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Saturday, March 30, 2024
Issue 1150
Members edition
RVing on Public Lands. This RVtravel.com Facebook group just passed 65,000 members. Please join us!
Featured articles
RV industry’s optimism clouded by short-seller interest and lingering post-pandemic woes. So what’s ahead?
By Andy Zipser
RV manufacturers and campground owners keep radiating good cheer about the upcoming season, paying extravagant notice to every uptick in sales and reservations. And indeed there is cause for cautious optimism. Yet it’s also clear that industry participants remain leery of what lies just over the horizon, and there’s good reason for that, too. Continue reading.
Is climate change driving up RV insurance premiums?
By Randall Brink
RVers cherish the freedom and adventure that comes with hitting the open road. In recent years, though, many RV owners have noticed a troubling trend: rising insurance premiums. While several factors in the overall economy contribute to this increase, chatter among financial industry observers raises the question: Is climate change playing a significant role in driving up RV insurance costs? Find out here.
Baltimore bridge collapse sparks propane travel questions across U.S. tunnel and bridge network. Know where your RV can (and can’t) go
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
The loss of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge has created a major traffic issue for RVers. The Key Bridge was the only allowable route for RVs across the Patapsco River, as the alternatives, tunnels, prohibit LP gas. It leads back to a question we’ve been asked before. Just what tunnels restrict RV propane transport and why? Here’s the answer.
BLM sued: Claim says agency neglected to manage Nevada National Monuments
By Randall Brink
In a landmark legal challenge, environmental organizations have taken the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to court over what they allege is a failure to properly manage two of Nevada’s most cherished national monuments, Basin and Range, and Gold Butte. … The crux of the lawsuit centers on the BLM’s purported negligence in developing and implementing comprehensive management plans for these monuments, crucial for ensuring the protection of their unique ecological, cultural, and historical resources. Learn more.
The BLM is moving to improve internet access across its lands
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
As RVers find camping in established RV parks and campgrounds filling up, many are turning to alternatives like boondocking. While RVing on outback sites has its attractions, internet access can be a problem. Now one of the nation’s biggest landholders, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is moving to improve internet access across its holdings. Continue reading.
IN TOMORROW’S NEWSLETTER:
RV industry to announce:
Revolutionary RV innovation will transform RVing
True? Or is the industry blowing hot air?
Campground Crowding (and more!)
“An Airbnb for a month is cheaper than our campsite!” Plus, a tip for getting around lock-in fees
RV sales have slowed and fewer people are buying RVs than has been the recent trend. Has that changed campground crowding? This week, Nanci Dixon relates several more complaints about difficulty getting RV park/campground reservations and their increased cost, lock-in fees, no-shows at the campsites … You know: same ol’, same ol’. But another reader has an answer for the high costs and hassles of RVing, and some folks in their 80s still love camping. That’s good to hear!
RV Tours
Tour 5 Class B camper vans from most expensive to cheapest
By Cheri Sicard
In [this video] we join Bob and Hillary from Vancaskeys at Glendale, Arizona’s, 10-day RV Super Show for a look at five different Class B camper vans. The couple starts with the most luxurious and expensive Class B on display at the show, all the way to the least expensive one.
Click here to read about them and tour
WE’RE HIRING! We’re looking for a news writer to join our team. Do you have a background in journalism? Love to write and know RVing inside out? Do you read this newsletter every week and know what we’re all about? Send an email to editor (at) rvtravel.com and tell us why we need you. Must have a background in deadline writing, and provide writing samples. This is a freelance position. Work from anywhere. Pay depends on how talented you are and how much you choose to be involved. No beginners, please.
More RVing News
Sedona, Arizona, has a bit of a problem: While visitors and established residents have plenty of money, the “working class” that keeps this tourist destination going can’t afford to live there. A City of Sedona plan for homeless parking is creating an uproar. The plan would create a safe parking lot for RVs and cars on a portion of a five-acre site. In addition to providing safe parking and support amenities, the city says it will provide programs to help users secure permanent housing. After the City of Sedona’s plan for homeless parking was announced, opposition soon popped up.
Wind blew over a fifth wheel, trapping three inside. It must have been quite a sensation for the three folks when a 93-mile-per-hour gust blasted the fifth wheel over at 1:00 in the morning on March 26. The rig had been peacefully parked at the Old Mountain Campground in Greenville when the tempest broke out. Here’s more info.
RV dealers like towables, but not motorhomes. That’s the boil-out from the RV industry’s February 2024 shipment statistics. Overall, the manufacturers are crowing that the number of RV shipments in February was up 17.8%. This year, 31,024 rigs moved out to dealers, compared to 26,326 in February last year. Here are the details.
In a move that is sure to delight RVers headed to the Great Lakes region this year, the U.S. Forest Service Hiawatha National Forest has announced the reopening of six campgrounds that were closed in the middle of the 2023 season. RV travelers holding reservations were abruptly informed that their reservations were canceled with little notice. The closures arose from a dispute with the contract concessionaire managing the campground facilities. The campgrounds now have new contract management. Here’s more info on what campgrounds have reopened.
Death Valley National Park will increase fees for developed campgrounds starting on May 1, 2024. Extensive public engagement followed by the National Park Service review led to the determination that the park’s proposed updated campground fees were comparable to fees charged by similar nearby campgrounds. Here’s more information.
Maryland’s transportation authority has clarified its alternate routing after the wipeout of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. RVs carrying propane should follow this Key Bridge alternate route, since they are prohibited from tunnel crossings.
If you’ve taken your RV through America’s West, you may have seen them. Wild horses or wild burros. These majestic equines have thrilled many. However, their large numbers pose problems for their ecosystem and frustrate some ranchers. Where these wild creatures hang out on lands managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), they’re the frequent target of helicopter roundups. Now Congress is reining in the BLM in wild horse management.
If you’re planning on catching the solar eclipse in New York, you may be in for a disappointment. New York State Parks are sold out for the eclipse. The big April 8 heavenly event is drawing huge crowds to the Empire State, and there’s a finite number of campsites. Is there an alternative?.
Speaking of the eclipse… Less than two weeks remain until the highly anticipated total eclipse. On April 8, a total eclipse will shade 31 Texas state parks along the path of totality. With the exception of Old Tunnel and Lyndon B. Johnson State Parks, where visitors will gain entry on a first-come, first-served basis, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department encourages visitors planning to view the event from state parks to reserve a day pass in advance.
Your help wanted! Get rid of this stinky invasive plant! Saguaro National Park is asking park visitors and the greater Tucson community to be vigilant about a new and ever-increasing threat to the Sonoran desert landscape: invasive stinknet. Plants are currently flowering in southern Arizona, and finding and removing them before they set seed is critical to stopping their spread. Here’s how you can help.
And lastly, this week’s funny National Park Service post, but this time it’s from their Instagram account.
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Saturday Giveaway!
How would you like to win this neat RV State Sticker Map?
Show off all the places you’ve been! Stick this map on your RV or tow vehicle and place a sticker over each state that you’ve visited (and keep adding to it!).
How to win
We’ll select a winner at random out of all entries we receive today (March 30, 2024) by 7 p.m. Pacific time. Remember, you can only enter once and after we notify you by email via RVcontests@gmail.com that you won, you have 24 hours to respond or we’ll give the prize to someone else.
Click here to enter or see last week’s winner!
Reader poll
Will you do something special for Easter tomorrow?
RV and RV-Related Recalls
Four Jayco Class B models recalled
Four Jayco Class B models are on recall for a propane leak issue. Jayco is recalling certain 2023-2024 Entegra Ethos, Expanse, Jayco Solstice, and Swift vehicles. The liquid level remote fill gauge on the propane tank may leak when in the “Open” position. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire. Learn more.
Cruiser travel trailers recalled for missing tire data
Cruiser RV is recalling certain 2023-2024 Avenir trailers. The Federal Certification labels are missing the tire size and correct PSI. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 120, “Wheels and Rims–Other Than Passenger Cars.” Incorrect tire size information could result in the wrong tires being installed. Incorrect PSI information could lead to over- or under-inflating the tires. Both instances increase the risk of a crash. Read more.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS STOLEN RV?
None reported this week.
Did someone rip off your ride? Let us post information on your stolen RV. Email Russ (at) rvtravel.com.
Latest fuel prices
Here are the latest U.S. average prices per gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel as of March 25, 2024:
Regular unleaded gasoline: $3.52
Change from week before: Up 7 cents; Change from year before: Up 10 cents.
Diesel: $4.03
Change from week before: Up <1 cent; Change from year before: Down 9 cents.
For fuel prices for specific regions, states, and cities, go to U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Brain Teaser
It’s a true Easter egg hunt! Well, except here you’re looking for the hidden bingo ball (which has the number 11 on it, by the way). It’s eggstremely hard, but we believe you can find it! Click the image to enlarge it.
(Answer in tomorrow’s Sunday RV Travel newsletter. And please don’t spoil it for other readers by posting the answer in the comments.)
Upcoming RV shows
Click here for a directory of upcoming shows.
Recipe of the Day
Need something to make for Easter tomorrow?
Try one of these…
Trivia
More than 700 million Peeps are sold each year at Easter, making them the #1 candy of the holiday (well, behind chocolate). Read RVtravel.com publisher Chuck Woodbury’s essay about Peeps and a survey of RVtravel.com readers’ Peeps habits. Click here.
Laugh of the Week
Thanks to reader David J. for sending!
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 and Cheri Sicard. Contributors: Roger Marble, Dave Helgeson, J.R. Montigel, Randall Brink, Dustin Simpson, Dale Wade, and Tony Barthel. Financial affairs director: Gail Meyring. IT wrangler: Kim Christiansen. Social Media staff: Gary Pratt. 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.
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This newsletter is copyright 2024 by RV Travel LLC.
Here are the latest U.S. average prices per gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel as of March 25, 2024:
Regular unleaded gasoline: $3.52
Change from week before: Up 7 cents; Change from year before: Up 10 cents.
Change from January 2020: UP approximately: $1.30
What’s your point?
If you need to ask it already went way over your head.
I would have thought my point was obvious. Hmmmmmmm.
Hey Ron. yeah, I remember the sham called covid. I also recall that most of those that died, were already vaxxed, double vaxxed and triple vaxxed. I also remember that they were mostly dying from being shot up with “remdesivir“. It kept shutting down their vital organs, until they passed away. The ironic thing is that people will blame that period for everything that happens until the end of the world. The prices of Gas actually dipped below $2.75 a Gallon for a while a year, or so, ago. So why are they going up over $3.65 here in Florida now? Too many people not willing to accept the real reason.
Have a nice Easter Ron L.
Miss who??
Mr. orange hair, alias, Mr. T
Alias, the best President this country has ever had. Now we have someone who can’t even find his way off of a Stage. And if he manages to find his way, he falls on the way down the steps!
Have you ever heard, or remember, that little problem we had called covid and why it lasted so long, what financial repercussions it caused and why over a million Americans died? I’m old and I some times stumble… but at least I (and the current President) can speak a coherent sentence that is understandable and without calling people names like a 5th grader. Yeah, you should be real proud of that guy as you are probably just like him.
Ah yes, I do seem to recall that lab created Chinese virus that was funded by NIH thru Fauci. I remember it well. That all seems like such a distant memory. Definitely long before the evacuation of 11 embassies. Long before 2 new avoidable Hot Wars in Europe. Long before 19% aggregate inflation. Definitely it was before more than 10-12 million illegals AKA NEWCOMERS were welcomed with open arms and prepaid cash cards (in NYC). It was certainly back when mortgages were available at 1.9% instead of 6.7% and definitely a time before 1/2 the country was openly referred to as rascists or NAZIS by there own elected leaders.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane Ron L.
Evident to most
Only those with any common sense left! Apparently!
HAPPY EASTER ONE AND ALL!
What is wrong with using the Hanover street bridge in Baltimore
It leads to a congested downtown Baltimore or to an I95 exit to the Harbor Tunnel. Neither of which is advisable for an RV
No !
The biggest shame here is a lot of people can’t stand the truth and the facts!
I wear your “thumbs down” like a badge of honor! Thanks!
Ed D. I gave you a thumbs UP but it added another Negative. Then I clicked the thumbs down and it gave Another Negative. So, my guess is you are getting Thumbs UP but the thumbs are not working correctly. IT need to fix their thumbs.
Hi, Dave. I think it shows the “net” of the thumbs up and down votes. So maybe others were voting at the same time you were, thus the discrepancy. Plus, I would think you’d only be able to vote once. Have a good afternoon. 🙂 –Diane
It sure is nice to see that the younger generations are shifting towards a more enlightened and free thinking position tho.
Happy Easter Ed.
Thank you, Emily and Diane! 🙂 The funny was funny. I have few ideas of what all the characters in the teenager version mean. I guess that’s okay. Thank you, safe travels, and happy Easter! 🙂
Today’s funny is hysterical. Nuttin SUS about it.
Thanks for expanding my knowledge of teenage speak, Cancelproof. 🙂 Safe travels and happy Easter! 🙂
Is RVT now getting like other social media platforms, e.g. political discussions and name calling. From Ron L “Yeah, you should be real proud of that guy as you are probably just like him.” Ron L is not the type of person I want on RVT. Let’s stop the political discussions and get back to camping!
AGREED!
Happy Easter Dana D.
This is an open forum. As long as no one is being disrespected, I see no problem with a slight variety. Out of curiosity, what person are you comparing Ron L. to?
FYI, the state parks in Texas are all fully reserved. Even just day passes.
Huh? English please