Winnebago Picks A Winning GPS Solution

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 AdminA look of what’s new, from Lug_Nut. Winnebago has announced it will be offering the Rand McNally GPS in the dash of selected 2014 models. Two screen sizes will be used with the largest being a huge 10.4”. This will give Winnebago the edge of offering the largest in-dash GPS in the RV market today. While there are many, many makes of GPS systems used in vehicles today, the Rand McNally is perhaps the only unit that was built with the RV market and application in mind. The internal user selected mode, can be configured to the real world size and weight of the specific vehicle it is installed in. Additionally tows, be it trailer or flat tow, can be added or removed at any time. How does the Rand McNally stack up against the others? Well, first of all, none are without fault. There are no makes that I’m aware of that are 100% consistently accurate. Small error can happen from time to time. Some of these errors may be due to RF signal propagation as well as possible internal processing logistic issues. But, in general, most receivers deliver fairly... Read more

Your Next DP May Have Spark Plugs!

Lug_Nut, with a look at what’s coming.  In the near future your new Cummins powered coach may have spark plugs or like designed igniters.  It will also operate a whole lot cheaper.  It will be like lowering the price of diesel by $1.50 to $2.00 a gallon.  It will not need a DEF system that current produced large diesel engines require.  It sounds too good to be true?  Read on! Cummins Westport has developed and tested a natural gas (CNG) powered engine using the current Cummins series diesel engine line up.   The ISL G, natural gas powered prime mover has been tested and run since 2007 with about 13,000 in operation today.  The ISX 12 G will be marketed to the trucking industry in 2013.  This engine size, the 11.9 liter, is the biggest selling over the road mill.  While both the ISL G and ISX 12 G will be available in North America in 2013, it is not clear if the “B” and “C” series will be. One of the biggest issues currently is the availability of fueling stations throughout the country.  The majority of these are in southern California at this time, but that’s about to ramp up.  Until now, CNG powered vehicles were confined to urban areas where services were readily available. Some big name truck fueling stations, like the Flying J, have already installed the needed equipment and tanks at some locations, with more following. Environmentally, this fuel burns green, with little to no pollutants.  However, there are concerns over the leakage of unburned... Read more

Winnebago, More Than Just Happy Camping

Lug_nut’s latest news observation.   Winnebago, the household name in motor homes, is taking steps to diversify into a product that they feel  well suited, the shuttle bus.  The 25 passenger mini bus market is currently absorbing about 20,000 units per year.  Winnebago wants to get a share of that market.   Their expertise in the designing, building and selling of motor homes for decades, has taught them a lot.  By using this knowledge and skill, the company feels confident in this venture.  The new vehicle looks like it will carry the name Metro Link.  Production is slated to start this winter or early in the spring. This seems like a very smart corporate move for any manufacturer of motorized RV’s .  A move that one would have thought we would have seen earlier by any one of several companies.  This is especially true given the state of the RV market since the downturn. So, in the coming years, while you are riding the shuttle bus from the long term parking to the airport, don’t be surprised to see “By Winnebago” inscribed somewhere in the bus.  Winnebago, making people more than just Happy Campers.   Lug_Nut      -     Peter Mercer  Read More →

Good Sam and Camping World Launch ‘Project Good Samaritan’ to Institute Employee Volunteerism Program

Nationwide Initiative to Ensure Employees Make a Difference in Their Communities October 9 (Chicago, IL) – Good Sam, the world’s largest RV owners organization and Camping World, the nation’s largest RV and outdoor retailer, today announced as part of their 2013 goal to foster corporate social responsibility, the launch of a new employee-related initiative called ‘Project Good Samaritan’ dedicated to its mission of making our community a better place both as corporate citizens and for individual employees through a dedicated focus on philanthropy. The new initiative, ‘Project Good Samaritan,’ provides for the staff to volunteer eight hours of their work time a quarter to causes that are meaningful to them, such as lending support to local soup kitchens and food pantries, community projects such as home building and meal distribution for needy families, recycling programs, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and other worthwhile causes within their communities while the employee receives paid time off from work to participate. Read more  Read More →

Nominate Good Sam’s RVer of the Year

June 7 is the deadline for nominations for the Good Sam Club’s fifth annual RVer of the Year award.  If you know an RVing Good Sam member who has made a serious commitment to supporting a good cause or serving their community or the world at large, even if that member happens to be you, please submit your nomination to rveroftheyear@goodsamfamily.com.  Read More →

TRAVEL CHANNEL’s: MEGA RV COUNTDOWN

TRAVEL CHANNEL’S: MEGA RV COUNTDOWN High Noon Entertainment, the producers of Cake Boss, Heat Seekers, Bang for Your Buck and Food Network Challenge is thrilled to be producing a no holds barred special for Travel Channel that takes an inside peek at America’s most tricked out, pimped out and over-the-top RVs. From the converted school bus to the Boatorhome and everything in between, America’s Craziest RVS is looking for the most outrageous vehicles and the people who own and design them. Want to share your recreational vehicular creation with the rest of America? If you can drive it and sleep in it, we want to see it! All interested vans, buses, campers, trailers and their owners are welcome to apply. Please contact us at rvshow@highnoontv.com Watch as we feature your favorites voted on by viewers at http://www.travelchannel.com/ Source: High Noon Entertainment Press Release Mark Polk RV Education 101 RV Consumer RV101.TV  Read More →

VIDEO: the Queen Mary 2 in ROUGH SEAS!

On LonglongHoneymoon.com I have drawn an analogy between boats and RVs. Boats and RVs have a lot in common. Fiberglass, galleys, and water tanks come to mind. Many avid RV travelers are retired. Same goes for boats. But there’s one key difference: manufacturers don’t build gigantic RVs (“cruise RVs”?) that simultaneously accommodate thousands of people. I think we can all agree that this is for the best. Imagine the potholes 1200-foot long motorhomes would inflict upon our already Swiss Cheese roads. Parking would also be an issue. With with boats it’s a little different. They do build huge ships to accommodate thousands of people, and it all works pretty well. Here’s a short video I shot on one such boat last week. It’s also our Christmas card to the world. Yes, last week Kristy and I completed a transatlantic crossing (from Southampton, England to New York) aboard RMS Queen Mary 2. Those of you with a fondness for the golden age of ocean liners will appreciate this ship. The QM2 offers a travel experience that harkens to the past. Our seven night crossing included four nights of formal dining and events (coat & tie for gentlemen, nice dresses for the ladies). The trip also included a route that passed within 80 nautical miles of the RMS Titanic, and a couple of storms cranking out 30-foot swells and winds at gale force 10. Although this video isn’t the most technically RV-centric in the world, it is about travel, and I thought you... Read more

New RV Camping Book on Amazon Kindle – Only $2.99!

A few years ago, I did something that previously I never imagined myself doing. And I’m not talking about getting married (although that development was quite surprising as well). I bought an RV. Specifically, my wife and I bought a 25-foot Airstream travel trailer. It was her idea. I never saw myself owning an RV, mainly because I am 6′ 2” and fear hitting my head on low ceilings. Not having grown up with RV camping, I didn’t “get it.” But then one day, we got our Airstream. Then we got hitched. Then I got it. Boy, did I ever… We started an ongoing adventure of sorts. We blogged the fun in a website called “Long Long Honeymoon,” donned pith helmets, wrote pithy articles, and shot three trillion videos. So far we’ve hauled our rig throughout the lower 48 states. Alaska? We’re still making plans for Alaska. At the moment, we’re waiting for diesel prices to stop resembling one of those national debt clocks. As for Hawaii? We’ll see it someday too, though we’ve no intention of testing the seaworthiness of our “land yacht.” We’ll likely book a flight – anything with a lei greeting will be fine. But before we move forward, we must look back. Yes boys and girls, it’s time for a book! An ebook, that is. I hope you enjoy it. “Long Long Honeymoon – Living Large in a Small Tin Can” is now available on the AMAZON KINDLE platform for the rock bottom price of $2.99! Check it out now – before... Read more

New battery design could be game changer for electric vehicles

By Bob Difley A radically new approach to the design of batteries, developed by researchers at MIT,” reports Physorg.com, “could provide a lightweight and inexpensive alternative to existing batteries for electric vehicles and the power grid. The technology could even make ’refueling’ such batteries as quick and easy as pumping gas into a conventional car.” The new battery uses a method called a semi-solid flow cell, where solid particles are “suspended in a carrier liquid and pumped through the system. In this design, the battery’s active components — the positive and negative electrodes, or cathodes and anodes — are composed of particles suspended in a liquid electrolyte. These two different suspensions are pumped through systems separated by a filter, such as a thin porous membrane.” The report states that “one important characteristic of the new design is that it separates the two functions of the battery — storing energy until it is needed, and discharging that energy when it needs to be used — into separate physical structures. (In conventional batteries, the storage and discharge both take place in the same structure.) Separating these functions means that batteries can be designed more efficiently . . . ” If this design works out as tests have indicated, it will have the effect of reducing the size of EV batteries to half their size. It will also reduce the cost making EVs more competitive with gas or diesel... Read more

Highline RV Luxury Equal To Top Coach Converter

A Lug_Nut view.   5th wheel trailers are going to new heights and rival highline motorized coaches like the Prevost conversions.  Like the Canadian built Prevost Coach, this 5th wheel is also being designed and built by a Canadian company.   This two story fiver is 53 feet in length and 13 feet 6 inches in height.  It will weigh in at about 40,000 lbs. when completely outfitted.       Specifications: Trailer Length: 53’ Over All Length: (Trailer/Tractor) 70’ Trailer Weight: Appox. 40,000 lbs. Over All Height: 13’ 6” Number of Slides: 4 The rear conversion type cap powers open to reveal a garage that will accommodate a medium/small automobile.  Ahead of this area, and still on the bottom level, a bedroom, bathroom and micro kitchen suitable to accommodate a driver or for a guest suite is present.                             A curving stairway from the bottom level leads to the kitchen and dining area of the upper level.  Heading toward the rear brings you into a spacious living room that expands on both sides with large slide outs.  The master bedroom and bath are located in the rear of the coach.  This area also has two large slides.    This unit employed a 535 horse power Volvo diesel powered tractor with a 10 speed auto shifting transmission.  The extended cab tractor was luxuriously appointed with leather sofa and lazy boy like chairs.  So, how much will this set you back when they become available?  Better count on spending upward... Read more

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