RV Home Yet?

Get a real deal on a campground stay

The National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds ARVC  Foundation is auctioning off stays at campgrounds as a fund raiser. The auction opened today and runs through August 10. There are some excellent deals at the moment. For example, the Chicken Gold Camp in Chicken, AK has a two-night stay, which includes a day of gold mining has a value of $130 and a current bid of $43. Check out their site. You'll find campgrounds from Florida to Maine to Alaska included. When you enter the auction, click on "camping trips."

While many campgrounds are seeing fewer out of state travelers, locals are still coming, realizing that a campground stay can be an inexpensive way to vacation. ARVC hopes the auction will promote camping by allowing campers to obtain a package at a reduced price.

Check out the campgrounds and see if one is where you plan to travel. You might get a good deal. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

RV burned, owner now owes IRS!

At TheLaw.com, a person wrote in because they just received a $900 plus interest bill from the IRS. In 1995, the RV burned to the ground. Rather than let the person make payments, the company wanted the loan paid in full. The owner declared bankruptcy. The company did not submit paperwork to be included in the bankruptcy settlement. Recently the owner received a letter saying the company was going to write off the RV, and then, two weeks later, a letter from the IRS stating he had not declared all his income for the previous year. The IRS considered the $7,000 the company wrote off as income!

The answer from TheLaw.com was that yes, this is legal. "They sent a 1099 stating they lost out on the 7k$ they would have received from you and since you did not pay for it, it becomes extra income for you during the year."

I certainly did not know things worked this way and that not paying a debt could be counted as income if the company that loaned you money wrote it off. If you do have problems making payments - on an RV or other property of value - be careful how you dispose of the property and don't just stop paying. It could come back to bite you. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Update on "Family of 11 lives in a 24-foot RV"

A link to a video showing this family has been added to this post. Go to "Family of 11 lives in a 24-foot RV.

Amazing! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

RVs - traveling motel rooms?

In the VailDaily.com, a short piece by Allen Best refers to RVs as traveling motel rooms! I've always thought of an RV as a house on wheels. I guess it is all about your perspective - are you a weekend RVer, part-timer or full-time RVer?

In his piece posted in Jackson Hole, WY - "RV Life Gets Expensive" - Best says that high fuel prices are affecting even the very richest. Jackson Hole Aviation reports sales of jet fuel are down 13 percent. The company has noticed reduced private and charter flights. And, of course, it costs a lot to fill an RV. The couple interviewed put $344 worth of gas in the fuel tank to top it off; a full tank would have cost nearly $600.

RVers are making adjustments, no matter what their status. Even if you have plenty of money for fuel, you have to think is this trip really worth that much? Would I rather spend that money on something else?

I can't go with the term "traveling motel rooms," though. In a motel, a maid comes in and changes the linens, makes the bed and cleans up. That certainly is not the case in our RV! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

RVs going the way of covered wagons?

Will RVs go the way of covered wagons because of high fuel prices? Garrison Keillor thinks so. The voice of "A Prairie Home Companion" has an essay at Salon.com titled, "The Motor Home Fades into the Sunset."

He always considered himself morally superior to those who camped in RVs - that is until he tried it. Once he did, he fell under its spell and was "happy to give up moral grandeur for a couple of weeks." However high prices, he believes, will force us to give up RV travel and tell stories of our adventures instead of doing it. Our communities don't make it easy to have neighborly exchanges. We rely on vehicles to get around and don't sit out on the porch or talk to neighbors. Fuel prices will cause some adjustments. We'll take up other things to do. We'll learn to tell stories to the checkout cashier at the grocery store or the bank teller rather than a neighbor.

Mr. Keillor has only dabbled in RVing. He's not a full-time RVer, nor even a snowbird. Otherwise he'd know how RVers form instant communities. How we can and do share stories of our adventures with other RVers wherever we meet whether we have traveled across the country or a few miles to spend a season. From formal gatherings, to RV parks and resorts to an encounter in an RV supply store or repair facility, RVers talk to other RVers. We've struck up conversations boondocking in the desert or the forest. We have an instant connection just because we participate and love this lifestyle. We don't need to learn new methods. We are living them.

Maybe RVers won't be driving as far this year, but I don't think our RVs will fade away and become relics - at least not anytime soon. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Will the downturn change the RV industry?

While you can read stories saying individual RV dealers are unaffected by the economy, the layoffs and RV factory closings are closer to the truth. Fleetwood laid off more than 400 workers on Friday at five plants. (Read article here.) Sales of Class A RVs were down 37% in April compared to 2007. Class C RVs were down 20%.

The industry itself sees the downturn affecting the RV industry into 2009. A recent poll of industry  leaders mentioned several factors including high oil prices leading to high fuel prices and volatility in the finance sector giving homeowners less equity for purchases like RVs.

It looks like some changes may be in store- and some are already taking place.

1. One manufacturer noted: “The fuel economy is not going to get better. We need to address the problem with alternate fuel vehicles or hybrids.” A couple of hybrids are in the works. Maybe more will consider them.
2. Coachmen RV is responding by offering rebates on RV purchases. You can get up to $5000 back, depending on what year and model Coachmen RV you purchase. Now that's an incentive!
3. A 2008 Monaco Cayman XL Class A diesel motorhome will be the grand prize in a trip game offered by Cracker Barrel.
4. Teardrop-type trailers, towable by most vehicles because of their light weight, are becoming more popular according to RV Business. The price is right too.

RVing and the industry will survive. People are still finding an RV vacation to be less expensive than a long vacation with travel, motels and eating out. Camping World/Freedom Roads is adding RV rentals to their offerings and RV rentals are sure popular with travelers from other countries right now with the dollar down compared to other currencies. We'll adjust.

The market system at work!  Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Givin' them away

Have you ever driven by a house and seen furniture sitting on the sidewalk? There may be a sign that says it's free. Or just the fact it is sitting along the curb is invitation enough. Usually it is gone by the morning if it is at all usable.

Here's a free RV. A photographer spotted this baby near Ranchita off California Route S22. See the photo at his blog. It's an oldie, but, hey, the price is right! Guess it's a sign of the times and high fuel prices. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

RVs for the homeless in affluent Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara has 57 spaces for RVs for the homeless. After getting a bad time for disallowing RV parking, the Santa Barbara City Council has designated spaces for RVs to park, 14 parking spaces by the city, the rest of the spaces are at churches, nonprofits and private businesses. (Read more here.)

Some Santa Barbarans worry that all the publicity will encourage the homeless to flock to the city. They aren't happy about all the publicity. So far that hasn't happened, nor have they had a flood of middle class families due to foreclosure.

The program appears to be working well. Twenty families have been moved to permanent housing.

Good for Santa Barbara for taking positive steps to help with a serious problem. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Family of 11 lives in a 24-foot RV

I came across an article about a surfer, Dr. Dorian Paskowitz, who packed his family into a 24-foot RV and traveled from surfing spot to surfing spot for twenty years. The family grew to 9 children. According to the article, two things were required of the kids: no school and surf everyday.

Dorian Paskowitz was an M.D. educated at Stanford and financially successful before the move to the RV yet his kids never went to school. The documentary, "Surfwise," chronicles their lives.

The article raises all sorts of questions for me. How did they manage with nine children in an RV? They must have stayed in fairly warm areas and utilized tents for the kids; that is a challenge in the winter. How did he earn a living? He was a celebrity of sorts in the surfing world, but still, that wouldn't support a family of 11. Why did he deny his kids an education? The documentary does include interviews with the children who have struggled to fit into today's world.

Are there others who are living off the grid and successfully staying below the government radar? Harder to do nowadays with Homeland Security requirements but maybe still possible. Not the common use of an RV, for sure.

To watch a short UTube video, click here. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Venice aka "Muscle Beach" does not want RVers

Venice, CA is a funky town situated along the ocean. It's known for its carnival atmosphere, Muscle Beach and street performers. It is a kick to walk down the boardwalk along the beach, where all the action is.

The funniest thing I saw at Muscle Beach was a fellow sitting on the sand, playing his guitar. His case was open for donations. The sign said he was raising enough money to get home- wherever that was. And- he took donations by credit card!

Street performers trying to raise money from tourists are a draw in Venice but at least one group does not want RVers. An ordinance is under consideration by the Venice Neighborhood Council's RV Task Force which would allow any person (or persons) to sleep over-night in recreational vehicles parked anywhere in the City of Los Angeles, on public or private property, with the permission of the owner. An independent neighborhood watch group composed of "Concerned Residents and Business Owners Living and Working in the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles, Caifornia. U.S.A." is totally opposed. In their view, homeless people will live in RVs, contribute to the crime rate, trash the place and take up street parking.

It seems to me that if this ordinance fails, legitimate RV visitors to Venice residents, that is family and friends, will not be able to park in town. Perhaps a limited time period of a few days or a week would allow visits but prevent abuse.

When we visit my sister in La Canada near Pasadena, we used to be able to park in her driveway. With the addition of pillars and gates, we don't fit anymore. The nearest RV park was 40-50 miles away. RV parks in the Los Angeles area are not plentiful so prohibiting overnight RV parking when visiting family could make it almost impossible to visit.

I did post a comment that at this writing has not appeared. You might want to add yours or see if you agree. See Living in Venice: A Petition about Transient RVs.  Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak