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Saturday, December 23, 2023
Issue 1136
Featured articles
Court says a Montana KOA owes Blackfeet Nation $1.7 million
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
Two Montana court rulings landed hard thumps on Eagle Bear Inc., a KOA campground operator in St. Mary, Montana. William and Susan Brooke have operated the KOA on land owned by the Blackfeet Nation since 1997. Now rulings by two courts say the Montana KOA owes the Blackfeet Nation $1.7 million in back taxes. Another ruling says that the KOA has been illegally squatting on tribal land for nearly 15 years. Continue reading.
RV service station debuts in Arizona—A one-stop solution for RVers
Your rig is low on propane. And you need to dump the tanks. And don’t forget, your mate reminds you, those holding tanks really stink! You’re short on ice, water, and firewood, too. Wouldn’t it be great if you could handle all of it in one stop? Imagine, a truly “full service” RV service station. Well, now there is one. Click here to learn more.
Court orders Washington RV park to pay nearly $1 million in penalties
By Randall Brink
As I reported back in August 2023, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued a “cease and desist” order against an Ilwaco, WA, mobile home park operator, Beacon Charters and RV Park, LLC, and filed a lawsuit…. AG Ferguson later filed a motion for partial summary judgment in the lawsuit. On December 15, 2023, he announced that the Grays Harbor County Superior Court, where the case is being heard, has ordered the owners of the RV Park, Michael and Denise Werner, to pay $926,500 in penalties for unlawfully issuing eviction and utility shut-off notices. Learn more.
“Camping” in left lane could become illegal in Florida
A bill in Florida’s House of Representatives would make “camping” in the left lane illegal. HB317 would forbid any vehicle from continuously operating in the far left-hand lane of roadways that allow speeds of 65 mph or more. Read more.
FCC retaliates against Musk and Starlink, denies SpaceX $886 million rural broadband subsidy
OPINION By Randall Brink
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted 3-2 along party lines to deny SpaceX a $886 million subsidy under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). The fund’s purpose is to provide rural internet service. Any inhibition of rural internet broadband service can potentially adversely affect Starlink Roam service for RVers. Continue reading.
Starlink for RVers: 2023 news recap
Our Starlink and SpaceX expert, Randall Brink, has the latest news on Starlink for RVers, including: “SpaceX opens sales of next-gen Starlink dish, no invite required”; “SpaceX will test Starlink on T-Mobile phones after FCC clears plan”; ““Starlink most disruptive force in satellite market”; and much more. Read all the latest Starlink for RVers news here.
Take an extra 10% off a GhostBed luxury RV mattress!
The GhostBed RV mattress is 10” deep, crafted with gel memory foam for coolness, has 3 layers of luxurious comfort and is perfectly sized for your RV! Ahhhh… Wake up relaxed and rejuvenated. RVtravel.com readers now get an EXTRA 10% OFF a GhostBed Luxury RV Mattress! CLICK HERE and use code RVTRAVEL10. Watch RVtravel.com’s Tony Barthel’s RV mattress review here.
Campground Crowding
High gas prices biggest complaint among RVers; and Love’s overnight stops too expensive
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 reports on readers extolling the many advantages of using Corps of Engineers campgrounds, more complaints about the high cost of fuel, suggestions for saving on travel expenses, and the importance of being flexible when traveling.
RV Video Tour
Is this Barbie’s RV? Crazy pink travel trailer by Vintage Cruiser
By Cheri Sicard
In the video below we join JD from Big Truck Big RV (one of our readers’ favorite RV YouTube channels) for a tour of a crazy new travel trailer from Vintage Cruiser that will make you think you just walked into Barbie’s RV. That’s right, it’s pink. Very pink. Very, very pink.
Actually, there is a good reason behind the pink RV…
We are now reporting the news daily
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Don’t want to sign up? Don’t worry. This newsletter isn’t going anywhere. Continue reading this newsletter every Saturday for a recap of the latest news for RVers.
More RVing News
When neighborhoods have problems, sometimes there are “creative” solutions. Plenty of local governments have offered a reward to those turning in unwanted firearms, but RVs? Marin County, California, may be the first to offer a buyback program for RVs. But don’t get excited that you can finally get rid of that worn-out motorhome you have in the backyard. Read on.
RV park junk fees sometimes upset RVers. You look on the park website, and you think you’re paying so much per night, but when it’s time to settle up, hey, bingo! You get hit with a hidden junk fee for, say, “campground fees” or “reservation fees.” In California, RV park junk fees and others will soon be illegal.
Chicken takes up RVing! Stowaway chicken, Juanita, a Rhode Island Red hen, took an unexpected road trip in a motorhome from Florida to Kansas. Casie Hart, from Chiefland, Florida, said the family had visitors over the Thanksgiving holidays. Relatives from Kansas rented a motorhome and came out to stay a few days. But just after the motorhome rolled out of the yard, the Hart kids noticed their favorite bird was missing. Continue reading.
Love’s Travel Stops has opened three new travel stops, and one of them offers five RV hookup sites. The Watertown, New York, Love’s sports RV hookups, while the other two locations provide RV parking while using inside services. Learn more.
If you are visiting Colorado and think you hear the howl of a wolf, it’s possible you are correct. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) experts released five gray wolves onto public land in Grand County Monday in a historic effort to create a permanent, self-sustaining wolf population and fulfill voter approval to re-establish gray wolves in Colorado. Learn more.
A major off-road race will close some BLM lands near Parker, Arizona. The BLM land closure may affect RVers, particularly boondockers and off-road enthusiasts. The agency says a temporary closure and restrictions of selected public lands will start January 4. More info here.
RVtravel.com’s top 10 best-selling books of 2023
It’s time we take a look back through our Amazon sales and see which RV books you loved this year. Which books got you to new campgrounds, new sights, onto new adventures, took you down new roads… Without further ado, here are the top 10 best-selling RV books of 2023 on Amazon.
Saturday Giveaway!
How would you like to win this Happy Camper hat?
How to win
We’ll select a winner at random out of all entries we receive today (December 23, 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
Has your RV ever developed a water leak that caused serious damage?
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Oooooh, you know we love a gadget that stores flat! What’s better for RVers? This is very cool and will come in handy all over the place!
RV Recalls
- Honda recall—2.5 million called back for bad fuel pump
- Honda CR-V Hybrid recall—Short can lead to fire
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS STOLEN RV?
This RVer is in a world of hurt. A 2015 Jayco travel trailer, 29′, stolen December 15. Taken from the 1300 block on Donley, Euless, Texas, the owner had just recently bought the rig. So recently that the owner had yet to transfer the title. With no VIN number on hand, police can’t do much to help. Trailer’s owner had left his tools and precious heirlooms in the RV. Have you seen the rig? If so, drop a line to Russ (at) rvtravel.com and we’ll put you in touch with the owner.
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 December 18, 2023:
Regular unleaded gasoline: $3.05
Change from week before: Down 8 cents; Change from year before: Down 7 cents.
Diesel: $3.89
Change from week before: Down 9 cents; Change from year before: Down 70 cents.
For fuel prices for specific regions, states, and cities, go to U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Upcoming RV shows
Click here for a directory of upcoming shows.
Recipe of the Day
Russian Tea Balls
by Terry Brooks from Lynn Haven, FL
Tender and buttery, these Russian tea cake cookies are delicious. They literally melt in your mouth. Filled with chopped walnuts, there is a nice crunch. The cookie itself isn’t overly sweet. Generously dusting them with powdered sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness. Some may know these as snowball cookies or Mexican wedding cookies. We agree with Terry that they’re a must-make at Christmas. The recipe makes a lot of cookies that can be given as gifts.
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Trivia
The famous Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was originally written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas. James Lord Pierpont composed the song in 1857 and titled it “One Horse Open Sleigh.” It became associated with Christmas over time and is now one of the most recognizable and popular holiday tunes worldwide.
Laugh of the Week
Thanks to Mike Ward for sending this to us (back in July!). [Yay! We remembered!]
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, Jan Steele and Tony Barthel. 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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Sorry… but this publication has moved more towards negative reporting and political agendas. Case in point, that “opinion” piece by Brink. What politically motivated garbage. If I wanted fake news, I’d watch FOX and MSNBC.
Half of your articles are negative in nature (I counted). Even your Reader Poll is negative.
Might be a good time to say goodbye.
Bye!
You just need to remember that the writers are human and are just writers. They are not experts in anything, just talking. Think of it like someone telling a story at a bar. Just scan it and move on to the next article. Find the items that you like, and ignore the rest.
The issue is we’ve been told over and over to not bring politics into comments on this site, yet the writers can under the guise of RV related? The newsletter has gone from a helpful, interesting morning read to a two minute scan and move on. It’s a shame.
If the writers are not experts in anything, why would the editors accept any of their articles? What if the article stated how an “evil one percenter tried to steal money from hard working Americans and the benevolent government stopped them in their tracks”?
What the author wrote, and what I just stated about “evil one percenters”, are just agendas being pushed by extremists without any basis in fact. There is no evidence this was a politically motivated ruling, and yet the author conveniently only stated one side of the issue.
Sorry, but no. Leave the politics out.
Who spit in his egg nogg? Then do not read the reporting. Read the other stuff. Now on to home made egg nogg. Yum with coconut rum.
Will we ever get back the “Oldest First” option?
I don’t know, Gary. I’ll ask our IT dude again. I think it has something to do with too many options slowing down our website, but don’t quote me on that. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Russian tea cookies. OMG I forgot how much I love those. As for the vin on the stolen RV? There is a way to get that vin number. Its from the original owner who had the RV. Otherwise that sucks to get something and then have it stolen. I wish them luck. Vintage? Those thieves knew what they were getting. As for St Mary? I foresee a bankruptcy on the horizon. KOA is going to be hurting with that one. Sounds like a few people are not going to have a very merry xmas. Merry Xmas everyone.