RV News for February 10–16, 2018

Return to RV Travel Issue 833.

Sales statistics for 2017 showed motorhomes surging ahead, led by Class C units. Sales of all motorhomes pushed up nearly 11 percent over 2016; Class C units leading with a 20.5 percent advance, followed by a 0.2 percent increase by pokey sales of Class A rigs. Stats according to Statistical Surveys Inc., as reported by rvbusiness.com. 

Class B motorhomes (camper vans) saw a better than 26 percent increase in sales, comparing 2017 to 2016. Source: Statistical Surveys Inc. 

The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) is holding its figurative breath while the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has once again asked for comments about its proposal to not require RVs to meet HUD standards. The exemption was originally proposed back in 2016, and the agency has yet to take formal action on it. HUD did reopen a public comment period, allowing comments until February 16. The RVIA wants HUD to go ahead with the proposal, leaving RV construction standards largely to the National Fire Protection Association and the American National Standards Institute – a non-profit group that oversees development of consensus-based standards. 

The annual Quartzsite RV show popped the lid on the big tent event again. Show founder Kenny King reported crowds in excess of 125,000 passing through the showgrounds this year, noting larger numbers of younger visitors. In addition to the usual vendors displaying RV-friendly wares, King noted “head hunters” looking for potential employees among RVers, including one that might be unexpected: JCPenney.

Longmont, Colo., may soon see some RV campsites vanish as the city council mulls over the thought of “repurposing” a 2.5-acre campground on Union Reservoir. Despite the fact that the city-owned campground generated nearly $19,000 in revenue last year, day-users brought in more than $295,000 at the same time. Simple economics: Dump the RVers and tenters, turn the space over to day-use.

When Team Austria had problems finding suitable housing for its Olympics support staff in Pyeongchang, somebody got a brainchild. On a spot about two miles from the venue, the outfit rented 30 bunkhouse-style travel trailers equipped with floor heat, galley and bathroom with shower – suitable for putting up four people in each. Cost for the rentals? $30,000 for the month of February. 

Livin’ Lite will discontinue production on its entire line in the next several months, four dealer sources have told RV PRO. Quicksilver tent trailer shipments will go out for the last time in March or April, according to a blog post by Barry Miller, owner of Miller RV in Metcalfe, Ontario, Canada, whose dealership carries Livin’ Lite products. Following that, Camplite travel trailers, truck campers and toy haulers will be shipped for the last time in June, he said. Thor Industries acquired Livin’ Lite in 2013.

Walter Roney, the 99-year-old Michigan RVer who was piloting the motorhome involved in the wrong way head-on crash killing two teenagers in Florida last week, has died. Mr. Roney had been hospitalized with critical injuries he sustained in the terrible accident. His passenger, Carolyn Bruns, also of Michigan, has recovered sufficiently to give a statement to police. Hundreds of people attended the memorial of Santia Feketa, 18, and Britney Poindexter, 17, who died when their vehicle was struck by Roney’s motorhome.

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Thor Industries Inc. is spending $50 million on a 50/50 joint venture with New Zealand-based RV rental and sales operator Tourism Holdings Ltd. According to the company, the new operation will be known as TH2 and be focused on enhancing the enjoyment and safety of recreational vehicle enthusiasts by digitally connecting the international marketplace. According to Thor officials, the platform will improve every aspect of RV ownership, with capabilities that include trip planning and booking, remote systems monitoring, roadside assistance, and peer-to-peer RV and campsite rental. The system will also streamline an owner’s record keeping and enable dealers and manufacturers to provide such support as triggered service notifications, online vehicle manuals and more. Read more.

Texas’ Mustang Island State Park will reopen for the first time since Hurricane Harvey blasted apart park infrastructure last August. Things won’t be the same – port-o-pots are temporary replacements for restrooms; roadways on the ocean side may be impassable in some places. And, sorry, no overnight camping at this time. Day use begins March 1.

Complaints about lack of parking for some residents in Middletown, R.I., have led to an unusual outcome: dramatic price hikes at the municipal campground. Residents lambasted the town council with complaints about difficult parking, and the council responded with a proposal to shut down the town campground and using the land for a 200-space parking lot for locals. But after a council member found the popular campground had a 10-year waiting list for seasonal camping, he proposed the following and it was approved unanimously: Last year’s rate was jacked up by $2,000 to this year’s rate of $6,800 for the season; next year it goes up another $2,000. Who says money doesn’t talk? 

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More News

Changes for Connecticut state parks: In a “good news, bad news” scenario, state residents can now park free at their state parks, but will see a $10 fee added every time they renew their vehicle license plates. The fee is said to help state parks, and four campgrounds are reopening due to the action: Devil’s Hopyard, Green Falls, Macedonia Brook, and Salt Rock campgrounds. Additionally, spring camping is available again at American Legion and People’s State Forests. Come fall, camping will be allowed again at Hammonasset Beach, Rocky Neck, Housatonic Meadows, and Hopeville Pond. Out-of-staters will still be subject to parking fees, anywhere from $7 to $22 per day.

A new RV parking ordinance has received a mixed reaction from residents of Buffalo Grove, Ill. Seems that residents were complaining about motorhomes to the point village lawmakers put in place an ordinance that would restrict parking RVs to no more than 10 days a year in the front yard, and require back and side yard RV parking to include screening the rigs from view. Trouble was, the definition of “recreational vehicle” ended up including boats. Now boat owners in Buffalo Grove are having hissy fits – it appears they’re feeling unfairly targeted. Sauce for the goose, anyone?

Want to buy a motorhome in Iowa on a Sunday? Sorry, it’s illegal. Under current Iowa law, car, truck and motorhome sales are verboten. The 60-year-old law is under fire by some legislators, and a bill lifting the ban is under consideration. Incidentally, towable units are OK to sell on Sunday. Go figure. In addition to Iowa, 17 other states ban or restrict Sunday vehicle sales, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Usually Arizona visitors are warned to look out for rattlesnakes. Guests at the Lazy JR RV Park in Tonto Basin found something else to be cautious of: a coyote, who had a peculiar appetite for gnawing on a mobile home there. It was a lousy substitute for a last meal, as the owner shot the animal on the spot – it tested positive for rabies. Health department officials point out that rabid animals have been known to chew on trees or phone poles – but mobile homes?

A couple of Florida RVers had just taken possession of their new Class C motorhome and were packing it for a trip, when a group of party-poopers swiped their rig. By the time they get it back from authorities, it will have quite a story to tell. Pasco County Sheriff’s officials say they were reporting to a Walmart store, where two alleged shoplifters had climbed aboard the already-stolen rig. The two thieves hopped out as the driver continued on, a contingent of police vehicles in its wake, along with “amateur cops” in their cars chasing along, pointing out the rig. Eventually the driver pulled into a parking lot, where an “official” police cruiser tried to box it in. Results: major police car damage, minor damage to RV, three arrested, and a “Please don’t play policeman” warning to the citizen chasers. 

The proverb “A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client” is getting a test in Washington state’s Island County Superior Court. Curtis Leonard, of South Whidbey, is up on charges of trespassing and “unlawful dumping of an item greater than one cubic yard,” to wit: an abandoned travel trailer. He told police it was his right to dump the rig on someone else’s property, claiming the land under the Homestead Act. The judge ordered the self-styled attorney be held on charges, having found probable cause. It isn’t Leonard’s first questionable act. In 2003 he again played his own lawyer after attempting to hold up a convenience store with a pellet gun. When the clerk brandished a baseball bat in return, Curtis lobbed an 18-pack of beer at the employee. He lost in court.

New motorhome registrations in Canada sprang back in 2017, up 38 percent from 2016, says Statistical Surveys Inc. Class C units blasted ahead nearly 50 percent, with Class A registrations up nearly 19 percent. 

Return to RV Travel Issue 833.

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