Issue 1181
The latest news for RVers
Fact check: Is Elon Musk really launching a $17,000 electric Tesla motorhome? File this under the “If it sounds too good to be true…” category. On Monday we received a flood of “leads” that said Elon Musk and Tesla were going to hit the market with a new electric motorhome. And for only $17,000! And it would travel huge distances on a single charge! Musk has been known to produce some grand ideas, but this isn’t one of them. There is no Tesla motorhome. Here’s what’s going on.
A shocking video from Arkansas’ I-30 reveals a chilling scene from last week as a motorhome bursts into flames—and hundreds of passing cars and trucks swerve away, refusing to stop. Amidst the smoke and chaos, only one vehicle pulls over to help, raising a tough question: where’s the compassion? Watch the video and decide—are we losing our sense of humanity on the road?
An RVer has been arrested while claiming 600 acres of BLM land is “his”. Well… Back in 2021, BLM officials noted that Jeremy Yow, now 50 years old, had done more than just set up camp on public land. Yow claimed the property near Azalea, Oregon, belonged to him. To reinforce the claims, Yow built fences, chopped down trees, even put up a mailbox with his name on it. Oh, boy… Continue reading.
Used RV prices continue to decline, according to the latest report from Black Book. The vehicle price-watching firm has just released its compilation of RV auction prices across the country for September. Wholesale RV prices declined for both motorized and towable RVs. Here’s more info.
Love’s is celebrating more strategic growth of its network in the Southeast with the opening of a new travel stop with RV hookups in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. With the addition of this location, Love’s surpasses the milestone of 650 stores during its 60th anniversary year. This stop has six RV hookups, RV dump service, private showers, Wi-Fi service, and more. Learn more.
Campground comments and concerns
Investment group buys RV park, service goes downhill
This week, Nanci Dixon shares another case of an RV park being sold to an investment group and going downhill, forcing seasonal RVers to find another after seven years. We hear more tips from longtime RVers on how they manage reservations and increasing prices. One longtime RVer says, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” That’s true. Read more.
More RVing news
It has to be a dubious honor. Being the state with the highest gasoline prices has been one of California’s crowning distinctions. But no more. According to AAA, California has dropped to the number 2 position for highest gas prices, second only to… Find out here.
And speaking of California, the California State Parks system is taking action against 25,000 illegal cannabis plants. A news release reveals that during the 2024 season, the Cannabis Watershed Protection Program’s Special Enforcement Team led 16 operations in or near state parks’ properties ending in seven arrests and the removal of 25,558 cannabis plants, 4,820 pounds of processed cannabis, and 18 firearms. Learn more.
The “Disneyland” of Oklahoma theme park and RV park project has stalled. Nearly a year-and-a-half ago, hundreds gathered for the groundbreaking of American Heartland Theme Park and 750-site RV park in Vinita, Oklahoma. The then-said-to-be $2 billion “Oklahoma Disneyland” project came with great acclaim. Now the Oklahoma engine of financial progress appears to have stalled, while hopes are fading. This is a mess!
Here’s another thing that’s not going well: jobs at Winnebago. Last week Winnebago reported terrible fourth-quarter earnings. Not surprisingly, the news wasn’t just bad for stockholders. Now the company has announced layoffs of some workers in its Forest City, Iowa, manufacturing plants.
If your foot is heavy on the accelerator but light on the brake, look out! Two states have new laws expanding traffic camera enforcement. California and New York are upping the ante against traffic violators with more speed and red-light cameras. While some contend that traffic cams are largely in place to pump revenue into government coffers, the states beg to differ. New York and California say the new cameras will pump up safety. Here’s what to know.
Camping World has released its third-quarter financial report and it appears to be quite a rollercoaster. While CEO Marcus Lemonis is justifiably happy to report same-store sales of RVs are out of the doldrums for the first time in 10 quarters, not all is well. While Camping World revenues have increased, the bottom line is dismal: Profits are down 73.9% for the nation’s big-box RV stores. Here’s more info.
Yellowstone National Park officials are asking for your help. In a media release, the National Park Service, working with the Federal Highway Administration, seeks public comment on a proposal to significantly improve 27 miles of the Northeast Entrance Road. That’s where you come in…
Tomorrow, November 3, visitors will get free day-use entry at all Texas State Parks in honor of Texas State Parks Day, a tradition born from 2023’s centennial celebration. Learn more.
A hiker has lost his life on a popular Big Bend National Park (Texas) trail. The body of the 24-year-old was discovered on Monday, October 28, after park rangers noted a vehicle that had been parked for several days at the Marufo Vega/Strawhouse/Ore Terminal Trail. Records showed no overnight backpackers registered for that area during that time. Continue reading.
The National Park Service will honor Native American Heritage Month at the Petroglyph National Monument Visitor Information Center (VIC) on Saturday and Sunday, November 16 and 17. This event is free and open to the public. Learn more.
RV and RV-related recalls
Newmar motorhomes recalled for tire valve problems
Newmar is recalling certain 2023-2024 Super Star motorhomes. The inner wheel tire valve extension may be damaged through contact with the outer wheels, causing the inner tire to lose air pressure and overload the outer tire. Overloading may cause the rear tire to fail, increasing the risk of a crash. Learn more.
Saturday giveaway
How would you like to win a bag of S’morey Time s’mores-flavored coffee?
How to win
We’ll select a winner at random out of all entries we receive today by 7 p.m. Pacific time. You can only enter once and after we notify you by email that you won, you have 24 hours to respond.
Click here to enter or see last week’s winner!
Reader poll
When RVing, do you typically spend more time inside or outside your RV?
Latest fuel prices
The latest U.S. average prices per gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel as of October 28, 2024:
Regular unleaded gasoline: $3.10
Change from week before: Down 5 cents; Change from year before: Down 38 cents.
Diesel: $3.57
Change from week before: Up 2 cents; Change from year before: Down 88 cents.
For fuel prices for specific regions, states, and cities, go to U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Brain teaser
A 300 ft. train is traveling 300 ft. per minute and must travel through a 300 ft. long tunnel. How long will it take the train to travel through the tunnel?
(Answer in tomorrow’s Sunday RV Travel newsletter.)
Recipes of the day
Pizza and pizza-themed recipes to make when the cravings hit
Craving pizza? Then these recipes are for you. These aren’t just pizza recipes either—they’re pizza-themed recipes, which means you’ve got a wider variety of pizza cravings to choose from. We have a chicken and gouda pizza, a copycat Taco Bell pizza recipe, a pizza dip (perfect for game day!), pizza stuffed peppers, and a delicious pizza casserole. Happy pizza-ing! Here are the recipes.
Trivia
Tattoos have been around for thousands of years, and one of the oldest known tattoos was found on the mummy of Ötzi the Iceman, who lived around 3300 BCE. His body, discovered in the Alps, had 61 tattoos, mostly consisting of simple lines and crosses. Interestingly, many of these tattoos are believed to have been placed on areas of the body that correspond to acupuncture points, suggesting that they may have been used for therapeutic purposes rather than purely decorative ones.
The perfect scam
A.I. is making virtual kidnappings more real than ever
It’s a typical day for Amanda as her teenaged daughter heads off to work. But five minutes later, she receives a call from a local number and hears her daughter’s voice crying. A man comes on the line with a chilling threat for Amanda if she doesn’t do what he says. Technologies like A.I. are making virtual kidnappings and similar scams easier than ever. In this discussion learn how to protect yourself.
Laugh of the week
Today in history
Today’s weather forecast across the nation
Visit Current National Radar Weather Map
Headed on an unfamiliar highway? Learn if it has low bridges you might not fit under.
RVtravel.com All Star Team
Click here for information about our staff and how to contact us.
Today I can not view any of your videos. Wants me to sign in to something. This will make easy for not to support RVTtavel.com.
Oh well…..
No problems here Ron. My iPad is connecting to the links without issue. Good luck!
Ron, you should not need to sign into anything to view any video that appears on RVtravel.com. Maybe try a different browser. If that works then it is the device or browser you are using that is the problem. I hope that provides your answer.
As a First responder, having vehicles parked on the side or in the roadway is an extreme hazard for the good Samaritan & Responders.We now have to navigate parked vehicles and people. Most civilians do not know that the RV has propane (explosive) and that the RV burns rapidly and extremely HOT which can catch parked (nearby) vehicles on fire and cause injuries to anyone within a certain range of the fire/hazard. Best advice (for the civilian) , call 911 with an accurate location and stay clear of the scene so responding equipment can park.
Completely agree with James III! I spent 28 years as first responder and had to park away from the scene and carry heavy rescue equipment around parked vehicles and push onlookers out of the way to get into the proper position to extract someone from a mangled vehicle. Please just call 911 and give the best location you can. An RV on fire or a tanker truck was the one’s we dreaded the most. For all the reasons James mentioned!
I believe one vehicle should stop to help In case of someone bleeding out or need to be pulled away from a fire.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Cannot get into this day in history.
Hmmm. Sorry, Woodrow. I just tried it and had no problem. Maybe you have some kind of filter blocking it on whatever device you’re using? I haven’t heard of anyone else having a problem with that video today. Sorry I don’t know how to help you. Take care. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I finally figured out what a ‘toad’ is. Apparently this is some inside play on words for a towed vehicle. I find it kind of frustrating to have to figure out all this insider lingo, being a newbie (2 years). It would be nice if this stuff was translated for us.
Somewhere I saw a list of Rv abbreviations; I think it was either forestriverforums.com or iRV2.com. It might take a little research, but it’s out there.
And since the ***** at iRV2.com have banished me once again, I’d check forestriverforums.com first.
The granny mods over there got you too aye?
I believe Dave Solberg @ RV Travel ran articles explaing what various abbreviations meant, as well as info on a wide variety of different rv system operations on all types of vehicles.
1st rule for newbie RVers – ask. Have yet to meet a fellow RVer who looks down their nose at new RVers and will not try to help answer RV related questions. Admittedly, if it’s a more complex repair issue, the answer may be to ask the office for a mobile repair service.
Great answer! My husband and I have had some of the best conversations that simply started with a question! 😃
Hi, Larry. Sorry about that. Here’s a link to Dave Solberg’s recent post The ABCs of RV terminology. Have a great day, and happy RVing! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
For the last couple days I get the ads for the “oil filter wrench” in almost every article. I don’t care about that, but I do want to mention that I have one of these and it’s proved to be one of the most useful tools I’ve acquired. I’ve never used it for an oil filter but I have used it to remove the top on our portable water softener. Just two days ago I used it to remove the cap on my spare gas can on our RZR.
The ads may or may not be custom tailored to your browsing experience. Depends on how careful and paranoid you are about protecting your online identity. If they aren’t tailored to your personal tastes then they get generic.
But those oil wrenches sure are handy!
Hi, Kim and Tommy. If it’s the ad that starts with “Sewer fitting grip help! Gadget to the rescue!”–I think those are set to appear at the bottom of every post. Have a good afternoon/evening. 😀 –Diane
I know fire suppression has been discussed before in this and other newsletters – however, I wonder if Rv Travel could put together a comprehensive list of Mfgr’s with system pro’s and con’s, ease of installation and prices. Short of that, we need to start a lobby – dare I say another dang law, to make these mandatory – especially in motorized Rv’s. See also the fire story above. Great job with this newsletter by the way!
Some of the tattoos on Ötzi the iceman were on acupoints to treat osteoarthritis. He had osteoarthritis….
I know the train tunnel answer!
Thank you, Emily and Diane! Have a great week and safe travels!