Freightliner Leads the Way in Environmental Responsibility

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our E-mail Digest or RSS Feed. We will then send you the stories that are posted each day in an e-mail digest. We use a service called Feedburner for delivery of these emails. You will receive an e-mail from Feedburner after you subscribe and you must click on that email to activate your subscription. Thanks for visiting and enjoy all the information! RV.Net Blog AdminBy Bob Difley Though this achievement doesn’t yet save you money or increase your miles per gallon, the fact that Freightliner has taken serious steps to reduce pollution and landfill waste in their manufacturing operations indicate where their collective heads are. The initiation of their Zero Waste to Landfill program as of May has achieved a 94.1% waste-free status. They expect to be 100% landfill waste-free by 2010. They accomplished this by recycling plastic, paper, aluminum, cardboard, metals, wood, and nylon, as well as stopping  air leaks, using power-saving methods, and reducing CO2 emissions and pollutants. Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. is a division of Daimler Trucks North America and in addition to manufacturing delivery vans, school and shuttle busses, they also make motorhome chassis. Their alternatively fueled chassis include hybrid-electric, compressed natural gas, and hydraulic hybrid vehicles including ecoFRED, the first hybrid-electric Class A motorhome chassis that couples a diesel engine with an electric motor/generator and lithium-ion... Read more

RV Weekly Round-Up (June 27-July 3, 2009)

Check out these highlights of RV-related news, events and video from this past week. 1. Georgia Couple Wins Keystone Travel Trailer is First Phase of National Sweepstakes: A South Georgia couple, Mackie and Gail Daniels, have won a new $26,000 Keystone Springdale travel trailer in the first phase of Keystone’s Live Your Dreams Sweepstakes, through which Keystone RV Co. Inc. is giving away four towable RVs between June of 2009 and February of 2010. Signups are under way on Keystone’s website and at point-of-entry displays at Affinity Events shows for Phase #2 of the giveaway, when the winner of an Outback travel trailer will be announced Aug. 15 at Affinity’s Colorado RV & Boat Liquidation Super Sale. Learn more about the contest and how you can enter for the chance to win a new Keystone RV! 2. Safe Holiday Travel Tips: Tens of thousands of people die on the road each year in North America–drive smart and use caution to avoid becoming a statistic! Stay safe on the road this busy holiday weekend by remembering these RV driving tips from blogger Mark Polk. 3. Father and son embark on journey to fish 50 states in 50 days: Jeff Turner and his teenage son Taylor have embarked on the male bonding trip of a lifetime as they plan to fish in all 50 states in 50 days this summer. They’re using the family RV and have plotted a course around the lower 48 states from their hometown of Warrenton, VA. At the end of the trip they’ll fly to Alaska and Hawaii. You can... Read more

RV Weekly Round-Up (June 20-26, 2009)

Check out these highlights of RV-related news, events and video from this past week. 1. Fleetwood Assets Auction Results: New York equity firm American Industrial Partners was the only bidder on most of Fleetwood’s RV business. For $53 million, less liabilities, the firm agreed to buy Fleetwood’s intellectual property and RV brands in addition to two motor home manufacturing plants, two motor home service centers and the company’s subsidiary Gold Shield supply, all located in Decatur, Ind. The offer was approved by the bankruptcy court and the deal is expected to close by July 10. See the PE story for details of the deal. 2. WIT Celebrates 40th Anniversary Rally with “WITStock” Celebration: Winnebago Industries, Inc. will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its Winnebago-Itasca Travelers (WIT) Club with club members at the Grand National Rally (GNR) scheduled July 19–July 24, 2009. It’s not too late to register!. 3. Maryland City Will Soon Limit Streetside RV Parking: Trailers, recreational and commercial vehicles are subject to $75 tickets in Montgomery County, MD, beginning July 1 if parked on most public roads. Recreational vehicles such as campers, motorhomes and boats will be allowed to park on county roads for 18 hours for loading and unloading, said Capt. Thomas Didone, commander of the 5th District police station. Read the full news release for more information. 4. Get Some Control Over Holding Tank Odors: Holding tank odors can be a real problem,... Read more

2009 Stella Award Winner (It isn’t Winnebago)

If you think it’s been a bad year for the RV industry, and especially motorhome manufacturers, this year’s first place Stella Award must have those at Winnebago shaking their heads and asking, “What next”? In case you don’t recognize the Stella Awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck, who spilled hot coffee in her lap after she took the lid off the coffee, placed it between her legs, and drove off. It didn’t occur to her that it might spill and burn her, which it did. The kicker is, of course, that she successfully sued the McDonald’s in New Mexico where she purchased the coffee and won. The annual awards are for the most ridiculous law suits–not for being filed, but for actually being won! This year’s runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mrs. Grazinski purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home and on her first trip home from an Oklahoma U football game, she drove onto the freeway, set the cruise control at 70 mph. Then she calmly left the driver’s seat to go back to the Winnebago’s kitchen to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner’s manual that she couldn’t actually leave the driver’s seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her–are you sitting down–$1,750,000 PLUS a new motor... Read more

RV Weekly Round-Up (June 13-19, 2009)

Check out these highlights of RV-related news, events and video from this past week. 1. Latest RV-Related Recalls: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a new list of recalls for several products related to the RV industry. The latest round of recalls include components for fifth wheels, travel trailers and class A RVs See the recall release for the full list of affected products. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

RV Weekly Round-Up (June 6-12, 2009)

Check out these highlights of RV-related news, events and video from this past week. 1. Enter the Go RVing Video Contest: Go RVing is calling for entries in its first Internet video contest, hosted on Facebook. The “Tails from the Road” contest asks contestants to create a positive, humorous video featuring a pet traveling in an RV. Entries will be accepted from June 1 through July 10, by uploading your video to the Go RVing Facebook Fan Page. See the Go RVing webpage for full contest details. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Good Sam Club Unveils Model “Lemon Law” Legislation to Protect the Rights of Motorhome Buyers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE VENTURA, CALIF. (June 10, 2009) - The Good Sam Club, the world’s largest RV owners’ organization with nearly one million member families, today unveiled first-ever model motorhome “lemon law” legislation, developed in conjunction with RV industry officials and the International Association of Lemon Law Administrators (IALLA). If enacted by a state, the legislation will provide specific rights and remedies for motorhome buyers against product defects if the motorhome does not conform to material provisions of the manufacturer’s warranty. If the motorhome purchaser can demonstrate that a purchased unit does not conform to the statutory standards prescribed in the model law, the remedy available can include replacement or repurchase of the unit by the manufacturer. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Free Entry Into National Parks 3 Weekends This Summer

In case you haven’t heard yet, Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, has announced that the National Park Service Will waive fees on three summer weekends to increase tourism, and boost the economy. Below is the full press release from the National Park Service: Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

RV Weekly Round-Up (May 30-June 5, 2009)

Check out these highlights of RV-related news, events and video from this past week. 1. Fleetwood Enterprises Signs Purchase Agreement for Motor Home Assets: Leading RV manufacturer Fleetwood announced it has signed an asset purchase agreement to sell its motor home business to American Industrial Partners Capital Fund IV, L.P. of New York. Read more about the deal in the company news release. 2. Fleetwood’s Military Housing Business Sold to Clayton Homes: Following approval by Bankruptcy Court on May 28, Fleetwood Enterprises sold its Trendsetter military housing assets to CMH Manufacturing, Inc. for $4.5 million. See the Fleetwood news release for details. 3. Happy Trailers RV Slideshow: MSN Autos has 12 slides’ worth of RV photos and commentary about notable RVs from yesteryear’s Airstream to today’s super-plush German motorcoach. It’s fun and I even learned a thing or two! 4. Stale RV Water Solutions: You can prevent those notorious musty odors in your RV’s potable water system by taking a few simple steps. Draining your water tanks before storing your rig for extended periods can save you the headache of sanitizing the whole system later on. Watch the video demo to learn how! 5. National Park Service Will Waive Fees on 3 Summer Weekends: The 147 National Park Service sites across the country that charge fees for entry will waive these entrance fees during the weekends of June 20-21, July 18-19, and August 15-16, 2009, said Secretary of... Read more

Woodall Sales Teams hit the road

Woodall’s 25 Rep Teams have begun working in the field visiting RV parks, campgrounds, RV dealers and Travel & Tourism locations. During this spring & summer, these teams are traveling throughout a specific territory, gathering information and selling advertising into Woodall’s printed pubs and on its website www.woodalls.com. If you would like information about becoming a Woodall Rep couple, email Vheikes@affinitygroup.com or visit the Woodall’s website page titled “Becoming a Woodall’s Rep Team”.   Tell a Friend Read More →

Next Page »