Roadtrek Introduces Bold Interior Design
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc., a leading manufacturer of Type B motorhomes, has unveiled new interior cabinetry with a bold Ebony vinyl finish. Company literature touts the new finish as being as adaptable as it is beautiful.
The dark matte-finished oak cabinetry is accented with real granite countertops, black and gray leather seating, and stainless-steel and brushed-nickel highlights. The Ebony cabinetry color currently is available on the SS Agile Ranger RT and 190 Popular models.
For more information about the new Ebony vinyl finish or other Roadtrek products, visit www.roadtrek.com or call (888) 762-3873.
Great American Backyard Campout
The National Wildlife Federation invites families to unplug and head outside for the Great American Backyard Campout on Saturday, June 28, 2014. This popular annual event, held in conjunction with Great Outdoors Month, encourages people of all ages to camp in their backyards, neighborhoods, parks, and campgrounds as a way to reconnect with nature.
“Kids need to experience camping, especially in their youth when the wonders of the outdoors can influence their future love for nature and wildlife,” said Maureen Smith, chief marketing officer for National Wildlife Federation. “In addition to developing a deeper appreciation for the outdoors and the wildlife around them through camping in their backyard or at a local park, being in nature helps to burn off energy, stay fit, and be mentally focused for school, homework, and all activities in their busy day.”
National Wildlife Federation provides families resources to help them plan their adventure in the great outdoors. The Campout Web site — www.backyardcampout.org — offers packing lists, recipes, nocturnal wildlife guides, exploration activities, nature games, and more.
Now in its 10th year, Great American Backyard Campout is a part of National Wildlife Federation’s 10 Million Kids Outdoors Campaign, an effort that encourages children to spend time outside each day to create a happier, healthier generation more in tune with the natural world.
Garrett Metal Detectors, Founder Celebrate Milestones
More than 250 Garrett Metal Detectors employees gathered on April 1, 2014, to celebrate both the 50th anniversary of the company and the birthday of its founder, Charles Garrett.
When Charles, now 82, began designing metal detectors, his original goal was simply to build a better tool for his own treasure pursuits than what he could purchase. The U.S. Navy veteran and electrical engineer had developed a passion for treasure hunting as a child. His wife, Eleanor, finally challenged him to either give up his tinkering with electronics or put his inventions on the market.
Charles and Eleanor created their company in 1964, initially operating from their garage. In the early days, the couple was happy to ship several detectors a month. Today, their family-owned business is one of the world’s largest producers of hobby, security, and countermine detectors. According to company officials, Garrett security products are used to protect people at airports, schools, government facilities, sporting events, hospitals, national landmarks, and corporations. Garrett’s hobby detectors have been used to make significant historic discoveries around the world and are featured on television in programs such as the National Geographic Channel’s series “Diggers.”
Although Garrett’s manufacturing facilities have grown over the decades, the operation still remains in Garland, Texas, where it all began.
For more information about the company’s products, visit www.garrett.com or call (972) 494-6151.
Workhorse Parts Available Through Ultrarvproducts.com
UltraRVproducts.com announced a new online resource specifically designed to provide Workhorse RV and commercial chassis owners with a complete line of parts, as well as chassis and technical service manuals.
When visiting the UltraRVproducts.com Web site, customers can quickly search online for parts by model when selecting the “Workhorse Parts” drop-down menu from the main navigation bar. Options range from P Series to W Series chassis, including W16 to W24 and the R26 UFO chassis. Commercial chassis owners will find complete support for the W42 and W62 series chassis as well. For especially hard-to-find parts, customers can send the company the vehicle’s VIN and a description of what is needed, and UltraRVproducts.com will source the part.
UltraRVproducts.com also has a complete library of Workhorse service manuals, including engine, brake, chassis, and electrical wiring diagrams. All publications are immediately downloadable in a PDF format. As new publications become available, UltraRVproducts.com will add them to the online library.
National Parks Drew 273.6 Million Visitors In 2013
The National Park Service (NPS) recently released 2013 visitation figures for America’s national parks. More than 273.6 million total visits were recorded during the year at the 401 parks, historic sites, and recreation areas that make up the National Park System.
The 2013 visitation figure is down 9.1 million visits from 2012. The decrease was due in large part to the lapse in federal appropriations, which shuttered national parks for the first 16 days of October. It’s estimated that the shutdown reduced figures for 2013 by 7.88 million visitors who were turned away during those two weeks.
Despite the shutdown, some parks reported increases in visitation during 2013, including Gettysburg National Military Park and Vicksburg National Military Park, both of which were buoyed by large crowds and increased interest as a result of Civil War sesquicentennial events. Other parks saw reduced numbers from extended weather-related closures.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park retained the top spot among the 59 sites formally designated as national parks, with 9.35 million visits in 2013. Grand Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park retained the number two and three spots in the top 10. Golden Gate Recreational Area was the most-visited place in the National Park System with more than 14 million visitors.
National parks across the country continue to contribute substantially to the nation’s economy and to be important economic engines in their local communities.
Rapid Growth Spurs Winegard Expansion
To accommodate increased demand for its enterprise and consumer antenna products, Winegard recently added a new 195,000-square-foot facility located just north of its current Burlington, Iowa facility. This boosts the company’s manufacturing, testing, warehousing, and administrative office space to nearly 410,000 square feet. With this addition, Winegard’s current overall manufacturing capacity surpasses 600,000 antennas per month.
The manufacturing and warehousing additions at the new facility are complete and fully functioning, while the engineering, testing, and administrative portions of the project should be completed by early summer.
The new facility houses two high-speed automatic placement and reflow lines for electronic circuit boards; an injection mold room; stamping and various types of metal fabrication equipment; and assembly and test cells for the associated antenna product lines.
The enhanced testing facilities will allow Winegard engineers to quickly and accurately characterize antennas from 50 MHz to 50 GHz in-house without the delays and expense of contracting with outside antenna ranges. It is estimated that design and development time will be reduced by as much as 50 percent with the new testing capability.
Winegard produces a wide array of over-the-air and satellite antennas for the home, RV, marine, medical, and automotive segments, as well as commercial satellite and VSAT systems for the oil and gas industry, military, and emergency response industries.
For more information about Winegard products, visit www.winegard.com or call (800) 288-8094.