Hunting and Fishing News & Blog Articles

Unlike a house or savvy investment, when it comes to buying a car or RV, depreciation is inevitable. Every year newer models with sleek updates decrease the value of those from the previous year – making any sort of a return on investment well near impossible.

But how much will your vehicle depreciate in value? What factors directly correlate with the loss of your car or RV’s value? And most importantly, how can you get the most value out of your car or RV?

To help you navigate purchasing your next vehicle, here’s a breakdown of depreciation and how to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to your car or RV.

How fast do RVs and cars depreciate?

It’s no secret that vehicles lose their value quickly. In fact, almost immediately.

A brand-new car or RV will lose about 10% of its value as soon as you drive it off the lot. From there, it will ultimately depreciate somewhere around 20% within the first year and will continue to lose about 15% annually for the next four or five years.

This summer at the campsite, find time between hikes, sightseeing, and kayak voyages to sit down with a book or two sure to inspire the adventure. Whether you’re planning the next trip, living out a vicarious adventure, or immersing yourself in nature writing, we’ve compiled a short reading list for anyone who hasn’t already bought and bookmarked their summer reads.

For kids

Kids’ books are perfect additions to your travel checklist. Whether for rainy-day backup plans or bedtime stories, check out these outdoor-themed books just for the little ones. 

The Hike, by Allison Farrell 

Perfect for kindergartners and preschoolers, The Hike is a colorful, fun, exploratory read that opens a world of possibilities for young readers. It features interesting vocab words that detail and specify unique outdoor plants, animals, and features, with my favorites being the fairy ring mushroom mention and barred owl feature.

Consider purchasing a sketchbook in addition to The Hike, as the main character Wren shares her drawings and notes from their journey in the book itself, which may inspire your little ones to sketch themselves. 

Whether you’re planning your next family vacation or ventures for years to come, the fifth wheels for sale at RVingPlanet.com or an excellent place to start. Learn more about these 2023 fifth wheels for family vacations below. Below, we will show you six of our favorite floorplans on sale today so that you can get out to the campground with your family.

Take on this Grand Design Reflection 150 Series 226RK fifth wheel today for just $69,000. This unit sleeps up to four and features a rear kitchen design with plenty of counter space. Additionally, I love the 40-inch LED HDTV that’s perfect for family movie nights at the campground.

Additional Features:

The Alliance Avenue 22ML fifth wheel on sale today gives you sleeping for four and features a large light out in the living room with dual recliners. This unit also features a U-shaped dinette with an overhead entertainment center. Save over $17,000 when you order today.

Additional Features:

Negotiating tight turns in busy urban environments with large RVs can challenge the best of drivers. Navigating narrow roads lined with parked cars and turning wide enough to avoid striking the curb or other hazards — it requires your full attention, every time. The driving stress level fades as we leave the populated areas for the open highways of the country. Here, the RV is less confined, and the length has little restriction apart from finding a place to pull over. However, motorhomes and fifth wheel trailers have another important caution: overall height and vehicle weight.

RV weight and height

Weight — given you are on a well-traveled road — is usually not a significant issue for RVers, as most bridges will be adequate in carrying capacity for most RVs. Height, however, is a different matter. Low overhead bridges, power lines, tree branches, service location canopies, or like-structures must be observed and correctly assessed to be compatible with your RV’s height. Failure to do so leads to costly and dangerous accidents, a leading claim for many insurance providers.

Unlike objects on the roadway that are quickly steered around, overhead clearances are often not even noticed. Most GPS navigation systems direct you in the most direct route, regardless of overhead clearances or weight restrictions. In fact, many clearance accident incidents have been while following a GPS guidance system, even in buses and semi’s. More RV-specific GPS systems and GPS apps take into account certain restricted roads and highways due to low overpasses. However, these generally don’t account for low tree branches, electrical wires, service canopies, or other similar structures.

Unknown clearances

Regardless of listed heights shown on bridges etc., you will be held at fault in the event of a collision, and it won’t always be a straightforward situation. Raised resurfaced roads and natural bridge sagging may change the actual listed clearance, and you need to account for that margin of error. Overhead canopies found at many fuel stations or similar services can vary in height, and you should expect anywhere from as high as 14’ down to 8’ or less. Striking any overhead structure can result in personal injury or even a fatal event. So know the exact height of your RV to best prepare for these clearances.

How to prevent clearance incidents

The Good Sam Insurance Agency cites height clearance as one of the most common damage claims from their customers, and they note the importance of measuring the height of your RV and still allotting an additional six inches to play it safe.

Just because you’re camping on a budget doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality. There are, in fact, hundreds of highly-rated Good Sam parks offering overnight stays for less than $45 a night – meaning you can have incredible vacations without breaking the bank. Here’s a quick list to help you plan an economical getaway.

Campgrounds under $45 a night

Wanderlust RV Park

Eureka Springs, AR

Wanderlust has been voted a top 5 Arkansas park by a number of organizations, including Trip Savvy and the Northwestern Arkansas Travel Guide. Once you see it for yourself, you’ll understand why. Set in the Ozark Mountains, they offer sites with beautiful views, a pool, a pavilion (with a large Bar-B-Q pit), and a convenient trolley stop that heads downtown.

Blake Ranch RV Park

Kingman, AZ

Watch fireworks burst over places where America’s formative history unfolded.

From Annapolis Harbor in Maryland to Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, America’s Mid-Atlantic region is dotted with historic destinations that played pivotal roles in the early days of the U.S.

The locals here know how to throw big Independence Day parties on July 4, complete with star-spangled parades and cutting-edge pyrotechnics.

Beyond the Fourth, you’ll find plenty of ways to have a good time, and we’ve listed a slew of local Good Sam Parks that welcome RV travelers. So buckle up and make the Mid-Atlantic your July vacation destination.

Delaware

Summer is made for camping, and the Fourth of July is especially perfect for some good old-fashioned camping fun. Independence Day is a time when America’s hard-working men and women take time to bask in the summer sun and celebrate the nation’s freedoms. We scoured the country for some of the most spectacular Independence Day celebrations.

Alaska — Celebrate the Fourth in the Last Frontier

While you’re there, explore Valdez! With mountains rising to over 5,000 feet and abundant waterfalls, the scenic vistas can be overwhelming. Here are just a few things to enjoy in this outdoor paradise.

California – Watch Fireworks Burst Over the Beach

2. Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina, Newport Beach, CA –  Along with their annual Independence Day on the Back Bay, Newport also hosts their Tunes at the Dunes summer concert series – eclipsing 4th of July weekend.

Load up the RV and venture to a land of serene and breathtaking beauty. Bryce Canyon Country in southern Utah is a paradise filled with two national parks, three state parks, one national monument, and one national forest. Encounter the towering Ponderosa pines, be impressed by the majestic red-rock hoodoos, or experience the magnificent colors of a sunset resting across the sky.

As you plan your next road trip, make time to venture through Bryce Canyon Country. This destination is perfect for adventurers, foodies, and anyone searching for a relaxing getaway.

Here’s how to make your time in Bryce Canyon Country unforgettable:

For the Adventurers

With hundreds of beautiful sights scattered throughout Bryce Canyon Country, you’ll never run out of things to do. Hike through the spectacular hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park or discover the less well-known trails of Red Canyon. Explore the excavated Ancestral Puebloan village at Anasazi State Park or sit under the night sky of Kodachrome Basin State Park. Visit Escalante Petrified Forest State Park and see the red, yellow, white, and black petrified wood. Venture out to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and hike to incredible rock formations like Grosvenor Arch or stunning waterfalls like Calf Creek Falls.

Summer in the Pacific Northwest is unlike anywhere else in the county. It’s sunny and 75, the wildflowers are blooming, rivers are rushing with snow melt, and the mountains are clear, allowing you to hike from sun up to sundown. Pacific Northwest road trips allow you to immerse yourself in lush forests or on lake shores, see the sights without worrying about rushing home, and truly feel alive.

Here, we’ve outlined seven different road trips with places to stay along the way, but also make use of the RV Parks and Campground finder to key in on the locations you plan to visit.

Plan Your Adventure: The Ultimate PNW Road Trip Guide

Avoiding crowds during a Pacific Northwest road trip

While avoiding summer crowds entirely is impossible in the PNW, you can still mitigate them. First, visiting popular areas on the weekdays allows you to explore with fewer people. Secondly, arriving early or staying late for sunset gives you more peace and quiet to soak in the views. 

One of America’s largest vintage trailer rallies is set to take place on May 18–20 in Pismo Coast Village RV Resort in Pismo Beach, California.

The annual Pismo Vintage Trailer Rally is a widely recognized event that brings together amazing, dedicated trailer owners who are passionate about iconic vintage trailers. With over 300 vintage trailer participants, the gathering promotes the history, restoration, and preservation of these marvelous gems on wheels.

Hosted by Pismo Coast Village RV Resort for the past 15 years, the rally features beautifully restored travel trailers from the 1930s to the 1970s with famous names like Airstream, Boles Aero, Shasta, Silver Streak, Vagabond, and Westcraft as well as unique special edition trailers. Many of the vintage trailer owners tow their units with beautiful vintage vehicles with matching color schemes. Tow vehicles on display usually range from Hudson, Ford, and Chevy pickups to vintage Woodie station wagons. Trailer owners celebrate this legendary tradition by furnishing and accessorizing the inside and outside of their trailers with authentic vintage décor.

The highlight of the weekend is the Open House and swap meet, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 20.

It’s not fun to think about a vacation gone wrong, but it’s even worse to think about a vacation gone wrong and you being left in the lurch because you didn’t have reliable travel insurance. The likelihood is that you’ll never need it – but that’s the thing about accidents: they happen when you least expect them.

And while it’s generally an extra couple of hundred dollars on top of your trip, should the worst happen, it could save you tens of thousands. To get a better idea of whether it’s worth getting a policy for your next trip, here’s a quick overview of travel insurance and what’s covered.

What is travel insurance? 

Like any other type of insurance, travel insurance protects you from the unexpected. Whether it’s a flight canceled due to bad weather, damage to your adventure gear, or a medical emergency on the road, there are sometimes unique scenarios that a traditional insurance policy won’t be able to cover. 

What’s not covered?

While a lot depends on the provider, you can usually expect that foreseeable or expected cancellations will not qualify. That being said, providers generally work with you when cancellations are outside of your control.

Spectacularly located in Northwestern Wyoming, just 52 miles from the East Gate of Yellowstone National Park, Cody Yellowstone is a place every RVer should visit. Not only is it home to the world’s first national park, but it was just named “The Best Western Small Town in America” — making it the perfect place to have authentic Wild West adventures and sleep under the stars when you’re on the road.

Life is good in the woods

With nearly 7,000 square miles, a population of just 30,000 people, and wide-open spaces as far as your binoculars can see, Cody Yellowstone is like a breath of fresh air for RVers. If you love to be out in the wild, the United States Forest Service operates a variety of campgrounds and campsites throughout the region — not to mention close to 300 backcountry sites in Yellowstone operated by the National Park Service if you really want to go off-road.

You can lead a horse and an RV to water

If you prefer water over woods, Cody Yellowstone has a terrific parking spot for you, too! Buffalo Bill Reservoir features its own boat ramp and plenty of room for boaters. The two campgrounds in Buffalo Bill State Park feature 125 RV/tent sites and 11 tent-only sites. Sites are spacious, all feature tables and grills, and are conveniently located near water and restrooms.

There are Wild West adventures around every corner. Literally

In Cody Yellowstone, you can take an old-time trolley tour of Cody Yellowstone, showcasing local history, area attractions, and jaw-dropping scenery interwoven with the compelling story of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody.

 What are RV lenders looking for?

When it comes to seeing the country and taking in the beauty of the outdoors, there’s no better experience than an RV. But in reality, purchasing an RV can be an expensive proposition for many. Fortunately, there are plenty of quality lenders who can help you purchase a motorhome through an affordable plan, assuming you qualify. If you’re in the market to finance a new or used RV, here’s what a lender will be evaluating.

Credit (or FICO) score 

Since the 1950s, the FICO (Fair Isaac and Company) score has been an industry standard when it comes to determining someone’s credit. The three-digit score represents a combination of factors, including the purchaser’s payment history, debt, borrowing history, and any open lines of credit.

Here’s a general range of FICO scores:

For an RV lender, they’ll usually be able to work with anything above 700 (and, in some cases, can go as low as 600). That being said, the lower your FICO score, the higher your interest will be – meaning steeper payments. If you’re below 700, it might be worth taking some time to rebuild your credit before trying to take on an RV loan.

Good Sam also has a helpful grid to give you an idea of what type of rate you’d qualify for based on credit.

Water fun is kind of a big deal at Grey’s Point Camp in Topping, Virginia. Located on the banks of the Rappahannock River near the Chesapeake Bay, this Good Sam Park treats guests to lots of ways to float, slide, and make a splash. 

From the campground (with a Good Sam Rating of 9/10*/10), guests can launch a kayak or canoe right on the river and spot the wildlife that thrives on the verdant banks. Campers with small kids might prefer to stay on the Grey’s Point property for watery good times. Pools and a splash zone give campers lots of ways to shoot water or get doused with lots of colorful play equipment. 

Thrill-seekers can get an adrenaline kick by launching themselves down the pair of twisting waterslides. 

Set Sail

Brought your boat? You’ve come to the right place. The Grey’s Point Camp Marina provides docks for your watercraft, and a boat ramp enables campers to launch their vessel. From the marina, boaters have seemingly endless choices, from fishing in the Chesapeake to exploring the myriad channels and inlets that make up the estimated 465 miles of shoreline in the River Realm. 

Renting an RV allows you to experience many of the perks of RV life without buying or maintaining an RV, which can be a daunting first step. Renting also provides an easy entry point for those considering an RV purchase who want to learn the ropes before investing. Whether this is your first time RVing or you want to use the opportunity to scope out a new type of rig, Good Sam RV Rentals connects renters with helpful owners.

But just because the barriers to entry are fewer when renting an RV versus buying one, planning a good trip requires some forethought to know what to expect and to find an RV that best fits you and your family and friends. Choose the right RV — and the right destination — and renting an RV can be the easiest, most affordable way to experience the RV lifestyle on your own.

We’ve broken down the process into three primary steps.

Choose an RV and a destination based on what you need, not what comes up first in the search. Doing so requires general knowledge about RVs to know which will be best for you and where to take it.

But before you choose an RV, how does the process work?

Break out the grills and swim trunks because summer is upon us. And if you’re looking to make the most of your vacation, you might want to consider upgrading some of your gear. However, with so many targeted ads and viral fads, sorting through the noise and finding the proper accouterments can be a challenge. So in order to help you upgrade your inventory (without wasting cash), we’ve put together a list of highly-rated gear to kick off your summer plans.

Gear List

Packing cubes

Never underestimate the value of consolidation – especially if you’re traveling for more than a week at a time and need to pack a lot into one bag. Packing cubes maximize space, are easily washable, help contain odors while reducing mold, and will fit in any suitcase. 

With the popularity of camping and RVing continuing to grow, there’s never been a better time to get behind the wheel of your dream motorhome. That being said, purchasing a brand new rig is, understandably, a big investment – making the option to rent all the more attractive. 

So if you’re looking to test out a motorhome for the first time, here’s a quick overview of the different RV types to help you find a rental that’s right for you.

RV types 

There are certainly a lot of great options when it comes to renting an RV. Whether you’re looking for something that’s spacious with all of the bells and whistles, a motorhome that’s a little more compact and fuel-efficient, or something in between, the challenge is just finding the rental that’s right for you. Here’s a brief overview of the different RV types to get you started on the right track.

Building a perfect camping menu for your next trip to the campground is a great way to ensure you get enough food for your crew. Keep them ready for adventure by planning your meals ahead of time to ensure everyone takes time during the day to recharge. These delicious camping recipes for spring are the perfect start to a great week at the campground!

This light, delicious lunch is packed with nutrients and flavors. It’s the ideal thing to make for a busy group that doesn’t want to sit still for long! 

Ingredients

Instructions:

Another quick and easy lunch, this meal is perfect for picky-eaters or a last-minute lunch before you hit the trails. 

Ingredients

Recipe adapted from one on

Instructions:

This dinner is sure to bring everyone back to the campsite smiling and ready to eat! A shrimp boil is also a fun way to spend some time together as a family. Just cover your picnic table with a clean tablecloth and dump the cooked ingredients in the center when you’re ready to eat! Make sure you have plenty of napkins handy!