Park Model Trailers Give RVing Families Extra Room at Campgrounds

 Photo Credit: KOA

When families hit the road in their RV, the kids, grandkids, and grandparents are often along for the ride. While RVs are roomier than ever, even the most spacious class-A can seem tiny when trying to find the sleeping space for every member of an extended family.

MSNBC reports that Kampgrounds of America and other RV parks offer park model trailers or “Kamping Lodges” as KOA calls them. Park model trailers are built by RV manufacturers and feature electricity, plumbing, and decks.

Photo Credit: KOA

According to the story, park model trailers offer extra sleeping space for traveling families during family reunions and other group events. If you want to try a park model trailer on you next RV trip, you better book one soon. The story reports they are in high demand.

Source: MSNBC

Links

• Find a Campground Using RV Trader’s Campground & Resort Locator

The 7700 Pro by Cobra Electronics Guides You to RV Friendly Roads

The 7700 Pro from Cobra has been rated the highest in route quality and reliability, based on the results of a certified quality test conducted by Tele Atlas.

Photo Credit: Cobra Electronics

The 7700 Pro provides multi-route trip planning options, including shortest time or distance and critical driver information useful for eliminating unwanted stops. A multi-point route optimization feature provides the best routing for multiple destinations, saving fuel costs.

This system even enables owners to enter the custom size of their rig and will only provide directions on streets and roads that can legally and safely accommodate the RV. The 7700 Pro has a 7″, 16:9 wide screen for incredibly easy viewing and provides the convenience of touch screen control. It includes over 12 million points of interest, such as routable travel center locations with detailed amenity information, restaurants, WiFi access and repair shops.

Source: Cobra Electronics

Winnebago Reports First Operating Profit Since 2008

Photo Credit: Winnebago

Winnebago Industries, Inc. has reported the company made it first operating profit since 2008.

“We are extremely pleased to report our results for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 which show profitability at the operating level for the first time since our second quarter of 2008,” said Winnebago Industries’ Chairman, CEO and President Bob Olson. “We are also encouraged by continued sequential improvement in revenues and gross profit. The main driver for this improvement was increased motor home shipments which increased 120.3 percent over the third quarter of fiscal 2009 and 23.2 percent sequentially over the second quarter ended February 27, 2010. The increased volume resulted in greater efficiencies and higher utilization of our manufacturing facilities.”

Source: Winnebago

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Celebration in Elkhart marks first 100 years of RVs

The RVIA site reports on the celebration held at the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Indiana, on Monday, June 7 to mark the 100th anniversary of the RV industry at RVIA’s RV Centennial Celebration.

Photo Credit: RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum
 
The RVIA says the rousing event offered attendees a fun-filled festival, reception and barbecue, an entertaining one-hour program saluting the industry’s history and its workers, and a stirring fireworks display to cap the evening.

“This was a fantastic way to honor the history of the industry and look forward to the future of RVing,” added Joe Hosinski, marketing director at Dutchmen Manufacturing.

An especially inspiring highlight of the RV Centennial Celebration was RVIA’s “Salute to Workers” during the one hour RV Centennial Program. RVIA President Richard introduced a specially produced video segment that featured RV workers explaining why they enjoyed working in the industry and RV industry executives expressing their gratitude for the service of the workers.

Photo Credit: RV/MH Hall of Fame & Library

“As we come together for this joyous occasion, we must honor those who are the heart and soul of our industry’s success, the RV workers,” said Coon. “The hard-working men and women who provide the elbow grease, craftsman who take special pride in their work, and the generations of families who work in this industry, all of them committed to building the best product they can.”

Source: RVIA

Heavy Demand For Airstream Trailers at New Dealer in Oregon

Photo Credit: Airstream

How popular are the Airstream brand of trailers? Airstream is one of the top five selling RVs in an area that did not have an authorized seller till recently.

OregonLive.com reports on the opening of Airstream Adventures Northwest in Milwaukie, Oregon. According to the story, Oregon is one of the top five states for the sales of Airstream trailers, yet the new Milwaukie dealer is the first authorized one in that region.

The story also reports business has been brisk at the new dealership. Airstream chief executive Bob Wheeler visited and commented on the RV market. Wheeler remarked that there is pent-up demand for RVs, and that the slow economy only delayed RV purchases that buyers planned to make all along.

Source: OregonLive.com

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Newmar Begins Production of its All New 2011 Ventana Diesel Motor Home

Photo Credit: Newmar

Newmar Corporation reports this week is the beginning of production of its all new 2011 Ventana diesel motor home. According to Newmar, this is the first generational change for Newmar’s entry level diesel product since the brand was introduced in the 2006 model year.

“We are very excited to launch the next generation of Ventana to our dealers and retail customers. The Ventana brand helped our company grow market share throughout the 2009 calendar year with an increase in share of 75% for the Ventana brand alone,” said John Sammut, Newmar’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “With the breathtaking new look and the tremendous value the 2011 Ventana offers, we cannot help but think that this exciting product will continue to grow our company’s business.”

Photo Credit: Newmar

The 2011 Ventana will feature newly designed front and rear caps, dash and instrument panels, providing the operator with an ergonomically designed cockpit. Interior design changes include newly styled furniture, slide out fascias and window treatments, as well as a new contemporary headboard in the bedroom. The standard flooring offered in the 2011

Ventana features polished porcelain tile laid on a diagonal with small designer inserts throughout the front living area. The Ventana for 2011 is available in three interior decors, three exterior paint colors and two wood choices. The 2011 Ventana is being offered exclusively on the Freightliner XC-R series motor home chassis. The 34’ and 39’ models will be powered by a 350 horsepower Cummins ISB engine while the 43’ tag axle models feature a 360 horsepower Cummins ISC power plant. As with all Newmar diesel motor homes, the 2011 Ventana will be equipped standard with the Comfort Drive Steering System.

Photo Credit: Newmar

Floorplans include two 34’, three 39’ and three 43’ tag axle models. The 43’ offerings include a bath and a half floorplan, one side aisle model as well as a traditional rear bedroom quad slide layout. Full wall slides are offered in one 34’ and one 39’ model. One 39’ model even features a wardrobe with removable doors in the hallway that can be converted into two large bunk beds in a matter of seconds.

Source: Newmar

Submit Your Photos To RV Trader’s "Camping Critters" Contest. You Could Win a Flip Camcorder!

Do you have photos or even video of you and your pets enjoying the great outdoors? If so, send them to us for the RV Trader “Camping Critters” photo and video contest.

Three Finalists will be selected and then it’s up to you to vote for the best “Camping Critter!” The winner will receive a Flip Camcorder courtesy of RV Trader.

View Camping Critters already submitted! 
http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

How it works:

• Submit your photos or videos by emailing to us at rvblog@traderonline.com.
• Be sure to put “Camping Critters” in your email subject line.
• Judges select three Finalists. RV Trader users (that’s you!) vote for their favorite between July 5^th – July 9th.
• Winners will be announced on July 19, 2010. Keep up with the latest news about the contest, as well as new entries on Facebook! 

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The Rally Expected to Attract Thousands of RVs to Louisville, Kentucky This July

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the RV. To celebrate, this years RV rally held by the Good Sam club and other sponsors is expected to attract 4,500 RVs and 10,000 people from nearly every state.

According to TheRally.com, The Rally will be held July 22 – 25, 2010 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. A video on YouTube has more details.

Source: TheRally.com

RVTraderOnline.com is now RVTrader.com

RV Trader has announced that its online publication, RVTraderOnline.com, is now RVTrader.com.

RV Trader has been the industry’s leader in recreational vehicle classifieds for over two decades. In 1998 RV Trader began its online publication, RVTraderOnline.com. Despite having the term RV Trader trademarked, RVTrader.com was owned by a Canadian company. “The move to RVTrader.com from RVTraderOnline.com is an exciting one for us. In the past consumers went to RVTrader.com looking for the same company that publishes RV Trader magazine. Now they will find it!” said Tim Custer, RV Trader General Manager.

In order to provide the best consumer experience and results for its advertisers, the RVTrader.com URL will redirect to RVTraderOnline.com for an interim period. In 1st quarter 2010 RVTraderOnline.com led the industry in average monthly site traffic with 193% more than its closest competitor. “Our advertisers already receive great results, and several have received honors such as the Top 50 Dealership Award. With the move to RVTrader.com their businesses will be in front of even more qualified traffic that is already loyal to the RV Trader brand” stated Jerald Motil, RV Trader National Marketing Manager.

Recently RV Trader launched several online advertising and dealership management and analysis products. This includes RV clips, an online video advertising opportunity for RV dealers; Lead Manager, a lead response and management tool; and Business Intelligence Reports, providing analysis of dealers’ inventory in areas of pricing, make/model demand, and local market penetration. All of these products will be available at the new URL, RVTrader.com.

According to Omniture, in 2009 RVTraderOnline.com received over 7 million unique visitors, over 40 million individual RV ads were viewed, and it generated over 126 million pageviews. These results led the industry and even better results are expected with RVTrader.com.

Source: RV Trader