News Briefs

Louisiana Adopts RV Road Symbol
Louisiana has become the first state to pass legislation authorizing RV symbols to be placed on state highway signs to direct RVers to businesses that cater to their needs. “RV Friendly” symbols that consist of a bright yellow circle with a crescent smile under the letters “RV” could begin appearing on Louisiana highways as early as this fall.

Oregon began experimenting with a similar “RV Friendly” road sign on a section of Interstate 5 last year, and has won Federal Highway Administration approval to continue the experiment over an expanded area for two more years, but the Louisiana legislature is the first to authorize use of the signs on highways statewide. Local businesses, such as gas stations and restaurants, will be able to place an RV logo on their “Gas-Food-Lodging” highway signs as long as they meet Louisiana’s requirements for parking space, overhang clearances and other items.

Meanwhile, the Oregon Travel Information Council, which is responsible for business signs on freeways and highways in Oregon, is preparing to invite businesses to participate in an RV sign program that would cover most of the state, including the Interstate 5 corridor from the California border to metropolitan Portland. Qualifying businesses would be allowed to attach an RV symbol to their freeway and highway signs. The program would continue for two years and then be evaluated. Oregon originally proposed an RV Friendly symbol similar to that adopted by Louisiana, but then simplified the design by eliminating the crescent smile.

Olympia Man Wins Vacation
David Graf of Olympia, Washington, won a family reunion vacation at a Thousand Trails RV campground by entering a sweepstakes at the Camping World store in Tacoma. The prize included five days at the campground and transportation and spending money for up to 10 people, but Graf said he planned to expand the reunion to 15 family members at his own expense. Graf said he has been an RVer since 1989, when he bought his first travel trailer.

Meanwhile, Mark and Janet Viscio of East Berne, New York, were the winners of Camping World’s “Live Free in Your RV” sweepstakes. Their prize included a year’s worth of gas, groceries and RV insurance. Camping World is offering customers a chance to win an eight-day trip to New England during its Fall Foliage Festival from Sept. 13 to Oct. 3

Mountainfest Draws Huge Crowd
The Merritt Mountain Music Festival in British Columbia in July drew an estimated 128,000 people for six days of country music, dancing and recreation. The event solidified the event’s ranking as the largest country music festival in Canada.

Among the headliners this year were Brooks and Dunn, Dwight Yoakam, Brad Paisley, Anne Murray, Gary Allan, Sara Evans and the Mavericks. Mountainfest 2005 will be held July 19 to 24, with tickets going on sale this month at Ticketmaster locations.

Park Model Shipments Set Record
Manufacturers shipped 4,687 recreational park trailers to customers in the first half of this year, setting an industry record and exceeding the total a year ago by 27.5 percent, reports the Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association.

Park trailers, or park models as they are sometimes called, are movable cottages designed for part-time recreational use. Buyers can rent or lease space in RV resorts, giving them vacation homes that are more affordable than site-built houses or condos.

RV Park Owners to Meet
RV park owners and operators will gather for InSites 2004 Parks & Paddles National Camping and Paddlesports Industry Convention & Expo in Savannah, Georgia, Dec.1-4. The event will be held at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort and the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. Motivational speaker Scott Goodkin will deliver the keynote address and lead two seminars.

TV Show Features Airstream
“The Simple Life,” a Fox reality TV show that aired this summer, featured an Airstream International CCD travel trailer as it carried the show’s stars, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, on cross-country adventures. The 25-foot Airstream was the home-away-from-home for the two young women from a privileged background as they explored life in mainstream America.

Airstream officials said the travel trailer was equipped with many of the features that make life pleasant and convenient, including flat-panel televisions, modern galley tops, Internet hookups and, of course, ample closet space. The show’s production company made some changes to the trailer’s interior, but did not try to upgrade it to make it more luxurious for the two stars. In fact, a production company representative said, “Honestly, it was probably too nice for what we wanted for them.”

Odor Horror Stories Earn Prizes
YARA North America, manufacturer of Odorlos, a product designed to prevent odors in RV holding tanks, has awarded a $100 first prize in its Holding Tank Horror Story contest to Robert Ross of Kalispell, Montana, for his account of a disastrous attempt to empty a holding tank. Two runners-up and five honorable mention winners received product prizes. The winning entries can be read at www.odorlos.com

Fleetwood Expands Plants
Fleetwood RV has opened new paint facilities at plants in Riverside, California, and Paxinos, Pennsylvania, to implement a paint system developed in cooperation with DuPont Performance Coatings. Each of the new facilities cost about $13 million.

Fleetwood said the new facilities include humidity and temperature-controlled paint booths, pollution control equipment and clean room technology. Officials said the new facilities will enable the company to offer full-body paint on more products.