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2016 Harrisburg RV & Camping Show

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Harrisburg Pennsylvania RV Show :
February 25-February 28, 2016

Harrisburg RV&Camping ShowThis is must go to show for RV Enthusiasts! Lerch RV, Pennsylvania’s largest tow-able RV dealership, will have  travel trailers, fifth wheels and a large parts/accessories area on display….all at show special prices! This show is the “go-to place” to begin planning your camping vacations for the coming season, trading up to your dream RV, seeing the new 2016 RVs, or just learning about the joys of travel in a recreational vehicle!  Visit our display for low pre-camping season pricing.
We will be offering show only pricing, you can not even get these low prices on our lot.  So come visit us at the 2016 Harrisburg Pennsylvania RV Show.
New RVers or those old hands at traveling the RV high road will discover this is the ideal show to learn about new RV products, campgrounds, travel destinations and the RV lifestyle at the Harrisburg Pennsylvania RV Show and Sale.
We will have Pennsylvania’s top-selling RVs on display by Passport, Highland Ridge, Outback, Shasta Flyte and many more to look at.

Show Info

February 25 – February 28

PA Farm Show Complex & Expo Center
2300 N. Cameron Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110

Show Hours

Thursday: 10 am – 8 pm
Friday: 10 am – 8 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 8 pm
Sunday: 10 am – 5 pm

Ticket Prices

Adults: $10
Kids 12 and under: FREE

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2015 Pennsylvania Mountain Pie Championship

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PA moutain pie contest entriesGRATZ, Pa. — The first ever statewide Mountain Pie Championship was held on Sept. 26, during the Gratz Fair in Gratz, Pa., just north of Harrisburg, Pa. The championship was open to winners at privately owned Pennsylvania campgrounds that held contests across the state this summer.

The two contests, “Sweet” and “Savory,” were sponsored by the Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association and Lerch RV from Milroy, Pa.

Mountain Pie Championship held at Gratz FairThe “Sweet” category winner was Melissa Umbrell, Enola, Pa., representing Jonestown/ Hershey KOA, Lickdale, Pa. Her entry was a “Banana Split Mountain Pie.” Her recipe is as follows:

Banana Split Mountain Pie

Ingredients

2 slices of white bread
2 tsp butter
1 large sliced strawberry
1/8 banana – sliced
9 mini marshmallows
1 fun sized Hershey bar – broken

Optional Garnish

Chopped nuts, sprinkles, whipped cream, cherry

Preparation

Butter one side of two slices of bread
Place one slice of bread, butter side down, in mountain pie maker
Layer all ingredients on top of bread
Place one slice of bread, butter side up, in mountain pie maker
Close mountain pie maker and place in campfire
Cook until bread is golden brown
Place on plate and garnish
Serve with a smile

Second place was Braidyn Rumsey from Canton, Pa., representing Tanglewood Campground in Covington, Pa. His entry was called “Double Chocolate Delight” and featured a brownie and marshmallow cream garnished with cherry pie filling and peanut M&Ms.

The “Savory” category winner was Margie Wevodau from Carlisle, Pa., also representing Jonestown/Hershey KOA, Lickdale, Pa. Her entry was a “Reuben Mountain Pie.” This recipe is:

Reuben Mountain Pie

Ingredients

2 slices of rye bread – buttered
2 slices of baby Swiss cheese
2 T Thousand Island dressing
½ cup of sauerkraut
3-4 oz. corned beef – sliced

Preparation

Spread butter on outside of the bread
Place one slice, butter side down, in a warmed pie iron
Layer one slice of cheese, corned beef, Thousand Island dressing, and sauerkraut
Top with another slice of cheese
Place the other slice of bread on top, butter side up
Close and place in campfire until bread is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Second place was Rhonda Thomas from Preston, Md., representing Spring Gulch Camping Resort in New Holland, Pa. Her entry was a “Turkey/Bacon/Cheese Pie,” also featuring Thousand Island dressing.

Third place was Holly Seidel from Tyrone, PA, representing Pioneer Campground in Muncy Valley, Pa. Her entry was “Pie Iron Tacos” with a corn tortilla base.

The other three entries that were scrumptious, but did not place, were “Chicken Florentine, Pie Iron Style” by Steve Gallagher, Elmer, N.J., representing Keen Lake Camping & Cottage Resort in Waymart, Pa; “Sam’s Special Sammich,” a pork melt by Sam Ulrich from Pottsville, Pa., representing Rosemount Campground in Tamaqua, Pa; and “Alyssa’s Cheese Steak Pie,” by Charles Muller from Hammonton, N.J., representing Otter Lake Camp Resort in East Stroudsburg, Pa.

Mountain Pie Championship held at Gratz FairA panel of six qualified judges evaluated the entries based on the following categories: Flavor, Filling, Crust, Appearance and Creativity. Prizes were $500 cash for both first place winners, $100 in PCOA gift certificates for second place and a $50 gift certificate for third place.

A total of 37 campgrounds scheduled contests at their facility during the season. The Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association extends a special thank you to Lerch RV for co-sponsoring the contest, the Gratz Fair for providing their facilities and fair passes for the individual campground winners and Dutter Sound Services from New Oxford, Pa., for providing the sound system and acting as the official fire tender.

SOURCE: PCOA press release

AAA sees Gas Prices Falling for Summer 2015

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Lower gas prices may be on the way for U.S. consumers by this summer if refinery maintenance ends smoothly and crude oil remains relatively cheap, AAA said in a news release.Gas pump with money  As reported by the St. Augustine Record, the travel company’s release said it is even possible that gas prices will return to near $2 per gallon in some areas, as long as there are no unexpected problems in the meantime.

 

AAA does not expect the national average to rise above $3 per gallon this year. “There is a real hope that gas prices could drop significantly in time for the busy summer driving season,” said Mark Jenkins, AAA spokesman. “The overall outlook looks good for drivers, and with any luck we will avoid the types of problems that often lead to higher gas prices at this time of year.”  Many refineries have completed seasonal maintenance, though unexpected problems could still occur. Many refineries and wholesalers will switch to more expensive summer-blend gasoline by May 1 to meet EPA clean air regulations.

 

The cost of crude oil is likely to be the most important factor influencing gas prices over the next few months. At the close of Friday’s formal trading, WTI settled at $49.55 per barrel — 68 cents higher than the week before. Many experts believe that crude oil prices may drop further due to abundant supplies, but international conflict, declining production or other issues could result in higher prices.
This article originally appeared on RVBusiness.com

RV & Camping News

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News from around the campfire.

– York, PA: The York Campers World RV Show was held in York, Pa., the second weekend of March, as has been done for the past 36 years. The 14 RV dealers present reported brisk sales, and a total of 180 units were shown on over 130,000 square feet of indoor space and 38 units were outside on the York Expo Center ground, said Beverly Gruber, executive director of the Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association. “Fifty campgrounds showcased their facilities and talked with the customers about the advantages of coming to their park,” she explained.

-Timmins, Ontario: When city officials in Timmins, Ontario, agreed to help operate cash-strapped Ivanhoe Lake Provincial Park two years ago, they thought the park would be a paying proposition. Now the city says they may close the gates at the park if they can’t fill 10 more seasonal RV sites. With 53 sites filled, the city set Friday as the deadline for purchases; if not sold, the park will be listed as “non-operational.”

Indiana: Indiana’s state parks and reservoirs are looking for volunteers to serve as campground hosts in exchange for free camping. Hosts work a minimum of 20 hours per week. Sites looking for hosts to volunteer in April are Turkey Run, Indiana Dunes, Potato Creek and Spring Mill state parks. Raccoon State Recreation Area needs a host June 29 through August 3, the entire length, or in two-week periods. A complete list of sites and information on hosting duties is here. If interested, contact the site directly.

Elkhart, Indiana: Thor Industries Inc. plans to auction off remaining towable inventory, work-in-progress units and assorted components Tuesday (Mar. 25) at a former Monaco RV tow-able manufacturing plant on Indiana 19 (2700 S. Nappanee St.) on the south side of Elkhart, Ind., a facility that Thor purchased in February from Ocala, Fla.-based Allied Specialty Vehicles Inc. Auctioneers indicate that a big crowd is expected for the liquidation sale at the 220,000-square-foot plant in which Thor plans on expanding its Thor Motor Coach Inc. division’s motorhome production. The auction, according to a sale flier, will include “enough inventory to run production for weeks.”

Nationwide: RV dealers are expecting big things this year, according to results from a Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA) survey conducted in late January to early February. In the March issue of RV Executive Today, RVDA reported that after a good 2013, the majority of survey respondents are expecting 2014 to be even better. Specifically, 68% of dealers who participated in the survey feel the outlook for the retail market this year will be better than it was in 2013. Another 32% believe the market will be about the same as it was last year.

– Manlius, NY: The Great Outdoors RV Superstore in Fulton, N.Y., is proposing to build a satellite recreational vehicle/trailer sales office on the site of the former Fremont Lanes Bowling Alley in the town of Manlius, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard.The Post-Standard reports that a small sales office would be built on the now-vacant 2.5-acre site, with 12 parking spaces and room to park 23 RVs/trailers. The site would open this spring, as soon as the proper permits are secured, Doug Miller, engineer for the town of Manlius told the Post-Standard. The bowling alley was demolished several years ago.

~News From The Weird~

– Three people were badly burned after an RV burst into flames at a Delta, British Columbia, gas station March 15. According to police, the occupants were siphoning fuel through a trap door in the vehicle, which they parked above the underground holding tank. Investigators haven’t confirmed where the stolen gas was intended to be sold, but said it sometimes is advertised on Craigslist.

– Alexandria, LA: Tips about odd smells led to the arrest of a Deville man who allegedly was operating a meth lab in a small camper, according to The Town Talk.
Deputies went to the camper Wednesday in Deville to follow-up on the tips about the smells and suspicions that meth was being made. John Loyd Paul Jr. answered the door, and deputies smelled “a distinct chemical odor,” according to The Town Talk. A deputy who entered the camper to get a gun saw a pan with suspected meth drying on a heating blanket, The Town Talk reports. Paul was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance II, creation/operation of a clandestine lab, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, illegal carrying of weapons with drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.

 

Special thanks to CampingPA.com for supplying these great tidbits of RVing news…

Safe Travels and Happy RVing!

RV News and Tidbits

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News from around the RVing Lifestyle:

– If the shoe fits … Police in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, investigating a truck theft, found a shoe print from a DC brand shoe. Nearby, an RV owner reported a missing travel trailer. Later, another RV vanished from a dealership — and the thief left a DC shoe print. Next day, a truck in a ditch turned out to be piloted by the DC shoe man. Darcy Blayne Pahl will be spending a year in jail for these and other theft charges.

– Brits can “rent” what’s billed as the largest motor-coach in all the land – a U.S. built Newell Coach, formerly owned by Formula 1 race car drivers, for just a tad over $13,000 a night. Included in the fee is a chef and a team of waiters. For an upgrade, you can hire a limo, a helicopter for rides and, of course, drivers and pilots. And no worries, the coach is delivered to your choice of locations — and there it stays.

– Paradise Valley, Ariz., police said a motor home driver led them on a chase then to a bizarre traffic stop. After exceeding 70-mile-per-hour speeds, the man pulled over but refused to exit the rig, calling 9-1-1 operators repeatedly and telling them the stop was straight out of Nazi Germany. Police finally “convinced” the man, with the help of pepper spray, to come out. They found several ounces of marijuana, a “white-brown powdery substance in containers,” and a loaded Glock handgun inside.

– The annual collection of chunks of ice from a New Hampshire lake was able to start nearly a month earlier than previous years thanks to the recent cold snap.
Rockywold-Deephaven Camps ice haulCrews armed with saws and picks collected the blocks on Thursday for a Holderness campsite, which uses the ice as a natural freezer.Using a specially adapted circular saw, the lake is carved into chunks before the crew use ice picks to haul the blocks into trucks.The giant ice cubes are then driven to the campground, where they are stored in special cabins that prevent them from melting.Campers at Rockywold-Deephaven Camps will be able to use the blocks to help chill their ice boxes and keep supplies cool during their vacations later this year.

– CAPE MAY, N.J. — David and Maggie Robinson, co-owners of Holly Shores Campground in
Lower Township, presented a $10,000 check to Joanne Carrocino, FACHE, president and CEO of Cape Regional Medical Center, which represents the third payment toward a $50,000 pledge, according to Shore News Today.
The Holly Shores donation benefits the Thomas & Claire Brodesser, Jr., Cancer Center Capital Campaign. Shore News Today reports, the pledge is made possible by various fundraising initiatives that are held at Holly Shores Campground throughout the camping season.

– The RV industry hasn’t been pinched by the economy, but nature took a crack at it. Forest River reported a two-day shutdown due to weather at their Class C plant in Elkhart, Ind. — the first time in at least a decade. Snow and intense cold were held accountable.

– Milroy, PA – Lerch RV is Pennsylvania’s newest Palomino RV dealership. Their newest offerings will include the Puma, Puma Unleashed, Canyon Cat, SolAire, SolAire hybrid-expandables, SolAire ultra lites, and Palomini single axle light weight campers. Soon they will be offering these great RVs at the lowest prices in the state along with their current inventory from Keystone RV and Open Range RV Company.

– Rolling out — the 2014 Ram 1500 Eco-Diesel pickup truck. A 3.0-liter engine said to yank a rated 9,200 pounds towing capacity and stated fuel economy of 27 miles per gallon on the freeway, and 20 around town — presumably solo. Chrysler says 1,000 of the new rigs will be in dealerships by next month.

Special thanks to CampignPA.com for supplying these great tidbits of RVing news…

Safe Travels and Happy RVing!

RV News and Tidbits

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* Thanks to Amazon.com’s “CamperForce,” Kentucky’s Green River Lake State Park stays open through December, instead of closing in November. CamperForce is Amazon’s description of its seasonal workforce who live in RVs to be near their shipping facilities, in this case a warehouse at Campbellsville.

* Kansas officials say they’ll close highway rest stops near Russell to save water. Water usage has doubled to 1.6 million gallons at the stops since 2011.

* U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced legislation on Dec. 3 to increase the federal gasoline tax by 15 cents from 18.4 cents to 33.4 cents per gallon.
The bill, H.R. 3636, also known as the “Update, Promote, and Develop America’s Transportation Essentials (UPDATE) Act of 2013,” would phase in the increase throughout the next three years.

* Lippert Components Inc. (LCI) has partnered with Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. to provide designer furniture for RVs. LCI will offer a full line of Ashley sofas, sectionals, theater seating and recliners to the RV industry

* ROBERTSDALE, Ala. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Emerald Coast RV Center LLC of Robertsdale for nine serious safety violations following an inspection at the recreational vehicle sales and service facility on Highway 59 South. Prompted by a complaint, the agency initiated an inspection in August, resulting in proposed penalties of $41,000.
The serious safety violations include the employer’s failure to ensure workers utilized fall protection systems while working on top of recreational vehicles; train workers on powered industrial truck operations; provide proper machine guarding; ensure adequate guarding on electrical boxes; and use temporary wiring properly. Additionally, the employer was cited for failing to train workers adequately on hazard communication, provide a list of hazardous chemicals on-site, reduce compressed air for cleaning to less than 30 pounds per square inch and secure compressed gas cylinders properly. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

~RV News From The Weird~

* When a St. Helena, S.C., RV owner found his stored RV hooked up to electricity, he disconnected it. To his surprise, he found power hooked back up the next day. It was then he found a man living in the rig, who confessed to police he’d been holed up in the RV for two months after being kicked out of his mother’s home next door. The unwelcome tenant was charged with burglary and grand larceny.

* Turkey starts RV blaze: Firefighters called to a fifth wheel fire in View Royal, B.C., report it all started when a turkey was left unattended in the rig’s oven. In an understatement, the fire chief told the local paper, “It’s another ad for not leaving your cooking unattended. That turkey will be inedible.”

* An attempt to break the world record of how many marshmallows can be eaten in a minute will take place at the Central Illinois Recreational Show in Peoria, Ill. The show runs February 28 through March 2. The winner will need to eat more than 25 marshmallows to beat the record.

* A traffic stop Monday of a motor home on I-80 in southeast Nebraska led to the seizure of nearly 95 pounds of marijuana, according to North Platte Bulletin.
Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins told North Platte Bulletin that a dog detected the odor of drugs coming from the recreational vehicle, and a search led to 94.7 pounds of marijuana in 43 bundles, located in an empty water tank beneath the bathroom floor of the motor home.

Safe Travels and Happy RVing!

** Information gathered from CampingPA.com

Family Vacation…Did I really just see that?

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Just came across this awesome article and wanted to share it with our readers.  This is really, really cool.  Would love to see this going down the road.

national lampoons vacation motorhomeKeith Boreani started out about 11 years ago, renovating an old school bus.
As reported by the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette, raising the $5,000 to buy the bus was the easy part. Finding partners to help him do the job was a challenge. Nobody could quite grasp the vision that Boreani had for the old hulk. Boreani figured he could rent it out as a party bus, but the plan didn’t pan out.
You can’t keep a guy with crazy automotive ideas down, though, and Boreani, who’s in pharmaceutical sales, has a vision for a whole new fleet of vehicles that will never make a lot of money but will turn plenty of heads.  The first vehicle in the fleet has recently been completed. Boreani bought a 1971 Winnebago, with a big W on the side and 75,000 miles on it.  “It wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t pretty,” he said.  But he had an idea to make it really outrageous. Working with an Angola airbrusher, Harry Martin of Hairydidit, he converted the old motor home into a combination of Clark Griswold’s hideous green station wagon and Eddie’s hideous motor home from the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” movies.  The green station wagon is painted on the side, complete with a dead grandma wrapped in a tarp and strapped to the roof. There are plenty of Walley World characters and tons of painted rust on the side, front and rear.

So if you see this unique motor home going down the road, be sure to wave hello to Sparky!

Safe Travels and Happy RVing!

RV News and Tidbits

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News Tidbits For 1/4/2014

*Next weekend, Pennsylvanians have 2 #RV shows to get to and enjoy. In the western part of the state, The Pittsburgh RV show starts January 11 and runs the entire week. Those in the east can visit the Allentown RV show Friday through Sunday. Winter RV shows are a great way to break the cabin fever.

*Crossing Pennsylvania via the state’s turnpike? Hang onto your wallet — tolls are increasing by a whopping 12 percent for those who pay with cash. If you hold an “E-ZPass” the rates will jump by a modest two percent.

*Ford F-150 truck fans, changes are in the works. The rollout for 2015 models will see all-aluminum bodies and a smaller 2.7 liter V-6 “EcoBoost” gas engine — so says Fleet Owner, but Ford won’t confirm.

*If approved, Canterbury, N.H., could become home to a 300-site RV park. The park would be built in stages, beginning this year, and would include four miles of hiking trails, a water park and access to a pond for canoes and kayaks.

*CarHistory.us.org is launching a comprehensive guide to purchasing recreational vehicles. It ill go through the ins and outs of different types of RVs, how dealers price them, and the best ways to negotiate when you are looking to buy.

*The Good Sam Club, a recreational vehicle organization with 1.5 million members, is hoping to bring in as many as 500 RVs to bolster attendance for the popular Havasu Balloon Festival and Fair. The Havasu (Ariz.) News reported that the festival, set for Jan. 17-19, already has 260 RV enthusiasts signed to camp out for the festivities, said Marquita McKnight, an executive director for this year’s event.

Safe Travels and Happy RVing!

– Information gathered from CampingPA.com.

Have you been to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania?

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grand-canyon-of-pennsylvania-pine-creek-gorge

The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon in its Autumn beauty.

The PA Grand Canyon Often referred to as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania and the Pine Creek Gorge, the PA Canyon area stretches for over 45 miles with depths of nearly 1500 feet. It’s dynamic topography creates many scenic wonders, including steep canyon walls and waterfalls. The PA Grand Canyon is part of the Tioga State Forest, beginning just south of Ansonia, PA, near Wellsboro in Tiago County.

With numerous developed trails the Grand Canyon of PA is a hikers paradise.  Year round activities include floating, boating, fishing, hiking, and biking are all part of the area’s available outdoor recreational opportunities.  The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon State Park areas display spectacular views.  Colton Point on the west rim and Leonard Harrison on the east rim of the canyon are the “must see” vistas to visit.  Camping and picnic areas are also available here as well.

One of the most popular areas to visit in the canyon is the Pine Creek Rail Trail, a converted railroad bed that travels along Pine Creek at the floor of the canyon. USA Today cites the Pine Creek Rail Trail as one of the ‘Top 10 Great Places to take bike tour’ in the world.  Due to the gentle grade, the trail offers easy peddling, hence it can be experienced with minimal physical impact and basic biking gear and experience.  Why not add this bike trail to your biking ‘bucket list’?

Come experience the Pennsylvania Wilds, and enjoy the beauty of route 6 which traversed the top half of the state.  You will not be disappointed in the Autumn beauty of this particular region of Pennsylvania.

Safe Travels and Happy Rving!

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Apple Crisp the right way!

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This is the perfect time of year to take advantage of some of nature’s produce that is not as plentiful during the rest of the year. Among other things, this is apple season!

Here at your central Pennsylvania RV dealership, we are always looking for new recipes to help you enjoy the seasons. It is in that spirit we have found this terrific Autumn recipe to share with our followers, a Campfire Apple Crisp recipe. It is perfect over a campfire but you can make it in a regular oven as well. It is very similar to grilling “potato packs” over an open fire, but with apples instead of potatoes.

Apple Crisp the Camp Fire Way

  • You will need four apples, of your choice, chopped up
  • 1/3 cups of uncooked oatmeal
  • 3/4 cups of brown sugar,
  • ½ cup of flour
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup of butter
  • 3 tablespoons of white sugar
  • Foil

Directions: In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients with the butter until the butter is dispersed in the mixture. Then add the apples. Mix well. Then take three pieces of foil and add the ingredients to make three “pouches” that you will seal to go over the campfire. . squeeze the ends to make a boat shape. Put the apples in the center of the foil and fold the foil over to make sure you have nice, sealed foil packages.

Put a grate over the campfire and cook the package for 15 to 20 minutes. If you have no access to a grate, put the foil pack directly into the campfire a bit farther away from the heat and rotate it every 5 minutes. Check to make sure the apples are cooking evenly about half way through.

You can also use this recipe in your RV if the weather is not conducive to a fire by putting the ingredients in a casserole dish and putting it in the oven for about one hour at 350 degrees.

This is a great tasting, great smelling desert dish that is perfect for the season. If you are looking for an easy recipe to take advantage of the abundance of apples this fall, this can be it.

There are still some great fall RV weekends ahead. Safe travels and Happy RVing!