Shasta RV Achieves Major Milestone

Earlier this year I reported that Elkhart, Indiana-based Forest River Inc. was reviving an iconic nameplate with the launch of Shasta RV Manufacturing, a stand-alone business unit, and that the new product would be a “significant departure” from the distinctively styled, diminutive trailers. I further reported that Middlebury, Indiana-Shasta RV had introduced three lines of recreational vehicles—the Shasta Freeport, an ultra-light trailer; Shasta Revere, a luxury towable; and Shasta Cynara, a Class C motorhome. Now after only seven full months of production, Shasta RV has reached a major milestone, according to a recent news release. Shasta RV’s production team celebrated August 3 as its 1,000th Revere travel trailer rolled down the production line at the company’s Middlebury, Indiana, manufacturing facility. “It’s really a testament to the quality of the product,” noted Shasta President Brad Whitehead. “It’s a solid, feature-rich unit—and dealers have been extremely responsive.” The conventional stick-and-tin trailer is available in lengths from 21 to 32 feet, and offers consumers a choice of 17 floorplans. Forest River Inc., Elkhart, Indiana, acquired the iconic Shasta brand when it purchased Coachmen Industries RV Group in 2008. It resurrected the out-of-production nameplate last August, and Shasta began full production in January. Shasta RV's production team celebrates the construction of the 1,000th Revere travel trailer at the company's... Read more

Change is coming that will affect how and where we boondock

By Bob Difley If you haven’t yet heard about the Forest Service’s Travel Management Rule (TMR) you soon will. And it could change some critical “dispersed camping” (boondocking) rules  for a long time to come. The  writing of this rule has been in the works for years. Each individual forest supervisor has been instructed to define and map every legally constructed road within his district and any not so defined will be declared illegal roads on which motor vehicles will be prohibited. It will also define trails for use by OHVs. So far so good. We probably wouldn’t want to drive our rigs on bootlegged roads created by 4-wheelers and hunters or those designated for OHVs anyway, choosing those that were built by forest service engineers and substantial enough to handle fire fighting equipment and heavy cattle and logging trucks. But then it gets a little murky. The rule says you cannot camp any further off the road than one vehicle length, except for those sites that have been designated as “dispersed camping” areas, and which will be included on the forest map.  The supervisor designates those areas that will be defined as dispersed camping areas and boondocking will be limited to those areas–no more camping anywhere. This is where there could be potential conflict. The supervisor, for example, could just designate those areas that can accommodate many RVs, but not authorize single campsites (which are usually the most private and... Read more

HEY, GREAT-GRANDPA …

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers … AND GREAT-GRANDMA.  I’d like your help. Hundreds of folks in attendance at last November’s 49ers Encampment in Death Valley cheered loudly paying tribute to a 90-year-old veteran attending the 5-day conclave.  He had driven his motorhome to Furnace Creek to join the happy throngs last year as he has done for numerous years before.   [I don’t remember much more than that about him.] About a year earlier, we were parked in a military campground, where I struck up a conversation with a neighbor who was traveling alone in his travel trailer.  He mentioned that his wife decided to stay home this trip, but encouraged him to take off on his own in pursuit of his love of RVing.  I was startled when he told me he had just celebrated his 80th birthday. Last month in the Costco Connection, I read an article that started out “I’M AN 85-YEAR-OLD woman who travels full time in a 23-foot RV.”  She was proud to say that she doesn’t stay in campgrounds. Since it’s not my usual policy to ask the age of those we encounter in our travels, I haven’t built up a file of “the generation ahead of mine” [those of you who remember FDR] who continue to ply the highways and campgrounds of America in RVs.  We all meet people who are proud to say they are 80 or 90, but others prefer to hide their age until it contributes significantly to the conversation. That’s why I’m asking for your help. If you are of... Read more

Vintage Airstream Business Expands

Vintage Airstream trailers will always have a place in Rory Burmeister’s heart and in his business. Mintage restoring a classic Airstream. Credit: mintageairstreams.com) But after three years of restoring retro travel trailers, Burmeister was inspired to do more than bring these travel icons back to life, The Missoulian recently reported. “We are taking what we have learned from that process and we are building our own trailers, taking what we know works from the Airstream and changing what doesn’t,” said Burmeister, owner of Mintage Airstreams, an East Missoula, Montana, company that restores vintage travel trailers. “Beginning in August, we will begin building vintage-looking trailers that have a modern twist.” Partnering with CTA, a Montana-based architectural and engineering firm, Mintage Airstreams will begin producing a high-end vintage-looking trailer, and also the Mintage “Canned Ham,” a smaller travel trailer whose name is inspired by its shape, and the Mintage “Teardrop,” a petite travel trailer light enough to be hauled behind a Subaru. “CTA is helping us design our own high-end trailer that is Airstream traileresque—something that is our own shell and is built from scratch in our shop,” Burmeister explained. “There isn’t anyone doing deluxe high-end traveler trailers like we envision, so we believe we will really fill a niche. “What will make ours over the top is the attention... Read more

Gr8LakesCamper: Top 10 Most Beautiful Places in the Great Lakes

Recently ABC-TV’s Good Morning America came out with a list of “The Most Beautiful Places in America.” In alphabetical order, the list included:Sleeping Bear Dunes image courtesy of traversecity.com 1. Asheville, North Carolina 2. Aspen, Colorado 3. Cape Cod, Massachusetts 4. Destin, Florida 5. Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, Wyoming 6. Lanikai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii 7. Newport, Rhode Island 8. Point Reyes, California 9. Sedona, Arizona 10. Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan Obviously, all of these places are spectacular. Majestic mountains, sweeping vistas, gorgeous sunsets over water – they all very much deserve to be on such a list. But it got me to thinking: Only one spot from the Great Lakes region? Surely there’s others, right? Where’s Hocking Hills, Ohio … or Door County, Wisconsin … or New River, West Virginia … just to name a few? Obviously, the Great Lakes/Midwest needs its own list. I now invite you to submit your nomination for the “Top 10 Most Beautiful Places in the Great Lakes.” No rules, no limitations, no prizes, and no handcuffing on what places would be considered in the “Great Lakes/Midwest region.” Include reasons why your nominated place ought to make the list. I’ll compile all the submissions, research them with the crack Gr8LakesCamper staff (which would be me) and then – perhaps over a beverage or two – put together the list and publish the results here in a future post.... Read more

Mark’s RV Garage Episode #14 RV Internet Show Released

RV Education 101 releases Episode #14 of the new Internet based RV How-To series titled “Mark’s RV Garage.” The new episode is available for viewing at www.rvconsumer.com and on  You Tube          On this episode of Mark’s RV Garage: * Mark installs a new RV 500 tankless water heater and tests the electrical system on the vintage trailer restoration project.  * Discover a product that will keep your motorhome wheels going straight even if there is a blowout.  * Get some preventive maintenance tips on how to check the air pressure in your tires.  * All of this and more on this episode of Mark’s RV Garage.  If you missed previous episodes of Mark’s RV Garage they are archived at www.rvconsumer.com for easy retreival and viewing Episode # 15 will be available for viewing on 22 August 2011. Happy RV Learning, Mark Polk www.rvconsumer.com www.rveducation101.com  Read More →

It’s the little things that make a boondocking lifestyle – Part 2

By Bob Difley Last week’s post (of the same name) triggered the unlikely discussions of electric blankets and the CPAP (sleep apnea) problem for boondockers. But it was more than that, it was a discussion of what is important for our personal enjoyment. So let’s dig some more into how to cope with our individual quirks and idiosyncrasies (Qs & Is) when boondocking and exploring those destinations way off the beaten path. I’ll start with my wife’s Qs & Is (since I don’t have any). As a health and fitness nut enthusiast, a most important requirement for her is access to fresh fruits and vegetables (FFV). Let me emphasize fresh here. It was never a question of whether we would orr would not continue to eat FFV when boondocking, but how would we accomplish it off in the depths of the primeval forest way out in the desert where we liked to camp–miles from the nearest organic food or farmers market. Supermarkets were few and far between in most of the places we explored and they usually left her dissatisfied and the local stores were usually deficient in the FFV category–especially the fresh part–if they had any fruits and veggies at all.  The longest we could eke out the FFV supply before they withered into the inedible class was five days. As a result we had to build into our schedule and finances long trips to the nearest urban center for restocking. So off we would go, driving sometimes as far as 50 miles one way, and... Read more

Have you considered taking an RV vacation in China?

China's first RV rally By Bob Difley Be glad you’re not an RV fulltimer or boondocker in China. With its 1.3 billion people, there are only about 5,000 RVs–in the whole country!And no wonder, since there are only a few dozen “RV camps” according to the China RV & Camping Association as reported by USA Today. However, if you are in the RV manufacturing business, that’s a good thing. Change is coming fast in China, says Wang Jidong, the RV association’s secretary general, as local governments and businesses are rushing to build hundreds of RV camps around the country. Lu Jun, general manager of the Beijing International Automotive Camping Park that opens later this month in south Beijing says, “When I talk to U.S. RV suppliers, they ask if I want to buy three or four vehicles,” referring to imported RVs costing over $70,000 each. His reply? “I want to buy 1,000 to fill the 100 camps his company will build within two years.” With little in the way of government oversight and environmental studies, entrepreneurs are building camping parks faster than is conceivable in the USA. They are also building smaller, inexpensive motorhomes (trailers have not caught on yet due to restrictive licensing requirements) to meet the exploding demand and popularity of camping. I wonder how long it will be before cheapChinese motorhomes will start appearing on American dealers’ sales lots. Check out my website for RVing tips... Read more

Westfalia Launchs Anniversary Camping Box

The camper van is turning 60 and German-based Westfalia, constructor of the original camping bus, recently announced the upcoming launch of an innovative anniversary model on a “tried-and-tested vehicle base.” 1969 Westfalia Camping Bus (Credit: busandcamper.com) According to a news release, a strictly limited special edition version, the “Edition 60” will be presented to the world at the 2011 Caravan Salon Düsseldorf (August 27-September 4). The name of the series model will be announced at the presentation. Around 1950, the then-small Westphalian company constructed a totally new kind of vehicle. According to the builder, it was a revolutionary design that would become a vehicle category in its own right and would play a role. The Westfalia Camping Bus, called the “Camping Box,” went on sale for the first time in 1951 and now, 60 years later, the concept is as up-to-date as it ever was. To mark this anniversary, Westfalia is launching the Edition 60, a vehicle that perfectly merges the spirit of the original bus with the technical and functional capabilities available in 2011. To mark the start of the anniversary, there will be an exclusive and limited special edition that will be followed in a few weeks by a series production model. With this newly developed vehicle, Westfalia said the legendary brand will set new standards in terms of innovation, comfort, and convenience in its anniversary year as well. The Edition 60 is the first camper in the van segment to... Read more

Droid: From Email to GPS Navigation

by Chris Guld of www.GeeksOnTour.com  You know we love our Droids! This ‘touch an address’ feature, we just gotta show you. This is a very short video showing you how to simply touch an address and let Droid take you there!   Geeks on Tour is a membership website with hundreds of Tutorial Videos on topics of interest to travelers, such as managing digital photos with Picasa, Route-Planning with Streets and Trips, and sharing your travels with a website using Blogger. Members can view all of the videos in the Learning Library.  Read More →

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