For the first time, Pete’s RV Center will be carrying the nuCamp Cirrus Truck Campers in our extensive catalog of RV inventory. The Cirrus 620 and Cirrus 820 are both available now.
Coming in at less than 1,500 lbs, the Cirrus 620 is designed exclusively for half-ton trucks. It has four season functionality, with a converted second sleeping area and hide-a-way cassette toilet. Check out the floor plan:
It also features a 210 watt solar kit and queen sized bed with stargazer window.
The Cirrus 820 is a bit larger, designed for a ¾ ton truck or 1 ton short bed truck. It features a Lagun table option, spacious sleeping area, wet bath with a fold down sink, and a backup camera. Here’s the floor plan:
With the enormous rise of new RVers since 2020, here’s how to avoid being the troublesome neighbor at the campground.
Plan your campsite ahead of time. There are numerous apps for finding RV campsites, from traditional spots at KOA’s to boondocking recommendations in the desert, there are campsites for every taste out there. The most important part about choosing one is researching beforehand. Some good apps for this are iOverlander, the Dyrt, Free Roam, and Outly.
Leave No Trace. Just like you wouldn’t want to leave parts of your RV behind after the trip, the great outdoors doesn’t want to permanently change because of your RV. Practice leaving no trace by picking campsites that have already been used by vehicles in the past, carrying out all of your trash, only dumping at approved waste stations, and most importantly, never dump black water on the land.
Be campfire conscious. Much of the United States is at near constant risk of wildfires, and many campgrounds have little wood left in the area from ambitious firestarters. Many campgrounds recommend only lighting a fire if you need it for warmth or cooking. If you must make one, never leave it unattended, and extinguish it with lots of water.
Be mindful of quiet hours, and the location of your pets and children.
There’s nothing better than friends and food at the campground. Follow the Pete’s RV Info Blog for more information about how to be the best RVer you can be!
The All-Important tanks on the front of your travel trailer might just be the most versatile tool in your RV. Propane lets campers cook, run heat, make hot water, and power appliances, all without needing to connect to electricity. It is frequently recommended that campers who are connected to electricity use propane sparingly.
To maintain your propane tanks, make sure to do the following:
Keep watch of the age of your propane tanks. The manufacturing date is stamped on the tank, and it needs to be replaced or recertified after 12 years.
Turn on your fridge the night before with propane, so it’s cold enough at the start of the camping trip. Switch to electric if you’re going to a campsite with a hookup.
Check the propane flow by “bleeding” the system. Turn on your stove and let the flames burn until they’re blue. This gets the air out of the propane lines, clearing out room for you to turn on other appliances.
If you smell gas, turn off all propane tanks and RV appliances! The strong smell of propane gas indicates a leak, and you’ll need to replace the seal and tank. Do not attempt to repair leaks yourself, as propane is stored in its tank at -44 degrees, which will give you frostbite at the touch.
Keep a working carbon monoxide alarm and propane safety alert inside your RV.
Avoid using propane in a moving vehicle, and always keep your RV well-ventilated when cooking or using propane inside.
For more RV tips, tricks, and news, follow our Pete’s RV Infoblog!
It’s that time of year again: time to dump lots of brightly colored liquid into all of your RV drains. You Need Antifreeze! What do you need to know about it?
RV and Marine antifreeze, conveniently packaged in the same bottle, surprisingly doesn’t protect against freezing, which isn’t necessarily harmful. It’s designed to prevent bursting, the plumbing damage that comes from ice freezing, expanding, and then rupturing. A rupture can result in gallons of pipe water flooding into the RV, causing a headache of damages.
“RV antifreeze rated for -50 F and -75 F will start to freeze at around 20 F, but it won’t freeze to the burst point until -50 F or -75 F respectively.
In parts of the country where temperatures go into minus digits and stay there you should use the -100 F antifreeze for added protection. This type freezes at about -20 F, but provides burst protection to -100 F.” Said girlcamper.com.
The most important part of using antifreeze is draining as much water or waste liquid from the pipes as possible. Antifreeze mixed with diluted water from an undrained pipe will burst far sooner than the temperature estimates on the bottle that assume there’s little to no water in the pipe.
After winter is over, you can fill your pipes without water once again without worrying about draining the antifreeze, which is typically nontoxic. Of all the preparation your RV needs for winter, put antifreeze–and saving your pipes–at the top of the list.
For more tips about winterizing your RV, check out our Winterization Tips with Pete’s RV Guru Randy Murray.
Ever dreamed of camping for a lifetime? Getting yourself a parking spot in a warm weather campground for full-time RVing is a great way to keep the camping going, and an ideal retirement option. These East Coast RV parks are a quiet destination for retirement RVing full-time, with many holding an aged 55+ rule for entry to keep noisy visitors away. Check them out and fulfill your dream camping scenario.
With 210 RV sites for rent and sale, this centrally located resort surrounds a 20-acre fishing lake and boasts a community feel. They also have one and two bedroom vacation rentals for when the family wants to visit, along with biking trails and a library.
Marketing themselves as “The Top-Rated, Adults-Only, 55+ RV Resort In Scenic Hendersonville, NC. Your new home away from home in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.” Can be a tough legacy to live up to, but rave reviews say they aren’t exaggerating. Located 30 minutes south of Asheville and an hour away from The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Lakewood’s peaceful spot in Hendersonville offers pull-thru RV sites and apartments.
With 427 sites, this is the largest resort on this list, but one of the best cared for. “Each spacious site measures from 40′ x 60′ up to 50′ x 100, with an 8′ x 20′ pad, picnic tables and full hook-ups (20/30/50 amp service). We are a pet friendly resort, dogs under 40 lbs. are welcome (limit 2 per rig).” The resort sits proudly next to the beautiful spring fed Lake Pearl, and is located about an hour from both Tampa and Orlando.
Known for its sheer beauty and Dolphin Tours, Hilton Head Harbor isn’t strictly for retirement campers, but maintains a quiet and relaxing atmosphere that retirees desire. They have a significant water sports program, with jet skis, boats, paddle boards, and kayaks all welcome by their “sea monkeys”.
The smallest RVing destination on this list with just 20 sites, this beautiful place is adults only 18+ and is now accepting annual campers. The park is close to the Georgia – South Carolina border and praised for its excellent location, scenery, and atmosphere.
For more RV tips, travel insight, and news, be sure to follow our Pete’s RV Info Blog for weekly updates!
There’s nothing more exciting about RV travel than the famous cross country road trip. But how do you plan such a large endeavor through so many states? Here are some helpful tips.
Decide what you want to see. There are awe inspiring tourist destinations all over North America, but it can be overwhelming to choose from the surplus of cities, National Parks, and so much more. A good place to start is pinning the destinations you want to see the most, no matter how far apart they might be. Even if they don’t all make it into your next trip, it’s good to keep your options in mind for down the road.
Calculate expenses and days. Once you have your destinations in mind, you’ll need to figure out how many you can get to based on how many days your road trip will be, and how much you have to spend on it. A good app for calculating gas prices all around the country ahead of your trip is GasBuddy, which also locates the cheapest gas stations in your area as the trip goes on. Too many destinations, not enough days? Time to get clever with routes and timelines.
Plan that route. Roadtrippers.com has an excellent road trip planning tool to add in multiple stops and stays along your journey. It can show you which destinations are going to add a lot more time to your route and which are easy stops along the way, making a helpful visual calendar of where you’re going and when.
Check up on your vehicles. Your RV and your towing vehicle, if you use one, for any wear and tear or neglected issues. A good tune up at the mechanic will certainly help, as you will especially want a fresh oil change before putting in hundreds or thousands of miles on your RV or truck.
Pack intelligently. Before you go, make sure you have the essentials, such as a good First-Aid kit, clothing appropriate for the weather wherever you’re going, sunglasses for driving, reusable water bottles, and your AAA membership and car insurance and registration information. Extra snacks and books are also great choices.
The most important step of any road trip is to have fun and enjoy the destinations, and especially enjoy the ride. For more RV tips and news, follow our Pete’s RV InfoBlog today!
Jayco is continuing to drive headfirst into the Class B RV landscape with the new Terrain 4×4. Built on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis, it’s built for offroading, with “on-demand four-wheel-drive that allows for the freedom of off-road adventures. The interior offers luxurious appointments to provide all the comforts of home, the company said, and its 48-volt lithium power system offers true off-grid performance,” said RV-Pro.com
The Terrain is 19’7” in length, just over a foot shorter than Jayco’s other recent Class B offering, the Swift. The Terrain also differs in its tires, visibly designed for off-road action, while the Swift has more typical street tires. A large roof rack, rear mounted ladder, and Koni-sourced shock absorbers complete the rugged look for an off-road adventure.
Out of sight, out of mind is not a cliche that should be applied to RV roofs. They should be cleaned several times per year, and inspected for any potential issues.
During cleaning, scrub your RV roof with a medium bristle brush, or any other brush recommended by the manufacturer. You can use a cleaning liquid while doing this, but be sure not to use cleaners made with petroleum solvents, abrasives, or citruses, as those will weaken the strength of the roof materials.
After scrubbing, rinse the whole RV thoroughly, both roof and exterior walls. Any grime dripping off the roof will go down the exterior walls, and if not rinsed, will leave ugly stains.
Inspecting the roof while cleaning is vital, and should be done thoroughly. Check all sealants and seams, skylights, vents, and roof rack for mold and cracks. Fix any rips or tears immediately, before they snowball into other problems.
To passively protect your RV roof from weather damage, keep it away from weather, and avoid the sun! RV storage facilities are ideal for protection, but RV roof covers will separate the roof from the elements. Be sure to use a proper RV roof cover and not any other kind of tarp, which can reduce airflow and result in mold.
At Pete’s RV Center, we have all of your RV maintenance needs in mind. Visit us at petesrvcenter.com to find a location near you!
Pete’s RV Center is proud to have attended the 52nd Annual America’s Largest RV Show in Hershey, Pennsylvania this past week for the first time as a RV Dealership Group.
61,320 people attended the four day show from September 15th – 19th, according to the Pennsylvania RV and Camping Association. This was the second largest recorded attendance ever at the show, close behind the 2017 record. The area around Hershey’s Giant Center was filled with over 1,200 RVs from over 30 different manufacturers.
Pete’s RV Center was stationed next to both the Jayco and nuCamp displays, bringing several dozen RV Lifestyle Consultants in our famous Yellow Shirts.
Both the Jayco and nuCamp RV displays were popular with showgoers, reflecting RV enthusiasts’ taste for the quality craftsmanship and reputation of Jayco, along with the eye-catching and lightweight teardrop trailers by nuCamp.
Some of the most popular RVs on site were the Jay Flight 264BH and 284BHS, the T@G 400 BOONDOCK, the White Hawk 32BH, Jay Feather Micro 199MBS, and several different Jayco Greyhawk motorhomes and T@B Teardrop Campers. This reflected the many styles of RVs at Pete’s RV Center, from teardrops and lightweight travel trailers to couples motorhomes to family style bunkhouses.
“The Hershey Show got positive reviews from industry attendees, more so at this point than most exhibitors could have imagined – the message being that the modern surge in pent-up retail demand is apparently continuing despite the well-known limitations regarding dealer inventories,” said RVBusiness.com, noting that the RV industry hasn’t seen a show this large since fall 2019.
The Hershey Show is unique not only for being America’s Largest RV Show, but for giving attendees the ability to purchase RVs right at the show, and potentially save on transportation costs.
“In addition to RVs, campgrounds, vacation destinations, RV parts, products and camping supplies are also available,” according to the Largest RV Show website.
“Demand is still there,” Jayco President Ken Walters told RV Business, emphasizing that product that could be delivered at the show was a high priority for the customer. “People wanted it, and they wanted it now.”
With Pete’s RV Center’s Pennsylvania dealership located just 27 miles from Hershey in Mountville, Pennsylvania, the show isn’t over. Our Hershey Inventory is still available at our special Showgoer Pricing at https://www.petesrvpa.com/hershey
