Sneak a peek at the suspension of certain travel trailers manufactured by No Boundaries, Forest River’s popular adventure trailer brand, and you might see something missing.

The axles.

The lineup has been made even more nimble with the addition of the CURT Independent Suspension System, which is included in No Boundaries’ new Beast Mode package. The axle-less design allows for complete independent movement of single or tandem axle wheels. The nitrogen filled shocks, along with the racing-inspired coil springs, are said to deliver a towing experience like nothing else currently in today’s market.

“The ground clearance and articulation of the product set it apart in a category all its own,” said Cody Schade, No Boundaries product manager, “but the absence of vibration and rattles on long trips and various terrain offer a level of comfort and confidence not currently found in any other towable product.”

“These improvements are tailor-made for No Boundaries owners, who want the ability to tow with a V-6 SUV, while carrying gear like bikes and kayaks, to take their NOBO where they can find solitude and adventure —which often means leaving paved pathways,” he added.

The Beast Mode package, offered as an option on 2023 No Boundaries travel trailers, joins a host of other upgrades intended to maximize owner comfort and safety. No Boundaries also offers all-terrain tires and a tire-pressure-monitoring system as standard equipment.

If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool RV enthusiast, you already know that the really innovative designs are coming out of Europe. Well, here’s another concept we can only hope to someday see stateside.

As reported by newatlas.com, German RV manufacturer Knaus-Tabbert’s all-new Volkswagen T6.1-based Tourer CUV (caravanning utility vehicle) provides nimble van-like driving while under way — but at camp it lives more like a Class B+/C motorhome thanks to a van-style pop-up roof and rear bed that partially folds away when expanding the dry bathroom.

To create a comfortable interior height to match the added width, Knaus installs a pop-up roof that extends the full-length of the roof, raising the RV’s standing height to a full 6.6 feet throughout the floorplan. The pop-top can also house an optional slide-in-place double bed.

Down below, the added size of Knaus’ module allows for a motorhome layout with a raised bed over a storage tunnel with interior and exterior access. During the day, the driver-side front bed panel lifts out of the way, working in conjunction with the fold-out expansion on the upper rear wet bathroom wall. Once fully folded out, the design opens up the shower room — essentially doubling the space of the narrow wet bath cell and turning it into a dry bath with individual shower and toilet/sink areas separated by a folding shower door.

During the past few months, the RV industry has been slowly working to bring a balance between RV production and RV sales. Now, activity in the used market is apparently beginning to slow down a bit, as well, according to the Black Book RV Market Commentary for July, a report issued by Black Book, publisher of a family of vehicle appraisal guides.

As reported in RVBusiness.com, Eric Lawrence, principal analyst – specialty markets, Black Book, said the values of both motorized and towable RVs declined from the previous month; auction volume was down as well.

According to Lawrence, the average selling price for motorized units was $68,948 — down $4,402 from the previous month — while towables came in at $20,196, down $687. However, one year ago, the average motorhome sold for $68,623 and the average towable unit brought $23,176.

Auction volume also was down, he added; motorhomes dropped 21.7% while towables declined 3.8%, and the average age of motorhomes was 12 years and towables was six years.

GoSun (gosun.co), creator of solar appliances that help people live with more independence and resilience, has entered into a joint venture with AWOL Outdoors Inc. (dba Camp365) to create and introduce a solar-powered, self-contained travel trailer.

GoSun Camp365 is an ultra-lightweight trailer that only weighs 1,800 pound and, due to its extremely small footprint when folded down, can be parked anywhere, from a normal parking space to inside a garage.

One person can unfold the RV into a roomy, off-grid cabin in less than 10 minutes. It expands to a 100-square-foot, 700-cubic-foot cabin that is seven feet, six inches tall. With living areas indoors and out, it’s complete with all the independent systems one would want and need: cooking, refrigeration, off-grid power, kitchen sink, hot shower, and more.

The GoSun Camp 365 naturally has solar charging. The unit is packed with 300+ watts of versatile solar power, which includes its portable utility Solar Table. The GoSun Camp 365 comes with multiple portable power banks as well as the larger Power 1100, which can power all of a camper’s 12-volt and 120-volt appliances, eliminating the need for a gas generator or campground hookups to support off-grid adventures. For more information, visit gosun.co/products/camp365.

Results for the RV Industry Association’s (RVIA) May 2022 survey of manufacturers show total RV shipments ended the month with 50,529 units — the best May on record and an increase of 2.6% compared to the 49,241 units shipped during May 2021.

Through May, RV shipments are up 11.8% compared to the same point last year with 279,038 wholesale shipments. Towable RVs, led by conventional travel trailers, ended the month up 2.6% compared to the same month last year with 45,608 shipments. Motorhomes finished the month up 3.2% compared to May 2021, with 4,921 units.

For 2022 as a whole, the latest forecast by RVIA projects RV shipments to range between 537,800 and 561,900 units, with a “most likely” year-end total of 549,900 units — an 8.4% decline from the 600,240 shipped in 2021.

Exploring the National Park System by RV is one of the quintessential approaches to visiting national parks, monuments, national recreation areas and other park system units — and to help RVers explore these lands and destinations, the National Parks Traveler editors and writers have sifted through the National Park System and come away with the definitive RVing guide to the parks.

The Essential Guide To RVing In The National Park System presents RV enthusiasts with a rich collection of articles exploring the park system by RV that is supported by a directory packed with RVing-specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

Through a table of contents that divides the country geographically, you can quickly find the park you want to visit, click on its link, and find both an overview of that park along with a chart of campground information — from hookup availability, generator hours, ADA site availability, nightly fees, maximum RV length individual sites can handle and much more.

This information typically has only been available through searches through individual national park websites. The Traveler’s team assembled it all in this one portable eBook with an easily searchable database.

Along with detailing the campgrounds and their amenities, the 282-page guide — available in eBook form for $9.95 at Amazon — also contains sections addressing topics such as preplanning basics, top tips for RVing newbies, what to expect in a national park campground and best tips for national park RVing.

Most RVers are well aware of the RV/MH Hall of Fame & Museum, a spectacular facility found in the hub of the RV manufacturing universe, Elkhart, Indiana.

But there are others.

Anyone cruising through the Texas panhandle should seriously consider making a detour to the Jack Sisemore RV Museum in Amarillo. An outgrowth of Sisemore’s burgeoning Winnebago RV dealership opened in 1978, the proprietor began collecting and restoring old RVs in the ‘80s. The dealership was eventually sold — but not the vintage rides, which also included a host of old Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Now overseen by Jack’s son, Trent, the museum is currently housed in a warehouse south of Amarillo and has been combined with the Amarillo Area Motorsports Hall of Fame’s collection of vintage race cars.

So what can you expect to see? On the RV side of things, there’s the 1948 Flxible bus that appeared in the movie RV, an all-original 1962 Airstream Bambi, a 1936 Alma camping trailer and a 1936 Torpedo — considered the oldest surviving Airstream.

But there’s a whole lot more than RVs here, making the location a “must see” stop for automotive and motorcycle enthusiasts. In addition to the extensive collection of two-wheelers, the museum features a wealth of “petroliana” — collectables related to gas stations. In fact, the museum also houses a recreated Standard Oil Company gas station. For more details, visit rvmuseum.net.

Wondering where to camp this summer? If you’ve ever been to a Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort, you know why it can be tough to book one. That said, the company has added seven new locations just in time for the summer vacation season.

The new locales include:

Jellystone Park South Jersey — Located in Monroe, the former Hospitality Creek Campground and Swim Club boasts a 30-acre lake with rope swing, obstacle course and diving docks, along with a pool, playgrounds and sports courts.

Wichita Falls, Texas — Previously known as Coyote Ranch, this award-winning family camp-resort has returned to the Jellystone Park brand. Kids can enjoy three swimming pools, an interactive splash pad, mini golf and more. Lodging options include a variety of glamping cabins and a farmhouse that sleeps up to 14.

Augusta, Maine — The former Beaver Brook Campground has been transformed into a Jellystone Park with wooded sites, a tranquil brook and a half-mile of frontage on beautiful Androscoggin Lake. Features include a heated Water Zone, 18-hole mini golf course, sports courts and playgrounds.

Chincoteague Island, Va. — This campground is being expanded and updated; improvements include new playground equipment, basketball and pickleball courts, new enclosures for the park’s pavilion, new rental cabins, furnished glamping tents and RV rentals.

New Douglas, Ill. — Located an hour from St. Louis and Springfield, Ill., Rustic Acres Jellystone Park features two lakes for fishing, a swimming pool, jumping pillow, laser tag, gaga ball pit, hayrides and two playgrounds.

Petoskey, Mich. — This campground is adding 67 RV sites and 20 vacation rentals this year. This location features a heated swimming pool, a hot tub, sand volleyball, basketball, a gaga ball pit, a children’s playground and a pet playground.

Stark County, Ohio — Clay’s Park Resort south of Cleveland — named Park of the Year in 2021 by the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds — is now a Jellystone Park. The 500-acre camp-resort boasts a lake, water slides, dueling ziplines and canoes and kayaks. A new pool and water play area are under construction.

Interested in a new career — or just want to better understand the inner workings of your RV? The National RV Training Academy (NRVTA) has opened registration for the 2022 Expo, which provides continuing education courses for RV inspectors and technicians.

Co-hosted by the National RV Inspectors Association (NRVIA) and the RV Technician Association of America (RVTAA), the virtual event is scheduled for Sept. 26-30, and currently features 16 webinars exploring a variety of topics of interest to people who fix and inspect recreation vehicles. Additional sessions may be added. Attendance is free for current NRVIA and RVTAA members. At the moment, however, registration is only open to members.

Those who attend all of the webinars will receive at least 26.5 continuing education units (CEU), and even more if additional sessions are added. A total of 24 CEUs are required annually for inspectors and technicians to maintain their professional credentials with the associations. For more information about membership, visit nrvia.org.

Airstream, maker of the iconic “silver bullet” fleet of Airstream travel trailers and touring coaches, recently announced a partnership with Blue Ox, known globally for its high-performance weight-distribution hitches. Through the partnership, Blue Ox will manufacture two Airstream-specific versions of its best-selling weight-distribution products, the SwayPro and TrackPro models.

Available for purchase and installation through Airstream’s authorized dealership network, the SwayPro model is compatible with all traditional Silver Bullet travel trailers while the TrackPro is optimized for the Basecamp model line. The all-new Airstream edition hitches were built based on customer feedback and feature sway prevention and an improved towing experience. Both models also feature exclusive matte black components and silver chains to align with the design of the Airstream travel trailer.

Additionally, the partnership will generate a variety of digital content to help customers understand how weight distribution hitches work and why they are important. From how-to videos and webinars to support articles and configurator tools, it’ll be easier than ever for Airstream customers to make decisions about their weight distribution needs. For more information, visit airstream.com