RVs Are Booming!

I read an article on Yahoo the other day that posed the question “If you own an RV, where do you park it?”  The full article focuses on real estate and adding an RV garage, which can be found here: RV Renaissance.


And since there is an RV show at Qualcom Stadium  this weekend.  And I can walk to ‘The Q’ from the office ~3 mi RT down Murphy Canyon Road via the bike path.  Also this is going to be a bit of a rant as I step up on my soap box, but no worries I do have an ‘Urban Hike’ in mind that will be more interesting.

Murphy Canyon Road ends just south of Stadium Golf, but the bike path continues on through the Qualcom Parking lot.  I use the bike path to avoid the parking fees or registration when parking lot events are taking place.  Being a bit cheap Fran has also had to make this walk with me (in the dark!) for many Padre games - before PetCo Park.

If you drive down Murphy Canyon Road you’ll park here:


The bike path follows the creek bed between I-15 and the Coastal Transport distribution facility.


Last year as part of I Love a Clean San Diego, and in conjunction with the city adding recycled water, a major clean up of the bike path was done.  They’re back … the easy areas are again tagged and with a taunting ‘Catch Us if You Can’.



The purple pipes and sprinklers indicate recycled water in use.  BTW – this section of the creek was totally choked with weeds last year – a nice clean canvas for the taggers .


A few pics of the 2017 RVs on the lot.  I‘m constantly disappointed that only RVs for sale are here, NEVER a 3rd party vendor.  No solar, LED, TV, GPS, etc. vendor has been to a San Diego RV show!  EVER! I'd have to go to go to Quartzite - the other ‘Q’ for for that…

George this is for you – a bumper attached swing out for your Weber BBQ!


Another interesting idea, an outside entry to the bathroom!  I’m of the age where that’s not such a trivial idea!


A full size Class-A RV new is close to 200k, but for 300k an outside TV is included …


But my interest continues to be the smaller Class C and B+ models.  Our RV (Rufus) is based on the Sprinter chassis.  One of the short comings Rufus is ground clearance.  There is a Ford chassis in the center of this picture with better clearance.  However, Mercedes Benz has addressed this in their 4x4 offering!  I have seen the 2500 model as a 4x4, but this is the 1st I’ve see the 3500.  Nice – but expensive!


So what’s my whine with the RV insurgence?  As the article indicates – parking!!!

<begin soap box>
Many national parks are now administered by ‘for profit’ concessionaires (Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, Denali, etc.).  This trend has trickled down to many state parks, including WA - where we do spend some time every year.  Only 2 private parks on this years Alaska Trek were more expensive than a WA state park! 

With the increase in RV travel – who spends 300k to have the RV sit? – competition for campgrounds has greatly increased.  Reservations are nearly always required for popular weekends or desirable parks.

It seems that more tax funded (state and national) parks are opting to have for profit 3rd party entities take over the administration,  ARG!
<end soap box>

Sorry for the rant – but I feel better .