Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Zoning Panel to mull Havasu City island district
At a September 2008 meeting, the City Council approved a policy that would allow for new developments to have a residential element of no more than 40 percent of the mixed-use development. The council determined to prohibit single-family development, as part of the plan.
The island district would have similar standards to the Channel Riverwalk and the proposed Body Beach district. With these standards in mind, the primary purpose would be to allow for continued public access along the shoreline and ensure public amenities such as parks, beaches and trails.
If the City Council eventually approves the zoning of the district, the business possibilities in the area could go a long way in attracting tourism. Bars, nightclubs, boat launch facilities, playgrounds, museums and galleries, hotels and motels, resorts, restaurants and retail sales stores are just some of possibilities for the district.
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RV Repair and Maintenance Manual: Updated and Expanded
Holland Motor Homes Joins Newell Coach
This will be more convenient for Newell customers in California, Arizona and Nevada; and Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
"Holland Motor Homes is excited to offer sales and service support for Newell motorcoaches," Mike Dykstra and John Dykstra, owners of Holland Motor Homes, said in a joint statement. "Newell motorcoaches offer high performance and easy handling; spacious, luxurious living; and advanced features unmatched in the bus-class marketplace. We look forward to offering the Newell product to our clientele and providing Newell owners with after-sale support."
"Unlike most motor homes that are production models purchased from dealers' inventories, most Newells are custom-built for their purchaser," said Newell president, Karl Blade. "This will continue with Holland's clients."
"The Holland Motor Home organization and the Dykstra family have been leaders in our industry since 1966," Blade continued. "Holland has a stellar reputation for customer service and integrity. The association of Holland Motor Homes and Newell is a natural partnership."
About Holland Motor Homes:
With locations in and San Diego, CA, and Holland, MI, Holland Motor Homes is one of the nation's most respected luxury motorhome dealers. In business for over 40 years, Holland has consistently earned recognition and awards for exceptional customer satisfaction in both sales and service. For more information about Holland's San Diego, CA, location, call: 1-800-961-4464, For more information about the Holland, MI, location, call:1-800-221-7197. Or visit: www.holland-motorhomes.com.
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Take the Full Time RVer Aptitude Test It's mostly just for fun but it will help you decide if full time RVing is right for you.
Michigan DNR needs state park hosts
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is offering free camping for outdoor lovers who volunteer as campground hosts at Michigan state parks or forest campgrounds.
There are only a few stipulations.
You have to be at least 18 years old, be available to provide services 5 days a week for a total of 30 hours a week, serve a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks, and supply your own camping equipment.
Campground hosts are needed to answer visitor questions, arrange activates, and help with light maintenance.
For more information on becoming a campground host at state park recreation areas contact Maia Stephens at 1-517-373-8378.
For more information on becoming a campground host at a state forest recreation area contact Ada Takacs at 1-989-275-5151 Ext. 2049.
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Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 2nd Edition gives you tips, tools and resources to live where you want, when you want. With key points on topics like writing an RV resume, networking, and how to negotiate for better compensation, it is the ultimate handbook for those who are thinking about working or volunteering as they travel in their RV.
Florida's Middle Keys Has New RV Park
On land formerly occupied by the Whispering Pines trailer park, the Grassy Key RV Park & Resort welcomes daily, weekly and monthly visitors and their pets.
The property's 34 sites include those with standard, premium, waterfront and deluxe waterfront views of the Gulf of Mexico -- each with water and 30- or 50-amp electric hookup. The resort also provides boat dockage and trailer storage.
A common meeting area with laundry facilities and television, and a social event clubhouse are in the final stages of completion.
For more information, visit www.grassykeyrvpark.com or call (305) 289-1606.
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Monday, January 05, 2009
Port Aransas Hoping For More Winter Texans
The start of January is usually when many Winter Texans come to South Texas. So far, the numbers are down, but leaders are optimistic it will get better.
Ron Watkins is spending his second winter in the Coastal Bend. The Colorado resident said he comes here to get away from the cold weather.
Watkins is one of many who are staying at the Tropic Island RV Resort in Port Aransas. Usually it's a tough place to find a spot to stay, but this year is different.
"Two years ago, we could not get into this park because it was full and this year we had no problem getting into it," said David Pedersen, a Winter Texan from Wiscosin.
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During nine years of shunpiking, (driving the back roads) Marianne Edwards and her husband have found hundreds of free campsites. In response to questions from friends and relatives, who wonder how they can afford to travel as often, as far, and for as long as they do, The Edwards' have written a series of RV travel guidebooks they call The Frugal Shunpiker's Guides
RV Boondocking In New Mexico
RV Boondocking In Southern Texas
RV Boondocking In Arizona
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Fleetwood Stock to be Traded OTC
Not anymore.
The RV maker's stock is worth about a dime per share, and its market capitalization has dipped to $7.6 million, too low for the New York Stock Exchange, which will drop the company from its exchange Monday.
Fleetwood's stock opened at 10 cents a share Friday. It traded for a low of 7 cents and a high of 11 cents. Fleetwood doesn't plan to appeal the exchange's decision to suspend the company's stock.
"It's just sad," said Andrew Crean, son of the company's late founder, John Crean, who brought Fleetwood to Riverside in 1963 for cheap land and cheaper housing for his employees.
Crean, who sat on the board of directors before resigning in the late 1990s, said it wouldn't be long until Fleetwood is no more or bought for next to nothing. He said the only thing of value is the company's network of dealers and its recognizable brands.
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The RV Handbook: Essential How-to Guide for the RV Owner
This new edition of The RV Handbook is for all types of RV enthusiasts - from a first-time buyer or renter to the most seasoned RV traveler. Packed with valuable information, checklists, photos, and charts, the guide tells you how to: buy an RV; avoid the single most common mistake novice RVers make; select a towing vehicle; avoid RV repair scams; benefit from technical trends in RV manufacturing; correct the bad towing habit that plagues even experienced RVers; and prevent explosive propane situations. With hundreds of proven RV tips, tricks, and techniques, this expanded handbook tells how to buy, maintain, and optimize RVs, saving both money and time.
Early reservations are harbinger of tourist season
BATH — On Friday, the first business day of the new year, the management staff of Hermit Island Campground began its annual tradition of sifting through a pile of reservation requests that had been collecting by mail for weeks.
Similar cold weather projects face campground owners all across the state as they begin booking sites for the warmer months on the horizon. The process offers an early — albeit unscientific — sign of how Maine's crucial summer tourism season will pan out.
With the state and national economies still staggering, a rebound in summer traffic could bring a much-needed injection of spending money to local markets. But for Hermit Island, the first sign of summer Friday was lukewarm.
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is a our way to inform or remind RVers of things that make RVing safer, easier and the RV lifestyle more enjoyable. Each day we will post a tip on lifestyle, equipment, campgrounds, sights and attractions, safety and just about anything else useful to being an RVer. Want to have the daily tip emailed to you? Look for the subscription form at RVTipOfTheDay.com
Monaco Coach Hires Financial Advisor
The Company intends to consider a variety of financial and strategic alternatives including joint ventures, mergers or other strategic transactions, with a focus on improving liquidity and maintaining its strong balance sheet. In addition, Monaco Coach Corporation has retained Avondale Partners, LLC to evaluate strategic alternatives for Signature Motorhome Resorts business and BMO Capital Markets has been retained for its equine trailer division, Bison Manufacturing, LLC and its specialty trailer division, Roadmaster LLC.
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RVing 101 Training Course on DVDs
Get a box set of instructional DVD titles for hours of one on one instruction. Not only do you eliminate the guesswork as to which DVDs are suited to your RV, you SAVE significant money with the box set discount. There are DVD sets for Class A, Class C Motorhomes, Travel Trailers & Fifth Wheels.
Children home-schooled aboard RV
The girls saw former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev receive the Liberty Medal in Philadelphia, walked on Civil War battlegrounds, met a man who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. in Alabama, and toured Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.
The Newbury Park family motor-home-schooled its way through more than 30 states, traveling in a recreational vehicle to national parks, historic sites and museums.
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RVTipOfTheDay.com
is a our way to inform or remind RVers of things that make RVing safer, easier and the RV lifestyle more enjoyable. Each day we will post a tip on lifestyle, equipment, campgrounds, sights and attractions, safety and just about anything else useful to being an RVer. Want to have the daily tip emailed to you? Look for the subscription form at RVTipOfTheDay.com
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground Offers Segway Tours
Disney promises a "nature tour like no other," with participants whizzing along through the back trails of Fort Wilderness. The two-hour adventure starts off with a training session to make sure you can operate your Segaway safely. Then the group heads off, along with two guides, for a journey past swampland and along the lake, where you'll pause for a photo opportunity. You'll do a drive-by of the Wilderness Lodge and stop at the Tri-Circle-D ranch to meet the ponies and horses. Water is provided, as is a potty break. If you're lucky, you may even see deer or wildlife. Take the earliest tour for the luck with critter spotting.
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is a our way to inform or remind RVers of things that make RVing safer, easier and the RV lifestyle more enjoyable. Each day we will post a tip on lifestyle, equipment, campgrounds, sights and attractions, safety and just about anything else useful to being an RVer. Want to have the daily tip emailed to you? Look for the subscription form at RVTipOfTheDay.com
Great Smoky Mountains NP Celebrates 75th Annivesary
Stewardship, park superintendent Dale Ditmanson explains in a special anniversary edition of Smokies Life magazine, is more than just a word.
“It really speaks to our responsibility to care for this wonderful place. The one thing the 75th anniversary is not about is just blowing out candles on a cake and going home,” he said.
Instead, the anniversary will serve to commemorate and highlight the park’s biologically diverse natural resources, cultural history, and the host of recreational and educational opportunities it offers the more than 9 million visitors who pass through its gates each year.
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RVing 101 Training Course on DVDs
Get a box set of instructional DVD titles for hours of one on one instruction. Not only do you eliminate the guesswork as to which DVDs are suited to your RV, you SAVE significant money with the box set discount. There are DVD sets for Class A, Class C Motorhomes, Travel Trailers & Fifth Wheels.
RV dealer shuts doors after trailers stolen
The owners were thinking of shutting down sometime this winter. When they showed up to the lot on Saturday morning they decided to shut down immediately. A wooden fence that surrounded their lot was in pieces and 4 campers worth $85,000 were gone.
"We were wondering maybe we jumped too soon maybe we shouldn't close it down but I think after this weekend we're both really, really glad," said Wendy Boatright, co-owner of R & D Camperland.
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is a our way to inform or remind RVers of things that make RVing safer, easier and the RV lifestyle more enjoyable. Each day we will post a tip on lifestyle, equipment, campgrounds, sights and attractions, safety and just about anything else useful to being an RVer. Want to have the daily tip emailed to you? Look for the subscription form at RVTipOfTheDay.com
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Bad Times for Country Coach May be Good News for Some
JUNCTION CITY — Troubled times for Country Coach could be good news for bargain hunters — both customers looking to get a deal on a new motor home, and investors ready to swoop in and pick up the pieces of a company that still has a strong reputation for building high-quality RVs, a local RV dealer said.
The privately held company notified its 500 employees on Tuesday that it will be forced to permanently shut down by Feb. 28 unless it obtains new financing. Even if it obtains the financing, the company said, it expects to impose “mass layoffs” starting around March 1.
The factory stopped production in November, and was to have resumed work on Monday, but will remain closed until further notice.
Guaranty RV Super Centers in Junction City is a major dealer for Country Coach. General manager Shannon Nill said Friday he’s hopeful the RV maker will be able to get the capital infusion it needs to stay in business.
Full Story...
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During nine years of shunpiking, (driving the back roads) Marianne Edwards and her husband have found hundreds of free campsites. In response to questions from friends and relatives, who wonder how they can afford to travel as often, as far, and for as long as they do, The Edwards' have written a series of RV travel guidebooks they call The Frugal Shunpiker's Guides
RV Boondocking In New Mexico
RV Boondocking In Southern Texas
RV Boondocking In Arizona
Click Here for More Info!
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Man pinned under RV still 'critical'
PORT ORANGE -- An Ocala mechanic remained in critical condition Friday night at Halifax Health Medical Center with injuries suffered when he was pinned under an RV.
Dennis Richardson, 55, was working on the Winnebago motor home Thursday afternoon when it rolled off its elevated ramps and landed on top of him, a Volusia County sheriff's report states. The report said the mechanic came to a residence in the 6100 block of U.S. 1 to fix the rear seal of the vehicle's transmission New Year's Day.
The RV's owner, Alan Allison, 68, Port Orange, told the investigating deputy he believes the motor home rolled backward after Richardson disconnected its drive shaft.
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Friday, January 02, 2009
Country Coach May Close in February
“Looking forward, due to recent and unexpected circumstances beyond the control of Country Coach, it now appears that Country Coach will be forced to permanently shut down unless it obtains additional financing on or before Feb. 28, 2009,” CEO Jay Howard said in a letter to employees, dated Dec. 30 and obtained Wednesday by The Register-Guard.
Even if the company is able to obtain a loan, the company expects “mass layoffs” starting around March 1, Howard said.
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is a our way to inform or remind RVers of things that make RVing safer, easier and the RV lifestyle more enjoyable. Each day we will post a tip on lifestyle, equipment, campgrounds, sights and attractions, safety and just about anything else useful to being an RVer. Want to have the daily tip emailed to you? Look for the subscription form at RVTipOfTheDay.com
Working on the road both earns and saves money
Getting Your First Workamper Job. The six-session course, beginning on January 24, 2009, will be held using Workamper.com’s Webinar technology. Participants will both see and hear the presentation using their computer screen to see the instructor and visuals and their telephone to listen and speak. Classes will be recorded so participants can listen and watch at their
convenience if they miss a live session.
Instead of spending money to travel, RVers who work on the road, also known as Workampers®, can earn money to pay their living expenses and add to their savings. Working or volunteering on the road can also reduce expenses. Some jobs provide a free or reduced-cost RV site and workers spend less on fuel and entertainment since they are in one place.
Workers may also get valuable perks.
Jaimie Hall Bruzenak will lead participants through a process that will enable them to:
• identify what they have to offer Workamper employers and discover why they are valuable.
• discover what they want in a job and identify 20 or more potential employers and learn how to research them.
• figure out how much money they need and have the tools to evaluate a job offer to compute real compensation.
• translate past experience and skills into a dynamite Workamping resume that attracts Workamper employers.
• learn how to identify those employers and to ask the right questions.
Go to http://www.workamper.com/university/workamper101 for complete curriculum, class hours and dates, tuition and list of free bonuses to participants.
Prescott National Forest fees increase
The increases affect 28 recreation sites including 13 campgrounds, 13 day-use sites and two off-highway vehicle areas.
Day-use fees at popular sites have increased from $2 to $5. Fees at OHV sites are rising from $3 to $5.
Campground fees generally were $6 to $10 per night, and now most will cost $10 to $18, with a new $5 fee for the second vehicle. Group campground fee rentals will increase from $25-$100 to $75-$150, depending on the group size.
The Forest Service is eliminating fees at two current sites, Powell Springs Campground ($6) and Ranch Trailhead #62 ($2).
Frequent users get a break, because annual day-use passes good at all day-use sites on the Prescott National Forest will remain at $40. The fee to add a second vehicle sticker rises from $5 to $10.
Season passes on the forest that are good for four months out of the year also remain the same, at $20.
Campers also get a new deal. People who already paid camping fees get free access to all day-use sites across the forest.
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Thursday, January 01, 2009
California Sports, Boat & RV Show pushed back to May
PLEASANTON — Sales are down in the world of motor homes and power boats, and manufacturers are hoping that a few months will allow the struggling economy to right itself.
Hoping to capitalize on freer lines of credit and sunnier temperatures, the annual California Sports, Boat and RV Show, normally held in January at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, has been pushed back to May, and may not include boats this year.
"Lenders are having a little bit of an issue out there," said Jorgen Bateman, director of sales for the Northern California Marine Association. "And, over the last few years people have bought boats with equity lines and by refinancing their houses."
Previously two separate January events at the fairgrounds, the RV show and the Northern California Boat Show were combined this year and was to run Jan. 9 to 19, to encourage both boating and motor home enthusiasts to attend the 11-day sales event.
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is a our way to inform or remind RVers of things that make RVing safer, easier and the RV lifestyle more enjoyable. Each day we will post a tip on lifestyle, equipment, campgrounds, sights and attractions, safety and just about anything else useful to being an RVer. Want to have the daily tip emailed to you? Look for the subscription form at RVTipOfTheDay.com
Fines for feeding wildlife proposed
FORT COLLINS CO — With Larimer County’s opening of Hermit Park near Estes Park earlier this year, people aren’t the only ones camping out.
“We have a lot of bears at Hermit Park, a lot of black bears, and they’ll take advantage of an open cooler,” Natural Resources director Gary Buffington told the Board of County Commissioners Tuesday.
To help minimize the number of wildlife and human interactions at county parks — such as Hermit, Carter Lake and Horsetooth Reservoir — the commissioners plan to pass two new parks regulations at a future meeting.
The first will require that campers and other park visitors store food, beverages, toiletries, trash and anything else that would attract animals in a hard-sided vehicle or solid, nonpliable camping unit such as a motor home or camper.
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RV Christmas in Florida
Eventually, I eased the 31-foot RV and toad down the mountain that we live on and onto the highway. Right away I noticed the steering wheel pulled to the right. At first I rationalized that the “pull” was normal when towing, but the big V-10 didn’t seem to have the power that it did when I drove it sixty-five miles after picking it up in Summerville, Georgia. I checked the Jeep through the rear camera system and all seemed normal so I brought the RV up to 55 mph. Just then, a semi pulled alongside. The driver flipped on his cab light so that I could see him and pointed rearward, indicating that I needed to pull over and check my load. I’m glad I did, and God bless that trucker.
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is a our way to inform or remind RVers of things that make RVing safer, easier and the RV lifestyle more enjoyable. Each day we will post a tip on lifestyle, equipment, campgrounds, sights and attractions, safety and just about anything else useful to being an RVer. Want to have the daily tip emailed to you? Look for the subscription form at RVTipOfTheDay.com
Snowbirds Back to Florida for the Winter
The first week of January means one thing in Perdido Key and Pleasure Island — the official arrival of the snowbirds.
No, this not some exotic bird of paradise taking refuge along the warmer Gulf Coast from Canada before winging it to tropical Honduras.
Rather, this the annual migration of those Northern species who migrate south to Pleasure Island for the winter. They arrive in a procession in luxurious behemoth recreational vehicles called Cougar, Nomad and Intruder.
When he's visiting here for the winter, Warn Dowling likes to kayak, fish, bicycle, golf and enjoy the warmer temperatures along the Gulf Coast.
Dowling and his wife, Joann, migrate from Pittsburgh in their 35-foot Winnebago each December. Like many snowbirds, the pair stay at Gulf State Park RV Campground in Gulf Shores, a sort of ground zero for Pleasure Island's winter guests.
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is a our way to inform or remind RVers of things that make RVing safer, easier and the RV lifestyle more enjoyable. Each day we will post a tip on lifestyle, equipment, campgrounds, sights and attractions, safety and just about anything else useful to being an RVer. Want to have the daily tip emailed to you? Look for the subscription form at RVTipOfTheDay.com

