RV News: Awaken RV Taps Dragonfly Energy, Prime Time Reveals Influencer-Designed Floor Plan, and More!
Other stories include a powerful new solar generator, Furrion's outdoor TV, and the future of US national parks.
Image Caption: Photo Credit: Awaken RV
Labor Day Weekend is here, which means the unofficial end of summer is upon us. But before we head off for the three-day weekend, we have just enough time to share the biggest news from the RV industry from this past week. Here are a few things you might want to have on your radar.
- Awaken RV Picks Dragonfly Energy: New RV start-up Awaken RV announced this week that it is partnering with Dragonfly Energy as the supplier of its onboard house batteries. The recently launched towable manufacturer was founded by former nüCamp CEO Scott Hubble and is focused on building sleek, modern fiberglass towables. Those rigs will now come with Dragonfly lithium batteries as standard equipment. Find out more about Awaken here.
Photo Credit: Prime Time TV
- Prime Time RV Announces New Brand Ambassadors and Co-Designed Floor Plan: This week, Prime Time RV—a subsidiary of Forest River—announced that it has signed new brand ambassadors who helped design a new fifth-wheel floor plan. The company has joined forces with RV influencers the Boundless Bronnekes, who helped co-develop the BONUS38 Crusader model. Highlights include a bath-and-a-half layout, three A/C units, bunk beds, a private loft, and more. Find out more here.
- Overland Expo Mountain West Welcomes 18,000 Attendees: Last weekend marked another successful event for the Overland Expo crew, with over 18,000 people attending the OE Mountain West event in Loveland, CO. Those numbers were similar to the 2024 edition of that event, with over half of them indicating they are new to overlanding. Those who were there represented 49 of the US states, along with seven different countries, including 347 exhibitors. The next OE gathering is Overland Expo East, which takes place in Arrington, VA on October 3-5.
Photo Credit: Ever Overland
- Ever Overland Announces New Shell Designed for Ford F-550 Chassis: Overlanders looking to build their own expedition vehicles, listen up! Ever Overland, a company dedicated to building monocoque structures for DIY vehicle builds, has announced the new addition to its line-up. The full composite, vacuum-infused Ever Expedition Shell is designed to fit on the Ford F-550 chassis and includes a large four-season inulated tempered-glass skylight, a 75″ x 24″ Euro-style door, an integrated sunscreen, and more. Essentially, the shell serves as the perfect canvas for overlanders to customize their rigs to meet their specific needs. For more information, visit the Ever Overland website.
- Lippert Introduces New Furrion Outdoor TV: Just in time for the start of football season, Lippert has released a new Furrion TV made specifically for use in the outdoors. The Furrion Aurora Partial-Sun 2 4K UHD LED builds on the brand’s previous Aurora Partial Sun models by improving brightness, anti-glare screen coating, image quality, and color output. The TV is powered by webOS, which runs streaming apps natively without the need for an external device. And because it is built for use outdoors, the display is perfect for use in the backyard or at the campsite. Available in 43″, 55″, and 65″ sizes, the new 4K smart TV is available now at the Furrion website and from authorized retailers.
Photo Credit: Aims Power
- Aims Power Launches New Solar Generator: Off-grid energy specialists Aim Power announced the availability of a new solar generator this week. The new unit comes in two flavors—the Portable Solar Generator 3.1 and Portable Solar Generator 5.04—which pack 3075Wh and 5040Wh, respectively. Both are expandable up to 10,000Wh and come with built-in handles and wheels to make them more portable. Fast charging capabilities allow them to power up in under two hours from an AC outlet or solar panels. Built-in charging ports include
USB-A, USB-C, 20-amp, and 30-amp options. Pricing starts at $3,100. Find out more at the Aim Power website.
Photo Credit: Coachmen RV
- Coachmen Joins Forces with Bourbon & Bonfire for Charitable Retreats: Coachmen RV and Bourbon & Bonfire are coming together for a good cause. The RV manufacturer, which is also a division of Forest River, announced this week that it was partnering with B&B to create 16 special edition Class A models to serve as VIP accommodations for weekend getaways on Sept. 5-7 and 12-14. The events will take place at Hunters Hot Springs in Springdale, MT, with attendees getting to rub elbows with the cast of Landman, Yellowstone,and Happy Gilmore. RV Pro has the full scoop.
- Upcoming Hearing on Deferred National Park Maintenance will be Live Streamed: Back in 2020, the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act included the authorization of the Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), which included $6.5 billion allocated to addressing maintenance needs in America’s national parks. The use of those funds has stalled out over the past few years, to the point that the LRF will actually expire at the end of September. In an effort to decide what to do with those funds and further allocate their use, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Friday, Sept. 5 to hopefully free up the money to address the needs of the national parks. That hearing will be live streamed from the Jenny Lake Visitor Center in Grand Teton National Park at 10:00 a.m. MDT. Interested parties can watch here.
That’s a wrap for this week. See you next Friday for another round-up of the biggest news from the RV and camping industries ahead of the big Hershey RV SuperShow.
Kraig Becker is a writer in the RV, outdoors, and adventure travel space. Over the course of his career he has contributed to such outlets as Popular Mechanics, Outside Online, Business Insider, TripSavvy, Digital Trends, GearJunkie, The Adventure Blog, and countless others. An avid runner and cyclist, he enjoys camping, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, and just about any other outdoor activity. His travels have taken him to seven continents and on many amazing adventures.
