Here are your RV news highlights for the week of April 28 to May 3, 2019.
On April 26, a 2000 Newmar RV dropped its drive shaft in the middle of a hilly stretch of Interstate-84 in Connecticut and a second vehicle crashed into it, state police said. The motorhome was heading east near Exit 67 in the center lane when the drive shaft fell. A 1999 Lincoln Town Car then hit it, went “out of control” and slammed into a guardrail off the right shoulder. No injuries were reported.
No plans for tomorrow? Are you in Indiana right now? Then how about a visit to a state park? Admission is free all day, May 5th. Oh, if you can’t make it then you might want to visit the following Saturday. A free slice of sugar cream pie comes with a meal that day purchased at an Indiana State Park Inn.
The popular Eagle River Campground at Alaska’s Chugach State Park will be closed until mid-June due to quake damage to the road leading to the riverside park, according to Chugach State Parks superintendent Kurt Hensel.
Flooding has closed nearly 280 Missouri roads and forced officials to evacuate some campgrounds. The National Weather Service has issued flood and flash flood warnings across a large swath of the state. In the Springfield area, the James River jumped from 5 feet to 15 feet in just a few hours. People camping along the river and at Roaring River State Park near Cassville were told to leave.
A woman walking her dogs at Carter Lake Campground Day Use Area on U.S. 101 south of Dunes City, Oregon, reported being assaulted by an armed man Sunday afternoon. She described him “as a large person in dark clothing.” Know anything? Call the anonymous tip line at (541) 957-2099.
The Bureau of Land Management’s Moab Field Office is in the process of shutting down dispersed camping at the Klondike Bluffs Mountain Bike Trail off Highway 191, 23 miles north of Moab. The BLM cited damage to soils and vegetation, cultural and paleontological resources, recreational opportunities, scenic values and grazing as justification for its plan to put a stop to dispersed camping at the more than 14,600-acre site. Meanwhile, Grand County is working to regulate the growing number of dispersed campers at the Dalton Wells paleontological site near Arches National Park.
RV rental company El Monte RV has announced it will now provide complimentary 24/7 on-the-road support as a standard benefit to its customers.
KOA’s annual Care Camps Weekend is coming up May 10-11. More than 400 KOAs participated last year. Campers that stay as paying guests at a participating KOA on Friday, May 10, receive a night of camping on Saturday, May 11, for $20. The entire $20 amount goes to KOA Care Camps, which raises more than $1 million each year. Learn more.
A pilot program began May 1 to let Wisconsin State Park campers reserve spaces for the same day at 15 state parks for the 2019 camping reservation season. The goal is to make the most of campground usage despite cancellations. Ten of the parks will have yellow phones that campers can use to reserve a campsite for that day. Participating parks are Amnicon Falls, Big Foot Beach, Big Bay, Potawatomi, Mill Bluff, Nelson Dewey, New Glarus Woods, Rocky Arbor, Tower Hill, Yellowstone Lake, Lake Kegonsa, Council Grounds, Mirror Lake, Devil’s Lake and Peninsula.
The Leland (North Carolina) Police Department is looking for the person who stole a 2018 Reflection 5th wheel trailer on April 10 from AA Storage. The suspect used a white Ford Heavy Duty Truck with a black stripe on the hood to tow the vehicle. Call Detective Kazee at (910) 371-0274 if you have information.
Newmar has reportedly developed a propriety chair lift system designed to make it easier for RVers with mobility issues to get in and out of Newmar motorhomes. The lift is still in the prototype stage, but the company believes it will bring the technology to the market later this year.
The national average pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline was a penny higher Wednesday than it was on Monday, up 20 cents a gallon over one month ago. The state hardest hit by rising prices is California, where the average price was $4.08 a gallon Wednesday morning, down a penny from Monday.
Washington’s Olympic National Forest has announced a number of opening dates for its campgrounds throughout the peninsula. For a list of the parks, click here.
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