An American Treasure: The National Landscape Conservation System

By Bob Difley If not for Americans with vision, like Teddy Roosevelt for instance, who had an eye for the country’s unique scenic beauty and cultural heritage and wished to protect it, many of our most spectacular national parks would be crowded with strip malls full of gift shops, high-priced vacation condominiums, and other construction projects designed, not to protect the sites for all to enjoy, but to provide income to a wealthy few. Yet today, the ten year-old National Landscape Conservation System, that received permanent protection under the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act in 2009, struggles with an inadequate budget and local groups that fight the designations, opposing road removal or cattle grazing restrictions the BLM imposed to protect the natural characteristics of the properties. What will happen next, whether the NLC will be able to continue to protect and add to the 27 million acres of national monuments,conservation areas, wilderness study areas, wild and scenic rivers, and historic trails in the 11 Western states plus Alaska (and one historic trail in Maryland) that are part of its jurisdiction, will be determined by a “rendevous” in Las Vegas beginning November 12 “to help build continuity between grassroots organizations working to protect their local national conservation lands and to make policy recommendations to help the BLM”. To lend your support, visit an NLC site in your state as well as when you travel. Let the powers... Read more

Daily RV Deal: 2005 Coach House Platinum

2005 Coach House Platinum Previously $ 79,900 – Now $ 69,900 26 ft. Class C 2005 Coach House Platinum that is capable of sleeping 4! Features include leather sofa sleeper, flat screen TV, convection microwave oven and much more! Offered by Kroubetz Lakeside Campers in Lake Crystal, MN. Email seller for details on this 2005 Coach House Platinum! Find more great RVs on  Read More →

Daily RV Deal: 2010 Keystone Alpine

2010 Keystone Alpine Previously $ 71,387 – Now $59,995 40 ft. 2010 Keystone Alpine fifth wheel that is capable of sleeping 4! Features include glazed grand cherry hardwoods, stainless steel appliances, flat screen television, and much more! Offered by Clear Creek RV Center in Silverdale, WA. Email seller for details on this 2010 Keystone Alpine! Find more great RVs on  Read More →

A Tire-some Expense

 By the Never-Bored RVers The fact that we have bought 11 RV tires in the past four years does not make us experts on RV tires, but we have learned a few things that may have saved us money and agony.  No matter what type RV you use, this is applicable to you. We owned a 22-foot light weight trailer that we loaded up right to the 5,000-pound GVWR limit and drove across the U.S. and back for a year.  We had two blow-outs caused when I scraped the sides of the tires on the edge of narrow roadways, plus we wore out the original four tires.  Since they were 14” tires, the cost wasn’t too bad, but we would have preferred to use that money for more enjoyable pursuits. On our way to Death Valley this week pulling our 28-foot Bigfoot, we stopped off to have our wheel alignment checked, concerned because of what we considered unusual wear on the outsides of the front tires in our two-axle tandem.  We learned that: 1) axles were correctly arched upward to compensate for the weight and bounce of the trailer, and 2) that our wheels were aligned, so that was not the problem. There was no problem, except for the way tandem tires wear.  We were told that when we turn sharply, the tires actually skid along the road surface.  We are on the move a lot, often backing into a half-dozen or more campgrounds each month, so the wear is not unusual.  Well, that should have made us feel better about the situation, but an hour later we forked over $800 for a set of new 10-ply LT tires.  Ouch! And,... Read more

Free Camping at Wineries and Farms

What could be better than a free overnight stop?  How about a free overnight stop at a winery or farm?  Welcome to Harvest Hosts™, a new RV membership program offering unlimited free camping! Kim & Don Greene had been traveling for many years in their motorhome, when in 2008, while traveling across Europe, they were introduced to France Passion, an RV visitation network that invites RV owners to visit farms and wineries and stay for 24 hours. Upon returning to the U.S., Kim & Don had hoped to find a similar program.  But discovering that no program existed, they decided to create a program themselves.  So after months of research, Harvest Hosts, LLC was born! Harvest Hosts is the first membership program of its kind in the United States to provide RV owners with free overnight stops at wineries and farms across the country.  Hosts can be found in all of the lower 48 States with new Hosts signing up nearly every day.  2011 will find Harvest Hosts expanding into the Canadian Provinces. Host vintners and farmers generously invite self-contained RV owners (motorhomes, fifth-wheels, travel trailers, truck and van campers) to visit their vineyards, farms and orchards and to stay for 24 hours, free of charge.  Most of the Hosts are small, mom-and-pop agricultural operations and are not formal campgrounds.  Your visit requires that you dry-camp and that you agree to a common sense “Code of Conduct”. The Hosts reflect the diversity of the American farm.  You have... Read more

Daily RV Deal: 2009 Four Winds 23A

2009 Four Winds 23A Previously $ 42,999 – Now $39,999 23 ft. Class C 2009 Four Winds 23A that is capable of sleeping 6! Features include rear bath, roof AC, a generator and much more! Offered by El Monte RV- Irvine in Irvine, Ca. Email seller for details on this 2009 Four Winds 23A! Find more great RVs on  Read More →

Foretravel’s New Flagship

A Lug_Nut sighting.   Foretravel Inc. of Nacogdoches Texas is launching a new flagship, the IH-45.  The IH will be available in smaller models namely 42’ and 44’.   Power will be the Cummins ISX diesel with 600/650 horse power mounted on Foretravel’s custom TravelRide chassis.  That should push this 48,000 GVWR vehicle down the road with plenty of power to spare.  Increased basement and interior height is gained as the new IH is 10” higher than their current models such as the Nimbus.  This totally new design is truly a highline coach that will compete with such products as Newell. In this economy it is great to see a company like Foretravel forging ahead with this new offering.  I’m looking forward to seeing one of these new rigs in the flesh at one of the upcoming RV shows. The cost, if you must ask, is rumored at around 1.2 million.  Kudos to the Foretravel design and manufacturing team. Adding To Your Dream Book     -     Lug_Nut     -       Peter Mercer  Read More →

Daily RV Deal: 2011 Keystone Montana

2011 Keystone Montana Previously $ 51,527 – Now $47,982 36 ft. 2011 Keystone Montana fifth wheel that is capable of sleeping 4! Features include 32 inch LCD TV, washer/dryer, 2 power vent fans and much more! Offered by Curtis Trailers Inc. in Portland, OR. Email seller for details on this 2011 Keystone Montana! Find more great RVs on  Read More →

Don’t Guess, Test your Battery State of Charge

 The only way to know the condition of your RV battery(s) is to test the state of charge. All batteries will lose a charge over time, not to mention the parasitic loads that can drain RV batteries in storage. You should test the battery state of charge periodically and charge any battery that is at or below an 80% state of charge. Read more  Read More →

Daily RV Deal: 2006 New Horizons F34RLTSS Summit

2006 New Horizons F34RLTSS SUMMIT Previously $ 68,500 – Now $59,900 34 ft. 2006 New Horizons F34RLTSS Summit fifth wheel that is capable of sleeping 4! Features include cherry cabinetry, 2 panel solar system, entertainment system and much more! Offered by New Horizon RV Corp. in Junction City, KS. Email seller for details on this 2006 New Horizons F34RLTSS SUMMIT! Find more great RVs on  Read More →

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