This is the first issue of the New Year and we are looking forward to delivering ever-increasing exciting, informative and fulfilling stories to you, the readers and fans of Trailer Life. For example, see Tim Walton’s well-researched treatise on pin boxes for fifth-wheel trailers. Walton explores different designs, their benefits, uses, and which pin boxes may be better for certain types of rigs and applications. In addition, the author offers a diverse guide to major manufacturers’ products available on the market today.
Just as interesting, if not enlightening, is automotive journalist and Trailer Life contributor Bruce Smith’s roundup of nine 2013 four-door pickup trucks he’s driven at various new truck press introductions attended during the fall and early winter of 2012. Smith’s first-hand, behind-the-wheel driving/towing impressions provide invaluable information.
Let’s look at some new trailers, shall we? Bob Ashley and a band of expert sources in the Elkhart, Ind., region (the heart of RV production) have compiled a collection of news and photos that offer a peek into what can be expected to appear on dealer lots in the months to come. There are some exciting new rigs – travel trailers and fifth-wheels, ranging from super lightweight to high-end luxury suites – waiting right around the corner!
Of course there are the wonderfully illustrated and interesting travel tales such as Ann and Carl Calvert’s wild adventure in Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia, and their equally intriguing exploration of the more tame, yet just as much fun, Pensacola, Fla. This issue also introduces Guy and Pam Selbert’s first of a four-part series tracing the famous Route 66 from start to finish (part 1 takes you from Chi-Town to Springfield, Mo.).
Undoubtedly though, the most interesting to us is the Readers’ Choice Awards. That’s because we heard from you on 25 RV-centric categories involving more than 100 different products, rigs, services and vehicles. The readers of Trailer Life told us what they liked best by voting through a web-based survey, rating their favorite trailers, trucks, campgrounds, places to eat, fuel stops, portable generators, oil products, hitches, RV retailers, states to RV in, etc. It was an eye-opening experience, and is informative for both the Trailer Life staff and readers.
– Stuart Bourdon, editor-in-chief
