Tag Archives: rv

July 30, 2012 · 4:00 am

Winnebago Reintroduces the Minnie

Dating back to the early 1970’s, the Winnebago Minnie Class C motorhome traversed America’s highways, bound for camping destinations near & far. It was a basic, minimal frills motorhome that lasted until the 2006 model year.

Winnebago Industries has dusted off the name, but this time it’s on one of their new towables. The Minnie travel trailer offers floor plans ranging from 19-26 feet in length, all but one having a slide out. The colors offered are white, bright lemon, and lime fiberglass exterior. These appear to be sister trailers to Winnebago’s SunnyBrook Harmony division, as the styling and floorplans are nearly identical, with the exception of the Minnie’s bold color schemes.

Currently the Winnebago website has not been updated to include the Minnie. However, RV Business reports the MSRP of the Minnie to be just under $16,000 for the entry level model. There are a few popping up for sale on rvtrader.com as well.

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July 13, 2012 · 3:57 am

Forest River hosts 1st annual FROG Rally August 13-17

Time is running out to partake in the 1st Annual FROG International Rally at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in Goshen, Indiana, August 13-17, 2012. FROG is the Forest River Owners’ Group, comprised of Forest River as well as owners of Forest River RVs.

Camping fees for four nights for the rally covers factory tours with visits from factory staff, three dinners and four breakfasts, entertainment, and games for the kids. Fees for the event are $295 for two, $220 for one, with children 12 & over $75. Kids under 12 are free. Optional tours (at an additional cost) include visits to northern Indiana’s Amish country, the RV Hall of Fame, a visit to the Notre Dame campus, and much more.

Deadline for registration is July 15 (sorry for the late notice!), but they may grant you admission if you contact them after the deadline. Complete details of the rally as well as registration info can be found on the FROG website.

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July 8, 2012 · 3:20 am

Teal Camper jumps the Shark (Tank)

After an article about the Teal Camper appeared on the gizmag.com web site in May, things have been jumping on the Teal website. Once other blogs and websites picked up on the gizmag.com story, Teal’s website went from an average of 100 visitors a day to over 4,000, introducing a lot of new people to Larry Drake’s innovative modular camper, which we introduced to many of you last November.

(image courtesy Teal Camper)

Several of the readers contacted Drake, encouraging him to submit an application to the ABC reality show “Shark Tank”, in an effort to take Teal to the next level. “Shark Tank” is a reality show where budding entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and products to a panel of millionaire investors in the hopes one of them will “bite” and invest in the contestant’s venture.

Drake thought about it, but since he figured his chances were slim, he gave up on the idea. That is, until a producer at “Shark Tank” contacted him after reading about Teal from the gizmag.com story. Upon agreeing to review the requirements, Drake determined they were more interested in a reality show and less interested in helping entrepreneurs.

“What showed up in my in-basket was a contract a mile long that was obviously drawn up by legal sharks who had far more interest in furthering ABC’s interests than protecting the entrepreneur.” He goes on to say, “After a couple of phone conversations with the producers, I was convinced that Shark Tank is all about “good” television and not necessarily entrepreneur opportunity.  Reality TV, it is not what it appears to be.”

Drake will now forge ahead with Teal Camper without the aid of reality TV. “With all the interest that has been generated, multiple opportunities have surfaced.  We are exploring a host of options regarding both the US and international market.  Finding the right fit for the best chance of success is a challenge.”

Drake hopes to finalize the direction of Teal in the coming months.

 

 

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May 3, 2012 · 11:23 am

Redesigned Serro Scotty Sportsman debut set

The weekend of May 11-13 marks the debut of the newly redesigned Serro Scotty Sportsman. It is scheduled to be introduced in Hermitage, Pennsylvania at the Shenango Valley Mall RV Show. The look of the new Sportsman has been kept under wraps, so what it will look like is known by just a handful of folks.

The 2007 Sportsman was the first model reintroduced by Serro Scotty Worldwide when it was formed in 2006. It had a more rounded look to the bodies, similar to the Sportsmans of the original era Serro Scottys of the 1960’s.

That lasted about a year. When production moved from Yoder Toder to Sierra Motor Corporation in 2008, a new body style for the Sportsman came with it, which was a little taller and had more of a squared look to it when compared to the 2007.

When I talked to Serro Scotty Worldwide’s Bill Kerola in December, he told me the new Sportsman would go back to a rounded look, but I suspect it will look different from the 2007 version. He mentioned it will have hints to the former Serro Scotty Pup, but a little larger.

If all the stars align during my return trip from the east coast this coming week, I hope to be able to come through Hermitage and get a first hand look at the show.

The Shenango Valley Mall is located at 3303 East State Street, Hermitage, PA. The show will be held outside the mall. Admission is free and hours are Friday: 12 Noon – 8:00 PM; Saturday: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM; Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

 

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March 20, 2012 · 12:30 am

Camp Lite Fuels Livin Lite’s Sales Increase

Wakarusa, Indiana based Livin Lite RV is quickly making its way to the top of the lightweight travel trailer segment of the RV industry. The proof is in the numbers. A look at various Google searches will find that Camp Lite is #1 within several search terms, covering everything that includes the words “aluminum camper”, “ultra lightweight”, “lightweight aluminum trailer”, and any combination of those words you could come up with. Nearly 20 combinations of those words will bring up Livin Lite as the first search result. And all this has been done without paying for the top spot on Google as many companies are known to do.

Livin Lite president Scott Tuttle credits the Camp Lite travel trailer line with increased sales of late. “Consumers are loving our new round front end and wood “look” interiors. Our exterior colors are so hot right now – especially since we have been fine tuning our “black-out” package with all black trim and diamond plate, black exterior appliance doors and grills, and  black air conditioning on the roof”.

 

As well as Livin Lite’s travel trailer division is doing, an up & coming part of their business is in their truck camper line, a segment which is making a comeback throughout the recreational vehicle industry. Based on the same features as the Camp Lite trailers, their truck camper division has done so well they’ve created a separate production line for them. Says Tuttle, “We have traditional RV dealers who have NEVER sold a truck camper now selling Livin Lite truck campers to a whole new generation of truck owners who want to take their families camping.”

For more info on Livin Lite, visit their web site at http://livinlite.com.

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March 15, 2012 · 5:41 pm

Serro Scotty Worldwide Loses Third HiLander Manufacturer

What appears to be a familiar situation Serro Scotty Worldwide president Bill Kerola would rather not be in, he faces the task of lining up a new manufacturer for the popular Serro Scotty HiLander. When one is acquired, this will make the fourth manufacturer of the HiLander since Serro Scotty Worldwide was formed in 2006.

A few weeks ago, current manufacturer Cozy Travler, the HiLander’s manufacturer for less than a year, ceased production of their units, and along with it the HiLander.  Kerola had an order over the winter for 20 HiLanders to be built to create a solid inventory at his Transfer, Pennsylvania dealership. However, that order wasn’t fulfilled and currently there are just a couple of 2012 HiLanders available between Kerola’s Camper Store and Randy’s Trailer Town in Collinsville, Illinois.

In a phone conversation today, Kerola had just received word from a potential manufacturer in Indiana that they would not pursue building the HiLander due to the investment it would’ve taken to start building. His next step in the process is to approach the manufacturer of his Serro Scotty Sportsman model, which is currently building the first prototype of the new design. It’s under construction in a section of the old FCTA plant in Somerset, PA, which is where Coleman pop-ups were last built before closing in January 2011. The crew is comprised of mostly former Coleman/FTCA employees. Should they choose to stick with building only the Sportsman, Kerola tells me he’ll then “hit the streets” to line up a new manufacturer.

Taking production “in house” doesn’t appear to be an option just yet. Serro Scotty Worldwide general manager Tom Benedek explains, “It would take 150 units a year to make it work financially”. And demand for the retro travel trailers isn’t to that point. Where ever production of the HiLander lands, it will take approximately two months before they hit the market, due to engineering and getting familiar with them by the new manufacturer. The third unit in the Serro Scotty line, the Scotty Lite, continues to be built in central Florida by Trekker Trailers.

We’ll have more on the story as it develops over the coming months.

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March 13, 2012 · 5:09 pm

Little Guy Brings Back Two T@B Floor Plans

Starting April 1, Little Guy Worldwide will be taking orders for two new floor plans for their highly popular T@B. The floor plans aren’t actually new, per se. They’re two floor plans previous T@B builder Dutchmen used. Both will utilize the “L” shaped front kitchen galley. The difference among the two will be the dinette. One will have vertical floor to ceiling cabinets on the back wall with a smaller dinette, which measures 70″ X 58″ when in bed format.

The queen bed “L” kitchen format will feature a “U” shaped dinette that converts to a 70″ X 73″ queen bed. As a former owner of a Dutchmen T@B with this floor plan, and having seen them all, I can honestly say this floor plan is the best one of them all. You get a nice sized kitchen counter and the comforts of a queen sized bed.

An option on the L and Q models will be the Stargazer front window, like those optional on Little Guy’s teardrop line. This is a slight difference from Dutchmen in that it’s a stationary window and a little more narrow, but should still give ample daylight to the front counter.

All three floor plans with descriptions can be found by clicking here: floor_plans[1]

For more info, contact Little Guy Worldwide at http://tab-rv.com.

 

 

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February 23, 2012 · 5:55 am

Little Guy Continues Upward Trend

Massillon, Ohio based Little Guy Worldwide continues to see sales of their teardrop trailers increase by leaps & bounds. As crude oil and gasoline prices continue to climb, consumers are obviously looking for alternatives to keep their camping budgets tolerable.  According to Little Guy Director of New Business Development, Dylan DeHoff, these are the main factors fueling Little Guy’s growth. “Camping for the most part is an inexpensive activity and even in some cases can be free depending on how you do it, so it is an activity that people are going to continue to do. But now they are trying to find cost and fuel efficient trailers, which leads them right to us.”

And lead them to Little Guy it has. Their 2011 production numbers were up a whopping 50% compared to 2010, and January 2012 numbers were better than any January in the company’s history. Part of that increase can also be attributed to an aggressive marketing campaign, which includes Little Guy being featured twice a month on TV game shows “The Price is Right” and “Let’s Make a Deal”.

Another coup for Little Guy was adding the nation’s largest single site RV dealer, Lazydays RV in Seffner, Florida. “The things that make the Little Guy great for Lazydays are that it’s light enough to tow with just about anything, it fits in a standard garage to eliminate storage issues, and it is affordable for anyone looking for a hard-sided RV option in which to camp,” said Marc Taylor, Lazydays new inventory sales manager. Lazydays currently has eight various Little Guys in their inventory.

Probably the most interesting news Dylan had to share was in regards to a possible new T@B floor plan coming online later in 2012. Actually it’s not a new floor plan to long time T@B enthusiasts: The Clamshell. Dutchmen offered the Clamshell as well as a handful of other T@B floor plans. However, the Clam was unique from the other standard T@Bs. It was more of a traditional teardrop trailer with the kitchen area in the rear that was accessible via a rear hatch. But unlike a traditional teardrop, it had the same interior height inside as a regular T@B. It gave teardrop and T@B fans the best of both worlds.

DeHoff tells us that they’re working on a way to put a bathroom in the Clam as well. “We have had a great response to the return of the T@B and the most popular question is “where is the bathroom”. We hope that with a bathroom added to our Clamshell we will reach out to even more customers.” Another upgrade from the Dutchmen version is in regards to the trim. The first generation Clamshell had no distinctive T@B trim around the edges, where the roof and sidewalls meet. Dylan says that too will change. “The regular T@B’s had trim on the top and all around the trailer but the clamshells only had trim around the fenders. Both of our T@B’s will have trim on the whole trailer and the only difference should be one has a back hatch and the other does not. The overall look should stay the same, that is our goal.”

Even though Dylan tells us the Clamshell talk is just a rumor, I’m confident it’s past the rumor stage and planning is likely well underway. Once…errr….”if” the Clamshell comes to fruition, we’ll pass on the details as they develop.

 

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February 16, 2012 · 6:26 am

An Airstream with a Sweet Smile

Back in October 2009, a couple of rookie campers had just bought a new T@B and were ready for their first weekend of camping in it. They had joined a T@B online forum to get more info on their new trailer and learn from other experienced T@B owners. Two of those owners were Tom & Ella Brown of Van Wert, Ohio. The Browns had been camping for decades and were definitely two of the more experienced T@B owners, as their 2004 model was the 91st of nearly 5,000 total built in a seven year span, buying it new in 2003.

From the time Tom & Ella met in 1978, their  list of campers included a Coleman pop-up, an 18′ Scotty, and a 22′ Wilderness. Once their boys had grown and gone off to college, Tom & Ella decided to go smaller and  bought their T@B in 2003. Into the 2011 camping season, the Browns decided it was time for a change, and they would set their sights on their next trailer: an Airstream.

They had narrowed their choice down to either a 16′ or 19′ unit, and came across a dealer in Tennessee that carried both for them to compare. After deciding the extra length of the 19′ was mainly in the bathroom, they decided on a 16′ Bambi.

However this wasn’t just any Bambi, they found out. This one has a “sweet” story to it. This particular Airstream was a grand prize in a 2011 contest snack maker Little Debbie had called the “Million Smiles Mission”. The Bambi was dressed up with graphics and hauled all over the U.S. in 2011 while making appearances and being used to pass out sweet treats along the way. And one lucky winner of the contest from northeast Ohio got to claim her.

(image courtesy vindy.com)

Ella hasn’t completely pieced together how it ended up on a dealer’s lot in Tennessee. “Somehow, (we haven’t pieced together all of her ramblings  yet!) she ended up on Chilhowee RV lot in Alcoa, TN – just a few months old and looking for a forever home”, she says.  I would venture to say the grand prize winner probably sold it for cash and the dealer ended up with it in that fashion.

Despite the hoopla surrounding the first few months of excitement their Bambi encountered in its life, it’s now settling into its new life as a weekend warrior in campgrounds around the midwest. But if you do see Tom & Ella and their Bambi (affectionately named “The Silvermine…and His”) at a campground, Ella may just have a nutty bar waiting for you…as well as a smile.

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February 13, 2012 · 6:11 am

A Look at the ParkLiner…

Once upon a time, Chandler Palethorpe bought a brand new, fiberglass “egg” travel trailer. It served its purpose for Chandler and his family: it got them camping. However, he found that his trailer was still lacking in quality and in headroom. He also felt it was designed with a floor plan that wasted space. For a few years, Palethorpe kept thinking how to make a better trailer. In 2010, he finally put his ideas into a business plan: The ParkLiner

The mission of ParkLiner is simple: Build a better fiberglass trailer than the competition. Christopher Neve of ParkLiner tells us, “We have designed and created a hassle free and well thought out product.  The light weight fiberglass body of the camper allows it to be towed by smaller fuel-efficient vehicles.  The folding table and the bunk option are a couple of ways that a ParkLiner may be customized in order to meet each individuals’ specific needs.  Whether you are a family of four looking for a convenient way to camp or a couple looking for a comfortable way to travel, a ParkLiner will exceed your needs.” As we’ve seen with other smaller trailer companies, they tend to offer flexibility to design a trailer to a customer’s specifications.

ParkLiner started in January 2010 with designing plugs & body molds, as well as cabinets, throughout the first year.  The first unit rolled off the line in the spring of 2011. In less than a year of production, they’ve now completed a modest four trailers. However, with just 3 full-time employees and a part-time accountant and web guru, these things take time. The plan for 2012 is to produce one unit per week by the month of May. Says Neve, “From there we will continue to build and establish our business.  Six months after reaching that goal, we plan to double our production.”

The clean look of the ParkLiner is accented by the lack of a roof top air conditioning unit. The optional air conditioner is a typical window unit mounted below the side dinette, thus keeping it off the roof and aiding in reduced wind resistance. Other options include a bunk bed, flush-mounted toilet with 30 gallon black tank, dual batteries, and other goodies that will make one’s camping experience a comfortable one.

Standard features include the use of the well-regarded Optima Blue Top battery, microwave, propane furnace, 6 gallon water heater, 12 gallon fresh water tank, shower, 2-burner stove, screen door, electric water pump, bike rack receiver, and a lengthy list of much more.

One nice feature of the ParkLiner is an abundance of overhead storage. 21 feet of linear storage to be exact, as well as more storage underneath the dinettes.

While Chandler was still camping in his “other” fiberglass camper (long since sold), he designed what ParkLiner uses in their trailers today as an option: The Magic Table. The Magic Table is the rear dinette table that’s multifunctional. It serves as the table for the dinette:

It folds in half for roomier rear seating:

It folds away completely:

And finally it drops to create additional bench seating:

 ParkLiner is based in Gibsonville, NC, and uses part of an old textile mill as their manufacturing facility. They currently operate on a factory direct basis and have no plans to create a dealer network.

The base weight of the ParkLiner checks in right at 2100 lbs sitting on a 3500 lbs axle with 14″ tires, allowing excellent cargo capacity for a trailer of this size. A 6’4″ interior height allows for plenty of headroom for most, and the 6’7″ interior width should result in a good amount of leg room when in bed configuration. The 2-piece fiberglass trailer shell has an  interior length of 12′ while hitch to tail is 15′ long. Depending on options, one can fetch a ParkLiner for somewhere between $14,500-$17,500.

ParkLiner is using its highly detailed website as a springboard for prospective buyers. Their active presence on Facebook is also being used to complement their website by giving up-to-date changes as well as a source for more photos and discussion with those interested in learning more about the ParkLiner. It’s going to be fun to see this company grow in the future. They seem to have all their ducks in a row by starting off small and working their way up. It doesn’t hurt having a similar product to other manufacturers like Casita or Scamp, yet still offer upgrades they don’t. This opens the door for the many fans of “egg” campers to have a fresh alternative.

For more info on the Parkliner, contact them at:

Park Liner, Inc.
106 Railroad Ave Suite G
Gibsonville, NC 27249

1-800-418-2120

Web: http://www.parkliner.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ParkLiner/164971296894584

(Photos courtesy of ParkLiner)

 

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