With the Mercedes Sprinter chassis still driving the big spike in Type B motorhome sales, RV manufacturers are continuing to innovate in design and options as they get ready for the 2013 RV season.
At the big Florida RV Supershow in Tampa this January, most of the North America big Type B makers were showing off their new models front and center.
We thought it would be helpful to take a look at the interiors of the leading Type B Sprinters.
As you’ll see, despite the same space, there are big
Inside Advanced RV’s new Ocean One Type B Motorhome
As a sure sign that the RV industry is bouncing back, a small Cleveland-based startup has introduced a high end Mercedes Sprinter motorhome that is targeting the extreme high end of the Type B market. It’s new Ocean One model.
Set up with all the extras, it will retail for around $155,ooo, easily making it the most expensive Type B I’ve seen.
Luxury features include a heated floor, heated captain’s chairs, a wine cabinet, lots of fine crafte
The RV promotion industry may argue over bragging rights to what is the biggest show of the year but if you poll both dealers and fans, it becomes pretty clear that in terms of influence, size and excitement, the annual Florida RV Supershow this week at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa is the one that sets the tone for the entire RV year.
The sponsoring Florida RV Trade Association proudly claim this show is not just the nation’s biggest – it’s the best.
This is the show in which RV owne
We were deep in the piney woods of Southwest Georgia, a half mile off a red dirt road, parked in a small clearing not far from our deer blind.
It was the last weekend of Georgia’s months-long deer season and Matthew, who just took up hunting as any good Southern boy does, had invited me down.
Since we were heading to the big Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa Jan.16-21, the hunting trip made for a perfect stopover. We were seriously boondocking. There was no power or sewer hookups, no cable TV, n
One of the things that so distinguishes an RV is its appearance and especially, the beauty of its paint job. All the manufacturers are working very hard to make their units stand out. To see what goes into painting an RV, we visited the Kitchener, Ontario, Canada factory of Roadtrek Motorhomes, the largest and best-sellingType B motothome manufacturer in North America. There, we are able to follow a unit through the painting process and video it all.
It begins as the van is bought into the sand
That’s because the brand-new miniature K-cup coffee maker I bought for our motorhome didn’t work this morning and I was all set to celebrate our first night in our new Roadtrek eTrek with a hot cup of coffee.
Fortunately, the Kentucky Horse Park campground where we’re staying just off I-75 near Lexington, has a store and it was open, and they had plenty of coffee.
Crisis averted.
I had wanted to boondock on our first night to put the batteries and solar power features of this new motorhome
EDITOR’s NOTE: I don’t normally accept guest posts. But I have made an exception for Graham Gibbs. Graham is from Ottawa and the following post is excerpted from a 5,800-word article he sent me. I think you will enjoy it. It is still very long but I think he captures wonderfully the fun of Roadtreking and the joy of packing and planning. I think you will enjoy this!
By GRAHAM GIBBS
Special to Roadtreking.com
I have been inspired to spend time at my keyboard documenting our Roadtrek experien
I’ve been an amateur (ham) radio operator for decades, My call is K8ZRH and there was a time when I was obsessed with the hobby, so caught up in making contacts with every state in the nation, every country in the world, that I stayed up all hours of the night tracking DX (distant) stations, Eventually, to keep peace in my marriage, I backed off and, for the past ten years or so, have been pretty much inactive.
Today, there’s an amateur radio transceiver installed in my RV. Not a CB radio, thou
Sprinter RV lineup joined by new Roadtrek CS Adventurous
A major reason for the huge spike in Class B motorhome sales over the past year or so is the Mercedes Sprinter, a rugged and flexible van that offers RV makers all sorts of customization opportunities. Roadtrek Motorhomes is about to introduce a new full sized Sprinter model, joining its popular RS Adventurous and the new all-electric, solar powered eTrek.
For 2013, there’s a third model – the CS Adventurous… CS for Camping Series.
I counted eight of them yesterday, four Class A motorhomes, 2 Fifth Wheels and two Travel Trailers, pushing the snow flurries around in their slipstream as they moved down the interstates near my Michigan home. Ands that was what I spotted while I was running a few weekend errands. Truth is, there’s a steady stream of recreational vehicles out there and they will continue to be on the move for the next couple weeks.
Migrating Snowbirds. RVers fleeing the winter weather of the north for warmer t
Roadtrek Motorhome’s new e-Trek is now showing up in dealer showrooms across North America and I just may be the very first consumer to take possession.
Or so Chad Neff of American RV in Grand Rapids told me as he handed over the keys to Jennifer and I. Tai, our Norwegian Elkhound, had already ensconced himself inside.
My trek for the eTrek began in September when I went to the Roadtrek factory in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada to do a video news story on the new model, built on the Mercedes Spr
Roadtrek Motorhome’s hot new N-6 Active made its network television debut this week in a starring role on NBC-TV’s ”Take it All” game show.
The N-6 was a top prize for a contestant in the show, which stars Howie Mandel and is based on one of the most popular holiday party games in America, often called "White Elephant" or "Yankee Swap."
In the show, a contestant selects and opens a prize worth thousands of dollars: dream prizes such as luxury cars, exotic trips, jewelry and VIP experiences.
The one thing that I most dislike about this time of year is holiday shopping.
Usually, I’ll do anything to avoid a shopping mall. If God intended us to go traipsing through crowded shopping centers he wouldn’t have had Al Gore invent the Internet and online shopping.
So you can imagine Jennifer’s surprise this afternoon when I actually volunteered to drive her to the mall to look up some Christmas gifts.
I took my Roadtrek Class B RV motorhome.
Heh heh heh.
It’s a diesel, so it needs to
There's nothing like the sight of one of Yellowstone National Park's magnificent bison to slow traffic.
These shaggy giants seem oblivious to the traffic. They cross the road where they want. They go where they want. The National Park Service says humans need to stay far away from bison. But they don't. People, in quest of a photo, get very stupid.
As you can see on
, people are stupid. Every year, someone gets hurt. Sometimes very badly. Bison can kill.For these animals will charge. They u
When we share our love of RVing in our 22-foot Type B Roadtrek with friends and relatives, probably the most common question we get is why a Type B? Why not one of those giant Type A motorhomes?
Well, no offense to Type A or Type C owners but we're really hooked on Type B RVing for one basic reason: Convenience. We can go anywhere in our Type B and when we do, everything we have is with us.
That’s why I put together this little video, which was shot across the country during our travels this
One of the biggest controversies in the RV world these days has to do with the fine line between tax avoidance and tax evasion.
I’m talking about the practice of setting up an LLC business in Montana to purchase a motorhome, thus avoiding sales and use tax and often stiff registration fees in the owner’s home state. Thousands of RV owners around the country do this and dozens of Montana legal firms specialize in making it happen.
I live in a state that has very high taxes. As I am shopping aro
One of the biggest surprises we had last year in our travels was with KOA – Kampgrounds of America. On our trip west and then on other meanderings over the season, we had the opportunity of staying at about a dozen KOA campgrounds across the U.S.
They were all good experiences, to be sure, but we couldn’t help but notice some big differences between the properties.
And so today, when we see that KOA has re-branded itself by deciding to classify each of their more than 400 properties according
On this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for many things that have come our way since we embraced the world of RVing.
I’m thankful in a new way for the awesomeness of God’s creation, for the many places we visited that I had never seen before. For the majesty of Yellowstone National Park, the beautiful sunrises and sunsets we witnessed in the Bighorn Mountains, the Pictured Rocks National Seashore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Emerald Coast of Florida’s panhandle, the sandhill country of Nebras
It was 3 AM and we were deep in the woods, camped on a friend’s 200 acres of fenced and posted private property off an obscure fire trail more than two miles from the nearest paved road.
I jolted awake. I heard a vehicle with a slightly knocking engine. bumping and scraping on the underbrush of the trail. Then I saw its headlights, slowly making its way down the trail towards us.
Jennifer was still asleep. So was my Norweigian Elkhound, Tai. Fine watchdog he was.
There was no reason for the o
There’s a dusting of snow on my RV
The first accumulating snow of the season fell last night near my Michigan home and as I look out at my motorhome sitting on the driveway, I swear I hear it calling me to get out of town and get warm.
Alas, as I look out, that’s all I can do. Look. I’m standing with the support of a walker. Five days ago, I had a total knee replacement.
I picked this time for the surgery specifically because it is the least busy time for RVing. Although the first wave of sno
The Original RV – The Covered Wagon
We RVers have our heritage and it really starts on Interstate 80 in Nebraska, America's heartland.
That’s where the Great Platte River Trail became the Oregon Trail.
This was the pioneer route that linked east to west.
And today, spanning the interstate near the mid-Nebraska town of Kearney, is a must stop for tourists and especially RVers…the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument
Of all the places we’ve been to, this is one of the most amazing and
This year, I’m planning on winter camping
We’re in early November now and while the ground is still bare, nighttime temps are regularly dropping to the upper 20′s in my part of Michigan. The leaves are all off the trees and snow can happen any day now.
Out on the interstates, I see a steady stream of motorhomes, travel trailers and fifth wheels making their way south, to warmer climes.
I hope to join them in Florida and the gulf states in January. For a few weeks.
But I also hope to do some
I now have my own drone
One of the benefits of being a tech reporter is getting cool new tech toys to test out.
To that end, check out the video above. It’s the first test video I shot with something called the AR.Drone 2, a personal quadricopter drone that sells for ls than $300 and is controlled by your iPad or iPhone or Droid device.
Coolest thing I’ve played with in a long time.
It can go over 100 feet up and a couple hundred feet in a circle – Wi-Fi range from where you are standing. Th
How to winterize your RV: VIDEO
There’s no stopping it. Winter is here and for RVers in northern climates, it’s time to winterize.
Making sure your the plumbing system in your RV is protected against the cold is essential and if it’s not done right, serious damage can occur.
There are lots of ways to winterize. Some RV owners do the bare minimum. Others don’t miss any preventative protection steps.
The first step is to check the manufacturer’s instruction book. If ever in doubt, follow it.
The Nav-6: SUV/Minivan/RV and more
Of all the different Roadtrek models out there, one of the most distinctive is the new NAV-6, an SUV that can be used as an RV.
It’s really category-defying. A luxury SUV on the Nissan 2500 frame, it is expertly tricked out by Roadtrek with a built in kitchenette, complete with microwave, refrigerator, TV and sink with hot and cold running water. The NAV-6 has a roof that rises to make it big enough to walk around in without bumping your head. It’s also able
