RVers Bulletin Board

Ready for Takeoff: Literally. We will likely not be able to update this site until the second week of February, as we're about to sneak off to a long-planned trip to Australia and New Zealand. However, we *will* be documenting those travels separately through "MyTripJournal.com". Please feel free to join us through regular updates we'll be posting on our non-RV travels "down under". You can find it at:

http://www.mytripjournal.com/BearTrek10

We'll be posting commentary, pictures, and even a few (very amateur by Tom) videos to document our travels. The site provides an itinerary, contact info, and an option to get notices of updates. We'd love to have you along!

Census: We've heard a few reports that full time RVers might not be receiving adequate consideration in the current census. We have no direct information, but if there are readers who have information, we'd like to learn more and perhaps some avenues for recourse.

Guest Editorial: We've enjoyed David Eidell's very practical advice and guidance about RVing in Mexico. Wearing a different hat this time, David has submitted a guest editorial that analyzes Mexico politically, culturally, and economically in ways that many may find of interest.

RV Industry Trends: While we see continued signs of recovery, it appears the current consumer demand is highest for towables. One also notes increasing references to "green" RVs, with major chassis makers beginning to experiment with significant options to the traditional fuel thirsty rigs of the past. It's still a bit early to confirm any "trends", but there are certainly some things out there that bear close surveillance.

National Award to Springs at Borrego: Congratulations to Dan Wright and his outstanding team for being selected as the "Best Small Park of the Year" by the national organization of RV Park owners. We've had this park among our "Top Picks" ever since opened only a few short years ago. And it just keeps getting better.

End of the Line: According to news reports Country Coach has finally succombed to the economic pressures that have takes such a heavy toll on RV manufacturers. It's a sad ending to what once was such a great story of excellence in coach manufacturing. Of particular concern is the fate of so many skilled and dedicated employees that once produced what was with some justification billed as the "world's finest motorcoaches".

Website Software: Since upgrading to the latest Mac OS, our website software package, Adobe CS2, has been showing signs of instability. If for some reason it becomes entirely unuseable, I can foresee a time when we'd have to acquire and learn a completely different package before we could resume updates. Hopefully that won't be the case -- but it seems advisable to at least make mention of the possibility....

RVing Mexico Updates: Our continuing thanks to David Eidell for a number of additional updates and new articles of interest to RVers planning to visit Mexico. His extensive library of articles is a unique resource both to RVers and others contemplating travels in Mexico.

Online Forums for RVers: For some years now online discussion groups comprised of owners of the same brand of RV have been growing in size and importance. At first many of these groups seemed more focused on "complaints" than on constructive discussion. That's changed significantly as these discussion groups have matured. In an era where manufacturers are all to often now "out of business", these forums provide a unique and valuable resource for RV owners. A good example of such forums can be found at the "iRV2" website. If you haven't visited there yet, we'd recommend you have a look-see....