Have you looked at RV prices lately? They are through the roof. Expect to pay well over $100,000 to buy a new Class B campervan. Even $150K is not that unusual and some of the super high-end ones are closer to $200,000. Those high prices are one reason why lots of RVers are making their own vans, buying stripped down cargo vas and turning them into their own customized RV, with exactly the features and accessories they want. This week in our Topic of the Week interview, we’ll talk with a DIY van expert who has helped hundreds build their own RVs and even has an online course that shows you how to do it.

The featured image above is from Larry and Wendy, a couple I met this past weekend who built out their own van. I'll have a video on their build and that of another DIY van-building couple we met in a couple weeks.

But Larry and Wendy used the expertise of Ross Lukeman, who has become a guru in the DIY van-building crowd and you can hear my interview with Ross in this week's podcast.

But keep reading and listening as we have lots of other RV News, tips, travel ideas and more.

WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK

We’re just back from our annual winter campout at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsul

JENNIFER

So we’ve brought in the winter parkas and the snow boots and now we’re now packing, shorts, T-shirts and flipflops because we are headed to Tampa, Florida where we’ll be attending the annual RV Supershow there at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

MIKE

It’s billed as the Greatest RV Show in America and while some of the other shows may want to also lay claim to that title, the RV Supershow is huge. Every major RV manufacturer will be there, many of them introducing brand new designs for 2019. We’ll be visiting as many as we can and doing videos on the new models.

JENNIFER

I just looked at the press release and it says they will have over 1,500 RVs on display covering 26 acres. So there will be plenty to see!

MIKE

Not only new RVs but lots of RV-related accessories and products are being displayed by 450 vendors.

JENNIFER

The show opens to the public today, Wednesday Jan. 16 and runs through Sunday January 20. The cost of admission is $10 per Adult and each ticket good for a FREE 2nd day return!

Children under 16 are FREE.

MIKE

We will be all over the show so if you see us, be sure and introduce yourself. But we will also be hosting a meet and greet on Saturday from about 11 AM-3PM. You can find us between those hours on Saturday and we’ll be hanging out at the Roadtrek Motorhomes display. And for those of you in different parts of the country, we invite you to tune into a special Tampa RV Show edition of our weekly Ask Us Anything live stream on YouTube. Instead of our usual Sunday night show, we will do a special 3PM Eastern Time live stream on Saturday, direct from the show. You can find us at YouTube.com/rvlifestyle

JENNIFER

We can’t wait for the Tampa show. But if it’s too far from you, be sure and stay tuned to the end of the podcast and look on the shownotes page for this episode as there are a great many other RV shows held all across North America this weekend and we will tell you about all of them. Just check the shownotes page at Roadtreking.com/225 and we’ll put links to each of those shows so you can get all the details you need. 

RV NEWS OF THE WEEK

MIKE

 Trees cut down at Joshua Tree National Park, foundation raising funds, as fall out of federal government shutdown continues

Once again the damaging effects on America's national parks from the federal government shut down continues to dominate the outdoor news. Last week Joshua Tree National Park made headlines after vandals CUT DOWN trees to make new roads, set up camp spots in places off-limits to camping, cut down chains to access roads that were off limits, and leave graffiti as a handful of rangers try to protect a park the size of Delaware. Also throughout the country volunteers attempted to step in,