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Saturday, August 10, 2024
Issue 1169
Free, abbreviated edition
Did you miss last Sunday’s important essay by RVtravel.com founder and publisher Chuck Woodbury? It’s titled: Why your favorite RV website may soon disappear.
The latest news for RVers
Some call it the act of a patriot; others the act of a scofflaw. Regardless of the viewpoint, the facts are that Camping World’s flag is back up over the dealership in French Camp, California. Not a company logo flag, but an American flag, so big it weighs more than 70 pounds. But the flag-flying violates local law.
When an emergency comes up, it sometimes closes public lands. It could be something unforeseen that poses a public safety risk. It might be a special event like an off-road vehicle race. On BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land, there hasn’t been a way to quickly put out the word. You might wonder, is BLM land open where I want to go, or not? The BLM has a new rule that modernizes the way it lets the public know about temporary closures and restrictions.
Snowbirds delight in Arizona’s wild burros. Oatman, Arizona, depends on downtown burro traffic to bring tourists, carrots for the burros, and credit cards for the merchants. But a little farther south in the Lake Havasu area, the charm has worn off for some. The BLM says Lake Havasu burros must go. Here’s why.
The pictures are frightening enough. A motorhome with walls and roof blasted away. The headline is priceless: “Camper sent to hospital after propane tank exploded in trailer at Sturgeon campground.” We can see heads shaking as readers puzzle, “What kind of idiot would keep a propane cylinder in his RV?” One part is true, a propane explosion blasted an RV. As to the cause? Well, it’s a case of “Don’t believe everything you read.”
Instead of putting together more opportunities for businesses to lease lands for commercial purposes, the BLM is looking to open locked-up lands for recreation. Under the Dingell Act, the Department of the Interior is directed to ask for the public’s help nominating public lands that are ideal places to hunt, fish, ride, hike, or play. There’s a short window to submit your nominations, so act quickly.
Park rangers have located the body of a missing person, marking the third death at this popular national park in one week, officials announced Thursday. This tragic discovery follows the deaths of two other park visitors earlier this week. The NPS urges all visitors to exercise caution and adhere to park guidelines for their safety. Here’s the full story.
Gas prices drop, way down from year ago. Falling by just three cents since last week, the national average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline hit $3.45, similar to the price in June. Here are the numbers and the state-by-state breakdown.
Campground crowding (and more!)
Look at the whole campground when booking, not just the site. Plus, reader’s idea of ‘roughing it’? An outdoor pool!
This week Nanci Dixon shares more of your tips for finding reasonably priced campsites, and the importance of careful planning and keeping a positive attitude.
RV walk-through
First-of-its-kind 2024 RV generates its own water
By Cheri Sicard
Crowded campgrounds? Who cares? The 2024 Living Vehicle, the first of its kind in the industry, offers perpetual resource generation. That means total electric independence and the industry’s first water-from-air generation system. The world is now your campground!
Click here to read more and tour
RVing with Fido? Get more Wow! for your bowwow if you pick one of these “Top 9 for K-9s.” It’s a list of “favorite” campgrounds that have “gone to the dogs” according to users of The Dyrt, a camping availability app. Here are the 9 most dog-friendly campgrounds.
A newly established RV park in Portland, Texas, just outside Corpus Christi, is providing residents with a much-needed affordable living option. The park is designed to cater specifically to the needs of refinery and plant workers, offering long-term luxury RV spaces within close proximity to their workplaces. Continue reading.
Get ready to see some meteors! This weekend, RVers across the U.S. have a front-row seat to one of the year’s most spectacular celestial events—the Perseids meteor shower. Known for its bright, fast-moving meteors, the Perseids are a summer favorite, especially for those camping under dark skies. Here are the best places and times to see them.
Last month we reported on the terrified woman who called police to report that a man was threatening to burn her and her children while they sheltered in their RV. It was a peculiar situation, given that the suspect’s “weapon” turned out to be a cordless drill. Now Los Angeles police have released video of the RV threat suspect takedown.
At least one person was hurt and one RVer left homeless when Hurricane Debby tossed trailers in Florida last Sunday night. Five RVs were flipped over, one of them giving a person inside a nasty ride, resulting in another ride to the hospital. Here’s the story.
As we reported, May 2024 retail RV sales were bad enough, down 16% from May 2023. Couldn’t get any worse, right? Wrong! RV sales worsened in June, diving nearly 21% overall.
When Will and Marshall Barnett from Buckeye, Arizona, left for a “boys’ week” road trip, little did they know they’d come home with treasure. The pair found a two-carat diamond at Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park. It’s the second-largest diamond discovery there this year. Check this out!
Our customers come first!
Family-run RV dealer Cheyenne Camping Center, one of America’s largest volume dealers, has served customers nationwide from Iowa since 1966. Get the lowest possible price without need to negotiate. No hard sell!! Long-time RVtravel.com supporter. Visit us today, (800) 397-5673.
Imagine being sound asleep in your rig. Suddenly there’s a pounding on your door, and shouts of “Fire!” It happened to a Crook County, Oregon, couple on Friday. They not only lost their RV to the fire, they also thought they’d lost two beloved pets—but there’s a happy ending.
Planning on staying at Tunnel Mountain Campground in Canada’s Banff National Park? Look sharp, everyone. There’s a cougar alert for a big cat that’s been prowling the area. The warning has been issued for all trails, facilities and campgrounds within the Tunnel Mountain area and along the Tunnel Mountain bench, which are adjacent to the Banff townsite.
Three visitors were cited for firing paintballs at signs, bathrooms and dumpsters throughout southern California’s Joshua Tree National Park on Aug. 4. A park ranger patrolling the Jumbo Rocks Campground noticed fresh yellow paintball splatter on structures and signs. Law enforcement rangers were called to the campground to investigate. Here’s the full story.
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 monocular telescope?
How to win
We’ll select a winner at random out of all entries we receive today (August 10, 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!
Reader poll
Do you know how to drive a vehicle with a “stick shift” (manual transmission)?
Take an extra 10% off a GhostBed luxury RV mattress!
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RV and RV-related recalls
Jayco recalls motorhomes for electrical fire risk
Jayco is recalling certain 2024-2025 Entegra Anthem, Aspire, Cornerstone, Reatta, and Reatta XL motorhomes. The battery cables may not be the correct size, in the correct location, or they may be improperly tightened, which can cause an electrical short or allow the cables to overheat. 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 ??
One of our staff members is, well, we can’t say the verb because it’ll give it away, but we’ll tell you they’re doing something with this right now and enjoying it very much. Not to mention learning a whole lot! Check it out.
Latest fuel prices
Here are the latest U.S. average prices per gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel as of August 5, 2024:
Regular unleaded gasoline: $3.45
Change from week before: Down 4 cents; Change from year before: Down 38 cents.
Diesel: $3.76
Change from week before: Down 1 cent; Change from year before: Down 48 cents.
For fuel prices for specific regions, states, and cities, go to U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Recipe of the day
Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches
by Gaynel Mohler from Junction City, OH
Present these homemade ice cream sandwiches to your family and watch them disappear. The chocolate cookie has crisp outer edges and a chewy center. It holds up when softened ice cream is sandwiched in between. Fill with your family’s favorite ice cream and toppings. We used vanilla and chocolate cookie ice cream with a combination of chocolate chips, mint candies, crushed chocolate cookies, and cereal. Once wrapped, we used a permanent pen to write down the flavor combination and enjoyed snacking on them all week.
Trivia
In the U.S., skin cancer most often appears on the left side of the body. Why? Think about driving down the road in your RV. Yup, your left arm is exposed to all that sunlight!
The perfect scam
Volunteer Fire Department gets scammed
Volunteer firefighters are vital to the communities they serve, selflessly giving up their time to provide lifesaving emergency fire, rescue and medical services. So, when the Volunteer Fire Department in Rockville, Maryland, are targeted by a scammer while they were in the process of purchasing two new ambulances, the community comes to their rescue.
Laugh of the week
Today in history
RVtravel.com All Star Team
Click here for information about our staff and how to contact us.
The old ribbon and knot deal from a dog…priceless.
Have to say it – good for Camping World!!!
Finally, a recipe that looks good
My first car was a stick shift. I would drive to PA ever summer in it. Uh try sticking it with hills and having to stick shift on PA hills. Uh huh. Test of nerves. Guess that is why I ended up a school bus driver. Uh huh.
Good issue. How about writing an article or two covering the myriad of phone apps campers use?