June 2016

Let’s say you went to the moon, returned to Earth, and then embarked on a trip that took you nine-tenths of the way around the world. After all that, you would have journeyed about half a million miles. That’s how far Will and Charlene Triplet, F395462, have traveled in an RV since 1964, when they rented a travel trailer on their honeymoon.

Long before motorhomes were invented, an ancient footpath served as a travel route across what is now northwestern Massachusetts. Known as the Mohawk Trail, the famed path was created more than 10,000 years ago as American Indians walked, hunted, and traded along the region’s winding rivers.

Cradled on a 3500 Series Mercedes-Benz Sprinter EXT unibody van chassis, the 2016 Interstate from Airstream Inc. is ready to roll — in style. Though long known for building distinctive travel trailers, Airstream also constructs Type B motorhomes for its Touring Coaches line.

Proper chassis alignment is critical to any vehicle, especially a large motorhome. Tires must track correctly in order to provide a stable platform so that the coach handles smoothly and safely. If the alignment is off, not only will the tires wear prematurely, but the motorhome can be difficult to control. 

The cost has fallen for color cameras and monitors, which are an improvement over their older black-and-white counterparts. It takes a bit longer for the human brain to decode a black-and-white image compared to a color one. With a color image, therefore, the eyes can spend less time staring at the screen and more time looking at the road.