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

“How to Buy an Airstream” Tip

My goal with the “How to Buy an Airstream” ebook is to arm anyone interested in buying an Airstream with the essential information needed to bring home the right silver baby. The basic principles discussed will be helpful for anyone who is going RV shopping. Even if you are buying some other brand of RV or travel trailer, you’ll find useful information in this book. Hopefully, this book will save readers a lot of time, money, and heartache. One tip I’d like to offer all used Airstream buyers: watch out for oriented strand board (OSB). OSB is an engineered wood particle board formed by layering strands (flakes) of wood in specific orientations. In other words, it’s particle board that is a cheaper alternative to plywood. Alas, OSB has been used as a subfloor material in some Airstreams over the years. While it has usually been used in entry level models, in the late 1980s it also appeared in the high end Excellas. While its presence isn’t the end of the world (and shouldn’t always necessarily be a deal killer) OSB does merit your concern. Why? Because OSB isn’t as strong a material as plywood (the most common choice of Airstream subfloor). More damning, OSB isn’t as water resistant as plywood. Airstreams, like most RVs, have been known to suffer water leaks from time to time. If you add enough water to OSB, you may end up with major problems – like a rotten floor. It’s no fun camping on a rotten floor. So when you inspect a... Read more

New on Amazon Kindle: HOW TO BUY AN AIRSTREAM!

For the past several years, my wife and I have enjoyed owning an Airstream travel trailer. We’ve taken our trailer to 49 states and several Canadian provinces. We’ve camped everywhere from national parks to Walmart parking lots (and frankly, I felt safer interacting with Yellowstone grizzly bears than certain residents of Las Vegas). But the point is that we’ve built up a lot of life experiences with our Airstream. Anyone who has spent a little time RV camping is probably familiar with Airstreams. These are ‘old school’ aluminum travel trailers that are built in an old fashioned style. Panels of aluminum are riveted together to form a giant silver camping loaf. Airstream owners form a sort of cult, a blue beret-wearing pink flamingo-planting subculture that exists within the broader RV camping culture. Click the image to see HOW TO BUY AN AIRSTREAM on Amazon Kindle. Look for the FREE SAMPLE on Amazon! In some ways, Airstreams are just like other RVs. In other ways, they are very different. That’s why I wrote this new ebook: HOW TO BUY AN AIRSTREAM. Over the years I’ve noticed that many people share an interest in Airstreams. My hope is that this book helps other prospective Airstream (and RV) owners make a wise purchase. When it comes to a large transaction like buying an Airstream or other RV, every bit of information is helpful. Many of the principles and concerns discussed in this book apply to any RV. But some of them are specific... Read more

Is it realistic to think that renewable energy will become common in RVs in our lifetime?

By Bob Difley Inventors and inventions are a dime a dozen, as the saying goes. Proof is the number of patents filed in the US Patent Office every year (over 500,000 in 2010). Few ever make it to the marketplace, and even fewer become profitable. But that is where creativity takes root, and if the venture capital flows and the public accepts the product–take the iPhone or iPad for example–sales can go viral. What does that have to do with RVing. I’m sure the inventor of the first commercially viable cell phone was not thinking of how useful a mobile, untethered, phone could be to the RV traveler making his nightly campground reservation on the fly, checking ahead to restaurant seating availability, taking calls from excited grandchildren while cruising down the highway, or calling in emergency services when away from nearby help. It took some RVers to actually look at the new invention and ask, “How can I use this to make my life better?” The same holds true with inventions and progressive ideas today. The shortsighted seldom see the long term benefits, only the short term shortcomings of new ideas that need help along their path to usefulness. And that’s where the electric vehicle industry is today. Many people see the shortcomings–heavy expensive batteries, short periods of use before requiring recharging, long recharge periods, not enough charging stations, etc.–without seeing that with increasing acceptance comes increasing innovation... Read more

VIDEO: Alaska Flood – Emergency Airstream Repair!

In 2012, we towed our Airstream on a 14,000 mile road trip. We traveled 5000 miles from Alabama, exiting the United States from Montana, branching through Alberta, and then along the Alaska Highway through British Columbia, and the Yukon, all the way up to the Alaska border. Then we drove around the Alaska interior (visiting Tok, Fairbanks, Denali, Palmer, Wasila, Anchorage, Homer, Portage, Seward, Glennallen, Haines, and Skagway) for another 3000 miles. Then we towed down the Cassiar Highway through British Columbia another 3000 miles to California. Then we made our way home over the course of another 3000 miles. According to our odometer, it was about 14,000 miles from start to finish. “Wasn’t that trip hard on your rig?” you may ask. Indeed, it was a bit hard on our rig. Although we never suffered a major catastrophe to our Airstream, nor did we emerge unscathed. (Our truck did suffer a catastrophe; more on that subject later.) Of course the general assumption is that the widely feared Alaska-Canada Highway (also known as the “Alcan”) is hell on all vehicles. It gained its legendary reputation in the 1940s, when it was carved out of Canadian wilderness by the U.S. military over the course of six frenetic months. What kind of 1700-mile road can you build in six months? Read more  Read More →

Does the future of RVing include smart highways?

By Bob Difley There are a lot of smart scientists working on a lot of futuristic projects, many of which will impact RVers and the way we enjoy our lifestyle. Take electric (EV) and hybrid electric (HEV) vehicles that are getting all the media play and new EVs are popping up like spring wildflowers–not only in the US but also in India, China, Japan, Korea and just about every country that makes automobiles. So far, it’s been a hard row to hoe getting people to accept a different concept in their vehicles than what they are accustomed to, such as THE MILEAGE range between fossil fuel vehicles and EVs, time to fill up with gas or diesel fuel compared to chargging a battery, ability of electricity powered vehicles to carry or pull the loads that would be required for RVs, and cost differentials–EVs and HEVs are much higher compared to internal combustion engines (ICE). But these smart and innovative scientists and entrepreneurs are working on this stuff. They’d rather that we changed our perspective on how we look at vehicles but also realize that until electrics are offered that have the same or better range, charge (fill up) time, and cost as an ICE operated vehicle, the populace is unlikely to adopt the new concept. So they are going about their business by inventing better batterties, ones that will weigh less, are smaller, offer more usable power, and charge quicker. And a Dutch firm has re-invented highways with solar powered glow-in-the-dark surfaces... 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

The Weak Link In RV Dash Instrumentation

A Lug_Nut Thought.  Dash instrumentation has become more and more precise over the years.  Complex informative data can be displayed with near pin point accuracy.  Full “Glass Dashes” like that used in aircraft today are finding their way and showing up on some high end motor coaches.  Digital readouts have become common place in everyday automobiles over the past decade.  Engine temperatures can be observed to the single degree as can speed, engine RPM, manifold pressure, boost pressure, transmission temperature and much more.  In the average vehicle, these multitude of real time data information readings are of little value, outside of a cool looking gimmick.  In most cases “Idiot Lights” would probably suffice.   However, for large vehicles, like heavy motor homes and truck trailer combinations, this information can be vital and of great value.  Observing various data trends and digital readout behavior while travelling, can reveal issues that require attention.  That attention may necessitate an operation strategy change, or, if necessary, a physical investigation. But, there is one instrument that every vehicle has and is used daily.  It has not really evolved operationally over that available when we were born.  While some sensor changes have been made, it is still about as inaccurate as they were 30 years or more ago.  That instrument is the fuel gauge.     Every vehicle I have ever owned, or driven, seemed to have the same inaccurate tendency. ... Read more

Electric Vehicle update: Events affecting EV development and public acceptance

By Bob Difley As many of you know I follow the development of the electrical vehicle (EV) and how it will impact RVers as it develops and become viable to the general public–that’s us. Two recent events have given proponents and advocates of EVs encouragement. First, an EV charging station has been installed at a remote location of Yellowstone NP and in one of the most air-polluted parks, Great Smoky Mountain NP  as reported by Melissa Hincha-Ownby of the Mother Nature Network. Thanks to the Black Bear Solar Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to wildlife rehabilitation and solar energy, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park region is now home to one of the largest concentrations of electric-vehicle charging stations in the nation. Dubbed the Green Gateway, the region features 24 EV charging stations at strategic locations between major cities in Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park gateway community of Townsend, Tenn. A future expansion will add solar canopies, which will provide clean renewable power to the charging stations. You can read the whole article on theMother Nature Network. As the number and distribution of charging stations continues to expand, and campgrounds and RV resorts add EV charging, the EV my become the dinghy of choice somewhere in the future. Second, the Tesla Model S, a high line performance luxury sedan from the makers of the impressive Tesla roadster, was named Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine, and more... Read more

An Innovative Idea For RV Transmission Control

  An innovative product idea from the Lug_Nut file. Automatic transmissions are quickly replacing the mechanically clutched manual gearbox in the world’s high performance automobiles. While many are equipped with single or dual action hydraulic clutches, all are capable of shifting gears automatically. For the positive control of spirited performance shifting, these newer systems employ steering wheel mounted paddle switches. These spring loaded momentary contact levers are located behind the wheel at about nine and three o’clock. They are easily operated with your fingertips while your hands are comfortably gripping the steering wheel. The left one toggles the downshift while the right the upshift. The main transmission control provides a selection of either fully automatic or paddle control shifting. The automatic or manual modes can also be toggled back and forth on some models using just the paddles. Generally the paddle shift feature is not available on the average automobile, other than as a sales gimmick, as it would have little operational value. But what about a large vehicle like a truck or motor home? The ability to manually select the gearing, in this type of unit, is often a need when operating in very hilly or mountainous terrains. Currently, diesel pusher owners control user input shifts by depressing one of two buttons on the Allison keypad. The control keypad is generally located to the driver’s left, often near waist level about equal to the operator’s... Read more

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