Newell Coach Introduces p50 Body Styling
Every 2017 model-year motorhome from Newell Coach will feature new p50 Edition body styling, the company’s first exterior styling redesign in more than 20 years. The introduction of the p50 Edition comes as Newell Coach, based in Miami, Oklahoma, prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017.
“With the help of our partners at Porsche Design, the coach maintains the classic, muscular lines and contemporary styling that have long been a part of the Newell brand, but brings a fresh and modern design approach,” said Grant Kernan, Newell’s general manager.
The most dramatic aesthetic change, he said, is in the front cap, which includes a spoiler, a full-frontal windshield, and redesigned chrome headlight buckets. In addition, surface-mounted doors have been replaced with a flush-mounted type to give the motorhome a sleeker look.
The p50 Edition also incorporates technological advances, such as push-button exterior door latches, an electric-actuated entry door, a remote-controlled shore cord system, and new cab window designs with a larger driver-side opening. The Intrepid Coach Management System monitors and manages various systems that run the motorhome.
For more information, call (888) 363-9355 or visit www.newellcoach.com.
Thunder And Lightning Safety Tips
RVers often spend time outdoors, so it’s important to be smart about storm safety. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends these precautions when thunderstorms are in the area:
- Get indoors and avoid contact with corded phones, electrical equipment, plumbing, and windows and doors.
- Get out of and stay away from water. It’s an excellent conductor of electricity.
- Electricity seeks the shortest path to its destination. Avoid tall, isolated trees or other tall objects during an electrical storm.
- Tents and open-sided shelters don’t provide protection from lightning. If no substantial building is nearby, take shelter in your vehicle.
- Wait 30 minutes after the last sighting of lightning or sound of thunder before going back outside.
- Call 911 for anyone struck by lightning. Such victims do not carry an electrical charge and are safe to touch.
Additional lightning safety tips are available at www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov.
RV Shipments Continue Upward Trend
Wholesale RV shipments are projected to total 396,400 units by the end of 2016, an increase of 6 percent over units shipped in 2015, according to a forecast presented by Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) in June 2016.
Looking further ahead, the forecast predicts shipments will reach 404,800 units in 2017, which would mark the eighth consecutive year of growth for the RV industry. Both the 2016 and 2017 yearly totals are well above the quarter-century record of 390,362 units shipped in 2006.
Motorhome shipments are projected to reach 50,900 units in 2016 and 52,500 units in 2017. That would represent 13 percent of all RV shipments during the forecast time frame, the best performance for that vehicle category in a decade.
The favorable RV outlook is based on continued gains in jobs, incomes, and household wealth combined with relatively low levels of inflation, unemployment, and interest rates.
Meanwhile, RVIA also has released a study that says the RV industry contributed $49.7 billion to the U.S. economy in 2015 and provided almost 290,000 full-time jobs to American workers. The report, “RVs Move America,” is the first-ever economic impact study of the RV industry. For more information, visit www.rvia.org.
Liquid Spring Brings ‘Class’ To Motorhomes
Lafayette, Indiana-based LiquidSpring LLC in June 2016 introduced its CLASS suspension to motorhome manufacturers that use the Ford F-53 chassis.
CLASS, which stands for Compressible Liquid Adaptive Suspension System, replaces conventional vehicle springs and shock absorbers. CLASS suspensions employ technology that is designed to improve a motorhome’s ride, handling, and safety. The improvements are the result of changing spring stiffness and damping instantaneously over a very broad range and without driver intervention. The system also automatically compensates for load imbalance due to variations in payload distribution.
According to a LiquidSpring press release, CLASS suspensions are widely used in the emergency medical service market where ambulance ride, comfort, and vehicle stability for safety are critically important. The release noted that CLASS suspensions are applicable to motorhomes because the vehicles have significant mass and a high center of gravity, which can cause excessive body roll, less-than-desired stability, and driver fatigue.
For more information about the CLASS suspension, visit www.liquidspring.com or call (765) 474-7816.
Jayco Production Reaches 1 Million Mark
Jayco Corporation produced its 1 millionth RV in April 2016, the company announced. Founded 48 years ago, the company consists of four divisions: Jayco, Entegra Coach, Starcraft RV, and Highland Ridge.
Jayco was founded by Lloyd and Bertha Bontrager on their family farm in 1968, and Bontrager family ownership continued until June 30, 2016, when the company was acquired by Thor Industries Inc. For more information about Jayco, visit www.jayco.com or call (800) 785-2926.
New Book Highlights Northern New Mexico
Anyone planning a visit to Santa Fe and northern New Mexico might want to read journalist Marion Amberg’s new book, Shrines and Wonders: The Pilgrim’s Guide To Santa Fe And Northern New Mexico ($18.95; Amor Deus Publishing). Ms. Amberg is a longtime contributor to Family Motor Coaching.
The book delves into an area that is sometimes called the “holy land of America.” With the help of 75 photos, readers will be transported to more than 25 holy sites, including historic El Santuario de Chimayo, a Roman Catholic church known as the Lourdes of America; and the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery.
The book can be purchased directly from the author for $18 plus $3.75 for shipping. Write her at P.O. Box 9459, Santa Fe, NM 87504.
Texas RV Park Creates Butterfly Habitat
Monarch and other butterfly species are losing habitat in Texas, so the people at Oleander Acres RV Park in Mission, Texas, decided to do something about it. Park visitors and staff have planted more than 200 milkweeds, creating more than a dozen butterfly gardens across the park that are attracting about 100 types of butterflies.
Migratory Monarch butterflies favor milkweeds, so seven types were planted. Milkweeds also provide habitat for numerous other butterfly species.
Monarchs spend the winter in Mexico’s Michoacán area and gradually migrate north to Canada in the summer. They return to Mexico in the fall, arriving in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas around the time of the annual Texas Butterfly Festival, which this year is October 29 to November 2.
The Rio Grande Valley Garden Club and the Native Plant Society of Texas provided funding for the butterfly habitat project. For more information, visit www.oleanderacres.com.