National RV Sells Country Coach
Bob Lee, who founded Country Coach in 1973, has returned to the company as chairman emeritus and as an investor with a new ownership group led by Riley Investment Partners, based in Los Angeles.
Archives for April 2007
What’s New in Truck Campers
Anyone who owns a pickup truck is just a short step from becoming an RVer. All you need to do is buy a truck camper and slide it on your truck. The hard part is deciding what to buy from all the choices available in the highly competitive camper market. There is quite a range—you can buy something for under $15,000 or pay $40,000 or more, depending on the kind of camper you want.
Product News Brief for April 2007
Step Attaches to Pickups
AMP Research of Irvine, California, has designed a lightweight bumper step that can be attached to a pickup truck to make it easier to load cargo.
French Toast Variations
It is April once again! We’re over the hump. We’ve rounded the bend. Winter’s back is broken, and we can look ahead to clearer days and warmer weather most everywhere we go. We are well into spring.
Riding the Wild Surf
A set of evening low tides lured me back to the Oregon beach. I’d been out on the first of the negative tides, and was only able to dig up a half-dozen clams. Hoping to grab enough to try a new clam chowder recipe I found on the Internet, I was making a return trip.
Sun Valley: Destination For All Seasons
One of the country’s premier resorts, Sun Valley in central Idaho, has attracted visitors from afar since opening as America’s first destination resort in 1936. Skiing was the main attraction back then, but in 1939 the Sun Valley Golf Course was built to augment summertime activities like hiking and fishing. Today it is a year-round playground that is as popular now as it was when the likes of Clark Gable, Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway sojourned here.
Down a Back Road
Y’all know how I love the North Country and getting on back roads. The combination of the two makes for some major adventure!
Choosing a Truck Camper
We devote a lot of space this month to the simplest form of RV, the truck camper. As you will see from our presentation of new models, buyers have much to choose from these days. You can buy a basic camper that will give you a bed and a minimal galley and bath or you can splurge and get many of the amenities you would find in a good motorhome. It’s your choice, and a good place to start is with the manufacturers and dealers represented in this issue.
FEMA Trailers: Blessing or Bane?
When the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hit the panic button in response to the disastrous hurricanes of the Southeast in 2005, it probably seemed like a real boon to RV dealers. Pressed for time, FEMA is said to have bought over 31,000 RVs directly from dealer lots to press into service as emergency housing. Now it seems, the chickens are coming home to roost: FEMA is wondering what to do with those thousands of off-the-lot RVs, and even thousands more “plain Jane” RVs specially manufactured to house hurricane victims. The “light bulb” in Washington has come on—do what Uncle Sam is good for: Buy high, sell low. Already hundreds of surplus RVs have been put on the auction block for fast liquidation, and there are p-l-e-n-t-y more where those came from.
Party with the Stars
While RVing in the southwestern part of the U.S., you could attend a star party.