a year of records is well underway record drought record heat record camping and rv travel and the
busiest year on record by far for the national park service lordstown and camping world's
electric motorhome is on hold and the canadian border will remain closed for another month it's
time for the latest in rv and camping news i'm jason epperson and welcome to the rv miles news
roundup where we provide you with all the latest news and information about rvs camping and road
trip travel a massive heat wave is piling on top of the record-breaking drought that's affecting
much of the nation as i'm recording this right now it's 117 degrees in las vegas four degrees
short of the all-time record as america settles into what's probably the biggest camping season
ever the heat wave is going to cause lots of problems with air conditioners compounded by the
fact that there aren't very many replacement air conditioners to be had on the market at the moment
each year around this time mobile rv technicians are swamped fixing air conditioners and if you
want to make sure you can still beat the heat do some preventative maintenance on yours get on
the roof take the hood off and clean everything in sight make sure to clean your filters inside
and don't expect your air conditioner to do too much if the compressor isn't cycling on and off
now and then the unit can freeze up power outages may be likely as well during these high temps as
air conditioner usage skyrockets while the drought is causing large reductions in hydroelectric power
availability out west the rise in outdoor recreation combined with the drought has officials
all over the country concerned about wildfires the worst of which are usually human cost natural
fires are usually sparked by lightning which means they're usually preceded or followed by rain
but when a fire starts due to a lingering campfire for instance it can spread rapidly and go on for
weeks before a drop of rain is felt stuck trailer breaks and bad wheel bearings have also been known
to cause fires this past tuesday an rv caught on fire near denver on i-70 the fire spread to nearby
brush sparking a grass fire make sure to have your wheel bearings and brakes serviced annually
or every ten thousand miles and put campfires entirely out this episode is sponsored by the
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rv miles 10 x the canada u.s border will remain closed for another month it was announced friday
american and canadian travelers alike were hoping for at least some sort of option for
vaccinated travelers to pass but to no avail the border will remain closed to non-essential travel
until at least july 21st restrictions were first imposed in mid-march of 2020 and have been renewed
each month since prime minister justin trudeau has previously suggested that canada will not consider
easing restrictions for travelers until at least 75 percent of residents in both countries
have been vaccinated it's only this past week that ontario campgrounds were even allowed to
open as part of the province's reopening plan a great smoky mountains national park bear has
been euthanized after a 16 year old sustained multiple injuries during an attack while she
was sleeping in a hammock park officials closed back country camp site 29 in the cosby section
of the park after a bear attack on june 18th the campsite will remain closed until further notice
a 16 year old girl from middle tennessee sustained multiple injuries from the bear including
lacerations to the head two bears were spotted in the area following the attack one of which
entered the campsite while rangers were present and disregarded attempts to scare it from the site
rangers shot and killed the bear after the family identified it as the one responsible
for the attack wildlife biologists were able to confirm human blood on the euthanized bearer
through forensic testing a park release said all backpacks and food were properly stored
this is only the fifth reported bear attack in the park's history rv dealership chain camping world
and electric vehicle manufacturer lordstown motors had announced a partnership in december that was
supposed to bring the first electric motorhome to the u.s market a class b camper van that
was supposed to have over 300 miles of range a prototype has been built but the vehicle has been
put on hold as lordstown struggles to save itself amid stiff competition to get its electric truck
the endurance to the market and with the company's ceo and cfo resigning just after an investigation
into misleading claims about pre-orders for the endurance lordstown will focus now solely on the
endurance's production the nation's national parks will without question experience record attendance
this year and government officials are paying close attention senators on both sides of the
aisle cautioned during a hearing on wednesday that this summer's tourism wave could have detrimental
effects on our nation's treasures some visitors to parks are experiencing four-hour lines at entrance
gates and trailhead parking that's full before dawn to help with overcrowding the national park
service plans to launch a public education campaign to encourage visitors to make plans
and reservations in advance and is considering timed entry and limiting numbers of vehicles
both of those methods are in place at a few parks already this year the park service is also working
on real-time digital communications like twitter to let visitors know when parking lots are full
for example filmmaker ken burns who produced the 2009 documentary series celebrating national parks
testified at the hearing that the long lines to get into park entrances are a good problem
comparing it to long lines to vote in his small new hampshire town saying at the heart of the
national park idea is the notion that every american is part owner of some of the best
seafront property in the nation they own magnificent waterfalls and stunning views
of majestic mountains and gorgeous canyons they have a stake in making sure that these places are
preserved for their children and their children's children forever senators expressed a desire for
more hearings so expect more discussions about the expansion of reserved entry into national parks
many experts say that this year's visitation is not an anomaly and not pandemic driven
it's a continuation of a rise in national park visitation that's been growing for several years
the pandemic may have only moved it up slightly i hope you enjoyed this week's rv and camping news
we'll continue to keep you up to date on all the latest stories and developments every saturday
so make sure to hit the subscribe button and the notification bell and if you think a friend would
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for topics by emailing editor rvmiles.com comment below with any thoughts you have
on this week's items oregon raised the rates on state park fees also i hope it doesn't affect the
tourism for retirees on fixed income folks spend money at more places than state parks just saying
that's the problem is it all those states in the pacific northwest are sort of battling and raising
the prices on each other when oregon says well idaho residents have to pay double idaho's now
saying well we want oregon residents to pay double poor rv quality is probably going to decline even
more with these backlog numbers first time rvers are going to be in shock and what they get for all
that money you know what our unit is being delayed by another week because the plant is shut down
for another week because they can't build them i'm telling you they're not building them at
this massive rapid pace because they can't so the units are being built as normal there's no massive
expansion in production that is causing them to be sort of whipped out in no time they cannot
build them like they would like to another great episode unfortunately i'm in northern california
and we had to evacuate our house twice last year to forest fires our rv is always full of water and
propane and ready to go well that's an important consideration that rvs aren't just a thing that
can cause forest fires they're a way to escape natural disasters as well hey before we go i want
to let you know about a meet-up that we're having this november in camp verde arizona space is
limited the event takes place november 3rd through the 7th and all the details will be released soon
via our mailing list so click the card here if you want to join it we'll see you next time
you