Episodes

Hershey drew its biggest opening-day crowd since 2021 while RV shipments stayed down almost 14 percent for the year. We separate the show buzz from the industry numbers and show you where the leverage is if you are shopping this fall. Also: Alliance RV opens its Elkhart Open House to the public for the first time, the BLM reviews a dozen AI data center proposals on public land, the Lippert and Patrick merger hits an antitrust delay, and Elon Musk moves into an Airstream in Memphis. Full tr...

We flew to Atlanta for a family wedding instead of taking the RV, and the two hour flight turned into an eight hour day. In this episode we run the real numbers on driving the rig versus flying and getting a hotel, with diesel now over six dollars a gallon, and we land on the one question that actually decides it. We cover why flying saves you almost nothing on a trip under about 500 miles, what 1,400 miles costs in a 14 mile per gallon diesel Class C now compared to a year ago, what the world'...

Diesel hit $6.05 a gallon Friday. That has never happened before. Not in 2008. Not in 2022. Never. I paid $6.29 in Michigan the morning I recorded this. California stations are posting $9.99. Then Thor Industries dropped a leadership shakeup Thursday night and never mentioned the man who has run Keystone for a decade. Sources close to the company tell me Jeff Runels is out, effective that day, and that big changes are coming to Keystone. All of it lands the same week America's Largest RV S...

After years of traveling almost entirely in fifth wheels, Mike and Jennifer added a second rig: a new-to-us 2026 Winnebago View, 25 feet long. They took it to Michigan's Upper Peninsula last week, and it changed how they traveled. The Brinkley isn't going anywhere. But somewhere in those years of towing 35 feet, they quietly stopped wandering, and never noticed they'd stopped. In this conversation they walk through the five things the small motorhome gave back, from pulling over anywhere to n...

Judy Feigel was already an RVer before her husband died. Short trips, sometimes with her granddaughter, sometimes with a group of women friends. A small thing that was hers. When her huband died four years ago, the question wasn't what to do about the RV. It was what to do with the rest of her life. Four years and four RVs later, she's in a rig with a music studio and a quilting studio built into it, traveling with a 100-pound Bernese mountain dog named Winston, and surrounded by a communi...

RV parks are quietly turning into industrial worker housing. A $100 billion SpaceX spaceport in Louisiana and a wave of data center construction in Texas and the Midwest are filling campgrounds with long-term crews, and recreational campers are the ones getting squeezed out. In this week's Monday News Edition: RVs as work camps. SpaceX announces a $100 billion spaceport in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, new RV parks are expected to house the construction crews, a Texas park near Abilene adve...

Alaska tops the RVer bucket list every year, and most people never go, because the logistics look like too much. Jim and Marcia Badhorn skipped the caravan and planned their own 90 day Alaska trip, and they just got back. They tell us how they planned it, what had to be booked ahead, what they would change, and what it is actually like out there on your own. Also this week: we are camping for the first time all summer after Jennifer's knee replacement, we are heading to an RVCommunity mini...

California has charged 14 people over the Montana LLC scheme, the same sales tax strategy being sold to RV buyers at shows across the country. Montana law says it is legal. The state where you park may disagree, and investigators are now checking RV storage lots for those plates. Also this week: Roadtrek's new owners announce two new Ford Transit Class B models and a major service partner. What the US-Canada tariff fight is doing to Canadian RV builders, and why the uncertainty costs you mone...

What should you expect when you call for RV roadside assistance? Mike and Jennifer go behind the scenes with Jerry Aldridge, founder and former president and CEO of Coach-Net, to learn how an emergency call is handled, how the right service provider is found, and why help can sometimes take longer than RVers expect. Jerry also shares the story behind Coach-Net and his new book, The Road to Coach-Net. Also in this episode, Jennifer reports on her progress six weeks after knee-replacement surge...

Winnebago Industries is closing two RV manufacturing plants and moving production into other facilities with unused capacity. The company calls it a "strategic manufacturing alignment." We call it what it is: contraction in an RV industry that is deep in the woods. Also in this RV Podcast News Edition: Used RV values are up 11 percent from a year ago, and we took our own advice. We just bought a used small motorhome as a second RV. We are keeping our Brinkley fifth wheel for longer trips,...

Fall may be the best RV camping season of the year, but it is no longer a well-kept secret. October campsites are filling quickly as Halloween weekends, fall foliage trips and seasonal festivals turn autumn into one of camping's busiest seasons. In Episode 634 of the RV Podcast, Stories from the Road, Mike and Jennifer explain why RVers should make the pivot from summer to fall camping right now. They share strategies for finding campsites after popular weekends appear sold out, including boo...

It is officially an RV buyer's market. New RV sales are falling, dealer inventories remain high, and manufacturers are cutting forecasts. For RV shoppers, that means something we have not seen in quite a while: real negotiating leverage. But a buyer's market does not automatically mean every RV is a good deal. In this week's RV Podcast News Edition, we dig into what is happening at RV dealerships, why so many 2026 models remain unsold, what buyers should be paying attention to with financi...

After years of RV travel, thousands of camping nights, and more gear than we'd like to admit, we've finally learned an important lesson: the most expensive gadgets aren't always the ones that improve your RV lifestyle. In this episode, Mike and Jennifer share the RV purchases they'd happily buy again tomorrow, along with the products they wish they'd skipped entirely. From washer and dryers, lithium batteries, solar power, mattresses, dash cams, air fryers, and cordless tire inflators to g...

Camping World is cutting another $100 million in costs. What does that mean for RV owners? In this week's RV Podcast News, Mike Wendland looks beyond the headlines to explain why Camping World's latest announcement could matter the next time you need service for your RV. Also this week: Camping World lowers its sales forecast as the RV market continues to soften A tariff break brings some welcome news for RV manufacturers Why your next RV trip could cost hundreds of dollars more ...

Retirement isn't the end of the adventure. For many RVers, it's just the beginning. In this episode of the RV Podcast, Mike and Jennifer Wendland celebrate the release of their new book, The Complete Guide to RVing in Retirement: What to Expect at Every Age, and share some of its most valuable lessons. They discuss what RV life typically looks like through each stage of retirement, from the Bucket List Years to the Sweet Spot, the Adjustment Years, and beyond. Along the way, they explain the 3...

This week, Mike examines a string of reckless incidents in America's national parks, from Yellowstone "tourons" walking across fragile thermal features to dangerous wildlife encounters that could have been avoided. He also questions the RV industry's growing optimism after spending time in Elkhart and seeing signs that manufacturers are still slowing production while inventories remain high. Plus: • An AI-powered fake RV dealership scam targeting buyers on Facebook • Roadtrek's lates...

Roadtrek has a new owner, again. In this breaking news episode, Mike examines the sale of Roadtrek from France's Groupe Rapido to Conestogo Partners, a U.S.-based investment group focused on outdoor recreation. Roadtrek has one of the most fascinating histories in the RV industry, from pioneering the Class B motorhome market to surviving bankruptcy and multiple ownership changes. Mike explains what this latest sale means for owners, dealers and the future of one of RVing's most iconic bran...

Meet Ron and Barbara Abler: Proof That RVing Has No Age Limit Ron is 87. Barbara is 82. And right now, they're probably somewhere on the road, planning the next trip. In this episode, Mike Wendland sits down with longtime friends of the RV Lifestyle community, Ron and Barbara Abler, to talk about what it actually takes to keep RVing in your 80s. Ron retired three times, from Penn State University in 1995, the Association of American Geographers in 2002, and the International Geographical Union...

This week on the RV Lifestyle Podcast News Edition, Mike Wendland takes a hard look at one of the biggest frustrations facing RV owners today: service department problems at some of the nation's largest RV dealer chains. You'll also hear about the extreme weather that disrupted RV travel from the Great Lakes to Texas, California's new effort to crack down on ghost campground bookings, a major fire-risk recall affecting many Tiffin motorhomes, an important wildlife safety reminder following a ...

Episode #625 - RV Insurance Done Right, the New Maintenance Tracker, and Slowing Down on the Road Are you actually covered for life on the road? Matt Jacobs, RV Product Manager at Progressive Insurance, joins Mike to break down the coverage RVers need, the mistakes people make when buying it, and why insurance is one of the topics that comes up most in our Facebook Group. Also this week: the launch of the RV Maintenance Tracker, a one-time-purchase app for logging every service, tire check...

This week on the RV Lifestyle Podcast News Edition, Mike Wendland looks at a surprising new trend that may shape the future of camping in America: communities increasingly pushing back against new RV parks and campgrounds. We also cover: • The worst RV sales numbers of the current downturn and why used RVs continue to outperform new inventory. • Why Grand Design and Coachmen are both betting big on luxury Class C motorhomes. • The return of rising fuel prices and what renewed Middle ...

Brand-new RVs are being liquidated in the middle of peak camping season, and that's just the beginning. In this week's RV Lifestyle Podcast News Edition, Mike Wendland examines why the RV industry is facing growing challenges, what the newly announced Patrick-Lippert merger could mean for RV owners, and why record Fourth of July crowds created chaos in many National Parks. Also this week: • A look at the latest RV safety recalls • Expanding public campgrounds that could make reservat...

For years, we dream about retirement. We imagine freedom, open roads, and finally having the time to do everything we've always wanted. But what happens when that day finally arrives? In this episode of Stories from the Road, Mike and Jennifer share an honest conversation about what they've discovered in the second half of life. After more than 15 years of RV travel, they've learned that retirement isn't really an ending, it's the beginning of a whole new adventure. They talk about slowing dow...

For years, we dream about retirement. We imagine freedom, open roads, and finally having the time to do everything we've always wanted. But what happens when that day finally arrives? In this episode of Stories from the Road, Mike and Jennifer share an honest conversation about what they've discovered in the second half of life. After more than 15 years of RV travel, they've learned that retirement isn't really an ending, it's the beginning of a whole new adventure. They talk about slowing dow...