| RV Industry News becomes RV Daily Report, relocates to Arizona |
| (Sept. 30, 2009) -- RV Daily Report publishes a newsletter Monday through Friday containing summaries and links to all the stories, product releases and opinion blogs posted to its website at www.rvdailyreport.com. The publication covers every aspect of the RV industry including dealers, manufacturers, suppliers, campgrounds and even RV owners. |
| RV Industry News to go offline -- for a while |
| (March 20, 2009) -- RV Industry News announced today that it must go offline for a while, effective immediately. The decision affects the website at www.rvindustrynews.com as well as the publication of the highly popular daily e-newsletter. Unlike other businesses in the RV industry forced to close, the decision is not due to financial concerns, but rather legal issues. |
| Wells Fargo loans Country Coach $11.5 million to restart |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Wells Fargo Bank has agreed to loan Country Coach to $11.5 million so it can build up to 43 coaches over the next 10 months, according to an agreement filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Eugene. |
| San Diego family plans to visit 50 states in 50 weeks |
| (March 20, 2009) -- The Bacon family is making the trip of a lifetime. They packed up their Scripps Ranch home last June and moved into an RV to tour 50 states in 50 weeks. They are 38 states into their journey and made a stop in San Diego as they prepare to visit the final 12 states enroute to their new home in Washington State. |
| Woman charged in golf cart attack at Florida RV park |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Flagler County Sheriff deputies say 41-year-old Linda Pearce deliberately ran over Lorain Boylan with a golf cart Tuesday at the Bulow RV Resort. “I cooked dinner for everybody that day. It was St. Patrick’s Day. I was watching the guys play horseshoes and I’m standing there like this. She (Pearce) said I’m going to run this @#$% over and I looked over and I was already under the cart. All I kept thinking was please don’t let my head get under that tire.” |
| Salon.com predicts demise of the RV industry |
| (March 20, 2009) -- "The RV lifestyle goes on, but the RV business, starved by $4-a-gallon gas last year, is now reeling from the recession and a serious credit drought. An industry that has always been characterized by peaks and valleys, ultrasensitive to economic change, has entered the Valley of Death." |
| Grote introduces LightForm Technology Signals less than 1 millimeter thick |
| (March 20, 2009) -- The audience got its first glimpse of LightForm as Grote walked around the room, holding an illuminated sheet of paper-thin material, which he flexed, bent, twisted and rolled. As Grote moved past the rows of onlookers, he was unencumbered by any visible cord, because the LightForm product he held required so little energy that it was able to be fully illuminated by a small handheld battery pack. |
| Firestone introduces limited lifetime warranty on its air springs |
| (March 20, 2009) -- The new limited lifetime air spring warranty states the company's Ride-Rite Air Helper Spring Assembly will perform according to the manufacturer's specifications for as long as the vehicle on which the system was originally installed is owned by the original retail purchaser. This warranty supersedes Firestone's previous product warranty to clarify the limited lifetime clause. In addition, the company will handle warranty claims directly to improve customer service and warranty turn-around time. |
| Two-for-one admittance at this weekend's RV show in Vegas |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Show attendees will be able to register to win one of four Keystone RVs in the Live Your Dreams Sweepstakes. Other prizes include The Rally 2010 dry camping reservation, a one-year Good Sam Emergency Road Service membership, a one-year RV Handyman Club membership, a Woodall’s Campground Directory and a one-year Good Sam Club membership. |
| National organization offers resources to women who enjoy outdoor activities |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Women outdoor enthusiasts can celebrate not only the first day of spring today, but also the rollout of a brand new web site. Women Outdoors, a national, nonprofit organization that promotes leadership, friendship, adventure and enjoyment, created WomenOutdoors.org; a way for women to connect with other women who share their outdoor interests and values. |
| Industry officials hold their breath to see what 2009 will bring |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Times are rough for the RV industry. Tightening credit and a lack of financing options are keeping new customers on the sidelines. Shattered consumer confidence is forcing many RV owners to cancel extended trips. But in a year when maintaining the current level of business is considered solid growth, industry officials are cautiously optimistic. |
| Winnebago CEO remains upbeat |
| (March 20, 2009) -- “Our employees have made tremendous sacrifices so that we can remain confident when it comes to our financial strength and competitive position,” Olson said, “and I think we’re starting to see some signs of a turnaround.” |
| RV warranty costs skyrocket |
| (March 20, 2009) -- "The point is that RV makers have been hit hard by the dual perils of falling sales and rising warranty costs. And it makes perfect sense, if you think of RVs as the cross between autos and homes, and if you think of autos and homes as the industries hardest-hit by the recession," reports Warranty Week. "Spartan Motors is the only major RV industry player to see either a sales increase or a claims rate reduction in 2008, and we think that probably has more to do with the momentum in its fire truck, ambulance, and military vehicle lines of business." |
| Wall Street Journal: Elkhart wonders how much the stimulus will help |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Ron Fenech, president and chief executive for Keystone RV, a local manufacturer, said the stimulus bill is for naught without the unfreezing of credit markets. "I can't imagine people lined up at the fence waiting for a $400 tax break to buy a $100,000 RV," said Mr. Fenech, whose company announced in February it was laying off 350 employees. |
| Elkhart will receive $6 million in federal stimulus money |
| (March 20, 2009) -- The city will receive $4.2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to rehabilitate a runway at the Elkhart Municipal Airport, and it will get $2.2 million through the Department of Housing and Urban Development to be used to purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes. |
| Canadian retail sales show signs of life |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Retail sales came in stronger than expected in January, rising 1.9 percent compared to market expectations of a 1 percent gain. This increase only partially reverses the 5.2 percent drop in December. |
| Arizona RV dealer produces its own do-it-yourself maintenance video |
| (March 20, 2009) -- “To make our customers feel more comfortable performing some of these checks themselves, we put together a video that walks through some of the basic fluid, belt and hose checks that every RV owner should perform before, during and after a trip,” says Clint Ethington, manager at Pedata RV Center. |
| Event planners expect good turnout for RV show in New York |
| (March 20, 2009) -- The third annual Binghamton Camper & RV Show comes to the Binghamton University Events Center today through Sunday, and the sponsor hopes the big drop-off in gas prices during the past year will boost interest and participation in family camping. "We just concluded our 37th annual Augusta (Maine) Camper & RV Show and for the first time this year one of our events is up in gate attendance (8.7 percent)," Robert J. Cole, president of America's Best Shows. |
| Country Coach to call back first group of laid off workers |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Although a bankruptcy judge will need to approve the plan next week, Country Coach managers began calling workers yesterday to see if they were available to return to work. About 100 employees will bew rehired over the next three to four weeks, company officials said. |
| County officials in California fine RV park over water quality issues |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Finally, the board issued a $22,500 fine to the French Camp RV Park and Golf Course. The park's treated wastewater, used to irrigate its golf course, did not meet quality standards for human health. As a result, the wastewater is being shipped to a treatment plant. |
| Proposed RV park in South Carolina upsets local residents |
| (March 20, 2009) -- Nearly 50 angry residents took a handful of developers and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to task Thursday night over a proposed RV park near Campobello, and the state's preliminary decision to allow that park to treat and discharge its own waste water. |
| National clogging instructor to headline at Arizona RV park fundraiser |
| (March 19, 2009) -- National clogging instructor Anne Mills will head up a group of Valley cloggers for the benefit of New Hope Cattle Dogs Rescue at Carriage Manor RV Resort in Mesa this weekend. |
| Remaining lenders make it more difficult for dealers to make consumer loans |
| (March 19, 2009) -- Dealers across North America are scratching their heads today wondering what else can be done to prevent them from acquiring RV inventory, or selling units to consumers. Several leading lending institutions announced policy changes this week that make it nearly impossible for dealers to sell RVs from certain manufacturers, dealers across the country told RV Industry News. |
| UPDATE: Huckabee show to broadcast live from Elkhart |
| (March 19, 2009) -- The theme for the segment is "Save This Town" and it will feature interviews with local business leaders such as Doug Lantz, CEO of Evergreen RV; John Letherman, a local real estate consultant; and Elkhart Mayor Dick Moore. Huckabee himself will play the bass along with local musicians "The Little Elkharts." |
| Pine Mountain RV resort opens in Georgia catering to luxury RVers |
| (March 18, 2009) -- Concierge service, massages, free high-speed Wi-Fi and even a Wii game room -- this list of amenities reads like the perks offered at a high-dollar luxury hotel; but actually it is just a sampling of the services now available at the newly renovated Pine Mountain RV Resort in Pine Mountain, Ga. |