A new survey of RV owners indicates that they have strong travel plans this fall/winter and expect to save significantly, despite the soft U.S. economy and fluctuating fuel prices.
According to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association’s biannual Campfire Canvass, 34 percent of RV owners plan to travel more this fall and winter than last year, 43 percent plan to travel the same amount and just 11 percent plan to travel less.
“My wife and I are planning a fall trip in our motorhome to Virginia and New Jersey to visit relatives,” says George Dougherty of Ankeny, Iowa and a former chief technology officer at Faith Baptist College. “Since 2006, when we bought our first RV, we’ve traveled over 22,000 miles. We’re having a great time seeing America and we enjoy the RV lifestyle. We just got back from a two-week trip that took us through six states, including South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas. During the winter months, we’ll head south to get away from the snow in Iowa.”
Like the Doughertys, many families are buying RVs to see America. According to the survey, 71 percent ranked “seeing America” as the most important reason for buying an RV in the last two years.
Along with seeing America, another primary reason why millions of owners will be traveling and enjoying the RV lifestyle this fall/winter is because they appreciate the value that RV travel delivers. Nearly 90 percent said that RVing is an affordable way to travel.
Almost 65 percent of the respondents said that they save at least 25 percent when traveling in their RV compared to other types of travel, while 27 percent save 35-50 percent. This reflects a new study by PKF, an international travel and tourism consulting company, which found that RVing is 23-to-59 percent less expensive than other types of vacations for a family of four.
In addition to saving on rising hotel costs and airfares, RV owners also avoid the expense of eating in restaurants. The study found that 49 percent of RV owners said that they eat at least two meals a day onboard their RVs, while 44 percent said three meals.
Despite these uncertain economic times, 45 percent of RV owners said that they’re considering another RV purchase within the next two years, with 79 percent of those respondents citing the availability of “great deals” in today’s RV market. More than 60 percent will attend RV retail shows this fall and winter.
Owners surveyed will use their RVs in a variety of ways during the fall/winter travel season.
• 69 percent of the respondents said that they plan to sightsee
• 64 percent visit state parks and 55 percent national parks
• 46 percent attend festivals and fairs
• 39 percent take part in foliage tours
The survey also reveals that owners are physically active on their RV trips. For example, 41 percent said that they enjoy hiking, 38 percent fishing, 23 percent biking and 12 percent canoeing and kayaking.
Results also show that holiday travel remains popular with RV owners. Among the respondents, 42 percent said they plan to travel in their RVs over the Thanksgiving weekend and 21 percent over the Christmas/Hanukkah season.
Nothing's more American than a road trip to fun destinations across the country. But with so many amazing places to explore, it can be overwhelming for travelers to plan their ultimate getaway. That's why Valero has launched The All-American Road Trip, a website designed to excite the imagination and inspire vacationers to hit the road in pursuit of their dreams.
Conceived by digital agency Last Exit Group, The All-American Road Trip site conjures the spirit of the open road with powerful interactive elements, eye-catching graphics and thorough descriptions of destinations near and far. Along with detailed route maps, destination finders, driving directions and itinerary tools, visitors will find tips, tricks and time-savers to make planning any size trip easy and fun. Listings of local restaurants, hotels/motels, campsites, rest stops, and more are all at travelers' fingertips.
The All-American Road Trip's destination finder allows users to select a region of the United States and discover major cities, national parks and points of interest, including the locations of Valero stations and convenience stores along the way. With the itinerary maker, users can designate their point of origin and their chosen destination to generate customizable routes, directions, local features and helpful links. They can then print or save their map and itinerary or send it to their mobile phone for easy reference.
The All-American Road Trip maps are powered by Google Maps and populated with Yelp reviews for suggestions on local stops.
Thanks to The All-American Road Trip's seamless integration with Facebook, travelers can also post their itineraries for their friends to view and comment upon. And once they're out on the open road, they can instantly share their adventure with pictures and video on Facebook and Twitter. Friends can follow their progress across America via updates tagged by time and location.
"With money tight at home, more and more families and individuals are rediscovering the joys of the classic road trip," commented Dave Parker, SVP Marketing, Valero Energy Corp. "Americans have always enjoyed creating their own agendas and setting out on free-spirited adventures in the comfort of their own vehicles. The difference today is that with this new website, they can plan their whole trip out in advance and bring their friends, family, and fellow travelers into the experience with the site's social media integration."
Paul Newnes, Partner and Managing Director for Last Exit, said, "We're very excited about the functionality and immersive experience The All-American Road Trip site offers. It's a one-stop source where drivers can plan their trip from start to finish, with all the necessities of gas, food, lodging and entertainment provided to them in an appealing and engaging experience."
Furthering the experience, Facebook and Twitter pages are dedicated to The All-American Road Trip to promote the microsite and engage in conversation with fans. The social media platforms will be used as communication tools among users of the microsite — to share ideas and tips/suggestions on road trip planning, etc., to tell their favorite road trip story, or simply to find out more information about the All-American Road Trip microsite itself. Bringing the microsite into the social media realm creates a complete community to share what most people consider an ultimate experience.
With so many natural disasters going on around the country including fires in the south and southwest and floods in the midwest, you can't help but wonder where some of those displaced folks go.
Well, we found a very interesting story on how RVs and RV parks are turning into places for "refugees." It's really heartbreaking to hear how these people have lost their homes, some permanently, but it's also nice to see the camping spirit has lifted them up and has taken their minds off the gravity of the situation, if albeit briefly.
Read the story.
From all of us at Princess Craft, you're in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
We love our pets. And in the world of RVs, unlike cars and especially planes, pets are not a burden when traveling. In fact, that's a reason many of us choose the life of RVing is because we can make special memories with our pets on those trips wherever they may be.
Bringing our little furry friends with us, we want to know they are safe. Here is a new video that offers up some pretty creative ideas on keeping your pet safe as well as an efficient way to bring along their food and water supply. We know the video is motorhome-specific, but we still think you can come up with a few other ideas of your own tailored to your RVing needs.
Happy traveling!
If you ever watch Home and Garden TV, you know about the show House Hunters. The show is looking for new content and it's taking the hunt to the road…literally!
The producers are casting buyers of RVs for an upcoming RV-themed episode! Whether you’re seeking a primary residence on wheels, or a vacation home on-the-go, they want to hear your story!
Producers are looking for people who are seriously considering buying an RV or have recently purchased an RV to feature on the program. They are looking for people who have a fun, compelling story to tell about their interest in RV ownership, such as those looking for a life on wheels, planning a fabulous family vacation, or pursuing dreams across the U.S.
Personally, we think truck campers might get a good look to be on the show because truck campers are a unique breed and have lots of great stories to tell.
As each RV buyer is selected, the production team will spend three days shooting with them: one day at their current home to set up the story; one day at the RV lot to tour three models; and one day on the road in the new RV.
Anyone interested should go to Pie Town Productions website for more information.
Gene and Debbie came from Loxley, Alabama to buy a Lance 1181 from Princess Craft and traded in their Designer 5th Wheel that came with 3 slides, fireplace, large flat-screen TV, and all the trimmings. It's really spectacular!
What's more? The entire transaction was completed via phone and email.
So why would anyone want to trade in something like a 5th Wheel for a truck camper?
Simple. They wanted the versatility of a truck camper to tow their motorcycles, sea-doos, boat, four wheelers... anything they wanted... and be able to go anywhere they wanted! A toy hauler just wouldn't cut it. From four-wheeling in Montana, boating in Alabama, motorcycles in Colorado... they do it all and don't want to miss a thing.
How do they handle the smaller space? Obviously there are a few concessions to be made in getting smaller, but they decided that when they took out the 7 rubbermaid tubs of "just in case" stuff it's not so bad!
For those who don't want to be limited by length, weight or leaving their toys at home, there's nothing better than a truck camper.
Mistakes while traveling in your RV are bound to happen. When you're in unfamiliar territory, chances of mistakes naturally increase. That said, the results from a recent survey may still surprise you.
According to a survey of more than 1,000 RVers from across the nation to find out the most amusing mishaps experienced while traveling, The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, discovered that a spouse is more likely to be accidentally left behind than the dog. It didn't mention anything about being intentionally left behind.
But wait, there's more.
The survey revealed the most common blunders made while traveling are:
• Driving away with the steps extended
• Backing into something
• Misjudging overhead or side clearance space
• Not connecting taillights correctly
• Running out of gas
Have you had a similar experience? Something better/worse? Do share.
We don't know if you saw it, but CNN had an interesting article on its website last week titled, "Is an RV right for you?"
The author of the article, George Bauer, works at CNN and is also the creator and host of "The Seasoned Traveler," which airs on U.S. public television stations and Travel Channel International. His background for writing the article was he had rented a class C RV for three vacations.
As the old adage goes, "Good publicity. Bad publicity. It's all publicity." Bauer was mostly fair in his assessment of the RVing industry as a whole, but he did get a little on the negative side when it comes to upkeep and getting around.
Bauer accurately detailed rising gasoline prices as being a major consideration when purchasing an RV, but he also said repairs, when needed, may take longer and cost much more than repairs on cars or trucks. As far as turnaround time on repairs, that really depends on the shop you work with. With regard to costs, like any car, the more expensive the vehicle, the more costly the repairs will generally be. You can't expect repairs on a Kia to be as expensive as those on a Cadillac. It's the nature of the beast.
He also talked about how the RV ride can be bumpy and uncomfortable, especially for those sitting at the dining table. We know he's referring to motorhomes and not truck campers, but it's worth mentioning that even motorhomes can ride uncomfortably. As far as campgrounds, he pointed out the variety across the nation with some 16,000 public and private campgrounds to choose from, but he also mentioned that in addition to some being very costly, during peak season, campsites can be crowded and noisy. While these campgrounds may have lots of campers, that's one of the best parts about camping — meeting all those campers around you and sharing stories about camping, about your family, and whatever else comes to mind. It's a unique experience that you can't find anywhere else such as a hotel.
Lastly, Bauer talkes about the challenges of backing into an RV campsite location. He compared it to putting a tractor-trailer in reverse. While again we know he's referring to motorhomes, we also know if someone ever has trouble at a campground, such as backing into a space, you can bet there will be more than a few campers around willing to offer their assistance. That's what campers do. That's what camping is all about.
To read the full article, click here.
Last week we talked about a great article written by RVbusiness.com and how we were very flattered to have such kinds words spoken about our dealership. Well, as they say, the hits keep rolling in. This last week we also had a great story in a local Austin-area publication (Community Impact) as well as a couple other articles related to our dealership. Instead of telling you what each article said, we'll just keep it short and sweet and provide you with all the links. Enjoy!
Community Impact Newspaper - Princess Craft - Almost Every One of Them Has a Story
RV Daily Report - Princess Craft Campers and Trailers seen around the world
Truck Camper Magazine - CAMPER SPOTLIGHT 107: 2011 Lance 1050S
RVbusiness.com - Princess Craft: Not Your Typical RV Dealership
All the time I hear people say something like, “I have never... been camping, towed a trailer, learned to back up a trailer, had an RV, been to Alaska, done anything like this before” or something along those lines. All that tells me is that a new adventure is about to begin and maybe, just maybe, we at Princess Craft will be fortunate enough to be part of that new adventure that will hopefully turn into a lifetime passion.
If you don’t know everything there is to know about an RV, truck camper or trailer, it's not a big deal. There are plenty of ways to learn. In fact, if you're reading this, you've already taken a step in the right direction and have started seeking out informaton online. There are a variety of different and most importantly, helpful resources available to you on the Internet.
Once you've determined you're really ready to pursue some sort of camping, one of the first things you need to do is to find a dealer. There are a variety of dealers around the nation. Some small. Some large. Some offering a specific line of vehicles. Others offering a great variety. What you really want to find is a dealer who is not only knowledgeable about his/her fleet and can answer those specific questions like “What does this button do?" but a dealer who can offer up suggestions about camping in your local area or at the very least, can point you in the right direction. Like anything else, tips and suggestions on good campgrounds will go a long way toward enhancing your camping experience.
After you've found the dealer and the vehicle, the next thing... just do it. I know, Nike has that motto all sewn up, but really, there is no way to experience the wonder of traveling until you get out and actually experience it firsthand. Don't get discouraged once you get out there and don’t know how everything works and how or where you're supposed to do what. No worries. You will never meet anyone more helpful than your neighbors at the RV park. It’s amazing. The very best of the best are all gathered together in campgrounds right alongside you and if you need anything, just ask. In the not-so-distant future you will be helping the guy next to you and wondering what all the worry was about. Don’t wait. Just do it. I promise, you will surprise yourself!
- PJ