I would like to wish all my American readers Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are able to enjoy some time today with family and friends, and hopefully enjoy a great meal in the process.

My celebration is always indoors but a regular reader in the CampingEarth forum is going to mark Thanksgiving 2008 by celebrating a 14th annual Thanksgiving campout and feast. Everyone brings food to share at their celebration held at a local campground and they cook their turkey in a turkey fryer. It sounds like a great way to create lasting memories which it must because the forum regular who has this celebration says “We burn a pickup load of firewood and tell a thousand lies. Great fun.” Read all about it by clicking here. Maybe you’ll get the inspiration to start your own Thanksgiving campout and feast!

Tomorrow is the official start of the Christmas shopping season. To help you with gift ideas for the campers on your list tomorrow will be the day one kickoff of the “2008 Camping Earth Gift Guide.” Over the next 25 days we’ll post gift ideas ranging from camping essentials to fun gadgets to help you find the perfect gift for everyone you’re shopping for this year.

My start to the official Christmas shopping season is going to start very early tomorrow on Black Friday (too early - about 4 am). I’ll be one of those crazy people standing in line outside (probably freezing my butt off) waiting for the stores to open so I can get some of those great deals. It’s a tradition I started with my daughter 10 years ago and one that I would now gladly give up but one she thinks is way too much fun to stop. And it is fun. For my daughter and myself it’s not so much about the great deals, but the time we spend together and the stories we always come home with about the crazy and silly things other shoppers did (like the couple who had a huge fight in a store a couple of years ago over her purse. She told him to hold it and he loudly proclaimed he wasn’t a girl and wasn’t going to hold it. She thrust it at him anyway. He got mad, put it on the floor, told her he put it on the floor and started to walk away. The argument escalated from there. It was sad but funny because they seemed to be completely unaware that hundreds of people were watching and listening to every word because their argument occurred near the front of the store where a lot of us were waiting to check out. We were pretty much a captive audience).

Anyway, I’m going to fortify myself with a great meal today so that I have lots of energy for shopping with the crowds tomorrow.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Winnebago Industries, the top selling motorhome manufacturer in the United States is set to receive their 13th consecutive Quality Circle Award from the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA) at a ceremony on December 1, 2008 at the National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Kentucky.

Winnebago has received the award every year since 1995, a feat not accomplished by any other manufacturer. Winnebago Industries Chairman, CEO, and President Bob Olson said, “We are extremely proud to receive the Quality Circle Award again this year. We are also very proud that Winnebago Industries has received the Quality Circle Award every year since 1995, an accomplishment no other motor home or travel trailer manufacturer in the industry has been able to attain.”

The winners of the quality circle awards are determined by a Dealer Satisfaction Survey conducted by the RVDA. It rates manufacturers’ performance in eight specific areas: sales support, sales territory, vehicle design, vehicle reliability/quality, competitive price/value, parts support, dealership warranty support and overall dealer communications.

While I personally never put too much stock into industry awards, I’m writing about this one because receiving a quality award for 13 consecutive years must mean a company is doing a pretty good job of putting out a quality product for consumers. Although I have never personally owned a Winnebago manufactured camper/RV, I’ve looked at lots of them over the years at camping/RV shows and at campgrounds when I chat with fellow campers where the conservation almost always turns to the type/brand of camping unit each of us has. And I have to say the Winnebago manufactured RV’s I’ve seen look like they are of good quality to me.

I am by no means an expert but I can spot shoddy workmanship and have unfortunately seen quite a bit of it in brand new camping units over the years. Winnebago products may be a little more expensive than some other brands out there but it’s like my Mom has always said “You get what you pay for.” But don’t get the idea that I crawl around under RV’s and rip apart walls just to see how they are put together. My “inspections” are on the surface only but when I see a countertop that was put on sloppily or an outlet that is crooked it makes me wonder what else wasn’t put together with care and pride. It’s kind of like when you go look at a house and it’s dirty or a window is cracked. It gets you thinking about what else the homeowner isn’t taking care of, whether or not you can see it.

To read the entire article, click here.

Congratulations to Winnebago Industries on their award and achievement!

Earlier this year, two brothers decided to embark on an adventure to build a teardrop trailer and also decided to write about it in a blog. Their first conversation on the topic started on March 15, 2008 and they have since written 17 blog posts about their progress on their teardrop and have posted pictures as well.

Whether you are interested in building your own teardrop trailer, have built a teardrop trailer, are in the process of building your own teardrop trailer or are like me and are in awe of anyone who can build anything that won’t fall apart when someone touches it with their pinkie (can you tell I’m severely challenged in the “building things” department?), it’s fun to read and follow along with their project.

The teardrop isn’t quite done yet, but in their latest post on November 22 they said the outside is pretty much done. Check out their post on November 10 to see some nice looking pictures of the exterior.

I’m guessing it won’t get christened with its first camping trip until 2009 though because, like me, they said they aren’t good winter campers (although I would be if I could camp someplace warm and sunny like Florida!).

To see all their blog posts and pictures click here.