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Saturday, August 3, 2024
Issue 1168
Free, abbreviated edition
Campground crowding (and more!)
Campsites aren’t as advertised; RV parks increase nighty rate, quality falls short
This week, Nanci Dixon shares your reports of a campground’s “false advertising,” more complaints of campsite prices going up but no improvements to show for the increase, corporate takeovers taking the “friendly” out of camping, and reservation difficulties for not only Canadian snowbirds but also for Floridians who want to camp in their state parks.
RV walk-through
The 2024 inTech Flyer Explore, a tiny toy hauler
By Cheri Sicard
I continue to be impressed by inTech, an RV manufacturer with a reputation for outstanding quality. Their 2024 Flyer Explore, a small but mighty toy hauler trailer, is no exception.
Click here to read more and tour
The latest news for RVers
Less than an hour from the glitz of the Las Vegas strip, boondockers have had a refuge. The Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a winter playground, and Government Wash a major draw for RVers who put their self-containment to the test. But now, it’s all over. Crime and damage are closing this popular Lake Mead boondocking area.
Marcus Lemonis, Camping World CEO, wants to dominate the RV retail industry, but Camping World takeovers are not faring well across the country. RV dealers make a deal with Lemonis, but at the last minute have a change of heart and back away from the deal. So what’s really going on here?
A new report shows one-third of West Coast campers reported that wildfires or natural disasters disrupted 2023 camping plans. That’s three times more than those who said their plans were disrupted in 2019. It indicates a steady rise over the past five years, according to a press release. Read the report here.
Expect long traffic delays on I-5 in southern Washington state. Lanes will be reduced to complete a bridge rehabilitation project at the North Fork Lewis River Bridge near Woodland. The project to repair the bridge deck, modify expansion joints and install a polyester concrete overlay on both directions began on July 22 and is expected to take until mid-September to complete. Here are the details.
And even more delays… Drivers can expect travel delays of up to two hours in multiple locations on Interstate 80 (I-80) along the Sierra Corridor in Northern California. There will be various lane and ramp closures in multiple locations along I-80 due to several projects and emergency repairs and that delays should be expected throughout summer and fall.
Campfire fans are familiar with ashes. And how often do we connect national parks with campfires? But there’s another kind of ashes finding their way into national parks. A survey by a life insurance company finds that national parks are a hit for folks planning their final resting place. So where are the most common ash-spreading requests? See the list here.
Planning an RV road trip? Still haven’t quite made up your mind on where to go? Here’s some help. Want to know the truly outdoor-friendly cities? Or how about the ones that aren’t so outdoor-friendly? Peer-to-peer RV rental company RVshare says they know the Top 10 most – and least – outdoor-friendly cities.
If you’ve struggled to find an open site for your RV, you know how difficult it can be. With dates in hand, you hit the internet. State park? Forest Service campground? National park campground? You hit each website, poke in the dates, and maybe you pray. Now a new startup company says you can use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to find campsites.
Visit a National Park tomorrow and you’ll get free entry. That’s right, all National Parks are free tomorrow, August 4, in celebration of the Great American Outdoors Act. Here are the details. Have fun!
Camping World fooled Wall Street analysts – and not in a good way. The company released its second quarter 2024 report on July 31, after the U.S. market closed. That Camping World’s financial report disappoints investors is an understatement. Read what it says.
Love’s Travel Stops is now serving customers including RVers in Valdosta, Georgia, with the opening of its 20th location in the “Peach State.” The travel stop includes five full-hookup back-in RV sites and a dog park. No pull-through sites are provided. More info here.
Gas prices are low, and fuel watcher GasBuddy says they could go still lower. The outfit compiled data from more than 12 million individual price reports covering more than 150,000 gas stations across the country. What does it show?
Man buys motorhome, smells gas and pulls into a gas station. Motorhome catches fire and burns up minutes after purchase from dealer. It sounds like a bad joke, and for the motorhome buyer in Cross Plains, Tennessee, it was all bad, and anything but a joke.
As of Friday, August 2, the Park Fire in Butte and Tehama counties, California, continues to challenge firefighting efforts. It is the fifth-largest wildfire in California’s history. Here are the latest updates on the situation. Additionally, the Park Fire has closed Lassen Volcanic National Park, and all campers have been evacuated.
BLM law enforcers have caught yet another wildfire arsonist for dumping his trash in Oregon’s Willamette National Forest, lighting it on fire, then leaving. Talk about stupid! Here’s the whole story.
We’ve written about the much-hyped Grand Design Lineage motorhome, which comes with much fanfare. In June, they rolled one out in public. But still, not everyone interested could go to New York to see it. Now the company is embarking on a show-off tour. Is Lineage coming to a dealership near you?
Yellowstone National Park and the USGS Volcanoes U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are seeking witnesses and information regarding the hydrothermal explosion event that took place in Yellowstone’s Biscuit Basin on July 23, 2024. Can you help?
In a recent incident that sounds like something straight out of a wildlife documentary, Vermont game warden Jeremy Schmid was called to an unusual and potentially dangerous situation: A bear had found its way into the attic of a condo development. If a bear can do that, is it possible for a bear to access your RV?
And speaking of Vermont… Many RVers travel north during the summer to avoid the heat in other parts of the country. If you choose to camp in beautiful Vermont, you might expect images of rolling green hills, charming small towns, and covered bridges. Today, however, the state faces a challenge that contrasts starkly with its serene landscape: devastating flooding from record rainfall.
Who says bears are dumb? Not this one! It all started in mid-July when campers at the Soapstone Campground near Kamas, Utah, reported a ravaging black bear was rooting through trash receptacles. Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest officials responded by shutting down the campground and dispersed camping areas. Nope, not a dumb bear.
DON’T MISS THE NEWS!
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What’s new at campgrounds and RV parks
Stay up to date on news about campgrounds and RV parks across North America. Every week, learn about new parks, expansions, or special events coming up at campgrounds throughout North America. Read this week’s latest news here.
Saturday giveaway
How would you like to win this 3-in-1 NOAA radio, flashlight and phone charger?
How to win
We’ll select a winner at random out of all entries we receive today (August 3, 2024) 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!
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.
Reader poll
How old were you when you first learned to drive?
RV and RV-related recalls
Forest River recalls some 2025 trailers for microwave issue
Forest River is recalling certain 2025 Cherokee CKT20-0G travel trailers. During installation, an incorrect length screw was used to install the microwave, which allowed the screw to enter the microwave compartment. Learn more.
Tiffin RV recall: Blown fuse may cause engine shutdown
Tiffin is recalling certain 2022-2023 Phaeton, Allegro Bus, and Zephyr motorhomes. The PowerGlide chassis controller may have insufficient circuit protection, which can result in a blown fuse and cause an engine shutdown. Learn more.
HAVE YOU SEEN THESE STOLEN RVs?
We’re beefing up our coverage of stolen RVs to help find as many as we can, and you can help. To see what was most recently stolen, click here. Then keep your eyes open.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
You like cool gadgets, right? You also like things that save you space in your limited-space RV, don’t you? And you probably have a lot of these. You might even collect them, do you? Well, we think you’re going to appreciate this.
Latest fuel prices
Here are the latest U.S. average prices per gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel as of July 29, 2024:
Regular unleaded gasoline: $3.48
Change from week before: Up 1 cent; Change from year before: Down 27 cents.
Diesel: $3.77
Change from week before: Down 1 cent; Change from year before: Down 36 cents.
For fuel prices for specific regions, states, and cities, go to U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Recipe of the day
BLT Salad With Greek Yogurt Dressing
by Maya Turnor from Tumwater, WA
When you say BLT, you’ll win everyone over with this recipe. It features bacon, lettuce, and tomato like the sandwich, but it mixes in pasta and tossed with a creamy dressing to create a pasta salad. The lettuce and tomatoes are fresh and a flavorful contrast to the crispy, savory bacon. You may want to prepare a little extra dressing… it’s that good. Enjoy this pasta salad alone, add grilled chicken, or serve it as a side dish.
Trivia
Having trouble concentrating? Try chewing gum. A study in the British Journal of Psychology found that the subjects who chewed gum while taking part in a memory challenge were able to stay more focused for longer periods of time than those who did not chew gum.
The perfect scam
How Scammers Could Sell Your Land (Without You Knowing)
Daniel no longer lives in his hometown of Fairfield, Connecticut, but he still owns a plot of land that was essentially his childhood backyard. When he returns to visit a sick friend, he is shocked to find that a developer has cleared the trees and is halfway through building a luxury home on his property. But how could something like this happen, when the land was never up for sale? Daniel learns how a criminal with forged documents impersonated him and completed the sale without his knowledge.
Laugh of the week
My email password has been hacked. That’s the third time I’ve had to rename the cat.
Today in history
RVtravel.com All Star Team
Click here for information about our staff and how to contact us.
We have laws against boondocking more than 14 days but as far as I can tell they are rarely enforced, thats the real problem!
Yep. We drove the 101 recently and stopped trying to enjoy the vistas. Too many squatters living in them harassing people for money. A couple of rest stops were even worse. Sinks used as bath tubs, “residents” expecting hand outs and squatters having more rights than travelers. It’s not a crime to be houseless but squatting and trashing public lands used to be unlawful.
Not just rest stops. They are also hanging around service plazas on major interstates. We’ve had a few asking for money for gas. “Sorry, don’t carry cash!”
Also wanting a ride to the next exit. Really
Gas prices may be down a bit but I would hardly call them low.
Just for perspective, 30¢ gas in 1966 is now $2.89.
Well it’s just a sign of the times we’re living in. The good times have ended a while ago
A little late (a day) in reading the newsletter, but gee, some things just don’t jive. Gas prices are low! Are you kidding me? Sure they are down from $5 + a gallon a year or so ago, but $3.50-$4 a gallon is nothing to sneeze at. Prices are still up or a buck a gallon with the current folks in Washington and the WH. Campground crowding, hasn’t this section run its course as just a bitch section? Stay away from my state parks, but ok if I visit yours, prices going up, sure, but who’s responsible for such rabid inflation across all spectrums of the country? Only four transient sites are available, boo ho, was any kind of research done before booking? Tiring to read.