RV Podcast 189: The 2018 North American Camping Report

This week we dig into the 2018 North American Camping Report, an exhaustive study done each year by researchers into every aspect of camping and RV use. Our guest is Toby O’Rourke, president of Kampgrounds of America, which underwrites the study, and she will help unpack this report which is followed by the RV industry as the Bible of where camping is headed and what needs to be done. Plus we have lots more for you this week, including a bunch of RV news, listener questions and comments, traveling technology tips and a wonderful off-the-beaten-path report. Click the player below to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK [spp-timestamp time="2:00"] We’ve been on the road to western Michigan these past several days, taking advantage of the first really nice spring weather and the reopening of state and RV parks. This early in the season, we’ve had our pick of really great sites along the awe-inspiring shoreline of Lake Michigan. Some of these parks we stayed at are so in demand that to get in during peak season, you need to make reservations months and months in advance. We started out at a Yogi Bear Camp Jellystone RV resort on Grand Rapids, MI. Yup. You heard that right. Now usually, it’s just me and Mike and Bo so those family parks with all those kid activities are something usually bypass. But this time, we were there because our son, Jeff, and his wife, Aimee, just bought a new travel trailer and this was their very first outing in it. So we invited ourselves to come along and had an absolute ball watching our grandchildren, Jovie, 3, and Jax, 8 months. We had a ball We’ll have a video in a few days about the experience and Jeff will give us a tour of their new bunk house trailer. After Jeff, Aimee and the kids headed back for to their home Sunday and a new work week, we decided that RVing was our work so we started exploring the coastline towns of South Haven, Holland, Saugatuck, Grand Haven, Muskegon and Silver lake. You can follow our adventures on our blog at Roadtreking.com, where we shared lots of photos. Lake Michigan is part of what is called the Third Coast. Now sometimes, those along the Gulf Coast argue for that title but considering its Great Lakes coasts, Michigan has more miles of shoreline than does any other of the lower 48 states and more fresh water shoreline than any other state. In fact, a couple years ago, we decided to drive and camo our way across the US shoreline of all five Great Lakes. The mileage totaled 3,000-plus miles! In case you are interested, just click the link to the Great Lakes shoreline videos we did on that trip. Meanwhile, here’s what’s making RV news this week: Too many tourists using drones to illegally take video at Oregon's Crater Lake National Park As prices drop, and technology continually improves, drone use is becoming an increasing problem at some national parks, such as Oregon's Crater Lake National Park. While drone use at all national parks has been outlawed since 2014, some may find getting an aerial view at some of America's most breath-taking scenarios too hard to resist. According to a story published last week, flying the unmanned aircraft has been an increasing problem at Crater Lake National Park, with some of the illegal camera activity showing up in places like You Tube. Drones can bother wildlife and visitors seeking a pristine natural environment. To read more, click here. New York wants more residents to go camping, so is providing it for free New York's first time camper program was so popular last year, the state has decided to do it again. New York's Department of Environmental Conservation and Office of Parks and Recreation is taking applications for 65 families to try out camping at various state campgrounds. Winners will have all their camping gear provided, such as a tent, sleeping bags, firewood and more for free, and receive instruction on how to camp. This has been so successful for New York that other states are eyeing similar programs for their parks. Are You Bear Aware? As bears are waking up from hibernation and people are increasing heading outdoors in the warming weather, Be Bear Aware. Officials in states throughout much of the country are urging people to keep an eye out for bears, and be prepared ahead of time by knowing what to do if they should encounter one. For example, if a black bear makes contact with you, roll on to your stomach, cover your neck, and play dead. If it rolls you over, continue to roll until you are back on your stomach. If a bear is in the distance and stands up, it is trying to smell and figure out what you are. There are other suggestions for dealing with Grizzlies. For tips on what to do in various scenarios, we’ll put a link to the visit the Be Bear Aware webpage in the shownotes for this episode at Roadtreking-dot-com-slash-189. This portion of the Podcast is brought to you by Campers Inn, the RVer’s trusted resource for over 50 years, the nation’s largest family-operated RV dealership with 19 locations and growing JENNIFER'S TIP OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="11:35"] Ever wonder about the best way to hide extra cash, a special pair of earrings, or even a credit card when you are away from your RV for a bit? Well a reader named Rachel wrote to tell us about something she recently bought. The item looks like a canister of Morton salt, complete with the exact same labeling as one you would buy at the grocery store. But instead of salt, the container actually has a bottom that easily unscrews, opening up to a hollowed out tube perfect for storing small valuables. No one would suspect, at first glance, that the salt container doesn't actually hold salt, Rachel writes. When you pick it up it feels like there is salt inside, and it even makes a salt shaking sound. When it is placed in with her other spices in the cupboard, Rachel said it blends right in. I went on Amazon and found the Morton salt container selling for around $14. I also discovered all types of everyday items, also sold to be secret containers for valuables. I found one disguised as a bottle of regular drinking water, another as a Sharpie pen, another as a can of Pringles. There were all sorts of everyday items under the diversion safe stash category complete with pictures and dimensions about the size of the items that can be secretly stashed inside. Thank you, Rachel, for this great tip. And be sure to send me your tips and suggestions for the RV lifestyle. You can use the “Leave Voicemail” link at Roadtreking.com. Just click it and then use the built-in microphone on your computer or mobile devise to record a message to me. You can do it over as many times as you want, until you are satisfied. And then you just click a button and it comes right to my email inbox. I love hearing from you! Jennifer's tip of the week is brought to you by RadPower Bikes ,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping To see our Rad Power Bikes in action, just click here. LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="16:02"] Gary took better notes than I did and has the name of the service that will help you find campsites that open up do to cancellations. It’s http://yesyoucamp.co Dan has another site http://reserve-beta.wanderinglabs.com After you specify a part and sold out date, they will check the http://reserveamerica.com website, which is the largest onling booking aggregator used by most campgrounds. YesYouCamp checks once a day. The WanderingLabs site checks several times a day, even more if you sign up for a subscription. Both text you when they find an opening. Listener Andy calls in with a complaint about money grubbing campgrounds that pressure politicians in various towns to enact local ordinances that prohibit overnight camping in places like Walmart. He talks about how unfair this is and what a hardship it causes those just passing through an area. Sponsoring this part of the podcast is Van City RV Bringing You the largest Inventory of class B’ RVs with locations St. Louis, Missouri; Las Vegas, Nevada; Kalispell, Montana and now… Colorado Springs, Colorado.. INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="28:00"] More than 6 million new North American households have adopted the camping lifestyle since 2014, with the number of campers who camp three times or more each year – the most avid group of campers – having increased by 64 percent. This growth, according to the results of the 2018 North American Camping Report, an annual independent study supported by Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA), is an indicator that camping is fast becoming a lifestyle attribute among U.S. and Canadian households – and there is no indication this trend is slowing down. Millennials, Gen Xers, African American and Hispanics are the demographic groups showing the biggest increase in camping. Our guest this week is Toby O’Rourke, recently promoted to President of KOA. Among other findings: Among campers who claim an RV as their primary way of camping, 44 percent do not own the RV they use most. A full one-fourth of this subset of campers say they borrow the RV, and 1-in-5 say they rent from a company or peer-to-peer rental service. Borrowing an RV is most common among Gen Xers. Among millennials, those with families are most likely to consider renting an RV from a peer-to-peer service (followed by millennial couples). The largest growth in RV usage is among African American campers, with 27 percent stating that an RV is their primary way of camping, which is up from 19 percent last year. Forty-one percent of African American campers state they tried an RV for the first time in 2017. Among new campers in 2017,