]
Reader poll
In 10 years, what percentage of motorized RVs will be powered by electric engines?
What do you think? Respond here and see what others think.
HAVE YOU SEEN THESE STOLEN RVs?
A “double header” fifth-wheel theft has left an Acheson, Alberta, RV dealer more than upset. Some time after midnight on December 4, a pickup with a magnetic sign that read “SECURITY” rolled up to the gate of Vision RV. The driver, after apparently failing to cut through the lock with bolt cutters, probably switched to a grinder and whacked off the lock. The suspect opened the gate and drove off. Ten minutes later the truck returned, and this time drove off with a 41-foot Forest River Cedar Creek brand fifth-wheel. A few minutes later the truck returned, this time without the “Security” sign. It rolled up to, and off with, a 43-foot Forest River Cardinal that was listed at $146,500. Employees say they recognize the suspect. He’d been on the lot earlier during business hours, expressing interest in—you guessed it—the two stolen trailers. The suspect’s vehicle is listed as a Chevrolet. Know something? Contact the Parkland County RCMP at 825-220-2000.
Did someone rip off your ride? Let us post information on your stolen RV. Email Russ (at) rvtravel.com.
See many more recently stolen RVs. Let’s help find these for their owners and maybe even put the crooks in the slammer. Click here.
Did you miss yesterday’s RV Travel?
If so, stories you missed:
• Cover story: Opinion: Living in your RV on private property is not the government’s business
• We want to know: What was your weirdest RVing encounter?
• RV Service Centers and Repairs Report: Master RV tech says, ‘It’s a wonder any [RVs] function at all’
• How full-time and extended-travel RVers get their mail
• Hibernate smart: 5 steps to stop RV mold growth before it starts
• RV Stocking Stuffers: Reader suggested gifts for 2022
• Why you SHOULD NOT use EternaBond to tape your RV roof!
… and much more
Latest fuel prices
Here are the latest U.S. average prices per gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel as of December 5, 2022:
Regular unleaded gasoline: $3.39 [Calif.: $4.56]
Change from week before: Down 14 cents; Change from year before: Up 5 cents.
Diesel: $4.97 [Calif.: $5.82]
Change from week before: Down 17 cents; Change from year before: Up $1.29.
Brain Teaser
A man stands on one side of a river, his dog on the other. The man calls his dog, who immediately crosses the river without getting wet and without using a bridge or a boat. How did the dog do it?
(Answer below.)
Do you have a brain teaser you think we should use? Send it to us here.
Upcoming RV shows
Click here for a directory of upcoming shows.
Recipe of the Day
Homemade Holiday Eggnog
by Francine Lizotte from Surrey South, B.C.
You don’t have to wait until eggnog appears on supermarket shelves (although it’s been there for quite awhile now). With this homemade eggnog recipe, you can enjoy a cup the minute you’re in a holiday mood. This rich and creamy eggnog will hit the spot. There’s just a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. If you’re a fan of eggnog or serving it at a party, you’ll want to double or triple this delicious eggnog recipe.
Brain teaser answer:
The river was frozen.
The Perfect Scam Podcast
Every Sunday we present a podcast from AARP about scams and how crooks are stealing your money, often via telemarketing. Their efforts are often most successful with people 65 years and older who fall victim to the scammers’ sophisticated techniques. Here is this week’s episode.
Trivia
After just two weeks of wear, a pair of jeans will have grown a 1,000-strong colony of bacteria on the front of them, about 1,500-2,000 on the back, and 10,000 on the crotch. If that doesn’t send you straight to the laundry room…
Sunday funny
A poodle and a collie are walking down the street when the poodle suddenly unloads on his friend. “My life is a mess,” he says. “My owner is mean, my girlfriend’s having an affair with a German shepherd, and I’m as nervous as a cat.” “Why don’t you go see a psychiatrist,” suggests the collie. “I can’t,” says the poodle. “I’m not allowed on the couch.”
Today in History
RVtravel.com All Star Team
Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. Editor: Emily Woodbury. Associate editor: Diane McGovern. Senior editors: Russ and Tiña De Maris. Senior writers: Nanci Dixon, Gail Marsh, Dave Solberg. Contributors: Roger Marble, Dave Helgeson, Julianne Crane, Machelle James, J.R. Montigel, Randall Brink, Karel Carnohan DVM, Cheri Sicard, Dustin and Ashley Simpson, Dale Wade, Paul Lacitinola, Jeff Clemishaw and Johnny Robot. Special projects director: Jessica Sarvis. Moderators: Gary Gilmore. Financial affairs director: Gail Meyring. Special Reports: Bradford Geer. IT wrangler: Kim Christiansen. Mascots: Archie and Astor (the Disaster)
Everything in this newsletter is true to the best of our knowledge. But we occasionally get something wrong. We’re just human! So don’t go spending $10,000 on something we said was good simply because we said so, or fixing something according to what we suggested (check with your own technician first). Maybe we made a mistake. Tips and/or comments in this newsletter are those of the authors and may not reflect the views of RVtravel.com or this newsletter.
RVtravel.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Regardless of this potential revenue, unless stated otherwise, we only recommend products or services we believe provide value to our readers.
CONTACT US
Editorial (all but news): editor@rvtravel.com
Editorial (news): chuck@rvtravel.com
Advertising: Advertising@rvtravel.com
Help desk: Contact us.
Mail us at 9792 Edmonds Way, #265, Edmonds, WA 98020.
This newsletter is copyright 2022 by RV Travel LLC.
When these all electric units can’t find a charging station for their size will they have to crank up the onboard genny to keep moving?
Their on board genny will take few days to recharge the RV. TFL trucks on YouTube tried recharging a Tesla with. 5000W generator and it took 2 1/2 days to charge to 60%. You’re looking at several kilowatts of power at these recharging stations.
The genny will not recharge the batteries anytime soon. TFL Truck on YouTube recharged a Tesla with a 5000W generator for 2 days and only got less than 60%. It takes many kilowatts of power to recharge an EV, an E-RV will take even more.
What bothers me is that RV park owners will pass the cost of electric meter installations forward to everyone due to electric vehicle charging. I doubt short term stays will be monitored (meter read) so again along with the costs associated will shorten the times that RV Owners use their RV.
Or perhaps anyone who has an EV who plugs in will have those charging centers simular to EV Charging Stations? Hopefully that cost won’t be passed on because each vehicle pays for charging. Also, if the range is anywhere close to 150 miles truly how many RVers travel to their destination within 150 miles? We drive during daylight on average 6 hrs not including stops to eat and stretch etc. which on average is an 8 hr trip with nice weather. That’s more than 150 miles.
A century ago, similar statements were made by train riders about automobiles. “There aren’t enough roads”, ‘there aren’t places to get gas’, etc…
All it needs is a bit of investment and time, and they will take over. It’s happening before our eyes right now.
How can Thor be reporting 1Q earnings down when we are still 4Q of 2022?
In 2023
Thor undoubtedly uses a fiscal year that is not the calendar year. Common for businesses.
Companies often have fiscal quarters that do not align with the standard calendar. This is usually done when a business has a seasonal sales cycle.
Sorry, Bob. It should have said “fiscal 2023”. It’s been corrected. –Diane at RVtravel.com
According to what I’ve read in the news segment your proof reader either needs a coffee break or is on a long restroom break, you have done better. Lol
Trivia – Ten thousand is such a small number compared to the estimated 39 trillion microbial cells including bacteria, viruses and fungi that live on and in us.
Interestingly, I have not seen any discussion or concerns about charging EV’s in the rain. The charging stations I’ve noted do not have overhead canopies and the EV’s seem to have a charging port on the side of the vehicle with slight angle to them. As I recall, electricity and water are not a compatible combination for healthy living! Also, what is the weight of a charging cable? Could my wife of 98 lbs even lift it? And, an EVRV or truck MgW cable which is water cooled besides…… wow! I removed my 50 amp cord because it was too difficult and heavy to handle in cool xthr! Imagine!
Also, it is a real misnomer to consider this technology as “environment friendly” – it is anything but that – at least at this stage. Just another advancement into the throw-away society – like plastic cigarette lighters, sealed carburetors, etc, etc……
Sunday funny is great!
Trivia YIKES & YUCK. Glad we do our laundry weekly. Hmm, I wonder about having your laundry sitting in the Basket for the WEEKLY wash??? I’m not up to doing laundry loads each day especially when we travel.
News Briefs are much appreciated!
Stolen RVs are a shame & disappointing. STOLEN ANYTHING is UNACCEPTABLE!
We find ourselves shopping more and more with Amazon and we hope the link for you is showing true for the little amount of funds you recieve. Just a reminder for members and friends and family, use RVTRAVEL link when shopping with Amazon.
Thank you, Sheri Ken, for your words of support (literally). We appreciate them, and you (of course!). Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Gas prices in NE Ohio are at $2.71 right now for Regular.