RV Country talks about how Jayco was started

The Jayco blue tag event is starting soon and we thought you’d like to hear a little bit about how Jayco was started. Jayco, Inc. was founded in 1968 by a man of strong faith and vision. The late Lloyd J. Bontrager, family man and inventor, felt he could build the world a better RV. He longed to create a company of his own, one that clearly reflected his ideals: a company where everyone would be treated as "family". 

With encouragement from his wife Bertha, Lloyd started Jayco on their farm–in two chicken houses and a barn! He developed his own prototype camping trailer and a unique lifter system for fold-down campers, the basic design of which is patented and still in use today. By the end of 1968, his fledgling company of 15 employees had sold 132 fold-down camping trailers. 

Today, Jayco's "family" of employees has grown to nearly 1,600 people, while more than 25,000 people join our "extended family" of customers each year. 

As you can see, Paul Evert's RV Country has good reason to be excited about our partnership with such a great company!

To read more, visit their web site http://www.jayco.com

RV Country: Ghost Stories; A favorite American Tradition

One of the great past times that comes along with RVing happens late at night... While the littlest ones are tucked away sleeping, the rest of you are sitting outside. If the weather is just right you have a nice and toasty little campfire going. The stars are amazing, the company is perfect, and the quiet stillness is what you’re all loving... But on nights like this, you’ve gathered for some fun. You’ve come together around the fire for a ritual as old as time itself... One that every camper loves to take part in. You’ve gathered on this night, around this campfire for some spine-tingling, hair-standing-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck, heart-racing, jumping-out-of-your-skin, ghost-story-telling fun!

Maybe you make up our own stories. Perhaps you know stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. It doesn’t much matter, because the result is typically the same – a great time with no noise from the TV or the computer, the cell phones, or anything else electronic. It’s just all of you and all of your imaginations. Do you take turns telling different tales, or is one good one enough to spook you all until you’re ready to hide under the blankets, safe in the RV?

Tell us…what's your favorite ghost story?

Great American Backyard Campout Gets Kids To Enjoy The Outdoors

Think how wonderful it will feel to give your children the benefits of spending more time outdoors, providing them with those fun, childhood memories that will last a lifetime, all while supporting the National Wildlife Federation. NWF uses 80 cents of every dollar you raise in their annual Great American Backyard Campout® to support the programs that address the problems of America's indoor childhood and the health risks associated with them. The funds you raise are used to establish and maintain programs to make outdoor time a priority to protect our children's health.

 You can join the next campout event, being held on June 25, 2011 in your backyard, parks, campgrounds or even your balcony! No site is too big or too small to spend a night sleeping under the stars.


This year you will be allowed to form "Campout Teams" and raise money that goes right back to helping connect even more kids to the outdoors through NWF's programs, such as Wildlife Watch and Trees for the 21st Century.

When you go online and register your campsite, you'll be able to choose whether or not you want to set a fund-raising goal. You'll get your own personalized page to customize with stories from your own camping experiences or even a special photo. Plus, you can keep track of how much money you raise and also send personalized email invites to your friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors.

People’s Choice Award

Paul Evert’s RV Country is proud and excited to announce that we have been chosen to receive the Peoples Choice Award for Best RV Dealer in the Central Valley! We were recently interviewed by Joshua Tehee of The Fresno Bee and thought we’d share some of the reasons why we were nominated. Not to toot our own horn (TOOT! TOOT!) but.... We have 3 locations (California, Arizona, and Oregon) but Fresno is our flagship location. We offer sales, parts, service, and starting this last year, RV storage! All of this makes us the total package! No other dealers in town offer all the services we do.  We carry every type of recreational vehicle (new and pre-owned) from the top selling brands in the country, including Thor Motor Coach, Holiday Rambler, Winnebago, Monaco, Tiffin, Keystone, Jayco, Thor, Coachmen, McKenzie, and Coleman. We have a 40 bay service department with Master Trained Technicians, and we work with most manufacturers to offer warranty work. 

We have a fully stocked, in-house parts store, and work with most manufacturers to obtain special order parts. We offer affordable RV storage with pick up packages. We take trades, offer financing, and deliver nationwide!

We are also proud to say that we have a lot of knowledge here at Paul Evert’s RV. Whether it's about RVs, new parts, products, service tips, or even recalls, we have the answers! It is true that no one person knows everything, but collectively, we are able to share this wealth of information on a public forum to help our customers, and that’s why we have so many ways to keep you updated and in contact with us. Not only do we have our website and our blog, but we’re also on Facebook and Twitter!

We want our customers to know that we’re not only here for you as a dealer, service department, and parts store, but we are a part of your community. The RV lifestyle is unique and we love staying in touch with our customers. You are the ones out living and loving the RV lifestyle! We’ve been having a blast getting stories and pictures from many of you RV adventurers. We are having fun learning how you RV, and what tips and tricks you find the most useful. At Paul Evert's, we truly do embrace the RV Lifestyle, and we have a core group of employees who do their best EVERY DAY to help make it easier for our customers to get out and embrace it too!

Please share YOUR story and don’t forget to visit us on Facebook and Twitter, or in person!

National Cherry Blossom Festival for the RV Lifestyle

If you’re looking for a way to help celebrate the arrival of spring, here is a beautiful way to help you do just that. On March 26^th through April 10^th Washington D.C. will host the National Cherry Blossom Festival!

According to Chief Horticulturalist Rob DeFeo, this will be the peak time to enjoy the beautiful pink and white blossoms. There are plenty of events for everyone to enjoy.

The Opening Ceremony has a line-up of classic and contemporary performances. The blossoms Secret Stroll is a walking tour recounting the story and sites of how the Japanese cherry trees came to Washington, D.C. There is also family day and the national Cherry Blossom Parade -a long-standing Washington tradition featuring lavish floats, giant helium balloons, marching bands, and other family entertainment. To check out all the other events going on and for volunteer opportunities, visit http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/

RV Country: Where will you GO?

The makers of the award-winning ‘Go’ Mobile Adventure Gear camping-trailer, have once again loaded a GO with over $15,000 worth of phenomenal adventure gear. They have hidden this prize somewhere in North America. So, when they say GO, literally, GO! Get on the open road and find that prize! Were your family vacations ever like this?! Think of the memories this will create!

FindtheGO is open to anyone over 18 with a desire for adventure. To find the prize package, stay tuned to www.findtheGO.com. Once they start, you will receive a new clue each week. The video clues will contain a set of geo-caching coordinates and a verbal clue that will guide you to the ultimate gear-cache location. Find it first, and it's yours!

And of course – don’t forget that camera! Because we want to hear all about your adventure and see all the pictures along the way.  Now go forth and Find the Go!

How We RV - Bill & Jeanne Whitted

Bill & Jeanne Whitted with Canto & Pretty Boy

RV Make/Model/Year: 2004 Fleetwood Southwind RS
 
Number of years you've been RVing: 40 years
 
A little about you: We lived in Visalia, CA for forty-one years, before we retired. We bought our first travel trailer in 1978, we took it to Pismo Beach and the Sierra mountains for deer season. In 1982 our daughter moved to Manistique, MI with her husband and our only grandchild. We traded our travel trailer for a used 23 foot Mini Motor Home, we made our first trip to Michigan in 1983. We had another grandchild by then. We spent our summer vacations in Michigan to see our daughter & family. We had one granddaughter and two grandsons there by 1986.

We decided in the 1990's we would become full time RV'ers. We retired in 2005 and went on the road to visit family & friends.

We have our oldest granddaughter and her husband & two children in Enid, OK. Our oldest grandson lives in Boulder, CO with his wife, and our youngest grandson & wife live in Marquette, MI. We have a son that lives in Tehachapi, CA with his wife & daughter.

We have family in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

We enjoy Workamping, you make good such friends, and it is fun. We don't work all the time as we like to visit family.

Do you travel with pets? Tell us about them: We travel with a Persian Cat, Pretty Boy, he will be 14 this year, and a Miniature Red Poodle, Canto, she will be 9 this year.

Favorite camping spot or travel destination and why: We have so many favorite places to camp, that it is hard to say. I like to be by the ocean or a lake.

Service Tips, Travel Tricks, or Gadgets you can't RV without: We always fill our gas tank up before it gets below half a tank of gas as many stations have closed. We try to gas up at the stations that are RV friendly, having a dump station, water & propane on the same gas island. We always carry a rolling basket to carry laundry, firewood or ice. TV trays are a must, we use them outside and in the RV for extra space on the dinner table.

We get our RV serviced at Paul Evert's in Fresno, CA. They are very thorough and friendly. They have a nice area to park your RV to stay all night. Their waiting room is very clean. They have a RV store. For your convinces there is a washer & dryer, coffee, water and popcorn. There is information about the area.

Funny Story: We were in Yellowstone NP, and a man comes running up and waving his arms at us! It was friends of ours from Visalia, CA!

Favorite Recipe: I like to make Mandarin Rice and Carrot Cake for pot lucks.