Holiday Gifts for RVers

Midland Two-way Radios
In isolated locations, two-way radios can sometimes do the job when cell phones can’t. Now Midland Radio Corporation has introduced a two-way radio system that has 5 watts of power and an extensive reach.

The new waterproof radios utilize the maximum power allowed by the Federal Communications Commission and can reach as far as 26 miles in open rural areas. Unlike radios that operate on the VHF band, the new model GXT800VP4 transmits over 22 channels in both General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) and Family Radio Service (FRS). With 142 privacy codes for each channel, the user has up to 3,124 channel options.

The unit’s special hands-free mode comes with nine voice activation sensitivity levels, which can be fine-tuned to compensate for any level and intensity of background noise. It is equipped with five call alerts and a vibrate alert and includes automatic notification of weather alerts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A package of two radios, headsets, belt clips, desktop charger and AC and DC adaptors is priced at $109.09. For information, contact Midland Radio Corporation, 5900 Parretta Drive, Kansas City, MO 64120. Phone (816) 241-8500 or visit www.midlandradio.com.

J. C. Whitney Electric Blanket
When temperatures drop, you can get warm in your vehicle by plugging this 12-volt electric blanket into your cigarette lighter. The blanket is made of blue polyester fleece and is 58 inches long and 42 inches wide. It comes with a seven-foot cord.

The company says it sold thousands of these last year, but this year’s model is improved with the addition of a timer. It comes with a seven-foot cord, an on/off switch and a timer that can be set for 30 or 45 minutes.

The blanket is priced on sale at $22.99. For more information, visit www.jcwhitney.com and enter MG0277000 as the product code in the catalog order section.

Rally Ho
Rally Ho is a trivia game in which players move mini-RV playing pieces along a board toward the goal of reaching a national RV rally destination. Players progress by correctly answering questions that focus on travel, the RV lifestyle, American nostalgia and the great outdoors. And just as in real life, the game incorporates hazards and unexpected delays to interfere with road trip schedules, so some strategy is involved.

The game is a product of MindZone Publishing, which is owned by RVers Jeanie and Dave McKay of Bend, Oregon. They say it took them about three years to create the game, since they had to come up with 1,000 trivia questions on topics of interest to RVers.

The game is available online for $29.95. For more information, contact MindZone Publishing, 61535 S. Highway 97 #9-442, Bend, OR 97702. Phone (541) 382-8785 or visit www.rallyho-rvgame.com.

Tarma Designs Jewelry
Do you want to commemorate a hike on Mt. Rainier or a Grand Teton visit? Tarma Designs has an answer with its new Mountain series of recycled stainless steel pendants.

The Mountain series shows the horizon lines of climbing and hiking destinations on recycled stainless steel that has a sandblasted, matte finish. The series of pendants is available in Rainier, Half Dome, Whitney and Grand Teton designs. The icons are strung on a 20-inch slate cord and feature an adjustable button toggle clasp.

“The idea for the Mountain Series came from a climbing trip up Mountain Whitney’s Mountaineer route,” said Sky George, co-founder of Tarma Designs. “A souvenir of sorts, the pieces serve as a special reminder of the visual and physical experiences unique to each destination.”

The Mountain pendants carry a suggested retail price of $24.98. Tarma Designs also makes a series of earrings, chain necklaces, pendants and bottle openers that feature a laser-etched Appalachian Trail symbol on sandblasted recycled stainless steel. The company contributes $1 to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy with the sale of each Appalachian-related item. For information, contact Tarma Designs, 1722 Dorset Drive, Petaluma, CA 94954. Phone (800) 824-8201 or visit www.tarmadesigns.com

Zevro VacuumSaver Containers
Keeping food fresh for a longer period of time is the idea behind VacuumSaver containers from Zevro, a marketer of innovative kitchenware. Each VacuumSaver container has a built-in pump to expel air, sealing in freshness and flavor.

Since the pump is built-in, there are no accessories required, making the products easily portable for use at home or on the road. Zevro offers separate containers for bread, coffee and tea, a two-piece rectangular set that stacks inside one another, and a three-piece set of stackable round containers. Prices range from $19.99 to $39.99.

For information, contact Zevro, 3720 W. Touhy Avenue, Skokie, IL 60076. Phone (800) 313-8588 or visit www.zevro.com.

Starlights Smart Light
The Smart Light SL-1000 is a light that can be mounted on an RV and provide illumination when motion is detected from five to 20 feet away. At night, once motion is detected, the light will stay on until 30 seconds after movement stops. The light can also be used as a regular porch light by the flip of a switch, staying lit until turned off.

The light is engineered to run on 12 volts so that it can be powered by the vehicle itself instead of disposable batteries. It can be mounted using the same hole pattern as porch lights found on most RVs.

Jason Weaver, chief financial officer of Starlights, said it took three years of development to produce a light that meets the company’s standards. He said, “This light can withstand hurricane-force winds, sub-zero temperatures and heat exceeding 180 degrees Fahrenheit. We’re so confident in the product that we offer a money back guarantee with no questions asked.” The light has an introductory price of $79.99.

For information, contact Starlights, P. O. Box 80246, Goleta, CA 93118. Phone (800) 883-5444 or visit www.starlightsinc.com.

Delphi Nav300
The Delphi Nav300 is a GPS device that helps drivers navigate the road, but also can do more, from providing ratings of restaurants to showing movies.

The unit, which carries a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $399, can be mounted on the dashboard. A memory card is preloaded with maps of the U.S. and Canada, and a text-to-speech function announces street names and gives turn-by-turn directions to guide you to your destination.

The Nav300 also provides access to the Zagat Survey, which offers dining, travel and leisure information based on input from consumers. It also has Bluetooth connectivity, which allows you to use the integrated microphone for hands-free calling. And a suite of entertainment features allows you to watch movies and listen to music downloaded from your computer onto an additional memory card (sold separately). Other features include a picture viewer, calculator and game.

A Delphi Real-Time Traffic Kit can be added to the unit to provide up-to-date information on traffic flow, construction zones, incidents and weather. The kit offers a lifetime service subscription for $199.

For information, contact Delphi, 5725 Delphi Drive, Troy, MI 48098-2815. Phone (888) 809-9800 or visit www.shopdelphi.com.

Fold-A-Cart
The advantage of the Fold-A-Cart is that it folds up to just 22 percent of its size so it can be taken on the road without taking up a lot of space. The manufacturer builds them in various sizes to hold different payloads.

The smallest of the carts has six cubic feet of capacity and can carry up to 150 pounds. Larger carts range up to nine cubic feet and a capacity of 400 pounds. The carts have a steel frame and the tub is PVC coated polyester fabric.

Prices range from $99 to $299. For information, contact Fold-A-Tools Management in Richmond, British Columbia. Phone (604) 277-4530 or visit www.foldatools.com.

Washington State Parks Calendar
Some of the most spectacular views in the state of Washington are captured in the color photographs included in the 2008 Washington State Parks calendar. The calendar sells for $12.95, with proceeds going to the care and maintenance of state parks.

This year’s cover shows Palouse Falls in Eastern Washington. Other subjects include the U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on Patos Island in the American San Juans, a panoramic view of the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center on a high bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Cape Disappointment, spring-blooming lupines at Columbia Hills, and a maroon hermit crab working its way across a bed of orange cup corals off the jetty at Fort Casey. The photographs are the work of Mary Liz Austin, Brandon Cole, Terry Donnelly, Kraig Anderson, Dave Jensen, John Marshall and Michael Sedam.

The calendar is available online at www.parks.wa.gov/specialoffers.

Scene It? Travel Editions
Scene It? Movie Edition is a DVD game that features trivia questions and clips of movies ranging from classic films to today’s biggest hits. Launched in 2002, it became an immediate hit and various versions have sold millions of copies. Now, the game’s creator, Screenlife, has developed travel editions of Scene It? Movie and Scene It? TV.

The travel editions come in compact travel tins and contain real movie and TV clips, trivia questions and on-screen challenges from film and TV shows. The games are designed for two or more players from 13 years of age through adulthood. The playing board is incorporated in the tin that contains the DVD.

Screenlife sold five million Scene It? games in 2005 and its games are now produced in nine languages and are available at 50,000 retail locations. The travel edition versions are priced at $19.95.

For information, contact Screenlife, 111 S. Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104. Phone (866) DVD-GAME or visit www.screenlifegames.com.

Solio Charger
Solio is a palm-sized device that contains a solar panel and battery that can be used to recharge mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and other electronic devices. The unit can eliminate the need for multiple charging devices.

The unit comes with adaptor tips to fit various devices, and additional adaptor tips can be purchased. The unit’s battery can be recharged by its solar panels or through a computer. A fully charged Solio will recharge the average phone up to two times, or power an MP3 system for up to 15 hours of music.

The device is available in black, white, silver and pink. Prices range from $79.95 to $99.95. For information, contact Better Energy Systems, 1510 Sixth St., Berkeley, CA 94710. Phone (510) 868-8714 or visit www.solio.com.

Loc8tor
The Loc8tor is a tracking system that can help you find anything from your lost cat to your car keys and wallet. The system consists of a handheld device and tags that can be attached to anything you want to keep track of.

The handheld device and the tags transmit and receive radio signals. The Loc8tor translates the signals into audio and visual prompts to guide you toward the missing item. If you have lost your keys, for example, you can tell the Loc8tor to find the tag attached to the keys and it can guide you toward it, with help from audio beeps emitted by the tag. The Loc8tor can find items as far as 600 feet away.

The product is available a prices starting at $99. For information, visit www.loc8tor.com.

Nomad water sprayer
Nomad is a portable, pressurized water sprayer that is especially useful if you are camping in an area where water hookups are unavailable or limited. Nomad contains a water tank with three and a half gallons of capacity and uses the power of a 12-volt vehicle outlet.

The nozzle has a reach of 30 feet and can be adjusted to deliver either a powerful stream or a gentle mist. The unit was designed for spraying off bikes, muddy boots, boats and other recreational items, and comes with built-in pockets for carrying cleaning accessories.

Nomad is a product of TTI North America, the parent company of Dirt Devil, Royal and Hoover. It is available online at www.nomad2go.com. Suggested retail price is $169.99.

Kurrent NV
The Kurrent NV (neighborhood vehicle) is a two-passenger electric car that can travel up to 35 miles when fully charged. The car is built by the American Electric Vehicle Company of Wixom, Michigan, and is based on the design of an Italian electric car.

It is powered by an electric motor and four 12-volt lead-gel batteries. The batteries can be recharged by plugging into a standard household 110-volt outlet. The manufacturer estimates the operating cost at 2 cents a mile.

It is one of a group of neighborhood electric vehicles that can be legally driven on any street with a posted speed limit up to 35 mph. The car is available through the Green Car Company in Kirkland, Washington, at a price of $14,460, not including tax, license and destination charges. For information, visit www.greencarco.com or www.getkurrent.com.