Welcome to another edition of RV Magazine. Spring is perhaps the best time of year to travel. The weather is mostly mild, and our backcountry begs for super-long hikes, fishing, and other excursions. If you love nature, there's no better time to experience the great outdoors.
As the cold begins to thaw in most of the
country, our parks and resorts are gearing up for travelers and adventure. One of my favorite places to visit is New Mexico, because it offers so much to do. You'll see why they call it the Land of Enchantment in Great Escapes on page 46.
To make sure that your new getaway plans are even more enjoyable than the last, our staff of writers and photographers has logged thousands of road-test miles in RVs, trucks, and trailers, uncovered the pros and cons of some clever new products, and investigated the RV rental market.
Writer Peter DuPre's thorough look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of the rental market actually came from a conversation I had, while staying in Big Sur, with a family who had rented for the first time. What Peter's story essentially tells us is that it pays to do your research before you plunk down a credit card.
For those that would like to RV green, writer Mitchell Sam Rossi offers a lengthy look at the GMC Yukon Hybrid and Jayco Feather Ex-Port trailer. Mitchell took the trip with his daughter Kimi to share his childhood memories of the Trees of Mystery in Northern California.
In keeping with the low-emission theme, I jumped in a Toyota Highlander Hybrid and put its towing capacity to an impromptu test. It's a first look at a high-tech way of traveling. We'll certainly expand on this experience in the next issue of RV later this year.
As fuel concerns put a damper on some forms of travel, Class B van conversion living is gaining a foothold. I took the fuel-efficient Roadtrek SS-Agile for a weeklong trip up the Pacific coast thanks to McMahon's RV in Irvine, California, to see what it was like living aboard an RV with a galley about the size of a small boat. With my wife and two very inquisitive dogs, the adventure pointed out some of the vehicle's strengths and weaknesses. As an added sidebar, the story pinpoints how to get an ocean view starting at
just $25 per day!
We wrap up this issue with some tow vehicle tech that could give you an instant boost of performance, and we visit with the professional TREK mountain bike race team to see how their well-outfitted trailer provides the edge they need to take World Cup performance to a whole new level.