New RV Reality Show Takes a Trip Down Route 66

The Great American Road Trip, a new summer reality show, will have you glued to your
televisions as you follow new RVers on the vacation of a lifetime. The eight-episode series
features seven families of four who embark on a trip along Route 66, from Chicago to
California, in Fleetwood Bounder motorhomes. Along the way, the contestants experience the
fun, humorous, exciting and sometimes-difficult aspects of RVing with their families for
the first time. The diverse group of families includes: the Katzenbergs from Connecticut,
the Pollards from Alabama, the Ricos from Texas, the Favereys from New York, the
Montgomerys from California, the Cootes from Illinois and the DiSalvatores from New York.
”This is not a race,” Reno Collier, the host of the show, told the contestants. ”This
has nothing to do with the destination. This is all about the journey.” Although The Great
American Road Trip is not a race, the families do stop at iconic and quirky American
attractions for challenges. In each episode, the family that loses the challenge is sent
home as the others move on to the next destination and ultimate prize -the first-place
family will receive $100,000 at the end of the road trip. The first episode, which
originally aired July 7, began at Wrigley Field and took the contestants to a campground in
Springfield, Illinois for some football, outdoor cooking and mingling. The episode’s
challenge, held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, was a “presidential” contest overseen by
“Abe Lincoln.” The challenge had the contestants run an obstacle course while collecting
“votes” and was won by the Cootes. Their prize: an outdoor dinner on a Mississippi River
bridge near Madison, Ill. The three families with the lowest “vote” total faced off in the
“End of the Road” challenge near the St. Louis Arch, rolling a large plastic ball with a
family member strapped inside through a series of six small arches. The Katzenberg family
lost the challenge and was sent home. Future episodes will take the remaining families to
cities big and small. The contestants will see everything from the Grand Canyon to the
World’s Largest Chair. The Great American Road Trip airs Mondays at 8/7 central on NBC. You
can catch an encore of the premiere episode on Sunday, July 12 at 8/7 central.