2012 Palazzo from Thor Motor Coach

The all new 2013 Palazzo rear diesel stole the show, drawing crowds throughout the event. The industry received its first look at the Palazzo when it was unveiled in November at the RV National Trade show in Louisville, KY. The Palazzo’s compact low-profile design makes it easy to drive while providing the amenities a premium motorhome shopper expects, as well as several they might not.

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Even so, the campground at Morro Strand State Beach has a loyal following. Its main attractions are the scenic environs of Estero Bay and three miles of sparkling beaches to play on.

But the campground is set to close July 1 — at the height of the summer camping season — a victim of the state budget crisis and the need to cut $22 million over two years from the State Parks Department budget.

“It’s perfect for camping,” said Larry Weeks of Visalia as he parked his 35-foot Pace Arrow motor home at the campground. “I’d sure hate to see it close.”

Morro Bay city and business leaders are worried that closure of the campground will hurt the city’s economy. They say the closure could cost as much as $2.5 million a year.

This is based on estimates by the city that some 44,000 campers use the park annually and each spends about $58 in the local economy. In August, Morro Bay Mayor Bill Yates sent a letter to State Parks protesting the closure.

The city and Chamber of Commerce are working with State Parks to prevent the closure by finding a nonprofit group or concessionaire to run the campground, although no one has been found yet.

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RV Camping Hershey Highmeadow Campground

Springtime in the Park is open April 6-8 and 14-15 and offers fun for everyone, including more than 40 rides and attractions. Guests can also enjoy live entertainment and admission to ZooAmerica North America Wildlife Park, an 11-acre zoo featuring 200 animals of more than 60 species.

The admission price to Springtime in the Park for Campground guests is $23.95 for ages 9 to 54, or $15.95 for ages 3 to 8 and 55 and older. As always, children ages 2 and younger are free. Regular admission rates are $28.95 for ages 9 to 54, or $18.95 for juniors and seniors.

Other Hershey attractions – including The Hershey Story, The Museum on Chocolate Avenue, Hershey Gardens and Hershey’s Chocolate World Attraction – will be open to provide guests with additional Hershey in the Spring fun. Campground guests receive a discounted admission rate to The Hershey Story and Hershey Gardens.

RVers staying at the Campground also can enjoy an outdoor recreation area that features a basketball court, volleyball court, shuffleboard and horseshoes. The Campground provides two laundry facilities; indoor arcade; and the Hershey Highmeadow Country Store, which offers a variety of camping supplies and such food items as s’mores kits.

Hershey Highmeadow Campground is pleased to announce the grand re-opening of its Historic Landis Barn, which houses the Hershey Highmeadow guest reservation area, the Hershey Highmeadow Country Store, game room, laundry facility, and shower and restroom facility. The Campground sustained unprecedented flooding as a result of Tropical Storm Lee on September 7, 2011. Although the Campground reopened on September 30, the Historic Landis Barn was severely damaged and temporary facilities were put in its place until this spring reopening.

Hershey Highmeadow Campground is a 55-acre campground that offers more than 300 open and shaded sites, including 27 cabins with heat, air conditioning, a flat-screen television and DVD player (all 12 deluxe log cabins have a shower and restroom); full-hook-up RV sites with electric, water, sewer and cable television; partial sites with electric, water and cable television; and no hook-up tent sites. Pull-through RV sites are also available. The Campground provides free Wi-Fi services. For additional information, visit http://www.HersheyCamping.com or call 717-534-8999.

New Camping World stores, most combining rolling stock and aftermarket parts and accessories, are slated to open in a wide variety of U.S. locales in the year’s first quarter – bringing the Lincolnshire, Ill.-based company’s total store count to 85. Some of these new stores, Lemonis told RVBUSINESS.com, will result from an “integration” of an existing independent dealership.
“After an unbelievably strong 2011,” said Lemonis, “we believe that we have the infrastructure in place to kind of take that next step of growth. We are clearly in same-store growth mode and new-store growth mode – a combination of both.”

As part of this new expansion initiative at the nation’s highest volume RV dealership chain, Lemonis revealed, Camping World signage will soon surface in disparate locations like Conway, N.H.; Avondale, Ariz.; Spokane, Wash.; Redding, Calif.; St. George, Utah; Ashville, Raleigh and Fayetteville, N.C., and Lake City, Winter Garden and Cocoa Beach, Fla.

At the same time, Lemonis adds, the industry will soon learn of a new floorplan credit facility approaching $400 million and a new deal recently inked between Camping World and NASCAR involving roadside assistance – a major focus for Camping World in the year ahead.
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Vehicle Make / Model: Model Year(s):
DUTCHMEN RUBICON 2012
DUTCHMEN VOLTAGE 2012
Manufacturer: DUTCHMEN MANUFACTURING, INC. Mfr’s Report Date: JAN 12, 2012
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 12V012000 NHTSA Action Number: N/A
Component: WHEELS:CAP/COVER/HUB
Potential Number of Units Affected: 437
Summary:
THOR IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 DUTCHMEN VOLTAGE AND RUBICON TRAVEL TRAILERS, MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 19, 2011 THROUGH DECEMBER 21, 2011. THE TRAILER WHEELS MAY NOT BE FULLY SEATED ON THE HUB AND THEREFORE MAY LOOSEN AND POTENTIALLY DETACH FROM THE TRAILER.
Consequence:
WHEEL SEPARATION CAN LEAD TO LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE TRAILER INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH. A DETACHED WHEEL ALSO POSES A RISK OF INJURY TO PEDESTRIANS AND OTHER VEHICLES.
Remedy:
THOR WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE WHEELS, AND REPAIR THE TRAILERS AS NECESSARY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 20, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THOR INDUSTRIES, INC. AT 1-937-596-6849.
Notes:
OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .

The largest and most impressive project is located on an expansive property on the city’s east side near the old railroad right of way, between North Archer Street on the west and the U.S. 181 Bypass on the east.

The project, which goes by the name Amistad, will provide as many as 60 new RV spaces in the first phase and the same number in the second phase.

The South Tyler Mobile Home Park located between that street and East Dolan Street, is expanding its facilities.
Plans are to put in 38 RV sites and an additional five mobile home sites.

Some clearing work has been done on another RV park on South Lightburne Street that will create an unknown number of RV sites. The building inspector said there are few details on the scope of that project at this time.

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Almost all federal agencies have taken a hit and that includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Little Rock Arkansas District of the Corps operates 178 public parks and access areas — and a number of the sites in those parks, will be closing this year.

It’s part of tightening the belt on the federal level.

The Little Rock District of the U-S Army Corps of engineers announced 29 parks will face some sort of a reduction and that includes closing 248 camping sites out of the 1,227 sites available at Greers Ferry Lake.

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Director Nancy Merrill hopes the idea, modeled after a successful program in Michigan, will alleviate financial pressure on her agency that has been mounting since Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter moved to wean it from taxpayer support two years ago.

Parks and Recreation currently offers a similar annual parks pass, but it now costs $40 and raises only $800,000 annually. Merrill is banking on the reduced price — and access to a much-broader audience through Idaho’s car registration program — to help bring in an additional $1.9 million annually.

“We’ve been going through a lot of troubles and strife these last few years, and we’re now an agency reinvented,” Merrill told the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday. “We’re seeking a dedicated funding source. It would move us toward a long-term sustainable process.”

She expects a bill to create the program to be introduced Jan. 31. It’s called the Idaho State Parks Passport.

Parks and Recreation funding is due to fall 2.7 percent to $35 million for fiscal year 2013, with only $1.3 million coming from taxpayers, according to Otter’s recommendation to the Legislature. Almost everything else comes from user fees, including camping, boat launches and recreational vehicle hookups.

Beth Lawrie, 56, walked 25km in temperatures exceeding 40C to get reception on her mobile phone after her motorhome broke down in the remote north-west of the state of Victoria.

Her RV came to a halt in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park, a huge area of semi desert outback, miles from the nearest settlement.

For eight hours she tried to fix her Ford Transit Van before deciding the only option she had left was to walk for help.

She said “I thought OK, get into survival mode and do what you have to do. And that means walk.”

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2012 Texas Camping Guide

This year’s edition is better than ever with close to 150 pages of rich content, beautiful designs and, most importantly, great information on campgrounds and RV parks in Texas. New this year are expanded region pages to include a few of the many things visitors can enjoy while visiting a unique region in Texas.

One feature of the directory is the special ‘Double-Impact’ listing for participating parks which includes more information and a four color photo – all on their listing! As always, be sure to pick up your Texas Saver Card, included in every copy of the RV Travel & Camping Guide to Texas and be sure to check out the special Cabin/Cottage and Dealer pages. Click here to order your guide today!