Travel columnist Jill Schensul writes about “What you need to know before renting an RV” at NorthJersey.com.  She says:

… there’s a definite "something" about an RV that has made it an increasingly popular way to vacation. The number of RV-owning households in the U.S. is projected to rise to nearly 8.5 million — a gain of 15 percent between 2001 and 2010; RV rentals have grown even faster. Today it is a $350 million a year business.

Baby boomers account for the largest segment of RV ownership, as well as the fastest-growing segment of the market. Even in a down economy, RV rentals remain popular. For example, El Monte RV and Cruise America, two of the world’s largest RV rental agencies, reported strong bookings throughout the summer, and campgrounds say they’ve seen an increase of 5 percent to 10 percent this year over 2009, which was a notably good year for the industry.

"In this economy, the affordability of RV vacations is especially attractive whether you rent or own," says Richard Coon, president of the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.

Ms. Schensul rented a 19-foot motorhome from Cruise America for a trip from New Jersey to Kentucky, then Indiana, and home.  Read her full article at North Jersey.com.

An article and video (below) at Voice of America looks at the home-on-wheels concept in America today, comparing it to the canvas-topped, horse-drawn wagons of pioneering emigrants of the nation’s past.

 

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the manufactured RV in the U.S., an industry worth $9 billion annually today.

Folks in North Central Indiana say they grow three crops: corn, soybeans, and recreational vehicles.

You can buy or rent an RV in a dizzying array of shapes and sizes.  The smallest can be had for a few thousand dollars – much less than a new car; others can cost a million dollars or more. Some are pulled (travel trailers, 5th wheel trailers, tent or folding trailers, teardrops, etc.) , some are motorized (motorhomes), and some fit on the back of a pickup truck (truck campers).

More than half of all American RVs are built in Elkhart County. There’s also a sizeable RV museum in Elkhart. Resident historian Al Hesselbart says Americans have always been insatiably curious about what’s just out of sight over the next rise.

"The American public, at least a very high percentage of us, have always been vagabonds.  We have a huge, beautiful country," says Hesselbart. "An awful lot of us want to take advantage and see as much of that country as they possibly can."

Read the full Voice of America article.

Hi-Lo travel trailer fifth wheel towed by a truck on highway through town north of Jackson, Wyoming, town center, July 17, 2010.

Coachmen Freelander Class C motorhome RV in Jackson, Wyoming, town center, July 17, 2010.

A dyed in the wool tent camper shares her impressions of pop-up trailer camping in an Austin American-Statesman (statesman.com) article.

I love to snooze in a tent, with nothing between me and the great outdoors but a gently flapping fabric wall.

I don’t care about high-thread-count sheets or air-conditioning. I’d rather snuggle in a down-filled bag under my two-person portable mansion in the woods.

At least most of the time.

So when my sister and her husband, who live in Denver, bought a pop-up camper a few years ago, I was skeptical.

Hard walls and rubber wheels on a camping trip? Next thing you know, they’d be taking a television and satellite dish on their park outings.

Then I experienced my first weekend in the Pierce (that’s their last name) Pop-Up.

Read more in the statesman.com article.

According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah is looking into the possibility of privatizing some Utah State Parks.

The chairman of a board looking at the potential for privatizing state government functions would like to see Utah privatize a handful of state parks to see if they can be run more efficiently than they are now.

The Utah Privatization Policy Board, an advisory panel to the Legislature, has been exploring privatization for several months. But Randy Simmons, chairman of the board, said he would like to see a pilot project to see how private companies can manage six to eight state parks.

The state currently manages 43 parks, reservoirs, museums and golf courses.

Read the rest of the article in the Salt Lake Tribune.

We saw a lot more people tent camping on our trip out west than we normally see in the south during the summer months.

I really didn’t focus on taking photos of tent camping situations.  These were part of a series I took of the campground while we were staying there.

Site page changes:

I am currently working on some of the pages on the website, including:

• Recreational Vehicles
• RV Manufacturers:
• Motor Coaches and Class A Motorhomes
• Class B Motorhomes and Vans
• Class C Motorhomes
• Fifth Wheel Trailers
• Travel Trailers
• Tear Drop Trailers
• Tent and Folding Trailers
• Truck Campers

The changes include a new image in the top header – our motorhome and towed car overlaid on a map of the route of our 2010 trip.

Other changes include adjusting the location of page content and ad space.  Updates to content will occur soon.

Prime Time Manufacturing has expanded its product offering with the introduction of the company’s first fifth wheel, the mid-priced Crusader.   Full production of the new Crusader started in June and Prime Time officials recently delivered the first production model to General RV, in Wixom, MI.
Loren Baidas, President of General RV, and several members of the dealership’s management and sales team were presented with the 2011 Crusader 270RET fifth wheel by Prime Time president Jeff Rank and Chris Hermon, Prime Time’s VP of sales.  According to Rank, “General RV is not only one of Prime Time’s largest dealers, but also a huge dealer for all of Forest River.  When we started the company, General was one of the first dealers to come aboard and we are thankful for their continued commitment and support of Prime Time Manufacturing.  It’s an honor to deliver this very special Crusader fifth wheel to Loren and his team”.
General RV, with 9 locations, is the nation’s largest family owned dealership.  In acceptance, Baidas was quick to compliment the young company, “The new Crusader has a great look and lots of easy to sell features.  It will definitely be a nice addition to our dealerships.  Prime Time is quickly becoming a bigger part of our business plan and we are excited to be a factor in their rapid growth”.
After the presentation, Hermon was able to show several unique features of the new Crusader including the innovative Super Turn front cap, Slam Latch pass thru baggage doors, Quiet Cool ducted return air conditioning, and solid cherry hardwood cabinet doors and drawers.  During the walk-thru with the dealership, Hermon emphasized, “We’ve loaded Crusader with features not normally found on a mid-profile fifth wheel and priced it very aggressively to deliver more value.”  Additional Crusader upgrades on the 270RET include solid surface countertops, an RCA Soundwave entertainment system, bumper mounted swing arm grill, hitch cover, and a 42” LCD with electric lift.

Base MSRP of the new Crusader fifth wheel is $29,500.

Source: Prime Time RV News Release

Terry Resort fifth wheel towed by a Dodge Ram 2500 truck on highway north of Jackson, Wyoming, town center, July 17, 2010.

Our national parks are places where nature is preserved – and nature can be dangerous.

We have been away from news  internet service for about 4 or 5 days.

A while back, I subscribed to press releases from the National park Service.  While going through those that had accumulated, I noticed that there were several fatalities .  Then, while I was putting this post together, I was told about bear maulings in the Yellowstone area.

Nature can be dangerous.

Some people get hurt or killed because they don’t follow the rules.

Sometimes, though, natural events are the cause.  The bear maulings near Yellowstone appear to be very unusual, where no one did anything wrong.  It appears to be a rogue bear.

Links on each of the picture go to the applicable news piece.