This week we interview the newly named CEO of Kampgrounds of America about the changing demographics of camping in America.

Toby O’Rourke shares with us highlights of the company’s latest study and reveals that millennials now make up 35% of all the active campers in the U.S. She also talks about how her company is continuing to grow and thrive in an increasingly digital world.

Plus an update from Mike and Jen on their new RV, their travel schedule for the next month and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts.

Show Notes for Episode #234 March 20, 2019 of The RV Podcast:

Mike and Jennifer talk about their recent activities and whereabouts

This is a photo of us taken Monday, after signing on the dotted line and buying a 2019 Leisure Travel Vans Unity FX. We're giving it a shakedown trip now.

RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK

Two Canadian national parks install country's first electric vehicle charging stations

Two Canadian national parks in British Columbia are the first in the country to install electric vehicle charging stations. Glacier National Park and Yoho National Park are both along the Trans-Canada Highway and are part of a national goal of improving electric travel. 

Improvements to cell coverage debated at Grand Teton National Park: Would it take away from wilderness experience?

The debate about whether to improve cell service at Grand Teton National Park was in the news last week. Proponents argue it would help retain workers and assist in emergencies, while those against say excellent cell service takes something away from the wilderness experience.

Great whale watching opportunities along Oregon coast in upcoming week

If you're planning to be anywhere near the Oregon coast between March 23-31, you might want to check out some of the many whale watching sites. The gray whales are making their way from Mexico to Alaska, and will be swimming by, and many special view sites are set up to see the giant mammals that week.

Fire at Forest River factory in Elkhart, Indiana, leaves production of some towables in question

A fire last week completely destroyed the factory in Elkhart, IN, where the Forest River Vibe and Vibe Extreme are built. Officials were still trying to determine what caused the blaze as of this writing, along with what will become of the towable trailers and jobs of those who built them.

 This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping 

RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK

 This week we interview with Tony O’Rourke, the new CEO of Kampgrounds of America:

Mike Wendland:           Well first of all, congratulations.

Toby O'Rourke:             Thank you.

Mike Wendland:           I think we first started interviewing you when you were doing marketing, digital marketing, and then of course President and now CEO President and the Chief everything of Kampgrounds of America. So congratulations Toby.

Toby O'Rourke:             Thank you, I appreciate that.

Mike Wendland:           You know one of the things that you do [inaudible 00:00:20] is you do the annual camping report every year.

Toby O'Rourke:             We do.

Mike Wendland:           And I know it's a little early, it hasn't been completed yet, but can you give us any sneak peaks of what the data is showing for 2019 compared to previous years?

Toby O'Rourke:             Yeah, so now we've been doing the North American Camping Report for five years, which is great to look at it as a body of work that shows the trends over the past five years. And there's several key trends, things we've talked about before, but we definitely are seeing a lot of people camp, and people are camping more frequently. That's my favorite part of the data, is we're seeing 72% increase over these past five years in the amount of people that are camping at least 3 times a year, which is exciting. The data's also pointing,