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Saturday, August 19, 2023
Issue 1118
Free, abbreviated edition
Page Contents
Featured articles
California Court of Appeals sides with buyers in warranty arbitration dispute
By Randall Brink
In a decision that could have a major impact on car buyers, the California Court of Appeals has ruled that a manufacturer cannot force arbitration of claims brought by buyers against the dealership where the car was purchased. … The decision in Montemayor v. Ford Motor Co. is a victory for car buyers but will also have an impact on RV buyers who sue under the various states’ “Lemon” laws or the U.S. Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act…. Read more about how the Montemayor decision could affect RV buyers.
Washington state Attorney General issues Cease-and-Desist Order in RV park dispute
Over the past year, RVtravel.com has published several articles pertaining to disputes between RV park owners/operators and tenants. … While these previously reported lawsuits were working their way through the courts, another one, a Washington state case, began to unfold under the radar because it did not get to the federal court level. It did, however, result in a “cease and desist” action [after violating tenants’ rights] by the Attorney General of Washington, Bob Ferguson, along with another lawsuit, State of Washington v. Beacon Charters and RV Park, LLC. Continue reading.
Glacier National Park’s future: Public input requested
WEST GLACIER, Mont. (August 16, 2023) — Glacier National Park is seeking public feedback through September 30, 2023, on how visitors will access and experience the park in 2024. The park will host a series of virtual and in-person public meetings in late August to provide information from the past vehicle reservation pilot programs and answer questions. The public input from this process will be used to inform a strategy for summer 2024. Read more.
Swim in Hearst Castle’s Neptune Pool for $1,500
If you’ve ever dreamed of swimming in the luxurious pool once used by the likes of Joan Crawford, Howard Hughes and Charlie Chaplin – you’re in luck. On August 19 and 26, you can take a dip in the famous castle’s Neptune Pool in San Simeon, California, for only $1,500! Learn more.
New campground helps ease Western Montana campsite scarcity
Seeley Lake, a popular tourist destination in Western Montana, is getting a new RV park. The 70-space park, called Lazy Acres RV Park, is located on the east side of Highway 83, just south of the town. It is expected to open in the summer of 2024. Continue reading.
Campground Crowding:
Reader suggests campgrounds should be split: one part for “campers” using amenities, another part for “travelers”
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 shares more of our readers’ comments on campsite no-shows, a tip to plan ahead and compromise on your expectations, more RVers saying they had no trouble at all finding available campsites, and, of course, more complaints about the high prices. And what do you think about the suggestion to separate campgrounds into “one part for vacationers and campers, another for travelers that don’t plan to use all the amenities”? Read more.
RV Video Tour
RV inspector picks the best 4-season trailers for year-round fun
By Cheri Sicard
Most travel trailers are good for 3 seasons, at best, but can’t stand the freezing cold of winters without pipes cracking and other disasters. But there are some. If you are looking for a trailer that will supply year-round fun, no matter what the temperatures, Duane, a certified RV inspector at RV Inspection and Care, is sharing his picks of the best 4-season trailers.
Click here to read more and watch the video
That was the RV week that was
August 12–18, 2023
WEATHER ALERT
Hurricane Hilary is moving into Southern California and could provide heavy rains, widespread flooding and devastation later this weekend. If you are in the area or plan to be, visit the National Hurricane Center for the latest information.
* * *
A huge wildfire threatening Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories has sent residents fleeing to the south after warnings to evacuate. Airtankers flew missions overnight to keep the only route out of Yellowknife open. As of late Friday afternoon, the fire had closed to within 9 miles of the city of 20,000. Farther south, homes were burning in West Kelowna, British Columbia, a city of about 38,000, after a wildfire grew “exponentially worse” than expected overnight. Residents had already been ordered to evacuate 2,400 properties on Friday, while another 4,800 properties were on evacuation alert.
The national average for a gallon of gas increased five cents since last week despite lower demand and the price of oil falling several dollars per barrel and struggling to stay above $80. But the potential for hurricane development and forecasts of an expanding heat dome over Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas next week could push oil prices higher. Refineries in these states may have to curb production to deal with the sizzling temperatures.
This artistic enhancement to road signs has apparently been showing up recently in the Midwest. Similar signs with a red dot on the deer’s nose are still far more common.
Love’s Travel Stops has opened a new location in Tonopah, Nevada, just west of town along U.S. Highway 95. It’s the sixth location in the state, and includes five RV hookup sites and a dump station. A little farther west on 95, a rest area offers free overnight RV camping.
A new TV channel dedicated exclusively to RVing is set to debut this month with programming 24 hours a day on Roku and other places including some small-market TV stations. Many of the programs on RVTV will come from active YouTubers. See the schedule of shows here. If you would like to be involved, email Dan Dominski at ddominski (at) cannellamedia.com.
Automotive auction platform and enthusiast community Bring a Trailer (BaT) and Vintage Camper Trailers, the leading online destination for vintage camper enthusiasts, have partnered to provide the Vintage Camper Trailers community with a personalized auction experience. Vintage Camper Trailers members can now submit their vehicles to BaT directly from the Vintage Camper Trailers website. Continue reading.
Speaking of Grand Teton National Park (WY)… Visitors should plan ahead for construction closures during installation of new restroom facilities throughout the park. Closures are necessary for public safety and to safely use cranes.
If you see a lizard wearing a necklace, let it be. It’s one of ten small blunt-nosed leopard lizards recently released in the Panoche Hills of California. The small reptiles are endangered, and the “necklace,” a radio collar, allows wildlife biologists to track them to understand them better.
If Michigan state representative James DeSana gets his way, motorists will no longer need to pay a $4 toll to cross the 5-mile Mackinac Bridge. The span links the state’s upper and lower peninsulas and has collected tolls since it opened late 1957. An estimated five million vehicles cross the bridge each year.
Another heat danger: A Eugene, Oregon, woman returned to her car after a shopping trip to find three cans of soda pop in her back seat had exploded, spraying the vehicle’s interior with the sticky stuff. It’s common knowledge not to leave children or pets inside a car on a hot day. But there are other concerns as well. If it’s 100 degrees outside, a vehicle’s interior will reach at least 140 degrees in an hour, which can lead to popping soda cans, melting of objects and other bad things.
Oh, dear … going, going, gone. This motorhome, now toast on wheels, was parked along a Santa Rosa, Calif., street when it caught fire Thursday morning. Authorities thought someone had been living in it. No word yet on the cause.
Fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes increased by 14.2% from 2020 to 2021. Two-thirds of drunk driving crash fatalities in 2021 involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 or more, nearly twice the legal limit of impairment. In 2021, 13,384 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes, an average of one alcohol-impaired-driving fatality every 39 minutes,
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Last evening, California’s Joshua Tree National Park managers closed park areas that are vulnerable to extreme flooding. The closures are a preemptive measure in anticipation of Hurricane Hilary, which could bring heavy rains and flooding. The public is advised against driving Geology Tour Road.
Yellowstone National Park (ID, MT, WY) hosted 969,692 recreation visits in July 2023, a 63% increase from July 2022, with 596,562 recreational visits.
Recalls
Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2024 Sandpiper and Sierra fifth wheel trailers. The axle may be installed backwards, which can reduce braking ability. Reduced braking ability can increase the distance required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash, injury or worse. Learn more.
Some Forest River travel trailers recalled. Awning may detach
Forest River is recalling certain 2023 Forest River Pause travel trailers. The awning of the recreational vehicles may not be adequately secured, which can cause the awning to detach. An awning that detaches increases the risk of injury or crash to the vehicle as well as others in the area including pedestrians. Read more.
Some Forest River motorhomes recalled for fire danger
Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2024 Coachmen Beyond, Galleria, and Nova motorhomes, equipped with certain SmartPlug 30-Amp Shore Power Inlets. The manganese bronze D-rings may crack or fail when over-tightened. A D-ring that cracks or fails may allow wires to loosen, causing electrical arcing and increasing the risk of a fire, which can lead to injury or worse. Learn more.
The RVers nobody talks about
If you have the stomach, watch this news segment from ABC-7 in Los Angeles, about an RV street encampment of 500 RVs, many with children. This is not pretty. In fact, it’s ugly. In a June survey of RVtravel.com readers where we asked “Do you believe the number of ‘street RVers’ will grow or decline in the years ahead,” 92 percent said it would grow. Only 1 percent said it would decline. This is depressing, but it’s real.
Read last week’s installment of the new RVtravel.com monthly column “Disadvantaged RVers on the Street.”
Saturday Giveaway!
How would you like to win these finger flashlights?
How to win
We’ll select a winner at random out of all entries we receive today (August 19, 2023) 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
Have you changed any RVing plans lately because of wildfire danger or smoke?
Respond here and see how others responded.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS STOLEN RV?
This travel trailer was stolen Wednesday between 1 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., from the 3400 block of South Elm Street in Denver. The recently renovated RV is 23 feet long and primarily white with Navy blue trim with a Broncos helmet on the trailer hitch. If you have information, contact the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
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 August 14, 2023:
Regular unleaded gasoline: $3.85
Change from week before: Up 2 cents; Change from year before: Down 9 cents.
Diesel: $4.38
Change from week before: Up 14 cents; Change from year before: Down 53 cents.
For fuel prices for specific regions, states and cities, go to U.S. Energy Information Administration.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
You obviously need this for your happy little RV in your happy little campground…
Recipe of the Day
Apricot Chicken
by Cindy Gowing from Junction City, OR
This easy-to-prepare apricot chicken will be a go-to recipe on a busy weeknight. We opted to use chicken breasts, but chicken thighs will work too. Once baked, the chicken is tender, tangy, and sweet. A delicious blend of flavors. Adding chicken broth to prepare the rice adds a bit of savory flavor. It’s perfect with the sweeter chicken.
Trivia
One billion toothbrushes will be discarded in the U.S. this year. Source: National Geographic
Laugh of the Week
A heavily pregnant woman hobbles painfully into the hospital with one hand on her back. A nurse comes over to her and asks her what’s wrong, but the woman just shouts, “Shouldn’t! Wouldn’t! Didn’t!” The nurse shakes her head and says, “Sorry, I don’t understand.” The woman screams, “Can’t! Won’t! Don’t!” The nurse is terribly confused and turns to a doctor, who says, “Admit her. She’s having contractions.”
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, Janet Groene, J.R. Montigel, Randall Brink, Dustin Simpson, Dale Wade and Tony Barthel. Moderator: Gary Gilmore. Financial affairs director: Gail Meyring. IT wrangler: Kim Christiansen. Artificial Intelligence (AI) contributors: Johnny Robot and Milly MacWilly. Canine 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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I am hearing the same thing with Acadia Natl park as well. Limiting the number of cars into the park system. Should see the sand beach area on a nice sunny day. Scary to say the least.
Hey Diane, Just to let you know…It hasn’t reached our inbox yet either. Used rvtravel.com for Saturday (Aug 19) edition. Will see what happens with Sunday edition….
Sorry, Elaine. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll add you to the list of those who didn’t receive the email alert today. I just looked your account up and it shows it was sent at 02:30:24, so it must be floating out in cyberspace somewhere.🙄 We apologize that it didn’t get to you. Kim will look into this on Monday and hopefully can track down the cause. Thank you for your patience in the meantime. Have a good night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I have soooo many questions about today’s Trivia. Why, How, where, What to do?
“What to do?” Brush your teeth? My dental hygienist says to switch to a new toothbrush every three months. So, U.S. population of 331 million x 4 toothbrushes = 1.324 billion toothbrushes discarded a year. Although I kinda doubt everyone switches toothbrushes every three months, not to mention the fact that not everyone has teeth to brush.😉 Have a good night, Kelly. 😁(showing off my pearly whites) –Diane
I was thinking that is a lot of non-recycled plastic. I wonder if I can still get wooden handles with hog bristles? We save our teeth only to kill our environment. We can’t win.
That’s for sure. Here’s the current version of the toothbrushes with “wooden handles and hog bristles”: bamboo and boar bristle. I just Googled “recyclable toothbrushes” and there are a lot of them, including toothbrushes made out of recycled plastic, and eco-friendly toothbrushes. I was going to suggest you invent something like that, but I guess you don’t need to after all. Have a good night, Kelly. 😀 (Gotta go brush my teeth. Got blackberry seeds stuck in them.🙄) –Diane
The RVers nobody talks about… We should be asking why cities & states have allowed this to happen in the first place. We should be asking where these folks used to live & why they, in so large numbers, have moved to the streets. This was never allowed in the past but once the cities close their eyes to this problem it is very hard to rectify the situation. Gov’t policies in recent years have brought us to where we look more & more like a 3rd world country. We have always had low income people but they had jobs & put housing first rather than what appears to be a low priority today. It’s sad that our communities have come to this but even worse when there are attempts to fix the situation there is always someone who argues that no, you can’t stop this!
I work for our local HUD office and this is a new problem for all communities in the United States. Rent increases have exceeded income increases for the low income community members. HUD used to be able to assist these people with rental vouchers to make up the difference in what they could pay & market rates. We now have folks that can’t earn enough to cover the difference between what HUD allows and the landlord’s requirements. Not to mention that the credit score, deposit & length of employment requirements have gone higher. Landlords are getting these new renters from our larger cities with folks willing to commute farther for housing. This is forcing people to live in “borrowed” or purchased low value RVs & tents. I can’t find places for these families to live. It is not that they don’t prioritize rent, it’s that there is no place to put them. I spent several months trying to locate housing for 3 individual ladies (over 80+) after their current rentals were priced out of their fixed income. Two had no family to help. I never found anything. The one with family was (sadly) reluctantly taken into the relative’s home. The other two were taken in by church members on what is supposed to be a temporary situation. It’s been a year. The working families are facing the same struggles with nothing they can afford or qualify for. Please don’t assume that these RV residents are choosing this lifestyle. My HUD agency is trying to find funding sources to build low income dedicated housing, but taxpayers don’t see this as a priority and show up to argue against it. No one wants us to build apartments for “them” in their neighborhood. Thanks for letting me share my struggles.
Just a heads up. I’m a contributor and a suscriber but had to go to your website for today’s newsletter. Nothing in inbox or junk folder. Have a great weekend.
Hmmm. Sorry about that Glenn. I just checked and it shows the newsletter was sent to you at 02:30:06, to be specific. It looks like you received our email alerts yesterday, so I don’t know what happened today. If it happens again tomorrow, please write another comment (I’ll see it), or write to me at diane(at)rvtravel.com, and I’ll contact our IT guy, Kim, to see if he has any idea what the issue could be. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Same thing happened to me today as well, Diane. KellyR
Well, shoot! Sorry for the inconvenience, but thanks for letting me know, Kelly. I’ll go ahead and send this and Glenn’s comment along to Kim, our IT dude. Don’t know if he’ll respond right away (being the middle of the weekend), but we can get the question to him anyway. Hopefully he’ll be able to help. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane
Hi, Kelly and Glenn. Kim says usually when that happens the email got “snagged by their spam filters.” But if it isn’t in your Spam folder, I don’t know where it could have gone. Let me know tomorrow if it happens again, and I’ll see if Kim has any other ideas. Have a good night. 😀 –Diane
Also here, No Sat 19 Aug 23 Newsletter anywhere (?!) and only able to find the ‘free abbreviated’ version on your Web links?! We have/do contribute at least yearly from our retirement $$ to get the ‘full’ version and support y’all best we can 😞
I apologize that you didn’t receive the email alert for today’s newsletter, Becca. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll pass this info along to Kim. I just looked in the records and it shows it was sent to you at 2:30 a.m., same as with Kelly and Glenn. Very frustrating when there’s a glitch like this which is difficult to track down. If you don’t receive the email alert tomorrow, please let me know and I’ll update Kim on the situation. Also, thank you very much for your ongoing support. We truly appreciate it. Have a good night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Same thing to me
Sorry, Shed builder aka Steve. Thank you for letting me know. I’ve reported this problem to Kim, our IT dude. He says if our records show that the email alerts were sent (which they do), it’s probably not on our end. But he will look into this further on Monday. (I just looked your account up, and it indicates the email was sent to you at O2:31:02.) Probably those danged gremlins again. Sheesh!😠😉 Have a good night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Originally the Mackinaw Bridge tolls paid for the construction bonds and maintenance. Once the bonds were paid, the tolls were greatly reduced to cover maintenance. And as maintenance costs increased, so did the tolls. Given the conditions at the bridge’s location, maintenance is pretty much non-stop. If you can find it, Mike Rowe’s Dirty Jobs episode on bridge maintenance was one of the most expensively produced episodes.
As a Michigander, I am of mixed feelings about eliminating the toll. With the toll, bridge maintenance is pretty much guaranteed. When it becomes another line item in the State’s highway budget, it is subject to the whim of politicians. Driving between the State’s two peninsulas in the winter without the Big Mack requires crossing multiple States or even countries.