Trying To Navigate The Massive RV Industry Tariff Confusion

This week on the RV Podcast:

• What impact are tariffs having on the RV Industry? In our dialog of the week, we’ll hear straight speak from an business straight-shooter concerning the large RV business tariff confusion

• With no warning, a Camping World outlet in Michigan has abruptly shut down, inflicting large confusion to the blindsided staff and people whose RVs have been awaiting service.

• When do you clear your RV? Before you allow the campground or after you arrive dwelling? We’ll share some perception from 600 actual RVers who answered the query on our social media platform.

• All this plus the RV News of the Week and your questions developing in Episode 563 of the RV Podcast

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We are firstly of an superior Fantasy RV Tour that can comply with the Mississippi River Great River Road from its supply in northern Minnesota all the way down to the place it empties within the Gulf south of New Orleans.

We did a Fantasy RV Tour last year of the Canadian Maritimes and have been so impressed by the standard of those excursions and the way they cater to their company that we could not wait to do one other. This one will hint this mighty river’s 2,500-mile route down throughout the middle of the U.S., and we’ll be experiencing the tradition, the quisine and the awesomeness of this river which has so formed the whole nation,

We took our time getting up right here in Minnesota, touring throughout Michigan, up into the UP, then by means of Wisconsin and into Minnesota, and I’ve to say, the climate has been horrible.

As we document this podcast episode from our campsite in Bemidji, the solar is shining for the primary time in lots of days. The first few days of this journey introduced abnormally chilly climate—temps dipping into the 40s—and loads of rain.  A 12 months in the past this week, it was 95 up right here.

It was 40 levels the day we recorded this podcast.

But now the skies have cleared, the solar is shining, the temps are up into the 60s, and as we set out south following the river, we needs to be lastly rolling alongside within the heat, stunning Indian summer season climate we hoped for.

Why we traded in our RVs for a brand new Brinkley Fifth Wheel

This has been the Maiden Voyage of our brand-new Brinkley Model Z 3100 fifth wheel. It’s dealt with all the pieces over the 700 miles we’ve traveled to date with not a single difficulty.

We know this in all probability caught a few of you unexpectedly, seeing us on this new rig. It occurred very quick. But we traded in our Montana Fifth Wheel, which we have had for occurring 3 years, and that new Cape Cod motorhome we purchased in late spring. 

We defined the brand new RV to our RVCommunity.com final week, however we notice the change caught a few of you unexpectedly since you aren’t group members. In temporary, we had no points with both the Cape Cod or the Montana. 

With the Cape Cod, it was a mixture of things, crucial being that Bo hated it. There wasn’t room for him to take a seat between us as we drove, and he will get automobile sick driving the place he cannot see out the home windows. 

Additionally, the seatbelts we thought can be out there for our lounge seats have been unable to be put in till the Embassy performs pull assessments and obtains certification. An enormous motive we purchased it within the first place was to take the grandkids with us. We will not drive with them with out seat belts. 

We cherished our Montana, however after touring the Brinkley manufacturing facility final 12 months, we knew that was the mannequin we needed. So to afford it, we offered the Cape Cod again to Embassy and traded within the Montana.

Before we get to the information for this week, we have to share with you one of many best blessings we’ve had in our RV Life… and that’s our new RV Community.

Life after 50 needs to be an journey. You’re not slowing down—you’re simply getting began.

The RV Lifestyle Community is the place RVers over 50 come collectively to share experiences, commerce suggestions, and reside life on objective. It’s a non-public, completely ad-free on-line group that additionally has actually enjoyable in-person rallies and meetups, all geared toward serving to empty nesters and retirees discover new adventures, actual associates, and all the pieces it’s good to make RV life fulfilling.

We have made so many new associates by means of this group. In truth, we’re tenting proper now with a bunch of them on this tour of the Mississippi River we’re taking all month. We’re not making an attempt to “sell” you something. We’re inviting you to change into a part of one thing actually wonderful.

In the RV Lifestyle Community, you will discover RVers similar to you. Life’s Best Chapter Starts at https://RVCommunity.com 

Yes, it has a paywall. That’s to maintain spammers and scammers out. Plans begin for lower than a cup of espresso a month. Some issues—like true connection—are value paying for. Check it out at the very least. Go to RVCommunity.com

RV NEWS OF THE WEEK

A camper who bought up in the midst of the night time to make use of the toilet was discovered useless after she mistakenly fell off a cliff in the dead of night. The 29-year-old girl was tenting along with her associates on the Mogollon Rim close to Forest Lakes in Arizona Labor Day weekend. The girl one way or the other bought rotated in the dead of night and fell 120 ft off the cliff, inflicting her dying.

More than 97% of the workers at Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon nationwide parks voted to unionize, with the outcomes just lately licensed. The 600+ staff, who work as interpretive park rangers, biologists, firefighters and price collectors, are actually represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees. The parks service misplaced about 25% of its workforce this 12 months and is going through a proposed $1 billion in extra cuts subsequent 12 months, altering the work setting, inflicting these staff to need illustration.

Zion National Park’s Weeping Rock Trail opened over the weekend after being closed since November 2023 due to a rock slide. The Weeping Rock Trail is without doubt one of the most iconic landmarks of the park, recognized for its lush hanging gardens and could be discovered at shuttle cease quantity 7.

Employees at Camping World in Escanaba, Michigan, have been blindsided final week once they have been instructed the dealership, service heart, and retail retailer have been closing instantly. Many anticipated excellent news from the sudden arrival of a company consultant after robust gross sales. Instead, many have been instructed it was their final day. The location, as soon as generally known as Hilltop RV, was domestically owned till Camping World purchased it 4 years in the past.

Texans are getting a brand new state park! The governor introduced final week that the state bought 1,720 acres lower than a mile from Garner State Park, one of the well-liked websites within the state, to create the brand new Bear Creek State Park. The park will embody entry to Frio River, streams, canyons and mountaineering trails. No opening date is ready but and it’s not clear but if the Hill Country location could have a campground. 

RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK

This week’s dialog of the week is on Tariffs. They are certain inflicting lots of confusion in politics, commerce, and manufacturing. And the RV Industry is within the thick of it.

The RV Industry Association – the RVIA – is as confused as everybody else. Continually altering insurance policies from the administration, sophisticated by court docket rulings, has everyone scratching their heads.

Most just lately, a federal appeals court docket has dominated that the majority of new tariffs are not legal, that the president overstepped his authority through the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs, an influence that’s reserved for Congress.

But… this ruling, doesn’t imply the tariffs are being eliminated instantly. The court docket has allowed them to stay in impact till October 14, 2025, giving the administration time to enchantment the choice to the Supreme Court.

The ruling additionally doesn’t have an effect on different tariffs, comparable to these on metal and aluminum, which have been imposed beneath completely different legal guidelines.

Then, there’s this: On Friday, the official finish of the “de minimis” exemption took effect, which had beforehand allowed shipments valued at $800 or much less to enter the nation duty-free. The Trump administration has suspended this exemption, citing its use by criminals to smuggle medication and by international firms to evade tariffs.

So what which means is that every one industrial imports—no matter worth—are actually topic to relevant duties and extra rigorous customs checks.

See how sophisticated and complicated all that is? 

So the query we’ve got is, what does all this imply to RV house owners and patrons? How is all this affecting pricing on RVs and RV components?

To assist us with answering these questions, we turned to our buddy, Nick Schmidt, of Sunshine State RVs in Gainesville, FL. Nick is a really straight shooter, and he’s by no means shied away from telling us what’s actually taking place. So Nick joins us on this week‘s RV Conversation of the Week… pay attention or watch by means of one of many gamers above.

SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ – Wendy Bowyer

Wendy Bowyer reviews on the new points most talked about this previous week on social media and our RV Lifestyle Community group.

In our personal RV Lifestyle Community we had a dialog not too way back about all issues s’mores. We mentioned what are your favourite methods to make s’mores?  S’mores, in fact, are a tenting favourite made by roasting a marshmallow over the campfire, and inserting the crispy, gooey and yummy marshmallow on a bit of milk chocolate, sandwich-style between two graham crackers. Love them. But many had methods to make them even higher. 

Some recommend changing the milk chocolate with a peanut butter cup, which sounds actually good. Others recommend making it the identical, however including a dab of caramel and a few thinly sliced Granny Smith apples. That one could be very intriguing. And then maybe my favourite thought got here from our Canadian associates who mentioned, swap out the graham crackers and milk chocolate with raspberry truffle butter cookies for “less mess, more yum”.  So many nice concepts!

Then, in our RVLifestyle Facebook Group, Kent requested:

What do you do: clean up inside the camper before leaving the campground or clean up when you return home ?

More than 600 individuals responded and whereas some do a mixture of each, others have been very opinionated on what’s greatest and this dialog was a lot enjoyable to learn! Do you’ve a choice? Let’s hear from those that do.

The pro-campground cleaners say their causes are:

1. Comfort 

It’s so good to nonetheless have working water each out and in of the camper, the air con can run so it’s not too scorching, and you’ve got full electrical energy. 

2. No dwelling possibility

Those who use a storage facility for his or her RV say there actually isn’t any alternative as a result of it’s good to drop it off and go. 

3. Too drained

Some say the very last thing they need to do after coming back from an extended journey is do a deep clear of the RV. Rather, they need to simply seize a number of baggage of soiled garments and a few meals from the fridge and be finished. Said Donna: “Who wants to clean when you get home?”

Well, apparently some do! Those preferring to attend till they’re dwelling to scrub up the camper gave a number of causes.

Pro dwelling cleaners

1. Lack of area

Cleaning provides can take lots of treasured room. Who desires to haul a pail, mop, large vacuum. Said Vanetta: “I just don’t want to drag all those supplies with me. I do keep Clorox wipes and things handy in the trailer but not a full on cleaning supply.”

2. Leaving is sufficient

When you’re ending your journey, there is sufficient to do. Adding the stress of a deep clear to the combination is simply an excessive amount of.

3. This is trip

Many don’t need to spend their trip time doing deep cleans. Said Melissa: ” I can’t think about giving up that a lot “camp” time to scrub. …  RV life needs to be straightforward, peasy  Do your grunt work from home, in your time, at your leisure. Don’t waste one further minute of your R&R time than it’s important to.” 

So there you go, the professionals and the cons. Which one are you? 

You heard Wendy discuss our RV Community and the way useful it actually is to our members. 

If you’ve ever wished there was a spot the place you didn’t really feel “behind” or “out of the loop”…
This is that place.

And we once more urge you to at the very least test it out.

Go to RVCommunity.com for info on the way it works.

We promise: There’s no drama. No distractions. No stress.
Just the assist, friendship, and confidence you’ve been searching for.

Let this be the place your greatest chapter begins. Again, that’s RVCommunity.com

RV QUESTION OF THE WEEK

QUESTION: From Jan: What does everybody do about mail when going South for winter?

ANSWER: Great query—this comes up quite a bit for “snowbirds” who head south for the winter! Here are the primary methods RVers deal with their mail:

1. Mail Forwarding Services

Many RVers enroll with a mail forwarding service. These companies offer you a bodily road tackle (not only a P.O. field), gather your mail, after which ahead it to you on demand. Some even scan the envelopes so you’ll be able to determine what to toss, maintain, or ahead. Popular choices embody:

2. USPS Hold or Forward

If you’re gone only some weeks or months, you should use the USPS Premium Forwarding Service. They’ll bundle up your mail and ship it weekly to wherever you’re staying. For longer journeys, some RVers change their tackle to a relative or trusted buddy who can handle forwarding.

3. Digital Mail Scanning

Companies like iPostal1 and Anytime Mailbox present a digital mailbox. Your mail is scanned, and you may see it on-line, request forwarding, or shred it with out ever touching the paper.

4. Friends or Family

Some RVers preserve it easy: have mail despatched to a trusted member of the family’s dwelling. That particular person types it and both forwards vital gadgets or saves all the pieces till you come back.

5. Go Paperless

Before heading south, many RVers change payments and statements to on-line supply. That reduces the amount of mail that must be forwarded within the first place.

For most full-timers and long-term winter RVers, a mail forwarding service with a everlasting road tackle is probably the most dependable answer. It additionally helps set up a “domicile state” for driver’s license, insurance coverage, and taxes in case you’re on the highway full-time.