Gas Price Hikes Won’t Stop Most Campers

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Rising prices at fuel pumps around the country won’t stop most campers from enjoying their favorite leisure activity, according to a new survey by Kampgrounds of America.

The survey, conducted in late February on the KOA Kompass electronic newsletter, asked campers, “Will the threat of higher fuel prices influence your camping plans for this year?”

The survey found that more than 60 percent of the 2,670 respondents said higher fuel prices wouldn’t alter their camping plans. About 27 percent said higher fuel costs would affect their plans, while 12 percent said they were uncertain.

In an effort to bring some perspective to higher fuel prices, Kampgrounds of America is providing a free Fuel Cost Calculator at www.koa.com. KOAs Fuel Cost Calculator is a little different than other fuel calculators, in that it computes the increase in fuel costs for a trip.

“When you look at what an increase of a few cents actually adds to the cost of an entire trip, it puts fuel price increases in perspective”, said KOAs President & CEO Jim Rogers. “No one likes to pay more for fuel, but when weighed against the benefits of time with family and friends in a peaceful campground setting, it’s worth the slight extra cost. We were glad to see that most campers agree with us.”

You can sign up to receive the free KOA Kompass electronic newsletter, or try out the free Fuel Cost Calculator at www.koa.com.

Lazydays Donates $16,000 Prize to Joshua House

Lazydays RV SuperCenter, the nation’s number one recreational vehicle dealer was the winner of a Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary Springer Softail motorcycle in the Workhorse Iron Horse II promotion. Lazydays became eligible for the drawing by ordering gasoline motor homes built on the popular Workhorse chassis. The motorcycle is a $22,000 value, but Lazydays chose to take the cash equivalent prize of $16,000 and donate it to Joshua House.

Operated by the Children’s Home Society of Florida, Joshua House provides emergency shelter care and residential group care services for abused, abandoned and neglected children in the Tampa area. Dana Philp, Ken Scolaro, Dan Lassetter and Stewart Schaffer of Lazydays officially presented the $16,000 check to Joshua House. Jeff Gann of Workhorse was also on hand for the presentation.

“Many of the employee owners of Lazydays have teamed up to support the operating expenses of the ‘Publix House,’ one of the six homes at Joshua House, by contributing monthly donations,” said Dana Philp, sales consultant for Lazydays. “In addition to supporting the ‘Publix House’ and its 12 children, we hope to raise enough funds to build a Recreation Center for Joshua House,” Philp added.

Alcoa Increases Production Capacity for Dura-Bright® Wheels

Alcoa Wheel Products is boosting production of its Dura-Bright wheels to keep up with surging demand. Alcoa has certified a new production line near its aluminum forging facility in Cleveland, OH, increasing capacity for the popular new technology.

Dura-Bright wheels, first launched in production in 1999, are treated with a patented surface treatment option that offers a high-quality shine with a spray of soap and water. The wheels are available for a broad range of applications including RVs.

Flojet Receives ISO 144001 Environmental Certification

Flojet, a leading manufacturer of small electric pumps for RV, marine, beverage, and many industrial applications, becomes part of the elite group of companies to receive ISO 14001 certification.

The ISO 14001 standard specifies requirements for creating an environmental management system that can be certified by a third party. The standard is applicable to organizations that wish to implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system, and to assure and demonstrate conformance with their own stated policy and with environmental laws and regulations.

Flojet is very aggressive with the incorporation of Environmental, Safety and Health (ESH) considerations into their manufacturing operations and product design process. They continually solicit employee, supplier and customer feedback to detect ESH needs to ensure that their products meet those needs and provide “total” fluid control and pumping solutions in the niche markets that Flojet serves.

MHRV brings urgency back to buying at the show

The MHRV (Manufactured Home & Recreational Vehicle) Show Association has returned the sense of urgency to buy at the show with the unique "Show me the Money" promotion. Everyone entering the show has a chance to win a certificate good for $1,000 cash back on any RV purchased during the show. In addition, the sales person who sold the RV to the winner takes home $250 as well. "Twenty years ago you could tell the customer the show price ended with the show and you could write them up at the show. Nowadays they know they can come to your lot and get the show price after the show" reports MHRV Show Director, Dave Helgeson. "This promotion gives the customer renewed interest to purchase at the show and the $250 bonus to the salesperson provides a little extra incentive too", Helgeson continued. The MHRV Show Association has given away over twelve thousand dollars since initiating the promotion.

Donald & Elaine Wade of Federal Way were the winners of the "Show me the Money" promotion at the 40th annual Seattle RV & Outdoor Recreation Show February 6th - 9th at the Seahawks Exhibition Center. Allan Nelson of Watts RV who sold the Wades their new motorhome entered the Wades in the drawing. The Wades picked up their check from Allan of Watts RV March 5th prior to leaving in their new motorhome for California. The $1,000 was expected to come in handy along the way.

Innovative Online Database Rolls Out Service to Recreational Vehicle Dealers

RVData, Inc., an online database providing inventory services to recreational dealers by delivering detailed descriptions and photos of motorized and towable campers to classified websites, announced the grand opening of its website to dealers.

Two years of development and beta testing has resulted in the most comprehensive and flexible online inventory management systems for the RV industry. RVData offers the most sought after capabilities allowing dealers to model the online inventory after their in-house inventory database.

RVData is loaded with easy to use features that create detailed information about a given unit. Using dealer invoices and appraisal sheets a clerk can easily add to the online inventory by selecting from a range of choices that describe the many features of an RV. Enhancing the unit's appeal to the Internet shopper is as easy as modifying the text in the resulting description field.

"In the past, we were selective with the number of units placed on classified sites because writing descriptions and posting photos was labor intensive and required different procedures at each web portal," said Tim Lowry, Communications Manager North Trail RV, in Fort Myers, Florida. "RVData saves time and showcases our entire inventory, making us more productive and profitable."

"Frequent updates to classified sites have improved sales force productivity because they address the buyer's questions about available units, not previously sold units," said Allan Day, President of RVData. "It's important for the dealer's inventory to be detailed and accurate when you consider time zone differences and vehicle specification requirements for national and international buyers. With 62% of RV buyers shopping on the Internet, RVData helps position every dealer as an equal player."

RVData, Inc. is located in southwest Florida, a high volume, and nationally competitive RV market area. Working closely with RV dealers and classified websites, RVData, Inc. has developed RVCentraldatabase.com , the first generally available online database system designed and proven to post large, detailed inventories to a number of classified websites simultaneously.

More information about the company is available at http://www.rvdata.com.

Home & Park Motorhomes Is Leading Canadian RV Exporter

Based on statistics released by the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association, Home & Park Motorhomes accounted for 42% of the dollar value of all RVs exported from Canada in 2002, and was again Canada’s #1 exporter of RVs.

Home &Park manufactures Roadtrek, the #1 selling camper van (class B motorhome) in North America since 1990, and has been building camper vans since 1974. Home &Park is also registered to ISO 9001-2000.

Major Expansion at Coachmen’s Indiana & Georgia Facilities

Coachmen Recreational Vehicle Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Coachmen Industries (NYSE: COA), announced plans to build a new class C motorhome plant at its Middlebury, IN complex. The Company also said it has agreed to acquire an additional facility in Fitzgerald, GA it will use to expand towable production at its Georgia Division. The increased manufacturing capacity will help Coachmen meet demand for its travel trailer, fifth wheel and class C motorhome product lines.

Coachmen already broke ground in Middlebury on a state-of-the-art 127,000-sq. ft. motorhome plant, which is expected to be in operation by early August. Coachmen expects to add as many as 150 new employees to this new facility over the next couple of years.

The 100,000-sq. ft. building in Fitzgerald, GA will produce travel trailers and fifth wheels, and should be operational by June. About 50 new employees will be added to Coachmen RV’s Georgia team when the plant starts production. As the new plant ramps up production, more employees may be added.

“While many industries have been slashing jobs and operating their factories well below capacity, demand for Coachmen’s RVs has been increasing,” said Michael R. Terlep, President of Coachmen RV. “During 2002, Coachmen RV’s wholesale shipments outpaced the industry in combined class A and class C motorhomes by 65 percent. The same is true for our combined travel trailer and fifth wheel shipments, as we outpaced the industry by 37.9 percent.”

“We are thrilled with Coachmen's decision to grow in Middlebury,” said Indiana Lt. Governor Joe Kernan, who leads the state's economic development efforts as director of the Indiana Department of Commerce. “The company has been a crucial part of our state's economy for many years and this expansion further demonstrates its ongoing commitment to Indiana. We are proud of the team effort put forth by the Department of Commerce, Middlebury and Coachmen that helped to make this project a reality.”

“As a result of our successful product management strategies and more importantly, the efforts of the dedicated Team Members of Coachmen RV, we are very much in a growth mode and gaining momentum in the marketplace,” added Terlep. “So much so that during the last 18 months, we have struggled in fulfilling the orders for our popular class C motorhomes in a timely manner. At the same time, strong demand for our recently introduced Chaparral™ fifth wheel, Somerset Dream Catcher™ fifth wheel and Captiva™ travel trailer has created lead times for our dealers and retail customers that are much longer than desirable. The additional production capacity these two plants will provide will enable us to continue building up our market share, while better serving the needs of our customers.”

The new motorhome plant will be Coachmen’s largest RV plant, and also the Company’s first to feature two assembly lines. Utilizing two assembly lines will increase production efficiencies by segregating higher production-hour models from lower production-hour models. The new plant also features over 24,000-sq. ft. of mezzanines for offline manufacturing processes, such as assembling cabinets, kitchen units and other modules, providing improved material flow and manufacturing processes. Cranes will lower finished sections for installation in the motorhomes. The Company will produce its six class C Coachmen® and Shasta® product lines in the plant, and will introduce a seventh class C product line this summer for the 2004 model year.

“We're certainly looking forward to the completion of this new facility," said Gary O'Dell, President of the Middlebury Town Council. "It's very modernistic in design and we're excited to see its outcome. It will make the gateway to the city look better, and we're very pleased it will add new jobs to Middlebury.”

The new Georgia manufacturing facility, located in the former Irwin Manufacturing plant, was built in 1996 and is approximately one mile from Coachmen’s existing plant. The Georgia Division of Coachmen RV will produce all nine lines of Coachmen® and Shasta® brand travel trailers and fifth wheels. The current 46,000-sq. ft. plant, owned and operated since 1971 by Coachmen RV, has capacity to produce only four of these product lines.

“Coachmen RV is the number one selling brand throughout the seven southeastern states serviced by our Georgia Division. It’s only logical to add production capacity to manufacture our entire towable line at our Georgia Division. This new plant will enable us to continue our market share growth in the Southeast. The additional capacity at our Georgia Division will also free up much needed capacity at our Indiana manufacturing complex,” Terlep said.

“Coachmen RV was recently ranked the number one selling model of travel trailer in America, according to 2002 year-end reports issued by Statistical Surveys, Inc., and has historically ranked as the leading selling model class C motorhome in the nation. The time is right for adding more production capacity. These expansion plans will nurture continued growth for Coachmen, as we fully intend to build upon our momentum,” concluded Terlep.

KOA, Winnebago Industries Team With McDonalds To Provide Prizes For New In-Restaurant Game

McDonalds customers will soon have the chance to win a hot vacation. Kampgrounds of America, as well as Winnebago Industries and Moturis, have teamed up with McDonalds to provide a great road-trip package as part of McDonalds new inrestaurant game called Winning Time", starting Tuesday, March 25 at participating McDonalds nationwide.

The package includes a $2,000 recreational vehicle (RV) certificate to be used toward the payment for a Winnebago Industries motorhome rental at a Moturis location, rental supplies, and any other services offered by the rental operator; a $250 camping certificate to be used at any of 500 KOA Kampground locations; and $3,500 to be used however the Winnebago RV Road Trip prize winner chooses.

This great prize, along with numerous other prizes, is easy to win with game pieces featured right on select McDonalds products. Customers simply peel the game piece and see what they have won underneath chances are it could be the Winnebago RV Road Trip package.

We are so excited about our Winning Time game as it provides a way to give our customers more fun with remarkable prizes and an exciting experience, says Douglas Freeland, McDonalds National Marketing Director. This game features top of the line prizes that our customers can win, from cash and time with celebrities to personal services, vacation packages and sports cars all to help them enjoy their time more. "We're ecstatic to partner with Winnebago in McDonald's Winning Time promotion, which puts the leaders of the RV and camping industries in front of consumers," said Ken Stellmacher, Vice President of Marketing for KOA. "This is a great way for KOA to expose our brand to campers. We know from 2002 research that campers are more likely than the general public to eat at McDonalds."

RV Grease Cap Manufacturer Relocates / Doubles Facility Size

Wedge Products, a manufacturer of grease caps for RV/trailer axles, recently relocated from Valley View to Twinsburg, Ohio doubling the size of their facility.

In addition to their relocation from a 55,000 sq. ft. facility to a 100,000 sq. ft. facility, Wedge Products is updating equipment. "The increase in plant size and equipment updates will result in improved efficiency and ability to better serve our customers." stated Joe DePiero, General Manager. "We operate over 40 presses with capacities up to 400 tons. The additional space will improve workflow and enable us to expand our secondary operations such as welding, drilling, tapping, assembly and packaging."

In business for over 70 years, Wedge Products is an ISO 9002 certified stamper supplying the RV market. Wedge's niche is deep draw stampings, which they manufacture up to a depth of 6". Wedge specializes in taking metal products from concept through production by providing a variety of secondary operations including; drilling, tapping, machining, welding, deburring, assembly, bar coding and packaging.

For further information on Wedge Products, readers should contact Joe DePiero (330) 425-0099

Amerimax Revamps Web Site

Amerimax Building Products, Inc. recently launched a revamped web site (www.amerimaxbp.com) that details the company's products and manufacturing capabilities. Utilizing the latest cutting-edge web technologies, visitors can now download company brochures, obtain free Expo passes to tradeshows in which Amerimax participates and locate current industry information quickly and easily. The site employs ASP.net, Microsoft's most recent version of Active Server Pages, which delivers quicker download times and supports a larger number of languages and browsers.

KOA Directory Distribution Tops One Million

For the first time in its 41- year history, Kampgrounds of America has distributed more than one million free copies of its 2003 KOA Directory prior to the start of the traditional summer camping season.

Dave Nusbaum, KOA vice president for National Marketing Programs, had promised KOA Kampground owners at the 2002 Convention that one million free KOA Directories would be distributed to campers by April 1, 2003.

“We managed to do it more than one month early,” Nusbaum said. “We now have 1,045,800 Directories distributed, and we’re just getting started.”

The 2003 KOA Directory features complete information on all KOA Kampground locations, including lists of amenities, toll free reservation numbers for each campground, a detailed road atlas and directions to every campground.

The Directory is available absolutely free at every KOA Kampground location, or can be ordered online at www.koa.com.

$1.35 Gas Guarantee From El Monte

As global uncertainty and gas prices continue to rise, prices for gas are dropping at El Monte RV. One of the nation's largest motorhome rental companies is guaranteeing $1.35 gallon gasoline. Just in time for the spring and summer travel season, El Monte is offering gas prices to its rental customers at prices well below the $1.69/gallon national average for retail regular unleaded gas according to the American Automobile Association's (AAA) Daily Fuel Gauge.

"We want to make certain rising gas prices don't inhibit or prevent people from traveling. We know American's are going to be looking for affordable travel closer to home this year so we want to make it as easy as possible for people to hit the road," said Joe Laing, director of marketing at El Monte RV.