Heidi Glaus, from a St. Louis TV station, boarded a Byerly RV to go to Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI. Heidi asked for viewer suggestions for where she should stop on her way to Indianapolis. She received several emails from people suggesting stops in Effingham and Moonshine, Illinois and Terre Haute, Indiana. During this time, Heidi was able to experience RVing as a full time rver.

Below is a video on how Heidi traveled in style.

In 1996, Joe Cahn sold his business, the New Orleans School of Cooking, and embarked upon a journey that can only be called “one of the best jobs in history” as the self-proclaimed Commissioner of Tailgating. The Commish bought a motorhome and set out to explore “the new American community” -- tailgate parties.

In the 16 seasons he has been "professionally tailgating," Cahn estimates he has visited more than 800 venues and clocked more than 800,000 miles.

WATCH CNN's video with the Commissioner of Tailgating.

FOLLOW The Commish all season long by keeping track of his schedule.

It just goes to show you that there are many ways to enjoy the RV lifestyle.  Get out there, buy a new or used RV, and enjoy all of the benefits that RVing has to offer.

I just came across an article about an RV that brings tailgaters and wounded Veterans together. The RV is called the “Purpose Driven Rehab” - it's a chance for fans and wounded Veterans to enjoy a different type of tailgating experience. Wounded Veterans travel with the RV, and get paid to help set up and break down the RV. During the games they welcome tailgaters to come in the RV and play video games.

So if you are out there tailgating and see the "Purpose Driven Rehab", be sure to stop by and enjoy a game and great conversation with some Veterans!

To view entire newsarticle and video click here.

We have written before about technology for RVer's in a post about Internet phone service.  Now comes another development in technology when you go RVing with a Trailer Life iPhone application.  The iPhone application comes loaded with information, including a complementary issue of the latest Trailer Life Magazine.  After the initial issue, the application allows you to read future issues on the application from wherever you may be on your RV vacation, search Trailer Life articles, review the latest RVs, review tow vehicles, research the best travel destinations, and keep up with the latest industry news.  Buy Trailer Life iPhone application for $1.99 from the iTunes app store.  So, now whether you enjoy traveling in a new or used RV, you can also enjoy all of the latest from Trailer Life magazine.  

Thousands of RV’s cross into Mexico each year and there are many RV owners that love to travel to Mexico for RV Vacations.  And why not?  With Mexico RV Vacation prices as much as 60% less than in the United States and the warm year round weather, a Mexican RV Vacation can be wonderful.  Not to mention that people are starting to receive cheap medical and dental care just across the border.

However, with all of the benefits of buying an RV and heading south of the border to Mexico, the question remains, is it safe?  There are many indications lately that RVing in Mexico isn’t as safe as it once was.  What originally got me thinking about this topic is an episode of 48 Hours Mystery that I saw a couple of months ago.  In this video, a family in their RV is within visual distance of their home in San Diego when they are pulled over by “police”, surrounded by a gang of people, put through a night of turmoil, robbed of their possessions, and almost assassinated:



Watch CBS News Videos Online

After seeing that, I wondered, “Is Mexico a safe place to go RVing?”  So, I researched the topic a little more thoroughly and found that the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert for Mexico.  Originally issued in 2009 and then updated in 2010, the U.S. Embassy travel alert encourages U.S. citizens to delay unnecessary travel to certain parts of Meixco and to advise U.S. citizens residing or traveling in those areas to exercise extreme caution.  Another report issued by the Consulate General of the United States issued a warning about gun battles and kidnappings in Reynosa, Mexico.  Lastly, I found another news story from just last week speaking of a Canadian couple that was attacked by apparent fake police while vacationing in Mexico.

With all of these reports and warnings out there, why are people still RVing in Mexico? Even with all of the warnings out last year, many college students still spent spring break in Mexico.  Even with all of the warnings, many United States citizens drive their motorhomes across the border every week to pursue medical care.  Even with all of the alerts, some family friends recently kept their scheduled RV Vacation to a Mexican resort. 

So, is the risk of RVing in Mexico overstated?  Some people seem to think so.  In this article, Dennis Jacobs says that Mexican travel can be as safe or as dangerous as you like.  Basically, he says that if you take the standard safety precautions for safe travel to pretty much any destination, you will more than likely be fine.  Jacobs suggests doing your research, practicing self-restraint while in Mexico, understanding laws & social norms, and staying in groups. 

Another proponent of Mexican travel from the Full Time RV Blog, says “In fact it is statistically much safer than the USA and actually even Canada. Right now the USA is on the list of some of the most dangerous countries in the world to travel in.”

What do you think?  Are you staying out of Mexico and RVing elsewhere?  Is Mexico just as dangerous as you make it?  Is the United States just as dangerous or more dangerous for RV Travelers?  Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

 

This week, 94 years of history were overturned when a law went into effect allowing guns in National Parks.  Advocates of the new law say that it is long overdue because guns have been allowed in often adjoining National Forest and other Federal lands for many years.  Those against the new law argue that guns don't belong in US National Parks because it still remains illegal to kill any animals and most rangers still do not carry weapons.  Guns, they argue, will just increase the chance of deadly accidents and intensify any confrontations between park visitors (or between park visitors and wildlife).  

So, what do you think?  Is your next RV Vacation camping packing list going to include bug spray, food, and your rifle?  Or, do you prefer that guns stay out of National Parks?

This year, 2010, the RV industry celebrartes 100 years.  As the RVIA pointed out in an article released to mark the RV industry centennial, the year 1910 marks the invention of the first motorized campers. It also points out that,  RV's were around even if ample gas stations, paved roads, and highways were not. 

A centennial celebration is quite an accomplishment, so we at RVingPlanet thought that it would be fun to look at what other organizations and businesses were also founded in 1910 and will celebrate right along with the RV industry:

Businesses
Westar Energy
Hallmark Cards
Morton Salt
Black & Decker 

Organizations and Industry
The Boy Scouts of America
Columbia Music and Entertainment

So, just think of it, we can now drive around in our RVs, listen to music while repairing the RV with our Black & Decker tools, and help our sons/grandsons on their Boy Scout badge.  In the meatime, we can remember our nieces birthday with a Hallmark card and she can read the card under a lamp powered by Westar Energy.  Lastly, we can sit down to a nice evening meal to celebrate another great RV vacation and salt our favorite foods, all because of the things that happened in the year 1910. 

Happy birthday to the RV Industry!  May there be many more RV sales and RV adventures to come.  

 

Talk about comprehensive, I recently came across a website called This Old Campsite. This site have links to almost everything you need to know about camping and RVing. There are links to campground recommendations, cooking recipes, camping cartoons, camping news, RV blogs, RV Sales and Service, and more. If you don't find it on This Old Campsite, you might not find it any where else! But, if there is a link that This Old Campsite doesn't have, you can E-mail them and they will post the link to make their website even more comprehensive. This Old Campsite is your source for everything camping and RvingPlanet is your source for RV Sales.

When I was flipping through the TV channels the other night, there was a commercial shown for a new Nickelodeon channel show called "Glenn Martin,DDS". (and no, I really wasn't watching Nickelodeon, I swear!) It is a new animated series that centers around RV travel. The show, "Glenn Martin, DDS", premiere's on Monday, August 17th, 2009 on Nick at Nite. The show centers around the adventures of traveling dentist, Glenn Martin, and his family. After learning that his favorite childhood park is about to be destroyed, Glenn takes his family on a cross-country road trip to protest the demolition. Although the protest is ultimately a bust, Glenn and Jackie realize that the trip has brought their family closer together and they decide to keep on traveling. Along the way, Glenn discovers that hitting the road is more complicated than it sounds, and learns through various run-ins (with mobsters, the Amish, and psychotic navigators) that the road often hits back in unexpected and hilarious ways. Source: Nickelodeon

As in one of my previous posts, it will probably be debated as to whether this newest show is good for RV Sales and the RV industry as a whole. I suppose it will all depend on how the series and the characters are portrayed when the show airs. However, it does have the potential to spur a whole new generation of RV enthusiasts and with kids ability to pursuade their parents' purchases, who knows where the show might lead the RV market. According to The Kids Market in the U.S., a new report from market research publisher Packaged Facts, the buying power of kids tops $18 billion. Preschoolers aged 3 to 5, younger kids aged 6 to 8, and tweens aged 9 to 11 -- a compact consumer group that's nearly 36 million kids strong -- continue to pack a punch in purchasing power, which in 2005 was estimated to be $18 billion.

When you have your adorable-faced child in your ear constantly wanting something, it can sometimes be hard to ignore. Case in point, a forty-year-old colleague of mine had a junior-high-aged daughter that got it into her head that she wanted the family to buy a RV. Many of her friends' families had RVs and she wanted her family to get one so that they could be part of the fun at the local State Park every weekend. Since it was summer time, she had a lot of time on her hands. She would spend most of her days surfing the Internet checking out RVs and finding the motorhomes that she liked best. Then she would E-mail her RV finds to her father throughout the day. When that didn't seem to move him, she would call a couple of times a day, letting her father know of the "great deal" that she just found on a RV. "We had better move fast Dad or the RV will be snatched up!" She was more persistant that a used car, err...RV salesman!  So, let's see where kids buying power leads us when "Glenn Martin, DDS" premieres next week.

If you are looking for a used RV to enjoy with your family or want to search RV floor plans, please check out this RV Sales site.