RV News & Notes: August 2004

Buddy Gregg Motor Homes Opens New Paint And Body Shop In Knoxville

Buddy Gregg Motor Homes, C3326, located in Knoxville, Tennessee, hosted a special luncheon and open house this past June to showcase its new paint and body shop facilities.

Approximately 30 body shop owners and insurance appraisers/adjusters from the east Tennessee area toured the new body shop complex. The facility features a new 3.5-million-Btu heated paint booth that will accommodate motorhomes up to 45 feet in length “” one of the largest paint booths in the Southeast. The shop’s new computerized color paint mixing system, which ensures precision in-house color matching, also was on display.

Besides its headquarters location in Tennessee, Buddy Gregg Motor Homes also has sales and service locations in Lakeland, Florida, and Lewisville, Texas. For more information about body shop services available at the Knoxville facility, call (800) 421-0031.

When President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign hit the road for a bus tour of the American heartland in May, the president, his staff, and the media were never in the dark when it came to breaking news. That’s because the custom motor coaches used by the entourage were equipped with TracVision L3 satellite TV antennas and the TracNet mobile high-speed Internet system from KVH Industries Inc., C6909. The TracVision systems offer complete in-motion access to satellite TV programming, including 24-hour news networks, ensuring that everyone traveling with the president could receive all of the latest updates.

“The speed of political campaigns is increasing, with breaking news followed by immediate responses from the competition,” said Jim Dodez, vice president of marketing for KVH. “When a campaign or the media is on the road, they need to have access to all of that news from all of the same sources that they depend on in their offices.”

The president’s press pool is not the only media to make use of KVH’s TracVision antennas. ABC News has mobilized three campaign buses “” known as “Red,” “White, and “Blue” “” to cover the 2004 presidential election. The buses serve as mobile television and radio studios in which reports can be produced and filed and interviews can be conducted from remote locations. Each of the buses is equipped with KVH TracVision satellite TV systems, which allow the producers and reporters traveling aboard to watch ABC’s own news shows, as well as other programming, virtually anywhere as they travel throughout the United States.

The coaches in the president’s entourage, as well as those utilized by ABC, were customized by Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, of Nashville, Tennessee.

For more information about KVH’s full line of in-motion satellite TV and Internet systems, visit www.tracvision.com.

Home & Park Motorhomes, C3790, recently delivered a new 2004 Roadtrek 190-Versatile type B motorhome to the Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League (CFL), which features a distinctive team graphics package. The Roadtrek Community Cruiser is based on the 3500 Chevrolet Express van and displays the Renegades, CFL, and Grey Cup logos as well as a full-size image of Renegades’ quarterback Kerry Joseph in action.

The Ottawa Renegades/Roadtrek Community Cruiser will be on display during all Renegades home games at Frank Clair Stadium, host of the 2004 Grey Cup championship game on November 21, and at all Eastern Conference away games. The Renegades/Roadtrek will be a regular sight at charity events, tailgating activities, and team promotions in the Ottawa area.

Home & Park is a manufacturer of type B motorhomes based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

The 52nd annual California RV Show, produced by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, will be held October 15 through 24, 2004, at Fairplex in Pomona, California. More than 1,800 recreation vehicles will be showcased at the event, with factory and dealer representatives on hand to answer questions and explain many of the new features available in today’s RVs.

The show also will include a 40,000-square-foot tent filled with RV products and accessories, and a full program of daily seminars presented by some of the United States’ top RV experts. They will include Dick Reed of the RV Driving School, C6198, who will be on hand to help RV owners hone their driving skills, and Joe and Vicki Kieva, F164860, who will present “Tips For Choosing An RV.”

Show hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. Ticket prices are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, and free for children under age 12. Parking at Fairplex is $6 for cars and $8 for RVs. For directions, nearby campgrounds, and other information, call (909) 274-9215 (24-hour recorded show information) or visit www.carvshow.com. Discount admission coupons are available at the show’s Web site.

Big Rigs Best Bets campground directoryThe fourth edition of the Big Rigs Best Bets, C8967, campground directory is now available for motorhomers who travel in coaches that are 35 to 45 feet in length. The new edition covers 41 states and lists more than 800 campgrounds that can accommodate large motorhomes. It provides detailed information about the parks, including whether the sites are pull-through or back-in; the electric service available; whether the sites have sewer hookups; approximate lengths of the sites; directions; telephone numbers; and more.

The 2004 edition also includes new sections that provide listings for campgrounds in close proximity to major interstate highways; a collection of campgrounds and sites that can accommodate 45-foot motorhomes; parks with wireless Internet access and “instant-on” phone service; and restaurant suggestions.

The book, priced at $16.95 (add $4 for shipping and handling in the United States; $8 in Canada), can be purchased by calling (830) 792-9170 or by visiting www.big-rigs-rv.com. Texas residents should include $1.40 sales tax.

When Busch Series regular Mike Wallace wants to relax with his family after a day at the track, he simply makes his way to the drivers’ motorhome area and climbs aboard his 42-foot Sportscoach Legend motorhome where his wife, Carla, and their daughters, Lindsey and Christina, and son, Matt, are waiting.

The Wallace’s coach is an all-new Cummins-powered diesel pusher with three slideouts, and, according to Mr. Wallace, ” … it works out perfectly for me and my family. I can park it at the track and stay right there. That lets me go to practice, meet for interviews, take care of sponsor commitments, interact with the fans, and do all the other things I have to during a race week without having to drive back and forth to a hotel. I can relax, which makes me a better, more efficient driver.”

Mr. Wallace said drivers and their crews park their motorhomes in the same area, creating a small social community. “We might have 100 to 150 motorhomes parked together. We all have our families there, so we can have barbecues and hang out together. It’s like a big neighborhood party, which keeps everyone in good spirits.”

Mr. Wallace, who also has competed in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup (previously Winston Cup) and Craftsman Truck series, is one of three Wallace brothers racing in NASCAR circuits. Rusty competes in the Nextel Cup series and won the Winston Cup in 1989, while Kenny has split time in both the Winston Cup and Busch series. Before Mike made his way to NASCAR, where he’s collected five Busch Series victories and five Craftsman Truck Series wins, he made a name for himself on the short tracks of the Midwest, racing to more than 300 wins.

Sportscoach motorhomes are produced by Coachmen RV, C328, based in Middlebury, Indiana.

Clint Eastwood joined a class of fifth-graders and other volunteers in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on May 25 to repair picnic tables, to perform trail maintenance, and to announce that he again was taking on a role as national spokesperson for the Take Pride in America program, a role he previously held from 1986 to 1993. The actor/producer/director of more than 50 major films told media and volunteers that he liked the new Take Pride in America slogan “” “It’s Your Land, Lend a Hand” “” and that he was enthused by the spirit and the contributions of the young volunteers.

Mr. Eastwood’s involvement in Take Pride in America was praised in a special letter from President George W. Bush that was hand-delivered to the Southern California event by USA Freedom Corps deputy director Charity Wallace.

Mr. Eastwood also drew praise from California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who used the event to announce the state’s endorsement of the Take Pride in America program. Governor Schwarzenegger became the 44th governor to commit to support of Take Pride in America.

Marti Allbright, executive director of Take Pride in America, moderated the event and acknowledged the support of key Take Pride in America partners. She also told guests and volunteers that Take Pride in America would hit the road in June in an RV, stopping at more than 20 sites to honor volunteers and celebrate America’s public lands. Unilever, a leading producer of food and personal care items, will be a key sponsor of this tour.

Additional information about Take Pride in America efforts, including volunteer opportunities, can be found at www.takepride.gov.

Foretravel Inc., C236, based in Nacogdoches, Texas, recently announced that Tennessee RV, which is located in Kodak, Tennessee, just east of Knoxville along Interstate 40, has been added as the newest member of the company’s growing dealership network.

Tennessee RV was formerly one of Foretravel’s factory sales and service locations “” Foretravel of Tennessee “” and will be owned and operated by Roger Sellers, Foretravel of Tennessee’s general manager, and Charlie Anderson. They also are joined by many of the previous employees of Foretravel of Tennessee.

In addition to the company-owned Foretravel of Texas sales and service center in Nacogdoches, Foretravel’s dealers include Saddleback RV of Irvine, California; Featherlite Luxury Coaches of Sanford, Florida; Stouts RV Sales of Greenwood, Indiana; American RV & Marine, with locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Anthony, Texas; and McClain’s RV, with dealerships in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Alvarado, Texas; and Corinth, Texas.

For more information about Tennessee RV, call (800) 678-2233.